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TI[]S NARFJATIVE OF THK IN TliK VKAHS 1829, 1H30, 1831, 1832, ANi> 1833, IS DEDICATED WITH HIS MAJESTY S GRACIOl'S PERMISSION, BY HIS MAJESTY'S L(»\/.:. AND DEVOTED SUBJECT, JOHN ROSS, CAPTAIN IN THF. ROYAL NAVY. ADVERTISEMENT TiiF, Author is sensible that he owes his numerous and generous Subscribers some apology for the delay which has occurred in the publication of iiis work : a delay, as vexatious to him as it must have been wearisome to them. But they who know the troubles connected with printing, and still more with engraving, will not be surprised ; while to those causes he must add his absence from England during many months o( the last year. Trusting in this, he subscribes himself, Their most obedient humble Servant, JOHN KOSS. I !•: U l{ A T A. S I m .'■I, I'', t.i, r>, ir. Ill, 1,7 71 71, 7.1, H't, "1. HI, '.0 liilf '', fill tiiiilliirli/, irail nnrlhcilii. 1 I, (ill /iilii'it, riMil iiiffDiiir. I, 17, .iltiM' miilimi, IIIM.TI ;i I orniii.i, .tiiil imiril tin Umi !llll^lllll> /idrl'ili Idhii iiiti'iiiilin;i ■'f'l'Ur ilihlfi in jinniii^ lliitt .\/ii/i It iiiii fiiiiii, ,\i . I I "i, l"\ nrl', nMil rii/ii/. I. \i, .illir i/.i, iiiMMl /n<»/ I. 14, .ifliT MiliH /i.w/, iiiMii I/I w:_/i/ •| liiu-s iVuin till' liiiltciin, lor ./i A . /n/i/i , n .nl iUh tliilili . U>( lllii', .itliT tttoni;, llist'lt irlii n . I. M, .illi'i i//i(y, iiiMil i(i|//i I Inn-. Iiiiiii the liultniii, ,itli i ^lintiii. iiisitI 'H/ I 111, liT irniilil, re, 111 mitf/il 1 'J, tor /''/■, n-;iii tttt, I liiir> riiiin llir linlliiiii, liir Itnuiis, H'.ul Ax/iiv ! lull's Iniiii lliL- l«)H(jiii, lur iiiiiiiii iiii.t, n.iil kus iii;iiiii I III, li'l In inn-, ii'iicl (.V. I 7, Uh fit rsf't'c/itiii, rr;iil /n rsimtin . I. 1.), altiT tliiiiiff/i, iiisurt iltiuf. I II. (or unit tfntt liair^ ifail (c/ii/f ^/it'ir /iiy/r ini,*. I. I 'I, allir H, I. -Ji, lor 7(i' Ti , ifail 7(i il IHH, I lA, lor unnci'ini;, mmiI nniii/iiif; ■JJH, 1. .1, lor lucoriltil, I'ail rmntU'ii ■i'M, :l lints I'runi tlit liotlmn, Im m ti', ii ,iil n n^ ;Mti, 7 lilies from llie lioUiiiii, lien, ■t[iA il>e«liiii. ii f'lini'fiil, leail funi rntl. .'i9',>,4 liilf- Iroiii tlie liiilloiu, loi i mii^i nlii.n^, n.iil iin frraliiiiif. I IH, 1. (i, fur in, read un. 1,')4, last line lint one, ilele /e 4ti7, I. '20, alter u.s ailcl //"/■(m <;/ , ,iiii| I. .'I, ,ilti i " • - f il'le Ai./.e,v i.y i -li.'i, I, tj, for !t , read H , 1 4'.i.'>, last line, for l/ii; read llii.\ ; .■.17, I. 11, for U', le.iil Iv! .■■>H1, last line I ul one, for liiinw, lead m. ;i .V.lli, I. .'0, lor irinlrji, read intnlini;. li'J7, 1. I I, * r icrrc irc, read iir irirr. : (i'ili, lines IIS and 'i,'), for Irinls, lead traikt. . 1)17, I. '^io, for in In:, read /n ic. li.Ml, I. H, for (//ir, read umi (j'.'ti, lines from the liottoiii, loi lacunili, read lucnndi INTRODUCTION. ■i M That the ])ublic sliould expect some introduction to tlio journal of a voyage which has attracted so luucli notice, is natural ; but haviu;; placed at tiic conniiencenient of the narrative, all those matters wliicii rehiti; to the oris^inal i)roject, to tlie financial arrangements under which the expedition was undertaken, to the fitting out of the sliii), and the selection of tlie oHicers and crew, I have anticipated, if I may so say, in the work itself, much of that whicii is generally referred to an introduction, in books of this nature. That in giving an accotmt of tlie last voyage which has been undertaken ft)r the discovery of a north-west passage, and of the last wliieii will probably be attempted for some years to come, I ougiit to have sketciied, at least, the iiistory of the endeavours made to find such a passage to the westwaitl round the northern sliores of America, has been tlie opinion of many of my friends, and of him in |)articular on wliom I have most relied. But so much has Iieen published on tiiis subject, and by so many writers, long before my first voyage, and still more during the years which have intervened between that and the present one, that I cannot but believe that all who interest themselves in this question, must be as fully informed respecting it as they could desire ; while perhaps every reader of this journal is sutUciently acquainted vith the subject, either iiom the interme- diate voyages, the public journals and reviews, or that work of Barrow which has long been in circulation, to render such a sketch superfluous ; as it could also be nothing b I^TUODUCTIOiV. nunc tluui ;iii :il)ii(lL;('il r(iiii])ilatii>M, iii(iliiii;_tiiin ;i wmk wliuli lias alicailv cxtciidctl to a ip.iuh urcatcv l('iit:lli tliaii I at first (oioaw. I liavc tliuULilit it \k<\, tlicicl.irc, lo id'cr lo l'iii(lia<, llaiiis, ( 'limcliill, liariiiiuK^ii, 1(1 Works III iiuiiiy liaiids, ami always easy ofaiir-s, Imt, aliinr all In liarruw"- CliroiKi- lo'jit'al History, imhlislifd in Ists, tm- such I'lillcr inKiriiiatiuii as I iiiiulit lia\r cxtractid from ilio-i' writcMs, had f tliiiiiL;hl il csiii'diciil. \Vt imt williii:: to l(a\r ciitircdv iii the dark on this subject, those to whom such rradiiiL; iiiav lie luitlicr t'ainiliar iior acccs- silili , I will here '^ivc a condensed list sullicieiit lin such a ;^enci-al [jurpose, (iom tliu uritirs above named. Ft will thus be the easier fur those who are doirous of cxteiid- inj,- their knowledge of this (jiicstion, to refer to any author oy any \ovaue winch tiiey may fancy: though I ima-inc that l5aiTow's sketch will be sulhciciit to satisfy must reatlers. It was in the ninth century that this |)roblein seems lo liave bei n first proposed: and the first northern expeditit)ii by sco, of which we know, was that of Othervie, wlio saih'd from Drontiieim to tlie\\'hito Sea. Iceland was also discovered about the same period, and subsequently, Greenland, by means of a \oya rise to th(! incorporation of so opulent a mercantile company as that wliieh bears liis name, and by the enormous territory whieii has fallen under their sway, made two (jtlier voyages. He then discoveretl the bay which bears his name, but made no other discovery. 101 1 In his fourth voyage his nun mutinied, and he lost liis life, after he had penetnited to 7.']'^ north. lOOy-1011 James Poole made two voyages, and reached tin'. 73d degree of latitude in Davis's straits, which was tlie nearest approach to the I'ole that had been nuide down to that ])eriod. 101 1 Sir Thomas Button made a voyage for the discovery of a north-west j)assage, but it was without the expected success : his voyage was never published. 1612 James Hall sailed on a fourth voyage for the discovery of a north-west passage. He reached Ramelsford, in Greenland, in 07°, and was there killed l)y a savage. Tiie new master decided on returning, without making any further ctFort. 1014 Captain Gibbons sailed to discover a passage, but having been entangled in the ice, he took shelter in a creek about the latitude of 57'', where he remained five months ; after ,vhich, contriving to escape, yet not without considerable damage, he returned to England. 1015 In this voyage Robert Bylot was master, and Wm. Baflin acted as the mate and pilot. Their success was not great, since they only reached as far as 05" north, examining the co.ist of Davis's strait, and tracing the coast thence to Resolution island, where they abandoned their pursuits, returning to England in September. 1G16 Bylot and Baffin again sailed, and circumnavigated the bay which now bears the name of the latter, until they came to a sound which was named Sir James Lancaster's sound, in lat. 74° 20'. The narration of this voyage is very im- perfect, while there is a reference to a chart which is not given by Purchas, and as fur as ' now know, is not to be found at present. There are charts, however, which VI ITvTRODUCTION. probably i>ive these diseoveiies in the exiict manner in whicli they we.re laid down by Baffin : but as I have had occasion to remaik at some lens^th at the end of this Introduction, it is cxeeedinoly incorrect in the lonoitudes, thour^h suificiently true in the latitudes, while the conseciuenees of the former error are of such ini- jrortancc as to have led me into a detailed criticism on the question of this geo- graphy. Jfil4-l()l(! Fothcrby made a voyage for the discovery of a north-west passage, but witliout success. IfilU Jans Mimk, entered Hudson's bay, in this year, and visited Tliorfield inlet, re- turning without success. 1(130- 1()3 1 Luke Fox (commonly called north-west Fox), made an attempt to pene- trate by Hudson's bay, but he added no*hing to former discoverers, aiul re- turned unsuccessful. 1601 James sailed from Bristol, and asserted tliat he discovered that now well-known island to which he gave; his name Since my own voyage, in 1818, there have been doubts respecting this " James's island ;" and the subject is so remarkable, not less than complicated, that I nnist refer it to the end of this Introduction, where I have attempted to elucidate this somewhat troublesome piece of geography, and, as I trust, with some success. 1G33 Seven Russian sailors, who ajjpcar to have been shii)wrecked at Spitzbergen, remained there one year. insn The Russians discovered the Lena and other rivers in the north of Europe and Asia, the account of which will be found in Churchill's collection of voyages. 1()4U Bcrnarda, a Spaniard, ullirms thai by a coasting voyage he sailed from the Pacific through a strait, and reached an isthmus which divides the west from the east sea at Baflin'sbay, where he could see the sea on each side from the high land, which he ascended. I(i4(i Forty-two persons were wrecked at Spitzbergen, and remained there a year. 1719-1722 There are voyages recorded to have been piTformed between these years, by Knight, Barlow, Vaiighaii, and Scroggs; but very little is known of these navigators, except that they sailed to discover a north-west passage. As no ac- count of them was ever received, it must he presumed that they were lost. 1719 John Munk sailed on a voyage of discovery to the north, but his men all died v INTRODUCTION, VII excepting two, and he was unsuccessful, us lUr us iiny record of liiin tins arrived to our days. 1722 Behring's strait was discovered l)y the navigator of tliat nunic : he was after- wards wrecked on Behring's island, ulucli lie liad discovered, and there he died. 1741 ('liri>to|)her Middleton sailed to lhids(jn"s l)ay in the Furnace, for the discovery of a north-west passage; his failino led to a controver v between him and Uohhs, and also with the Admiralty, on whieli I need not here enter. 174.'j Six Russian sailors were left at .Spitzhi-rgen, and remained there six years. 1740-174(J The Russian governiuent employed several oihcers, and traced, by land, nearly the whole coast ol' JAnopo and Asia, hctween iSova Zemblu and Behring's strait. 1746 William Moor and Francis Smith made an unsuccessful attt'nipt in this weari- some pursuit by the way of Repidse bay; this being one of the speculations, the execution of which has since btien rejjcaied ni our own times, and, as all know, without success. 1709-1772 Ilearne discovered Ilearne river, by means of a journey by land, which has been so often quoted as to be familiar to every one. 1773 IMiipps (afterwards Lord Mnlgrave) made an unsuccessful attempt to reach the Pole; lliis voyage is e(pially familiar, and is often (juoted, the more so, perha])s, on account of its style, and of the lionours conferred on his name. 1776 The justly celebrated Captain Cook (accompanied by Captain .'anies Clerke), who had already performed two voyages rouiul the world, attempted to discover the north-west ])ussage, by Behring's strait, wliieli he entered in .Vugust, 1779, and penc'trated to a point whiih he named Ici/ ('(i/if, in iatiteih' 7(1' 29 N, and in longitude 198 20' W, wiiere he found the ice im])enetr. ide, being a solid mass ten feet thick and extending across to tiie coast ol Asia, aground in twcutv-seven fathoms. He returned to the Sandwich islands, and there, as is well known, he lost his life in a contest wiih the natives. 1780 Captains C'lerke and King made another unsuccessful attempt in the same quarter; but the i'urthest jioint to which they proi'eeded \' as hit. 70 33 N, in 194'' west longitude. 177G Lieutenant Piekersgill was sent out in the Lion brig to jiieet Captain Cook, by Bafthi's bay : he reached the latitude of 68° 10, and bore up lor Labrador, returning unsuccessful. Vlll INTRODUCTION. 1777 Lieutenant Young, in tliesanie sliip, was sent for tlie same purpose : he reached 72= 45' (Woman's islands), and returned without making any further progress. 178()-1787 Tlie Danisli Admiral Lowenorn, sailed to " re-discover" (as the phrase is), East Greenland, hut his vessels heing damaged by the ice, he returned to Den- mark unsuccessful. 178!) Alexander Mackenzie, afterwards knighted, discovered the Mackenzie river hy a land journey, and traced it to the Frozen Sea. His tediously-written journey has been read by every one conversant with voyages and travels. 1790 Mr. Duncan examined Chesterfield inlet: his men mutinied, and he returned, in conseciuence, without success. 1815-1818 Lieutenant Kotzebue, in a vessel named the Rurik, fitted out for discovery at the expense of the Russian Count Romanzoff, ])roeeeded round Cape Horn, and attempted the discovery (jf the north-west passage, by the way of Bchring's strait. This he passed, and entered on the sea which washes the northern shore of the American continent; discovering also the sound wliich bears his name, and which had been passed unobserved by Captain Cook. He returned unsuccessful, as fiir as even the slightest attcm])t at a passage is concerned, since he did not succeed in reaching Icy Cape. 1818 In this year I circumnavigated Bathn's bay, and i)y this means restored to our charts, whence they had been expunged, the valuable discoveries of that great navigator, whose name it bears : correcting them only where the imperfection, of his nutans, and other circumstances, had left errors, of small importance compared to what he hud (-ti'ected. I need not name here, what else in its conse(|uences to commerce, was the result of this my first voyage. 1818 Buchan made a fruitless attempt to reach the Pole; having failed, from circum- stances iM'vond his control, he returned in consequence of the damage sustained by his sliip. 1819-1820 Parry in iiis first voyage, between latitude 74° N, and 113^ W, discovered Melville island, Aorth Georgian, now called Parry's islands, and Prince Regent's inlet, and was the first to winter in these regions. 1820-1821 Franklin, in his first journey from Hudson's bay, by land, for this purpose, traced the coast of America between Hearne river and Point Tnrnngain, 1821-1822 Parry, in his second voyage, discoveied the land which he lias ternieil Melvillj ])eninsula, together witli the strait which he has named utter his ships, the Fuiy and Hccla. INTRO DICTION. ik 1S'22-IS2.') rriiiiklin, in his second jimiiuv, tnucd tlic coa^t of AtiitMioa l^etwceii Miickrnzic river nnd Cajx; Hack; wliilu Dr. Uicliardson, .-icparatiii;^- from liiiii for lliis |iiu[»isi', survived the coast between llearne and Mackenzie rivers. lf^-''2-18'J) I'any, in his tiiird voyage, penetrated down Prince He^ent's inh't as fi'.r as hititude 7'2^ 30 in bn^itnde !»1 W. In this voyage tiio Fury was h»st, and lie, in conse([nence, retnrncd unsuecessfnl. 182'>-182*) Ik'cchy, in a vovage wliicii oceiiiiied thi- period denoted in thesi; date<, passed tlirongh Beliring's strait, and attempted to penetrate to the eastward ; he readied t1i(' 71'2;J^ Iatitud<' and the IVi 21! west longitude, leaving about \')0 miles unexplored between his own and Tranklin's discoveries. 1827 Parry, in this year, made an unsuecessful attemiit ti> reach tlie North Pole ; it having been imagined that a free passage to the e([Uator iniuiit [lossibly bo made in that direction. The results of all these vovag(!s show that the discovery and surv.y o long and so ju-lly borne his name, was (Hpially obliterateii : as if this gieat navi- gator had seen nothini:' and done nothinu-. it is not tliiis that men will be tempted th li len' hv(^s. 111 tlie servici to sacrifice their tune, their comforts, iheiv fortmu's, and then of mankind: but if fame must hereafter be allotted or withbeM by any one who may assume the ollice of a judge, tlien let the men of ability and enterprise witiidraw, unless they are of that better spirit which finds its reward 111 an approving conscience. If the name (.)f Bailin was restored to its exalted place, as I trust it was by my voyage in 1818, I may now proceed to remark, that the results of my late expedition INTRODUCTION. consist in tlio Discovery of Kintj; Willium's Iniul; tln' iplhmiis niul |)cninsula of llootliiii I'Y'lix ; lliu uulf of IJootliiii : tlic westorii sc;i of Kiii;j,- Williuin, and llic true jiosition of u luntiicrii iiiiigiietic i)olc ; ami in rcLiaid to llic i|ti(>tiou nf a iioitli-\\(st passaiiO, it is fully ostnblislicil thai Uk re is none tlii-ou'^li Piinci; Uc- goiit's inlet, or to tlir sontliwaid ni' tlio latitude of 71 north. Hoide- this, many iin|ioitaut and interotiu'i fact-; re^ardin;:' .Ma;;iu'tisni and other branches of seience and natural knowledge ui the conclusion of the vovaec. The hanks (jf the Isabella .and Alexandii' were re^tored to their former jiosition in the ehart, and the line (tf coast fully vcriiied ; and se\eral harbours surveyed and discovered. There renuiins, therefore, still the l.")(> nnles to the westward, anil to the eastward lite space between Cape 'I'urnaoain anil the coast seen by Sir I'.dward I'airv, which may i)e estimated at 400 miles. it is not Licnerally known that the iiueo great a change had taken place in the reasons and the position of the ice in the Arctic Hegions ; that the time had probably arri\ed when the long- ngitated problem miiilit be solved. His object was, no doubt, em])loynii'ut on this arduous M-rvice, that as he had been tl u' iH'oposer he miiiht shaie in th oiy of tile enlei'prise. W IV Ins services were rejected does not ap but 1 ha\i iwn authority lor saying that h accepted " any situation in the expedition which a gentleman coiihl h lie lid have annot. lowever, be deprived of ihe merit of being the promoter of all the attein[)ts which have jceu made since that time. Sir Jose])h 13anks's hi^li reeonnnenihilion of his proposal to the (iovernment \\as atti'iidcd to, and a eiicular \v: s written to disco\er what oil icer oft! le navy liai .'ived most ainoiii. In I le mean lime >liips weie pur phased, and were not only in a great state of forwardness before I selected to command them, but all the junior oiheers were appointed. Tlie purser and my nephew, th len only seventeen \ears of aae, beina ly individuals bi' my own selection. ominand 1 believe there is no instance on record wiiere an oflicer was appointed to c such uii cuterpririe without his liaving been consulted as to the equalities of the ships he 1 rNTRODFCTION. XI was to condurt ; liiit with mo it \\;is not tUc ciisi-, and when I arrived in London [ was tonciTiU'd to (llsi'oM 1- tlial llic ships (liy that liiiif half tinisliod), were totally unfit for Mich a sirvicc; l)iit my ii'iuonslraiu'cs wcio too late, and I was tohi thai if I did not cliousc to ac'c(-pt tlir (dinmaiid suiiic one clsi' would ; and as I had left the Driver, it was llio only of my first voyafje, and in the employment, siihsecpiently, of ships of a totally dilii rent tdass. Tile ollicers were all, certainly, as seamen and naviuators, well (|uali(ied, hut none liad ever wintered, or had any I'on-idirahle experience -among ice; the service was entirely Jiew to them, and I'or this reason ice masters and mate's were appoiiitcd, whoso opinions of course had much the more weight, hut it 1 had had ollit-ers of mv own selection, I could ha\c found those w ho comhini'd those (jualities with experience among ice, even nuac than my own; and I would certainly have employed Mr. Seoreshv. As tlu' results of my first t'Xpcditioii iiave been loiej,- hefore the public, and as it has been alluded to in thi' course of this narrati\e, 1 need only remark that it, as well as the sub- SL'(|ueiit vovages which i)reC( de my last, ])roves liow much, or ratlier iiow entirely our humble eiuleavoiirs depiiul on Divine Providence, w Inch lias wisely j)nt less witloii (Jiir powerthan in anv other kind of' na\ i'^ation. Added to the disadvautaucs which I Ikuu mentioned, there were others which were bevoiul our control, whicli seemed to com- bine aizainst the success of the enterprise, and the disa|)pointinent created a fcelm<;- towards the commander, auaiibt which nothiirj but a consciousness that he had always done hi< dut v, could have su])j)ortiil liim ; and w liii'h lie now confesses made him anxious to jirove that he could treat with a far dilK-reiit feeling all the abuse wiiich has htdi so unspariiiglv, and he nue-t add unjustly attached to his nana'. Tiic expeditions mJ)- secpuiit to mv fii>t were closely watched by myself, with the vi(>w of correcting errors from whatever cause thev miglit arise, and I soon discoverctl that the ships which had Ijcen emploved -iiice ]^\7, liad been far too large ; for while they carried pro visions only in the same proportions to their crews, as a vessel lialf the si/e docs to her crew, tjiey drew such an increased de[)th of water, viz., eighteen feet instead of eighty c2 f XII INTRO DIICTFON. ns t<> rcmliT luui'ialiim iii (liciii iiiiicli nunc unsalr, iis in the inslunri; of the I'uiy, wlilcli slnp WHS (liini;i'j,(il lii'Ciiusc lici ilcptli \mis ^rculci' tluni Unit lie iniloiidfd '.nid liovc ilown, iuid during; tins procos tluit occupied sfvi-ral diivs, she was widckcd ; wlicicas (he Victory was uliudly laid on the groiuid, Willi all licr s tore (<, and wlieii the liile lellslic wasdiy (lui- she drew only seven (eel), and iiei' leak was stopped, l.ike the Imun, .she earned two and a halt' years' ])rovisions, liesides coals tor Iddn hoius ; and had the huiler and other parts of the niaehiiiery not |)rO|i('ity ol' Messrs. I'arkiiison and rrodsliiiin, and llni'c licloiu'cd to Mr. Mnrray : all of llicsi- |)crrornicd well, l)iil ruurol'llicin wcru lost with the si ii|). ('oin- lliandtT, now Caplaiii .1. ('. Ross, wlio was sccdiid in (•oniiiiaiid, had d mil i;; the whole time the chai'j.c ot' the transit, and to linn hclcjii'.:. all the olisiixalions iniidc with it, and with a sixlv-si\ inch telescope of '.l\ oliject ^lass, llcdon^in;J,■ to ine ; hnl these ol)sei\atioiis iiiii>l, with the Naturiil History, iilso hy him, form a partol' an ;\|ipeiidix, which uill lie puhlished separate fVom the narrative, in which are only the abstiaets, which would Concern the general reader. The sketches from which tlu drawings were made were taken by Mr. Ronald's invaluable perspective instrument, and therefore^ muni be trne ilelineations ; these, althoni;h tiny have been (luitly redrawn by Harding and Rowbothani, and cni^raved on steel by tlie first eie^ravers, whose names will b(? foniid on the plates, were originally my own .sketches, but they are oidy oli'ered to the public as faithful illustrations of the work, being well aware that I dc not possess such talents in that art as could embellish it, were the scenery even niOic favourable. The Meteorological Table, which is given in abstract, will be in full in the Ai)pendix, as well ius the Diurnal Variation, and a new theory ol' the Aurora Borcalis : indeed, the length of the narrative has so much exceeded what I expected, that I have not been able to give any of the scientilic observations at full length; as I have preferred giving Connnander Ross's journeys, in which will be found the most remote and extended part of our discovery ; and also that of the present position of the Magnetic Pole. The methods which necessity pointed out for the preservation of the health and discipline of the crew will be found in full ; and at the end will be found an Addenda, comprcjhending the conclusion of our proceedings after ourliappy return. In short, our whole voyage, from its commencement until its conclusion, will be found a wonderful chain of providential circumstances, affording an evident proof that those who " go down into the sea in ships," &c., are, of all others, the most dependent on the Divine aid, and the most short-sighted of mortals ; while it nuist be no less manifest, that if men trusting in " Ilim who cannot err," will only make XIV INTRODUCTION. uso (if tilt' nu'aiis nicrcil'iilly ]Mit williiu tluir [xnvor, tlicio :iro no (liiricultios which cannot lio ovci-conK", and no case too (h'Spcratc ! It is not niH'cssarv that \ should, in this Intrndiii'tinn, enter into a t'oi-nuil discnssioii rt'sncctinL;- the prnliahilitx' that vet remains nf liiidni'j; u " North-west l'iissa>j;r," to the noitliward of the T-llh di-jice of latitude. Sueh remarks as I have had oceasion to make mi this suhjeel. will lie found in the I'lmrse dt' the followiiiL;- nanativp, wherever dceasion for them ehaiieed to arise: while, even had I aiij^ht more to say on this oreat (Hii'stidn tli;in I haxc done, any siieli dissertation has boon lon-^- snjicr- seded hv that of Sir l^hvard I'ariy, to whirh 1 gladly refer. Let no one sup]ios(Mhat I do not, r~timate tlie merits of that olheei-, both as a writer and a naviL;'ator, as lii<_;hly as the iiiihlio lias aL;iTed to do. W'e wore once iiartuers in the same pursuit, and ha\ c touether uudia'LTone the same dangers roul the same anxieties ; wc liavc since, if ■separately, carried, on the same warfare with ocean and ice, with storms and foils; each still jiursiiinir one ohjiM-t and ciuleax oiiiiii'j,' nt'ler one fmie. If we have thus been as ri\,ils, it has been a rivalry in which neillu-r jealousy nor dislike could evi'i' have interminuled : as well imuhtil liesiippo-ed that La i'erouse should hate the niemorv of Cook, or that this i;reat man, had he then 1i\(h1, >hould have sitkened at the success of the bold and intelliuent I'reneh n.a\ aviator, Hrothers in the Sei\icc, we have betai such also in one track of discovery. It there are men who please tlicm- s(dves with imaL:inini.i' or exciliii'j,' jealousie- ami dislikes aiiioivj; those who pursue a t'ommon object, their iu--t jiunishnuait will be to know that they lia\c failed. I5ut although I do not llimk it ncedt'ul to disco--- the (|uc>tioii of this passage, I mav here make a few remarks on tlir \peditiun, \arious livpothcses wcic atloat resjicctiiiL:' the probable place of the expected passage. All tlie.-c were justillablc, in some maiiiKM' or other, or in a greater or Ic'^s dei^ree : as hvpolheses must over be when tlicv pretend to no more, or when, at least, the evidences on which tlicvrest, fall sliort of proof. On the assiirted, or iinaLiiiiarv, indicatioiis of such a pass;i_e, in one direction or in another, I had never, uivself, laid anv stress ; lliou^h williii'^- to li-tcn to all, and desirous, rather than otherwi-e, to leave every one to the mdi.i'cnce of his own spccu latitms or fanci p^ INTRO DUCTIOaN. XV If" also 1 liail tlicn no liypotlici^isol' my nvvii, I tliiiik I may now salVly say llial [ liavc not ;j;aiiiril any knoulcdiic hy this Noyaui-, w liuli wcuilil juslilv nir lu toiinin'^ one; as- surc-illy at, least, niil ni iii'o])ii>niL; a new >clirinc lurllic di.-coM'i'v o('a iiortli-wc;-!. jjassauc C)l' tlic imai;in(d, uv hiipt'tl lin', nr posMhlt', |M.->auc llirouL^li l.an^a^l^■I■ >t rail, and liy tlu! way ol Mt'lvillf inlands, 1 know luiiliniu iihiicllian was knuwii licluic : ii(U'lia\(' I any coiiii'ctnii's, nor any luipi ■- uv doulii>, i.i ulKr rcsin'i'liiiL;' it, w liirli I I'uukl add to what has alrradv Ihtii aiii|il\ disrii-xd. Il was a jxnlioii ol lliis rc!;ii>ii to w liicdi wc iK'Vcr Liaini'd aiiv access, inasiiiiuli a> the scliciiie whicli I had dett-riiiilied to follow was a dillerent one, Icadiiii;' iiir iii aiiolhrr diieclioii, and because we conid ikvcr allerwai'ds extricate iiuisel\e< Iroiii liic lilaeewhi'ic we had lieeii iinin isoiied, i'roiii the Ncrv tlav, I almost sa\ , -wlich we Ui>i trusted oiir>el\es to this haihaimis shore. Thus also, whether the im|)os>iliilily of pa^-iiiL. luulhward li\ the way of the I'ole, IS now lullv adiuitled, or iiol,Miiee llieradiiiv of I'airy- hold atleiiipl , llns loo is a (|iiestion ri'^iicetmi: which the course, ol' iiis own na\i:_alioii did not allow me to i'orm any additional conjeetiires. ICnow, the atlenipt whicli I cairud on, of which, as tar as a |)a--aue is coik crned, (he lailure is now helore ihe piihhc, lia> ;_;i\eii uie uo new l'.y|iolhc^iv Id olli'r, nor any I'resli s( lu me lo jiropose, and it ail, lliendore, ol a [o>iti\e natiii;', as hope is concerned, remains as it was, the ne^ali\e resuli, is ol luucli value on t his (|uestion, ilKle|ieiuleully ol' all theulher knowled'j,!' in i;eo;^ra|ili\ oi wlialev er else, which has heeii L^aiiiecl hy lhi> lalioi loiis \oy,iuc, under llu haul-earned honours w iiieii may Ik^ assigned to il, or, |lo^slll!y, lelused. That iioiiil oil which our own alteuiiit was made, had lornied one ol' tile places of lio|ie : I mav call It one of I he livjioi licsc.-, or rathi'i' a lia.~i> lor one of tho,-e to which 1 lia\i' iust, alluded. In this (iiieclion. and wilh a \a'_iie, hut |ll^tlliahle and iiatiilal hope (.f succeediiiL:', was the lasl, eli'oil ol I'airy made, as ihe preecdiiii;' one had licen, thounh under a dilllrcnt plan, and hy takne: a \(iy dilieieiit course from mine. How lie failed in holli, from tansi's bevoiul human prudence to avert or control, is well known ; antl that hoiie, or that iiossibililv, still therefore remained. This hope is now extniL^iushed ; and if it he, on all occasions of lilt' as in this, a laiii to denii ish those hopes w Inch only tend to ileliision, the merit of this rcsnlt at least belongs to our present voyage. We navigated, or examiiieil by travelling on shore, the XVI INTRODUCTION. only part of these lands wlicro tlio possible passaiio in question might have existed : and by means of our journeys the examination \\as made eomphte. How e()m])lete it was, the journal, but, still more elearly, the appended chart will show : vet the result, ihounh it was but to fail in iindin:;' this probleinatieal openino-, is hiuhlv intercstinjj; ; while it was very taniulizinu; to us, and, as I really may say, without more ttmpL-r than the event justifies, proveil in the end mortifynig. It is mortifying- to labour hard and sutler much, under hopes so often held out, to be ever on some anticipated brink of the discovery which should indemnify us for all those toils, and place the i rown of success on our labours, and then at length to find that we have not missed that reward by having indulged in absurd or groundless expectations, have not been striving against those obstacles, the utterly insurmountable nature of which may console us for the disappointment, but have b(.'en, in reality, nearly \\ithiu reach of the expected object, vet as far from attaining it, for ever, as if mountains had intervened. It will be seen, on examining those doeunu-nts, that the tract of land which separates Prince Regent's inlet from the' northern sea of America westward, at the plaei' of our investigations, is not oidv very narrow, but is laruclv occupied bv lakes, bv whu h the. lenLi'th ot'thc land itself which separati^s the two seas, is reduced to three nnles. How little, therefore, nature has here! done towards preventin:;- such a jiassaLic lii'twe(Mi the eastern .mil western sea, or otherwise, how nearly she has approached towards permitting it, is apparent; while no one can be surprised if we had often in.ilulgeil in hopes that it actually existed. Thus lias it proved that there was some justification of the beliei's or hvpotheses of those who hail e\]iected a pass;i'.;e sumewhere in this (piarler, tliouuh thev had no gr(.)unds oji which to |ioint out its ])rob;il)le ])lace. Vet i must not bi' supposed to say, that even had we found an oj)cning ihrouuh this low and narrow tract, it i ver could have been a "norlh-west loassage" in the actual sense of that phrase, or ever eiuld have „'en turned to purposes of communication or commerce Th nate of the rlcts by nature and condition ot those seas or o])emngs lied it had he been more favoured lit have reac which we reached it, and not less th througli which ."^ir Edward Parrv mig by fortune, is such, as he and I have shown, that all utility of this kind would be a wild hope, not only at any given period, but for ever. It remains, therefore, to say, since I need not longer dwell on this subject, that IMRODUCTIOX. xvii i I I wliilc my voyage and its results liavc domulislied all liypotlioses and liop, ut those whicli may still l)e entertained res])ectinij Laneaster strait, and the I'ole, if, indeed, the latter has still an advoeatc remamiuLr, tiiere are now fewer temptations than ever tu make any fresh attempt for solving tliis problem. This at least is true, as tin- as an actual or practieal commimicatinn round the nortii coast of America is concerned : yet how is it more true now, tiian when tlie prolileni was first proposed (I will not say by the early navigators), but by those who again brought forward tiiis sclunii- before my tirst voyage, in 1S18, and causeil it to be put info action during so many successive seasons, under a course of expenditure so lieavy .' It did not require more than my first voyag(^, it scarcely required that to show, that no eonnneree could ever l)e attempted in this direction, even iiad some singuhu' good fortune proved that the American continent did not extend ftuther north than llecla and Fury strait, or had terminated much short of this : even, I may sav, had the actual passage been etiected by some lucky ship. Merchants risk much on eonnneree, it is true, but they are not given to hazard every thing, in opposition to tiie dictates of coumion sense, or in equal defiance of experience and probability. Thev have a test, also, bv which their miited body judges of every thing in cases of this nature; and that barometer is stationed at Lloyd's (.'yflec-house, to be consulted by all. On what terms couKl such an insurance be effected ; on what ])remiuni, iven under the favourable circumstances which I have thus supposed ? Where the sinn, and therefore the hazard for each man is small, men will go vcu'y far, under very slight liopes; but it is to be doubted if a prcnmnn, even to the value of the entire ship and cargo, would have filled the list banded to those who, bold ami libeial as they are, or hopeful as they may be, are men of acute understandings, and of more infornuition than is sometimes susjjcctwl. Comumndeis tluM'c are, it is certain, who would have tried, ami tried any thing ; lor in such men, thank h(>avcn, England has never been deficient, and, I hope, never will. As to our seamen, there is nothing which they will not luidertake : or at least, in my younger days, there is nothing which tiiey would not have undertaken, throwing all their cares, as they ever do, on him by whom they are conducted. May it so continue under this new era of rising light and spreadinf* knowledge ! But more than this would have been wanted ; and that, I verily believe, would never have been obtained. XVllI INTRODUCTION Witli respect to any I'utiiic attempt of this nature, my o])iainn, I presume, may be easily extracted from the ii'cueral teuour (if the fullu\viu;i- journal, and from various remarks made as occasion gave rise to them, as well as from what I have just said ; since the conclusions liom this are almost too obvious to require a distinct statement. If there are now no hopes of a useful passage, as these ought to have ceased long ago, [ am aware that it would be a matter of just boast to Britain, coidd its navigators, who have already elieeled so much for geography, complete the navigation and survey oitiie northern shores of America. Still more may this be a justifiable, as a desired object, when it is to their spirit of enterprise and ability tliat the world owes nearly all that is yet known respecting this long obscure and dilhcult piece of geography. Surely also it is right, that this bold spirit should not flag for want of the means ot exertion, nor these abilities and experience and science lie dormant, or cease to be cu''.ivated for want of objects capable of rousing and)ition, and of occujiations which uii'.y tempt men to make or maintain themselves wliat nu'u can be, when inducements are held out to them. Where economy is put into the balance against all this, it is a contemptible economy indeed ; too nmch as such tiilse economy has become the rule of an age which lias rendered our once liberal, and sjilindidly liberal country, afiirother Britain than it once was. Alas, that men cannot see how niiserable is the spirit ol' money making and money saving, how wretchctlly debased man becomes w hen this tbrms his sole pursuit, when all his notions of moral conduct are confined within the base coile of ["ranklin's " Poor Richard ;"' to produce the etlects which it has doiii^ in the country to which he preached his — " religion," I may call it, not merely its morality. Not such is the spirit of my noble-minded friend, to whom the world is now indebted for the products of the present voyage : may this example teach Englishmen what they may be again ; for such as he is, have Englishmen been. Let me be excused a remark into which gratitude and justice, not less than pure and disinterested admiration have led me: while I must conclude these observations with a repetition of the suggestions which 1 have otfered in the commencement of my journal. If I was unfortunate in my own steam vessel, this was not tlie mis- fortune of the i)lan, but of the vessel itself: yet no, not of the ship, its size or construction, but of its wretched and discreditable machinery. My opinion re- mains unaltered: a vessel intended for discoveries in these regions ought not to INTRODTTCTION. XIX draw iiioro than ten feet of water; she ousjht to be strong, as our own was, and handy also in point of rigging : and slie outrlit furtlier to have a steam en<;;ine, for occasional services, the reasons for whieh I have assigned in the beirinninir of the followinn; narrative. I have not, in these miscellaneous n marks on the question of a " north-west ]>assa'4('," uivcn sucii sketi'hes of my i;e(inraphieal discoveries as I ought perhaps to condense, in some form, in this Introduction, since no opjiortunity for it has ottered in tlie journal, and since a connected view of the facts might not, ])os- sibly, b(> easily extracted from it, by renders not previously acquainted with tiio subject, and above all witii the preceding discoveries, made by myself and my successors. It is im])ossible, indeed, to do this in words alone, and without reference to a (•halt, to ;i ])icture of fa('ts which saves many words, and also presents to the eye what no length or detail of language ever can do. Let the reader at least turn to that chart, as it is here given, and, witii its aid, a few words will ettect all that is necessary. It will thence be seen tiiat the last point in Prince Regent's inlet which Sir Edward Parry had been able to attain, was Cape Gariy; and hence mv own dis- coveries may be marked as commencin, terminating at the place to which I have given the name of Point Franklin. Hence it d2 -XH XX IXTRODUCTIOX. extciuli'd tlirounli lliis jKH'tionof ihf Northern AnicricaiicontiiK'nt, so as to coast line of tiie Northern American continent, from l?ehriiij,'s strait to llaflin's bay, as it had been determined bv the several navigators einplovvnl on this inquiry, imder tlu; more recent as more rjmotc voyages. W, in the catalogue with which I have commenced this introduction, I have men- tioned the several distant and luieonnected points which had been noted, or the coasts which had been more extensively examined, l)y Ilearne and Mackenzie, by those who had preceded them h. coming from the eastward through liehring's strait, and by the navigators and travellers who were employed on these services after my first voyage, iiamelv, Parrv, Franklin, and Beechy, so may I now say that the line of the American northern shore which has thus been traced by their joint labours, is the following. The chart indeed shows it; but for those to whom the examination and measuring of charts is a matter of some eti'ort, and f()r whom especially it is difficult to trace an extent in miles, under the ratio which these bear to degrees of longitude in those northern lati- tudes, the following verbal exi)lanations will be of use. Commencing at Behring's strait and from the Cape Barrow of Becchy, tlie coast has now been marked, by means howev( r of nautical surveys tuily, ami those of course far from minute, while also not always boasting of tuucIi accuracy, thence to Point Back of Franklin. Here, and as far as the mouth of Mackenzie river, being the only discovery of that traveller, it is again laid dt>wn by Uichardson to the exit of '.he Copper-mine river, being llearnes sole discovery oil the coast. Thence to Point Turiiag;..' , hd the discoveries of Franklin ; after which, in the jjiogress eastward as far as Point Jane Franklin, there is a blank of 222 miles, which we hope will be filled up by Captain Back. Should this expectation be gratified, the discoveries which I liave thus traced f INTRODIXTIOX. XXI will 1)0 united to our own ; xvhou nil that will be wanted to comjilotc our knowlodiio of the northern coast of America will be the space i)etweentiie lianks's land of I'arry, and IJoothia I'elix. Thus the j'ro'jjress and Cdnnexion ijf these several discoveries l)rin;^s us to Cape 'riu'na<^ain, beini;- the nearest point toward wiiich wr had ])rotracted our own investiijations : and hence it. appears that the blank which now remains on the chart between that point and tin; westernmost laud which we hail either touched, ur inferred bvthe usual nujdes ofobservatimi, anumnts, in l--n;ilish miles, tooOO. I have elsewhere saiti, how uHU'li I regretted that ( 'onunander Ross was prevented ii-om extcndinii- the journeys which lu: undertook toward the west, so far as to have com])leted this con- nexion, which would thus have lelt notlnni;' fur futiue examination between this point and Jiehring's strait, l)ut the otlujr spaces already nu'ntioued. I nuist, however, admit his plea, grounded ou the dilhculty of carrying or prdcming ])rovisions, rather than vn any impediments oti'ered by the country or the climate ; unavoidably regretting, nevertheless, that w^e could not connnand the means of completing this very short [)or- tion of the coast, and of thus drawing on our cluut that line, of which perhaps the only satisfaction that can ever be derived would be, that there is, on a piece of paper, a bUick line instead of a blank. But of such imaginary joys do(;s human happiness full often consist : and what matter, if even less than this, the anatomy of a fly's toe, or whatever else, will serve to make men happy, aiul ]iroud of themselves ? On what else remains unknown of the American coast, from the northernmost point on this western shore which our voyage had ascertained, I need say nothing, since I lutve not umlertaken to analyze or describe the whole of this yet unsettled line. The chart itself can be consulted for what remains hence to I^ancaster strait; of the con- tinuity of which coast I presume there can be no doubt, since this may be inferred from that of the eastern shores examined by Sir Edward Parry and myself. Of the exceed- ingly uncertain and obscure nature of that land termed INIelville islands, I have not the smallest right to speak : and although I circumnavigated Baffin's bay in my first voyage, thus restoring to that able and extraordinary man the lionours of which it had been attempted to rob him, I will not say that there may not be in it an opening to the northward, and possibly at more points than t>ne, and will therefore not offer any con- jectures respecting the nature of all this tract from iNIelville islands even to Greenland, its insularity, or rather insularities, or on what ihe extent, nature, and connexions of lev form u irroun of this kind, so defined may presumei xxu INTRODUCTIOX. and restvii'ted too, as to leave a wide and clear ocean about the northern p(de of tho earth ; if not a " polar hasin" in the sense of one of tlio well-known speculations on this subject. But the results of the present voyaLre, and a comparison of that of Baftin with my orii;inal one, which I could not have made at that time with the same confidence as I now do, added to some further investigations into this subject which I could not thc'ii have ventured on, and nuL;ht probably not have hail the eoididence to propose without the new grounds of iud<:;uuMit whicli I have now acquired, hav(^ led to some conclusions which I nnist now state. To myself, they seem of considerable moment, nijt nu-reiy as they concern the accuracy, or otherwise, of the ancient navigators of the seas in ques- tion, but as thev relate to the true geography of those regions, so long obscure, and so long the sourci; of error and obscurity to more mod(,'rn voyagers, as to geographers and their labours ; with the consequence of producing coni'usion and d(nd)t in all that relates to the charts of these seas, and to the true forms and relations of the land in this part of the world. If, in auv manner, the examination and analysis in question may seem, to the ignorant, to attack the re])utation of any of our modern discoverers, let me assure them tluit there are no such thouglits in my mind ; as it is not my own opinion, that any thing on which I can defend the discoveries of the ancient navi- gators, ouoht, in the slightest manner, to interfere with the claims or diminish the merits of those who have recently followed in the same career. No one, of those at least who are acquainted with the theory of navigation, or with the sciences on which it dejjends, can be ignorant of the difiiculty whicli the ancient navisiators found in determining their longitudes, I need scarcely say how little was then known even of practical magnetism, of such simple facts as the variation and tlu; dip of the needle; and still less need I here notice how uncertain were the means of determining " the longitude." That BalHii should luit have shared in this general dithculty, is no cause for surprise ; ami thence it is that I have traced those errors of his which I am about to note, not to such observations as he miirht have made during a run of a lew days across the head of the bay bearing his name, but to the distance and length of time which was passed over and occupied during his voyage thither fr(jm England ; the latter amount- ing to some months, and the former being only a few days. INTRODCCTION. XXIII In conHcqiiencc of this more than suspicimi, since it «as tlic Miir|n(sti(iniil)lc sonircof all liis subsequent cii'iiii's, I hiive coniuuiuod by layinjj,- down the line l(ini:itu(h' oi' the east coasi of tliis bay, as (ieteiinincd l)y ihosc niddein in(tho(l> « bu h leaM' but, tlie sliglitest error; thence assninin;:,' this as tlie ba>is, or "point nl' (h'jiarture,' Itjr ail the subse(|uent deteruiiiiations wbicii lie has made, andwhicli I iia\c iierc inidcrtaken to coriect. Having tirstdeterniined tliis, and tiieniH' assuming tiiat the (hstance estimated by him in his sliort passage across tlie bay is correct, since I do not see iuiw he foidd lure have connnitteil an error of any pos-ibie numient, it nni>t (iiihiw tl\at lie had seen all tiiat land to the east of Melville islands and ihc ntntli of I'nry strait, which we have supposed to liave been first discovered by oar recent navigators. The consc(pieiiee of this becomes very remarkable on an inspection ofdur present and new charts. The strait ol the llecla and I'luy, as laid ilown by Parry, thus proves to be the Halhn's strait of this navigator ; while the land iimv laid down by us as lying to the eastward of I'rince Regent's inlet, will I urn out to be .lainess island, as named by James. Furthia-, that land lotlie soathward of this i-laiid, ol which we have (raced the eastern coast, but of which we have not examined the inlets, sluiidd bctli<' "three islands " of IJatlin and his (.'umbel land island : while it is to bebn|)edthat future exaniiiia- tion will verify his assertions. On the same grounds, our Harrow's \irail will be the Lancaster sound of IJaltin, as mir coast of North Somcisit, thus named by I'arrv, will prove t(i be that which Hallin termed Prince William's land. The opjiosed shore, there- fore, which has been called North De\dn, will e(pcally be the west side of James's island. Let it now be supposed that these views arc incorrect, and wc will then see the con- sequences which will Ibllow ; as these, if I mistake in>t, will contirm the criticisms which I am hen; making. Though i5alhn's longitude is incorrect on the east side of his bay, which he has jilaced nearly lour degrees too far to tiie eastward, it has been found, on the west side, to be so coincident with the observations of modern naviuators at that place which I foiTOerly considered the entrance of Lancaster sound, and have thus named in my chart of 1818, that tlie result would be to exterminate James's island altogether : which cannot be, witliout considering James's account to be false. Having thus passed such geographical criticism on this subject, as my voyages and tlie deductions I have since made I'runi them seem amply to justify, 1 must, now turn^to XXIV INTRO DICTION. '!«> the wosU'in ixntion of tlieso northern sliori's, tliat I may compare tlie really jni7,7,lin«; and obscure account of i^crnunla and Juan dc Fuca with tiic recent examinations, or dis- coveries, as they have not unnaturally been termed, which my followers and coadjutors have made on this part of the northern coast of America : still, however, disclaiming all intention to ileprivc them of their well-merited and hard-earned honours. I think I have good reasons to supjiose that these very early navigators ellected their voyages by pure coasting, as was the practii-i in the far more remote times of the ancients, and, for the most part, of our Scandinavian ancestors, without any regard to observations, for wliich they did not nmch care, as they had little means of makin"- those. Thus do I believe it possible that they passed through Behring's strait, and l\eld on their course even as far as that part of this coast which I have termed the isthrii: ; of lioothia; whih' I find, in their accounts, a suflicient congruity with those of our i.iouern discoverers to justify this belief. This is esj)ecially remarkable in the fact which ! noted in a former part of this Introduction, namely, that Bemarda had sailed towards the east, to a certain longitude, and had there ascended a land, not far from Davis's strait or Baflui's bay, which I have concluded, on good grounds, as it seems to me, to have been the istlnuus of Boothia. Supposing now that my views of i"ie voyages of these two navigators arc; correct, it is plain tluit they had long ago cflecreil, m some manner at least, what has since been performed by Kotzcbuc, Bcechy, Meanic, Mackenzie and Franklin; doing even more, since tlie last point to tiic eastward which they reached was tluit isthmus wliicli I have just named. This subject, however, is so obscure in itself, while the novelty of this criticism, added to that obscurity, is such as to rendt-r all verbal explanations insulHcient, that I have constructed a chart, here appended, for the purpose of rendering it more intelli>nble. It ^^'ill require some attention, even to consult and understand that chart ; but tlie follow- ing explanation will, I hope, render it intelligible to every reader, and at the same time adequate to the appreciation of this piece of geographical criticism. It will be seen that it also serves to illustrate those remarks on Baflln which I have just made; while having nothing of the same nature to discuss respecting Bernarda and De Fuca, I must entirely trust to this chart, and the following explanations of it. 1 m i i' .1 i CI iMup.n atiVt (Lb.ut / // ,■'/.' f ) ^/. /):/>'. \ N L A N D 4 ,x ,^ y -5 \ ^-' '/ V c I r 1 c o c L ^ N I\ O A IVl t NTIC OCEAN m. \ SPAIN INTilODL'CTlON. XXV r.tji/illKllinn of l/tf Cllillt. \'\m (liaiii;ht, wliicli I Ir.ive coiistructid tVi>ii» ;i iinnpurisoii of our miidoiii know ledge witli tlic iccdiils (il'tlicolil niiviuntors in ([ii(sli-;up..-.ar-. I', (i I i, (-• ; r RLE. NLAND N - I C G C - 1 N ■■16 .1 I EXPLANATION OF SEA AND TECHNICAL TERxMS ^SEl) IS IC) SEAS. Iceberg, un iiisuhited mountain of ico. Ajic/d, a piece of ice so lurgc tliut its extent cannot be seen, A Jlue, a piece of ice of consideral)le size, but tlie extent of which can Ije distinguished. A ixile/i, a nuud)ei' of pieces of ice oveilappiuLi' and joining caeli other. A slieiiiii, a nuuUjer of pieces of ice joining eacii otlier in a lidgi' or in any j)articuhir direction. Loose ice, a nund)er of jiieces of ice near eacli utlier, hut tluough winch the ship can make way. Sailing ice, a u'.unber of pieces of ic" at a distance sutllcient to enable a shij) to beat to windward among it. IJntah ice, ice in a broken state, and in such small pieces tliat the ship can easily force through. Cake ice, ice formed in the early part of the season. .till/ ice, newly-formed ice having the colour of the water. lluininocks af ice, lumps thrown up by some [jressure or tbrce, on a held or floe. lleiivi/ ice, that which has a great depth in proportion, and not in a state of decay. A /line or vein, a narrow channel between two floes or tields, or between the ice and the shore. liesel, surrounded witli ice so as to be obliged to remain Immovable. Nipt, caught and jammed between two pieces of ice. A tongue, a piece of ice projecting from an iceberg or floe, which is under water. A calf, a piece of ice which breaks from the lower part of a field or berg, and rises with violence to the surface of the water. e 2 xxvm EXPLANATION OF SEA AND TECHNICAL TERMS. A harrier, ice stietchiu^' from tlic land ice to tlie sea ice, or across a channel so as to be impassable. Ldiid ice, ice attached to tlie sliorc, within wliieh tJKMe is no channel. Sen ice, ice witliin wliicli there is a separation from the land. A lead, a channel in a direct line through tlie sea. PiiHCdhe ice, ice fonnetl after a fall t)f snow. A jiiilc/i oj' ice, separate masses of ice joined, but of small extent. A puck, masses of ice joined by pressure, the extent of which cannot be seen, S/inI appearance of the sky over the distant land. Wdter ski/, a dark appearance of the sky indicating clear water in that direction. Young ice, ice which has been formed during the day or night. Drift ice, pieces of ice less than floes of various shapes and sizes. ILnninocki/ ice, ice so uneven and rough as to be impassable or nearly so on foot. Fresh-icaier ice, ice formed on a lake or fresh water, and which is transparent. Fire hole, a hole in the ice, kept open in order to obtain water to extinguish fire. Scupper, holes through the side or gunwale to let water out. Jigger mast, a small mast at the stern, with a sail resembling a lug sail, Krang, the body of a whale after the blubber is taken off. I i C O N T E N T S. CHAPTER I. The Pr.ijrcl of llic Expedition ami its OutKt, p. 1. CHAPTER II. Leave tiie River — Detention at the Isle of Man — Aecident to tlie Engineer — Landing at Port Logan — Ariival in Loch Ryan — Meeting of the Jolm Tender, p. 8. CHAPTER III. Leave Locii Ryan — Gale of Wind uti' Ireland and Loss of the Fore Topmast — First Sigi.t of the Iceblinks — Entrance of Davis's Straits, p. 30. CHAPTER IV. Off Cape Farewell — First Iceberg seen — Abreast of Baal's River — Sight of Sukkertop — Land and Islands near AVideford seen — A Codbank discovered — Mountain called Old Woman's Hood — Arrival at an Anchorage, p. 43. CHAPTTIR V. Visit of the Danish Governor of the Settlement at Holsteinborg — Residence there and I'lircliase of Stores from the Wreck of tlic Rookwood — Departure from Holsteinborg, p. 59. CHAPTER VI. Disco Island — Enter on the First of August — Reach our furthest inteniled Point north — Steer for Lancaster Sound — Enter the Sound — Remarks on the former Discovery of this Spot, p. 78. CHAPTER VII. Progress down Lancaster Sound — Sight of Catharine and Elizabeth Momitains — Pass Cape York and steer for Prince Regent's Inlet — Cape EKvin and EKvin Bay — The Compasses cease to traverse — Discover Adelaide Bay — Approach to Fury Beach — First Sight of the Tent Poles left at the time of the Wreck — The Victory moored, p. 93. CHAPTER VIII. Examination of the Fury's Stores — Embarkation of those which we intended to take — Departure and Progress down this Shore — Several new Discoveries made and named — Obstructed by the Ice, and moored, p. 107, CHAPTER IX. Attempts to Work along Shore — Discovery of Port Logan — Land there — Traces of Esquhnaux — Labouring among the Ice — Discovery of Elizabeth Harbour, p. 125. CHAPTER X. Attempt to quit Elizabeth Harbour— Slow Progress along Shore— Critical Position cf the Ship among the Ice, and Escape through Perilous Passage — Discovery of Eclipse Harbour Further Discoveries — Cape St. Catherine and Lax Harbour, p. 143. XXX CONTENTS. CHAPTER XI. A heavy Oalo : Succession of Tenipcstuous AVcatlur, with Snow — Partial clearing of the Ic(!, and extiicalion from it — Discover the Ishmd of Andrew Ross, tape Margaret, Best Har- bour, and Martin Islands — A new Jiay — End of September — General Remarks on the [jrojjress of the Siiii) and the mode of navigating among lee, p. 157. CHAPTER XH. Remarks on tlie present cunditioii of the Ship, and i)reparatioiis to reduce the encumbrance of the I'aiginc — L'nrigging vi' the Sliip^A successful Bear Hunt — Ascertain that we are truly frozen in for the ^\'intcr — A Powder Magazine erected on shore — Provisions exa- mined — Tile (juns and parts of the Engine hoisted out, p. 181. CHAPTER XIII. Remarks on the actual Temperature and on that of Sensation— Proceed in lightening the Sliip — Tiie l^ngine tinaliy landed, and the Krusensteru secured — Rooting of the Shi|> completed — Remarks on the Temperature — Abolition of tiie nse of Spirits on Board — t'on- trivanees for Warming and X'entilating tlie Vapour between Decks — Description of the several arrangements made for ^\■illl^.'ri^g, as relating jjoth to the Ship and the Crew, p. 196. CHAPTER XIV. Tlie Month coninieneis Stormy and Culd— Improvement in its progress — Remarks on the Thermometer and Barometer — Occurrence of a si)leiulid Aurora Borealis — Summary of the Month, p. 2Ui. CHAPTER XV. Repeated occurrence of Aurora Borealis — Cin-istmas-day — Summary of llie Month — Remarks at the termination of tiie Year 1829, p. 2'27. CHAPTER XVI. Commencement of the Year 1830 — First meeting with the i:s(|nimau.\ on tins Coast — Descrip- tion of their Village, and of their Society and Manners — They arc entertained on Board — Comnninicate some Geograpliieal Information, and promise more, | . 239. CHAPTER XVII. Receive more Geogiaiihical Inl'ormaiion from one of the Natives called Ikmallik — Continue our C^ommiiiiications with them— Pure Mercury freezes at length, at minus 39' — The first Sunrise of the Y'ear— -Death of the Armourer End of the Month, and Summary, p. 259. CHAPTER XVIII. Pilfering on the part of the Natives— The first fall of Snow of this Year— Native Dance- Summary of the Month of February, p. 279. CHAPTER XIX. Purchar-e of Dogs from the Natives— Commander Ross departs on an Expedition to the Native Huts, for information— Process of building Snow Huts— Summary of the Month of March p. 289. ■t I CONTENTS. XXXI I CHAPTER XX. Proceedings to the Toiilh of April — .louriioy ami Narrative of Commander Ross, p. 301. CHAPTER XXI. Narrative of Commander Ross, |). 304. CHAPTER XXII. Procecdinsjs in the Ship, and willi the Natives, p. 320. CHAPTER XXIII. C'onnnander Ross's Second .)i)uriiey and Narrative, p. 32G. CHAPTER XXIV. Departure of Commander Ross on a Third Expedition — Threatening of a Rupture with the Natives — Conmiander Ross's Return, p. 333. CHAPTER XXV. Narrative of Commander Ross, p. 338. CHAPTER XXVT. Repetition of heavy Snow — .Vnother Exi)edition by Commander Ross — Another I^xpeditioa under my own charge — Summary of the Month ol April, p. 372. CHAPTER XXVII. Expedition commenced — Narrative of our Journey — Return to the Ship — Observations made to obtain the difTercnce of the Elevation of the Eastern and Western Seas — The Dip of the Needle, and intensity of ^lagnetie Force, p. 381. CHAPTER XXVIII. Proceedings in the Ship from the First of June — Commander Ross's Return, p. 398. CHAPTER XXIX. Commander Ross's Narrative, [). 401. CHAPTER XXX. Continuation of the Journal — Summary of the Month, p. 43G. CHAPTER XXXI. An Expedition to Fish for the supply of Fish for the Crew, undertaken by Myself and Party — Narrative and Return, p. 443. CHAPTER XXXII. Journal of the Month of July — Sunimary of the Month — Transactions during August, and its Summary, p. 454. CHAPTER XXXIII. AVarping out, Unloading, and final Escape from our Ilaibonr — InetTectual Movements among the Ice — Become fixed in the Attempt to find a new Harbour for the Winter — Summary of September, p. 466. >L\X11 CONTENTS. CHArTKR XXXIV. Laltour in Culling througli the Ice — Boconio llxtd lor tlic M'intcr — Summitry of the Montli, p. 476. CHAPTER XXXV. Transactioir> in November — Siimunuy of tluit Moiiih — Prorcedings in December, will) a Summary, j), 484. CHAPTEIl XXXVI. Transiu.'lions on Board Ihe Sliip in .January, 1S31 — Summary of ibat Monlh. February: willi its Summary. March: ils Sunnnary, p. 500. CHAPTER XXXVII. April— An Expedition undertaken — Aceounl of this Journey — Summary of the Month, p. 510. CHAPTER XXXVIII. ]\Iay — Commander Ross's Journey, p. 519. CHAPTER XXXIX. Narrative of Connnander Ross, p. 521. CHAPTER XL. Journal of ^lay — A Journey in company with the Natives, p. 528. CHAPTER XLI. Transactions in June — Return of Commander Ross from his Expedition, p. 543. CHAPTER XLII. Commander Ross's Narrative — His Journey for ascertaining the Place of the North Magnetic Pole — Obseivations for the Purpose cf assigning its Place, and Deductions from those, p. 549. CHAPTER XLIII. Remarks on the Assignment of the Magnetic Pole, p. 567. CHAPTER XLIV. Transactions during the remainder of June — The Journal and the Summary of July, p. 572, CHAPTER XLV. Proceedings in July, August, and September, with the Summaries of those respective ]\Ionths, p. 577. CHAPTER XLVI. Journal of August — The Victory moved out of her Harbour — .Attempts to proceed along the Shore — The Ship forced by the Ice into another Harbour — Summary of the Month — Journal of September, and its Summary, p. 588. CHAPTER XLVII. Journal of October — The Journals of Novend)er and December, and the end of the Year, p. 609. CHAPTER XLVIII. The Journals of January, February, and March, p, 624. K COXTFNTS. XXXllI 4. '.sM i CIIAPTEll XLIX. A|)iil — roinmrnro tlio o|irration of I'arrviii^- toiwaul l!o;il^, Sledges, and Provisions, \villi tin; view of abandoninj,' llic Ship — May — CoiitiMuation of the same work — Tlio Ship is aban- doned, p. G3-. ciiAi''n:ii L. June — r)tir Journey witii tiic Sledij;es anil Boats — Arrival at riny Beach — Transactions and Detentions during;' Jnly, p. 0-1"). CHAPTER I.[. Anaust — Departnre from Fury Beacli in the Boats— Detention and Diflloiiltie:; on the Coast — Sii.nmary of Anp;nst — Tr;;iisaetions in Septiniher — Bailled in our attempts to proceed— Return tov^ards l-'ury Beach — Sinnniary of Scptcnil.ier, p. 'i")'). CIIAPTEI{ 1,11. Attempt to Proceed in the Boats — 01)stniitiiins by the Ici — Proposal to Return to Fury Beacli — Renew onv Attempt — Put ashore near Batty Bay — Land the Stores — Summary of August — Abandonment of the !\Iineral Specimens, (i. (l(i."). CllAi'Tl'.R I.I II. Contin\iation of our Travelliu'^ Southward in Octobrr — I{cturn to Fnrv Picach — F.>tai)li>li our- selves at Somerset House for tiie Winter — Siuniiiary of this .Mouth — Journal and Sunnnary of November anil December, ]). 677. ( IIAI'TF.R 1.1 \'. The .lournals of Jainuiry, I'cbruary, and .Mai'ch, with their respective Summaries— Di^ath and iMiueral of the Cariicnler, p. 689. CHAPTER l.V. .\pril : the Journal and Sunnnary — May : the connncneenient of the Journeys intended for tlio future Expedition — June: the continuance of these advancing Journeys — July: the aban- donment of the Winter House, and arrival at tlie Boats — Sunnnary, p. t)97, CHAPTER LVl. August — Detention at Batty Bay — The Ice breaks — Departure in the Boats — Reach the F.asteru Coast of Prince Regent's Inlet — Meet with the Isabella, and are received on Board, p. 713. CHAPTER L\qi. Proceedings on Board of the Isabella — Survey of the Coast — Departure — .Vruval at Hull, and in London, p. 7'24. PLATES PAGED FOR THE lU.XDER. 1 Virtoiiii Harbour 2 Comparative Cluiit 3 \'ictory disiuastud in a stoiui 4 Taking' possession, Ike. 5 Elizabftli Harbour G Cluis-'tiaii's ^Monument 7 Andrew Ross Island 8 Ca[)e iMar;^an't 9 Victory finally stopped by lee 10 Felix llarl)t)ur (Suunucr) 1 1 Ditto (Winter) 12 First Communication 13 North Ilendon 14 Ikmallik and Apela 172 175 li4 249 ."bO iii^k(.)\) - 3.;0 390 401 518 631 542 581 595 (JOB (i5a *G88-9 - ■ - 720 f? Finis f SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. CHAPTER I. THE PROJECT OF THE EXPEDITION, AND ITS OUTFIT. APrEIl the return <(f tliat expedition wliicli liad attempted to reach the Pole in 18:27, 1 submitted, to tlie Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, and, suUseciuently, to the Lord High Admiral, tl»e plan of the voyage which I am now about to relate. I liad long been convinced that the navigation of the arctic sea would prove more easy to a steam >(ssel than to any merely sailing ship, ami for reasons which will, I believe, be fully appreciated by all to whom this navigation is familiar. When the ice is open, or the sea navi- gable, it is either calm, or the wind is adverse, since it is to southerly winds that this state of things is owing: so that the sailing vessel is stojjped exactly where every thing else is in her favour, while the steam boat can make a valuable progress. The small draught of water in these vessels is another advantage ; their power can also B 8EC0M) VOYAOK OK l)IS( OVKIIY f I jlrivc tlicm tliroiiyli Imy ice win re, <'\(r|)t iiiii f'nsh aiid riivoiinihlt' lircr/r, u s:iiiiiig- ship \\onM lie nitinly iniptMlid : nliilc to iidd to all, IIm' fiM'ility with wliirli flu y <;im Ih' muvrd, withoiif uiml, or ill spito of it, must i«inl(^r it coiiipuriitivtly easy tor tluin to avoili Prince Iie;;eut's inlet, iniiiht thus be established, <»r otherwise, and the ([uestion, IIk refore, as far as related to a north-west pas- sa_i;e by this strait, be set at rest, I resolved not to abandon my (h'siiifu, without makiui;- some further trials, in another manner. I therefore laid the scheme whicli I liad formed, before Mr. SheritI' Booth, an old and intimate friend, with whose liberality and spirit I was well ac«piainted : but as, at that time, tlie parlia- mciutary reward of •JO,(MM)/. was still held out to the discoverer of a north-west passage, he tlecliued embarkinn' in what miglit be deemed, by others, a mere mercantile specidation. In 1H28, I aajain submitted my jdan to the Admiralty, with some improvements ; but the answer which I received was, that govern- ment did not intend to send out any more expeditions on this enquiry. I was then persuaded to apply to Mr. Thornton, of Old Swan, a well-known London merchant : pointing out to him, as a temp- tation, the value of the promised reward, and that of the Fury's stores, which I could not fail to reach. My answer was delayed for three months; and, at the end of that time, it was a refusal. 4 i # TO THE ARCTIC KECIONS. 3 M I Somi artcr, it was with s(uik! suiprist; I luanl that a bill had lurii bi'iMii^'ht into parliaiiiciit and passed ; of which, while aholislj- iiif!^ the hoard <>t*L the sernph;s of Mr. Sheriff JJooth : and I ae'eordin_i;ly reeeivey ti \e and this m m '■3 TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. )n'< 2\\il lai\ife a tonnage as our own could conveniently inanaii^e, we ob- tained, by tlie kindness of the Admiralty, the decked vessel of six- teen tons bunhni which had accompanied a former expedition intended for the Pole; giving her the name of Krusenstern : and we were provided with two boats which had been used by Captain Franklin. In March 18'iJ), I addressed letters to the several learned socie- ties, signifying my intentions, and requesting to know in what maimer I could aid them in their several objects of pursuit ; receiv- ing from each, such answers as they thought proper. My last application was to the different foreign ambassadors, i. h arequest to be considered neutral in case of war; on which passports were readily granted : while the Treasury issued an order for the remission of duties on such articles embarked in the vessel, as were subject to impost. I may end by saying, that the ship was visited before our de})arture, by the Lords of the Admiralty and several persons of rank and science ; and that I had the honour of receiving the best wishes of his present Majesty for the success of my enterprise. lof as 8 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY CHAPTER II. LEAVE THE RIVER — DETENTION AT THE ISLE OF MAN — ACCIDENT TO THE ENGINEER — LANDING AT PORT LOGAN — ARRIVAL IN LOCH RYAN — MEETING OF THE JOHN TENDER. 1829. Jlav J 3. rt^ X HE twenty-third of May having Ijeen at lengtli fixed on for our departure, I attended at the Admiralty, and took my leave : the official engagements of Lord Melville and Sir George Cockbmn not permitting them to pay a final visit to the ship, as had been intended. Arriving at Woolwich, 1 found my excellent friend Sir Byam Martin, Comptroller of the Navy, and Sir John Franklin, on board ; and we were afterwards honoured by the visit of the Duke of Orleans (his present Majesty of France), attended by the (then) Duke of Chartres and a numerous suite. If the inspection of the arrangements was a source of gratifica- tion to our visitors, my friends were as little satisfied as myself with what I had long anticipated, if not to so great an extent ; and which, while it was to be a cause of hourly torment and vexation to us for many weeks, was at length to lead to the abandonment of one of our chief hopes, in addition to all the waste of time an«l money, consequent on the grossly negligent conduct of our eugine- ^ .3' TO Tin: AlllTK IU:C.I()NS. tiiul 'iue- jnak<'r.s. The slii|i liiid bocn l)r(Mii;lit hy lici" steam power fioiii tli<' upper [)art of (ialleon's reaeli, 1»» the buoy opjiosite to llie duck ; l)ut lier proi»i'ess was so slow as to prouiise uotliiiiy,- hut disappoiut- meut; wliile, eveu thus early, a part of her uiachiuery had become displaced, so as to be an additional soun.'e of delay. Receiving here the materials of the boats which had been lent us by the Goverinnent, together with a spare foreyard which had been made for us, we were also joined by Mr. Thomas Aberuetl.y, Gunner of the Blossom, and Mr. Chindiam Thomas, Carpenter of the Eurydice, who had both volunteered ; the former on the pre- ceding- day, and the latter but a few hours before. Abernethy had been leading man on two former expeditions, and Thomas was also accustomed to the northern seas ; while both had been promoted for good conduct. If I had reason to consider these two men as forming a valuable accpiisition, so have I especially cause to be grateful to the Admiralty for the prompt and handsome manner in which they were discharged on my application ; leave of absence having been given, and their names placed on the cheque at Woolwich. At three o'clock, my deservedly esteemed friend Mr. Booth, with his nephew and two more gentlemen, came on board, with the intention of accompanying us to Margate, and we sailed at six, with our boat the Krusenstern in tow, after taking in our gun- powder at the lower buoy ; Ca[)tain Beaufort, the Admiralty hydrographer, with 3Jr. and Mrs. Fearnall, having l)een the hist to cpiit us. We arrived at Gravesend, under our steam, at eleven o'clock, anchoring to stay the tide and wait for a [)ilot ; and here 10 SIX'OND VOYAGE OP DISCOVERY 1820. May 21. the cnnstniotors of our (^xefiable inacliiiuiy, Messrs. Braitliwuite ami Erir;ksoii left us. The rivrr pilot beiui^ diseharged, aud the new oue eouiinu: ou boiinl, we weighed at (i A. M., witli a liglit bree/e from the west, throui;;Ii which, althou>ay to the north. In the night, however, it was repeatedly stopped, by the keys of the main shaft becoming May 30. loose ; and on the ;3()th, at 4 a. m., the principal one on the star- boarti side broke, so as to render the whole machine useless. On examination, it was found to have been formed of a bad piece on board .sufficiently large of steel ; and there being none to make a new one, we constructed one from iron, which, as TO Tin: ARCTIC RKG10NJ4. 13 I iro-p as iuii;hf liiive been expected, ifiive way very shortly ; so that it \vas not till after two days, and havinuf made three new keys, that we were enabled to replace the uiachinery in what we hoped to prove a workabh; condition. By our observations we now found that we had gained twenty miles against the wind, and on this day spoke a tishing boat from Kinsale, from which we procured a supply of fish. The thirtieth, being Sunday, was made a day of rest by us, as it had been made such by nature herself, since it was an al)soIute calm ; our latitude being 5() 43' and our longitude, west, by the chronometer, 7 degrees. The three new iron keys being ready, and the weather moderate, the fires were lighted and the engine again set to work; but each of them broke after about an hour's trial, so that we were obliged to give up our hopes from such expedients, with all further attempts at repairing the evil in our present situation. Inde- pendently of this, the performance of the engine was most unsa- tisfactory. Even with a pressure of forty-five pounds on the inch, we could never obtain more than fifteen strokes in the minute; and as it thence followed, that the outer edge of the paddles had no greater velocity than five miles in the hour, that of the vessel could not possibly exceed three. The boilers also continued to leak, though we had j)ut dung and potatoes in them, by Mr. Erickson's direction. The men were moreover so fatigued by the work required at the extra pumj), for the sup[)l' of the boiler, that I contrived to get it wrought from the lower deck ; though, even with this alteration, the labour continued too severe to be endured. .June 1. 14 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERV This however did not inchiJe th'j whole of our nearly fruithjss attempts to remedy the evil inflicted on us by the discreditable conduct of our engine manufacturers. Finding, further, that the rondensing apparatus was defective, inasmuch as the air pump always drew a quantity of water, and the feeding ])um]) was insutlicient to supply the boiler, we disconnected the whole appa- ratus, except the latter, which we proceeded to supply by a cock; and having led the steam from the educti(m pipe, by tubes and liose to the upper deck, we put the engine in motion, and thus, by means of a pressure of forty-seven pounds on the inch, obtained a velocity of sixteen strokes in the minute ; being one more than when the condensing apparatus was in action. It was thus shown that power had been wasted, partly in this part of the contrivance, and partly through the vacuum pump ; but whatever our correction was, it could have availed us nothing at sea, from the great loss of water to which it gave rise. In addition to these unproductive corrections, we next tried the effect of disengaging the great bellows ; yet though we saved considerable power in this manner, we found that it did not last, and that the small one was quite incapable of maintaining the requisite heat : while it was now also ])lain, that they were wearing so fast as to threaten to become utterly useless in no long time. Every thing in fact was imperfect ; since even the cylinders were too small to perform the duties required of them : so that, if I had not been satisfied of it before, I was now convinced that we had little to expect from the assistance of an engine which, at the best, could, if acting alone, scarcely move our ship three miles in the TO TIIK ARCTIC IlKGIONS. !> hour, iiinl nas therefore utterly iiiii(le((u:ite to aid us in taking iu tow our eonsort the John, as ha«l been eonteniphited in [>hnniing this ex[)eassai!:e thus promised to he as tedious as it was ii'ksouK' ; hut, ou the seeond of June, wv saw the Small's li^ht, I'ouud ourselves otF Wieklow on the same tlay, and on tlu- third, it then idowinj;- fresh, fetched the Calf of IVIami, in time to get under its lee and slielter ourselves from the inereasing gale. On this morning we came to anchor in Douglas hay ; w hen still desirous to make another attempt with our engine, 1 here procured proper materials, .so as to construct two new keys for the shaft ; writing also to London and to Liverpool for a supply of other spare ones, in case we slioidd at all succeed in carrying this machinery further on our destination. We were here detained two days ; yet losing nothing hy the detention, sine-e it hlew a .storm from the north-west the whole time, while we were thus also enabled to lay in a supply of beef, vegetahles, and water. As we had had good opportunities of observing the efficacy of c;:r rigging during our j)as.sage, we found that our pre.sent method of n.anaging the after sails admitted of .some improvement. I therefore purchased some spars, together with some canvas, to replace the square sail, which we had lost during our voyage ; here also receiving the visits of many friends, and others, all more or less interesting them.selves in our success. Every thing being completed on the evening of the fifth, we waited for a change of weather, which accordingly took place with a shift of w ind on the following morning ; enabling us to weigh our anchor at six o'clock, with a breeze from the north-east. We stood towards the Calf of I I m 1 TO Tin: AIKTIC itiuaoN!^. 17 od I to I ere e or •ing a Mann; but, the wind tiillin*; light, inii(l<' little progress, though working the engine, iis we had attempted to aratus. Yet, even thus, .sueeeeding in obtain- ing (Mily fifteen strokes in the minute, and being unable to make some intendetl repairs while the' engine was at work, we luul onee more to «lepend on our sails alone, and against a '^ind which was now adverse. On Sunday we were otl' the harbour of I el, vheu by taking advantage <»f tin; tides, and carrying a piess of s id, we iiude con- siderable progress, and soon saw the Mull of Giallov .y lo wind- wjird. Early on Monday morning, the engiu' ht ing once ir* « ready, such as it was, we let down the lee pa. 'die vheel, keeping the weather one out of water, with the expectation of advantages in which we were not disappointed. Instead of fifteen, we now found that we could easily make (jighteen strokes in the minute, and that we could thus beat to windward as well as any r»f the vessels in com[)any ; even gaining on them, very shortly, as mucii as they had gained on us before. Thus were we flattered with the Iiopes of soon reaching Loch Ryan; but an accident, as miseraVs is it was unforeseen, .soon occurred to destroy the pleasure resulting from this new and unex- jjccted success. We had just tacl :. <1 close to the Mull of Galloway, after having made about tliir y iuiles during the night, and were getting fast to windward, with tlu; tide in our favoiu", when, at ten in the morning, our princi[)al stoker, William Hardy, came up from the engine room on the deck, luiassisted, aiul alone, and thougii without complaint or exclamation, presenting his left arm. June 7, 18 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY shattered, and nearly severed, a])o\e the elbow. It appeared on enqniry, that his toot had slipped in consequenre ot" the motion of the vessel, while exaniininu: a part of the niaehinery near the piston rod; thns eansini»' him to fall in sneh a manner as to entanijle his arm between the unide wheels and th(! frame, so that it was ornshtjd, dnrini«' the baek stroke, in the horrible manner whicli it now exhil>it((l. The 1»«viie being- splintered jis we\\ as fraetnred, and the mnsrles and skin so bruised and torn that the two parts of the lind> scarcely held together, there could l)e no hesitation in determining that it demanded amputation, and as far as my oppor- tunities of surgical reading had extended, that no time ought to be lost in performing this oj)eration. TJnfortvmately, our surgeon, Mr. M'Diarmid had not yet joined us, being on board the John, our intended consort ; so that it became my duty to ap[)ly to this unfortunate case such knowledge as the sight of amputations in my naval service, added to my limited reading on sucli subjects, could supply. It was well that the instruments for the surgeon were on boani, together with the medicine chest; and a berth having been pre])ared for our unlvu'ky patient, I have only to say that 1 rlid, as well as I <'ould, what seemed necessary, as far as my want of experience enabled me to do it; a[)}»lying the tourni(juet first, and then securing, with the tenaculum and ligatures, the only two arteries which I could find, while I cut off the injured muscles and skin in such a way as I hoped sufficient to remove the dead and liazardous parts, and to leave materials for producing a decent stump, llnfortunately, the amputation saw was not to be fi>und, so that I was not only unable to remove as much of the bone as I TO THE ARCTIC KCGIONS. 19 1 ouglit, but WHS coiiipellt'd to leave tlie broken extremity in ji splintery state, to the further care of the surgeon whom I expected to find on shore before a day was over. .Vnd that I may not return to this case, I may now add, tJiat as we reached the huid so as to put our patient under proper surgical care before any material intlammation had occurred, that which I could not finish was completed without difhctdty; so as to leave, in the end, a stump, which though not such as to have done much credit to a surgeon, is not worse than hundreds o(;curring untler better auspi(.'es, and lias not finally prevented this nuitilated engineer from returning to his original employment in the establishment whence we procured him. If I need not say that 1 should have been much more at my ease in cutting away half a dozen masts in a gale than in thus '• doctor- ing" one arm, 1 could not but iw. gratified as well as interested by the efiect which this occurrence, vexaticuis and ])ainf"ul as it was to me, produced on the nutn. The arrangements of the medical chest and instruments, the neatness of every thing, and the abuntlance of the supply, with, I hope, the further con\ iction that there was a good will to a})ply them all to their security and use, and that good will to be rendereil more etlectual as soon as the prjpei medical officer should join us, seemed to give them a confidence that nothini»- whi<;h could conduce to their comfort had been neglected: as, in this feeling, I found an ample confirmation of what I had long befo -e read in the work of Monsieur Larrey, respecting the efiect of his excellent medical arrangements on the nwas'.iiranized. iop ^y D 2 20 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVTIRY Anxious as we were for onr j)rogress, we were now even more impatient on account of our unfbrtunjite patient; and we thus viewed with pleasure the progress wliicli we were now making by the new help of our lee paddle wheel. We thus , unless I would ensure them, in writing, the same shares as if they had returned with a full ship. It would not have been easy to frame a much more unreasonable request, when smh a jnomise would necessarily deprive them of all inducement t<» exert themselves in fishing, I could not hesitate therefore in answering to so absurd a proposal, that I would ensure finding them fish in abundance, but that, to take them and fill the ship, must be their own business. I was answered, however, that nothing less would satisfy them than an absolute promise of 24 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY Jill,.- in. '2(H) tons of oil, witli a fmtluT guarantee, in writing, that tliey were not to be detained on the expedition, but returned home in the usual time. I now, therefore, began to suspect that tlie real motive of their present conduct was the fear of being detainerl beyond tlie sum- mer ; but I was soon convinced that their fears were even deeper than tliis, since it was in vain that I repri. ented to them the egre- gious folly I should commit in taking them out with only six months' provisions, had I intended to keep them out longer, or even did I foresee the possibility of such an event as their deten- tion. The best policy therefore now seemed to be that of shorten- ing the stay of the Victory at Port Logan as much as possible ; while r hoped that when we should join, and they were made to comprehend the advantages arising from tlie presence of a steam ship to aid tlie John in towing, this feeling woud subside and they would return to their duties under our agreement. 1 returned therefore to Port Logan without loss of time : and the remainder of this day, June 9, was employed in landing the sina!! boiler, together with the apparatus intended for cutting the ice, which, it was now evident, exceeded the power of the engine to work. We thus got rid of six or seven tons of what was now mere lumber ; replacing it by three ions of water. On the following day f was visited by my friend, Colonel M'Douall, accompanied by others, relations and friends: nor did he part with us without a substantial present to furnish our next Christinas dinner, in, the shape of one of the best (lalloway cattle from his own estate. vVt six in the evening we cast off from the pier; and, with the assistance of the J 1 4 '4 TO Tin; AiicTK i{i:c;[()\s. 25 all ce, to ere lay rs, [ial bne the the roasttfuanl, were towtil round the point of Lot!,an, under a liu,ht air tVoiu the south-east. At eight it i\;\\ cahn, and \\c were obliged to stop the tide olK Port Kale, under our Kcdgv; and though weigliing again the (oHoMing morning at si\, with a liglit breeze from the north-east, we were unabh; to round Corswall point, so that we were again eomj)elled to stop the tide in the same manner. These dehivs allowed us to (examine into the nature of the damage already mentioned as having been indieated in our boilers; when we found that the failure consisted chiefly in that of the iron cement which had been used in securing some of the joints; while the engineer luul neither been inforniesl of this, nor provided with the materials for replacing it in case of need. The* small bellows, with the machinery belonging to it, was also in need of a thorougli rej)air, as was the large one more partially ; but I must be excused from dwelling on this endless and provoking subject at present, further than to saj , that every day convinced us still more that we uuist consider ourselves in future, as ilependent on our sails, for such progress as it should be our good fortune to make. We now weighed anchor once more at half-j)ast fi\e in the after- noon, rounded the point of Corswall, and bore \\\t for Loch Hyan ; but, as it fell calm, were obliged to come to anchor until the next morning, when, faviuued by the breeze and a flo\\ iug tide, we ran alongside the John, having taken Mr. Thoni on board the evening before, on making the Loch. The Victory being now alongside of the John, and her crew June ]■- E ^ 2« sixo.No vov.vt.i: or' discovkiiy ran,ii<'- that snch cowards as th(r men of the John were not worthy lo accompany smh i;allant fellous as tjieinseh(s, e\en to the ednc of the ice. Yet as it was also necessary that I slionld |)rove a j)ositi\e act of disoliedience, I desired 3Ir. ('ond», the master, to order his crew to wssist oars in remf)vin!i the coke. This wjjs refnse«l at once b\ the men, who at the .same tinn' <'allevlial( r, from >vIioni I had fornu'ily i('c<'ivt'«l h<»th kiiulntss and services, The answers of tlie second mate, Robh, wen; tlie same; and it was not diOienlt to see that the niast'r was kept in aw<' hy these two men. The boat- swain and the harpooners heini;- next asked if they woidd assist in weijjfhini;' the anchor, joined in refnsinn', while some added lo their ret'nsal, impertinence ; and this example was fbllowetl by the a\ hole crew, with the exception «)f"the cook, the coo[)er, and two men, the latter of whom both entered with ns afterwards for the expedition. A dis<^raceful scene of confusion soon followed, in the attempts of the discontent(;d men to leave the ship; that beinn roposed to lower down the l)oats anti tow them on shore, that he niiuht «lepri\(' the men of the means of <(uittiust nor any known injnry sustained. This thama ha\in,i^ thns terminated, inchidinu; an attempt to seduee fonr of the Victory's men by inviting- them on board the John to make them (hnnk, which however faihd, it remained for me to make a lei>al call on the master to perform his contract, and to leave him a written order to sail before the first of Jnly, if he could reman the ship ; failing' which, he was to proceed to Cireen\'hatever else it may prove, to those who are but too ready to pronounce on that justice which it becomes no nu)rtal to distribute, even in ima- gination, it served to satisfy us that we had lost nothing by the «lefection of ovn* intended consort, and hail perhaps escaped far greater evils than those whicli ultimately befel us : teaching us too, that the events, which in our shortsightedness we are so apt to \\v\y as evils, are full often intended as blessings. «s TO Tin; AIUTIC UKGIONS. t>f) If uas Imt ill tlio follouin'f yvur, tliat flic John, uiulcr flu- siimc iMiisfcr iiixl oHirtrs, and with the son*; cy(V\ bwnin^L? one or two exceptions, sailed to liadin's hay on uwhalini; expedition. I'Voni i'anses which haA(; never eonie to liyht, a nintiny took phiee on hoard, attended hy tlie death of tlie master, Cond>, luit under eivennistaii; .s wlueh have not yet heen rijLi'htly exphdned, as lar as T can nnderstan«l. 'i'he mate, with a hoat's crew, were expelled at the same time; and llavinJJ:ne^er since been heard of, are supposed to have perished in tlie ice. The shij), then put under the <'om- maud of the Spikesoneer, was afttMwards lost on the western coast, when most of the crew were drowned ; the remainder beinu^ saved by a will '<'r which was accidentally passins^. .30 HWONi) voYA(ji; or discovkiiv CHAPTER in. .hint 1' .Tunc II, LEAVE LOni RYAN — GALE OF UIND OFF IRELAND AND LOSS OF THE FORE TOPMAST — FIRST SIGHT OF THE ICEHLINKS — ENTRANCE OF DAVIS'S STRAITS. vJN lilt' simie diiv tluil we had i^ot rid of flu; Jolm and her iiudiuoiis ei'ew, 1 returned on hu;ird Ihe Victory, nhere the erew were oc(.'Ui)ied in reniovini; the coke and some other stores which had been entrusted to the John as our \ ilh a lii;ht ]»reezc from the south-uest ; ha> inu' taken leave of all our friends on sliore and settled respect inu the future mana' of Snn(hiy it was calm, and at noon the Mull of Cantyre hore north, the ("raitf of Ailsa heariny east ; when a fresh hreeze from the south-west, with a favonrahle tide, carried us rapitlly throuyli the north Chainiel. It was at the first moment that Me found ourselves settled and •^f TO THE AR(TI( IIF.filONrt. :n luul iit pciMc iW'Irr llir ilistiii'hiiiK'cs of tlic pn.>n' in tjirin tiii-oiii;li tlir fiiliu'c vovauc, nliatcNcr trouhUs w(; mii;lil. In; «l«stim(l to coiilcml with. AsscmMiiii; tlinii for tliis piirpost-, ami also thaiikiiiu them for tlic coiifKlciict' wliiropos(.'d that their pay should he settled accordiu!;- \n their ratinu', as had been done in the lormer vo\a,iies of discovery. '^Hiis was agreed to without hesitation, and with expressions of perfect satisfaction; thi; siu'i^eon leaving it to myself to settle the compensation due to him on this score. ^Vhile oiu" experience on the voyage to Loch Ryan had itself convinced me that our cnnv was deficient in the requisite nund>er, the defection of the John rendered it still more imperious on me to increase our strength. For this pnrpose, after having taktJii an Irish lab(turer from Logan as a fire stoker, to replace the loss of Hardy, I also enlisted a third man from the John's crew, in ad SECOND VOYAGE OT l)I;-tOVEIlV We had no sooner passed the island of Kaeldin, thai we fonnd a heavy swell settiiiij; in from the north-west; th<' a|>[)arent eonse- (jnenee of the loni;- series of gales from that qnarter which had recently occurred. Tims at least wa at iirst thonglit : hut we \vere s<»on undeceived, since it proved the forerinnier of a storm still more severe than any whis for .saving the sails and rigging. ^^ e found tlu; mast broken so close to the rigging, that it was only held in its place by the splinters; v'^'i, it seemed possible to frapp the shrouds and stays in such a w ay as to secure it from going overljoar^l. Having determined on this, no time was lost in j)utting it into execution, so as to preserve both tlse mast an 45 TO THE ARCTIC RKfilOXS. 