The Ship Passed Through Some Strong
Ripplings, Which Evidently Indicated A Current, But Its Direction Was Not
Ascertained.
We found however by the recent observations that the ship
had been set daily to the southward since we had opened Davis Straits.
The variation of the compass was observed to be 52 degrees 41 minutes
West.
At nine P.M. brilliant coruscations of the Aurora Borealis appeared, of a
pale ochre colour with a slight tinge of red, in an arched form, crossing
the zenith from North-West to South-East, but afterwards they assumed
various shapes and had a rapid motion.
On the 5th of August a party of the officers endeavoured to get on one of
the larger icebergs, but ineffectually, owing to the steepness and
smoothness of its sides and the swell produced by its undulating motion.
This was one of the largest we saw, and Mr. Hood ascertained its height
to be one hundred and forty-nine feet; but these masses of ice are
frequently magnified to an immense size through the illusive medium of a
hazy atmosphere, and on this account their dimensions have often been
exaggerated by voyagers.
PERILOUS SITUATION ON THE SHORE OF RESOLUTION ISLAND.
In the morning of the 7th the island of Resolution was indistinctly seen
through the haze but was soon afterwards entirely hidden by a very dense
fog. The favourable breeze subsided into a perfect calm and left the ship
surrounded by loose ice. At this time the Eddystone was perceived to be
driving with rapidity towards some of the larger masses; the stern-boats
of this ship and of the Wear were despatched to assist in towing her
clear of them.
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