122 
}/ T^ ■ \ 
acrid as to excoriate the face and hands 
of those who approach it. We this day 
observed a fog bank , a little to the north** 
east, which at first we mistook for Ha- 
cluyt’s Headland, from which, however, 
we were then at a considerable distance. 
The edges of these fog banks are so well 
defined, that the most experienced sailors 
often fall into such mistakes. 
20th, Latitude by observation 79° 50^. 
Sea clear of ice, with a smart easterly 
breeze. In this parallel of latitude we 
ran 12° to the west in eighteen hours. 
This will not appear surprising, on con¬ 
sidering that a degree of longitude in 
this parallel is little more than ten miles. 
21st, Fell in with a dead fish. This 
whale had been killed for a considerable 
time, and was entirely covered with Mal- 
iemukkes, and other voracious birds. At 
a distance it resembled a floating mass 
of feathers, but on our approaching it, we 
were almost stunned by the quarrelling 