33 find in them all, the true spirit of seamen, since it tanuht me that T could depend <»n them in any emergencies; ready (tbedience, cheertui lo iiiaiiifiiiii onr Mcsliiiu;; and shortly after imon tiic nalc hciian to l)nak, uhcii, l)y the rhroiioiiiclcis, \\»' asccilaiiird our htiiiiitiidc to he 7 West; the latitiidr ohsci'Ncd at; noon hcinj^' ')(» 'J.'J' N. In the cvciiiiin' w«; wen- ciiahh'd to add the icclcd loicsail : hid. as the sea was very hcaw, we made litth> proiircss. Dnrinu' the ninht \\r stood to the northA\ard. in consciincncc ol'tlir wind Inn ini;' hacked to the west; imio 17. hut in the niorninii' ol" tiie ITlh it hecaine noitherlv, and we atiaiii wore. .\( se\en we saw the IJishops ish's, together with 'Tiny at a ureal distance to the north-east. The ii;de had nia(hially decreased ; hnt the swell continued, and tile sliip lahonred so much as to |»re\(nt ns tak ni;- any steps ahont our crippled mast. At niidniuht it tell calni ; and the Jiiiu l^\ swell Ikh inii ahated (»n th«' eii>]iteenlh. w<' contrixcd to secure the riiiiiiini" on the toreinast head somewhat hetter. The topmast, which had heen hrokeii olVaho\c the lid hole, and thus reduced in leiiuth, was pointed uj): and the heel heiuij- secured hy a lashiuu; to the lowi^r mast, ahout si\ leet helow the ritiuiiiii', there was siitlicient lenu'th remainiiiu' to set the t(>piiallant sail as a tojtsail. No sail <'onld however he set on the })ole, which was sprui\ii' ahout lialtway uj). At noon Alalin head was in siyht to thti s(»uth-east, and the observed latitud(^ was '>•> ol' 14' \, the louiiitude hv the chronometer heiuii' 7' 40' W. On this day the carpent(^rs were « in|)loyed in makini>' a trunk to carry the water iVom the pumps to the scuppers, owini;' to the cin'umstanees stated in th<' account <»t' our passage down the river. It was satisfactory to find that one pump had been suHicient to ket^p the ship clear, durini;- the wlioie TO riii: Aiu i'k; uiuiioNS. ;r> in mi? AVilS ail. M)llt iist, the imps ()\mt one lioie of this mile, llionuli Mcwcn- ohiiiicd to li;i\(' tliril one (;on.s(imlly ptinir; l)nl ;ts lliis laltour hcciunc less im|Mrions ;is tlic wind modciiilrd. \\v Avcic convinrpd (liat (lie |nin(i|tid U.uk nmst \n' somculinu; ;d>ov<' llic Wider line. On this day llic wind >\as slill ad\(isc; and as we liad cNciy Ihihj ii. ]»ios|»(('l (tl" a lonii passaii'c. i lu'nan to cut* rlain serious JhonulMs ol" pnllinii' in lo Loeli Swilly, wliieli \\as now in vie\\, and wliieli Mc eoidd jnst Ceteli, in oi-d< r to lake in an additional sn|>|d> of wafer and pi sonthwaid, and at noon wc w> ;{2', loni;itnde 7 ")•>' \V , with Alalin liead. jV hoat now came otFnhieli we lie|ie\cd lo he a pih»t \essel, Itnt it pro\<(l to he a Dnhlin fishinu' hoat, from which wc ohtained ;i n(»od snp[)l\ of fresh tisli. Tlu; wind, wliieli ^^as now xariahle, under all sail t<( continm our \(>yai;'e. As it was n(»w e\ ident that wi; had not water and liay erformed on tliis last (hiy, being the 'ilst, at eleven o'clock, a!!' '.vr. trusted tliat our thaids.s to the Frovi(h'Uce which had '•iilurto protechil us through a series of troiddes, >\hich, though \ind was now mui'h more moderate. 'riiouiih we had some small rain on this dav, the wind and tin' June 2,';. sea eontinne«l to decrease, and we employeellhich, with th<' animals attached to it, Mas prese:\ed by Commander Hoss (our naturalist in addition to all el-s<) ; ;is Mere afterw.nds some' specimens of the shearwater (pvocpUdiiapuffinusJ which \\v contrived to shoot, A fresh and fair breeze sprung up once more at midnight: and at half-|>ast three on the morning of the 'JTth, a strange schooner luno 27. was seen staiiding to the north-east. The boilers having been at length repaired, they were nuv\ filled with water, and I'ound to be water tight: 01. whi* h the engineers were set to vork to eonviect the forcing pumj> to the snudl engine, in hopes of saving tlu; 38 Si:COND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY tr(ml»l(! Avliidi our iihii hiul formerly ('X|m riinrcil in MorUiiii;- this iniicliiiu ly. Tin; little skiff was now tukeii in to he rrjKiind and .stren!j;tlu'nt'(l, ami the lU'W tojmiast was also liiiished. A smart breeze ot'wiiul now enabled us to keep all our sails set, and w<; louiid a (-(Misideruble sw<'ll eomini;- iVom the soutli-west. There were some si learw iters and molleui<»kes about the shi[», lieinti' the first time that wt; had yet fallen in with the latter. Our June 28. lalitnde on the following- day, Smulay, was oT 7' N, and the longitude by the ehronometer iVi W. The ship's <;om})any was UMisten^l, aud divine service perforuied. '^I'he wind was now variable, and tending to a ealm; and, towards the cNcning, the little breeze of the tiay was lace. These arrangemeuts were no sooner finished than a tine breeze arose, but it unfortuuately lasted only a few honrs, \Vv. ha«l shot .some of the shearwaters that had attended us, and now deterujined to try whether this bird was uot eatable, in sjiite of its bad re[)n- tation, since it might be important for us hereafter to increase our resources of this nature, and to know to what we uiiglit trust in cast! of <>ur couiiuij: to short allowance. \V e found fhem excellent, even in a pie though the most supicious mode of cookery for uieat TO Tin: AIKTIC IlKniONS. Hi) •inW lied pu- uiir st ill L-nt, neat of siu'li a iiiiture, nnd wore t;lad to fliid that we need not even be (on'<'d by liiinm r to adopt a food uliicli, if it iiLVcr did more, would itt lewst afford us variety. And I will now mukc this remark f(»r the benefit of idl who niiiy be sitn;it(;d as we have ofttfn been, whatever use it may be turned t<> by those- who, not know ini>- want, niiiv find in the s<'!i birirds called boatswains, besides our former attendants the shearwaters and mollemokes. On the thirtieth we had fresh breezes and cloudy weather, with the wind from the north. All sail was set; and the carpenters linishe-et at them till au opportiiuity should otK'r tor layiii^- the ship auround : it was, Iiom r, sutisfaetorv to liave touud out the real nature of these two us, wliieli also, in point of ette(!t, were of little eonsetpienee. TIm; landhlink was now very pereeptihie; and in the evenini;- we ^^.9,. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) /. :/. f/j 2(1 1.0 I.! I— 2.0 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 — -• 6" - ► v] <^ /2 ^l y w Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 i/.A ^ *"'"''»»«.. 42 SKCOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY July 3. July 4. had been on tlie tliirteentli of June, 1819, after having left Fair isUiiid on the nineteenth of May; and as we had taken our own departure from Loch Swilly on the eighteenth of June, it followed that we had gained eleven days on that expedition, in nearly the same run of 1300 miles. We had served out to the men, on the first of July, an allowance of clothes calculated for the climate we were now to encounter. This consisted of a blue jacket and trousers, a flannel shirt, a com- fortable, a })air of wadnial hose, a pair of tlannel drawers, a Welsh wig, a pair of sea boots, and another of carjiet boots. The jackets of the ofiicers and petty oflicers were slightly distinguished, so that our equipage had altogether a very nnilorm and orderly appearance. These clothes, with exception of the boots, were a present to the men ; and a reserve set for each was kept in store, in case of need. Our new jigger-mast had been got ready on the second (yester- day), together with two beams at the stern to support it and the out-rigger; and, after examining our run, we found it to be ninety-six miles, but unfortunately on only a south-west course. Thus, on this day, we found ourselves in latitude 57^ 47', and in longitude by account, 4G° 53'. The temperature of the air at mid- night had been 41°, and that of the sea 43°, After making a board to the south-west, we tacked at 8 p. m., and stood all night to the northward; so that at noon on the next day, w« found ourselves in latitude, by observation, 57° 59', and longitude 47° 31', The weather was hazy, and the winds light and \ ariable. TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 43 CHAPTER IV. off cape farewell — first iceberg seen abreast op baals river — sight of sukkertop — land and islands near wide- ford seen — a codbank discovered — mountain called old woman's hood — arrival at an anchorage. JL HIS day, being Sunday, it was calm during the whole morning At half-past ten the ship's company A/as mustered, as we were then just entering Davis's straits, being off Cape Farewell. The weather being cold, and the men in their warm dresses, we for a moment forgot that we were now in the very midst of summer and in its hottest period ; scarcely even thinkingof the contrast between our own situation and sensations and those of the friends we had left behind. After divine service, a fine fair breeze soon sprung up, and we secured a piece of fir timber which was passing us ; the fragment of some ship, since it was full of treenail holes. It was covered by difierent marine animals, and was therefore a prize to Commander Ross. At eight o'clock this evening we were going at the rate of six miles an hour, and our rate increased during the night so rapidly, that we were at length obliged to shorten sail, chiefly on account of the Krusenstern, which we could not conveniently tow along g2 July 5. 44 seconjJ voyage of discovery uiukr Jiny consicltiable velocity. Wv, now distinctly saw the land, which we supposed to be Cape Farewell, al)out thirty leagues distant, and near it a number ot' icebergs, bearing north-east by north. Jiily 0. The breeze contiiuiing favourable, we had a prospect of making ourselves amends for the former two baffling days, and now passed many pieces of drift wood, but under too rapid a motion to allow of our securing any. Our latitude at noon was 59' ^ei', and longi- tude by the chronometer 50° 54' ; so that we found that we had made 140 miles in the last twenty-four hours. The temperature of the air was 4H% and that of the water 44° ; and there was now no land in sight. July 7. The breeze still continued till three in the afternoon of this day; and we found by the log, at noon, that we had run 138 miles since the preceding one ; but as the haziness of the weather, prevented us from taking any observations for the chronometer, we could not form a more accurate computation. As the latitude however, which was GV 33', gave four miles more of northing on a north- west course, we attributed this increase of westing to a swell from the south-south-east. In consequence of this swell we were obliged, in the evening, to shorten sail, by taking in the mainsail, gaff top- sail, and topgallant sail. We however set the latter again at day- light on the next day ; replacing the mainsail also by the studding sails on each side. At nine this morning we had altered the course to north-west half north, true meridian ; having found this to be north-east by north according to our compasses, which, including the variation TO TIIK AIU'TIC REGFONS. 45 i^est by tion and the deviation, differed, on tliis vas without branches or biuk, and proved to be larch, perfectly sound. The root fortu- nately contained a natural knee exactly suited to one of our wants, which was that of a boat's davit : and it was accordingly converted into one, as was a part of the other end ; so that with these two, when completed, we found that we should be enabled to carry another boat over the quarter. Some shearwaters were shot, and a small fish taken ; a drawing of which was made for our collection of natural history, while the specimen itself was preserved in spirit of wine. At midnight the temperature of the air was 39°, and that of the water 42°. On the ninth, having observed for the latitude, we found it to July 9. be 62^^ 3G', and the longitude by the chronometer 54° 31'. The whole day was passed between light airs and calms ; but as the swell set f om the southward, we contrived to keep steerage way on the ship. A quantity of shearwaters and boatswains were shot by Commander Ross, who kept the best for specimens, the rest being 4G SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY t added to our usual commons : and we also found that a gannet pie was preferred to the best piece of corned beef which we could pro- duce, confirming the remark I have alrea«ly made. Many more shearwaters were afterwards seen, so that I might safely call their numbers immense. Two finners also came alongside ; and one of them was struck in the shoulder by a musket ball, without how- ever being killed, as far as we could discover, July 10. This day was perfectly calm during the whole twenty-four hours, with the exception of some cat's paws that lasted oidy a few minutes. The shi])'s head was generally to the north and north-east, and 1 now had occasion to regret that the engine was not so ready for use as I had anticipatt^i a few days before. The gear of the forcing pump had taken much more time than was expected, though the engineers and armourer had been steadily at work. The carpenters, however, contrived to fix the new davits, and we got out one of the six-oared boats and hoisted it up on the larboard gangway. We took this opportunity also of getting out of the Krusenstern five casks of salt provisions which had been left in her for ballast, together with a log of oak which we wanted for present use. A great many shearwaters, boatswains, and kittiwakes, were killed for use ; but on this day we were unable to get any observa- tions on account of the haze, winch was very thick. July 11. This morning the wind sprung up from the north by west, being directly against us, so that we began to be fearful lest our passage should be delayed. We stood to the eastward, and at three, picked up a piece of an American cedar-tree, sound and convertible to use. We killed as many birds as would suffice for the men's Sunday f '4. I TO THE ARCTIC IIEGIOXS, 47 sage 3ked use. iday dinner, and accordingly served out to tluni tlour enough to make crusts for their pies. Wv couhl get no ol)servation at noon ; and the wind increased, as did the cohl, the air a>id water l)eing both at43^ At ten in tlie evening th(; temperature of the latter sudilenly fell to 38' ; which, indicating the aj)proach of ice in some form, induced us h) tack and stand to the westward. We had seen the coast of Greenland at intervals, and ha.si(l(> into a calm at six in the < vcniiift. Ntivtrtlitltss, we were able to keep steerage way for the ship, as there was a swell from tlie southward. We had a good observation at noon, by which we foinul ourselves in latitude 64" 48', and in longitude 63" 45'. We obtainetl on this day a fine view of the remarkable mountain Sukkertop (the sugar loaf), of which I was enabled to make two drawings ; the one bearing east-north-east and the other due east. It appeared to be abont twelve leagues distant, and far overtopped all the surrounding mountains. The carpenters contiujied to be employed upon the new masthead; and as we had replenished our water, we served out an allowance for washing, together with a quantity of soap to each man. Some rain fell about six in the evening, and the swell increased so much as to be very troublesome ; while a breeze also sprung up from the north-east by north, our true course being north by west. At nine it cleared away, when we had another view of the magnificent mountains near Cockin Sound, and .saw the land as high as Queen Anne's Cape. But one iceberg was seen to-day, and that a very small one; and we continued to meet with birds, seaweed, and drift wood. During the calm, the ship's head being to the eastward, we found that we had neared the land considerably ; but after the wind was up, we found ourselves within about twelve leagues of it, the Kin of Sael bearing east by north, and Sukkertop south-east by east-half-east. The swell continued all night, and this prevented us from using the engine, which, as far as our yesterday's trial had gone, seemed at last ready for use. The ice which we had seen in the morning •4* I TO THE .\n(TIC' RROIONS. 51 kned ling liail been left ImIuikI, ami \\v saw no inoro this V'hale islands. By noon, consequently, we had only made four miles northing ; and it wa.s not till tive in the afternoon that the work was reported to l»e ready. After an hour's labour in getting up the .steam, the engine was thus at last set to work on tlie lee paddles ; but they had nc t been <|uite half an hour in motion when tlie main key of tlie .shaft gave way, and we were once more obliged to .stop, under greater provocation to the patience of all of us than it would be easy to describe. There seemed indeed no end to the vexations produced by this accursed machinery ; .since the larboard boiler also again was found to have sprung a leak. Nevertheless we took the opportunity of screwing up the ilaunches, though they were still warm ; and the workmen set to 54 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY work immediately to make a new key, tlioiieatin,i>: about for fourteen days, in a situation little calculated to make much j)roi^ress, from the various mis- fortunes which had beset us ; and I had therefore determined, should the wind continue so unfavourable but one day loncrer, to look for some convenient anchorage on the coast, where we could fish or tongue the ioremast, and make such other alterations as would enable us to carry more sail. With this view the anchors were got ready ; but the occurrence of this last favourable breeze suspended the execution of this design, and gave us hopes that some better fortune was now in store for us. We now sounded with the deepsea lea«l every two hours, and found from 38 to 50 fathoms, bringing up shells and small stones; while the nature of the bottom and tlu; depth of water showed that we were probably on a fishing bank. We therefore tried our lines, and caught some excellent cod and halibut, which proved very acceptable as a change from our salt provisions. A large iceberg was seen this evening at a considerable distance, with many whales and birds. We still continued to shoal the water, which diminished from 39 to 35 fathoms by midnight ; continuing to sound and fish during the whole night. At four on the following morning it shoaled to 23, after which July 21. the water became suddenly deej», and we found no bottom at 70 fathoms by six o'clock. Wlien on the shallowest part, we judged ourselves to be in the latitude of the rock on which the Victorious man-of-war struck during the last war, being ^ '21' : and though we conjectured that this shoal might be a continuation of the same ridge, our time would not admit of a closer examination. 56 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY The land and islands near Wideford were now seen bearing east by north, about ten leagues distant ; but we could not see the sun so as to obtain any observation. At three in the morning we passed the iceberg which we had seen the day before yesterday, beinc: but the third one we had seen since our arrival in Davis's Straits, The carpenters were employed in fitting up a lugyard to our jigger-mast ; and the iron hoops for the foremast head were now also finished, witli every thing else necessary for repairing this damage as soon as a convenient harbour should be found. We were even in hopes of getting to AVhalefish islands this week. At noon the land about Wideford bore east : but our fair wind gradually fell oft* in the afternoon, and the engine being supposed to be now serviceable, we put on the steam and stood to the eastward, with the intention of clearing some rocks which appeared above water much further west than any which are laid down in the chart. We had been swept towards the shore, eitlier by the tide or a current ; but at midnight we had made considerable way from the land by the aid of the engine and our sails. The former, hov.over, was but of partial use. Owing to the leaky state of the boilers, we could employ but one, under which we could make no quicker progress than a mile within the hour. We therefore stopped it at four o'clock, to clear the furnaces ; renewing the attempt at eight, but with no better success. In compensation, we had the con- tinued advantage of enduring these endless trials of our patience ; and whatever rewards may be allotted to the exertions of this virtue, we had assuredly a fair claim to them. TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 57 It being calm this morning, the steam was continued till nine, July 22. when a breeze si)rung uj) from the north-north-west, being right ahead, and so strong that the engine, as it was now acting, was quite useless. It was therefore stopped. \V'e had fished on the bank as long as it was calm, in depths varying from 14 to 30 fathoms ; but on standing to the west, we dropped suddenly into fifty, and then into seventy. As the small engine had been unable to work the bellows, this duty fell on the men, who had conse- quently midergone about twelve hours of this disagreeable labour, and were much fatigued ; so that we were obliged to give them a turn of four hours' rest. The wind increasing in the course of the day, the weather became foggy, and we stood to the westward. At eight in the evening we renewed our attempt with the engine, using only the lee paddle ; when it proved that the average of revolutions in the minute was but ten, no effort of the engineer having been able to carry them beyond sixteen, though the ship received so nnich aid from the sails as considerably to diminish the resistance of the water against the wheel. The quantity of fish which we had caught, consisting of cod and halibut, was found to weigh 4o3 pounds; so that we were able to serve the crew with an allowance of two pounds each, a variation in their food not less conducive to their health than it was acceptable. In the afternoon the swell increased so much, that the engine was no longer of use. It was therefore stopped, and the wheel hoisted up; while the engineers took the opportunity of renewing their never-ending repairs. At five we made the land ; and as it was then blowing fresh, with every appearance of a con- 58 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY tinned adverse wind, I determined to look for a convenient harbour where I mie,ht repair our tUnnages. We accordini^ly stood in for the entrance of a hirge inlet; and when as near as we <;oidd approach with safety, Commander Ross was despatched in a boat to look for an anchorage. In the mean time, having passed to the southward of some snmll islands, I stood off with the sliip, waiting with nmch anxiety for the appointed signal to bear up. I continued to sound as we stood on, and found the water deepen from thirty-five fathoms till there was no bottom at seventy. A stream, wliich was either the tide or a current, I could not be sure which, aj)peared setting here toward the north, and a creek was seen at the entrance of an inlet between the land and an island with a beacon on it. The land itself was very remarkable ; bearing a high n>.ountain with a sharp peak on it, quite unlike in character to that by which it was surrounded; the mountain itself being called t!ie old woman's hoooard. His report was, that he had «lisco- vered a cove at the east side of the beacon island, appearing to be perfectly safe, and with four fathoms a little after high water; being at the same time so small that it would be necessary to moor the ship both head and stern. Admitting that the water might ebb another fathom, there would be still enough for a ship of so mo- derate a draught as ours ; so that we determined to make for it at once. i2 h.ly2: CO SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY Proceedinii", we first passed ii round island, and afterwards a rock above water, rest inldini; a dead whale, situated to the right hand of the island. There appeared to be a good channel, how- ever, on <'ach side of it; and standing on till we approached the island, we found it to be about two hundred yards in length. It wa.s between this and the beacon island that onr intended harbour lay, which ^^ as tlius defended from the north by the main land and the islands near, as, to the south, it was '/ on them not only ol)scured their forms in many places, l»ut, by bringing them near to the eye, destroyed all atmospheric pcrspection ; all keeping and all landscape effect. It was truly a s[)lendid and a striking scene, well worthy of the pencil of a very different artist, as it defied the little power which I possessed. The sight of numerous rocks and breakers, both to the north and tlie south, now proved that we had chosen the right i)assage, or rather the only navigable one ; guided more by gcMxl fortune than by observations which we had not in reality the power of making. The island itself >vas a far finer object than our former experience at an earlier, and perhaps in a worse season, hid given us reason to expect on this icy coast, and reminded us in a lively manner of the far fairer lands which we had quitted but a month before, and the summer whicli we believed we had left behind. Every practicable part of the surface, even the smallest spot which was not a pure precipice or a sea rock, was covered with verdure ; while a profusion of wild plants, now in full and luxm'iant blossom, rendered that a summer garden which we expected to find what we had often done before, a chaos of rugged rocks and cold snow. We no longer, therefore, wondered at those who had given the name of Greeidand to a country, which others as well as ourselves had long thought to have been ridiculed by such a denomination. It was in truth a 62 SECOND VOYAGE OP DISCOVERY f^een land, as far as our present situation was concerned ; and that green the more striking from tlie long absence of all but sea and sky, and the desolation of ice and rocks which, if we did not see at this moment, we knew full well lay all around us, its we had amply witnessed it on fonner occasions. Nor was it free of the usual accompaniments of a hot climate, the especial torments of a northern summer, in the crowds, swarms, of mosquitoes, which pursued us with a virulence even greater than many of us had often experienced in the West Indies, Retinning on board at eiglit o'clock, I found that the water had continued to fall, so that we had but a few inches between our keel and the ground. There were in fact but eight feet six inches at low water, though somewhat deeper astern : but as there was no swell, nor any prospect of one, we were satisfied to remain as we were. The approach of any boat from the inlet could not here be seen^ from the position of the island ; so that we \v ere taken by surprise at the arrival of a Danish flag, shortly after I had returned on board, accompanied by a nudtitude of canoes. They were alongside almost as soon as they were seen ; and we were pleased to find that there were two Europeans in the crowd, which at first seemed to consist of Esquimaux alone ; being dressetl in the usual clothing of the natives. They introduced each other as the governor and clergyman of the district of Ilolsteinborg, saying that they had come to know m ho we were, and whether we were in want of any assistance. They had not seen us enter, but had observed our masts appearing over the rocks, so that they supposed us to be a wrecked vessel, since no ship had ever been seen in this creek. TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 63 We ihnnd this c^overnor, iiamed Kali, a person of very prepos- sessing manners and appearance. He seemed about thirty years of age, and liad been resident dining six, with the charge of this district nnder the title of Colonies Jkstyrere, subjeet to the Gover- nor of Leifly, mIio lias the rank of Major in the Danish Navy. The clergyman, named Kijer, seemed to be abont the same age, with the manners and language of a well educated and intelligent man. He had been resident during the same time, with a wife and small family. They informed us that the harbour of Holsteinborg, in.stead of being in the great inlet to the south of us, lay in the smaller one, ordy three miles distant, and entreated us to move our ship to it, as we should then be in a place of greater security : ofiering us at the .same time any aid that we might require, whether in the way of supplies or aught else, and expressing a desire to show us such Jios[)itality as was in their power. We learned from them, that the Rook wood whaler, belonging to Mr. Mellish, and from Lon- don, had struck on a rock near Woman's islands, on the fourth of June, and had proceeded hither to repair her damages. It was found, however, that her main keel was broken in three places, so that she now lay a wreck in the harbour; the miLster, Flett, having consequently landed all liis stores and provisions, and sold a part to the Danish government ; leaving the remainder under the governor's charge, together with the hull and rigging. I informed them of the nature and object of our enterprise, and requested permission to purchase such provisions and stores, with spars or whatever else might be needful and suitable to us, of those 64 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY which rc'inaiiied under his custody iVoiu tlie wreck. To tliis he readily consented ; assuring lis lliat he took much interest in the success of our undertaking, and also repeating liis otter of fur- nishing us from his own stores with whatever else we might want. It occurred to me immediately, among other things, that the mizen mast of the Rookwood, which had once been the Rattler sloop of war, nmst be about the size of our foremast, and that by taking it, instead of tonguing our own, we should not only save much time, but get a far more secure and suitable miLst. In reality, this mast was already provwl to have been two feet too short ; and the pro- jected re[)air to which we had been driven, would increase this deficiency to three feet and a half. The governor having, on my announcing my consequent desire to see the wreck, kindly otiered me a passage in his boat, I embarked together with Commander Ross, that we might inspect the mast in question, and determine on our proceedings respecting it. In the way, these gentlemen, who spoke English, communi- cated to us the names of the several islands, rocks, mountains, and inlets which we saw in passing, as I shall have occasion to notice in the place appropriated to those circumstances. To this useful information was added the most agreeable news which we had heard since we had left home ; confirming what we had already been led to believe from the absence of ice, and the more gratifying that it still more completely justified us in having determined to prosecute our expedition this summer, notwithstanding all the untoward circumstances by which it had been obstructed and delayed. TO TIIK ARCTIC RRfilONS. 05 lad ady ing lied the and We were assured that the preseiit season was the niihiest which liad been known (hiring the memory of the oldest j)erson in tliis settlement, and that the preceding one had also been unusually mihl. Witli this, they declared their conviction, that it* ever the north-west j)assage was discovered, it would be in the present summer. In detail, they stated that there were only three days during all the latter part of the preceding year, in which the harbour might not have been crossed by a boat, that the thermo- meter had only been for one day as low as minus 18°, and that since that time it had never stood beneath 9" below zero (both) of Reaiunur, This was a great contrast to the five preceding years, dming which it had often, and for a considerable time, been as low as 32° below zero of the same scale. They also added, that although there had been a good deal of snow during the winter, there had been very little frost in comparison with the usual course of things; every particular confirming the general assertion respect- ing the mildness of the present summer. Having proceeded about three miles up the inlet, we gainetl sight of the flagstafi* and the town. This opens to the north-west ; being on an elevated spot about five hundred yards from the land- ing-place, which is situated at the head of a little creek, that by its curvature towards the south-west is hid from the sea, and forms a secure basin for boats or small vessels, which are also easily taken in at high water. We found tJie Rookwood lying close to this landing-place, heeled to starboard, but with her topmasts still standing ; and though it was not at that time low water, it was evident that she was com- K (K) HKCONI) VOYAdiK OF DISCOVKIIY pletely sfraiKlcd. We landed iiiuler :i salute ; an iionour wliieli I did not expeef, but nliieli uc returne«l afterwards, of course, as soon as an opjM»rtunity oeourred. We were neeived by Mrs. Kijer, who was in waiting to eonduet us to tlieir hospitable mansion ; and in botli, Commander lloss was delighted to n'cogiiise two old acquaint- ances, having known them during a former voyage, .it tJie Whale islands. Fortunately, knowing the J)anish myself, I was enabled to converse with this lady also, as her knovvle«lge did not, like her hus- band's, extend to the English language. We were treated with what we might here consid( r an elegant repast of venison and other things, and served by Escpiimaux females in their native costiunes, but far surpassing in cleanliness thosn with whom we had been in communication on former occasions, and moreover decorated with a profusion of beads, and their hair bound with pink handkerchiefs. After dinner we inspected the settlement, which consisted of the Governor's and clergyman's houses, a church, two storehouses, a bakehouse, and about forty Esquimaux huts. The two liouses were built of wood, having a ground story containing a connno- dious diningroom, a good bedroom, a small [)arlour, and a kitchen ; the Governor's having an extra room adjoining, for the accommodation of his two boats' crews and two pilots. The apartments were low, and having cross beams in tiie ceiling, resembled the fore cabin of a 50 gun ship. Tlie upper story con- tained only bedrooms for servants, being a species of attic. To the church there is a small steeple somewhat surmounting tlie building; the inside being neat and plain, with an organ at one extremity and the altar at the other, thongh the former was not TO TIIR ARCTIC ItRGIONH. ($7 seen, ils it had been stiit lioiiu; lo he npaired. Tlir Clmirli is capa- ble of coiitiiinin^ two liiiiHlrcd persons, and i.s nell attended; the sermon and prayers beinu,' in the Ivscpiinianx and in the Danish lanu:nage on the alternate Sundays. I neeriiing at six, the crew being still asleep, I found n poor Esquimaux Avaiting in his canoe alongside, with an oar which had been lost from one of the boats, and which lie had picked up. He was of course handsomely rewarded for his honesty ; showing at the same time that he had uo expectation of the present by which he was so delighted. I know not how far the exertions of the worthy clergyman deserve to share in the merit of this and the other good conduct which we witnessed ; but be this as it may, I do but justice to the natural character of this race, almost every where within our experience, to say that they are among the most worthy of all the rude tribes yet known to our voyagers, in whatever part of the world. Here also, I must not forget to notice, we procured six Esqui- maux dogs ; a portion of our moving for("e that we were likely to want before the winter had long arrived, and might not obtain when we desired. Eventually, they proved of essential use to us. The payment for the articles which we had procured was of a somewhat complicated nature, but by the kindness of the governor, was made very light. He would take no return for the greater part of what he had furnished, the dogs being also his present : and as far as the stores taken from the wreck of the Rookwood were concerned, all that we had to do was to send a list to Mr. Mellish, with a reference to Mr. Booth. Julv 74 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISt'OVEIlY 'm After breakfast we went on sljore to renew our operations for determining the exact situation of Holsteinborg-, and found the latitude to be (Hi W N, and the longitude r>3' 54' W, by the means of five chronometers. The governor and the clergyman's party dined with us, and gave us an opportunity of showing them our present arrangements, together with those which we should be obliged to adopt in the future, adding to this whatever else might gratify their curiosity about an expe«lition in^hich they seemed to take an interest ecpially friendly and anxious, and not less tlian that shown by our own countrymen. Our ship was still however in gretit confusion, as could not fail to be the case ; and it was not till late in the evening that we could expect to be in readiness to proceed. Taking the boat, I therefore landed on the small s[)ot called Lines island, \\ Inch afforded the best view of this settlement, taking a sketch of it and of the magnificent screen of mountahis by which it was backed ; after which, having written the last letters to England which I was now likely to write for many a day, I joined the whole party at the governor's house at nine, that we might take our probable farewell, and, according equally to northern and maritime custom, sliake hands over a " parting glass." There was every ai)pearance of a favourable change in the wind, and the letters were forwarded to Baal's river, to the charge of the Danish ship that had on Ijoard the master and crew of the Rookwood, through whom we could be sure of tlieir being carried on to England. July 26. This day, being Sunday, it was quite calm in the morning, and TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 76 l^llt lern lere the mish ^ood, u to and as the launch, which had been on sliore for coals, was agroimd, we could have no prospect of sailinu^ before two o'clock. I there- fore attended the church with the ,ii,ovemor, and should have been .surprised at the singing of the Esquimaux females, had I not long known of their musical talents, and the great facility with which they learn to sing even the more refined sacred music of the German school ; as those talents also had been widely cultivated by the missionaries, even on the American shore, under the direc- tions of Mr. Latrobe and others. This is a subject on which my opinion and experience are, equally, of no value ; and it is of no moment therefore, that, both in this anr(l to lose even a single? day, nay, searocly an hour; so far was the season advanced and so nnieh i>round lay } et before us, bet^veen our pre- sent place ami that in which, wherever it might prove to be, we should be compelled to winter. Our kind friends accoiRpanied us on board, and we immediately weighed anchor, uiuler a salute from the fort, which we of course returned. They attended us to the entrance of the inlet, and we there parted, with final and cordial adieus on each side. Whether the two kind and w orthy men with whom we had thus parted, and whom we were little likely to see again, may ever read this testimony of gratitude to them, is unknown to me, but I am ha})i)y in the opportunity of recording their benevolence. To their disinterested generosity we could not find the means of making any return, beyond the simple keepsakes whicli they were willing to receive; refusing every thing in the nature of remuneration. I thought it however incumbent on me, as an oflicer in the King of England's service, to write aletter of thanks to the governor, which I accompanied by one to the Danish Court : a simple testimony in favour of one to whom no recommendation from me, could be of any service in that quarter. 78 SECOND VOYAGE OP DISCOVERY CHAPTER VI. DISCO ISLAND — EXTER ON THE FIRST OF AUGUST — UEACII OUR FURTHEST INTENDED POINT NORTH — STEER FOR LANCASTER SOUND ENTER THE SOUND — REMARKS ON THE FORiMER DIS- COVERY OF THIS SPOT. XlIE pilot having quitted us, Commtuuler Koss continued to tiike tlie Jingles necessary for determining the positions of the sur- rounding islands, of which he had given us the names, as well as those of the several mountains and promontories. We understood from him, th-: ' Lieutenant Graaf had set out on a very interesting expedition to East Greenland, and that Captain IfolboU had removed to the district o^' liial's river. Having finished our angles, the breeze continued to freslien in our favour, and we passed through an excellent channel inside the Ueef ishmds, holding our course to the northward between them and Waroe. The Ilolsteinborg momitains were soon out of sight ; l)ut we gained a view of others not less grand though nmch less romantic in picturesque character. We then shaped our course for Disco island, and tlms were gradually carried to a considerable distance from the land. \ •* % T« T AlirTK lEGluIVf. 79 It beiii^ no longer u^'tv niry to r, til at Whale islands, that inten- July 27. tion was abandoned ; an* t*" T had no desire to meet the John, our intended consort and tender, supposing, as was not very likely, that she hat of it. The wind held on fair; so that, besides Hare inland, we also obtained at length a gootl view of Immu' island point, and, before midnight, caught a sight of Un- known island also; carrying on our triangles as far as Hare island. Forty icebergs were here coinited ; and it becoming calm for aji hour, we got near to one of them, and were tempted to get up om* steam. This however was scarcely done, when the fair wind returned, and we were pleased to have lost our labour. All these icebergs were in the same state of waste as those which we had seen before, and as soon as we had passed them, the tempera- ture of the water increased from 36° to 42° and that of the air to 44°. The wind was light all this day, and we therefore took the Ji'b 29. opportunity of getting out of the Krusensteru the capstan which we had obtained from the Rookwood, together with some other M 82 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY urticlt's, in order tluit she ini^^lit be towed with more ease. At iiooii we were in latitude 71' I' and longitude 56^ the Black rock bearing- north. The land towards the sea was here also clear of snow, but the high mountains in the interior, both here and beyond Jacob's bay, were for the most part (.overed with it. The temperature of tlie water was 41° at noon; having ranged, during the day, from Si) to 42. Tlie moon had risen at one in the afternoon, l)ut there being now little wind, we atteni})ted to take advantage of the engine ; and in some manner or other, it e'ontinued to work all night. The breeze freshened nevertheless at midnight, though the weather remained, as it had been all day, beautifully clear. Our new mainsail was bent, and seemed to fit well ; and the (;arpenters having worked for these last two tlays, all the new davits for the ])oats were finished, and they >\'ere hung on the larboard side. The temperature of the water rose to 4G . In the middle of the day a ship was reported to me, [r. Thom, as indeed the same o[)inion was enter- tiiined by every one on deck. My telescope, however, soon discovereti it to be an iceberg, being one of a very few that were in sight at that time. We stopped the engine when the 1)reeze had sufficiently freshened, and passed the Black rock under all sail ; having a beautiful view of the land, which was clear of snow near the .sea, and only exhibited its white covering on the tops of the loftiest mountains in the interior. As we left the land during our pro- TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 83 of was lere T of nter- soon were iig a « I sea, V ftiest ' pro- stress, the icebergs diminished in number, and we passed a bbdjber cask marked Jane, with some pieces of j)ainted wood that seemed to indicate the loss of a wluder in this qnarter. It became sud- denly calm at four o'clock, makini^ us have recourse to the engine ; and at midnight, Sanderson's hope bore north-east, showing very little snow ; the temperature of the air and sea being both at 42". There was a breeze to-day, which continued to increase till July 30. noon, when it moderated, and the engine was put into preparation. It soon, however, revived ; so as not only to render our machinery unnecessary, l)ut in a short time to become a pretty smart gale, commencing in the north-east, but shortly shifting to the eastward. The swell was also very considerable ; thus indicating that there was no field ice near us : and though the weather was thick for a short time, it was not sufficient to prevent us from standing on and talking advantage of this fair wind. As had been the case in all former voyages at this season of the year, we now expected to meet with the ice, being on the spot where the Ilecla and Griper had found it at nearly the same date, and not far from that where the Hecia and Fury were beset a month later, in 1824. To our delight, not less than our surprise, there was none of any kind to be seen ; and it was not till some hours had elapsed that we discerned even an iceberg. A land bird unknown to us flew on board, and was taken ; and being left to Commander Ross to describe^ as he had preserved it, \ need not anticipate that department of this narrative which has been left to him. If the sailors called it a irtle dove, and hailed it as an auspicious omen, we were well pleased to encourage any of the M 2 84 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY nautical superstitions which served to keep up their spirits and furnish them with suljjects of discussion. In the niujht we passed a berg, on which tljere were many of the birds named Xeme, whi(.'h I had discovered in my former voyage, together with some others. The temperature of the sea liad been 42" at noon, and the latitude 73* oO', with a longitude of G6^ August 1. We connnenced a new month with a clear morning, and nothing in sight but a solitary iceberg. We would gladly have sent to it for some wjiter, of which we were beginning to be in want, but the swell was too great to permit our landing on it. At noon the latitude was 73^ 53', and the longitude 65° 50', the temperature of the sea and the air being e({ually40°; and that continued unchanged at midnight. It was, in every thing else, a summer day ; the sea and sky resembling more what we should have expected in the Mediterranean than in such regions as Baffin's bay. The wind at length came gradually to the westward, and then died away, .so that the engine was again made ready. To no purpose, however, as a breeze soon sprung up again ; while, as one of the boilers appeared to leak once more, we were well pleased that we were not called on to use it, and thus took the opportunity of repairing it. August 2. The wind freshening in the same direction, we stood toward the north, with one iceberg in sight; and as Sunday rose on us, it proved a beautiful day, with a sky of the utmost serenity; the atmosj)here transparent, and the sea so smooth, as almost to leave us without motion. But for one iceberg that was in sight, we might have imagined ourselves in the summer seas of England, though the air was only at 45" as the water was at 43°. The lati- TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 85 the 1 , it the ave we nd, iti- J?. tilde at noon was 74' 18', and the longitude fifi' 49'. There was not an hour durhig- the whole day that we couhl not see twenty leagues all round us. Divine service was performed, and the remainder of it was made what we always wished, a period of rest. On this day a large spot was seen near the centre of the sun ; and two bottles were thrown overboard containing our subscription with the latitude and longitude. Like the preceding, this was a summer's day ; and as there was .\ugust 3. a gentle breeze from the north, we were enabled to make some progress to the westward. Both the new topmasts were now fidded ; and so warm did the weather feel to the seamen, that they were glad to throw ott' their jackets and work in their .shirts. During this delay, which prevented us for twelve hours from using our sails, the engine was kept at work ; being only stopped at last, partly to repair the feeding pump, and partly because the breeze began to freshen. Our latitude being 74' 14', and longitude G8' 13', being the furthest north that we were likely to be, a bottle was thrown over- l)oard to commemorate the day, and I prepared letters for England, under the possibility of falling in with some whaler. At noon the air was 44^ and the sea 42' ; while both subsided to 40° at midnight; a midnight as lovely as the day had been, and which he who desires to know what an arctic night can be, should take a voyage to Baffin's bay to enjoy. Had we been in the West Indies, I could but have found the August 4. men as I did this morning at six, scrubbing the decks without shoes or stockings. The pump of the engine was completed before 8a SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY nine, but the starboard boiler began to leak again so soon after it had been set going, that we were oblige I to make use of the other by itself; so tliat we could only obtiiin ten revolutions in the minute, and that with but one v heel. Tims, although it was a dead calm, we ct>uld make but a mile and a quarter in the hour; yet this was better than nothing at all, though our debt to the engine was assuredly as small as it well could be. Though the sea was smooth, the sky was cloudy, so that we could obtain no observation ; and the temperature of the sea was one degree higher than that of the air, which was 40^ We passed between two icebergs, but did not (choose, under the present circumstances, to deviate from our course for the purpose of getting water from them. The never-ending engine was again set to work as soon as we had stopped the leak in the boiler ; and, about five o'clock, we contrived to make somevvhat more than a mile and half in the hour, by the aid of botli Ijoilers, but with only one paddle, of which we could tlius command nearly fourteen revolutions. The people were employed in fitting tlie new capstan, and in preparing the forehold to receive some more stores : and one of the stokers was nearly sufibcated oy inhaling some sulpluuous gas at the fnrnace mouth, A few mollemokes were shot for the dogs, and we found some shrimps of a s[)ecies new to us. About eleven, there being a small iceberg ahead. Commander Ross went in the boat to fetch some ice for water, as that which we had taken in at Ilolsteinberg was expended. We had not calculated on being so long without the means of renewing it, since we had always met abundance of field ice in our TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 87 former voyni^es. About midiiii^lit, a smart shower of rain came; beliis,- mucli more welcome tlian the snow, which wouhl liave been a substitute for it in our precedini^ voyages. At one o'clock this day we got pretty near the i(.'el)erg, when August 5. tlu? boat returned with three tons of excellent ice. It jiad been found to I)e in a state of decay ; and it was not long I)efore we saw it fall to pieces. The wind becoming fair in a short time, the fires Mere put (uit after the engine had ])een working interruptedly about fourteen hours. For the present, the boilers ha\ orked without accident or interruption. The weather was clear and pleasant, and the wind varying more to the north- ward. vVt noon the latitude was 73 43', and the longitude 73' 30': anti at six, we had increased this to 74, being about sixty miles to the east of Cape Byain Martin. AVe saw the land looming, but the view was not such as to enable us to recognise it. At eight a fog came on, but the temperature of the air and sea continued at 40^ just as it had been at noon. The carpenters having finished the platform for the new capstan between the main and fore hatchway, it was shipped into its place. Two icebergs were in sight before the fog set in, but we soon lost sight of them and of every thing else. Some advantageous changes were made in the machinery, in consequence of which we made fully thirteen revolutions in a minute, with a velocity of more than a mile and a half in the hour. The fog thickened much at mid- "^'^ 88 SKCOND VOYAGE OP DISCOVERY iiiglit; but, as the temperature was 4;]", it did not freeze on our riygiiig, as liad happened in the former voyage. August G. JJeing nearly <'ahn to-day, tlie topgallant sail was furled at one, and the topsail lowered ; but we could net make more than a mile an horv with t!ie engine. At three the fog suddenly cleared away, and the laud became at once visible, as if bursting out of the clouds; Ca[)e IJyam Martin being distinguished from the rest by the grandeur of its form. All the high lands, and this among the rest, wert; covered with snow, with but little exception ; and we attributed this ditference between the juesent coast and that which we had quitted, to the circumstance of the former being exposed to the north-east. Possession bay bore due west, about fourteen leagues distant, A light breeze now came from tlie westward, so as to oblige us to stand north ; but we still kept the steam on, while the engine had conducted it>elf so far beyoiul all its former doings as to have been at work for twenty-four hours, Towards noon the land wtLS covered by a haze, and we saw no more of it at this time. The latitude was 73' 33', being nearly that of Possession bay, and the longitude 74^ 42', being about thirteen leagues to the eastward of this part of the coast. Three icebergs appeared, one of a very remarkable appearance, since it resembled a bridge with a castle perched on its summit. The other two seemed in a crazy state, and we afterwards saw one of them fall to pieces. Some of the krang of a whale had been seen in the morning ; and, in the evening, that of a very large tisli came near us, so that we sent out the boat and procured a supply • ^B^ TO THK ARCTIC RKGIONS. HV jart lor the (lou^s. A piece of ship timber was ulso picked up, with a tew shellfish adhering to it. In the eveninj^ the wind was directly aujainst iis, and the engine was stopped ; as it was then of little use, and as the feedinji^ {)unip had aj^ain gone wrong. The teniperatine of the air and sea was 40". On entering Lancaster soun1 • It is Inrtlier tnio, and 1 must re|)eiit it in this placf, that pvm if the opinion of my second in command hatl been, what l»\ many it has heen siipjiosed, the reverse of my own, which it was not, I was perfectly justified, l>y my instructions, and by the cir- cumstances in which the expedition found itself, in acting as I did. Those onh^rs were clear and decisive : not only was the season passed for penetrating further through tiie ice, but it was my imperative duty, as it is with every otiicer in connnand, even if I had not received the orders to which I have referred, to attend to the preservation of the shij>s anil their gallant crews. ' It is un4|uestioned, at the same time, that the whole space to the westwanl of the ship, at that period, was filled with ice, so that we couhl have penetrated but :» fcv miles furtii, r, even had uc made the attempt. Nor do 1 think it in the least probable, fr(>m the appearance of the distant land, as it is at this moment lying before me, that my judgment respecting the nature of this opening woultl have been different from what it was at the time we resolved to give up this pursuit, even had I then approached nearer to the eilp;^ of the ice. Ft is well known that the appearance of the land in the icy seas is often very deceptive; and when Cook himself had formed wrong judgments of it, on more than one occasion, it is a sufficient proof that the difficulty of judging truly must often l>e very great, if not insuperable. But, in reality, the whole history of navigation iMnnnjd.s v.ith similar errors or false conclusions ; they might be collected in hundreds by any one who chooses to search for this purpose. He must be little conversant, indeed, in this kind of residing, who cannot recollect instances in abundance, even without N 2 i)> SECOND VOYAOE OF DISCOVERY tlie trouMe of a searcli ; and instances, of course, where the error has been only detected by the better fortune or greater success of subs«'rt ev«'jiins;. As (lie sun declined to the iioitliuiird, tlieie >v;is nil :il)^>e:iraiice of wind in the clouds; ioid, at ten, a lit>lit air arose, so as to induce us to set all our canvas. Tin* remains of whales were still seen, in various directions, covered with uiolhv mokes, and we also observed a tlock of ducks, and some of the ivory i^ulls. The water seemed crowded with minute marine animals, and att'orded us some specimens hy means of the ^auze nets. Durinu; all the last week the utmost anxiety was expressed by all on lx>ard for a fair wind; and o'lr impatience to profit hy the fine vveatlur maout to come to an end, at even this early day. At miihiight, however, every symptom of a wind from the east began to show itself; the despairing few recovered their spirits, and the satisfaction of the hopeful Mas at length diffused throughout the ship. August ,t. This welcome wind which had at last arrived, gradually increased : all sail was set, and the engin<^ kept in action till three o'clock, tiiough by considerable exertions of the men at the bellows. The weather still felt mild, though the wind was east ; and as the men had undergone umch fatigue, they were sent to rest after divine service. The latitude was observed at 74° 1', and the longitude by the <'hronometer was 77^ No ice of any kind was in sight ; but the snowy tops of the mountains, nnd particularly of the two remarkaJ>le ones formerly named Catharine and Elizabeth, were seen rising aliove the clouds. The course steered Ijy the compass was here north-north-east, which, und( r a variation of 114°, led us directly up the sound; making thus a course nearly west. In the evening. Cape Liverpool was also seen above the clouds. At noon the temperature of the air and the sea equally, were at 40°, and at mi(hiight it subsided but one degree. That the present cheeriness of the crew might \\ ant nothing that we could add to it, they were served \\ ith a dinner of fnsh beef from our Galloway bullock : though the v.armlh of the weather now began TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 97 to make us fear that we shoukl not long preserve the remainder in tliis state. During- tlie night both tlie northern and soutlieni sides of tlie August 10. sound were in sight, though obscurely; but as tlie morning advanced the wind freshened, and it became so thick that we lost sight of them, and were unable to obtain any observations at noon. The sights, however, for the chronometer being near the prime vertical, our longitude was pretty '.veil asceitained. At eleven we had passed Cape Charles Ycrke on one side, and Cape War- render on tlie other ; and as it was sufficiently clear to see two miles from the ship, and no land was discernible, we hauled in to the southward, to make Cape Crawford, intending to run along shore. At five it was actually seen on the starboard bow about two miles oft) which compelled us to haid immediately to the northward ; and, when it had cleared a little more, we found ourselves nearly embayed, and surrounded with fragments of icebergs and land ice. We sounded, and at first had fifty fathoms; but in a quarter of an hour it shoaled to twenty-five, with sand and shells, our ship being then but a mile from the nearest projecting point. The swell had much increased ; and as we neared the land, which was now se<'n to be mountainous, the wind failed us ; while, owing to the heavy motion of the vessel, she carried away her main boom, breaking it into three pieces. Our situation was indeed at one time very uncomfortable; as we were taken aljack three several times, and were carried by the swell much nearer to the shore than was at all desirable. We were indeed preparing to anchor, as the only o 98 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY alternative left, when tlie wind suddenly returned to the old quarter, and we weathered tlie point. To aid us through these difficulties, we got the steam up in an unusually short tiuie ; but this unex[)ected breeze rendt red it unne- cessary to ha^'e recourse to the engine. As the temperahu'e of the water had fallen to S'2% we had warning to kt'ep a good look out; and I must not forget to record the good conduct and activity of tlie crew, in this as in all the previous situations in which we had been in a hazardous position. The mainsail was soon set again, without its boom, and we thus got entirely clear ; when we bore up along shore, with a fine breeze from the east-south-east, but edging otf a little to the north- ward till eiglit, ^^llen we had gradually gained a sufficient offing to enable us to steer according to the trending of ll'< 'and to the westward. At three we saw Ca|)e Yorke Ijearing noi - « th-east. An examination of the engl»ie at this time, showed that a quantity of coke dust had been deposited in the airpipes, and that both the feeding pumps were again out of order. The cleaning and ordering of these things occupied us for six hours, and by mid- night the breeze was fast increasing. August 11. The weather this day, although foggy, was not such as to prevent us from keeping sight of the land, and at six, while passing Cape Yorke, a peaked hill was recognised by Commander Ross. We now met with a stream of heavy ice, but found a good passage throjigh it; and, before noon had passed, through the openings of three others, much larg(!r than the first. At the same time, it fortunately became sufficiently clear to enalde us to see o\ir TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 99 way, and also to get a good observation at noon ; wlien we found the latitude to be 73'' 40', and tl»e longitude 84' 23'. After this, we found no more ice of any consequence, and were able to make a direct course for the south side of Prince Regent's iidet. Accordingly, at two in the afternoon, we made the land between Cape Seppings and Elwiu bay ; bearing up, and sailing along shore, as soon as we had approaclied it within three leagues. The wind, whicli had been gradually increasing for some time, became so hard a gale at four o'clock, as to reduce us to a close-reefed topsail, under whicli we were now compelled to scud. The sea, which had been comparatively smooth among the ice, rose also as high as we had seen it during any part of the voyage; and as the wind, being now from the north-north-east, blew directly down the inlet, the land aiibrded us no shelter. We therefore prepared our storm sails, and made ready to lie to under them for the night. When about ten miles to the north of the place where the Fury vas wrecked, and near Elwin bay, we obtained some good obser- vations. In running down, we perceived some of the land ice still fast in the bays ; but, except a small iceberg, there were no out- standing masses on the shore. At nin<' we passed JJatty bay, after which we met ice of a very different character from that in Baffin's bay, being much more uneven, and, generally, thicker; and from its appearance we concluded, that not only this, but most of what we had just passed, was the produce of the previous year, anroved. Commander Ross immediately set out in the whale boat to look for an anchorage, and we followed, with the ship, now under steam and sail both, into the bsiy as it appeared to us, but inlet as it afterwards proved, which takes a direction due east from this part of the coast. He had found a place, as he judged, which would afiord us security for the night; but we had discovered in the mean time that there was an eddy current setting along shore to the north-east, in the direction that we wished to go, and that there was a clear line of water inside the masses of ice, which seemed to be aground. We therefore stotxl towards this place, and found that we had just sufiicient water to pass within mnsket-shot of the land. The shore here was at first sloping; but, further to tlie north- ward, we found that the land rose from the sea in j)erpendi(udar <;lirts from two to three hnndretl fe^t in height. We easily ascer- tained that they consisted of limestone, presenting the appearance of TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 103 i r d r, va iir it int ch 3SS nd lie ch nd It; I at lie <)d to pil- lar :;r- of a liorizoiihd stratification ; liut as to any other details, onr geolo- ^cal opjMirtunities extended no further. A very large white Ijear caine down h> the beach, as if to stratify some curiosity respecting us; but it did not foHow long, nor come within gunshot of the ship. Ft soon liecame quite calm; but between the eddy and the steam we were carried at the rate of two miles an hour. It was quite clear to-day, and it was now we discovered that onr Augiist \3. supposed bay was an inlet. It appeared to be very deep, since we could see no land according to its direction, and we conclndetl that it proceeded far to the westward. As this chanced to be the birth- day of the Duchess of Clarence, the bay, which constituted the tirst point of our discoveries in the present voyage, was named Adelaide bay, and the anchorage which Commander Koss had selected, Adelaide harbour. At two o'clock we had made eight miles ; when observing that the tide had changed, we made fast for the night, estimating that we were five or six miles from Fury point. Our ship >vas secure inside of some large pieces of ice which were in a state of decay, while that on the outside was setting fast to the southward. The more we saw of this coast, the higher the clitfs were found; while in some places projecting into horizontal shelves, and at otliers putting on an aspect of walls, castles, and turrets, with shapes even more fantastical, as is not uncommon in some of the ut as a warp about two cables' length ahead ; when the engine being stopped so as to allow the steam to accumulate, the vessel was warped on by it ; and this being done, the steam was again set on. Thus, alternately steaming and warping, we proceeded along shore against the wind and the current ; though sometimes compelled by the ice to haul in so close, that we were within a pistol-shot of tlie beach, with only a few inches water to spare beyond our draught of seven feet six inches. TO TIIK ARCTrC REGIONS. 105 Diirinu" all this pt riod ot" extraonlinary and lalKnious oxtrtioii, lastinn' from six in the inoniiny- till two in tlu' afternoon, the utmost anxiety prevailed amoni; the men thi-ouyhout the space of five miles, and espeeially as we expected to turn the snecessive points whieh <»ne after the other obstructed our view alonu; the shon\ Every one that could Im- spared from the work below was at the mast-head as soon as he (!onld yet there; and endless were the conjectures respectinii; the wreck of tlu! l^^ury for which we were searching. At three, Commander Hoss, who had then been her lieutenant, recoijnised a hi,i;h projectiu.i»" precipice, as beiuiif one which was about three miles to the northward of her ])lace; and as we advaiiced, we saw at four, the tents themstlves. One only seemed (utire, anreadth of th«; ship, so as to show that there was a wall of rock here, by the side of which we were obliged to creep within a iVw yards, lest we shonld be swept away by the current, which, but a few fathoms 106 SECOND VOY-lOE OF DISCOVERY further oiil, ran very stronpf airainst us. lien? ue were also much perj)lt;xetl by the floafinti" pieces of ice which it was iuipossihh- to avoid. But this also served at last to show us the peculiar advautaj;!' of the construction (hvised f(»r our pa«ldles. By turuint; off the ice they escaped all ihunaife; and, !it half after ei^lit, the ship was niooretl iu the ice harbour, which had sixteen feet at low water. 4 TO TIIF ARCTIC REGIONS. 107 CHAPTER VIII. i:xAMi\ATi().\ or Tin; luiivs storks — kmiiakk.vtion of those wiiuii WK i\Ti;\i)i;n to takk — departiki: and progress DOWN this shore — SEVERAL NEW DISCOVERIES MADE AND NAMED — OHSTRLCTED HV THE ICE, AND MOORED, X 11 1'] Victory ]n'\\yj; now seen irt.ly moored in a yood ice harbour, witliiii a quarhr oi'a mile of tlie place where the Fury's stores were landed, we were anxious to evamine the spot; and having ordereetal)Ies had lieeii depo- sited, wv. loiiiul every tliint;- entire. TIm; eanisters had been piU'd up ill two heaps; hut thoiii;h <(uile exposed to all the ehaaees of the eliliiate, for tour } gitess ill piui'iil wliat wc could not cxpliiiii in detail. She had hecii carried bodily oil', or had heeii u;roiiiid to atoms and floated away to add to the drift tiinber of these seas. At any rate, she Wits not to be found; \\r had Men no appearance of her dinini;' the ten miles that ue had coiist«'il within pistol-shot of the shore to the southward of this j)lace, and we uow examined it for two miles to the northward \\ ilh no belter success. We thereton- returned on board, and made preparations for einbarkiiii;' ;; suthciency of stores and provisions to <>omplete «»ur ecjuipment for two years and three months; beini; what we ex- pected N' want on the one hand, and to obtain on the other. I iieetl I' t .say tl- t it was an o<'currence not less novel than interest- in^-, to find o' I, is abandoned renion of stditmle and ice, and rocks, a ready marivet where ve conhl supply all our wants, and, collected in oi{e s[>ot, all the materials for which we should have seanhed the warehouses of Wappin^ .. Hotherhitlie : all ready to be ship)Kd when we chose, and all free of cost ; since it was the cer- tainty of this su[)ply, and a well-grounded one it jiroved, that had formed the foundation of the present expedition. A list of our wants was accordingly made out by Mr. Thorn, who remained on board to receive the stores, together with the leading mate and a few hands. < >n shore, the rest of the crew were ready with the boats to receive ami transport whatever wa.s to be taken ; and the steward together with t)»« surgeon were employed in .select- ing whatever a})peared to be of the best quality. Yet all that we could possibly stow away .seemed scarcely to diminish Ihe piles of canistejvs, of which we embarked whatever we could, together with 110 SIXOND VOYACR OF DISCOVERY siicli Hour, rncoa, ami su^ju-, as we wanted; all that we took being in excellent condition. August 11. Wc continned our end)ai'kations tliis day, inclndini? ten tons of coals; and, after allowing' the men some rest, we contrived to net tin se, toijetlier witli all tile provisions and a part of the stores, on hoard hefore dinner time. W»' had found the spare mizen to|>- mast of the I'nry ; and this was selected by the carpenter for a new boom, in place of the one that we haur«'d nearly the whole of the <'ontents. We foinid tiiat some of th«' canille boxes had In^en entered, ( ither by ermim s or mice; one of thein being entirely (emptied, and the others partially. 'J'hough ))leached, anve high water-uiark, and two botth's were left in it, containing an account of om Droceedings up to that date. The boats were then hoisted up an\'oolwich yard who had so nnich exerted himself for our former expedition : after passing this, the land trended a point more to the westward. At two wv passed another similar, but nmch smaller stream ; and, two miles finthcr, a remarkable peaked hill which I named iV-iUit Oliver. The other names of this part will be found in the chart. A point a])peared .shortly, jutting out here to tlie ea.stward, about which were collected a number of icebergs aground, indi- cating the presence of a shoal, extending about a mile ofl"; and a narrow inlet opened to tlie northward of it, which appeared to be full of ice, and was probably shallow tliroughout, con- sidering that there were but ten fathoms water on the outsiile. This opinion was conlirm<;d by linding that thert; wa.s here no appearance of any iiurent, either into or out of it, though there was a very strong one nnmiug outside. I named this in i Hazanl inlet. Kound this point we found a very small island, to which I gave the name of Ditchburn, and the land within it lioothia, atthedis- tiince of a mile, appearing to be continuous in the general direction already Aisible. It lutw tell nearly calm; but, whiU' the ice became thicker and heavier towards lour in tlni afterno(»n, the fog cleared away, and there broke on our \iew a range of mountains TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 115 hi lis risiiiin beyond tlu; land tluit we had been coastina;, whicli we now saw clearly to be a lou and Hat tract, eontinnous eastward with this elevated rei^ion, an«l eonsistin.",, not of an uninterrnpted plain, bnt of a series of low uronnds and islets, among which we could but ill dis(.'ern what was a real ishunl and what was connected by an isthmus with the shore. JMany whales of a light colour «'ame close to us; appearing to be quite indirtennt to the presence of the ship ; and if this proved that thty had no experience of the fishery, so was it evident that here the whalers might find an easy prey, if it could be expedient for them to make the trial, and such .rials should be '»' successful as ours. The maiidand now ap[)eared quite bhu; as the sky con- tiimed to brighten, being as clear of snow as the lower grounds. Pursuing our course, we observed a low island .surrounded by ice- bergs, and subsequently a low point, fnmi the end of which several islets and rocks stretched out, ajjpearing to cover a large bay formed in tin; high blue land and full of close-packed ice. A low tract was also visible to the .southward of this; beyond which the moiuitain range extended, as far as the eye could reach, in a south- south-east direction as far as we could judge. W-e cowld not here, however, approach nearer, on account of a tract of closely-packed ice, which formed a crescent extending from the shore roinid to the east and north-ea.st. This was the lirst time that our progress had been <'ntir*;ly obstructed ; and it was only now we found that we were still too early in the season to explore tliis passage ; a ri,u;iimlly have expected in a single season, as we slioiihl also have gained nftthinu; by being earlier. At eigiit in the evening the wind eanu- fresh from the north-west, which gave ns an ojjportnnity of examining more minntely the }M»ssibility of penetrating fnrther ; bnt no opening was tit br fonnd, neither was there any clear water visibh; over the ice, in any dir<,(:- tion sonth of Ihe east or west. We were therefore ol)lige(l to hanl ott" and l>eat the whole night among the drift i(;e, which was streaming from the north-uest, ont (»f the ditfirent bays and creeks. Onr estimated distan(;e was abont thirty miles south of C'ape Garry. Aii.'iifi 1 ;. The wind continued abont north-west, and we kept on beating to gain the weather shore, near the last point we had passed, which now bore north-west by west. At two in the morning we got near to the land, and niadt; fast to an iceberg abont nnisket-shot from the beach, in three and a half fathoms water, being at the com- mon entrance of two beantiful little liarl»ours. IJy the time we were secured and the sails finled, it Mas too late for the usual church service; and jls the men had uniUrgone great fatigue, they were allowed the ln)urs for rest. 1 went on shore with all the offic rs, to take formal possession of the new-discovered land; and at one o'clock, being a ivw minutes after seven in London, the colours were displayed with the usual ceremony, and the health of the King drunk, together with that of the founder of our expulition, after whom the land was name\hicli we had next to pass being duo south of oiu* present anchorage ; and it was a promising sight to observe that the ice still conti- nued to separate and dissolve, so as to justify our attempting to work through it. The latitudt; observed at noon gave 71° 59', and the longitude by chronometer, corrected to Fury point, 93^ 32' ; making the place when* the flag was hoisted, exactly 73" N, and 93" 40' W, We had here left a bottle containing an accor.nt of our proceedings, and had well secured it by means of a cairn of stones, on which was placed a j)ost. The tide having risen during the night, and floated the iceberg to which we were fast, we were obliged to cast oft' and let go our anchor in ten fathoms, about two cables* length nearer the point of the island than before. The steam was then got ready ; and, there being a light air of wind, we took advantage of this and of the tide, weighed, and stood out for the opening that seemed to lead to the southern point, whi(;h was ten or twelve leagues distant. It soon, however, fell calm, and the engine acting very badly, we made little [)rogress. At six we were to the eastward of a large rock which seemed to TO TIIK AIICTIC ItEC.'IONS. llf) be part of a reef exteiidini; between tlie points of the inlet in view to the westward, and which was full of iee. Near this ro(,'k there were many whales, sipparciiily frcdinu; and enjoyinjL^ tlKinselves in perfect security, and one larye awv. cnuut vtry near the ship. Whenever also the |)addles were in motion, the seals were roused up, and seemed to b*; very abundant. At eight o'clock a breeze; sprung up from the northward, ena- bling us to ap[iroa(>h the land, which was tolerably clear of ice till midnight; but the engine working to little purpose it was stopped, and the paddle hoisted up. l^nfortunately, tlie weather became thick at ten, .so that we could only shape our course by the wind: a hazardous guide, as it might .shift, without our being able to per- ceive it, for want of marks or compass, and thus lead ns into peril. Still it was a risk worth venturing; since it was l>y working to the .southward, that we might get hold of the land which we presumed to be the American <;ontinent, AVe continued to run at the rate of three and a lialf miles in the August 18. hour, among pieces of heavy ice, against .some of which we could not avoid .striking; receiving many hanl blows, but no damage. At four, however, it became so thick, and the ice .so close, that we could j)enetrate no further, and therefore made tkst to a floe which we supposee to which w«' had made fast when we had first stopped, since it still continued drift- inj^ to the north-east. We then stood to the westward throui^li ice which was often «o thick iLs entirely to stop our progress; and, after nnu'h labour l)y warping, got within sight of the huul, whi<'h wsls low anuthward. Here the temperature of the sea wjls ',i-2\ the wind being due north. August 19. We contiiuied to stand to the southward without interruption, till four o'clock on this morning, when, in attempting to pass TO Tin: ARCTIC KKfilONS. 12t Ututrii tu<» liiru»' pitTtis ot'ici', tlu'V siuldtiily <'|ns«>wards noon we foun«l that we had drifted several miles aloni>: the land to the soutiiward. We hanjj;i(nde !)a '2. The ice still eonlinued ehtsely packed and drilllinu,', with several lanes ol' water aniony- it. Many whales were seen, l<>netlier with some seals ; bnt we etndd not «'onlrive to take any *>t' the latter. The sonndinu's exhihifed (Vaunnnts of i>-ranite and limestone; and the ttMnperatiin* ofthe air and water were, respeetively, 'Hi and 32'. We aired the small sails and the people's elothes; and several niatt<-rs were done in the ship in the (;arpent(.-r's departnu-nt, and in that of the engineer; espen, and tindini; it Aary from 4*2 to (>i) fathoms, with a ealeareons nmddy bottom and stones. I'he motion and state of the> ice formed an anxions snbjeet, to those esper'ially to whom this re;;,ion was new: we, who were «'xpe- rieneetl, were easily consoled for snch detention as this, by reeol- l«M'lin^ how nuie-h Inrtlnr we had already penetrated than fornnr expedili«>ns, lhon,i»h nnder tlui many disa(lvantai;es by whi«'h we had be<>n atten'> CHAPTER IX. ATTKMPTS TO MOUK AhONfJ SIIOUK — DISCOVKRY OF POUT I.On.VX — LAND TIIKUK — TUAC'KS OF FSQl'IMAl X LAHOIUING AMONti TIIK ICE — DiscovFKY OF fi.izaim:tii IIAIllJOrU. vJn tills (lay llien- was a yrrat aiul siuldcu chanuc <»f ihat tlinat- Ai -u i-M. «niiim- t('in|H'raliiri'. It was aijaiii, to the i't'clinns, likt; a siiiiiiik r ;lay ill Kiii;lau- roiuinciKcd at tour (»' ('(mliinicd bcsrt, iiixl went on diilYiny with llic ire, in all (lir«'('tieral departments, about the rinninu^ and the engine, and in tittinir a collar and hits for a new bowsprit. 'J'owards the evinini;' the slackini;- of the ice was more percept ibie. and a lane of clear wat<;r to the s<»nth-east was e remained in the same state. The ship was warped round to the north sit, but escaped on some of the loose ice, and then plunu^ed into the water. Many seals were shot durini;- the dav, but they all sank, so that we obtained none. A second bear, in the evening, was similarly w(Mn\deit llie open water along tlie shore with great distinctness. Early this morning the wind eanie from the sonth-east, anil Au-ustjj. renpel with thepadtlles and icepohsat s'ven o'clo(;k; s») that, althongh the engine a\i> vovAfJK OF I)Is(()vi:kv A' _mm :tl)oiil ji mile (Vom Jlic low poiitt uliicli Imr soiiHi-wrst wIk-ii \v«' st;iilnl. Alxnit IMXHK a hnr/r hiiil liuw>v< r sjuimi; up Iroiii tlir • •iislwnnl. ami tliiis <|i«(k()l oiir iiUciiipfs to }ivi riiHlur soiitli j|( tliistiiii". .' «« IT loilimat«', 111 vnJiiclrss, in liaviiiu" M-ciirnl ouiM'Ivcs lo Miis iiiiinovahlc rocU of ice; siiicr, as flic cviiiinu raim- «m, (lie whole pack uliirli wc had <|iiitt(d l»(i;ai, f,, .liitV willi j-ivat v«lo- n(v \(t Ihc iiorJhuanI, showiiii- us wliaf our own laic Mould have Ihcii iiad we n-iuaiiH'd with it. The ice to which we wtTc fast was ai»rouud iu st\cu lathouis; and alter this the water rose aliove lour tect; the ii.U' heoinniuu- hen- to tiie vouthwani. wliile that iu the ollini; was ruiuiiuj, i!< the contrary direction. Tlw weather Ikiuu ch»iid\. no observations were made, Itut at inidniuht the air was at ii'2 and the water at :U) . Many .seals wen; .seen, a;.d the hiid hrouyht up liniestom". (hw position was in the uiiddh' ol" a iarue l>ii;hl. aiui w«" had <'losed in the island to the soiilhward. \\i had i'ully psohed to try Die sham, but lhewin<( Ireshened anainsl n> before joui;-, to the eN:,)cf de«;r( e, tlioui>h no more, that W(.t:hl ha\e render.d it useles.s. ftcble as was all the power it eould e\( rt. On no occasion was this wimt of power men- pro\(>lvin_i:: ; snici if it coidd but have ibrced us two miles an hour, we should have be. M aide to u:ain the most distant point in view, which was about sixteen miles otl". We tried what we could do, bet to no purpose; so that wf were oblit-cd to console ourselves in beini;- at leas* (piiit, and in a better place than the one that we ha^- \K TO TIIK ARCTIC inUJIONS. IJJ) lial Mild H.ir ; >ulv;is ) no iit ft: we (!ouM sec iiiiiiieuse masses of iee passiim; over the very spot uIk re We liatl been. Altlion<;li the ti(h' both rose and tell nith us (his day, the' enrreiit setsteaihly to the nortliward; in eonse(|nenee ofwliieh there was no retnrnini;' ice to annoy us. All that we wanted was a fair wind, as the passam- aloni; the land was elear; yet even (his want was |)robably in oin* favour as matters were situated ; sin<'e, by earryinu; (he ie«' away from the ser\ed latitude was 70 r>4, b ih ith last /<> ')4 , heni<>- railier more (lian lour miles south oi our last observation. One seal was killed, and proved excellent. At noon the air was at .*J(J and (he wa(er a( 'i'2 , with no variations after- ward; and the tide e'ontinued to rise alxuit four feet and a half At six o'chx'k this mornin,u; it became lutious in a minute. Wr passed the low point near which we were moored, in seven fathwms water, at tlu' distance of two miles from the beach, and tlKii gradually dropped into eighteen, when we opened the entrance of a spacious bay exposed (<» the sou(h-eas(. At the bottom of (his tlure ap[ieared to be a stream, and the land that we were ap[iruaehing ..-•^'•^^ i;jo SKCOND VOVAOE OP DISCOVEUY |llL''.>l .1 was more rim:;jfe«l anvliat a«;iiiii scciiicti (o he ({raiiitc, w liilr, liclow, if apprarcii tav, and he was t'ortnnatt! in tindinu: a very udod one, nhieh I named Port Ii(»gan. W«' entered it at eight, the water In ing shoah r, and the iee- jiergs gronnded at sneh a distanet* tVoni the shore as to give ns an exe'ellent pier harlxmr v\ilhin them, with t\\(l\e feet at low water, and onr stern not above fifty fathoms tVom the roeks. This was, howt'ver, a safe po^iition. notwithstanding that proximitv and the small f <|(rr and of the nnjsk ox, and also shot a white hare. J'his day was a continued calm, an«l thou!*!! founy in the morninir, siirhts were obtained for the chronometers. I ascended TO TIIK AK(TI(; inXilONS. ];)i i M ifli CoinniJiiHlcr Iloss fo the pn'ripici' iit which th«' ship was fasf, wiiich seriiu'd iihoiit 2(M) W'vt hiy-h, lint our view was olistnirtcd l»y iiinch hi;;h( r hiixl to the southward and wcsh^ard. \\ <• saw nu animals; but thr trains of two small lakes on tJie siinunit were surrounded l»y licliens and mosses. This, and all the adjoinin<;- land was <'ntirely clear of sno\\ ; and the water of the lakes stood at HH , whih' the air was t(j-neti«; needle \a as Hi) 4()' west. After these needful observations, we took poss«";sion of this (*ontimiation of our discoveries, ac^cordinj;' to the usual forms, selet.'tiiia; another elevated spot tor this ])urpose. At that part of this coast the land was undulated iiit(» hills and valleys; most of the latter containinii^ hikes abouiulini; in small tish al)ont three inches lonu^, not unlike trout, described amontf the other articles in natural history, hereafter. We obtained some do/ens by means of our net; but it was too hu'uje in the meshes to secure as many as we miu:ht otherwise have taken. We hence ])roceeded to a hill alxMit JJOO feet high, five miles 92 1.32 SITOM) VOYAGi: OK I)IS((>Vi:UV fiirtlur to tlu; soiitliwai'd, tViMa iUv to|» ot' nliicli wc liiid a most sjctisliutor) view. The limtl apiM are''tl>iity miles; the ice Weiuj^ such as to tjive us every prospect ot' i^ettiu^; thiou<;h whenever the- wind shcMdd )econie lair, since it was vain to reckon on the assistance of the en,t;ine any lon : the point whi<'h was to the southward of it extending considerably to the eastwaril, while oil* its northern (tne tlu;re was an island w hi(;h seemed, on its north side, to have a uood harlxun* about half a mih; in eivtMunference, which I named Moltke bay, tfivini;' the name of njornstjema to the inlet it,self The narrow and low island lyiui; to the eastwaril <»f this, ap- peared not more than a quarter of a mile loni;' and twenty yards \vi''^ .rliul. Iiad provi^d very laborious aloiii;' tlir short , in roiis<'(|iicii< < ot'tlic tVa^- iiuiits of ire and rocks. In tlic cxciiiiii;- it was ro<;u:y; ami towards iiiidiiiglit tlHic was a lirrt/t! from the iiortli-uortli-west. The litU- rose tline lift six iiirhcs, it bciii^ three «lays before full moon; but it nas irregular, aud we r((uimaux, situated between two streams there tlouinu into the sea. 'I'hev were of such recent erection as to mark no distant time (lurini;' which they had been d. Near them we fouiul a pair of reindter's horns and occuniec P some fox traps, as well as some of the graves of the natives. A.uain tjie en,i;ineers wfn- <'h'arinii' the pipes, u Iiich were once moi choketl >\ilh cok<' . ^^^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // 1.0 I.I 1.25 |50 == 1.4 M M 1.6 6" <^s V] <^ /}. ^/. 'c^l * V %^ '^'h ?? 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MS80 (716) 872-4503 s>. 6 <> II 134 SECOND VOYAGE OV DISCOVERY north ; but as the Ijreeze iucreastd, it returned and floated to the southward. I'he sails were however loos 'd, and warps laid out, in ex- pectation that the weather Liinht so far clear up as to enal)le us to discover some chainiel : but the foy- continued so dense the whole day, tliat at eiglit we gave u]) all hopes, and furled the sails. The wind indeed now freshened so much, that we thought ourselves fortunate in not having started as we at first wished. We found it expedient in consequence to carry out some ropes, in order to secure the ship better to the bergs and the rocks. The wind after this veered a little more to the north; and as it was to be new moon the followins; day, we began to fear lest the icebeigs .should float and carry us further up the bay, among the dangerous rocks and shoals Mhich we had there seen. The tide rose three feet, the high water being exactly at noon and the ebb at six : the temperature of the air being 34^ and that of the water 32°. Nevertheless the ice seemed to be dissolving fast around us, though some heavy floes were drifted into the month of the bay ; yet giving us no imeasiness, as we were well protected by the grounded icebergs. As we would not venture on shore to-day, for fear of a change in our favour, it was employed in examining and j)reserving the specimens in natural history that had been collected the day before. A ready method of cleansing the seal skins was found, by putting them overboard, where they were rendered free of every particle of flesh and blubber by the shrimps, in the course oi a very short time. Tlie seal's flesh, as before, turned out good, with very 1 ■i 'I 1 TO THE ARCTIC RKGION'S. i:J5 ry much of tlie flavour of the loons wliich we hud sliot in Davis's strail. Mi had the good iortnne to recover a rifle \vhie lav. It was high water this morning at two; being nearly at the August JO. change of the moon, which took place, at Greenwich time, at 5) A. M. The tide rose exactly six feet; having been but three feet six inches the preceding daj, as, on the following, at half-])ast one, it was but twenty-two inclies. This is a sufficient proof of the irre- gularity of the tides in this strait; preventing all ])ossibility of anticipating their extent and nature. Whatever other circum- stances may be among the causes of this un;reatest towards the south when the wind was in that direction; as it was also gradually later in proceeding to the southward. At four in the morning the weather was so clear that tlu re seemed a chauce of a passage through the })a('k of ice which had been driven on the coast during the night. We therefore cast loose from the iceberg, and made sail ; yet could find no passage through on reaching it, and were compelled to tack. IJut we had 13() SKCONI) VOVAGi: OF DISl'OVKIlY run to the leeward so i\n\ tluit we could not fetch any place of safety, and were therefore obliged to warp back to the place we had left, which we reached at seven o'clock. IJefore noon it came to blow hard from the north-east, which set in the ice so tliick on the shore, that not an interval of water could |je seen. We therefore considered ourselves fortunate in having got back to our slation; (hsap[)ointed as we might be in having made no progre.'