' '^ ni>.f Haiep^**- Captn Sir John Ross. k.N.KnT K.S.&c.&c. y^z^y^ J^K ^ ^t-^^^^ triT T-u r r .-* 1 J n r . i. .■> ta -t -ij — i_r N r o A T ~ ?k r "T ^ II" t:> r- T ri {■: ILA^T 'r^-rA?>':K ijf CAPT^J JDIII^l IiD6 6, K.K. Koi; I hi: jis.i-.i3]DjfTii^ rf H jimih cSlfst Da.^5i rF.HKomMa) in tiik 5IU]1\ BY AN v/- Il0t- II / / / '^ ,/ ,im "^^4^ . ««*- 11% • ■■ 1i^' LONDON Puiaijlinl toi ie I'jvp- irtars tr J S.umiers 44. faajmoster Ko LAST VOYAGE CAPT. SIR JOHN ROSS, R. N.Knt- "* TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS; FOR THE DISCOVERY OF A NORTH WEST PASSAGK; PERFORMED ^ IN THE YEARS 1829-30-31^2 and 33. I TO WHICH IS PREFIXED ^^:> - ^ / ■ CAPTNS. ROSS. PARRY. & OTHER CELEBRATED NAVIGATORS TO THE NORTHERN LATITUDES. COMPILED Prom Authentic Information and Original Dooumenta, TBAKfcMITTKD BY IXOLZJAM LIGHT, PURSER*S STEWARD TO THE BXVKniTtO v. ILLUSTRATED BY ENGRAVINGS FROM DRAWINGS TAKEN ON THE SPOT. -% ^ BY 4 . Authprvf y»,e ^ i*IeMO^ of UM^inMss OiWlbUe'," I' TreaUse on Beea." Ac. &c, ♦ "• 31 t II «1>.|> > '.*.= f LONDON: Printed for the Proprieton, PUBLISHED BY JOHN SAUNDERS, 26, NEWGATE STREET and sold by all BookteUen in the United Kingdom. ;t HDOCCXXXV. ■"'%■ I . f :r % •% / ^ ! > . • • I • % - f • I < > t ' ' . . • • • lit -.•■,• .... • I'tti r t \ % I ■ I t " * 9 ' * • • T * J I J ' ' ' '.' ■ t .1 > lit * ".r ■■,,,. ■,!>»-) •■■■■ ' ■ tV.'*'' !■ .' ! •■ Wti'f".- 4-' "' 1^ -1 # ' w ,. ,.V' INTRODUCTION. With a well-founded pride may an Englishman point to his country, as the source from which the light of knowledge has beamed upon the inhabited world,— as the cradle, in which the sciences have been fostered until they have at- tained a power and strength, which appear to bring all nature under their control, and to cast a wholly new character upon th'e history of the human race. Great and valuable as may have been the discoveries of our enterprising predecessors, the present century will ever stand distinguished for a most extraordinary display of the active spirit of discovery, which has explored the remotest regions of the earth, which has produced a rapid improvement in every branch of the sciences, and been the means of a more general diffusion of useful knowledge. Our discoveries have been grand and momentous ; they have made important accessions to our acquaintance with the globe ; they have materially contri- buted to the extension of our commerce, our riches, and our revenue, to the means of private accommodation and public security ; they have promoted our intimacy with the highest study of mankind ; they have increased our conver- sation with countries and manners before little known and they have finally presented to our view, man in conditions in which he was never before seen. A mutual intercourse has been also established, in many instances, on the solid basis of a reciprocity of benefits, and the productive labour ot the civilized world has found new markets for the dis- posal of its manufactures. ..- ,, The attempt, however, to discover the North West Pas- sage carries with it a character peculiarly its own, nor can it be measured by any of the standards, which have been applied to other voyages; its principal aim being the solu- tion of a great geographical problem, without the expecta- tion of Its being attended by any of those advantages of a commercial character, for which other discoveries have been " >«, f-n. i S \ V .V>>^ ii ^ •' INTRODUCTION ^ distinguished. In the narrative of a voyage of this kind, the attention is universally attracted to one great and im- portant point, without presenting any of those grand and glowing pictures of the tropical climes, which gave rise to the laborious researches and profound Investigations of a Jones or a Maurice. But although the professed object of the last voyage of Captain Ross has not been attained, yet on a perusal of the different scenes, through which the in- trepia navigators passed, much will be found to excite the attention of the philosopher, the merchant, and the man of science, whilst at the same time the honour and character of the nation are elevated by the circumstance, that there axe men to be found in it, who will brave the rigour of four Arctic winters, estranged from every comfort, which can render life desirable, for the sole purpose of enlarging the boundary of maritime discovery, and adding another leaf to the laurel which already encircles the brows of the British inariners. •" ..«.,...,, -rs .... ... -..•,, ... ^j .... ., The outset, progress, and result of various enterprises have been exhibited to the world, in the publications of the respective adventurers; but, valuable as these productions are, yet the size and expense of the volumes preclude many readers of curiosity, intelligence, and knowledge, from being able conveniently to purchase such sources of gratification. Thus the price, at which Captain Ross announces the history of his last voyage^ namely two guineas, will place it beyond the reach of the greatest part of the reading community, whereas in the following pages will be found, at a compara- tively low price, the whole of the incidents and discoveries, for which the voyage hajs been distinguished, and the au- thenticity of which is placed upon a basis, which cannot now be subverted. ,..i . xi...... .jt . % • > I ■' i:.i ,i .:...■: . --.ro-j ... ... ■. .. •• ■ .. _ • - •■ . ; I .i : V. ■ :.;';>7..r 'i-i^-J .■ > a ' . «/ ':,/.: . . .1 vl • ♦■I - A t ' • »^l' • -fl r ,1 1 Tin: LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. JOHN ROSS,R.N., , FOR THE DISCOVERY OF A NORTH WEST PASSAGE. /♦» PERFORMED IN THE YKAiiS 18iI0-30-Sl-81 and M. '^'^^ ■'ii I . i '."if J i>i ' / CHAPTER I. ' *' ^ " '' HISTORY OF THE EARLY VOYAGES TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS. There is scarcely any species of History, which to the inquiring mind presents greater delight, or which is studied with greater assiduity, than that which treats of the adventures i the early Navigators, in their daring efforts to penetrate into [distant transmarine Countries, the existence of which has been •nly guessed at, or which by the ignorant multitude has been reated as a wild and improbable fable. We follow these ad- enturous men in their daring enterprise ; we view them at their op-mast head, straining their vision over the wide waste of ater, hoping to discover some small speck, which might tell hem of the realization of their hopes, and we follow them nightly their cheerless hammocks, disappointed and despairing; iacomfiture and disgrace their future companions; themselves he objects of neglect and ridicule ; but then on a sudden, the estless fire of the noble Soul breaks forth — the inspirations f a mighty Genius support them in the contest — Onwards I inwards ! is the cry— Hope once more fills the sails — Courage tkes the helm — and the God of the brave is the pilot. The maritime power of England, founded on a spirit of dis- very, began to manifest itself as early as the reign of Alfred. I B % F.XPEOITION OF OTHO. whu had no sooner ascended the throne, than he directed his attention to the commercial relations of the country. At that time the Venetians might be considered as the carriers of Europe, and in point of nautical skill, they bore the pre-eminence over every other maritime power. By their connexion with the eastern and southern shores of the Mediterranean, the valuable product* of Turkey, and the manufactures of India were circulated over the entire continent of Europe, and a French or an English ship no sooner showed itself in the Mediterranean, than it was attacked by the armed vessels of the Venetians, or captured by the Moorish corsairs, and the crew carried into slavery. The restricted com- merce of England, was at that time greatly fettered by imposts and duties, which had been impulitically laid on for the support of the Priesthood ; the erection of monastic houses, and the pur- chase of indulgences from the see of Rome. These were wisely repealed by Alfreu, who perceived the injury, which the com- merce of the country sustained from their exaction, and although he clearly saw the impossibility of competing with the Venetians on their own Ocean, yet he resolved by fitting out difTerent expe- ditions of discovery, to open some new channels for English Commerce, and which might act as a counterpoise to the ascen- dancy of the Venetian trade. Amongst the chronicles of those days, we find a commission granted to one Simon Otho, to take under his command the "goode shippe" Adelgitha, and with her to sail across seas, to discover lands unknown, all " for the Glorye of God — the honour of his Kinge, and publique goode of his Countrie." The Geography of the northern countries of Europe was then wholly problematical ; the southern parts of Norway and Sweden were indeed known to the Danes, but no vessel had ever navigated to so high a latitude, as to determinel their northern boundary, and it was accordingly surmised thataj passage to the eastward CAisted, which might establish a route^^ to those countries, from which the Venetians drew their valuablefl commodities. Otho was therefore instructed to survey the coastr of Norway and Sweden, and following the instructions furnishe(| by a Danish pilot, he was led to believe that a sea existed ii about the latitude of 55°, by which the desired passage could hi COMIMBUS. effoctod. Otho ticcordin^ly sailed into the Baltic, but boin^ wholly ignorant of the navigation of that dangerous soa, in rounding