CHAP. X.

RETURN FROM CAPE NORTH, ALONG THE COAST OF ASIA.—VIEWS OF THE COUNTRY.—BURNEY’S ISLAND.—CAPE SERDZE KAMEN, THE NORTHERN LIMIT OF BEERING’S VOYAGE.—PASS THE EAST CAPE OF ASIA.—DESCRIPTION AND SITUATION OF IT.—OBSERVATIONS ON MULLER.—THE TSCHUTSKI.—BAY OF ST. LAURENCE.—TWO OTHER BAYS, AND HABITATIONS OF THE NATIVES.—BEERING’S CAPE TSCHUKOTSKOI.—BEERING’S POSITION OF THIS COAST ACCURATE.—ISLAND OF ST. LAURENCE.—PASS TO THE AMERICAN COAST.—CAPE DARBY.—BALD HEAD.—CAPE DENBIGH, ON A PENINSULA.—BESBOROUGH ISLAND.—WOOD AND WATER PROCURED.—VISITS FROM THE NATIVES.—THEIR PERSONS AND HABITATIONS.—PRODUCE OF THE COUNTRY.—MARKS THAT THE PENINSULA HAD FORMERLY BEEN SURROUNDED BY THE SEA.—LIEUTENANT KING’S REPORT.—NORTON SOUND.—LUNAR OBSERVATIONS THERE.—STÆHLIN’S MAP PROVED TO BE ERRONEOUS.—PLAN OF FUTURE OPERATIONS.

After having stood off till we got into eighteen fathoms’ water, I bore up to the eastward, along the coast, which, by this time, it was pretty certain, could only be the continent of Asia. As the wind blew fresh, with a very heavy fall of snow, and a thick mist, it was necessary to proceed with great caution. I therefore brought to for a few hours in the night.

At day-break, on the 30th, we made sail, and steered such a course as I thought would bring us in with the land; being in a great measure guided by the lead; for the weather was as thick as ever, and it snowed incessantly. At ten, we got sight of the coast, bearing south-west, four miles distant; and presently after, having shoaled the water to seven fathoms, we hauled off. At this time, a very low point, or spit, bore south south-west, four miles distant; to the east of which there appeared to be a narrow channel, leading into some water that we saw over the point. Probably, the lake before mentioned communicates here with the sea.

At noon, the mist dispersing for a short interval, we had a tolerably good view of the coast, which extended from south-east to north-west by west. Some parts appeared higher than others; but in general it was very low, with high land farther up the country. The whole was now covered with snow, which had lately fallen, quite down to the sea. I continued to range along the coast, at two leagues’ distance, till ten at night, when we hauled off; but we resumed our course next morning, soon after day-break, when we got sight of the coast again, extending from west to south-east by south. At eight, the eastern part bore south, and proved to be an island; which at noon bore south-west half south, four or fives miles distant. It is about four or five miles in circuit, of a middling height, with a steep, rocky coast, situated about three leagues from the main, in the latitude of 67° 45ʹ, and distinguished in the chart by the name of Burney’s Island.

The inland country hereabout is full of hills; some of which are of a considerable height. The land was covered with snow, except a few spots upon the sea-coast, which still continued low, but less so than farther westward. For the two preceding days, the main height of the mercury in the thermometer had been very little above the freezing point, and often below it; so that the water in the vessels upon the deck was frequently covered with a sheet of ice.

I continued to steer south south-east, nearly in the direction of the coast, till five in the afternoon, when land was seen bearing south, 50° east, which we presently found to be a continuation of the coast, and hauled up for it. Being abreast of the eastern land, at ten at night, and in doubts of weathering it, we tacked and made a board to the westward, till past one the next morning, when we stood again to the east, and found that it was as much as we could do to keep our distance from the coast, the wind being exceedingly unsettled, varying continually from north to north-east. At half an hour past eight, the eastern extreme above mentioned bore south by east, six or seven miles distant. At the same time, a head-land appeared in sight, bearing east by south, half south; and, soon after, we could trace the whole coast lying between them, and a small island at some distance from it.

