CONTINUATION OF TRANSACTIONS IN THE HARBOUR OF ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL.—ABUNDANCE OF FISH.—DEATH OF A SEAMAN BELONGING TO THE RESOLUTION.—THE RUSSIAN HOSPITAL PUT UNDER THE CARE OF THE SHIPS’ SURGEONS.—SUPPLY OF FLOUR AND CATTLE.—CELEBRATION OF THE KING’S BIRTH-DAY.—DIFFICULTIES IN SAILING OUT OF THE BAY.—ERUPTION OF A VOLCANO.—STEER TO THE NORTHWARD.—CHEEPOONSKOI NOSS.—ERRORS OF THE RUSSIAN CHARTS.—KAMTSCHATSKOI NOSS.—OLUTORSKOI NOSS.—TSCHUKOTSKOI NOSS.—ISLAND OF ST. LAURENCE.—VIEW, FROM THE SAME POINT, OF THE COASTS OF ASIA AND AMERICA, AND THE ISLANDS OF ST. DIOMEDE.—VARIOUS ATTEMPTS TO GET TO THE NORTH, BETWEEN THE TWO CONTINENTS.—OBSTRUCTED BY IMPENETRABLE ICE.—SEA-HORSES AND WHITE BEARS KILLED.—CAPTAIN CLERKE’S DETERMINATION, AND FUTURE DESIGNS.

Having concluded the last chapter with an account of our return from Bolcheretsk, accompanied by Major Behm, the Commander of Kamtschatka, and of his departure; I shall proceed to relate the transactions that passed in the harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul during our absence. On the 7th of May, soon after we had left the bay, a large piece of ice drove across the cut-water of the Resolution, and brought home the small bower anchor. This obliged them to weigh the other anchor, and moor again. The carpenters, who were employed in stopping the leak, were obliged to take off a great part of the sheathing from the bows, and found many of the trunnels so very loose and rotten, as to be easily drawn out with the fingers.

On the 11th they had heavy gales from the north-east, which obliged both the ships to strike yards and topmasts; but in the afternoon, the weather being more moderate, and the ice having drifted away as far as the mouth of the harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul, they warped close to the shore for the greater convenience of watering and wooding, and again moored as before, the town bearing north half west, half a mile distant, and the mouth of the bay shut in by the southernmost point of Rakowina harbour, south.

The next day, a party was sent on shore to cut wood, but made little progress on account of the snow, which still covered the ground. A convenient spot was cleared away abreast of the ships, where there was a fine run of water, and a tent being erected for the cooper, the empty casks were landed, and the sail-makers sent on shore.

On the 15th, the beach being clear of ice, the people were sent to haul the seine, and caught an abundant supply of fine flat fish for both the ships’ companies. Indeed from this time, during the whole of our stay in the harbour, we were absolutely overpowered with the quantities of fish which came in from every quarter. The Toions both of this town and of Paratounca, a village in the neighbourhood, had received orders from Major Behm to employ all the Kamtschadales in our service, so that we frequently could not take into the ships the presents that were sent us. They consisted in general of flat fish, cod, trout, and herring. These last, which were in their full perfection, and of a delicious flavour, were exceedingly abundant in this bay. The Discovery’s people surrounded at one time so great a quantity in their seine, that they were obliged to throw a vast number out, lest the net should be broken to pieces; and the cargo they landed was afterward so plentiful, that besides a sufficient store for immediate use, they filled as many casks as they could spare for salting; and after sending to the Resolution a sufficient quantity for the same purpose, they left several bushels behind on the beach.

The snow now began to disappear very rapidly, and abundance of wild garlic, celery, and nettle-tops were gathered for the use of the crews, which being boiled with wheat and portable soup, made them a wholesome and comfortable breakfast, and with this they were supplied every morning. The birch trees were also tapped, and the sweet juice, which they yielded in great quantities, was constantly mixed with the men’s allowance of brandy.

The next day, a small bullock, which had been procured for the ships’ companies by the serjeant, was killed, and weighed two hundred and seventy-two pounds. It was served out to both crews for their Sunday’s dinner, being the first piece of fresh beef they had tasted since our departure from the Cape of Good Hope in December, 1776, a period of near two years and a half.

This evening died John Macintosh, the carpenter’s mate, after having laboured under a dysentery ever since our departure from the Sandwich Islands: he was a very hard-working quiet man, and much regretted by his mess-mates. He was the fourth person we lost by sickness during the voyage, but the first who could be said, from his age and the constitutional habits of his body, to have had on our setting out an equal chance with the rest of his comrades: Watman we supposed to be about sixty years of age; and Roberts and Mr. Anderson, from the decay which had evidently commenced before we left England, could not, in all probability, under any circumstances, have lived a greater length of time than they did.

