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TO THE NORTH OF FUROPE. 11s
for their laft hour, was not yet arrived. ‘There fuddenly arofe a N. W. wind which
calmed every thing, and favoured their paffage to the firm ice, though they did not
reach it without danger.
When they had arrived there, they looked about to endeavour to difcover the
fhallop, and* not feeing any thing of it, they navigated about a league along the ice
without the leaft fign of it; fo that they began to apprehend the veffel was loft. In
the mean time there happened a great fog which obliged the crew of De Veer to fire a
mufket, in order that they might anfwerif they heardit. In fat, the others anfwered,
and this fignal enabled to them rejoin.
On the twenty-feventh they arrived at a place on the weftern coaft of Cape Naflau,
where while they failed along the land, they beheld on the ice more fea-cows than they
had ever feen, or rather they faw an innumerable multitude. They alfo obferved a
flock of birds, at which having fired two mufkets together they killed twelve. On
the twenty-eighth they difembarked all their cargo, and placed it on the firm ice,
where they alfo dragged their veffels, becaufe the wind which came from the fea, might
force the ice towards them with too much violence.
As foon as they had defcended on the ice they made tents of their fails, and placed
themfelves underneath in order to take fome repofe, leaving one man as centinel.
About mid-night there came three bears towards the veflels. ‘The centinel difcovering
them, called out three bears, three bears. At this noife they all awoke, and proceeded
from the tents with mufkets charged only with fmall fhot to kill birds. Although
thefe fhots might give no great wounds to the bears, they did not fail to turn back, and
by this means gave an opportunity of loading the mufkets again. One was killed, and
the other two fled.
They returned on the following day at three in the afternoon, to the place where
the dead bear was lying, and one of them having taken him by the throat, carried hin
to a confiderable diftance on the moft rugged ice, where both began to eat him. The
erew feeing this fred a mufket, which occafioned them to quit their prey and flee.
Four men going to the place, found that in the little time they were about it, they had
already devoured half of the body of their comrade, of which feeing the fize, they
were aftonifhed at the ftrength of the bear who had carried him away by fo difficult a
path, fince thefe four men had great difficulty to lift the remaining half.
On the thirtieth the wefterly wind again forced the ice with the fame violence to-
wards the eaft; they beheld afrefh two bears coming on a bank of floating ice; which
they believed to be the fame they had feen the preceding day. They fhewed a difpofi-
tion to attack the crews, but took another route. About half-paft ten in the morning,
another prefented himfelf on the firm ice, who retired as foon as he heard 2 noife.
_ On the firft of July at fix in the morning, which was the break of day, there came
again a bear on the flakes of ice who plunged into the water in order to fwim to the firm
ice where the crews were, but retired at the found of their voices. About nine, the
banks of ice coming from the fea, ftruck with fo much violence againft the firm ice that
it fplitinto feveral pieces that to which the crew had retired with their little veflels, and
oceafioned it to. float. ‘his was a dreadful accident, for ,all their packages were on
the ice, and the greater part fell into the water.
It became neceflary therefore to exert frefh ftrength in order to drag the fhallop on
the ice near the fhore, where they hoped to be Jefs incommoded by the flakes of ice.
But having drawn the -veflel, when they would go to fetch the packets, they found
themfelves in as great danger as ever they had been ; for while they endeavoured to
tay hold of a packet, the ice fplit between both, or under another packet, and carried it
Q2 away,
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