The coast seemed to form several rocky points, connected by a low shore, without the least appearance of a harbour. At some distance from the sea, the low land appeared to swell into a number of hills. The highest of these were covered with snow; and, in other respects, the whole country seemed naked. At seven in the evening, two points of land, at some distance beyond the eastern head, opened off it in the direction of south, 37° east. I was now well assured of what I had believed before, that this was the country of the Tschutski, or the north-east coast of Asia; and that thus far Beering proceeded in 1728; that is, to this head which Muller says is called Serdze Kamen, on account of a rock upon it, shaped like a heart. But I conceive, that Mr. Muller’s knowledge of the geography of these parts is very imperfect. There are many elevated rocks upon this cape, and possibly some one or other of them may have the shape of a heart. It is a pretty lofty promontory, with a steep rocky cliff facing the sea; and lies in the latitude of 67° 3ʹ, and in the longitude of 188° 11ʹ. To the eastward of it, the coast is high, and bold; but to the westward it is low, and trends north north-west, and north-west by west; which is nearly its direction all the way to Cape North. The soundings are every where the same at the same distance from the shore, which is also the case on the opposite shore of America. The greatest depth we found in ranging along it was twenty-three fathoms. And, in the night, or in foggy weather, the soundings are no bad guide in sailing along either of these shores.

At eight o’clock in the morning of the 2d, the most advanced land to the south-east, bore south, 25° east; and from this point of view had the appearance of being an island. But the thick snow-showers, which succeeded one another pretty fast, and settled upon the land, hid great part of the coast at this time from our sight. Soon after, the sun, whose face we had not seen for near five days, broke out at the intervals between the showers; and, in some measure, freed the coast from the fog, so that we had a sight of it, and found the whole to be connected. The wind still continued at north, the air was cold, and the mercury in the thermometer never rose above 35°, and was sometimes as low as 30°. At noon, the observed latitude was 66° 37ʹ. Cape Serdze Kamen bore north, 52° west, thirteen leagues distant; the southernmost point of land in sight south, 41° east; the nearest part of the coast two leagues distant, and our depth of water twenty-two fathoms.

We had now fair weather and sunshine; and as we ranged along the coast, at the distance of four miles, we saw several of the inhabitants, and some of their habitations, which looked like little hillocks of earth. In the evening we passed the Eastern Cape, or the point above mentioned; from which the coast changes its direction, and trends south-west. It is the same point of land which we had passed on the 11th of August. They who believed implicitly in Mr. Stæhlin’s map, then thought it the east point of his island Alaschka; but we had by this time satisfied ourselves, that it is no other than the eastern promontory of Asia; and probably the proper Tschukotskoi Noss, though the promontory, to which Beering gave that name, is farther to the south-west.

Though Mr. Muller, in his map of the Russian Discoveries, places the Tschukotskoi Noss nearly in 75° of latitude, and extends it somewhat to the eastward of this cape, it appears to me, that he had no good authority for so doing. Indeed his own accounts, or rather Deshneff’s [81] , of the distance between the Noss and the river Anadir cannot be reconciled with this very northerly position. But as I hope to visit these parts again, I shall leave the discussion of this point till then. In the mean time, I must conclude, as Beering did before me, that this is the most eastern point of Asia. It is a peninsula of considerable height, joined to the continent by a very low, and, to appearance, narrow neck of land. It shows a steep rocky cliff next the sea; and off the very point are some rocks like spires. It is situated in the latitude of 66° 6ʹ, and in the longitude of 190° 22ʹ; and is distant from Cape Prince of Wales, on the American coast, thirteen leagues, in the direction of north, 53° west. The land about this promontory is composed of hills and valleys. The former terminate at the sea in steep rocky points, and the latter in low shores. The hills seemed to be naked rocks; but the valleys had a greenish hue, but destitute of tree or shrub.

After passing the cape, I steered south-west half west, for the northern point of St. Lawrence Bay, in which we had anchored on the 10th of last month. We reached it by eight o’clock next morning, and saw some of the inhabitants at the place where I had seen them before, as well as several others on the opposite side of the bay. None of them, however, attempted to come off to us; which seemed a little extraordinary, as the weather was favourable enough; and those whom we had lately visited had no reason that I know of to dislike our company. These people must be the Tschutski; a nation that, at the time Mr. Muller wrote, the Russians had not been able to conquer. And, from the whole of their conduct with us, it appears that they have not, as yet, brought them under subjection; though it is obvious that they must have a trade with the Russians, either directly, or by means of some neighbouring nation; as we cannot otherwise account for their being in possession of the spontoons, in particular, of which we took notice.