I have already mentioned that Captain Clerke’s health continued daily to decline, notwithstanding the salutary change of diet which the country of Kamtschatka afforded him. The priest of Paratounca, as soon as he heard of the infirm state he was in, supplied him every day with bread, milk, fresh butter, and fowls, though his house was sixteen miles from the harbour where we lay.

On our first arrival, we found the Russian hospital, which is near the town of St. Peter and St. Paul, in a condition truly deplorable. All the soldiers were, more or less, affected by the scurvy, and a great many in the last stage of that disorder. The rest of the Russian inhabitants were also in the same condition; and we particularly remarked that our friend the serjeant, by making too free with the spirits we gave him, had brought on himself in the course of a few days, some of the most alarming symptoms of that malady. In this lamentable state, Captain Clerke put them all under the care of our surgeons, and ordered a supply of sour krout, and malt for wort, to be furnished for their use. It was astonishing to observe the alteration in the figures of almost every person we met on our return from Bolcheretsk; and I was informed by our surgeons that they attributed their speedy recovery principally to the effects of the sweet wort.

On the 1st of June we got on board two hundred and fifty poods, or nine thousand pounds’ weight of rye flour, with which we were supplied from the stores of St. Peter and St. Paul’s, and the Discovery had a proportional quantity. The men were immediately put on full allowance of bread, which they had not been indulged in since our leaving the Cape of Good Hope. The same day our watering was completed, having got on board sixty-five tons.

On the 4th we had fresh breezes and hard rain, which disappointed us in our design of dressing the ships, and obliged us to content ourselves with firing twenty-one guns in honour of the day, and celebrating it in other respects in the best manner we were able. Port, who was left with us on account of his skill in languages, behaved himself with so much modesty and discretion, that as soon as his master was gone he was no longer Jean Port, but Monsieur Port, the interpreter, and partook, as well as the serjeant (in his capacity of commander of the place), of the entertainment of the day. Our worthy friend the priest of Paratounca having got intelligence of its being our king’s birth-day, gave also a sumptuous feast, at which some of our gentlemen were present, who seemed highly delighted with their entertainment, which consisted of abundance of good eating and drinking, together with dancing.

On the 6th, twenty head of cattle were sent us by the commander’s orders from the Verchnei ostrog, which is situated on the river Kamtschatka, at the distance of near a hundred miles from this place, in a direct line. They were of a moderate size; and, notwithstanding the Kamtschadales had been seventeen days in driving them down to the harbour, arrived in good condition. The four following days were employed in making ready for sea, and on the 11th, at two in the morning, we began to unmoor; but before we had got one anchor up, it blew so strong a gale from the north-east, that we kept fast, and moored again, conjecturing, from the position of the entrance of the bay, that the current of wind would set up the channel. Accordingly, the pinnace being sent out to examine the passage, returned with an account that the wind blew strong from the south-east, with a great swell, setting into the bay, which would have made any attempt to get to sea very hazardous.

Our friend Port now took his leave of us, and carried with him the box with our journals, which was to go by the major, and the packet that was to be sent express. On the 12th, the weather being moderate, we began to unmoor again; but, after breaking the messenger, and reeving a running purchase with a six-inch hawser, which also broke three times, we were obliged at last, to heave a strain at low water, and wait for the flowing of the tide to raise the anchor. This project succeeded; but not without damaging the cable in the wake of the hawse. At three, we weighed the best bower, and set sail; and, at eight, having little wind, and the tide making against us, we dropped anchor again in ten fathoms, off the mouth of Rakowina harbour; the ostrog bearing north by east half east, two miles and a half distant; the needle rocks on the east side of the passage south south-east half east, and the high rock, on the west side of the passage, south.

On the 13th, at four in the morning, we got under weigh with the ebb tide; and, there being a dead calm, the boats were sent ahead to tow the ships. At ten, the wind springing up from the south-east by south, and the tide having turned, we were again obliged to drop anchor in seven fathoms; the Three Needle Rocks bearing south half east; and the ostrog north half east, at the distance of one mile from the nearest land. After dinner, I went with Captain Gore on shore, on the east side of the passage, where we saw, in two different places, the remains of extensive villages; and on the side of the hill, an old ruined parapet, with four or five embrasures. It commanded the passage up the mouth of the bay; and, in Beering’s time, as he himself mentions, had guns mounted on it. Near this place, were the ruins of some caverns under ground, which we supposed to have been magazines.

