Fruitless Attempts to penetrate through the Ice to the North-West.--
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 70-1/2° 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 69° 30', and
longitude 187° 30'. In the afternoon we again came up with the ice, which
extended to the N.W. 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 month, 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. 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 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 resolutions were made known.
We were all heartily sick of a navigation full of danger, and in which the
utmost perseverance had not been repaid with the smallest probability of
success. We therefore turned our faces toward home, after an absence of
three years, with a delight and satisfaction, which, notwithstanding the
tedious voyage we had still to make, and the immense distance we had to
run, were as freely entertained, and perhaps as fully enjoyed, as if we had
been already in sight of the Land's-end.
On the 28th, we kept working to windward with a fresh breeze from the S.E.,
having the coast of Asia still in sight. At four in the morning, the cape,
which, on the authority of Muller, we have called Serdze Kamen, bore
S.S.W., distant six or seven leagues. We saw in different places, upon the
tops of the hills, which rise inland on both sides of the cape,
protuberances of a considerable height, which had the appearance of huge
rocks, or pillars of stone.
On the 29th, the wind still continuing contrary, we made but slow progress
to the southward. At midnight we had thick foggy weather, accompanied with
a breeze from the N.N.W., with which we directed our course to the S.S.E.
through the strait, and had no land in sight till seven in the evening of
the 30th, when the fog clearing away, we saw Cape Prince of Wales bearing
S. by E., distant about six leagues; and the island St Diomede, S.W. by W.
We now altered our course to the W., and at eight made the east cape, which
at midnight bore W. by N., distant four leagues. In the night we steered to
the S.S.W., with a fresh west-north-westerly breeze; and at four in the
morning of the 31st, the east cape bore N.N.E.; and the N.E. part of the
bay of St Laurence (where we anchored the last year) W. by S., its distance
being four leagues. As we could not have worked up to windward without a
greater waste of time than the object appeared to deserve, we ran across
the bay, regretting much, as we passed along, the loss of this opportunity
of paying a second visit to the Tschutski. At noon, our latitude, by
observation, was 65° 6', and longitude 189°. The south point of the bay of
St Laurence bore N. by W. 1/4 W., and was distant seven or eight leagues.
In the afternoon, the variation was found to be 22° 50' E.
Having now passed Beering's Strait, and taken our final leave of the N.E.
coast of Asia, it may not be improper, on this occasion, to state the
grounds on which we have ventured to adopt two general conclusions
respecting its extent, in opposition to the opinions of Mr Muller. The
first, that the promontory named East Cape, is actually the easternmost
point of that quarter of the globe; or, in other words, that no part of the
continent extends in longitude beyond 190° 22' E.; the second, that the
latitude of the north-easternmost extremity falls to the southward of 70°
N. With respect to the former, if such land exist, it must necessarily be
to the N. of latitude 69°, where the discoveries made in the present voyage
terminate; and, therefore, the probable direction of the coast, beyond this
point, is the question I shall endeavour, in the first place, to
investigate.
As the Russian is the only nation that has hitherto navigated these seas,
all our information respecting the situation of the coast to the northward
of Cape North, must necessarily be derived from the charts and journals of
the persons who have been employed at various times in ascertaining the
limits of that empire; and these are for the most part so imperfect, so
confused, and contradictory, that it is not easy to form any distinct idea
of their pretended, much less to collect the amount of their real
discoveries. It is on this account, that the extent and form of the
peninsula, inhabited by the Tschutski, still remains a point on which the
Russian geographers are much divided. Mr Muller, in his map, published in
the year 1754, supposes this country to extend toward the N.E., to the 75°
of latitude, and in longitude 190° E. of Greenwich, and to terminate in a
round cape, which he calls Tschukotskoi Noss. To the southward of this cape
he conceives the coast to form a bay to the westward, bounded in latitude
67° 18', by Serdze Kamen, the northernmost point seen by Beering in his
expedition in the year 1728. The map published by the academy of St
Petersburgh, in the year 1776, gives the whole peninsula entirely a new
form, placing its north-easternmost extremity in the latitude of 73°,
longitude 178° 30'. The easternmost point in latitude 65° 30', longitude
189° 30'. All the other maps we saw, both printed and in manuscript, vary
between these two, apparently more according to the fancy of the compiler,
than on any grounds of more accurate information. The only point in which
there is a general coincidence, without any considerable variation, is in
the position of the east cape in latitude 66°. The form of the coast, both
to the S. and N. of this cape, in the map of the academy, is exceedingly
erroneous, and may be totally disregarded. In that of Mr Muller, the coast
to the northward bears a considerable resemblance to our survey, as far as
the latter extends, except that it does not trend sufficiently to the
westward, receding only about 5° of longitude, between the latitude of 66°
and 69°; whereas in reality it recedes near ten. Between the latitude of
69° and 74°, he makes the coast bend round to the N. and N.E., and to form
a considerable promontory. On what authority now remains to be examined.
