the 5th June, about three o’clock in the afternoon
On the 4th July the travellers skirted round another deep bay called Washburn Bay , and reached the furthest point of a little lake , until then imperfectly known , covering but a small extent of territory , scarcely two square miles-in fact it was rather a lagoon , or large pond of sweet water , than a lake . The sledges went on easily and rapidly , and the appearance of the country was most encouraging to the explorers . It seemed that the extremity of Cape Bathurst would be a most favourable site for the new fort , as with this lagoon behind them , and the sea open for four or five months in the warm season , and giving access to the great highway of Behring Strait , before them , it would be easy for the exiles to lay in fresh provisions and to export their commodities . On the 5th June , about three o'clock in the afternoon , the party at last halted at the extremity of Cape Bathurst . It remained to ascertain the exact position of this cape , which the maps place above the seventieth parallel . It was , however , impossible to rely upon the marine surveys of the coast , as they had never yet been made with exactitude . Jaspar Hobson decided to wait and ascertain the latitude and longitude .