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This item is filmed at the reduction rat n ^T- PREFACE. li] H/ ^/jlS fome erroneous conjeSiures and ajfer^ tions have circulated in the public prints relating to the pajfage of the Jlnps the Refolution and Difcovery from Kampf- chatka to England', and as all philojophic end curious men mvft unavoidably interejl themfehes in the famous voyage wherein cur renowned Britijlo navigator loft his lifci out of veneration, therefore, to his memory, and in order to gratify the lauda^ ble curiofity of the Public, I have, in the following fiort treatife^ humbly offered my imperfect fentiment 5 and conjectures on the probable operations of thofe Jhips after they left Kampfchatka in June lajl ; adding a few \ 1 /■ \. Ii I ■ s 1 } vi PREFACE. few pages, as a Tribute of Gratitude U the memory of Capt, Cook, The equipment of the faid Jhips, and the difcoveries which Capt, Cook went upon^ are certainly attended with a very great, tho* a very proper and ufeful expence to the public ; and the zeal of the Firft Lord of thi Admiralty, in promoting naval difcovd- ries, and geographical knowledge and im^ provementSy is highly to be applauded. He would exceedingly oblige and indulge the curiofity of people in general^ if he would be fo condefcending as to order a concife na^ rati' r journal to be pubiifJ:)ed, commu^ nicai...^ fuch information as the letters and papers from Kampfchatka may Jur*- nifly^ if they are arrived^ or whenever they may arrive by the way of Peterfhurgh. Thoufands of the people^ ^yf(f amongft the refi, are very anxious for fome authentic particulars concerning the track i) PREFACE. vu track of the fnps^ from the time of their leaving the Cape of Good Hope to their arrival at Kampfchatka-, liith the remarks and occurrences in the voyage ^ the difcove* ries made in confequence of it, and the cir* cumftances of the celebrated Commander's deaths THE AUTHOR^^ A\ ^^ =^- i n I i IS a /, 1^ it « . •\ 1 ■ . , . , . ■. 1 1 • i f p ': ■:\ ■ ■■./■ % s^a^M REMARKS, C. W After the unfortunate and ever-to- be lamented death of that coniummate feaman and ufeful difcoverer Captain JAMES COOK ; his (hir-G, the Refolu- tion and Difcovery, proceeded from the Pacific Ocean, or Great South-Sea, to the Port of St. Peter and St. Paul in Kampf- chatka ; a vaft Promontory, extending 720 miles in length, in the Eaftern part of the Ruffian Empire. There the faid fhips, under the command of Captain Clerke, B vidualied m 1 ^ i ( 10 ) vidlualled and refitted ; and on the 8th of June, 1779, were preparing to make another attempt to explore a Northern pafTage to Europe ;. the meaning of which undoubtedly was, that he intended to pro- ceed into the Northern Ocean, or Icy Sea j and progreflively on, by a Wefterly courfe, to the palTage between Nova Zembla and Spitfbergcn ; and thence, by a Southerly courfe, through the North Sea to Eng- land. 1 will, therefore, in the firft place, offer my remarks and conjedlurcs on this arduous and mofl difficult part of the voyage; and, without derogating from Capt. Gierke's fuperior judgment and fkill, as a great navigator and difcoverer, fliall take the liberty of giving my fentiment$ on the general impropriety of attempting the North-Eaft pafTage, homeward bound from Kampfchatka to England. Yet is there no real impropriety in Capt. Gierke's attempting it that way, for the following reafons ; I * i\ ( " ) reafons : ift. His brave crew were in good health and fpirits, and his (hips in good condition ; and he would, by a Northerly paflage to England, inftead of the ordina- ry courfe round the Cape of Good Hope, fh orten his voyage 10,000 fea miles. 2dly, He would acquire the parliamentary re- ward of 20,000/. a very great induce- ment, and an objedt worthy of fome ex- traordinary rifque. I always thought, however, that, if Capt. Cook meant the difcovery of the North-Eaft paflage when he failed from England, the mofl: judi- cious courfe would have been to have failed diredlly from the Thames North- vi^ards, and to have made the North- Eaft paflage the beginning, inftead of the end, of his voyage. m The Straits which lie between the land of the Tchuktfchi and the ifland of A- lafchka, and the other paflage which lies B 2 between . ( , 12 ) between Alafchlia and the Weftern pro montory of North America, called by the Ruffians the Stachtan Nitada, through one of which Straits Capt. Gierke muft unavoidably pafs 'y thefe paflages are fel- dom navigable until the fummer is far advanced. The conflux of ice from the Northern