and Bear Coves, and the Islands of God's Mercies.

Those

The ship was now continually surrounded by a species of sea-gull, which, on the water, looked very much like wild-ducks. birds appear to be spread in great multitudes quite across the mouth of Davis' Straits, from Cape Farewell in Greenland to the coast of Labrador.

by N. N. 20

JULY 17th.-Course run, w. by N.

miles.

The light variable winds still continued through this day.

Towards evening we were highly entertained with a combat between a whale and

two or three of that species of fish called Finners. The fury with which they engage is surprising. The whale, slowly lifting up

his enormous tail, lets it suddenly fall on his opponents with a most tremendous crash; thereby throwing up foam to an amazing height. Although the Finners have incomparably the advantage in agility, yet in size and strength they fall but little short of the smaller whales. The Finners derive their name from an immense fin, which they use with great effect in their attacks on the whale. Sometimes they lift up this enormous fin, and let it fall upon their antagonist, in the manner of a thresher's flail; at other times, they run their whole body perpendicularly out of the water, exhibiting a beautiful view of their snowwhite bellies. In this position they have the singular power of turning round; and thus they contrive to fall sideways on the whale, with a shock that may be heard at a considerable distance.

The sea was this day covered with an

oily appearance; and some old Greenland fishermen, who were on board the ship, gave a marvellous account of its being occasioned by the sperm of the whale.

JULY 18th.-Course run w. N. 65 miles. Early in the morning we had a fine breeze from the N. E. Latitude at noon, by an observation of the sun, 57°. 24. N.; longitude, by our account, 41°. 17'. w. According to some charts, we considered ourselves this day to be in the longitude of Cape Farewell in Greenland. Nothing can exceed the uncertainty that prevails, in almost every chart and book of navigation, respecting the longitude of the Cape in question. In proof of this, I shall quote an extract from the accompanying Memoir to Mr. Purdy's Chart of the Atlantic:"Both the Requisite Tables, and Connais

sance de Tems, state the latitude of Cape “Farewell at 59°. 38'. N., and longitude, per

"chrono

“chronometer, at 42°.42′. w.; but the Danish “charts place the Cape two degrees more "to the West. We know not which is

66

right, or if either; and have, doubtingly,

placed it in 43o. 40′. w. as a mean between "the two. This is a point on which further "information is particularly required. The "old books and charts place it from 44o. 30′. " to 44°. 45'. w."

Nothing can be a more serious inconvenience to mariners than this uncertainty respecting the latitude and longitude of places; and it is scarcely to be credited, that so little pains have been taken to ascertain the longitude of Greenland's southernmost extremity.

We experienced sharp cold this day, and ascribed it to the winds having blown over the mountains of Greenland, on their way towards us. As the next three days furnished

D 2

furnished no remarks worthy an insertion in this narrative, I shall barely notice the course and distance run by the ship on each day; and the reader may thus pass on to the 22d.

JULY 19th.-Course run s. w. by w. 3 w. 60 miles.

JULY 20th.-Course run w. by N. IN. 68 miles.

JULY 21st.-Course run w. 67 miles.

JULY 22d.-Course run N. W. N. 47 miles. As an indication of our drawing near to some land, we this morning picked up a broken tree, about eighteen feet long, of the yellow pine species. Although we could not have been less than three hundred miles from the nearest land, it certainly had not been long in the water. After