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552 ‘PHIPPS’S JOURNAL.
the Dutch, Vogel Sang. This found, though open to the northward, is not liable to
any inconvenience from that circumftance, the main body of the ice lying fo near as to
prevent any great fea; nor are fhips in any danger from the loofe ice fetting in, as this
road communicates with feveral others formed by diferent iflands, between all which
there are fafe paflages. ‘Yo all the founds and harbours formed by this knot of iflands,
‘the old Englifh navigators had given the general name of Fair Haven; of which Fo-
therby took a plat in 1614: that in which the Racehorfe and Carcafs lay at this time
they called the North Harbour ; the harbour of Smeerenberg, diftant about eleven miles
(in which we anchored in Auguft), they named the South Harbour. Befides thefe,
there are feveral others; particularly two, called Cook’s Hole and the Norways, in
both which feveral Dutch fhips were lying at this time. Here the fhore being fteep-to,
we completed our water with great eafe, from the ftreams which fall in many places
down the fides of the rocks, and are produced by the melting of the fnow. TI fixed upon
a {mall flat ifland, or rock, about three miles from the fhip, and almoft in the center of
thofe iflands which form the many good roads here, as the propereft place for erecting
a tent, and making obfervations. ‘The foggy weather on the fourteenth prevented us
from ufing the inftruments that day. I regretted this circumftance much, fearing it
would deprive me of the only probable opportunity of making obfervations on fhore in
thofe high latitudes, as our water was nearly recruited : however, having little wind,
with the weather very fair from the fifteenth to the eighteenth in the morning, I made
the beft ufe of that time. Even in the cleareft weather here, the fky was never free
from clouds, which prevented our feeing the moon during the whole of our ftay, or
even being fure of our folar obfervations, Mr. Lyons never having been able to get equal
altitudes for fettling the rates of going of the time-keepers. Once indeed we were
fortunate enough to obferve a revolution of the fun, of which I availed myfelf to deter-
mine the going of the pendulum adjufted to vibrate feconds at London. During the
courfe of this experiment, a particular and conftant attention was paid to the ftate of
the thermometer, which I was furprifed to find differ fo little about noon and midnight ;
its greateft height was 58° and a half, at eleven in the forenoon ; at midnight it was 51°.
On the fixteenth, at noon, the weather was remarkably fine and clear. ‘The ther-
mometer in the fhade being at 49°, when expofed to the fun rofe ina few minutes to
89° anda half, and remained fo for fome time, till a {mall breeze {pringing up, made it
fall 10° almoft inftantly. The weather at this time was rather hot ; fo that I imagine,
if a thermometer was to be graduated according to the feelings of people in thefe lati-
tudes, the point of temperature would be about the forty-fourth degree of Fahrenheit’s
{eale. From this ifland I took a furvey, to afcertain the fituation of all the points and
openings, and the height of the moft remarkable mountains: the longeft bafe the ifland’
would afford was only fix hundred and eighteen feet, which I determined by a crofs
bafe, as wellas actual meafurement, and found the refults not to differ above three feet.
To try how far the accuracy of this furvey might be depended upon, I took ina boat,
with a fmall Hadley’s fextant, the angles between feven objects, which interfected ex-
actly when laid down upon the plan. I had a farther proof of its accuracy fome days
alter, by taking the bearings of Vogel Sang and Hacluyt’s: Head Land in one, which
correfponded exactly with their pofition on my chart.
On the feventeenth, the weather being very clear, I went up one of the hills, from
which I could fee feveral leagues to the N. E.: the ice appeared uniform and compact,
as far as my view extended. During our ftay here, we found the latitude of the ifland
on which the obfervations were made, to be 79° 50’; longitude 10” 2’ 30% E.3; varia-
tion 20° 38’ W.; dip 82° 7’: latitude of Cloven cliff. 79°53’; longitude’g’ 59/ 30” FE. :
Hacluyt’s
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