weather, is eighty or a hundred wersts in a day) directly towards the
north, upon the ice, without discovering any island; that it had not been
possible for him to proceed any farther, the ice rising there in the sea
like mountains; that he had climbed to the top of some of them, whence he
was able to see to a great distance round about him, but could discern no
appearance of land; and that at last wanting food for his dogs, many of
them died, which obliged him to return."

Besides these arguments, which proceed upon an admission of the hypothesis,
that the ice in those seas comes from the rivers, there are others which
give great room to suspect the truth of the hypothesis itself. Captain
Cook, whose opinion respecting the formation of ice had formerly coincided
with that of the theorists we are now controverting, found abundant reason,
in the present voyage, for changing his sentiments. We found the coast of
each continent to be low, the soundings gradually decreasing toward them,
and a striking resemblance between the two; which, together with the
description Mr Hearne gives of the copper-mine river, afford reason to
conjecture, that whatever rivers may empty themselves into the Frozen Sea,
from the American continent, are of the same nature with those on the
Asiatic side, which are represented to be so shallow at the entrance, as to
admit only small vessels; whereas the ice we have seen rises above the
level of the sea to a height equal to the depth of those rivers, so that
its entire height must be at least ten times greater.

The curious reader will also, in this place, be led naturally to reflect on
another circumstance, which appears very incompatible with the opinion of
those who imagine land to be necessary for the formation of ice; I mean the
different state of the sea about Spitsbergen, and to the north of Beering's
Strait. It is incumbent on them to explain how it comes to pass, that in
the former quarter, and in the vicinity of much known land, the navigator