KORT H POLE, 
ralogy and botany, and fome very remarkable ftar-fiflu 
The whole qf the productions were conveyed to the Eri- 
tilh Mufeum, for the infpeftion of the public. One of 
the dogs has been killed and fluffed, to remain in the 
Mufeum : the refl have been made prefents of to diffe¬ 
rent noblemen, who it is hoped will fltow them better 
hofpitality. 
Another expedition for exploring a north-weft paffage is 
expected to tail in the prefent month, (April.) It is to 
confift of l'maller (hips, namely, the Hecla bomb-veflel 
and Griper gun-brig, under Lieut. Parry inftead of Capt. 
Rofs. The reft of the officers are the fame as liiiled with 
the former expedition, and all the men have volunteered 
to go again. Thefe officers fay they have little doubt of 
a padage between Baffin’s Bay and the Pacific Ocean, but 
that the feaf'on was too far advanced after fome time had 
been loft in going up the Greenland fide. It is now 
known preciiely where to look for the paffage, namely 
through one of the deep founds on the weft fide of Baffin’s 
Bay, and all are fanguine of finding it out. Lieut. 
Beechey, whofailed in the former expedition in the Doro¬ 
thea-, is now appointed to the Hecla, and Lieut. Hoppner 
to the Griper. 
To promote this attempt, and ftiil farther to reward its 
completion, the Gazette of March 20, 1819, announces 
the prince regent’s approbation of the following fcale of 
rewards propofed in a memorial from the board of longi¬ 
tude, taken into confideration by his royal highnefs in 
council on the 19th, viz. 1. To the firft lhip belonging 
to any of his majefty’s fubjefts, or to his majefty, that 
fliall reach the longitude of no degrees W. from Green¬ 
wich, or the mouth of Hearne’s or Coppermine River, 
by failing within the arCtic circle, 5000I. to the firft fttip, 
as aforefaid, that fhall reach the longitude of 130 deg. 
W. from Greenwich, or the Whale Ifland of Mackenzie, 
by failing within the ar 61 ic circle, io,oool. to the firft 
fhip, as aforefaid, that fhall reach the longitude of 150 
deg. W. from Greenwich, by failing weftwards within 
the ardlic circle, 15,000k the aft having already allotted 
to the. firft fhip that lhall reach the Pacific Ocean by a 
north-weft paffage the full reward of 20,000). 2. To the 
firft fhip, as aforefaid, that fhall reach to 83 deg. of north 
latitude, 1000I. to 85 deg. 2000I. to 87 deg. 3000I. to 88 
deg. 4000I. the aft having already allotted to the firft 
fhip that fliall reach to or beyond 89 deg. the full reward 
of 5000k 
The Efquimaux, John Sackhoufe, who had been of 
fuch effential fervice in the former expedition, and wdio 
was to have accompanied the prefent one, unfortunately 
died on the 14th of February at Edinburgh. He was 
only twenty-two years of age; a native of the weft coaft 
of Greenland. This man had occupied a confiderable 
fhare of public attention, and his lofs will be generally 
felt. The admiralty, with great liberality and judgment, 
had direfted the greateft pains to be taken in his educa¬ 
tion ; and he had been feveral months in Edinburgh with 
,this view, when lie was feized with a violent inflamma¬ 
tion in the cheft, which carried him off in a few days. 
He was extremely docile, but rather flow in the attain¬ 
ment of knowledge ; he was induftrious, zealous, and 
■cheerful; and always grateful for the kindnefs and atten¬ 
tion fhown to him. His amiable difpolition and Ample 
manners had interefted thofe who had opportunities of 
knowing him perfonally, in a way that will not foon be 
forgotten. To the public his lofs we fear is irreparable, 
and to his friends it is very fevere. Juft before his death, 
the poor fellow faid he knew he was going to die ; that 
his father and mother had died of the lame diforder; and 
that his lifter, who was the laft of all his relations, had 
juft appeared to him, and called him away. 
We muff conclude for the prefent with a few general 
remarks on the probability'of luccefs in thefe arftic expe¬ 
ditions; for it is underftood that the northern or polar 
attempt is to be renewed next year, 1820. 