At six in the afternoon we weighed with the ebb tide, and turned to windward; but at eight, a thick fog arising, we were obliged to bring-to, as our soundings could not afford us a sufficient direction for steering between several sunk rocks, which lie on each side of the passage we had to make. In the morning of the 14th, the fog clearing away, we weighed as soon as the tide began to ebb; and, having little wind, sent the boats ahead to tow; but, at ten o’clock, both the wind and tide set in so strong from the sea, that we were again obliged to drop anchor in thirteen fathoms, the high rock bearing west one quarter south, distant three quarters of a mile. We remained fast for the rest of the day, the wind blowing fresh into the mouth of the bay; and, toward evening, the weather had a very unusual appearance, being exceedingly dark and cloudy, with an unsettled shifting wind.

Before day-light on the 15th, we were surprised with a rumbling noise, resembling distant hollow thunder; and when the day broke, we found the decks and sides of the ships covered with a fine dust like emery, near an inch thick. The air, at the same time, continued loaded and darkened with this substance; and, toward the volcano mountain, situated to the north of the harbour, it was so thick and black, that we could not distinguish the body of the hill. About twelve o’clock, and, during the afternoon, the explosions became louder, and were followed by showers of cinders, which were, in general, about the size of peas; though many were picked up from the deck larger than a hazel-nut. Along with the cinders fell several small stones, which had undergone no change from the action of fire. In the evening we had dreadful thunder and lightning, which, with the darkness of the atmosphere, and the sulphureous smell of the air, produced altogether a most awful and terrifying effect. We were, at this time, about eight leagues from the foot of the mountain.

On the 16th, at day-light, we again weighed anchor, and stood out of the bay; but the ebb-tide setting across the passage upon the eastern shore, and the wind falling, we were driven very near the Three Needle Rocks, which lie on that side of the entrance, and obliged to hoist out the boats, in order to tow the ships clear of them. At noon we were two leagues from the land, and had soundings with forty-three fathoms of line, over a bottom of small stones, of the same kind with those which fell on our decks, after the eruption of the volcano; but whether they had been left there by the last, or by some former eruptions, we were not able to determine.

The aspect of the country was now very different from what it had been on our first arrival. The snow, excepting what remained on the tops of some very high mountains, had disappeared; and the sides of the hills, which, in many parts, were well wooded, were covered with a beautiful verdure.

As it was Captain Clerke’s intention to keep as much in sight of the coast of Kamtschatka as the weather would permit, in order to determine its position, we continued steering to the north north-east, with light and variable winds, till the 18th. The volcano was still seen throwing up immense volumes of smoke; and we had no soundings with one hundred and fifty fathoms, at the distance of four leagues from the shore.

On the 18th, the wind freshening from the south, the weather became so thick and hazy, as to make it imprudent to attempt any longer to keep in sight of the land. But that we might be ready to resume our survey, whenever the fogs should disperse, we ran on in the direction of the coast, as laid down in the Russian charts, and fired signal guns for the Discovery to steer the same course. At eleven o’clock, just before we lost sight of the land, Cheepoonskoi Noss, so called by the Russians (a description of which, as well as the coast between it and Awatska Bay, will be given hereafter), bore north north-east, distant seven or eight leagues.

On the 20th, at three in the morning, the weather having cleared up, we stood in toward the land; and in an hour’s time saw it ahead, extending from north-west to north north-east, distant about five leagues. The north part we took to be Kronotskoi Noss; its position in the Russian charts agreeing nearly with our reckoning as to its latitude, which was 54° 42'; but in longitude we differed from them considerably, they placing it 1° 48' E. of Awatska; whereas, our reckoning, corrected by the time-keepers and lunar observations, makes it 3° 34' E. of that place, or 162° 17' E. from Greenwich. The land about this cape is very high, and the inland mountains were still covered with snow. The shore breaks off in steep cliffs, and the coast is without any appearance of inlets or bays. We had not been long gratified with this sight of the land, when the wind freshened from the south-west, and brought on a thick fog, which obliged us to stand off to the north-east by east. The weather clearing up again at noon, we steered toward the land, expecting to fall in with Kamtschatskoi Noss, and had sight of it at day-break of the 21st.

The southerly wind was soon after succeeded by a light breeze blowing off the land, which prevented our approaching the coast sufficiently near to describe its aspect, or ascertain with accuracy, its direction. At noon, our latitude, by observation, was 55° 52', and longitude (deduced from a comparison of many lunar observations, taken near this time, with the time-keepers), 163° 50'; the extremities of the land bearing N. W. by W. three quarters W., and N. by W. three quarters W., the nearest part about eight leagues distant. At nine o’clock in the evening, having approached about two leagues nearer the coast, we found it formed a projecting peninsula, extending about twelve leagues in a direction nearly N. and S. It is level and of a moderate height, the southern extremity terminating in a low sloping point; that to the north forming a steep bluff head; and between them, about four leagues to the southward of the northern cape, there is a considerable break in the land. On each side of this break the land is quite low; beyond the opening rises a remarkable saddle-like hill; and a chain of high mountains covered with snow, ranges along the back of the whole peninsula.