Ocean, or Icy Sea, and from the New Northern Archipelago, meeting in the Straits above mentioned, and flud:a- ating and driving backwards and forwards with the winds and tides, ealily accounts for this floppagc. Hence it follows, that the moft eligible feafon to pafs thofe Straits muft be in July or Auguft ; and, of courfe, that it is much more advifable, and better adapted to the time of the year, and to the courfe of the voyage, to deal with thofe Straits on an outward- bound paflage from Europe, than on a homeward-bound paflage from Kampf- chatka or China. For the foregoing rea- fons. >) )i i^ o ( 13 ) fons, I am apprehenfive that Capt. Gierke would not be able to get into the North- ern Ocean until the latter part of laft fum- mer, whereas he ought to have been in the very . idft of it, finding his way through the ice, by Midfummer-day. It is well known, that Hudfon*s Straits, tho* exceedingly wide, are fo amazingly en* cumbered with ice, even with monftrous iflands of it, that they arc feldom naviga* ble until the fummer is far advanced : and in the North part of Hudfon's Bay, called the Welcome, it is ftill worfe ; infomuch that the Frozen Straits (fo named by that celebrated navigator Capt. Middleton), which undoubtedly form a communication between Hudfon's and Baffin's Bay, and are 100 fat horns deep at the entrance, are never navigable at all. -But to return to the main matter. After Capt. Clerke fhould have pafled the Straits before men- tioned, and the illand of Alafchka, thus late ill . 1 ( H ) late in the fummer, and fhould have got- ten into the open Northern Ocean, or Icy Sea, where he would be navigating in the latitude of 78 to 80, the days would fhorten on him apace, Wefte-ly winds ( which prevail very much towards autumn) might retard him, winter in thofe parts would be coming on, and poflibly he might be encumbered and flopped by the ice, ere he fhould get to tlie Weft ward of Nova Zembla. This I fear has been the cafe, provided it has pleafed God to preferve our circumnavi- gator, and that he adually attempted the North- Eaft pafTage, and cleared the faid Straits laft fummer. On this conje(5lure, we may fuppofe further, that he has been, and is ftill, wintering in fome. gulph or harbour of Siberia ; or perhaps in Nova Zembla, as the renowned William Barentz and his faithful crew did Anno 1 596 . And this would be the more pro^ bable. ^ b 'W" I , \ » ( 15 ) bable, if Capt. Gierke, by coveting to make the land to the Southward, fhould have fallen into the like error, which Barentz acknowledges he fell into 5 name- ly, approaching too near the land of Nova Zembla. By this means, Barentz was fo hemmed in between the main body of ice and the land, that he could never af- terwards difengage himfelf from it; nor could he keep his defired Northerly courfe. This miftake was the overfet- ting of the voyage of the boldeft and braveft feaman that ever combatted the icy regions or the Northern blafts : for, though he did not fucceed in three expeditions, which he undertook for the accomplifli- ment of his long- fought voyage j yet, as Grotius obferves, he is worthy to be rank- ed with Vefpucius and Columbus, and, I will venture to add, with all other great difcoverers and navigators. But to pro- ceed in my conjedlures. :l i ' f I ( 16 ) If Capt. Gierke had advanced fo far in his paffagp North-about from Kampfehat* ka, as tp have cleared Nova Zembla to the Weft ward J he mud, barring acci* dents, have arrived in England by the end of November at the lateft. There is a poflibility, however, nay a probability, that his (hips may have received damage in the ice, by being fo late in the year in the Northern Ocean : and, in this cafe, he may be put into Lapland to repair 3 and may be compelled to winter there, or in fome other Northern parts, from whence no intelligence can be received. L^t us hope, that he and his brave crew arc in fafety fomewhere 5 and that, if it is their fate to winter in the icy regions, they have found means to build themfelves a houfe, as Barentz and his brave crew did 183 years ago. — Upon the whole, I am of opinion, that, if Capt. Gierke con- tinued in his feeming rcfolution of pro- ceeding .