the southern-most point of Sweden, his ship struck on the ledge of rocks, now known by the name of Falsterborn Roof, and he and his whole crow woro in the most imminent danger of perishing. By great exertion, however, the ship was got off, and after undergoing some repairs at a small town in the Danish territory, supposed to bo the present Elsineur, he re- entered the North Sea, and proceeded along the coast of Norway until he reached the latitude of 68" north. Here his ship re- ceived considerable damage amongst the small rocky Islands which abound in that quarter ; and not possessing the enterpris- ing spirit of the mariners of the present day, ho bent his course homewards, being satisfied that he had penetrated to a higher latitude than any former navigator, although he could not boast of any farther advantage, resulting from the expedition. This may be considered as the first voyage on record, un- dertaken for the express purpose of Discovery. It was the infant manifestation of the future maritime greatness of England, but which for a time was prevented from extending and developing itself, by the political troubles which distinguished the after reigns, and by the ignorance and imbecility of the reigning monarchs. Until this period, the fragile barks of the Europeans, had been principally confined to the coasting trade, but the daring genius of Columbus saw at a distance far beyond the ocean's visible verge, the mountains of a distant land, although the ignorance and superstition of the age in which he lived, threw the most disheartening obstacles in his way ; the priests laughed at his deductions and his arguments; the soidisant Philosophers ridi- culed his analogies founded on the Laws of Nature, and he was finally threatened with a prison, for presuming to entertain the heretical doctrine, that beyond " the furthest ken of Sea" there might exist a people, who had never heard of the name of Christ, and who lived like the beasts, in the gloom and darkness ot savage nature. That genius, however which will not be daunted by the blasting tyranny of Priestcraft, nor wluch quail under 4 VASCO DE OAMA. the rack of the Inquisition, impelled him to adventure his little bark, on the hitherto unploughod Ocean of the Atlantic, and no nobler or grander object can the History of the human character present, than Columbus sitting at the helm of his vessel, his eye directed to the westward, as if it would penetrate into the very depths of an almost illimitable distance, and exclaiming in all the enthusiasm of a noble mind — *• // must — // must be so, for God is my guide."" If however we look into the motives which, in the majority of cases, swayed the mind of the earliest navigators, we shall find but little to admire or to applaud, with the exception of an occasional display of high personal courage, which appeared to brave all obstacles, and to look down with disdain on <:ommon difficulties. On such occasions, however, the priesthood inter- fered and gave to some favourite Saint the merit of the act, as without his most special interposition, it would not have been possible to accomplish the deed, and thus in every undertaking of importance or difficulty, it became necessary by largesses, or benefactions, to enlist the priesthood in the cause, as by their all powerful influence, men could be found at all times to embark in an undertaking, although distinguished by the greatest diffi- culty and danger. This was peculiarly the case with Columbus, previously to the undertaking of his perilous voyage across the Atlantic ; and it was subsequently exemplified with greater force, in the expeditions of Vasco de Gama. The latter» of these enter- prising men, foreseeing the dangers which awaited him in his daring projects, and the efiects which they would naturally have upon his crew, unseasoned to hardships, and in their natures weak and effeminate, enlisted in his cause, the two most power- ful engines, which then ruled the human mind, lucre and religion, and by their concentrated force, he succeeded in infusing courage into the hearts of his dispirited mariners in the midst of the most appalling dangers, and finally led them to triumph over difficulties, at which, but for the seasonable influence of the priest, they would have shrunk abashed. If fear and irresolution came upon them, the priest, with the crucifix in his hand, was immediately in their presence, proudly exclaiming to them that r DISCOVERII;^ OF THE SPANIARDS. 5 they were the chosen events of the Saints uf Heaven, appointed to carry their names and miracles, to the most distant quarterfl of the world, and to fix the standard of the holy cross in the benighted country of the heathen. If the sailors at any time, burning under a tropical mn, and seein^^ino immediate termina* tion to the privations and hardships, which they wereundergoinw, began to murmur, and to hazard an opinion, that if they really were, as was alleged by the priest, in the service of the Saints, it would become them to i)ay a little more attention to the satis- faction of their wants, and necessities ; then their wily commander very opportunely stepped in, and inflamed their imagination, with the prospect of the inexhaustible riches that awaited them, of the high and dignified station, which they would occupy on their return to their native land, laden with the wealth of dis- tant countries, and thereby be enabled to spend the remainder of their lives in aflluonce and luxury, under the shades of their native oUve groves, and viricyards. Histo' y records three instances in the first voyage of Columbus, when, had it not been for some pious frauds, practised on the sailors by the priests, the helm would have been seized by the despairing crew, and the ship made to retrace its course to Spain. Thus it appears that although superstition has been, and in some degree is still, one of the greatest enemies of the human race, yet that it was by the active power of superstition, that Columbus succeeded in becoming the discoverer of the western continent. If superstition had not impressed the belief on the minds of his dissatisfied and rebellious crew, that the priests on board had frequent visitations from their patron saints, urging them to pursue their course, and promising them ultimate success; if Las Casas had not politically stepped forward, with the relation of a miracu- lous vision, in which appeared to him St. Augustine, who exposed to him the view of the country, to which they were fast approach- ing ; the rivers of which flowed over beds of gold, and the mountains of which were studded with precious stones, Colum- bus would have been cast into the hold of hir ship, and carried back to Spain in irons, as a visionary and a traitor. Spain indeed considered the new world as treasure-trove, of || VOYAGE OF TYSON, which she was lawfully and exclusively the mistress. A bull of the Roman church, granted by Pope Adrian VI., gave what was then esteemed as a sacred recognition of these exclusive rights, and the government of Spain determined, that none but Spaniards should trade with, or land upon the American conti- nent, and islands. Such folly must now appear unaccountable, but it is an historical fact, that the Spaniards at first fancied, that they could keep their discoveries in tiie West Indies a secret from the rest of the world, and prevent the ships of other nations from finding their way thither. Not all the power of Spain however, comparaitively great as it then was, nor all the horrid cruelty practised in support of her extravagant pretensions, could deter the enterprising mariners of England, from attempt- ing to share in the greatly exaggerated wealth of the new world. The spirit of discovery, roused by the successful enter- prises of Columbus, and Vasco de Gama, spread through all the maritime states of Europe, and as early as 1526, being only 34 years from the discovery of America, one Thomas Tyson, was sent by some English merchants to the West Indies, and from this expedition arose that formidable body of men, styled the Buccaneers, who setting at defiance the authority of the church of Rome, and the consequent sovereignty of the Spaniards in the West Indies, became the champions of the maritime states of Europe, and ultimately led to the expulsion of the Spaniards from a great portion of their newly acquired territory. It is therefore at once apparent, that the love of science, or the solution of any geographical problem, by which the art of naviga- tion could be improved, had little or no share in the expeditions in which the early navigators embarked . A voyage, like that of Capt. Cook, for the mere purpose of observing the astronomical pheno- menon of the transit of Venus over the sun, would in these early ages have been met with ridicule and contempt ; it would have appeared as a project from which no especial benefit was to be derived, and not a shilling would have been advanced, by any of the maritime powers of Europe, in support of an undertaking so appa- rently useless and preposterous ; for a conquest of territory, which was to be accompanied by an accumulation of riches, was the predo- EXPEDITION OF THE PORTIJOUESE. 