As the coast runs in an even direction, we were at a great loss where to place Kamtschatskoi Noss, which, according to Muller, forms a projecting point about the middle of the peninsula, and which certainly does not exist; but I have since found, that in the general map published by the Academy of Petersburgh in 1776, that name is given to the southern cape. This was found by several accurate observations, to be in latitude 56° 3', longitude 163° 20'; the difference in longitude from the Russian charts, being the same as at Kronotskoi Noss. The variation of the compass at this time was 10° E. To the southward of this peninsula the great river Kamtschatka falls into the sea.

As the season was too far advanced to admit of our making an accurate survey of the coast of Kamtschatka, it was Captain Clerke’s plan, in our run to Beering’s Straits, to determine principally the positions of the projecting points of the coast. We therefore directed our course across an extensive bay, laid down between Kamtschatskoi Noss and Olutorskoi Noss, intending to make the latter; which, according to the Russian geographers, terminates the peninsula called Kamtschatka, and becomes the southern boundary of the Koriaki country.

On the 22d, we passed a dead whale, which emitted a horrid stench, perceivable at upward of a league’s distance; it was covered with a great number of sea-birds, that were feasting on it.

On the 24th, the wind, which had varied round the compass, the three preceding days, fixed at S. W. and brought clear weather, with which we continued our course to the N. E. by N., across the bay, without any land in sight.

This day we saw a great number of gulls, and were witnesses to the disgusting mode of feeding of the arctic gull, which, has procured it the name of the parasite, and which, if the reader is not already acquainted with it, he will find in the note below.^[21]

On the 25th, at one o’clock in the afternoon, being in latitude 59° 12', longitude 168° 35', the wind freshening from the same quarter, a thick fog succeeded; and this unfortunately just at the time we expected to see Olutorskoi Noss; which, if Muller places it right in latitude 59° 30', and in longitude 167° 36', could only have then been twelve leagues from us; at which distance land of a moderate height might easily have been seen. But if the same error in longitude prevails here, which we have hitherto invariably found, it would have been much nearer us, even before the fog came on; and as we saw no appearance of land at that time, it must either have been very low, or there must be some mistake of latitude in Muller’s account. We tried soundings, but had no ground with one hundred and sixty fathoms of line.

The weather still thickening, and preventing a nearer approach to the land, at five we steered E. by N., which is somewhat more easterly than the Russian charts lay down the trending of the coast from Olutorskoi Noss. The next day we had a fresh gale from the S. W., which lasted till the 27th at noon, when the fogs clearing away, we stood to the northward, in order to make the land. The latitude at noon, by observation, was 59° 49', longitude 175° 43'. Notwithstanding we saw shags in the forenoon, which are supposed never to go far from land, yet there was no appearance of it this day; but on the 28th, at six in the morning, we got sight of it to the N. W. The coast shows itself in hills of a moderate height; but inland, others are seen to rise considerably. We could observe no wood, and the snow lying upon them in patches, gave the whole a very barren appearance. At nine, we were about ten miles from the shore, the southern extremity bearing W. by S., six leagues distant, beyond which the coast appeared to trend to the westward. This point being in latitude 61° 48', longitude 174° 48', lies, according to the Russian charts, near the mouth of the river Opuka. At the same time, the northern extreme bore N. by W.; between which and a hill bearing N. W. by W. a quarter W., and at this distance appearing to us like an island, the coast seemed to bend to the westward, and form a deep bay.

About eight miles from land, we perceived ourselves in a strong rippling; and being apprehensive of foul ground, we bore away to the N. E., along the shore; notwithstanding, on heaving the lead, we found regular soundings of twenty-four fathoms, over a gravelly bottom; from whence we concluded, that this appearance was occasioned by a tide, at that time running to the southward. At noon, the extremes of the land bearing W. S. W. three quarters W., and N. N. E. three quarters E., distant from the nearest shore four leagues, we were abreast of the low land, which we now perceived to join the two points, where we had before expected to find a deep bay. The coast bends a little to the westward, and has a small inlet, which may probably be the mouth of some trifling stream. Our latitude, by observation, was 61° 56', and longitude 175° 43', and the variation of the compass 17° 30' E.