(> M ^ ■iV ( 17 ) ceeding from Kampfchatka, up the Northern Archipelago, and by the ifland of Alafchika into the Northern Ocean j that he undoubtedly found it pradticable to pafs the ftraits ; though, as I have juft men- tioned, it might be late in the fummer before he could accomplifli it. I make no doubt, but ihoie (traits are navigable every year j fomctimes fooner, fometimes later in the fummer, according to the variable courfes of the ice,: the winds, &c. Should our navigator have been wintering in Siberia, or Nova Zembla, he may probably not clear the ice on thofc coafts till May or June j and confequently, in this cafe, we (hould not exped him in England till Auguft or September next, - — -I will now confider his paflage to England the other way. Provided he left Kampfchatka by the end of June laft, and comes home by the way ot China and the Cape of Good Hope, without attempting the North Eaft Paf- C fage ; H ( i8 ) fage ; we cannot, on account of the mon- foons, expedt him to arrive in England till May or Jane. But if he fteers an- other courfe, keeping well to the Eafl- ward of the monfoons, which prevail in the Chinefe feas, and pafles by the way of the Ladrone Iflands, and the Moluccas, and to the fouthward of Java, he may probablv arrive in England in a few weeks ; I mean, if he did not attempt the North-Eaft PafTage : if he did, and was repulfed by means of the ice at Alafchka, and thereupon fteered a Southerly courfe for Europe, fuch repulfe would retard him two months at leaft. — One more material conjed:ure remains, viz. That he may have met with damage in the ice or otherwife, and may be put back to Kampfchatka to refit. If fo, we may foon receive news from him by the way of Peterfburgh. — May the hand of the Almighty, which governs all things, di- rect his courfe ! and I doubt not, but the . Earl k ^ ^ ^> ( 19 ) Earl of Sandwich will humanely give orders, that the gallant feamen of thefc famous fhips, the Rcfolution and Dif- covery, fhall, on their happy arrival, have full liberty to enjoy themlclves on (horej and (hall be exempt from all imprefling, turning over, or any other reftraint upon their liberty, during the war, after fo long and laborious a voyage. However, there is no doubt but nine tenths of them will to fea again, after a little land relaxation ; for thefe brave fellows would be likefifli out of water, if they had their land-tacks long aboard. " ' • . • I will now, with humble fubniiflion, offer the heads of my opinion on this famous North-Eaft PafTage ; a palTage which has been eagerly fought for, by the mofl able and fkilful navigators of divers nations, for upwards of two centuries pafl ; and on which feveral hun- dred thoufand pounds have been un- fuccefsfully expended. ' • *' C 2 Firft, '■ ( 20 ) Firft, That fuch a pafrdge cxifts, is beyond all doubt and controverfy ; and I am equally confident that // is navigable, but not by any couiTcs whereby it has hi- thLfto been attempted, William Barentz, a Dutchman, the moft able of all the fea- mcn that ever ha-ve attempted it, pointed out and acknowledged the errors which he ^ committed by fleering a wrong courfe, which totally overfet his voyage. He intended to have redified thofe errors in a fubfequent voyage ; but it plcafed God to prevent it, by taking him to a better country. He died in his open boat, on the coaft of Nova Zembla, in his remarkable paffage from thence tQ Kola, in Lapland; after having wintered in Nova Zembla, in a memorable manner, indeed, and having been obliged ta abandon his ice-bound fhip tjie next, fpring, — Hud Ton, feemingly, attempted to re(3:ify the errors of Barentz, by fleering a more judicious courfe 9 but his refolun ' tion J^ i)^ ^ > ( 21 ) tion failed him as foon as he entered the ice in the latitude of 74 to y^i and he returned unjuccefsful. — N. B. The (liips in thofe days were not to be compared to thofe of the prefent age, for ftrength, and capability of encountering the ice. Secondly, The voyage for the difcovcrj of this pafTage, ought not to be attempted by men who have been accuftomed to relaxation, and hot climates; but by bardy, ice-proof k^im^n, who have been brought up in the Greenland feas, amongft ice, whales, feals, and bears. . Thirdly, The fbips intended for the voyage, ought to be fharp built, and ftrengthened in a very extraordinary man- ner ; and ought to fwim rather light in ballaft, in order to bear the ihocks of the ice, and that they might the eafier be uplifted by it, in cafe of being hemmed in and fqueezed between two pieces. And they (hould not be overmanned, as was the cafe in a late Northern expedition. Bomb- '■V. ( 22 ) Bomb- ketches, with an additional deck, almoft flulh with the gunwale, would be the propcreft veflels to convert to the ufe of this expedition. , Fourthly, The voyage ought to be atti^mpted dire('tly from England, in the month of April ; that the (hips