49° 
A VOYAGE TO 
1778. muddy; and conliderably frefher than at any of the places 
^September. where we p a d i ate ly anchored. From this I inferred, that 
a confiderable river runs into the fea, in this unknown 
part. 
As foon as we got into eight fathoms water, I fleered to 
the Weftward, and afterward more Southerly, for the land 
Sunday 20. difcovered on the 5th, which, at noon the next day, bore 
South Weft by Weft, ten or eleven leagues diftant. At this 
time we had a frefli gale at North, with fhowers of hail 
and fnow at intervals, and a pretty high fea; fo that we 
got clear of the ftioals but juft in time. As I now found 
that the land before us lay too far to the Weftward to be 
Anderfon’s Illand, I named it Gierke's IJland. It lies in the 
latitude of 63° 15', and in the longitude of 190° 30'. It 
feemed to be a pretty large illand, in which are four or 
more hills, all connected by low ground; fo that, at a 
diftance, it looks like a group of illands. Near its Eaft part 
lies a fmall illand remarkable by having upon it three ele¬ 
vated rocks. Not only the greater illand, but this,fmall 
Ipot was inhabited. 
We got up to the Northern point of Clerke’s Illand about 
llx o’clock, and having ranged along its coaft till dark, 
Monday 21. brought to during the night. At day-break, next morning, 
we flood in again for the coaft, and continued to range 
along it, in fearch of a harbour, till noon; when, feeing no 
likelihood of fucceeding, I left it, and fleered South South 
Weft, for the land which we had difcovered on the 29th of 
July ; having a frelh gale at North, with fhowers of fleet 
and fnow. I remarked, that as foon as we opened the 
channel which feparates the two continents, cloudy wea¬ 
ther, with fnow fhowers immediately commenced; where¬ 
as, all the time we were in Norton Sound, we had, with 
10 the 
