INTRODUCTION. 
land, where he wintered. The next year, Eged6, 
with two small vessels, one of them commanded 
by Lieutenant Rothe, made other trials to ap¬ 
proach the coast of Greenland, but with less suc¬ 
cess than before, never being able to reach the 
land within thirty miles. 
Such a great number of failures, without at¬ 
taining any part of the object for which the dif¬ 
ferent expeditions; were sent out, was sufficiently 
discouraging to prevent a renewal of an enter-* 
prize that was only productive of mortification to 
the navigators, and disappointment to the govern¬ 
ment. Extraordinary, however, as these failures 
have been, it is presumed that the account of my 
recent voyage to this country will prove, that the 
coast is not inaccessible at the present time; but, 
on the contrary, that, under sufficient enterprise, 
and in certain positions, it niight be visited an¬ 
nually. If the coast, from the Arctic Circle to 
Cape Farewell, be really defended by a barrier of 
ice that is impenetrable, of which I have very 
great doubts, the course ito be pursued must be a 
parallel betwixt the latitude of 69 and 75°, in 
some part or other of which limits, and frequent- 
