246 GREENLAND VOYAGE. 
distance of 2 -} miles from the land. Here we 
made fast to a large sheet of land-ice, that was 
not yet broken up, stretching from within a fur¬ 
long of the shore (the ice being dissolved in the 
shallow water,) to the extent of six or eight miles 
towards the E. and beyond the reach of vision to¬ 
wards the NE. A separation having taken place 
in this ice, in the line of our approach, directly 
al'ross it, from SE. to NW., the disengaged sheets 
had been drifted to the southward, while the ice 
to which we moored remained fast staked to the 
spot, hy means of a number of grounded icebergs. 
Hence, a perfectly clear lake, of two or three 
leagues diameter, was produced by this separation 
in the land-ice, under the action of recent north¬ 
erly gales. The Fame and Trafalgar, which 
were still in company, likewise moored to the 
land-ice, with the design of examining the coast, 
and contiguous inlets, by means of the boats, and 
with some slight hopes of discovering whales. 
As far as my experience enabled me to judge, 
this seemed the most likely situation for afford¬ 
ing whales that we had for some time visited. 
The ice ran almost close to the shore, and it;form¬ 
ed a fine clear bay to the southward, which was 
occupied by the ships. It appeared to me, that 
were any whales to visit the coast during our 
stay, this would be the most probable situation 
