N O R T H POL E. 
302 
2 whole day without any fuccefs. ' The /hips drove with 
the ice, and came into fourteen fathom. After fonts de¬ 
liberation, Capt. Phipps propofed to leave the (hips, and 
betake themfelves to the boats, which were hoifted out. 
This meafuve he conceived it neceflary to take without 
further delay,as the ftay of the Dutch (hips to the north¬ 
ward was very doubtful. On the 7th they pulhed away 
the launch to the Veftward, and at the fame time kept 
all fail on the ftiips to force them through the ice ; in this 
way they worked to the we ft ward, when on the 10th, the 
wind, fpringing up to the north-norfh-eaft, forced the 
(hips through a great deal of very heavy ice and got them 
into open water; and the following day they reached 
Amfterdam Ifland, the wefternmoft point of which is 
Hakluyt’s Headland. They anchored the fame day in 
Fair Haven, where is one of the moft remarkable ice-bergs 
in Spitzbergen. Ice-bergs, obferves Capt. Phipps, “are 
large bodies of ice filling the valleys between the huge 
mountains ; the face towards the fea is nearly perpendi¬ 
cular, and of a very lively light-green colour. That re- 
prefented in the engraving was about three hundred feet 
high;-with a cafcadei of water Bluing out of it. The 
black, mountains, white fnow, and beautiful colour of the 
ice, make a very romantic and uncommon pibture. Large 
pieces frequently break oft from the ice-bergs, and fall 
with great noife into the water; we observed one piece 
which had floated out into the bay and grounded in twen¬ 
ty-four fathoms : it was.fifty feet high above the furface 
of the water, and of the fame beautiful colour as the ice¬ 
berg.” A Voyage towards the North Pole. 
On the 19th they weighed anchor, and again ftood out 
to fea ; but, as the feafon was now l'o far advanced, and 
as fogs and gales of wind might conftantly be expefted, 
captain Phipps determined to bear up for England, and 
on the 25th of September arrived at the Nore. 
Captain Phipps feems to think that “the lummerwas 
uncommonly favourable for his purpole,” becaufe it “af¬ 
forded him the fuileft opportunity of afcertaining repeat¬ 
edly the fituation of that wall of ice, extending for more 
than twenty degrees between the latitudes of 80 and 81, 
without the linaileft appearance of any opening.” There 
is reafon to believe, however, (lays Mr. Barrow,) that 
few years occur in which there are not many openings 
in the wall of ice which ufually ftretches between the 
esftern coaft of Greenland and the northernmoft parts 
cf Spitzbergen ; and confequently the bummer in which 
Capt. Phipps made the attempt to get to the northward 
was peculiarly unfavourable. 
The hopes of opening a navigable communication be¬ 
tween the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, by a northerly 
courfe, were not abandoned by the failure of lord Mul- 
grave; another voyage was ordered to be undertaken for 
that purpole, and Capt. James Cook, who had twice cir¬ 
cumnavigated the globe, was appointed to command it. 
On this occafion the plan of difcovery which had hitherto 
been followed was reverfed; and, inllead of attempting 
to pal’s from the Atlantic to the Pacific, it was now inten¬ 
ded to try it from the latter into the former. The two 
Chips fitted out for this purpole were the Refolution and 
the Difcovery ; the former of which was under the imme¬ 
diate command of Capt. Cook, the latter of Capt. Clerke. 
It has been mentioned, that by the Aft of 18 Geo. II. a 
reward of 20,00c]. was held out to Ihips belonging to any 
of his majefty’s fubjefts which Ihould make the pafiage; 
but it excluded his majefty’s own Ihips ; the reward was 
moreover confined to Inch Ihips as Ihould difcover a paf- 
fage through Hudfon’s Bay. This aft was therefore, on 
the prefent occafion, amended; and fo framed as to in¬ 
clude his majefty’s Ihips, and to appropriate the reward 
for the difcovery of “any northern pafl’age” for veflels 
by fea between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; and it 
aifo awards the bum of 5000I. to any lhip that lhall ap¬ 
proach to within one degree of the North Pole, 16 Geo. 
J.U.c.6. 