I. Of the three directions in which a paffage has been 
Vol. XVII. No. 1172, 
£00 
fought for from the Atlantic to the Pacific, that by the 
north-eaft holds out the leaft encouraging hope; indeed 
the various unfuccefsful attempts by the Englifli and the 
Dutch which we have enumerated, go far to prove the 
utter impracticability of a navigable paffage round the 
northern extremity of Alia ; though' the whole of this 
coaft, with the exception, perhaps, of a fingle point, 
has been navigated in feveral detached parts and at diffe¬ 
rent times. 
In order to make this the more plain, we fliall obferve, 
that from the north-weltern extremity of Europe, called 
the North Cape, to the north-eaftern extremity of Afia, 
called the Promontory of the TJchutJki, is a fpace inclu¬ 
ding about 160 degrees of longitude, viz. from 4.0 to 200 
eaft from Ferro : the port of Archangel lies in about 57 
degrees eaft longitude, Nova Zembla between 70 and 95 ; 
which laft is alfo the fituation of the mouth of the great 
river Oby. Still farther eaftward are the mouths of the 
rivers Jenifei in ioo°; Piafida in 105 0 ; Chatangain 124°; 
Lena, which has many mouths, between 134 0 and 142 0 ; 
Indigirka in 1-62°; and theKovyma in 175 0 . The cold- 
eft place in all this traft, therefore, ought to be that be¬ 
tween the mouths of the Jenifei and the Chatanga ; and 
indeed here the infurmountable difficulty has always been, 
as will appear from the following accounts of the voyages 
made by the Ruffians with a view to dilcover the north- 
eaft paffage, and which we could not conveniently bring 
into the preceding chronological arrangement. 
In 1734, Lieut. Morzovieff failed from Archangel 
towards the river Oby, but could fcarcely advance twenty 
degrees of longitude during that feafon. The next fum- 
mer he palled through the ftraits of Waygatz into the fea 
of Kara ; but did not double the promontory which fe-, 
parates the fea of Kara from the bay or mouth of the Oby. 
In 1738, the lieutenants Malgyin and SlniTa'kofr doubled 
that promontory with great difficulty, and entered the 
bay of Oby. Several unfuccefsful attempts were made 
to pafs from the bay of Oby to the Jenifei; which was 
at laft effected, in 1738, by two veffels commanded by 
lieutenants Offzin and Kofkeleff. Tbe fame year the pilot 
Feoder Menin failed eaftwards from the Jenifei to the 
mouth of the Piafida: but here he was flopped by the ice; 
and, finding it impolfible to force a paffage, he returned to 
the Jenifei. 
In July 1735, Lieut. Prontfhiftcheff failed down the 
river Lena, in order to pafs by fea to the mouth of the 
Jenifei. The weftern mou ths of the Lena were fo choaked 
up with ice, that he was obliged to pafs through the moft 
eafterly one; and was prevented by contrary winds from 
getting out till the 13th of Auguft. Having fleered 
north-weft along the iilands which lie fcattered before the 
mouths of the Lena, he found himfeif in lat. 70.4. yet 
even here he faw pieces of ice from twenty-four to lixty 
feet in height, and in no place was there a free channel 
left of greater breadth than one or two hundred yards. 
His veflel being much damaged, he entered the mouth of 
the Olenek, a lfnall river near the weftern mouth of the 
Lena; and "here he continued till the enfuing feafon, 
when he got out in the beginning of Auguft. But, be¬ 
fore he could reach the mouth of the Chatanga, he was 
fo entirely fur rounded and hemmed in with ice, that it 
was with the utmoft difficulty he could get loofe. Ob- 
f'erving then a large field of ice ftretching into the fea, he 
was obliged to faii up the Chatanga. Getting free once 
more, he proceeded northward, doubled the cape called 
Taimura, and reached the bay of that name, lying in 
about 115 0 eaft from Ferro; from thence he attempted 
to proceed weftward along the coaft. Near the fhore 
were feveral final 1 iilands, between which and the ffiore 
the ice was immovably fixed. He then directed his 
courfe towards the fea, in order to pafs round the chain 
of iilands. At firft he found tlie feamore free to the north 
of thefe iilands, but obferved much ice lying between 
them. At laft he arrived at what he took to be the laft of 
the iilands, lying in lat. 77. 25. Between this ifland and 
3 H the 