Mr Coxe, whose accurate researches into this subject give his opinion great
weight, is persuaded that the extremity of the Noss in question was never
passed but by Deshneff and his party, who sailed from the river Kovyma in
the year 1648, and are supposed to have got round it into the Anadir. As
the account of this expedition, the substance of which the reader will find
in Mr Coxe's Account of Russian Discoveries, contains no geographical
delineation of the coast along which they sailed, its position must be
conjectured from incidental circumstances; and from these it appears very
manifest, that the Tschukotskoi Noss of Deshneff is no other than the
promontory called by Captain Cook the East Cape. Speaking of the Noss, he
says, "One might sail from the isthmus to the river Anadir, with a fair
wind, in three days and three nights." This exactly coincides with the
situation of the East Cape, which is about one hundred and twenty leagues
from the mouth of the Anadir; and as there is no other isthmus to the
northward between that and the latitude of 69°, it is obvious that, by this
description, he must intend either the cape in question, or some other to
the southward of it. In another place he says, "Over against the isthmus
there are two islands in the sea, upon which were seen people of the
Tschutski nation, through whose lips were run pieces of the teeth of the
sea-horse." This again perfectly agrees with the two islands situated to
the S.E. of the East Cape. We saw indeed no inhabitants on them, but it is
not at all improbable that a party of the Americans from the opposite
continent, whom this description accurately suits, might, at that time,
have been accidentally there; and whom it was natural enough for him to
mistake for a tribe of the Tschutski.[25]
These two circumstances are of so striking and unequivocal a nature, that
they appear to me conclusive on the point of the Tschukotskoi Noss,
notwithstanding there are others of a more doubtful kind, which we have
from the same authority, and which now remain to be considered. "To go,"
says Deshneff in another account, "from the Kovyma to the Anadir, a great
promontory must be doubled, which stretches very far into the sea;" and
afterwards, "this promontory stretches between N. and N.E." It was probably
from the expressions contained in these passages, that Mr Muller was
induced to give the country of the Tschutski the form we find in his map;
but had he been acquainted with the situation of the east cape, as
ascertained by Captain Cook, and the remarkable coincidence between it and
this promontory or isthmus, (for it must be observed, that Deshneff appears
to be all along speaking of the same thing), in the circumstances already
mentioned, I am confident he would not have thought those expressions,
merely by themselves, of sufficient weight to warrant him in extending the
north-eastern extremity of Asia, either so far to the north or to the
eastward. For, after all, these expressions are not irreconcilable with the
opinion we have adopted, if we suppose Deshneff to have taken these
bearings from the small bight which lies to the westward of the cape.
The deposition of the Cossack Popoff, taken at the Anadirskoi ostrog; in
the year 1711, seems to have been the next authority on which Mr Muller has
proceeded; and beside these two, I am not acquainted with any other. This
Cossack, together with several others, was sent by land to demand tribute
from the independent Tschutski tribes, who lived about the Noss. The first
circumstance in the account of this journey that can lead to the situation
of Tschukotskoi Noss, is its distance from Anadirsk; and this is stated to
be ten weeks' journey with loaded rein-deer; on which account, it is added,
their day's journey was but very small. It is impossible to conclude much
from so vague an account; but, as the distance between the east cape and
the ostrog is upward of two hundred leagues in a straight line, and
therefore may be supposed to allow twelve or fifteen miles a day, its
situation cannot be reckoned incompatible with Popoff's calculation. The
next circumstance mentioned in this deposition is, that their route lay by
the foot of a rock called Matkol, situated at the bottom of a great gulf.
This gulf Muller supposes to be the bay he had laid down between latitude
66° and 72°; and accordingly places the rock Matkol in the centre of it;
but it appears equally probable, even if we had not so many reasons to
doubt the existence of that bay, that it might be some part of the gulf of
Anadir, which they would undoubtedly touch upon in their road from the
ostrog to the east cape.
