THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 249 



to that quarter. At noon, the latitude, by obfervadon, was 1779- 



J u 'y" 

 67 49', and longitude 188 47'. 1 ^ — > 



On the 1 2th, we had light winds, with thick hazy wea- Monday 12. 

 ther ; and, on trying the current, we found it fet to the 

 North Weft, at the rate of half a knot an hour. We conti- 

 nued to fleer Northward, with a moderate Southerly breeze, 

 and fair weather, till the 13th, at ten in the forenoon, when Tuefday 13. 

 we again found ourfelves clofe in with a folid field of ice, to 

 which we could fee no limits from the maft head. This, at 

 once, dafhed all our hopes of penetrating farther; which 

 had been confiderably raifed, by having now advanced near 

 ten leagues through a fpace, which, on the 9th, we had 

 found occupied by impenetrable ice. Our latitude, at this 

 time, was 69 37' ; our pofition nearly in the mid channel 

 between the two continents ; and the field of ice extending 

 from Eaft North Eaft, to Weft South Weft. 



As there did not remain the fmalleft profpect of getting 

 farther North in the part of the fea where we now were, 

 Captain Clerke refolved to make one more, and final at- 

 tempt on the American coaft, for Baffin's Bay, fince we had 

 been able to advance the fartheft on this fide laft year. Ac- 

 cordingly, we kept working, the remaining part of the day, 

 to the windward, with a frefh Eafterly breeze. We faw fe- 

 veral fulmars and arctic gulls, and pafTed two trees, both 

 appearing to have lain in the water a long time. The larger 

 was about ten feet in length, and three in circumference, 

 without either bark or branches, but with the roots remain- 

 ing attached. 



On the 14th, we flood on to the Eaft ward, with thick and Wedncf. 14. 

 foggy weather, our courfe being nearly parallel to that we 

 fleered the 8th and 9th, but fix leagues more to the North- 



Vol. III. K k ward. 



