177s. fee. As we flood off, the Wefternmoft o f the two hills be- Auguft.
' 1 fore mentioned came open o ff the b lu ff point, in the direction
o f North Weft. It had the appearance o f being an
iflan d ; but it might be joined to the other by low land,
though we did not fee it. And i f fo, there is a two fold
point, with a bay between them. T h is point, which is
fleep and rocky, was named Cape North. Its fituation is
nearly in the latitude o f 68° 56', and in the longitude o f
180° 51'. T he coaft beyond it mult take a very Wefterly direction
; for we could fee no land to the Northward o f it,
though the horizon was there pretty clear. Being defirous
o f feeing more o f the coaft to the Weftward, w e tacked
again, at two o’clock in the afternoon, thinking we could
weather Cape North. But finding we could not, the wind
frefhening, a thick fo g coming on, with much fnow, and
being fearful o f the ice coming down upon us, I gave up
the defign I had formed o f p lyin g to the Weftward, and
flood off. fhore again.
T he feafon was now fo far advanced, and the time when
the froft is expeCted to fet in fo near at hand, that I did not
think it confident with prudence, to make any farther attempts
to find a paffage into the Atlantic this year, in any
direction j fo little was the profpeCt o f fucceeding. My attention
was now direited toward finding out fome place
where we might fupply ourfelves with wood and w a te r ;
and the objeit uppermoft in m y thoughts was, how I fhould
fpend the winter, fo a s to make fome improvements in geography
and navigation, and, at the fame time, be in a condition
to return to the North, in farther fearch o f a paffage,
the enfuing fummer.