But what seems to put this matter beyond all dispute, and to prove that the
cape visited by Popoff cannot be to the northward of 69° latitude, is, that
part of his deposition, which I have already quoted, relative to the island
lying off the Noss, from whence the opposite continent might be seen. For
as the two continents in latitude 69°, have diverged so far as to be more
than three hundred miles distant, it is highly improbable that the Asiatic
coast should again trend in such a manner to the eastward, as to come
nearly within sight of the coast of America.
If these arguments should be deemed conclusive against the existence of the
peninsula of the Tschutski, as laid down by Muller, it will follow that the
east cape is the Tschukotskoi Noss of the[26] more early Russian
navigators; and, consequently, that the undescribed coast from the latitude
of 69° to the mouth of the river Kovyma, must uniformly trend more or less
to the westward. As an additional proof of this, it may be remarked, that
the Tschukotskoi Noss is always represented as dividing the sea of Kovyma
from that of Anadir, which could not be the case, if any considerable cape
had projected to the N.E. in the higher latitudes. Thus, in the depositions
taken at Anadirsk, it is related, "that opposite the Noss, on both sides,
as well in the sea of Kovyma, as in that of Anadir, an island is said to be
seen at a great distance, which the Tschutski call a large country; and say
that people dwell there who have large teeth put in their mouths that
project through their cheeks." Then follows a description of these people
and their country, exactly corresponding with our accounts of the opposite
continent.
The last question that arises is, to what degree of northern latitude this
coast extends, before it trends more directly to the westward. If the
situation of the mouth of the Kovyma, both with respect to its latitude and
longitude, were accurately determined, it would perhaps not be very
difficult to form a probable conjecture upon this point. Captain Cook was
always strongly of opinion that the northern coast of Asia, from the
Indigirka eastward, has hitherto been generally laid down more than two
degrees to the northward of its true position; and he has, therefore, on
the authority of a map that was in his possession, and on the information
he received at Oonalashka, placed the mouth of the river Kovyma, in his
chart of the N.W. coast of America, and the N.E. coast of Asia, in the
latitude of 68°. Should he be right in this conjecture, it is probable, for
the reasons that have been already stated, that the Asiatic coast does not
any where exceed 70°, before it trends to the westward; and consequently,
that we were within 1° of its north-eastern extremity. For, if the
continent be supposed to stretch any where to the northward of Shelatskoi
Noss, it is scarcely possible that so extraordinary a circumstance should
not have been mentioned by the Russian navigators; and we have already
shewn that they make mention of no remarkable promontory between the Kovyma
and the Anadir, except the east cape. Another circumstance, related by
Deshneff, may, perhaps, be thought a further confirmation of this opinion,
namely, that he met with no impediment from ice in navigating round the
N.E. extremity of Asia; though, he adds, that this sea is not always so
free from it, as indeed is manifest from the failure of his first
expedition, and since that, from the unsuccessful attempts of Shalauroff,
and the obstacles we met with, in two different years, in our present
voyage.[27]
The continent left undetermined in our chart between Cape North, and the
mouth of the Kovyma is, in longitudinal extent, one hundred and twenty-five
leagues. One-third, or about forty leagues, of this distance, from the
Kovyma eastward, was explored in the year 1723, by a _sinbo-jarskoi_ of
Jakutz, whose name was Feodor Amossoff, by whom Mr Muller was informed,
that its direction was to the eastward. It is said to have been since
accurately surveyed by Shalauroff, whose chart makes it trend to the N.E.
by E., as far as the Shelatskoi Noss, which he places about forty-three
leagues to the eastward of the Kovyma. The space between this Noss and Cape
North, about eighty-two leagues, is therefore the only part of the Russian
empire that now remains unascertained.
