t in question. While,
therefore, Captain Lyon was acquainting me with his late proceedings, we
shaped a course for Igloolik, in order to continue our look-out upon the
ice, and made the tents very accurately by the compass, after a run of
five leagues.

The present state of the ice, which was thin and "rotten,", served no
less to excite our surprise than to keep alive our hopes and
expectations. The spaces occupied respectively by ice and holes were
about equal; and so extensive and dangerous were the latter, that the
men could with extreme difficulty walk twenty or thirty yards from the
ship to place the anchors, and that at no small risk of falling through.
We were astonished, therefore, to find with what tenacity a field of
ice, whose parts appeared thus loosely joined, still continued to hang
together, notwithstanding the action of the swell that almost constantly
set upon its margin.

We had for several days past occasionally seen black whales about the
ships, and our boats were kept in constant readiness to strike one, for
the sake of the oil, in which endeavour they at length succeeded this
morning. The usual signal being exhibited, all the boats were sent to
their assistance, and in less than an hour and a half had killed and
secured the fish, which proved a moderate-sized one of above "nine feet
bone," exactly suiting our purpose. The operation of "flinching" this
animal, which was thirty-nine feet and a half in length, occupied most
of the afternoon, each ship taking half the blubber and hauling it on
the ice, "to make off" or put into casks.

As soon as we had completed the stowage of the blubber, and washed the
ships and people's clothes, we cast off on the 6th, taking in tow the
carcass of the whale (technically called the "crang") for our friends at
Igloolik. The wind dying away when the ships were off the northeast end
of the island, the boats were despatched to tow the whale on shore,
while Captain Lyon and myself went ahead to meet some of the canoes that
were paddling towards us. We soon joined eleven of them, and on our
informing the Esquimaux of the prize the boats were bringing them, they
paddled off with great delight. When they arrived at the spot, and had
civilly asked permission to eat some of it, they dropped their canoes
astern to the whale's tail, from which they cut off enormous lumps of
flesh and ravenously devoured it; after which they followed our boats
in-shore, where the carcass was