might be in their hieheft latitude of about 80 to 82, and in the midft of the lev Sea or Northern Ocean, by the middle of *he fummer, when the fun is in his grej .eft power in the polar regions. Whatever embar- nifTm^^nts they fhould meet with, they would probably be early enough in paf- fing the ftraits into the Northern archi- pelago, and in getting to the Southward, from their rendezvous at Kampfchatka,' as autumn advanced. :. • /. « > - Further particulars I (hall refer ve for the treatife I have written on the North-. Eafl: PalTagej which I intend to publifh, or,' at lead, to communicate to fuch philofo- phical gentlemen ?s'may be anxious for the ^' A>> a. ^ i n ) the difcovery of it, and who would en* courage the undertaking, by their fub- fcriptions (or otherwife) to fit out two ihips and a Hoop for the purpofe. — I have contrived, and therein laid down a plan for the conftrudlion of a veflel of 100 tons or upwards, which cannot poj/ibly Jink or overfet -, nor could ihe eafily be fqueezed to pieces in the ice. This vefTel I fhould propofe to accompa- ny the larger fhips, in order to take their crews on board, in cafe of fatal accidents. In my faid treatifc, I have laid down the courfes to be fleered y as nearly as the ice may permit ; with precautions and diredtions in making the land of the Tchuktfchi, or the Stachtan Nitada, and the illand of Alafchka ; and have maturely confidered the whole matter. I have likewife made it plain, that no navigable North-Well: paflage can poflihly exifl : and that the attempting it, either by the way of Hud- fon*s Bay, or Baffin's Bay, or by approachr !1 •t Hi i'i' It!* hi < *4 > ing tlie North Pole to the Northward of Spitibcrgen; or, on the other hand, from the Weflern coaft of North America, to the Northward of California ; are all ab- furd undertakings j and that the difco^ vering a Northerly paflage that way is altogether impraSlicable. Capt. Mid- dleton's arguments will Jiajid the tejt for ever. He was a confummate feaman, a bold adventurer, and a man of great judg* inent and experience in na^al matters. The attempt of a N. W. paffage after him, in the fliips Dobbs and California, was proved to be a vague and fruitleia fcheme. Thofe ihips were fitted out through pique, prejudice, and ignorance* The Commander of one of them, Capt* Smith, who, before that expedition, was thoroughly and pradlically acquainted with all the Weftern coaft of Hudfon*s Bay, declared to me, '* That there was no fuch thing as a paflage from thence to the South Seas. " And Capt. Middleton proved 4 ^> h 4> ( 25 ) proved in Repulfe Bay, that the farther he got to the Northward, the more he was incumbered with ice : the reafon and phi- lofophy of which is plain, becaufe he was the more land-lock'd ; and becaufe there was no opening or paiTagc to the North- ward, whereat the ice could dlfperfe it- felf. The only vent for it out of Hudfon's Bay (which is more properly a great fea) isthroucrh Hudfon's Straits, from whence it is driven, in monftrous illands, into the wide Ocean, where fome of it may be 50 years and upwards in thawing. The very identical ice I am fpeaking of, is met with on the Banks of Newfoundland, which is 1000 miles to the Southward of Hudfon's Straits. I am aware, that my arguments in fa- vour of the North-Eall Paffage being navigable, will probably be objeded to, by a certain able and ingenious naval commander, who is a feaman of great intrepidity, of gre.it profelfional know- D ledge j ' '.■ ii ,1.1 i' I ;1 V'h ( 26 ) ledge 5 a philofoph^r, and, I believe I may fafely add, a good aflronoiner and mathe- matician. This brave man, a few years a^n), ufed his utmoft endeavours, and perfevered with undaunted refolution, in difcoveries towards the North Pole ; and, of courfe, for a Northerly pafTage to the South Seas, and to China. The reafons why he failed in the expedition are very plain. I could have foretold the ill fuc- cefs of the voyage, if I had known the in- tended courfes of the (hips, when they left the Thames. Begging the brave commander's pardcn, I think he fleered the moil improper courfe that could be devifed : it unavoidably locked him up in the ice ; becaufe he hampered and en- ; tangled himfelf with the iflands and I broken land of Spitfbergen, where there is a certainty of being encumbered and furrounded with ice. The Green- land fliips experience it every fummer. They go thither on purpofe to be fur- rounded m ( 27 ) rounded with mafTy ice, becaufe the fportive whale delights therein. It is evident, then, that their