39<5 History- o/“ Countries Book II. 
^vhat Reafon is there to believe that it is not much more 
.{Irongly frozen in a higher Latitude The Reafon feems 
to be clearly this : That freezing does not depend fo 
much upon the Latitude of Places, as upon their Situa- 
tion, in other refpefts *, as is very plain from hence, that 
the moil intenfe Cold is felt in fome Parts of HudforC s 
"Bay, which lies very near in the: fame Latitude ^ith. Lon- 
don. Now that under the Pole the Sea fhould not freeze, 
fome very ftrong Reafons may be given : Firft, it is not 
known that the main Sea ever freezes. Thofe vaft Moun- 
tains of floating Ice, that frequently render the Coafl; of 
Groetiland inaccelTible, are formed three Ways : Firft, by 
the falling of vaft Rocks of Ice, from the Mountains, into 
the Sea. Next by the Tides breaking up the Ice at the 
Mouths of great Rivers. And, laftly, by the Addition 
of Snow and frefli Water to the Sea Water, which 
weakens its Force, and difpofes it to freeze. We may 
alfo take Notice of what we have before heard of the 
Froft-Fogs or Vapours arifmgfrom the Sea, through the 
Ice, which are allowed to be warm, and from whence we 
may, in fome Meafure, difcern the Caufe why the Ocean 
does not freeze. 
Secondly, under the Pole itfelf, for fix Months, the 
Sun is continually above the Florizon, apd confequently 
muft have a very great Efiieft, more efpecially on the 
Sea ; fo that if we confider this Matter attentively, we 
cannot but be convinced that it is abfolutely impollible 
the Sea fhould be frozen v on the contrary, there feems 
to be more probable Grounds to fufpedt that the Heat 
may be troublefome. Thirdly, thefe Reafons are fup- 
ported, thefe Conjeftures are verified, by daily Experi- 
ence ; for on the Coafts of Greenland, in the Latitude of 
82 Degrees, the Heat is known to melt Pitch, when 
great Quantities of Ice, are unmelted on the Coaft in 69 
Degrees. We may, from thefe Reafons, therefore con- 
clude, not only with Probability, but with Certainty, 
that during the Summer, at leaft, there is a clear and 
open Sea under the Pole, and, if fo, the Paflage that 
Way is indifputably the Ihorteft, the eafieft, and the 
moft praflicable, that has been hitherto thought of. This 
was long ago obferved by the famous Sir William Mon- 
fon, as great a Seaman as this Nation could ever boaft, 
who affirms that the Paflage, this Way from England, 
to China, does not exceed fifteen hundred Leagues. 
But we will now proceed to Matters of Fad, and fiiew 
that this not only may be done, but that it adually has 
been done ; as vftll appear from the following Paper, 
communicated to the Royal Society, by Mr. Jofeph 
Moxon, one of its Members which therefore we ffiall 
tranfcribe, as a Piece that cannot fail to give the Reader, 
on this Head, as full Satisfadion as he can defire. Thus 
then it runs : “ Among the many Efifays that have been 
made to find a clear Pafifage to Jap on, China, &c. 
the moft probable and likely, hath as yet (in my 
Opinion) been overfeen, or, at leaft, not attempted ; 
and therefore I fiiall, hereby, communicate my Con- 
ception to public Approbation or Cenfure ; it is, that 
a Paflage may very probably be about the North 
Pole, and the Reafons inducing me to conceive fo is : 
That we have no Certainty, from all the Difcoveries 
that have been made of any Land lying within eight 
Degrees about the Pole *, but on the contrary, I have 
“ been credibly informed, by a Steerfman of a Lrutch 
Greenland Ship, that there is a free and open Sea un- 
der the very Pole, and fomewhat beyond it ; and I, 
“ for my own Part, give Credit to his Relation, and 
do conceive that any fober ingenious Man would do the 
like, did he know in what an honeft Manner, and by 
what an Accident, I happened to hear it ; for thus it 
‘‘ was : 
“ Being about twenty-two Years ago in Amjierdam, 
«« I went into a public Houfe to drink a Cup of Beer 
for my Thirft j and fitting by the public Fire, among 
feveral People, there happened a Seaman to come in, 
«« who feeing a Friend of his there, who he knew went in 
the Greenland Voyage, wondered to fee him, becaufe 
«« it was not yet Time for the Greenland Fleet to come 
home, and afked him what Accident brought him 
home fo foon } His Friend (v/ho was the Steerfman- 
/ 
aforefaid, in a Greenland Ship that Summer) told that 
“ their Ship went not out to fifh as ufual, but only 
“ to take in the Lading of the whole Fleet, to bring it 
“ to an early Market, iAc. But, faid he, before the 
“ Fleet had caught Fifh enough to lade us, we, by Or- 
“ der of the Greenland Company, failed unto the North 
“ Pole, and came back again. Whereupon I entered 
“ into Difcourfe with him, and feemed to queftion the 
“ Truth of what he faid •, but he did afllire, me it was 
“ true, and that the Ship was then in Amjierdam, and 
“ many of the Seamen belonging to her ready to juftify 
“ the Truth of it ; and told me, moreover, that they 
“ had failed two Degrees beyond the Pole. I aflced him 
“ if they found no Land or Ifiands about the Pole ? He 
“ anfwered no, there was a free and open Sea. I aflced 
“ him if they did not meet with a great deal of Ice ? 
