S48 cook's voyage to july, 



leagues), in so short a time as that passage can be 

 supposed to continue open. 



Upon the Asiatic side, there appears still less pro- 

 bability 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 * 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 north-east 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 enterprise, 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 sum- 

 mer, 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 



* See Gmelin, pages 369. 374. 



