The lieutenant, at the same time, buried in the ground a bottle, containing some pieces of English coin, of the year 1772, and a paper, on which the names of the ships were inscribed, and the date of the present discovery.

The great river now discovered, promises to vie with the most considerable ones already known; and, by itself and its branches, lies open to a very extensive inland communication.

If, therefore, the knowledge of it should be of future service, the time which was spent in exploring it ought the less to be regretted.

But to Captain Cook, who had a much greater object in view, the delay that was hence occasioned was a real loss, because the season was advancing apace.

It was, however, a satisfaction to him to reflect, that if he had not examined this very considerable inlet, it would have been assumed, by speculative fabricators of geography, as a fact, that there was a passage through it to the North Sea, or to Baffin's or Hudson's Bay.