within four miles o f it, and finding it to be two iilands,
were pretty w e ll fatisfied o f their be in g the fam e ; but the
weather ftill continuing ha zy, to make fu re o f our fituation,
we flood over to the coaft o f Afia, till feven in the e v en in g ;
at which time we were within two or three leagues o f the
Eaft Cape o f that continent.
Th is Cape is a h ig h round head o f land, extending four
or five miles from North torSouth, formin g a peninfula, and
connefted with the continent by a narrow neck o f low land.
Its fiiore is bold, and o ff its North part are three high, detached,
fpiral rocks. At this time it was covered with fnow,
and the beach furrounded w ith ice. We were now convinced,
that we had been under the influence o f a ftrong
current, fetting to the North, that had caufed an error in
our latitude at noon o f twenty miles. In paffing this ftrait
the laft year, we had experienced the fame effetfl.
Being at length fure o f our pofition, we held on to the
North by Eaft. At ten at n ight, the weather becoming clear,
we had an opportunity o f feeing, at the fame moment, the
remarkable peaked hill, near Cape Prince o f Wales, on the
coaft o f America, and the Eaft Cape o f Afia, w ith the two
connecting iflands o f Saint Diomede between them.
At. noon on the 6th, the latitude, by account, was 67'
North, and the longitude 191* 6' Eaft. Having already palD
ed a confiderable number o f large maflfes o f ice, and ob-
ferved, that it ftill adhered in feveral places to the fhore on
the continent o f Afia, we were not much furprized to fa ll
in, at three in the afternoon, with an-extenfive body o f it,
ftretching away to the Weftward. This fight gave great dif-
couragement to our hopes o f advancing much farther
Northward this year, than we had done the preceding.
Having
Having little wind in the afternoon, w e hoifted out the I779-
boats in purfuit o f the fea-horfes, w h ich were in great 1 , •
numbers on the detached pieces o f ic e ; but they foon re-
turned without fuccefs ; thefe animals being exceedingly
ih y , and before they could come within gun-ihot, always
m a k in g their retreat into the water.
At feven in the evening, we hoifted in the boats, and the
wind frefhening from the Southward, we flood on to the
North Eaft, with a v iew o f exploring the continent o f America,
between the latitudes o f 68* and 69”, which, owin g to
the fo g g y weather laft year, we had not been able to examine.
In this attempt we were again in part difappointed.
For, on the 7th, at fix in the morning, we were flopped by Wednef. 7.
a large field o f ice, ftretching from North Weft to South
E a ft ; but foon after, the horizon becoming clear, we had
fight o f the coaft o f America, at about ten leagues diftance,
extending from North Eaft by Eaft to Eaft, and lying, by ob-
fervation, between the 68* and 68* 20' o f latitude. As the
weather was clear, and the ice not h igh , we were enabled
to fee over a great extent o f it. T h e whole prefented a folid
and compact furface, not in the fmalleft degree th aw ed ;
and appeared to us likewife to adhere to the land.
The weather foon after changing to h a zy , w e faw no
more o f the la n d ; and there not remaining a poflibility o f
approaching nearer to it, w e flood to the North North Weft,
k eeping the ice clofe on board, and got round its Weftern
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 courfe to the North
North Eaft, along the edge o f the ice, during the remainin
g part o f the day, paffing through many loofe pieces that
7 - had