IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I !rliM IIM •^ 1^ 12.2 2.0 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 ^ 6" - ► V] <^ /2 /a V '/ w Photograpmc Sdences Coiporation s. 4 ^ iV V ^- attem Alfo Al'^IIeams difco^renes to tlie^oTtli .vcitwi leYears 3778 &v7t, Between tke EASTERN COASTofASIA L.wheii fticA' altempteJto:Vavigate ihe NORTH SEA. h-eNoTtli veitwarcl of IliLttfonsBa;3r,iii i^^^^ : ( ^ r -V ^ T.RN COASTof^ASIA iht NORTH SEA. J Bay, in 1772.. So Jt to to full bet 0[- ! ovl/ion.% 'atfled in rtate of ich frc- 3ns that cncou- f'^ nof: 1 ilands -tempts -ets, to ;nume- ing. )rthcm 'e un^ ar the ic Jikc tudes, from fes, a I that igers. : un- j/t no Aacle 3very ning AND FACTS. I taining thirty or forty veflcls. Thefe dangers, whether exa-^-- geratcd or imaginary, do not, it may be ohjeded, enougli iiffright thofc who lit out fliips for the Whale Fifaery, to lelTen the number fent, which annually incrcnies, as it did this very lall /ear. But the obvious anfwer to this will be, that they are not deflined to work through the ice to the Pole; and that they know how to get back with the profitable return that allures them to venture in. The Northv^rn Sea bears various afpedls in different quarters : to the Weft of Sfyitfjcrgen, and South of Noiui ZcmbUi, it feems full of ice J between Spitjhergen and No'va Zcmbla, it bears a better appearance, having only fbme floating fhoals ; and in the opLi. ^pace to the North and Eafh of both, it looks far more pleafing, none being fon'-d there. Not the Icaft mention is made of ice met with in that f;a, by the two Dutch lliips that pro- ceeded fo far North in the year 1570. They found the Polar Ocean calm, deep, and free. Their purfuit for a difcovery was earne/1:, but defeated b/ the jealoufy and powerful influence of the Eafl-India Company in Holland. An account of the matter is publilhed among the Tranfadions of the Royal Society : and a more ample flate of the cafe is found in the writings of the famous Vojius, with the memorials on both fides. The narrative of thofc Navigators is confirmed by the teflimony of the renowned Ad- miral Heemjkerkcy and corroborated by the report of Captain Barents, one of the ablefl failors of that time; he made feveral voyages to the North, bent upon making difcoveries, and died at Nova Zembla in 1597, having explored its Southern coaft through the ice, gone about its Eaftern part, and convinced himfelf, as he declared in his lafl moments, that a pafTage would certainly be found when attempted from the moil Northern part B 2 ^f 4 OBSERVATIONS of that ifland. His opinion refted partly upon the following fadts : that on the 22d of February, at the diftance of five or fix leagues from land, he faw the lea open in feveral parts to the Eafi:; and that on the 9th of March, he found it wholly open to the North. In the years 1594 and 95, Lynfchoten prepofixiffed with the miilaken notion, that the nearcft advance to the Pole was the moft certain and inextricable entanglement in the ice, fought a pafiage through the fi:raits of Way gat ^ where he got into the cmbarrafsment he meant to avoid : the danger was great in the narroweft part, and toward the States Ifland. The floating ice brought to the lower feas, by the general current from the Eaft, has made others believe, that an open fea, like an ocean, would be found in that quarter, to the North Eaft. The Samoyedes, old inhabitants of the Northern coaft of Afia, well acquainted with thefe fads, inform us, that the Great Sea never is frozen, not even in winter j but that the Lefier Sea, which receives frefh water from the Oby and other great rivers' of Siberia and Tartary, does produce ice regularly. — That from the middle of Augufl forward, for the fpacc of fix weeks, there is none at its entrance, though before that time it be quite full. Lynfchoten in his dread of the accumulated mafles he faw, forming iflands and mountains, conceited them more than a hundred years old, and believed that they never melted down. TheRuflian accounts agree with thofe here mentioned of the Aate of the feas and Ihores Eaft of Nova Zembla : their tradition confirms that the broken ice floating along the coaft, has not for 160 years hindred the poor inhabitants from ufing the Eaflern fca as far as Kolyma, and from thence, fince a number of year&, to the firait of AniaUi and the Weft lliore of America. Some .1 AND FACTS. ^ Some perfons eluding the conletjuence of thcfe fa(fts, have maintained that the Cape between Tr.imura and Chatanp-a, run- ning up to jy-l. degr. and befet with Ice, could never be doubled, and therefore the entrance from thence into the Polar fea was impoffible : but the weaknefs of this allegation will appear in the fequel, as the truth is farther difcloicd. The Ruffians defervedly credited, becaufe they relate fads plainly and circumftantially, tell us, that when their fhips went to dilcover the ftate of the fea and coafts to the Eaft and Wef} of the Lenny Protfc hint/chew doubled that fame Cape (probably in the Litit. of 80^) and got on to Ta'wmra. The learned Prof. Gmelin has written an authentic account of the Voyage; and the inp^enious Prof. Midler, unwilling to enter into difcuffion of fads, has only confirmed this particular, that no ice was feen by thefe fliips, neither outward nor homeward bound. Reafon plainly points out that it has been fo : nothing is found to flop and fix it there; the waves, the winds, die current, will not fufi^er it to remain. Yet to the V/cft of Taimiira at 76 degr. latit. where a cape is defcribed by the Ruffians, a pilot called Tjchahitschin pretends