We continued during the afternoon to run along the shore, at the distance of four or five leagues, with a moderate westerly breeze, carrying regular soundings from twenty-eight to thirty-six fathoms. The coast presented the same barren aspect as to the southward, the hills rising considerably inland, but to what height the clouds on their tops put it out of our power to determine. At eight in the evening, land was thought to have been seen to the east by north, on which we steered to the southward of east, but it turned out to be only a fog-bank. At midnight, the extreme point bearing north-east a quarter east, we supposed it to be Saint Thadeus’s Noss; to the southward of which the land trends to the westward, and forms a deep bight, wherein, according to the Russian charts, lies the river Katirka.

On the 29th the weather was unsettled and variable, with the wind from the north-east. At noon of the 30th, our latitude by observation was 61° 48', and longitude 180° 0', at which time Saint Thadeus’s Noss bore north-north-west, twenty-three leagues distant, and beyond it we observed the coast stretching almost directly north. The most easterly point of the Noss is in latitude 62° 50', and longitude 179° 0', being 3¹/₂° more to the east than what the Russians make it. The land about it must be of a considerable height, from its being seen at so great a distance. During the two last days, we saw numbers of whales, large seals, and sea-horses; also gulls, sea-parrots, and albatrosses. We took the advantage of a little calm weather to try for fish, and caught abundance of fine cod. The depth of water from sixty-five to seventy-five fathoms.

On the 1st of July at noon, Mr. Bligh having moored a small keg with the deep-sea lead in seventy-five fathoms, found the ship made a course north by east half a mile an hour. This he attributed to the effect of a long southerly swell, and not to that of any current. The wind freshening from the south-east toward evening, we shaped our course to the north-east by east for the point called in Beering’s chart Tschukotskoi Noss, which we had observed on the 4th of September last year, at the same time that we saw to the south-east the island of Saint Laurence. This Cape and Saint Thadeus’s Noss form the north-east and south-west extremities of the large and deep Gulf of Anadir, into the bottom of which the river of that name empties itself, dividing as it passes, the country of the Koriacs from that of Tschutski.

On the 3d at noon the latitude, by observation, was 63° 33', and the longitude 186° 45'; half an hour after which we got sight of the Tschukotskoi Noss, bearing north half west, thirteen or fourteen leagues distant, and at five in the afternoon saw the island of St. Laurence, bearing east three quarters north; and another island a little to the eastward of it, which we supposed to be between Saint Laurence and Anderson’s Island, about six leagues east-south-east of the former. As we had no certain account of this island, Captain Clerke was desirous of a nearer prospect, and immediately hauled the wind toward it; but unfortunately we were not able to weather the island of Saint Laurence, and were therefore under the necessity of bearing up again, and passing them all to the leeward.

We had a better opportunity of settling the longitude of the island Saint Laurence when we last saw it, than now. But seeing it at that time but once, and to the southward, we could only determine its latitude so far as we could judge of distances, whereas now the noon observations enabled us to ascertain it correctly, which is 63° 47'. Its longitude was found to be 188° 15', as before. This island, if its boundaries were at this time within our view, is about three leagues in circuit. The north part may be seen at the distance of ten or twelve leagues; but as it falls in low land to the south-east, the extent of which we could not see, some of us conjectured that it might probably be joined to the land to the eastward of it; this, however, the haziness of the weather prevented our ascertaining. These islands, as well as the land about the Tschukotskoi Noss, were covered with snow, and presented us with a most dreary picture. At midnight, Saint Laurence bore south-south-east, five or six miles distant, and our depth of water was eighteen fathoms. We were accompanied by various kinds of sea fowl, and saw several small crested hawks.

The weather still continuing to thicken, we lost all sight of land till the 5th, when it appeared both to the north-east and north-west. Our latitude, by account, was at this time 65° 24', longitude 189° 14'. As the islands of Saint Diomede, which lie between the two continents in Beering’s Strait, were determined by us last year to be in latitude 65° 48', we could not reconcile the land to the north-east with the situation of those islands. We therefore stood toward the land till three in the afternoon, when we were within four miles of it, and finding it to be two islands, were pretty well satisfied of their being the same; but the weather still continuing hazy, to make sure of our situation, we stood over to the coast of Asia till seven in the evening, at which time we were within two or three leagues of the east cape of that continent.

This cape is a high round head of land, extending four or five miles from north to south, forming a peninsula, and connected with the continent by a narrow neck of low land. Its shore is bold, and off its north part are three high detached spiral rocks. At this time it was covered with snow, and the beach surrounded with ice. We were now convinced that we had been under the influence of a strong current setting to the north, that had caused an error in our latitude at noon of twenty miles. In passing this strait the last year, we had experienced the same effect.