But if the river Kovyma be erroneously situated with respect to its
longitude, as well as in its latitude, a supposition for which probable
grounds are not wanting, the extent of the unexplored coast will become
proportionably diminished. The reasons which incline me to believe that the
mouth of this river is placed in the Russian charts much too far to the
westward, are as follow: First, because the accounts that are given of the
navigation of the Frozen Sea from that river, round the N.E. point of Asia
to the gulf of Anadir, do not accord with the supposed distance between
those places. Secondly, because the distance over land from the Kovyma to
the Anadir is represented by the early Russian travellers as a journey
easily performed, and of no very extraordinary length. Thirdly, because the
coast from the Shelatskoi Noss of Shalauroff[28] seems to trend directly
S.E. to the East Cape. If this be so, it will follow, that as we were
probably not more than 1° to the southward of Shelatskoi Noss, only sixty
miles of the Asiatic coast remain unascertained.[29]
Had Captain Cook lived to this period of our voyage, and experienced, in a
second attempt, the impracticability of a N.E. or N.W. passage from the
Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean, he would doubtless have laid before the
public, in one connected view, an account of the obstacles which defeated
this, the primary object of our expedition, together with his observations
on a subject of such magnitude, and which had engaged the attention and
divided the opinions of philosophers and navigators for upward of two
hundred years. I am very sensible how unequal I am to the task of supplying
this deficiency; but that the expectations of the reader may not be wholly
disappointed, I must beg his candid acceptance of the following
observations, as well as of those I have already ventured to offer him,
relative to the extent of the N.E. coast of Asia.
The evidence that has been so fully and judiciously stated in the
introduction, amounts to the highest degree of probability that a N.W.
passage from the Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean, cannot exist to the
southward of 65° of latitude. If then there exist a passage, it must be
either through Baffin's Bay, or round by the north of Greenland, in the
western hemisphere, or else through the Frozen Ocean, to the northward of
Siberia, in the eastern; and on whichever side it lies, the navigator must
necessarily pass through Beering's Strait. The impracticability of
penetrating into the Atlantic on either side, through the strait, is
therefore all that remains to be submitted to the consideration of the
public.
As far as our experience went, it appears, that the sea to the north of
Beering's Strait is clearer of ice in August than in July, and perhaps in a
part of September it may be still more free. But after the equinox the days
shorten so fast, that no farther thaw can be expected; and we cannot
rationally allow so great an effect to the warm weather in the first half
of September, as to imagine it capable of dispersing the ice from the most
northern parts of the American coast. But admitting this to be possible, it
must at least be granted, that it would be madness to attempt to run from
the Icy Cape to the known parts of Baffin's Bay, (a distance of four
hundred and twenty leagues), in so short a time as that passage can be
supposed to continue open.[30]
Upon the Asiatic side, there appears still less probability of success,
both from what came to our own knowledge, with respect to the state of the
sea to the southward of Cape North, and also from what we learn from the
experience of the[31] lieutenants under Beering's direction, and the
journal of Shalauroff, in regard to that on the north of Siberia.
The voyage of Deshneff, if its truth be admitted, proves undoubtedly the
possibility of passing round the N.E. point of Asia; but when the reader
reflects that near a century and a half has elapsed since the time of that
navigator, during which, in an age of great curiosity and enterprize, no
man has yet been able to follow him, he will not entertain very sanguine
expectations of the public advantages that can be derived from it. But let
us even suppose, that in some singularly favourable season a ship has found
a clear passage round the coast of Siberia, and is safely arrived at the
mouth of the Lena, still there remains the Cape of Taimura, stretching to
the 78° of latitude, which the good fortune of no single voyager has
hitherto doubled.
It is, however, contended, that there are strong reasons for believing that
the sea is more free from ice the nearer we approach to the Pole; and that
all the ice we saw in the lower latitudes was formed in the great rivers of
Siberia and America, the breaking up of which had filled the intermediate
sea. But even if that supposition be true, it is equally so, that there can
be no access to those open seas, unless this great mass of ice is so far
dissolved in the summer as to admit of a ship's getting through it. If this
be the fact, we have taken a wrong time of the year for attempting to find
this passage, which should have been explored in April and May, before the
rivers were broken up. But how many reasons may be given against such a
supposition? Our experience at Saint Peter and Saint Paul enabled us to
judge what might be expected farther north; and upon that ground we had
reason to doubt whether the continents might not in winter be even joined
by the ice; and this agreed with the stories we heard in Kamtschatka, that
on the Siberian coast they go out from the shore in winter upon the ice to
greater distances than the breadth of the sea is in some parts from one
continent to the other.
In the depositions referred to above, the following remarkable circumstance
is related. Speaking of the land seen from the Tschukotskoi Noss, it is
said, "that in summer time they sail in one day to the land in baidares, a
sort of vessel constructed of whale-bone, and covered with seal-skins; and
in winter time, going swift with rein-deer, the journey may be likewise
made in one day." A sufficient proof that the two countries were usually
joined together by the ice.