to have feen a chain of iflands united by flieets of ice which he confidered as the produdion only of the former year : beyond that, however, he faw to the North a great open Tea. How near to N. Zembla this ice was feen, is not material to dif- cufs ; admitting only that at 76^. he defcried what others faw at ']']^-j an additional proof is found, that the great fea to the North is open, and not full of ice ; but allowing ftill that a few flraggling flakes be there, as Capt. Bare?its fays he found fom.e, his evidence will then confirm, that the farther Ea/lward fron> Ndva Zembla they went, the lefs ice was found. Sup- 6 OBSERVATIONS Suppofing for once all the flraits choakcd up with Ice and Dttciiy impullUblc, notlilng conclullvc can thence be inferred againil a near approach to the Pole, all agree that no ice is found at 20 or 30 leagues North of the coalb ; v/liat fixes there will not hurt the lliips that keep i"-*. or 2''. higher, as is recom- mended to thcni to d-j ; ^he flioalj will then become ulefLil, as beacons to keep the unwary from fnores, capes, and iiraits. An attentive Navigator-vvill fteer c]e;ir of ice, if in the wide fpace between Spitjbcrgdn and Nova Zcmbla he lets his cour/c^ 4 cr 5 degrees (80 or 100 leagues) North Eall of the latter, running up in the fame dire^lilion to 80, 81, and 83 1 degrees, as opportunity may offer. All fears of ice then ccafing, he will find himfelf at eafe in a vaft ocean, extending over all America to 250 degrees Ea(l longitude from London ; and as to Nova Zemhia from 774. to 90 degr. Eaft latit. that is 12 ^ degr. or 250 leagues — and from the coafts at 70 to 90 degr. latit. is 400 leagues ; an immeufc main, where hitherto not an iiland, or any thing riling in the water, has been defcried to obllrud: navigation. An invariiibly mild temperature of air, makes fojourning in thofe fcas very healthy for crews upon difcoveries. Captain Ph'ipps found it fo amidll towering malles of ice, which in com- mon opinion imprefs a iharp lenfe of cold. The Anonimous Journal goes farther: it tells us, that about the 15th of July the heat was fo great as to melt the tar in the feams of the ihips — the fame has happened before in that latitude, though it be un- common between the Tropics, where the length of twelve hours niglit refrcdies the air enough to prevent fuch effeds. When this degree of heat came on, a thermometer from 56 degr. in the cabin, rofe to 90 in the open air, and to 100 on the top of a mountain in Marble Ijhind. The efFeds of this heat, and the danger 1 dan wil vei th( att ,«! » ♦' AND I^ A C T S, 7 danger mcurred wherfc the ice acci>mulates, will appear frorn what follows. On the ill of Auguft, fomcwhat weft of .the Se- ven lilands, the fliips were embayed in fields of ice. 2d Au'>-uft the Pilots apprehenfive of loni; detainment, became uro-ent for attempts to get out : Vigorous efforts were made to break and cut through ; the flak:\s crowded on each other proved too thick for man to fcparate, and rendered the trial quite hopelefs. It might liave occurred, th-^t the heat of the feafon would foon break down thofe maffrs and form a more enlarged moveable furf-ice, that would, by f rceof wind and current, bear hard up- on the fltips; yet, that providing fome fence againft its effeds, and relying on phyfical confequences, the ice muft fhortly dif- perfe, and the fhips be fuddenly difengaged. Their reliance was not Uidi, they had rccourfe to their own exertions, and at- tempted to get off v/ith their boats, leaving the fhips ; but they made fo little way over the ice, that they began to defpair. On the I ith of Auguft, the flakes broke, and an unexpected relief fol- lowed ;— the next day they filled to the harbour of Smecrcnkro-, a place of refort for the lateft Whale Fhhers, where overjoyed, they met again with fome known veffels then returning to Europe. It may here again be obfervcd, relatively to the feafon, that it was the very time when in thofe feas, as in all others, the heat is greateft and moft conftant. Above two hundred years ao-o the Samoyedes declared, .that from thence for fix. weeks for- ward, no ice was fecn in thofe very places where at other times it always was four d. Difeafe and ficknefs are not to be feared in thofe dimates. Captam Pbipps had none in his crew ; the man who died was worn out by a confumptive diforder of long duration. Other accounts agreeing with his, form a happy contraft with thofe of Sir 8 OBSERVATIONS *^/r Robert Harlatid's fleet, between Madras and the Cape of Good Hope, fo lately as the year 1774 : befide i6o dead, there were not lei's than 480 hands fick, as the public papers informed us. How delirable the route not liable to fuch diflrefs ! How agreeable the profpedt in /b healthy a ilate, to difcover a palTagc in the latitude of 68 degr. from whence fouthward, no more than common incidents can be encountred, and to fee a tedious voyage thus fortunately and confidcrably fliortcncd ! From the mciidian of London to the (trait oi Anian, or Behrhi's^ the diibancc is no more than i8o degr. of longit. Let 200 be fup- pofed, and the medium between jz^ and 85 of latit. be t.iken at 80 degr. the produce will be lefs than 700 leagues of one hour each. Lynfcboten in the lower fea, with a contrary wind, went fourteen leagues in twelve hours : Hating the rate at one league in an hour, there will not be leagues enough to require thirty days failing. The time proper for departure from home, here- after te be fpoken of, is now fuppof^d early enough for fetting out from Cape North in E. longit. 