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774 KERGUELEN’S VOYAGE TO THE NORTH.
they find a fafe alylum—/flatio bene tuta carinis. This way out from Berghen by the
north, although longer, is a much finer one than that by the fouth, called the Paflage of
Cruxfiord, which is only fix leagues from Berghen. The courfe by Cruxfiord is fhorter,
but it is narrower alfo, and the anchorages are not fo good; in other refpects the wind,
and the deftination of the fhip, muft decide which to prefer, for on the fide of the paf-
fages of Hennegat, or Holrfiord, more to the north, the ground or rocks which form
the beds of the water are very low; there is no good land-mark, and the continental
objects are very diftant. No danger however can occur from making land towards
the north, particularly in fine weather: pilots are met with every where; there are
even four in the two iflands which form the paflage of Hennegat. ‘Thefe pilots, who
follow the trade of fifhermen as well, are always at fea. When the weather allows, as
foon as they defcry a fhip, they hoift all fail, or row with all their might to reach her.
This paflage is, according to my eftimate, in lat. 60° 40’.
I before obferved, that on leaving the pafs I fteered W. N. W. to leave the land, and
enable myfelfto take advantage of whatever wind might blow.~ We had had a S. and
S. S. W. wind, and it might poffibly get round to W. I run fifteen leagues, fteering
W.N. W. andN. W. quarter N. The eleventh I was in lat. 61° 20’, long. 1°34’ W.
of Paris, I ought not to forget to remark, that being by eftimation twelve leagues
from Norway, I founded but found no bottom; but after proceeding eight or ten
leagues farther I found one hundred fathoms water, with a muddy grey fand, which
confirms the obfervation before made, that the more one nears the coaft of Norway the
greater the depth of water, the bottom becoming muddy ; and that the more one ap-
proaches the coaft of Shetland, the more gravelly the bottom, mixed with black ftones ;
and that in mid-channel there is feventy fathoms water, with a fine fandy bottom.
~ The twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth, little wind, continually changing
all round the compafs. According to the variations I directed my courfe, and the fif-
teenth, at noon, I found the lat. 65° 20’, long. 10° 5’ from Paris. During the whole
of thefe four days the fky was overcaft, but with a fine fea. The twelfth, we obferved
17° of variation, and we faw a prodigious bank of little red fifth, which had the appear-
ance of a fand-bank, over which the fea broke for an extent of two leagues. Similar
heaps of fifh are frequently met with in thefe feas, which may caufe anxiety to navigators
at the firft fight, the more fo from their attracting prodigious flocks of fea-fowls, as is
noticeable on fand banks. ‘Thefe feas are alfo well peopled with whales. On the fif-
teenth, in the morning, I faw a bird which merits defcription: it wasas large asa goofe,
with a white body ; but its head, its tail, its neck, and the end of its wings, were of a
jet black.
*s The fixteenth, the wind blew hard from the N. E., with a heavy fea; I made a tack
under main and fore-fail, conceiving myfelf to be E. quarter S. E. of the point of Lan-
gernefs, and eighteen leagues diftant. I kept on the N. W. and N. N. W. tack, and
made the point of Langernefs at fix o’clock in the evening, bearing N.N. W., fix
leagues diftant. As I was threatened with bad weather I made another tack, left the
wind fhould get more to the E. I faw many fifhing veflels luffing up to fhore. By
night the wind blew high, with a dreadful fea.
The eighteenth, the wind fomewhat fubfided, and the fea became calm ; this is what
always happens in thefe climates: the fea {welling and fubfiding continually with the
wind, I fteered N. W. to make the land. I {poke to feveral Dutch veffels, and to one
Dunkirker, who informed me there was nothing new in the fleet. At fix o’clock in the
evening, the weather ferene and clear. I made the point of land S. of Burgerfiord, at
S. E. computedly diftant eight leagues. It is to be remarked, that although the land-
marks
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