An Account of later Attempts , 
nal, and his whole Conduct from his going to Churchill, 
until his Return to England, and even fince his Return, 
it will appear plainly that he intended to ferve the Com- 
pany at the Public Expence, and contrived every 
Thing fo as to ftifle the DifcoVery, and to prevent 
others from undertaking it for the future, fo as to fecure 
the Favour of the Company, and the Reward he faid 
they promifed him before he began the Voyage. 
As to his Declarations aiid Condubl. during the Voy- 
age, it appears by undeniable Evidence, that he de- 
clared, in Prefence of fome of his Officers, to the Com- 
pany’s Governor at Chur' chill, that he ffiould be able to 
make that Voyage, and none on board him ffiould 
know whether there was a Paffage or not, and he would 
be a better Friend to the Company than ever. 
The Lieutenant finding one of the Men at the Factory, 
\vho very well underftood the Northern Indian Language, 
and would have been of great Ufe upon the Difcovery, 
offered to take him with him at his own Rifque, faying, 
he would anfwer it when he came back, it being for the 
Good of the Service they were upon j but the Captain 
would not allow of it, for fear of difobliging the Compa- 
ny. The Captain in going Northward from Churchill, 
never once went affiore, nor fent his .Boat to look out 
for any Inlet, or 'try the Tide, having only once tried 
the Current at Sea in Latitude 63 Degrees 20 Minutes, 
where he found a very rapid Tide, although he found 
much Ice to the Northward, and had Time enough before 
he entered the Ice, to try all the Coafl, but ffood off to 
the Eaftward, until he paffed Cape Dobbs, and though 
he then found an Opening North- weftward, he only 
went in with a View to ffielter his Ships, but not to look 
out for a Paffage •, and therefore, when he went in, got 
to the North-eaft Side out of the Tide inffead of out of 
the South-weft Side, where he ought to have gone, if he 
liad puffied for a Paffage ; and though he lay there 
three Weeks, he never but once v/ent crofs to the 
Weftern Shore, and that only one Day or two before he 
quitted the River, pretending he could not do it for the 
Re ; and even this he does not mention in his Journal, 
although he found there an excellent Cove for flieltering 
his Ships. He once pretended to crofs the Streight from 
Deer Sound, where he had no Ice to prevent him ; but 
after going two Leagues he returned and faid,’ it was 
too far, and he had tafted the Water, which was freffi, 
aftcing the Boat-men if it was not fo, which they con- 
tradidted, faying only, it was not very fait. V/hen the 
Lieutenant went up to Deer Sound, he difeovered from 
a Mountain an Opening South- weftward, upon the other 
Shore, ten I.eagues diftant betwixt a high and low Head- 
land, and alfo obferved the Ice there, when it was a 
Quarter Flood at Wager Rwer, move down the River 
againft that Tide. Upon his mentioning this to the Cap- 
tain, he was laughed at, who aftced him. From whence 
that Tide could come ? and no farther Enquiry was 
made into it. 
Afterwards, when from the Numbers of Whales, and 
Breadth and Depth of the River, it was given out among 
the Ship’s Company, that they believed it was a Streight 
and no River, he rated feveral of them for pretending 
to fay fo againft his Opinion, Eying, his Clerk was a 
double-tongued Rafcal ; that he would cane the Lieute- 
nant, broomftick the Mafter, and lafli any others who 
ffiould concern themfelves about the Voyage, and threat- 
ened that if any kept private Journals, he would break 
up their Boxes, and take them from them j and though 
he allowed his Clerk to take the Bearings of the Land, 
and Profpebls in other Parts of the Voyage, yet, when 
in the Wager River and at the Welcome, he forbid him 
from taking any* This' happened when the Lieutenant 
;ind Mafter were down the River to look out for a Cove 
for the Ships, when they fliould fail out of the River. 
When they returned, he, imagining that Rumour would 
turn out to his Prejudice, in cafe no farther Enquiry was 
made about its being a Streight or River, faid they 
might go up and try the Tide, and fee if there was any 
other Way out into the Welcome, which was into the 
Bay, not into the Wefiern Ocean ; but by his Warrant li- 
mitted them to go to Deer Sound, or thereabouts, which 
was only where he had been himf^lf before, ^nd ordered 
them to come back with the utmoft Difpatch the Nature 
ot the Service would allow. This was the 28th of July. 
