378 Notices respecting New Books. 
ings were taken, we sounded in one hundred and ninety-five fa- 
thors, sand and small stones. 
“* From the latitude we are now in, we have reason to suppose 
that the opening, or inlet, between N. by E. 4 E., and the land 
to the southward, bearing W.N.W. is the entrance of Baffin’s 
(Sir James Lancaster’s) Sound ; and if we may venture to question 
the authority of that navigator, respecting his having seen the 
bottom of this inlet, or, as he calls it, I suspect gratuitously, 
* sound*,’ it certainly has more the appearance of being the 
entrance of the wished-for straits than any place we have yet 
seen. In the first place, the sea is perfectly clear of ice; and, 
‘secondly, the water is warmer than we have found it since the 
7th instant, being 36° at the surface, and 31° at the bottom. 
The swell of the sea, the breadth of the opening, and the depth 
‘of the water, are all flattering appearances; independently of 
which, we are not at a great distance from where the sea was seen 
by Mr. Hearne, at the mouth of the Coppermine River. 
** On the morning of Sunday, the 30th, the wind being from 
the eastward (by compass), we stood into the inlet abovemen- 
tioned, and the more we advanced, the more sanguine our hopes 
were that we had at last found what has been for ages sought in 
vain. Every thing, indeed, tended to confirm this our helief: at 
noon we tried for soundings with two hundred and thirty-five 
fathoms of line, without finding bottom ; and in the evening, 
when the sun was getting low, the weather being remarkably 
clear, we could see the Jand on both sides of the inlet for a very 
great distance, but not any at the bottom of it. The bearings 
taken of the extremes of the land at this time are as follow: 
« «At 6 P.M. fresh breezes and cloudy weather. Northern 
land of the inlet from N.E. } N. to E. by N. 3 N.; cape bear- 
ing N.E. ; N. having a deep notch near the extremity. Southern 
land of the inlet from S.W. by W. } W. Strong appearance of , 
land S.E. by S.’ ” 
«¢¢ At 8, moderate breezes and fine weather, with as well from 
N.W.: tacked. Southern land extending from 8.W. by W. 3 
W. to N.W.4 W.. The nearest part of it N.W. by W. distant 
nine or ten miles. The whole of this land high, with many 
pointed hills, much covered with snow, and several large glaciers 
on it; this part of the coast appearing to trend about N. £ E. 
and S. + W. the northern land, beginning with the Cape before 
* Indeed, although he calls it a sound, his own words do not imply that 
he saw the bottom of it. Theyareas follow. ‘On the 12th day we were 
open of another sound, lying in the latitude of 74° 20! N., and we called it 
Sir James Lancaster's Sound. Here our hopes of a passage began to be 
less, &c.” , 
mentioned 