Being at length sure of our position, we held on to the north by east. At ten at night the weather becoming clear, we had an opportunity of seeing at the same moment the remarkable peaked hill near Cape Prince of Wales, on the coast of America, and the east Cape of Asia, with the two connecting islands of Saint Diomede between them.

At noon on the 6th, the latitude, by account, was 67° N., and the longitude 191° 6' E. Having already passed a considerable number of large masses of ice, and observed that it still adhered in several places to the shore on the continent of Asia, we were not much surprised to fall in, at three in the afternoon, with an extensive body of it, stretching away to the westward. This sight gave great discouragement to our hopes of advancing much farther northward this year than we had done the preceding.

Having little wind in the afternoon, we hoisted out the boats in pursuit of the sea-horses, which were in great numbers on the detached pieces of ice; but they soon returned without success; these animals being exceedingly shy, and before they could come within gun-shot, always making their retreat into the water.

At seven in the evening, we hoisted in the boats, and the wind freshening from the southward, we stood on to the N. E., with a view of exploring the continent of America, between the latitudes of 68° and 69°, which, owing to the foggy weather last year, we had not been able to examine. In this attempt we were again in part disappointed. For on the 7th, at six in the morning, we were stopped by a large field of ice stretching from N. W. to S. E., but soon after the horizon becoming clear, we had sight of the coast of America at about ten leagues distance, extending from north-east by east to east, and lying, by observation, between the 68° and 68° 20' of latitude. As the weather was clear, and the ice not high, we were enabled to see over a great extent of it. The whole presented a solid and compact surface not in the smallest degree thawed, and appeared to us likewise to adhere to the land.

The weather soon after changing to hazy, we saw no more of the land; and there not remaining a possibility of approaching nearer to it, we stood to the north north-west, keeping the ice close on board, and got round its western extremity by noon, when we found it trending nearly north. Our latitude at this time was, by account, 68° 22', and longitude 192° 34'. We continued our course to the north north-east, along the edge of the ice, during the remaining part of the day, passing through many loose pieces that had been broken off from the main body, and against which, notwithstanding all our caution, the ships were driven with great violence. At eight o’clock in the evening we passed some drift wood, and at midnight the wind shifted to the north-west; the thermometer fell from 38° to 31°, and we had continued showers of snow and sleet.

On the 8th, at five in the morning, the wind coming still more to the northward, we could no longer keep on the same tack, on account of the ice, but were obliged to stand to the westward. At this time our soundings had decreased to nineteen fathoms, from which, on comparing it with our observations on the depth of water last year, we concluded that we were not at a greater distance from the American shore than six or seven leagues; but our view was confined within a much shorter compass by a violent fall of snow. At noon, the latitude by account was 69° 21', longitude 192° 42'. At two in the afternoon the weather cleared up, and we found ourselves close to an expanse of what appeared from the deck solid ice; but from the mast head it was discovered to be composed of huge compact bodies, close and united toward the outer edge, but in the interior parts several pieces were seen floating in vacant spaces of the water. It extended from north-east by the north to west south-west. We bore away by the edge of it to the southward, that we might get into clearer water; for the strong northerly winds had drifted down such quantities of loose pieces, that we had been for some time surrounded by them, and could not avoid striking against several, notwithstanding we reefed the topsails and stood under an easy sail.

On the 9th we had a fresh gale from the north north-west, with heavy showers of snow and sleet. The thermometer was in the night-time 28°, and at noon 30°. We continued to steer west south-west as before, keeping as near the large body of ice as we could, and had the misfortune to rub off some of the sheathing from the bows against the drift pieces, and to damage the cutwater. Indeed the shocks we could not avoid receiving, were frequently so severe as to be attended with considerable danger. At noon, the latitude by account was 69° 12', and longitude 188° 5'. The variation in the afternoon was found to be 29° 30' E.

As we had now sailed near forty leagues to the westward, along the edge of the ice, without seeing any opening, or a clear sea to the northward beyond it, and had therefore no prospect of advancing farther north for the present, Captain Clerke resolved to bear away to the south by east, (the only quarter that was clear) and to wait till the season was more advanced, before he made any farther efforts to penetrate through the ice. The intermediate time he proposed to spend in examining the bay of St. Laurence, and the coast to the southward of it; as a harbour so near, in case of future damage from the ice, would be very desirable. We also wished to pay another visit to our Tschutski friends; and particularly since the accounts we had heard of them from the commander of Kamtschatka.

