when a stop was suddenly put to this and other ingenious
inductions by the information of one of the seamen, that he had
dropped it out of his boat a fortnight before. I could not get him
to recollect exactly the day on which it had been dropped, but
what he stated was sufficient to convince me that we were not at
that time more than ten or twelve leagues from our present
situation; perhaps not half so much; and that, therefore, here was
no current setting constantly in any one direction.

We perceived, as we proceeded, that the land along which we were
sailing, and which, with the exception of some small inlets, had
appeared to be hitherto continuous from Baffin's Bay, began now to
trend much to the northward, beyond Beechey Island, leaving a
large open space between that coast and the distant land to the
westward, which now appeared like an island, of which the extremes
to the north and south were distinctly visible. The latter was a
remarkable headland, having at its extremity two small table-hills,
somewhat resembling boats turned bottom upward, and was named
CAPE HOTHAM. At sunset we had a clear and extensive view to the
northward, between Cape Hotham and the eastern land. On the
latter, several headlands were discovered and named; between the
northernmost of these, called CAPE BOWDEN, and the island to the
westward, there was a channel of more than eight leagues in width,
in which neither land nor ice could be seen from the masthead. To
this noble channel I gave the name of WELLINGTON. The arrival off
this grand opening was an event for which we had long been looking
with much anxiety and impatience; for the continuity of land to
the northward had always been a source of uneasiness to us,
principally from the possibility that it might take a turn to the
southward and unite with the coast of America. The appearance of