INTRODUCTION. 
into the Pacific Ocean, by the very opening which Middle¬ 
ton’s voyage had pointed out, and which he was believed to 
have mifreprefented. 
This renovation of hope only produced frefh difappoint- 
raent. For it is well known, that the voyage of the Dobbs 
and California, inftead of confuting, ftrongly confirmed all 
that Middleton had afferted. The fuppofed Strait was found 
to be nothing more than a frefh water river, and its utmoffc 
Weftern navigable boundaries were now afcertained, by ac¬ 
curate examination. But though Wager’s Strait had thus 
difappointed our hopes, as had alfo done Rankin’s Inlet, 
which was now found to be a clofe Bay; and though other 
arguments, founded on the fuppofed courfe of the tides in 
Hudfon’s Bay, appeared to be groundlefs; fuch is our at¬ 
tachment to an opinion once adopted, that, even after the 
unfuccefsful ifiue of the voyage of the Dobbs and Califor¬ 
nia, a pafiage through fome other place in that Bay was, 
by many, confidered as attainable; and, particularly, Chef- 
terfield’s (formerly called Bowden’s) Inlet, lying between 
latitude 63° and 64°, fucceeded Wager’s Strait, in the fan- 
guine expectations of thofe who remained unconvinced by 
former difappointments. Mr. Ellis, who was on board the 
Dobbs, and who wrote the hiftory of the voyage, holds 
up this as one of the places where the pafiage may be 
fought for, upon very rational grounds, and with very good 
effects *. He alfo mentions Repulfe Bay, nearly in latitude 
67°; but as to this he fpeaks lefs confidently ; only faying, 
that by an attempt there, we might probably approach 
nearer to the difcovery t. He had good reafon for thus 
guarding his expreffion; for the Committee, who directed 
this voyage, admitting the impracticability of effecting a 
* Ellis’s Voyage, p. 328. f Ibid. p. 330. 
f 2 
xkii 
pafiage 