^r,. IJaining now once more, while it blew hard, we also once more hoped that the ice w oidd feel the etfects, to our speedy profit. Though no clear water could be seen from the ship, we, however, obtained a view of a considerable tract in the offing, by ascending some of the higher ground on the shore. Seeing now diat there was no chance of proceeding till the wind changed, an additional hawser was carried out to a rock for fiuther .security, in the evening; and another in the morning, after we had found Ihat the tide had risen so high as to float the icebergs ; lest we should be altogether drifted out, or ^d least be carried further nj) the bay. At sunset, however, the weather had a more settled api)earance: jet this was of short duration. It soon afterwards became cloudy, with the wind from the east ; and at midnight we had our first fall of snow. The gales bec'ine then very strong from the north-east, and the ice was packed close round the outside of the bay; but the icebergs still defended us from its pressure. The temperature of the air was f'34 , and that of the water 32^ \lluu^t io. During the night it blew a strong gale, but the tide rose only five feet six inches; and as the icebergs (Hd not move, the ship lay in perfect security. As it was high water half an hour earlier than i:| TO THE ARCTIC KEGIONS. U7 on tlie precetling niglit, we had additional proof of the irre^ularify of the tides in this strait; cansed, unquestionably, by the conipb- cated action of the winds and the (biftinn' ice. In the morning- the liills were covered with snow ; a sight which was very far from agreeable, though we had no reason to expect aught else. Yet we had not much reason to complain, though we should eventually liave been stopped here; since we had already penetrated further, by a hundred and twenty miles, even during this very short sunnner of ours, than any previous exi)edition had done in two years. This being Sunday, was made a day of rest. The gale contiiuied from the north-east the whole day, accom- panied by snow and sleet, the temperature of the air being at 34° and that of the sea at 32 . Both the ebb and the flood had so diminished, that the difference was scarcelv two feet : and we could now see that our iittle harbour was the only secure place on the coast, all the rest '*eing- closely beset by ice. But we still expected that the wind would remove these fragments, and that we should be able to make some miles of progress before the winter should fairly set in. This morning the land was entirely covered by snow, and there Ansust ii. was no more of the usual blue colour to be seen. Once more the tide rose five feet and a half, and the ice was closely packed all round. As the day advanced the snow turned to sleet, and at length to a steady rain ; the temperature of the air rising afterwards to 37°. With this, the snow on the hills began to melt and disappear. Going on shore, a lane of water was found to have made its appearance in the south, and another in the east, while T II 138 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISIOVEIIY tlie u'A' began also to .slacken both to the northward and southward of our liarljour. The rivers were found nuieh swollen, but no animals were seen. This day th«' water only rose two feet and a half. |)t. 1. At four in the niorniniy, as there a|»j)eared a possibility of \\ orking th<' ship into el(;ar water, she was hauled out to an iceberc:, and, bv the aid of a north-north-west wind, we contrived to steer along; the land in a south-east by south course. We passed outside the low island, and then ))ore up for the outennost point, though in constant doubt of our ])osition, from the thickness of the weather and the frequent changes of course we were obliged to make in working through the ice. Hut it cleared at seven, so as to show us the land, bearing from south 88 east to south, and also from south to south-south-west. It Mas the island which we had seen on the twentieth, but its distance proved to be nnich greater than we had then imagined. It was named Alicia Island. Wekej)t under sail as long as we could, but were at last compelled, by the closing of the ice, to make fast to a large })iece of it, which happened to be at hand. This, with the whole pack, proved to be drifting to the south- ward, and thus brought us nearer to the islaiuls, though we were beating in the o})posite direction. Towards evening it became mode- rate, and the ice seemed to have stopped. The nulder was therefore unshipped, and the Krusenstern placed in a secun^ situation, in case we should become permanently beset, as now appeared inevitable ; while I need not say that we were once more reduced to a state of utter helplessness. The temperature of the air was 36° in the day, but at night it fell to 34 . The depth of water was .52 fathoms, and the distance from the nearest land three miles: but as we I .1 TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. i:]{> ;ip|)roii(lie(l uitliiii two miles in (Irii'tiiii'' to the soulliv>;ir(l, it Wcepeiu'd to ciglity fathoms. Some seals wevtt seen, and an ivory gull was shot. By this morning the ship hud drifted abreast of the highest part of that island whicli had been so long in sight; which now, how- ever, [)roved to be, not one islan', and the hmgitude !)'i^ (>' ; whence we foiuid that we had made eleven miles to the southward. After noon the current chiuiged, and the whoh' pack began again to drift to the south-east : clear water was visible about three uiiles to the north, l)ut in no other direction. The islands from which we were now only two miles tlistant, presented the most barren anel repulsive tract which we had yet seen; displaying an eiitire surface of dark and rugged rocks, without the least trace of vegetation, or the presence of even a bird to enliven them. The clearness of the day all owetl us to see some land which appeared to be about nine leagues otf ; and it was higher, as it seemed to us, than what we had passed l)efore ; while, in the intermediate space, were more of the rock^ islands. The piece of ice to whi<;h we were now fast was about two acres in diiuensi<»ns, ami had a pond of fresh water, whence we replenished our stock ; after which it was made a washing place for such articles as demanded this operation. Though the tem- j)erature of this day was only 40", the dogs were panting with heat, and seeking such shade as they could find on the rough ice. It however fell to 31' before eight o'clock, and finally to '29°. The t2 S.|it. -'. 140 si:coM> vovAGi: of discovery depth of wutrr w;is lirn; niiicfy-fivt; iiitlioiiis. Except a small Avlialc, 110 liviiii;- aiiiiiiiils \>ere seen about this phicc. The snow liad ilisappciirrd iVoin this pait of the himl, u ith ('xc.'eptioii of a small quantity on the niouutiiiiis in tlie extreme «listance. In the evenini;- it was cahn. and we continued fast beset, hut (hiftini;- to the southward with tht' whole pack. At midnight we souiuled in a hundred and twenty fathoms, with a miuhly bottom. ^'1 ' '■'■ The weather was thick this morning, with light and variable winds, <'hiefly from the northward. The water shoaled to sixty- five fathoms, and then deepened to tighty. The ice was fast all round us, but appeared more slack towards the islands we had passed. In the afternoon the fog turned to small rain, the thermo- meter being at lUi ; and some clear weather in the evening discovered to us that we had made three miles further south since yesterday. The sight of one bear and one .seal was not enough to enliven this wearisome dav- It appeared to us, at this point of our progress, that the large island wliose aspect had so often clanged, consisted in reality of three, which formed part of a rocky (;liain extending along the coast as far as we could see, and which, by stopping the ice, caused the difHcultv of the inshore navigation. Thus we again found use for onr patience : wJiile, by following this chain in the train of the ice, we trusted that we could always keep behind such heavy masses as would ground in time to prevent us from being wrecked or sutfering juiy material injury. Heavy rain at us some •' &"^ hojies of a chaiiue, though setting us on the shore. TO Tin: AlUTIC UECIONS. 141 As till' wind liad sliil'U'«l, ilmiiiu;" tlic iii,ii,li<, lo llic casl-soutli-iiisf, seiJt. \. We i'tnuul this niorninn- tliiit we luid drifted two miles to tlie iiortli- wanl, approiu'liiiis;' towards tin* shore at the same time. It rained hard till nine, and the wind increased to a yale; so that, by noon, we had drifted fonr miles farther in the same direction, heinu; (ixed between two tloes, bnt so as to sustain no injury. Thick weather coniinu; on at three, we saw the land no more, but wen? convinced by the lead that we were <'ontinuinn' to drive ; and after various changes of soimdings, found ourselves, by the evening', in one Inindred and twcaity fathoms, which diminished to siiventy-tive at midnight. The sliooting of a gkiucous gull, and of a seal, were the only anuisements of a provoking day, under which we were losing all the ground we had just been gaining, if not more. The gale continuing all night, with rain, the large floe separated Sept. 5. from us very early in the morning; and, as it became clear, we found that we had drifted otf the land. Perceiving then that the ivhole pack had considerably slackened, we attempted, in conse- quence, to force through it towards the land, in spite of many heavy blows, which fortunately did no mischief. We here found that our latitude was 70' "io', and that we had lost nineteen miles tH a northerly direction, together with fourteen miles in longi- t.ide, during tin; three hours which we had been driving with the ice. At five it clenred, and we saw, in the south-east, but at a greater distance, the never-ending island which, it abnost seemed, we wev(i destined not to quit. Forcing the ship through much heavy ice, we at last cleared the whole pack ; when, the wind favouring us a 142 SIXOND VOYAGE OP DISCOVERY rttl)!. h. little, we made up all the way tliat we had h)st, and ha\ iiiu, auaiii got hold of the hind, niaih' fast, at ten o\doek, to .\i\ ieehcii^ agronnd in tive Ihthonis, and abont five hunihed yards from the shore. It rained liard till midnii^ht, bnt was nearly <'alni. A\ e saw two whales on this evening', witli several seals; and the water was ek-ar between tlie paek and the shore, while we were surronn«led by large icebergs. The wind <'ontinued in the same quarter, with rainy weather, so that we could form no plan for proceeding. After divine service we went on shore to seek for a more secure harbour, as our present place was a very unsafe one. Entering an inlet with the boat, abont a quarter of a mile wide, we sounded iutifteen fathoms ; and, following it for a mile, we found it open into a s[)acious harlxmr, ha\ ing twenty fathoms in the mi ^ » ..;;-yc^ » Ik '^ 4 >..^ '^^^ ■V ', . • - \ » ? *^ >« ^< f \ t I or ■^ o CO (fi TO TIIF. AIKTK" IIIUJIONH. i^a CHAPTER X. atti;mi»t to qiit i"-i,i/-Am:Tii iiAititoi it — slow piiogui:ss ai,o\(; siioui; — ciiiTK AL position ok Tin; ship AMONti Till'] hi:, am> i;s( aim; Tiiitorciii pkuilois passage — nist'ovKiiv of iulipsi: IIAUItOl'lt — FrilTIIKIl DISC'OVIOKIKS — CAPi: HT. CATIIKUINi;, AM) LA\ llAUIiOrit. 11 \VIN(i rutunied on boanl by two o'clock, wc iiiiule sail tlieie- torc from the iceberg, and enterin«^ into the liarbour, moored the ship to a small one in seven fathoms, not far from the beach. A boat uas then despatched (o see if there was any exit on the soutlu'rn or eastern side ; bnt the resnlt was, that wc had entered by the only openini^', as it was also fountl that it was se[)arated from the strait without, by a narrow ranu*' of limestone aboat three miles long-, level and straight. 'J'he boundary to the westward was of high land, and that to the north consisted of lower hills interspersed with lakes containing tish ; the rocky point and peninsula where we had tirst taken possession forming its eastern side. The granite here presented many varieties, and was studded with garnets, probably in the veins, which we did not take sufficient care to distinguish at the time. I now indeed suspect, that on this and other occasions, what I have termed granite was gneiss; a mistake 144 SliCOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY ■ept. wliicli is often easily made ]>y tliose who are not [n-aetised niine- ralouists; Imt as I could not eolleet si)eciniens at every place that was visited, and as I could not bring home even all those which were collected, ibr future examination, this very unimportant error, if such it be, must remain. In the eveninq,-, landing at the north side, and ascending- the heights in that quarter, we obtained a stdl better view of this splendid harbour, in which the whole British navy might safely ride. Except at the edges, it was clear of ice, though a few ice- bergs seemed, like ourselves, to have tiiken refuge here ; but we saw no marks of any shculs or rocks within it. In many parts there were five fathoms water close to rocks on the shore, where vessels might lie as at a pier, and where they might also heave down and repair damages; and, from uiarks on the margin, we judged that there were eight feet of rise at spring tides ; the pre- sent, which was neap, rising but four. In the evening it blew hard from the northward, bringing the ice past the place which we had left, and packing up the whole channel to the southward. But we were safe, and quiet; with the security that if this ice should clear away, we could easily get out by aid of the tide, and take advantage of the opening. The temperature of the air was from 34" to 35 , and that of the water 32". At midnight there was rain, the wind continuing fresh. It rained heavily all the morning, and a good deal of small ice drifted into the harbour, proving that there was a considerable (piantity moving along the strait with the current. We therefore proceeded in the boat, to examine into the condition of things out- i TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 143 PI Ice lie it- W side, more particularly, and landed on the northern istlnnus. AVe thus saw, that at the back of the ureat isthmus, tJie ([uantity of ice was much diminished since the })receding day, while there was a bay to the eastward ([uite clear; but, near the mainland, it was still closely packed. The west side of the southern islands, however, were also clear of ice. In this excursion we saw some rein-deer, and .shot three white hares, The air felt warm; but, on board, the ther- mometer was only •'JfJ , the weatlier being cabn, with a thick fog. Though things remained in the same state till noon, Me expected Sept. x. a wind, and therefore left the harbour by means of the ebb and of towing; making fast to an iceberg at the entran<.*e, that we might be ready. Jjut tlu; wind coming now from the .south-south-east, we could })roceed no Anther, and I therefore sent a j)arty to exa- mine the state of things along shore, in the whale boat, which was, however, obliged to stop after proceeding t>^o miles. Being then hauled up, the party jjroceeded l)y land along the istlnnus, and thus saw tliat the ice was closed up to a rock at its termination, so as to prevent all further passage in this direction. T\\o rocky islands and a good harbour were also seen in this rpiarter; as it was further ascertained, that while the shore was covered with heavy ice, the channel of moving ice and water lay between it and the heavy pack which was about three miles otl*. The evening being calm, and the ice stationary, Commander Ross went on shore to take angles, and in his way found a dead deer, which we had w ounded on our first landing. It was ,so large that they could only bring on board the head and horns, leaving it for the next day to remove a carcase too valuable to be lost. Men u 14G SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY were also sent to erect a cairn of stones to mark the entran<;e of the harljonr, otherwise dirticnlt to find, in case we shonkl be obliged to return to it. Landing;, myself, afterwards, I obtained a i>ood view, from the north side, of the several places that we had })assed, killing' also two hares. At eight the wind was light, and southerly, with clear weather in the night, the temperature of the air from 34' to ii(V, and that of the watei' 3'2 . Our fresh water was replenished, and many seals were .seen. The geological structure of this part of the coast exactly resembled what we had formerly examined, with perhaps more va- rieties of granite, or gneiss; the whitish shale of the limestone con- taining shells as before. The soundings were in clay .so tough as to require great force to extract the lead from it. Some sandstone was also observeil here ; and in many of the small bays there were accumulations of white sand, which, however, might equally have been furnished by the granite. There was no wood: a heath, with stems about an inch thick, being the largest plant growing. Near the sea the land was generally bare; but, inland, there were plains and valleys of considerable extent, covered with vegetation; each of the latter containing a lake, of which the largest .seemed about two miles long, as many of them were but large pools. These, as before, were full of fish, which we then had no means of taking. Many hares, far from shy, were concealed among the rocks, and tracks of reindeer were seen near the .shore. On the north side the remains of Esquimaux summer habitations were numerous, together with fox-traps and bones of whales ; but all of so old a date as to show that it was long since this part of the shore had been inhabited. TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 147 I'i Vi It was quite calm all this day, with an occasional lii:;ht air fnnn se,it, i. the southward, sufficient, with the peuings which led 1o^^ards the south-east. T5ut at two o'clock the wind came (hrectly against us ; an«l it was with much difficulty we reached an iceberg which was aground about half a mile eastward of the islands described on the se,el)etween tlie rocky ishuuls and tlie point, so as to get hold of the mainland. The ship was therefore warped, with much toil and hiizard, through a narrow and rocky sound leading to the channel, and made fast to an iceberg, and to the rocks, from which she was not more than half her length distant, in three fathoms water. It was not, however, a good place; since the ice set both ways, alternately, with great rapidity, so as to be in constant motion. Angles were here taken from a cairn Mhich we erected on the highest hill, being about three hundred i'tvt, and sketches made. The furthest projecting land was an island bearing south-east, fit a considerable distance from the point of the mainland. The (mter- most of the islands on which we were seemed about a mile long, and the land formed a great bay, in which we counted nine islands and some clusters of islets ; together with two inlets, and some openings that seemed to constittite three good harbours. Here we also con- eluded that our best chance of proceeding appeared to l)e by the channel w ithin these islands, and close to the maiidand ; as the ice was all broken up, though thick and heavy, and was likely to nu^ve with the fust favourable wind. The islands on which we now were, turned out to consist of gneiss, I presume, disposed in inclined beds with vertical fissures ; and in two little valleys there was some vegetation, though the greater part of the surface was quite bare. The aspect of desolation was indeed extreme ; nor did we see the trace of any living creature The temperature of the air was 34", and that of the water 3l\ ii i I M t - TO TEir ARCTIC RKGIONS. UO Our icelxTy lioatetl liist nii>lit iit hnlf-past twelve; but >ve sit .Sc[it. ii. last siK'ceeded in inoorint; it, together with ourselves, to the roeks within a small bight on the side of the stream; while, as it drew more water than the ship, it kept us from gronnding; allowinq- us to lie quiet all night within a few yards of the roeks, and in three fathoms water. After a foggy morning, there appeared, at one, some ehanee of moving, as there was a fresh breeze from the uorth-west. The attem])t, however, was made in vain; and, after three hours of hard labour, we eould neither proceed, nor extricate the ship, so that we were obliged to s\d)mit ourselves to the ice, which was now closely packed in the whole channel which it occu- pied, ft was in vain that we attemi)ted to disengage ourselves, even when it got into motion; labouring hard for this purpose till ten o'clock : but a calm occurring at midnight, we became com- paratively trancpiil and easy. Nevertheless it was a critical position, beset in the rapid current Sept. i:. of a rocky channel, at the spring tides of the autinnnal equinox; and, as the tide rose, the heavy masses of ice Mhich were set afloat increased our danger, its action forcing them on us. We therefore thought ourselves lucky in getting hold of a grounded iceberg; though the points of rocks were ap})earing all around, and close by our ship. Unfortunately, however, a winht auainst us, and we could ex[)ect to make little j)rogress with our sails, and such a vessel, by plying to windward; while, to anchor in a tideway like this, was out of the question. Thus we soon found that we w ere losing ground ; but at four o'clock we began to gain consi- derably, when it fell suddenly calm. A harbour now a})pearing not far oil' in the nearest land, v^e contrived to warp into it by means of the boats, and found good shelter behind a reef of rocks, lined by icebergs, within a cable's length of the shore ; making fast to two of these masses which were aground in four fathoms water. More than I among us had witnessed similar scenes, and, in some manner or other, we had been extricated : but, with all this. 152 SCCOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVKIIY we could not but feel astouislnneut, as utll as jj^ratitutle, at our haviuij^ escaped here without material damage. For readers, it is uulbrtuuate that no description can convey an idea of a scene of this nature: and, as to the pencil, it cannot represent nu>tiou, or noise. And to those who have not seen a northern ocean in w inter — who have not seen it, I should say, in a winter's storm — the term ice, excitiiis;- but the recollection of what they only know at rest, in an iuland lake or canal, conveys n<» ideas of what it is the fate of an arctic navigator to witness and to feel. IJut let them re- member tliat ice is stone ; a floatini;' rock in the stream, a })romou- tory or an island when aground, not less solid than if it were a land of granite. Then h.t them imagine, if tliey can, these mountains of crystal hurled through a narrow strait by a rapid tide ; meeting, as mount lins in nu>tion would meet, with the noise of thunder, l)reakiug from each other's precipices huge fragments, or rending each other asunder, till, losing their former equilibrium, they fall over headlong, lifting the sea around in breakers, and whirling it in eddies; while the flatter tields of ice, forced against these nuisses, or aii'ainst the rocks, bv the wind and the stream, rise out of the sea till they fall back on themselves, adding to the indescribable commotion and noise which attend these occurrences. It is not a little, too, to know and to feel our utter helplessness in these cases. There is not a moment in which it can be conjectured what will happen in the next: there is not one which may not be the last; and yet that next moment may bring rescue and safety. It is a strange, as it is an anxious position ; and, if fearful, often giving no time for fear, so unexpected is every event, and so quick the - m TO Tin: AUCTIC REGIOXS. 153 transitions. Iftlic noise, and tlio motion, and the Iinrry in tvciy tliin.ii around, arc distractinii, if tlie attention is troubled to tix on any tliinu amid such contusion, still must it be alive, that it may stize on the single moment of help or escape which may occur. Yet with all this, and it is the hardest task of all, there is nothing to be acted, no eflbrt to be made : and though the very sight of the movement around inclines the seaman to b(' himself bjisy, wiiile we can scarcely repress the instinct that 4 SIICOND VOYAGE OP DISCOVERY liiirbimr; jiiul we roiiml liiiili wafrr, with :i risr of seven feet, at a (jiiiirtcr before time, at full moon. s.pt n- l<]arly in the nioniinu' I ascended tlie hiyh land near the shore, hy nhich I found thijt it was possible to proceed a few miles along the coast : and, after Imildini;' a cairn and takinu' sonie annles, I returned on boani, and we got inider way at nine with a westerly breeze. Wti steered to the southward through new ice which ottered litth' resistance; and, as we proceeded, the heavy masses became more slack. Passing a rugyed |»oint, with icebergs aground, it received the name of Cape Allington, being the boundary here, of the spacious harbour just mentione() 8i:t"o\i) vovAci: ok disiovimiy lu'iiii>- iiortli-norlh-\v<'st, nc made all sail and stood for the point tlironiili loos ' ice, which, howevor, soo\j dosed, so as to oblige us to run tor a small bay to thv north of tlu' cape. This proved a very i^ood slulttr : and havinc; i>oiu' on shore, and ascended the hill on the point, we saw that the ice was still more open than it had been the day before, that the land trended more to the southward, and that the outermost portion was but an island, six or seven miles from the mainland. Many tine harbours were also visible, and the shori; was intersected by inlets in every direction, llavini;- taken the usual tormal possession of this cape, since even that which is nuii,at(M'y or absurd nnist be done where custom dictates, a cairn and a beacon were erected, with the ship's name, and the thite, on a phit(^ of copper, as before. This ca}>e was nanu'd Verner, and the harbour Joanna. The geolouy was here nearly \\hat it had all alonii,' been : but one of the masses of lira- nite formed a ])yramid alike strikini;- from its form and its dimen- sions, while we also j)erceiv(nl some coarst; arnillaceons schist. As tile point «>n the north side of the harbour mus the most con- venient for obs(;rvation, we <'re(,'ted a cairn here also, for determininn- angles and hiving down positions; though it was not likely to prove of much use lureafter in ^erifying• the accuracy of the dis- coverers. Just before chuk, the channel between the shore anil a small island ^\as cleared of ice by the rapidity of the ebb : Init too late to allow ns to attempt our way through it Tlu; tem})erature of the air was from .*]■'> to :Ui\ and that of the sea from 31 to ;}'2 all thisilay ; and tlie tide rose iwn ioci less than it had done in the night preceiling. No animals, nor any tnices ot Esquimaux were seen I'J TO TMH AlU TIC REfilONS. 1-57 CHAPTER XL ' .ji A III.AVV CAI.E: SUCCKSSIOX op TEMPESTUOUS! U EATFIER, WITH SNOW — PARTIAL CLEARING OF THE HE, AM) EXTRICATION FROM IT DISCOVER THE ISLAND OF ANDREW ROSS, CAPE MARGARET, REST IIAItnOIR, AND MARTIN ISLANDS A NEW HAV END OF SEPTEMHER — GENERAL REMARKS ON THE PAST PROGRESS OF THE SHIP AND THE MODE OF NAVIGATING AMONG ICE. J. Ill'] sky 1i;i(l worn a very unsotthd aspect on tlie })nre(liMi^- evening; and tlie \\in(l, risinij,-, increased to a storm durini;- tlie niglit. Ijavinii also veered roinid to tlie nortliward, it lnoni;lit around us a ureat (inantitv of heaxy iee : so that, at dayliii'Iit, Mc tonnd ourselves completely loeked in, to our uo small vexa- tion, which was unieh augmented by seeiiii;; clear water within a «|uart(M' of a mile. I'Aery exertion was made to warp out. or to extricate (nnsehcs in some manner: but a whole forenoon of hard labour gained us scarcely more than four times the length of (»ur ship. .At length Ihe ice accumulated to ;.uch a degree, that we were obliged to abandon the attempt. In the mean lime the storm increased, with .squalls of snow, .so as to render our situation both critical and uncomfortable; since we Si'in. 1,). l')8 SFX'OM) VOYAGE OF DIStOVEIlY roiild not iviiaiii tlic liuihour uliich we had so prtinatiircly left. Tims ('\|»os((l to the storm, tlie pressure of the ice was also to lie feared, as the ice])eri;s were aeciimulatiii!^' on the shores of the oape, which they were too deep to j)ass. At length the one to which we were moored went afloat, tuivinuus mncli tronhle: while the laruest one near ns split into six [)ieces, with a noise like thnn- der; falling over and throwing np the water all around. One of these fragments gave onr ship a violent shock; and another, rising np beneath the Krusenstern, lifted her out «>f the water on the ice, and then launched her oft' again. Fortunately, no damage was sustained. The night tide was further diminished, and we continued, after this last adventure, to he not far from the point of the cape behind which was the clear water: while we were obliged to wait with patience for some favourable cliange of the wind. The thermo- meter was at 34 , and the snow was so heavy as to cover the moun- tains. A party was sent to the cairn, to examine into the state of the ice, and, having returned, they reported it to be quite closed to the southward, with exception of a narrow lane of water along the land, which now appeared to tiend more to the southward. Shortly, the temperature i\'\\ to 28 , with clearer weather and the barometer rising. 'I'he latitude of this <;ape was found to be 7(r 2'2', and the longitude 92' !•>', which, with the correction, is pro])abIy 91. s.|ii. 16. The winj)en water a cpiarter of a mile nearer to us ; and, in no long time, the wind became more mode- rale : while some masses of ice were seen floating through the channel of our intended passage, which displayed a good deal of clear water. The moderating of the wind on the preceding evening was but a delusive promise. In the night, the gale increased once more ; and to a degree of violence exceeding all that we had yet felt, accompanied, as before, by snow. As some of the icebergs began to move, three large masses came across our bows, threatening to break the two cables which we had made fast to the rocks,, and obliging us to carry out a third. The ice on the outside of us was soon broken up by the swell, and at daybreak the waves reached within a quarter of a mile of the ship: while the motion of the solid masses around producetl such an agitation in her as to compel us to carry out steadying ropes and fenders. In consequence of the tide now rising to an unusual height, many icebergs drove near to the shore ; but as that fell, things became comparatively quiet : though the rapid destruction of the ice, under all the present violence, gave us great alarm lest we should lose the protection which had hitherto sheltered us so well. At ten in the morning, therefore, we went on shore, in hopes of obtaining a better view of the circumstances in which we were now engaged ; the wind having once more moderated. We thus discovered that St'iit. 1 102 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY there was nothing- to ol)struct our passage as soon as we should be releas'd from our present durance, and that although there was much ice in the harbour, it was not such as to prevent our entrance. A¥e here confirmed our former observations for the latitude : and the barometer rose ; as also did the thermometer, from 21' to 28". The moulding of ice collected round the sides of the ship drifted off in consequence, during the course of the day, as did the icicles which had been formed on the icebergs. It still, however, blew hard : the sea continued to draw nearer to us, and the agitation was scarcely less; so that the motion of the ship was extremely troublesome. Our situation thus became so hazardous that we were about to seek a new position, close to the rocks; when, suddenly, we saw a fleet of heavy ice islands bearing down on us, which, by live o'clock, took their statious at the outer edge of the now narrow field, and, in a very short time, all was quiet. Such is the ice, and such the compensation it offers for the too frequent assaults which it makes, and the obstructions which it creates. It is far from being an unmixed evil ; and, estimating all our adventures with and among it, I might not be wrong in saying, that it had much oftener been our friend than our enemy. We could not, indeed, command the icebergs to tow us along, to arrange themselves about us so as to give us smooth water in the midst of a raging sea, nor, when we were in want of a harbour, to come to our assistance and surround us with piers of crystal, executing, in a few minutes, works as eftectual as the breakwaters of Plymouth or Cherbourg. But they were commanded by Him who commands all things, and they obeyed. 1" t r-R if 4 I TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 163 '■ m The gale contiimed, thoiigli with somewhat less violence; nor, Sept. 19. even towards night, was there any annoiinoement of a change. We were sate within the large pack which had acly iTioileratc duiiiin- the iiiyht, with the same wind, but mo show. At (hiyliulit a hirue pack of ice was .seen approaehinu,- the hay, wlicii it (hvided: one portion passing- to the eastward of us, whih' the rest ch>sed in, so as, in a few hours, to hhx'k us uj> more eomj)htely than we ]iad ever yet been. After divine service, the crew wen- alh>wed su(;h rehixation on .sh«tre as Sept. th dd ntri •h di d th li still hence showed some clear water to the southward ; attainable, if we could but obtain a westerly wind. The thermometer was at 'IT, but there was no new ice in the harbour, althouiih the land pools were frozen over. In the evening; the swell subsided every wh< re, and at mitl- nijU'ht it was calm and Irt^ezing hard; but the ice did not open, as we hoped it might do on the ebb. .Scpf. Jl. This ice still appeared stationary, there ]>eing a light air from the north; and, on examination, we found that the huge nias.ses around us were frozen together, giving us the prospect of being condennied to remain hen; for the rest of the winter. But the breeze becoming- westerly at nine o'clock, all hands were set to work, and continued occuj)ied the whole day in separating the masses \\\\\c\\ had been cemented bv the frost, since this atibrded us the onlv chance of getting clear. This being done, we placed the ship's head in the best position for getting out; and, after this, .she was .soon sur- rounded by new ice, the thermometer being at 'io. A .strong breeze arose during the night; and, at daylight, we found that, with the exception of two pieces, it had carried away all the ice that we had cut, while the water was clear outside. We again, therefore, .set all hands to work in breaking the ice that ') m i TO THK ARCTIC REGIONS. Km &J re»»»aine(l, soon (Ictacliinii: niiiiiy liUijjc pieces, wliieli Hie tide eanied jiw.i/. Tlie work, liouever, beoiune more heavy as we proceeded ; so tliat the hist cuts throuuh a thick floe were not completed till the eveiiiny. y\t this tiiiK; a large mass to the eastward of ns luoke away, promising- to sail oft* and assist in clearing ns, when, nnfor- tnnately, it took the ground and remained fixed; and, still more vexatiously, just opposite to the channel which we were attempting to clear. Thus we were obliged to make a new attempt at another point; appealing again to that patience, and exerting once more that determination not to be foiled, which, for ever wanted inider every situation in life, are never more needed than by him who must work his way through the never ending, ever renewed, obstruc- tions of an icy sea. By the time it was dark, \\v had com- pletely succeeded, and had once more the satisfaction of finding ourselves in clear water; when we hove out beyond the icebergs, and made fast for the night to that floe which we had cut into the resemblance of a pier. Soon after this it began to blow hard from the southward, and the ice which had passed by was seen return- ing; producing, once more, a new enigma to be solved, as it threatened us again with a repetition of what we had been so often and so long undergoing. It became necessiiry therefore to go on shore, that we might the better understand how matters were likely to be with us now ; since our position in the ship was not sufli- ciently commanding to allow of an adequate view. We thus found that the circumstances were even worse than we had anticipated ; since we could not even get round to the good harbour which we S; ht. •-';;. W(i SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY liad occupied Ixlbre, until the w«;atli»'r slioulW niodtrafe. Tlicre was also seea some new ice, the thmuometer being- at '2'2 , aiuJ tlience to "26. Ity thelinir, liowever, that we had returned to the ship, tli«; wind fortunately rose from the very quarter that we ♦lesirel, beinj;- that whi«;li was best adapted for carrying- away the ice; whih, blowing with sufficient force to remove it, we were enabled to go to our repose under some hopes for the follow ing day. These Jiopes were quashed by the ajn» arauce of Ihe niornhig. It had snowed hard since midnight, and every thing, land, rocks, ice, our deck, was deeply covered; while our intendetl passage outwards was blocktil up by large pieces of floes and bergs; two more having- (jetached themsvl;es from the land to aid in the obstruction. I'he wind, indeed, iipd it been more moderate, would have been suffi- ciently favourable : and thence were we induced t«) renew our labours, in spite of the storm and every other discouraging circum- stance. So successful also were they, that the pa.ssage was cleared by ^^y•i^t o'clock; at which time the gale began to abate, ani iiiinerous sunken rocks in the passjia;e. The whole of ty >'\]M-tUtuiU, suceessful, if of Utile extent, was terminated in an iiour. It was our intention to ha^e (iitered the harbour; but, on standing towanis its «nitranee, we tlsfMm,ht it probabh' that we ini<;ht reaeli a few miles further, the current beinu^ still in our favour, though the wind was ai^ainst us. We continued, therefore, to work along^ shore, and havint;' passed the harbour at noon, reached the furthest point thiit we had seen from our last station. Jlence, the land trended nearly ■■^.^3^'v■■ ■' f h •-^?*^,:'-:^- ,f AMiif*™B*w^^M ^^^^^^^^1 hmh P^H ^R ^J fH ^V| ,^ *tB r «/m^^ rtv, i^ i i^ jJB^^^jj ■^^y^Kaj hM P^ji i^MK^&Pfl K^ '^n jfe s " jP''d ^>« * ^ T^y^ft^gaBajift, ^»{S !ian J ^ ^^^il^ !la^»TO^jj(^fflBH Ml^^^PP'^H gtm n V j"^**^ i^sHwn '^''n^ffij B^^^^^aH '» •ii-/ »^ 1 M I ^ ^^fl K'W 1. ' mJ^^^S ^ « ' ■'^ ■c, ^^■^^B|Ej,^ M '. '"'v-7 ■■" ■ ■ ■-■,' ■;"• "■ " 4^1 W^k ^^Sh ■'■'' "il HEj Bi &■■ _ • ;■":■■ J^m |y i: %■■-:■■' '■' w ^^^H Mb 13 *''.?' ^^S;:-', ■:';:!''fl^Mf HUfllH - >■ •"■' '%■;,■■ ' ^^isi^^ff' ^Bh^B|^B MJl^^^H ■.i; . ,. ,*,-■ . . ,_; '_;^\i*t^ ' " ^|RV|J^^HH| ^bIh^^^I ■■;•; ■ ■'• ■, •■',(;- ■ ■ •, '■^^r^$. ytlMH Bllri| ;;:?;._;;>• 5- <■, '■ ■^^^^ '■^^B^^K^m SB B^ ^^^Hl r pJ^StBtf^ ' ^^gH ''"'''''' ifMB ^^pS^^^K^i-' J .^^^m IBHI 4 pa rl TO THE ARCTIC RRGIONS. IGf) .4' i;Tonii(lo(l aiiaiii, no further assault was made on licr : and by nifans of hawsers, she was soon yot off, without Iiavini^ sustained any - us to stand out with the intention of Ivini'' to while we waited the report of tin; boat. But our success w.is very small ; since after runninij^ half a mile, with lireat difficulty, throuiih rocks and icebergs, the situation which we attained, and did not gain without much toil and hazard, was found to be little better than that which we had left. It had but Un fat water; an«l we saw that we should not be abh,' to haul out of the stream before the shi[) had arri\ed within her own breadth of some rocks that rose above the water; while her stern lay close to otiiers that were not six feet beneath the surface. We therefore proceeded in the whale l)oat to seek tor a better place, for which the now increasing wind made us mon- anxious; and thus succeech-d in finding an excellent (h'ep-water channel between the mainland and the firsi range of islands. The entrance, however, seemed extremely hazanlous; being scarcely wider than the ship herself, with a tongue of ice, having only seven feet water on it, extending across, from side to side. There was, however, neither a choice to make nor time to be spared in resolving. We therefore dropped the ship down by hawsers, grazing the rocks with our keel. How to carry her over the tongue was another problem, seeing that her draught exceeded its depth; but, while considering this, the tide swept her on it, and she stuck fast; it having proved, contrary to our reckoning, that it was now eb)». The hawsers were then carried out again, ami we z 170 SIXOND VOYAGE OF DlS(OVFIlV sri.i. ■: roiitriv( <1 to luav*! tlirouiili ; yet not wilhoiit sim inn on'some projcct- iiij;- points on llie two <>]>posite if(;lM'ri>s, so narrow \>as the passage. We (lid not, however, (Xtricate onrsehes lV(»in this perih>us situation, without passiiii"- tuo other ictberiis, one liinlier than our mast-head, and so elose tliat the vessel had only hall' her hrea-ood harlioiu'. In this position there was a larije island on ea<;h side, and, before us, the mainland. 'Hiis mainland was what we had seen the day before, and ', comini»from the north-east. AVe were here obliged to till our casks with ice, as there was no i'resh water to be procured. 1'lie land near us (>onsisted, as ustial, of granite. The wind came to the norlhwaid (huinii' the ni.^ht, causing' sni.'h a rise of the tide that all the iceljerus were si t in motion. In con- TO THK ARCTIC REGIONS. 171 til sliortlv iill ciuricd ttiY, ^qnenrc, tiicy wcrr siiorny im ciiiricd orr, except one Mliieli wa.s kept in its pljiee by our ropes. lit the nioriiiiin it was clear, ami we saw, from the Hiast-lieaeneral sto[)|)a,ii,e which compelled us to remove the ship further within the harbour. In the afternoon we landed and took formal possession of the island to which wv were now moored, liiviny it the name of Andrew Ross^ beiny- Ihat of my son. IVom tlie cairn which we built, we obtained a very extensive view, and saw land bearinii' south of us at a i lit. any juw ice. Tlic liarlnMir liaviiii;- hccii at kiigtii (jiiilt! Mir\<'yt'il, was f'ouiul to liavc tittecii ttct at low water, with an even muddy Itottoui, to be free of currents, except in the main channel, and secure from every wind. Where the current did run, it was, indeed, very powerful ; carryini;' the ice through it >\ ith tearful velocity and tremendous collision. TXcept a glaucous gull, we here saw no animal. TlKHigh calm and clear after midnight, and the thermometer not more than 27% no new ice was formed in the still watt;r, and the tide carried a^^ay the greater part of that which had occn|)ied the chamu^l. ]}ut, at nine, it began tu come in at the northerly opening; which, with a north-easterly breeze and a heavy tall of snow, put an end to all })rospect of advancing for this day. Soon after dark, the temj)erature fell to '2') , and the snow <(»ntinueil to fall; but, under the intluence of the tides, the ice ))egan to ((ear away in both directions. An increase of Mind forced us to carry out additi«»nal ropes, and the Krusen.stern >vas als(» moored in a place of sei'urity. . During the night it blew a very hard gale f'om the northward, and the tid(! rising high in conse(iHence, all the iCebergs \\ere set in motion. Our strongest hawser slipped off the reck to which it was fastened, and obliged us to let go an anchor, as it was dark : but when daylight came, ^\e transferred the fonner to another rock, and got the anchor up again. It was then seen that the channel was closed with ice at both «nds; and thus it continued the whole day, though iiaving some clear water in the njiddle, at its u idest part. A good deal of heavy ice came to the entrance ol'this little f I ■ V imK' h f-- rt. : ', I ■A TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 173 liarbour, but dkl not iracli our own clear water, on w liicli no new ice was formed, in eonse(iuen(e, })robably, of the gale. After muster and prayers, part of tlit; ci'e\v w as sent on shore for exercise, and the remainder in the eveninj;-. Heini;- w ith this last party, we saw that in sj)ite of some open sea, then; was no chance of our being released from our present situation without a change of wind. We had time to walk over this island, which is the largest of the group, but found no vegetation, nor any animal ; though, on the foUowi'.ig morning, we killed a seal antl a glaucous gull. The temperature of the air and water equally, was '2iy, and ii came on to blow hard from the north-west soon after we got on board. Though the wind veered to the west during the night, it did not release us, as we had hoped. The ice, indeed, had drit'ted a consi- derable way otf the coast, but our channel Mas still locketl up. Besides this, there was much heavy ice driving up and down, Mith great velocity, before the tide, which, even could we have got out, it wouhl not have been prudent to encomiter. Some of these masses, indeed, entered the channel, sweeping it clear from side to .side for a time, as some of them blocked up the entrance of our harbour. A survey by the boat, however, showed at last that we might get out at the southern entrance, if we could release our- selves from the prison that now enclosed us. Though it was moilerate all day, the barometer fell an inch, prognosticating what soon occurred. Accordingly, we were \ isited by a very heavy gale, in the evening, from the north-north-west, with a snow storm, w liicli obliged us to carry a cable to the rocks, and another to the next iceberg, for the sake of keeping it betw eeii Seiit. 17t SIXOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY US and tlie shore, in rase any shift of \\hu\ should drive us on tlie rocks fnMU uhi(!h we were not many yards ort*. The tliernioniet'.T was at one tinn' 2'2 , and r(»s«' to 28 . >Ve examined tlie island to the south of US to-«hty, but found nothinj^ on it to attract our attention. Sept. '2!'. The snow stonu contiinied without intermission all nii^ht ; but, in th(! morninu, it had so far cleareetw(;en the round island and tlie main, was a cluster of larye islands, and that the coast was trendinu' to the west- ward. At eii;ht we had rounded the cape; successively openins^ out seven points, of which the filtli marked the place of a large inlet or bay, which, on our appntach. we t'ound to be fidl of ice. A bay beyond the second point stuined also to otier a good har- bour: while we further noticed a remarkable inlet, with what appeare Hii- south and twtlvc to the soiitli-uost : iiiul we now, tlurt'loic, tiicUed and heat up to the land in s< iiicli of a liarhonr, detadiing a boat as wt; ai)pioacli«'d, to sound an«l seek for a sate position: while, in the mean time, we made fast to a neighbourinn' iiuheri;, but in a situation that «'ouhl not be trusted, from the small d( pth of watuth-west, an island whirh r>tfered a place of seemity, havinii; a rock abo^e water to the south, with a shallow ridye near the northern entrance. This p(»sitiou we therefore took; makintr fast to two I under i)rotcction of the islet, so as to be not more than icebergs, an( a «piarter of a mile distant from the barrier of heavy ice, which we could now better sie to consist of hundreds of icebergs wepcarancc. As no observations were taken, we were obliu^ed to estimate the latitmle, by our reckoning, at 70 , and the htugitude (imc<»rrecte»l) at J)'i' U)'. ^\ ith the termination of Septemlxi, of which ^^e had now reached the last day, I c(Misidered that all hope of making any further progress this season was at an ositi()n in the ])ack, especially when a ship is near the land. It is, in reality, the most secure proceeding ; and although the consequence may oft* ii Ih' a retrograde movement, that is not to be jMit into competition with the safety of tlie shij); while we never experienced any difficulty in extricating ourselves sooner or later. 1 am earnesi in enforcing this doctrine on navigators, because the reverse opinion is rooted ; as tlie cous(M(u<'nce of the oj)posite practice is, to kecj) a vessel in a ("onstant state of actual, as well as a})j)re]i('nd('d danger, or anxiety. And this is, in fact, the source of all the daui vrs and narrow escapes of whi(;h \M' read ; while a little care and |)atience \>oidd gcnierally avoid that fVeciuent casualty, the being beset in tlie ice. A little reflection sjiould indeed show, that it is not ^^ ithiu tlu' po\\(!r of a ship to force her- self through such obstrui*tions : and thence do I recur to the con- clusion, that it is imprudent, as \\(H as idle, to be per[)etually push- ing on to reach (,'very tract of open water, unless it can be done without risk, and uidess also there be a pros[)ect of nitaining the ground that has been gained, or of making a determinate j)r(^gress. "It is indeed true, as it may be answered to these remarks, that it is th(! ))usiness of a ship to seek for a harbour, especially after a long run, and on an unknown coast. IJut it is genei'ally easy to send boats on this duty, w ith little or no comparative hazard, when there are prospects of retuge on shore : while, instead of thus endangering the ship, it is, as 1 have already reconnnench-d, the 2 a 2 180 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY safest, and indeed the only prudent practice, to take to tlie ice. This is, if I mistake not, tlie refuge furnished by Providence ; and he wlio neglects it, still trusting to Providence to escape the dan- *i:ers which he unnecessarily incurs, must not complain in case of failure ; since he has not exerted his utmost care and prudence to render himself entitled to that protection. Let that be kept in mind by liim at least who may hereafter attempt a ' north-west piissage:' and let him never lose sight of tlie two words, caution, and patience." f I TO TIIL AflCTIC UEGIOXS. 181 CHAPTER XII. REMARKS 0\ THE PRESENT COXOITION OF TFIE SHIP, AND PRE- PARATIONS TO REDUCE THE ENCUMIJRANCE OF THE ENGINE — UNRIGGING OF THE SHIP — A SUCCESSFUL REAR HUNT — ASCER- TAIN THAT WE ARE TRULY FROZEN IN FOR THE WINTER — A POWDER MAGAZINE ERECTED ON SHORE — PROVISIONS EXAMINED — THE GUNS AND PARTS OF THE ENGINE HOISTED OUT. JjEFORE proceeding witli the journal of the following montl), I must ofier some remarks on tlie actual condition of our ship, espe- cially as regards the engine. The record of tlie last weeks has already sliown that we had ceased to consider her as aught more than a sailing vessel : and it is also true, that whatever ad^ antage we had latterly derived from our machinery, it was not greater than we might have obtained from our two boats, by towing. But, thus rendering us no service, the engine was not merely useless : it \vas a serious encumbrance ; since it occupied, with its fuel, two-thirds of our tonnage, in weight and measurement. It had been, from the beginning, a very heavy grievance in another way, and in addition to the endless troubles and vexations which I have already re- corded : since it demanded and employed the services of four per- 182 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY sons, vvlio were necessarily landsmen, not sailors: tlnis cramping, very serionsly, the n»unl)er of o\u" real, or nantical, crew. As the engine, moreover, had been considered the essential moving power in the original arrangement of the vessel, the masting and sail- ing had been reduced accordingly, since it was })resuined that the sails wouhl only bi; re(iuired in stormy \\eather ; so that, in fact, she was almost a jury rigged ship. To add to all these disadvan- tages, she had, under this imperfect power, the heavy (hity of towing a boat of eighteen tons, a dimension e(|ualling one-fourth of her own : the whole com[>rising a mass of ol)struction and encum- brance which \se certainly as little ex])e<'ted as we had foreseen when we quitted England. If with all this, we had not less reason to be thankful for the pro- gress we had made, than really to ^^<)nder at oiu- success tlnis far, these were not things to make ns shut our eyes to what it seemed now most needful to do. In future, our shij) was to be a sailing- vessel, and nothing more. I therefore determined to lighten her of the most ponderous and least expensix e pait of this machinery, and to apply, towards strengtheinng the ship, whatever might seem available for that purpose. With this view, arrangements were made on the last day of Sej)tember, for taking to pieces the boilers, that we might land them as soon as the ship should be frozen in; an event that could not be distant; while, to this, I had more than the concurrence of every officer, and, })robably, that of every man. It is true that we thus consented to reduce oinselves to a degree of power far infeiior to that of any preceding vessel engaged in the.se services; but, in reality, that evil liad already occurred against 4 TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 183 r i our will, and our ^oluntary act of self condemnation was, after all, little more than a form. Diuinu- the last nii;lit, the thermometer fell to 17°, threatening us Oct. i. with having- readied our last jjosition for this season ; but, towards daylight, the weather became cloudy, and the temperature rose to 2V, with a fall of snow, whicli continued the whole day. AV'e were thus, however, prevented from asceiuling the higli land near us, and, thence, from making those observations on the state of the coast and the ice, ',\hich were inchspensable towards any further attempt at proceeding, We could do nothing more therefore than sound and survey our little harbour; and were j)leased to find that if we should really be frozen up in this spot, we should find it a safe place, after making some alterations in it, by clearing away the heavy masses, and sawing into the bay ice, which was now six inches thick. The snow ceasetl at night. A very recent fox- trap was found on the shore : and as the seals were very shv, while numerous, it was a natural conclusion that the Estpiiuiaux had not long quitted this place. Though the morning was cloudy, it was not an unfavourable 0^1. > day for an inland excursion. We landed on the north side of the harbour, as the ice was not such as to enable us to cross it to the southern one, which was, to us, the important point. After passing a valley containing a frozen lake, I as<;ende(l a high hill, and thence discovered that a creek which had caused us to make a circuit, was an inlet running about six miles within the land, in a north-west direction. Here T also saw the head of the great inlet whicli we had observed on the thirteenth, surrounded by land 184 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY anpriirinii' oonsidtrably liiu'lur tlian tliiit to the sontli-west, wliicli consisted of a succession of nnilbiin low hills. IJeyond this land I could see no water. To the south-east, there was a perfect view of the islands that we had })assed on the thirlieth of September, tot>e- ther ^\ ith sonu; land to the eastward and southward, which was prol)al)ly the American continent; thoui;h this point could not then he determined, any more than I could ascertain whether it was a continuation of that on which I was now stanh to feel neithersurprise iiordisappointuient,so,asIhad concluded at our tirst entanglement in this [jlace, were we far from beinu; sure that we had any thinir to regret. We could not, indeed, expect to lead an active life now: we did not even know that we should tind anv thini;- useful to *. 191 ■1 all roiiiiil the l:(>ri/.on in \\\v ilireclioii of the laiul. If was indeed ii (lull |>r()S[)( it. Amid all its Wrilliaiiey, tliis l:tiid, iUv land ol'iee and snow, lias ever been, and e\ tion, and on eompanPj^- tiuit with our numerous impediments and misadventures, the view now taken was not less reasonable than gratifying. We coidd not forget the days when we should have thought ourselves fortunate though we had only reached Port Bowen in this season, and though we had failed in attaining to the wreck and the stores of the Fury. But w hen the chart was at length disnlaved before us, we saw that we had not merely rea\lii<'li had been rcndcn-d onr slav<' ratlin' than our niastcr. Thus <'oni|)arinii- and considcrin,!;', as \\r lia to *J •') , the sun shiniii<;' j»ri,iilit durini;' the day. The engine was TO Tin: AUCTIC IlKfilONS. I!).*{ iiciiil) liilvcii to |)i((M's; ;m(l, hy lliiou inii i'\ iiii;- some liiryc holes of water to llie soutli-wesf, wv went to exainiiie tlieiii, and toiiiul them \ai'viii<;' tVom twenty siniare >ar(ls to an aere, in extent, with a stronu emrent boiling up at their western si(h's, and ruiniin;;- towards the east, in whieli direction their huiyest dimensi(»ns \n\ . Dmiiii;- the whoh- t\n\ this emrent remained tlie same; a t'aet whieh |m/.zh(l ns. as we were ohliu'ed t<» postpone the (h-termination of its real nature and eause to the ensninu' siumner. It' ther<' were any anionu us who ha«l theories ofsprinns here rising' in tlie sea, or ri\ers runniiiii- into it. they are not worth the trouhh' o|" either detail (tr examination. 1 owarus e>('mn -tl le w nio eanie rounc I toti le northward, and th< thermometer tell to |:} . A seal was shot, hut was lost by sinkiuii; and the skeh'ton of the bear havinu,- been stndv in the water that it mii>ht be eleaned by the marine animals, was broii<,;'ht up with some shiimps and shell (isji attaehed. to increase om- small <'ollee- tion of specimens. This \\as the only perlectly clear nii;ht we haall <|uantity of clear water was '2 c li>l SIXOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVEUV still seen to the northward, as well as in the oj)enin^s alna;ly mentioned; but we conhl oonjectnre no cause tor this current, i' tile day the temjieraturc was lo, lallinu' to 10 at niuht. The lalilud*! was settled at Hi) '>8' 41' and lon.uitnde i)'2 \ (>". Oit. II. The sky being overcast, the theruKii, ter rose to 18 , but, even at this temperature, it did not teel cold, as the breeze was moderate. The ship's crew were nnistered in i;ood health, e\(,'e|)tin,n 1{. Wall, w ho had lallen down into the engine room, yet without any serious injury. /Vl'ter church .service, the men were allowed their turns on shore; and, in their walk, they set up a lan I iw'\t«lay; nml, iigaiii risinif to !>(), it remainod so till late, not ralliiii;- IkIou 17' at nii(lnii>lit; the wtatlicr bccoiuin.u' iiioic and ni(»iv rlonily, with an apixaranoc of thnatcninu;- snow. \Vr tlionylit ouisclves fortunate in discoverini"- here what niiulit turn out :i souivc of flesh provisions, in a laruv \\ jielk, whicli had not been seen in the former voyages. Some imsiu'eessful ;ittem})ts wivr made on the seals, and a part of the enuine was hoisted over on tlie ice. The snow, on the followini;- day, fulfilled its pronnse; o,i. il oomin,i>- on very early in the morniui;:, when the thermomet\ iui;- these in the h(»ld. They who valued omens were left to speculate on the l)roj)hesyin^- of a raven which flew romid the ship. How far they did speculate, and what their pntunostics were, I did not take ihe trouble to inquire: had they been either absurd or important, it is probable that I should have heard enough of them, withosit inquiring'. i>c 2 ijx; sixoM) vovA(;i; of discovijiy CHAPTER XIII. KKMAKKS ON Till; A( Tl AL TKMIM'.IIATI KK AND ON THAT Ol" SIA- SATION — I'KOl I'.IM) IN LIGIITKN I NCi Till; SHIP — TIIK KNCUNK IINALI.V LANDKO, AND TIIK KIU SKNSTEKN Sl.dUi;!) — KOOriNtJ Ol' Tin; Sllll» (OMI'LKTKD KEMAKKS ON Till: TKMPKKATlKi; — AIJOLITION OK TIIK ISK OK SIM KITS ON IJOAUI) — lONTUIVAN(KS KOIl AV\IIMIN(; AND VKNTILATING THK VAPOlIt IJKTWKKN DK( KS DKSCIUI'TION OK TIIK SKVKIIAL AKI{AN(iKMENTS MADK KOIl WINTi;illN(i, AS KKLATiNC; IJOTII TO TIIK SHIP AND THK ( IlKW. f S- ri"> ()(t. 1. 1 liK snow <;east,(l btl'on- le. This (bti'creiice is, very obviously, as it is vulgarly, explained by the (litUreiit stnngth of the wind; while the iuunediate ea m', on this supposition, is too simple to reiinire statement. IJut there is nnieh more to be taken into consideration; while s(.me of the eir- eumstanees are either so little heedid, or so dillicult to perceive, that if the reader is siunetimes pnz/h,d to explain the apparent c(Hitradictions in the reiiorts on the actual heat and on that (»f sen- sation, they who feel that of w Inch others read, are often not less puzzled theuisehes. 1 may as well state here, once for all, what II lis It i- ss lit 1 » '^•-i,-. _ TO Tin: AIUTU IlKfilONS. V.)7 m lias struck lue ulien tliiiikinii: «»i» tliis siibjecl; since the same cvhich others Moidd ilespise. 4 TO THE ARCTIC REC.IONS. inf> In mmtioiiinu- tliis, I am also, in justice fo flic rliicf* suHln is in ' in a very lii,i>li f a|>parent health and strenii'th heing ecpial, it is he who .seems the readi,'st itencralor of heat who ou.i;ht to he tin; selected iiulividual ; tor no one will know, until he has suffered from it, what disappointments and vexations and laliours, antl restraints to the service, follow from the susceptihility of c(>ld in the individuals who may form the crew of a .ship, on a service like this : to say nothing of the accidents, in nior- '2m SKCOND VOYAOK OF DISCOVRRY tirKMlioiis iiiiil (liiitli, and in scnrvy too, I lia\r little doulit, wliirli rollou iVoin the sanu' ransc. I know not, liowject to siitter termed, or merely nna d)le t o recei\e incli tood. the most from cohl; ne\«r ijeneratinn' heat enonyh to resist its im- n'essions. I'hysicians nnist determine whether the stroni*' (lijj^estive poutM* and the heat-u^eneratinu;,' one are l>nt parts ol'one orit>:inal constitn- tiun, or >> liether the laru'e nse of tood is not a cause of the |)ro<|ii(;tion of heat ; hnt what tollows is at least practically' trne, as the r\v- anee ot' the 1o«mI for seamen, nnder all possible ditlerenees of eli- niat«', or lal)(»nr of serviee, teidniieally speakini;, has been fi\<'(|, jukI nniforni, iniplyini;- eirennistanees, and involving conseqneiu'es res|>ertin,s; n hieh I dare not here take room to speak, so, in the ease immediately before me, liave we been aeenstomed to fix the aUow- anee of tood, to restrict it, I may fairly say, throngh an experience founded on far other circumstances, or uiuler a system calcidated from very ditierent riata. The conclusion therefore in which T wish to rest, willinuly as I would have extended these remarks, ant subsist witlnnit il : becoming: diseased, and se that they do not manufacture heat to th«> same extent as the others. If such men also arc slow and melancholv in mind, as I believe to be very common, this is most assuredly an additional reason ayainst employini;" them; for even when these iVelintjs occur in a better temperament, they diminish the power of resistinu; cold; as if the exciting passions, as they are termed, a fact w liich I know not how to d»»ubt, led to the generation of lieat, and tin; depressing ones to tl le reverse. An original clioice ; since it thus heronu's tJie intnest, not hss than thrthity, of the coniniantlin^' otHccr, to kt'r|) np th«'ir spirits and hopes, hy any means that he e; as, in (h>inu' this, he also knons that he is athin,i;shoidd he adopted for resist in;;»" the impressions of external tem|>erat\ne, as these ar<' too well known to n ipiire detail, iiothinif will compensate for the want of the heat-geiieratini;- enera^y, but external heat; as that is but too often an impertect expi'dient. It is of little use Ut clothe him who will not, in himself, produce heat; it is like the attempt to warm a piece of i(!e by means of a ))lind;et; but it is too connnon a mistake to imai>ine that the e\pe- . We Oct. ic. continued to li<;hten the ship and pt out the boilers. I ascende()l SKCOM) vovA(;i: or i)is( ovr.KV frozen uj>, and all marks of a cnrnnt had, of «(»nrs(v \^\ \t»\ s<\(rc <»n Ihc loUow iny,- i\;[\\ ihonnh lie thcrinoniclcr rani;<(l Ixlwrtn II and H. A sini;l<' coal fisii was taUiii ; and I an t'cll iimaiii lo iiiimis J). The lust ol" the cii^iiic wus linislcd out : iiiiiv I not s:i\ that tlicrr uas iiot mmi' of ns \\\u> t'I(I. TIic yalh-y was also niovtM.1, and |)lact'rm<)meter l'allin<>- to niiims 3, and then risinu" auain as hii;h as pins I ') . 'J'liis is a snn* indication of snow in these climates ; and acci)i(liii<;'ly a hta\y I'all came on at midniu'ht. Some ntln r nset'ul alterations were this day made in the ship; and, amoni; the rest, a pi|)e was carried from the upper dv^ick to the tire, l>\ means of which that was easily rennlated. These things heini"- done, it was tonnd thai a \ery small le. and tn maintain a medium heat, of a!)out •'>•), beini;' what I judged the most ad\antau<'ous one. Ot. 2'. The snow \'e had .set a fox-trap yesterday, and to-day it was found robbed bv the doys TO TIIK AIK TU RKni()\8. '2f)7 Tbonuli flic tcinpcratnn' was not iiiatnially difll iviil (his iljiy o.t.:*;. a smart gale luadr flir ciAA xci y seven . \\\- llien (ore lias(<'iie<| (<» complt't«' (lie inodm;-, \\lii«'li uas done l>y iiieaiis ot' (lie span; sails procured from (I'e Rookuood's and (!i<' l-'ary's stores: :iiid wt- im- mediately (ouikI (lie ad\an(aiif <»t this addi(ioiial seemi(v against the cold. 0(h< r iieedl\il arraiim ineii(s on (he pai( o(" (he carpen- ters and eni:;iiieers. under iis in-door eiiijd«»yiiieiit, when it nas espe«'ially unsaCe (or inexperieiiceil men (o work out of the shi|), lest they should he lros(-lM((f (he juccedinu' night (he (hennometer rose to Oct. 29. plus .'J . and. durinu (he da\ , (o J ; a state of things, as I haVejust remarked, always a(tendinn snow, which a<.'cordin,iily fell in con- siderable (juantity. On (Ik- following day, the drift was so great that we c«>uld not proccdl with <»ur embankment. The changes in the (empc ia(urc were no( s(» remarkable as (o need recording here; bu( I mus( niiiark, (ha( on (hi-<. as on almos( e\ery prec<'ding o(,'ca- .sion, (hebarometir imlicated (he eoiuiug gale. A white fox wa.s taken in the traji, alive. Oct. 30. M 208 SKIONI) VOYAfJK OF l)IS( OVKUV Oct. 'il. 'Vhti wind lilcw slill Iiariler, :uiil the lluiniomclcr All fo minus UV. At sunset tlurc was a lari;(' halo, Ixini;- hut the sccon*! that >vc' had sfcn ; it was, howcArr, only a white one. There was after- wards an aurora to the soiithward. 'I'he tops of the mountains were eonsiderahlv bared of their snow bv the i'ale : but the contrast of their dark rocks with the whiteness around, onlv served to render the aspect of this winter landscajx.' more desolate. The poor fox was accidi'iitally strangled: only, howcAer, anticii)atini:: a fate which weshoidtl hav«! been old ij^eil to inflict hereat'ter, thoniih we did not then foresee it. We had. on tiiis day, comjileted the first month of our imprison- ment in this (h'ear\ and miserable coniitrv. and were iiaturallv led to compare our present condition with those of precedini;- \(»ya,i'ers, and to make some meneral remarks on \arious matters, tin; most important otwiii . - () , oO' i\(V WIT S3 11' 0' Do. ISil . . +f), 5r (if) 2():j0' SI :ri uv !)(.. ISii + J) , 70' 7.} la 10' SS o-l'JS" I)(.. IS21 . . ^ 10 , S.V These are the facts in question : V^ictory's posit ion ."\[«lville ishmd . Winter ishmd . Tu;loolik . Port Bo win . Ill the next place, coinpariiiij!: our proiiiess with some preceding ones, it was true that we had nal ions by land. Orders were ae<'ordingIy ^iven to stop the us<' and wlhtwiinee of uroi;'; whiU' it was very satistiietory to tind that these were reeeiM'd without n-iuonstrinie<'. Our rooting had been perfected in this month; but it still re- inain<'d to complete our embankment, and to «'over the upper deck with snow. .More arn'.Jii^ements than tlntse >et noticed had also been mad ni th«' interit)r < f the ship, by const ruetin< thai piccethil lis, been necessary to cany it as hiuh as 70 . 'I'he reir>ihitioiis achtptol veie the folh»\> iiii;': ami I pvau('S. It will easily be seen how much of all this was dir<'ctl\ useful, for some om- <»r other specific purpose, and how far the intention was to find occupation for the minds of the men, and (xercise for their Inxlies. 'J'he m»'U slept in hammocks. whiks, by means of a h mii^ht still contain snow or moisture, in the first division, or chamber; thence a«lvancin,<; into the canvas apart- ment, which furtiier served as a s^uard to prevent the entrance of tin; cold external air into the steeraijje, their tlwelling place. Duriusj^ the day, iiu-ludiny the space between six in the mornint:: and nine at niuht, tlu' steam kitchen was found sutHcient both for warmth and VF,UV ami, after this, tluy aftciulcd an cvcniiiu: srlmol, r«•» ^v^>|•k was allowed. Tin- nun ueiv mustered, and ins|»eeted in tinir best clothes, by ten o'eloeU, after wliieli there were prayers and a sermon. T vupy the nniainder of the day, there was a eolleetion of lra<;ts which had been presented to us by Mrs. Ijiderby, of JJIackheath, proving a judicious as well asa useful gift, hul, at six there was a Sun«lay s<;hou| : the uecupati(tn on this evening being the rea«ling of jiortions of scripture bv th di d by the h men. while the day was concluded by |)salms antilations ha\inn rciianl to the collateral uses we might deriM' from the heat necessary for those purposes. 'I'he allowance of provisions to the men and the otfuers, issued for fourteen tiays, is seen in the tbllowiiin table. TO TUB ARtTIC HKCUUNS. 316 .tiiiiiiiil iij'l/iv Dili/// I'rnpiiiiiitii itf Pronsioii:! srrval Id 18 M I'll > I), \n ; 'inimiit 1' / " «/.,■ i;r kin >iiiri(i _li ft 4) U.hI, DiivH 1 k4 3 4) .3 ■n ?, I',. jD '3 ? J 2 J 5 3 J w — ■*• /. 3 3 'J "5 j! S 7 ^ 1 •'■ , •'• 3 ■' - ^ >-' 1 fU. — — ^~" 1 ■^mul^v . . -':: ij'4^ 3 11 135' 11 2 Miiiidiiy . (i:i ()•-» !) ■^U Uyl! II ,1:35 1 , :] TMcsiliiy . •-'-!,: 15 1; 11 liiS A Wednesday liJA '^u aUi 11 131 .) Tliursdiiv . 2;f li -IV II 135- t) I'ridiiy . . '-'u: 11 ■II 11 1 13^ 1 ' -IJ ( Siitiird;iy , '■^\i. ij li IS 13} 8 Siiiuhiy . . 2h: u M .1 II 13 J !/ Mdiidiiv . (i;; (Mi -If. ' f ^ IJ 134 M 1(1 riiesday . •^[i u n IJ 13| 1 II V\ ednisday >'!^i li -IS ll 13,;- 1 VI riiur.-day . '-'Ul Ir 4 J IJ 134 I;) I'ridiiy . . 13A -M?i II 4-V Ui 13;- 1 1 14 Sal unlay . -Tit, 'T|^J 1 11, KU i 1 n 7'n/(// . ri(j 146.^1 () i) 1 i *^i l^^i U)H 404- 4U|| 3 iiur, 1 1 JJcsidcs tliis, \iiui>iir \v;i.s stiNcd as it was rcqiiind ; l)iif, inorr rarely, preserved soups, as it was tlioiii;lit liest to reserve tlieiii for tlu! coldest weather, or tor [)arlieular o(;easio'is. Tliev* were also lemons and laiiiariiids jor1li(»sr who iiii;nlit he unwell. This porfion of the ship's (hify ap|»ertain«'d to Mr. Thoni, who had also the ehari;e of the loy, as master not less than purser; toj^ether with that of the baromc ter, and its attadied thermometer. 'I'he chronometers were now under the eharyt; of Connuander Jioss; who also took a joint chily with myself in the navigation and the difJ'erent classes of observation : with the further undivided com- mand over tlie department of natural history. j0t IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 11^ 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 •■a 6" — ► v: ^ /}. ^;; ^, ei 'a .% .'^''''' "-> f;^ y .^ Photographic Sciences Corporation ,\ tv :<\^ ;\ \ ■^ >> \ >> ^%^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ^ fA •v^^ li \ r 216 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY CHAPTER XIV. THE MONTH COMMENCES STORMY AND COLD — IMPROVEMENT IN ITS PROGRESS — REMARKS ON THE THERMOMETER AND BAROMETER — OCCURRENCE OF A SPLENDID AURORA BOREALIS — SUMMARY OF THE MONTH. rt^ Nov. 1. A HE most severe storm that we had yet experienced came on this day; bursting suddenly from the north, with a lieavy fall of snow, and the thermometer under zero. Sunday was spent as usual, except thai it was impossible to take exercise on shore. There was an jyjp^. o aurora at night, but not brilliant. The gale then subsided, and was followed by a fine day : when, although the temperature was at minus 14°, the cold was by no means disagreeable. Though the distant horizon was not very clear, we could see that the ice was partially broken up by the storm ; some clear water appearing in the south-eastern quarter. In the evening of this day the wind came to the westward, and there was another aurora, of short duration. Nov, 3. There was no material change of wind or weather this day, the thermometer being at minus 9°. We found traces of foxes during our walk on shore. More was done towards completing our snow fortification ; and I believe most readers now know, that the frozen TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 217 snow is cut into masses resembling squared stones, and applied in the same manner, as the cement is formed of water. On the fourth, Nov. 4. there was snow again, during the whole day: the thermometer rose to zero ; falling again, in the night, to minus 10°. We had now ceased to take the shellfish for some days. The morning was fine, and as is then unusual, the temperature Nov, 5. got up to minus 1°. Four wiliow partridges were killed. On the following day the wind was fresh from the northward, but not so Nov. g. cold as to impede the necessary work. An examination of the con- densers proved that they collected, jointly, a bushel of ice in the day, as I noticed in the summary of last month to be the expected quan- tity : and we could not but be highly pleased at reflecting, that had it not been for the collection and condensation of this bushel, we should have been ourselves the condensers, and been involved in va- pour and internal rain, to an equivalent amount, all the twenty-four hours. It is always desirable to be relieved from sufl^ering ; but it is infinitely more gratifying, when we know that we have been bene- fited by the exertion of our own invention and industry. These are among the true rewards of exertion, in all the circumstances of life; and the self congratulation which follows is more than pardonable. In spite of a brisk wind from the north-east, with much drift Nov. 7. snow, our oflicers contrived to kill two ptarmigans ; but, notwith- standing such a breeze from this quarter, the thermometer rose to plus 3°. I must confess that these vacillations in the heat were not always intelligible; we knew, generally, what a peculiar wind ought to produce, why an overcast sky should raise the tempera- ture, or a flill of snow make the air comparatively warm, and 2p I , 218 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY why also we ought to expect the severest cold with a clear sky. But all our causes sometimes failed us ; and I can only now con- clude, as I did then, that our knowledge of tlie atmosphere and its conditions is as yet not sufficient to explain even the changes of temperature ; fading us, as it does, in every thing else, when we attempt to lay down those general rules, without the certainty of which, there is no sound knowledge. Nor is this less true of what has been deemed most certain, namely, the changes in the barometer ; and if what we had occa- sion at different times to observe, be at present inexpli ;able, I can only remind my philosophical readers, that it has often, and amply, been confirmed, by the reports of La Perouse and the experience >f navigators beyond number. The mercury has risen when it should have fallen ; and it has sunk when there was present every reason that has been assigned for its rise. It has fallen with winds from the east and the north ; and also (for this has been a reason given for its rise) with winds from the land ; while it has risen under the reverse circumstances, being the received ones for its fall. Thus has a low barometer brought fair weatlier, and a high one rain ; while T have also seen it fall, with an east wind, bringing violent rain, when, on coming round to the west, the mercury rose, even more than half an inch, within a very short time, and with fine and settled weather. In a nautical view, these must indeed be consi- dered as exceptions : I should be very sorry, among others, were not this instrument still of much use on board of ships, especially in those seas and those seasons in which sudden and violent gales arise : but if its prognostics are not absolute, and not therefore such i\ i TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 210 as to be an excuse for inattention to other circumstances, or for the omission of constant watchfulness at sea, so must it be recollected, that, in philosophy, such exceptions prove our ignorance of laws which we pretend to know. It is a silly maxim, as it is a false one, popularly rooted as it is, that the exception proves the lule ; the slightest exertion of common sense should show, that nothing; can be a law in philosophy if it admits but of one exception. On the preceding evening, the wind blew hard from the north- Nov s. west ; but the morning of Sunday was beautiful, with a brilliant sky, without a cloud. Divine service was performed, and the exer- cise on shore was enforced as on former occasions : this being intended as a standing order for every Sunday on which it might be practicable. All were well, except the armourer, whose con- stitution could not bear the climate. He ought not, indeed, to have been with us ; having been destined for our consort, the John, as the armourer of that ship was intended for the Victory. Unluckily, that man was one of those who joined the mutineers ; and though I had intended to send the present ailing and feeble person home by the first whaler that we should meet, not one had fallen in our way. The tine weather continued, with the thermometer at minus 10^ Nov. 9. A shooting party had no success; seeing merely some hares, and the track of a bear. On the next day the same party was soon driven Nov. 10. in, by the thermometer falling to minus 20°, though the weather continued fine. At night it was 22° minus •, being the lowest yet experienced. In the middle of the next day it came to blow, and, in Nov. 11. the evening, abundance of snow fell ; both the force of the gale and the quantity of snow increasing till midnight. Thus we were pre- 2 f2 220 8KC0ND VOYAGE OF UlSCOVEKY Nov. 1-. vented from gettiii;;- some oceultations by tlie luooii, in Tiuinis, on which we liad cidenhited, and for whieh Me had macU? preparation. vVfter bh^wint:^ \\ith increased fnry, the !;ale became somewhat mort! moderate towards tlie evenin.i;-. It is worthy of remark, that the ran,i>e of the thermometer, in the hist thirty-six honrs, was 48 . If the ice was at all l)roken np by this gale, it was a matter which we had no means of discovering, as there w ere now but three hours of daylight. l?ut it w as likely ; for the wind coming from the north- east to the south-east in the evening, there was an unusualhigh tide, and the ice near us burst open w ith a tremendous noise, admitting the water above it. The thermometer at midnight was as high as 26 plus. Nov. 13. The temperature did not l)egin to fall till after noon on this day, and then very gradually. This was a long duration of what may be called a high heat at this season of the year ; since it had been above 24^ plus, for about eighteen hours : but the uiore remarkable fact is, that there was a north-easterly w ind all the time ; eontirming the ob- servations I have just made respecting the obscure causes by which temperature is reguhited. viccorchng to general experience in these regions, the cold ought to have been severe. As to the thermometrical observations themselves, there can be no doubt of their accuracy, be- cause they were made on shore, remote from the influence of the ship, while the instruments were the same that had been used on former exi)editions. It w as almost amusing to tind the sportsmen comi)lain- ing of the heat ; anil, w ith the snow that fell, there was some rain. Though our sport w as without any success, the position of the sun to-day, and the clearness of the air, when on the hill we had so often visited, gave me a more extensive view of the distant land than Nnrln^ was ad- mirabh' tliis day, as it had been for a short period in tlie afternoon before. It was not only that the eh>nds and the sky in the south presented all those rieh summer tints of evening which ar<' oeeasion- ally seen in our own country, and those hues contrasted by the deep, dark, calm purjde of the northern horizon, but, in addition to the aerial tints and reflections of the snow of the mountains, emulatinir or exceeding- those on the clouds, tlie hills near the sini were often sj)lendid with j)rismatic colours as it passed along them in its course. In reality, the noonday sun of these regions is an evening sun ; and it is not surprising, therefore, that its whole diurnal progress exhibits but the ap[)earances of a similar sun in our own latitudes. I had reason to believe, from the colour of the sky, that there was some open sea to the nortiiward: and we could distinctly see one clear space of about a mile in diameter, not a very great way from us, together with some smaller pools, the effects of the late storm. The weather continued calm, and not cold ; since the thermome- Nov \r>. ter did not fall lower than V, and rose as high as 8°. A very little snow fell : but, on shore, the valleys and ravines were already quite filled, as the far larger part of the hills and of the other ground in general was covered; only a solitary black rock appearing here and there, wherever the gale had acted with most violence. Traces of foxes and hares were now seen every day, by the parties on shore ; but that was all. The Sunday was spent as usual. The sun had not Nov. 16. been seen yesterday, and neither sun nor moon was visible this day : the weather was nearly as mild. In the night, however, it fell to minus 4", and continued nearly the same on this day. '3>-? SIX'OND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY Nov. 17. On ^rojiditV; tlie stvcntcrutli of Novtinlxir, a very singular appear- ance of the snn occnrred, with an etKeettoo incredilile andabsnrd to a(hnit of representation, sphndid as it was to the eye. The centre was darkened bv a cloud, while the circumference was snrrounded by a belt, nnder MJiich the rays shot out in such a manner as to give it the sendilance of a star of the order of the Bath. If there was any one on board who inianined that this ap})earance was ominous of that, or any other knighthood, to any of us, the secret was kept; fortunately for the prognosticator, who might have lost his fame by trusting to a fallacious omen ; tliough, by a very singular coiiicidence, it has been accomplished on the very day that the correction of this sheet, in passing through the press, enables me to add its fulfilment. Nov. 18. It was still mild; but, from the force of the wind, there was enough drift, on the hills, to prevent shooting: the theniiometer reached plus T at midnight. Our sehool was completely organized, Nov. 19. for instruction in reading, writing, arithmetic, mathematics, and navigation ; and the men being divided into clas.ses, the necessary materials and books were distributed. Out of the eighteen, three had not learned to read and write; but the want of arithmetic was very general : the three mates were capable of commencing with astronomy and navigation. No compulsion was here necessary; all were volunteers; and the scliool hours always terminated by reading two chapters from the bible, together with the evening psalms. Nov. '20. There had been neither sun, moon, nor stars to be seen these two last days, and the weather still continued gloomy, with little wind and less snow. The thermometer reached {f, and averaged 5^ during the twenty-four hours. A white hare was shot. The fol- Nov. 21. lowinii' moihiim was e(|uallv didl and dark, with occasional snow; TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 223 tli()iii>h the moon made her appearance, once or twice, for a very short time. At midnight the temperature fell to minus 1°. A female fox was taken in the trap to-day, and was brought on board for the purpose of being tamed. A very faint aurora was seen in the south-eastern liorizon. Sunday was calm and clear, with the thermometer as low as Nov. minus 9^ In the course of tlieir walk after service, tht; men found the tracks of reindeer, but nothing more. On Monday the thermo- Nov. meter continued falling till it reached minus 10. Intending to pur- sue the tracks of yesterday's reindeer. Commander Koss proceeded for a certain distance along shore, and thus found, for the first time, that the south-west point of the nearest land was insulated from the main by a channel leading to the westward, but without being able to ascertain how far it penetrated. The wind shifted to the south- ward ; and the men found work in extricating the engine boilers, which, being on the ice, had been partially buried in a new layer formed by the breaking through of the water a few days before. An overcast sky caused the thermometer to rise a tew degrees, but Nov. the change was only temporary. There was enough of work for the day, in cutting out the various ironwork of the engine, as well as the whale boat, which was in the same predie .s\ent. A cairn on the island, intended as a guide to the ship for those who might lose their way, was completed ; and a thermometer, constructed purposely for us, was iixed on it. There was a brilliant aurora to the .south-west, extending its red radiance as far as the zenith. The Nov, wind vacillated on the following day, and there was a still more brilliant one in the evening, increasing in splendour till midnight. 21. 224 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY Nov. 20. and ptTsistiiigtilllhi'folIowinninorniiig. Itconstitulcdabrightiin'li, the extremities of uhioli seeiiud to rest on t\voo|)pos<(l hills, while its colonrwas thatot'the full moon, and itself seemed not less Inminons; though the dark and somewhat blue sky by which it was bueked, was a cliief eanse, I hav(! no donbt, of the splendoiu" of its erteet. We can conjectnre what the appearance of Satnrn's ring mnst be to the inhabitants of that planet ; bnt here the conjecture was per- ha})s verified ; so exactly was the form and light of this arch what we nmst conceive of that splendi'ente(l a sight of the sun. Every thing proceeded as was ^^v. 30. usual on Sundays. Monday was the clearest and the calmest day we liad experienced during the month, but it was also very cold, the thermometer falling to minus 37 , and thus far outdoing whatever we had yet felt. Once more, the merithan, or the rising and setting sun as it may l)e called, was obscured by a cloud, so [)erf«'ctly, from the .ship, that no sight of it could be obtained above the fog bank which lined the horizon. But one or two glimpses of it were j)ro- eured from the higher part of th(' island, \\ hence, at noon, it was just able to clear that low cloud, for an instant or two. Thus closed the month of November, and, as we calculated, with the last sight of the sun which we were likely to have this winter. It was still [deasing to tin!). V\ E sijw the upper liiiih of tlie sun to-day, for a short time, ^''^'- '• from the ishind ; the utinosphere l)eiu!»- unusually eleur. It was elevated about two minutes of a decree. This was the result of refraction ; since its astronomical disap{)earance had occurred six days a,i?o. We wen- now also but three weeks from the shortest day : so that, with the same circumstances at its next risiny', we should not be condemned to more than six weeks of its total absence. We obtained the altitudes of several stars. Ilie thermo- meter stood from iiV to .'J7' minus: the barometer at 30 inches. A black cloud in the southern horizon would have prevented i)w. 2. the sun from beinc^ seen, though it had .still risen above that line as it did the tlay before. The magnetic observatory was erected, and the other one commenced. At midniurht there was a mairnificent ^^•- ^- arch of an aurora, but it was only five degrees high. The colour was a light yellow, and it emitted rays; finally breaking up and disappearing about one o'clock. The day was calm, and the sky ^^'^- 4- clear, but with a cloudy horizon. The thermometer rose to minus 2g2 228 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY Dec. Dec. f). Dec. Dec. 8. Dec. 9. Dec. 10. Deo. 11 19°, and, on the followini,^ day, to 14 ; with light clonds above, and deep red ones near the passage of the snn. ^Ve now compared the mercurial and the spirit thermometers, as we might soon be called on to de})end on the latter alone ; and the necessary correc- tions were accorded for adoption. A strong wind rendered this morning very cold. But the wind .shiftinii- from the north-east to the soutli-\\ est, it fell four degrees lower; confirming the remarks already made on the subject. An ermine came on board, quite starved, and was taken and fed by the crew. Sunday was very stormy and squally, with snow, and the thermometer began to rise when the wind fell. The day was kept as usual. A strong breeze bhw all jMonday, till the evening, when it became moderate and clear ; the thermometer tailing from minus 12° to 23°. The moon was clear, for the first time during a consi- derable period ; but as it passed over no stars, it gave us none of the observations that we wished. The calm weather was succeeded by a breeze from the north-east, and the thermometer rose to minus 1G°. On the following day there were light winds and hazy weather. The observatory being finished, we obtained some occultations of stars by the moon. The temperature fell to 26° minus, in the evening, and there was an in- significant aurora. On the tenth there v. r^s a halo round the moon, .sending out rays to a great di.stance, in the form of a cross. This was repeated on the following day ; and the thermometer during the three days ranged between minus 10° and 27°. A transit of Aldebaran was obtained. There was little to note this day -. the temperature and weather TO Tin: AlUTIC lUUilONS. 2t>9 Dec. If). liavinii,- little chanucd, and tlie iik n's (iiiplovuKnits reiiiainini? as usual. The following" was sjient in the usual manner tixed for Sun- ncc i >. day. It is remarkable, that through the last week, the state of the Meather allowed the fires to be discontinued for eight hours every night, without lowering the heat between decks beyond the degree which had been fixed on as the best. On the following (hiy , Monday, Dec. ii. the thermometer was generally at minus 13°; and we were again armoyed by the water overflowing the ice. The weather was hazy, and mild to the feelings, both on this day and the following morning ; on which there was a large halo round the moon. But the wind rose, so that it became .so cold as to prevent the men from working on the ice, while the thermometer sunk also to minus 24°. The same wind, with an equally low temperature, continued to impede all out of door work ; but, on the 17th, the westerly wind came round to the east, and it was then followed by a great increase of cold, when the thermometer at length fell to 37° mimis. At this point the mercury froze ; \\ hether from being alloyed, or from the instrument having been ill graduated, we had no means of ascertaining ; though the former was probable, as some other quick- silver which we had on board did not freeze. There was another beautiful aurora this day. The ice round the ship was much rent by the tide, but not so as to allow the water to overflow. There had been a short calm, which was succeeded by another Deo. is. easterly breeze ; and the thermometer then rose to minus 28°. Clouds obscured the aurora of yesterday, though it was .still partially visible, as if occupying the whole space from east to west. On the 19tli dcc. I9. the thermometer went on rising till it reached 17°; but it was far Dec. I( Dec. i: 230 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY Dec. 20. colder, a.s there was a smart breeze, until after noon, when it be- came calm and pleasant. There was no success in shooting: all animals seemed to have nearly deserted this part of the coast. Our carpenter being a musician, I ought already to liave said that the men were permitted to dunce on the Saturday nights; holidays of this nature having always been found acceptable, and advantageous; while it was also, necessarily, a school holire. The elements themselves seemed to have determined that it should be a noted day to ns, for it commenced w ith a most beautiful and splendid aurora, occupying the whole vault above. At first, and for many hours, it displayed a succession of arches, gradually increasing in altitude as they advanced from the east and proceeded towards the western side of the horizon ; while the succession of changes were not less brilliant than any that we had formerly witnessed. The church service allotted for this peculiar day was adopted; but, as is the etiquette of the naval service, the holiday 232 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY D.c. -2' Dc WHS also kept hy iin umisually liberal dinner, of uiii(;h, roast beef from our (ialloway ox, not yet <;\j)encleil, formed the essential and orthodox [jortion. I need not say that the rule against grog was rescindi'd for this . pected mercury froze again ; but, beini^ calm weatlier, the cold was not felt to be very severe. On this day we saw one hare, liaving seen two yesterday; so Dk. jo. that all the animals had not disappeared. There was very good light during the day, from ten till half after three ; and, in the course of it, the temperature rose to minus 20\ There was also a faint aurora; and some transits of stars were observed. On the fol- lowing morning the sky was overcast; but the weather felt mild, Du. ;i. and the thermometer rose twelve degrees. We found, on shore, the footprints of a wolf, which seemed to be travelling northward, having passed the ship at no great distance. Our chase of it ended in tracking it two miles, when we lost its traces, Thus ended the month of December, and the year 182D. The temperature had maintained, like the preceding one, where the general results are tabulated, a medium ratio among those apper- taining to the former voyages in the same mouth. Uncertain as temperature here, as elsewhere, must be, when examiried under short periods, uncertain as even the monthl} means should be, in different years, when we know how the general characters (jf those years difl'er, it is a remarkable circumstance, that the means of all the latitudes and longitudes of Melville island, Igloolik, Winter island, and Port liowen, give nearly the actual situation of the Victory at Felix Harbour, while the temperature there also agrees with the mean temperatiu'c of these four positions; indicating tliereby a gradual relation of temperature, which is at variance with a popular theory on that subject. The observatory, I must now remark, was built on a much better 2 II 234 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVEIIV plan than that of former years. Ikins; larger, as well as more eoiniiiodious, the breath r)f the observers was not s«» ready to con- dense on the instrnnients. Onr transit instrnment was also on a mneh laru^er scale, being of thirty-six indies; while its position had been perfectly verified by observations on circumpolar stars. With respect, however, to observations in general, it had not been u fortnnate month. Dnring its northern declination, the moon had been always ♦►bscured by clouds, and thus disabled ns from obtain- ing the nsual lunar distances. We liad still to hope that January would be more favourable, as we were in an excellent state of pre- paration for the observations that we were desirous of making. On the aurora boreal is which we had so often seen, no experiments could be made, from the state of the weather and the force of the win to avoid tliein in future; tlioui;!! qnitt' aware that all care was sometimes iniavailintf, since the mere turning of an ani^le after a progress throuuh an inortensive lemperafure, might instantaneously expose US to an unforeseen blast, to some partial or easnal eurrent of air, with an etleet so sudden as to be unavoidable ; whih' the sutferer himself is the only one who does not know what lias hap- pened, and, if alone, may therefore be irremediably frozen. With this general good state of liealth, it was painful to see that the poor armourer was approaching to his end; being, ho\\ever, ecpially con- scious of the inevitable event, and prepared to meet what he had for some time expected. But it was a destiny that he coidd not long' have protractejl, though he had remained at home ; and we hud no reason to think that it had been accelerated by the voyage or the climate. The trial of another month continued to satisfy us of the goodness of our internal arrangements; nothing had failed, and there was nothing to alter. We were especially pleased with the success of the apparatus for condensing the vapour from within : the jHinciple of which, it is evident, is similar to that of the condenser in Watt's engine, different as the circumstances are. The proof of its ethcacy had been am[)le : but I must now note, in correction of the tirst statement res|)ecting the quantity of ice collected weekly in the three condensers, that it was subject to considerable variations. I originally stated it at about a bushel in the day, for the whole : that being the result of our tirst trials, before we had fully regu- lated the production and the average of the heat between decks. But in the course of these attempts at discovering and maintaining the best temperature, it was found to vacillate ; the produce being, in some weeks scarcely four bushels : while we easily ascertained 2 II 2 2im SFXOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVICRY that the quant ily increased with au^inentation of llie internal lieat, and reniarUably so on the days when th(; washed linen was vh(de jieriod of onr dinanee n[» to tliis |>(>int, had passed away without weariness, and had iniked been almost unfelt; while, I may add, that A\e had been under no necessity of inventini;- any idle amusements for the puri^se of killini; time. Those among- the men who were and)itious, thought, I believe, that it had passehy, vvhinli, I presiune, has been lon^' the limit of the hopes of all sensible men on this subject. We were in an advaniHtl posi- tion, witli a new suiuuk r about to f;ive its earliest notices in no long time; and when the period should come to set us free, every new step would be a new discovery. If our reflections also turned to l*^ngland, it was not to regret an idle promise that we might possibly return by the new year; but we were disappointed that we had fouml no uk ans of .sending an account of ourselves since our dej)arture from the J)ani.sh settlement at llolsteinborg, in July. We hail met no whalers; but, consi- dering what our course and the season had been, these shi[)s could easily inform our friends, that not to have met with us was no reason for doubting of our .security ; while all knew that we were provided with a winter home, with all indee 11 K.o. KbN.n; li.; '.' N.;)02. Ni)W.4. W.Ki. WbS.O. a.ji. siiK.o. (t f) E.G. I'.bN.O. r :t _ II N.l-.S.NbW.o 4 ;! W.lu'i.WbS.n. S.I,-i|..SbE.o. I,'. II. i;bN.