25". on the eleventh of June, when ail idle fears about ice mufl vanilli, many travellers, as well as the Samoyedesy alluring it all gone before that time ; then firffc fubftrading thefe 25 degr. from the 200, or rather 90 leagues fi-om the 700, there Vv^ill remain 6 1 o ; and reducing the number of 30 days by 4, the remainder will be 26, to be found in the good ftafon, from that time to the middle of September and farther, a fpacc which will afford 90 days, and furely mufl be fuf- ficient to explore that whole fea, and to return at leifure after examining the feveral parts of the ftrait from the 61 to the 60 degr. of latitude, or to go on to Canton at option, without -"q obftaclc either way, but the uncertain and infignilicant meeting with flakes of ice. To AND F A C T S. ,1 To fay much about provifions in healthy climatea and roomy fiiips, muft be deemed fuperfluous. Vidualling is now io well underflood, that bad provilions are net received on board private vcllels, but by negled: of duty : and where abundant fpace is not taken up with guns and ammunition, there muft be in (liips fitted out for difcoveries, room enough for water, which keeps better in thofc feas than in others, and can occafionally be replaced by ice when met with, as many Navigators befide Captain i'hipps report has been ufefully done. If it be certain that Captain Cook, conveying Orniah home to Otaheite, intends to explore the Wefl coaft of America, up into the Strait leading to the North Sea, an accurate defcription of that p u^t will certainly be obtained. — If, as others furmife, fomc fliips are to be fent from Europe to Canton, thence to attem.pt the pallage upward, perhaps to 68 degr.orthro' the Straits of Bchrifig-, it is apprehended an undertaking of that kind would not anfwer the cxpedled end. — To multiply hazards by the wear, tear, andgreat expence of a voyage to China, there, perhaps, to complete a crew, renew (hips ftores, careen bottoms, in order to begin difcoveries, by the South and Weil of Japan, up to the North, is at a dear rate to procure fom information, only to be had at a feafon when prejudice and accident will flrongly operate againfl zealous endeavours -, and, after all, to have as long a voyage home to Europe, whilft no approach to the Pole, no lliortening itretch through the Polar Seas to the North Cape of Europe, forms a part of the delign ; muft appear upon th^ whole a very unadvif^^able enterprife. Rational plans well conducted bear the belt profped of fuc- cefs, and have with them the chance of fortunate events. Tha experience of an able Navigator, and the knowlecge of a h'Un C ^ of 10 OB S E R V A T I O N S of Study, are equally rcqiiilitc to form them. The Navigator, verfcd in wluit lu^longs lo ctjuipments, is expert in managing luch ir.:ittcrs, mid kno-,vs how to conduct an enterprifc to ad- v;\n,t.igc — he t in c."'.utioui]y tread new paths tlirough unknown ic\u — is able to hv'v.''/ Anronomv in aid of other ufeful means, and by pnclicc and obicrvation can difcriminately avoid what others have fplit upon. Tlie Man of Learning propofes what is iipjfui and profitnble, wliat has not yet been done, and accounts lor faiiLircs in wliat has been attempted — he. flistches out the road to new difcoverics ; points out wliere danger may ex i ft, and where not ; fo]\ es what is problematical in natural philofophy, and accounts for phiienomena which difconcertperfons unacquaint- ed with ^ofmography: he fliows how to explore unfrequented re- gions, divefied of prejudice: and he benefits the world withmany improvements made or related by other Men of Letters, with whom he interchanges information on all ufeful and curious fubjed:s — Such different abilities combined, unite found theory with con- fammate experience^ — How to be availed of both in one enterprife may be a queflion ? — The two accompliflied men can perhaps not be fent out together — neither will do alone ; the execution would be deficient — yet it is poilible to find a perfon in whom both are or can be conjoined. Among the able Navigators this kingdom can boaft of, fome arc poffelfed, others ready to be availed of what thePhilofophcr is willing to impart, from iludies which in younger years the Mariner's attachment to the practice of his profefiion, has not allowed him to acquire. This fort of knowledge, fitted to his experience, mufl open to him the faireft field of fuccefs, remove all apprehenfion of dilaflrous events that can be forefeen, and leave him liable to fuch cafualties only as human prudence cannot prevent. I To AND FACTS. To form a fyftcm of the prefcnt purfuit. II form a lyucm or rne preicnt purluit, it is necellary, among other points, to determine the place and time of departure, and the coiirfe to be held ; it is eflential alib, clearly to flate what i.^ to be obferved by way of prevention againft future miicarriagc. Previous to thefe difcuffions, it is of moment to remove fome opinions, which unconfuted might operate again H: what is here- after laid down. Mr. Dobbs in 1746 was earneft and fucccfsful in promoting the belief that a paflage by the North Weft was practicable. Difproving his reafons may fcrve to eftabliili ufcful truths. 