tracks which the faid naval commander followed, is utterly an improper one ; and is on the wrong fide of the land of Spitfbergcn to feek a Northerly palTage to the Pacifick Ocean. Jnftead of keeping on the meridian of London, it would have been more, pru- dent, in my opinion, to have fought the meridian of the ifland of Alafchka-; where, and where alone, there exifts a Northerly paffage from Europe to China and the South Seas. The maxim which I have laid down for the difcovery and navigatiorr of this hidden paflage, is never to hug the land aboard: the reafon is manifeft, becaufe wherever there isjland beyond the latitude of 74 North, the fea about it is aiTuredly full of ice, 1 would, therefore, if I was to go in fearch of this paffage, never wifh to behold any land, after I had taken my departure from ;, , D 2 Wintcrton H % <;t: l}": w ^- ^ f 1 ( 28 ) WintertonNefs, in the county of Norfolk, until I had been in the latitude of 821 and had made fo much ^J^ing, as to be come to my delired meridian for a Southerly courfe. Ever avoid the landy my polar navigator y beyond the lat. of 74, if you mean to avoid your enemy the ice, —Our great and lamented difcoverer, Capt. Cook, when he went on his ex- pedition towards the South pole, could not get within 18 degrees, or 1080 miles, of it. In the latitude of 71, he found the ice like a floating continent; — it totally flopped his progrefs to the Southward; — he coafted it, but could find no fair openings : whereas, in the fame parallel of latitude of 71 North, nay to 74, there are no fuch interruptions in the fummer. This is a convincing proof to me, that there is more land towards the South than towards the North Pole ; for it is the land and freHi water, not the fea, that produces the ice. I do fuppofe, that V (J \ J :■=. ^i„m.jjm V ( 29 ) that, beyond the Southern Ice which I am fpeaking of, and which our renowned navigator coafted along, there is a great continent of land, probably inhabit- ed ; and I further fuppole, that Capt. Cook was within a hundred miles of that land. I ground my judgment on the known fac^s relative to the coafts of thofe vaft continents, Siberia, and Green- land, and of the great ifland of Nova Zembla ; all lying in the Polar Region or Frigid Zone. The ice lies packed in fuch a manner all along thofe coafts, that they are oftentimes iaacceftible, even in the middle of fummer ; but where the fliore is flat, the ice grounds far enough from it to leave a navigable channel between the body of ice and the fhore, particularly on the coaft of Siberia. Yet you muft ever avoid getting into this channel : for, if you do, you will be hemmed in, as the renowned Barentz was on the coafl of Nova Zembla j and will •'■ ■If;: I I'i'. / r I- • ( 30 ) will wifli in vain, as he did, to be whb^ Ota the ice to lea-board. The Ruffian fliips which went from Siberia round the land of the Tchuktfchi, and arrived at Kampfchatka, fome centuries ago, un- doubtedly navigated in fuch channel, keeping clofe along (li ore all the way: but this is no argument for any navigator to follow their example. The North- Eaft PafTage mnjibejlught where there is fea-room, and by working a traverfe out of fight of land amongft the fluctuating ice. • ■-■■ ' ■ ■.!'.•,/!. In regard to a North- Wefl PafTage, to the Northward of Greenland and Baffin's Bay, into the Icy Sea or Northern Ocean; I apprehend no fuch paffiage exifts. I rather fuppofe, that the continent of Greenland, which widens fo far as it has I been difcovered, extends to the Pole; and thence trends away to the South- Weft, to the Stachtan Nitada of the Ruffians ; and thence forms the Weftern Coaft of North ( 3' ) North-America : fo that, if there is any fea to the Northward of Greenland, it lies under or near the Pole, according to this conjedure. — Baffin's Bay extends to 78 degrees North latitude -, and, from the inlets there difcovered, and other circumftances, it is reafonable to imagine that a great trad of land Ues to the North- ward of that bay : and the continent of Greenland widcnijig as it extends to the Northward, renders my conjedure the more probable. Baffin's Bay has been rounded by fcveral navigators, and no pafliige out of it could be found navigable to the Weft ward, or to the Northward ; only fmall founds and inlets were dif- covered : fo that, if any palfage does exift from Baffin's Bay to the Northern Ocean, it muft be a very narrow one, choaked up with everlajling ice, — But, fuppofing that a North- Weft Pailage could be found to the Northward of Greenland, you