402 
APPENDIX. 
acquainted with the southern part of the ice-field, from 
Reykjavik to Cape Farewell. But while we were touch¬ 
ing at Peterhead, the principal port for the fitting out of 
vessels destined for the seal fishery, the Prince, and M. 
de la Roncikre, Commander of “ La Heine Hor tense” 
gathered—from conversations with the fishermen just 
returned from their spring expedition, some important 
information on the actual state of the ice. They learnt 
from them that navigation was completely free this year 
round the whole of Iceland ; that the ice-field resting 
on Jan Mayen Island, and surrounding it to a distance 
of about twenty leagues, extended down the south-west 
along the coast of Greenland, but without blocking up 
the channel which separates that coast from that of 
Iceland. These unhoped-for circumstances opened a 
new field to our explorations, by allowing us to survey 
all that part of the Banquise which extends to the 
north of Iceland, thus forming a continuation to the obser¬ 
vations made by the “ Recherche and to those which we 
ourselves intended to make during our voyage to Green¬ 
land. The temptation was too great for the Prince; and 
Commander de la Roncihre was not a man to allow an 
opportunity to escape for executing a project which 
presented itself to him with the character of daring and 
novelty. 
But the difficulties of the enterprise were serious, 
and of such a nature that no one but a sailor experienced 
in navigation is capable of appreciating. The “ Heine 
Hortense ” is a charming pleasure-boat, but she offered 
very few of the requisites for a long voyage, and she 
was destitute of all the special equipment indispen¬ 
sable for a long sojourn in the ice. There was room 
but for six days’ coals, and for three weeks’ water. As 
to the sails, one may say the masts of the corvette are 
merely for show, and that without steam it would be 
impossible to reckon on her making any way regularly 
