hitherto seen; such care has nature taken to clothe them suitably to the climate in which they live.  At the same time we saw a few chocolate-coloured albatrosses; these, as well as the peterels above-mentioned, we no where saw but among the ice; hence one may with reason conjecture that there is land to the south.  If not, I must ask where these birds breed?  A question which perhaps will never be determined; for hitherto we have found these lands, if any, quite inaccessible.  Besides these birds, we saw a very large seal, which kept playing about us some time.  One of our people who had been at Greenland, called it a sea-horse; but every one else took it for what I have said.  Since our first falling in with the ice, the mercury in the thermometer had been from 33 to 31 at noon-day.

On the 24th, the wind abated, veering to the N.W., and the sky cleared up, in the latitude of 67 deg. 0’ longitude 138 deg. 15’.  As we advanced to the N.E. with a gentle gale at N.W., the ice islands increased so fast upon us, that this day, at noon, we could see near 100 round us, besides an immense number of small pieces.  Perceiving that it was likely to be calm, I got the ship into as clear a birth as I could, where she drifted along with the ice, and by taking the advantage of every light air of wind, was kept from falling aboard any of these floating isles.  Here it was we spent Christmas day, much in the same manner as we did the preceding one.  We were fortunate in having continual day-light, and clear weather, for had it been as foggy as on some of the preceding days, nothing less than a miracle could have saved us from being dashed to pieces.

In the morning of the 26th, the whole sea was in a manner covered with ice, 200 large islands, and upwards, being seen within the compass of four or five miles, which was the limits of our horizon, besides smaller pieces innumerable.  Our latitude at noon was 66 deg. 15’, longitude 134 deg. 22’.  By observation we found that the ship had drifted, or gone about 20 miles to the N.E. or E.N.E.; whereas, by the ice islands, it appeared that she had gone little or nothing; from which we concluded that the ice drifted nearly in the same direction, and at the same rate.  At four o’clock a breeze sprung up at W.S.W., and enabled us to steer north, the most probable course to extricate ourselves from these dangers.

We continued our course to the north with a gentle breeze at west, attended with clear weather, till four o’clock the next morning, when meeting with a quantity of loose ice, we brought-to, and took on board as much as filled all our empty casks, and for several days present expence.  This done, we made sail, and steered N.W. with a gentle breeze at N.E., clear frosty weather.  Our latitude at this time was 65 deg. 53’ S., longitude 133 deg. 42’ W.; islands of ice not half so numerous as before.

At four in the morning of the 28th, the wind having veered more to the E. and S.E., increased to a fresh gale, and was attended with snow showers.  Our course was north till noon the next day.  Being then in the latitude of 62 deg. 24’, longitude 134 deg. 37’, we steered N.W. by N. Some hours after, the sky cleared up, and the wind abating, veered more to the south.