444 Account of later Attempts^ ' Book II* 
cording to my Inftruilions, I ftood in for, among the 
failing Ice j it was juft Flood when we entered it, the 
Tide running ftrong ; which, by Obfervations afterwards 
I found to run five or fix Miles an Hour. I run over 
fome Rocks on the North -fide of it very luckily, being 
juft high Water, and anchored in about thirty-four Fa- 
thoms i but fo foon as the Tide of Ebb was made, it 
ran fo ftrong, and fuch Quantities and Bodies of Ice came 
down upon us, that we were obliged to fteer the Ship ail 
the time, and keep all Hands upon their Guard with Ice- 
poles, to ftiove off the Ice ; notwithftanding which we 
brought our Anchor home, and taking hold again, one of 
the Arms of the Anchor was broke off. 
The next Day I fent my Lieutenant in the Boat, to 
feek out fome fecurer Place for the Ships, it being impof- 
fible to keep afloat where we were. Some UJkimay Sa- 
vaged came off to us ; I ufed them civilly, made them 
Prefents, and difmiffedthem. As foon as I got the Ships 
fecured, I employed all my Officers and Boats, having 
myfelf no little' Share in the Labour, in trying the Tides, 
and difcovering the Courfe and Nature of this Opening ; 
and after repeated Trials, for three Weeks fucceffively, 
i found the Flood conftantly to come from the Eaftward j 
and that it was a large River we had got into, but fo full 
of Ice there was no fteering the Veffel with any Proba- 
bility of Safety, while the Ice was driving up and down 
'with the ftrong Tides. 
Here I lay not a little impatient to get out, went fevc- 
ral times in my Boat towards the Mouth of the River, 
and from a Hill that over-looked Part of the Welcome^ 
faw that Place full of Ice, fo that I found there was no 
Time loft by our being in Security ; however, I fent my 
Lieutenant and Mafter, in the eight-oared Boat, to look 
out for a Harbour near the Entrance of the River, but 
they found none i and it v/as no fmall Miracle they got on 
Board again, for they were fo jammed up with Ice, which 
driving the ftrong Tides, would inevitably have ftove 
the Boat to Pieces, and all muft have periffied, had it 
not been for an Opening in a large Piece of Ice, into 
which they got the Boat, and with it drove out of the 
River’s Mouth i but when the Tides flacked, the Ice 
opened as ufual, and they rowed over to the North Shore, 
fo got in with the Flood. 1 feveral Times fent the In- 
dians afhore to fee if they knew any thing of the Land, 
but they were quite ignorant of it. ' In this vexatious 
Condition I continued three Weeks, refolving to get out 
the firft Opportunity the River was any thing clear of 
Ice, and make what Difeoveries I could by meeting the 
Flood-tide. This River, of which by frequent Tryals of 
the Lands, Soundings, Tides, ISc. I was able to take 
a Draught, I named the Ri^er Wager, after the Right 
Honourable Sir Charles Wager, 
On the 3d of Auguft the River, for the firft Time, was 
a little clear of Ice ; and accordingly, in Purfuance of our 
Difeovery, on the 5th by Noon I got into the Latitude 
66 Degrees 14 Minutes-, we had then got into anew 
Streight, mubh peftered with Ice, and on the North-fide of 
w^liich \ve faw a Cape or Head- land bearing North ; we 
had 'deep Water, and very ftrong Tides within four or 
five Leao'ues of it j I named this Head-land Cape Hope, 
as it gave us all great Joy, and Flopes of its being the 
extreme North Part of America. Seeing little or no Land 
to the Northward of it, we turned or worked round it 
the fame Night, and got five or fix Leagues to the North 
by AVeft, before v^e could perceive any otherwife than a 
fair Opening ^ but about Noon the 6th Day, having got 
into the Latitude of 66 Degrees 40 Minutes, found we 
were embayed, and, by two in the Afternoon, could not 
go above three Leagues further'*, and having tried the 
Tides all the Forenoon every two Hours ’till two o’Clock 
in the Afternoon, found neither Ebb nor Flood, yet deep 
Waters. From this it wa§ concluded, that we had over- 
fhot the Streight on theNorth-eaft Shore, from whence the 
Flood came j and as there was no 'Proceeding above three 
or four Leagues further, it was agreed upon by all, to 
turn back and fearch narrowly for a Streight or Opening, 
near where we found the ftrong Tides. 