(]. -0 1 . , N N W . 11 1 u'svv.io. (» .ss i;.o. .KNE.O. SI. NNW.8U. H WSW.IO. _ o ssB.o. I ENE.4. ,N.NVV.203 (1 WSW.O SSl;.28. (I r.NL.ii. '-'■' r Ml __ - .1,5 1 '_• NVV)-.-.lS4 .NVNbN.l'J!).SVV.f)SJ.NUb\V.'JI) W.N W.;3. VV b.N.U. " l.'i 11. Ill II SWy. --lUn .>\\li\V.ll. .SVV.ll-.i. S\\b.S.,-,l. SSW.'.V. .sbVV.O. .. II Mi II J. 11 SKy. »- (Jy .SEIiKo. SKlM. .SI'.bK.ij. k.SK.'JO. i'.b.s:o. ^J'. 11 1',' Jil n NKy. (i;l NEbE.O. NE.O. NEbN.52. SNE.;?. NbE.o. .„"._ - U " '.".' NWy. 132 NAVbN.ii.N\\.ll2.N\\bVV.O. Wnw.iu. UbN.o. . " . •1'-' .11 11 o SWy. « :.; SWbW.OSW.I.'.. SWl,SO. S.surij. .SbVV.O. SEy. ^ 4!l Total. C!l!l liiinrs. 4.1 (ii). ciUin. 744 :ll (lays. Tilt 111. . :i tiimrs. f r_M (k>. culm. 30-. S-' . II _ !' II SEy. ^ 4!l ( '"' SEbS.O. SK.4. .>iEbEO. KlSl!.2(i. l.li.S 0. ■'> 1- 1117 1 ;4 jii NEy. ;iil '"" NEbE.lJ. ^E,13li. .\Eb.\.227.N.\E.:lS!). NbE.12u. -,— J ,_. fi „ !1.1 _n ]<; NWy. -229 1 NWb.\.31.N\V.2fi;..N«b\V.0.W.S\V.,',l. M'bN.O. ~ . , -r"-^ •'ill _ 1!) S\Vy.rl31 .., V S^VbW.O. .SW.13!). SWb.VO. h.SW.iiO. .Sb\r,o. I .i-, H liiun.- _ » _ _.'.^ _ n_ .-, I. .SEv. -.11-, Mil il'>- <■•''"'• SEbS.O. SE.9. SKbE.O. F..'iE.;. iiliS.O. — .,, , _ .1 _. 1!, „ .1,, ,,i NEy. -,121 .-J" inlays. .NEbE.li. NE.rii. M.b.S.ll. .N.N E. 1:12. NbK.SP. J OCTOIiHR, 1529. Highest, InWL'st, A I , „,_,(;i ■ mean triiipuratiirL' J *' Tnliil luri'i' vi the W inil . . . Mean foruc nf the WintI NOVEMllEIl, 192(1. Iliclu'st, Iiiwrst, Si\ ,.,,|_3j nit'iiii tcniju'ratiirc i 'Jdriil force of the Wind . . . Mean force of the \Vi!ui . . DECEMIiEU, 1S29. Hiu'licst, lowc-it. & 1 ^ ... iiiciin tciiiiicriitiirc i ' ' Total force of the Wind . . Mean force of tlie Wind 91 + nirii lii.ri nil!) -23. M Hill .V.i .11. — The nuinirutor sigiujUs liuiirs. Ei, S. lio, is j," Imurs, iiortU icliiritu of tUc iiiiicl i,-,o. TO THE ArtcTic i{K(;io\s. 2;J0 CHAPTER XVI. commi:\(i:mi:\t of tin; vi;aii 1H;W) — riusr mioktino uitii the KSQIJIMAUX ON this COAST — DKSl im>Tl()\ op Tlirwil MUAGV., AM) OF TIIFMIl SOCIKTV AND MANNIOUS — TIIKV ARi: KNTKIl- TAINKf) ON nOAIll) — ("OM.MrNICATK SOMi: (.KO(;ilAPI||('AL INFOIl- IMATION, AND PUOMISIO MOUK. X HHncwyearcnnmiencnhvith scitiic and Ix'aiitifiil urather, aiul Jui. i. ., -1 , ^1 11, 1B30. Jt was mild, though the tht'iinoiiKter was at ininiis 1(J, falling arttr- wards 1o 22. The niciidian sky display»'d flu- iHinitiful tint.sof a suimner evening, but of a cliaraeter diti'en nt from anv thini-' occiu- ring in more sontliein climates ; the distant hills on the horizon being of a nearly scarlet hue, m hile a glowing purple sky above, gradually Iv.ist niglit the thennometer underwent many changes within a few hours, without any apparent cause, and there was a remark- able halo round the moon. On oitting through the ice, it was found to be tive feet four inches thick, giving an increase of nearly three feet during the last month, unless, as was possible, some loose piec^es had l)een tloated in beneath tlie field, by the tide, and there attached. TJie wind increased to-day with gloomy weather, and th(! cold was severtly felt, though the temperature was not lower laii. 3. than liV. The next day it was milder, because calmer; the tem- perature being the same at first, though afterwards rising to IT. It was Sunday, and was spent as usual. i^^ii J 'i'here was some snow from the sojithward, w ith an overcast sky ; and the thermometer rose to jninus 7'. The rocks that had been laid bare were once more co\i re\ay what they had taken. J3ut the same man, on being ofFered some oil, drank it with much satisfaction, admitting that it was leally good. Thus admirably are the tastes of all these tribes adapted to their compulsory food, and their views of happiness to TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 247 the means of it wliicli have been provided; nor, a? -redly, had these men, amidst their l)hibl)er and their oil, their dirty diet and villainous smells, any reason to envy the refined tables of the south; as, among those, they would not only have experienced disgust, but felt pity for our barbarism and ignoram^e; while if they had been induced to partake, it could have been only under the impulse of starvation. In succession, three more were treated in the same manner, uhile the first set proceeded to amuse the rest with what they had seen. A short race was also run between one of them and an officer of our party ; but with so much and such equal politeness on both sides, that there was no victor to be declared. The violin bein*'- afterwards produced, they joined oin- men in dancing ; and thus seemed, whether it was the tact or not, to have a nmcli greater relish for music than had generally been found among the other tribes by our predecessors. It being now necessary to separate, we proposed to accouipany them part of the way to tlieir huts, the direction of which they pointed out; making us understand that their wives, children, dogs, and sledges, were all at home, and that they had abundance of provisions. During our w alk we met a seal hole on the ice, and they showed us the use of the spear in enlarging it for the recep- tion of a twig of ash or birch, together with their method of throw- ing that weapon. But we could not make out by such inquiries, what was of chief importance to us, namely, the direction of any open sea. They, indeed, pointed to the north as being the place in question ; but not being able to understand from them what lay 248 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY Jan 10. to the southward and westward, we were obliged to defer furtlier questions to another day. Having proceetled about two miles, we now made a mark on the ice as the jdaee of rendezvous on the following day, when they were made to nntlerstand that we should visit their huts : a proposal which was received with the highest satistaction. We parted under the same ceremonies which had attended our meeting. This was a most satisfactory day ; for we had given nj) all expecta- tions of meeting inhabitants in this place ; while we knew that it was to the natives that we must look for such geographical information as would assist us in extricating ourselves from our difficulties and in pursuing our course. It was for philosophers to interest themselves in speculating on a horde so small, and so secluded, occupying so apparently hopeless a country, so barren, so wild, and so repidsive; and yet enjoying the most perfect vigour, the most well-fed health, and all else that here constitutes, not merely wealth, but the opu- lence of luxury ; since they were as amply furnished with provi- sions, as with every other thing that could be necessary to their wants. And if the moralist is inclined to specvdate on the nature and distribution of happiness in this world, on the admirable adaptation found, here as elsewhere, between the desires and the means of gratification, the pious one will not forget the Hand, which, under the most apparently hopeless circumstances, thus spreads for His creatures, a table in the wilderness. After divine service, which, for that purpose, we held unusually early, we proceeded to perform our promise, though the thermo- meter had fallen to minus 37°. We found the natives at the er he lid BSt ad ta- r'as on liu v'es so v'e; til, pu- ivi- leir ure ble the nd, lius dly 110- the TO Tin: AuiTK in;(;ioNs. '21(1 si|)|>ointllection of natural history; the former object being renderitl more ornanunital by some foxes' teeth that were attached to it, with a fringe of sinews in addition. Some more needles, which we now added to our former gifts, served to gain their inu'eserved confidence and friendship. Of these huts, built entirely of snow , I must add, that they were all lighted by a large oval piece of clear ice, fixed about halfway up on the eastern side of the roof; while the variations among the different ones that we inspected were trifling. But we also saw^ afterwards, what had escai)ed us before where was so little light to TO THE ARCTIC REGION'S. 231 ♦iisccni any tliiiii;', tliat jil)out tlie iiiitldlc ol" racli passaue was an antechamber leadinii; int<> a recess for (IkmIous. It was obv ions, too, iiiat ilie external aperlnre (-onM he Inraid at any lime, so as to be always on the lee side, and tluis pi-event the wind from entering-. M'e Ibnnd lliat these Inits bad been bnt jnst ert cted : they were scarcely a day old; so tbat the arehitectnral processes ot'this conntry did notocM-iijjy mnch timi'. Ft was also ascertained that their winter stock of seal and reindei r uas bnried in the snow, that this store \\as laid np in the snnnmr, and that they retnrned to it in the winter. Hitherto, this practice had not been found amonu' the natives of these conntries; whetlier overlooked or not, we could not decide. The females were certainly not beanliful ; bnt they were, at least, not inferior to their husbands, and were not less well behaved. All above thirteen yt^ars of aye seemed t(» be married; and there a})peared three or tour sncli in every house, w hether belonyinii,- to one esta.blishment or not, we were not sun;, lint appearing to be the yonnij: wives i» Ji iionse where there was one old one. Their stature was short, and thev were much inferior in dress and neat- ness to the men ; their hair especially beinn in a matted and (lisordered state. Their features were mild, and their (.'hecks, like tiiose of the men, rnddy ; one uirl (jf thirteen was even considered to have a pretty face. All were tattooed to a i^reater or less extent, chieHy on the brow, and on each .side of the mouth ami chin; this ornament consisting- in lines aione, without any peculiar tit>nres, and thus conforming- to the usages of the north-western Escjuimaux of America, as they have been described by difterent voyagers, 2k2 252 SECOND Voyage of discovery Their ilrcss diil not (lifter materially in tbrni from tliat of the men ; ex('(q)t that the outer garment had a peak l)efore as well as behind, while some wen; ornamented with fringes of slned skins. The important inquiries were now, however, to lie made ; and the answers, containing mixed good and evil news, were of the following nature. They were ac(]uainted with Igloolik, Winter island, and Repulse bay, and had left Aekoolee, a station op- posite to the latter, only thirteen days before; having eome to this place to be nearer to the open water, which they informed us lay at some distance to the northward. They said that the land to the eastward was an island named Kajaktagavik, and that they had come along the coast to the westward of it, where there were several great rivers ; but w »• could not exactly discover w hether there was a passage to the southward of that island or of the south ])oint now in view. This was especially vexatious; as our hope of a furlher progress lay in this direction, and as we could not doubt that the laiul to the eastward was the American «ontinent. They further iutbrmed us that there Mere plenty of musk oxen on the hills to the southward, and that the reind.xlnatnre pencil and drew the line by which they came, afterwards making spots on it, and counting their lingers to show that they had slept only nine times on the TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. journey. Tijigashii then drew a line of coast rotnid which we couhl sail in the autumn; this being in a westerly direction, and includ- ing several ctipes, bays, and rivers; while, oti'it, were dra\\ii sevenil islands, in one of which he placed a lake; dtning- which demon- stration he further pointed out where salmon and other lish abounded. After this, his draught of the coast took a northerly direction, considerably beyond our present j)osition, and not hss to the westward of it ; while his estimate of the distance was two (hiys ; adding, that here also there were rivers running into llie sea. The first man then resumed the pencil, and drew several large lakes in that part of the country where we were now tixed ; further iu)ting [)laces where we should find natives, and draw ing a route by which he could go over land to the salt water in nine days. Tliey, however, told ns that one of their party was a much better geographer than themselves, and promi.scd that we should see hiui. This philoso[)hical discussion being at an end, they informed us tliat eighteen of th( ir men had gone out to kill seals, but that it was too cold for the women and chihhen: and we then amused them till dinner tiiue with the engravings in ihe preceding \<)yages. Til ^, seemed to recognise all the names, as if they had, al least, heard of the persons mentioned, though they had not seen tin in; and, had we known their language better, we should doubtless have found that tjjc; science of being acquainted with whatever may discredit on(>'s neighbours is as well understood here as in an English country tow n ; and that it is not even necessary to be xarv near neighbours to be very intermeddling, and as malicious as possible. I should be very glad to find, that in this conjecture. 'io() SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVEUY I liad (lone our new friends injnslice : iilxtnt our own al home, it would be i"ar more desirable to lie proved in the wronj;-. In our eabin, the snutlers proved a great objeet of atlraetion ; but still more elieet wasi)roilueed by a large reading-glass, through whieh, \\hen heUl bet\>een them, each saw his friend's face mag- nitied beyond all understanding. Such are the delights of novelty, and thus does the einiosity of pure ignorance ever find new gratitieations. Jiut we who, here, know every thing, knowing even what we have not seen or learneil, have contrived to get rid of tliese pleasures; it is even to be feared that the " schoolmaster abroad" will shortly tind his place a mere sinecure; so imiversally does knowledge seize, even on those who do not take the trouble to pursue it. It is almost a proverb, that tliere is no royal road to science; but a road as brief as royalty could have desired, without being able to connnand it, has been found by those to v\hom the privileges of knowledge cease to be odious v/henever they can themselves exert those. Fortunately, thus far, for our new guests, there was no penny science, in this land of little light, to interfere with their admi- ration ; it was absolute, as that of their countrymen had been the day before : though one bad eftect at least of their ignorance was displayed in their abhorrence of ])lum })udding, with which we had vainly hoped to regale stomachs accustomed to iiud blubber a sweetmeat, and train oil preferable to maraschino. This, indeed, we had not to give them ; but our brandy was as odious as our pudding; and they have yet, therefore, to acquire the taste which has, in ruining the morals, hastened the extermination of their TO THE ARCTIC IJFGIOXS. 2.j7 AiiU'iican iiciiihljoiirs fo tiu- soutliwanl. IC, Iiducvcr, tlicsc trilx-s iimst finally disappear, as seems llieir llite, it is at Itasf better that they shoiiM die i;raw suicide, in exchange for murder and misery. Fs it not the fate of tlu; savaye and the uncivilized on this earth to jiive way to tlie more miminjj;' and the better intormed, to knowledi,^(; and civilization ? It is the order of the world, and the riyht one: nor will all the lamentations of a mawkish philanthropy, with its mor<' absurd or censurable efforts, avail one jot against an order of thinys as wise as it is, assuredly, established. All which it is our duty to provide for, is, that this event be not hastened by oppressi(»n and wrony, that it may not l)e attended l>y the suffering of individuals. But amid these depressive reflections, the time came to end our entertainment and send our company home; the carriage, such as it was, being in waiting. We explained that the new leg wduld be ready in three days, when we hoped for the pleasure of trying it on ; and then, i)resenting them each with one of the empty meat canisters, they took their departure in high glee. It is delightful to be able to overwhelm the needy with gold; not less so, I imagine, when it is done at no cost; and here we had made these jjoor men as rich and as happy, with what was little better than an old sauce- pan, as if our canisters had been made of silver, and were to be purchased with gold. Let no man imagine that he knows what a present is worth, till he has found what happiness can be pro- 2l 268 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVEIIV tUiced by a l»lue beail, a yellow bulloii, a needle, or a piece of an old iron lioo[). A very cold breeze prevented us iVoni escorting them on their journey, as we had intended. We did nothini,^ else on this -, as many readers perhaps already know, to transfix them by the spear, when the agitatioji of the siunal twig that is placed in tlie hole of the ice, shows that they have eonie up to breathe. Thus is the cuiniinu of even the lowest of mankind an overmatch for the wisdom of the wisest animal: though neither our friends of this country nor the animal wliich they outwit, are to be ranked in the extremes of these clas,ses. Sojne i)aper containing a sketch of the land already known between IJepulse bay and Prince Regent's inlet, was now laid before them, with the names of the different places marked. These were at 'iL2 2(;() SKCOM) VOVA(iH OF DISCOVIMIY Jan, 13. oucv ii'('o.nnis.(l : and IkiiialliU tlicn lakiiiy the pencil, proccrdr*! to pioloni;' the sketcli riuni Akullcr, lollouiii^ vny nearly, for a very considuabK' space, the line already traced by Tnllnaliiu. After this, lie prolonged it still inrtlier westward, instead of turning' to the north, as tlu; latter had done; then continning it to the north-west, in a direc-tion more favonrahle to our views. lie did not, however, insert the islands ; nor could we discover how muny days it was estimated from the end of his chart to AkuUee near Kepidse l)ay ; hut he drew "Wager hay and its river very corre<;tly, making also several other rivers. He further gave us to understand that our ship could sail that way till the autunni ; and with this inforuuition we were obliged, for the present, to be content. \\ e showed our new fritiuls the engravings of the natives who had b( en known and drawn in the nrecedina: voyayes, beiu"' those which had been displayese cir Hit vh. els, I : |<'S, 1111 tiR- ^^e 311. Ill- TO Tin: AIKTIC IlKfilON!^. 20 1 armed; aiul tin vtiirncd hack (|uif(>il(li<;ii(nl uliciUcdil that we meant to proceed to their huts. A sharp hrceze then .spriiit;-iii,ii: up ai^aiiist us, the danger of heiiiy tVost-hitteii heeaine eoiisiilerahh> : on uhl<.'h thev all undertook to watch us, u;i\ ini;- notice whi-never it was ne(;e.s- sary to apply our hantis to any pint of oiu' laces that were in danger of sutrerin^i:, that we might rub them for restoring the circulation. The women had lost much of their timidity, on this our second visit: and fniding that the seal-hunting party was absent, we entered TuUuahiu's hut, where we met a kind recejjtion from his mother, wife, daughter, and two young children, forming his appa- rent family. A <'omi)l<'te female dress had been madt; ready as a present for nw; being of the materials and construction already described, with an api)earance of unusual care in adjusting the synnnetry of the skins, so that the colours should correspond on each side; while there was a fringe below, and a border of white round the hood and the openings for the arms. 1 had no doubt that it was a tnsl-rate specimen of mantua-making; and it was my business to estimate it as a London lady would have done the loftiest production of tiie highest dress-maker in the calendar of fashion. Tn return, I i)resented this generous lady w ith a silk handkerchief; being the article, of all that T had shown her, which attracted her chief admiration. I soon found too, that this personage, woman though she was, did n(»t want a knowledge of geography, and that also, of a ditferent natine from what she might have acquired in an English boarding-school, through the question book and " the use of the globes." Tiriksiu, for that was her name, perfectly com- prehended the chart ; and being furnished with the means, drew 2C2 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVEKV one of lier own, very nincli resiinblina; it, but with many more islands : adding also the places where we mnst sle( p in onr liitnre proi>:ress, and those where food was to l)e obtained. On these points, at least, it was an emendation of the knowledge we had attainetl before. The hunting party now returned, with a large white seal : while tlie rest of our crew also joined us, having exjterienced the same kind treatment >\herever they had been, and having seen, among tlu' people, large quantities of venison and tish which had evidently been buried in the snow. Tlie politeness of the natives, as it must br esteemed, caused a party to accompany our men on their way, in apparent return for the same civility befon; shown Ijy us; bat, after a time, they asked leave to depart, and we separated with the usual noisy forms. It was settled at the same time, that Tnlliiahiu should come for his wooden leg the next day, >\hile the rest N\ere to resume their seal hunting. Itwasexceedingly cold on oinuay back to the ship, and I did not escape without losing s<»me skin from oueclieek. A\'e ha" miims; and as the thermometer 2G4 SECOND VOYAGE OF DlStOVEUV by uliicli we were now ol)serving stood at tlie same mark, \>e were satisfied witli its accaracy, as tar as this pttint at least. It tell afterwards to 40% beiii^:, hitherto, our lowest degree. The meri- dional horizon was less clear than usual, so that we derived much less advantage from the sun's noonday twilight. The two men of yesterday came alone; it was understood that the rest had gone to Innit for seals. The i)roniised leg, being now com})lete, was fitted on ; and there was little time lost in finding its use and value ; as the disabled person soon began to strut about the cabin, in appa- rent ecstasy ; with more reason certainly to be delighted with his present, than all the others united, with what they had received. All the surgery of this case lay indeed w ith the carpenter ; not the worst operator, I believe, in this compound profession; but I doubt if any efibrt of surgery ever gave more satisfaction than we had thus conferred, in reproducing a man fully serviceable once more to himelf and his community. The gratitude, however, in this case, took a very annising course; yet, though somewhat ludicrous to us, it was natural in them, who had no reasons to doubt their own medicinal knowledge; while the only medical superiority that we had yet displayed, con- sisting in a greater comman service, five of the Es(piimaux came to the ship; and after that was over, thev were admitted. That Sunday is unknown to them, I need not say. The features of an elderly man, Ilolishaktoo, which were preserved by a jiortrait, dillered consiinj^. 'J'lic smi appeared for the liist tiiiU!, afh r an absence of fifty ilays, beiiii;- about half its jlianieter above the visibh' horizon ; so tliat we nii,<;lit have seen the upper limb before, as we had calculated, had the sky been sunieirntly clear. That, liowever, which nave us pleasure, had no such eliect on the Es(|uinr.uix, to whom the night of this region is their day ; or to which it is, at least, far preferable, since it is of far more value to them in hunting the cuuning and cautions seals. For this reason they always returned home when the day broke; complaining of the light as their enemy and as the cause of a compulsory, not a wilful idleness. After tliis, liaviug informe n to us from a very early period of our xoyage, but not uniler such circumstances as to enable us to send him back. His age was forty-five; and he he fixed at a very liiyh decree. I imagine tliat this is a mueli more tractahh^ stanchud than is eominonly sup- posed ; and that habit etfects, in a far sliorter time than has been thought, that ehange in the feelings on this subject wliich we vainly suppose can never occur. Sucli at h-ast lias been the experience of all travellers ; and the arrangement is unquestionably a wise one, since that which is the oidy accessible ought also to be the most acceptable. This young person was already betrothed, as is the custom of Ihis (;ountry ; the athance being even settled, in many cases, during extreme infancy, or almost from the birth of the female child. We have all read romances in which tiiese early con- tracts had proved unsu<'cessful : perhaj)s they succeed better here, because there is so little variety to distract attention, that one wife is e(|uivalent to any other that might be chosen ; but if the system is not pra<;tically very different from that of the Turks and Chinese, (presiuuiug the contract to be irrevocable, which we do not know), the husband at least sees his future bride, can watch her progress upwards, and does not, to use a very vulgar phrase, " buy a pig in a sack," like the man of China, or him of the race of Othman. jMy readers are probably tired of the names of men who can have no jxculiar interest for them, and whom, like the writers of Indian history, (if these persons would but recollect it, which, un- fortunately, they have never yet done.) we can distinguish by nothing to make one hard word remendjered in preference to 270 SECk VD VOYAGE OF DISCOVEIIV ati( >tli('r. Nor can it iimrli intcnst any oiH', who was the w'lfv, son, ncplH'W, uraiulanghter, <»r httntthrd, <»!* nh(nn, \\\u\\ the Wfddinu^ (lay was fix<'rinhtn«'ss and duration every (lav. This is indeed a sinnise, tluMi<;h more in jjnnnisc than performance, to wliieh all tli<- splendour of morninj,- suns in a southern elimate is its uothinii. K is an ever weleome luminary, undoubteii seals at ail in- hole, iKtr cat walnis Mesh stcwcil in train oil. 'I'liiis iniK'li for till' nstl'iil aits. Naviyators liavc often missed that aekiio\\|edj;inent of snpeiionty nliieh they e\j>eeted in theestiinu- tion of savaiiv nations, by fnriiisliinn them v, ith ohjeets of pnie Inxniy ; and when, findini; their error or m»l, they have desired to do hetter, they lia\(' fori;-otten thai ik w wants cannot he forme«l in a moment, nor old habits broken in half a lit, wliicli was HOW proihicctl, cxcitetl, in tlio pliraseoloiry of our day of cant phrases, a stroni;" sensation. The interior <»f a watch seemed more than incomprehensiL'le; and \\e seemed in great daniicr of luing reputed among the conjurors; our betters in [)hih)sophy had ac({uired the same reputation, hut too often a very serious one for them, in ages not far removed, and iimid more light, it must l)e lioped, than irradiated the mental climate of a tribe of Esquimaux. In the mean time, three willow partridges were brought in by my nephew; we had not chosen that any of the natives should go with him, being as yet unwilling that they should know the etiect of oiu" we;i[)ons. The game was however e\;amin<'d l)y them very Minutely; and they e\[)ressed a great desire to know the nature and operation of the guns; (piestions which, for the present, we contrived to evade by miintelligible explanations. The com- parative measurements of their statures excited much interest among them, and they were exceedingly clamorous at tinding that there was one who measmed but four feet ten inches, since two of them were live feet eight inches liigh. Their departure left us, once more, to our usual occupiilions for our own comfort and future projects. Wo had another visit of njen and boys. One of the former was Jan. 23. from iS'eit(;hillee, an«l had Indian rather than I'^squimaiix features. This place, to the south-wtst, they estimated at nine «lays' journey ofasle«lge: we sup|)osed it might be a hundred and fifty miles. The ertects of the magnet were the chief novelty shown this day. The exhibition of snapdr;ig«»n, as it is called, produced also great 2n 274 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY Jan. ■:.• surprise; especially in the «;oii juror, who rewankd us with one of his conjuring soni>;s. The use of a pistol was now also at length sliow n : sine e it was, sooner or later, necessary for them to know to th tliat our arms were supt nor to then- own. .)an.2i. From minus Ho yesterday, the temperature rose to 'JO'. We had settled tliat the armourer's funeral sliould take })lace before the oliurch service; and it was accordingly performed with the usual forms and sole.nnity; an a|)i)ro])riate seiinon being afterwards selected for Ihat of the day. Fortunately, the ni!liv(!S offered us no intplied to all. 'J'he presents v. liieh we made to these also, (piimau\ arrived to-day, with some clothing to TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 275 ,la;i. '27. S'l!; iuid tlicy tli(>up,ht t!an;selvt'.s luuply reuanlcd iii reviving u kniie i'av caci!. 'V • Mit ;i el eck on tlicir tr()u!)l(S(»iii(.' Jaiiiiiiarity, I admitlc 1 oiily foi'.r into 1'; ■ sliip; two «)f our funufr iVieiuls, \vitli their wiv.s-. To [ircviiit ti niptatioii al-^o, all tlie i;ortalil«^ articles wliieli were outside of tiie sli}*, having l);en placed on the iee ler convenience, were brou.u! ■ onboaril; while soMU-nien wereapjiointed to wati'h, in ciisi- of any alteni})ts at piUerini;-. Kven without the easL! of the snutl'ers, we I ad no rii;ht to expect absolute honesty iimon<^- this trib« above all others; and, al any rale, were bound to expose them to no lemptat^ons. After their departure we took our walk, and found a raven ftedinii" on a harewhicL we had probably wounded (o death in sonic of isitors prevented lime from dragging on in a tiresome uniformity. Tlie mean temperature of the mouth had been minus 25'; corresponding, as thos<; of the former months did, with the means of the other V(»yages, in the maimer I formerly stated these. This too is considered the coldest month in the year, taken as a whole, in these cliujates; though colder single days often occur in lel)rnary and March. It had been the most stormy month, however, for some time; and the barometer ^vas once as low a.s 2S inches. The healfh and appearance of the crew was rather improved tlian the reverse, and tlie armourer's originally lost case could not b(! reckoned among the casualties arising from the climate. If he might have lived longer by remaining in England, the fault was his own; since Ik; had already sailed in these seas, and knew uell whit he was hazarding, while keeping a secret which we could not discover till it was too late. lie deserved praise indeed for his spirit; though, for many reasons, we could have wished 1 had acted otherwise. le 278 SKCOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVEilY If our moctiiiu: witli the Esquimaux luiil been, in many ways, intcrestiiiii' as well as ainusiiii^ t<» is, so was it an arcniaiutaiice wliicli couhl !)«' rciulcred serviceahli . 'I'lny liad aln.'ady iuniislicd us with some dnssts, iiuich more usei'ul to the men tlian thost; \\hieli we had hronuht iVom I^iiilaud, and we liad reason to expect more. It was proljahle also lliat they miuht supply us with fresh meat; thus enablinti us t, and the day so cloudy that none of the expected occuliations in 'i'aurns coidd be observed, nor any of the nKMrn-cnlminatinu stars. It did not become clear till ihe moon had j)assed Taurus and ivb. 2. there was nothinj;- more to be observed; a mortification sufficiently couMuoii with asfronom; rs. The Kscpnmanx brojight some more skins, which we bough}; but not the bear: we had reason to suspect that this promise was not about to be kept. But we had now something more to discuss with them : and tlie event was to show that tlicy were not those examples of absolute honesty, which i280 sixoM) voYACJt: or discovkuy Rb. 3. »■(' liiid iit first sin>[i(»si'«l, ifuMKli less iiicliiu*! to sicaliiiii, than most siivji.uTsliu\<'j)rovr«l. AikIw lialc'Ncrcxciiscs iia\i!;ators liavfiiKulcror tlitsf ia(res, tVoiii llic slicimth offlic tt Ihe simllers; ihou^h, in fact, even ihese, iron as ihev niiiihl he, Mere not likelv lo he of nnich .service, thon,<;li the haniint r inii-ht he ajtplietl to some purposes. A [urge reading-lens liad disappeared for some «lii}s; and I had reason, on consideration, to suspect the conjuror Otookiu ; the cantlle havJnj;' none out, f(»r some time, in the cahin, after I had been exhihitiui; its etlects to him. This nas confirmed afterwards, by his unuillinuness to admit uie into liis h()use at my last visit to the village. 1 therefore told liim that the swellid face; haical lilass, and that it must he retnrnevell in the same mannei'. It was hroanht back a('cordin,i;ly, together with a liannner wjiich had (hsaijpeared; while the snurttis wtre admitted to be in tiie [jossession of one of the women, together with a glass out of my spectacles, which one of the chihiren had fomid, on its having dropped out. The terror <»f the (;i>njuror was inched so great, that he bi'ought back a hook and a harpoon head which I had gi\en liim in exchange for a b(»w ; on which, to preserve this prohahly useful im[)ression of terror, I agreed to a re-exchange. On the preceding day we observed a transit of the uioon, and had many (thservations of stars on this one; the weather being unusually TO Tin: ARCTIC Hi:(il()NS. •isi o 282 SKCOND VOYAGK OP DISCOVEIIY ami J?ivin«5 ii .unatrr tliickiicss, by a loot iiiid Ji half, than al the cornspoiuliiii;' scascui at Port IJowcii in IH'i >. IVIa 7. The cohl iiwreased on this Snnday, fiillini,'' in Ihe aflernoon to minus i;r. Of fifteen Ks(|niniaux that < ame ahjn.i;si(le, some were admitted after elmreh, and sohl us some exeelhnt skins. On the ivii. s. foUow ina; day they hronuht us three more, and informed us that th» ir . very severe, as indeed emdd n(»t Tail ; sines(|ninian\ women hronuht i;h»ves and other thinv^s ftti* sale ntnrninn at noon, withont eomini;- ou board. It was cahn at night, an 70', without any apparent reason, as i\i,. lo. the weather was not so tine as it had been for sonM- days pjtst. The temperature ^acillated upwards, till it reached .*i'i minus. A native came in the morninu: to say that they had been vmsnccessfnl in cat<;hin.u: seals; and three others, in the eveninu:, <'onrtrmed the sjune tale. Some of the oHicers w»'nt to the village, but did not procure one A male fox was canght in the trap. o o '> A0 %J '^^ '2HI SKCOM) VOYAiJK OK DISCOVERY slieavt'ora block. Tlir ciinsc dl'tli III.. 17. Tlu' sky WHS ovtTcast, \\\tU some ilril't snow, aiitl (In- tlicrnioincti rostilo iiiiniis 1(5 . W'r lion^lit some artir|i>sl)i-oiit;lit hy tin- nativrs, hnt did not sutii r tli\ hieh tiny had pnrloined ; annnig' uhieh, a table knife from the mate's nuss had alone been missed. With this tlu;re uas a pieee of iron, ioiother of an iron ho«>p, and a epentmieeand restoration was, we found, to be attributed to the uuiis wliieh had been tired for the |)nrj)os«' of the experinnnts on soinid. (hw of them havinj;- atteneation held at the vil- lage, and it was agreed to return ev( rv thiu!'. We had to re^ntt that we possi'ssed no such powers of eonjiu'ation o\er the mueh less pardonable thie\es (»f our own dear uati\(! liuid : aiuoni;' its other advantages, the " mareli "of knowledge hits d( prived the n'ood of this power also, over (he e\il ones of this world. >\ hat the nda- tive uain and loss mav be it is not lu-re mv business to discuss; but h t us re(!ollei'l, at least, that it is not all yain. At any rate, we here lUiide usi- oftlie advantages still in our power, and there- fore di Tiir. Aiurrc iiegioss. '2H5 tli»'v t!;em ior the same {jurposes as a hutelier's knife is with us: the rest r\((l (hity of cMttiiii;' up the sials heinirthe piivih'^'e, or service, he it \\ hieh(,'Ver it may, of the fair se\. They were put uiKh-r eharii'e of the wateli (hu"iiiproachahh'. Some y<\<. .' ! more skin dresses were houu'lit to-day. On the lollowini;-, with a cloudy sky, the thermometer rose to one (h-u'ree phis, and rested at minus .'> . Amonii (»lh( i- articles l)ou<.',ht tiiis tlay, was the skin of a glutton : and as it had I en taken in a trap the day helore, Wf proccided to coMsliiK't «Mie, in hopes of a similar prey. A seal was also hioiiiiht in the e\» ninu. and a ptarmii;an was killed. This was the lirsl da\. for a loni;- time, that we luul both breakfasted and dined \t\ dax li:-ht. 1M>. Ji. It was a tine day, l!io!iii,h oNcrcast, witli a temperature j^cnerally about minus .'> . \ fmc hare was shot, and Ihe n«'W traj) llnished am w I s,t. Jore skms Wen; jurclia.seti so that we were ni a lau' a> lo lici an ample supply of clothinu ler a ionj;- time, The heat 1.1, V, fell to uiiiin*: H> oil tile fitllowinu day. The two tb\-lraps jiro- duced each a female prisoner, one of which N\as re,ser\c«l ali\e. \\'«; also bdiiiihi some s\;is flit- f stiihlislicd prirc of all siirli aiiiclcs. \\ JH'lJu r then' was any liolidiiy ainonii llitiii, or uliethtr il uas lo he only to \n hrouuht forward hy education, l»v luarini;- what (hey had never vet heanl. \\ v shor.ld he as unjust in passing- on them an unlimited condenni;:tion, as the early trawlicrs in ^'ontliern /Africa had proved themsihes in th(; case of the JJoltentols; who, under Moravian iustnuMion, have surprised their teachers, and e\en produced, as tluir rej)orls .;:»v, a rival ol" Catalaui. I must atld, that Ikmallik, heiui;- (he C'ory- pha'us I presume, continued dancn!^ in the centre of the semicircle. Tiiis . 'I'he natives hrouuht IM). jr. sonu! tritles for sale, an,iiraj)liit al r<]>orts of the former man. They departed so early as not to interfen; with onr ehiu'ch service.'. The endinn' of this month leaves litth- to be said in the way of snmmarv. It was a very eohl one; and I now helieve that the tliermometer mnst have reached to minns oO . The average of th« first fonrteen (hiys was certainly not less than 10 , an8" ; the w hole correspond inu, once more, to those formerly noted as fonnd in fornnr voyas^ts. The oscillaticms of the barometer wen* reniarkable, as has been noted in the daily jonrnal, but the mean was iUY 11'. A sunnnary of the snccess of the natives in hunting during this mo\jth, gives two white bears, three gluttons, a dozen of foxes, and fifty seals : and as we had also, ourselves, killed or taken five foxes, with some hares, ptarmigans, and willow partridges, this is a country not so destitute of game, even at this time of the y<'ar, as has been generally supposed; while it is thus proved that they do not migrate to the south in winter. In our internal comforts and the satistaction of the men, then- was no altenilion : all had gone on well. Some valuable observa- tions had been ant it was certais that they considere.varrantt;d for keeping at I)ay a hear or a mnsk ox, for iindiiig seal holes, and for drawing a sledge. With sueh ipialities, it was (;heiiply purehasdl for a knife. As nothing «lse was oliered for sale, we concluded that I hey had parted with all their disj)oseal)le articles. Another dog was bought tiiis diiy, to complete our team : I could March 2 not venture to buy more at prcsi nl, lest ue .shouhl not bt; able to iW.d them. They brought us an account <»f the death of the (»ld man whom we had remarked at our first meeting. We had not seen him since that day ; am!, on imiuiry when at the village, were informed he was asleep; though he was not in the hut then pointed out, as we ascertained; while there was one shut up. The 2p 2})0 SECOND VOYAGE OK DISCOVERY solution <»f \vl»al«'\t'r mystery tlun- iiiii'lit br in tliis matter, wiis \y (lel'ened. March ."3. iiecessiinly ind ; but ineludiui;- both, the temperatinc ranged bet\\e(n minus '21 and f'JH . A bear-skin >\as brought ; and mc understood that two parties were ab()ut to be jletaelu'd, one- t<» the northward, and the; other eastward on the iee, lor the purpose ot' eatehini; seals, but that they woultl soon return to ualeh lor the animals which were tlien expected to be migratini;' from the southward. There >^as little chaii!j,t' in the weather. Two women came to inform us that tlie rest had all gone to build some huts further to the ea-stward, on the ice, near the island that was in sight, and that they were to join them in tln' < vening. The distance, therefore, could not be great. The dead num was said to be not ytl biiried : and when sonu' of our olhcers afterwards visited the villa<.ve, thev fomid nothing altered, except that some of tln' ( ntrances were demolished, and the ic(' windows removed. Marcli .M U(.ll (i 'J'he sin) had power enough, while it lasted, to raise tiu; te ni- pt rature from .'}S to IS minus, but it then fell to '21 . The huts were revisited by the same party, who found the corpsi' of Illicto, in one of them, in the posture in w Inch he seemed to iiave tiied. An incision in the abdomen ha!>'>"<1 us of a very proniisi nir observation. Maw No Es. larity in tlu; ebl)s an«l tlow*-:, and in the h< iuiits of the tides, was extrenu'. Two of our (►tticers walked to the new town oi\ the ice, \Nhich proved to lu- about sevtl ler articles; treatinu- tlnin, in addition, with a n'ood dinner. Two of them boilt us a snow hut i or (Mtr ins trnnunts, and cansenti-d to remain alt uiiiht, if we would return with them in the inorninu:. They had killed thirteen seals, and were amply stored with provisions. A 2p2 292 SKCOND VOVAfiK OF DISCOVI^IUV gooil supper for tlicm iullowed the i>oo(l ilinncr; hut \>Ii«'ii it was liiiH' for nsf, iiltlioMuli tlurc was a ;l?oo(I Uvd for each, one wakr'd w liile flit' other shpl. ^\'hether tliis was siispirioii or e«'reiin)ny, we rouhl not (lis<;over. Our seliool seemed to surprise tlieni even as inut'li as the kah'idoscope. M.inii 11. The therinonif'fer rani,^e(l from 11 to li'l luiuus, hein^ (.'ohler thair it hail been for some '.h\\s; but tlie weather was very fine. AVe found tliat when it had heroine very hit* in the morninu', both our \isitors Iiad eons< iited (o tall asle

petites as their tastes, by our own : I ..i. ■)<■, , ,( lanhr was admitted to be necessary, if we\\ere to j;ive c, drawn by a tram oj' six uood *;,■!;, in company with Ikmaljik, the y:eoi;ra- pher. A parly (•: cm' own men neve sent out to erei't more cairns for our tri_j;oii(ji,ieli iiid operation S( jne ol'the natives arrived to fetch away the oiher man, Nidiin^;iak, who, on <'oiain- him sucli a fright, that he was little likely to touch a mm again for some time. TO THE ARCTIC ItKniONS. 2J)3 The tides i\\u\ their iirei^iihirities need not \)v recorded, lliou.i;h Mud. 12. the latter enntiimed; sinee, tlnis far, they had led to no inferences; not <>ven to those m hieh we had formerly drawn. >Vhatever mystery there miuht l»e, respeetin,*? this snhjeet, we had to wait for the solu- tion. The temperature subsideil as low as minus So, in the night, and did not e\(;eed IH in the day. Jn the morning, two of the dogs, w hich had es(;ap(!(l from the sledge, returned to the ship, and a third was luought haek by a native, its former master, to w'ho.se new hut it had found its way. lie w<'ll deserved the reward In- received for his honesty ; and we- also bought from him, notwith- standing our former resolutions, another, which was distinguished as a beai' hunter. In no long time, Commander Hoss returned from his e\[)edition, accompanied by stune natives bringing a seal. lie had tbund their huts on the ice, about twelve miles to the north-eastward, amounting to ten, and had been very kindly treated; his su[)per being from a young s<'al, of which he made a favourable re[»ort. Their success had been considerable. The cold increased, with a breeze, but di . The mercury run freeze in the bulb of this instrument without breaking it. \\'liatever expansion it may undergo tm crystallization, if indeed that wliie'li has been .supposed be true, the increase of bulk is not adeyed the l)ulh hv havini,^ lirokeii one of tin iiistninients, at a tein- perature which had rre<|uently oeeurred without in.jury, and having' found it in a solid state. Some natives came t<>-- abh- hereat'ter to snpplv our crew with a pn»poition of fresh provisions. The weather became so nmch milder, that the thermometer rose to minus I') . A larirc party of natives came on lutard, and nine (»f them remained t(» elinner. A better «lo,ii was brought, in lieu of one that had been returned : and we fcumd that th«y had taken tive Is, The 1( inp( rature fell again to minus :iS on the folh»wing ■ivtd another visit from a party which brought us a (lav, and we rec» M; small seal, a sledge made of the bones and skin of the nnisk ox, and some boots and gloves. We heani also that there was a new party of Ks(piimaux about two days' journey from us to the southward. ih 17. The men under ('(unmander Ross had been employeil for some TO TIIK ArtCTIC FlKfJIONS. 205 tiiiir ill iii«'iisiii'iii<>- a base for llie ti'i;j;<)iioiiineini>' his attendance' at the school on the same evening;. It lieini; a fine had imaiiir.ed ; while his information respecting places agreed so well witji what we had heard before, as to assure us of his accuracy. He also (lescrihed a place wln-re they were ohligitl to cross, in their canoes, a stream of salt water that was always How ins;- to the \as determinnl by th" survey to be ten miles otl', but were overtaken by ni^ht in niturninif, ami iliil not arrive till very late, nearly (;\hanste men to .mttle with ns about a journey to Neitehillee ; when it was arranged that they shouhl shep on board three or four days befoH' the next full moon, whieh would be about the fifth of April, and then attend Connnander Ross, They were to bring their canoes, as we understood, for the purpose of pursuing the deer in the water. There was no material change in ♦'••« weather, and every thing Manii-2G. proceeded in the usual maimer, ex« tliat the men were employed in cutting a dock on the larboard si«le of the .ship, where we were troubled by a leak. The tides ought to have been hidi to-dav, but it was the reverse; the usual irregularities continuing. A cold breeze on the following, did not prevent our receiving a visit; but Man h 27. we had now no dinner to give, and informed tlieiu that they must not expect any more till they brought us soiik- seal. There was a strong breeze with some snow in the night; and the Mud. Jhi. weather was s«» thionse<|uence of which we had a (piiet Sunday, and were well ])leas(Hl to be alone. A clear day following, enabled us to 'j;vt Maid. Jf. some good observations, parlieularlv two lunar distances with the sun west of flie ino(ui ; of the more importance, because all our former ones were under the «'ontrary position. A man an^> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) y A y. t/. % 1.0 I.I 11.25 Jria Ilia ^ li£ IllilO — A" 1= u mil 1.6 V] <^ /a A> /P" VI -1 v^' /; 'r '/ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ,\ A \ '^. ^\ Wr^ %yj^ ^ . » ^ <* 298 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY Mniii, ri. skins. The followin.n -, was taken on board to the snrgeon ; and we snpplied tliem with water, to save them the trouble of thawing for themselves. The snmmary of the month of March, now ended, does not j)resent much variety. The mininnnn temperature had been miinis 40% the highest plus 20 ; the mean being minus 2(r, and thus one degree greater than that of the former voyages, as formerly com- pared. The ice was dissolving, tliough slowly, on t!ie south side of the ship, and the rocks were bared of snow by the sun. Our trade v\ith the natives had produced a good stock of clothing and skins; and having got rid of two of our own dogs, which were useless, we had purchased eight new ones, thus having a good team often. The infornuition acquired respecting Neitchillee led us to think tliJit a passage westward nnist exist there; the more detailed account of the natives being, that there is really a strait to the north- ward of it, connnunicating with a sea to the westward, and present- ing a strong easterly current. In this (;hannel also they mentioned some islanISCOVKIlY US pcrffct US we «'oiil(l liav«! obtained within tlu- lust ln)ust' of stone. It was, indeeil, banly lars;e tnon,i;li to hold onr party of lonr ; bnt in the wrttdn'd plight that we n.»w m tie, even a worse aceoni- niodation than this wonld have been most aeeeptable. Our elothes were so penetrated by the fine snow armth of os«' of devouring the frozen fish of which it was constructed, unless, indeed, tliey preferre«l the hides of the nnisk ox by whicli these were bound together. The owner soon ran to the rescue; and as tlie damage was only c >in- men<'ed, the repairs were neither very dithcidt nor teditnis. U'e had, iuijeed, ))ut tao nnich time on our hands for this work ; as the inclemency of the weather rendered it impo'sibie to proceed. I'his leisure enable«l us to have a good \ ever, overcame all their fears ; and they now repeated to us the delight which they had felt when, after drawing up in a line to receive us, they had seen us throw away our arms. if 310 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY During all this time their oratory did not internipt their eating- ; for this is an occupation never neglected, as long as there is any thing to eat ; nor could all our experience among this gluttonous race diminish the perpetually recurring surprise that we felt at the persistence of their appetites, the capacity of their stomachs, and tlie energy of their iligestive powers. To say that they ate thus fiom hunger, or even from appetite, cannot l)e true ; no Innnan being, governed by the instinct of a]>petite alone, could feel such wants, in whatever way nature contrives to dispose of the enormous superfluity. IS'o animal, however carnivorous and voracious, acts thus : the very glutton itself, in s[)ite of its reputation, or of the truth of its name, if truth it be, tills ^tself and is satisfied. Man alone eats from pure wantonness; that he may gratify his taste, not satisfy his hunger ; if, indeed, this is not also the frequent ettect of the principle of avarice or a])j)ropriation. This it is, to be a rational being ; but, as in many other cases, and worse ones, it is to use that reason, not to control the evil passions, but to aid them; to make man, whenever he chooses so to be, the most evil animal in creation. The provisions in rpiestion were, how ever, consumed sooner than they would have desired ; for their stock was small, in consequence of the division which they too made of them ^mong their frien\ith nuu^'h snow. Our guides therefore proposed to leave the baggage behind, that we might travel the more quickly, and thus be enabled to reach iS'ei-tyel-le, and afterwards return to sleep at the hut. I coidd not have selected a more unfavourable day for a visit to a place of so much interest ; but as I well knew the capricious and changeal>le characters of these people, I was unwilling to make any objections. In any event, I should thus have seen the place and as(!ertained t]ie way to it ; so as to enable me to reach and examine it at some future day, under more favourable circumstances. We accordingly set ofl'at nine in the morning; and after passing two small narrow lakes, called Kung-uck from the hilly country by which they were bounded, we arrived by a short and steep descent at the pUice named Pad-le-ak; a word which means *' journey's end." The total absence of any tide-mark made me, at first, doubt whether we had really reached the sea; but the man Awack having cast off his dogs, one of them soon found a seal liole, and thus allowed me to taste the salt water. The occur- rence of some hummocky sea ice, shortly after, would alone have set this question at rest ; as it completed my satisfaction by ensur- ing this essential fact respecting our geography and the journey which we had thus made. it 4:.. i' il- TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 315 Keeping on our course to the south-west until eleven o'clock, we passed an island wlncli tlie guid(!s called 0-wuk-sJie-o-wik because the particular cod, termed by them O-wuk is caught near this place during the summer and the autuum ; tVe(|uenting its shores, lis they informed us, in great abunihuice. From this we turned toward the south, and, after that, to the south-east; vvhcn, pas.ing first a small lake where T procured a meridian altitude of the sun, and traversing a low shore of limestone, we arrive-ka-u-eet. The guide Awack had left his canoe here; and he therefore separated from us to go in search of it, while we i)ursued our course to the southward, soon reaching the banks of a river. I attempted in vain, at this time, to form some estimate of the size of this lake; for the snow drilt v»as so heavy as entirely to prevent this, since I <'ould never see more than a mile in any direction, during the time that w<; were near it. We found the canoe belonging to the other guide, on a small islet in the ?iver ; and, at this point, we estimated the stream to be half a mile in breadth ; while, as the ice on it was of very con- siderable thickness, I was inclined to believe that the \\ater was deep. From the information of the guide Ooblooria it runs into the sea in a direction to the south-west of this islet, flowing out of the south-eastern end of the lake which we had passed. The banks were of limestone ; and, from some fragments of this rock, with the assistance of jVIr. Jilanky, I erected a cairn, and we went through the usual ceremony of taking possession. At three o'clock we had 2 s 2 316 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY linisliecl all tliac we could now ilo in this reat exertions dtiriiii^ tlie day. His partiujr was siitferini? from snow blindness; and lli\is it fell on Iiim to lead tlie way, as it was nnknown to onrselves. Tims lal)onrin^ tliron!;h snow which was often very deep, with the al object of their joiiriu y, so that there was no loom in it for this imbicky man, wh»» conhl scarcely see his way, in c(mse(iueiu;e of the streamin^t;' of tears frcun his itiMiimed eyes. 1 therefore h the ro»i«;li ice an«l hummocks. It was, finally, th(! only i;(.od day and the only agreeable journey which we had experi< need since quitting the ship; while it also permitted me to make all the observations necessary for the future survey of this line of coast; and thus we at length reached the Victory at six in the evening. 320 SKCOND VOYACK OV DISCOVKFIV CHAPTER XXII. PROCEEDINGS IN THE SHIP, AND WITH THE NATIVES. 1830. Ai.ril II. Apiil V2, L IIE wind bocaiiu" settled, iind the sky serene, tlioiigli there was still a little .snow. The travellers were recovered ; and the guides having- reeei^(■d the pnunised tiles, departed very ha[)py ; being, however, to return the next day for a new spear each, in [Amv of those that w<'re broken, with wood to repair one of the canoes, which was much damaged. The average diim nsions of these was about twenty feet in length, by a foot and half in breadth. Some specimens of the salmon and lake trout were procunid; but we afterwards got much better ones from the sides of tin? sleilges that we had purchased from them, which were formed of these fishes, frozen together into a mass. The service of the day, Sunday, >\as not omitted. There was a fresh breeze from the north-eastward, but it was not j'old. It was necessary to build a new place for the thermo- meter, the other being inundated with water. A party came from the huts to thank us, bringing a valuable .seal-skin as a present, with another of a pair of gloves for the mate, in lieu of a borrowed pair which the dogs had eaten. They received their wood of course, and gave us the native names of the fish used in constructing their TO TIIK AIKTIC Iir.(ilON8. 321 slnliii ^« which \v«' hud hought, inroniiini;' iis that thiy were <;iuight ill the hike ot* Ntitohillte. Th('(l(S(ii[>tioii,sot' thtsc, ainomitiiig' to tour, must be sought in the nport on the Natural History of this coiiiitry. The t«'in|)eniture rosf^ so much, as nearly to reais before his departure. All of them were about to remove; and it is probable that we were more sorry than they, at a parting, after which, as we then thought, we were not likely to meet again. It blew fresh, with thick ih'ift snow, but it i'.id not prevent many April 19. of the natives from coming to us, to take a second farewell. Each received some present; and at ten, they drove off to the southward, leaving their former habitations empty. They were evidently sorry at parting, though expecting to see us at Neitchillee ; and their final adieu was a universal shout of thanks and goodluck, in their own, now tolerably intelligible, tongue. There was a cold breeze till evening, when it became cahn. April 20. A seal was brought to us from the northern village ; and Ikmalhk's son proposed to be a guidetoShag-a-voke, the station near Neitchillee, where we were desirous of examining a strong current of the tide. He was accordingly kept on board till the morning, when the 2t2 I'til R ':' I ti 324 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY expedition was to take place : the promised reward being a file. They told us that they had seen the first gidl of the season, on the day before, which was good news; but we could not persuade them to remain all night, because they had promised to return. The engineers were employed in cutting up the boilers, to obtain a new sheathing for the outside, where the iron had been ori- ginally bad, and whence arose some of our leakiness. The ther- mometer did not rise beyond zero. April 21. Commander Koss, and Blanky the mate, departed with their guide and seven days' provision ; the weather cold, but clear, and the wind favourable. One of the former delinquents brought a seal-skin, and his brother a spear ; but they were bought, not accepted. On their complaining that they had taken no seals, they were informed that it was on account of the iron which they had stolen; an accusation which induced the former to confess respecting some, of which we did not know. April 22. On the twenty-second, it was colder than it had been for a month ; the thermometer falling to minus 9\ The natives brought a large seal and four skins, which were bought ; while they informed us, at the same time, that they were soon to leave their present station for a more southern one. At eight, our own officers returned from their journey, leaving the guide, who was quite exhausted, with his friends, who had encamped six miles further, to the south of our station. In spite ot the cold and drift, they had succeeded in ascertaining that there was a crooked channel, not more than two hundred feet wide, at the new settlemei»t of Shag-a-voke ; that it was a mile in length, and lay at the bottom of an inlet, while also leading inland. II 4 TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 32o to the westward, into a spacious basin, five miles in diameter. It was the same whicli they had crossed in tlieir former journey, before they came to the reported inlet into the western sea, - "'ere they had ascertained the existence of a narrow isthmus. TIil ^pes wliicli bound the entrance of this inlet were visible from the siiip, as was the continent to the south-east, which seemed to trend towards Akullee in Repulse bay. But I must give the narrative of Com- mander Ross in his own words. l| I I 326 SECOND VOYAGE OP DISCOVERY CHAPTER XXIII. COMMANDER ROSS'S SECOND JOURNEY AND NARRATIVE. 1830. \ V E liail already ascertained tliat it was the western ocean which we liad tbrnierly seen across the narrow isthmus of that tract of hvnd which we afterwards named Boothia; and coupling this knowledge with the account which the Esquimaux had given us of the place which they called Shag-a-voke, and where they described a strong current running from the westward, through a narrow strait, we conceived the not unnatural hope that we might there tind some passage into the western sea. The natives, indeed, gave us no encouragement; assuring us that the land was here continuous from north to south within the whole range of their kn(»wleilge, and affirming positively that there was no passage where we fancied that one might possibly exist. But we did not think ourselves at all justified in taking this on their showing : they might not be correct ; and, at any rate, we were sure that we should leave a source of repentance for ourselves, and probably a ground for reproach from our countrymen, should we be satisfied with any thing short of ocular demonstration ; above all, when we had come so far for such an ol»ject, and had tiie means of absolutely satisfying ourselves, in our power. But as Awack and Ooblooria continued to sutler from their TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 327 exertions during the liLst journey, and were unable to accompany April 21. us, Noak-wusli-yuk, a lad of sixteen or seventeen, offered to act as my guide, and we accordingly began our journey on the twenty-first of April, at an early hour in the morning. The day commenced, unluckily, witii haze and snow ; and there was too much wind to allow us to travel with comfort or expe- dition; especially as that brought with it the usual snow drift, which is the almost invariable attendant of a winter gale in these regions. We nevertheless held on toward the south-west, along the land, until we reached the inlet leading to Shag-a-voke : getting sight of its entrance, and landing on one of the three islets which lie otr the cape, which they term Ac-cood-le-ruk-tuk, at four in the afternoon. Here the guide endeavoured to persuade me that this was the place called Shag-a-voke ; but it ditJered so much from the description which I had received from Ooblooria that, on my pointing up the inlet, he immediately said Shug-loo-ooanga, " I have told a storv," and bci,^ged to be allowed to build a hut: saying that he was so nuich fatigued that he could go no further. By this time the wind had subsided, and the weather, which had before been so disagreeable, was succeeded by a beautiful evening. ITnwilling, therefore, to lose the advantage attbrded by leather as rare as it was fine, the boy was put on the sledge, and we pro- ceeded along the nortli-west shore of Ac-cood-le-ruk-tuk, in a west-south-westerly direction : during which little journey I had an opportunity of ascertaining its general appearance. The entrance of this inlet is formed by Cape Tad-le-achua on the south-east, and the low point of Ac-cood-le-ruk-tuk on the north- west ; these two points being about five miles asunder. Both the J. 328 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY shores are composed of red granite; .and there are some islets lying off each of these points, in such a manner as to occnpy a large j)ortion of the entrance. In proceeding iip>v irds into it, the shores gra- dnally approximate ; and, at the distance of abont fonr miles from the entrance, where they take a remarkably tortnons conrse, the breadth of the inlet was only a hundred and twenty feet; that place forming its narrowest portion. Narrow too as this channel is, it is still further contracted by some rocks within it, which rise above the water, on whi(;h, at this time, much heavy ice was grounded. From all these particulars, I doubted whether even a boat could be carried into the upper part of this arm of the sea ; as it certainly would not afford a passage to any ship. But being now desirous to make a more accurate examination than I could do while we were in motion, I selected a spot for a hut; and declaring my intention to halt, set Noak-wush-yuk to work to build us the usual snow house : departing alone on this pursuit. That I might proceed the more lightly, I left my gun behind, which I had soon occasion to regret ; as, within an hour's time, I perceived two animals trotting behind me. It being dusk, I mistook them for wolves, anti though these were not the most agreeable companions for an iniarmed man, I was infinitely more mortified at the want of my gun, on finding them, to be two fine deer, which passed within ten yards of me. They were the first which had been seen this season. I here saw, that above the narrow strait just mentioned, the inlet expanded again to a breadth varying from one quarter to three <|uarters of a mile; and after about three hours' of quick walking, 1 arrived at its further extremity, and landed on the small islet TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 329 wlierewe had found Tiilloack's canoe buried. I liad tlnis completed the examination of the only inlet to the south through which we could have hoped to find a passage to the western sea. This inlet, Shag-a-voke, derives its name from the rapidity with which, in the summer time, the stream lushes out through tlie con- tracted and narrow channel which it must pass in its way to the sea ; and I formerly remarked, tliat the name is expressive of this fact: since the literal inter])retation of that is — "it runs fast." — Respecting the cause of this current there can be no difficulty; since the mass of water by A^hich it is produced is evidently derived from the melting of the snow on the upper lands ; the whole of which finds its way in numerous torrents, as we had afterwards occasion to see, through the valleys which tend down to the head and the sides of this inlet. Hence the great rush of water in the early part, at least, of the summer ; that being also the time in which this place is chiefly frequented by the natives, as it is the season of the fishery, when the salmon are labouring to Mork their way upwards from the sea. It was midnight when I returned to the hut, which had been erected for some time ; after a much longer journey than I had intended, but which I could not prevail on myself to shorten when I found myself led on gradually from point to point, lest I should leave this investigation incomplete. I must confess that I was extremely fatigued ; as I had travelled fifty miles during this day, and had reason, on this account, to blame the stupidity of the guide in not having built a larger hut. We had great tlifficulty in forcing ourselves into it, by all our ingenuity and perseverance ; and w hen there, it would not hold the three which formed our party, in any 2 u 330 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY but 11 posture betweeu sittiug and lyini; ; but it was, for that reason, the warmer, and we contrived to get some ol'tlie shei) vvliich fatigue brings, in return for its grievances. ;^pril2'2. It was not, however, that sUep which the restless envy, and which all would gladly prolong. Wc were much more glad to rise than we had been to lie down ; if such a term can be applied to a posture as like to that in the parish stocks as aught else, or the word bed to a "form" which even a hare could not have occu- pied, and which woidd have required all the flexibility of a fox or a rabbit. Luckily it was a very line morning; and after having shook ourselves, like the bears, I proceeded to fniish my observa- tions, which being com[)leted, we set out for the .ship. As we proceeded down the inlet, the dogs got a sight of three deer which were passing over to the opposite shore ; and before we could stop them, or were well aware of the matter, they set oft* in full chase, with the .sledge at their heels. At every bound which this carriage made over the rough ice, some part of our baggage flew out, to the great annisement of our guide^ who shouted with joy at the " fun." The whole was soon out of sight; and we had nothing to do but to follow, and to pick up our instruments and other matters, as fast and as well as we could ; till, after three hours hard walking, we overtook the machine, hard wedged between two pieces of ice, and the dogs so fatigued that they were scarcely able to move. No harm was however done, but that of prolonging our journey, as the course of the deer was very ditferent from ours ; so that it was eight o'clock before we reached the ship, sufliciently tired. We were obliged, however, to leave our guide some miles in the rear, since he was incapable of keeping up with us, and was in fact TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. ;wi toniplefely exb-.iustetl. But he lial I 332 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY been two hypotheses, and two errors, anion^- travellers who have visited tlie rude and savage tribes of the worUI. The one sees virtue every where, and even finds it disguised under the garb of vice : tlie other is the direct reverse. 1 cannot help sometimes suspecting that we ourselves had been somewhat too much inclinetl to look at our Esquimaux friends through a sunny coloured glass: but at any rate, that is tlie most comfortable view which preserves ourselves in the best humour. The farce, however, ended at last by a promise from the " liar" to commit this sin no more : on which the file was given to him : and he trotted otf to join his friends, with a light heart, and, doubt- less, with a conscience no longer aching. TO THE AHCT RfcGION ma CHAPTER XXIV. DEPARTURE OF COMMANDER ROSS ON A THIRD EXPEDITION — THREATENING OF A RUPTURE WITH THE NATIVES — COMMANDER ROSS's RETURN. 1830. It had now, therefoiv, been completely ascertained that there was no passage into the western sea to the south of the 70th degree ; and it therefore became unnecessary to lay plans for proceeding in this direction with the ship. The more minute examination to the northward, was therefor*? the object to which our attention was next to be directed. Thus also did we find reason to Ix; thankful that we had made no further progress; little as we foresaw, at one time, that we .should have come to such a determination as this. Had that been the case, we should have been entangled still deeper in a bay encumbered with peculiarly heavy ice, and, after all, Ijeen obliged to retrace our steps to the northward ; while under in- finitely greater difliculties in extricating ourselves, and perhaps not to have rescued our .ship from the ice during the whole summer. It was uot an unimportant part of the report of this journey, to find that reindeer had been .seen oidy twelve miles to the .soutli of our place, with inmunerable tracks of the same animal, attended by the traces of their enemies, the wolves. Being St. George's day, the usual ceremony of a royal salute and Apiil 23. 334 SECOND VOYAGE OP DISCOVERY April 2-1. April 25. A].ril ^fi. tlu' disphiy of flags wiis adopted. TIkic was no one, iiuleed, to uitiii ss this etter part of the day, after this, was oc(Mipied in enttinu out tin- rudiU-r, which had received some damai;<' from th«' ice; but thcjre was still a holiday left for the crew. Some of the natives arrived; and the guide l)oy passed on hi.s way home. The morning- began tine, but ended with snow from the north- ward. Making an excursion to the top of the n«'ighboin'ing hill, two of the natives joined me, and pointertliii;;ly. Coiuinaiider lloss and one of the mates departed to exphue the Ainl 27. inlet t«» the northward. At the vilhii;(! all was eoiiriisi(Mi, in eon- se<|uen<;e of the death of a eliild that had been killed liy a stone falliiiij^ on it. The fatlur and tivr brothers eanie out, in an appa- rently frantic state, nith their knives in their hands; and as it was donhtfnl what this meant, oiir ow n party prepared their gnns, on which the father was forced back inl«» tlii' hut, and peace was restored. It was then settled that the man and b(»y, who had been previously eni;aj;ed, should accoin[)any the party in the nfurnincf, beinu^ contident that they should see musk oxen. On board we had abundant work, in caulkiui? the ship as far as tin; uu-n could contrive to reach : and this, with other preparations for our future journey, occupied the followinu;' day also, which presented no parti- April 2s. cular interest. The two last days had been gradually becomini; colder, and the Apiil :o. thermometer to-day was at minus 2^ The caulkini;- and pitchini;- went tinished, and tlie men commenced to fit the skins on the canoe frame which tliey had prepared. The thermometer at nii;ht sank to minus 9'; and a snow stoiin came on in the morning, with the April .50. wind from the northward. It was impossible to work outside of the ship, and we receiv*-*! no visits. In summing up this last month, I may remark that the tirst half was much warmer than v\ as to jiave been expected at this .season : but the end was so cold, tliat the average for the whole was zero. The most impoi^tant of the events in it were the two journeys : and the sum of theinformation procured by them appeared to be the following: ^m SKCOND VOYAGK OF DISCOVERY Mav 1 Wo were sure tliat we were on tlie continent of America. The western sea liad been seen ; bnt w<- fonnd also, that if tliere was any passage to it, that must be within a degree to the nortliward of our position, at the bottom of Prince Regent's inlet, and in Cresswell bay, where, after sailing nj) six miles, no land conld be seen in any direction. As the limits to our necessary researches were, tims, nnn-h contracted, our obvious business was to examme minutely the several inlets to tlie northward ; while, should we tind no passage, we should return to Prince Regent's inlet, and examine the only remaining opening on the south side of Leo})old's islands. This had been done, as far as it could by land, in tiie first journey ; but the result, thus far, w as not satisfactory. It was for a future day to know the success of the expedition on which Connnander lloss had just proceeded. 3Iuch needful work had been done in the ship, and the men were in good health : tliey had even escaped the usual intlamma- tion of the eyes from snow; exce})ting the mate, who had suffered from it in his first journey. The ice had been found seven feet and a half thick ; and we did not expect that it would increase any more. jNFany good observations had l)een made, and the expe.i- ments on sound continued: but the resultsof these were so irregular, that we knew not yet what conclusions to draw. This was not the May-day (►f the poets, but it was mild, at least, till the evening, when there was a strong north-easterly breeze. There were no visits from natives: and though many hares were seen, none were killed. We expected the ret(uii of our jiarty to-day, in vain. The midnight temperature was minus 4% and the barometer fell half an inch. TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 337 M,i There were still no signs of onr party, nor did the natives visit :\lay 2, ns. After chnrch, the mate and a party went tive miles in the direction in which they were expected ; but returned without any tidings. The thermometer rose, for some hours, to plus 18^: no observations could be taken, exceptiug a transit of the moon; such was the state of the sky. Our party being still absent, we began to be anxious : and Mr, Thorn, with the surge«»n and two men, were consequently sent to the northern huts, to see if the natives were still there, and, if not, to deposit a supply of provisions, with a signal to give notice of its place : it was possible they might want it, and they would thus be enabled to continue out, and proceed in their investigations without returning to the ship. In the mean time, however, some natives arrived from another village, and informed us that our party would arrive the next day, with a musk ox which they had killed. They sold some skins and received their dinners ; being nine in number. Shortly afterwards, Mr. Thorn returned ; and having found the huts empty, executed his commission. It was certain that they were gone to Neitchillee ; but those who had been with us were to remain some time longer. Our party returned in the afternoon to oiu" great satisfaction. They had killed h\o musk bulls, and had brought part of them within three miles of the ship. It was much more important to know that they had found a channel leading to the western sea : but, as on the former occasion. Commander Ross's narrative nnist be given in his own words. We lost no time in sending for part of the beef: the animals had been unusually large ones. Many rein- deer had been seen ; and some ptarmigans shot on the wing, to the great surprise of the native guide. 2x .Mil 338 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY CHAPTER XXV. NARRATIVE OF COMiMANDER ROSS. 1830. As the season was now ra{)idly advancing, I became very desirous, il' it was possiljle, to visit that place to the northward which the natives called Aw-wuk-too-te-ak, as a preparation for the journey which we had projected to the Western Ocean. Tlie Esquimaux had now also broken up into different parties ; and we were there- fore afraid that they would all quit our neighbourhood before we had ascertained tht; position of that place. It was, to us, a very important one, if their information was correct : since they said, that, beyond that point, the coast turned and extended to the north- west, and that this was the only route by which we could get round to the sea of Nei-tyel-le. Correct as this information might be, for aught that we could sujjpose to the contrary, having no grounds- to form any conclusion, we thought it a remarkable circumstance, as it was one which diminished our confidence in the reporters, that although many of these people had been at Aw-wnk-too-te-ak, and some of them three or four days' journey beyond it, none had ever gone to Nei-tyel-le by the route which they indicated to us. All their information was derived from report; and when they spoke of a communication between the eastern and western seas, existing at a certain point, we began to suspect that this was at so great a distance as probably to imply the passage at Barrow straits. TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. mi) But under any doubts, vvhetlier Avv-wuk-too-te-ak was situated at no greater distance than we were told, or wherever it might prove to be, it was most needful that we should see it. The country was quite unknown to us; every thing around was equally obscure or doubtful; however generally accurate the geographical descriptions of these people had proved, they could never be thoroughly trusted; the land might be intersected at any port by narrow straits, or we might be on an island : w hile, imder any view, it was our business to search this country as we would seek ft>r the mouth of a river; .since for this purpose we had come, and since we could never fore- see where the lonij: soui>:ht honour mii;ht not be Ivintf in wait to reward our exertions. A large party of the Esquimaux had (!onie to the ship while the.se reflections were passing through our minds; and taking advantage of this incident, one of them was engaged to conduct me to the place in (juestion, and the arrangements made for our departure on the following nu>niing. I was to be accompanied by th*^ mate Abemethy ; and the surgeon Mas to attend me to the huts, where the giMde was to meet us, that he might bring word back to Captain Hossof the nature of our tinal arrangements for the journey itself, and of the probable time of our absence ; so that, if needful, he might take measures for supplying us with pro- visions. We departed accoras still held fast, and, now, by both his sons, ^^ ho had pinioned his arms beliind him ; though he strove hard to disengage himself; while tlie rest of the party seemed to be standing in readiness to second any attempt TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 341 which he might make on us. Tliat there was some difference of opinion among tliem, liowever, and that all were not equally hostile, was plain from the conduct of these young men ; so that we could still hope for some parley before matters came to extremity. They now began to talk among themselves, and then separated in .such a manner as to be ready to surround us, which having nearly effected, and we not choosing to be so cut off from the ship, I warned those who were closing in on the rear, to desist. This produced a short pause, and a still shorter conference ; but they immediately again began to close in, brandishing their knives in defiance, according to their usual custom, and had nearly gained their object, when finding that further forbearance would be hazardous, I placed the gun to my shoulder, and was about to fire, when I fortunately saw that the threat alone was sufficient to give them a check. With little loss of time, those who had advanced nearest broke off, in evident alarm, ^ind retreated towards their huts; thus leaving us an open passage in the rear. But as I could not induce any of them to approach, or to answer my questions, we continued for nearly half an hour in this state of suspense and perplexity, when we were relieved by the courage or confidence of one of the women, who came out of a hut just as I was again raising my gun, and called to me not to fire, advancing up to our party immediately, without showing the least mark of fear. From her, we soon learned the cause of all this hubbub, which, absurd as it was, might have had a fatal termination, as we should probably have been the chief sufferers. One of Pow-weet-yah's adopted sons, a fine boy of seven or eight years of age, whom we knew, had been killed on the preceding night, by the falling of a stone on his ii42 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY head. This they had ascribed to our agency, tliron2;h the super- natural j)owers which we were believed to possess; while the father, not very unnaturally inider this conviction, had nieibtated revenge in the manner which we hail experienced. I had much ditticulty in persuading the good woman that we were totally ignorant of this catastrophe, and that we were very sorry for the misfortune; she however repeated all that I liad said to two of the men who had not tidien any share in the business of the attack, and who now approached us unarmed, in token of peace. Their object was to persuade us to go back to the ship^ and to return in three days, when they otiered to be our guides to the desired place. But many reasons opposed this scheme ; of which the chief was, that as this was the first misunderstanding that had occurred between ns, it was essential to come to an understanding, and to renew our frienentle slope, so as to attain an elevation of a Inmdred feet at the distance of a mile. At six we came to a small lake, which is the sonrce of this river, surrounded by hi,ni>, ru^f^ed, or precipitous shores, the ravines of which wert; tilled with closely-packed drift snow, by which the sunnnits of the hills in the distance were also covered, h'roin this [»lace we then turned more to the northward, crossing a hi.<;h ridge for the purpose of reaching another lake, and under- goinn- great labour during an ascent of an hour and a half, from the steepness of the ground and the depth of the snow. It was not till ten at night that we arrived at our halting place, and finished this day's journey; men, and dogs too, all equally tired with a laborious struggle against i high wind and driving snow, during a space of thirty miles which we computed that we had travelled. The two Esquimaux soon erected an excellent snow hut, and, after our supper of frozen meat, we betook ourselves to rest ; being all so fatiLHied that we could not converse, even on the events of the morning, on which I should otherwise have entered, for the purpose of understanding better the nature of their funeral usages, as well as that I might convince myself of the entire removal of all their fancies respecting our supernatural and mischievous agency. The night was extremely tempestuous ; and, in the morning, it blew very hard from the north, with a heavy driving snow, so that we could not quit our hut till nine. From this cause we made very little way till towards noon, when the wind moderated a good deal. TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. a47 after wlii(;h tlie diiy bcoairie beautiful. The liilitiide, by a meri- dional observation, was 70" '2-jl lf>°, and at this time, bein^ noon, we passed a ;;reat number of Esquimaux marks plaeeil on an islet in a large lake. This, as our guides informed us, Avas a tishing station much fre«iuented in th«! summer and aiitunni ; the lake abounding with salmon during these seaisons, which was the time during which they ascended from the sea, through a river which finds its exit from the north-eiLstern corner of this piece of water. The station itself was called >i'a{)-i)ur-re->dv-ta-lig. This place is entirely sur- rounded by granite hills, and the islets consist of the same rock. The lak(! itself is of a very irregular shape, and of considerable extent from the north-east to the .south-west. Leaving this spot, we crossed this piece of water in a north- westerly direction, but found the travelling very laborious, from the great depth of the snow, which A\as also loose, and occupied the course of the river and lake: being unfortunately the direction most convenient for us. This, like all similar places in this country, they called It-tib-lin-ne-ak. 'J'hough the road was as bad as could well be, throughout the whole of this hollow, or watercourse, there was one place w^iich far outdid all the rest. This was a frozen rapid in the river, where, in addition to the irregularity and rough- ness of the ice, which also projected in slippery mas.ses through the loose snow, the declivity was .so considerable that the sledges ran down it with fearful rai>idity, getting before the dogs, which they dragged along, and endangering the vehicles themselves, with all which they carried. We found a safer, though a more rugged path for ourselves, and halted at five o'clock to make the necessary observations for the 2 y2 348 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY longiliulc. It Wijs not very woinhiful that the sight of the iiistru- nients revived in th<; iiiiml of the jiiiiihi the luilief in our powers of conjuration. And as the idea of eatinuj is ever |»re- thnii, lie found that th«' auiuiiils liiul passrd inauy days brtoio : hut niakiuu^a further scanih, he soon found the traees of two whirh he; asserted to have; been at this spot on tliis very evenini;. Wv. therefore went baek to the sled^^es; and after s(!le«;tini? a spot to buihl a hut, and having the work to be exe(;uted by the boy, he took his bow and arrows and set otf ; leading two of his dogs in couples, and desiring nie to follow with my gun and favourite dog Tup-to-aeh-ua. On regaining the tracks, he immediately let slip the dogs, and I followed his example with mine. They went off at full speed, and wer«' v( ry soon out of sight ; as the nature of the surfa«'e did not allow us a very distant view of the gronn;i('v«T, every now ;)nd then, to coniphiin that they ooidd eat no more, and lyini^ haeU t»n their beds, but still retaining: their knives in one hand, with the nntiitislied morsel in the other, and a^ain lie^inning with as much eneriry as before, as soon as they felt it possible to i>et down another hnnp. Disgusting brutes ! the very hyaena would hav<' filled its l)elly and gone to sleep : nothing but absolute incapacity to push their food beyond the toj) of the throat, eoidd check the gormandi/ing of these specimens of reason and humanity. By the time that they seemed really inca|)able of devouring any more, our own soup was ready, and I therefore offered them to partake. Out of p«>liteness, l*oo-yet-tah took two or three spoonfuls, and then confessed that he could swallow no more. Placing my hand on his stomach, I was perfectly astonished at the distension which it had undergone, and which, without such an examination, 1 couhl not have believed it possible for any human creature to bctir; as, had I not known their habits, I should have expected that nothing but death could be the consequence. This enormous stufling caused our guides to pass but a restless night : if they had j)Ossessed a term for the nightmare, we should probably have heard of it in the morning. In the mean time the gale moderated ; so that, when we rose at five o'clock «m the next day, the weather was such as to allow of our proceeding; though still hazy and somewhat threatening, as the breeze was from the northward, and was accompanied by somedriflt. Our sledge was soon loaded, but the guides had not so soon recovered from the effects of their dinner, so that it was past seven im.< TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. '3o9 o'clock before we coiiM get them to move. But when rease another y in charge of the baggage. Travelling over a very rugged country covered with deep snow, during two hours, we at length descended on the lake which they call Aw-wuk-too-teak and which will be found in the chart. This piece of water extends, according to its longest dimensions, from north-east by east to Mjuth-west by uest, and, in this direction, appeared about four miles in length. In shaite, it is very irregular, as it is bounded by five distinct hills, separati-d from each other by an equal number of ravines, which, as in the sea to the northward. The names of these hills as given by the guide are as follow, distinguishing them by their true bearings, from the centre of the lake : namely, that to the west is called Pood-le-ra-nuk, to the north-west Il-low-nuk, to the north-east Ac-cood-le-ruk-tuk, to the we.st-south-west Tak-ke-noo-ra-lig, and to the south Il-low-na-lig. Poo-yet-tah further informed me that the lake contained three 300 »RCOND VOYAGE OP DISCOVERY different kinds of (ish, which remain in it tlirougliont the winter, that it wus of ^re;it re fragments of lime- stone, and found the tide on : w! ile, as far as I could see, the ice consisted entirely of hunnnocky masses which luui ; vea closely packed against the shore at tlie commencement of the winter. I had not gained much by my attempt to investigate this j)iece of ground ; for the falling snow, and the thick haze by which it was accompanied, obscured every thing in such a manner that I could never see beyoiul two miles, if I even saw so far. I'he weather also became more unpromising, nistead of iujproving; .so that 1 resolved U - ve up all further pursuit of this object, and turned my face to return to the hut where I had left my ' ompanions. On this, I immediately heard the voice of Poo-yet-tah lial- looing r-cin behind a stone, close to me, and Mas not a little surprised to see him, when I expected that he had been saft^ly 3 a 3G2 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY lodged in the hut by this tiine. \ found that he had followed me slilv, to wateli my proceed in!>s; heiiiii: w-weet-te-week to a hill on its eastern shore; and on ascending it, he .showed me the spot where his tent had l)een erecteil in the preceding summer when we passed by, and where he was to be in the impending oik He also pointed out to me .some stores of food which his companions had abandoned on leaving this place ; and, opening one of his own, produced .some pieces of ironstone which he haaluable supply of fresh beef for our |)eople, which we should be compelled to abandon to the beaLiS of prey whose tracks were every where visible. I therefore refused to stop here, and tried to persuade them to go on ; but in vain. Turning a deaf ear to my representations, Poo-yet-tidi immediately began to build a hut, saying that we must : ieep in it this night. He evidently believed that we were unable to proceed without his guidance, and that we could not, by ourselves, find the hut in which we had slept on the night of the twenty-seventh, whi(;h was the place that we had proposed to reach when we had set out in the morning. I was, indeed, somewhat doubtful of thj't matter mvself; but ratiier than submit to the loss of another (hiy, I determined to make the altemj)!, espe(;ially its the weather began to iniprove, and promised to I)ecome more favourable every hour. TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 367 It was, nevertheless, to the considenible surprise of our two guides when we departed witliout them ; and as we occasionally turned, to see whether they niiglit not change their minds, we saw them abandon their work several times, for the apparent purpose of watching the route whi<^h we were taking, and the progress that we made. The former was a subject of some hesitation, and tlu; latter far from rapid ; sinvhen the body is heated and exhausted by fatigue, may bring on some inflannnatory state of the stomach, so as to cause the suti'ering in question. Ilesuming our journey across the lake, we found the travelling nnich injproved by the late riles; and, soon after midnight, we arrived at the hut, truly exhausted by fatigue. In this condition, it was an exceeding mortification to find that a wolf had torn off the door with which we had secured its entrance, and that it was filled with snow. We were therefore compelled to couimence digging into it, tired as we were; when, after an hour's hard labour, we contrived to make it habitable for the night, and got into our bags at two in the morning. "•"TSi' ^^'""' TO TIIR ARCTIC RKfilONS. 369 When we awoke, and henan to hethiuU ourselves of departnitf, tlie weatlier was very unsettled and hlowini;- in squalls from tlur north ; while fresh fallini? snow added to tlie obsein-ity and annoy- ance caused by that which was driftinu' before the m ind from the faces of the hills. The doi>s too were so tired, by the labours of the precedinu: day, that nothiui? but my ,ij;reat anxiety to njoin the ship and relieve the probable fears of Captain l{oss and our other shipmates, would have induced me to proceed. We found the travellinc^ extremely bad : but the worst part of it, by far, was a space of about a mile, crossing the high ridg<' which separated the next lake from that Mhicli mc had left. This alone cost us from nine in the morning until two; nor did we accomplish it without making three separate trips with the sledge, .so as to bring forward all our matters to the same point. On the lake, however, the ice was as smooth as glass, for the winds had swept it clean; so that we crossed it \Ar\ e natives are accustomed (o s<'cure and conceal tlieir winter stocks of fish. We were now approaching tlie huts where our threatening .adventure had occurred at our first setting out ; imd being doubtful of their feurce of new sus- picions, or the cause of a renewal of hostility. But as soon as we had reachetl the level ice of the bay, we saw Ib-lu-she coming toward us, though evidently approaching with much caution, as if not quite secure of his reception. If this proved the existence of very ditlerent feelings from that of hostility, the fact that he was unarmed sutHced to remove all doubts, and I there- fore greeted him in our usual kind manner, to his infinite delight. Explaining then to him the proceedings and objects of the guides that we had left behind, the (;hief of whom was lus brother, for whom he had at first expressed considerable anxiety, he became (piite satisfied, and went oft' to communicate the news to his party at the huts. In no long time we gaine!n i(h!s on the last jonrney ; bnt they had not hiteu nh\v to bring in the otlier m\isk o\, and had not seen any more. On th< ^luy ;. foUowing day, another party eame from the southward, bringing some seal, and some skins; and, aften who had eonstitnted the parly of the last expedition had been in- flamed l»y their jonrney, and they w«Te taken <'are of accordingly. The surgeon returned, with the male, from the detached party, May If). which h(; had left aliout twenty miles ofl', under the care of two Itlsquimaux; bringing back their sledge and dogs. 'J'he mate's eyes were so nnich allecled, lliat he could not proeeur two othcers. We M\y '20. were pleased to tind, on llu- following day, that the weather con- tinued to favour their expedition. The (litferent patients were better, and we proceetled to lay grave 1 round the ship and over the Krusenstern. The sun <'ould n<)t raise IJi*- IIk rmonteler beyond 1J)°; an»l on May 21. going to the hole whi< h had been made in the lake, it was fouiul oovereil with ice .^ix inches thi<'k; ihe ice of the lake itself being .seven feet and a half. The baits were untouched; and our other .search after game was unsuccessful. On the following day we May 22. itscertained that tlie ice near us had not increa.sed in thickness, though there were four inches formed in the hole. The track of a musk ox WKs seen on the ice not far from us. A summer tent was made, and some sails repaired. This Sunday was the anniversary of our departure from Eng- ^^^''y *^* a7(» SKCONI) VOYAiJK OK DISCOViniY liiiiil. The musk ox fmiiislud us with fnsli boilc*! iuid roast meat. lor the whole rn \\ It h:Ml uo more taste of musk than lH>fore anil, havinu- heeu hHiucr kepi, was more ftiahr. Duiinj;^ their walk alii r ehun h, IIk- nun Irai'ked a while hear, as well as some hares and urouse. In Ihe exciiiuu-, llvUiallik. llie ueourajdu r, with his wife and family, and \\\(* other men, arriM'd, with (he intention of atteudiuti' Conmianiler IJoss on Ids expedition, and were mueh disappoiut<-d to iind that he had heeu so louu i;'oue. It appeared that Ik' had misealeidaled lheda>, (•ountiui;- ten instead of five. AV'e therefore < n^aned them to tullow or meet him with provisions, within a wcik; at whleh the\ were much jdeased. \\ r also bor- rowed a doi;- fi'om them, as our own were all absent, in <'ase wv. .■^hould meet the bear that had Imu'u marked. They had iH.'en unsnei'esst'ul in seal huntiui;-, but had discovered some Indes, and hoped shortly to briuL; us an animal for the dous. Iviehofthe men r(('ei\<-(! a ' nid was ,M 1 -J , north: but, at niidniuht. the tia rmonulc r was at j)b.is \'2 . l{oth days were clear and fnie : tlu' work wml on; a ptarmigan was killed, and the trucks ot" deer and wolves .seen. We had a riiiht to eonelude t!iat the Ibrnier wt re mii;ralini; !<» tlw north, with their enemies hanyinii on t!iuide had con«hieted him to the; narrow elianuel leading between th«> two sejLs, and he had r>', and the mean of the four different places 10°, 'J'his augured but ill for ouk .speedy release: but ue were willing to TO THE AIUTIC IlECIONS. 379 think, thai Iiaviiii>^ taU<'K better rare of our tl ermojiieter, it hail oil \y shown a h>\ver temperature because tlie <)th« rs had h« 'er» managed with hss attention to a true result. We had been eonstruetini;- he boards |i )ronr ship, with the inten- tion of inakinu: her more weallierlv; and <)nr hibours in letiflinu; tlie ri^^.t-ing were in a stat« of i-reat iorwardness. Many observa- tions, ot' various kinds, had been made. As yet there was no appearance of s(ur\y ; but two or three of th(! menshowed jnst( nouuh (»f tlin atenin^' toniake ns fear that they woiihl not Ih' hain-exeini;). unless we obl;un<'d a more ample sup|)ly of fresh provisions (hninu- the eominy sinnmer. The snow bbnd- iiess uas n(»t more eoimnon anioiii; us than with the native^: and, in other respeets, the health of the nidi uas t;ood. We had not succeeded in procuriny- much uanu : uliile, in realit\, we were too steadily occupi»' a yeai, or y< ars, ar<' e\peii( led itJi a pro.yiess so sniidl as that which has attdidcd all th esc norti lern exploiin^r voya,i;es : if tlie> >\oiild tran lat*' tla word year into month, it would enable them to torm jnster cs to be enumerated ajnong our contingencies. TO TIIK AllCTIC REGIONS. 381 CHAPTER XXVII. EXPEniTION COMME\(i:i) — NAHIIATIVK y pari of llic laud, c\ct'[)l a rock iv- seinldiui; the Hass island oil' llni rirtii of I'oitli. Wv saw four gulls and an ov\ I ; and proircdcd along ;i rocky coast to tlic south-west- wan!, skirted willi large islands, viry mucli resendding some of die shores of Sweden, between (iot(enl)ur^ and Stronislad. We passed wilhin them all, in u clear «liannel, wide enougli for large shi[)s, and ch-ar of icf-bergs. At seven in the nR)riiiMg we arrived at the huts, s<'veHte«'n miles from our vessel : ali taking an eipial share, otH«vrs and men, in the heavy work of drawing the sledge, whi<'h, for l!ir 5a>t four miles, was etuisideiahlt , as the snow was were much fatitrued; and the mate. iH.'iO. Mil le ?l!"Ii Jllid-leg d(!ep>. '!'! lilanky, could go no furilxr. Hut ha\ing lighted a fire and made some cotfee, they were enal)led to proceed to the next place, con- taining the huts, at twc!ity-two miles from our ship. Accordingly, at eight, we set forward ; ami, the fog having cleared awav, I obtained some views of ilm laml. We arrived I , 382 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY before cloven, where we fomitl seven of the natives, who supplied IIS with water, but had no meat remaininif. As we (.ahnhited on Hetlii!-;- their thji^^s for a few niiUs further at hast, t«» assist onr htbonrs, \\v pitehe\ere ••'oiiii;; immedia tely in th<; same (hreetion as onrselves, and wen d thus to be so liea\ilv latien that thev eoiild uive ns no assistance; since it would take themselves two days to <;et to the fust place at which they could expect food. I'liey departed accordingly, ai one o'clock. J procured some ob.servutions at noon, determining the ainoMi; other thinus, at (>!) 'W, and the lonnilmh; at latit iKle J)i I At live, an ohl woman wh(»se avarice had prcscur-d her the nick- name of OKI (i reedy, passed us lo the soiilhwanl, with three dogs drawing a seal-skin lull »f blubber, v\hi(;h she was 1«) deposit in advaiuM'; but we could not [)rt\;'il on her to len«l us one \ered with snow; and at the foot «»f the nearest, was a det;!( lied rock not luilike a milesti)ne, on whiVe had started at ten o'cU;. ■ on the preceding night, but we went tirst to a hut, a mde olf, to seek for an axe that had bi en buried by the ':>N.:. TO TIIK ARCTIC IlEOIOIVS. 38ij snrp'on !in«l the mate, on tin* former expedition. We searelied in vain, Jis (lie natives had probably taken it away, and we were Urns searcely under way till niidnii::ht. Landini,'^ at the bottom ot' this ciiannel, we proeeetled sonth-westwanl, and, at the distanee oflialf a mile, rea<'hed a lake about forty feet al)o^e the level of the sea; followinu; the bed of tln' river to it, as that was still frozen over. It WiLs only tlnee-<|uarfers of a mile wide, and about two hundred yards in breailth; beinsj^ surrounded by preeipitous elitfs. F«d- lowiui; upwards from it, we came (o another of similar dimen- sions, a hundn'd feet hii;lier, wlii<'h diseharii^es itself into the one below. 'I'henee proeeedini; in the .same dire(;tion till we had attainestioned ubout tin- axe, she ((MiCcysed that she was of the party that had 'tolen it, and that it was in |)ossession of two of the men at the eastern huts, ilavinir passed this lake, we then held our way over another of 384 SECOND VOYAGi: OF DISCOVERY the suiiif size and aspect, Ixmiulcd Uy Utwcv land, wliicli was, liowever, equally covered by Im^e blocks of stone, some of them in very fantastic shapes. This was about twenty feet higher than the former; and, follow ini;- the windings of the hills for a mile, we came to the north-eastern end of the great lake, whicls seemed eleven or tw<'lve miles in length. We soon found the huts of the KsquiuKuix who had left us on the preceding day for the purpose of coming here to fish : they were still built of snow, as before, but were now covered w ith skins. The people denied all knowledge of the ax(.', and said it was in possession of the old woman. Proceeiling on the lake, after this, \\v found a ridge of icebergs on it, differing nnich in aspect from those of the sea : but here we were obliged to stop for rest and refreshment; some of the party being nnu^h fatigued. We set forward again at half-past five, und, soon after eight, arrived at an island in the middle of the lake. The men, how- ever, were so much tir Im' tliiec liuiulr<(l ivvt above llic Itvtl of the sta. I'luncc wo soon ciuiic to a narrow lake kiidiiii;- in tlio, allowing tlif rock: lint urrc hcltcr pleased at its oli'eiin;; :> very convenient j.Iaee for onr tent, wliieii was pitched without (h-Iay. Tlie eniph»ynient of c«M»kin^ onr venison fnrnished ns with those phasniis of anticipation whicli tl ley ahnie feel, who have no teai^ of anv sinister rhanccs iM-tweeu " tin.' cap and the lip;" while it vas satistaetory to lind that the seller, with his tile, seemed fnlly as happy as we v> ho v\ere re^alin^ on the dinner w Inch it had I'nrnished. Wv were informed that Commander Hoss had p>ne toward tlie niM'th: and they drew, on the ice, the shape of the land to the northward of the cape, called by them, Kin^arnick ; whi«'h I copied, notinu: all their names of places, 'i'his ca|)e had heen pre- vionsly named Isidiella. by (,'oinniander IJoss. The man, Tiatfashn, an old friend, soon canie, and irave ns permission to tish in the hole that he hud made in the ice, ahont two hniidred yards tV<»m ns. Anotiier of them went otF in the niirht, an to sleep till six in the moniini;. Except myself, every one was suft'erinti: tVom sore eyes, and they were there- were cool oraw. fore kept within the tent: while my work was to tish, and make observations. Onr dinner beiny: of tish sonp, was an a<.'ceptal)le novelty, since we had not seen stich fan; for many ;i TO THE AKCTIt: itK<;iONK. ;w: iiioiillis. 'riiruciitlicr was uariii ciioii;;;!! lu iiicli snow, (Ml tin; r(H'ks> for (Iriiikiii;;, without tin- lalHuir oraititicial thawing. I li«rf made soiiir olisci'vations on tin- dip of the iiia;;iMlir iMrdlc 'I'liis l>a\ is tell milts uiili- at this part, ami is i'nlj ol' small islets. \l ihnc in the moniing a party arri\nl aiul pitrhcil their tents a little to the south of us; prouiisiu;; to brin^ us lish, in whieh, however, they disappointed us, having het^ii unsueeesstul. la the cvenin|L; 1 re- peated the observations on the dip of the ma^uiftie needle iind the intensity of its forre. 'V\\v. third of .lune was a very line day, and ue uer'. employed in imie 3. fishinu:. ^Ve :ht a do/en of tish ; whieh were esuelessly d«'po- siteii in reaeln.i <»neof the doi^s, l»y whieh tiny wen-, very naturally, devoured. 'i'w(» of the unn were unable to see at all, fr(»ni tlu; etfeet of the snow. The elii«f mate was beJler. The tid»'. in a hole furnished with a measnrint; line, rose only t'ourteen inehes; and we remarkid that \m- eauifht no tish exeejit dnrin*; the briu^ht sunshine. It is to b»' suspee-ted, that in these fro/en seas ami lakes, they are in a torpid state durini;^ the evtrenie eold : and that they are roused, like tin- dormouse, on the oeeasional (M-eurrenee of heat. The uien beint; blind for the pnfst ut, from the etl'ects of intlain- mation, and the uatiM- not ha\in,u: brought tlu promised do;;.s, I was compelled to remain. I eaiised a Inde to be nuule in the iee, and found it si'\4u feet and a tpuirter thick; bein,<; very nearly what it was at the ship when we cauu- away: but there Ixini; oidy six leet water in depth, we had a proof of the ^reat irregularity of the bottom. There w;ls nothin*; hft for me to do during this detention, exe-ept to lUiUie obs»-rvations and catch tish; but the occurrence of gloomy weather was eipially hostile to both. 3 d2 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V] <^ /; ""?: *^.>> / *> om. y # .^ 1.0 JriM IIM I.I 1.25 M 2.2 2.0 Photographic Sciences Corporation 1.8 iA IIIIII.6 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ^ ^^ i\ \\ >:vQ t II o ^0 is. f 388 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY hme 4. I went witli the surgeon to the tents, and foinul that the natives had been unsuccessful in their seal hunting, or fishing, which last is perhaps the more appropriate term. One of them entreated me, with tears, to tell him where he should find one : how were they to suppose that men so superior to themselves in a hundred things, did not know whatever concerned them most ? I pointed to a place at hazard, that I might give them hope, at least, to occupy their time and stay their hunger : but it was not a very profound jest, to say that they would certainly take some if they would wait till the animals came. We now learned that the breach of engagement, by another native, respecting a might want provisions, had <'ausc(l some to he deposited in a phice indi(^uted, where we aeeonhngly Ibund th(!m. We did n<»t happen, however, to he in want; having hnsbanded our own, by means of fish and venison. AVe saw, ahout the preeipices to- 5)senee of eight days and a half, and I may here resnme my ow'i journal. I found the thermometer to-day at S'2\ and the work on the ship June 8. going on. The snow was rapidly and steadily melting during the day, and the appearance of the land was, in consequence, greatly changed. The rigging of the main and fore masts was fast advanc- ing; and the heat rose as high as o6 , falling to iiV in the night of the following day, which found the i'oretopmast got up, and the bowsprit better s('(;ured, by nevv work. In addition to the progress of our other work, we cut a hole in the ice above the Krnsenstern, but <'ould not get a sight of her, such was the depth uiuk'r which she was for the present bin'ied. A hare and four grouse having b«'en kille«l, were found to have acquired their summer plumage and coating. The ice became juneii. more and more covered w ith water, daily ; though the thermo- meter had rather sunk for the last three days. The canvas r(H)f was entirely removed this «lay, and a sunnner Juno 12. awning spread. It was cloudy; and the tirst rain of this season fell in ihe evening. TIic (orrents were seen rinniing «lowii the hills, and numbers of ducks and bnnt gees(' made their appearance for the iirst time. The sevcial kinds of animals, I need scarcely n()W say, form a calentlar of lh(; year in this counlry, as the tlowering of plants does in our own ; w hert; the eniigralions of binls, if I except the swallow, nightingale, and cuckoo, are little n(»ticed in ve should rise at four in the afternoon ; and, after our meal, with the necessary stowage and arrangements, proceed on our daily, or rather nightly, journey between six and seven : limiting the length of it to ten hours. The labour of encamping, the evening (l)eing truly a morning) meal, repairs of clothes, and other matters, then occupied three or four hours, so that the seven or eight remaining were left for sleep. Under this new arrangement we set out at six in the evening; pursuing our route close along shore, under the projecting point of limestone which skirts Cape Isabella, and extends along this shore for some miles, where it is broken into capes and inlets by means of long ridges of tliat rock. The direction, here, of the coast, for about ten miles, is west-north-west, after which it becomes more northerly : and it became necessary to examine the whole of the bays and inlets thus formed, because I understood from the natives that the entrance of the expected inlet was narrow. They, how- ever, proved shallow; and being light in comparison with the FT 4(Ki SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY loaded party, 1 uas eiiablt'd to siarcli tlio wiioU; accurately, uliile the rest skirted tlie coast between tlie several points. May 21. After a tatiguiiii^- day's journey of twenly miles, we halted soon after four in tlie niornini;-; and, in this as in the preceding, we passed several canoes (H)vered with stones, and some euchecs of provisions belonging to the Esquimaux, which, of course, we took care not to disturb. The occasional discovery of seaweed, shrimps, and shellfish, also served to contirm us in the belief that we were really on the shores of the ocean, and not of any freshwater lake, supposing that there coultl have been, here, one of such magnitude as to occupy the great flat space of ice before us. This, indeed, had been at one time imagined by some of tlie party, in conse- quence of the want of a tide-mark on the shore, and of there being no hummocky ice in the ofling. For the last four or Ave miles of this journey, the coast was formed of granite, containing large crystals of felspar, with gar- nets ; the hills, at a short distance from the sea attaining the height of six or seven hundred feet. Our present encampment was on the shore of a small inlet; and, on examining it, I found a good harbour, but of no great extent, at its end, well protected by two small islands. Meeting the party at the further point of this sinuosity, a snow hut was found; and this we believed to have been occupied by the natives, who had arrived at the ship shortly Ijefore our panied, prevented us also from starting till eight in the evening, when we continued our journey along the coast, which .soon began to trend to the northward of west ; and, shortly after, the cheering sight of the sea, covered with hummocks of ice, con- vinced me that we had at length arrived at the strait called Jk-ke- rush-yuk by the Es(piiuuui\. Continuing to follow the coast, we found it turn quickly round to the north-west; while tlie heavy- washed sea ice on our left remov(;d all doid)t of the course now to be pursued. I therefore resolved to reach the op[)osite coast, should this attempt prove to be ])racticable ; and finding a favomable tract of smooth ice, we left that on which we were, before midnight. In proceeding, we came to a ridge of hummocky ice thirty feet high, running across our path, which we had great dilHcnlty in sur- mounting ; it being necessary to carry the luggage over it, and to cut a passage for the sledge with axes. This oc(;npied more than an hour; when, observing some islets to the south-west that had previously been concealtd by this ridge, we steered for them, and after passing several lower ones, nearly on a level with the flat ice, were obliged by a supervening haze, to encamp on the east side oi' an extensive island, at five on the morning of the twenty-third ; m TO Till' ARCTIC UKfilONS. 109 liaving travelled about sixtctii miles. This, bcinn. (1,(. annivf rsary May m. ofour ilcpartiirc /Voiii Kiij^laiul, was »listiiii;iiisJM'(l hy a diimrr of rrozcu roast lu'ef, and, what was now rare with ns, a iflass of «;rot,^ The <;roni) of islets to the north-west was named loverly, and the land on which we eneampejl Malty rslany 2r the time expended in examining the bay just mentioned, to which I gave the appellation of Parry, in gratitude to an officer whose name is here a sufficient distinction. 414 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY The projecting point in the «;entre of this bay was named Stiuiley, from him who is sulliciently known by his travels in Ice- land ; anu we here fonnd several stone liuts which appeared to have been occupied by tlie natives not long before. The weatiier being fine, we could hence distinguish the coast still trending to the north-west; and thence, as for other reasons, I was desirous to continue our journey for another lUiy or two, in hopes that tlie sea line would shortly take the direction of point Turn- again, which, could we have attained it, would have been an object of first-rate importance ; since we might thus have also completed this lijie of coast, and, here at least, have left nothing remaining for futiue investigators. AVill it be believed that I was not anxious to complete the survey of the north coast of America, that with so important an object almost within my very reach, I was not desirous to attain tliis great Iriumph ? But my )nen were not less so ; an«l it would be doing them great injustice, did T not here record theii spirit and ambition. For ruch an attempt, it was necessary to make a still further reduction in the allowance of pro\ isions ; and whatever they who are well fed and at ease may think, su(;h sacrifices are not small to him who is already under fed and hard worked, who nmst exert himself every hour beyond his .strengtli, who feels that food would enable him to go through his task, and who, in(kq)endently of this reasoning, is actually sutlering under the instinctive and irrepressible cravings of annual natme. Yet on mentioning my wishes to the mate Abernethy, lie iiiforme 421 |)lott'e '• at three on the following morning; and liere we obtained water to drink, without the trouble of melting the snow. A small [)ool was open, and it was the first indication of a thaw whicli we had seen. At six we reached Cape Abernethy ; and being desirous, if possible, to survey the whole coast line of the continent towards Nei-tyel-le, we proceeded in a south-south-easterly direction along the west shore of the strait which separates Matty island from the mainland; encamping at half past six. Tiie latitude here was OiT iJO' 42", and the longitude Oii' 8' 2G' west. A strong westerly breeze prevented our departure till nine o'clock, from which time we continued the examination of the coast to the southward till five ; having made a journey of but nine miles during this night. The snow was deep, and the party now much weak- ened, so that we found it impossible to travel faster. For some time past, indeed, we had found the usual march of ten hours too much for the strength of the men, reduced as their allowance of provisions now was ; but this part of the arrangement could not be altered, though we could not succeed in surmounting more than ten or twelve miles in the day. We were still eighty miles from the ship, and the remaining provisions amounted only to five days' consumption ; while we were by no means sure that we might not meet with many impediments in our way back to Nei-tyel-le, June 4. 422 SKCONI) VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY This also servt'il to jilirr my pluns, or at Itsast to tlirow a doubt over their accoinplishinciit ; siiiw I saw that unless the coast should assume an easterly direction the next day, f nmst abandon the intention of completinj; this uhoh' line of shore, as I had hoped. Soon after reconnnen«ini;- our jjMirncy in the evening, \ve irrived at tile entrance of a considerabK; iidet, but the haziness of the weather prevented iru' from gaining a distinct view of its termina- tion. I therefore crossed to the southern point, and thus obtained such a sight of it from a high hill, as to trace the continuity of the land round a small bay to the south, and afterwards joined the party at the eastern extreme point at three in the atlernoon, giving to it the name of Captain W. II. Smyth, of the Koyal Navy. This journey proved so difficMiU^ from the quantity of hummocky ice to be passed, and the depth of the snow in the intervals, that we suffered great fatigu(.', and two of llu' dogs were left behind. June 5. As the coast still trended to the south-south-east, I determined now to steer direct for Nei-tyel-le, as our provisions would no longer permit any further examination of the shore in this quarter. AVe therefore left Point Smyth at tour, and directed our course to the southernmost of a group of islets, nearly east of us, wh(!re we arrived at seven in the morning. This islet, of which the latitude is 09° 59' 32", and the longitude 9;'/ 45' 50^ is high, and afford.il an extensive view of the neighbouring islands, with much more of the continental shore than I had seen from Point Smyth ; but a thin haze which covered the land prevented me from tracing it very distinctly to the south-eastward. The snow was now separated into patches in different places; and we found three snow huts, which had been occupied in the preceding winter by the TO TUB ARCTIC IIBGION8. 423 lUiiiily of Kan-ny-y(»k«', wliuse loutt* towunis the ship by the Stan- ley river e^ 15' 40", and in longi- tude {).y b'J' ()", we had some dilHculty in finding snow deep enough to form our burrow ; while the hardness of the ice beneath, on which we were thus compelled to lie, was sutHciently uncom- fortable, contrasted with the soft bed whi<;h the snow had formerly aftbrded. A\ e set out again on a very fine evening, meeting now, at every fresh step, w ith wtill-known land, and thence gaining, hourly, fresh spirit to work our way onwards to our home : a tem|)orary and not a very comfortable one, it is true, but, where every thing is comparative, a home to our hopes and feelings, such as even 424 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY .liinc 7. Kngl.iiid would he vvlieiuver it should he our fiite to leuve this land of cold and misery, and to find that every degree of latitude was bringing us to rest and peace, as far as there are in this world peace or rest. Our path was also good ; and, under all these advantages, we proceeded with unusual speed : since there was here no appearance of a thaw, nor the least yielding in the crust of snow which covered the ice of this inlet. We wer(> soon made aware of the presence of Esquimaux in our neighbourhood, by tracing the marks of a man dragging a seal; and this also was an acceptable circumstance, since it promised us a supply of i)rovisions. Here, also, we saw gulls, together with some seals, basking in the sun with their young. A lal)orious journey of fourteen miles at length brought us to our encampmt lit for the day, in latitude GJ)' 20' .*^7", and longi- tude J>4^ 31' 55", near a low luViut formerly seen from Ca[)e Isabella. Several small islets at this place were named Catherine, and the point itself Margaret. A reef stretches out from the northernmost end of Point Mar- garet nearly a mile to the south-west, ami the heavy masses of ice that were grounded on it, indicated the force by which they had been Inought into that position. From the same point the shore of the continent was .seen trending a>vay to the south-west, and could be distinctly traced to the distance of .seven or eight miles. The extreme point in sight was named I*oint Scott. The islets, as well as the mainland, were here formed of limestone, like the rest of the coast to the westward. ^Ve here .saw immmerable tracks of reindeer, directed hence to the high land of die opposite coast, and had the good fortune to kill a fox and a brace of ifrouse. ! TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 425 It blew hard at eight, when we set out; and, steering direct for Nei-tyel-le, we passed within two miles of Cape IsabelKi. On one of the islets we found a small pool of water, but we afterwards under- stood that the thaw had commenced at tlie ship some days earlier. Af- ter a fiitiguing journey, we again encamped on the ice at seven in the morning of the eighth of June, about seven miles from Nei-tyel-le. June s. At noon it blew a strong gale; and, for the first time since leaving the ship, I was unable to obtain any observations for lati- tude. It was an occurrence that reminded us how highly we had been favoured on this journey, by a long tract of good weather. Early in the evening I set off alone in search of the Esquimaux, whose footsteps were every where visible; directing the party to follow at the usual hour. After tracing these marks for two hours, I reached the islet where I had requested Captain Ross to send a supply of provisions, but could discover no mark of the visit of our own people. I soon, however, heard the shouts of the Esqui- maux : and a young man shortly after joined me, with a welcome expressive of the highest satisfaction. A set of dogs was imme- diately harnessed by them and sent off to assist our party in coming up. Atayaraktak now led me to a cairn of stones where I found a note from Captain Ross, informing me that he had there waited for my return till the fourth, and had deposited some provisions for our use at a short distance from the cairn. The dogs of the natives had however discovered the prize, and Mil-luk-ta had that morning carried it home. I immediately therefore went to his tent, when his mother brought out all that was left, acknowledging that they had made use of the rest. All 3i 420 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY tliat we thus saved consisted in eight pounds of meat and some bread ; but most of this was unlit tor use, though even the little that remained was very acceptable. They had emptied the canister of rum and lemon-juice, which they called very dirty water : and then pointed out a stream where we could supply ourselves with what was clean. They now presented us with some fish that seemed to be a small species of cod, promising to catch more for us ; and I therefore determined to halt the party at this spot, for rest and refreshment. We encamped near them, in consequence ; but having now no snow, were obliged to build a stone shelter, in which they gave us their assistance. Of the eight dogs that we had brought from the ship, there were now but two remaining ; and these were so ex- hausted, that another day's work would probably have killed them also. Yet this was a selection from the very best of those which the Esquimaux possesseil : while the whole of them had become unserviceable after eight days travelling, so that they were cast oft* from tlie sledges and suftered to do as they pleased. It was plain that we had overworked them ; and we now found that, had it indeed been possible, we ought to have followed the system of the natives, who never drive these animals for more than four days at a time, seldom so much, and then give them one or two for rest. We had travelled, on the contrary, twenty-three consecutive days: a rare occurrence in that climate, and for which we were indebted to the very nncummon serenity of the weather. Our encampment was completed by four in the afternoon, and we at last enjoyed one good dinner out of the fish which had been given to us. The natives, in the mean time, collected round us to TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 427 ask questions respecting our journey and our objects : matters much more easy to ask of than to answer; but they were above all desirous to know whether we had been at Oo-i>eoo-lik. The strangers were formally introduced to us by some of our old friends: and we were afterwards entertained by a history of their own adventures during our absence, in which we could not help ima- gining that they were indulging some wit at our expense, from the bursts of laughter which followed these anecdotes. Still, every thing was in good humour; nor could we be otherwise than irrati- fied by the union of this mirth with their kindness towards us. The length of our beards, which had not been shaveil since we left the Victory, was, among other things, a source of great amusement; while one of them, a stranger, whose beard was of unusual size among this tribe, claimed consanguinity with us on that ground. This man, called Ow-wen-yoo-ah, was a very intelligent person, and a great traveller. He told me that he had passed tlie winter with Kan-ny-yoke, and immediately recogn. «ed a piece of deer's horn which I had found at the huts in O-wut-ta island. He also informed me that Oo-geoo-lik was many days' journey beyond that place ; tliere being first an inlet to be entered, after which there were three days' journey on lakes, across some lowland; having passed which, they again arrived at salt water, and were obliged to travel many days along the sea-coast. His wife and son were now packing up their tent ; and on our retiring to rest, they all departed, informing us that we should find them at Tai~rio-nit-yoke. The day having been very fine, I obtained observations at this place, the name of which is E-nook-sha-lii?. In the morning, two of the women brought us some seal blubber 3 I 2 428 SECOND VOYAGE OP DISCOVERY for our fire ; and another, who had fished for us while we slept, pre- sented us with about thirty of the same fishes, being all that she had taken. As I was desirous to know whether these presents were tokens of gratitude for our former favours, or were brought in the hopes of a reward, I desired the nieu not to make any return for them. Notwithstanding this, the women who had brought the fuel, which seemed their most valued article, informed us whose turn it would be to bring the next supply ; and thus in rotation, every three hours, we received from some of them a fresh stock, which proved much more than we required. The fish were also furnished abundantly, in a similar manner, but not with the same regularity : even our two dogs were not neglected, being regularly fed twice a day, while they took care to keep oflT their own, lest they should interfere with those which were most in want. For all this we offered nothing in return, nor did they seem once to expect it ; so that whatever avarice or keenness in dealing we might have suspected them of on other occasions, we had here ample proof of their hospitality, if not of aught so refined as gratitude ; on the want of which virtue, however, our limited acquaintance with them could never have enabled us to pronounce. Anxious to ascertain where the river which I had discover . on the eighth of April discharged its waters into the sea, I prevailed on the native called Atayaraktak to take me to the entrance of the inlet. He informed me that he had been there some days before, for the purpose of making a fishing hole in the ice ; that he would willingly conduct me thus far, but that if I chose to proceed further, lie must remain behind to fish : a reason which seemed abundantly solid, since I could not but perceive that our consumption had materially reduced their store. TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 429 Leaviiii,^ tlie party, tlierefore, to work at such repairs of various articles as were now wanted, I set out with this man, and after tra- velling about five miles to the south-south-westward, we arrived at the entrance of an inlet somewhat less than a quarter of a mile in breadth, but enlargiiig considerably in its progress. This strait he called Ik-ke-rush-yuk, a name derived from the rapidity with which the water rushes out in the summer; the stream being fresh and good for drinking, as he said, though at this point, where I tasted it, I found it very salt. I obtained no sound- ing here in six fathoms, which was the length of my compa- nion's line. While he remained to fish, I proceeded along the left shore of J'»ncO. the inlet, about four or five miles; und ascending an elevated ground, gained a commanding view of the inlet, though I could not be quite sure of the continuity of the opposed and remote shore. My conclusion, however, from the report of the Esquimaux, was, that the west branch of the river in question must fall into the sea somewhere to the southward of Point Scott. The shore on which I stood had gradually changed its trending from south to south-east by east ; and at two or three miles beyond, the inlet appeared to be not more than half a mile broad, whence it turned more to the nortli-east : and here I could see the spot I had visited on my first journey to this place. But as I could pursue the present examination no further, T returned to my fishing friend, whose patience was nearly exhausted. He had caught about thirty fish, and was ready to go back to his party. We reached E-nook-sha-lig at six in the morning; much exhausted, in consequence of the laborious walking through the soft snow. 430 SECOND VOYAGE OP DISCOVERY Mr. Abernethy here informed ine th;it during our absence tlie natives had given them a feast; each family liaving cooked a kettleful of fisli. They were consequently first invited to one of the tents, wliere the contents of the kettle having been despatched, the next family treated them in the same manner, and so on, m rotation, till they had run this sort of eating gauntlet through the whole of the five tents. It is not surprising if they thus ate much more than they ought to liave done. It was a feature of somewhat refined politeness in their entertainers, and more to be expected from an ancient Spaniard than an Esquimaux, that liuring tlie whole time of this prolonged meal these really kind hosts continued thanking them for tlie honour thus conferred : reminding them also that they had themselves been fed in a similar manner at the ship, in the preceding winter, and thus proving those grateful feelings which we might formerly have doubted ; while of this we could now be quite sure, since, having hitherto made no presents in return, we made none on the present occasion, nor during the whole of our stay with them : lieing desirous to put off till the very last what we intended to give, that we might remove all doid)ts on this subject. June 10. Being now much recruited by a day's rest and all this good living, we set out at ten in tlie night of the tenth of June : having first, since we could now entertain no doubt of their real gratitude, distributed among tliese natives every thing which we could spare. This, however, was tally returned to us in an ample supj)ly offish ; which, in addition to the blubber that had been served in super- fluous abundance, fully provided us for all the remainder of our journey. Some of them also accompanied us as far as Pad-le-ak, to assist us in dragging our sledge, and to point out to us where TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 431 their tents wojiltl be pitched in the suiniiu r. On iiiiully separating, they continued to cheer and thank us as h>ng as we were within hearing, and when they coukl no longer see us, owing to the irre- gularities of the ground. They had desired us to follow the tracks of a party which had preceded ; and this instruction proved of essential service, in spite of my endeavours to tind a shorter road I'or myself by neglecting their advice. I had imagined that they were going to tish at some place which would take us oti' the most direct road, and therefore quitted the indicated track, attempting to gain the route by which we had formerly travelled. In this, however, I was completely baffled, by the great depth of the snow and water on that line, wherever I attempted to diverge into it; so that I was at length glad to abandon, and I believe fortunate in surrendering, my own opinion, and consenting to follow my yet unseen guides. A dense fog, indeed, soon served to convince me of the wisdom of this choice; since, without that track which served us as a comj)ass, we should have been compelled to halt in the middle of one of the lakes, without being exactly certain where we were, or what was to be done next. AVe arrived at Tar-rio-nit-yoke in latitude 09° 41' 0", and longi- June il. tude i)'2° 54' 21", at eight in tiie morning of the eleventh, and encamped on the south side of the stream which carries the waters of this chain of lakes to the sea. The party of Ow-wen-yoo-ab was here seen on the oj)posite shore ; and as soon as they perceived our arrival, one of them waded across the stream, which was between four and five feet deep, to bring us some fuel. This man was our acnuaintance Ow-w en-yoo-ah and he told me that they 432 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY intended to remain there fishing, for some time. lie expressed himself much disappointed at the absence of a large party which he had expected to find here ; informing us also that he had gone, the day preceding, in pursuit of some reindeer with their fawns, which had been seen in the neighbourhood of Shag-a-voke, but without success. AYlien we rose in the evening, to pursue our journey, the whole of Ow-wen-yoo-ah's family came over to us. His present wife and children belonged to another man who was his particular friend, and an angekok, to whom he had, in the preceding autumn, lent his own two wives; a loan which is here considered a peculiar mark of friendship, and, it must be admitted, not very unreason- ably. He had expected the restoration of this pair of spouses at this time and place; but the borrower Shoong-ug-u-wuk had taken them with him on the expedition after deer, and this breach of agreement seemed to be the chief cause of our friend's vexation and disappointment. If we once supposed that this practice, for which these people may plead the authority of ancient Rome, was limited to the natives of Repulse bay, we had subsequent occasion to believe that it was universal among this tribe ; the inhabitants of Boothia, as we must now term this country. Others may analyze the morality of this fashion; but one thing at least appeared certain, namely, that the women had no voice in the matter, and were therefore considered merely as property or furniture, conformably to the high authority already quoted, and to the practice of some other nations in states of civilization rather more resembling, it must be owned, that of Boothia than of the Mistress of the world. • TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 43.'J At this place tlie thaw was proceeding with such extraordinary rapidity, that the stream which Me had crossed in the morning with the greatest ease, was now impassable. The torrent of water thus discharged from the lakes had also covered the ice which was to be traversed, to the depth «»f several feet. Not a dry spot remained any where ; for there being no tide powerful enough to break up tlie frozen barrier towards the .sea, this disengaged water could find no passage to it, except through a few seal holes which were quite incompetent to drain it off. Had we not already known that such must be the case at this season of the year, we should have had ample proof of the necessity of condensing the expedition from which we were now returning, within the very limits to which it had been fixed. It is true that our confined stock of provisions formed the actual restraint on our further advance, and that our return was, as I have already sliown, compulsory, from this cause. Yet in thus restricting that allow- ance, and, with it, the time of our absence, we had not acted im- prudently, as the facts now proved ; whether or not we are to be allowed the credit of having shown prudence and foresight in our calculation. And however impossil>le it Mas then, and even now is, to suppress the constantly returning regret that we did not reach Cape Tiirnagain, I cannot see how we could have completed that survey and returned in safety, or perhaps re- turned at all, even though we had been amply provided for a longer journey. At any rate, it was plain that the arrangements for such an expedition nmst be very different from what ours had been ; and that if it was to be undertaken in the following season, a new calculation must be made, and very different expedients 3 K 434 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY adopted, together with much more force, to ensure any chance of success. Under tlie present obstructions we were recommended by Ow- wen-yoo-ah to go round by Shag-a-voke, since he considered that the water was too deep for us to cross. This however wouhl have materially increased our distance from the ship; and, as I also knew that the ice was very bad at the entrance of the inlet which we should thus be obliged to traverse, I determined to attempt the wading of the bay at this place, since the distance was not much more than two miles. I therefore caused all the holes in the skin boat to be repaired ; aiul having stowed the luggage in it, we proceeded on this amphibious portion of our journey at ten o'clock. The water did not finally prove more than knee deep, and was barely sufficient to float our boat : but we found no difficulty in reaching the opposite shore by midnight. We should not indeed have been displeased had this watery tract extended much further; since we founether with siuiihirlv nvunerous cac/u's on its banks, I eoneluch'd that it was a tisliint? station of eonsiderable iinj)ortanee to the natives. At eiyht in tli<' evening of the twelfth we halted, in latitude .Ihik 1.'. GO' 48' 10', and longitude 92° 23' J/, on a small roeky islet, nnieh fatigued, and chiefly by the labour of wading. Here wv. found in flower, t\\v Saxifraga oppositifolia ; being the first that we had seen for this spring ; though we afterwards found that it had appeared much earlier in the vicinity of the ship. It was near midnight before we again got into motion ; at first finding the way extremely rough, from the intermixture of hum- mocks of ice and deep pools half frozen, but proceeding with nnu.h more ease after reaching the mainland, while feeling additional energy and strength as we diminished our distance from the ship. It was at seven in the morning when we came in sight of her; when I issued the last remaining dram to the party, and, hoisting our flag, we arrived on board at eight, all in good health, though much reduced in appearance. )n\\c Ui. 3k 2 436 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY CHAPTER XXX. IS'lO. June N. June 1. .llllU' 1() Juiu' 17. CONTINUATION OF THE JOURNAL — SUMMARY OF THE MONTH. A STOONG westerly breeze made the weather cold, and the therinoineter fell to 33", with showers of snow. It did not prevent our work from going on, neither on this nor the following day, when it fell in much greater abundance. It only remained on the ice, however; on the land it soon melted. On the next it was much the same ; and we began therefore to expect a later summer than we had at tirst anticipated, since no visible alteration had taken place in the ice for some days. The thermometer during these latter days was rather under the freezing point at night, and the highest heat of the day, being on the fifteenth, was 50°. On tlie seventeenth the weather looked better and more settled, but it was not warm. Two natives came, bringing a couple of seals: a very welcome supply, with the large pack of dogs that we had to feed. They had been successful at the Comptroller's islands. After rewarding theui in the usual manner, I presented Ikmallik with a sovereign to wear round his neck, as being the picture of our great chief; desiring that he would preserve it, and show it to any European he might hereafter see. It was not likely to be spent, whatever else might happen ; but if it was too valuable a gift intrinsically, for one who was as ignorant of its uses as inca- TO THE ARCTIC llEaiONS. 437 pable of applying tliein to a purpose, hv would have bteii greatly astonished coidd he have exehaugcnl it for its Kuglish value in tind)er and iron, in tish-ho(»ks, axes, knives, aiul needleS' Nor must I forget that the two guides took leave of tis, with much gratitude for the presents they received and the kindness which tliey had experieiK'etl ; hoping soon to see us again. We learned from Ikmallik, that all the rest had gone to the southward, except his own family and another, which were to remain some time in Comptroller's islands, lie gave us the native names of the birds which had been shot; these being mimics of the cries of the several animals ; and they all departed under a promise to see us again. The weather was tine, but it froze both in the morning and the Jime !«• evening. 'J'he work went on, and the boats were cleared of snow. Some men now complained of rheumatism, and were relieved by the steam bath. The Saturday began cold ; and, in the course of Ju'"^^ 19 the day, it rained heavily. Fortunately, the caulking of the deck had been finished, so that it did not interfere with the comfort of tlie men below. The weather seemed to have taken a sudden turn on Sunday; 'unc 20. the rain having ceased in the night, and the air being mild and serene, while the thermometer r(»se, in the middle of the day, to 62", being at 00° for more than seven hours. Much of the snow was consequently disappearing, and the torrents again running down the hills. After church, the men havirig been sent to their walk on shore, brought back a fine specimen of the great northern diver, and reported that they had seen many hares and much wild fowl. Some insects were also collected, and much of the ice was broken up round the ship. n 438 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY Jiiiir 'Ji. Monday was misty, with small rain; tlie thaw continuing, though it was less warm. A diver Mas again sliot, together with a king and a queen duck. Preparations were made tor a travelling party to trace the line of coast to the south-eastward, and the men were Jiine 22. employed within the ship. On the next day, the weather was foggy till the evening, under a north-east wind ; when it became clear. The larboard leeboard was fixed, and the preparations for the travelling party completed, should the weather permit of moving on the following day. June 23. It proved line. The sleilge and the skin Ix^at were got ready, and the provisions stowed away in them after breakfast. The chief mate, with ten men, went otf to draw it ten miles in advance, return- ing at eight in the evening. At nine, Commander Ross and four men left the ship, with the dogs : with the intention of proceeding as .soon as they had reached the deposited sledge. The returned party had killed some ducks, and seen reindeer. These animals had been gradually passing in increased nund)ers; since we had latterly .seen many, though, for so long a time, we had found nothing but their tracks. June 24. The morning of the twenty-fourth was fine, but there were rain and snow about noon, continuing till midnight : it was not, certainly, a midsummer day in effect, whatever it might be in the calendar ; and even if the usages of St. John's day had penetrated to these lands, there was as little temptation to light bonfires as there was an ntter dearth of materials for constructing them. Iix consequence, however, of the thaw, a considerable quantity of water flowed from the decks into the hold, being prtxluced from the snow which still remained on the sides of the ship; and this we were ill ■^■tr0ggjjj^jj0^^'i& TO THE ARCTIC REOEOTrS. 430 June '20, obliged to drive out by tlie forcing puuip, as the others wire not yet clear of ice. The surgeon, who had escorted the j)ai'ty, returned early in the morning with a brent goose; and the tirst .luiioj.. swan of the season was seen. At this time flights of ducks began to pass, in considerable numbers. The snow .still fell, occasioujilly, though it was mild ; and the day ended in a fine evening. The men were employed in cutting the ice on the larboard side of the sliip, to allow her to right herself; in consequence of which, sUv rose fourteen inches. The thermometer at night was 34°. On the Satiuday, at noon, it was (52°; such were the extremes of day and niglit in this elunate, and at midsummer; as, to confirm this, it fell again to the freezing point at night. It is the alternate reign of the sun and <»f the accumulated ice. What- ever the former effects, cannot last, and it ceases as soon as the great source of heat becomes dej)ressed in its career. I took an opportunity t>f setting the net when' a stream entered the nearest lake, but caught no fish ; we did not even see any. An cifg of a goose was found ; proving that they breed here ; and many of these birds were seen, while one was killed. The ship wa.s, at length, nearly upright. Nothing worthy of note occurred on Sunday. The men, how- ever, were not forbiddcni to shoot, in their usual walk after the service of this day ; and their sport brought us five ducks and a diver It was snowy, and became so far cold, that the night temperature sank to the freezing point : in the course of the day we finished our .k,iio 28. preparations fi)r the projected journey of the folUjwiug. In the ji,„e 20. morning, the snow threatened interruption : but, clearing at noon, .)unc 2' 440 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVEIIY June 30. a party of seven men went off in advance, with the sledge, a boat, and our provisions and })aekages : the supply being for six days, and the place of their halt the north-west inlet. At seven, I fol- lowed, with the surgeon and three men, and found one of the party returning with a report that the sleilge had been broken. He had been sent back for a new one, attended by three men and a dog : they had not succeeded in reaching further than six miles, being a mile short of the northern huts, which formed the appointed spot. But this did not prevent oiu' proceeding : our principal object being to catch fish, for which we had provided ouiselves with the neces- sary materials. To complete the journal of this month, I need only say that it snowed on the last day, with the same low temperature at night, and a fresh breeze: and I may therefore give the usual summary, that I may not interrupt the account of our journey. It is scarcely needful to say, that it had been a very vnifavoa month to our prospects of proceeding at an early period in the .^nip. At Port Bovven, two lunuhed miles further north, there had been rain as early as the seventh of the month ; while it had not ap- peared here till the nineteenth, and was followed, moreover, bv frost and snow, so as to throw back every thing to the same condi- tion as in the earlier days of June. In many places, indeed, the ice had become nnich thinner ; but it was stil! very thick and compact. The weather had however been favourable for the exploring parties. Commander Boss had not been at all interruj)ted in his travelling, and his reports were favourable: while, among other things, the limits of our future endeavours were much narrowed by the result of this expedition. TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 441 Our intercourse with the niitives liatl iiiuch decreased, in conse- quence of their removal ; l)ut, wlienever it occurred, we were on terms of greater confidence tlian ever. Tlicy had been unsuccessful in hunting-, and had therefore been unable to bring us any sup- plies; but whenever they were in want, and we could furnish them with food, we did so; receiving in return every mark of gmtitude and thankfulness. In reality, with exception of the adventure consequent on the boy's death, in which their mistake was after- wards fully rectified and atoned for, and excepting also some suffi- ciently pardonable and not very serious pilfering, we found every reason to be pleased with the «haracter and conduct of this tribe, not only to us, but towards each other. I have given several instances of their kindness, in their dragging the helpless on sledges, and the care of their children; and if they seemed an affectionate j.nd good- tempered people, so did they appear to live together in jierfect harmony, and to be free of selfishness, even on the sidyect of that great article, food, which constitutes the whole, it may almost be said, of a savage's enjoyments. I had no reason to suppose that I had prematurely formed tliis favourable opinion, though it is so much at variance with what has been reported of other tribes of the same people. It remained for time to determine what the exact truth was. The alterations and fittings in the ship had made so uuich pro- gress, that it was plain we should be ready long before it coidd serve any [)urpose. Though the health of the crew was generally good, three or four continued to show such a proneness to scurvy, that we were obliged to regulate their diet and treatment accordingly. They had been nuu:h harassed and fatigued during this period, but bore their toils cheerfully. 3l J fit ■ ^ 442 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY The observations and surveys liad been going on, incbiding many on the dip anelled to avoid them. It is not a safe animal to provoke unarmed. \Ve met, after this, the men returning with the broken sledge, and afterwards arrived at the boat where the ammunition and tishiug tackle had been deposited. We then proceeded over the ice, ^\ hich was very full of cracks and holes. Early in the morning, we reached the point forming the entrance ju„c 30, of the iidet, which we beUeved to be the estuary of the river in which we had i)ioposed to fish ; but were obliged to pitch the tent, as it began to snow heavily, with a stroug northerly gale. Being in a sheltered spot, we were, however, enabled to cook our dinners and go to rest. We had killed two ducks and a plover, and seen some reindeer. The land at this place was rugged, clear of snow, and divested of all vegetation. We found the ice, in many places, dan- gerously thin, independently of many large holes and wide cracks. 3l2 444 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY .liilv I. After dinner, at five in tlie evening, we proceeded ni) the inlet, wliieli turned to the north-east; travelling over the iee for five inihjs, till it divided into two branches; one leading to the north- west, and the other north-north-east. We followed the latter a mile, and arrived at its termination. Here \\e ascended a high mountain, where we saw that the north-west brancJi took a north- easterly direction, as if it was about to join the great inlet to the northward, from which its visible end could not be more than a mile distant. ^Ve saw no river of any importance, though we had expected one: there was only a small lake; but we fountl on its margin some remains of snow huts. On its banks, the game, such as it was, proved somewhat abundant for a country .so barren in this respect as it generally had been found, and our spcn-ting produced us some ducks and gulls, all equally acceptable to those whose variety of food was for the most part very disagreeably contined. The hill J)oun(ling the other inlet was, like those we had ascended, rugged and bare, and there was a narrow channel of water along its shore, extending all the way up, excepting where two points projected. Many showers of rain fell during this walk, and the weather at length became so thick and misty, that all further view of the interior land was unattainable. We returned about two in the morning, for the purpose of resting till six, during which time it blew a gale from the northward. After this, 1 set off, with the surgeon and one man, to examine the coast to the west, in search of a river; and passing along the shore, came to an island in the south of the inlet, and, afterwards, to two points, the bays near which received nothing larger than a TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 445 small rivulet. ^Ve then passed two more points on the right, and tliree islets on the left ; finally arriving at the arm of the sea and that mouth of a river wiiieli were formerly examine«l by Com- mander Hoss. Fin«ling it still frozen, we proceeded to the north shore ascending the rising ground as we went on ; antl at length, at the distance of three miles, meeting two small lakes. Thence I ascended a mile, leaving my (;om[)anions, lest I should fatigi'j +hem; and, crossing a lake, proceeded to th<' summit of the his. ,t mountain. Hence T saw the termination of the northern branchof the inlet which I had observed yesterday, and beyond it a neck of land «lividing it from the one further to the northward, which was also distinctly seen, about seven miles distant. I returned after two hours, and, joining my companions, we arrived at our tent. While resting near it, a man was perceived crossing the ))ay, on which we fired a shot, to attract his attention. He seemed at first alarmed, but at last stood still to look at us, when the svngeon went to meet him, throwing away his gun, as the signal of friendship. On this he also threw away his bow and arrows and spear, when, approaching with the usual salutation, he was discovered to l)e our friend iVwack. T then persuaded him to acconn)any us to our tent; giving him the gun to carry, in hopes of thus better establishing confidence among us. ^^e had walked thirteen hours, and wen; glad to find a tlinner. in which we made our fri< iid partake. He informed us that his uncle Ikmallik's party wc.re at a river that entered the bay about ten miles ofl"; and 1 hither we determined to go, to his great satisfaction. Our tent and baggage were immediately packed on the sledge with the little boat and the net, and we set off with fresh spirit. r n I 410 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY passini^ several ishuuls and jioints, till we came to one of those alluvial inouiuls wliich 1 foinierly described ; on rounding wliicli, we saw the river, and the huts of the natives about a mile away on tlie north bank. At our guide's desire, we annoiniced our approach by firing a gun, which produced a general acclamation. Leaving tlie sledge behind, I was soon at the village, and was received with open arms by our old friend Ikmallik. He informed us that the season for fishing in the river was ended, and that they were about to set off for the lakes ; but that they would stay another day, if we would remain with them. Our sledge then arriving, we erected our tent, and they began to replace theirs, which had been taken down ; the number of families being four. They were higldy delighted when 1 displayed the flag above Ikmallik's tent instead of our own. We were then presented with fish, including two fine salmon, which we proceeded to dress in our cooking a}»paratus : a process that excited great attention, from the quickness with which it boiled one of these fishes and fried the other. They had proposetl to dine witli us, and of course we could not refuse ; though per})lexed to know how to cook for so large a party, with our limited kitchen. The whole twelve were, however, invited into the tent; and, with our own party of five, it was more than sufficiently filled. Me were soon relieved from all anxiety about c(M>kery, finding that they preferred their fish raw. Our two iliiuiers, therefore, made a parallel progress: in time, however, not in (juantily : since, while we found that one salmon, and half of another, was more than enough for all of us English, these vora- cious animals had devoured two each. At this rate of feeding, it is TO TIIH ARCTIC REGIONS. 447 not wonderful that their wlioh' tinu- is occupied in procuring food : each man had eaten fourteen pounds of this raw sahnon, anvith people most nearl} correspondini; in climate, the (ontrast is lar more remarkable ^\hen Ave <<>mpare them with souu' of the people n\ the- hotter parts of the earth. The Arab, on on<; small allowance of barley meal in the day, is more enduring of fatigue than an Ksquimaux, wh(» perhaps eats twenty pounds of flesh ami oil ; while he is also stronger and more active. Other comparisons are easily made by any one ac«piainted Mith the geographical history of man. It is for physicians to explain these accounnodat- ing powers of the human stomach and constitution ; but they should also accoimt for the disposal of that which cannot fail to be superfluous: we were all as well i'vd on a pound of salmon a day as these peojde on twenty. 13e that explained as it may, this vast power of digestion must be the result of practice and habit; while, mdbrtuuately, the habit being once established, th(> cousef two inches in diameter, when putting one end into the mouth as far as possible, it was cut off by the knife so close as to endanger the end of the nose ; the party then handing the remiiinder to his neighbour. In this way they proceeded till the whole stock of fish was consumed. One of them, afterwards eating the scraps on one of our plates, where there chanced to l)c some lemon-juice, made wry faces, to the great anmsenient and laughter of the rest. Man seems a laughing animal, as he has been termed, even where he approaches as nearly as he can to his inferiors of four legs. We jn-oceeded, after this, to try our drag net, tliongh they assured us that we should take no fish ; promising, nevertiieless, that if we caught none, we should partake of their store. Their 3 M 450 SlXOXn VOYAGK OF DIHfOVKKY liilv proplifioy was oorrcot; for, in three <';ists, we took liiit half a (h>/cii small tish called Kaiiay(»ke, while the last l)nMi<;ht only a lai'^e stone. This |)i-o(la<;eU ^reat lau,L;htei' ; hut it' it diil not give them a good opinion of oiu- (h.xlerity in this art, so it had the advantage of }Meventiiig them from eoveting our net. Hut the fame we might have lost in tishing, was compensated hy our shooting, on the wing, a gull and a wild goose; and, by presenting them with these and some other birds that \\r had shot, our favour went on increasing. After twenty-fiv«' hours of wakefulness and labour, it was, however, necessary that these natives at least should sleep, and I therefore sent them all to their beds, apiHtinting a meeting when the sm» should be in the south. I accordingly went with Ikmallik to one of the pits where they kv.e\} their tish, frozen ; and seeing that it probably (Contained not less than forty sidmon, offered him a large knife for the wlude, which was readily accepted. Jle had always been the most contented of these dealers, while the others looked up to him for example ; so that the other two men ottered me their stores at the same price. Had I known the contents of the whole, I could not hav<' ventured to oti'er such a price ; as 1 found two hundnd and twenty tish, averaging five pounds eacli, and there- fore prodiicing a ton weight of salmon ; of which the purcha.se money was thus no more than .seven shillings and sixpence. Me had thus more than we could well carry; but as this fresh meat was most needful for the health of the crew, especially for those who were threatened with scurvy, we adopted .several con- trivances for transporting at least as many as we could. The .seal- .skin bed.s were made into two bags, and, with one more lent by TO TIIK VIUTIC ItlUaONM. 451 [kiiiiillik, we suoreeded in |)!irkin<;- up (wo liiiiKlrxl and ten of these fishes, keepiiia; th«! rest fur |nes(iit usv. TUv. oHlr ut' two pie<'es of wood to make a spear and a padcllc, pro(hi(;ed us, further, the h»an of four dons, with the assistanir of three natives, to aid us on our journey home, and to brin;^• back the uniuials, together with their nward. Havinu^all dined toyether, as before, we were ready to «h'part, when they said that they wouhl show us their method of killing seals; [lointing t(» a lar<^<' one half a mile oif, on the i(;e. Eight of them eonseouentiv set out alonu the shore nearest to it, and tlujii aiinroached the animal slowly until it raised its head, when th^>se ie front stopped, and shouted as loutl as they (•ould ; on whiel three otl>ers r-in up with incredible swiftness, but as the leader raised ; s spear to strike, the creature suddeidy plimyed iut<» a era* V on the ice, and disappeared. We did not retaliate their ia mhter at our want of success in the (isliery, as we were really disappointed. Thev afterwanls showed us the manner in winch they take the salmon. The weapon is a spear, with t\>o very divernent barbs of bone or ivory; and. by this, they are struck in the water. They ini;- the three b:ii>s of fish after the sh'dge, as it conhl not bear the weiglit. The ice being hinnnioeky, and tail of cracks and hok's, uave us much tnnd)k': so that it recjuired four hours of hard work to reach tlie first of the ishmds, about four miles ofl". I here (ktermined <»n burying two of the bags ; carrying on only one, in the boat on the sledge. At midnight we arrived at the second island, four miles further: and here it was necessary for us to eat and rest, having thirteen miles more to the ship. The route continne\c got n( ar < nongh to hoist oiu' <(dours, and were answered j»v those of ('(nnniander Koss, who had not arrived many minutis before us, from a similar fishing expedition, A\'e founil all well on board. TO THE ARCTIC RKCilOXS. 453 There is little to add to tlie iianativi' <»f this short expedition. The river which \V(; had visited is called by the natives Tatehik, and is only fifteen miles from the ship, thoniih onr cirenitons coiuse had made it twenty to us. It is ahont five hun(h'»(l feet wide, and from six to ten deep; the bottom fall of hjr<;e blocks of granite, and the current runniny^ stron.i;' at (irst, but diminishing before we had left it. There was a rapid als(» about two miles up the stream, preventing:: its navii^ation : wliih' the nativ( s infornn^d nu- tliat it ran out of a large lake w Inch was sup})lied by others at a greater distance. To our conuunnications with the natives I nuist also add, that they eiRleavonred to intertain ns in their best mamur; acting over again the drama of our first nueting, together with that which was to take place when we met hereafter at Neitchillee. Our attt;mpts to repeat their words was also a source of great anmsenuMit to them. If the meeting had been fortunate for us, in procuring such a supply of fish, which we should have missed ha«l we been a day later, I now also found that this had been stored up with the intention of selling it t<» ns the next year. \ mighf indeed have procured a hundred and thirty nu>re, but they were not so fine, nor could we contrive to take them away. I ought also to mention that we bought from them three wolf whel[)s as specinu-ns. The j)roceedings on board during oin* absence had been marked in , i. by little variety. Some of the men had been huned in their exp"- diti ions, and recpured man;igem( I ■nt in their all<)tted work. The tluruKUueter at midnighf was ii7 . On the second it did not vary, and the men were recovering. The third w as ihe day of the return of (\unmauder Ross's party and my own, being foggy in the morning, with snow and rain. In the evening I detached a [>arfy to bring home the fish that luul been left behind. July -2. ,hilv 3. 454 SECOND VOVAGK OF DISCOVERY' CHAPTER XXXII. 1830. July 4. July r,. July f). Julv 7. July 8. July 9. Julv 10. JOURNAL OF THE MONTH OF JULY — SUMMARY OF THE MONTH — TRANSACTIONS DURINC! AUtU'ST, AND ITS SUMMARY. vJN Sunday, after ilnirch st;rvice, tlie men who liad been sent for tlie salmon returned : and part of Monday Mas oeoupied in cleaning them and packing them in the tanks, with ice. The snow had nearly left the land ; and, tliis night, Ihe nocturnal temi)erature rose to 4H\ There was little to note on the two subsequent days: the necessary work i'ar fitting out tin; ship was going on. The temperature fell, however, so much on the seventh, that it froze hard. The men w ere now ordered to receive three pounds of the fresh fish every other day. It was less «'old, yet at midnight the thennonieter was but ^7\ On the following day, it rained hard for t\\( he hours, and the etiect on th(; remaining snow was considerable. A native arrived with an orter of more fish, which we agreed to purchase when brought, and we undertook to send for it while he pitched his tent near us, with his family. In taking a walk to-day, I found the ice not more than a foot thick in many places, and so brittle, that our weight broke Ihrough if. Our i)n»jected canal had milted away to two i'ei!t, in de^jth of ice, at the surface. Some ducks and other birds were killed. TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 455 July 11. July 15. In tlie course of tliis Siiiiday our [nuty returueil witli the rt.sli for July ii. wliicli they hud been s( lit. It was foi-i^^y in the niorniui;-, and .some rain came on at iii,i»ht, histintf till the t'ollou inii day. Thus it con- inly 12. tinned on the thirteenth; .so that the snow on the hmd was almost July 13. entirely dissolved, and the ice covered l)y water. The several works went on in the mean time; and our sportsmen shot, amoug other things, some small birds that we did not know. It did not clear up till the eveninii- of this da\', when it became fine, continuing so on the following day. .Vl this time a piece of ice came up to the surface from beneath the ship, so forcibly as to lift her up on on<' side and cause her to heel, to the temporary alarm of those who were below. On shore, tjie mosquitoes had just com- menced their nu)st unwelconu' sununer visit, and were in swarms. The thermometer was 42 at midnight. This day \a as fine, with a strong northerly breeze ; and our sj)orts- July \G. men were very successfid in shooting several birds. It still blew hard on the following, m ith some heavy rain. The outer part of '"'y '7. the canal was now open. Sunda} 's muster, after service, found the juiy i8. men much improved, in consequence of the change of diet. The ice round the ship was now broken in piece's. ani. we could hav«' haided her out to the end of the ve triistt'd that these wcuihl improve her sailiii.t? : of the disposal of the several parts of the rej«eted eiiJiiiie, I have just spoken. The h«alth of the men liatl so far improved, on their amended diet, that even the .suspicions ones were now <{nite well. This great supply of tish was a matter of congratulation, and son«ewhat ba- lanced our olher disappointments. They who, in reading this journal, may read of meat and eating, must add .something to the c<»mm(»n ideas usually associated in their minds with this subject. At home, a good or a bad dinner is but a matter of content or the reverse; and the first .salmon of the sea.son no more than a luxury. The bati dinner of yesterday will also be compensated by a better one to-morrow ; and he who cannot get salmon will easily tind an e((uivalent. IJut, to us, good diet or bad, .salt provisions or fresh, sudiced to turn the .scale betwec^n activity and weakness, health and sickness, and, as w ell might happen, as used to happen but too often in former days, between life and death. And the fust salmon of the .summer were a medicine which all the drugs in the ship could not replace : while, though they had done no more than diminish the wearisomene.ss which men feel from being confmew but eiu^ht weeks before us of that short summer which, inuler our purpose.s, was in reality the only one; after which we should au,ain be com- pelled to settle ourselves for another winter often months. Respectinif the temperature, it remains to add, that the highest was 70' plus, and the lowest -32' plus, the mean for July having- been 44* 57' plus. After church, we foinid that a strong northerly breeze had at Auiru^ti. length put the ice in motion to the eastwanl ; and it now assumed the appearance of huuunocks interspersed with pools of water The party on shon^ afterwards reported that it had broken up in the north bay. The thermometer was at 3J)' at midnight. On tiie next, nothing August :. seemed wanting but a south wind to disperse the broken ice: the (fleet of the northerly ones was to pac.'k it together, loose as it was. /Vbout seventy trout were taken in tjie net: and, on the following 3 N 2 4()0 SIXOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY A.i-u-i t. d;iy, tlie fishery was lu arly us siicressfiil. Tlif ueatlier coiitiiiutd vt'iy fiiK'. Aunist I. It was still till*; weatlur, hut the fishciy (aih'd ; cxctpling that we to<»k the hir^ist trout that we had yet srcn ; wei^hin^ three All-list •.. pounds and a Iialt'. Tlw eveuiu*;' of the tiltli pnxhiced a smart shower of rain : hut thini^s settled haeU to the sanu; state on the Au-usi G. t(>llowinu;day, when a still lar^i^er trout, wei-ihinu,- nearly five pounds, was taken, with ahout twentv others of the ordinarv size. The Krusenstern was launehed and l)roui;ht alongside. All uM '. '^t five in the afternoon, a breeze sprani;- up and hlew fresh from the s(Mith-west\\ard for ten luans. This, settin*;- the ie<' in motion, earrieil away one of our hawsers, and the ship was forced against the roeks near her; hut was soon got otf again, and seeuretl, with- out any damage. This was a sort of return of our labours of the preceding autumn, but of a very diiierent nature, as we now hoped ; since it was tlu; probable connuencemeiit of our liberation, as the other was of our imprisonment. This moving ice, liowever, soon stoppet 10. following ilay, and on the tenth the rain was nuK'h heavier. It .served to prevent all fishing, nor had our success been very great on the preceding ones. The wind was to the north-westward, and became very strong, so as to |)ack the ice as close as po.ssible. iMany seals were seen, and some water taken on board. TO THE AliCTIC UIX.IONS. 4(>] The wcatlur im|)iov< d : some fisli mcic taken ; and a sonflierly wind w snpjilying us with enough for our daily consumption. It was a nuinorable day, inasnuieh as it was the anniversary of our tirst visit to Fury l{eadd do nothin;^; and we, little. The ea]>ture «»f some fish, and Ihe oecurrence of rain at Ausust 20. ni,u;ht, scarcely Aaried the sameness of the followinu; d.iy. The Ant 21. twenty-tirst <'losed another week : and thus did Ihe third week of Auiffust find us u here we liaiiu:li the afternoon was warmer than it had been for a considerable time. There was an open lane of water seen from the shore, lyinij;alonu' the land to the we.stwar(l All-list 2 1. of the furthest visible point north. On Monday there was no chana^e : but in the niuht the wind increased to a fresh gale from Au-usi 21. the northern quarter, and, at daylight next day, the ice was seen in TO THE ARCTIC UE(;iUN8. iiiii rapid iiiotioii to the soiitliuard, and pai.kiii^ into liu' hottoiii of Hut bay. Tlie iimti part <»t'tli«! Iiarhoiir was llius ritand, us tlu- «,'oa.st was, lor about two milts to tlu; soiitliuiird; but al'lcruards, a pack of tlieicestreauud in, and tilliilall t \(«pl (lie place wlicrc \vc lay, that bein^- dclintled by the ground in;u of sonu' heavy masses outside. The wind continuing; l<» bh>w fiish fioin the north-eastward, \»<^u>.t 2j. the ice (continued to accunndate so on us, tliat a very small s[)ace was left clear. It was more nujderute in the mornini'', with rail )?> but there was otherwise no cjianuc IJoth the subsi'cpu'ut t n. wen' ('(pially free of any events worth noticinn, b«yoiul .some Auhmsi 2S. indilfercnt success in tishini; and shooting, including; the taking of a seal. Another week was gone; and the niglit thermometer haaryiii,y,' between »'JG and iiH\ Sunday promised somethini;' new ; the wind bcccuninn a gale Au-ustJO. from tile nordi-wtstwarii. Tlnis the iee began to move >\itii con- siderable rapi in the weather till evening, when it Au^usiai. rained from the westward, w ith a fresh bree/e. We made rea4 8ECOM) VOVAGK OK DiSCOVKIlY The eilll ill riiMiilli :il w( Irft IIS eleven iiioiitlis fixed (<» one spot. \V liiif« \,iiue \oyiii;('s of cliseovery iiiiiy liavt; in these eoiiiiti'ies, they are ee: iiiiily piirehiised at a high priee in time, th ein'iiiniiaMpited the <;lol)e in lite same period: and 1 imagine no one was ver> sanguine ahoiil future north-west passages, even should we contrive to make one ourselves. That this was a month of daily and hourly anxiety, of h(»pes ami fears, promise, anerinissioii to shoot and tish ga\<- mneh aid: while the varietv of diet this procured them was also a^lvantageoiis. Of their health, indeed, there was no reason t(» cf>mplain. TUit commencing temperature of this mouth was promising ; hid the northerlv w iuds of the latter portion were extremelv ad\VARIMNO OJT, UNLOADING, AM) FINAL IsSCAI'F, FROM Ollll IIAIIROITII — INFFFKCrrAL IMOVFMFNTS AMONiJ TUF ICF, — BF.COMK FIXKI) IN TIIK ATTRMPT TO KIND A NKW IIAIlllOrit FOR TIIF WINTER — SUMMARY OF 8EPTKMIIKR. is:!0. Srl)t. 1. rii S.-pt. J. Sipl. J. XIIIS month set in with "j^nat stveiity ; thr thermomtt* r wits at the freezing" point, sinkinu; fnially lo 'i}) , and thne was u viohnt storm of snow, which oovt-red tlic hills Tor the tirst time tliis season : \\ hih' it was also flic severest ^ale \\e had experienced dnrini; the whole snnnner. It varied between the west and the north ; and thon,t;li it continued to pack the htoseiee, tliiseiMild not move far, heinusiMni stopped by the fixed mass at the bott(»niof the bay. Oin' own passa;j:e to fhe main was filled by two large icebergs. I'he same gale bhw, and was very heavy abont two o'clock, when there was an eclipse of the moon, invisibh- to us. The ice was driving to the southward with great rapidity, and packing itself in immense masses. In the evening fhe uind diminished, and fhe snow which had fallen on fhe hills disa|>pean'd. It did not blow s(» strong, and the ice was at a stand ; but it tVoze hard at midnight, with the thermometer at "J!) . Th«' weather being tine next day, and expecting a high tited to heave the ship over (he bar, but in vain. Tin- \> ind had shifted io the southward, and ih;' tide did not rise so high as before. It became necessar\, ( Inn fore, lo unload the vessel, a.s the tides were now diminishing, while we coidd not run the risk of being n(a|»ed in this manner. V bridge was, in coiis((|uence, laid to the rocks, which w.re but eight yards from us, and we car- ried o\('r it all our remaining stores and provisions, t(»gether with that iron-work of the engine which remain<-d «»n board. In the evening, the wind cann; to the eastwaru wiili some snow, giving ns a better tide the next ' higher, and there was some snow. s.pi. s. The changes in the wind and weather were trifling, and we pro- ceeded with the reloading of oin* discharged stores; also cutting some ice at our bows, that we mitrht have no obstruction to our >i|.t.'i next attempt. The following day was williotit change or interest, except that more ic<' was cut, and the shij) hove a fiw feet ahead. !?(i.i. 111. I'A'ery thing, how«\('r, was got on board aid stowed. The next day did not advance us even a toot. The lakes on shore had not yet frozen, though there >\as ice on ihe pools. St'iii II. Tlu; wind cauje to the southward, but was not sutHcient to move the heavy ice. 'i'l;e pool between the island and the main was covered with thin bay ice, having a very prognosticating evil aspect; and the temperature iell w illi the s , beinu li^ht and luisfeadv. betwetn the south and west; but as the ice near us was becoming slack, the ship was ho\( oat tw<» cables' length, to take advantage of any o[)ening that might occur. Some lanes of water appeared in the evening, along the shore to the northward. The fhermonnfer was 10 in the day, and '2i) at midnight If fell to 'Jo' before the sqt. 17, follow ingnn)riiing, and there was an aurora borealis. At daylight ■t. w; 470 8KC0ND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY we (;oiil(l see that tlie iee had (hit'ted oft" the hind, but there was still a eoiiiplete ridge between the ship and a hine «>f water which hd to a point three miles to the northward. About two in the afternoon, however, it seemed to be breaking up; when we imme- diately east oti; warped through the bay iee ari>und us, and, in half an hour, our ship was, at hngth, «>uee m»>re in clear water, and inider sail. 1 — ^ve .scarcely knew how we fcb, or whetlier we quite Und cr sai believed it, lie mast be a se iiman, to feel that the vessel which bounds beneath him, which listens to and obeys the smallest nu)ve- men t of his hand, which se«ins to move but uiuUr his will, is a thinn of life, a mind conforming to his wishes; not an ine It body, tilt sport of winds and waves. IJut what seaman could fiel this as we did, when this creatniv, which used 1<» carry us buoyantly over tl le o(,'«'ai th am I, had iiecn luring an entire year immovahle as the ice 1 the rocks around it, hel|)!es-^, disobedient, dead. It seemed to have revived auain (o a new lile; it once more oluyed us, t d did hat.ver wt; desired; and in addition to all, we too was tntinly covered. Four hares that were shot did not much comfort us under this (htention, however they mii>-ht vary our dinners. A ,ii:ale had ^ floated, but did not change their position .so nuich as to destroy our harlmur: while the arrival of a lar«fe floe protected u.s from a pres.sure that wa.s now threatening to be <'(msid»!ral)le. Every space was indeed tilled by the ice : but as the wind ceased, it did not fix, beinu: lt in alternate motion by the tides. In the evenini; it was a little more slack; and there was nothinuf in this day to make us nei^h-ct th<' duties of Sunday. The thermometer was at 2'y at midniitht. The ice opened so sliirhtly under a westerly breeze, that it rendered us no service; and, as we were frozen round bv new ice, we were oblii-ed to cut around the shij). Our (htention was more perfectly assurnl the ue\t day, by :i south-easterly one in the morninii, Iirinuini; the ice in n)ion us. After many ehanucs, it at last settled in tiie north-north-west, and blew a heavy gah-. The ice beiu"- thiis set in ra|)it. '21. 472 HKCOM) VOYAdi; OF DISCOVKKY liave ^ouc uitli tliciii into the iiiovinu- pack, ar hcen driven on tlie rocks; eaclj of" tlieni lait liazanloiis positions, if not worse. The tenipcratnre fell to lH\ and there was snow wiJh {his gale. Stiii. .'2. It continued on the next nioiniim, yet the ice in tlie bay seeniid partially cleared. Ihit, after this, coniini;: <<• l>low even harder, we were worsj- blocked np than before, thont;,h there was still a lane of water in the buy. It was however the only clear water visibh': all else was a soli«l surfac*' of ice. At ni.uht the wind was nnich ni()re moderate. On the follow ing day av ; ami our work was now to cut througli the ice, so as to attain a harbour that was likely to prove our home for the better TO THE ARCTIC UKCI0N8. 47ii part orimollitr your. It was louiul io hv a loot tliirk ; and as tl won; also inai lere "y IMJIV tl y piccrs 111 tlie way, our progross was nercs- eiioiiurli sarily v«ry slow, ami Uii- labour hard. 'I'lun- was not wind to provt'iit fla; t'orination of bay ice. Under the oonfimiany idleness, as far as any result had followed, and all the laboin' had produced no return. It was, in every sense, a wasttd month, and it had been an amply provoking one: there was not on(^ in all tlu; precidin^' year in whieli we had not done sonu.-thin^' useful, or .it least made preparations for it; thus (indiui; oeli«'sl and tin; |ou |»lns, and the iiicau 27 , 12' plus: in tlic roriiicr, llic tu rirsf liad lucii .-y) and K plus, and Hie last ;]•_> n|,is. In the S o tend Vi» l» xr of 182!), there weiv seviiiil uahs (lom iUc west and south <■ roast in siieli a nianner that it could ot'teii Ix which cleared tli iiavii-ated ; Imf in the present one, there had not I breeze from those (piarters, capable of inalvini- )ccii a siiiiih ih( ny impression on ice. On the contrary, there liad been several uales from tl JC nortlMvard; so that as fast as that which was in the southern part of this sea dissolved, the space was filleIE FIXED FOR THE WINTER — SIMMARV OF THE MONTH. 