distance of two miles ascended a point of land in that direction,
from whence we had a commanding view of the objects around us. As
soon as we had gained the summit of this point, which is about
eighty feet above the sea, we had an additional confirmation that
it was the sea which we had now reached, the ice being thrown upon
the beach under the point, and as far as we could see to the
westward, in large, high, irregular masses, exactly similar to
those which had so often afforded us anchorage and shelter upon
the southern shores of the island. Being desirous, however, of
leaving nothing uncertain respecting it, we walked out a few
hundred yards upon the ice, and began with a boarding-pike and our
knives, which were all the tools we had, to dig a hole in it, in
order to taste the water beneath. After nearly two hours' labour,
we could only get down as many feet, the ice being very hard,
brittle, and transparent; more so, as we imagined, than salt-water
ice usually is, which made us the more desirous to get through it.
I therefore determined to return to our people, and to remove our
encampment hither, for the purpose of completing the hole through
the ice with all our hands, while we were obtaining the necessary
observations on shore.

On our return to the tents, we dined, and rested till one o'clock
on the morning of the 7th, when we set out for the point, at which
we did not arrive till half past four, the snow being here so deep
as to make the cart an improper, and, indeed, almost impracticable
mode of conveying our baggage. It froze all day in the shade, with
a fresh breeze from the north; and, though the tents were pitched
under the lee of the grounded ice upon the beach, we found it
extremely cold; all the pools of water were frozen hard during the
night, and, some of our canteens burst from the same cause. The