“ He told me no, they faw no Ice. i aficed him what 
“ Weather they had there ? He told me fine warm 
“ Weather, fuch as was at Amjierdam in the Summer- 
“ time, and as hot. I fhould have afk^d him more 
“ Queftions, but that he was engaged in Difcourfe with 
“ his Friend, and I could not, in Modefty, interrupt 
“ them longer. But I believe the Steerfman fpoke Mat- 
“ tea- of Facft and Truth j for he feemed a plain, honeft, 
“ and unaffedlatious Perfon, and one who could have 
“ no Defign upon me. 
“ But though I believe this Story, yet methinks I 
“ hear many objedt againft it, and are apt to urge 
“ three plaufible Reafons to prove it falfe, or, at leaft, 
“ fome Particulars of his Relation : And firft. That it 
“ cannot be warm under the Pole, becaufe that about 
“ Greenland, and many other Parts lefs northerly, the Sea 
is fo full of gteat Bodies of Ice that Ships can hardly 
“ fail for it. Secondly, if warm, yet not fo warm as at 
“ Ainjterdam in the Summer-time, becaufe the farther 
“ northerly, the colder Weather. Thirdly, If they were 
“ under the Pole, they could not tell how to come back, 
“ but that they might as well go farther as return nearer 
“ to home becaule the Needle always pointing North, 
“ they muft therefore lofe themfelves in the North Pole, 
“ where it muft refpedl all Points of the Horizon 
“ alike. 
“ One Anfwer may ferve to the firft and fecond Ob- 
“ jeflion. That it cannot be warm under the North 
“ Pole, (Ac. If we confider the Experience of Travellers 
“ and Navigators, we are told, that between the Tro- 
“ picks, nay, under the Equinodbial, is generally as 
“ moderate Weather as here in England in Summer-time; 
“ why may it not then be as warm under the Pole as 
“ here, or ?Lt Amjierdam, in the Summer-time i The fmall 
“ Height the Sun has there can be no Exception, for 
“ then we, having the Sun, in its Summer-Solftice, in 
“ lefier Altitude than between the Tropicks, it muft 
“ needs be colder here which is contradidled ; But one 
“ Reafon why it is as warm here as between the Tropicks 
“ is, becaufe between the Tropicks the Sim remains 
“ above twelve Hours of tv^enty-four above the Ho- 
“ rizon, to warm it; when, as here, it remains al- 
“ mioft feventeen Hours of twenty-four above the Ho- 
“ rizon, and therefore leaves a greater Impreflfon of 
“ Heat upon it ; and the farther northward we go, the 
“ longer it remains above the Horizon, and lefs under 
“ the Horizon every twenty-four Flours, till we come 
within the Ardlic Circle, where the Sun remains for 
“ half a Year together ; viz. all the Summer above the 
“ Horizon, and never fets ; and therefore, though his 
“ Beams are not fo perpendicular, yet they muft needs-. 
“ caufe a great Degree of Heat upon the Horizon. 
“ And if it be argued, that it is fo cold about Green- 
“ land, &c. and the Seas fo full of Ice that Ships can 
“ hardly -fail for it, yet cannot that Argument prove that 
“ it is fo about the Pole ; becaufe the Ice is made about 
“ Shores of Land, but never in open Sea, and comes 
“ here only by Strength of Currents, or high Winds, 
“ which do indeed carry it fome fmall Diftance from 
“ the Shore but as this Relator faid, there is under 
“ the Pole a free and open Sea,' (Ac. and confe- 
“ quently clear of Ice, in Summer-time, at leaft. 
“ Befides, Experience tells us, that all Land-breezes 
“ are 
{ 
