At eight in the morning of the 21st, the wind freshening, and the fog clearing away, we saw the American coast to the S.E., 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 199, 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 N.E 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 adinit 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 choaked with ice, that a passage, I fear, is totally out of the question."

SECTION

SECTION IV.

Fruitless Attempts to penetrate through the Ice to the NorthWest.-Dangerous Situation of the Discovery.-Sea-horses killed.-Fresh Obstructions from the Ice. - Report of Damages received by the Discovery.-Captain Clerke's Determination to proceed to the Southward.-Joy of the Ships' Crews on that Occasion.-Pass Serdze Kamen.- Return through Beering's Strait.-Enquiry into the Extent of the North-East Coast of Asia.- Reasons for rejecting Muller's Map of the Promontory of the Tschutski.-Reasons for believing the Coast does not reach a higher Latitude than 70° North.-General Observations on the Impracticability of a North-East or North-West Passage from the Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean.-Comparative View of the Progress made in the Years 1778 and 1779.-Remarks on the Sea and Sea coasts, North of Beering's Strait.- History of the Voyage resumed.-Pass the Island of St Laurence.-The Island of Mednoi.-Death of Captain Clerke.-Short Account of his Services.

CAPTAIN CLERKE having determined, for the reasons assigned, to give up all farther attempts on the coast of America, and to make his last efforts in search of a passage on the coast of the opposite continent, we continued during the afternoon of the 21st of July, to steer to the W.N.W., through much loose ice. At ten at night, discovering the main body of it through the fog, right ahead, and almost close to us, and being unwilling to take a southerly course so long as we could possibly avoid it, we hauled our wind, which was easterly, and stood to the northward; but in an hour after, the weather clearing up, and finding ourselves surrounded by a compact field of ice on every side, except to the S.S.W., we tacked and stood on in that direction, in order to get clear of it.

At noon of the 22d, our latitude, by observation, was 69o 30', and longitude 187° 30'. In the afternoon we again came up with the ice, which extended to the NW. and S.W., and obliged us to continue our course to the southward, in order to weather it.

It may be remarked, that, since the 8th of this mouth,

we had twice traversed this sea, in lines nearly parallel with the run we had just now made; that in the first of those traverses we were not able to penetrate so far north, by eight or ten leagues, as in the second; and that in the last we had again found an united body of ice, generally about five leagues to the southward of its position in the preceding run. As this proves that the large compact fields of ice, which we saw, were moveable, or diminishing, at the same time, it does not leave any well-founded expectations of advancing much farther in the most favourable

seasons.

At seven in the evening, the weather being hazy, and no ice in sight, we bore away to the westward; but at half past eight the fog dispersing, we found ourselves in the midst of loose ice, and close in with the main body; we therefore stood upon a wind, which was still easterly, and kept beating to windward during the night, in hopes of weathering the loose pieces, which the freshness of the wind kept driving down upon us in such quantities, that we were in manifest danger of being blocked up by them.

In the morning of the 23d, the clear water, in which we continued to stand to and fro, did not exceed a mile and a half, and was every instant lessening. At length, after using our utmost endeavours to clear the loose ice, we were driven to the necessity of forcing the passage to the southward, which at half past seven we accomplished, but not without subjecting the ship to some very severe shocks. The Discovery was less successful. For at eleven, when they had nigh got clear out, she became so entangled by several large pieces, that her way was stopped, and immediately dropping bodily to leeward, she fell broadside foremost, on the edge of a considerable body of ice; and having at the same time an open sea to windward, the surf caused her to strike violently upon it. This mass at length either so far broke, or moved, as to set them at liberty to make another trial to escape; but unfortunately before the ship gathered way enough to be under command, she again fell to leeward on another fragment; and the swell making it unsafe to lie to windward, and finding no chance of getting clear, they pushed into a small opening, furled their sails, and made fast with ice-hooks.

In this dangerous situation we saw them at noon, about three miles from us, bearing N.W., a fresh gale from the

S.E.

