Shortly after noon a fog came on so thick that we could only see a few
yards round us; we, however, pushed our way for 2½ miles beyond Cape
Lady Pelly, along a flat coast lined with mud banks from eight to ten
feet high, frozen solid within a foot of the surface. At 4 P.M. the ice
was too closely packed to allow us to proceed; we therefore turned
towards the shore, and after some trouble effected a landing. The fog
still continued so thick, that, after wandering about for a few miles, I
had much difficulty in finding the boat again, hid as it was by the
surrounding masses of ice. We were much at a loss for drinkable water,
there not being a drop in the neighbourhood but what resembled chocolate
in appearance.
In the forenoon some wolves, part of a band that had serenaded us last
night with their dismal howlings, were seen prowling about; and a
white-winged silvery gull (_L. leucopterus_), a diminutive sandpiper
(_tringa minuta_), and a marmot were shot.
4th.--There was a drizzling rain with thick fog all night, but not a
breath of wind. As the tide flowed the ice moved slowly and silently
round us, so that in the morning we had not more than a yard or two of
open water near us, being blocked in on all sides by pieces from 15 to
20 feet thick. The rise of the tide was not less than nine feet. In the
forenoon I walked upwards of five miles along the shore to the
north-westward, passing a few low sandy points about a mile and a half
from each other, which formed a succession of small bays, into each of
which a ravine with high and steep mud banks opened, down which a
streamlet of pea-soup-coloured water flowed. We fell in with the heads
and horns of several musk cattle and reindeer, and saw recent footmarks
of some of the latter, but they had probably been driven some distance
away by the wolves we saw yesterday. Marmots were numerous in every
direction, chattering to each other, and rising on their hind legs to
obtain a better view of the strangers. Many golden plovers and
different kinds of sandpipers were flying about, and a jager (_L.
parasiticus_) was shot: some plants were also collected. The travelling
along this coast was extremely fatiguing, being very often nearly
knee-deep in a very adhesive mud.
The thermometer rose as high as 70° in the forenoon; in the afternoon it
fell to 48°; and in the evening the weather was cold and unpleasant,
with heavy rain.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account