This Bay of St. Laurence [82] is, at least, five leagues broad at the entrance, and four leagues deep, narrowing toward the bottom, where it appeared to be tolerably well sheltered from the sea-winds, provided there be sufficient depth of water for ships. I did not wait to examine it, although I was very desirous of finding an harbour in those parts, to which I might resort next spring. But I wanted one where wood might be got, and I knew that none was to be found here. From the south point of this bay, which lies in the latitude of 65° 30ʹ, the coast trends west by south, for about nine leagues, and there forms a deep bay, or river; or else the land there is so low that we could not see it.

At one in the afternoon, in the direction of our course, we saw what was first taken for a rock; but it proved to be a dead whale, which some natives of the Asiatic coast had killed, and were towing ashore. They seemed to conceal themselves behind the fish, to avoid being seen by us. This was unnecessary; for we pursued our course without taking any notice of them.

At day-break on the 4th, I hauled to the north-west, in order to get a nearer view of the inlet seen the preceding day; but the wind soon after veering to that direction, I gave up the design; and, steering to the southward along the coast, passed two bays, each about two leagues deep. The northernmost lies before a hill, which is remarkable by being rounder than any other upon the coast. And there is an island lying before the other. It may be doubted, whether there be a sufficient depth for ships in either of these bays, as we always met with shoal water, when we edged in for the shore. The country here is exceedingly hilly and naked. In several places on the low ground, next the sea, were the dwellings of the natives; and near all of them were erected stages of bones, such as before described. These may be seen at a great distance, on account of their whiteness.

At noon the latitude was 64° 38ʹ, and the longitude 188° 15ʹ; the southernmost point of the main in sight bore south 48° W.; and the nearest shore about three or four leagues distant. By this time, the wind had veered again to the north, and blew a gentle breeze. The weather was clear, and the air cold. I did not follow the direction of the coast, as I found that it took a westerly direction toward the Gulf of Anadir, into which I had no inducement to go, but steered to the southward, in order to get a sight of the Island of St. Laurence, discovered by Beering; which accordingly showed itself, and at eight o’clock in the evening, it bore south 20° E.; by estimation, eleven leagues distant. At the same time, the southernmost point of the main land bore south 83° W., distant twelve leagues. I take this point to be the point which Beering calls the east point of Suchotski, or Cape Tschukotskoi; a name which he gave it, and with propriety, because it was from this part of the coast that the natives came off to him, who called themselves of the nation of the Tschutski. I make its latitude to be 64° 13ʹ, and its longitude 186° 36ʹ.

In justice to the memory of Beering, I must say, that he has delineated the coast very well, and fixed the latitude and longitude of the points better than could be expected from the methods he had to go by. This judgment is not formed from Mr. Muller’s account of the voyage, or the chart prefixed to his book; but from Dr. Campbell’s account of it in his edition of Harris’s Collection [83] , and a map thereto annexed, which is both more circumstantial and accurate than that of Mr. Muller.

The more I was convinced of my being now upon the coast of Asia, the more I was at a loss to reconcile Mr. Stæhlin’s map of the New Northern Archipelago with my observations; and I had no way to account for the great difference, but by supposing, that I had mistaken some part of what he calls the Island of Alaschka for the American continent, and had missed the channel that separates them. Admitting even this, there would still have been a considerable difference. It was with me a matter of some consequence to clear up this point the present season, that I might have but one object in view the next. And, as these northern isles are represented by him as abounding with wood, I was in hopes, if I should find them, of getting a supply of that article, which we now began to be in great want of on board.

With these views, I steered over for the American coast; and, at five in the afternoon, the next day, saw land bearing three quarters east, which we took to be Anderson’s Island, or some other land near it, and therefore did not wait to examine it. On the 6th, at four in the morning, we got sight of the American coast near Sledge Island; and at six the same evening, this island bore north, 6° E.; ten leagues distant; and the easternmost land in sight N. 49° E. If any part of what I had supposed to be American coast could possibly be the island of Alaschka, it was that now before us; and in that case, I must have missed the channel between it and the main, by steering to the west, instead of the east, after we first fell in with it. I was not, therefore, at a loss where to go, in order to clear up these doubts.

