It was not much, but it was very refreshing for a crew
accustomed to little but salt meat.

The next day the wind was fair, but yet Shandon did not set sail; he
wanted to wait another day, and, to satisfy his conscience, to give
time for any member of the human race to rejoin the _Forward_; he even
fired off, every hour, the ship's gun, which re-echoed among the
icebergs; but he only succeeded in frightening the flocks of
molly-mokes[1] and rotches.[1] During the night many rockets were set
off; but in vain. He had to give the order to set sail.

[Footnote 1: Sea-birds common in these latitudes.]

The 8th of May, at six o'clock in the morning, the _Forward_, under
her topsails, foresail, and main-top-gallant-sail, soon lost sight of
the station of Upernavik, and hideous long poles on which were hanging
along the shore the seals' entrails and deers' stomachs.

The wind was southeast, the thermometer stood at 32 degrees. The sun
pierced through the fog and the ice melted a little.

The reflection, however, injured the sight of many of the crew.
Wolston, the armorer, Gripper, Clifton, and Bell were attacked by
snow-blindness, which is very common in the spring, and which totally
blinds many of the Esquimaux. The doctor advised all, the unharmed as
well as the suffering, to cover their faces with a green veil, and he
was the first to follow his own recommendation.

The dogs bought by Shandon at Upernavik were rather wild; but they
soon got used to their new quarters, and Captain showed no dislike of
his new companions; he seemed to know their ways. Clifton was not the
last to remark that Captain seemed to be familiar with the dogs of
Greenland. And they, always half starved on shore, only thought of
making up for it when at sea.

The 9th of May the _Forward_ passed within a few cable-lengths of the
westernmost of the Baffin Islands. The doctor noticed many rocks
between the islands and the mainland which were what are called
crimson cliffs; they were covered with snow as red as carmine, which
Dr. Kane says is of purely vegetable origin; Clawbonny wanted to
examine this singular phenomenon, but the ice forbade their
approaching them; although the temperature was rising, it was easy to
see that the icebergs and ice-streams were accumulating toward the
north of Baffin's Bay.

After leaving Upernavik the land presented a different appearance, and
huge glaciers were sharply defined against the gray horizon. On the
10th