upward o f five hundred and twenty leagues to the Weft ward
o f any part o f Baffin’s, or o f Hudfon’s Bay. And whatever
paffage there may be, it muft be, or, at leaft, part o f it,
muft lie to the North o f latitude 72°*. Who could expeit to
find a paffage or ftrait o f fuch extent?
Having thus taken m y refolution, next morning at three
o’clock, we weighed, and with a gentle breeze at North, proceeded
to the Southward down the in le t ; and m e t’ w ith the
fame broken ground, as on the preceding day. However,
w e foon extricated ourfelves from it, and afterward never
ft n ic k ground w ith a line o f forty fathoms. Another paffage
into this inlet was now difcovered, to the South Weft o f
that by w h ich w e came in, w hich enabled us to ffiorten
our w a y out to fea. It is feparated from th e other by
an ifland, extending eighteen leagues in the direction o f
North Eaft and South Weft ; to-which I gave the name of:
Montagu Ifland".'
In- this South Weft channel are feveral iflands. Thofe that:
lie in the entrance, next the open fea, are h igh and rocky.
But thofe within are low ones j and be in g entirely free from:
fnow, a n d covered with wood and verdure, on this accounts
they were called Green Iflands,,
At two in the afternoon, the; wind veered to.the South:
Weft, and South Weft by South, w h ich reduced us to the
neceffuy o f plying. I fir ft ftrerched over to within two miles ,
o f the Eaftern ffiore, and tacked in. fifty-three fathoms,
water. In Handing b a ck to Montagu Ifland, we difcovered
a ledge o f ro c k s ; fome above, and; others under water, ly in
g three miles within, or to. the North o f the. Northern
* O n what evidence Captain Cook formed his judgment as to. this, will he mentioned
in the IjitFoduaion. point
point o f Green Iflands. Afterward, fome others were feen
1 7 7 8 .
May.
in the middle o f the channel farther out than the iflands.
T he fe rocks made unfafe p ly in g in the night (though not
ve ry dark) ; and, for, that , reafon,. we fpent it Handing off:
and on, under Montagu Ifland ; fo r the depth o f water
was-too great to come to an anchor. .
At day break, the next morning,, the wind came more fa- Tuefdây i9„
vourable, and we fleered for the channel between Montagu
Ifland and' the Green Iflands, w hich is between two and
three leagues-broad,, and from th irty -fou r to feventeén fa thoms
deep. We had but little wind a ll the day ; and, at
e igh t o’clock in the evening, it was a.dead calm; when w e ■
anchored in twenty-pne fathoms .water, oyer a muddy h o t -
tom; about two miles from the ffiore o f Montagu’s Ifland ..
T h e calm-continued' till ten o ’clock the next mo rn in g,, when 'wednef. 20.
it was fucceeded by a fmall breeze from the North, with
w h ich w e . weighed ; and, , by. fix o’clock in the, evening, , we
were again in the. open fea, an d .fou n d the coaft,trending
Weft by South, as far, as the eye could rea ch,.
G H A P. KF
BI