The ice did not disturb us again till five A.M. on the 8th, when
another floe-piece came in and gave the ship a heavy rub, and then
went past, after which it continued slack about us for several
hours. Everything was so quiet at nine o'clock as to induce me to
venture up the hill abreast of us, in order to have a view of the
newly-discovered land to the southwest, which, indeed, I had seen
indistinctly and much refracted from the Hecla's deck in the
morning. This land, which extends beyond the 117th degree of west
longitude, and is the most western yet discovered in the Polar Sea
to the northward of the American Continent, was honoured with the
name of BANKS'S LAND, out of respect to the late venerable and
worthy president of the Royal Society.

On the morning of the 9th a musk-ox came down to graze on the
beach near the ships. A party was despatched in pursuit, and,
having hemmed him in under the hill, which was too steep for him
to ascend, succeeded in killing him. When first brought on board,
the inside of this animal, which was a male, smelled very strong
of musk, of which the whole of the meat also tasted more or less,
and especially the heart. It furnished us with four hundred and
twenty-one pounds of beef, which was served to the crews as usual,
in lieu of their salt provisions, and was very much relished by
us, notwithstanding the peculiarity of its flavour.[*] The meat
was remarkably fat, and, as it hung up in quarters, looked as fine
as any beef in an English market. A small seal, killed by the
Griper's people, was also eaten by them; and it was generally
allowed to be very tender and palatable, though not very sightly
in its appearance, being of a disagreeable red colour.

[Footnote: Some pieces of this meat which we brought to England