146 
GREENLAND VOYAGE. 
were obtained. Though there was a great deal 
of ice about us, yet we could have penetrated 
farther, by doubling a chaiu of Hoes, had we had 
any encouragement to proceed. On the contrary, 
however, the sea was blue and transparent,—all 
the birds had deserted us,—and every usual sign 
of whales had disappeared. Anxious as I was 
to get close in-sliore, for purposes of investigation, 
I could not justify myself in attempting research 
in a case where it was apparently at variance with 
the probable success of the voyage. I was there¬ 
fore reluctantly constrained to retire. 
The night was calm and foggy, hut the next 
morning having a brisk breeze, we steered to the 
eastward most of the day. At 8 r. m. we fell in 
with a large field of ice, the edge of which we 
traced nearly twenty miles towards the east and 
north-east: at midnight liovc-to. 
It is somewhat remarkable, that, for several 
days and even weeks preceding this date, a lower 
temperature was experienced with southerly than 
with northerly winds. During a fresh gale from 
the NbE., for example, on the 6th and 7th of 
July, the temperature was within the limits of 
35 and 32 degrees. From the 8th of July to 
this day (13th), when the wind was mostly from 
the southward, the mean temperature was about 
32°and in the evening of this day, with a south 