7 minant principle, which actuated the early navigators, in their at- tempts to penetrate beyond those latitudes, to which their commer- cial enterprises had been hitherto confined. By the maritime skill of the Venetians, who were the sovereigns of the Mediterranean, the beautiful and splendid productions of India, natural and artificial, were brought from the shores of Egypt and the adjacent coasts, and found a ready, and highly lucrative market in the European states. Tt was in vain for the Portuguese, to attempt to compete with the Venetians, and therefore it was resolved to seek a new, and per- haps a less circuitous and hazardous route, by which an immediate communication might be obtained with India, and thereby become not only the rivals of the Venetians, but their participators in all the lucrative advantages of the Indian commerce. For this pur- pose, two ships were fitted out by the Portuguese, at the expence of private individuals ; but the command was entrusted to men, fitted neither by nautical skill, nor mental energy for so important an enterprise, and who preferred their own immediate aggrand- izement, to the prosecution of the object in which they were engaged. The ships reached the Azores in safety, and the Sover- eignty of an Island, rich in all the productions of nature, appeared in the eyes of the commanders, to be a far more preferable situa- tion than sailing in quest of an unknown country, which only ex- isted perhaps, in the fertile brains of the projectors of the expedition, and thereby continually exposing themselves to all the perils, at- tendant on the navigation of an ocean, of the Geography of which ihey were utterly ignorant. The ships were dismantled, and the projectors of the expedition came to the conclusion, that the ves- sels had either foundered at sea, or that they had fallen into the power of some of those savage tribes, which were known to in- habit the western coasts of Africa. This disastrous circumstance tended for a time, to diminish the ardour of the Portuguese, in the prosecution of their nautical enterprises, until a man of a commanding genius, on a sudden appeared amongst them, and who surmounting all the obstacles which jealousy, and private int^ sts threw in his way, sailed in discovery of the route, by which the treasures of India were to flow to his native country. The success which attended Vasco S DISCOVERY OF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, de Oama in this expedition, may be considered as the foundation of the high rank, which the Portuguese once held amongst the maritime and commercial nations of Europe. The track round the Cape of Good Hope, was discovered in 1498, and the fiag of Portu* gal was planted on the shores of India. These extraordinary dis- coveries of the Portuguese, and the flourishing commerce which they had established in the Indian seas, engrossed for a long time the spirit and jealousy of the other maritime powers of Europe, and particularly stimulated the English nation, to obtain a par- ticipation in the apparently inexhaustible fountain of wealth, which flov/ed to the Portuguese from their Indian possessions. The Portuguese at that time „ \ re in regard to the Indian trade, what the English now are : they had firmly established them- selves in their new dependencies ; they considered themselves, as being the discoverers of the route round the Cape of Good Hope, to possess an exclusive and sovereign right, to all the benefits and privileges of the commerce, belonging to all the countries within a given latitude, as had been previously the case with the Spaniards. A bull of the pope, a most powerful instrument in those days, and which was, doubtless, purchased by some portion of the wealth acquired in their commercial enterprises, invested the Portuguese with the sovereignty of their new possessions, and there was not a maritime power in Europe, then strong or bold enough, to dispute their dominion, or to wrest it from them by the usual mode of warfare. It is curious to observe how intimately connected the principal discoveries are to each other ; although apparently dissimilar in their object ; the majority of them, springing from the rival spirit of commerce, and, finally leading to the annexation of some of the richest portions of the globe, to the European governments. The flourishing state of the Venetian commerce, led to the discovery by the Portuguese, of the route round the Cape of Good Hope, and the latter discovery first suggested to the Eng- lish, the idea of attempting to reach China and India, by at least one half of the distance, and this was to be achieved by sailing round the north coast of America, into the great Pacific j and so confident were the English navigators of the existence DISCOVERY OF THE PACIFIC, if such a passage, that it was only thought requisite, to equip ship, in every respect able to weather the storms and dangers if the northern latitudes, in order to wrest from the Portuguese he sovereignty of the Indian Commerce. The spirit of the English merchants was aroused, they had long looked upon the jommercial greatness of Portugal arising from her Indian possess, ons, with an eye of the bitterest jealousy, and therefore with he utmost zeal and alacrity, they fell into any scheme, however aid and preposterous it might be in its general outline; however ifficult it might be m its execution, and improbable in its final ccomplishment. The greater part of North America was as yet undiscovered, >ut the existence of the Pacific had been established by the laring spirit of Balboa, who with a chosen band of hardy dventurers had crossed the Isthmus of Darien, and the English lavigators thence drew the conclusion, that the Atlantic and the Pacific communicated with each other, at some point to the northward; consequently the only problem to be solved, was. at what degree of latitude, that communication was to be found. In the discovery of the Pacific, the English saw a most important poi.it was gained, in the accomplishment of their grand object ; which by the discovery of the north west passage, was to strike an irrecoverable blow, at the Indian commerce of the Portuguese. The fountains of wealth were about to be opened, and many plans were suggested, one after the other of which was relin- quished, to make way for a successor equally absurd, and which in respect to a successful issue, was at open variance with all probability. It must however be admitted, in exculpation of our early navigators, that they had diflSculties to contend against, md obstacles to surmount, which foretold a positive failure, and which in themselves were sufficient to discourage, and daunt the nost enterprising spirit, for they could not be overcome by lautical skill, nor the most determined courage and perseverance. A. very small portion of America was as yet known, and it was not until the reign of Henry VII., that Newfoundland was discovered, then considered to be the most northern part of /America, thereby proving that all the expeditions which had 1 rt ,-ix: 10 COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES OF THE NORTH WEST PASSAGB ooen fitted out, from the time of Alfred to that period, had been, as far as the north west passage was concerned, fruitlessly em- ployed, for so ignorant were the navigators at that time, of the true geographical position of America, or of its uttermost north- ern latitude, that it was in the attempt to discover a north west passage, that the Floridas were discovered, thereby showing how far distant they were from the real object of their search. As however, the English were the first to undertake the perilous enterprise, so may it be said, that if the north west passage be ultimately discovered, the honor will belong to Britain only; for this country appears from the beginning, to have stood alone in the great and arduous undertaking, whilst other maritime nations have sluggishly looked or;, yielding to Britain all the danger and the expence, but always ready to seize upon any advantage, which might accrue from the discovery. It must however be confessed, that from the present aspect of things, no very strong temptation is held forth to any maritime power to co-operate in the undertaking. It is not attended by any particular com- mercial advantages, nor accession of territory, unless a desire be manifested to compete with Russia, in the empty sovereignty of a few hundred miles of snow and ice ; it possesses no mines of wealth, no allurements for emigration, no natural produce worthy of importation, in fine there is scarcely any benefit or advantage attached to it, either nationally or individually. Its object is decj. dedly scientific, and as such it has been pursued with a persever- ance andaspirit, worthy of the enlightened nation, by which it has been projected. Navigation may reap considerable advantages from it, but even supposing that the passage were effected, it is most probable that a century might elapse, before it could be again accomplished, on account of the unsettled state of the ice, forming at one time an insurmountable barrier, and at another, leaving the ocean perfectly navigable. In former times however, the undertaking wore a very different aspect; its object was purely commercial ; the variation of the needle had not then even attracted the attention of nautical men ; the physical obstacles to the su<:cess of the undertaking were unknown, and its ultimate attainment scarcely a matter of doubt ; nor was it rOMCY OF RUSSIA. n ntil frequent failures had taken place, that the suspicion began to e entertained, that the destruction of the Portuguese commerce, fit depended upon the discov ry of the passage from the Atlantic o the Pacific, was an event i ot quite so near at hand, as was riginally surmised. In the majority