1810. Oct. I. Oc Oct. Oct. ■!. wCTOHKU coiniiitnct'd willi clciir wcatlitr, ;mt more; since they rose above her minwalc, and also lifted her up in such a manner as to sus[)end her tlii'ee or tour t'eet hiiiher than the wat; rations; Oct. in conseiinenec of nliioli we advanonl < iulitceii i'vvt. *J1it re was snow in the day, and a j;ale t'loni the north in the evenin;^:, the night tliernionieter fall inn- to l.T. /\( daylii;lit on the sixth, the Oct. (>. weather was tine, and the breezes had hndven np the new hay ice to the northward, s(» as au:ain to show s<»iiiu ehar water. 'I'he ship was cnt in as far as twenty feet inorv- ; hein.u^ fhiis nnieh nearer to our intended position for tlu- wiufer. IJeing eahn and ehar at ni^ht, the teniiieratnre fell to 10 . We advanced fd'Jy feet this day, ImiI had only six feet water at Oct. 7. the el)l>: lhoiii>li wv were now at lenttth clear of the h\'e however gained lifty feet more; and, on the lollowing day, forty; hut being now bat in Oct. 9. three feet water, wc were obliged to shore the vessel np. Tlr iher- mometer had bt en always low, and, on this night, wasoidy *i ; but the weather was calm and clear. It was now apparent that we should soon be oblige> \\ ;\ % ^v- ? C/u ^ 6^ 478 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. Oct. 11 th«T,n tlie half of o\ir netdfiil voyage ; while it was absolutely neces- sary for her safety, that she should be removed to a place where she could float, whieh was not less than a hundred yards off. We gained but thirty feet by all our exertions. The weather did not change, and we advanced forty-five feet. Oct. 12. On the next morning a fog covered the rigging with ice, and we Oct. 13. gained as much more. The thirteenth was a beautiful clear and calm day; and I fount!, when on shore, that the sun melted the snow upon the rocks, though the noon tempeiature was as low as 8°, falling to 1" at midnight. Other forty-five feet were gained by cutting. Oct. 11. In the course of this forenoon there was a gale from the west, with snow, raising the thermometer to 12°, and at last to '2'2\ at midnight. More of the canal was cut, but the wind prevented us from heaving the ship into it. This gale increased in force till the morning of Oct. 15. the fifteenth, when it fell calm ; and we could .see that the new ice in the offing had l)een once more broken up, so as to show some clear water. The ship was advanced fifty feet this day, and forty- Oct. 16. five on the following ; but she did not yet float at low water. The weather was variable, and the thermometer did not materially alter, A week, a second week, had done little for us, and we were obliged to make Sunday once more a day of work, thus advancing forty feet. A gale, which had arisen the night before, continued till noon. We gained twenty more on the Monday, and saw that Oct. 19. the clear water to the northward had enlarged. The following day our progress was thirty ; while the ice was so heavy, that we were obliged to heave the i)ieces up by the capstan. From the shore I could .see that the ice was forming again in the water, which the gale had cleared during the preceding d;iys. Oct. 17. Oct. 18. ill a l oia i i ii B i 'WMW iM iii ' a ii i-mm i iat ' eii.j".' "- ■ TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 479 Oct. 24. The temperature fell from 12° to 4 . We gained thirty feet in Oct. 20. advance, but found the ice rapidly increasing- in thickness. On the Oct. 21. twenty-first our progress was forty feet, and we had entirely lost sight of the clear water. A .strong gale, with snow, impeded this Oct. 22. work on the following morning; but, in the evening, w( nained fourteen feet, which enabled us very nearly to float at low water. Oct. 23. On the next day we gained as many more. During these four days the weather had varied much, and the temperature changed with it; but it was generally higher than it had lately been, and was this night at 21°. It was necessary again to occupy Sunday, as before ; and the work was harder than usual, since the ice was about sixteen feet thick. It was too heavy, therefore, to lift, even when it v/as cut, nor could we sink it : so that we were obliged to cut a space for the fragments in the thiimer surrounding field, that we might lodge them on it, and thus make room to pass by. What was done, was not, however, finished in time to enable us to heave the ship any further in advance. This was a fine clear day, but the thermometer fell just below zero. Our apparently endless work was resumed ; and on the following day the heavy piece in our way was removed, and the place for its reception was cut, so as to allow us to advance forty tett. On the next we gained fifty, and were at length afloat at low water. We had seen a good many hares, foxes, and birds, for .some days past, during our walks on the shore, but had shot little or nothing. The weather seemed to have seriously changed this day; the Oct. 28. temperature, from zero, in the morning, went down to minus 10° at Oct. 25. Oct. 26. Oct. 27. 480 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. Oct. 29. niglit. The snow on shore was knee deep, and made Mal'iin^'very laborious. We gained but thirteen feet; the ice being very thick, and freezing again as fast as it wascnt. On tlie next we advanced fourteen more, so as to liave eleven feetat low water. There was .some at night, and the tem[)erature rose to (5° pins. Oct. 30. We now cut six feet further; it was not much, and there were two hundred yards remaining before we could obtain deeper water or a better position, being work for a hundred more days, at the same rate. But the ice was daily l)ecoming so much thicker, that we could not hope to make any impression on it during that time, at all proportional to what we had already affected ; and as our place was at least not very inisafe, hemmed in as we were all round by ice, we concluded on putting an end to our labours Oct. 31. and remaining as we were. We could, therefore, at lengtli make Sunday a day of prayer and rest, nor was that less acceptable than necessary. The sunnnary of October can be little but the abstract of our labours, since the whole month had been employed in making a worse than tortoise progress, the entire amount of which, after all our toils, was but eight hundred and fifty feet, W^e had not even, with all this, reached the place that we had intended ; we were, how- ever, not very far from it, and were compelled to be as content as we could. 1 believe that some of us could not help calculating the immber of centuries it would require to make a single north-west passage, at this rate ; as others speculated on the premiums that might be demanded at Lloyd's on such a voyage ; could, indeetl, one man have been found to " write it," If our place was not very unsafe, it was by no means a de- SlijBEaiSir : iisa ^yi*v-.«-;.' ■ TO THR ARCTIC REGIONS. 481 sirable one. Yet, comparatively, it was a gnat gain : since, liad we remained in the shallow water, snspended on iceber'rs, the ship would have been almost uninhabitable, from her motions and change of positoin, and might also have been destroyed. If the gradually-increasing thickness of the ice, added to the necessity of heaving up what could not be sunk in the usual man- ner, and to the often severe weather, rendered this an unusually laborious month to the people, the toil seemed to call forth the zeal ami display the perseverance of every man. No one's health was affected ; and on the whole, there had been a not unexpected ad- vantage in this perpetual occupation, since it had diverted their attention from their obvious subject of grievance, and trained them to a new detention, for anotlier winter. As we were now to commence a fresh residence, for little less than another year, at the best, having already undergone one of thirteen months, it became proper to take an account of our provisions, and to regulate the expenditure and the nature of the diet for the period on which we were entering. These details can have little interest for general readers; but as it is in such things that navigators seek for information, they caniu)t be omitted : while, for the convenience of the latter, and not to occupy the time of the former, I shall here state them in the briefest manner, as the original report was drawn up. 3q 482 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY JaoKtil (i/' Provisions on hoard of the I'iiiorij on the first of Ocluher, 1830, together with the Arrdii'j^ciiteiils thru iiiiidcjar the I\fcii's Diet. II). Andrew's flour 1() liils. containing 79'28 •5 g I Scott's Hour 7 luls. contiiiniiig 31(14 . g / Fury's Hour 8 casks, contuiniiig lO'J lb. Prci. t'ur '2 years for 23 miii= 19,514 = licmaiiiiiijj; (111 board 17,364 L'jss tiian fur 2 years 2150 ^=1 Bcecliy's suet 361b. Fury's do. 1 80= 1 080 fir Uedwell's raisins 700, bread 1300=2000 do. I But with |'j allowance for waste will only aj ' ' last to June I, 1832. Salt beef 2844 lb. salt pork 53501b. = 8194 ^ Proportionof salt beef, pork, y and preserved meat for 27 12,061 Preserved meats . - = 505G ) = Remaining on board 1 3,250 This surplus consists entirely in salt pork; there being, with allowance for bad canisters only 2 J of pork . - - . - 1 189 surplus lb. ^ lb. Sugar 2 lids, and 1 box Bedwcll 1 184 lb. ( Proportion for 2 years inchulg. waste 2828 Fury 23 B. 10491b. - - 2233 r Molasses 1 cask - - - . 30 ) = Remaining on board - 2738 Quantity of sugar, short of 2 years, from October 1, 1830. - - 901ess Cocoa 6 cases, termed Bedwell, 595; Fury 2 J barrels, G14 = 1209 lb. Proportion for 2 years 1371 lb. Diff. 1621b. less than 2 years' proportion. But the 162 short for 2 years made good by tea 1 chest, 82 lb. I ditto, 14 lb., which will complete tea and cocoa for two years. Peas, split, 7i casks, 18 bush. 6 gall. ; round do. 1 bag, 3 bush. 6 gall. = 22 bush. 4 gall. Proportion for two years, 32 bush. 4 gall. = short of two years, 10 bush. Spirits, rum, 120 gall. ; Rice, 250 lb. ; Lemon-juice for one year at the present allowance. Pickles 4 small casks; s'iced lemon 2 cases ; Mustard 2 boxes; Barley 2 casks, and 5 jars. This is exclusive of prr served soups, of which we have 100 gall., which, together with a cask of wine, are reserved for /lie sick. iMiiding, therefore, that we shuiikl have provisions at the allow- ance just sufficient to support nature in this climate, until the period in 1832, when we must have either reached the Fury's store ground where there are still some provisions left, or must uLai'don the ship to save our lives, we determined to make the following arrangement, as suggested by IMr. Tlioni ; which, by giving the men a soup day and a meat day alternately, during six months, to commence from the first of November, 1330, appeared to vary the diet better than any other scheme which wo could have adopteil. 1 . Monday — :J pound salt beef and -^ pound of flour. 2. Tuesday — h pound preserved meat, and ^ pound ditto with barley in soup. 3. Wednesday — 1 pDund of pork, with pease soup. 4. Thursday — l pound of preserved meat with ^ pound of preserved meat with barley soup. 5. Friday — ] pound of salt beef, and 3 pound of flour. TO THE AllCTIC IIEGIOXS. 483 fi. Saturday— J pnnnd nf prcscrvrd moat with .V poMiid of ditto mad(> into hnlcy broth. 7. Siimhiy — 1 pound of pork with pease soup. 8. Monday-; pouu.l of prosrrv.d nuMts witl> vc;.vlal,l,. soup. Thus thu uk'u wouhl have soup on .SIX days out of every ci-ht-and on the other two, heefand piuldin^-whil.. a constant snc- ression of diet wo.dd he obtaine.l. Thus we trusted that their health an.l strength wouhl he kept up, so as to enable thoni to -o through the fatigue uf travelling in the spring. The pliu-eof flic .ship, T must now nniiirk, was in u bay extend- ing to the .soutli, after enteriny- the inlet to the eastward, whioli was termed Sheriff's bay, wl.ih; tlie point to tlie east was called Watch point. Though the clear water in the offing did not reach .so far .south as in the jireceding year, it was longer open; and notwithstanding the occasional .severity of the cold, the mean temperature was higher by five degrees than in the corresponding nmnth of 1829; the highest having been '24, and the lowest 12. It closed also at plus 24^ being 40= higher than on the final day of last October. On the whole, having but the .surgeon to spare for the chace, the produce in hares had been respectable; but this tract having been the residence of the Esquimaux in the preceding year, the animals in general had been frightened away or exterminated. The place where we «ere now fixed was veiy near to the huts which they had then inhabited. 3q 2 48'1 SECOND VOYAGE OV DISCOVERY CHAPTER XXXV. 1S30. Nov. 1. Nov. -2. Nov. '). Nu\. 4. Nov. '). Nov. (i Nov. 7. Nov. 8. Nov. y. TUANS.iCTIONS IN NOVEMBER — SUM.MARV OF THAT MONTH — PRO- CEEDINGS IN DECEMHER, WITH A SUMMARY. rt^ '■1 X HIS month began Jit lea,st favouriibly ; tlie teiinxraturo aver- aging- 2V pln.s, witli winds varying both in direction and intensity. To coinnienee onr winter preparations, tlie sails were unbent, and the topmasts lunigged and taken down. On the following day it blew a hard gale, which atterwards moderated, and the ther- mometer fell to minus 4". The raftering for the .shij)'s roof was connuenced, and it was continued on the following day. On the next it blew, with snow, so hard, that the men were contined to work below. It was from the north ; but the winds changed nuich, aiul the thermometer also varied between zero and plus 24^ This day the roof was covered with sails: the valleys and raviiKs on the shore were tilled with snow. The condensing tanks were replaced in their old position. On Satunhiy our covering was com[)leted, the deck cleared, and many niatters put to rights. There was snow on both days, and the tem})erature did not fall below 22"^ plus. Sunday was a day of rest : and the regularity of our church service was re-established. It snowed .so hard in the forenoon, that the men could not work outside : but there was plenty of work in the hold. On the ninth TO TIIK AHCTIC Kl^CilONS. I«r> they were employed in breaking; up tlie snow roniul the ship, and on the foHowing-, in l^anlvini^• it np, as they had done hist year. The weather on those two days varied nnieh, and the range of the thermometer was tVom phis 10 to minus Kf; Imt, ontlie eleventh, there eameon a very severe snow-storm, which lasted sixteen hours; the tein[)eratiire varying between minus i* and minus Kf. No work could have been iit when it is reeolhclid that we were a monf h navigating scareely tln-e<' hniidred yards, iind that the hieky ehance of being present when and where Ihe ice opens, he that Itnt tor an liom- or two, may tinn the hahuice l»etween a tree escape antl a winter's imprisonment in this " (hiek-ribhed ice," even two miles were a snbject of congratnhition. I now thonght it advisahh' to set up some )f)', so as to (rri'zc lliat uliirli was pnre. 'I'Im' prriod of the rral frti/- in;!^ of nuiTury, iMtwcrii tin- two seasons, ditrcnd therefore hy nearly two months. Havin,!*; reserved the nieteorolo<;ieal tables to an appendix, I have not hitherto intnMliieed any siieh record into the ionrnal of ou\' 'J4) (roMiilniglit — 10'.<)7ir)^ (To Noon — ,5".973f)) P.;t83 \\".\X] G°.2583 5''.016 4".'200 4°.G()83 Dill'. orTonii).) ^„„, ,,, ' f_4".7'i3,G15 4°.723,Gl.-i 18':!}-3(). S Bfiii^j lower ill 1830 than 18-29, by 4 degrees and 7, Sec. naromctiT. 'i'rmpcratiirp of Hip Ilnronictcr and fhrononietcr Koom. ■It 9a.m. 30.00753 i at 9 .\ . m. 39.08 ^ • 1830 mean 30.0-2283 • 1830 mean 40.425 at 5 P.M. 30.03GG3S at 5 p.m. 41.80 S The Temperature of the lower deck was 45^^ — of my cabin 34'' — and of the cabin 50''. Me liad no occasion to alter our opinion of our harbour, as to good or evil. Our vessel was out of the stream of the drift ice, when- ever it should move, and that was a most important consideration. The whole month had been occupied in housini;- the ship, building the embankments, and levelling the hummocks of ice near us ; and having now had more practice, we had done our TO THE auctic Hi:f;io\.s. 4H}) work ImHi r tluui in tlic unrnliii^r yt'ur. T\\v lower deck lisxl Iwcii reinhnd Iii;litrr ami iin»n' romfortablc, hy ii coat orwiiifc |»iiiiif. TIk! ubscrviitory had \m'\i t rerfcd on a r«>rk as n<'ar to thv sliip as possible, ami its eoiistnietion had hern inaeli improved, hy siiou ualls, and a snow passaoc; with double s; but n,,. i. the thermometer ranged between minus 12' and 'i'l'. The ice on the lake was two feet and a half thick. We pursued in vain two willow partridi,a's; but the time for sportiui; was now very mucii contracted, even had there been name, since it Ix-came dark at tw<» o'clock. But this was the smallest evil arisinij: from these short days, which so utterly impede travellinii; in the depth of winter; thojigh the state of thin^^s is little better in snnnner, when the meltiui;- of tlie snow and the state of the ice render it e(|ually impracticable for the far greater part of that season. The whole of life is here curtailed : sea and land, summer and winter, it is ditiicidt to say which is worst; and I believe a sound [diilosopher would come to the conclusion that it is the l']squimaux alone who here know the true secret of happiness and the rational art of living; while, as he is not likely to grant this great and long sought dis- covery to their reasoning powers, he will be obliged to admit that 3r 400 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY 1)01 I)e< l\c. -J, natui" is not always the stepniotlier wliicli she lias btcn tennttl. And if to eat and to sleep, to sleep and io eat again, be a mode of liaj)[)iness\>lii(li lias been disputed in other lands, however it be prae- lically f<»llowe(l, no one will contest its value here, or will doub( that it is truly the ro xu'Kov, the sum ani<> ^- TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 493 forgetting to bring with liini fire, and wluit is better, as much cun- ning as he can convert to use, lie lias made himself at home, and is s- it home, that he would envy no man of any country, nor any country of any man, even though he knew what they were, and what they possessed. Is not *he animal as vain of himself and his superiority as any other man under any other life ? If he is not much vainer, then it is not true that the vanity of all rude and ignorant people is commensurate with their ignorance and rude- ness. But the arrangement is admirable; and philosophers are right: — in the generals, however; not so right in the application. Man, in the mass, is equally happy in all conditions of life, all regions of the earth, and all states of cultivation. It is a very different thing to maintain that, individually, all are equally happy, or that, to all, there are equivalent compensations of happiness and suffering. If there was little novelty to-day, there was at least the first Dec. 7. glorious evening that we had seen; the joint morning, noon, and evening of a sun which never rose and never set: which, promising both, performed neither, and of which the highest noon was but a twilight, creeping, not along the horizon, but over the short space which told us that it would see us no more for a long time. Yet it was a glorious golden meridian of twilight and sunset ; while the crimson clouds were brilliant with tints rarely seen in the more favoured climate of our own country. The erection of an observatory for the magnet had occupied Dec. 8 our people yesterday, and found them work this day. There was nothing worthy of peculiar note on the two following. The wea- Dec. 9. ther was, on the whole, agreeable, though varying; but it ought Dec. lo. to be called fine. The lower ranges of the thermometer varied r I'i 494 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY Doc. 11. between 10' and 32' niinns, and tliis was tlie termination of another week of durance. Tliey who were fond of idU^ puns, thought the term Sheriff's harhonr not misapplied. Dec. 12. The men who went on sliore for exercise, after church, saw the Dec. 1 !. tracks of a glutton. Monday, like Sunday, was calm and clear, Dec. 11. and there was an aurora of no great note. On Tuesday there was little change in the now unavoidable .sameness of our occupations and our anuisements. On this and many other days we tracked animals and did not see them; carried guns and did not fire; watched for the invisible sun that we might at lea.st know it was still in existence ; and were not sorry m hen (I cannot say the day was done, where all was night), but when we might at least end another of our own days by going to bed. Dec. 15. A strong breeze, with snow, formed a sort of variety just now; but it imprison«'d the men, and thit was an evil. No one is much the better for thinking : those who had nothing very cheering to think of, were always the worse. They mIio commanded had however no great right to believe themselves of a more hopeful and buoyant character, than those whose business it was to obey ; whatever the fact might have been as to either party. They had an object in view which the others could .scarcely keep in sight : and ambition, or vanity, or whatever else, looked forward to a gratification which, imder any success, could be little to those who had oidy to follow as they were directed : participating the labour, yet, if not the fame, so also, be it remarked, free of all anxiety, and subject to no responsibility. Dec. 16. There was little to note this day but a slender aurora. The weather and the temperature .scarcely differed so much from what they had generally been for some time, as to require notice for any TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 'J95 Doc. 19. Dlc. -20. other object than tliat of a rei;ister. The present work of tlie men n.c. 17 was to cover the boats with snow, for the [nupose of protecting them from tlie weather. A strong gah; interrupted this, l)nt did n(jt h>st beyond the (Uiy. Yet it began again on the foHowing, thongli soon Dk . 18, moderating, and giving ns the remainder of Saturday for our seve- ral works, now not recpiiring notice. On shore, tlie etlect was to harden the snow so that it coidd generally bear our weight, and to bare the rocks in such a maimer as to alter the appearance of the land. Sunday was passed as it ought to be : as we had always jiassed it whenever it was in our power. If this day was without mark, it was one iu which we compared the tides that we iiad observed. Nothing but a tide-table, which 1 need not give, would make their singuhn- irregularity sutiiciently conspicuous. I noticed the same facts last yeav, and they were even more remarkabk' in tlie ijiesent. Everv tliiim- was out of rule : whatever the moon miglit etlect, the <;onnteracting causes, in winds, currents, ice, and perhaps more, set all calculations at detiance. It was a high or a low tide whenever it chose to be ; and that was nearly all we knew of the matter. In the calendar, this was the shortest day; that was tolerably indifterent to us, who had no day at all ; but as the sun attained its greatest elongations at midnight, this and the following were, to us, of equal lengths. Th(^ temperature was as low Jis 27° minus, and rose to 21' on the succeeding, which was stormy. To contirm what I have ju^t said of the tides, that of to-day rose, in the forenoon, but one inch. The gale blew hard till night, but ceased so as to have us a tine Dec -23. morning. It was even calm and pleasant ; and the gale, by still Dec. 24, Dec. -21. Dec. '22 I i! 490 SKCOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY Dec 2.-,. Dec. 2fi. Dec. 27, further baring the rock.s and filling the ravines with .snow which had afterward.s hardened, rendered onr walking more easy than ever, and almost agreeable. There was nothing, however, on shore, to amuse us: for us, as for the men, the land afforded exerci.se, and that was all. It is likely that they at least thought this a task and a labour rather than a pleasurt; ; but it was necessary, and more for tlieui than us. The night temperature was miiuis 18^ A violent storm of snow interfered with the parade of Christmas day, but all else was done according to custom. Sunday, immediately following, gave a second day of repose ; and on Monday the usual Dec. '28. works were resumed. The weather improved, and during these three days the average cold at night was minus 20 , rising to 9" with snow, and then falling again to 17^ on the two sub.sequent ones. There was little to mark these days but the capture of a fox. The ice on the lake was measured, and found to exceed three feet in thickness; and, the mercury froze once more. The frost in the tanks amounted to four bushels; being what we had found the largest quantity last winter, after we had put our ar- rangements in good order, and fixed on a reasonable temperature at which to regulate the dwelling place of the men between decks. The month and the year ended together with very cold weather. It was the highest tide that we had yet seen, being nearly eight feet and a half In summing up a month which presents neither variety nor interest, I may first make a few remarks respecting the transactions of the year. It is the period which contains the chief of our disco- veries, and although these do not occupy a large geographical .space, they are of great importance, since they have so narrowed Dec. '29. Dec. 30. TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 407 ed tlie limits of investigation as to reniler it |)ossil)le to finish \^llllt remains to be clone, in a single season, and w illi nnicli less of liazanl and expense than would otherwise have been necessary. There is now some reason to believe that we miurht have extri- cated our ship in the present winter, had we proceeded in a ditierent manner ; had we begun sooner, and attempted to creep along the shore. In this matter, however, I thought it j)rudent to yield to the superior experience of Commander Ross in this kind of navi- gation ; and the more especially because he, in particular, was acquainted with this great inlet. He considered su(.'h a proceed- ing not less perilous than laborious, and «;ntertained no doubt that the ice in the cliannel would clear away in time sutiicient to enable ns to make as great a progress, or a greater one, by the same date, and without needless risk. That his anticipations were wrong, the n. The shi[) appeared to have sutKred some damage by being so long and so often agroiuid, since she was again leaky. Hut our winter accommodations were perfect, and the men seemed as healthy as possible; having a})parently profited by our new system of diet. If the regular exercise contributed to this, tjiat was conducive to another good end ; since the men would thus be well trained for travelling by the time the season should arrive. Though the weather had been often very cold, the temperature wa.s very changeable; nor was the mean so low as that in the last December, by four degrees. That mean is minus 20.24; the highest temperature was plus 6, and the lowest, being ou the last day of the month, was 47^ minus. 3s 1 ii n 498 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY AHSTRACT OF THE METEOIlOLOdlCAL JOURNAL. l.n .'i,'. mo n .11 (1 ■ 11 NWy. 3ai N.Jll(i.Nli\V.2r5.N.N\V.lBr.'WVI)N.0.NW.fi'2. .NVVliW'.O. WnW.O. VvliN.O. 'i(> ()_ _ n U i' " ^Oi'> .'•T SWy. ;!;lo W.i;. WbS.o. WsW.o. ^\Vi^^V.o.^>W.•J^l. SNVbS.o. !SS\V.i29. sbW.O;. 41 " 1 r. (1 ,•; II _ (1 (1 SKy. — C'i s.;;!. hijli.o. .s.SK.JS. SKIiSu. hK.:.. Sl'.bK.ii. E.SI'..o. KbS.o. 7 11 .'i 11 II II :•;'. I) NKy. = to t.i. i;l,N.o. i;Nt;.io. NKbli.o. Mi.O. Nllb.N.o. NMi.71. Nbli.u. Tnlftl. h; (Id. iiiliu. ni .11 ilays. JANUARY, 1830. IliBlicst, lowest, *\ _5_,,_,. o, nu'iiii icinporatiiri' / '' ' '"' Tola! lone 111 thf Wind . . . Ifi.'.li Mi'iui liirci.' uf Uii,' Wiucl . . 5J,4j '^1. o .1, 1 1 „ II I' <^ NWy.— 101 N,ji:..Nb\V.ii. NnW.B. "N'Wb'N.O.NW.S. .SWbW.n. WNvV.O. \MiN.u. I 7 II 7 II ,'i7 _ II 111 II SWy. -lis W.U.UbS.O. W.SW.IJ. ,S\Vb\\ .IISW.I.M. SWbS.O. SSW.08. SbW.O. " , II II 11 1, II II I SKy. -lO'i .S.l-Jil. Sbt',0. SSlvO. SKbS.O. SK.C. '.SKIiK.O. KSK.II. l-.bS.'.'. :i 1,1 II II .i(. 4;i 7 ! II NKy. . - ifiq t..J. l.uM.O. K.NK.lO. WKbli.d. NKll. NEbNil IS.NMC.n:.. Nbt.O. Tiihil. JDI liiiiiri-. 121I11. wii.d vblc. Kiy ilo. c-illni. 6,-2 2U (Inys. FEBRt'ARY, 1S30. lliRliCst, liiwcst, & 1 , „„ mean ti'miicrnturo / ^ ^ ' "■ ■ Tcitttl lorteof the VViiUl . . . 1054 Mean force of the WiiiU . . j;.ti i-'l •■' ...•,'■• ^^o .,4 1. 11 ^ 111 .0.. NWy. 212 N. 21111. NUW.S.NNW.riO.^^VbS.O. N\V..ll). NWbW.n.WN W.ll. WliN.O. •1 11. 11 II 7 1 ^ 111 !! SWy. - ir)2 W.h;i. Wb.S.il.W .^\\.23. SVVbU'.o. SW.S,-. SWb.i.l. .S.SW.47. vSbW.H. •,' 1 II 4 II _ 4. _ II II _ SEy. -= 31 S.Jl. Sbh.d. SiSK.l. .SEIi.S.U. .Sh.l. .Si;b£.0, E.Si;,(l. "Kb.S.O. 1 1. 11 4 _ ,' 4.i _ i_ 4 1 SW..')li. SbW.ly. P'oiln cii s..-,«. sii::.3. .sSH.oH. I , 11 11 i;.:.i. i;bN.o. KNi;.o. I ,' II ii_ SEy. ti3 SKiiS.n. sK.23. SKbE.o. T;.si;.n. Kbs.o. 11 0:1 II I 1 ,-. II NEv. 1111 NEbE.O. NE.ISS. NEbS.O. NNE.30S. Nbl:.!!. 30 dayi". Al'HII., 1830. Ilitliest, lowi'sf, and mean teniperanire 'I'otal force of the Wind .Mean force of the Winil itl.est, lowest, anil 1 ,,,.„; mean teniperanire J IT''" 5D.31 7 1 11 -.4 n 4T 4 NWy. 223 .\.lll'i. .NbW.2.-...N\W.lli;:.N\MiN.ll. NW.73. .SWbW.O. W N\Y.12,-i. WliN.lo. ■VI 11 ; I 11 :ui :'. ■.'■■' II hWy. -U2 U .ll.'i. \\i..s.n. Ws\V.70. S\\b\V.O. SW.7I. SWbS.U. S.S\V.3I. SIAV.IO. .-,1. 1. o II ■,'.■. I li 11 .SKy. -100 S.ri). Slii:.l3. h.SK.;. .SEbS.O. SK.41. SEbE.I. S.SE.IO. TIbS.O. ;; 11 c 11 11 I I. 11 11111 1 NEy. ^235 L ILI2. EliN.S. ENK.U. .NEbE.n. NE.IH. MEbN.O. N NK.2;9. Nbfc 4. Total. 00 iHiur.'i. ■ 41 do. calm. 744 31 day- MAY, 1130. Hi;:licst, h>wcst, ^\ ,,j- mean temperature / ' ' Total force of the Wind Mean force of the Wind -1+15 . 48.76 70 o_ 40 n jn o_ .3_ o_ NWy. "133 N.13I.Nb\V.O.S"NW.12C.NWb'S'.0. NW.2,-.. NAVbW'.O. W^NW.,'.. WbN.O. ;.'.' II _n 11 _ Cio i)_ 40 _ 1(1 SWy. —210 W.277.iWiS.O.WSW.9. .SWb'W.O. SW.129, SWbS.O. SsW.lOO. ShW.27. :i'i _ o_ c _ n _2 o (J Q_ SEv. = 49 iS.4B. .>>bH.O. ssr.2. SEbS.O. Sl7.«. "Sl'.bE.O. KSE.O. EbS.O. I.'i _o_ _1.1 _4 104 »_ I'.'! NEy, =-26« li.l4. bbN,0. JiNK.g, NlibE.lJ, NE.i;5,NlibN."lO. NNt.3)6. KbE.O, Total, tiiy hours. ■ 71 do. calm. 720 —30 days, JUNE, 1830. IliBhest, lowest, ^^ l 4 fi2J..20 + 3l5.;5 mean temperature J Total force of the Wind . . 1 125 Mean force of the Wln4 ;. . i?-* i ^^ i ^| i f ) ft ti i f atea*'Sj:sgi^Bg Ji'*»*' TO THE ARCTIC IlEGIONS. 491) 10 1 _U_ ni n ,ir. Ann SWv v N.iHO.NiiW.n. NNW.j's.RwbNTo. nvv.«i. NTmiWji.wnw o. wi,Vi) * ' " " " _ •-' I " "I (I SWv W.(I7. WliS.O. W.SVV.I;!. SVVbW.I). SW.IJ. .SVVIi.S.O. S.SW/Jl). Sb\V''.0. h'.is. si'jK.,-,. .ssh;.:i. skijs.i). skiii. SKi.lo.v. i.sK.o. Ki,s.,"i, *"''' " ■'" 9:1 ii.fi. fnj'y.,). HNK.Ii. NKlIku, NK..VJ. Nki.S.1. nVi;.!!;. mIk.o. ^'■>' _;5j '""^"'"'"' Mfuu force of IhoWiiul Total. ().t7 lioiirrt. 5 do. wir\il vhle. loj (to. calm. JULY, in.iii. lIlKllOiit, linvcst. '•'1.+-,, .vfU'.- Total force of the VViotl . . 1 10.1 JJ.UJ Ml -in,. lU l.V lot il ,1 7 NWv. f ..il),l..M)W.fl7.NN\V.S2I).NWliN.*i..N\V.'J!IH.N\HiW.fi.\\ .NW.in. Wli.N.;. 1- I .. 1, I l 17 r. 1 ;l .. SWv W.IJ5. \VI).S.2. W.S\V.l;l. SWbW'.H. .SW.Il'J. SVUi.S.O. SS»V.:1H, .SIA^'.H 5 1 ,()., ^.7 n I -, ,1 n SKv .s.^1. hbK.o. .ssR.i'j. si;i,s.(i. SI', Hi. Si-.i,lT:n. K.sK.ii. Ki.s.o. i:i)N.u. li.siJ.i. - " . I' I- .. I . lo ;! NKy. NLIjK.ii. NH.Itili. N1;Ii.S.;i. N,NK..'.i|. NblvJ.'. Total. C'll'.l hours. 1(1 ilo. witiil vlilc. ■Jl) do. calm. rii ;il iliiys Ar(it;.sr. h.io. Iliillicst. lowest. Ik\ . , ., mcantcniiHTalnrc} *-■'•* +':! <-"i-'7 Total lorcc of tlic \Viiiil . . loijli Mean force of the Wind Ul.l t'7 -fin fi() li^ 4 1. ..> • ...0 ,7 NWy. -Jlo N.1!)4.NliW.4;li.N N W.IIIM.N Wh.N.fia.N W.l!!).S\vi;W ..-..Al .N \V 70.\VhN.;ip, .';• ' T '■> 7 1 i' "_ II 11' SW V. I.-.7 U.10!).\VhS.:m. WS\V.7i). SWhW.-ij.SVV.7:i. \s\Vh^j;i.,SNW.i,',. SliVV.aii. 1 SHv. I no it 7 .■! S.i.'iCi. S1>K.I7. .SSK.iia. SKhS.i). SKll. SkliE.o. KsK.o. 'EbS.-. ■I I II 1- (i ;' (■. V ■"! I ^ I'.v n I E.O. KbN.77. ICNl'Mi. MibK.W. M';,70. NKbS.lti.NMC.'ua. NbE.ll. —J Total. (i'MI hoor.s. r do. wnd vblc. '"Is'hwt.ioweHt.andl , .,, , . j. ,„ 1,- do. elm. .„"."■,"'' 'eini.cratore > + '■'•■■' -1-2- ■ '- lotal force ol the Wind . . 'iti,!) 7-.ii) .11) (lays ' ' Mi.ill. I.ir.... ill tl... 1\'i...l u" -.: SEPTE.MIIER, ih;ii). Hi|::host. lowest. and l .Mean force of the Wind ' * „*,, v,'w . 1 -^ f> in ,11 ',',■; NWy.=2il3 N.;i3. NbW.i'.'.NNW.iiH..SWbN.in.N\V.'jo,'i.NWl)W.lo.WNiV.loo.WbN'.«7. V'.i 1 I H_ 1 1.7 _ii _ 1 ■: i \V.2l)6.Wbs.4I. WSW.l!)'2.SWbW.:i. SW.a.l.^. S\Vb.S.27. ssW.'i!). .Sii\V.5, 1.1 SKbS.O. 1 1 .SE.iW. s,i66.si>i-:.;n. ssE.io, ,'.» O I O ;,MI K.i70.Eb.V.o. li.NK.2. NTKbH.O. S/li.7 __ . . ., SEy. ,,110 SKhlvTo. liSE.I). KbS.lil. . + _ ,10 :; NEy. ^^107 NlibN.l;!. .N.NE.rjJ. MbE.5. Total. fiOt linnrs. 1 do. wind \ble. til do. calm. 7H 31 dayi. OCrolU'.Il, IK.IO. Ilii^hest, lowest. ;'' Total lorce of the Wind . . '.'1:1,-, Me ui force of tlie Wind Rii.n I'l ^n .in If) ,■; I) n 10 n NWv —27s N.l»a.NbW.0.NN\V.9-.>.NWl.\.78. NW.m.mHTW.O. VVSVV.2.'.. TUnV.O. "■"' .1.1- -" . '> _ .i» .0 111 o SWy. .-l:l7 W.8j. WbS.O. WSW.O. swbw.i;i. sw.u. swiis.o. "ssw:ii. SbW.O. f'* .^.J,- -,1.1^ -„->-^ i'S •,'!>, _.,1 (I SKy. ^ i;.l5. KbN.i). ENE.20. "NEbL';4. NE.lli. NEbN.15. NNE.8. NbK.o. NEy. II Total. .')!IH hours. I ( do. wind vblo. ioH do. calm. 7-'o :I0 days NOVEJinKn, isnn. ■ IliRhost, lowest, «;l .,,_ mean temiierature / ^•' ' ' Total force of the Wind . . iidji Mean force of the Wiml . . 4tj.ijlj '" „"_ _!> ' n _ 5.T n 1(1 NWv -"11 N.205.NbW.o.SN W.5g2. NttffN.68.NW.8;. fnvirW.o. \V*N W.29. Wb\ 0. iV- -,n_ 2.1.. -. 41 . ■,'11 -J SWy. -150 U .112. WbS.O. WSW. 3(1. SWbW.O. SW.Iil. SVVI.S.0. SSW:60. SbW 4. -'i' cv'.e --■'- -.1"'-.- 1 'I _ !' 7 .SKy. -,2.18 S.22!l.bbb.l!l. SSE.;tj. SEbS.il. SE.1.10. SKbE.O. ESE.20. EbS.25. '? ,,'\, " _ " . - i> ^ " ^ i o NEy. - 22 h.35, LbN.O. ENE.O. WEbE.O. NE.O. NEbE.O. NNE.12. NbEO Total. 621 hours. 4 do. wiml vblc 119 do. calm. 744 -■ 31 days. DKCEMnER, lfi:)0. lliffhesf. lowest, tl ,,■_,. mean tempcr.durc J" "^ ' ' Total force of the Wind . , Mean force uf the Wind . . -20.ax 3s 2 500 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY CHAPTER XXXVI. 1831. Jan. 1. Jan. 2. Jan. 3, 4, & 5. Jan. 6. Jan. 7. Jan. 8. Jan. 9. TRANSACTIONS ON ROARD THE SHIP IN JANUARY, 1831 — SUMMARY OF THAT MONTH. FEBRUARY : AVITII ITS SUMMARY. MARCH : ITS SUMMARY. XlIOUGII the temperature remained at mimis 47°, it was calm, and the cold was not .severe to the feelings. The colours were hoisted, and the ship dressed out; new year's day being otherwise kept in the usual manner. There was so clear a sky that no stars could be seen dining foin- hours ; such was the power of the meridian twilight. On Sunday, tlie thermometer fell to minus 52°, but even then, tlie men who walked on shore after divine service did not complain. On the third, fourtli, and fifth, it ranged between 46° and 50°, the weather continuing clear. An overcast sky raised it to 34° on the sixth, but it fell again, when that cleared away, to 43°, on the .seventh. The employments of the men were uniform ; and the only variety was the capture of a fox, on each of the two last days. Saturday ended a dull week, without any change in the weather or the temperature. Another fox was found in the trap on Sunday, which, otherwise, passed as usual. The only remarkable circumstance was the vacillation of the thermometer, without any cause that could be ■H TO THE ARCTIC UEC.ION.S. 50 1 conjectured, as the weather was iinifoniily calui an to .'}(>, where it remained an hour, tailing again to 45°, so that the frozen mer<:ury thawed, and then froze again. There was a faint aurora, both in tlu- morning and the evening. A gloomy sky raised it next day to 2.'J for a short time. The ice on the lake, being examined, was found to Ik; three feet and a half thick. On the thirteenth, the sky presented a beautiful display of colours, as it had formerly done at the same season ; and the land was much elevated by refraction. On the fourteenth, there was a gale w ith snow, raising the thermometer to 10" ; and on the fol- lowing, it reached minus 4", making a considerable range within this month. The sun was not yet visible. There was a little snow on Sun, with more snow, on Sunday, Monday was rh'iw, with the th«!rinonieter at minus 1 1 ; iuid, rising to 7 on the next, that idso pnivrd a very niihl day. On tii'st time, and shone bright. The land was very loyed in measuring a hasc. A remarkable lial<» <»e(;urred lo-diiy, about Ihe sun, being, of course, somewhiit nunc than a semieireh' : the lower en«ls being re«i jjassing to yellow, and beeoming uhitr in th<' upper part of the sky. There was little ehange of weather or oceupation; but sonu? willow partridges were shot, and m;niy ravens, hares, and gnuise were .seen, wliih; on Saturday, a fox was taken. The temperature of Siniday was ID mimis. After i^hun^h, the men walke<| six miles to the islands where the natives had been resi- dent last year, but found nothing extiptthedeserlifd huts and traps. The last day «»f tlie month was marked by a strong gale with drift snow: the thermometer rising with the wind, as high as minus 2\ In spit(! of occasionally severe «lays, the mean of this month was not so low as that of last January. It was about minus 2»T, whereas the former was 2(5\ The highest elevation was 2.0 plus, and the lowest f)(V minus ; making a total range, with a neees.sary correc- tion for the thermometer when at its lowest point, of CO' in the course of twelve days. During the lower temperatures it was calm, and beautifully clear; but we could make no observations with the instruments on those days, .since it was as impossible to touch the metal as if it had been red hot. After the 2oth, we procured some good ones. TO Tllfc: AKCTIC ItEUIONH. MKJ TluTt; were iniuiy piles, as the joiinial luis sliowti; niid, on all those (lays, the liaroiiKter t't-ll and th<- teni|(ei'alnre ros4'. Itnt it was an invariahh* remark, thai, when the ;;ah> was tVoni thr north- ward, the former tell hss, and the thermoincttr rose more, than when it was (roin any either <|narter; as this was also most stiikini;- when the wind was from tin; sonthuard. Thr ainoru; were very inion- s|)i(Mioiis; hnt the haloes urn- of a very strikin;^," eharaeter. The total of 'hu* sport in this month |>rodnefd seven foxes and fonr birds. The lake was at last fro/«n thront;-h where we tried it, and the i<:e nearly four i\rt thiek : IIk- inenasc havini; Ijctn (en inelies sinei l)«'!( inlur'. Thouiih the sim was tirst mvu on the nineteenth, s«»mr fidlowin^ days of Jhiek weather prevented us from o'ltainini;' a seeond siijht of it till it uas three deurees hi^h. I)ayl)r. 10. Feb. 11. Feb. 1-2. Feb. l.'i. Feb. II. Feb. 1.-. Feb. in. fell to miiiu.s lo. T\w men liatl (■m[)loyineiit in Imilding an obser- vatory tor noting' retVactions, antl in repairing the others ; one of which had been sJiaken from tlie fonn(hition, in eon.seijnence of its connexion with tlie ice near ns tiiat had ))roken dnring one of the past gales. Saturday ended with the thermometer at minus 24^ On Sunday it went down to «*i2 . M-ny willow partridges were seen by the men during their walk after divine service. The cold weather (;ontimied through tlie two following days, in which there was nothing remarkable but a slight aurora. Nor wa.s there nmch change on the next; the only notable occurrence was the taking of an unfortunate fox, which had lost its tongue through the frost, in biting at the iron bars of the trap. On the tenth, the temperature readied 12 minus, and it was very cold. Another fox was taken. 1 attempted, a second time, to make observations on the diurm.l variation, but the needle would not traverse. There being a stirt" i.Meeze, willi a thermometer at IVS minus, the mm found it impossible to walk on .sliore ; and it was the .same on Saturday. The tanks having [)roduced five bushels of ice this week, confirmed the reuiaiks already made. Sunday })assed as usual, and the Mealher was unchanged. In the evening of Monday, the tem- perature was donn at lo , and another fox was taken: as u as a second on the following day. In compensation, one of our own escaped on the next, carrying olf with it the chain. The thermo- meter \\entdov, n one degree more. The sea ic( was cut through, and found to measure about four feet and a ha'.f. Two more foxes were taken, of which one had lost its tongue in the .same manner as a former. The escaped one was MillliBM>^''-^^A«^^^i> ^^■•'^'.'■r^*-^'^!;^^.*..-^ TO THI^ ARCTIC REGIONS. 505 fbr/i;etful enoiigli to enter one of tlic traps, aiul was retaken on Saturday. Dio'iiig tliese days, the teinperatun^ vaeillated a little about the low standard it had held for some time; it was 45^ when midnight closed the week. Foxes seemed now abundant, Siniday morning having found another in the trap. A very few grouse and hares had been seen latterly. On Monday, there was again ;i fox taken. The weather was niueh the same as in the preceding week ; but, w ith a cloudy sky, it rose to 31° minus on Tuesday, wIkmi again the traj) produced a fox Had our former neighbours been at their old post, not much of this game would have fallen to our share. A fall of snow raised the thermometer to 22 degrees ; and this weather continued till the following era- ture from minus 43° to 38° ; and, after that, it subsided to 42°. Some hares were seen during the Sunday's walk : and more on the Mon- day ; but nothing was shot. It was little more than a schoolboy's experiment, to fire a ball of frozen mercury through an inch plank : but this had, possibly, not been done before. The month closed with the thermometer at 43° minus. The summary of this month is more barren than usual. It had been a very cold one, particularly towards the end. The mean proved to have been minus 34'. Yet there was an unusually high temperature in the early part, since it once reached plus 9°; at!*ect- 3t Fib. 19. Feb. 20. Frb. a 1 . I'V'b. 2J. lYl). 23. Ft'b. 21. Feb. 'If,. Feb. -16. Feb. 27. F.b. 28. 500 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY March 1. March 2, 3, & 4. :\Iarch 5. March G. March 7. MarchSAO. March 10. ingmatftrially tlio total mean, but not that of the latter half, which averaged 42^ 'JMie lowest fall was abont 4J)°. The observations experienced much ()l)struction from the c«)ld, as T have remark<^d above; but a few were reyistered. The men retained their health, and, as I believe, their 07 dogs. We froze oil of almonds in a shot-mould, at minus 40 , and fired it against a target; which it split, rebounding unbroken. A similar ball of ice had no effect. The two last days of this week were as uniform in character as the preceding : the Saturday's mid- night temperature being 3o°. Sunday was unaltered in weather. Monday produced a., ther fox ; and the men commenced moving gravel for making a canal on the ice. It was already seen that the sun could melt snow on some of the rocks. In the afternoon of Tuesday, a change took place in the weather, and it blew hard, with drift snow : which continued till noon on the following day. On the seventeenth it was alternately clear and gloomy, but the tliermometer held fast about 30 . It was exceedingly cold to the feelings on Fridisy, at the same temperatiu'e ; and, on Saturday, that fell to 44. The tanks produced live and a half bushels of ice this week; being the greatest evaporation from between decks that we had experienced since this apparatus was satisfactorily arranged. The (continuance and degree of the cold at this period of the present month began .seriously to attract our attention ; and even tothereader,the registry which has now been repeated to weariness will not be uninteresting. Tlie thermometer sank on this day, Sun- day, to minus 52' ; and tlu^ average of the twenty-four hours was but 4{r. At foiu- on the Monday morning, the sun cro.s.sed the e(|uator at this exceedingly low temperature ; an occurrence which had no parallel in the preceding voyages. There was no change in this respect on the two following days; though the barometer rose and fell several times. There was a difierence of a few degrees, for the better, on the next, when the 3t2 Maicli 11. Waich 1-2. Mmcl. 13 & II. .March 15. :\r;iirli \ii tS. 17. Maicli 18. Ah.ich 19. .March 20. .March 2 1 . March 22 I'i.- 23. March 24. '>()8 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY Marcli '2.j. iSlarcli -^'J. March 27. 28, A- ■-'!). mean rose to -J()°, and the heat in tlie (hiy to 2.'/ minns. I'liday and Satnnhiy presented no material changes; and the thermometer on this hist night was at 35". Sunday and the following two days were almost equally without note. There was variable weather, gloomy and clear alternately, with occasional showers of snow, and, latterly, a fresh breeze. Tlie lowest temperature of the three days lay from 35° to 28", gradually nsmg. Maicli 30. On the thirtieth, a decided and a very pleasing change took place. The thermometer reached 11" minns, and the day was so mild to our sensations that the men were congratidating each other on the " fine warm day," even when it had sunk to20^ There could be no doubt that it did leally feel warm ; such is the etiect oi" contrast in this case. At forty degrees above this, it would have been a wintry cold sehlom known in England, and we all knew what we should have felt there, even with this enormous dif- jMarth 31. ference. It was .still warmer on tlie following, since it rose to 8' in the day, and did not fall below 17' in the night. Another month was ended. The great coldness of this month nnist already have been remarked. It had much exceeded that of the former ("orresponding ones in the voyages of the preceding navigators. The mean was 35" minus, being not less than seventeen degrees lower than the similar means during those, and it ^^as eleven degrees lower than the lowest of them. The highest was 8" nunus, and the lowest 52'. 3Iuch snow having fallen, nearly the entire surface of the land was a mass of ice and snow. On one occasion only, the latter melted for a short time beneath the influence of the sun, on some tWig! TO THE ARCTIC REGIOiVS. 5()9 rocks that were exposed to its rays ; yet not many became tlms exposed, and tlie etfectwas of no long- dnration. In the ]\rarcli of the preceding year, however, during several days, the water was running down in streams. It was an adverse prospect as our future phms were concerned ; and liad, at times, some eifect in casting a damp on the men, which their tiresome sameness of occupation had no tendency to remedy. Yet they were in perfect healtli. There had been none on the sick list, and there was no appearance of scurvy. Altogether, many observations had been made and recorded ; tlie place for which is the appendix, not this journal. In addition to many foxes, twelve white hares had been shot, with some ptar- migans; but of our tamed animals, only two remained alive. Our disappointment in not seeing the Escpiimanx continued daily increasing, as their expected arrival \^as the longer delayed. They furnished us with occupation and amusement, more required l)y the men than ourselves. We were also in want of seal's tlesh for our dogs, which woidd have been starved had it not been for our success in taking foxes; for ourselves, too, fresh venison and fish would have been more than acceptable; nor were we so well stocked with skin dresses as not to wish for more. We still looked for^vard to their visits with hope. ■r i 310 S£COND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY CHAPTER XXXVII. APRIL — AN EXPEDITION UNDERTAKEN — ACCOUNT OP THIS JOURNEY SUMMARY OF THE MONTH. 1831. ryy April 1. XHE weather improved very slowly; but, on the second, the Aiiiii '2. niglit temperature was zero, and the highest in the day, plus 3*. April 3. The dipping needle was found to be out of order. On Sunday there Apiii 1. was a breeze, which became a gale on the following day. The variations in the temperature were unimportant. April 'j. This was the day on which our travelling had commenced last year. The condition of things was now very ditlercnt, besides which, we could not well manage withojit the aid of the natives April G. and the assistance of their dogs. The thermometer fell to minus 17° on the night of the sixth, thus giving us a temperature 34^ lower than on the corresponding day in the last year, AjMii 7. A suc«re sion of heavy squalls with drift snow blew to-day, but April 8. ceased ))efore the following, which was tine yet cold, with the night April y. thermometer at 20°. Nor >\as it at all warmer on the Saturday. Where the sun acted on tlie snow it was glazed, but there was no flow of water, and no apparent clearing. It was colder by two Apiii 10. tiegrees on Sunday, which passed as usual. April 11. On Monday it approached zero, at noon, being a great improve- ment. AYe were employed in preparations for a projected journey. TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 511 Tliis favourable change did not, however, last, since it fell to 23' on the follovvinjc: day. Last year, at the same time, there were many pools near the ship and along the shon; at present, all was .solid ice. On the two next, the temi)eratnre gradually improved, and reached near to zero at noon. It came to plus 4' on Friday ; and settled, on vSatnrday, with 2° as its maximum. Preparations for travelling continued. The first snow bunting of the season was seen this mornina-. On Monday the preparations for our journey were complete, and we waited only for weather. A change seemed promised the next day, as the thermometer rose to plus 8°, and the weather felt warm in spite of a breeze. A walking party was sent away two miles with the .sledge, that they might be ready to start very early in the morning, if the weather permitted. This being the case, the party set off early, and by noon the con- voying portion returned, leaving Commander Ross and five men to pursue their journey. Another sledge and cooking apparatus were in preparation on board. On the twenty-first the temperature increased so much as to reach 3F plus, and we were agreeably surprised by a visit from three of the natives, Neytaknag, Poweytak, and Noyenak. They came over the western hills with their dogs, and stopped about a quarter of a mile otF, holding up their hands to show they were unarmed, and calling out the usual all hail, " JManig tomig :" on which we proceeded to join them. It was the party which had wintered at Awatutyak, consisting of three families ; and they were now at their station near the entrance of the inlet leading to that place. They had been met by Commander Ross, from whom Ai)nl \-2. A\)\ ili:5 & H. Ajiri 1 15. \[m 1 16. Apri 1 17. A])ii 1 IS. Ai)ii 1 11). April 20. April 21. i HI i i !si ri rji2 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVEIIY I received a note, inforining me tliat iie had purchased two stores ot'sahnon tor two knives. Tiiis was welcome news, and we arrang- ed to fetch this acceptahh' snj)ply the next mornina;. We welcomed them to diinier and to sleep, and received from them the following information. All their friends were well at Neitchillee, except Tiagashu, who had died in the winter. This party had killed many deer and taken much fish, and had been expecting us both at Awatutyak and Neitchillee. One of the nien was soon to go to this last place, and would convey the news of oin* present abode. We regretted the tleath of our friend Tiagashu, who had been one of the first to inform us of the geography. He was also a peculiarly good character ; and, having a large family, had been at one time so much in want, that we felt it proper to maintain them all for a time. Being poor, from the same cause, he had little to .sell, and therefore obtained little from us in barter ; but, at the end, he was presented with a file and a knife, thus equalizing him with the others ; a bounty well applied, as this family had always been especially kind to us, and had formerly shown their gratitude for very trifling attentions, by bringing us a present of a seal, out of two which they had taken. Whatever he might be as an Esqui- maux, he at least died an amiable and an exemplary man. We could not learn the cause of his death ; and had to regret that we had not been at hand, since it might have been within the power of our medicines. April 22. With the track of the former sledge to direct us, I left the ship at four in the morning, with the surgeon, three .seamen, and our Esquimaux guests. We reached their station, called Niokhuna- griu, at eleven, being the place where we had pitched our tent i t i TO THE ARCTIC KCGI0N8. 513 on the 28tli of last June. We found there were two piieknges of fish, weighing, jointly, bnt 180 pounds ; we nevertheless paid the stipulated price. They began immediately to erect us a house, which they finished in forty-five minutes. We were not long in cooking a warm meal, which was very acceptable after a walk of sixteen miles through very rough ice. Though rough, it was, how- ever, good beyond the place where Commande. loss had left his convoy ; which it was gratifying to know. The men having for- gotten their blankets, we were su[)plied with skins by our good- natured friends. At noon, two of them set off at a great pace, with their sledge and six dogs, to fetch a third depot offish, which we understood to be at a lake far away. They were to have another knife for it ; and it was well worth our while to wait for such a supply. Me examined their hut in the mean time, which was large enough for three families, being eighteen feet in diameter ; but it was so much decayed as to show that it had been occupied from a very early period in the winter. We were very kindly received by the women, and found an old one, sick, or thought to be so, to whom the surgeon administered some medicine. It was the woman of many husbands ; and she repayed her physic by the stone which is used in striking fire, which was, in reality, a valuable present to make, on her part. They offered us water, which is a scarce article at this season, as it requires much oil to melt any nnantity of snow ; together with salmon, which we took, that we might not offend them ; returning some trifling presents. Inquiries about families and new-born children were repaid by questions respecting our own people ; one of the children had been 3u .1!: f 514 SECOND VOYAGE OP DISCOVERY named Agluggn, in ('(unpliiiu'iit appartiitly to Coiniuander Ross, wliose Esquimaux patronymic it was. The presence of fifty seal- skins proved tliat their hunting liad been successful; and, besides the flesli visible in tin; hut, there were depots in the snow. They had further killed two musk oxen and two bears, hoping that we might come to purchase the former ; in defect of which, they had been eaten. Oi' the bear-skins tliey had made dresses; but tliey had nothing of this nature to sell at present. The rising of a l)reeze in the evening made our hut so cold that we were obliged to construct a crooked passage for it; and, after all, it was but at 'i-V minus, at night, while our messengers had not returned with the fish. We were obliged to amuse ourselves with playing at the Esquimaux game of bear and dogs, with the chil- dren, to the very great delight of all the party. At miilnight the two young men returned with the fish, which were very fine, and weighed, altogether, a hundred and fifty pounds. The promised knife gave great satisfaction. Their own appear- ance, and that of their dogs, sliowed that they had traveller' a long way, as they had also been absent fourteen hours, which wc com- puted to be e<|uivalent to thirty-six miles. We sent theni to bed ; April 23. and, at four, our men rose to prepare a meal before our departure, and to get ready the sledge. Returning from the pursuit of some grouse, I found that our fish had been plundered by the dogs, and that, inci uiin.g whatliad been consumed by ourselves and the Esquimaux, we had now but two hundred and fifty pounds. This, however, together witli our own stores, wa-s more than our men, not very strong, were able to trans- port ; so that I bargained with one of the two natives to aid us with TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. b\y three maintain the idle, till the day shall arrive when all will starve together. It is a Utopian state of things when she of five children is the best of wives, and can take her choice of the young men : it is more than Uto[)ian, when population is not poverty, but wealth : when men really will labour, and when the labour of a man will do, what it always can, or might, support, not only himself, but those who nmst depend on him till they can, and will, labour for themselves. Let the wise of wiser lands travel hither and take lessons of wisdom from the savages in seal-skins, who drink oil, and eat their fish raw. Of another j)ortion of their j)olitical economy I must not speak with a|)probation : yet there is some philosophical fitness in it too, when coupled with that which has preceded. We must not pidl a system of legislation to pieces, and then say that this or the other law is a bad one. Let the whole be contemplated in a mass, and looked at in all its bearings, before we presume to decide what is right : that is generally right which is most fitting. It is the cus- TO Tin: AllLTIC IlKGIONS. .'il7 torn to iiit(rrhaii;,^e vvivi's. If the Hoiiiiiiis itii which they raised our temporary encampments. We had nevertheless gained some experience ; and the middle of April made us anxious to visit Aw-w\d<-too-teak once more, as my former sight of it was very imperfect, and an accu- rate knowledge of this spot was essential to our future operations. We left the ship, therefore, at three in the morning of Ih;. 'iOth of April ; forming a party of tive, with a temponny convoy from the surgeon and some other men, who quitted us at 8 o'clock. In a short time I perceived recent traces of the Esquimaux; and as it was important to obtain their guidance to Aw-A\uk-too-teak if j)Ossible, r followed the footsteps, while my party proceeded along the land. I thus reached \eak-kog-nak, uhere I saw through my spyglass a snow hut, whence there came out three men, who advanced quickly with their kni\es, which ho>\ever they threw away as .soon as they saw me lay dou n my gun, then giving me the usual welcome. One of them was the old man Pow-weet-yah, the death of w hose boy had caused the contest between us in the 3x 1831. April 20. V70 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVEIIY April 21 |Mevi(ms sciison, aiul whom we had not steii since that time; tht- other two were his sons. JJy their own a< count they had waited for ns hist snnnner, as they had promised, with aljundance of salm- and .\iniiJ2. snow, till nine, when we e'rossed the hiyh ridge whieh separates the two lakes at tliis plane, yet with much toil, from the «lepth of the new snow. At tin-ee in the afternoon, the sun shone out, and with such etfect on the white urouud, that some of the men were very shortly seized with iuHammatiou in the eyes, so that we were compelled to halt at six and encanip for the night. Our position was on the north-west bank of the lake ; and though all the usual means of cljecking this inflammali(m were adopted, three of the party were so blinded by its effects, that we wert obliged to rest during the whole of the day. I'he latitude here was 70' 2.0' 10", and the longitude 0' 33' west of the shi[). The sun on this morning was .so bright, that though our com- Apiil 23. panions were cured, I did not think it prudent to go on during the day. We therefore deferred oiu" departiu'e till seven in the even- ing, intending to travel by night, to avoid tiie future chance of the .same inconvenience. At two in the morning we reached the spot where our hut had April ii, been built in the preceding year. In spite of a fresh breeze from the north accompanied by some drift snow, the weather was very fine, and, although with much labour, we at last succeeded in sur- mounting with our sledge the hills that lay between us and the lake Aw-wuk-too-teak. We had finished this journey by six in the morn- ing, and encamped on the north shore of the lake, abuut a quarter of a mile from the exit of the river which fiows from it to the sea. 3x 2 524 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY I here ascended tin* hill of Ac-; ood-le-ruk-tiik, and the inoriiing beiii^ elear, obtiiiiutl u very wide view, incliuliiiu;; the entrance of the inlet which had so lon«i; been the object of onr pursuit. It appeared to be about five miles distant, but did not seem very extensive. Some observations which I pro(;ured, ii,ave the latitude at 70 HH ar, and the longitude at 0.40' west of the ship. Above our encamt)ment rose the hill Il-low-na-lig, and here was a snow hut in ruins tliat had formed the solitary winter residence of Now- yen-noo-ah and his wife. April 25. At eight in the evening, we proceeded down the course of the river to its estuary, under considerable sutfering from the lameness of some of the men, consequent on the freezing of their boots, and from the blindness of another. The termination of this inlet being visible from an eminence which I now ascended, and at no great distance, I caused the men to encamp, and proceeded witli Abernethy to examine it. It was not that I here expected to find that opening which the Esquimaux had described to us as leading to the western sea at Nei-tyel-le, because that one, by their ac- count, was so wide, that in some places, one of the shores could not be seen from the opposite side, though the land on both was liigli. Yet we had not examined the present one when we passed down the coast in 1829, ami as it was the only one that had been neglected, I thought it necessary to make a minute investigation of it, that we might not be detained for this purpose when we should proceed northward in the ship during the ensuing summer. April 20. This survey was finished in a satisfactory nmnner by seven in the morning of the 2Gth ; so as to unite this part of the coast with that which we had explored from the ship. The latitude of Miiriin' ' I" TO THK AKCTIC REGIONS, 525 our encimipnitnt was 70° i'2' 2", and tlu- l<»iii;i(iul<' 10' V west of tlie sliip. In the (;onrs(' of tliis walk I found tlic monuments which we had erected in August, 1829, but the J'^s(niimaux had intermecUlhd with them, and taken away the coins that we liad de[)osi{ed. Here, as in so many other places on this sliore, the r<»cks consisted of red granite antl limestone, the western sitle displaying the former, and the eastern one the latter. The view seaward exhibited a level of smooth ice to tlie verge of the horizon, where, however, there were sharp points indicating a foruiation belonging to the j)receding year. Having thus accomplished the main object of our journey, I de- termined to return to the ship by the sea-coast, so as to survey this shore more accurately than we had previously been able to do. We therefore set out at half-past tive in the afternoon, and in spite of a dense fog, contrived to kee[> on along the shore. On the twenty- April 27. seventh, at one in the morning, we reached the entrance of Port Elizabeth, and found our progress much facilitated by the smooth state of the ice, though the snow was often knee deep. A strong- breeze, with much drift, compelled us however to halt at length, at four o'clock, on the .southern bank of the isthmus, when there came on the most violent gale, attended by drifting snow, that we had ever witnessed, lasting till the neon of the twenty-eighth. It then moderated, and the weather became fine in the afternoon ; .April -28. releasing us from that narrow continemeut in our snow burrow, which we always felt to be more painful than even a hard day's work. We contrived to proceed on our journey at eight, but the even- ing was very cold ; while, by midnight, the wind which had been beliind us, shifted so as to blow directly in our faces. We would 520 SECOND VOYAGE OP DISCOVEIIY willintrlv. thorefoiv, liavc lialfcd, l)ut onr provisions liad been so iinn'li rcdiu'cd hryoiid our ridcidation, in <'ons('«|iH'nle, while in addition, the seamen could not proceed TO THE ARCTIC UEUION'8. o27 tor some hours, J srt out alouc tor the sliip, thiit I uii,u,ht s( ml some reliet'to the party as soou as possihU'. The (listauee was only twenty miles, luit the road h< iiiy had, I did uot arriv(> on hoard till ehnen in the moruini;. All who \>4r(' ahle tor tin- jourury were then dcspatelicd to their shipmates, luid soou after midnight the whole wvw safe ou hoanl. Taylor, who had been the frost-bitten man, had sutlired mueh from his con- veyance; but the eare of our surgeon soon relievetl him tVom tJM' most painful unds. Mav I. The temperature ros«' to plus 'JO. and the nu'an was 4 Tl le two men a se; left tl us, \\ith a promise to I irmi'' us more sa Imon, am ni tlu'ee ( May 5&r,. .Ma\ 7. lavs. Thev were to fish here in the autumn, and at Neitchillee in the winter. Our new cooking apparatus ju'oved efieetive: its advant;ii;e bein;L^ that it would require no fuel hut tallow or oil. The ice near ns, beiny- cut throui>h, was five feet and a half thick : the temperature at night, zero. On Saturday a i)arty was sent to bring ba-, |)n»iiiisiii<^ to return hi four diivs. Nrillicr on llicsc h\o ihys nor tlir sncTcdinir, Uiis tlirrc nnicli cliaii;;^; tlioui^li the nidni t( in|M'riiturc was gradually iucnasiui;. Tiu'ri' was a sfroui; ualc, wilii driri sn(»w, (his (|it some riothinu. Tiic |>i-('|iarations lor travrl- lini;- \V( re in |n'ogr«'ss; and, anioni;' other things, provisions lor twelve men during tliret; weeks were uiade ready. 'I'he weather promised hetter, as the theruionieter now rose* to the iVee/ing p(»int at noon, heiug I'i at uighf. 3Iauv tracks ol" reindeer were; seen hy the uu ii in their Sunday walk : these auiuials were a|i|)arently n turning lor the sunnuer. Monday niorniug was eniployt'd in preparing every thing tor our journey; and, sit eight in the evening, the tirst sledge, with the ])outo(Mi and thn-e weeks' provisions, aiul the second w itii the saux; <|uantity of pro\ isious alone, each <;alculated tor si\ men, set out to explore the second chain (•(' lakes and the west coast of the peninsula, as far to the northward as it was [lossihle to reach. These j)arties were to be guided through tlu' lakes by two of the natives. Calculating that we should reach the west coast in seven days, our design was, that the second division under ('ommanth at that of the river Saumarez. This was on the nineteenth, and here we joined Connnander May 19. U0S.S. We were surprised at tindiug this ri\ er open, but Mere more so to learn that it had been in this stale all the winter, >\ hile it was now runnhig in a considei^'j!<; stream. On further inquiiy, we found that there were many springs in the lake above, which was a mile off. We now hauled the sledges over a ridge, and obtained a view of it, lying, as it seemed, in a south-west direction. At one i)lace, the river was confined by precipices eighty feet high, through which it forced its way in a space so narrow that we might almost tancy ne could jump across it. The temperature of this water was 34°, and it supplied us all with drink, which was still very difficult to procure any where else. 3 y2 o.'J2 SECOM) VOVA(;i; Ol' DISCOVliKY. The ice on the lake was not so tltnply coveml w itli snow as that on the sea, but it hoie no marks of dissolution. A\'e j)roeeeded along- the west side of it, where a high j)recii)ice of the mountain descended, and pitched our tent at the distance of three miles from the river, close to the huts of the guides who had preceded us. In spite of all our caution and care, one of the men sutfered from a frozen toe, and was of little use during the remainder of the journey: he had concealed the injury so long that we could do little liood : the similar accident of another man was easily remedied, as he had given timely notice of the injury. The natives were here employed in making holes to deposit their heavy stores, of provisions and other matters; and by this we were nmch lightened. They also made some sledges of the fresh-wat\'e proceeded on the twenty-tirst, through a very desolate tract, guided by some stones which the natives had set up for that pur- pose, passing several small islands, and iinally reaching the end of this great lake at six o'clock, after a journey, on it, of three days. We encamped, and saw many reindeer, with two wolves ; but they were all too cautious to allow us to approach them. It blew hard from the north-eastward, with snow, an«l was very cold, though the thermometer was not below 2(K. This great lake was named after the justly celebrated Admiral Von Krusenstern. IMay ::. The gale did not allow us to move; nor would the Jtlsquimaux Ahiy 23. have consenteil. The thermometer sank to 3'. The next morning the wind abated, but still these jnople would not go till their com- panions liad joined them, which they could not have done during the bad weather of the preceding day. Nothing was to be seen but a vast expanse of snow, covering a tlat country, so low near the water, that we could not «liscover where the boundary was. We learned from one of the men, that there was a third chain of lakes to the westward, emptying themselves into the eastern sea by the great river. At four, the two men who had remained behind came up, and built a hut; informing us that there was aiu>ther lake to the east- ward, having the same name as the one which we were next to reach, viz. Tishagriahiu, which I named after my friend Captain Jekyll, II. N. While they were preparing to set out, we had time iiiS- transparent, it seemed indeed lo he a sledyv of eryshil, while it was stron3() SECOND VOYAGi: OK DISCOVERY Mw could lu' pcrsHiulcd to proocrti, wh'uh I liclitvo lie would not have done, liinl lie not fvurvil to lose the promised reward. We saw some wolves, togetlier with a raven and an owl : a wolt'had been fired at, lu;lon this, without success. The temperature at midnight was 14^ plus. W'c b'gan our journey at this time, with a cloudy sky and a tVeslj vvtsterly breeze. Crossing a small lake, we arrived at a ridge separating those which we had passed after leaving the grt at lake Krusenstern, entering first on a very narrow lake, and then into the channel of a river that led into a larger one two miles ofi'. Halting liere for an hour, we proceeded, at five, and crossing another ridge for foin- miles, arrived at the great lake just mentioned. This lay east and west, and seemed ten miles long; but the snow did not allow its breadth to be ascertained. The land was part of Boothia Felix, and there were several low islands at the east end. It was said to abound in fish ; the salmon entering it from the western sea, through a great river. I Fence, after walking twelve hours, and having travelled over a distance of eighteen miles, we pitched our tents at its northern side. Tt snowed heavily all this day, and the thermometer was at 30 at noon. May 2f3. \\\; started at one in the morning, and keeping a westerly direc- tion, reached the end of the lake in two hours; when, passing a ridge of land again, we came to a river called after the Crown Princess of Sweden, and having crossed it, arrived at the channel of the great river. After a needful halt, we came to its mouth, which was at the bottom of an inlet three miles long. It was that which had been formerly surveyed by Commander lloss. The land was here rugged and precipitous, and, as was here rare, it Man TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS, .537 was soinouliat romantic: the plar* \A\viv uc first stoppid was callrd Padliak; and the eutraiiee of t!ie iiiht had heeii ascertained to be thirty-five miles fnnii it, west by north. At this phice we saw a herd of twelve reindeer. Here we also found three famili, in two M Imts; but wen; vexed to learn that Kablala had deparled s<»me time ap), that Ikmallik's party was beyond Neitchille mitcrations of those and the other animals which instinct drives to these reijions, is the otdy siifii, since all else is deep winter. A\'hv they (^ome, is better known to themselves than to me, .since we could never at this early season discover where TO THi: ARCTIC lUX^IONS. rtivj tlif'y foniul tluir (o.kI ; hut it is |.,st kiint conhl ixti ii(» observation of the smi. I was more fortunate afterwards in shootin;;- tw») of the latter, and a grouse. I here repeate VOYAOn OP DISCOVKItY U'rt tlir lioat tor <'(>iiittiaii sea, aiioiit twenty-six miles tVom the ship, at se\en o'eloek. It soon eame to Mow hard, wiUi snow, and as w<> eonld not get onr bed skins dried, were not very comtoi table, though well sheltered tVoni the storm. 'i'liis was nearly the place where we had en<-ani[)ed last year; and weoould now traee the ditierenee betwitn the former and the pre- sent state ot' things; while what we saw was by no means tlattering to onr liitnre progress. .At that time, the land was nearly bare, and now it was deeply elotlied with snow, while the tliermom«'ter was also ten «legrees lower. It had then been eovered with pools, and there was now not a drop of water to be proeured ; while, eviii on the rocks, where it slioidd hav<' abounded, all was ice. The only hope which we had t(» balance against this sinister aspect, was, that the storms might break up the sea ice in the bay, and thus bring on our liberation soom-r than now seemed very lik«'ly. Atter noon it moderated, and the snow ceased, while it was suc- ceeded by frost. It was therefore resoIv((l to make an etfort to reach the ship, as the wind was behind us; tor wliiih end I pro- ceeded in a onl V ullr ot' til II JoiniH'v wliirli jiail Jastrd party \vIm» was ii(|n' severe in its t('ini)erature and its storms, nor in the duration of such low tempe- 18;5l. June I. Juiio 2. 044 si:coxi> voyag;^ of discovery ratuivs, and i\w i'u'i[\u'i\ry of siicli storms. Thus was it also our lot to pass, not one u inter or one year, tar less one or a iew months, as most of those who Ikuc experienced tlie eold ol' these climates have doiu', hut a long snecission of years, of which I may safely say, that nearly the whole is one; loni:; winter; while, with little exception, as the records of our loni^ (hb'ution in the ice shows, those ^ears were, even in this ever wintry climate, seasons of un- connnon severity. Nor w( re we spariui; of our toils out of doors, as my journal has eviiy where proved. Our men, like ourselves, travelled as much as was requisite, and laboured in the open air, without restriction or fear, on every object and for every purpose that our duties de- manded, even as if we lunl been in J^ngland. No service was ever shuniKd or countermand«'d, from fears of the we »iner, except under those very peculiar circumstances which I have always pointed out whenever they occurred. How truly this is the fact, may easily be gathered iVom the whole of this Jiarrative, sin(;e it is that simple slatunent from which all niay draw Ihe conclusions to which it is ne\crtheless incMUubent on me to point their attention, while it is not my desire to do more. Wind then w as the temijeratme, or rather what were the tempera- tures, during these ])rotracted seiLsons of almost one long ami nearly unpa.,dleled winter of four years ? The reader of this narrative has seen them recorded on abnost every day. He has seen that the freezing [mint was nearly a snunner heat to us, that a usy. jm,, i.v i. The Sun, t'ormerly jjotieed lor tlir liulls \vlii(;h frequented it, where we saw the first that had arriv* «l this season. A mile further we fouiul two native tents, and were invited in by some of our old acqnaintan(,'es ; tlio\ii:;li they were taken l)y surprise, and all in bed, with litth' discrimination of wives, husbands, and children. Two of the yonniif men informed us that they were on their way to the ship with fish; promisinij further that th:uiw. More fish were i)rose; since we were not far enough advanced in their lanyuaire for such an attempt as this. 4 a2 548 SECOND VOYAGK OF DISCOVKRY. This r liiui imu'li o<'(*asioii to regret. I neither speak as a fanatic, nor (lid I ever entertain roniantit; notions of the perfeetibility of savage nations; still less Ix-ing given t<» suppose that any human power can ingraft a reasonable and efficient religion on men who have never exerted their reason : who are deti<'ient in every thing on which a rational faith, as well as a sound practice, can be founded, and who, I may safely say it, have in them little of man but what is foiMid in those \\ ho approach nn»st nearly to the pure animal nature. Yet even there, (lod has not left himself without a witness, strange as the demonstrations of this may often be. More than this, however, is what I should have desired to see, l)ut that I ha'iictio sciciirc ill ixi-iici'ill, it'iiiiH't' piirliniliirly to tli«- iissi^niiiriit ot'tlic laws by wliicli tliatol'tlic i;I«»Im', as it nuanls tlie immmIU', is ic^iilatcd. Tlu' i;«oi;rapliierpendicular was assignable, anl tht> pliMc «>r tilis iinportiiiit spot li:i«l l>t»ii calniliitcd, iiiui with a «l«i'nt' of prrrisioii, lis it at'trrwanls provnl, far ^rraUr than roiild liavt* Im'hh exprcti'd. At tli«' tiiiir of our drparturr iVom Eiis^laiul, it was |>i't>suiut'(l to Ix* sitiialcd in 70 ot' north hititndr, ami ill J)H 'HV of west h>iiu;itiide. Tims it appeared, that in the course of my land journey to the westward in the preeediny year (IH^JO), 1 had heeii within ten miles of tjiis assii>ned plaee, when near Cape I'Vlix : init, as I was not then pi(»vided with the necessary instruments, [ could do iiothinu; towards verityint*' the fact, and had the mortiti<.'ation of heini; oldi,<;ed to return, when thus, as I lielieved, on the point of acconiplishiiii; this loiii; wished-for object. We had now, however, In'en compelh-d to pass another winter in our ship, not far from the place which we had occupied in the former year, and I thus hoped that I shouhl lu; able to investi<>'ate this spot more etfectnally in the comini; sprin«»;. >Vitli this a iew I carried on a series of magnetic observations duriiii? the winter, and thus at leiii^th succeeded in assigning a place for this niannetic pole >\ hicli 1 b»'li(!ved to be much more accurate than the one which had pre- viously been supposed, J'he dip of the needle at tlu' place of obser- vation exceeded SJ>^ ; and it was thus a miuh nearer approximation in distance than had yi;t been attained. These observations were continued till within a few hours of our U.\\ '27. dt;parture from the ship, on a journey which was undertaken for this sole purpose, and we set out on our expedition on the tJ7th of May, accompanied by Caf)tain Koss and a party under his direc- tion, as far as the sliores of the western oce in, when they separated from us for tlit; purpose of returning to the ship by the way of Neitchilloe, bTyZ 8KCONI) VOVACJK OK niW(()VEIlY M ■IS. Uiirordiiiiitcly, liowrvcr, the \vratlt<'i- iNratiicso very iinfuvoiirulilc tliiit I could no loii<;-(M' rontiiiiir tlirsc iiisi^netir oltsct'Viitioiis : siiul this vexiitioiis statr ot'tliiiii^s iittiiitlrd us dui'in;; marly llir whole of «Mii' journey across Jhe eoiuitry. We w« i«', neverlheless, oldipMl to persist, as it was impossible to wait lor Itetter weather when our time was always s<» nnieh contracted l»y the state of our supplies. At three in the al'ternoon of the same day, th( at tli< (il)s(r\ati(Mis ; wliilc \ty tliis I sliiMild also olftain lor inyscit' tlic greater assnraiicc that \\c Hire in till' right ((Mirsc, oiicciallv as I could not hciicctorward (XjM'ctany assistance tor this |Mii|»ose fntni the hori/onlal needle. It was not till th< evenini;- of this da} , th( ret'ore, that \\e n sinned (»iir jiMiiney. The (;oast iVoin this [thiee took a we.st(;rn direction, \ ot' the inh-t, uhieh was now covered, as far as the eye eonhl discern, \\ ith an nnhroki'n snrliU'e of level ice, re|dacinn- tlie huunnoeky and irreynlar masses that had been packed into it when I passed ah»n,i;:the opjxtsite sh«)re in tlie .Time of the prece(hnn- year. This \\as a proof tliat, in tl latter part, at least, of that snnnner, this iidet had been tree in i<'e, ant. I resolved, in conseqiiem-e, to leave behind the i^n'ater part of our baiiuauc and provisions, an tilt' lii*;!! uratificalion \vlii<;h I coiiUl luit hm look to in accouiplisli- mfj; this most return home and be happ} for the rest of our days. They were after-Miought.s which told us that we ha\'c conld have wished that a place so important had |)ossessed more of mark or note. It was scaici ly censurable to regret that there was not a mountain to indicate a spot to which so much of interest nmst ever be attached ; an expect that the magnetic pole was an object as conspicnons anoul half a mile to tin- westward of those abandoned snow houses. The necessary observations were immediately conunenced, and tiiey wen- continued lhrougli(mt this and the greater part ofthefol- |i»wing ject has now also been printetl in tlicir Transactions. I need not tln-refore repeat them here, even had it not been the plan of the whole of this vohnne to refer every .s<'ieniilic matter which had occurre7 pole, if not its aotiinl existeiwr wIhtc \\t; stood, was fiirtluT (•on- tinned by the action, or rather by the total inaction of the several horizontal needles then in my possession. I'luse were snspended in the most delicate niarnier possible, bnt there was not one which showed the slightest ettort to move from the position in which it was placej; on the spot, and took possession of the North JNIai;- netic Pole and its adjoininu" territory, in the name of (ireat Ihitain and Kinii- William the Fourth. We had abinidance of materials for bnildini,s in the fragments of linn-stone that cov< red the beach: and we therefore - a pyrami«l of mon; importance, and of strength sntli' ient to wi(hstan»l the assaults of tim<' and of the Ksquimaiix, 'lad it been a pyra- mid a- lar^e as that of Cluops. \ am not «piite sure that it would have done nion than satisfy our ambition, under the feelings of that exciting day. The latitude of this spot is 7(ri'>'l7", and its longitude <)(»' Ui' 'l-V wesf. This subject is nnich too interesting. < vwii iill the curves ^t( eijiial variation towitliiii u ttu deifiees of tlie point of their eone'nrren«'<' ; leaving that point, of conrse, to be ecause of the limits which 1 have drawn ft»r mysell", and because 1 can refer t«» his paper, which wa.s reatl to the Uoyal Society six months before our arrival in V^ngland. One further remark. 1 must yet be permitted to make: since in relating what has been done, it would leave an important (piestioii imperfect did 1 not also note what remains to be etiected. It has been seen, that as far as our instruments can be trusted, we had placed ourselves within one minute of the magnetic pole, but had not tixed on the precise spot; presuuiing that this precise point could be determined by such instruuiciits as it is now within the power of mechanics to constru<;t. Tiie s('ientifi»; reader has been long aware of this : it' popular conversation gives to this voyage the • redit of having placed its tlag on the very point, on the sunnnit of that mysterious pole whiiH)f (hrtlnnt obst-rvcrs, at ilifrtniit (lisfances, and ill (liHireiit ilin'ctioiis, iVoiii the cahiihitcd |)hi<'e; whih", to obtain all the interest in j; results n\ Inch these must he expected to fnrnish, sueh lahoiirs should alsit he r-arried on tor a considerable time. AVhat these several exi)ectalions are, J need not Iu'R- say, since the subject is, in this view, somewhat too abstruse lor |)opular readers; tliouu^h I may barely allude to the diurnal and amuial motions of the ne<^dle, and to the variations in the place of the pole itselt*, with the c<»nse(|uenf deductions that miylit be made as to the future in this respec : all of them beini^ of the hi,u,hest importance in the theory of mau:netism. Ilavinif thus therefore stat«ul(»|(' (Ik- CO! iiifiN ;(s iiiiK-li ruitlur to tlu' iu»r(li\\ai()I the soutliwiinl, Iniiiniii!;- on thick weather, uitli snow; on whieli thetliermometerro.se to the tVeeziiiu: point. T\u- roUl, theietore, no hinder iinnoyed us; but the e(Mise<|uenee was as vexatious, or even more tormenting, sinee the snow of our huts melted under this temperature and that ot' our Inxhes, so as t<» wrt us in a V( -ry disagreeable maimer. It soon also blew a hanl gale; but as that l»eeame more moderate about eleven o'elo«k, we eomineneed our return to the ship. For this haste in setting out, we had the best of reasons; being without any thing to eat, as we had departed supperless, until wf CDuld reach the place wln-re ^^e had left our baggage aiul pro- visions; hoping all the while, ami not withoi't ample <;ausc, that no bear, or no ecpially hungry and more gormandi/ing native, had discovered that store on \\hi(;li we ilepeiided tor many suppers and nil my breakfasts. We reached it, and toiuid all inta«t. on tlu th morning of the third, at sc\cn «»'clock. The gale hai'tst inyselC, its tlicy iiiusf oi'tcii liiivc appfart'il tiresome to the reu«lers, ef|iiiilly of my journal, ami of that ot' Captain Hoss, indispensahle as their relation has been. lint I nnist nevertheless note, that on the sixth, in the mornini;, we enttamped on the spot where we had formerly been detained by the blindness of some ot' our party, already noticed, and that 1 here repeated the mau;neti<' observations whieh I had made in the same place dnrinu om' prou;ress torward. (onlinnini; by them that ac- y of whieh it was so important to be assnn;d. Here also I eurai had ;in opportunity ol examnnnu my elnitnometer ; an the ship. Dnrini;' this route, and early on the tidlowiiiii' morninn-, \vv arri\e(l at a pla<'e w here wr llnnid a large party ol' tjie iiati\<'s assembled; the sittiation in Io<'hica, and Callarias. These they took through some holes which they hud made in the ice for that purpose ; and TO TIIK ARCriC UlUilONS. .'>();{ \V*' (lisrovt'i'cd iVoiii tliclii, tliiit this tlslicrv »iis a \t OI irnc Inc- tivf OIK'. Our ;i|i|»li('atioii lor a sii|i|(|y was readily uraiitcil, and it |>roM(l a v«r\ n«l<.'oiii«' one to all of iis. limittd, both in r|iiantity and iiiiality, as we had uon lucn for soint- diiys. Vroin tliis, attt'r nstinu ahont two hours, \\r |»ro('nHltd onwards to (\i|M- IsaJH-lla, and eni'ani|ird at ri<;lit in the morning. Hut a dense t'oi; now eaiiie on, w itji the etl'eet of rendering our route very nneertain, as it also made the travt^llini; diliieidt. This we endured as we <'ojdd, entertainiui; better hes lor the I'ollow- in<>^ niorninir: when, at six, we aijaiu set o\it, beinir as soon as was •'' |>raeti(;able, and eneani|H-d near PadliaU ; havini;- I'onnd it utterly iuipossibit! to travel any I'urther at this tinie, in <-onse<|uen<>e of the inereast'jl density of the log-. Hut towards noon it eleared away : and this horrible mist, bad enouii'li in ;i known eountry, but ineredibh' worse amid su(;h obstructions as the surra<;e here lor ever presents, and where there is no guide but a eompass, was su(.'eee(!ed by bright anply than it is easy I'it readers to roiic(i\e. as it niiiy , perha|is. surprise tlaiu to !)»• told llijit il wiis the lirst natiiral water that wc had obtained during this year, ihongli it new \\autcd but a lew daysorMidsuunner. Is there aught that (.'an convey a deeper' imj)ression olthe state and nature ortJiis most atrociou''i climate ^^ Il'ther ' be. I know not well w!iat il is. ir i here al.'»(> \lii

