The wind continued at west, and I stood to the southward till noon the next day, when we were within three leagues of the coast which we had discovered on the 22d. It here formed a point that bore west north-west. At the same time, more land was seen extending to the southward, as far as south south-west; the whole being twelve or fifteen leagues distant. On it was seen a ridge of mountains covered with snow, extending to the north-west, behind the first land, which we judged to be an island, from the very inconsiderable quantity of snow that lay upon it. This point of land is situated in the latitude of 58° 15ʹ, and in the longitude of 207° 42ʹ; and by what I can gather from the account of Beering’s voyage, and the chart that accompanies it in the English edition[72], I conclude, that it must be what he called Cape St. Hermogenes. But the account of that voyage is so very much abridged, and the chart so extremely inaccurate, that it is hardly possible, either by the one or by the other, or by comparing both together, to find out any one place which that navigator either saw or touched at. Were I to form a judgment of Beering’s proceedings on this coast, I should suppose, that he fell in with the continent near Mount Fairweather. But I am by no means certain, that the bay to which I have given his name, is the place where he anchored. Nor do I know, that what I called Mount St. Elias, is the same conspicuous mountain to which he gave that name. And as to his Cape St. Elias, I am entirely at a loss to pronounce where it lies. On the north side of Cape St. Hermogenes, the coast turned toward the north-west, and appeared to be wholly unconnected with the land seen by us the preceding day. In the chart above mentioned, there is here a space, where Beering is supposed to have seen no land. This also favoured the latter account published by Mr. Stæhlin, who makes Cape St. Hermogenes, and all the land that Beering discovered to the south-west of it, to be a cluster of islands; placing St. Hermogenes amongst those which are destitute of wood. What we now saw seemed to confirm this; and every circumstance inspired us with hopes of finding here a passage northward, without being obliged to proceed any farther to the south-west. We were detained off the cape by variable light airs and calms, till two o’clock the next morning, when a breeze springing up at north-east we steered north-north-west along the coast; and soon found the land of Cape St. Hermogenes to be an island, about six leagues in circuit, separated from the adjacent coast by a channel one league broad. A league and a half to the north of this island lie some rocks, above water; on the north-east side of which we had from thirty to twenty fathoms water.