92 
FIRST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 
saw the sergeant of marines, whose red coat produced a loud 
exclamation of wonder, while his own attitude and figure did 
not less excite the surprise of the tars, who for the first time 
discovered some unexpected peculiarities in the dress of the 
natives. 
They were now loaded with various presents, consisting of 
some articles of clothing, biscuit, and pieces of wood. They 
then departed, promising to return as soon as they had eaten and 
slept, but there were not any means of explaining to them 
what to morrow meant. The parting was attended with the 
ceremony of pulling noses on both sides. 
On the 11th August, the drifting of the ice was the forerunner 
of a southerly breeze, which made the situation of the ships no 
longer tenable, they were therefore obliged to cast loose, and 
after passing through several narrow channels and much loose 
ice, they advanced seven miles to the westward, and fortunately 
found a place of safety under the lee of a very large iceberg, 
which lay aground in one hundred and fifty fathoms. No sooner 
however were both ships fast, than an immense floe of ice, with 
two small bergs in it, came into contact with the large berg, the 
corner of which was raised several feet; a huge piece of the 
precipice was struck off by the concussion, and fell with a dread¬ 
ful crash, breaking the ice below it, and raising a wave that rent 
the floe in pieces for several hundred yards, and made the ships 
roll considerably. The ice then took a circular motion, and com¬ 
pletely closed the spot which the ships had left but a few minutes 
before. It continued to drift the whole day, and a heavy fall of 
snow coming on, the land could not be seen; the weather how¬ 
ever began to clear at midnight, and a bottle containing a 
narrative of the proceedings was left on the floating ice. 
The following day was sufficiently clear to allow of some good 
observations being made, and having taken accurate bearings of 
the land, it was found to form a spacious bay, which was named 
after the Prince Regent, in commemoration of his royal highness’ 
birthday. 
On the 13th, the berg by which the ships had been protected, 
having separated in several pieces, the ships cast off and made 
