SURVEY CONTINUED. 
269 
of the greatest consequence to me, for without 
them, all that had previously been accomplished, 
towards the survey of Traill Island and the adja¬ 
cent inlets, would have been in a great measure 
useless. While we lay off Cape Moorsom, I was 
most anxious to have determined the position of 
the ship; but the sun never for a moment appear¬ 
ed, until long after the ice broke away, and obliged 
us to retire from the shore. The plan I now a- 
dopted for rendering my previous operations effi¬ 
cient, was by ascertaining the true bearing and 
exact distance of Vandyke Cliffs. The direction 
of these cliffs, observed by an azimuth compass 
from the mast-head, and corrected for the varia¬ 
tion, afforded, with little trouble, the true bear¬ 
ing ; and an altitude of the cliffs above the hori¬ 
zon, taken with a sextant, enabled me, knowing 
their real elevation, to calculate the exact dis¬ 
tance. These results applied, in a converse di¬ 
rection, to the place of the ship determined by 
celestial observations, gave, with great accuracy, 
the position ot \ andyke Cliffs, and consequently 
enabled me to determine the latitude and longi¬ 
tude of every other headland, whose position in 
relation to these cliffs had been previously laid 
down. 
The land being in sight from S 46° W to N 
31° E., per compass, and every part very distinct. 