1°. He takes for granted, from former accounts, deflitute of proofs, that the paiTage was once made xhxo\\^\HidJhrisBayyi\:om 661- degr. upward by an opening into a wide boundlefs (fccan. Not to wafle words in arguing againft what never happened, it will fuffice to lay that his own experience dellrcyed his affertion : after the moft diligent fearch, and unwearied attempts, no opening was difcovered, no palfage was made. Capt. EIils owned it, fome years fincc, to a perfon of note at Legliorn—faid he believed it pradicable in two other parts— yet apprehended little ufe would be made of it when found. It may be alledged in fupport of the affertion, that Capt. Cluny did afterwards find thJs pallage ; but that is alfo meer matter of belief : he worked through a deal of ice, and perhaps only -ot farther on the Continen: : that tliole who beil can come at tritth are not convinced, appears certain from the renewal of the oflcr of reward. But fuppofmg a palTage found, what purpofe can it pof- fibly anfwer in that quarter ? it will only lead into an immenlity of ice from which a ihip cannot be difentangled. The reader muft often be reminded, that all the ice from the Tafr, is crowded -m^ ihelvcd upon tlie Weil quarter, nudfci^s Strait c a-, hc.rdly be C 2 irot T2 OBSERVATIONS h after the miiUile of July j r.nd the Jl.xy Is .got tijruiigh alter the mulvtle ot Juiy j r.nd the JJay is not nfcj ur'tcr Auguli:, without great danger Iroin the huge, floating mailcii. Siippollng the ftrait never filled with ice, velleis going through it mioht in Septemher get to the Northern coafl of America, and tiien not know where to winter. So altrighting a fituation does not exiil in the fearch of a North Eail paiTage ; the leaft extent of oncn fea is of 15 dcgr. hreadth between 6yj///^(^;-^t';z and A'^'-t'^z Zonhla-y 'i^i\\^i> cannot be blocked up there, and if a harbour were wanted, enougli would be found. 2". The account oi Dc Foutc, another prop to Mr. Dobbs's alTertion, is a narrative ftamped with tlie character of fid:ioa that never met with credit from men of knowledge. Don Antonio d'UIIod, that learned man and great navigator, now commanding the Spaniili fleet to Vera Cruz, was t'aken by the Englirti returning to Spain in a French Ihip ; was brought up to London defpoiled of all he had, but was received with regard, and treated with generofity : he had leave to take from the papers of the fliip, depofited in the Admiralty-Houfe, what he liked to re- claim : he took only fuch as were in his own hand writins:, leaving many curious aftronomical obfervations, and phyfical and geographical remarks : among the papers of little ellimation he left ihe original account of the voyage of that De Fonte, who commanded one of the cruifing veffels employed in the South Sea : he was fent in it by the Viceroy upon a difcovery, and all he brought back was an unintercfting journal, and a declaration that he found not the leaft appearance of a pafTage beyond Ca- lifornia \ with this vague anfwer his attempt ended. Don Vlloa repeated this to credible perfons, with fo many circumuances rend ring the notion of any difcovery then made, too abfurd to leave a doubt with unprejudiced enquirers. The AND t^ A C T S. n The better route for aPafTiigc propoftd by thcNoriliHnfl, \vo\ild Jong ere now have been found, had not that unfortunate prejudice of endlefs ice fettered people's undcrllanding : during the fpace of a century, in which that notion has prevailed, LWij attempt made, has ferved to prove it falfe : a few remarks will plainly evince this. I ^. All tlie charts oi ^pltjhcrgen publidied fmce a hu!:dred years, and allowed to be authentic, fliow the Eall coait of that clurter of %, iilands between 77and8o degr. (or more)of latit. as accurately de- lineated, as any European iflands. The moftEaflern point is called IDifco, about 30 degr. E.longit. In the fpace to the South is writ- ten JVhale-FiJhery ; a deiignation conveying the idea that whales were in greater plenty or eafier caught there, for a lengtli oi time, than nearer the coaft of Greenland : but a multitude of fmall iflands and banks to the S. Eall; from 20 to 28 degr. longit. with intervals generally filled with ice (common in that part) have given caufe, from veiTels getting among them and being locked up, to remove the fifliery, and difcommend the Eall part as unfafe: an inftance of no older date than 1769, will confirm this fuppofition. The Surgeon of a whale-filliing veflel belonging to ^ Bremen, reported, on a particular enquiry, that thtj got among ^ iflands and banks S. E. of Spitjbergen, farther than they intended, and were locked in for three or four weeks ; that getting loofe again, they run awayN. Well to Greeyiland, as far as 80 degr. latit. and upwards, refolved never to return to that fpot again.' Running affrighted from danger, feldom directs tJie Heps to tlie place of real fafety: — the hazard Weftward is known, and may prudently be avoided: in attempts to higher degrees of latitude, 3, a courfe bent nearly N.N. Eafl from 76^ latitude will clear a Hiip i from moH of the dangers to which fhe would be expofed on the - weftern fide, and in the llrait between Old Greenland and Spitjhej-- 14 OBSERVATIONS rr;/, where many ihlos are lofi:. It is an advant:iQ:e, that hi the charts above Ipukcn oF, the capes, bays, and rtraits, that called L'^ayg(.'.\ and other ILail parts of Sp/'(/I)crgr//, up to 8i and 82*^ lat. including the Seven lilands, and the RykilTc I (lands, arc laid down with that precifion which dejiote thcni very acccffiblc. 