of the failures, however* he want of success was not attributed to the actually existing ifficulties, but to the deficiency of skill and courage, in the ndividuals, who were engaged in the expedition. Thus every auticai man, who had ventured beyond the sight of land, eon- idered himself more competent than his predecessor, in whom he pretended to discover a great want of nautical skill, and an absence of all the other qualifications, which were necessary to fit him for so important an undertaking. It became, however, soon his own fate to return with the same tale, as his predecessor had done before him, and in his turn to become the subject of ridicule and disgrace. There is not perhaps any country, that would have derived greater advantag-es from the discovery of the north west passage, than Russia , but her ambition is not to render her name great and glorious in the annals of fame, by the promotiou of the interests of science, or the addition of a single iota to the stock of human knowledge. Her ambition has indeed led her to establish her settlements, on the north-eastern coast of America, but did it ever prompther to co-operate with Britain in the solution of the great geographical problem, by fitting out an expedition from one of her Kamschatka ports, and by penetrat- ing up Behrings Straits, attempt to meet the English navigators ? and even, if the flag of the two nations did not actually salute each other in a part of the globe, where no flag was ever unfurled before, still the question might have been set at rest, in what particular latitude, the impenetrable barrier, if any such exist, is to be found, and the discovery of the north west passage be relinquished for ever afterwards, as hopeless and unattainable. In the meantime the strong interest, with which the discovery of the north west passage was regarded in England, had excited the alarm of the Portuguese, who clearly foresaw, that if the pnsjtage could be discovered, the most lucrative and valuable VZ EXPKDITION OF MAN80N. branch of their commerce, would bo diverted into another chaii. nel, and into one, which of all others they the most feared, m from the enerjyy, perseverance, talent, nautical skill, and com- parative opulence of the EngK ih, they would have to contend with rivals of so formidable a character, that the result scarcely remained a matter of speculation or doubt. In this dilemma, the Portuguese had recourse to diplomacy and intrigue, and the triple crowned bigot of the Vatican was applied to, to see that the bull, which he had issued, granting the sovereignty of the Indian commerce to the Portuguese, should be religiously attended to by all true catholics, under the threat of excommu- nication, and the ban of the Holy Mother Church against all, and every one, who by any open or secret undertaking, or en- terprise, should attempt to despoil the Portuguese of those exclusive privileges, which the legitimate successor of St. Peter had granted to them. In those days, the ban of the Holy Mother Church, was not looked upon as so great' a tom foolery, as many are inclined to regard it at the present period, and considering the degrading thraldom, in which the European states were then held by the papal see, it might naturally have been expected, that the most implicit obedience would have been paid to the mandate of his holiness ; but the love of lucre, conquered over the threat of ex- communication, and the ban of the church kicked the beam, when put into the opposite scale with the golden treasures of India. A ship was privately fitted out in the port of Falmouth, avowedly for prosecuting some commercial undertaking in the newly dis- covered country of America, but the real aim was to discover if any communication existed between the Atlantic and Pacific, The command of the vessel, was entrusted to a person of the name of Manson, who had distinguished himself as the captain of a Venetian trader in the Mediterranean, and from whose skill and intrepidity, the most favourable results were to be expected. In those days, a priest was as inseparable a part of the lading of a ship, as an anchor or a cable ; but Manson either from a secret conviction that a priest, under the peculiar circumstances MUTINY OF MANSOn's CREW. 13 in which he was then plftced, acting us ho was in defidnco of an express mandate, issued by the head of the church, might instead of being an advantage, turn out to be a decided incum- brance, and ultimately prove the instrument of defeating the object of the expedition, from the well known influence, which "the holy father" always exercised over the crew of a ship, forebore to enlist one in his train, and it will soon appear that what he considered an act of caution and of prudence, proved the cause of his ruin and discomfiture. The ship had not sailed many days from her port, when she cnc entered a violent storm in the chops of the channel, which greatly disabled her, but Manson determined to keep the sea, encouraged by the prospect of the golden harvest, which awaited him on the other side of the Atlantic. Unfortunately however for him, and the enterprising projectors of the ex- pedition, the crew being all rigid catholics, were deeply immersed in superstition and bigotry ; they saw in the storm which raged around them, a manifest declaration of the dis- pleasure of the Almighty ; in every crnck of the masts, they thought they heard the voice of the holy father of the church, denouncing the terrors of his unappeasable vengeance on their recreant heads, on account of their disobedience to his mandate; no priest was on board, to quell the tumult and agitation of their alarmed souls; to hear from their trembling lips, the confession of their heinous transgression, and to give them absolution from its consequences ; even the very absence of " a holy father," was to them an all convincing proof, that they were doomed to destruction, for had only one been on board, for his sake only, would the ship be spared from visiting the bottom of the ocean. In this excess of their fear, for the destruction which impended )ver them in this world and the horrors of the purgatory which iwaited them in the next, they made a vow, that should their ives be spared, they would force their captain to navigate the essel to the first port, which they could make in Italy; from vhich they would go bare-footed to Rome, and there subject hemselves, to whatever penance might be imposed upon them, or the terrible sins which they had committed. The storm 14 FAILURE OF MANSON'S EXPEDITION. ooascd, wliich was attributed to the vow which they had taken, and thoy began to make immediate preparation for the rig'id ])erformance of it. Manson true to his trust, expostulated with his crew, on the folly of their proceedings; he held before them a dazzling picture of the wealth, which awaited them on the shores of America ; of the honor which would be attached to their name, in having been the first, who sailed from the Atlantic into the Pacific ; ho spoke in the most eloquent terms, of the transcendant beauty of the ^ merican women, who were panting to receive such gallant fellows within their arms; and then he broke forth into exuberant praises of the lusciousness of the American wine, which was to be handed to them in golden goblets by " the fairest of the fair" — but what were riches, honor, fame, women, or wine, to the senseless bigots ? they had a vow registered in heaven, the saints above had witnessed it, and no earthly power, therefore, could absolve them from the performance of it. Manson saw that it was in vain to contend against such a combination of ignorance and superstition, and therefore wisely appeared to fall into the designs of his crew ; being well acquainted with the cosmography of the Mediterra- nean, he declared that little doubt rested on his mind, of his ability to navigate the vesse>l to some Italian port, where the mummery of the performance of their vow might commence. Taking however, advantage of the total absence of all geogra- phical knowledge on the part of his crew, he sailed up the Garonne, persuading them that they were in sight of the Italian shores, and on arriving at Bourdeaux, he had the whole of them taken prisoners, as a band of mutineers ; but not judging it safe to remain in a port, where as soon as the real circumstances of the case transpired, he might be made to change situations with the prisoners ; he collected the best crew he could, and returned fl safely to England, discomfited, but not wholly discouraged fromj undertaking another voyage, at some more auspicious period.! i Manson was a distant relation of the celebrated Jane Shore, by the mother^s side, and although she might have lost all influ- ence over Henry VII., as far as regarded her personal attractions,| yet under no circumstances was it found difficult to obtain ac-j tFDASTIAN CABOT. II cens to that monarcl), whon the recommendation of any project wan to be enforced, which had the most remote tendency tu patisfy liis ruling passion of avarice. There is not, certainly, any document existing to show that she, who was at one time, the "wittiest harlot" who shared the royal bed of Edward IV., had in any manner attempted to exercise her influence over his suc- cessor, in favor of her relative ; nor can it be ascertained that Henry VII., sanctioned in any degree, the expedition of Manson. We are therefore loft to the conjecture, that the voyage was pro- jected, at the sole risk and exponce of private merchants ; but on the other hand, there is mention made of one Thomas Manson, "a seafaringe manne," whc found great favor in the eyes of Elizabeth, the queen consort of Henry, and therefore we may in some de- gree be warranted in drawing the conclusion, that her interest and power, although oxtreraely limited over her sovereign, might have been exercised in favor of Manson, although it could not be expected, that it would have been called into action, from any disposition to befriend the discarded Jane Shore, or any of her relations. . It was however sufficient to submit to the considera- tion of Henry VII., any project, the ultimate aim of which was to fill his coffers, in order to ensure his royal patronage and co-operation ; and viewed from this point, certainly no scheme was more likely to effect that end, than the promotion of the discovery of foreign countries, which had already given to the king of Spain, the character of the richest monarch of the world. It has been considered by the majority of writers, that Sebas- tian Cabot, the Venetian, was the first navigator, who projected the discovery of the north west passage ; the fame, however, of his huving been the first projector of that undertaking, stands on very dubious grounds. Cabot arrived in England, and took up his residence at Bristol, with the strong recommendation of his having accompanied Columbus in his first expedition, and as far as his own report was to be credited, he was one of the most skilful mariners of that period. He clearly saw the many, and almost insuperable obstacles, which stood in the way of the detection of the truth or falsehood of any of the reports, which he might make relative to the voyage of Columbus, and there- IG SIUASTIAN CABOT. fnre, he might launch forth into the most hyporbolical account of the miracloi which he had (not)8een, and <'ftho extraordinary instances of the consummuto skill and courage, which he had on many occasions displayed ; for it was not very probable, from the restricted intercourse, which then existed between the different states of Europe, that, any one should suddenly appear in England, who could prove him to bo an impostor, and who could show that so far from his having been the companion of Columbus, ho had never crossed the Atlantic in any of the voyages, which he so minutely and so ostentatiously described. There is little doubt, that Cabot was stimulated by the example of Columbus, and falling into the society of some Bristol merchants, whose imagination he inflamed with the most glowing images of the transatlantic riches, the project was laid before the Privy Coun^ cil, and letters patent, dated the 5th March, were granted by king Henry VII. to Sebastian Cabot, and his three sons, Louis, Sebastian, and Sancius, the conditions of which ran, that they were to " conquer and to settle lands unknown.*' The geogra- phical position of America was then scarcely knov/n, and its uttermost northern latitude, a problem &i< yet unattempted to be solved; the maritime enterprises of the English and the French, had been hitherto chiefly confined to those latitudes, which in- cluded the Spanish discoveries, and where it was to be more ra- tionally expected that an accession of territory could bo obtained, and those settlements established, which might ultimately be taken under the protection of the respective governments, and thereby become the channels of an extensive and lucrative commerce. * The daring conduct, however of these adventurers., excited the animosity of the court of Spain, who made a formal complaint to the different governments of Europe, of which the adventurers in these expeditions were the natural subjects; but the general answer received was, that the men against whom they com- plained, acted entirely on their own authority and responsibility, and not as the subjects of any prince, and that the king of Spain was at liberty to proceed against them according to his pleasure. We shall shortly see the spirited answer, which Elizabeth gave to " PKRFIDVOF CABOT. 17 ftKimilitr remonstrance on the port of Spain, und wliiih hy openly netting nt defiance the church of Rome, and its protended ri^r'at to dispose of countries not yet discovered, infused a spirit of enter- prise into the mariners of this country, which was attended with the most beneficial resu.ts to its commerce, and to the promotion of its maritime power. Cabot arrived in England at a period highly propitious far the undertaking, which ho had in view ; tho expedition under Manson had failed, hut without any reference to tho great object for which it was undertaken, as an impediment had boon thrown in his way, which could not bo overcome. Tho English naviga- tors however, regarded the appointment of Cabot, with great jealousy and disitrust. nd a memorial was presented to Henry VII. praying him, to bestow the command upon ono of his own sub- jects; but the wily monarch answered, that, as the Bristol mer- chants had projected the expedition, ho had at their solicitation granted his letters patent to Cabot, and therefore they could not then be revoked. It is by no means unworthy of observation, that although Cabot was actually in tho service of Henry VII., and sailing -on a voyage of discovery, under letters patent, granted by that monarch; yet according to Ramusio, he gave the fullest infor- mation of his proceedings to the pope's legate in Spain, which under the then existing circumstances between the two coun- tries, not only politically but commercially, appears not very favourably tot he character of Cabot, According to the above mentioned historian, Cabot is made to say to the pope^s legate, that " understanding, by reason of the sphere, that if he should sail by way of north west, he should by a shorter track come into Indiaj he thereupon caused the king to be advertised of his device, who immediately commanded two Caravels, to be furnished with all things appertayning to the voyage, which was as farre as he remembered in the year 1496, in the beginning of summer; he began therefore to sail towards the north west, not thinking to find any other land than that of Cathay, and from thence to turn towards India, but after certaine days, he found that the land ran towards the north, which was 1 D 18 DISCOVERY OF NEWFOUNDLAND. to him a great ilisploasuro. Nevertheloss sayling along the coast to see if he could find any gilf that turned, he found the land still continued to the 56th degree under our pole. And seeing that there the coast turned to the oast, dettpairing to find a passage, lie turned back again, and sayled downe by the coast of that land towards the equinoctiall (werewith intent to find the said pas- sage to India,) and came to that part of this firm land which i» now called Florida.'' It may be gathered from the course which Cabot pursued that lie entertained some remote suspicion as to where the' communi- cation of the Atlantic with the Pacific wat. to be sought for, but technically considered, a north west passage by the Arctic Regions, as it is now spoken of, was far beyond the imagination of any of the chief navigators of those days { they were as igno- rant of the geographical position and extent of the country which is now denominated North America, as they were of the pansag^e round Cape Horn, and consequently they were conti- nually seeking for the communication between the two oceans, in those latitudes from which they were certain to return with disappointment and discomfiture. Cabot pursued his course directly towards the north west, and the first land which he discovered, was that of Newfound- land, to which he gave the name of Prima Vista ; this took place in the year 1496, and from one particular circumstance, we are led to infer that he touched at the northern most part of that Island, which is only separated from Labrador, by the *iarrow straits of Bclleisle. The circumstance alluded to is, ihat he brought home with him three Esquimaux, answering in every respect to the Esquimaux of the present day, and who fad then one of their chief settlements on the eastern coast of (abrador, which may bo calculated nearly about *i' from the .lorthcrn most point of Newfoundland, These savages, he says, 'were clothed in beastes skins, and did eat raw flesh, and spake such speech, that no man could understand them, and in their demeanour were like to brute beastes, whom the king "kept a time after." It is however evident that Cabot was grossly ignorant cf the i: JOHN VAZ COSTA CORTERbAL. 