288 THE FUR COUNTRY, which bristled with pyramidal or prismatic crystals, the apexes of which pointed to the wind. Hobson at once understood the nature of this atmospheric phenomenon, which whalers and explorers have often noticed in the spring in the Polar regions. "It is not a mist or fog," he said to his companions, "it is a 'frost- rime,' a dense vapour which remains in a state of complete con- gelation." But whether a fog or a frozen mist this phenomenon was none the less to be regretted, for it rose a hundred feet at least above the level of the sea, and it was so opaque that the colonists could not see each other when only two or three paces apart. Every one's disappointment was very great. Nature really seemed determined to try them to the uttermost. When the break up of the ice had come at last, when the wandering island was to leave the spot in which it had so long been imprisoned, and its movements ought to be watched with the greatest care, this fog prevented all observations. This state of things continued for four days. The frost-rime did not disappear until the 15th April, but on the morning of that date a strong wind from the south rent it open and dispersed it. The sun shone brightly once more, and Hobson eagerly seized his instruments. He took the altitude, and found that the exact position of Victoria Island was then : Latitude, 69° 57' ; longitude, 179° 33'. Kalumah was right, Victoria Island, in the grasp of the Behring Current, was drifting towards the south.