2^^. The narrative of the Rullian failors cafe on a defert idand of EaftSpitiluTgcn, written byProfefibrZyf i^j?y at Peterlburg, and pub- lished in Englifli firfl in 1774, bears all poffible marks of authen- ticity. It fpeaks of All J /oy Browiy or EaJ} Spitjbcrgen, diftindlively from Bolfchoy Broiujy the great Uroiuiy or proper SpitJhergeUy feated between j-j"^ 25' and j^^ 45' pointing that out as a place of refort for the Ruffians to take feals and manaties, found there in abun- ilance: Whicli nearly agrees with the fpot here above defcribed. This illand, fo well traced out, breaks the imaginary project- ing bar of ice placed there to frighten all but Ruffian mariners, who, though neither regularly inflrucled nor bold, find their way thither frequently. What they do with difficulty, our Navigators may do witheafe: if they mean to know the locality, there will be no obltacleto their defcrying Difco, and the ftate of the fifliery near it; then the Sfcen Ijhuids, ■.xhti-Rykiffe -^uA Ma loy Broun, without keep- ing Weihvard for fear of too much lee-way, but fleering North Eaft from -^4 to 80 and more degrees of longitude, and to 83 or 84degr. latitude, a pleafant courfe will be traced out, and the Polar Sea enough explored for the choice of a track to the Ruffian Strait. 3'\ The original drawing of the Chart of Captain Giliesy noted for his difccveries to the Eall of Spitlhergen in 1707, is fl:ill in the hands of the Hollanders, who intend to make it oublic : the Dutch Navigators who have feen it, hold the opinion that voyages to the Eall in high latitudes may be made without danger. A belief of fo much practicability in enterprifes of fuch moment a? thefc, mull naturally ilart the queftion, why thofe able men do i ■A •I t do I be , Th( arc own expc dif: ing I AND FACTS. 15 do not avail tlicmfclvcs of that pcrfuafion ? Two resfons n.ay be given why no individuals of that natior; arc bcncHiud by it. The fpirit anddciircfor difcovcrics and cxtcnnon of coinir.cicr, ?.re crufhed and kept under by the cruel iifngc given to th.^ owners of the two fliips above fpokcn of; indefatigable pains, ^re.it cxpence, and good fuccefs, were rev/arded with cpprelTion and difgracc : they were brow-beaten 'till they abandoned the purfuit. Where the love of immediate profit reigns, men do not look far; the private intereflof all people in the whale-filhery admits of ik; more than going through that bufmefs with expedition, and niak- ing the molt of a voyage. Such cramps to exertion admit of no more than keeping the fubjedt alive. A Captain in the Dutch navy has with uncommon induflry colleded a number of relations from Mariners fubjedls of that Republic, containing proofs of feveral fad:s here related, and of others not yet reduced to order: unfortunately recourfe cannot be had to them at prefent, the Officer being out on a cruize with fome men of war. The rationality of condud;ing enterpriies for difcovering a paflage preferably by the North Eaft, being thus edablillied from fa-fts ; the fame kind of argument, with the ilricteil attention to prudence, will point out the furefl method of approaching the North Pole. T/je itijiances of Navigators ivbo have reached high Nrrthcrn latitudes, colledled and publiflied by the Hon. Daincs Barriiigton throw much light upon the fubjedl : the proofs bear that de- gree of authenticity which removes all doubt; yet his candour is fo great as flill to offer the means of afcertaining fad:s to the incredulous. In that colledion are undoubted iiiilances of ap- proaches to the Pole fo near as 87 degr. fonie without meetlnf?- with much, others without any embarraffmcnt from ice ; tliat circumftance always depends upon tlie courfe held : and it is remarkable. i6 OBSERVATIONS remarkable, tiiat thofc ufeful fiidts were produced in the common courfe of events, not in purfuit of the great dilcoveries aimed at by others. The lequel of the work offers a fair field of phyfical arguments to fupport thofe already adduced, againft the prejudiced opinion which has proved fo baneful to many of our Navigators. Men of philofophical knowledge agree that ice, wherever for- med, is conipofed of no other than fredi water, which at the time of congelation was in contad: witli fomething more folid, to which it did adhere — That the quantity feen in large flakes, great mafles, and flioals, about Nova Zembhiy Spitjhcrgerif Green- landy Hiidj'o7iS St rait s^ and other parts, comes from the rivers of Afia, running into the North Sea, the Lena^ the Obyy and others of equal or lefs note ; and of more rivers alfo flowing into it from the Continent of America, but too little known to be found in any map. The ice formed in winter breaks loofe in milder or in fl:ormy weather, and is driven to fea, where perhaps it joins fome older malTes floating, and not yet reduced. Accounts fufliciently tobe re- hed on, and Ample experiments inform us, that fea water is warmer than freili water, that its warmth is augmented by attrition in pro- portion to the degree of agitation, as Captain Phipps alfo afl^rms-f-; and that ice is diflblved in it, not only in its flaky (late, but in a concreted Itateit is fo much melted down under water, that the higher mafles overfet, break down, and from narrower bounds are forced out and fpread, as at the end of fummer from the Straits of Frobifier, about 63 degr. latit. they are faid to cover a fur- face of ten leagues, and are foon after fo effedually deflroyrd that fcarce a veilige of them remains : thus the fea between Hudfon's ^ An Experiment made Vy Dr. Irving, proved, that below the furface, fea water ftrongly agitated, was warmer than the atmofpheric air. I AND F A C T S. 17 HuJfo'i's Strait, the coall: of Norwry, and that of (rrecn'anci, from 70 to 74. dv'gr. are cither full, or in Ibinc meafurc i'lcc, ae- cordii<'.c to fc.ilbn and circumftanccs — whilll in a much lower d-grcc of latitude, at 50, the river of »SV. Laurence likcvvifc f^rms and floats to fca large maifcs, which fpccdily (liare the lame fate. l\\\ undoubted fait ilrengtliens this argument. 