muft afterwards, at all events, in order to get to China III '11 t i ( .32 ) China or the South Seas, pafs through the Straits at the ifland of Alafchka. Bat to conclude this fliort prelude on the North-Eaft Paflage : All the arguments and all the attempts that have been made for the difcovery, being duly confidered and fummed up together, the rational conclufion will be^ That there is no other eligible plan, no other probability of fuccefs in the ac- complifliment of this defirable and long- fought voyage, than to attempt it vigo- roujly by a North-Eaft Courfe, I am con- fident, that, by human fkill and a religious dependence on the divine J a'vour and pro-^ teBioUf the voyage may be perjormed: and the ever-renowned difcoverers would undoubtedly be crowned with honour and reward. I am ready and defirous to lend a hand to fuperintend, and to ftep for- ward in this arduous and laudable under- taking ; and to publifli my Treatile under the patronage of fuch worthies as would enter I > ( 33 ) enter warmly and ftrenuoufly into the bold and honourable enterprizc. And if the Firft Lord of the Admiralty would countenance it, by letting the ad- venturers have two of his Majefty's bomb- ketches, and by giving fuch other alliftance as is inhisLorddiip's power, without preju- dice to the naval operarions, or to the work of the royal dock-yard?, it would greatly facilitate the bufmefs. — According to my plan, none of the navy-officers or feamen would be wanted ; for, as I have before hinted, the commanders and their whole crews fhould confift of hardy men, brought up in the Greenland Seas -, fuch as have been accuftomed to /et their faces againji the ice, P. S. From the different accounts that have appeared in the public prints, relating to Capt. Gierke's homeward-bound paf- fage from Kampfchatka, it is impoffible for the reader, who is not verfed in mari- time affairs, to form any true judgment E of \h ( 34 ) of the circumnavigator's intentions; To the letter that was faid to be read to the Royal Society, it is added, that Capt. Clerk {m the month of June) intended to proceed from Kampfchatka back to Othaheites and thence back again, m fearch of a North-WeftPaiTage: meaning, no doubt, that he Would attempt it again, where I fuppofe Capt. Cook had failed in it, on the Weftern coaft of North America, in about the latitude of 52, to the Northward of California. — This doc- trine is fo abfurd and ridiculous, that I do not credit it ; becaufe, by fuch a courfe, Captc Clerk would be going backwards and forwards 9100 miles, to arrive at a fpot, which, when he was at Kampf- chatka, he was within 2100 miles of, and at a proper time of the year. Befides, fuch a round-about-courfe of 7000 miles out of his way, would make him too late in the year to admit of a poffibiHty of fuccefs in any Northerly Paflage. I will \ { 4 1 i! I < « <1 ( 35 ) I will beg leave further to obferve, that, if there exift any ilraits or narrow chan- nels from Hudion's Bay to the Weftern Ocean of North America, fuch ftraits muft be upwards of looo miles through: and I will be bold to fay, that all water- paflages through the continent of North America, from its Eaftern to its Weftern Coaft, beyond the 6oth degree of North latitude, arc wedged up with perpetual ice, which never difperfes fufRciently to leave thofe paflages navigable. And, if there are any fuch channels or flraits out of Baffin's Bay. the Norther- moft part of which is 13 degrees or 780 miles to the Northward of Hudfon's Bay, fuch paflages do not lead into the Weftern Ocean of North America, but into the Northern Ocean or Icy Sea. to the North-Weft of the Stachtan Nitada. This being the cafe, there cannot be any paffage from Europe to China, or to the Pacifick Ocean, by Baffin's Bay. (or to E 2 ^^* 1 ^1 'I' ',1 ! i'i I ;'l/ m m .ii > ; ( 36 the Northv/ard of it,) without pafling tlie fliuits to the EaRward or to the Well- ward of the liLnd of Alafchka ; and progredivcly on through the Northern Aicljipelago : fo thut, if a (liip Ihould pafs from Bafiin's Bay, (or to the Northward of it,) by a North-Wederly or a Weflerly CQurfc, ii:to the Icy Sea, and thence, doubhng the land of Nova Zeinhla and the North Cape, fliould arrive in England from the North Sea ; which would be a meritorious voyage, and an abfolute proof and difcovery of all the difficult part of tJie North- Eafl: and North- Weft Paf- fagcs, as they are commonly called ; yet fhe would not be entitled to the Parlia- mentary reward of 20,000/. bccaufe flie would not have been in the Pacifick