The account given by Mr Muller of one of the expeditions undertaken to
discover a supposed island in the Frozen Sea, is still more remarkable. "In
the year 1714, a new expedition was prepared from Jakutzk, for the same
place, under the command of Alexei Markoff, who was to sail from the mouth
of the Jana; and if the _Schitiki_ were not fit for sea-voyages, he was to
construct, at a proper place, vessels fit for prosecuting the discoveries
without danger.
"On his arrival at Ust-janskoe Simovie, the port at which he was to embark,
he sent an account, dated February 2, 1715, to the Chancery of Jakutzk,
mentioning that it was impossible to navigate the sea, as it was
continually frozen both in summer and winter; and that consequently the
intended expedition was no otherwise to be carried on but with sledges
drawn by dogs. In this manner he accordingly set out, with nine persons, on
the 10th of March the same year, and returned on the 3d of April, to Ust-
janskoe Simovie. The account of his journey is as follows: That he went
seven days as fast as his dogs could draw him, (which, in good ways and
weather, is eighty or a hundred wersts in a day) directly towards the
north, upon the ice, without discovering any island; that it had not been
possible for him to proceed any farther, the ice rising there in the sea
like mountains; that he had climbed to the top of some of them, whence he
was able to see to a great distance round about him, but could discern no
appearance of land; and that at last wanting food for his dogs, many of
them died, which obliged him to return."
Besides these arguments, which proceed upon an admission of the hypothesis,
that the ice in those seas comes from the rivers, there are others which
give great room to suspect the truth of the hypothesis itself. Captain
Cook, whose opinion respecting the formation of ice had formerly coincided
with that of the theorists we are now controverting, found abundant reason,
in the present voyage, for changing his sentiments. We found the coast of
each continent to be low, the soundings gradually decreasing toward them,
and a striking resemblance between the two; which, together with the
description Mr Hearne gives of the copper-mine river, afford reason to
conjecture, that whatever rivers may empty themselves into the Frozen Sea,
from the American continent, are of the same nature with those on the
Asiatic side, which are represented to be so shallow at the entrance, as to
admit only small vessels; whereas the ice we have seen rises above the
level of the sea to a height equal to the depth of those rivers, so that
its entire height must be at least ten times greater.
The curious reader will also, in this place, be led naturally to reflect on
another circumstance, which appears very incompatible with the opinion of
those who imagine land to be necessary for the formation of ice; I mean the
different state of the sea about Spitsbergen, and to the north of Beering's
Strait. It is incumbent on them to explain how it comes to pass, that in
the former quarter, and in the vicinity of much known land, the navigator
annually penetrates to near 80° N. latitude; whereas, on the other side,
his utmost efforts have not been able to carry him beyond 71°; where,
moreover, the continents diverge nearly E. and W., and where there is no
land yet known to exist near the Pole. For the farther satisfaction of the
reader on this point, I shall beg leave to refer him to _Observations made
during a Voyage round the World_, by Dr Forster, where he will find the
question of the formation of ice fully and satisfactorily discussed, and
the probability of open polar seas disproved by a variety of powerful
arguments.[32]
I shall conclude these remarks with a short comparative view of the
progress we made to the northward, at the two different seasons we were
engaged in that pursuit, together with a few general observations relative
to the sea, and the coasts of the two continents, which lie to the north of
Beering's Strait.
It may be observed, that in the year 1778 we did not meet with the ice till
we advanced to the latitude of 70°, on August 17th, and that then we found
it in compact bodies, extending as far as the eye could reach, and of which
a part or the whole was moveable, since, by its drifting down, upon us, we
narrowly escaped being hemmed in between it and the land. After
experiencing both how fruitless and dangerous it would be to attempt to
penetrate farther north, between the ice and the land, we stood over toward
the Asiatic side, between the latitude 69° and 70°, frequently encountering
in this tract large and extensive fields of ice; and though, by reason, of
the fogs and thickness of the weather, we were not able absolutely and
entirely to trace a connected line of it across, yet we were sure to meet
with it before we reached the latitude of 70°, whenever we attempted to
stand to the northward. On the 26th of August, in latitude 69-3/4°, and
longitude 184°, we were obstructed by it in such quantities, as made it
impossible for us to pass either to the north or west, and obliged us to
run along the edge of it to the S.S.W., till we saw land, which we
afterward found to be the coast of Asia. With the season thus far advanced,
the weather setting in with snow and sleet, and other signs of approaching
winter, we abandoned our enterprize for that time.