1 he flioals of i-je coming from the Eail, bring with them a prodigious quantity of timber, which furcly does not grow at or near the fea-f;de, Irut is detached from the banks of rivers, whofe riipid currents loofen and float away fuch quantities as form heaps upon the North coails of Afia, and to the Eaft fide oi'Jan Maye7is rjlcind, into two bays, thence called the Biiys of IVooJt (o filled, that whole fhip loads miidit be had when freed from the convevinG: ice. Grant in. the only writer who has exadly defcribed Greenland, accounts it a kind difpenfation of Providence, that the inclement vehicle brings thither a plentiful fupply of a moft eilential article, in the want of which the inhabitants would be greatly dillreiled. All authors agree that this timber comes from the Afiatic and American rivers, and Crantz confirm.s the opinion with a mofl convincing; fad:. The floated trees, by common accounts, are pines, firs, larche?, and of fuch kinds growing in thofe two quarters of the globe, and r.ever coming from the Eafl coafi: of America, whence thev would be blended with oaks growing there in plenty, but not ki.\\\ among tJiofe above named, the forts of which foon become di- llingiui'l:iable, after they get aground and free of ice. A queilion now naturally arifes ; whence come thefe very great maffes fo flrangely fhaped. of a larger fize than can float out of a river, fmce one of them having an arch of forty feet high, ottered room enough for a velTel to pafs through it, to ioin D " \\v. ill l| i8 OBSERVATIONS the fliips of Captain Phipps, in 1773 : and the ice not in heap^ (liewed fields of many leagues extent. The anfwer to that, flows from the known fadt, that the flakes coming from the Eaft, are caught, flopped, and held by every folid projeiling body, headlands, fliores, or by other pieces of ice. When thus flopped, the following are flioved againfl: and lifted upon th-m, by the currents and waves, which, when fl:rongly agitated, will heap tliem upon each other, and by various eflbrts raife and force them into odd fliapcd Tfoergs and thofe hu^^e mafles jufl fpoken of; whiiil: the thinner ice from the /hal- lows, need only join to form the largefl fields. Thus varioufly fliaped, the coafls and iflands facing the Eafl: are covered with them, the pafl^ages and flraits are filled, and what flops near fliores often cncompaflTes fliips, blocking them up in avery critical ftate : Captain Phipps was thus detained for ten days in Au<»-ufl:, andconvincednopaflage to the Pole could be found that way. The Eafl becomes clear, by loading the Wefl: coafls : no ice is feen be- tween Decrfaldzw^Moffcn IJlamU or to the Eaft and North of thefe, but fmall flakes that float to and fro where no land is near, eit ler coming over from the American rivers, or loofened and driven by flrong Southerly winds from lower fliores. The inflances adduced by Mr. Barrington make thefe progreflive pofitions very certain ; efpecially the teflimony of Captain Cliiny, who in a map prefixed to his American 'Trauelkri printed at London in 1769, points out places of remarkable events; one of which at 79 [- degr. N. latit. is thus related, here the Traveller ivas fiip^ vorecked i?i ij^^^'- and another at 82 ^ degr. is in thefe words, here the Traveller has hem, and Jaw neither land Jior ice. To add (bmewhat to this part of Captain CI uny's account, a cir- cumflancc that otherwife might be lofl, mufl here be recorded. A foi fol i< It i( *( a tf a <{ (( <( AND FACTS. 19 A gentleman who faw the Captain in Auguft, 1769, aflvcd him fome queftions about the book juft publifhed, particnlarly the following: — " Quer. i. Is every thing traced on the map " ex^O:]y conformable to truth ? He anfwered, yes ; he could " prove every particular by his journal. — Quer. 2. Why did he *' not go forward to the Pole, when neither ice nor land appeared ** to obft:ru(5t him ? — He faid, he had indeed no reafon to ap^ *' prchend fuch obflacles, being perfuaded the Polar Sea was free " and open ; but having no other fliip with him, he could receive *' no affi fiance in any unforefeen diftrefs proceeding from caufes «' of prejudice or accident, which he muft lie open to in a " totally unknown navigation ; and therefore thought it pruf' nt ** to venture no farther." The Captain died in the beginning of 1770 : his manufcrlpts and papers arr flraying, but greatly worth the trouble of being recovered. Such fa(fls and proofs as thefe, fupport the confident aifcrtion, that in the highefl: latitude no embarraflment of ice is to bs feared. Neverthelefs, as it may fiill be urged, that danger fubfifls between the Northern latitude of 79 and 81 degr. admitting fomc from hard gales, irregular currents, and accidental occurrence^, we do not allow fo much as other voyages are liable to, fur the length of night between the Tropics is produdive of unfortunate incidents not heard of where day light ;; continual Tlie greateft hazard proceeds from the effeds of prejudice : if a Navigator allows himfelf to be guided by a Whale-fifhcr's Pilot, he vv'ill be led into the ice, and mufi; there takis his chance : but if he will choofe a trad unknown to them, leading immediately to fafety, he will find little ice in his way, and but a fmall part of it where he need exert himfelf ; the approach to ice is foretold D 2 b\' 20 OBSERVATIONS b\ cif^ant foz^, cr hv its blink and ^Lire : the courleEaflwara is al- \v:iy< frceil, :.nd the weather is regularly progrctlive with the lealbn. There is, in appejr.i:ice only, a ccnliderible quantity of ice lent tcrward bv that ccmincn current from the Eail, wliicli prevails ;ill over the i:;lobe without interrupting particular local currents. l"he ipreadirg of that ice over many coalls and icas, has led to conclude, that the greater i'ci whence it comes, does ftill con- tain niore. 