INDICATIONS OT APPROACHING WINTER. 317 
The great hazard we encountered in the gale 
of the 23d, with numerous tokens observed that 
were indicative of approaching winter, warned us 
to quit a coast which was daily becoming more 
and more dangerous. In the early part of this 
month we experienced the heat of a British sum¬ 
mer ; and the sea, in many places, was covered 
with birds. But the land had already received 
its mantle of snow, and many of the birds had re¬ 
treated to their winter quarters. This was par¬ 
ticularly the case with regard to the little auks 
and guillemots,—the former of which, a few weeks 
ago, were seen in innumerable quantities, either 
feeding in the water, or taking their daily flight 
towards the sea in the morning, and towards the 
land at night,—but now scarcely one of either 
species was to be seen. 
Another intimation of approaching winter, to 
which we are very little accustomed in the Green¬ 
land whale-fishery, was the setting of the sun, and 
the rapid shortening of the days. On the 2d of 
this month, it was observed that the sun was 
above the horizon at midnight; but now we 
had seven hours thirty-six minutes betwixt sun¬ 
setting and sun-rising, with an increase of ten 
minutes in the length of eacli succeeding night. 
Hence the shortening of the days was so rapid as 
to be almost perceptible between one day and the 