Ocean. — I think the firft claufe in the At\ of Parliament, which is the grand and efTential part of it, is very vague and impeifcd: in its literal {^nk and meaning. It feemingly retrains the difcoverers from going < (1 ( 37 ) going dlreSf to CJjina by the North- Eafl, and I think by the North-Weft Palligc too ; befides fcvcral other errors which I can point out. Therefore, a thorough explanation of fix words in the faid claufc would be neceflliry, before a (hip lliould undertake the voyage for the dil'covery of a Northerly Fafjage from England to the Northern Archipelago of the RuJJians-, which is the only merit and difficulty of t^e expedition, and ought to be the fole object and meaning of the parliamentary reward for the performance of it : for it matters not, whether the voyage is navi- gated by a North-Eafterly or a North- Wefterly Courfe from the North Sea. I prophecy, however, that it will never he navigated by a North- Wefterly Courfe, unlefs it is by whales under the ice. A T R I- 1* TRIBUTE OF GRATITUDE TO THE MEMORY OF That renowned Circumnavigator, CAPT. JAMES COOK: With Remarks on the fubfequent Part of the Voyage of his Ships the Resolution and Discovery, after they left Kampfchatka^ TJr^VERY feeling man muft be fenfibly ^^ affeded at the melancholy account of the death of that brave and renowned feaman Captain Cook. The circum-- fiances of his being cut off, as related in the news-papers, are aggravating and aflonifliing beyond meafurc. His intre- pidity in putting himfelf at the head of only 5i ( 40 ) only nine of his crew, to combat a nume* rous and defperate mob of iflanders, when he might, with equal eafe, have headed 150 of his brave tars, who would have quelled a thoufand of thofe favages ; this initance of heroifm is almoft incre- dible. If it was rafli or imprudent, I may venture to fay, that this unequal combat was the only rafh or imprudeYit ilep, in thrice furrounding the world, that this celebrated navigator was guilty of. — O Cook I matchlefs in valour, yet too difdainful of danger ; unequalled in prudence too, till thy unfortunate death probably paid the forfeit of a too bold attempt: if it can be any confolation to thy manes, let it be remembered, that the Jir/l cir cwmiavi gator y the immortal Magellan, fell in fome mcafure like you. Ranked with him, with Columbus, Drake, Hudfon, Willoughby, Barentz, Gilbert, Forbifher, Davis, and all the antient and modern heroes of the ocean, whofe t i I ( ' ! i <\) ( 41 ) Xvhofe names are lafting as the flars of Heaven, thy name fhall be handed dowa to poflerity with veneration and ap- plaufe.- — O Son of Neptune ! you have fought a good fight ; and as a great naval difcoverer, and a brave feaman, you have fmipded your courje with credit to your- felf, with honour to your country, and with improvement to mankind. As a chriftian and foldier of your heavenly MafttT, you have wifely kept the faith of your holy religion ; therefore I doubt not, but there is laid up for you a crown of life, which will be given you at the great day of retribution, as a reward for your integrity and approved condud in this world of probation. — A flar, like that of Chaldea and of Bethlehem, will then diredt your courfe, without magnetic vjriatiojj, to the laitd cf promife, A ^ bite Pacifick Sea will then prelent itfelf to you view. No fliipwrecks will ever there be feen; no enemies will ever there F aflault 7) ( 42 ) aflault you. The meridian fun of rlgln teoufjiefs will (hine on you continually j for in thofe bleft regions it is eternal day. A profperous gale will never ceale to fill the bofom of your fail, until you have fleered your chriftian bark into the fafe harbour of everlafting reft. Landing, by the grace of God, on the blifsful coaft of a ?2ew-difcovcred, better country ; you will there, with Di ke. and Magellan, and an innumerable comj^ y of juji men made perfeB, be welcomed on fliore by faints and angels. They will conduct you into the New Jeriifalem, into a city which hath foundatio7tSy whofe builder and maker is God-, where all the myfteries of fcience are unfolded ; wh jre the en- larged mind will comprehend more m one hour than it has been able to attaia in a whole life of fludy on this terra- queous globe ; and where improvement in knowledge will be endlefs as the ages of eternity which the righteous will have to ' f ( 43 ) to pafs.