whole breadth of the strait, formed by the island, and the western point of Maxwell Bay. We hauled our wind to the northward, just in time to avoid being embayed in the ice, on the outer edge of which a considerable surf, the effect of a late gale, was then rolling. A second island was discovered to the southward of the former, to both of which I gave the name of Prince Leopold’s Isles. Immediately to the eastward of them, there was a strong ‘water-sky,’ indicating a considerable extent of open sea; but an ‘ice-blink’ to the westward afforded little hope, for the present, of finding a passage in the desired direction[1].”
August 5th. “A steady breeze springing up from the W.N.W. in the afternoon, the ships stood to the northward, till we had distinctly made out that no passage to the westward could at present be found between the ice and the land. About this time we perceived that there was a large open space to the southward, where no land was visible; and for this opening, over which there was a water-sky, our course was now directed. It fell calm again, however, in a few hours, so that at noon, on the 6th, we were still abreast of Prince Leopold’s Isles, which were so surrounded by ice, that we could not approach them nearer than four or five miles.”
Aug. 6th. – “A breeze sprung up from the N.N.W. in the evening, and we stood to the southward. The land, which now became visible to the south-east, discovered to us that we were entering a large inlet, not less than ten leagues wide at its mouth, and in the centre of which no land could be distinguished. The western shore, which extended as far as we could see to the S.S.W., was so encumbered with ice, that there was no possibility of sailing near it. I, therefore, ran along the edge of the ice, between which and the eastern shore there was a broad and open channel, with the intention of seeking, in a lower latitude, a clearer passage to the westward than that which we had just been obliged to abandon, lying between Prince Leopold’s Isles and Maxwell’s Bay. The headland which forms the western point of the entrance into this inlet was honored by the
- ↑ A “blink” is a peculiar brightness in the atmosphere, often assuming an arch-like form, and generally perceptible over ice, or land covered with snow. The “blink” of land, as well as that over large quantities of ice, is usually of a yellowish cast. A “water-sky” is a dark appearance in the atmosphere, indicating clear water in that direction, and forming a striking contrast with the “blink” overland or ice.
