Soft 
AUTHOR’S PREFACE. 
There is no sea with which our age is so im¬ 
perfectly acquainted as the Frozen Ocean; and no 
empire which has more powerful motives and re¬ 
sources for extending its information, in this quar¬ 
ter, than Russia. Although the government has 
made several efforts, at different periods, to attain 
this object, yet none of their expeditions, except 
the first two, undertaken by Captain Behring, for 
the purpose of discovery, have brought them nearer 
the desired paint; owing to the inexperience of 
those who planned and executed them, and who 
were neither of them aware of the endless difficul¬ 
ties to be combated in a boisterous element, and a 
corner of the globe so imperfectly known. 
One grand impediment to their success was the 
size of their vessels, which were very well adapted 
for crossing the main on voyages of discovery, but 
could ill serve the purpose of passing through 
shallows, and making minute observations on the 
shores. By the removal of this evil I flatter myself 
that not a single bay, island, or mountain, has 
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