THE PACIFIC OCEAN* 
Gore, with two armed boats, to examine the Northern arm; 
and the mailer, with two other boats, to examine another w 
arm that feemed to take an Eafterly direction. Late in 
the evening, they both returned. The Mailer reported, 
that the arm he had been fent to, communicated with that 
from which we had lail come ; and that one fide of it was 
only formed by a group of iflands. Mr. Gore informed me, 
that he had feen the entrance of an arm, which, he was of 
opinion, extended a long way to the North Eail; and that, 
probably by it, a pafiage might be found. On the other 
hand, Mr. Roberts, one of the mates, whom I had fent 
with Mr. Gore to iketch out the parts they had examined, 
was of opinion, that they faw the head of this arm. The 
difagreement of thefe two opinions, and the circumitance 
already mentioned of the flood-tide entering the Sound from 
the South, rendered the exiilence of a pafiage this way 
very doubtful. And,- as the wind in the morning had be¬ 
come favourable for getting out to fea, I refolved to fpend 
no more time in fearching for a pafiage in a place that pro- 
mifed fo little fuccefs. Befides this, I confidered, that, if the 
land on the Weft fhould prove to be iflands, agreeably to the 
late Ruffian Difcoveries *, we could not fail of getting far 
enough to the North, and that in good time; provided we 
did not lofe the feafon in fearching places, where a paf- 
fage was not only doubtful, but improbable. We were 
now upward of five hundred and twenty leagues to the 
Weftward of any part of Baffin’s, or of Hudfon’s Bay, 
And whatever pafiage there may be, it muft be, or, at 
leaft, part of it, muft lie to the North of latitude 72° f. 
* Captain Cook feems to take his ideas of thefe from Mr. Stsehlin’s map, prefixed to 
the Account of the Northern Archipelago; publifhed by Dr. Maty. London, 1774. 
t On what evidence Captain Cook formed his judgment as to this, is mentioned in 
the Introduction. 
3 6 3 
1778. 
May. 
-n- - 
3 A 2 
Who 
