c 250 COOK S VOYAGE TO JULY, 



and returned on the 3d of April to Ust-janskoe Si- 

 movie. The account of his journey is as follows : 

 that he went seven days as fast as his dogs could draw 

 him, (which in good ways and weather is eighty or 

 a hundred wersts in a day,) directly toward the 

 north upon the ice, without discovering any island : 

 that it had not been possible for him to proceed any 

 farther, the ice rising there in the sea like mountains ; 

 that he had climbed to the top of some of them, 

 whence he was able to see to a great distance round 

 about him, but could discern no appearance of land; 

 and that at last wanting food for his dogs, many of 

 them died, which obliged them to return." 



Beside these arguments, which proceed upon an 

 admission of the hypothesis that the ice in those seas 

 comes from the rivers, there are others which give 

 great room to suspect the truth of the hypothesis it- 

 self. Captain Cook, whose opinion respecting the 

 formation of ice had formerly coincided with that of 

 the theorists we are now controverting, found abund- 

 ant reason in the present voyage for changing his 

 sentiments. We found the coast of each continent 

 to be low, the soundings gradually decreasing toward 

 them, and a striking resemblance between the two ; 

 which, together with the description Mr. Hearne gives 

 of the Coppermine river, afford reason to conjecture 

 that whatever rivers may empty themselves into the 

 Frozen Sea from the American continent, are of the 

 same nature with those on the Asiatic side ; which 

 are represented to be so shallow at the entrance as to 

 admit only small vessels ; whereas the ice we have 

 seen, rises above the level of the sea to a height 

 equal to the depth of those rivers ; so that its entire 

 height must be at least ten times greater. 



The curious reader will also in this place be led 

 naturally to reflect on another circumstance, which 

 appears very incompatible with the opinion of those 

 who imagine land to be necessary for the formation of 

 ice ; 1 mean the different state of the sea about 