13 quarter where the communicatiun was to b« loukcd for,fur insload of pursuing his course northwards, and tliereby attempting to ascertain the extreme northernmost point of America, round which he might have sailed into the Pacific, he directed his course southwards, and in 1497, ho discovered the country now known by the name of the Floridas. The cunning Venetian also discovered that no very great sources of wealth were to bo found in the inhospitable clime, and dense fogs of Newfoundland ; and although it seemed not to be a matter of any great difficulty so punctually to fulfil one part of his instructions, namely, " to conquer" his newly discovered territory, seeing that there were very few natives to dispute his right of conquest, yet on the other hand, he felt no disposition to follow the other part of his instructions, " to settle lands unknown ;" for he looked upon his newly discovered country, as almost upon the verge of crea- tion, and only fit for the residence of wild beasts, and human savages. The wigwam of the Esquimaux presented a sorry con- trast with the palaces and temples of the Mexicans, glittering with their burnished gold, which had so enraptured the eyes of the crew of Columbus, and cod lisli and seal skins were a poor substitute for the pearls and diamonds, which glistened in the habiliments of the Peruvians. Wealth, and not discoveries, waa» the chief aim of the Venetian, and having satisfied his cupidity by trafBcing in the Gulf of Mexico, he returned to England, willt as little knowledge of the existence of a communication between the two oceans as at his departure. In regard to the discovery of Newfoundland, as claimed by Cabot, it is almost certain that the honour of that discovery does not belong to him, for there is little reason to doubt, that New- foundland had been discovered by a Portuguese navigator, long before the time of Cabot; and this fact being authentically established, the great fame awarded to Cabot for his northern discoveries, appears to have been undeservedly bestowed. As early as the year 1463, being 33 years before the expedition of Cabot, John Vaz Costa Corlereal, a gentleman of the royal household of Alphonso V., had by older of that monarch, ex- plored the North Seas, and discovered the Terra de Baccalhaos, *iO DISCOVKKY OF GREENLAND. or land of codfish, which was at'terwardg called Newfoundland. The lucrative commerce, which was attached to the inexhaustible fisheries of the Newfoundland banks, had attracted the curly notice of the Portuguese, and there is even reason to suppose that they had established settlements there, at the close of the fifteenth century. It cannot however be disputed, that a spirit enterprise existed amoiigsi the Portuguese at that time, which was not to be found in any other European nation ; for in the majority of instances we find, that the English navigators were deterred from the prosecution of their discoveries, by circum- stances of so trivial and common a nature, that the veriest lubber of the present day, would not deem them worthy of his notice. If we compare the voyages of the Portuguese at the close of the fifteenth century, with those of the English, even at the close of the sixteenth, how striking the difference appears, as will be evinced by the following enterprise. — In the year 1600, Gaspar, the son of the before mentioned John Cortereal, sailed from Lisbon, and taking a northerly course from the Azores, dis- covered land in 60** north, to which he gave the name of Terra F*erde, that is Greenland. According to his own account, he employed nearly a year in this voyage, during which time, he had discovered between west and north-west, a continent, which had never been visited by any former navigrator. He calculates that he sailed coast-wise above 800 miles; but his further progress was impeded by mountains of ice, which so encumbered the sea, that his ship was in danger of being embedded. The continent alluded to by Cortereal, is evidently that which is now known by the name of Labrador, and to which the name of Corterealis, was given by the early geographical writers. In order to substantiate the truth of our former remarks, relative to the comparative courage and perseverance, evinced by the Portuguese and English navigators in their early voyages ; we have only to confront the voyages of Gaspar Cortereal, with that of John Davis, which was undertaken to the same latitude, above a century afterwards. The former navigator spent nearly a year in the prosecution of his discoveries, and \\h progress was FAILURE OF THE CORTF.REAL9. .%} .ultimately impeded, by those physical objects which he could not overcome : Davis sails to the same latitudes, and for the same purpose of discovery ; he sails in the most beautiful season of the year, spends rather more than two months in the prosecution of his discoveries ; is intimi ated by a thick mist and adverse winds, and returns to England. The discovery of the north west passage, however appears t» have been the favorite object of Gaspar Cortereal, and encouraged by the discoveries, which h had made on his former expedition, jje obtained without any difficulty the consent of Alphonso, to undertake another voyage, and he accordingly sailed from Lisbon in May 1501. A violent storm overtook his ships off the coast of Greenland, which obliged them to separate; one of them directed its course homewards, but that on which Cortereal was on board, was never more heard of. On the following year Michael Cortereal, sailed with three vessels in search of his brother; two of the three returned, but Michael perished, no tidings ever having been received of him. Notwithstanding the encouragement which had been given to Cahot, and his gasconading account of the great discoveries which he had accomplished, accompanied with the display of he wealth which he had amassed, the spirit of discovery at ho commencement of the sixteenth century, appears to have anguished, or which is more probable, the feeble efforts of he former navigators were not crowned with that brilliant uccess, which was sufficient to attract the attention either of the overnment of the country, or of those private individuals, whose mterprising spirit might have led them to embark in such spe- julative expeditions. The first enterprise undertaken solely by ilnglishmen, to discover the north west passage, was suggested )y Mr. Robert Thorne, an opulent merchant of Bristol, who had ong resided at Seville, and who had imbibed perhaps in Spain he spirit of geographical discovery. Hakluyt has preserved two )apers on this subject, addressed by Robert Thorne, one to king Jenry VIII., and the other to Dr. Ley, the king's ambassador to jharles V. In the first, he exhorts king Henry " with very veighty and substantial reasons to set forth a discoverio even to 2*1 KXPEDITION OF TIIORNE. the North Pole," and ho continues, " 1 know it to be my bouuden duty to manifest the secret to your grace, which hitherto, I sup- pose has been hid." He represents in the strongest terms tht' great glory and the vast riches, which the kings of Spain and Portugal had acquired by their discoveries in the East and West Indies, and strenuously recommends the king to emulate their fame by undertaking discoveries towards the north. He states in a very masterly manner the high reputation that must attend the attempt, and the great benefits, in regard to the extension of com- merce, likely to accrue to the subjects of this country, from the ttdvantageoiis situation of foreign lands, should the undertaking be crowned with success ; which, " he quaintly observes," seems to make the exploring this, the only hitherto undiscovered part. the king's peculiar duty." Thorno was fully aware that the great danger attending the expedition, might be urged as a very cogent argument against it; and therefore to meet that objection, he, although astronomi- cally incorrect, enlarges upon " the great advantages of constant daylight in seas ; that men say, without great danger, difficulty, and peril, yea, rather, that it is impossible to pass ; for they being past this Utile way which they named so dangerous which may be two or three leagues before they come to the pole aud as much more after they pass the pole, it is clear from thence- forth the seas and lands are as temperate as in these parts." It is evident, that the worthy Bristol merchant may be classed amongst those enthusiasts, who, in the prosecution of any favorite project, turn away from an examination of the obstacles and difli- culties, which present themselves in every quarter to frustrate tliej; accomplishment of it, and in the present instance Mr. Thorne^ / expectedthat the elements would, with becoming indulgence! ' relax in their natural severity, and enter into an alliance, by which the success of the undertaking could be insuied. Thus in the paper addressed to Dr. Ley, he enters minutely| into tho advantages and practicability of the undertaking, all o| which are very ably and circumstantially exposed, leaving U!.tou(hef this voyage, is, that one of the ships was cast away on the mrth of Newfoundland, and no record remains of what became •'the other. _^ In 1636 another voyage of discovery 1to the north west parts f America, was projected by Master Hore of London, " a man f goodly stature and of great courage, and given to the studio f cosmographie." It is remarkable that of l'20s persons who ccompanied him, thirty were gentlemen of the Inns of Court nd Chancery ; whence it may be concluded, that the pursuit of cience, and gratiUcation of a laudable curiosity were the object* 24 EXPEDITION OF SIR II. WlLLauOHBY. f)f this voyage, rather than mercantile speculations. On i\m subject, we may perhaps be allowed to express our sincere wish, that there were a few more Master Hore^s in London, " given to the studie of cosmographie," and who would transport " to the strange regions," a few hundreds of the present gentlemen of the Inns of Court and of Chancery, by which act a most essential benefit would be conferred upon the country. This enterprise of Hore had a most calamitous termination, unworthy the disinterested motives that gave birth to it, and in some respects, a severe reproach upon those engaged in it. On their arrival in Newfoundland, they suffered so much from femine, that they were driven to the horrible expedient of cannibalism. While gathering roots in the woods for their subsistence, some were treacherously murdered, and devoured by their companions. The captain on hearing of the circumstance, endeavoured to bring back the crew to a sense of their duty, and to teach them resignation, by keeping alive their hopes; but the famine increased, and they were driven to the necessity of casting lots, who should perish. The same night, a French ship arrived on the coast, and the English by a stratagem with which we are not made acquainted, contrived to make themselves masters of the vessel, and returned home. The Frenchmen were afterwards liberally indemnified by Henry VIII., who pardoned the violence, to which necessity had impelled the English adventurers. In the reign of Edward VI. 1553, an expedition of three ships sailed under the command of Sir H. Willoughby, for the pur- pose of making discoveries in the northern latitudes. Two of the ships advanced to 76o north, where they discovered the group of Islands, m)w known as Spitzbergen, but which was then supposed to be a part of Greenland. They prosecuted their voyage to the east waif d,. when they were shut up in the ice, and Sir H. Willoughby and the crew, consisting of sixty persons, perished miserably of cold and hunger on the eastern coast Russian Lapland. The remaining vessel passed the north Cape to the eastward, and got safcly to the Bay of St. Nicholas, on the Russian coast, being the first British vessel, which had en- tered those latitudes BURROW AND FROBISHER. 