At eight in the evening of the 7th, we had got close in with the land, Sledge Island bearing N. 85° W., eight or nine leagues distant; and the eastern part of the coast N. 70° E., with high land in the direction of east by north, seemingly at a great distance beyond the point. At this time we saw a light ashore; and two canoes, filled with people, coming off toward us. I brought to, that they might have time to come up. But it was to no purpose; for, resisting all the signs of friendship we could exhibit, they kept at the distance of a quarter of a mile; so that we left them, and pursued our course along the coast.

At one in the morning of the 8th, finding the water shoal pretty fast, we dropped anchor in ten fathoms, where we lay until day-light, and then resumed our course along the coast, which we found to trend east, and east half south. At seven in the evening, we were abreast of a point, lying in the latitude of 64° 21ʹ, and in the longitude of 197°; beyond which the coast takes a more northerly direction. At eight, this point, which obtained the name of Cape Darby, bore S. 62° W.; the northernmost land in sight, N. 32° E.; and the nearest shore three miles distant. In this situation, we anchored in thirteen fathoms’ water, over a muddy bottom.

Next morning, at day-break, we weighed and sailed along the coast. Two islands, as we supposed them to be, were at this time seen; the one bearing S. 70° E., and the other E. Soon after, we found ourselves upon a coast covered with wood; an agreeable sight, to which, of late, we had not been accustomed. As we advanced to the north, we raised land in the direction of north-east half north; which proved to be a continuation of the coast we were upon. We also saw high land over the islands, seemingly at a good distance beyond them. This was thought to be the continent, and the other land the island of Alaschka. But it was already doubtful, whether we should find a passage between them, for the water shoaled insensibly as we advanced farther to the north. In this situation, two boats were sent to sound before the ships; and I ordered the Discovery to lead, keeping nearly in the mid-channel, between the coast on our larboard, and the northernmost island on our starboard. Thus we proceeded till three in the afternoon; when, having passed the island, we had not more than three fathoms and an half of water; and the Resolution, at one time, brought the mud up from the bottom. More water was not to be found in any part of the channel; for, with the ships and boats, we had tried it from side to side.

I therefore thought it high time to return; especially as the wind was in such a quarter, that we must ply back. But what I dreaded most was the wind increasing, and raising the sea into waves, so as to put the ships in danger of striking. At this time, a head-land on the west shore, which is distinguished by the name of Bald Head, bore north by west, one league distant. The coast beyond it extended as far north-east by north, where it seemed to end in a point; behind which the coast of the high land, seen over the islands, stretched itself; and some thought they could trace where it joined. On the west side of Bald Head, the shore forms a bay, in the bottom of which is a low beach, where we saw a number of huts or habitations of the natives.

Having continued to ply back all night, by day-break the next morning we had got into six fathoms’ water. At nine o’clock, being about a league from the west shore, I took two boats, and landed, attended by Mr. King, to seek wood and water. We landed where the coast projects out into a bluff head, composed of perpendicular strata of a rock of a dark blue colour, mixed with quartz and glimmer. There joins to the beach a narrow border of land, now covered with long grass, and where we met with some angelica. Beyond this, the ground rises abruptly. At the top of this elevation, we found a heath, abounding with a variety of berries; and further on, the country was level, and thinly covered with small spruce trees; and birch and willows no bigger than broom stuff. We observed tracks of deer and foxes on the beach; on which also lay a great quantity of drift-wood; and there was no want of fresh water. I returned on board, with an intention to bring the ships to an anchor here; but the wind then veering to north-east, which blew rather on this shore, I stretched over to the opposite one, in the expectation of finding wood there also, and anchored at eight o’clock in the evening, under the south end of the northernmost island; so we then supposed it to be; but, next morning, we found it to be a peninsula, united to the continent by a low neck of land, on each side of which the coast forms a bay. We plied into the southernmost, and about noon anchored in five fathoms’ water, over a bottom of mud; the point of the peninsula, which obtained the name of Cape Denbigh, bearing N. 68° W., three miles distant.

Several people were seen upon the peninsula; and one man came off in a small canoe. I gave him a knife and a few beads, with which he seemed well pleased. Having made signs to him to bring us something to eat, he immediately left us, and paddled toward the shore. But meeting another man coming off, who happened to have two dried salmon, he got them from him; and on returning to the ship, would give them to nobody but me. Some of our people thought that he asked for me under the name of Capitane; but in this they were probably mistaken. He knew who had given him the knife and beads, but I do not see how he could know that I was the captain. Others of the natives, soon after, came off, and exchanged a few dry fish for such trifles as they could get, or we had to give them. They were most desirous of knives; and they had no dislike to tobacco.

