noon on the 12th May
A few ruins alone remained of the mighty ice-wall , the upper portion of which had crushed Cape Bathurst whilst the submerged base was driving the island to the south . The instruments and maps belonging to the astronomer were found in the ruins of the house , and were fortunately uninjured . The weather was cloudy , but Hobson succeeded in taking the altitude of the sun with sufficient accuracy for his purpose . We give the result obtained at noon on the 12th May . Victoria Island was then situated in longitude 168 ° 12 ' west of Greenwich , and in latitude 63 ° 37 ' N . The exact spot was looked out on the chart , and proved to be in Norton Sound , between Cape Tchaplin on the Asiatic and Cape Stephens on the American coast , but a hundred miles from either . `` We must give up all hope of making the land of the continent then ! ''