approach this land sufficiently near to determine whether it was one
island, or composed to a cluster together. Its westernmost part we passed
July 3d, in the evening, and then supposed to be the island of St Laurence;
the easternmost we ran close by in September last year, and this we named
Clerke's Island, and found it to consist of a number of high cliffs, joined
together by very low land. Though we mistook the last year those cliffs for
separate islands, till we approached very near the shore, I should still
conjecture that the island Saint Laurence was distinct from Clerke's
Island, since there appeared a considerable space between them, where we
could not perceive the smallest rising of ground.[34] In the afternoon we
also saw what bore the appearance of a small island to the N.E. of the land
which was seen at noon, and which, from the haziness of the weather, we had
only sight of once. We estimated its distance to be nineteen leagues from
the island of St Laurence, in a N.E. by E. 1/2 E. direction. On the 3d, we
had light variable winds, and directed our course round the N.W. point of
the island of Saint Laurence. On the 4th, at noon, our latitude by account
was 64° 8', longitude 188°; the island Saint Laurence bearing S. 1/4 E.,
distant seven leagues. In the afternoon, a fresh breeze springing up from
the E., we steered to the S.S.W., and soon lost sight of Saint Laurence. On
the 7th, at noon, the latitude by observation was 59° 38', longitude 183°.
In the afternoon it fell calm, and we got a great number of cod in seventy-
eight fathoms of water. The variation was found to be 19° E. From this time
to the 17th, we were making the best of our way to the S., without any
occurrence worth remarking, except that the wind coming from the western
quarter, forced us farther to the eastward than we wished, as it was our
intention to make Beering's Island.

On the 17th, at half-past four in the morning, we saw land to the N.W.,
which we could not approach, the wind blowing from that quarter. At noon,
the latitude by observation was 53° 49', longitude 168° 5', and variation