After dinner, Lieutenant Gore was sent to the peninsula, to see if wood and water were there to be got; or rather water, for the whole beach round the bay seemed to be covered with drift-wood. At the same time a boat was sent from each ship, to sound round the bay; and at three in the afternoon, the wind freshening at north-east, we weighed, in order to work farther in. But it was soon found to be impossible, on account of the shoals, which extended quite round the bay, to the distance of two or three miles from the shore; as the officers who had been sent to sound reported. We therefore kept standing off and on with the ships, waiting for Mr. Gore, who returned about eight o’clock, with the launch laden with wood.

He reported that there was but little fresh water, and that wood was difficult to be got at, by reason of the boats grounding at some distance from the beach. This being the case, I stood back to the other shore; and at eight o’clock the next morning, sent all the boats, and a party of men, with an officer, to get wood from the place where I had landed two days before. We continued, for a while, to stand on and off with the ships; but at length came to an anchor in one-fourth less than five fathoms, half a league from the coast, the south point of which bore south, 26° W.; and Bald Head north, 60° E., nine leagues distant. Cape Denbigh bore south, 72° E., twenty-six miles distant; and the island under the east shore, to the southward of Cape Denbigh, named Besborough Island, south 52° E., fifteen leagues distant.

As this was a very open road, and consequently not a safe station, I resolved not to wait to complete water, as that would require some time, but only to supply the ships with wood, and then to go in search of a more convenient place for the other article. We took off the drift-wood that lay upon the beach; and as the wind blew along shore, the boats could sail both ways, which enabled us to make great dispatch.

In the afternoon I went ashore, and walked a little into the country; which, where there was no wood, was covered with heath and other plants, some of which produce berries in abundance. All the berries were ripe; the hurtle-berries too much so; and hardly a single plant was in flower. The underwood, such as birch, willows, and alders, rendered it very troublesome walking among the trees, which were all spruce, and none of them above six or eight inches in diameter. But we found some lying upon the beach, more than twice this size. All the drift-wood in these northern parts was fir. I saw not a stick of any other sort.

Next day a family of the natives came near to the place where we were taking off wood. I know not how many there were at first; but I saw only the husband, the wife, and their child; and a fourth person, who bore the human shape, and that was all, for he was the most deformed cripple I had ever seen or heard of. The other man was almost blind; and neither he nor his wife were such good-looking people as we had sometimes seen amongst the natives of this coast. The under-lips of both were bored; and they had in their possession some such glass beads as I had met with before amongst their neighbours. But iron was their beloved article; for four knives, which we had made out of an old iron hoop, I got from them near four hundred pounds’ weight of fish, which they had caught on this or the preceding day. Some were trout, and the rest were, in size and taste, somewhat between a mullet and a herring. I gave the child, who was a girl, a few beads; on which the mother burst into tears, then the father, then the cripple, and at last, to complete the concert, the girl herself. But this music continued not long. [84] Before night we had got the ships amply supplied with wood, and had carried on board about twelve tons of water to each.

On the 14th, a party of men were sent on shore to cut brooms, which we were in want of, and the branches of spruce trees for brewing beer. Toward noon every body was taken on board; for the wind freshening, had raised such a surf on the beach, that the boats could not continue to land without great difficulty. Some doubts being still entertained whether the coast we were now upon belonged to an island, or the American continent; and the shallowness of the water putting it out of our power to determine this with our ships, I sent Lieutenant King, with two boats under his command, to make such searches as might leave no room for a variety of opinions on the subject [85] . Next day the ships removed over to the bay, which is on the south-east side of Cape Denbigh, where we anchored in the afternoon. Soon after, a few of the natives came off in their small canoes, and bartered some dried salmon for such trifles as our people had to give them.

At day-break, on the 16th, nine men, each in his canoe, paid us a visit. They approached the ship with some caution; and evidently came with no other view than to gratify their curiosity. They drew up abreast of each other, under our stern, and gave us a song; while one of their number beat upon a kind of drum, and another made a thousand antic motions with his hands and body. There was, however, nothing savage, either in the song or in the gestures, that accompanied it. None of us could perceive any difference between these people, either as to their size or features, and those whom we had met with on every other part of the coast, King George’s Sound excepted. Their clothing, which consisted principally of deer skins, was made after the same fashion; and they observed the custom of boring their under lips, and fixing ornaments to them.

