Whilst the vessels were near this iceberg, which was in latitude 68 degrees, 22 minutes, they were visited by some Esquimaux, inhabitants of the adjacent country. From these persons they learnt that it had remained aground since the preceding year; and that there was ice all the way thence to Disco Island.
In the evening of the 12th of June, the weather being clear and serene, the sky and the water presented one of the most beautiful scenes that can be imagined. The former, near the horizon, was interspersed with light and fleecy clouds, which decreased gradually in colour and density, according to their height; until, in the zenith, they disappeared entirely, and there the sky assumed a rich cerulean blue. The water, on the other hand, presented a spectacle superbly grand. Let any one fancy himself (says Captain Ross) in the midst of an immense plain, extending further than the eye can penetrate, and filled with masses of ice, which present a greater variety of form than the most fertile imagination can conceive; and as various in size as in shape, from the minutest fragments, to stupendous islands, more than one hundred feet in perpendicular height above the surface of the ocean.
In the afternoon of the 14th of June, being near the Danish settlement, on Kron Prins Island, in latitude 63 degrees, 54 minutes, the governor of the settlement came on board the Isabella. This person stated that the weather of the preceding winter had been unusually severe; and that, during his residence of eleven years, in Greenland, the intensity of the cold had gradually continued to increase. The whole population of the island consisted of himself and family, six Danes, and one hundred Esquimaux, whose occupation consisted chiefly in the capture of whales and seals.
The vessels proceeded northward, along the edge of the ice, through a crooked and narrow channel, in the midst of a firm field of ice, and a tremendous ridge of icebergs.
At Wayat's or Hare Island, the astronomical instruments were landed, and some important errors, both of latitude and longitude, were discovered and corrected. Thirty or forty whale-ships were seen fastened to the icebergs along the shore of this island. The only four-footed animals observed on it were white hares and a fox: the birds were ptarmigans, snipes, snow-buntings, and larks.
Beyond Wayat's Island the ships were surrounded by ice of various and extensive forms; and much skill, ardour, and perseverance, were manifested by the navigators working through the narrow channels and floes. On the 23d, and at the distance of ten miles north of Wayat, they reached Four Island Point, where they found several whalers which had been stopped by the ice.
A sort of Danish factory was established at this spot, and some Indian huts were seen; but they were in ruins and apparently deserted. Captain Ross sent to the shore one of his crew, an Esquimaux, named John Sacheuse. This man, who had been resident nearly two years in England, and had acquired some knowledge of the English language, had been taken on board the Isabella as an interpreter.
He found a village, consisting of a few huts, formed of seal-skins, and sufficient for the residence of about fifty persons. Being desirous of obtaining from these persons a sledge and dogs, in exchange for a rifle-musket, he conducted seven of them, in their canoes, to the ship. As soon as the bargain was made, they went on shore, and returned, with the sledge and dogs, in a larger canoe, rowed by five women in a standing posture, and all dressed in deer-skins. These people were highly pleased with the treatment they received; and, having partaken of some refreshment in the cabin, they danced on the deck with the sailors, to the animating strains of a Shetland fiddler. Two of the women were daughters of a Danish resident, by an Esquimaux woman: one of the men was the son of a Dane; and they were all of the colour of Mulattoes. After the dance, coffee was served; and, at eight o'clock, the party returned to land.
The progress of the vessels had hitherto been much impeded by the state of the ice. This, however, now began to separate, and they once more proceeded on their voyage; passing among hundreds of icebergs, of extraordinary colours, and the most fantastical shapes.
In latitude 74 degrees 30 minutes, the Isabella was jammed in by the ice, and sustained a severe pressure; being lifted several feet out of the water, but she did not receive any material injury. On the 31st of July, whales were seen in great numbers; and, the boats being sent in pursuit of them, one was killed: it measured forty-six feet in length, and yielded thirteen tons of blubber.