  • 'reat )niddle lake, so often rme iiaviciii: been a spot (»f rest dnrinn' more tiian one of our f< journeys; but it presentero\ isions whit.h had lieen deposited tor ns li\ Captain Itoss ; and, taUini; possession of them, ue crossed the two next lakes and eneampele. Thebaic at length moderatid sot'ar, that we could ^;. ^^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 !'-; ii .jG() SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY selves in proportion, even till niidniglit: when, after as imioh liard labour as we could well manage, and niiultt not have endured if not under such a stimulus, we neared our home ; still labouring with all our power till we found ourselves at length, and once more, June 13. on board the Victory, at five in the morning of the thirteenth of June. We had been absent twentj'-eight days. If we were fatigued and extenuated, who (.ould be surprised ? but excepting petty grievances, we were all in good health. ObscrvationH on the Dip of the Miigiietic JVced/e. Date. Time of Poles (tf the .Jcodle Poles of the Needle Observed RemarkB. the Day. ili rect. reversed. "I-. 1831. o ^ ' Feb. Ij. Noon. 88 49'.->3 89 3-42 88 .5(1-17 ■ 20. 1 I'.M. 8i) 29-72 88 3.5-. 51 89 2(il March 1 . 2 I'.M. 89 22-80 88 33-0 88 ,58-90 4. Noon. 89 13-8 88 ,51 '25 89 2-52 I.'). 21. 1 P..M. 1 ]'.M. 89 88 P.M. 88 .i;!-36 89 12-0 88 ,57.(18 1 April 1 . 2 I'.M. 88 .53-27 89 5-27 88 59-27 4 P.M. 88 48-04 89 2-04 88 55-01 .May 2il. 8 .V.M. 89 48-87 89 .11-2 89 41 -,53,' 89^ir'-9N. \iiriation.57^15'\V ; lat. (.9° ,34' 4.5" N ; i P.M. 89 ,5.=)-7 1 89 28-8.) 89 42-27 ! ' Ions. 9l'-''5,i' \V. Juiiu 1 . Noon. 90 2-7.) 89 51-29 , 89 50-52 89 5ii'-ll \, .Vs.'iliiiied ilircctionof meridian S.7j°\V. 3 P.M. 90 0-71 89 51 71 89 57-71 ■ ' (True.) .5 P.M. 90 1-79 89 50-15 ■ 89 ,55-97 89" 59'-4il5 N. -A.ssunied direction of meridian 7 P.M. 90 12 2.) 89 :y.',-ti7 ' 90 2-9(1 N. (10 W ; lat. 70 5 17'>:; Idnj,'. 96-'i5'-m" \V. 2, 9 A.M. 90 4-(j2 89 .59'14! 90 1-88 1 ' 11 A.M. 89 .54-08 89 58-17 89 58-12 '89' 59' \. Assumed direction ufineridian N. 15° \V. (i. 8 (.M. 89 ■12 38 89 37-54 : 89 I0'19 Same jiosition as on tlio 28tli of .Mav. 11. y .A.M. 89 .■io-.'>a 89 1 1-01 89 22-33 ; At (.'iipe Isaln'll.i. I.at.(i9 2(i' 20" i Ions. 93'^ 31' \V. "1. H A.M. 89 '.1-0.1 89 i,)-,;.i 119 17-18 .\t I'luUca!;. I.al. (19 30 1"; lon-^, 9,!' 27 ,52' W. 17. 2 P.M. 89 34-8 88 33-115 89 4-22 .r-.iiv i.i. ') P.M. 2 P.M. 89 89 1 t-.)7 20-40 88 88 19-04 89 89 ,1-79 4-74 Oliserveil di|) at Slierirt' Hay on my return from llio Aui. 12. 1 P.M. 89 20-3.'i 88 14-;i7 89 2-3(1 ' magnetic pole 89- 3-32 N. (1831.) 20. iN'noii. 89 4-;)j 88 5l)-47 89 1-50 • Oct. 21. 10 A.M. 89 7-40 88 42-31 88 54 8(i 22. ;' .i.M. 89 21-12 1 8!) .i5-(i;! 88 59-57 : 23. Nooii. 88 .■)lit)7 1 88 5.3-93 88 55-30 Nov. 21. Noon. 89 17 98 j 1!;! 22-17 8i! 50-22 ! 22, 1 P.M. 89 21-.') 88 24-(i5 88 ,53 07 , -.'J. 1 P.M. 89 1 1 I 88 .11-80 88 ;52 92 ' Dec. 2)-. 1833. Jan. 21. 10 A.M. 1 P..M. 89 89 1(1.97 10-07 88 88 1 1 38-18 89 88 0-19 , 51-27 1 Observed diji at \'ictorv Harbour 88° ,54'- 88 N. ■ \ariatinn 101^ .'W-O.j W; lat. 70° 9' 18" N: Ncion. 89 29-;'2 88 33-9 ,89 1-(11 , long. 'Jl - :ii) 33' W . Kcb. 1(i. 1 P.M. 89 40-04 88 3(i'22 ' 89 ,5;!i • 1". 1 P.M. 119 (i 2 88 4')'.15 88 57-82 , Miircli 17. 3 P.M. 89 2-98 88 9-3 [88 3(1-14 27. 2 P.M. 89 l.Vl 88 .33-2 '88 51-1.5 ,\|.ni ),!. l!9 7 88 31-i;2 '8i 49,il 1.). 89 21-:.2|8U ,11-12 j8!) 57-82 --^e?*n-^Wfr:rr~T.' : TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 5G7 CHAPTER XLIII. REMARKS ON THE ASSIGNMENT OF THE MAGNETIC POLE. J. HAVE not hitlit^rto tliouiflit it necessary to udd any of my own remarks to tlie several journals of (Jonnnander Ross : if I do that on tlie present occasion, it is because I have reserved all my own magnetic observations for the Appendix, s<» that no opportunity of noticini^ the important question of the Magnetic Pole has occurred in my own journal. It might thus have even appeared to the readers of our joint narratives, as if I had taken no personal interest in this investiga- tion : it might j)Ossibly be supposed, that in deputing to my active and intelligent nephew, tht; entire charge of the zoology and botany of this region, 1 had ecjually referred to his guidance and labours, every matter of science, and contented myself with the management alone of the ship and its crew. A popular feeling, alluded to in his journal, which supposes some profound mysteries to belong to the magnetic pole, and some singular miracle, or peculiar good fortune, or marvellous depth of science concerned in its discovery, as if we had unexj)ectedly found a mountain of adamant or some other wonder never witnessed, has thus also tended to make this product of our voyage a subject of 1831. 568 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY discussions which are entirely uiisphiced, and can only be corrected by a clearer and simpler view of the subject. That the voyage of the Victory has assigned the jdace of this l)articular magnetic pole within at least a very small distance, has been seen ; or should I be surprised if it shall hereafter prove, that my energetic and philosophical officer had placed his foot on the very spot, notwithstanding his own doubts; since every man of science, acquainted with the practical difficulties of this subject, whether arising from the imperfection of instruments, or aught else, must know how doubtful or uncertain a truly exact deter- mination of this nature nuist be, and how easily he may have been right, even when doubting of this himself As his narrative has already observed, the supposed place had been long since indicated by many experiments on the dip and the variation of the needle, and, most of all, through those performed by the [)ersonal attention or under the direction of Sir Edward Parry. Thus was it known tons, that while we had advanced fur- ther into this country than the ill fortune of this officer had permitted him to do, so were we nearer to this presumed point, indicated as it had been by these observations, and others, and by the calculations founded on them. I know not that we should even have felt greater confidence on this svdjject had we left England with the knowledge of Professor Barlow's calculations, gratifying as it was, after our return, to find how exactly his determination from a sound theory had coincided with our own observations near to and at the very place itself While, therefore, this object was among those which we had pro- posed to ourselves in leaving England, and was but second in our MM TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 5()9 iro- our affections to the discovery of a ])assage which sliouhl enable us to trace the course of the northern sliores of America, even to Behring's strait, hoping too tliat we sliouhl effect this object and return home by Cai)e Horn, so was it ever kept in view from the first moment of our making the shores of this region, and during the whole of our detention. For this purpose it was, that we, at different times, and in different places, erected those magnetic observatories which I have occasionally noticed in my own journal ; though conformably to its plan, I have nowhere given those observations, nor even alluded to their purpose; as judging them fitter for an Appendix, while reserving any other and general remarks which I might have to make, to the present place. On the several occasions also of our excursions inland, this was an object ever in view, for whatever other and additional purposes these journeys might have been undertaken ; and if in the narra- tives of those expeditions no notice of this subject has been observed in reading my journal, it is because of the same systematic exclusion of scientific observations, and because no result admitting or re- quiring a popular record had been obtained, until this last journey by Commander Ross, just narrated, when the successful event which has been seen, had at length furnished the means of such an account of this termination of our labours as has just been given. It would not now be here worth my while to detail this our progress in the approximation to the magnetic pole, even could it be made intelligible or amusing to popular readers, which is impos- sible: but scientific men will find them in my Appendix, and can thus trace the last steps to that discovery, or rather determination, which was at length crowned with success. 4d I' I I ■' 570 SECOND VOYAGR OF DISCOVERY Tf this last journey of thirty miles, as it appears by the narrative, was performed withont my presence, which was reqnired in another direction and for other purposes, and this keystone of all our pre- vious labours laid by the party, consisting chiefly of the mates Blanky and Abernethy, under the immediate orders of my suc- cessful nephew, heaven forbid that I should attempt to rob them of such honours as they are entitled to on this ground, or to claim the credit of having planted the British flag on this long desired spot with my own hand. Let this last closing act of my labours on this subject, as of theirs, confer such honour on this party as they may claim or deserve : I can say, like others, though in a quotation rather hackneyed, " Palmam qui meruit ferat," and if I myself consent to award that palm to him who commanded this success- ful party, as is the usage, it must not be forgotten that in this I surrender those personal claims which are never abandoned by the commander of that flag-ship which so often gains the victory through the energy, intelligence, and braveiy of the men and officers whom he directs and orders, or by the captain-general who carries a town through the courage and activity of the sergeant who leads the " forlorn hope." But if I have done this, I should not be justified in thus surren- dering the rights of the brave, and patient, and enduring crew of the Victory, nor perhaps those of him, the noble-minded and generous, wlio sent the Victory and her crew to the Polar regions. It must be hereafter remembered in history, and will be so recorded, that it was the ship Victory, vmder the command of Captain John Ross, which assigned the north-west Magnetic Pole, in the year 1831, and that this vessel was fitted out by him whom il MMWItSKsat MM MM! TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 571 I ran now call Sir IVlix IJootli ; a name to be lionoured, Iiad it even remained witliont sneh a distinction, as loni^ as IJritisli gene- rosity and spirit sliall ))e recorded as a characteristic of tlie mer- chants of Britain. In this way and no other, let the discovery of the Magnetic Pole be now viewed; that in doing jnstice to any, it may be withheld from none. Surely every man of this hard-used ship, from the highest to the lowest, deserves to share in the praise which the public may award for whatever it was our good fortune to etiect. It is but a small reward, after all, for what every one endnred ; and sweet as it may be, it requires much forgetfulness of our past sutJerings not to feel that it was dearly purchased, while it woulil be hard indeed were this tribute withheld from such enterprise, such patient endurance, such toils and sufi'erings so long continued, and such a spirit of hope and energy, amid circumstances capable of sinking almost any heart into the depths of despair. 4d2 572 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY CHAPTER XLIV. TRANSACTIONS DURING THE REMAINDER OF JUNE — THE JOURNAL AND THE SUMMARY OF JULY, June 14. Juno I.O & l(i. June 17. June \H. June 19 & '20. June 21. ONOW fell to-day, and the ground was so covered, that no land could be seen, nor was there an atom of running water or a single pool visible. The temperature, however, rose to 40° for the first time. Some grouse were killed yesterday and this day, and also on the following one. On the sixteenth it snowed ; yet the sun shone afterwards, and there was at length a pool of water near the ship. That water froze again an inch thick, and did not open till noon, when some impression was made in the snow, increasing on the following day, and thus terminating our week. Simday saw the usual duties performed. On Monday the day was warm, and the night temperature was freezing. Flocks of ducks and geese were seen flying to the north ; and some grouse were killed. The sun had now very nearly reached its greatest elongation. It was the summer solstice, and not a drop of rain had yet fallen, nor had the thermometer once made its round of twenty-four hours without reaching the freezing point. But in the course of this day, the first rain fell, lasting two hours : though the ice formed in the night had been an inch thick. m a ti i i iiimmiimuiLi^ smiis&r:!<.L TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. o73 There was a fresh gale from the northwanl in the inoriiing ; hut on tliis and the following «lay, it fn»ze eqnally hanl at night along- side of the shij). On tlic twenty-fonrth it was still colder; since the thermometer was at iHV in the morning, and did not reach the freezing point till nine. On the following it was at the freezing point all the twenty-four hours, thus bringing round Saturday again. A good many birds, consisting of geese, ducks, grouse, and plovers, had been killed within these past days. Sunday oifered no change ; on Monday there was rain in the evening, and we could now at last supply ourselves with water from the shore. Yet the pools froze again on the twenty-ninth, the thermometer falling to 31°; and, on the thirtieth, the mean of the twenty-four hours was but 35°. In the uiean time, the rigging of the ship had been going on, and was now nearly completed. It was somewhat dispiriting to find that we should be ready so long before the weather, and that we liad arrived at the end of June, had passed the solstice, and were still to see nightly frosts, with little compensation in the day. A winter solstice in England is very rarely indeed what the sunnner one was in this most miserable region and most abominable climate. Such, nevertheless, *he climate in which man contrives to live and, as we had no right U dispute, happily. He cannot drink water at Midsummer, it is true, till he has boiled his snow ; and had he not wit enough to produce fire, he would have nothing to drink for nine months of the year. He smells at no flowers, for there are none to smell at; but he prefers the odour of train oil. He has no carrots or " small herbs," for his soup or his seasoning ; but his soup and his seasoning are, alike, oil, and he can find a sallad, when his luck .Iiiiic 2-2. .Inn,' J;). June •.'!. June -20. .Iiine '2i>. 27, & 28. .June 29. June 'JO. ':;:;: 574 SRCOND VOYAfiR Or DIH( OVKHY is partioiiliirly ijreiit, in tlif sfomadi of a reimlcLr; and that salhul too, ('ooked in a heat of wliidi tin- ailvantaucs liavc n<'ver hctn dis- j»nt«'d. If he never saw that utterly inconceivable tiling <'alled a tiee, what matters it, when he can <;onstruet coaches of fisli, and splinter bars of bones? and if he «.an inak<- his h»duin,u', not merely " on the cohl ground," but t)n the cold snow, his fare at l<;ast is not " hard," and why, if he thinks so, is he not as well lodp,ed as the princes of the earth, the marble of whose palaces does not approach in purity to the materials of his architecture, while his own marble house is erected in an hour, and can be renewed, like that of Aladdin, at every hour of the day, in any place that he wills ? Man must be a noble animal, that is certain, be he even under the figure and bearing of a Boothian Esquimaux : is there another beast on earth that could do all this, endure all this, contrive all this, conform to all this, to all this and mon , and still be happy: happy if he is in Naples, happy too in Boothia Felix ? But tliat climate which suited those who know not anotlier or a better, had a very different etfect on our feelings, independently of the actual sulierings and privations of which it was the cause. AV here all the happiness was based upon the a])undance of eating, and where there was nothing to prevent that steady supply of the materials of this happiness, which these specimens of man partook with the animal tribes to whom it constitutes the almost sole enjoyment and purpose of life, all that the severity or badness of the climate could etl'ect was nothing; nor, caring little for a hard winter or a long one, had they any reasons to anticipate a season, bad or good, to hope or to fear. The jiresent state of tilings was very different to us ; whose misery it was to fear, or to hope, (equal w\i\ TO TIIK AUCTIC REGIONS. .j75 inist'ri«!s in llic rtsulf I imiijuiiie) rcsjXMliii^ a suiniiur tluit might not arrive till wiiiltr was oii(<' more at its heels, and once more about to resume a eommand that was likely lo endure for the better part of anotlier year. The summary of the month is not eonsolatory. U we had con- sidered the last June as colder than any which had been reconled in former voyages, the jireseut had tinned out nnich worse, having l)een both more (!old and more stormy. For the first two weeks, the mean temperature was 7'; and durhig the last, between 2° and 3°: giving a mean, for tin; whole month, less by '> thau that of the preceding June. Moreover, the first rain fell on the twenty-first, aiul was little more than !i shower; whereas, in the former year, that had o<'curred on the tenth. I have already noticed that the summer solstice had passed without our having had one whole day above the freezing j)oint. There was much stormy weather; but it is also a remarkal)le fact, that while, in the former year, the temj)erature always rose on those occasions, it never altered in the present one; making an essential diti'ereuce between the two seasons, the cause of which was not ap})arent. The general result, in the state of the snow and the ice, has already been seen; and the prospect was therefoie sufii- ciently discovuaging. At the best, and should no worse come, this season was three weeks later than any former one on record in this <'limate. The possible future was still before us : it might prove better than was expected ; but I am not (piite sure that many of us lioped nmch. Except the mate Taylor, all the men were now well, and his wound was healing. The supply of fish by the natives had been 670 SKCONII VOYACJK OF DIHCOVIillY al)im«liiiit and iMiufuial. Tln' lah- jMiiod at uliicli tlic ualrrfowl arrivrd was rcinaiUahlc; Imt cmr sport in neutral had been more succmssImI than t'orinrrly. Coninianihr Iloss had txplored nineh more of the coast; and it was remarked ]ty both <»f ns, that the temperature on the western si(U' of the peninsnhi and on tlie western hikes, was from 10° to l-V lower than that at the ship, which was on the east side ; while the comparisons were made with such care that we could not have been deceived. iW^y i i Mi TO THE ARCTIC ilKGIONS. 577 CHAPTER XLIV. PROCEEDINGS IN JULY, AUGUST, AND SEPTEMHER, WITH THE SUM- MARIES OF THOSE RESPECTIVE MONTHS. HE morning wiis roUl and stormy, and it continued to bloiv ,iuiyi&-- hard in squalls durin"^ tlie following day, the temperature falling to 31° and the air feeling extremely cold. There was snow at nine, and it moderated. Commander Ross went out shooting with a party, and met a collection of five native families, all Strang* rs to us except one, wlio had been once on board during the former summer. They pitched their tents for the night, and five of the men came to the ship with our officers, making as much clamour on their arrival as our original friends had done. They had heard of us at Neitchillee, and came for the purpose of bartering some clothing for our valuable articles. It was proper, of course, to go through all the usual exhibitions of wonders, and the effects were .such as might have been expectetl. They had heard of the more northern men, whose portraits we possessed, but had never seen a ship, as their .stations were further west than Akullee. Each received a piece of iron hoop as a pre- sent, and they engaged to bring their articles of barter the next day, together with their wives and families. The frost was so severe in the night, that it froze an inch and a ''"'y •^• 4e «578 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY half thick near the sliip. There were several showers of snow in the forenoon, and in tlie evening it blew a fresh gale. Soon after chnrch the natives arrived, forming- a large collection of nun, wives, and children. They were good looking, as Esqninianx, and their behavionr was orderly ; but they had brought only a pair of seal- skin trousers for sale. All were entertained in some jjart of the ship or other, and none of the women were dismissed without some present, including among these, the valuable tin canisters. The hus- bands seemed particularly pleased by this attention to their wives. It really seems as if these people possessed some of those feel- ings of gallantry, or chivalry as it has been termed, which have been supposed pecvdiar to the refined among men and nations. How rare this is among the " savages" of the world, every one knows; how directly the reverse the feelings and the conduct are, in most of the islands of the southern ocean, and above all, in Australia, has been long familiar. If we are correctly informed, many others of the Esquimaux tribes in Northern America conduct themselves towards their females in no better manner than the Australians ; while among the red Indians of the same portions of this continent, if the treatment of wives varies among ditierent tribes, the balance far inclines to that mixture of severity and neglect which is assuredly the general rule for man in his un- cultivated stare. Whence is this ditierence, equally characteristic of the present tribes and of the Greenlanders? We could not be mistaken as to the facts, if sometimes conscious t1:at our temper was to look at every thing in the most favourable light; and if, to European eyes, what we heiir occasionally related of the occupations and duties of TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 579 the women seems to point to a s en- ^ed at y was count y one ut on s. In foxes some thing night very mum IS the tlian Our ;, the )40', t and TO THE ARCTIC REGION'S. 581 contrived to take several fisli, on these days, by means of the spear wlii^h the natives use for this pur[)ose. This morning dispUiyed a mixture and succession of rain, snow, inly 13. mist, and clouds ; any where else, it would have been a bad fifteenth of November instead of a fifteenth of July, and it nearly froze at niglit. Two of the natives came >vitli thirty pounds of salmon, in- forming us that they had many more ; on which it was settled that Commander Ross should go with a party to fetch them ; a journey that would occupy four days. On the sixteenth, the thermometer July ir.. reached 44\ being the finest day we had yet seen during this year; and Commander Ross, with the surgeon and eight men, accom- panied by the natives, departed. Why did we n(tt believe it a fine and warm July day ? It could have been but 84° in England, and when our Christmas heat was but eighty degrees under that of our own country, why should we not have thought a difference of no more than forty a precious boon ? It continued still fine in the day-time, but the thermometer sank July n. to 34° at night, and it froze on Monday morning, though the heat luly is. of the day was again 44°. It could scarcely indeed be otherwise, surrounded as we were by snow and ice, on which all that a nocturnal sun could do was without effect. It did not materially change on July 19. the nineteenth ; and, in the absence of the rest of my companions, my time was passed in taking angles and oljservations, and in shooting, while the men on board were busy in caulking. Our boats were sunk in the water, to prevent them from splitting. The mate and five of tlie men arrived with a sledge load of fish, July :o. and we found abundant employment in sorting and disposing of them. A large proportion belonged to a store of the former year, 582 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY and was not, tlierefore, in very good condition; thirty-seven, taken in the present one, weighed 120 ponnds. xifter rest and refreslnnent, the men set ont again at nine in the evening, with three days' more provisions, the pontoon, a net, and three dogs, to join Commander Ross, who remained tishing, witli tlie natives, at the place where he had appointed them. July '21. The weather was the same; tliere was a warm day with a cold night. I shot a hare in its summer coat; and the ptarmigans had been observed changing their plumage some time before. I now found that there was a much greater variety of small birds here than we had supposed last year : many that I saw this day were unknown to me : but T met with the nest of a sandpiper, with the July 22. young, as I did again on the following day. On that one there was some rain : a rare event as yet, in this extremely backward season. The surgeon arrived before the evening, to report that sixteen hunched fish were taken, and to demand assistance for the purpose of bringing home four hundred vvliich were on the road. These arrived consequently, at midnight ; and the whole of tlie July 23. next day was fully occupied in cleaning antl packing them in several ways; among which, some were preserved in vinegar. The weight of those four hundred, after all these operations, exceeded a thou- sand pounds : it was a great addition to our stock. July 24. Having no Sunday congregation to-day, from the absence of nearly all the people, there was no service. I found a nest of snow buntings ready to fly, which I brought on board, hoping to rear them up July 25. tame. Five of the men from the second party arrived on Monday, much exhausted. They had lost their way, and had left the sledge five mUes oft", having, very improperly, no officer with them. Mr. TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 583 Thorn and tlie remaining men returned with them after tliey had rested, and at six, they brougl.t back five hundred fish, cleaned, and weighing 15()0 pounds. The curing and i)acking of these found emph^yment for every one. The party again set off'for more fisli, after the sledge had been July 26. repaired; and on the next day, they returned with two hundred, luiyS?. which was all they could carry; bringing also a note from Com- mander Ross, by whicJi I h arned that they had taken 3378 fish at one haul. The ice was, however, decaying so rapidly, that he found they could not all be conveyed to the Nhij) in a sound state, even had the roads permitted. There was abundant work for us now, and no prospect of want ; those that could be spared were .sent back on the same errand, to the halfway island where these fish were deposited. Commander Hoss arrived, i-eporting that both his parties were J"iy 28, on their way, vvitli five hun(h-ed fish: and that there were as many more to bring from the island. They had taken, in all, five thou- sand and sixty-seven, but were obliged to leave three thou.sand of them to the natives ; the breaking up of the ice compelling them to quit their position. At five, the first party returned, having left the sledge two miles ofi: One of them was ill, and the rest could bring it no further. The second party came in at eight, with three Imndred fish, and with the man. Buck, who had been seized with epilepsy, on the sledge. In the evening, both sledges returned to the island to bring back the tent, the net, and the remainder of the fish. The thermometer at night was but 30° ; but the following day July 29. was the warmest we had seen, as the mid-day heat was 50^ and July 'M. 584 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. the mean 41'. At eight in the morning, one of the sledges came back with the nets and tents, and three hundred and fifty fish. Finding that two of the men belonging to the other sledge were exhausted, two others were sent to replace them, and all returned at ten. The thermometer on Saturday night was 41° : it had never yet been so high at that hour, .)iii> 31. The day of rest was especially acceptable. The ice at length dissolved so much, that we could not get on shore from the ship without the aid of a boat ; though this bay was far from being so clear as it was at the same date in the last year, while the ice in the ofling was not nearly so advanced in decay. The month ended at last, with fine weather : there was not a cloud to be seen when the sun set at midnight. A comparison of the mean temperature of this July with the preceding one, shows that it had been nearly 70° colder : that hav- ing been 37° insteatl of 44'. The highest heat had been 70° in the last : in the present, it was but 50° : but the lowest only differed by one degree ; being 32° in the former, and 31° in tliis period. There had been much work for the men, in fitting the ship for sea; .ind a good deal of extra labour in travelling and in the curing offish. Many had, in consequence, been ailing as well as fatigued, but were recovering ; as was the man whose foot had been am- putated. He with the epilepsy was the chief patient; but as he had not experienced a fit ever since we had taken him on board, we hoped that it might not soon return. The men having become more practised sportsmen, our success in this way had gone on increasing ; and as every thing was thrown into the public stock and divided among the messes, the game thus obtained a useful variety in their diet. fi^! ki TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 585 If our success in fisliiui; made up for thv 4lisa|)i)oiii{nieiit wliich we experienced from the natives, so was it tish and returned to dinner. The shijj iiad long been heeling- to star- board very ineonveniently ; but she was now out round, and came npriglit. The refraction was very extraordinary on the following- day ; and the third was true suininer weather. On this day the ice gave way near the ship, so that she advanced half her length. It rained heavily on the next, and she was moored by a hawser to a large iceber<'- outside of us. It was cold again. The gunpowder was brought on board, and. the whale boat repaired. On the sixth, a party on shore observed the ice in motion to the north-ea.stw{U'd, for the first time. There was one large [)ool ; and the separation appeared to extend from the islamls to the back of the southern hill, (hi Sundav, it had enlarged considerably, and was still increasing- on Monday, when the ice was also visibly in motion, though it did not open mnch. On the next day, the large iceberg ahead of us .split and upset; obliging us to lay out a hawser in another place. ■'i; TO TIIR AFtCTIC REOIOX.S, m) Tlie wind was still tVoiii (he noitli, hut tlure was no furllirr clian^^e in thr icv.: tin- w«'atli«r provid foirsry jintl rainy. Tin: fol- lowing day was little ditlmMit; JMit wr liovf unt a little fnrtlier, and got the Kiiisenst* in alon;;si(le. On the twelfth there was no ehange ; hot a party of the natives arrive«l, ineludini;- fonr of onr original friends aiid six strangers. They were at a fishing station two- masses ceased once more ; notwithstanding which, a considerable pool appeared on eacli side of the point. There was some shifting of the ice on Sunday, so that it was August 21. loose about the ship ; but it came in at last and filled up the bay as before. The next day there was rain which ended in sleet, as the August 22. thermometer was never above 33°. It seemed as if the new winter was already connnencing. It was cohl and fi)ggy on Tuesday, but August 23. mild on the following day, and every thing remained as it had August 24. been. The shooting of another seal was the only variety. The weather was nuich the same, but the ice near us was in August 25. motion. The whale boat was thus jammed between the ship's side and a large piece of these ne\er-ending rocks, which, float away as they might, only de[)arted to be succeeded by as bad, or worse, since the storehouse which supplied them was inexhaustible, " Till the rocks melt ^\ith the sun" is held that impossible event, in one of the songs of my native land, to which some swain com- 4g If! 1. 694 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY pares tlie durability of his aflection for his beloved ; and I believe we began at last to think that it would never melt those rocks, which, even at this late period of the year, continued to beset us in every shape which their beautiful, yet hateful crystal could assume. Oh ! for a fire to melt these refractory masses, was our hourly wish, even though it had burnt up all the surrounding region. The injury which hadt hus been sustained by the boat was such that she could no longer be repaired so as to carry six oars. We therefore determined to construct a smaller one out of her, and slie was accordingly taken on board. Another seal was shot. The thermometer was 38° at midnight. August 26. It fell to 34° the next night ; and the wind being from the south in the evening, the ice began to move, so as to show some clear August 27. water. The tide was high on the next day, and floated off so much of it as to open a line of water, a mile in length, to the northward. Ducks of different kinds, with other birds, were shot within these past days; and we had now a living menagerie ^n board, consisting of four foxes, three hares, and twelve northern mice. August 28. The wind blew strong from the westward on the twenty-seventh, and the ice began to drift out of the bay, to the eastward. But it was evening before a passage was practicable. The ship was then warped a quarter of a mile to the south-west, into a convenient place for taking advantage of the first opening. As soon as this was done, we got under sail, but, unfortunately carrying away the .mizen boom, could not weather a piece of ice. She was thus brought about by it, and equally failed in weatliering a large iceberg on the other tack, which was grounded ; by which means she took the jelieve rocks, eset us could as our region. IS such . We nd she . The i south le clear off so to the re shot rie ^n )rthern jventh, But it IS then I'enient as this /ay the ought erg on lok the mmmmmmm rrsM''''^ TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 595 ground herself. We soon, however, hove lier off by liawsers to the shore ; inid though her bottom did not prove to be damaged, the lower rudder iron was broken^ so that there was an end to our progress for this day. Early in the morning the rudder was repaired, and the wind August 29. remained steady and strong at west, with occasional snow. It was the very wind that we wanted ; and, after much doubt and anxiety, we felt that we were at last liberated: lilierated, however, not yet free. We cast off, therefore, soon after four, and, witli a reefed topsail, stood for the islands through what appeared to be loose ice. Unluckily, when about two-thirds over, the wind came to the north-west, and we were unable to fetch within a mile to the eastward of them; after which, shifting to the north, with a snow squall, it brought the ice down along the north shore. We were therefore obliged to ply to windward, in which we derived much assistance from our new leeboards. At nine it backed again to the north-west, and we were soon close in shore, after having run four miles. We had passed two bays, and two remarkable rocks, when, at one, a heavy shower of snow coming on, we were obliged to haul our wind, and stand in for a little bay ; where a baffling breeze nearly laid us on the rocks, and the weather shortly began to threaten for a storm. A boat was therefore sent out with warps, to a rock on shore; but slipping off while we were hauling on them, we were obliged to let go the anchor in twenty-three fathoms. yVfter this, however, we weighed and warped to the weather shore, during which we were able to examine the bay, whioh we found to be secme from all points of the compass except 4g2 o9G SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY AdiHist 30. August 31. four, and completely out of the stream of ire when that was moving inider the tides and «nirrents. We therefore warped to the head of this new harbour, where a small river entered, and immediately made fast to the shore with two hawsers. ISo sooner, however, had we done thi.s, than a violent gale came on from the north, with a heavy fall of snow, which compelled us to carry out more hawsers. We here saw the ice passing to the .south-west with considerable rapidity, and had occasion to be very thankful that we were so .secure. Under this feeling, the hard labour which every one had undergone was .soon forgotten. It was very cold in the morning, and the thermometer was but 24*. The wind shifted from north to south, and back again, carrying out some new ice which had formed. From the shore, the passage was .seen to be clear, at eleven, as far as Andrew Ross island, but the wind w as right against us. AFe found the latitude of this harbour to be 70' 18' 11'; and, on examining the land further, I found that the inlet to the north of the passage approached within a mile of us, while the intermediate space was occupied by a chain of three lakes nearly filling a sort of valley in it. This cape was therefore a kind of peninsula. From one of the hills, nothing was visible to the northward but one vast sheet of ice, pressed up into hummocks, extending round to the western bay, and completely blocking up our late harbour. It seemed therefore as if we had just got out of it in time, whether it should be our fate to get any further or not. The wind fell, and we went on shore to examine the state of things in the strait ; when we found every thing blocked up with TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. rm ice : it was impassable. 'We shot two liures, and IbmHl (liem already ill their winter dress. I? 'Mid the ship, t]ie liay ice was tronblesome. but no heavy pieces came in. TIk' wind Ihen came to the south- west, and we hauled further out, in case of a favourable change. The month of August was ended, and we had sailed four miles. It had been as un|)roiiiising a month as it had been an anxious one. The mean temperature was lower than in the preceding August; the snow remained longer on the ground, and fewer of the animals \\ liich, in these countries, migrate to the north had appeared. The ice was not so much decayed as it hail been last year at the same period, and there had been much less motion among it. If the last days were the only good ones for our purpose, they had brought us four miles, to the place I had named 3Iundy har- bour, in 1829. And here we were prisoners : yet the prospect was not absolutely bad, since we could have got out of it last year, as late as the fourth of October, and such might be the case again at an earlier period. It was an iinpleasiiig circumstance to know, that although we had no men absolutely sick, and there had been no scurvy, the health of our crew in general was not what it had been ; as they liad also proved that they were incapable of bearing fatigue, and especially the travelling among ice. That it had been a dull month, on the whole, to us, I need scarcely say. I fear that this meagre journal bears but too evident marks of it, and on more occasions than the present. But what can the journalist do, more than the navigator ? If this >\as a durance of few events, and those of little variety, even these had no longer aught to mark a difference among them, nothing to attract attention or excite thought. The sameness of esery thing 508 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY Sept. 1. weighed on the spirits, and the niiiul itself dunged under the want of excitement ; whih' even snoh as there was, proved but a weari- some iteration of what liad often occurred before. On no occasion, even when all was new, had there been mucli to interest; far less was there, now that we had so long been iinprisone«l to almost one spot : and, with as little to see as to reflect on, there were not materials from which any thought, keeping clear of the equal hazards of falsity or romance, could have constructed an interesting narrative. On the land there was nothing of picturesque to admit of description : the hills displayed no character, the rocks were rarely possessed of any, and the lakes and rivers were without beauty. Vegetation there was hardly any, and trees there were none; while, Imd there even existetl i beauty of scenery, every thing was sufl^bcatcd and deformed by the endless, wearisome, heart-sinking, uniform, cold load of ice and snow. On the sea, there was no variety ; for here, equally, all was ice during the far greater part of the yeiir, and it was thus indifferent what was water and what land. Rarely «":d the sky show aught to replace this dearth of beauty and variety below; all the means of picturesque display were wintry, and when we turned to the moral picture, what was it but the rare sight of men whose miserable peculiarities were too limited to interest us long, and whose ideas were exhausted at almost the first meeting. Who, confined to such materials as these, shall liope to produce a book of interest and amusement ? It is worse than the condemnation to " make bricks without straw." To-day the ice set in, and carried away one of our warj)ing lines, obliging us to let go the bovver anclior; after which the .ship was secured within twenty yards of the shore, with a piece of ice grounded between us aTid the rocks, and with another at hand to MMriW»« TO TriK IH'TIC REGIONS. 59U Sept. 3. Sept. 4. Sept. r). which we miurht moor if )iect'ssar> i« re \\(" min ami .«fnow on >^ept. the .second, and the psissa^e wiis vijpibh but we could not attempt it till the morninn's tide. Tiw wnnl then came to hlow from the north ; and, in the evening, the ice in the .strait luul made it impassable. At night there w as a i^ale with snow. Nothing could be done on Sunday, the ice driving up and down in a compact mass; so that it was in every sense a day of rest. The gale continued on tlie fifth till noon, and was succeeded by a fall of snow, so that we could not .ste the .state of the ice in the strait. The ^^9^- ^^ land was quite covered on the following morning, and the wind and ebb together brought the ice into the bay with such rapidity, that the ship could not be warj)ed back in time, and we were obliget. 11. SiiiKJay to he otiicr than a day of rest, even had we heeii ineliiied Sept. li to tiaiisniess its laws. On i>[oiiday it hlew lianl iVoiii the northward, and the iee wa.s worse parked than ever, it* that could be. After four hours of variable wiiul, it settled in the north on Sipt. I !. the next «lay, and in the evenini;, blew a ^aie, with elear weather; the temperature, for the first time this month, bein^- under 20'. The ire remained unaltered. .Sept. H. The new ice was thick enouuli to skate on; but it was an amusement that we would gladly have ilispensed with. Hyde Park is doubtless a great regale to those who can exhibit their attitudes to the fair crowds who tlock to .see that wlii<;h the sex is reputed to admire : and it is a regale, in a better sense, when the power of flying along the surface of the gla.ssy ice, as the fishes glide through the water, and the birds float in the air, with a velo- city that re(iiiires no exertion, is of an occurrence so rare, and is confined to so short a .season. In another way, is this almost supernatural mode of motion delightful not le.ss than useful, when the milk-mai«ls of Holland can thus sail with their «ommodities to a niarket, the rivals, not of steam-boats ami mail-coaches, but of the birds and the fishes. Yet more than delightful is it, to .see the ice holidays of Sweden and Russia, when all the world is in motion, as well by land as by water, yet where land aiwl water are but one element; when all the chivalry of each .sex, all thoughtless of any thing beyond the present moment, is absorbed in tjie minutes that pass, as if the whole world had no other occupation than to fly from all care and thought, to leave every thing beliind them,even as the lightning flashes through the regions of space, heedless of all that exists beneath its burninij: career. TO TIIK ARCTIC RRCilOXS. no I lliit what liiul \Vf to do with all this ? To us, the siirht ot' ice was a |)la>>ue, a vexation, a toriiiciif, an evil, a matter of despair. CouUl we have skated the eoimtiy over, it would not hav«' heen an nnuisenient ; lor there was no object to i;ain, no soy s who, a colossus of snow, to me't a\\ay, like the palace of the great female autocrat, before the sun. Is it not, too, the emblem of virgin purity and inno- cence, and might not much more be said in praise and admiration of snow ? It is an evil, however, to balance against all this, that it deforms all landscape, destroys all " keeping," by confounding distances, and with that, proportions, and with that, too, more and worse than all else, the harmony of colouring ; giving us a motley patchwork of black and white, in place of those sweet gradations and combinations of colour which nature [uoduces, in her summer mood, even amid the most deformed and harsh of landsc apes. These are the objections to a snow landscape, which even the experience of a day may furnish : how much more, when, for more than half the year, all the element above head is snow, when the gale is a gale of snow, the fog a fog of snow, when the sun shines but to glitter on the snow which is, yet does not fall, when the breath of the mouth is snow, when snow ettles on the hair, the dress, the eyelashes, where snow falls around us and (ills our cham- bers, our beds, our dishes, should we open a door, should the external air get access to our " penetralia;" where the "crystal stream" in which we must quench our thirst is a kettle of snow with a lamp of oil, where our sofas are of snow, and our houses of snow : when TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 003 [nip Iheu snow was our decks, snow our awnini^s, snow our observatories, snow our larders, snow our salt; and, when all tlie other nses of snow should be at last of no more avail, our coffins and our graves were to be lirraves and coffins of snow. Is this not more than enough of snow than suffices for admira- tion ? is it not worse, that during t^n of the months in a year, the ground is snow, and ice, and " slush ;" that during tlie whole year its tormenting, chilling, odious presence is ever before the eye ? Who more than I has admired the glaciers of the extreme north ; who more has loved to contemplate the icebergs sailing from the Pole before the tide; and the gale, floating along the ocean, through calm and through storm, like castles and towers and mountains, gorgeous in colouring, and magnificent, if often capricious, inform; and have I too not sought. amid the crashing and the splitting and the thundering roarings of a sea of moving mountains, for the sub- lime, and felt that nature could do no more ? In all this there has been beauty, horror, danger, every thing that could excite; they would have excited a poet even to the verge of madness. But to see, to have seen, ice and snow, to have felt snow and ice for ever, and nothing for ever but snow and ice, during all thv. inonths of a year, to have seen and felt but uninterrupted and unceasing ice and snow «luring all the months of four years, this it is that has made the sight of those most chilling and wearisome objects an evil which is still one in recollection, as if the remembrance would never cease. There was now no open water to be seen from the hill. The Se;)t, 13. general temperature was f'J'i", but it did not freeze in the sun; a petty consolation indeed. The record of the sixteenth was Sopt. la. not better, and Saturday left us as it had found us. It is little Sept. 17. 4 II 2 604 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY Sept. 18 & 19. to notice, but mucli where tliere was nothing else to remark, that a great many grouse had been killed in the last week. In such a life as ours, even the capture of an arctic mouse was an event : and if it is the custom, now, for navigators to tell every thing, to write without materials, what could we do but follow the fashion, and conform to the established usages? Sunday exempts me from any record. Monday does not furnish one, if it be not that we were employed in sawing the bay ice about the ship, in case the outer masses should set it in motion and annoy ns. This it did in spite of our precautions; since the heavy Sept. 20. ice from the outside pressed upon it during the following day, yet without doing us any harm. It blew fresh, with the wind to the northward ; in consequence of which the ice drifted, but still remained stationary at the har- bour's mouth, so that we gained nothing. On the next morning, the old ice (quitted the bay, but the new remained ; the sea outside was covered \\ith heavy masses of the same interminable materials, and the land with snow. We were in a worse condition than ever. On this day we were able to carry the ship to an edge of the outer ice, doing this under the chance that the following day might favour our escape. This, it did not choose to do. There was the usual hope, if wishes can be called by this name, and that was all. On Sunday the pressure of the outer ice gave us .some additional trouble, but there was no good to balance it. For the pre-sent, we were " hard and fast :" I do not well know who expected any thing better to follow. If any one was silly enough to do tliis, he was disappointed. Sept. 2G. The only addition that a storm and drift snow could make, was Sept. 21. Sept Sept. 23. Sept. 24. Sept. TO THE ARCTIC llEGIONS, 605 & 30. that of preventing us from wasting our time in hopes or specula- tions : there was nothing to be seen, and nothing was now left for conjecture. We had at least the certainty, on the following day ^ept. 27. of clear weather, that the ice was as closely packed as it could possibly be : it is some gain in this life not to be troubled with lioping. A gale of wind on the twenty-eighth could not have Sept. 28. mended the .state of things : but whatever was the fact, the snow- drift was such that we could see nothing. In the last days, the thermometer, at night, had ranged between 16° and 30°. The two Sept. 29 following ones were as nothing ; and the end of the month found us exactly in tlie same condition, with our prospects of freedom becoming less every day. I may indeed say that they had ceased. It was impossible to expect any further progress under such a mass and weight of winter as that which surrounded us : even in a much better one, it was not to have been expected. The worst part of the prospect, however, was the distant one ; it seemed likely that the shi ^ would never be extricated, and that we should be compelled to abandon her, with all that was on board. But I believe this dream was like many others which men form, under the usual condition of life. We fear evil events, or rather, I believe, imagine that we fear them, and then argue or talk our- selves into the belief that they must really happen, while our soberer judgment, under the solitude of our own thoughts (unless these should be those of the naturally despairing or the hypochon- driacal), is that the probabilities are in our favour, tliat the evil which we imagined ourselves to fear, will never occur, that some- thing, we neither knovy nor consider what, will extricate us from cm SKCOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY the evil, as we have been extricated before. Thus did we fear and liope, anticipate in despair, and then anticipate a far other prospect; relief, escape, triumph, the retiu'n to our own ) oine in England, and a return to boast of what we had attempted, what we had suffered, what we had feared, what we had achieved. The uniformity of our journal gives to the whole record of this month, a tranquil appearance ; as if nothing was out of the common order, and as if we had been all, like the ship, at peace. It was a very different thing, however, as our minds were con- cerned; but what is a journal of hourly hopes and fears, of fears indeed more than hopes, to those who cannot feel them ; of regrets under which we could not, on examination, blame ourselves, and of that anxiety whicli has no repose ? Do men write, on such occasions, what they think and what they feel ? I should desire other proof of this than any which 1 have yet seen. The every-day work, and, above all, when that every- day work is to exert ourselves for the preservation of life, were there even not the heavier, the ever down-weighing duty of pre- serving the lives of others, leaves little time for any reflections but those which the circumstances demand. I am much mistaken if the time of action is that also of reflection, of other thoughts at least than are imperious for the ends in view. We act, because we must, and, for the most part, I hope, rightly : a time comes, when we can think of what we did, and when, I suspect, we only imagine what we then thought : but it matters little : historians imagine what other men thought two thousand years since, and surely we have as much right to believe that what we think now was what we ourselves thought a year before. TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 007 On the men, tlie effect was tangible, because it was simple. When we first nioveil from our late liarbour, every man looked forward to iiis three years' wages, his return to England, and his meeting with friends and family ; the depression of their spirits was now i)roportionate. They were not less in haste perhaps to relate their adventures, most of them having kept journals ; but, at present, it was better not to dwell on these matters, by any pre- mature discussions : the time of resolving what was to be done, and of labouring to effect it, was to come ere long. Compared to the preceding Septembers in point of temperature the present stands thus to that of 18'i9 and to that of 1830, namely, having a mean of degrees less than the first, and of 4 degrees less than the last : and in tiie three, the extremes stand thus : 1829 highest 40^^ plus, lowest 17 plus. 1830 do. 43 plus, do. •> plus. 1831 do. 3() plus, do. () plus. The comparison of the weather is more remarkable. In 1829, there were storms, which broke up the ice, and finally drove it to the southward, so as to allow us to navigate this very sea at the same date. It was equally stormy in 1830, with the same effects: so that we could have sailed from the position in which we now were, as late as the fifth of October. But the present month had been generally a tranquil one; there having been but one gale, and that late; while, as the (ihief winds had been from the east- ward, the blockade of the land and the sea proved comj)lete. There was not an atom of water to be seen, and the grouiid was every where deep with snow. Our situation presented the usual mixture of good and evil. It 608 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY was out of the track of animals, there >vere no rivers, and we did not know of any fish in the small lakes near us. If we could not tlierefore look for any supplies from those sources, neither could we from the natives, as the interval between them and us was filled with impassable ice. If our aspect was a southern one, yet there were high hills to the southward, which much shortened the already too short visits of the sun. The harbour was safe; much too safe indeed; since, for all motion, not less than for hazard of injury, we might as well have been walled in witli masonry on dry land. The first of the future objects was to economize in provisions, still more 'in fuel; and, of course, to take all possible care of the health of the men. Their spirits were to be kept up as might best be; and the topics of consolation could be found, whatever they miffht seem to the several different characters which our crew included. We were really on our return, and had made some progress ; while there was no reason why that should not be com- plete in the following year. There was still before us the Fury's remaining store; and there were boats, to carry us into Davis's strait, should we be obliged to abandon the ship ; where we should either meet a whaler, or reach the Danish settlements in Green- land. If more was said than I here repeat, the usual result followed: the hopeful did not hope more, and the despondent continued to despair. VICTORIA HARBOUR, In 1 , f. ■ * 1 1 / ^^ G V 1 ( \^ V- 1 \ 1 A 11 >^ 14- ' -/T* 1 ^A 10 i:. iiiitd 18 V - ■ \ II "-» V ' : ^ X-- % ] V ( , A / 1. \ J J \ L ^i-ii.,-— ■'./j ' .\ .-, 1 . I ■ j:^- , , '-■> ICO Sn M ^ SmI.. c/' / ;e(i,}ar«.r. TO thl: arctic regions. 609 CHAPTER XLVII. JOURNAL OF OCTOBER — THE JOURNALS OF NOVEMRER AND DECEM- BER, AND THE END OF THE YEAR. 1 HE weather was foggy j,iul calni on Saturday, and was little dif- ferent on Sunday. On the follow iug day the ice in the offing was in motion ; an. Oct. (I, 7, &: S. Oct. 9. Oct. 10. Oct. 1 1 . (MO SECOND VOYAOK OF DISCOVERY Ort. IJ. On, i:!, ()d. II. Oct. 15 x)inm<'iu'«'h indn(;cs ns to do all that we can in [)revention of waste, or, like onr gran< I mothers, to preserve old rags, or what not, b(H'ans(; their turn of service will come ronnd at some indefinite future, should \\v live on to that problematical period; which does not, \ believ*', very often arrive. Having effected this operation, tlie ;nichors were carried on shore, and the boats turned bottom upwards on the ice. Part of the housing was also set up, and the week ended wirii the tlnTinometer at 10 . A lane of clear water was again se( n to the nortuward, but this had now become a matter of indifference. Clear water or ice, all was now the same : it was verv certain that we had now .settled ourselves for the winter. In other days and other naviga- tions su(;h a sight was even more than hope : it was now long siuc(; it had been but the water of Tantalus: yet even less th.in that, since the certainty of disappointment had so far paralyzed all hojie, that we had not even the pains of anxiety to torment us. TO Tllli ARCTIC RfclGIONS. (ill All was now iiuliffennt : we were l(K;kt(l up by iiru{)table chains, and had ceased (equally (<► liope or to fear. There was variable weather on the seventeenth, but it was fin«- for the season, thougli atten(U;d by oeeasional falls of snow. The; temperature went on .u:radually subsiding till it reached zero on Thursday night, and was once at minus 2; being the first fall as yet to this part of the s(;ale. At this time there was a strong northerly wind, with snow. The usual work of tlie ship and its winter arrangements served to oeeu[)y these days, and it was fortunate that there was work to do; what else on earth could have preserved us from despair } The maximum of this day was minus 2 ; and it was a very low temperature for this month, compared to that of the former years. On the foUowing th.; lowest was minus \l . The temperatinc was but little higher during this day, and on Monday it fell to minus 23° ; making the whole fall oi) w ithin three days. A few hares and grouse had been .seen, and some were sh<»t, while the track of a glutton had been also observed. Part of our own occupation was to continue the survey of the present .spot, so as to complete our ehirt, and to take the altitvules of the liills ; while, if our work is not accurate as well as minute, it was not at least for want of time. There was a .storm on the twenty-fifth, and it blew .so violently as to tear into rags the canvas of our housing, which had now gone through a long service. We could not even attemi)t to .sa^ e it, from the great danger of exposing the men to the cold. IVom the north, the wind changed to the south on the following day; and when we could look out, we found that it had cleared the hills of snow. It continued variable during the remainder of the week, with a tem- 4i 2 Oct. 17. Oct. IS iV I'J. Oct. 20. Oct. 21. Oct. '."2. Oct. 23 Oct. 26. Oct. 20, Oct. 27 to 29. ()li SKCOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVKIIY pcratiuv iihout zero; and the rcroiislruction ofa housing louiid full (■ni|)h>jnKiit for the pcoph". Oct. 30. Tli«- weather on Siindiiy uas fnic, hut thr Iheiinouit'tcr fell to 7' minus. Two rtiudccr had hctn sjtn on tin- \nUvs, soni«-what unex- Oit. 31. pectedly ; and, on Monday, it was reniatUahh- that thr ti inpciatm't' ranu:»'d hctween 11 minus, and 17 phis. The snnnnary of this October eiuniot he much, in detail, and is of as little moment in point of interest. Some jireparations for sinkinj;- the ship in s[)rinu;, had been made, as I have already noticed, under our project of travelling hy land and by boats to the place of the Fury's stores. Every thing, except the provisions and stores indispensable for our use, had been landed; and the two boats had l)een [)laced in such a j)Osition as to admit of the con- struction of sledges under them. The temperatuie had ranged from 'Ji' jilus to *J.'J minus; the nifc HI had l)een 8 plus, and the extremes "if) plus and '23' minus. The thickness of the sea i<'e was tbinul to be nineteen inches on the last day of the month ; and, of that on the lake, twenty-two. On the health of the crew then; is nothing new to observe. Nov, 1 to ■;. "^riie tirst five days of Noveud)er exhibited no remarkable changes, and there was work enough for the men, in banking u[) the slii[» with snow, in building observatories, and in other arrangements similar to those formerly recorded. The highest range of the Nov. (I, thermometer was plus '20% and the lowest minus 2\ On Sinulay it fell to 10' minus in the evening, and to 17^ at midnight. The weather, consequently, was cold. We had not yet been sufficiently trained to the new winter. Of this training to temperatures which men undergo, I have Hii TO Tin: aiktk; iiijcions. (;i;{ spokfii Ixl'inv; iiiid cwry siusoii of oiir loni; expciii-ncc in this (•(Hiiitry served to eonvinee lue still iiioie of tlie truth of our eoiielii- siuus on tliis subject. It is nctt luy hiisiness to exphiiu the fiiet or ;issiu;ii the nasous ; wliy do not (he physiohiijists, >vh(» know every thing-, tell us the eiiuse, <>ive us at least a wordy theory, if they ean do more ? I have seen the same under all temperatines, in th(; >Vest Indies and the Vms\ ; in S\ved(;n, and here in the extreme north <»f America, under the e«|uinoctial line, and l)eyoneie in need of them all. There is not a novelty to mark the days onwards from Sunday till the following Saturday. The character of the v> eather changed many times in every day, but it was never very bad. On the whole, it was becoming- colder, and the lowest midnight thei mometer was Nov. 7 (o I-'. Nov. 1,'} to 1!). 614 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVEFIY Nov. '20 to 26. 20° minus: on the Thursday it was as liigh as plus 17°. Tlie deck was covered with snow in the usual manner, for our protection ilur- ini;' tlie remainder of the winter, which was now fully lurived. If there was any difference between this week and the preceding, it was that it felt colder, on account of frequent nortluTly breezes, though the thermometer did not on(;e fall so low ; having never been beyond 18', while not often lower than 7 or 8 minus. The tirst threatening of scurvy in one of the men was observed at this time : and on this subject I am bound to otfer a few remarks. Every reader of voyages well knows what defeats of naval expe- tlitions have been often the result of this territic disease, how often the crews of ships have not merely been rendered ineffective, but have been destroyed by it; facts for which it would sutfice to refer to Lord Anson's voyage. It is known too, that it has raged with peculiar severity in tlie crews of vessels navigating these northern climates, and not only in men at sea, but among those who had wintered on .shore; as is amply testified by the destruction of the J>ntch crew so ofteu narrated. For this latter fact, the nature of the food and the country will account to medical men, so that I need not dwell on the particulars. It is true that the greater precautions, of various kinds, which have been adoptens could not have been expected to resist, and to resist for .so long a period. Notwithstanding all this, the event that I have just recorded was the first real appearance of this dreadful scourge ; as the subsequent ■fe.-. TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. r>i5 record of this voyap^e, even to the monient of quitting? this country after four years of detention, and (hiring tlie whole of wliat I may almost call one long winter, unparalleled, too, for its severity, sh«)ws that it never very seriously assaile»l our people, and, almost without exception, was the cause of serious injury to none. That this was the consequence of care, cannot be doubted : how far the effect is due to the commander of the expedition, it does not become me to say ; l)ut care there was, and on the part of more than myself, or the good results in (piestion could never have been. It must be seen, in the first place, that we vvcre entirely cjit off from one of the best known and most effective means of prevention and remedy; since the country produced no vegetable food, nor coidd our men learn the use offish oil, which I believe to be one of the antiscorbutics provided by nature for the inhabitants of these frozen climates. It is not less true that a large proportion of our provi- sions consisted in the usual salt meat, of pork at least; but if we had an occasional resource in the fisli which we found in the country, and in the preserved meat, the vinegar, the sugar, and the lemon-juice of our stores, I doubt if these, whic.h have so often proved of snuill efficacy, would have maintained our men in health during so long a period, and in such a climate. Then' was more wand'd; and that we obtained by those atten- tions which I must jh)w point out. for the benefit of future navi- gators in the same country. The southern whalers as.sert, that as a want of water is one of the nn)st efiicient causes of scurvy, so they find a remedy in supplying this to their crews, without stint. In this matter we imitated their practice, though obliged for the most C16 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY part to obtain our own water tliron^h artificial Iieat. With the same view, we never surtered our peoph^ to remain in tlieir wet elothes, as our contrivance in warming their habitation between ilecks, and in carrying oA' the fer of hours on the shore, or if this was impracticable, on our weil-roofed and sheltered deck. Further than all this, and I may name it as the last precaution, their minds were never sutl'ered to brood over evils or to sink into despair, as far as it was in our power to prevent this : while I may say, that on the whole, our eiibrts were highly successful. Yet if 1 still add, the restriction at first in the use of s])irits, and at length the final abandonment of this false and pernicious stinudus, I have little doubt that I thus (iit off one of the causes, which, if it may not a])soIutely generate scurvy, materially assists others in the pro- duction of that disease. Such is what I have thought it useful to state on this subject: if they were not the true causes of our exemj)tion, they are all that now occur to me; but though 1 should have made any mistake in this matter, I can still appeal to the result. We were almost entirely free from this disease for a very long period; we suflered TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 017 to 30. but little, even at the worst ; uud I bioiiglit back to England a crew wliich, as it had little cause of complaint when in this horrible climate, has now no reason to repent of any of the rigours which it braved, or the sutferings which it endured. The thermometer being now 20' minus with a fresh breeze, the Nov. -n men were unable to walk after divine service. On Monday it fell to 30^ and on Tuesday to 40° in the middle of the day. The lowest of the four days was 42° minus. We had passed the freezing pomt of mercury once more ; but the weather being calm, the men were not prevented from walking outside of the ship. The thick- ness of the sea ice at the end of this month was two feet nine inches. With the exception of a few days it had been a mihl month, the sky being very generally cloudy and overcast: a fact whi(;h, as is now well known to e^'ery one converstnit with the theory of heat, is sufficient to account for this state of things. ^Sa had, indeed, abundant experience to make us drea«l a briyht and clear skv : and, while we knew well (apart from all the knowledge that we might poss' ss respecting the radiation of heat) how to value an overcast aud cloudy one, even to long for the " ca?lum nubibus foedum " of our own dear England, so did we often cease to reirret the fogs that co^ered us (wlien, at least, they did not obstruct our travelling), by knowing, as well as fe<,ling, that with the iew \\ell- known exceptions which I need not here relate, they served to keep us warm. The mean temperature for this month turned out to be [Y higher than that of last November, and 5^ higher than that of the same month in 1829; but it ended with a severity far exceeding either of them. 4k CIS SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY Dec. 1. Dec. '2. Dec. 3. Dec. 1. Dec. Dec. 0. Dec. 7 to 10. We liad improved tlie method of coveriiiix the deck, l)y ])lacing a la^er of i^ravel and sand l)eneath that of snow, which prevented tlie lieat below from meltinu: it. Other improvements, sngj^csted by ex})erienee, had been made in the internal aceommodation.s. Onr allowance of bread had ])een necessarily reduced, but so was that of salt meat : notwith.standing which last alteration, and the use of spruce beer, six men were slightly afflicted with scurvy : which, however, was checked by means of lemon-juice. Their tlespondency seemeil to have cea.sed. Very few celestial observations had been obtained, in consequence of the .state of the sky ; but the magnetical ones and others had proceeded. The sport on shore had been far better than we had anticipated, including hares, grouse, and willow })artridges. The tirst day of this month was very cold, wiHi a temperature of 41" minus : and the following did not dirter. At six on the morning of the third it blew a heavy gale from the north; threatening once more to destroy our roof, which was secured with some difficulty. On Sunday it was still worse, with a heavy drift; and the result was, as soon as we could see any thing, to find that all the hills had been laid l)are, and the valleys fillet! with sno\\. It «lid not moderate till the evening of the follov\ing day, with a temperatun; of minus (}°. It became calm and fine, on the sixth, and I ascended a hill, esti- mated at a thoiisand ieet high. Thence I was surprised to see the sun's upper limb, passing in azimuth : it had disappeared astrono- micallv, on the 25th of November, nor had we seen it since the 23<.i, through any refraction. Under the same extraordinary refrac- tive power in the atmosphere, the islands were also raised far higher TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. ()19 tlian I had ever seen them. There was notliiiig interesting hence onwards till Saturday. The wind was from all quarters alternately, and the lowest mark of the thermometer, being on the last of the week, was 22° minus. Sunday came in witli a strong northerly gale, which, with a temperature of 24' minus, made it very cold. On Monday at noon it moderated, so that tlie next day was calm and clear ; but another gale sprung up on the fourteenth, blowing hard during the two following days, but ending in a calm and clear Saturday. The temperature varied during the week between 2° and HI" minus. It being cidm and clear on Sunday, the temperature fell to So. It contiinied tine till the twentieth at niglt, when it blew a storm, and the thermometer rose to 8"; while that gale, with severe drift snow, increased till mid-day on the twenty-first, subsiding to a calm in the evening. Thus it continued till the twenty-fourth, the thermometer having ranged between 24' and 36\ Christmas-day was made a holiday in all senses. In the cabin dinner, the only fact worth remarking was, a round of beef which liad been in the Fury's stores for eight years, and which, with some veal and some vegetables, was as good as the day on which it was cooked. I know not whether the preservation of this meat, thus secured, be interminable or not; but what we brought home is now, in 183-3, as good as when it went out from the hands of the maker, or whatever be his designation, the Gastronome for eternity in short, in 1823. It' it can be kept so long without the slightest alteration, without even the diminution of flavour in such things as hare soup and puree of carrots, why may it not endure for 4k2 Dec II to 17. Doc. 18 to 24. Dec. r n 020 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY Dec. 2(i 10 31. ever, supposini;' that the vessels were themselves perdurable ? Often have I imaii^ined what we should have felt had 31r. Appert's eontrivance (of which, however, neither he nor his suc- cessors are the real discoverers), been known to Konie, could we ha^e dug' out of llerculaneuni or Pompeii one of the su})j)ers of Lucullus or the dishes of Nasidienus; the " fat paps of a sow," a boar witli the one half roasted and the other boiled, or a nuu'iena fattened on Syrian slaves; or, as might have happened, a box of sauces prepared, not by Mr. Burgess, but by the very hands of Apicius himself. How nuich more would antiquaries, and they even more than Kitchener or Ude, have triumphed at finding a dish from the court of Amenophis or Cephrenes, in the tombs of the Pharaohs; have regaled over potted dainties of four thousand years' standing and have joyed in writing books on the cookery of the Shepherd kings, or of him who was drowned in the Red Sea. Is it possible that this may yet be, some thousand years hence, that the ever-during frost of Boothia Felix may preserve the equally ever-during canisters of the Fury, and thus deliver down to a remote posterity the dinners cooked in London during the reign of George the Fourth ? Happy indeed will such a day be for the antiquaries of Boothia Felix, and happy the Boothia to which such discoveries shall be reserved. There was nothing to note in the next three days, but the loss of two of our dogs : a serious one now, since they could not be replaced, and were to form part of our future dependence. The remainder of this month was equally uniform and dull, and it ended with the thermometer at 27° : in the four first it had not been more than 37°. On cutting the ice on the last day, its thickness proved to be four feet in the sea, and six inches more in the lake. ,^ TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 621 This moiitli of December commenced with tlie mercury frozen ; but a change took place on tlie third, just after tlie new moon; and we experienced, for tlnce weeks, such a succession of storms as we had never before witnessed. 'Jliese liad the ctJect of raisinj^ tlie temperature, yet less than usual ; while, though little snow fell, the drift was very great, since that which had fallen was like fine flour. The mr « were much reduced in strength, but the scurvy had been kv ^' in check. One man alone, Dixon, being afflicted with a complication of disorders, was not expected tf> live very long. The comparative view of the December of this and the two preceding years, may be thus abstracted : 1829 Highest, lowest, and mean temperature — 8 — 37 — 23.08 1830 Ditto _ _ _ . +6 — 47 — 20.24 1831 Ditto _ - . _2_42 — 23.9G C22 SECOND VOYAGE OP DISCOVERY ABSTRACT OF THE METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL. 07 IP 03 1',' le.-. 1 11 -l- NWv. 32!) N.nrri.NbW.rO. NN\V.281.T;UhN.3n.N\V.399."fr\M)\V.4.W.N\P.;)l.\VI)N.ir. 4 1 ^ ■-' .'. II Tfl o 'I 1 '.' SWy. i;i3 W.xj. tVhS.S. WSW.5. sVVb\V.o.SW.iG3. STM.S.o. SsW.o. SbW.u. 711 i;. f. n ■.'(. " _ II C. SE)-. - 131 .S-loS. SbK.l!). SSii.19. .SKhSo. hK.-JIJ. SliR.d. KSIi.u. hb.S.6. " Q _ il_ !• II 12 I) NKy, >= 22 K.li. Kb.N-.o. KMC.o. NEbE.o. NE.l. NEblV.n. "NNlT.30. Nbfi.o. Total. (!l:> hours. •J ilo. wind vblc. 12; do. calm. ru=3l days. JANUARY, 1831. Hishct. lowc.t &1 +2j-59J-2.',.43 iiu'iiii tcnun'riiturc t ' * -"^ Total force ol tlic Wind . . . lB.-)7 Mean force of the Wind . . 53.45 •17 1 ^iv „ o „ KM _ n 7_ ,} NWy.^los N.lll.iSbW.fi. T«'NW.139.NWbN.n.TSW.20S.Ntti;W.O. \VN\V.1«. WbN.fi. U' 1 ■:>' II ■ I II 1 II .i;l_ O SWy. . 212 \V.fi2. WbS.l. U.SW.(;3. .sUbU .I1.S\V.2I9. SWbS.O. SSW.cll. SbVV.lO. 1 12 o , .'. II ill ,1 7 o SEy. ^151 .S.2U. SbK.il. hSE.I.->. SKbS.O. SIC,.',,'). SKbE.lJ. KSK.;. KbS.O. :< ,." 1 _ II I II _.i o_ NEy. . u Ji.B. EbN.O. E.NE.I. NEbE.O. tiEa. NEbN.O. NNE.Kl. NbE.O. Total. ri7K hours. 12 do. wind vblc. 82 do. calm. G72 =28 days. FEBRUARY, 1S31, IliRhcst, lowest, & 1 mean t Total force 01 the Wind . . . 1333 ?st. lowest, & 1 „, j„_32 ,1; 1 temperature/ ^•'» ■" Mean force of the \Vind 4;.02 -17 _o^ _.T1.. .^i^^ 70 .^;_ 00 N\Vv.-l.',s N,41, Nb\V.o.NN\V.r9.T^Wi:S.i3.NVV.8i.X\\bW.o.WN\V.7l. AVUN-.o. I\,l .1 - -' "1 ." _,, ill __i>_ 111 12 SWy. 1113 W.83. \\b.S.2r.\\SW.80.SWbW.II. SW.lCO. SHb.sTo. >.SU.I4. .SbW.3U. 1 1 I II M „ 1 1 ! _ n .', " .SEy. - 11- S.irH.SbE.ll. .S.SE.20. SEIi.S.i. SK.2I. hl'bh.ll. i;.-.i:.s'. Eb.S.2. 1 o I .' .•> _ II 1 .', _ 11 ,) II iNEv. - 11 E.li. Eb.N'.s. 1-.SE.16. NEbR.o. NE.32. NEb.N.o. N.NE.,-, MiE.o. Total. r,3ci hours. 32 do. wind vlile. i~\i do. calm. m 31 days MARCH, 1931. peraturei ^ ' . 10(17 Ilip^hcst, lowest, mean tern Total force of the Wind Mean force of the Wiml i",'ii V 11 i or. in.ii __ I 0.-; 10 NWv.--3yii N.3,-.l..NbW.O. N N W.JSl.N U n.S.l 1 1 .N W .37.1..% \\ ljW.2.'AV .N W.70.V\ bN.03. ■ 12 111 o 4 2 II 1,1; o SW V. 1(1,', W.lllil.Wb.S.l,-,. « SW.ll. .SWbW.O. SW.Ci), .SUbS.O. ISSW.IO. SbW.O. ,0 2 _1 I 'I ,1 11 a 11 SEv. 93 S..SH. .SblT.iO. SSE.27. S'Eb.S.i. Sl-:.17. Si:b"E,o. ESE.3. Kb.s.o. t" " f< (', t i.'i o NEv. — 71 E.48. EbN.O. ENE.li. haibE.O. NE.8. NEbN.lO. S.VK.IOI. NbE.o. ' Total. 6,'.!1 hniir.s. 7 ilo, wind vblc. ,'.1 tlo. calm. 7211 30 days. Al'RII,, 1S31. Iiiiaii tcmiu'ra'virc > Total force of the Wind .Mean force of the Wind -I'l.ii I till-. 11.'' 2! 72 12 f..-, ,', 2 1 " NWy. 320 " N.I 19. NbW.J9.W.\W.300.N\Vli.N.4!),N\V.lG3.N\\ljW.2,'J.W.NW.42. \M,.S.4. 07 il_ IH 1. ,111 ,1 1 o SWy. 135 W. 16,11. WIkS.O. W.SW.30. SVNbW.li.SW. 68. .SWb.S.O, S.SW.4. HbW.O. 24 _0 2 1 o ,1 J ,1 I ,-, ,1 sEv. -- 9.', S,34. SbK.O. SbE.32. SEbS.O. SE,52. SEbE.ii. KSE.Cl. EbS.O. II II » _."* 3,'. _n I,,". 2 NEy. --109 E.39. EbN.O. E.N E.23. NEbE.6. N E.I23. "NEbN.O. .N ,S Ell 1 1. ftbE,4. Total. 6,')9 hours. I.'i do. wind vblc. 70 do. calm. 741 31 days. Iliirhpst, lowest, i^v niean tinipc Total lorce ol tlie Umd MAV, 1S3L |s7(i Mean force of tlic W.iul 4,^ ^t_ _21_ I! imi .-, I ,» NWv. -238 1 N.122.NbVV.l.N,NW,Cl. N WbN.30..N W.2,-i3.N WbW.O. W N U ,1G0,\\ liN 13, '■'I _"- ,-'t- ■- " -I'-' _V 2.; o SWy. -283 « .231. UbS.O.\» S\V.6l. h\\bW.3I.SW. 3,47. SWb.VS. .S.SVV.i2. ShW V .,*- .,1,!- _ „-^' — I'J __n 4 SEy. =111 h.L'iS. hbli.8. S.SI,.2,-,. SEbS.lj. .SE.23. SLbE.O. E.lE.13. Eb.S.O. B ■".. ~" , .." ^ 7 ^n 2 o NEy. ^ 1,1 t.17. tbN.O. JiiSE.o. NEbE.O. N E.9. SeuN.o. JsNE.;. NbE.O. Total. (il7 hours. 8 do. wind vblc. 6,'» do. calm. 720 = 30 days. JUNE, 1831. Highest, lowest, &\^5..+ i,,:)l..'.fi nu'iui tcnipiTiitiirc / Total furce ol tlie Winil . . irr. Mean force of the Wind V-17 TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 633 jin ^ 1 1_ ,. ,10 .> 1,1 7 N.lfl((.7 I v ■;•! o i:i " I I ,-^.110. SI)i;.,IJ. .SSK.Ii',. SEbS.II. SIvDI. Sl'illi;.!!. l.SK-.MI. E.'l02.iTbN 1 . !t;l 109. Wb\ 0. SljW.d. KbS.II. 3. KNK.3I. NEbE.d. Nli.iHii. NlibN.iu.S N K.kij. NbK.i NWy. --.mi;. SWy. . (ii SKy. M-v, Jl. ■ I'.:. Tiitnl. ■2-J tl'i. wirul \\}\c Hi ilii. IMllU. 741 - ,11 (biy-.. .It'T.Y. Ifll. IliirhoKt, bmw, .11 . J,,,,., ^T„, lui-iin (.■nipiriiliiri- ; ^ ■■"+ i- ^^. ■!'• Total birii- I.I Hk Wiiiil , . 1 — 5 Mittn furcc i)f the Uiml run M. lvk"w. .0-1 1 h.ari-SbW !>^ n W ■,i01.Wb.S''.13. \VSW'.100,SWbW.l(J,S w,;.', '<(■ ,;.) (.1 '1 j'l S.I17- !>bR.3. .S.SK.ii. 'AKb,S.i). ,Slv:;s, 1J7 " .10 '.'■,' ir. .1 I 7 Ji.l77-lib.N.O. liMi.81. NlibE,;j. Nli.ijO. M;b,N.ii, NNK.ij, IT .111 5 i7 III NWv l27.NWliN.i0.N\V.137-^V\bW.7.ft.s\V.iii.\Vbl<^^95. '' 1' I 1 ; .SWb.S.il, .S,S« -. .sbW .Xi. " ™- I ■■ " ' .■ii.bfro. i;.ii:.ii7. kii.s.h. NbEi). Tiit.il, SWy. -l:ii (iH7 lumrs. . u ilii. wiiiil vblf. .SKy. nil i:i ili>. rulin. .N'liy. - \M-> 741 --' 31 iliiys. AIT.l'.ST, is.ll. Iliirlic^l, lowest, ^\ , ,, im-iiii tiMiiiji-riitiiri' ; ■*"■' *-™ ''' Tulal furc'u 111' till' Wind Mcau furti' of tlii> Wiiiil •jiiii I 13 7 3 ? 1 » .1 4 3 " i r. 1 ' II N.465.SbW:i50.N.N\V.788.fI\Vb\,88.NW.fit,.SUii\V.J2.U .NW..'3. VVb\.(l SC' „o _ 111 _ I 1) I 1 II W.3(i. ffbS.O. \VSW.38. SWbW.O. SW.:3. .S WbS •.'. .S,SW:j.-,. 4'-' <' I) -_'l ■■' I •' 14 SM-2. Sbli.o. SsE.a. sKli.S.o. sk.'jO. .sniiK.il. F„SK.i(i. .V-' .,4 1 II 14 " • 1 ii.38. IibN.19. l;.St.l7. NlibE.O. M:.3J. NKbN.il. .N.NK.lil. NWy. 3.',n l:; SWy. SbW. 111. nil , :i SKy. 17 NKy. NbK.ail. ■ nil 111.'. SEI>TEMI)F.R, mil. Tolal. (ilii himrH, ■.'•Kill, wimliblc. "i2"<'*Mii»<'-l.aiiili ^ 11 ilo ruliu mean tciitjiiTiitiirr 1 ■ TiiWI (iirce iif the Wind 7'jii - JO a,iv.<. Mcaii force ut tlie Wind 3bf(i + S3.4 . . 2441 81.37 .nil pn 3 n _7 II " N.5il).NbW.,'.13.SN\V.3llfl.NWbN.0.NW'.l-,. N'WbWo. \V.N\V.'. WliV o fi <;_ 11 "I ,ii W.ll. Wbs.O. WSW.jO. SWliW.il.SW 70. ■.'» 1.1 SSE.,11. SKbS.'Jl.SK.IIi. i.O. WSW.-jO. SWliW.il.SW 70. S\VliS.(l. SSW.70, SbW.l" .7(i '1 S.I2a.SliK.O. 3 1 II ;i _'l 1 1 II I .*; n Ji.ia. libS.O. E.NE.4. N Eb>;.n. .\ i:.30. "KEbS:". N.N'E.Gii. NbE.o. SWIlS.d. ■SKIiK.il. KSK.J EliS.ll. \Wy.-33i SWy. = 11.', SKy. --l^:! .NEy. Il3 li.tlll. lilil biiiirs. 24 ilii. wind vlile. .'.ti do. c'itliii. 744 ' 31 days. OCil)lil;n, |<.J|. Highest, InwcHt, idl ,„_„, „ iiniint..ni|.i ratlin./ +-^--1 + H 32 'I'lital li.rei' 111 the Wind . . 21114 Mean Inrce nl the Wind . . lii.yi 150 3 3 36 _n 1; ri ; ,, N.489,\bW.109.1SNVV.144.NTVbK:o. NW.fi3. N"ftii"\r.o.«>W.r,. Uii.N.ii. W.52. WbS.O. -WSW.g. SWIiVS.il, s'w.l3. Su'liS.il. 'SSW71 shw -, '"" *' 7.' -IB _t!0 _ _:' _ ill II I. .. .sf:v. .S.131.SbK.42. SSK.123. SEbS.2. SK.I40. SEliE.O. KsE.l. Eb.S-. NEy. NWy. ^23.'. li.3(). Eb.S.O. E.NE.i;. NEbE.O. "N'li.4. NEb.S.O. n'nT:.1 NbE.O. •I'nlal. .Mil hiiiirs, Ki do. wind \ blc. Ill dii. ealni. 720 30 days NOVFMIlEIt, 1931 IliKhest, liiwest, ,%: mean leni|ierature J Tulal fcree iif the Wind } +20—42— 1.23 Mean force of the Wind III!) 4!i.3 -16 -,l.'i_ 1 !'P _ i1 7 1 11 n ,1 ■> N.428.Nb\v.i29.NN\V.il8fl.MVbN.n..\W.2.-.7.KWb\\-.,i.UN\v.o. u bN J 1- - 1 I " 7 n , ,1 VV, 14. WbS. 2. AVSW.I, SWliW.0.~SW.20. SWIiS.n. SSW.I S.48. SbK.O. SSKVu. ^1- (I 11 E.Gl. EbN.o. iiNE.u. - '" ■■'■1 _" ^ 1 SEbS.I). SE.lil. SKIifc.o. ESK.l. _ 'I. 7 _ II 1 iVEbE.O. NE.7. .SEbN.O. NNE.S. SliW.O NWy SWy. EbS.O. NbE.U. SEy. NEy. -inn Ii2 Total, .'i.'.fi Iiimrs. :ni do. wind vlile. 1.^2 do. ealni, 744 -^ 31 days, DECEMnER, 1R3I. Ilifrliest, l(iwt-t, fi niean teinperal Total force of the Wind .Mean force of the Wind niean teinperaliire J " '" 23.90 2277 7.1.46 021 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY CHAPTER XLVIII. THE JOURNALS OF JANl ARV, FEURl ARY, AND MARCH. 18:32. Jan. 1 to C, J,\n. 'i to 8, ,liui. tu It. i^UNDAY being pa.st, we prepared our milling tools for the pnr- po.se oj" making a place of concealment for onr .stores. A veiy brilliant meteor, as large as the moon, was seen, finally splitting into sparks, and illnminating Ihe whole valley. The thernjometer fell to ''Hi on Tnesday, and to 40 on the following day; rising again but to reach Ihe same point on the next, when there was a brilliant aurora of a golden colour, ])assing through the north star. 1 lepeatnl the experiment formerly uiade with the dif- ferential thermonuter, to as little [uirpo.se. The thermometer came down to 4o , but, being calm, it was not very cold : it is certain also that we had now resumed our wintei' standard of sensation (»n this sulyect. The aurora was again seen on Saturday; and SMuday pa.ssed as usual. The invalid Dixon was considered as rapidly becoming worse. Till the thirteenth, the weather was variable, but tranquil, and often calm. 'J'he temperatun rose from lo as far as 12\ On the tenth, the long-ailing Januts JJixon died. A heavy fall of snow, with a storm from the north-westward, brought another week to a close. The .same men who had been employed, whenever it TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 025 was possible on the tuimel, luul also prepared the grave for our patient. It was necessary to postpone the funeral on account of the weather: but a sermon appropriate to the subject was selected for this Sunday. On the following; morning the interment took place with the usual solemnities. The two next days were mild, and the work of the tunnel went on. On the three last of the week, the weatlier was variable, and the thermometer from 20' to 2if. It began however to blow fresh on Saturday night, and conti- nued with great severity all this day and the following. On Tuesday it fell a litth- at noon, but was as violent as ever in the evening. In spite of the drift, the sun was seen on this day, but the storm continue«l on the twenty-tifth, and did not subside till the noon of the following day, when it was clear and calm. The last two days of the week were moderate, and the tlu rmometer ended on Saturday night at 33\ On the Sunday and Monday the wind was north, and it was very cold, with a thermometer at 30'. It varied little on the following; and the month ended on the thirty-first, with a temperature of 20. Little or nothing could be done out of the ship on most of the past days, and our exercise was equally restricted to the deck. During three out of the weeks of this month there was windy or stormy ^yeather, which made the cold severe though the mean temperature was only two degrees lower than it had been in the preceding January. 'J'hat mean is 27' minus, and the highest an bitterly felt. The mean was ii" minus, and the extremes minus 12° and miims 444'. The thickness of the ice round the ship was such as to prevent all hopes of her liberation, even though we should contiime with 4l2 I'd.. \\> ik -20. Feb. 21 to 23. r.'l). -20 to 29. G28 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY ]\Iarch 1 to 10. Marcli 1 1 fo 17. Marcli 18 lo24. lier, whicli was impossible, from the state of our provisions and that of the liealth of the crew. The seaman, JJiieU, wlio liad unex- pectedly sutllred the recurrence of his e[)ilepsy with an unusual degn e of violence^, liad become blind. The ('arpcnter had nearly finished the sledges for the boats, and was about to make some more for carryini; the provisions. It is a brief summa'y for this month: and others must try to imagine what we felt, and what they can never see. The first day of jNIarch was mild, thoutih with no great change of temi)erature. Thus it contiiuied till Saturday, when the ice on the lake was found to be seven feet thick ; and the thermometer at 42 . The t'ourth, fifth, and sixth, were little different, and the men couhl work outside on the two last, though the thermometer fell to 4H\ Some work was done also on the next two days; but, on the iiintli, there was afresh breeze, subsiding again on Saturday, when we ended not a very bad week of variable weather, A hare and .some ptarmigans were shot. The men, walking after church, .saw the first tracts of reindeer which had been observed thissea.son, together with that<»l' a glut- ton. Monday was very fine, though the thermometer at night was SH\ Hence to the sixteenth we were all imprisoned by strong north-westerly wiiuls, and it was not fine again till the Saturday evening, with the thermometer at 20' during the night, Sun(hiy was an indiiii'i-ent day, but ; aiul the taking of a fox was the only event of a most tiresome week. It 1)I( w a jjjale on Siuiday, and did not" moderate till I\Ion(lay afternoon. The wliah- boat, wliioh ronhl now be of no use, was broken np. The weather was beeomin«j;' grachially miUkT, and, on tlie twenty-eiuhth, the thermomet«'r was 4 minus, with a bttle snow. The men \\('re not prevented from seeming the stores on shore during thes(; days. On the twenty-nintli it again blew so strong as to put a stop to this work; and they were therefore emploj'ed on board in preparing stores and necessaries for the ensuing journey. It was a more moderate day, though the thermometer at night was at Kf. There was abundant enijdoyment now, in preparing skin bags for bedding, in working at the sledges, and in other matters intended for travelling. The sea ice was eut on Saturday, by erecting a tent over the spot, since a strong breeze rendered it impossible to work otherwise, and it was found to be seven feet thick; having gone on increasing in this month, and having gainetl nine inches on the former. The temperature on the last night of March was 20'. In this month, the average t<*mperature of the first half was lower than it liad yet l)een in the same on the former years, since it was 42° tuider zero. It became gradually milder towards the end, so that the nuan of the whole was nearly the same, being minus 31*, as tlu' lowest anf the frequent winds; while it is certainly also true. March 25 to -29. March 30 & 31. 630 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY that our comparative weakness, and the alteration in our diet, made us feel it more severely. This had impeded the concealment of our stores, and retarded the work on the sleilges; but we had been busy on board in arranging and concentrating our several travelling necessaries : a work of some consideratiim, since, besides provisions, arms, aunuu- nitioii, and tools, we had fuel to carry, had it even been but to thaw snow for drinking, liesides instruments and all else that belonged to our personal accommodati«>ns. In our crew, we had now one blind man ; and the mate, Taylor, was still so lame that he could walk but a very little way : besides wliich there were three other men, in very indifferent health ; while no on*' was as strong as in the preceding year. On my part, the })rudent conduct, as it concerned this state of things, now seemed to be, to restore the whole to full allowance; and this was accord- ingly done. The magnetic observations ha>WbW.o.Sw.5L'. sWb.s.o. "Sstt^.aia.libw.o. f' > .."„ ■■"' " ! (■ .1 II II SEy. s.ii:(.SbE.O. SSE.12;. SEUSii. JSE.7i. "SKbliTj. ESE.O, KbS.O. •■* I'- ^9,^ _"_ -*_ .J> . ^*„ o NEy. -.|;i InTNE.II. Nblj.o. ^01 Ci) 131 ki/. Eb.V.o. F.SE.o. ■SEbir.0.Nfi:5. NEbJ<.o. Total. 614 liiiurs. :u) (In. wind vblc. 1 111. riUiii. ni-'^lldBjrs. JAN'LARY, 1832 IliffllC^t. Inwrst, lipt' I'litol lori-c ut the Wind Mean force of tlie Wind lislic-t. I.. wist, ''w 1 _„_,._... .., iiit-iiii t(Mii|K>rittiirc / ' ^, ■'- . 2U37 1»1T1 K'.'i'i.NbW.iu.NNVV.aws.WVbJf.o.I^W.rr. NWbW.o. w.svV.o. Wb7<.o. NWy.=.45l ^V.lo.w6S.o. wsw.i .3 „ SVVy.= 19 SbW.O. (I SEy. ^ 92 EbSU. ^l^ NEy. =.. .19 NbE.3. Total. Cot hours. 13 do. wind vblc. rtl do. calm. 890 := 29 Jays. lEBRU.VRY, IS32. IliKhest, lowest, & 1 _ , .3 . , Total lone ijl the \\ iiid . . . 2«17 Mean force of the Wind 96.i(3 ■ ' (L. ^'l 1 .1+ ' n J NWv. =413 1 N.13. ■Rtvv'.o.NNW.igss.KrWbTT.o.NW.sa. KTvbW.o.WNnv.l. Wb^i.o. 9 f) n 02 . o 21 o ijWv.^ 32 W.13. WBS.o. WSW.o. sWbW.o.sO?:3. SVVCSTo. "SsMTro. SbVTo. 3* " S5 " tj C> o SEy. ij or ^.44. ^bB.O. SSEj8. SKiiS.o. SB.43. "S^KbB.o. EsB.9. Bb^.o. 31 IJ 'I I NEy. :i. 40 K.4a. EbN.O.ENB.o. ;TfJarE,o.h£.l5. TfMxo. NN:E.3. NbE.o.J -. Total. 59H hourK. . 23 do. wind vble. 133 do. calm. 744-31 days. M.VRCU, 1832. Hichest, lowest, &\ ,^.„. ,, ,. mean temperature /~*'~"l "■"''' Total force of the Wind . . . 22S9 Mean force of tlic Wiod . . ;3.«l 632 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY CHAPTER XLIX. APRIL — COMMENCE THE OPERATION OF CARRVINfi FORWARD iJOATS, SLEDGES, AND PROVISIONS, WITH THE VIEW OF AHAN- DONING THE SHIP — MAY — CONTINUATION OF THE SAME WORK — THE SHIP IS AlUNDONED. l8:j'J. April 1 tu 7 April 8 lo 14. It blew SO hard that the men were imprisoned after divine service. On Monday it was more moderate, and tlie people were employed in ontting- round the Ivrusensiern, pre[)aratory to haiding- her up. The third, tburth, and fit'th, became gradually milder; though the thermometer did not rise above minus 14% and sank to 30' at night; but on Fritlay it was again very cold. On Saturday tin; thermometer rose on a sudden to plus 7 ; not having [)assed zero before, for 13({ days. I tlo not believe there is another record of such a cojitiinious low temj)erature : and it was a .state of things, most certainly, lo contirm us in our resolution of leaving the ship to her helpless fate, and attempting to save ourselves in the best manner that W(! eouKI. The thermometer fell once more to 20' on Sunday night, and then to 21 towards the Monday morning; after which it suddenly ro.se to plus 2', with a considerable fall «jf the barometer, ending in thick weather and snow. That became a gale on the following- day, and did not moderate till the evening of the eleventh, alter ■MM TO TFIE ARCTIC REGIONS. 033 April l.j to -2 1 . wliicli it beoaiiie c.iliii. It was mild the next day, at plus IT, aiul, on the thiiteentli, there was a heavy fall of snow, ending the week, on Saturday, with another mild day. One boat was completely fitted on the double sledge. The fifteenth and two following days were mild, so that, after Sunday, our work went on. On the eighteenth, the cold weather brought us to a stand out of doors; but, on the next day, the boats were drawn on the sledges as far as the second lake, where they were found to answer as well as we had expected. We were ready to start on the folloAving, but were j)revented by the snow falling thiek, with a temperature of 28^ minus, even at noon, and were therefore obliged to end the week as we were, with the thermometer at minus 18°, when on the same day in last year it was plus 30". We could have done nothing oi» this day, even had it not been April 22 Sunday, as the thermometer was at ininns 30' in the morning, and never rose beyond 3' minus. I must explain that our present object was to proceed to a certain distance with a stock of provi- sions and the boats, and there to deposit them for the purpose of advancing more easily afterwards. The abandonment of the vessel had long ceased to be a matter of hesitation ; and the object now was to proceed to Fury beach, not oidy for supplies, but to get possession of the boats there ; failing which, our own would be put into a position on which we could fall back. Though the temperature was equally low, it was clear and calm. We therefore set oiit at nine, reaching the nearest boat, which had alreadv been carried to the northern sea, about four miles from the ship ; after which we drew her to the other boat and store of provi- sions, whi(-h was two miles further. The weights were then 4 M April 2;}. caa SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY April M, divided equally, anegrees of a thernjometer make little impression on readers ; and, above all, the minus side of the scale is pow(;rless to those who have not lived in lands like that in question. The number thirty may catch the eye, without making the readers feel that it is sixty degrees under the freezing point. Our .sleeping room, on this occasion, was forty-seven degrees under that point. How did we continue to sleep, how can men sleep in such a temper.iture > This is what I have tried to explain on former occasions, yet with very bad success, I fear, since, in this case, there is no exerci.se to gene- rate heat, or cojinteract the etiects of cold. Once more 1 nmst leave it to the all-informed [)hysiologi.sts. We proceeded s,/0n after noon, with the second boat, through the same kind of ice, anil, after four hours, reached the sea-shore, where we found a terrace of ice formed by the spring tides, so as to pro- duce a level way within the hummocks on each side. Here the travelling was comparatively ea.sy. and, by six, we were about .seven miles from North point, where we left the boat and returned to our (quarters of the preceding night. TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 635 Wf l)egau our marcli early, this day, with the second boat, and April 25. with the provision sledge, alternately, in spite of a very annoying wind, with snow-drift; reaehing the advanc<;d boat of yesterday, and then carrying the whole a little way further, till eight, when we were oblige*! to house oinselves as on the first day of this journey. Our meat was so hard frozen that we were ol)liged to cut it with a saw, and eould only atl'ord to thaw -it by putting it into our warm cocoa : we <;o«dd not spare fuel for both purposes. A strong gale with a snow drift nearly covered our hut in a short time, and we had the greater mortitication of linding our- selves obstructed by a ridge of rocks jutting into the sea, o)i which the ice had accunndated to the lieight of tifty feet. Men have smiled at the narratives of eating in ' old Homer," and criti(;s have defended him. "Dormitavit" it may be, on many things, but on this subject at least, he never slept; yet the "good man" need not have been very anxious ;d)out the dinners ami sup- pers of his heroes, since they were never in want of a <^ow or a goat, to carve with their swords, and broil on their embers as they best might. If .some of us have been wearied of thest; suppers, and nnu.h more; wcariet to sav ; in wliat rcspjcts it is better or ditferent, it is not ht;re witliin my limits to detail, hut this at least is universal : let any thing be, provisions or water in doui)t, a gale or a liurri(;ane, the ship's course lost, the sails or the rigging ruined and irreplaceable, or even the vessel on a lee slior*' in a storm, it is " the captain's business." The men obey their orders, it is true, and what they will attempt and execute, no landsman will believe ; but tlie watch at aii end, they sleep as sound as if nothing was amiss : it is " the captain's business." Oin* own men had, in our present voyage, .seen, per- haps, enough to have ac(|uireil .some thoughts of their own : and possibly too, they sometinus considered of matters for which " the captain" ought not to have been exclusively responsible; yet the radical feeling for ever broke out, and whatever there was of unu- sual and new to be j)rojected and done, their tranquillity remained unaltered : it might have been wrong or right, but it was " the captain's business," not theirs — a happy responsibility on his part, it cannot lie denied ; yet is it not one under which he deserves the praise which he does not always attain ? May II. We were obliged to »lig the sledges an«l boats out of the snow befrue we couhl procee. At eight we set out with the other boat, containing the extra TO THE ARCTIC llEGIONd. (Ml I with [)Osi- iriied (lay It. ixtru wrt'lv's provisions; ami, in spit*; «»t a fnsli \mv7.v, with (hift snow, succeedrd in getting h«T to the sanu' island, ninrning onrr nion; to sleep. On the thirteenth we picked np the sledge which had been May n. left I'onr hich, rising when we wen- about halfway, gave ii.s mnn. \\ e thus descended to the sea on the other side, which proved to be a spacious harboiu', containing one island ; bounded to the north by a point so high, that the sea could not be seen over it. 