25 The ships and the dead bodies of those who perished, were dis- covered the following year by some Russian fishermen, and from the papers found in the admiral's ship, and especially by the date of his will, it appeared that the greater portion of the crew of the two ships were alive in January 1554, having entered the river Arzina on the 18th of the preceding September. The jour- nal of Sir Hugh Willoughby, which, however, is exlremely meagre of information relative to the object of his expedition, contains the following brief account of his distressed situation. Thus remaining in this haven the space of a weeke, seeing the yeero farre spent, and also very evill wether, as frost, snowe, and haile, as though it had been the deepe of winter, wo thought it best to winter there. Whereforo wo sent out three men, south south west, to search if they could find people, who went three dayes journey, but could find none. After that wo sent out other three westward , four dayes journey, which also returned without finding any people. Then sejit we three men south cast, three dayes journey, who inlike sorte returned without finding of people, or any similitude of habitation." In 1566, another unsuccesful attempt was made by Capt. S. Bur- row, which was attended with a great sacrifice of life, without the slightest advantage arising from it. In the reign of Edward VI., some ingenious and enterprising men, began to revive the dormant question of a north west pas- age round America, to Cathay, and the East Indies. Many sound observations, and not a few questionable, or even fabulous elations were adduced, to countenance the opinion of the possi- ility of such a passage. Martin Frobisher, a mariner of great xperience and ability had persuaded himself, that the voyage as not only feasible but of easy execution ; " and as it was the nly thing in the world that was left yot undone, whereby a otable mind might be made famous and fortunate ;** he per- isted for fifteen years in endeavouring to procure the equipment f the expedition. At length in 1576, by the patrdnage of Dudley, earl of War- ick, he was enabled to fit out two small vessels, one of thirty- ive, and the other of thirty tons, and with this diminutive craft 2 E *id EXPEDITION OF FROBISHER. he had the courage to attempt to explore the navig'atiun of an ocean, where he would have to contend with some of the most appalling dangers, which can befall the mariner. As our adven- turers passed Greenwich in their tiny cockle-boats, Queen Eliza- beth, who then held her court there, gave them an encouraging farewell, by waving her hand to them from the window. On the 11th July, Frobisher discovered land, which he supposed to be the Friozoland of Zeno ; but the land, which ho believed to be an Island, was evidently the southern part of Greenland. Ho was compelled by the floating ice to direct his course to the south- west, till he reached Labrador. Sailing to the northward along tiiis coast, he entered a strait in latitude 63° 8', which was after- wards named Lumley*s Inlet. The Esquimaux in their boats or kajaks, were mistaken by onr voyagers, for porpoises, or some kind of strange fish. With one of these "strange infiddeles, whose like was never seen, read, or heard of before," Frobisher set sail for England, where he arrived on the 2nd October, "highly com- mended of all men for his great and notable attempt, but specially famous for the great hope he brought of the passage to Cathaia." One of his seamen chanced to bring home with him a stone, as a memorial of his voyage to those distant countries, but his wife, throwing it into the fire, " glistened with a bright marquesset of gold.'' This accident was soon noised abroad, and the gold re- finers of London, being called upon to assay the stone, reported! that it contained a considerable quantity of gold. Thus thej hope of finding gold, again became the Incentive to distant voy- ages and geographical researches. The queen now openly favored the enterprise, and Frobishei! again departed in May 1677, with three ships, one of which wasl equipped by her majesty. These ships were the Edith , the Gabriel,| and the Michael. The expedition consisted of 120 persons, thirtj^^ of whom were miners, finers, and merchants; they were victualleii| for seven months. Elizabeth adopted a curious method of exploring new landij and by a very ingenious method, made criminals useful to tU state, as will appear by the following order, contained in "thij instructions to our loving friend Martin Furbusher, gent., fol qriFN tMZABKTn's INSTRUCTIONS TO FROUISIIKR. 27 orders lo ho observed in the viago now recommended to hiro for the northwest parts, and Cataia !" "Item.— In your waic outward you shall (yf it be noe hin- drance to your viage,) set on hindo upon the coast of Freezland VI of the condemned persons which you carry with you, with weapons and victualls Buch as you may convenientlie spare and if it cannot be done outward, you shall doe your endevor to accomplish the same in your returne ; to which persons you shall give instructions, howe they maye by their good behaviour wynne the good wyll of the people of that land and countrie, and also to learn the state of the same ; and yf you set them aland in your going outwards, then doe your best to speako with them in your returne." •' The above instructions are well worthy of notice, as shewing the reckless manner in which the condemned persons in those days were treated, and making transportation a severe penalty, instead of a premium for vice. The expedition, according to the instructions, after clearing the northern parts of Ireland and Scotland, is to steer to the Island, called Holl's Island, being in the entrance of the sup- posed straight, which we named Furbusher's Straight discovered my yourself last yeare."' The next article contains orders, that the vessels be safely noored, and that the miners, finers, and merchants, be conveyed n boats &c., to the place were the mineral ore abounded, in )rder that they commence collecting it. While the miners &c., are at work, Sir Martin is to proceed n his survey of the coast, and also to search for mines. He is conciliate the natives, and to be careful, not to give the least iffence. Item. — We doe not thinke yt good you should bring hither bove the number of three, or fower, at the most of the people if that country, whereof some to be old and the other yonge, vhorn we shall minde not to return again thither, and therefore ou shall have great care how you do take them, for avoiding ffence to them and the countrie.'* Frobishcr having sagaciously observed that the ice which en- 2d FAILURE OP FROUISHER'8 EXPEDITION Climbers the northern soas, mu«»t be formed in the sounds or islands near the Pole, and that the main seas never freezes, steered directly for the Strait where his preceding voyage hud terminated, and sought the spot where the supposed gold ore had been picked up, but could not find in the whole Island " a piece so big as a walnut." On the neighbouring Islands how- ever the ore was found in large quantities. In their examination of Frobisher Strait, they were unable to establish a pacific in- tercourse with the natives. Two women were seized, of whom one, being old and ugly, was thought to be a devil or a witch, and was consequently dismissed. As gold, and not discovery was the avowed object of this voyage, our adventurers occupied themselves in providing a cargo, and actually got on board almost 200t ons of the glittering mineral, which they believed to be ore. V'hen the lading was completed, they sat sail home- wards, and though the ships were dispersed by violent storms, they all arrived safely in different parts of England. The queen, and the persons engaged in this adventure, were delighted to find " iH.i the matter of the gold ore, had appear- Hnce, and made show of great riches and profit, and that the hope of the passage to Cathaia by this last voyage greatly in- creased." The queen gave the name of Meta Incognita to the nowlv discovered country, on which it was resolved to establish a colony. For this purpose, a