290 
GREENLAND VOYAGE. 
little floe we met with, ami began to flense the 
whales we had captured, for their final security. 
While we were employed in these interesting 
occupations, the Trafalgar escaped from the criti¬ 
cal state of besetment in which she became in¬ 
volved on the 12th. We observed that she join¬ 
ed a strange sail that hove in sight at the time, 
and not being aware how we were engaged, stood 
away in company with her to the eastward, and 
was not afterwards seen. The Fame likewise suc¬ 
ceeded in making her escape from the entangle¬ 
ment and danger of the land-ice; but too late, un¬ 
fortunately, for benefitting by the “ run of fish,” 
which we were enabled so well to improve. 
The day having been clear and fine through¬ 
out, I obtained a very excellent series of bearings 
of headlands, &c. with observations for the latitude, 
longitude, and variation. These enabled me to 
correct my former projection of the coasts of Davy’s 
Sound, and contiguous lands; and to determine 
the situation of the nearer headlands and islands, 
with sufficient accuracy. 
In the night of the 15th-l6th, stars were seen 
for the first time, during fifteen weeks. The sky 
being beautifully clear, the sea, as usual on such 
occasions, began to freeze as soon as the sun de¬ 
scended within four or five degrees of the horizon, 
though the temperature was considerably above 