We therefore stood on to the southward till the noon of the 10th, at which time we passed great quantities of drift-ice, and the wind fell to a perfect calm. The latitude by observation was 68° 1', longitude 188° 30'. We passed several whales in the forenoon, and in the afternoon hoisted out the boats, and sent them in pursuit of the sea-horses, which were in great numbers on the pieces of ice that surrounded us. Our people were more successful than they had been before, returning with three large ones and a young one; besides killing and wounding several others. The gentlemen who went on this party were witnesses of several remarkable instances of parental affection in those animals. On the approach of our boats toward the ice, they all took their cubs under their fins, and endeavoured to escape with them into the sea. Several, whose young were killed or wounded and left floating on the surface, rose again and carried them down, sometimes just as our people were going to take them up into the boat; and might be traced bearing them to a great distance through the water, which was coloured with their blood: we afterward observed them bringing them at times above the surface, as if for air, and again diving under it with a dreadful bellowing. The female in particular whose young had been destroyed and taken into the boat, became so enraged that she attacked the cutter, and struck her two tusks through the bottom of it.

At eight in the evening a breeze sprung up to the eastward, with which we still continued our course to the southward, and at twelve fell in with numerous large bodies of ice. We endeavoured to push through them with an easy sail, for fear of damaging the ship; and having got a little farther to the southward, nothing was to be seen but one compact field of ice, stretching to the south-west south-east and north-east, as far as the eye could reach. This unexpected and formidable obstacle put an end to Captain Clerke’s plan of visiting the Tschutski; for no space remained open but back again to the northward. Accordingly at three in the morning of the 11th, we tacked and stood to that quarter. At noon the latitude, by observation, was 67° 49', and longitude 188° 47'.

On the 12th, we had light winds, with thick hazy weather; and, on trying the current, we found it set to the north-west, at the rate of half a knot an hour. We continued to steer northward, with a moderate southerly breeze, and fair weather, till the 13th, at ten in the forenoon, when we again found ourselves close in with a solid field of ice, to which we could see no limits from the mast head. This at once dashed all our hopes of penetrating farther; which had been considerably raised, by having now advanced near ten leagues through a space, which, on the 9th, we had found occupied by impenetrable ice. Our latitude, at this time, was 69° 37'; our position nearly in the mid channel between the two continents; and the field of ice extending from east north-east, to west south-west.

As there did not remain the smallest prospect of getting farther north in the part of the sea where we now were, Captain Clerke resolved to make one more and final attempt on the American coast, for Baffin’s Bay, since we had been able to advance the farthest on this side last year. Accordingly, we kept working the remaining part of the day, to the windward, with a fresh easterly breeze. We saw several fulmars and arctic gulls, and passed two trees, both appearing to have lain in the water a long time. The larger was about ten feet in length, and three in circumference, without either bark or branches, but with the roots remaining attached.

On the 14th, we stood on to the eastward, with thick and foggy weather, our course being nearly parallel to that we steered the 8th and 9th, but six leagues more to the northward. On the 15th, the wind freshened from the westward, and having in a great measure, dispersed the fog, we immediately stood to the northward, that we might take a nearer view of the ice; and in an hour were close in with it extending from north north-west, to north-east. We found it to be compact and solid; the outer parts were ragged, and of different heights; the interior surface was even; and, we judged, from eight to ten feet above the level of the sea. The weather becoming moderate for the remaining part of the day, we directed our course according to the trending of the ice, which in many parts formed deep bays.

In the morning of the 16th, the wind freshened, and was attended with thick and frequent showers of snow. At eight in the forenoon, it blew a strong gale from the west south-west, and brought us under double-reefed top-sails; when, the weather clearing a little, we found ourselves embayed; the ice having taken a sudden turn to the south-east, and in one compact body surrounding us on all sides, except on the south quarter. We therefore hauled our wind to the southward, being at this time in latitude 70° 8' N. and in twenty-six fathoms’ water; and, as we supposed, about twenty-five leagues from the coast of America. The gale increasing, at four in the afternoon we close reefed the fore and main-top-sails, furled the mizen-top-sail, and got the top-gallant-yards down upon deck. At eight, finding the depth of water had decreased to twenty-two fathoms, which we considered as a proof of our near approach to the American coast, we tacked and stood to the north. We had blowing weather, accompanied with snow, through the night; but next morning, it became clear and moderate; and, at eight in the forenoon, we got the top-gallant-yards across, and made sail with the wind still at west south-west. At noon, we were in latitude, by observation, 69° 55', longitude 194° 80'. Toward evening, the wind slackened, and at midnight it was a calm.

