ABSTRACT

The 9th was the same weather, and cold as before, the wind south-west and by west. In the afternoon a Jin-fish1 swam by our ship, which we took at first to be a whale, before we saw the high fins of his tail and came near to it. We had let down our sloop from the ship, but that labour was lost, for he was not worth taking. From the 25th of April to this day we had not taken the sun's altitude; we were then in seventy degrees and three minutes, and sailed towards the north and the ice. It may seem strange that we so often sailed to the ice and from it again, but I shall give you a reason for that hereafter.