Year: 1868

Arctic Ocean, already reported by tele-
graph.


Captain Long writes


Honolulu, Nov. 5, 1867.


During my cruise in the Arctic Ocean
this season, saw land not laid down on
any charts that | have seen. The land
was first seen from the bark Nile on the
evening of the 18th August, and the next
day at ID o'clock, 4. NJ, the ship was
eighteen miles distant from the west point
of the land / had good observations this
day, and made the west point to be in lati-
tude 20 46 north, and longitude lis 80
east.


The lower parts of the land were entire
ly free from snow and had a green appear
ance, as if covered with vegetation. There
was broken ice between the ship and land.
but as there were no indications of whales
| did not feel justified in endeavoring to
work through it and reach the shore, which
I think could have been done without much
danger.


We sailed to the eastward along the
land during the 18th and 10th, and in
teen miles On the 1hS iSth the weather as 1as M
very clear and pleasant, and we had a
good view of the middle and eastern por-
ton of the land Near the centre, or
about in the longitude of $50 degrees, there
is a mountain which has the appearance of
an extinct volcano. By approximate
measurement | found it to be 2,4S0 feet
high l had excellent observations on the
10th, and made the southeastern cape
which | have named Cape Hawaii, to be
in latitude 20 40 north, and longitude
lis 81 west. 1t is impossible to tell how
far this land extends northward, but as far
as the eye could reach we could see ranges
of mountains until they were lost in the
distance, and l learn from Captain Bliven,
of the bark Nautilus, that he saw land
northwest of Herald Island as far north as
- degrees.


Captain Raynor writes


Honolulu, Nov l, 1867.


| send a short account of large tract
of land lying in the midst of the Arctic
Ocean, hitherto but little known This
land has heretofore been considered to be
two islands. one of which has been marked
on the English charts as Plover Island,
which is laid down to the west-southwest
of Herald Island The other is simply
marked L" extensive land with high peaks" !"
On my last cruise sailed along the south
and east side of this island for consider
able distance three different times, and once
cruised along the entire shore, and by what
considered reliable observations, made
the extreme southwest cape to lie in north
latitude 20 20, and east longitude 17S 10.
The southeast cape found to lie in north
latitude II 10, and west longitude l76 40.
The south coast appears to be nearly
straight, with high rugged cliffs and en-
tirely barren. The northeast coast have
not examined to any extent, but it appears
to run from the southeast cape in north
westerly direction for about Is or 20
miles, and then turns to the north and
r,e, thoort. 1 learned from Captain DHruu
that he traced it much further north, and
has seen others who traced it to the north
of latitude ~. l think there is no doubt
that it extends much farther to the north,
and that there is another island lying to
the east of it, say in longitude 10 west,
and to the northwest of Point Barrow, with
passage between it and the land have
Just described. My reason for thinking so
is this We always find ice to the south of
the known land, further to the south than
we do to the eastward of it. The current
runs to the northwest, from one to three
knots an hour. In the longitude of 10
west we always find in the ice barrier from
80 to so miles further south than we do
between that and Herald Island, and there
is always a strong current setting to the
northwest between those localities, unless
prevented by strong northerly gales tor
in such shoal water as the Arctic ocean the
currents are changed easily by the winds),
which would indicate that there is a pas
sage in that direction, where the waters
pass between two bodies of land that holds
the ice, the one known, the other unknown.
/ [ would add that the southwest cape of
this island, described above lies % miles
distant from the Asiatic or Siberian coast.