On the 18th, at five in the morning, a light breeze sprung up from the east north-east, with which we continued our course to the north, in order to regain the ice as soon as possible. We passed some small logs of drift-wood, and saw abundance of sea-parrots, and the small ice-birds, and likewise a number of whales. At noon, the latitude, by observation, was 70° 26', and longitude 194° 54'; the depth of water twenty-three fathoms; the ice stretched from north to east north-east, and was distant about three miles. At one in the afternoon, finding that we were close in with a firm united field of it, extending from west north-west to east, we tacked, and the wind coming round to the westward, stood on to the eastward, along its edge, till eleven at night. At that time a very thick fog coming on, and the water shoaling to nineteen fathoms, we hauled our wind to the south. The variation observed this day was 31° 20' E. It is remarkable, that though we saw no sea-horses on the body of the ice, yet they were in herds, and in greater numbers on the detached fragments, than we had ever observed before. About nine in the evening, a white bear was seen swimming close by the Discovery; it afterward made to the ice, on which were also two others.

On the 19th, at one in the morning, the weather clearing up, we again steered to the north-east, till two, when we were a second time so completely embayed, that there was no opening left, but to the south; to which quarter we accordingly directed our course, returning through a remarkably smooth water, and with very favourable weather, by the same way we had come in. We were never able to penetrate farther north than at this time, when our latitude was 70° 33'; and this was five leagues short of the point to which we advanced last season. We held on to the south south-west, with light winds from the north-west, by the edge of the main ice, which lay on our left hand, and stretched between us and the continent of America. Our latitude, by observation at noon, was 70° 11', our longitude 196° 15' and the depth of water sixteen fathoms. From this circumstance, we judged that the Icy Cape was now only at seven or eight leagues’ distance; but, though the weather was in general clear, it was at the same time hazy in the horizon; so that we could not expect to see it.

In the afternoon, we saw two white bears in the water, to which we immediately gave chase in the jolly boat, and had the good fortune to kill them both. The larger, which probably was the dam of the younger, being shot first, the other would not quit it, though it might easily have escaped on the ice, whilst the men were reloading, but remained swimming about, till, after being fired upon several times, it was shot dead.

The dimensions of the larger were as follow:

On comparing the dimensions of this with Lord Mulgrave’s white bear, they were found almost exactly the same, except in the circumference, where our’s fell exceedingly short.

These animals afforded us a few excellent meals of fresh meat. The flesh had indeed a strong fishy taste, but was, in every respect, infinitely superior to that of the sea-horse; which, nevertheless, our people were again persuaded, without much difficulty, to prefer to their salted provisions.

At six in the morning of the 20th, a thick fog coming on, we lost sight of the ice for two hours; but the weather clearing, we saw the main body again to the south south-east, when we hauled our wind, which was easterly, toward it, in the expectation of making the American coast to the south-east, and which we effected at half past ten. At noon, the latitude, by account, was 69° 33', and longitude 194° 53', and the depth of water nineteen fathoms. The land extended from south by east, to south south-west half west, distant eight or ten leagues, being the same we had seen last year; but it was now much more covered with snow than at that time; and, to all appearance, the ice adhered to the shore. We continued, in the afternoon, sailing through a sea of loose ice, and standing toward the land, as near as the wind, which was east south-east, would admit. At eight, the wind lessening, there came on a thick fog; and, on perceiving a rippling in the water, we tried the current, which we found to set to the east north-east, at the rate of a mile an hour, and therefore determined to steer, during the night, before the wind, in order to stem it, and to oppose the large fragments of loose ice, that were setting us on toward the land. The depth of the water, at midnight, was twenty fathoms.

At eight in the morning of the 21st, the wind freshening, and the fog clearing away, we saw the American coast to the south-east, at the distance of eight or ten leagues, and hauled in for it; but were stopped again by the ice, and obliged to bear away to the westward, along the edge of it. At noon, the latitude, by account, was 69° 34' and longitude 193°, and the depth of water twenty-four fathoms.

Thus, a connected, solid field of ice, rendering every effort we could make to a nearer approach to the land fruitless, and joining, as we judged, to it, we took a last farewell of a north-east passage to Old England. I shall beg leave to give, in Captain Clerke’s own words, the reasons of this his final determination, as well as of his future plans; and this the rather, as it is the last transaction his health permitted him to write down.

“It is now impossible to proceed the least farther to the northward upon this coast (America); and it is equally as improbable that this amazing mass of ice should be dissolved by the few remaining summer-weeks which will terminate this season; but it will continue, it is to be believed, as it now is, an insurmountable barrier to every attempt we can possibly make. I, therefore, think it the best step that can be taken, for the good of the service, to trace the sea over to the Asiatic coast, and to try if I can find any opening, that will admit me farther north; if not, to see what more is to be done upon that coast; where I hope, yet cannot much flatter myself, to meet with better success; for the sea is now so choked with ice, that a passage, I fear, is totally out of the question.”