PACIFIC AND BEERING’S STRAIT. 
309 
neck did not exceed a mile and a half, and apparently in some places CHAP, 
less. The extremity was broader than any other part, had several small 
lakes of water on it, which were frozen over, and the village before Narrative 
spoken of situated on its eastern shore. The eastern side of this neck B^rge 
trended in a S. S. W. (mag.) direction until it became lost to the eye 
by being joined with a body of ice that encircled the horizon in the 
N. E. This union scarcely left us room to hazard an opinion which 
direction it afterwards took ; but from the circumstance of the current 
setting at the rate of three miles and a half an hour N. E. (true), and 
the ice all drifting to that quarter, we were induced to conjecture that 
its continuation led well to the eastward. 
It was our original intention to have remained at the point till noon, 
landed, and obtained if possible all the necessary observations, besides 
depositing instructions for Captain Franklin ; but the character of the 
natives entirely frustrated our plans, and obliged us to avoid an open 
rupture by quitting the anchorage— a circumstance we greatly regretted, 
as we had anticipated gathering much information respecting the 
coast to the eastward, besides other points of much importance. The 
nights had hitherto been beautifully clear and fine, and we were very 
sanguine of obtaining a number of lunar distances with the sun, being 
the only means we had of ascertaining correctly our farthest easting, 
as the patent log, we knew, from the strength of current, could in no 
way be depended on. At nine we weighed, and, stemming the current, 
stood in for the low point, off which there was an iceberg aground, on 
which we resolved to wait till noon for the latitude. On our way thither 
we passed another extensive iceberg aground in six fathoms water, and 
not more than eight or ten feet above the surface. At noon we were 
favoured with a clear sun, and determined our latitude to be 71° 24' 59" 
N. Lunar anchorage bearing from the place of observation one mile north 
(true), and the north-eastern part of Point Barrow S. E. f E. (mag.) 1-^'. 
From which the position of Point Barrow, the most northern part 
known of the American continent, is latitude 71° 23' 31" N., longitude 
156° 21' 30" W. The azimuth sights made the variation 41° east. 
The breeze still continuing light from the S. E. (although the clouds 
were approaching from the westward), we made all sail to the southward. 
