1778. THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 333 



an easterly direction. Late in the evening they both 

 returned. The master reported that the arm he had 

 been sent to communicated with that from which he 

 had last come ; and that one side of it was only 

 formed by a group of islands. Mr. Gore informed 

 me that he had seen the entrance of an arm, which, 

 he was of opinion, extended a long way to the north- 

 east; and that probably by it a passage might be 

 found. On the other hand, Mr. Roberts, one of the 

 mates, whom I had sent with Mr. Gore to sketch 

 out the parts they had examined, was of opinion 

 that they saw the head of this arm. The disagree- 

 ment of these two opinions, and the circumstance 

 already mentioned of the flood-tide entering the sound 

 from the south, rendered the existence of a passage 

 this way very doubtful. And, as the wind in the 

 morning had become favourable for getting out to 

 sea, I resolved to spend no more time in searching 

 for a passage in a place that promised so little suc- 

 cess. Besides this, I considered that if the land on 

 the west should prove to be islands, agreeably to the 

 late Russian discoveries *, we could not fail of get- 

 ting far enough to the north, and that in good time ; 

 provided we did not lose the season in searching 

 places where a passage was not only doubtful, but 

 improbable. We were now upward of five hundred 

 and twenty leagues to the westward of any part of 

 Baffin's, or of Hudson's Bay. And whatever pas- 

 sage there may be, it must be, or at least part of it 

 must lie to the north of latitude 72. t Who could 

 expect to find a passage or strait of such extent ? 



Having thus taken my resolution, next morning, 

 at three o'clock, we weighed, and with a gentle 

 breeze at north, proceeded to the southward down 



* Captain Cook seems to take his ideas of these from Mr. Staehlin's 

 map, prefixed to the account of the Northern Archipelago ; pub- 

 lished by Dr. Maty. London, 1774?. 



f On what evidence Captain Cook formed his judgment as to 

 this, is mentioned in the Introduction. 