— Such will be the privileges of juji men made perfcB ! I would wifh to add a great deal more in praife of the deccafed j but he needs no p negyric. I will only indulge my- felf in this allegorical flrain for a few lines more 5 and then, taking flielter under the wings of the candid reader, I will conclude. The naval exploits, the great geogra- phical improvements, and the extraordi- nary prefervation of men's lives at fea, will fufficiently immortalize the memory of our renowned Navigator; and will place him in the rank of Britifh Argo- nauts, as long as oak of Britain plows the ocean. In my allegorical ilrain I may juftly fay of •- Capt. Cook, that Neptune fmiled at his birth -, Navigation marked him as her enterprizing fon. From the Zenith to the Nadir, the conftellations fung an hymn of rejoicing, for the birth of this thrice - circumnavigating hero. F 2 and m 1 m I ( W ) and thrice a vifitor to their feveral hemi- fpheres. — Such were the auipices of his birth ! — In the meridian of his Hfe, and during his ten years curious refearches round the world ; virtue, humanity, prudence, and fortitude, were his in- feparable attendants : and though he fell a vidim at laft, yet, Phcsnix hke, his fame is Icindled up afrefli ; fo that, when we read the entertaining page, we behold him, with the wondering eye of imagi- nation, fometimes exploring new con- tinents, fometimes boldly encountering the icy regions, fometimes burning under the line. The ocean may be his grave, but the whole globe is his monument ! His circumnavigu^ting tracks have marked and have meafured it almoft thrice round in a curious variety of mazes and mean-^ ders; and I hope that the Galaxy will be traced with his/iirer pilotage on high. J will now only add this memento on our V ! ! d d 36 on lur ( 45 ) our famous navigator; that, as he has twice put a girdle round the world, and had prepared a third with which he had half encircled it again, I truft fo much gratitude will be fhewn to his memory, that a judicious naval monument will be eredled to it in Weftminfter Abbey, either at the publick expence, or at the private expence of his Majefly, or at that of Capt. Cook's particular friends ; fuch as the Earl of Sandwich, Jofeph Banks, Efq; Dodtor Solander, and others: and that a/w// defcriptive epitaph will be infcribed on it j not a modern one, like the pofey of a ring, as Hamlet fays of the player King's prologue. Having thus paid a due refpedl to the memory of our renowned navigator, I have only to beg the Reader's pardon for all the errors and imperfedions in this fliort effay ; and to alTure him, that, if I have caufed him to facrifice half an hour without ( 46 ) without entertainment and improve- ment, I am exceedingly forry for it. If he finds a contrary effedt, then I am made happy -, and the publ idling my fentiments anfvvers my mofl fanguine defircs : and, in a future elTay, I fhould not doubt of affording him a much higher entertainment, by communicating 7ny thoughts at large on (he meritorious and important voyage, for the difcovery of the North-Eafl: PafTage, round the vaft empire of Ruflia, never yet encircled by any navigator. In fuch future elTay, I would condudt my reader, on various courfes, through the Northern Ocean or Icy Sea, till at length he fhould look a- head for the 5calaginfis.i Nos, and Cape Chuckchenfe, or the ifland of Alafchka, cr the Weftern Point of the Stachtaa Nitada, which is the Weflermoft land of all America. Then, with God's bleiling, I would freer him through the wifhed* IS!! ( 47 ) wifhed-for Straits -, and, running to the Southward, and leaving the Alafchkan ifland out of fight afiern, and bidding farewel to ardic ftars and grinding ice, I would anchor him fafe in the Kampf- chatkan port. To realize this fond imaginution, would be to quench the thirft of a noble ambition, which has reigned in the minds of men, and, at different periods, has perplexed and baffled the fkill of the ablefl mariners, for upwards of two centuries pafl. The fhips that fhould perform the arduous tafk, would be as worthy of renown as thofe of Columbus and of Magellan ; and would dciwrve as eminent a place in the ftarry regions of the North, as Argo Navis did in the Southern hemifphere. The British Tars, who fhould ac- complifli this glorious voyage, would be entitled to a more meritorious reward, than thofe Argonauts who fetched the gold ( 48 ) golden fleece from Colchis, The Great Empress, too, would found her applaufe^ on hearing the wondrous talc of thefe new marine mathematicians, who had meafur- ed her extenfive empire with their log and line. But Britifli Gratitude (un^ tarniJJ.'ed yet I hope) would doubtlefs be foremoft in its reward and praife. R. B. FINIS.