In this second attempt we could do little more than confirm the
observations we had made in the first; for we were never able to approach
the continent of Asia higher than the latitude 67°, nor that of America in
any parts, excepting a few leagues between the latitude of 68° and 68° 20',
that were not seen the last year. We were now obstructed by ice 3° lower,
and our endeavours to push farther to the northward were principally
confined to the mid-space between the two coasts. We penetrated near 3°
farther on the American side than on the Asiatic, meeting with the ice both
years sooner, and in greater quantities on the latter coast. As we advanced
N., we still found the ice more compact and solid; yet, as in our different
traverses from side to side, we passed over spaces which had, before been
covered with it, we conjectured that most of what we saw was moveable. Its
height, on a medium, we took to be from eight to ten feet, and that of the
highest to have been sixteen or eighteen. We again tried the currents
twice, and found them unequal, but never to exceed one mile an hour. By
comparing the reckoning with the observations, we also found the current to
set different ways, yet more from the S.W. than any other quarter; but
whatever their direction might be, their effect was so trifling, that no
conclusions respecting the existence of any passage to the northward could
be drawn from them. We found the month of July to be infinitely colder than
that of August. The thermometer in July was once at 28°, and very commonly
at 30°; whereas the last year, in August, it was very rare to have it so
low as the freezing point. In both seasons we had some high winds, all of
which came from the S.W. We were subject to fogs whenever the wind was
moderate, from whatever quarter, but they attended southerly winds more
constantly than contrary ones.[33]
The straits between the two continents, at their nearest approach in
latitude 66°, were ascertained to be thirteen leagues, beyond which they
diverge to N.E. by E. and W.N.W.; and in latitude 69°, they become 14° of
longitude, or about one hundred leagues asunder. A great similarity is
observable in the appearance of the two countries, to the northward of the
straits. Both are destitute of wood. The shores are low, with mountains
rising to a great height farther up the country. The depth of water in the
mid-way between them was twenty-nine and thirty fathoms, decreasing
gradually as we approached either continent, with the difference of being
somewhat shoaler on the American than on the Asiatic coast, at the same
distance from land. The bottom in the middle was a soft slimy mud, and on
drawing near to either shore, a brown sand, intermixed with small fragments
of bones, and a few shells. We observed but little tide or current; what
there was came from the westward.
But it is now time to resume the narrative of our voyage, which was broken
off on the 31st of July, on which day at noon we had advanced eighteen
leagues to the southward of the East Cape.
We had light airs from the S.W., till noon of the 1st of August, at which
time our latitude, by observation, was 64° 23', longitude 189° 15'; the
coast of Asia extended from N.W. by W. to W. 1/2 S, distant about twelve
leagues; and the land to the eastward of St Laurence bore S. 1/2 W. On the
2d, the weather becoming clear, we saw the same land at noon, bearing from
W.S.W. 1/2 W. to S.E., making in a number of high hummocks, which had the
appearance of separate islands; the latitude, by observation, was 64° 3',
longitude 189° 28', and depth of water seventeen fathoms. We did not
approach this land sufficiently near to determine whether it was one
island, or composed to a cluster together. Its westernmost part we passed
July 3d, in the evening, and then supposed to be the island of St Laurence;
the easternmost we ran close by in September last year, and this we named
Clerke's Island, and found it to consist of a number of high cliffs, joined
together by very low land. Though we mistook the last year those cliffs for
separate islands, till we approached very near the shore, I should still
conjecture that the island Saint Laurence was distinct from Clerke's
Island, since there appeared a considerable space between them, where we
could not perceive the smallest rising of ground.[34] In the afternoon we
also saw what bore the appearance of a small island to the N.E. of the land
which was seen at noon, and which, from the haziness of the weather, we had
only sight of once. We estimated its distance to be nineteen leagues from
the island of St Laurence, in a N.E. by E. 1/2 E. direction. On the 3d, we
had light variable winds, and directed our course round the N.W. point of
the island of Saint Laurence. On the 4th, at noon, our latitude by account
was 64° 8', longitude 188°; the island Saint Laurence bearing S. 1/4 E.,
distant seven leagues. In the afternoon, a fresh breeze springing up from
the E., we steered to the S.S.W., and soon lost sight of Saint Laurence. On
the 7th, at noon, the latitude by observation was 59° 38', longitude 183°.
In the afternoon it fell calm, and we got a great number of cod in seventy-
eight fathoms of water. The variation was found to be 19° E. From this time
to the 17th, we were making the best of our way to the S., without any
occurrence worth remarking, except that the wind coming from the western
quarter, forced us farther to the eastward than we wished, as it was our
intention to make Beering's Island.
