INTRODUCTION. 35 



projecting point to the west of Cape North, and he 

 concluded that, at the beguining, at least, the di- 

 rection of the coast must be quite westerly : it 

 may therefore be inferred, with great probability, 

 that the north-east point of Asia, whether it be 

 called Cape Shalatzkoy, or Shalaginskoy, does not 

 lie in more than the 70th degree of latitude, though 

 in some maps it is laid down two degrees farther 

 north. Can the doubling of a cape, which was 

 effected I70 years ago by a Cossack in a small 

 boat, be thought insuperable by navigators in our 

 times ? Certainly not. It is, however, strange that 

 the attempt has never been made. Something 

 quite similar has happened to the English. They 

 considered the sailing round Baffin's Bay as im- 

 possible f doubts were thrown on the credibility of 

 Baffin, whose account very precisely points out the 

 boundaries of the bay ; even ingenious geogra- 

 phers effaced the bay on their charts, without a 

 single attempt having been made since its discovery, 

 i. e. 200 years ago, to ascertain the correctness of 

 Baffin's assertions ; till, at length, on the search for 

 a north-west passage, they were examined in the 

 minutest manner, and found exactly as Baffin had 

 described them, with the exception of the longi- 

 tudes, which could not be accurately determined 

 200 years ago. 



Now, that I am speaking of the labours which we 

 have still to perform, before we obtain a proper 

 knowledge of the coasts of Asia, i. e. such as is 



D 2 