1 he inference is not juft; a conltant expence, from a tempcrarv fui?rlv, dees not ar^ue a remaininT; ftore. It is a certain facl, that at the feafon when the ice is moft driven about, none is forming: anv where. Mr. Si-:lUr, one of the learned men fent from Peterihurg to Kdrnfchdika, and who took great pains to acquire information about a variety of matters, imagined, that the neccifarv ericc: cf the common current driving fo much ice for- ward againlt the V\'eftern coails, particularly of Greenland, muft be to iliclve and force it up to fuch enlarged malies as would never melt, when cut cf tl:c reach q\ the fea water : but the event could not connrm ]iis conjefture. The mcit confolidated piles wear down, and as much ice is melted and delfroved at one part cf the vear, a<^ is produced at another. Tiie common currer.t from the Ealt is ilrong and rapid in thoie feas, and from many facls, will appear fo likewife in other rarts cf the clcbe, fubiecl: onlv to fome local variations, as ha> abo\ e been laid. It v.ill therefore be conceived to have the moil pcwcrful trtect uoon ice, when in a fhort fpace cf time it torces great quantities forward into open fpaces fo rapidly as to crulh, break, and deltrcv tlicm to prevent an endlcfs accunuilaticn. It is no^v the place, after what has been prcmifed cf the nature cf the vovaee, to determirc the time n;ofi proper fcr ihips to fjt ca: ui'on difccverics. Were not a Ion"- continued night of dark - nefs m AND F A C T S. 2 1 ncfs a deterrinc; cbn::vjb bcvond (.'.ur.ition, ihc ihios :;v. -'.t . .t into the North Seas early in ih^ iciioii, aiid Ix- i'ulj'v .'.vailcvi of what the Scuscycdcs dech'.rc ; and ;n that way, tupic\^nt \\\\\\i h.i^ been apprehended, there would be but Httie obiccaon to beu;:; .m expedition toward '^le end of our common winter month!--. — \', Lv it is tliouglit ehgibie to depart no looner than June, is not ealily underitood : the ihips for whale-fnhing, goin:^.' to tb.e worll parts for ice, fet out in April, and often get baek in May and Jur^.e, when our Diicoyerers are preparing for a yoyage, v.herc ever.' ftep is to be conlidered and noted : fupponng them con- yinced and refoU'ed to feek the promiling track North Eadward, their knowled;ye as able navic.'.tors, muil tell them they are lofnT^ the time of advantageoufiy entering the ocean Vvher'e the ^n-and defign is to be executed. The Rullians Ifay for no feafon to oo to Mdhy Btoiin, Merchant fliips fent to Archangel, go early enough to leaye the North Cape of Europe at 71 de'^-. in the month of June. Why lliould not the ihips fitted cut for dif- coveries do the fime, proceed to that Malay Broun, \\\\\c\\ is Eall SpitlLergen, between 7S and 79 degr. and thence get farther on in- to a roomy fea and fine weather ? Apprehenfions that mi^ht c^eratc at other times, cannot intimidate in June, when it is vouched by the Samoyedcs and other accounts, that ice difappears, that ?.ny then llill floating muft foon be deftroyed, that the lower feas, the rivers, and other frefli waters are then free ; and w hen the fairelb prcfpe. cove like ihc notion Behring conveys of thcfe (Iraits, that no credit can be given to it, no more than to the very great diftance they fancy at the narrow part between Kamfchatka and America; which is erroneous, for the followino- reafons. The ours lews .lied iive )outh un- Tedit they rica ; i 1 i« AND FACTS. 25 The great din.:-hce of the two cocvfts is contnidlclcd hy all Spanifli and other maps of fome ftanding and repute. The learned Mr. Steilery very exadl as to fads, fays, that in one par- ticular place the American (hore is not farther dillant than four or five leagues from that of Afia. The attempts now making by order of the king of Spain, will probably, ere long, produce a concurrent t-ftimony and defcription of that part which is already entered, according to very recent information, of which a tranflation fliall here be added to corroborate the opinion, and to confirm the account publiflied in 1774, by Mr. Stahlwy Secre- tary of the Imperial Academy of Sciences at Peterlburg. Bcfidc all this^ fome immediate proof may be led from conclufivc arguments. The Spaniards trace on the Weft coaft of America nearly at 60 degr. latit. what they call the grandes Com'entes, meaning the great and rapid river. The Tzc/jut/ki report, by tradition, from their neighbours the Americans, that fomewhat S. Eaft of their fouther- mo/]: Cape, was fituated the large river that floated down the great trees, roots, earth and all; pines, larches, firs, and fuch like. It will be allowed that river muft run down a great way through the country to become fo large as to loofen fuch great bodies, and lb rapid as to drive them forward impetuoufly into and through part of the fea, to fend them over to the Kamtfchadales near the ifland oiKaraga, who tell us they have not of their own growth that fort of wood thus conveyed to them in fpring with the ice, as they believe, in the fpace of twice or thrice 24 hours, from the time it breaks forth from the river. That length of time is not more than what is required to force it acrofs a paflage of a few leagues breadth j which proves as much for the ftrength of the current, as for the nearnefs of the fliores ; and this fingular cir- £ cumftancc The Mi i!'ii;M ^Iv 26 OBSERVATIONS crmflfince gives it weight, that the two nations who relate the iact know httle of each other and /peak different languages. The inouth of that river