northward into Baffin's Bay, from the lat. of 63¾°. We found
ourselves in the midst of a great number of very high icebergs, of
which I counted, from the crow's-nest, eighty-eight, besides many
smaller ones.

Having now reached the latitude of 73° without seeing a single
opening in the ice, and being unwilling to increase our distance
from Sir James Lancaster's Sound by proceeding much farther to the
northward, I determined once more to enter the ice in this place,
and to try the experiment of forcing our way through it, in order
to get into the open sea. Being therefore favoured with clear
weather, and a moderate breeze from the southeastward, we ran into
the ice, which for the first two miles consisted of detached
pieces, but afterward of floes of considerable extent, and six or
seven feet in thickness. The wind died away towards midnight, and
the weather was serene and clear.

At six A.M. on the 23d, a thick fog came on, which rendered it
impossible to see our way any farther. We therefore warped to an
iceberg, to which the ships were made fast at noon, to wait the
clearing up of the fog, being in lat. 73° 04' 10", long. 60° 11'
30". At eight P.M. the weather cleared up, and a few small pools
of open water were seen here and there, but the ice was generally
as close as before, and the wind being to the westward of north,
it was not deemed advisable to move.

The weather, being clear in the morning of the 25th, and a few
narrow lanes of water appearing to the westward, the Griper was
made fast astern of the Hecla; and her crew being sent to assist
in manning our capstan, we proceeded to warp the ships through the