On the 12th of July, 1776, the Refolution failed from 
Plymouth Sound, leaving inftruftions for the Difcovery 
to join her at the Cape of Good Hope; and, after various 
difeoveries in the fouthern hemifphere, the Pacific, and 
the two coafts of Alia and America, with which all Eu¬ 
rope is well acquainted, the tw'o (hips entered Behring’s 
Strait on the 9th of Auguft, 1779, and anchored near a 
point of land to which Capt. Cook gave the name of 
Cape Prince of Wales, which he afterwards afeertained to 
be the weftern extremity of the whole continent of Ame¬ 
rica. It is lituated in latitude 65.46. N. Ion. 191.45.E. 
Some elevations like ftages, and others like huts, were 
been on this part of the coaft ; and they thought all’o that 
lome people were vifible. From hence they ftood over to 
the weftward ; and entered a bay on the ealt coaft of Afia, 
at the head of which was a village and fome people. On 
landing they were found to coniiit of about thirty or 
forty men, each armed with a fpontoon, a bow and arrows, 
drawn up on a riling ground. As the people of the Ihips 
drew near, three of the'natives came down to the (bore, 
took off their caps, and made low bows. An exchange 
of prelents took place ; thofe received by Capt. Cook were 
two fox-lkins and a couple of fea-horfe teeth ; they ap¬ 
peared, however, to be fearful and cautious, and pre¬ 
served the attitude of being ready to make ufe of their 
fpears. They parted with their arrows in exchange for 
trifling articles, but nothing could induce them to part with 
a fpear or a bow. All their weapons were made with 
great ingenuity; and their quivers in particular are repre- 
lented as extremely beautiful, being made of red leather 
covered with neat embroidery and other ornaments. 
They differed in their perfons and features entirely from 
the natives of north-weft; America, the latter being low 
of ftature, with round faces and high cheek-bones; 
whereas the Tchutjki had long vifages, and were flout and 
well made; they had their ears bored, and fome had glafs 
beads banging from them, but no lip-ornaments like the 
Americans. They had numerous dogs, probably ufed 
to draw their fledges, of which feveral appeared in one of 
the liuts ; but Capt. Cook thought that they might alfo 
conftitute a part of their food, as feveral were obferved 
lying dead which had been killed that morning. 
From this bay the Ihips ftood over to the north-eaft, 
and again fell in with the weft coaft of America, the dif- 
tance in the narroweft part being only about fourteen 
leagues. Another cape was obferved to the northward 
of Cape Prince of Wales, lying in latitude 67. 45. and 
longitude 194. 51. the whole coaft free from liiovv, but 
apparently deftitute of wood. To this cape Capt. Cook 
gave the name of Point Mu/grave. On the 17th of Au¬ 
guft, in latitude 70. 41. they fell in with the ice, extend¬ 
ing from call by north to weft by fouth, and quite impe¬ 
netrable, being as compact as a wall, and at lead ten or 
twelve feet high, and to the northward apparently much 
higher. The weather clearing up, the extreme point of 
the eaftern land, or America, was obferved to form a 
point, which was much encumbered with ice; for which 
reafon it obtained the name of Icy Cape. Its latitude 
was 70. 29. longitude 198. 20. As the ice appeared to be 
drifting down towards the ihips, and might probably have 
caught them between it and the American fhore, they 
ftood back to the louthward into clear water, and after¬ 
wards to the northward, finding the ice lefs compaft, and 
covered with whole herds of the fea-horfe, many of which 
they took, and found to be good food. The weather 
coming on foggy, it was thought prudent to (land to the 
louthward; and on the 21ft, when in latitude 69. 32. the 
main ice was obferved at no great diftance from them, 
fo that it now covered a part of the fea which but a few 
days before had been clear; and it extended farther to 
the fouth than where they had firft fallen in with it. 
But Capt. Cook obferves, that he did not fuppofe any 
part of this ice to be fixed ; on the contrary lie confidered 
the whole as a moveable mafs. 
Capt. Cook ftood in for the American coaft, which ex- 
tended from fouth-weft to ealt, the near eft .part being four 
G{ 
