THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 
253 
1779 ’ 
Fiy- 
in every refpedl, infinitely fnperior to that of the fea-horfe; 
which, neverthelefs, onr people were again perfuaded, with- u 
out much difficulty, to prefer to their falted provifions. 
At fix in the morning of the 20th, a thick fog coming Tuefday 20 
on, we loft fight of the ice for two hours ; but the wxather 
clearing, we faw the main body again to the South South 
Eaft, when we hauled our wind, which was Eafterly, to¬ 
ward it, in the expectation of making the American coaft 
to the South Eaft, and which we effected at half paft ten. 
At noon, the latitude, by account, was 69° 33', and longitude 
194° 53'j and the depth of water nineteen fathoms. The 
land extended from South by Eaft, to South South Weft half 
Weft, diftant eight or ten leagues, being the fame we had 
feen laft year; but it was now much more covered with 
fnow than at that time; and, to all appearance, the ice ad¬ 
hered to the fhore. We continued, in the afternoon, failing 
through a fea of loofe ice, and Handing toward the land, 
as near as 'the wind, which was Eaft South Eaft, would ad¬ 
mit. At eight, the wind leffening, there came on a thick 
fog; and, on perceiving a rippling in the water, we tried 
the current, which we found to fet to the Eaft North Eaft, 
at the rate of a mile an hour, and therefore determined to 
fleer, during the night, before the wind, in order to ftem 
it, and to oppofe the large fragments of loofe ice, that were 
fetting us on toward the land. The depth of the water, at 
midnight, was twenty fathoms. 
At eight in the morning of the 21ft, the wind freffiening, wednef. 21 . 
and the fog clearing away, we faw the American coaft to 
the South Eaft, at the diftance of eight or ten leagues, and 
hauled in for it; but were flopped again by the ice, and 
obliged to bear away to the Weftward, along the edge of it. 
At 
