About four years after the death of this navigator, which happened in 1741, the sea between Asia and America was visited by some Russian merchants, who obtained permission from the government to make discoveries, hunt and trade; the vessels employed for this purpose were formed of a few boards fastened together with leathern thongs; yet in these were discovered the Aleutian Islands.  Soon afterwards another group of islands were discovered; and then a third group, the Black Fox Islands, which are near the American continent.  It was not, however, till the year 1760, that the Russians learnt that Ochotsk was only separated from America by a narrow strait; and it is said that in 1764, a Russian mercantile company sent out some vessels, which passed through a strait to some inhabited islands in 64 deg. north latitude; these were supposed to belong to the continent of America; but if a strait was discovered by these adventurers, there must be an error in the latitude, as in 64 deg. there is no opening known to exist.

It was reserved for an English navigator to ascertain the truth of the report which the Russians had received from the inhabitants of Ochotsk, that their country was separated from America only by a narrow strait.

This was done during the third and last voyage of Captain Cook; the principal design of which was to ascertain the existence and practicability of a passage between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, either to the north-east or north-west.  For this purpose he carefully examined the north-west coast of America, beginning this examination in the latitude of 44 deg. 33’ north.  Previously to this voyage an act of Parliament was passed, granting a reward of 20,000_l_. to any person who should discover any northern passage by sea between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, in any parallel to the northward of the 52 deg. of northern latitude.  This voyage of Cook began in 1778; on the 9th of August, in that year, he ascertained the position and latitude of the western extremity of America, and soon afterwards he determined the width of that strait which divides the two continents.  He then steered to the north, and continuing up the strait till he was in the latitude 70 deg. 41’, he found himself close to the edge of the ice which “was as compact as a wall,” and ten or twelve feet high.  He was of course obliged to return to the south, and in this part of his voyage he observed, on the American side, a low point in latitude 70 deg. 29’, to which he gave the name of Icy Cape.  After the death of Cook, Captain Clarke entered the strait on the Asiatic side, and reached the latitude of 70 deg. 33’; he afterwards got sight of the land on the American side in latitude 69 deg. 34’.  Such were the results of the last voyage of Captain Cook, respecting the proximity of Asia and America, and the nature of the strait by which they were divided.