On the 7th, after we were confirmed the Flood came 
in at the North-eaft from the Eaft by .South, I went on 
Shore in the Boat, and found it flowed fifteen Feet three 
Days after the Full, and a Weft by South Moon made 
high Water. I travelled twelve or fifteeen Miles, from 
Flill to Hill, in Land, ’till I came to a very high Moun- 
tain, from whence I faw a Streight or Opening the Flood 
came in at, and, the Mountain i ftood on being pretty- 
near the Middle of this Streipht, I could fee both Ends of it, 
the Whole being about eighteen or twenty Leagues long, 
and fix or feven broad, and very high Land on both 
Sides ; but it was all frozen faft from Side to Side, and 
no Appearance of its clearing this Year, and near the 
67th Degree of Latitude, and no anchoring the Ships, 
being very deep Water clofe to the Shore, and much 
large Ice driving with the Ebb and Flood, and but little 
Room if thick Weather ffiould happen, which we conti- 
nually expedled in thofe Parts, it was agreed upon in Coun- 
cil to make the beft of our Way out of this dangerous 
narrow Streight, and to make Obfervations between the 
64th and 62d Degrees of Latitude. The frozen Streight I 
take to run towards which Bylot named Cape Comfort, and 
the Bay where Fox had named a Place Lord W^fioAs Port- 
land it is in the Latitude of 66 Degrees 40 Minutes, 
and 1 2 Degrees 49 Minutes Eaft from ChurchilU 
rurfuant to this Refolution we bore away, and tried the 
Tides on the other Side the PFelcome, founding and ob* 
ferving clofe in Shore, but met with little Encourage- 
ment. On the nth of Augujl I once more faw thelfland 
of Brook Cohham, and continued trying the Tides ; and 
ftill finding the Flood come from the Eaftward, and by 
coafting along IditlVelcome was certain of its being, the main 
Land, though there arc feveral fmall Hands and deep 
Bays, and faw feveral black Whales of the right Whale- 
bone Kind, I worked off and on by Brook Cobham, fent 
the Northern Indians on Shore upon the Hand, who, at 
their Return, gave me to underftand, it was not far from 
their Country, and defired I would let them go Home, 
being tired of the Sea. I kept them with Affurances that 
I would ad according to my Promife, and finding no 
Probability of a Paffage, in two or three Days after I 
gave them a fmall Boar^ well fitted with Sails and Oars, 
the Ufe of which they had been taught, and loaded it 
with Fire-arms, Powder, Shot, Hatches, and every thing 
defireable to them *, they took their Leave of me, and I 
fent another Boat for Water, which accompanied them 
on Shore, the Southern Indian being with them. 
The Southern Indian, who was Linguift for the 
Northern ones, returned with the Boat j being ufed to 
the Englijh Cuftoms at the Fadory, and defirous of feeing 
England, being a willing handy Man, I brought him with 
me ; and the fame Evening, which was the 1 5th of An- 
guft, I bore away for England, thinking to have tried 
the Tide at Carys Swans Nefi, but could not fetch it. 
On the 20th I faw Man fells IJle, on the 21ft Cape 
Higgs was in Sight ; on the 26th made Cape Refo-^ 
lution, and arrived at Carrijlon, in Pomona, one of the* 
Hands of Orkney. Moft of my Men being fo very 
much afflided with the Scurvy, and otherwife fick and 
diftempered, that I was obliged to leave Part of them 
behind me, and only v/ait to imprefs Hands to carry 
the Ship fafe to London. 
This Account appeared very clear and very fatis- 
fadory, even to Mr. Hobbs for fome Timej but upon 
re-confidering the Motives which induced him to believe 
there was fuch a Paffage, the Accounts given him by 
Captain Middleton formicrly, and what he delivered upon 
this Subjed in his Journal, he began to fufped that Things 
were not fo clear as they feemed to be, but that fome- 
where or other there was a Miftake*, yet without charging 
Captain Middleton with any Breach of Duty, or fo much 
as fufpeding a Defign in him to conceal any Part of his 
Difeovery. 
7. By Degrees, however, the Scene began to change. 
Mr. Hobbs came into an Opinion, that the Opening to 
which Captain Middleton had given the Name of the 
RiYfc Wag-er, was, in Reality, tfie Streight he was fent to 
difeover. He fuggefted this to that Gentleman, who ad- 
hered to his former Opinion, that it was a RiVer and no 
Streight, that it was frefli Water and not fait, and that t’-' 
Whales which were feen in it, cam^e through the frozen 
Streight 