The dwellings of these people were seated close to the beach. They consist simply of a sloping roof, without any side-walls, composed of logs, and covered with grass and earth. The floor is also laid with logs; the entrance is at one end; the fire-place just within it; and a small hole is made near the door to let out the smoke.

After breakfast a party of men were sent to the peninsula for brooms and spruce. At the same time half the remainder of the people in each ship had leave to go and pick berries. These returned on board at noon, when the other half went on the same errand. The berries to be got here were wild currant-berries, hurtle-berries, partridge-berries, and heath-berries. I also went ashore myself, and walked over part of the peninsula. In several places there was very good grass; and I hardly saw a spot on which some vegetable was not growing. The low land which connects this peninsula with the continent, is full of narrow creeks, and abounds with ponds of water, some of which were already frozen over. There were a great many geese and bustards, but so shy that it was not possible to get within musket-shot of them. We also met with some snipes; and on the high ground were partridges of two sorts. Where there was any wood, musquitoes were in plenty. Some of the officers, who travelled farther than I did, met with a few of the natives of both sexes, who treated them with civility.

It appeared to me that this peninsula must have been an island in remote times; for there were marks of the sea having flowed over the isthmus. And, even now, it appeared to be kept out by a bank of sand, stones, and wood, thrown up by the waves. By this bank it was evident that the land was here encroaching upon the sea, and it was easy to trace its gradual formation.

About seven in the evening, Mr. King returned from his expedition, and reported that he proceeded with the boats about three or four leagues farther than the ships had been able to go; that he then landed on the west side; that, from the heights, he could see the two coasts join, and the inlet to terminate in a small river or creek, before which were banks of sand or mud, and every where shoal water. The land too was low and swampy for some distance to the northward; then it swelled into hills, and the complete junction of those on each side of the inlet was easily traced.

From the elevated spot on which Mr. King surveyed the sound, he could distinguish many extensive valleys, with rivers running through them, well wooded, and bounded by hills of a gentle ascent and moderate height. One of these rivers to the north-west appeared to be considerable; and, from its direction, he was inclined to think that it emptied itself into the sea at the head of the bay. Some of his people, who penetrated beyond this into the country, found the trees larger, the farther they advanced.

In honour of Sir Fletcher Norton [86] , Speaker of the House of Commons, and Mr. King’s near relation, I named this inlet Norton’s Sound. It extends to the northward as far as latitude of 64° 55ʹ. The bay, in which we were now at anchor, lies on the south-east side of it, and is called by the natives Chacktoole. It is but an indifferent station, being exposed to the south and south-west winds. Nor is there a harbour in all this sound. But we were so fortunate as to have the wind from the north and north-east all the time, with remarkable fine weather. This gave us an opportunity to make no less than seventy-seven sets of lunar observations, between the 6th and 17th inclusive. The mean result of these made the longitude of the anchoring-place, on the west side of the sound, to be

	197°	13ʹ
Latitude	64	31
Variation of the compass	25	45 east.
Dip of the needle	76	25

Of the tides it was observed, that the night-flood rose about two or three feet, and that the day-flood was hardly perceivable.

Having now fully satisfied myself that Mr. Stæhlin’s map must be erroneous; and, having restored the American continent to that space which he had occupied with his imaginary island of Alaschka, it was high time to think of leaving these northern regions, and to retire to some place during the winter, where I might procure refreshments for my people, and a small supply of provisions. Petropaulowska, or the harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul, in Kamtschatka, did not appear likely to furnish either the one or the other, for so large a number of men. I had, besides, other reasons for not repairing thither at this time. The first, and on which all the others depended, was the great dislike I had to lie inactive for six or seven months; which would have been the necessary consequence of wintering in any of these northern parts. No place was so conveniently within our reach, where we could expect to have our wants supplied, as the Sandwich Islands. To them, therefore, I determined to proceed. But before this could be carried into execution, a supply of water was necessary. With this view, I resolved to search the American coast for a harbour, by proceeding along it to the southward, and thus endeavour to connect the survey of this part of it, with that lying immediately to the north of Cape Newenham. If I failed in finding a harbour there, my plan was then to proceed to Samganoodha, which was fixed upon as our place of rendezvous, in case of separation.