PROGRESS TOWARDS THE WEM'-I.AND. 8.'? 
ted (I had reason to believe) within sight of this 
coast, at so early a period of the summer, I was 
encouraged to expect that my wishes would not 
be difficult to accomplish : and, as the main de¬ 
sign of my voyage was fortunately compatible 
with researches about this unknown region, I de¬ 
termined immediately to penetrate, as far as pos¬ 
sible, towards the shore. 
Our latitude being 74° 6', I took the southern¬ 
most laud in sight to be the Hold-With-Hope of 
Hudson ; and the most northerly, having the ap¬ 
pearance of an island, to be the eastern headland 
of Gale Hamkes’ Bay, discovered, according to 
the charts, in 1654. 
On attempting to proceed to the NW. we were 
soon interrupted by an impervious barrier of fields 
and floes closely wedged together. One opening 
only was visible in this direction ; but it was not 
accessible. We were obliged, therefore, to wait 
until some alteration in the ice should take place, 
and open us a passage. The evening being calm, 
I took a boat, for the purpose of examining the 
points of junction of the floes with each other, 
that I might mark the first relaxation of pres¬ 
sure, which often is found to occur in calms, and 
take advantage of it, for accomplishing my design 
of approaching the land. No relaxation, however, 
sufficient for our purpose, was observed. 