which brings down its water 60 or 70 leagues through the country, opens in fiich a diredtion as to convey its floating maiTcs immediately to KaragCy fituated on the Afiatic fide, nearly at 5S degr. kitit. and i78dc§r. E.longit. by the heft com- putation. The Ruffians make it but 170 egr. a dilterence of 480 miles, which would too much enhance the rapidity of the current conveying it thither in that fhort fpace of time. Whatever allow- ance be made, the refult will always fhow tha*; the river is not dill:ant, and therefore the coaft not more fo from Alia. Decifive traces are generally wanting to conciliate the different opinions of Map-majcers. Some in this inftance omit the great river, and fix Karaginfkoy Qtrow at 179 degr. longit. and 58 latit. Thenearefl American coafl above Mount St, Eliah with them is at 60 degr. latit. and 233 longit, and that oppofite to Karaga at 235 degr. from whence opening to the S. E. and S. W. as far as the Southern point of Kamfchatka^ in the fame latitude, they offer not lefs than 65 degr. of diftancej a pofition diredly contrary to what has ever been flated, or can any way be granted. From all information poifibly obtained it may be laid down as certain, that thefe ftraits are practicable without danger, from the entrance at 68 or 70 degr. down to 52 degr. where Kam- fcbatkay ends : that, proceeding without obftrudlion, the firing of iQands called Kuriles being defcried, and their true bearing fixed J it will then be eafy to fliil by the South of Japan to Canton in China j from whence it is hoped the fhips who have performed the voyage, will return in the fame track to confirm the eafe found, or the precautions ufed thro' the whole navigation. Some means it is likely, will alfo be found to explore thecoaftof America r ■■k vi i AND FACTS. 27 America from the narrowefl part of the ftralt up to the open- ing at Stachtan Nitadat about 68 or 70 dcgr. the late Spanifh attempts leading diredly to it. What has above been offered for ferious confideration, muft now be concluded with the following information, that the coall of Afia cannot be trufted to for provifions, none being obtainable in that part. When Peter the Great iflued out the moil pofitive or- der! for vid:unlling and providing neceflary llores to the fliips of Behring'sfirft expedition, much time, pains, and money, were fpent to obey them ; and at laft the things provided were fuch, as the Samoyedes themfelves would have been afhamed of. Father Du Halde, who relates the matter at large, may be confulted about the particulars. I^bort ■\ ' [ 2S ] y^x^:^'M)^^^%KH%i;^'^ixKn)?iiu^KnK^mJiUjm^i&i^^ eatil S/jort Account of feme Voyages made by order of the King of Spain, to df cover the State of the JVefi American Coafl from California upward. Dated Madrid, 24 March, 1776. THE fpirited attempts made in compliance with his Ca- tholic Majefty's commands arifing from the laudable intention of fpreading the knowledge of the Gofpel to the utmoft bounds of his extenfive empire, efpecially thofe dired:cd to the remote parts of the Continent North of California, where the in- habitants are ftill fuppofed immerfcd in the darknefs of Paganifm; and the fteady endeavours for a happy event, having in fome meafure been attended with fuccefs, in two expeditions made in the years 1769 and 1770, one by land, the other by fea ; the har- bour o^ Monterey having been difcovered in latit. 36°. 40'. and a Court of Prefidency, with a miffionary delegation, being eftablifhed there, under the patronage of St. Charles : His Majefly in pur- fuance of the pious defign, ordered a fecond expedition thither in 1774, with the frigate Sant'jagOy commanded by Don'Juan Perez, who explored that coafl up to 55^. 49'. latit. and landing there found a civilifed people, well-looking, and accuftomed to wear clothej . The fortunate event of that voyage has farther induced his [ =9 ]■ his Catholic Majcdy, to fend to Port SariLLiSj in New Gallicli> Ibme officers of the Navy, rarefied thence to extend that navi- gation, and carry on the difcovery as far as pofTiblc. In obe- dience to the injunction, a new expedition took place and three fliips were fent out. Don Bruno ci'Aceta commanding the i^antjagOy and Don Juan Francifco de la Bordcga in the Scnora, failed from the harbour oi Sanblas in the beginning of 1775, at the fame time that Don Juan d' Ayaldy in the S\ Charles, fct fail for Monterey. The firft proceeded as far as 50'' latit. the fecond got up to 58^ and the third went only to 37' 42'. "f* Each of the commanders explored the intermediate coaft, between ths lower and the higher degree of latitude — infpeded the great har- bour of iS^. Francist and attentively examined thegulphs, bays, and rivers of thofe parts, which they found inhabited by natives of t very mild and fociable difpofition. The good fuccefs of this en- terprife is chiefly owing to the wife diredion of Don Antonio Maria Bucarelli, Viceroy of New Spain, and to the zeal he has always fhewn for the honour of the fervice and the execution of his Majefty's great defigns. The favourable report this Viceroy has made of the fleady and intelligent conduct of the commanders, Gtficers and pilots, through the courfe of the expedition, has given his Catholic Majeily a frefh opportunity of beftowing favour upon merit and fervices : thefe navigators and mariners have been ho- s noured feverally with a degree of rank above the Hation in which A they went out. :':, t Pofllbly the true die oi Monterey » in former eftimations placed at 39*^ and 40° latlt. ERRATUM, p. 16. /. ii. for Hudfonsjiraits, read the fcveral Ji raits. LIS