On the 6th, twenty head of cattle, of a moderate fize, were fent us by the commander's orders from the Verchnei oftrog, which is near a hundred miles from this place in a direct line. They arrived in good condition. The eight following days were employed in making ready for fea.

Before day-light, on the 15th, we were furprifed with a rumbling noife, refembling diftant hollow thunder; and when the day broke, we' found the decks and fides of the fhips covered with a fine duft like emery, near an inch thick. The air at the fame time continued loaded and darkened with this fubftance; and, toward the volcano mountain, fituated to the north of the harbour, it was fo thick and black, that we could not distinguish the body of the hill. Along with the cinders fell feveral small ftones, which had undergone no change from the action of fire. In the evening we had dreadful thunder and lightning, which, with the darkness of the atmofphere, and the fulphureous fmell of the air, produced altogether, a moft awful and terrifying effect. We were at this time about eight leagues from the foot of the mountain.

The aspect of the country was now very different from what it had been on our first arrival. The fnow had disappeared, and the fides of the hills were covered with a beautiful verdure.

As it was Captain Clerke's intention to keep as much in fight of the coaft of Kamtschatka as the weather would permit, the volcano was still feen throwing up immenfe volumes of fmoke; and we had no foundings with one hundred and fifty fathoms, at the diftance of four leagues from the fhore,

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At noon, on the 6th of July, we paffed a confiderable number of large maffes of ice; and, obferving that it ftill adhered, in feveral places, to the fhore on the continent of Afia, we were not much furprised to fall in, at three in the afternoon, with an extenfive body of it, ftretching away to the weftward. This fight gave great difcouragement to our hopes of advancing much farther northward this year than we had the preceding.

Having little wind in the afternoon, we hoifted out the boats, in pursuit of the fea-horses, which were in great numbers upon the detached pieces of ice; but they foon returned without fuccefs; these animals being exceedingly fhy, and before they could come within gun-fhot, always making their retreat into the water.

We had failed, by the 9th, near forty leagues to the weftward, along the edge of the ice, without feeing any opening, or a clear fea to the northward beyond it, and had therefore no profpect of advancing farther north for the prefent.

On the 10th we hoifted out the boats again, and sent them in purfuit of the fea-horfes, which were in great numbers on the pieces of ice that furrounded us. Our people were more fucceffful than they had been before, returning with three large ones and a young one, befides killing and wounding feveral others. The gentlemen who went on this party were witnesses of several remarkable inftances of parental affection in those animals. On the approach of our boats toward the ice, they all took their cubs under their fins, and endeavoured to efcape with them into the fea.

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At eight in the evening, a breeze fprung up to the eastward, with which we ftill continued our course to the fouthward, and at twelve fell in with numerous large bodies of ice. We endeavoured to push through them with an easy fail, for fear of damaging the fhip; and, having got a little farther to the fouthward, nothing was to be feen but one compa& field of ice, ftretching to the fouth-weft, fouth-eaft, and north-east, as far as the eye could reach.

We continued to fteer northward, with a moderate foutherly breeze and fair weather, till the 13th at ten in the forenoon, when we again found ourfelves close in with a solid field of ice, to which we could fee no limits from the masthead. This at once dashed all our hopes of penetrating farther.

Captain Clerke now refolved to make one more, and final attempt on the American coaft, for Baffin's or Hudfon's Bay, fince we had been able to advance the fartheft on this fide laft year. Accordingly, we kept working the remaining part of the day to the windward, with a fresh eafterly breeze.

On the 16th, in the forenoon, we found ourfelves embayed; the ice having taken a fudden turn to the fouth-east, and in one compact body furrounding us on all fides, except on the fouth quarter. We therefore hauled our wind to the fouthward, being at this time in twenty-fix fathoms water; and, as we fuppofed, about twenty-five leagues from the coaft of America.

On the 18th, in the morning, we paffed fome fmall logs of drift-wood, and faw abundance of fea-parrots, and the small ice-birds, and likewife a number of whales. About nine in the even

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ing a white bear was seen swimming close by the Difcovery; it afterwards made to the ice, on which were alfo two others.

On the 19th, at one in the morning, the weather clearing up, we were fo completely embayed, that there was no opening left, but to the fouth; to which quarter we accordingly directed our course, returning through a remarkably fmooth water. We were never able to penetrate farther north than at this time, and this was five leagues fhort of the point to which we advanced laft season.

In the afternoon we faw two white bears in the water, to which we immediately gave chace in the jolly boat, and had the good fortune to kill them both. The larger, which probably was the dam of the younger, being fhot first, the other would not quit it, though it might easily have escaped on the ice while the men were reloading, but remained fwimming about, till, after being fired upon feveral times, it was fhot dead. The weight of the largest was four hundred and thirty-fix pounds.

Thefe animals afforded us a few excellent meals of fresh meat. The flesh had indeed a strong fishy tafte, but was in every respect infinitely fuperior to that of the fea-horfe; which, nevertheless, our people were again perfuaded, without much difficulty, to prefer to their falted provifions,

At eight in the morning of the 21ft, the wind freshening, and the fog clearing away, we faw the American coaft to the fouth-eaft, at the diftance of eight or ten leagues, and hauled in for it; but were stopped again by the ice, and oblig

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ed to bear away to the westward along the edge of it.

Thus a connected folid field of ice, rendering every effort we could make to a nearer approach to the land, fruitless, and joining, as we judged, to it, we took a farewel of a north-eaft paffage to Old England. I fhall beg leave to give, in Captain Clerke's own words, the reafons of this his final determination, as well as of his future plans; and this the rather, as it is the last transaction his health permitted him to write down.

"It is now impoffible to proceed the least farther to the northward upon this coaft (America); and it is equally as improbable that this amazing mafs of ice should be diffolved by the few remaining fummer-weeks which will terminate this feafon; but it will continue, it is to be believed, as it now is, an infurmountable barrier to every attempt we can poffibly make. I therefore think it the beft ftep that can be taken, for the good of the fervice, to trace the fea over to the Afiatic coaft, and to try if I can find any opening that will admit me farther north; if not, to fee what more is to be done upon that coaft, where I hope, yet cannot much flatter myself, to meet with better fuccefs; for the sea is now fo choked with ice, that a paffage, I fear, is totally out of the question."

Captain Clerke having determined, for the reafons juft affigned, to give up all farther attempts on the coaft of America, and to make his laft efforts in fearch of a paffage on the coaft of the oppofite continent, we continued, during the afternoon of the 21ft of July, to fteer to the weft north-west, through much loofe ice.