When they were gone he faid, he fuppofed the Lieute- 
nant would bring back fome romantic Account of a 
Streight or a Paffage, but for his Part he would not take 
the Ships a Foot farther *, and accordingly before their 
Return unmoored, and was preparing to warp out of 
the Cove, which he did the Morning after they returned^ 
The Lieutenant, upon his Return, gave the follow- 
ing Report under his Hand, viz. July 27, 1742, 
I was ordered with the Mafter to take the fix-oared 
Boat, and to go up Savage Sound as high as Deer Sound, 
and try the Tides, I found that, the Flood there 
comes from the River It flov/ed there ten Feet 
Water. 
We then failed from Deer Sound from the high bluff 
Land on the Weft-fide of the River Wager. The Courfe 
from the Elands off theNorth-fide of Deer Sound is North- 
Weft, and North-Weft by North. By Compafs Variation 
allowed Weft by North. We founded all the V7 ay over, 
and had no Ground with a Line of fixty-eight Fathom to 
the high bluff Land. We then ran up a Branch of the 
main River, and founded and found fifty Fathom one 
third, over that Branch j there were feveral Hands in it 
founded about a League off an Eland on the North Side, 
and found thirty. Fathom Water, in running between the 
Elands and the fuppofed Main, which was on the Weft^ 
fide of that Branch ; the Freflres fuddenly turned againft 
us, the Boat altering the Land very much before, found- 
ed, and had no Ground at fixty-eight Fathom •, as we 
run up it we founded near a fmall Hand, and had twenty 
nineFathom. We fteered Weft North-weft, between the 
Hands and the Weft Land, by Compafs (Weft by 
South) there being feveral Hands in the At/’r and 
no Ground in the Middle of the Channel at fixty eight 
Fathom. V/ e went about fifteen Leagues above Deer 
Sound, and faw a Freffi or Run of Water coming againft 
us 5 and the Wind being fair, I was afraid of flaying any 
longer, for fear of hindring the Ships from going to Sea ; 
there is a great Probability of an Opening on the Weft- 
fide, by the coming in of the V/ hales; but I could not 
go higher up to try it, for the above-mentioned Reafons. 
We went to the Top of a high mountainous Land, 
from whence we faw a great Run or Fall of Water between 
the Weft Land and the Ifiands. It was very narrow, 
and, feemingly, not a Mile broad ; and at the fame Tims 
faw a fair Channel or Streight to the Northwards of the 
Hands, with Land on both Sides, as high as the Cape of 
Good Hope, running away to the Weftward, with many 
bluff-' Points and broken Lands ; in coming down we 
faw feveral very large black Whales, playing about the 
Boat and affiore. 
Augufl I. John Rankin. 
1742. 
This being a ftrong Proof of an open Channel .or 
Streight going to the Southward of a Weft, the Captain 
thought it too flagrant, and therefore there being fome 
little Variation between his Account and the Mailer’s, 
made them cook up the following Report between them, 
which both were to fign ; which being not fo particular, 
did not appear fo ftrong for the Paffage, It run in 
thefe Words : 
Purfuant to an Order from Captain Chriftopher Mid- 
dleton, Commander of his Majefty’s Ship the Furnace, 
bearing date the 27th of July, 1742? We whofe 
Names are hereunto fubferibed, took the Furnace s 
Six-oared Boat, and went from Savage Sound, where 
his Majefty’s Ships, Furnace and Difcovery, then lay ; 
and on the 28th, at one in the Morning, arrived 
at Deer Sound, where we tried the Tide, and found the 
Flood came into that Place from the River W ager, and 
rofe at that Time ten Feet. At fix o’Clock the fame 
Morning we left Deer Sound (where we put the two 
Northern Indians affiore to kill fome Deer) and failed 
for a high bluff Land, on the North-weft Side of the 
River Wager. Our Courfe from the Hands on the North 
Side of Sound, to the high bluff Land, was North- 
/ 