On the 17th, at half-past four in the morning, we saw land to the N.W.,
which we could not approach, the wind blowing from that quarter. At noon,
the latitude by observation was 53° 49', longitude 168° 5', and variation
10° E. The land in sight bore N. by W. twelve or fourteen leagues distant.
This land we take to be the island Mednoi, laid down in the Russian charts
to the S.E. of Beering's Island. It is high land, and appeared clear of
snow. We place it in the latitude 54° 28', longitude 167° 52'. We got no
soundings with one hundred and fifty fathoms of line.
Captain Clerke was now no longer able to get out of his bed; he therefore
desired that the officers would receive their orders from me, and directed
that we should proceed with all speed to Awatska Bay. The wind continuing
westerly, we stood on to the S., till early on the morning of the 19th,
when, after a few hours rain, it blew from the eastward, and freshened to a
strong gale. We accordingly made the most of it whilst it lasted, by
standing to the westward under all the sail we could carry. On the 20th,
the wind shifting to the S.W., our course was to the W.N.W. At noon, the
latitude by observation was 53° 7', longitude 162° 49'. On the 21st, at
half-past five in the morning, we saw a very high peaked mountain on the
coast of Kamtschatka, called Cheepoonskoi Mountain, from its lying behind
the Noss, bearing N.W. by N., twenty-five or thirty leagues distant. At
noon, the coast extended from N. by E. to W., with a very great haziness
upon it, and distant about twelve leagues. We had light airs the remaining
part of this and the following day, and got no soundings with one hundred
and forty fathoms of line.
On the 22d of August, 1779. at nine o'clock in the morning, departed this
life Captain Charles Clerke, in the thirty-eighth year of his age. He died
of a consumption, which had evidently commenced before he left England, and
of which he had lingered during the whole voyage. His very gradual decay
had long made him a melancholy object to his friends; yet the equanimity
with which he bore it, the constant flow of good spirits which continued to
the last hour, and a cheerful resignation to his fate, afforded them some
consolation. It was impossible not to feel a more than common degree of
compassion for a person whose life had been a continued scene of those
difficulties and hardships to which a seaman's occupation is subject, and
under which he at last sank. He was brought up to the navy from his
earliest youth, and had been in several actions during the war which began
in 1756, particularly in that between the Bellona and Courageux, where,
being stationed in the mizen-top, he was carried overboard with the mast,
but was taken up without having received any hurt. He was midshipman in the
Dolphin, commanded by Commodore Byron, on her first voyage round the world,
and afterward served on the American station. In 1768, he made his second
voyage round the world in the Endeavour, as master's mate, and by the
promotion which took place during the expedition, he returned a lieutenant.
His third voyage round the world was in the Resolution, of which he was
appointed the second lieutenant; and soon after his return in 1775, he was
promoted to the rank of master and commander. When the present expedition
was ordered to be fitted out, he was appointed to the Discovery, to
accompany Captain Cook; and, by the death of the latter, succeeded, as has
been already mentioned, to the chief command.
It would be doing his memory extreme injustice not to say, that during the
short time the expedition was under his direction, he was most zealous and
anxious for its success. His health, about the time the principal command
devolved upon him, began to decline very rapidly, and was every way unequal
to encounter the rigours of a high northern climate. But the vigour and
activity of his mind had, in no shape, suffered by the decay of his body;
and though he knew, that by delaying his return to a warmer climate, he was
giving up the only chance that remained for his recovery, yet, careful and
jealous to the last degree, that a regard to his own situation should never
bias his judgment to the prejudice of the service, he persevered in the
search of a passage, till it was the opinion of every officer in both ships
that it was impracticable, and that any farther attempts would not only be
fruitless but dangerous.
[25] From the circumstance, related in the last volume, that gave name to
Sledge Island, it appears that the inhabitants of the adjacent
continents visit occasionally the small islands lying between them,
probably for the conveniency of fishing, or in pursuit of furs.
It appears also from Popoff's deposition, which I shall have occasion
to speak of more particularly hereafter, that the general resemblance
between the people, who are seen in these islands, and the Tschutski,
was sufficient to lead Deshneff into the error of imagining them to be
the same. "Opposite to the Noss," he says, "is an island of moderate
size, without trees, whose inhabitants _resemble in their exterior the
Tschutski, although they are quite another nation_; not numerous,
indeed, yet speaking their own particular language." Again, "One may
go in a baidare from the Noss to the island in half a day; beyond is a
great continent, which can be discovered from the island in serene
weather. When the weather is good, one may go from the island to the
continent in a day. _The inhabitants of the continent are similar to
the Tschutski, excepting that they speak another language_."
