353 
East Coast of West Greenland. 
series of bearings of the coast, and a sketch of about ninety miles 
of coast. On the 29th a narwal was killed, and the crew were 
actively employed until the 3d July, in the pursuit and killing 
of whales and narwals, and many curious details are given in 
the Journal, in regard to the habits, manners and structure of 
these remarkable animals. The whales having disappeared, 
they now cruized about in different directions amongst the ice; 
An immense quantity of the Little Auk flew past the ship, to 
the west. For many hours successively, perhaps from one to 
three flocks, consisting, on an average, of about two or three 
hundred birds, passed them in the minute, all Hying in the same 
direction. It was calculated that near half a million of these 
birds appeared within sight in the course of twelve hours. 
On the 5th, they were in Lat. 71° 7', Long. 18° 40' W. On 
the morning of the 9th, the atmosphere was in a highly refrac- 
tive state, concerning which many interesting statements are 
given in the Journal ; and the latitude, in the afternoon of this 
day, was 72° 10' N. Early on the morning of the 15th July, 
a whale was captured, and many details are given in regard to 
the anatomical structure and physiology of these colossal ani- 
mals. During the twenty days preceding the 15th July* about 
three-fourths of the time was foggy ; and the facts stated in the 
Journal lead to an explanation of the extraordinary prevalence 
of foggy weather in the polar seas, and an investigation of the 
causes of the arctic fogs, which Captain Scoresby is inclined to 
consider as caused by the damp air near the level of the sea 
being cooled by contact with, or radiation from, the ice, which 
occasions a condensation of that proportion of moisture which 
the diminished temperature prevents the air from retaining. 
About midnight of the 16th, they fell in with a large ice-field, 
along the edge of which they coasted for six or eight hours, and 
accomplished a distance of thirty or forty miles. This field 
could not be less than thirty miles in diameter, and probably 
contained a surface of 700 or 800 square miles in a single sheet ! 
They were now in Lat. 72° 33', Long. 19° 8' 45" W. The 
land was in sight from NNE. to NNW., and filled up the inter- 
val not before seen, and enabled Captain Scoresby to determine 
the general position and tendency of the coast, from Lat. 75 % 
VOL. VIII. NO. 16. APRIL 1823. 
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