S.E. driving more ice to the N.W., and increasing the body that lay between us. Our latitude, by account, was 69° 8', the longitude 187°, and the depth of water twenty-eight fathoms. To add to the gloomy apprehensions which began to force themselves on us, at half past four in the afternoon, the weather becoming thick and hazy, we lost sight of the Discovery; but that we might be in a situation to afford her every assistance in our power, we kept standing on close by the edge of the ice. At six, the wind happily coming round to the north, gave us some hopes that the ice might drift away and release her; and in that case, as it was uncertain in what condition she might come out, we kept firing a gun every half hour, in order to prevent a separation. Our apprehensions for her safety did not cease till nine, when we heard her guns in answer to ours; and soon after being hailed by her, were informed that upon the change of wind the ice began to separate; and that setting all their sails, they forced a passage through it. We learned farther, that whilst they were encompassed by it, they found the ship drift with the main body to the N.E., at the rate of half a mile an hour. We were sorry to find that the Discovery had rubbed off a great deal of the sheathing from her bows, and was become very leaky, from the strokes she had received when she fell upon the edge of the ice.

On the 24th we had fresh breezes from the S. W., with hazy weather, and kept running to the S.E. till eleven in the forenoon, when a large body of loose ice, extending from N.N.E. round by the E., to S.S.E., and to which (though the weather was tolerably clear) we could see no end, again obstructed our course. We therefore kept working to windward, and at noon our latitude, by observation, was 68° 53', longitude 188°; the variation of the compass 22° 30′ E. At four in the afternoon it became calm, and we hoisted out the boats in pursuit of the sea-horses, which were in prodigious herds on every side of us. We killed ten of them, which were as many as we could make use of for eating, or for converting into lamp-oil. We kept on with the wind from the S.W., along the edge of the ice, which extended in a direction almost due E. and W., till four in the morning of the 25th, when observing a clear sea beyond it to the S.E., we made sail that way, with a view of forcing through it. By six we had cleared it, and continued the

9

remainder

remainder of the day running to the S.E., without any ice in sight. At noon, our latitude, by observation, was 68° 38', longitude 189° 9', and the depth of water thirty fathoms. At midnight we tacked and stood to the westward, with a fresh gale from the S.; and at ten in the forenoon of the 26th, the ice again shewed itself, extending from N.W. to S. It appeared loose, and drifting by the force of the wind to the northward. At noon, our latitude, by observation, was 68° N., longitude 188° 10' E.; and we had soundings with twenty-eight fathoms. For the remaining part of the day, and till noon of the 27th, we kept standing backward and forward, in order to clear ourselves of different bodies of ice. At noon we were in latitude, by observation, 67° 47′, longitude 188°. At two in the afternoon, we saw the continent to the S. by E.; and at four, having run since noon with a S.S.E. wind to the S. W., we were surrounded by loose masses of ice, with the firm body of it in sight, stretching in a N. by W. and a S. by E. direction, as far as the eye could reach; beyond which we saw the coast of Asia, bearing S. and S. by E.

As it was now necessary to come to some determination with respect to the course we were next to steer, Captain Clerke sent a boat, with the carpenters, on board the Discovery, to enquire into the particulars of the damage she had sustained. They returned in the evening, with the report of Captain Gore, and of the carpenters of both ships, that the damages they had received were of a kind that would require three weeks to repair; and that it would be necessary, for that purpose, to go into some port.

Thus, finding a farther advance to the northward, as well as a nearer approach to either continent, obstructed by a sea blocked up with ice, we judged it both injurious to the service, by endangering the safety of the ships, as well as fruitless, with respect to the design of our voyage, to make any farther attempts toward a passage. This, therefore, added to the representations of Captain Gore, determined Captain Clerke not to lose more time in what he concluded to be an unattainable object, but to sail for Awatska Bay, to repair our damages there; and before the winter should set in, and render all other efforts toward discovery impracticable, to explore the coast of Japan.

I will not endeavour to conceal the joy that brightened the countenance of every individual, as soon as Captain Clerke's