[26] I mention the more early Russian navigators, because Beering, whom we
have also followed, and after him all the late Russian geographers,
have given this name to the S.E. cape of the peninsula of the
Tschutski, which was formerly called the Anadirskoi Noss.
[27] It ought, however, to be recollected, that though Shalauroff is
conceived never to have doubled Shelatskoi Noss, he nevertheless does
not appear to have considered there was any particular difficulty in
doing so. In his first attempt to sail from the Kovyma to the Eastern
Ocean, he was necessitated, by contrary winds, and the too far
advanced season of the year, to seek for a watering-place, before
having reached that cape. In the following year, again, he was
frustrated by want of provisions, and a mutiny of his crew, which
forced him to return to the Lena. The progress of his last enterprise
is somewhat uncertain, as neither he nor any of his crew ever
returned. But there are tolerably good reasons for believing, that, at
all events, he had surmounted the navigation of this cape, if not for
the opinion, that he actually accomplished the chief object of his
voyage, by bringing his vessel to the mouth of the Anadir, where, it
is on the whole, most probable, they were killed by the Tschutski.
This last circumstance, however, it is to be allowed Mr Coxe, affords
no decisive proof that they had doubled the eastern extremity of Asia,
for it is possible they might have reached the Anadir by a journey
over land. After all, then, we are forced to revert to Deshneff's
voyage as the solitary evidence, and that too but imperfectly
elucidated, of the practicability of reaching the Eastern Ocean from
the north coast of Asia.--E.
[28] See chart in Coxe's Account of Russian Discoveries.
[29] Here, it is not unlikely, some readers will feel regret, that a
greater sacrifice was not made, or a longer continued effort
practised, or a renewed attempt hazarded, in order to overcome so
inconsiderable a space, and so to double Shelatskoi Noss, whence, it
may be thought, there could have been comparatively little difficulty
in prosecuting the object of the voyage. The feeling is not
unreasonable, provided it be not made the basis of any thing like
censure on the management of the undertaking; in which case, it must
soon give way to the conviction of the superior good sense, and the
higher interest (excluding altogether, which is manifestly inhuman,
every concern for the persons immediately engaged in the enterprise)
displayed by the determination to abandon the attempt. To the force of
this conviction, it may be necessary to add the very material
consideration, that, even had it been any way practicable to double
the cape in question, and to reach the Lena in the same track as
Shalauroff, there would have still remained the space betwixt that
river and Archangel, which, though undoubtedly to a great degree
explored, does not appear to have been ever altogether navigated. To
the merely fanciful caviller at the result of this attempt, it would
be a prostitution of time and patience, even if one had both in the
requisite quantity, to offer a reply. But the observations which
Captain King immediately makes on this subject, will probably obviate
any objection which the most sanguine mind will be disposed to
entertain, and perhaps there was little occasion to subjoin a single
remark to his opinion.--E.
[30] This is the only point on which, it seems possible, to question the
reasoning of Captain King, and that altogether on the ground of Mr
McKenzie's discovery, which of course was not known to that officer.
In virtue of that discovery, it seems obvious enough, that the implied
necessity of the run from the Icy Cape to Baffin's Bay in one short
season, according to the above argument, is reduced; though it would
be erroneous, to say, that the importance of the discovery is such as
very materially to modify the occasion for so great a navigation at
one stretch. But enough perhaps has been said on a subject, which can
scarcely be expected to claim more attention than it has done already,
or which, if it be yet destined to prompt to farther undertakings,
will do so for some such reasons, and on such grounds, as were
formerly adverted to.--E.
[31] See Gmelin, pages 369, 374.
[32] The reader may recollect that his attention was formerly directed to
the same work, and for the same reason. It ought now to be remarked,
that the subject has very recently attracted much attention by the
additional enquiries and observations of Mr Scoresby, as communicated
to the Wernerian Society of Edinburgh, and which are likely to lead to
some important results.--E.
[33] It is worth while to remember that a corresponding observation as to
the comparative prevalence of fogs during a northerly wind, was made
in Cook's second voyage when navigating in a high south latitude.--E.
[34] But this opinion is not admitted by Mr Arrowsmith, who has given but
one island in this position, as we have already mentioned.--E.