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15 in the Western Arctic Sea. men, from his domineering over his fellow birds as that ruler or mayor governs his fellowmen in Holland. Near one of the ice bergs we savv several puffins, or Greenland parrots as the seamen call them. The ivory gull also came in sight for the first time; but it might be better named the snow gull, for the snow itself scarcely excels it in brilliancy of colours. A large black whale for the first time raised his head to take breath near the ships, on Sunday the 27th, and gave no small amusement to such of our company as had been in the Greenland fishery, by his going down tail foremost between two pieces of ice; for the animal found it could not turn over to go down in the usual way, the head first. While the wind was strong it kept the ice together so that the ships lay snug; but when it abated a long heavy swell of the sea came in from the westward, which drove the masses of ice against the ship’s side and stern with a force sufficient to endanger, perhaps destroy, any vessel not carefully strengthened with wood and iron as ours were. Early in the morning of the 28th a large white bear appeared very near us, and was wounded by some shot; but he soon afterwards fell down between two blocks of ice and was lost; for on being severely wounded the bear instantly sinks. His appearance in such a spot shows to what a distance those animals venture out to sea; for we must at this time have been many leagues oft from any land. The smelling of this animal is exceed ingly acute, and he was probably attracted towards the ship by the smell of some red herrings frying for the men on board. At least it is by such an operation that the bears are drawn near the ships in the whale fishery. The swell abated, but the ships con tinued fast in the ice on the 29th, when we discovered land to the westward, probably towards the entrance of Cumberland Strait on the American side. The depth of water in this place was above 130 fathoms, where the temperature was $0° the same with that at the surface ; while the air was at 84°. The land in sight was probably about fourteen leagues off. On the 30th the ice loosened a little, and the ships, by several hours’ severe towing and warping, at last forced their way back again into clear water, on the east of the ice. Thus failed our first attempt to make good our way towards the western shore of Davis’s Strait; an object particu larly recommended to us, as I have understood, before we left England. It is, besides, by running along the west coast that we can hope to discover a passage, to lead us across the North American seas, to our destined point, Behring’s strait, between America and Asia. When we returned into open sea, our Greenland masters were uncertain which course to hold, to obtain a more practicable course through the ice; at last it was determined to stand to the north ward, between the ice and Greenland.
