228 cook's voyage to july, 



and was attended with thick and frequent showers of 

 snow. At eight in the forenoon, it blew a strong 

 gale from the west south-west, and brought us under 

 double-reefed top-sails ; when, the weather clearing 

 a little, we found ourselves embayed ; the ice having 

 taken a sudden turn to the south-east, and in one 

 compact body surrounding us on all sides, except on 

 the south quarter. We therefore hauled our wind to 

 the southward, being at this time in latitude 70° 8' N. 

 and in twenty-six fathoms' water ; and, as we sup- 

 posed, about twenty-five leagues from the coast of 

 America. The gale increasing, at four in the after- 

 noon we close reefed the fore and main-top-sails, 

 furled the mizen-top-sail, and got the top-gallant- 

 yards down upon deck. At eight, finding the depth 

 of water had decreased to twenty-two fathoms, which 

 we considered as a proof of our near approach to the 

 American coast, we tacked and stood to the north. 

 We had blowing weather, accompanied with snow, 

 through the night ; but next morning, it became 

 clear and moderate ; and, at eight in the forenoon, 

 we got the top-gallant-yards across, and made sail 

 with the wind still at west south-west. At noon, we 

 were in latitude, by observation, 69° 55', longitude 

 194° SO'. Toward evening, the wind slackened, and 

 at midnight it was a calm. 



On the 18th, at five in the morning, a light breeze 

 sprung up from the east north-east, with which we 

 continued our course to the north, in order to regain 

 the ice as soon as possible. We passed some small 

 logs of drift-wood, and saw abundance of sea-parrots, 

 and the small ice-birds, and likewise a number of 

 whales. At noon, the latitude, by observation, was 

 70° 26', and longitude 194° 54/ -, the depth of water 

 twenty-three fathoms ; the ice stretched from north 

 to east north-east, and was distant about three miles. 

 At one in the afternoon, finding that we were close 

 in with a firm united field of it, extending from west 



15 