'J'he boat was then hauled to the mainland; and we returned, after an advance of eight miles. On this day two sledges were taken on to the same point, anti May n. the remainder of the pr(»visions were transported on the following: .M;,v \h. each load thus e'osting us a sixteen mile walk. On the nineteenth May lo. 4 N C42 jsECOND VOYAGE OF DISC'OVEUV we set (Hit with tlie remaiinler of our etl!er montli's provi- sions ready, which was nearly all that remained ; but we aseertainnl that it would re(|uir«* ii week to repair the sledges and put the men in a condition lo draw them. AVe had time, therefore, to review w hat w'v had laftly done ; and the result was that we had travelled th hundred d ih It th May JJ A 'J 3. twenty-nine direct line; carrying the two boats with full allowance of pro- visions for five weeks; and expending, in this labour, a month. It was, however, the worst part of the roa«l. 'I'lie two ad, from a northerly gale and dritt snow, that we were well pleased to be on Imuul ; Init, ]\lay M. ''^ '^ nuKlerated on the next, a party went otfwith the sleilge, con- taining a month's provision at half allowance, to be deposited at the hv«!ve mile station. We were busied in making a new sledge, 1<» replace one whi<;h was found irreparable; and. on the tncnty- sixtli, th«' jiarty returnetl, having succeeded in their i'med on this Sunday, and tin* men were allowel to rest. The thermometer was now 'i"i' plus at midnight, and had ri.sen to 40' in the day. Miiv •:.;. Wav JG. Mav 'J7. TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 043 We were (employed in prrpariiin' f«>r our final departun-. The May 2> oin were ononieters and astronomical insfruinents wliirli could 1 )C s Dared and couhl nof Im; taken, were con<;ealf itliin the j)resent year. It was at least satislactory to find that there Mas no rashness in o»u' proceetlings, an to their evil natures. l)n the ridnf «>f lv:lip.s«' harbour, khis day, we fVunnl that tliere had been some pools of water, which were ai^ain frozen three inches thiarty to Fury beach, to ascert^^.in the stati! of things at that place. At half-past one in the nu)rning we accordingly set out, with J,mc lo three sledges, very heavy hulen ; since, besides the three weeks' provisions at full allowance, there were arms, annnnnition, tools, instruments, clothing, and more. Some valuable articles, uhicli we oould not take, wi^re left under one of tin- boats, which uas turned up for this purpose, that they might be safe i:i case of our return. We halted at the south of the point whi<;h tonus the bay already often described, and then [)roceeding, after nuuh toil, from the baht; hut we made a very sh>w pro- i^ress; hein«j^ compeUed to perform cinMiits when; they had been abh' to cross. After nine hours, we hahed on a point, but even yet coul. experienced severe falls. We found file note, and the cairn erected by the advanced party, about midnight, and completed a journey of nine miles. .iiiiiL 1". In our niitrch to-day, we passed many small bays and points of land, and saw the blue mountains to the westward, about ten miles distant ; finishing a journey of eleven miles by four in the morning. Here we nuule anotln r dep- we reached the tiftli cairn of our advanced party; antl as the note reported all well, I calculated that they would, at this date, have been two days at Fury point, and that they would consequently meet us on their return, in two days more. 1 therefore left a note at the cairn, niformuig tJu.m that we had passed it, and should keep close to the land ; as it was possible ihey might take a different road and miss us. June 25. ^^<' accordingly continued our jouriuiy along .shore, and passed a point, soon after which we met and joined Commander Uo.ss's party. The information he brought from Fury point was, that the .sea had risen high aiul carried off three of the boats, with many other things, to the northward, and that one of them was seriously damaged. All el.se was in the same condition as we had left it; and the bread and other provisions were in abundance and in good order. We all pitched for the day, and found, that with what they had brought, and .some which they had deposited, there was enough to last us all on tull allowance till we should reach that place. June 2G. After starting at eight last night, we procteded in s])ite of a very cold fall of .snow, till five, when we halted just after having pa.s.sed the sixth of the advanced cairns. At two in the morning of the June 27. twenty-seveutli, we reached Cape Garry, and [)icked up the provi- sions whi(.'h had been left ; encamping in a strong breeze, accom- panied by snow, which endetl in a storm, lasting the whole day, with the thermometer at 32°. TO TIIK AKCTIi; RKOIONS. iUil On tills (lay we rruclMMl tlir laiiil imnv tin- bottitiu of tin- hay, June 28. wlii< Ii scrmetl file ouflct of a ^^ical rivrr ; and tlion;;li unahh^ to niak«' a perfect, survey, I not only foinui the water shallow, hut could see the land so well all round, as to assure uie that there was no passage westward in this direirtion. On the next we passed June ."). throutfh much water, often al)ov<* our knees : it was a novelty, yet not an a^reeahle one; hut we tra<*e«l it t«) the elHux of several small rivers at this ])art of the <'oast. We resumed our journey as ususd, hein^ now ohli^etl to earry June no. the lame man, in addition to the rest of our load, and passed st^veral low points and islands of limestone. 'Hie sun had a ^reat etiect on the snow, and the aspect of the land was hourly <'hanj^iii^ ; hut, in the otliiiir, the ice seemeil as tirm and continuous as ever. At noon the thermometer was at 47', and at midniuht at ti'2 . We had .shot several ducks in the last tew days, and they were somewhat better than a luxury to us, especially hetore our allowanct; had been increased. Finally, we ended the luontli within hail of Fury beach. The water was now, at last, ruiinin;^ down the lar^e cracks in 'uly l. the ic(.', and every thinu; was hourly changing in appearance. Thret.' ravines that W(? passed were also pourini^ down their re- spective torrents; and at the foot of one of them w«' pitched our tents; here also finding a cask of tloiir whi-i SECOND VOVAflK OF DISfOVEIlY Jii'v 3.' W41S, :iii(l liowj'vcr long or short was tin- tiiiu- that ue wert- dtstiiu'il to orcnpy it. 'I'lun was tlir ffcliiig oflionic at U ast, aixi that was soiiii'thiiiu: : it had hi rii once the home ol'all ol'us, since it had hctii our storehouse; aud it had twice been that of Coiuinauder Uoss. The men 1 doubt not, t'elf Uiiv must, after all their (ears, aud the jdeasure was little diminished to them, by any anticipations of w hat miuht vet In? to <'ome. The tirst measure which I adopted, was to send them all to rest for the nighty that wc miijht once more brinu: back the regidarity of our days : and after this we proceeded to take a surviy of the stores. Iking scattered in every direction, it wils, however, ditlicult to prev w. './. (/a 1.0 I.I 1.25 2.2 t 1^ |||||20 1= 1.4 nil 1.6 V] <^ /2 »: 0% ^^ °% ^> /A VTf w w Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 4- 1 :i G54 SECOND VOYAGE OP DISCOVERY July IG to 21. July 22 to 31. rated on the following day : nor is there any thing to record during the whole of this week, on to Sunday, except that the work on the boats was in progress. * The weather was variable during the three first days of the fol- lowing week, and there was a little rain on Thursday. The snow was slowly disappearing, but the night temperature never rose beyond the freezing point. On one of these days I was able to ascend the highest hill, about a thousand feet high, whence I could perceive that the whole sea was a solid mass of ice, without motion, as far as the eye could reach. Some deep ravines, carrying no water but that from the melting of the snow, were, for this country, rather picturesque. Of the remainder of this month I need not give a detailed journal. Thfi weather proceeded in the same manner, calm, windy, clear, hazy, and rainy, in rotation ; with a temperature at night grar. dually rising to 40°. Our work was uniform, consisting in the pre- paration of the boats and provisions : the occasional shooting of some dovekies and other sea birds formed but a small variety in this monotonous life. A slight disruption of the ice on the twenty- ninth, must not, however, pass without remark ; and it went on increasing on the following ones. In putting in order the Fury's three boats, one of which had been exceedingly damaged, I had at first to regret that we had been obliged to leave our own behind, as tluy would probably have been ready sooner than the others, which might possibly detain us after the water was open. But as it turned out, all was ready together, and we were in a state of preparation for our voyage. ■I- . TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. G55 The general temperature of this July shows a mean of plus 35° with the two extremes of plus 50° and plus 22°. There had been rain but six times, and the first at a very late period ; but there had been a good deal of snow. Vegetation was therefore very backward. The men having been now on full allowance, had improved in health. The following is an explanation of the Meteorological Tables formed at the end of the years 1830 and 1831. The direction of the wind is expressed fractionally, thus ^\\ : that is, 4 hours at NNW ; the numerator expressing the number of hours, and the denominator the direction. When the figure occurs, it signifies that the wind was not in the direction expressed by the denominator, during the month. The sum placed to the right of the denominator, gives the total force of the wind in the same direction ; this will be given in full in the tables of the Appendix, denoted by figures in the following manner : 0. Calm. 1 . Light air, or just sufficient to give steerage way. 2. Light breeze 3. Gentle breeze 4. Moderate breeze 5. Fresh breeze 6. Strong breeze 7. Moderate gale 8.]^^Fresh gale 9. Strong gale or that in which a man-of-war, with all sale set, and clean full, would go in smooth water. or that which a well-conditioned man-of-war would carry in chase full and by. 10. A whole gale, or that which scarcely could baie the close, foresail. 11. L storm, or that which would reduce her to storm staysailst 12. A hurricane, or that which no canvas could witlistand. 1 to 2 knots. 3 to 4 knots. 5 to 6 knots. Royals. Single - reefed topsails and topgallant-sails. Double-reefed topsails. Triple-reefed topsails. Close-reefed topsails and courses, reefed main-topsail and r n I 656 SECOND VOYAGE OP DISCOVERY CHAPTER LI. 1832. August AUGUST — DEPARTURE FROM FURY BEACH IN THE BOATS- — DETEN- TION, AND DIFPicULTIES ON THE COAST — SUMMARY OF AUGUST TRANSACTJONS IN SEPTEMBER — BAFFLED IN OUR ATTEMPTS TO PROCEED — RETURN TOWARDS FURY BEACH — SUMMARY OF SEP- TEMBER. 1, vJN the last day of the preceding month, the ice had unexpectedly broken up, so far as to leave some navigable clear water, and as the boats were also ready, we prepared to depart, with the hope of being able to quit this strait and reach Baffin's bay before the departure of the whaling vessels. The boats were s' >red with provisions till tlie first of October, besides the bedding and other needful things ; and each carried seven men, with an officer. Commander Ross and I exchanged copies of our charts and narratives, in case of separa- tion; and a bottle was buried in the house, containing a short account of our proceedings. We left the beach at four in the afternoon, but found the chan- nels in the ice very crooked, and much impeded by floating pieces, so that it was with difficulty we could use our oars. Our progress was therefore slow ; and having passed two rivers, off" which there was much heavy ice, we were stopped at nine o'clock under the very precipice where the Fury was wrecked. It being low water. v> Ui H he ler, MMIHHMi TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 657 and the northward motion of the ice ceasing at eleven, it was evident that it would soon return on us ; so that the boats were unloaded as quickly as possible, and hauled up on the beach. It was not a minute too soon ; since the ice immediately came down, and two floes near us were broken to pieces, with a violent crash, so as to form a ridge of hummocks close to the shore. Tlie distance which we had thus made was eight miles ; and it was a singular coincidence that we experienced this narrow escape, not only where the Fury was wrecked, but on the same day that she was lost, eight years before. We hoped that the flood would have caused the ice to open and August 2. shift in the night ; but it became so much worse that we were obliged to haul still higher, and to cut a dock for the boats in a large hummock : a position and a delay which gave the carpenters the opportunity of finishing some work that had been left incom- plete. Some rain in the course of the day loosened stones from the precipices, one of which struck a boat's mast ; and we found, from the fragments below, that the vicinity of this precipice, which was four hundred and seventy feet high, was a place of danger. This seems but a cool remark to make, where such a cliffy, rising to such an altitude, impended over our heads, and when we knew, what all know, the effects of a thaw in throwing down those rocks which the previous ice has split. In reality, it was a position of the utmost danger: we might all have been overwhelmed, without notice, in half a minute, as the state of the beach below testified, or the brains of any individual among us might have been " knocked out" before he could have suspected any such accident. But I be- lieve that we were fully tried by hazards, and had become somewhat 4p 1 n . ;{ ; ■ 658 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY i , :»■!'■ ;:!: I r ! r;v I August 4, August 5 August G. careless ; tlioiigh a little reflection soon taught us tliat we need not add this unnecessary one to all that we had passed through and all that was still before us. August 3. It was a most intolerable day of rain and sleet, with the thermo- meter at the freezing point during the night ; nor did it clear till the following evening, while we were constantly annoyed by the falling of stones from the clitT. The wind continued from the north-east, but the ice was one more fixed, especially to the north- ward, and the temperature a degree lower. It being at length fine, I walked to the northward, and saw a probability of our reaching a safer beach two or three miles off, where a stream entered the sea ; since there was considerable fear lest some of us should be killed, in our present position, by the in- cessant falling of the stones under tlie effects of the thaw, which was general in the day. We reached it at noon, with considerable diffi- culty ; and some water shortly afterwards opening, we passed more precipices, and succeeded in getting a few miles further along the shore. We then found the water to the northward to be a solid mass of ice, and were obliged to haul up the boats, once more, on a beach where we were almost as much annoyed by falling stones as we had been in our last position. August 7, The thermometer was at 30° in the night, and did not rise beyond 40° in the day : during which the outer ice moved a little, under a strong east wind, but without any useftd results to us. Foxes, gulls, and dovekies were numerous; but we dared not fire, on account of the falling rocks, nor could we afford fiiel for cooking, Augusts, even had we succeeded. On the eighth, the ice threatened us, even on shore, such was its pressure ; at any rate it secured our imprisonment. TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. (i6& The ice in the channel streamed off to the north, and at lengtli Aupusi 9. opened just so much oi» the coast, as to allow us to embark at two o'clock. But we could not proceed more than two hours, and were then obliged to haul over rugged ice to the first Ijeach we could find, since all was solid beyond us to the northward ; while we had barely room for our tents under the precipice. The thermometer was never more than 34° in the day, and fell to 31' at night : it was absolute winter still. It being fine weather on this day, we were able, by lightening tlie August 10. boats, to track them along the shore to a better beach half a mile off, where we took our position at the foot of a cascade, bringing forwards what we had left. We attempted to move again the next August ii. day ; but were soon stopped by the ice, and glad to return to the place where we had a good position for the tents and an excellent harbour for the boats. On the twelfth we were imprisoned by snow August 12, and wind, and by the absolute closure of the ice. As there was no change to-day, Mr. Thom was sent with a boat August 13. to Fury beach, for three weeks' provisions ; there being open water in that direction, though there was none to the north of us. It blew hard from the north on the next day ; but though the effect of the August 14. wind was to produce a pool of water near us, it did not open the pas, i," e. Tho squalls were so strong as to endanger our tents, and to disperse the cascade in mist. The night temperature was still 31° or 32°, and that of the day was 40°. A note arrived from Mr. Thom, to say that he had reached Fury August 15. beach in three hours, had hauled the boat up about two miles off on his way back, and expected to return to us by the next tide. I accordingly sent two men to assist ; but the boat could not be got 4p2 T| V ()(K) SrCOXD VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY off, and they cain<; back to us, tin retbn', with some of the provi- Aiigiist 10. sions. On proceed in, i; to exuiniiu; into tlie state of things, next day, I found tliat tlie boat couhl not be brought along sliore loaded, in consequence of the state of the ice; and, on this and the following, therefore, the stores which she conhiined were brought to our [)resent position, and the boat was dragged up to remain till we were all once more reunited. The weather was still colder, being 30° at night, while some fresh snow that fell remained till noon. On these two days there was a cold wind with much snow and thick weather, but it became clear on the twenty-first ; the ther- mometer sinking to 29°, and the boat's harbour being covered with new ice on this and the following day. That ice was two inches thick on the twenty-third ; but in the evening the weather became calm, and it did not freeze on that night. A whale was heard, but not seen. There was no change on the following day, and the ice was every where unbroken. A cold northerly wind sprung up, and the tide rose eight feet, but witliout any effect on the ice. There was snow again in the evening, at 29° of temperature. On the following day it fell to 2o°, and the breeze was much stronger : it was left to us to guess Avhether this cold belona:ed to the old winter or was the commence- ment of a new one. The ice thus drifted to the southward, and the pressure was so great on our shore, as to force many heavy masses on the boat, higher than it had yet reached under any previous wind and tide, August 27. The rise of this tide was nine feet; and as it was still blowing hard from the north, the ice passed quickly to the southward; when, veering to the north-west, it all began to leave the shore. Aiiguiit 17. August 18. Au-usl 19 \ i>0. August .!l. August '22. August 23. August '24. A)igust 25. August 2G. TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. cm and in two hours, tlie whole coast wa.s cleared as far as we could see. At midnight it blew a gale, with heavy gusts from the pre- cipiees, so that our boats could scarcely lie where they were; and, very i)rovokingly, the cascade was so frozen, that there was now no water to be obtained without thawing : the thermometer being at 2(r at night. It moderated at noon, and we embarked, proceeding under sail August 28. along sliore, and exposed to very heavy squalls from the precipices, which rendered extreme care necessary : when, passing IJatty bay, we reached Elwin bay at midnight. Wv then st.xMl for a beach about a mile further north, and, as it was now blowing a whole gale, pitched our tents, amid a storm of snow, wliich, in the night, covered all the land. It moderated, however, towards morning, and we put to sea by August 29. four o'clock, standing for the edge of the packed ice, in the direc- tion of Cape York. We then ran along it, in hopes of finding some passage ; but it continued to lead us out of our course, till it joined to Leopard's island, so as to embay us : and as the wind was again increasing, it was with great difficulty we weathered it, so as to attain the land about a mile north of Ca[)e Seppings, yet without being able to get to the beach, which was every where blocked uj) by heavy ice. There was snow, and the range of the thermometer in the twenty-four hours was from 30° to 36°. We were obliged to .sleep in our boats, in no comfortable posi- August 30. tion ; and as our place was not tenable, we re-embarked at six in the morning, with a southerly wind. We .soon met with the ice pack, and ran along it up Barrow's strait ; but to no purpose, as there was no exit any where. We therefore stood in to the shore. V.J,. m2 HECOM) VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY and foiiinl ii ^ood position for pifcliiri',' the t«'nts iind liaulin^ up the boats; while it uas near a iiiouiitaiii that promised iis a view of the distant ice; the pack being so liiijh above the l)oats' gun- wah^s that we couhl not see over it. August 31. It snowal all the morning, and we removed the boats to the ground ice for the sake of launching them more easily. We found here many remains of Es(|uimaux huts, and some fox-traps; and as we saw many seals, the reason for the natives fixing in this place was apparent. The hill itself was a peninsula, joined to the main by a long bank, or rather a neck of land, about two miles broad, and on each side was a bay ; while, as in neither of these the ice had yet broken up, we had a sufficient proof of the severity of the season. All the sea to the north was hence seen to be completely full of solid ice, though it drifted occasionally, near the land, under the influence of the tides. August had been a month of peculiar anxiety ; and a succession of hopes and disappointments severely tried the patience of all. On quitting Fury beach, appearances were so favourable, that every advance to bay, or point, or cape, along the coast, flattered us with the prospect of soon reaching the northern edge of the ice, and then of surmounting the greatest difficulty in the way, by making a passage across Prince Regent's inlet. By tl)e time, how- ever, that we had reached 73" of latitude, we were nnfortunately detained so long by the state of the ice, that it became doubtful if we should succeed during the present season. Here was one of the main trials of our patience ; and a look-out house, built in the cliffs by the men, becat'f; the chief thing which afforded them any amusement, while that consisted in watching TO TIIR ARCTIC REGI0N9. mi3 ly I if it bh for the changes ii» the ice, whicli, afttr all, ^ to melt the snow which would be recjuired for our consumption of water. Thus did our arrival at Batty bay turn out to be a most providential circum- stance, as there were, from this point, but thirty-two miles of direct distance remaining ; a line which all the intricacies and obstruc- tions of the route could not well increase to more than forty. At this time it was, that we began to experience the greatest suf- ferings we had yet endured from the cold. We had l)een unable to carry with us our usual quantity of clothes and of canvas, so that we were most in want of [)rotection from the weather when we were least able to bear up against its severity. There was not now the employment that would have aided us to resist it, by keeping us in action ; and perhaps, still worse, the diminution of our hopes during the latter days of this month tended to diminish that energy of the system by which, assuredly, the animal heat is maintained. The effect of the exciting, and, reversely, of the depressing passions, on the heat-generating power, cannot fail to be known to every one's experience, not to medical men alone, although they may not express their knowledge in the same terms, and perhaps may not even have noticed the facts till pointed out; and while it ought to be made a primary consideration with every officer having charge of men in these frozen climates, to maintain tlie spirits and hopes of his men, so may I add it to those rules and precautions which I formerly laid down on this subject. Be all this as it may, we were really very cold, and very miseriible; and from what I have formerly said of my own constitution, I have reason to believe, that whatever my own sufferings might have been, every one of TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 675 the party was much more inistrably cohl than myself. The prospect before us, in the ca.se of being obliged to return, was even worse ; unless indeed the excess of our labours in the expected journey, with the conviction that there was an object, ami a home, .such as that was, in view, should enable us to accomplish this undertaking. During the latter part of this inontli our success in procuring foxes and ptarmigans had been considerable ; and while our whole party was not so large as to prevent this supply from being of real use, so did it form a valuable aildition, both in (piantity and quality, to our nmch too scanty stock of provisions. There was great reason to dread theert'ect of a narrowed diet on the men : not merely on their health or strength, but on their very lives. All of us had already sutiered from this at various times ; but the chances of irremediable evil were increasing every day. A review of the weather showed this to have been the coldest September which we had re(;orded : a fix t which I attributed to tlie permanence and proximity of the great bodies of ice and snow which surrounded us, and especially lo the total want of that open sea which has always such an influence on the temperature. This month had been noted for the tranquillity of the winds, and thence was there no cause adeijuate to the disruption of the ice. The whole land also, ever since the middle of August, had been entirely covered with snow, so that, but for the appearance of the sun, every thing bore the aspect of deep winter. Having formerly noticed the necessity which compelled us to leave at North-east Cape the largest collection of minerals which we had made, I may now add, that I afterwards pointed out the 4r2 "i il 676 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY s|M)t to Capluiii IJmiiplirtfys, (»f the Isabt'Ua, witli the hope that he iiii,t?lit Iiave reached that phice in tlie sueeee(Jin^ siiininer, and thus put me once more into possession of the materials whence I might have . casks ; and his chips became very welcome fuel, serving to cook a couple of foxes in aid of our short commons, which, during the whole of this expedition, had been distributed into two meals, break- fast and supper. That work was not tinished till tlie fourth, oct. 3 & 4. amid very heavy snow ; when they were loaded with our tents and whatever else might be wanted at Fury beach. There could be no further hope of getting back there in the boats : and thence I had originally determined to leave them here for the next year's .*(.; 1'^^ 678 SECOND VOYAGE OP DISCOVERY use ; and to proceed with sledges in the best manner tliat we could. We found this attempt almost insuperably difficult; and the whole progress that we could make was but four miles. The way was rendered nearly impassable by the deep and loose snow which had been falling : and, to increase our troubles, the lame man, Taylor, could neither walk with his crutches, nor ride on the sledges, which were perpetually upsetting upon the rough ice. In some manner or other, however, we gained a bad resting place at seven; when it was already dark, with the thermometer at zero. Oct. 5. We passed a miserably cold night, but fortunately escaped frost- bites. In the morning, one of our three sledges being broken, we were compelled to leave here some stores ; taking nothing but the provisions, tents, and beds, on the other two, and thus having stronger parties to draw them than on the preceding day. We thus gained seven miles on this day's jouniey, in spite of a strong cold wind and constant snow, and were enabled to carry the mate Taylor, by returning for him with an empty sledge. Burdened and obstructed as we already were, this was a great additional grievance : but they who were inclined to murmur, had at least the satisfaction of reflecting that their case was better than his. Oct. 6. It was a difficulty of another kind which we had to encounter on the next day ; as the heavy ice was pressed up to the precipices along the shore, and we were often obliged to quit a tolerable track, to get round them in the best manner that we could. But the labour kept us warm ; and, by noon, arriving at the cascade, within eighteen miles of Fury beach, the men acquired fresh TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 679 "i courage ; when, having made eh^ven miles, we pitched witJ>in eight of our winter home, killing several foxes in the way. Sunday morning found us a few hours more of similar work ; Oct. 7. and this being over, we reached our house, Somerset house, at three o'clock ; our labours at an end, and ourselves once more at home. But we had left the tents at the last stage, to accommodate the men that remained behind, who were to return as soon as possible, for the clothing and other matters which could not be brought forward at this time. We found our house occupied by a fox, which soon made its escape. Every thing was as we left it: and as we were not less hungry than cold, having finished our last morsel at breakfast, the men were treated with a good meal, which, however, the im- prudent did not partake of without suffering. Two of the men were found to have frost-bites, and I had been deeply cut in the leg. The following day furnished employment for the men, iu re- Oct. s & 9. pairing the sledges and their shoes, for another journey. On the tenth, a heavy gale rendered all out of door work impracticable, and Oct, lo. even our house was in great danger. JJut it had such an effect on the ice outside, as to set it in motion to such a degree, that every atom of bay ice near us was demolished by the floes, and a large space of water opened to the north-east. This storm continued on the eleventh ; and as our house was not Oct. n. yet prepared for a winter so severe and premature, we suffered con- siderably from the cold, being unable to raise our sleeping places beyond 18". The tide rose very high : and many large pieces of ice which we had left here when we went away, were floated ofl; F-.|.,j t: m 1; cm SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY Oct. 12. On the following morning the storm was at its highest; the thermometer fell to 8°, and the tide carried off the remainder of the land ice to the southward, with great velocity, while much water was seen to the northward. That was now useless : a month before it might have aided us ; but, at this time, it was what a single hour might obliterate till the next autumn. Oct. 13, There was no cessation to this most uncommon storm : after promising to lull about noon, it blew harder than ever; and the canvas roof being too weak to bear it, the snow gained admission to our beds, and every thing was frozen, AVe had great difficulty in keeping ourselves warm by crowding round the stove : but had the good fortune to take three foxes in the trap : a matter now begin- ning to be a subject of great congratulation. Oct. 14. We had the same luck on the next day, but there was no dif- (Jct. 15. ference in the weather on this and the following one, nor, on the Oct. IG. sixteenth, till noon, when it moderated, and the men were able to work outside in covering the roof with some of the Fury's running Oct. 17. rigging. On the next day, it was good enough to permit the men to set off with the sledges to the place, twenty-five miles off, where some of our stores had been deposited. The thermometer sank to minus 2°, but there was nothing else to mark these three days. On the twenty-first, Commander Ros.s's party returned, bringing every thing except the tents, which had been left at the last stage. Among the rest was our other stove, which was immediately prepared for use. Oct. 2.'. The ice that had opened, now closed the bay, as was foreseen, and the thermometer fell to minus 10°. The additional stove, however, now kept our house even warmer than we wished, since Oct. 18 to 20. Oct. '21 TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 631 ice we could raise it to 6V. A snow wall, four feet thick, was built round it; and further spars and ropes were applied to support the roof, for the pnrj of covering it with snow. A continuance of Oct. ^r? to -O. storms on the thrt following days rendered all work imprac- ticable. On the last days of this week it was milder, and we were Oct. 2G able to continue our operations. Divine service was renewed on this day, after a longer cessation Oct. '28. than was agreeable to our feelings, aiiJ after a much longer one than was right : but for this there was no help ; it were well if those who neglect this duty at home could find excuses as availing. After this, the men had their last dinner on full allowance, as it now became necessary to retrench. We found a roasted fox to be a very good dish. Thus at least we then thought : I imagine that liungry men do not much attend to flavour, or, as the moralists have told us, that hunger flavours all meats. I have liad reason to doubt, since my return to the beef and mutton of England, and to the dinners of " Grocers' Hall," whether I might not have over- rated the flavour of fox; and I suspect too, that even IJarney Laughy, though educated on porridge and potatoes, has made the same discovery. It blew hard on the twenty-ninth of this month, and increased Oct. 2 to a heavy gale on the three following days, so that the month of October ended as severely as was well possible. We however now found the advantage of the snow wall, and had no reason to com- plain within doors, though the thermometer went down to minus 18°. Much clear water was opened in the offing once more, during this last storm. The month of October in this year surpassed all others for cold 4s 29 082 SECOND VOYAGE OP DISCOVERY and stormy weather; tliere being only six days moderate. Our journey from Batty bay, which was accomplished in four days, was exceedingly laborious, and from the nature of the weather, very trying to all the men ; bnt had we been obliged to walk all the way from our furthest position, the journey wotdd have been fatal to some, if not to all of us, since we shovdtl have been overtaken by the storm of the ninth. We therefore felt very thankful that we had been so mercifully i)ermitte(l to reach even this coki and dreary spot in safety. Having constructed our house previously was also a very pro- vidential circumstance; for, defective as it was, it could not have been nearly so well done at this season ; and indeed before it could have been done at all, we must have suffered severely ; but what we had most leason to be thankful for is the store of provisions still left, now surticient to last and maintain us for another season; and when we reflect on the various circumstances which have as it were exerted themselves to prolong our lives, we cannot I ut offer up our humble acknowledgments to the (ireat Disposer of events. First, I may enumerate the loss of the Fury, by vvhi(.'li accident the stores and provisions were left : next, the mutiny of the John's crew, for if that ship had come with us, we intended to have cleared Fury beach : thirdly, the engine boilers, without which, we might have got so f;u- that we could not have returned : fourthly, the F'ury's boats, after having been carried ott' in the storms of the winter; having been cast on shore near the same place, without any material damage : and lastly, the construction of a habitation in summer, to which we were now mercifully i)ermitted to return. Mr. Thom now inspected and took an account of the remains of TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. (383 provisions; namely, of tlie flour, sugar, soups, peas, vegetables, pickles, and lemon-juice, which were in abundance; though we regretted to find, that of the present preserved meats, there was not more than would suffice for our voyage in tlie boats during the next season, together with half a pound additional on Sundays, and the same on Thursdays. With respect to the present rations, tlie men were allowed, alter- nately, pea-soup, with one made of carrots and turnips, out of the stores of the Fury. Instead of bread, which we could not now furnish to a sufficient extent, they were provided with vas in the horizon on the fourteenth, and was seen for the last time on the Hfteenth. There was no change in the weather, except an unexpected rise of the thermometer to minus 10 . The gale became worse than ever, and there was now clear water as far as we could see to the north-eastward, which, on the next day, was entirely frozen over and covered with snow. On these days of confinement there had been abundant work within, in fitting up the bed places, and in constructing and supplying a ventilator. The good eftect of this contrivance was immediately felt, in its carrying off the vapour: and, to render the construction of the whole house the more intelligible, a plan and a section are subjoined in the plates which accompany this journal for that purpo.se. On Sunday the weather had moderated, but it was hazy on Monday, becoming calm on the next day. Thus it continued till a wind rose from the eastward, but not so as to render the work of tlie men, out of doors, in constructing a snow passage, impracticable. We saw a second wolf on this day, wiiich was fired at, but not killed, since it was afterwards seen, wounded, but still able to escape. The men were .Mi, TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 085 imprisoned till Saturday iiii^ht, aiul the tlierinonieter was then at Nov. 23 10 mnuis. Sunday i4^ fti /,;■ }y„r/ D \_ ■»» ^.Y. 1 .'] ~ ^ W"J' rH x V X TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 680 CHAPTER LIV. THE JOURNALS O^ JANUARY, FEBRUARY, AND MARCH, WFTH THEIR RESPECTIVE SUMiMARIES — DEATH AND FUNERAL OF THE CAR- PENTER. 1833. Jan. 1 toG. UUR new-year's feast was like that of Christmas-clay. The remainder of the week was fine, and the people were able to take exercise every day. The temperature ranged between 33' and 38°. A breeze came on upon Sunday, with snow-drift; and the sea, Jan.Gio 12 which had been covered with new ice, broke up. It moderated next day ; but, on Tuesday, blowing hard with the thermometer at 43', it was intolerably cohi. The temperature rose a little the following day, but went down to 44° on the tenth. Friday and Saturday were both stormy, with the ice in violent motion ; and the result of this gale was to raise the temperature to 20'. This Sunday was marketl by a perfect storm ; yet it moderated on the next day, and still more so on the following ones, so that we could again go out during all the remainder of the week ; the thermometer, which had not been very low in comparison, being- then at 3V. Sunday ended with a gale and drift snow, which continued the following day, and left the ice in motion on Tuesday. The weather was uncertain all the rest of the week, with strong breezes and 4t ,laii. V) to 19. Jan. 20 to 20. %■: 690 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY Jan. 27 to '29. &31. calms. Oil Saturday the sun slioiild have been visible for tlie first tiiu;-; but the snow-drift dej)rived us of the siglit : and this week j)ro(hiced nothing- else to note. It blew so hard on tlie first days of the week, that we could not go out. The twenty-ninth was a very fine day; and the u[)per limb of the sun appeared at a ({uarter after eleven; showing three- quarters of the disk above the horizon at noon, and setting at half after one. It was the first time that we had seen it during seventy- Jan. 30 four days. On the thirtieth, the thermometer rose to IT, and the month was ended w ith it at 4^ ; being a great change within a very short space. This month began, and continued for ten days, with such severity that it promised to be the coldest on record. It improved, however, about the middle, so that the mean temperature was 30° minus, while the extremes were minus 4° and minus 44°. Nevertheless our habita- tion was very cold and miserable ; while, in attempting to warm ourselves on one side, we were frozen on the opposite, and were otherwise more than enough >\ earied, from the want of books or other occupation, and the impossibility of taking exercise out of doors. The crew, with the exceptions formerly noticed, were not ailing : but, of the carpenter's recovery, there was iif hope. The weather confined us for the first two days of February ; but Sunday was fine, as was the next day ; a violent gale coming on upon the fifth, which, after another peaceful day, recurred on the seventh, freezing the mercury, and continuing to blow with great fury till the end of the week, the thermometer then falling to 44°. The carpenter being now in a hopeless state, an appropriate sermon was read on the present Sunday. On Saturday morning Pub. 1 to 9. Feb. 10 to 16, I data TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 691 he (live had reason to lament our ill success in shooting; as it was long, too, ere we could hope for the arrival of the summer birds, to allow us to add some fresh meat to our diet. We had taken but three foxes and two hares in the whole month ; which, as food, amounted to nothing. At the end of it, after all the changes that had taken place under the gales, the ice was so rough that it was impassable on sledges, and even on foot. No anrora borealis had been seen ; and, indeed, we had scarcely noticed one the whole w inter. We were indeed all very weary of this miserable home. It had jbeen a welcome one when we first reached it ; because it was a con- ta.-w>Y-.-i aaawffii-i?y I " TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 695 trust to wliut liiid been much worse. It li:ui received us, fiitii^ueil, shelterless, and Imlf-starved, and it at U;ast promised iis comparative peace and rest. But the novelty of this (ieling had lonj; been worn out; and, for a loni;' time now, the days had been almost without variation or mark; ea('h duller than its predecessor, and the night retmning only to tell us that another such day would come to-morrow. Even the storms were without variety, amid this eternal sameness of snow ami ice : there was nothing to see out of doors, even when we could face the sky; and, within, it was to look, equally, for variety and em[)loynient, and to find neither. If those of the least active minds dozed away their time in the waking stupefaction which such a .state of things pn)duces, they were the mo.st fortunate of the party. Those among us, who had the enviable talent of sleej)ing at all times, whether they were anxious or not, fared best. That many wishes were turned towards our own I'higlisli home, cannot be doubted: but it was unreasonable to indulge regret where there was nothing of which we ("onld accuse ourselves ; and they who looketl forward, could feel that there was enough of exertion before them to demand all their spirit, and at least hope enough to sustain those spirits till the time should come to bring them into action. Another month would pass in the daily approaching prospect of moving : within one more, we might be in motion ; and if June must still be a term of struggles and hopes, the month of July might find us in Baffin's bay. After all, I believe, it was on those with whom the responsibility rested, that the evil sat lightest ; for, in the mere sense of this, there was exertion, as the anticipation filled the mind with schemes and pro.spects, and even in this alone, gave it occupation. Still there was 096 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY far inon; tliiiii time ejioiinh ; far too much to occupy in action, and incalculably too nnich for thinking : an»l while part of our standing work was to complete the du[)licates of our journals, some weary liours were filled up by noting our recollections of tlu' natives with whom we had been so long in connnunication. What mine were, furnished a sketch, which I am very unwillingly compelled to defer to an appendix, gladly as I wouhl have introduced it into this jomual ; which, if it may often have wearied the reader, by its unavoidable repetition of similar occurrences, cannot have tired him to one ten-thousandth part of the degree that the entry and the retrospect wearied myself Let him who reads to condemn what is so meagre, have some compassion on the writer who had nothing better than this meagreness, this repetition, this reitera- tion of the ever resembling, every day dulness to record, and what was infinitely worse, to endure. I might have seen more, it has been said : it may be ; but I saw only ice and su'^v, cloud and drift and storm. Still I might have seen what I did not; seen as a painter, and felt as a poet ; and then, like painter and poet, have written. That also may be, but let paintci" anffing was as bad as ever, and the two or three gulls, with a few snow biuilings that we saw, without one grouse, were but feeble signs of an advancing summer. May 25. May 16. Mav "27 to;Jl. ?ii 702 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY The fatigues of the men, of men and officers, since no one was exempted, were very great in the last twenty days of the month which our ever renewed travelling occupied; yet they hatl not materially suffered, though the sick continued no better. Our allowance of provisions was as low as before, and the mode of distribution into meals the same; while the night had been made our day. The quantity of provisions that we had secured thus far on our road to the expectetl liberation, was sufficient to last us, on a two-thirds allowance, till the first of October. .lune 1. Having thus carried forward to the boats all that could be spared from our actual wants, that every thing might be in readi- ness for moving whenever the ice should open, we had now to occupy ourselves as we best could at our " Somerset house," and to make ourselves as content as might be till it was time to move again. Tins apparently premature advance was uJ>:, 'utely neces- sary ; because, at a later period, when it should . i for the boats to move and make the attempt to navigate the Irozen strait, the roads from our winter residence to their place would not only be much worse, but might prove impassable for such loads, under the little power that we had at command. With the present arrangements, the surplus that might remain with us would be moderate, and a short time would bring us up to the boats, in readiness to sail ; whereas, had this last month's work been de- ferred, the ice might have opened, and joined again for the winter, before we were ready to take advantage of it. The journal of this month is therefore, very generally, uniform and uninteresting. To us it was so : it cannot be otherwise to a reader. Juno 2 Divine service was re-established on Sunday. It was very bad TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 703 weather, with strong northerly winds, snow, and drift, on the three following days ; but it improved as we advanced towards the end of the week, the thermometer rising to 30° : notwithstanding which low temperature, the sun dissolved much of the new snow, and laid bare again some parts of the hills. Some birds were killed. The weather continued better. On Monday a bear came to the .itmc9 . for the first time, but it soon became snow ; notwithstanding which, on the following day, water was seen running down in several places, and there were many pools on the ice. Hence, on to Saturday, the weather continued variable ; being sometimes fine, and at others rendered disagreeable by falling snow, while the ice was, of course, still dissolving; though the thermometer at night seldom reached the freezing point, as its highest degree in the day- time, was 52°. The history of the present week is but a repetition of the same hmn la to '22. weather and the same temperatures, which, at least, were but two or three degrees higher on the average. The great work of dissolu- tion was going on, and, it was agreed by all, much more rapidly than in the preceding year at the same time. The summer animals were now, too, increasing, and about two dozen of ducks and a goose were killed in one day, besides some other birds at various times. Some work was also done to the sledges, for our next journey, which was now near at hand. We were enabled to give all the people a good treat of ducks on lum 23 this day ; being the only tolerable dinner they had seen for a long t?'- ir. ^■:i 704 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY June 25 to 29. time : tlioiigl), on other occasions, these delicacies were reserved for tlie sick. On the twenty-fifth, a party went forward with a sledge- load of fuel and provisions ; and, on returning-, they reported that the road was covered with water and soft snow. I did not find it so bad as represented, in proceeding with another load on the fol- lowing day ; having finished which stage, I returned to send on the others. On Saturday night, the sledges were finished. The weather during this week resembled that of the former, in 7ts incessant changes ; nor did the temperature materially improve. Many seals were seen, with some tracks of reindeer; and some birds were killed, including forty dovekies. June 30. Oil this Sunday, all the party which had gone forward returned in good health. The rejiort of the roads was more favourable; and the diurnal range of the temperature was from 3*2° to 42°. In the beginning of June the prospect was exceedingly imfa- vourable, as the weather was very cold, and the temperature lower than in the preceding ones at the same period. It however im- proved, though there was very little rain during the time, and much snow. The extremes were 46° and 16° plus, and the mean plus 35|°. We had advanced the tents and some stores to the second posi- tion forwards ; which, though but thirty miles oft', required more than a hundred miles of travelling, from the necessity of returning to bring up the loads which we could not carry on to their places in any other manner. We were still, however, encumbered by the sick, who could not walk at all ; while, unfortunately, they were the three heaviest men in the crew. Some others could barely walk, but could give no assistance in drawing the sledges. It was well TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. r()5 that some appeared in good healtli; while all were now in hopes of a speedy embarkation, and of an ultimate escape from the miserable abode of people who had, on the whole, been sufficiently miserable in all ways. Some of the numerous persons with whom I have conversed, since my return, on the history of our voyage, have suggested to ine, on this subject, a remark which I, assuredly, did not make at the time, and should not have made now. It certainly never struck me, and I am sure it did not enter into the thoughts of one of my officers, that we had ever done, or were now doing, aught more for the sick men of our crew than was our duty, and, not less, our inclination. Undoubtedly, it was a very heavy labour to carry onwards these sick and enfeebled men, encumbered as we were : it was a far more serious matter, when even the lives of the able might be sacrificed to a duty which thus curtailed our means of conveying forward the provisions and accommodations necessary to our own ex- istence, and what is still more, were indispensable to the accomplish- ment of our ultimate hopes, a return to England. It was also, as I have since been told, a great sacrifice of our own comforts, to liave reserved our best and most delicate food for the sick, to have nursed and tended those who had ceased to be aught but an en- cumbrance, and of whom, some, as we full well knew, were not destined to survive. That may be very true : I believe, that as regarded ourselves, we did wrong ; it is possible that such notions may have occurred to me for a moment or two since my return, when the ingratitude and obloquy which I have experienced from those very persons in particular has vexed me ; and I believe that when the history of the wreck of the Meduse has been recited to 4x il 7Q(i SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY .lulv 1 to 4. me by those friends, I may have sometimes wondered why we should so far have differed ; little willing as I am to remend)er any tlun'j; which may make human nature appear in an evil light, or to add to the l)itter feelin*^ which I'^ngland too often entertains towards its neiulibour. But in spite of all that might then have occurred to our minds, though I cannot recollect that it tlid once occur, iu spite of such inconvenience as we did really suH'er, aud such hazards as we did risk, and in spite of the ingratitude which I nnich fear I have experienced where I ought not, I inmgine that 1 did no more than it was proper to do, and which 1 should do again in the same circumstances: yet is this not boasting, since I am sure that every IJritish otHcer would do the sanie, as I know that every Christian man ought, in any situation. If it is true that France really wants such a lesson, I nmst be sorry; but I fear that no lesson will influence those who have not in their hearts the inclina- tion to do right, or who are not governed by some better motive than the praise of men ; in this expecting that poor reward, which, in just j)unishment of their motives, may even be withheld. The ^^ind and weather were variable during the first four days of July, but generally cokl, with snow aud sleet, while the thermo- meter at night scarcely ever rose above the freezing point. Our preserved meat was expended ; and we had here, now, no other fresh animal foinl than what we could procure by our guns ; which was not nni<;h as yet, since it consisted but of a i'ew ducks and dovekies. Some spare grates were made for the house, and the roof was repaired and strengthened, in case we should be obliged to return to it for the ensuing winter ; though somewhat at a loss to know how we were to subsist under such an unfortunate event. TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 707 A quantity of flannel cartridifes wera given to the men for re- pairing their clothes before enconnte' nig the journey to Batty bay. An avalanche of ice from tlie clitfs, intermixed witli rocks and water, was a novel sight, and, in this deartli of events, would have been interesting, even had it been far less splendid as a spectacle. Falling into the stii, it carried all before it; breaking the flat ice to a great distance, and sliowing us, had that been now necessarv, tlie manner in which the icebergs are somttinus found to be covered witli fragments of rock and layers of earth. So many of my countrymen have now seen the avalanches of tlie Alps, and so many more have read of those, in prose and in poetry, as tliere are some who can never forget the splendid [)icture of Loutherbourg on this subject, that any attempt on my j>art to describe such an occurrence as this must be sui)erfluous, as it can- not fail to be feeble. Yet there was a variety in this, uliicli, couhl I adecpiately describe it, in even tlie plainest prose, or represent it in the meanest drawing, would not fail to strike even those who have witnessed what Switzerland can show. It was not the snow ball, gigantic as that may be, detaching itself from the mountain .summit, gaining in magnitude as in velocity during its progress, and then thundering down an irregular declivity, sliding, bounding, and breaking, till it had .safely lodged itself in the valley below, or in the bed of a torrent; there perchance to obstruct a stream, be scattered over a plain, or, if even overwhelming a cottage, to fall into repose among the ice that had received it. Here, all was as instantaneous as it was unexjiected. The icy mountain that had towered over our lieails so long, was gone before we could say, Behold, l)e aware : the in.staut of its motion was that of its descent, 4x2 .Inly ,0 I ! 708 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY and before it seemed to liuve coimneneed that descent, it had pinniped into the sea: no, not into a sea of water, but a sea of ice; breakini^ up those ghissy tiekis which had so h>ng bound us in, as if indeed they were but a feeble mirror; scattering' their fragments far and wide, with a noise exceeding thunder, and prohmged even like the reverberations of the thunderbolt, until all settled again into the dead and icy stillness of its former repose; yet to leave that new mountain in the waves, a record of this catastro])he, as long as record could be of those mountains which the sun would ere long melt, and the winds float off to other and far distant regions. .Inly 7. The shooting of fifty dovekies yesterday gave the men a good Sunday's diinier; and the last divine service we trusted ever to attend in this house, was performed. It was the coniinencement of a farewell which all hoped would l)e eternal; but every one must answer for the feelings under which he, for the expected last time, re})eated the Lord's prayer, and heard himself dismissed in those words which promise, to those who deserve it, that peace w Inch passes all understanding. I trust there were few who did not recollect to return their own private thanksgiving for so long a preservation amid such dangers anil privations, and who did not put up their own prayers for help in the great undertaking now impending, on the success or failure of which must turn the event of life or death to all. July s. On Monday, every thing was ready, and we too were as pre- pared as we were anxious to tpiit this dreary place, as we hoped, for ever. Yet, with those hopes, there were mingled many fears; enough to render it still but too doubtful in all our minds ^ji.i£iss.ij& iarm i nm TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 70,9 whether we might not yet be compelled to return ; to return once more to despair, and perhai).s, to return but to die. To have been able, confidently, to say, Adieu for ever, would have been indeed to render this a delightful parting; when even the shelter which we had received was insufficient to balance all the miseries which we had suftered; miseries to have extinguished every sense of regret that we could have felt in pronouncing those two words, which, it is said, have never yet, under any circumstances, been pro- nounced without pain. This may be true; I almost believe that it would have been true even in our case, tjiough in parting from our miserable winter house of timber and snow, we left nothing be- hind us but misery and the recollection of misery ; since, in the com- parison with what might have been, it was, heaven knows, a shelter from evils far greater, from death itself; and, such home as it was, a Home ; that strange entity from which man never parts, bad as it may be, without reluctance, and never leaves but with some sirange longing to see it again. But true as may be the pain of an adieu, or the fancy of leaving for ever a home, or true as may be, reversely the pleasure of quitting for ever the scene of past miseries, neither the pleasure nor the pain was ours. Scarcely the feeling of a farewell, for hope or regret, for pain or for pleasure, was in any mind, when we coldly departed in the evening with our three sledges, to encounter such fate as Providence might have in store for us. Tiie sick, who formed our great difficulty, bore the first journey well, and we reached our first station before mid-day. It was a fine day, and the warmest that had yet occurred ; the temperature being 48°. In the afternoon, at three, we proceeded again, with H!" 710 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY Jtilv 10. 11. infinite toil, tlnon^h nearly impiis.sablc w.iys, witich were rendered more ili/iicnlt to n.s by tlie eare wliicli the .sick required : and .so hard was the labour, that even here, and at night, we were obliged to work in our shirts. We gained but two miles by midnight, and were glad to rest. We recommenced with all the baggage, labouring through ways as bad, or worse, under a sun that was occasionally very hot ; and at nine, reached the third position, at the cascade, which was now pouring down abundantly into a pool filled with kittiwakes; where we procured some sorrel. We found that the bears had upset a cask full of skins which we bad left here, but they could not con- trive to open it. On the next day we brought forward the sick, whom we could not move together with the baggage, and then proceeded to the third position, after a very fatiguing journey, backwards and for- wartls, of twenty-four miles. We had lately obtained a good sup- July 12. ply of dovekies, and cotd. was still filled, and impassable. On the two next davs it rainetl '"ly n almost constantly, and we were prisoners. About a hundred dove- kies were killed, so that our supply of fresh meat was respectable, if not great. On the twentieth, the weather became fine again ; the ice con- inly 20. tinned to move, and the caulking of the boats was continued. An easterly wind made the thermometer fall to :j8 . On Sunday the J"'y -' •^ to 30. ice was reported to be broken nj) in the offing; but after three days, without any thing material to note, except the killing of fifty dove- kies, it remained close packed on the shore, so that it was impos- sible for us to move. The weather, from this time, continued variable, with occasional rain and wind, together with fogs, till the thirtietli ; as the only events worth noticing, were the improvement of the sick, and the killing of .some more birds for our table. We had now seen the ice leave the shore at la.st, but hud yester- .July 31. day been prevented from embaiking, by a heavy fog. This ending 712 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY in rain and sleet, with an adverse east wind, on tlie last morning of the month, we did not loat what we should have done, what would have " iKK'OUie of us," as the phrase is, had we not made work when we had eeased to tind it. " The men," as ihey are eaUed, are not much gi\en to thinkini;', it is certain; though seamen of the pr»sent day (and I am sorry to say it), think uuich more than they did in the days of my junior servi(;e, and, most assuredly and certainly, are "all th«! worse" for it. J^et my fraternity in coummnd say whether this be true or not; and they are the bold men who will .so say, despite of the )>altry, fantastical, and pretending, ultra philanthropy of these days of ruinous folly. Hut that is an over serious matter to discuss at present. •' An idle man is a pillow for the devil," says a Spanish or Italian proverb : it was not good that our men should have been pillowed in this manner : better was it that they should work themselves into utter wearint!ss, that they .should so hunger as to think only of their stomachs, fall asleep and dream of iu>thing but a better dinner, as they awoke to hope and labour tor it, and that their sleep should l)e, not on the pillow of the proverb, but on a <'ou<;h of snow, suiiicient to impede all retlec^tious b»it the wish for a better bed after a b*tter supper, and the gnawing disire of more and better on tin- following day. The shooting of waterfowl furnished indeed some occupation to those who were worthy of being trusted with powchr and shot ; but I believ<' the best occupation, to a set of such starvetl wretches as we were, was to eat the game, not to .shoot it. Every morning now rose on the hope sofa good supper : if that came, it was more than TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 715 welcome ; arul when it did not, why then there was the; chance of one to-morrow. I do not say that tlie snpper which was missed was equivalent to the one that was eaten ; since hope or expectation will not, more than wishini;, till a man's stomach ; but it is certain that tlie sick recovered rapidly, and the well improved in strength ; nor could [ doubt that their present state of mind was, in this, scarcely less efticacions than tlu; In'oiled «lncks and the dovekie sea-pies. To look out from the top of the hill, for the state of the ice, was another oc(;u|)atiou for any one that chose; and if was exercise, while it served to waste the time. It was not, like Hehrinij's un- happy njen, to watch for the ship that was destined never to appear, and, when the day closed, to retire once more to darkness and despair. The day of relief might be delayecl, but it was long yet before it would be time to fear that it was not to arrive; uhile, in every change of a bree/e, in every shower of rain, and in every movement of the ice, however niiimte, (here was sutiicient to main- tain hope, and to rentier all anxious for the to-morrow ; as each, on retiring for the night, felt inclined to say, yet not under the sanu' motivc^s as the wretches in the Castle of Indolence, " Thank (iod, the day is done." It was on till! fourteenth that hope became anxiety, when a lane An-usi u. of water was for the first time seeu, leading to the northward ; and not many, I believe, slept, under the anticipations of what the next day might bring. On thi.s, all were employed in cutting the ice An-usi i"). which obstructed the shore, as early as four o'clock in the moruing; and the tide having risen soon after, with a fine westerly breeze, we launched the boats, end)ark('d the stores and the sick, and, at eight o'cloi'k, were under way. 4 y2 if! ' 16 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY We really were under way at last ; aiul it was our business to forget that we had been in the same circumstances, the year before, in the same place; to feel that the time for exertion was now come, and those exertions to be at length rewarded ; to exchanije hope for certainty, and to see, in the mind's eye, the whole strait open before us, and our little fleet sailing with a », irwind through that bay which was now, in our views, England and home. We soon rounded the north cape of liatty bay, and, finding a lane of water, crossed Elwin's bay at midnight; reaching, on the .Aii-ii>t IG. sixteenth, that spot to the north of it where we had pitched our tents on the twenty-eighth of August in the preceding year. I know not if all were here quite free of recollections to damp our new hopes. The ditt'erence in time was but twelve days; and should those days pass as they had done in the former, it might still be om* fate to return to our last winter's home, and there to end our tiA\s as it was but too easy to anticipate ; the first whose fortune it slundd be, in a frozen grave, and the last in the maws of bears and foxes. We found here no passage to the eastward, but the lane of water still exteiuled towards the north ; so that our stay was of no longer duration than was indispensable for rest. As we proceeded, the open water increased in breadth ; and, at eight in the evening, we reached our former position at the north-eastern cape of America. A view from the hill here, showed that the ice to the northward and north-eastward was in such a state as to admit of sailing through it; but as it blew too hard to venture among it in the night, we pitched our tents for rest. August 17. At three in the morning we embarked once more, leaving an TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 717 ailditional note of our proceedings, in the same place where the former was concealed. It was calm, and we held on to the east- ward by rowintir, until, at noon, we reached the edge of the packed ice, through many streams of tloating pieces; when we found that its extremity was but a mile to the northward. A .southerly breeze then springing up, enabled us to round it: when, fmding the water open, we stood on through it, and reached the eastern shore of the strait at three in the afternoon. In a itw hours we ha5. launched the boats ; and it being by that time calm, we rowed to the eastward across Navy-board inlet, ptissing through several streams of ice ; when, the men being exhausted by twelve hours' labour, we found a iiarbour after a progress of ten miles, and pitched our tents at the mouth of another river ; there resting, and repairing the boats, wiiicli were not in the best condition. At four in the morning, when all were asleer the look-out man, August 26. David Wood, thought he discovered a sail i.. the offing, and imme- diately informed Conunander Uoss, who, by !neans of his glass, soon saw that it was, in reality, a ship. All hands were imme- diately out of their tents and on the beach, discussing her rig, quality, and course; though there were still some despairers who maintained that it was only an iceberg. No time was however lost : the boats were launchesing, shaving, eating, all intermingled, it was all the materials of each jumbled together; while, in the midst of all, there were inter- minable questions to be asked and answered on all sidj^;; the adventures of the Victory, our own escapes, the politics of England, and the news which was now four years old. But all subsided into peace at last. The sick were accommodated, the seamen disposed of, and all was done, for all of us, which care and kind- ness coidd perform. Night at length brought quiet anil serious thoughts; and I trust there was not one man among us who did not then express, where it was due, his gratitude for that interpo- sition which had raised us all from a despair which none could now forget, and had brought us from the very borders of a not distant grave, to life and friends and civilization. Long accustomed, however, to a cold bed on the hard snow or the bare rock, few could sleep amid tlie comfort of our new accommo- TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 723 (liitions. I was myself <;omp«'l led to leave the bed wliieli had heeu kindly assiyned nie, and take iny abode in a ehair for the night, nor did it fare niueh better >vith the rest. It was for time to reeon- cile us to this sudden and viohnt change, to br«ak thronnh what hai, though he had seen them, arose from his havini; mistaken them for those of the AVilliam Lee. Being desirous to leave, at Possession bay, a notice to any vessel whicli might land there in search of us, as also to verify luy chro- . J, TO TIIK AllCTIC REGIONS. 72i iKtiuctiT, I nus laiuU'd for tli<'S<* |>iir}M>sr.s; aiui, after l)uryiiig u hottU', with ii state of tlic facts, at the sunie eairii whi royal palace at Windsor, with an account of my voya^^c, and to lay at thu fcc'tof His Majesty tiic Britisli lla- wlucli liad been hoisted on the .Ma-netitr I'ole. I liad tin nonour o 1- I )emL st graciously received by His .Majesty, who had always taken a (iec|) mterest in my enterprise, and who inunediatelv <;ranted me per- !(! tiiut 111' Her .Majesty (lie (^)ueen, on my nnssidu to inserilie his illustrious name chart at tlie Ma'^iietie P Royal Family, and ih and ('oimn.>ii( led to pi arouiul it the names of the e rei'jniu^- crowned heads of luuope. (^n the J 1st my letter (appended) was read at the Adniiraltv, and subsctpu'ntly |)ublished by order of the Riiiht Honoi nal)l ■^ir lUues (irah diaui, liart., then l'"ir>t Lord of the Admiralty, with vh I I lad an interview innnediately after his arrival in town. nu The very lil)eral manner in whiidi (iovernnu'nt was pleased to reward the odleers and ■n employed under my connutmd will appear from tlu^ subjoined lett<'is ; but with regard to myself I was desired to wait nntd my case had been laid beliae tlie C'ai)inet; and it was not mitil late in I'cbruary that it was intimated tome, that " His Majesty's (Joveiiuueiit con>iderin;jj the promotion uf my nephew from Connnander to I'ost Captain, tlie aj)pni.itnienl of Mr. Thorn to tlie Caiiopus, the promotion of Mr. .M'Diarmid to ">uru''oii, an( I th< i''y that iKilhinir more would be eiven to me URiit of the waL lb .ftl le crew, a suiliei D.o, enl recompeii;.e to me, and ndin'i: "U the libeialitv of (iovernineiit, (leiiined n I had nenititi(iiis which had ini n proposed fortlic •:v IIIU- aiul th lall sum which had been subscribed at IMvmoulh wi faithfully divided anioiii;' tlie widows and relatives of tin; men who died, and one who lotil his si;4ht, on the voya^^c. I had no alternative b\it to apply to I'arli.mient ; and my case haviti'^ been brought before the House of (.'onimons by the Uight Hon. U. (,'utlar cd on tUu 17tii of iNLirch, whan, for the tirst time, I learnt tliat l-ornusfion, was discu-Sa o A II 730 ADDENDA. it was siipijoscd my uiuleilakinf^ this cnlcprise was to ivcovcr a lust reputation. My casf was, fV.iluiiately fur nu-, suhmittcd to a Scloc't Committic of tlic House of'Com- iiiniis, anil 1 liail before this hii^h tril)mial an opportunity of rcfiitin- calumnies which hail liccn inilustriously circulated an,aiiist nie, by |)roducing- documentary evidence that my conduct on the former expedition had been approved of by the Adnuralty, as will appear by the followiui;- extract from the minutes of the (,'onnnittee : " QiK-.si inn — Did you conceive your reputation had been placed at all in (piestion in consecpience of the result of your (irst voyaue / " yl//,s;(r;— No, certainly not. Tin,' Adnnralty approved of my eveiiteen and eiehleeli tllou- .sund pomids. that Ciplain Ross, beinu left by Mr. I'.oolh at libeily to s and to the siiiril ol those who made them; liiit finally seleele.l his nephew, Commandei- .lames Clark Hoss, a y.nui- ollicer ..f distinguished scieiililie attainmeiils, wie. h;id been emplnud in every riexious •■xpedi- tion t.) the Arctic Seas; and laumu en-a^.d Mr. Thorn as piir.ei, who, as well as Commamhr Ro.-s, ai;reed to -o without pay, ami Mr. M'Dianiiid as ; urevon, to-<4lier with a crew of nineteen men, sailed fioiii jji-land in May ISJ!I: that in spite of the miiliiiv of the crew of a whaler, which li;iy I'rinic Ki'^cnl's Inlet, and wliicli sailtil Ikiiu ]".Mi;lanil Ma lN-".>, n s (if llif ton-iiiasl, and oilier iiiilowan iiiinistaiices, wliicii d, leacluil tlic I iiaiii nil whicli His .Mail stv's late ship •111 V s stores were laniled. nil l.'itll AllLTIlSt. Wo riiiiiid the boats, provi Aft. \o. ia exeelleiit eiili;lilii)n, lint no vi sli^e of the wreck. iMiniilrliiej; in fuel and iilln •. neecssaiies, Wi. sailed on the I Itli, ami on the following ill;.;- iniiiiiicd Cape {Jaiiv, where our new discoveiicH eoiiinieneed, and kcipinL; the western the co.ist ill a S.W. by W. course, in from ten to twenty ■d. ran ?iowii f.itlioius, until wc had passiii the lalitdde of 7vi noitli in loii'^'ilildc !)-l wist; heie we found a considerable inlet '■ ilinj;' to tic westward, the ex.iiniii ition of which oecuiiied two days ; at liiis place we wen li'.st sirjously ohslriicted by ice, which was now .sure to extend, from tin; S'liilh C.ipe oi'l',1., inlet, in a .-did mass, round bv south .mil cast to E.N.M. Owiu^ to tliU circiiiiist.uice, the shallownes>. -f th" water, the rapidity of the tides, the tempestuous weather, the irregiihiiilv of the coast, and the nniiunius inlets and rocks, for wliich it is remarkable, our luoij-ress was no less daii;j:eroiis than tedious, vet we succeeded in penetrating below the latitude of 7(1 IK. rill ill loiii;iti:de !>'- ' west, where the land, alter haviiiif carried iis as far east as 90", ink a decided westerly direction, while land at the di^laiiee of forty miles to southward, was seen tri ndiiii' i a^t and west. .At this extreme point our jiro^'rcss was arrested on I si October by an inijieiietrable barrier of ice. ^V'e, however, t'ound an excellent wintering- (lorl which we 11 uiieii IMix Harbour. l.arK in .laniiary IS'td, we had the good fortune to establish a friendlv intercourse witli a !;.ol iiiterestin'4 assoeiatimi of natives, whniii beiiii; insulated by nature, had never before eom- luuiiie.ili d with strangers; from them we 'gradually obtained the important informaiinn that we had already seen the f'ontiiieiil of America, that, ahout fortv miles to the south-tvest till u were two irre.it seas, one to the west, which was divided from that to the east bv a narrow sir. Ill or Ml k of land. The verilication of thi.> iiilelli.;i'iice either wav, on which our future opeialions so matriially ilepended, devid\ed on ( 'oiniiiander Ross, wiio volunteered this .«er\iee early in .\piil, aecump.iiiieil by one ol the m.iles, and i^iiided by two of the natives, piuee ded to the sjiol, and t'ouiid ill, it the iinrlli land was cnnin eted In the south, bv two ridges iflii.h land, I. ") miles in breadth ; but taking into account a chain of fresh water Likes, which I icupiiil l''ie valleys between, the dry land, \\hieh aetinlly separate^ ih.e two oceans, is luilv five miles. This exti.iordiiKiry isthmus was siibseipieiitly \isiled bymvself, when ('ommaiider Ross proeieiled minutely to survey the sea coast to the soulhwaiil of the isthmus leadinu: to the we.^twaid, which he suceeeiled in tracing to the CSIth degree, or to "220 miles of Cape Tiirn- .itaiii, of I'ranklin, to which point the land, after leading him into the Tilth ihuree of north lalili, ' , Ireiideil directly; during the same iourney he also surveyed lid miles of the adjacent cn,i>l,i . . .It to the north of the isthmus which, by also taking a westerly directioi;, formed the trriiiiiiation of the western sea into a gulf. The 'rest of this season was em]iloyeil in tr,iciiig the xea coast soulli of the isthmus, leading to the eastward, which was done so as to leave no wmi^:-.. ■^« f^*' ^mm ADDENDA. ;$;{ tliHil)! tlutt it jdinrd, as llio luitivi s \\m\ picvioii^ly informed iis, to Ackiillcc, ;iii(l tl]( l.iud fiiniiiii^ |{('|iidsc li;iv. It u;\s iIsd (Ictciiniucd tliiil tliuru w;is no [iiiSMi'^r tu tlic woslwiud I'ui- 'M miles to till' nortliwaid ol'oiir posilioii. 'I'liis summer, like tiiiit of 1818, wiis beiuitifully tine, liiil i xtremi ly inil'.ivoiiriiliie for M;ivijr;i- tioii, and (iiir (il>|e( t beini; now to trv ii more norlliein hitiliide, we wiiited witli iinxietv for tlie (lisrnptidn uf llir iee, but in vain. ;\ud onr ntmost eiide.ivoius did not sin'ei'ed in retr.uin;j onr steps more tJKin four miles, :ind it was lut until tlie middle of Nom nd>er, lliat wc suc- ceeded in eultin^' tlu^ vessel into a pliKe of security, wliieii wo named "SlieriO's ll.irl)our." I may lieri,' uunlion, that we named tlie newly diseovered continent, to tlie soulliward, " Boiitliia,"' .IS also llie isllunus, the peninsula to llie iinrtli, and llie eastern sea, after my worthy friend, I'elix lioolli, li!s(|., tlu' triilv patriotic eilizen of London, who, in the moot (lisinlere>ted manner enabled me to eipiiji this ixpcdition in a superior style. 'the last winter was in leinpcratiiru nearly ecpial to the rn< mis of what had been expi rieiieed on the four preceding- voyai^'cs, lint the winters of I S.'IO and ISDl set in with a dei;ree of xiolcnce liillierlo beyond re<'ord, the tlierinomiter sank to ilj Ik low the free;in;; point, and the averaj^o of the year was 10 below the preeediu:,' ; but notwitstaiidiii;; the severity of the summer, we travelled across the country to the West Sea, by a chain of lakes, 30 miles north of the islhniu.<, when Commander Ross succeided in surveyiiiu- .GO miles more of the coast leadiiii;- to the N.W. ami, by tr-ieim; the shore to the northward of our piisition, il was also fully proved that there could be no passaj;e below the 71sl deforce. This antiiinn wc succeeded in iiittiiif; the vessel onlv 11 miles to the noilhward, ami ,is we liad not doubled the I'.istern Cape, all hopes of savim;- the ship was at an end, and put ipiite bevond jiossibility by another very severe wintrr, and having; oiiK provisions to last ns to .lune 1 , lS.i'2, dispositions were aecfirdin^ly made to le.ivi' the ship in her prisent port, which (after her) was named " N'ielnry Harbour."' I'rovisions and I'lud lieinu carried forward in the sprinjr, we left the ship on .May '.'!), If^ii,', lor I'liry lieacli, biin;^- tlu' only cluuiee left of savin.; our lives. Owiie.;' to the very rnyi^ed nature of the ice, we were iilili;^ed to keep cither upon or close to the land, makiii;; the circuit of every li.iv, thn> increasini; our distance of ,00 miles by nearly one half, and it was not until .July I that we reached the bach, completely exhausted by liuiii;ir and fati'^uc. A lint was speedily eonsiructed, and the boats, three of which had been w.islii d oil' the beach, but proviih ntially ili ivni on shore ai;aiii, wcii' repaireil dining this nionlli; but the unusual liea\ v appearance of the ice atliirded us no cheering prospect until .Auiiiist 1, when 111 three boats wc reaihed the ill-f.ited spot where tin I'liry was lirst driven on sliori' and it was not until September 1 wc reached I,eo|«ild South Island, now establislu'd to be tlu S .]'.. Tioiiil of America, in lat. 7.'f ."ifi , and lom;-. MO wist. I'loni llu sumniil o ' tlu: lolly niniiiilain on the proinonlory wi' could see I'rmce Ke-elit's inh 1, liarrowV Strait, and Laiic.ish r Soiinil, wlinh presented one iin|>enelrable mass of iee just as i h.id --ei'n il in ISlS ; hire «e reuiained ill a St, lie of anxiety and suspense, which may be lasier niai^ned tlian descrdieil. \11 our attempts to push Ihioiiirh were\ain; at leii;;lh beiie^' foiecd b\ want . f provisnuis ,iiid the approach of a most severe winter to return to Fury 15e,ieli, where a'o"., tin re remaimd \> lure- witli to sustain lite; there we arrived on Oetolier", after a most latif,'uini; and laboii ns inanh, having been obliged to leave our boats at Hatty 15, iv. (Jiir h.ibitation, which consisinl in a frame of spars, 'Al I'ect by I'i, covered with caii\.-, was diirini; the iiuuith of No ember enclosed, .mil the roof covered with snow from four to seven fei't thick, which beiiiL; saliirated • 1 Ins li:is sliK't'bei'ii iiiimt.'il Naloria U.iibour, li_v |'i'riuis:iioii o!' their Itiiyul Higlincbses tlicUiKbrssol IviiUuuil I'riucfsj Victoriii. 734 ADDENDA. wifli wairr wlion tlio trm|irrntiirn was ITi" below /pro, immodiatply took tlio consistcncv of ico, niul lliiiH we aclii;illy ln'camc tlif inliabitmitAof an ii-clHTii duriiip; one iit' the most acvprc winters hitlii'ito ri'Ciinh'd : boats, where the sick daily recovered. Althou'_di the sprin;; was mild it was not until Auicust 1,') that we had any cheeriiijj |)rospect, a jjale from the wi slward haviu'^ suddenly o|)encd a lane of water alonp shorr : in two days we reached our fonuer position, ami from the mountain we had the satis- faction of seciiii; clear water alrno't dikecllv across I'riiuc Kei;enf's Inlet, which we crossed on the 17th, and took shelter fiMin a storm twcKc nnlcs to the eastward .if CajH' York. Next day, when the <;ale abated, we crossed Admiralty Inlet, and were drtained six days on ll (.ast by a str(ui;; north-cast wind. On the •.'.'ith we crossed Navy Itnard Inlet, and on the liillowinti: morriinir, to our inexpressible jov, we descried a ship in the olliui; becalmed, which proved to be the Isabella, of Mull, the same ship which 1 connnanded in ISIS; at noon we reached her, when hrr eiitcrprisini; commander, who had ni vain searched lor us in I'riucc llc^ent's lidet, niter uiviiiiX us tlui'c cheers, received us with cvcrv demon Ir.ilinri of kindness and lin>pitalily which huinanitv cx of IS.itlin's Uav, atlordcd mc an excel- lent oMjiortunitv of conehidini'; mv survey, and of vcrilviie.; mv fonuer chart of that coast. I now have the plciisjui; dutv of c.dlin\;' the alli ntion of llicir l.ord>li:|)S to the merits of Coinniander Uoss, who was sicund in the direction of this expedil;on. The labours of this ollicer, who had the departments of .Astronomv. Natur.d ll'storv, and Survevini;, will speak for llicmsrivcs in lali'^rua'/e bevoud the ability of my pen, but tin v will be duly appreciated by their I.iudships, and the leaiiicd bodies ut wlmli he is a iiicinljer, and who are abcidy well accpiaiiited with his acipiirciiunt*. Mv sicadv and I'.iitlifiil iViend. .Mi. Willi iin 'riium, i I' tlic Hoyd Navy, who was formerly wilh ine in the Isabcll.i, In »l(li s hi- dutv as thud in cnnimaiid, t(Jok cli.ui:e of the .Meteoro- lot;i<'al .loiirnal ; the dislribiiticMi and economy of proMsion-, and to his judicious |ilans and siiLi'j'estions must be attribiitid the niicnnmion dcurec of heallh uliieli our cnw en;oyed ; and as two out of the thnc who died the lour ami a half years, were cut oil early in the \oya;^c by diseases not peculiar to tlie climate, onlv one man can he s.iid to have perislied. Mr. .M'Di.oiuid, the sui',;c'oii, wIhj h.id lieeii Several voyaLje- to lliesc rcj^jions, did |ilslice to the hiiih recoinmei.dation I received of him : he was surcesslui in evrry amputation and opura- tiiiim priviitc risk, and tlic Hoard of Admiralty could not (Ik I' lore bo liild responsible for any liabilities incurred, or be called up-m in strictness to ni.iice in any way the services of the individiuils enj4af:;od in it, yrt, as fur as (he power ot the Aduiirulty extends, none of these services has i^one unnoticed or unrewarded. It a|i|icars fruni u nieniunniduni delivered in tu your (,'onnnittce by the Aiimindly, that " all tl r iiicn have received doidjle full |)ay until they finally abandoned their ship, and fidl ])ay ':*'' : that until their arrival iu l^n<^land, aniountin<; to the ^roi«s Sinn of 4')H()/. ; that Ihey Ikuc besides I/een employed in eli|j;ible situations in the dock yards, or placed in others that will lead to promotion ; " that Mr. Abernethy, the fjunner, " has licen ])roinotcd, and appointed to the Serini^apatani ; " that Mr. Tiiom, purser, "bus been a|)pointed to the burative situation of |)urser of the C^anopus, of eiuhly-four );uns;" that IVlr. M'Diarinid, the medical ollieer of the expedition, " has been ap|)oi'ited assistant-sur!j;eoii of the navy, and, when (pialitied to pass his oxaniination, will be promoted to the rank of 8ur<;con;" that ('oininander Ross, to whom it appears that the fj;reater part of the scieiitilic results of the exi)edition are due, " has been placed i-n full pay, and appointed commander of the \'ictory lor twelve months, that he may by that li ni;lh of service be enabled tu receive the rank of |)0st- captain, which is by a special niimite of the Admiralty ensureil to hiiu at the expiration of that time ;" and that Captain John Humphrey;*, "f the Isabella, to whose persevering; linnianity alone Captain Hoss and his party, uniici Providence, in all probability owe llieir lives, has received that remuiieiation for the expense of briiiiiiiii;- them home which, upon consideration, has bei n thouij;ht proper by the Admiralty, and which appears to your C\innniltee to be a nasonaljle coiu|ieii>ali()n. Captain Hoss alone, the ci'inmander of the ex])editioii, who had the anxious and |)ainftd responsihditv of the health and discipline of the party for above four years, under circuinstances of unpa- ralleled (lillicuity '.111(1 liardsliip, and who had the merit of niaintaininn- both health and diseii)line in a remarkable (levice (fur only one man in twenty-three was lost in coiise(pi( nee of the expedition), is, o\vin|4,' to his rank, not in a situation to receive any reward from the Admiralty in the way of iironiotion. Ilavinu incurred expenses and losses to the amount of nearly three thousand pounds, and received no more tiiaii tlie half-pay which had iiceumiilati il diniiig the expedition, he remains with the same rank with which he went out. I'luUr these circumstances, and looking- to the advantages to science and the honour to his country, which have resulted from the expedition under his command ; lookiiij^ to the ex])( use wli:ih the eoiuitiy has been willin;^ to incur on former occasions for similar exprditious, and to the rewards whicii it has voted even for l(->is inipoitiait and lionourable objdts, \(jur C^onimittce ho|)e they are not trans- i^rcssing the bounds of a due regard to |)iil)lic economy, in reconnncnding that a sum of live thousand pounds be voted to Captain .lohn Koss. To Mr. Telix Booth, to whose modest public spirit and rare munificence this expedition is entirely due, your Connnittee reeret that they have it not in their power to projjosc some fit token of public ackiajwledginent ; bi:t they ciuiuot forbear oileriiig the tribute of their admiration and respect. ADDENDA. 737 Till' case (tf a ixior mnii afllictcd willi lilindiu-H^ in confCfiuoiK- of tlii' nvpodition, lias hcoii Inouf^lit l)cl'uri' llic iiotici- of your Cciimiiittce by n >, > ii,,.- „r the Mouse- and yotir Connnitti-c beg to rccoiumoiid it to sucli con.H; ! ruioii, m l> His Majtst\'s (iovL-rrimciit, aCtci due iiivcstigufiou of the fuels, may Hcen lit. ^pril, iSM. LOUD V1SC01;NT .SANDON. Clmnmiu. I iiiav litiv nioiitioM that no snbscrintioii has ever been received by nie for mv own iK'rictit. A V l» E N I) I X APIM'NDIX, No. 1. ''"1"J of" r.cttrr fiom ' uiUuiii Joliii /inns, U. A'., lit Ciiplaiii tin: lion. Georije F.llioi, ('. /)., (lalcd October 11, I83.J. Porthinil Hotel, Oct. 22, IH,!.!. ^i''. — The t'xpeditiim from wliicli I am now rcliniird, having l)e<^\9, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) / O ///// / . .l ■i An appointment in llie merchant service, | Kichard Wall . Seaman . . 171 Id Ditto in the Dock Yard. Aiitliony Buck . , Ditto l'J7 '.1 Lost his eye-sight. Allan W" I lines . Second Kngineer 1(J'.) 18 u lleturned to hia friends. James i\Iarslin . , Armourer . . ;>(■) 10 a Died on the voyage. Jolin Park Seaman 126 17 Made Gunner R.N. j'oscpli Curtis . . Ditto . . . 125 17 Ditto. John \Vood Ditto 125 7 Returned to his friends. Itolitrt Shreeve . . Carpenter's Jlate l(i(i il 4 Ditto. Henry Ayre Cook 1(1.) 2 a Died soon after his return. '1 lionias Abernetliie . Mate . . . 32'.» 11 8 Promoted to gunner of the Southampton. Cliiniham Thomas Carpenter . 206 10 8 Died on the voyage. (ieorge 'I'aylor . . Mate . . . 321' 'J •1 Returned to his family. Alexander Brunton First Engineer . 617 1;-) Ditto. Harney Lachey . . Landman . . 121 15 Coast Guard Service. David Wood Seaman 121 11 Returned to his friends. James Dixon . . Landman . . Hi) a Died on the voyage. George Baxter . Ditto 121 11 Returned to 'as friends. 4J80 12 3 740 ADDENDA. Captain Jiiss has protliced receipts lor tlie payment nf all above sums rxpopt two (James Marslin and James Dixon, dead), whose wages have been repaid into the hands of the Tieasuier. The rcpicsontativts of James Marslin have nsade a elaim for llie arrears due, but it is still under consideration. (Sigwd) J. T. BRIGGS. Txaislation of l/ic Esquimaux lli/mn, piwe 76. OF OUR KING. Tune — Xiil.'iiiHikuii tokovihsai-u. Make many, () Father, the days of the kin-; make steadfast all his doings, prcscr him on high ; hear our prayers, and be gracious to our king. vmg: Let truth ever be the ornament of thine anointed, and let him every where show mildnes; thou. Oh ! hear our prayers, and be gracious to our king. ss as F I N I S. c. wiim.sc, BEAuroni uouse, strand. James 3f tlic le, but GS. less as