fleet of 15 ships was got ready, and 100 persons appointed to form the settlement, and remain there the whole year, keeping with them three of the ships, ihe other twelve were to bring back cargoes of gold ore. Frobisher was appointed admiral-in-chief of the expedition, and on taking leave, received from the queen a gold chain, as a mark of het approbation of his past conduct. The fleet sailed on the 31st May, 1578, and in three weeks discovered Friezeland, of which possession was formally taken, and then held its course direct to Frobisher Straits. The voyage hitherto had been prosperous, but distresses and vexations of every kind thwarted the attempt to fix a colony Violent storms dispersed the fleet — drift ice chiked up the strait ; one small bark, on board of which was the wooden house, intended for tlie settlers, was crushed by the SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT. 20 icoboff^s, and instantly wont down ; thick fogs, heavy snow, with tides and currents of extraordinary violence bewildered the mariners, and involved them in endless distresses. At lensrth ofter enduring extreme hardships, it was resolved to return, and postpone to the ensuing year, the attempt to make a settlement in the country. The storms, which had frustrated the object of the expedition, pursued the fleet in its passage homeward ; tlio ships were scattered, but arrived at the various ports of England, before the commencement of October. This grand expedition ended in the minors, finors, and mer- chants bringing homo a quantity of pyrites, and the South Sea bubble had a prototype in the North Sea gold mines. Success seems to have deserted Frobisher after his first voyage, which alone indeed had discovery for its object, for when the sanguine expectations to which he had given birth were disap- pointed, his voyages were looked upon as a total failure, and he appears himself for a time, to have fallen into neglect. The zeal of Frobisher in the pursuit of north western discoveries, is supposed to have been fostered by the writings of Sir Humphry Gilbert, a gentleman of brilliant talents and romantic temper. When we contemplate the early discoveries of the Spaniards and Portuguese, we see needy adventurers, and men of desperate character and fortune, pursuing gain or licentiousness with violence and bloodshed, and this may be considered as the decided characteristic of all voyages, the aim of which is the accumulation of riches, and not the promotion of science. The English navigators however, who in the reign of Elizabeth sought to extend our knowledge of the globe, were men of a different stamp, and driven forward by motives of an honour- able nature. They undertook the most difficult navigation, through seas perpetually agitated by storms, and encumbered with ice, in vessels of the most frail construction, and of small burden ; they encountered all the difficulties and distresses of a rigorous climate, and in most cases with a very distant, or with no prospect of ultimate pecuniary advantage. Sir Humphrey Gilbert was one of those gallant spirits, who engaged in the career of discovery, chiefly from the love of fame and thirst of 3<) RIK m'MIMIUKY OII.BKRT. nchiovcmont. In 1578, ho obtained a patent authorising him to undertake western discoveries, and to possess lands unsettled by christian princes or their subjects. In compliance with these conditions, Sir Humphrey prepared in 1583 to tuko possession of the northern parts of America, and Newfoundland. In the same year, Queen Elizabeth conferred on his younger brother Adrian Gilbert, the privilege of making discoveries of a passage to China, and the Moluccas, by the north westward, north eastward, or northward, directing the company of which ho was the head, to bo incorporated by the name of "The Colleagues of the Fellowship for the discovery of the north west passage." The fleet of Sir Humphrey consisted of five ships of different burthens, from 10 to *200 tons, on which were embarked about 260 men, including shipwrights, masons, smiths, and carpenters, besides " mineral men and refiners ; and for the amusement of the crew, and allurement of the savages, they were provided of music in good variety, not omitting the least toyes, as morrice dancers, hobby horses, and may like concerts, to delight the savage people, whom they intended to win by all fair means possible." The little fleet reached Newfoundland on the 30th July. It is noticed, that at this early period, " The Portugals and French chiefly have a notable trade of fishing, on the Newfoundland bank, where there are sometimes more than a hundred sail of ships." On entering St. John's, possession was taken in the queen's name, of the Harbour and 200 leagues every way; parcels of land were granted out, but the attention of the admiral was chiefly directed to the discovery of the precious metals. The colony being thus apparently established. Sir Humphrey embarked in his small frigate, the Squirrel, which was in fact, a miserable barque of ten tons, and taking with him two other ships, proceeded on a voyage of discovery to the southward. One of these, the Delight, was soon after wrecked among the shoals, near Sable Island, and of above a hundred men on board, only twelve escaped. Amongst those who perished, were the Historian and Mineralogist of the expedition ; a circumstance which preyed upon the mind of Sir Humphrey, whose ardent temper, fondly cherished the hope of fame, and inestimable DEATH OK AIR llllMI>linfa:Y UlLltklKT. HI riohos, llo now dotorminod to return to Enjyland, but fts Iiis lit- llo frigate, as kHo was callod, appeared wholly unfit to proceed on such tt voyajre, ho was entreated not to venture in her, hut to take his passage in the Golden Hinde. To these solicitations the gallant knight replied: "I will not forsake my little com- pany going homewards, with whom I have passed so many storms and perils." When the two vessels had passed the Azores, Sir HoTnphrey's frigate, was observed to be nearly overwhelmed by a great sea ; she recovered, however, the stroke of the waves, and immediatly afterwards, the admiral was observed by those in the Hinde, sitting aboft with a book in his hand and calling out "Courage, my lads, we are as near heaven by sea, as by land." The same night the little bark, and all within her wore swal- lowed up in the sea, and never more heard of. Such was the unfortunate end of the brave Sir Humphrey Gilbert, who may be regarded as the father of the western colonization, and who was one of the chief ornaments of the most chivalrous ago of English history. Whiht these events were taking place in the north, the Eng- lish were extending their discoveries in the West Indies, where the Spaniards regarded every rood of land as their own, although they had no population to occupy it, and which in many instances they had never seen^ until attracted by the news that Europeans had settled in them, on which they went forth to burn, to destroy, and murder. They also sent their remonstrances to queen Elizabeth on the conduct of the English, but the high minded monarch replied, " that the Spaniards had drawn these inconveniences upon them- selves, by their severe and unjust dealings in their American commerce ; for she did not understand, why, either her subjects or those of any other European province should be debarred from traffic in the West Indies. That as she did not acknow- ledge the Spaniards to have any title, by the donation of the bishop ofRome,soshe knew no right they hud to any places, other than those they were in actual possession of; for that their having touched only here and there upon a coast, and given names to a few rivers and capes, were such insignificant things as could 32 EXPEDITION OF DAVIS. no ways entitle to a propriety, further than in the parts whore they actually settled, and continued to inhabit This energetic answer, which was followed by the defeat of the Spanish Armada, infused fresh spirit into the English mari- ners, and several expeditions were fitted out, the chief aim of which, were colonial establishments, and the accumulation o^' individual wealth. Notwithstanding the failure of the previous expeditions, and the ridicule which followed the discovery of the golden mines of North America, another expedition to the northern latitudes was fitted out by the merchants of London, the command of which was intrusted to John Davis, a skilful and courageous seaman. He sailed from Dartmouth on the 7th June, 1635, and by the middle of July arrived on the western coast of Greenland, to which was given the name of the Land of Desolation, on account of its cheerless and gloomy aspect. From this coast he stood to the north west, and saw land in latitude of 64° 15', the air at the time being temperate, and the sea free from ice. This sup- posed continent however turned out to be a group of islands, pos- sessing a number of good harbours, in one of which Davis came to an anchor, and gave it the name of Gilbert's Sound, in honor of his patron, Mr. Adrian Gilbert, the brother of the unfortunate Sir Humphrey. On the Ist August, Davis stood to the north- west, and on the 6th discovered land in latitude 66" 40. Here he anchored under a promontory, to which the name of Mount Raleigh was given , the cliflfs of which as Davis described '• were as orient as gold." Proceeding to the northward an open strait was discovered to the west, from twenty to thirty leagues wide, and its navigation unimpeded by ice. This strait was called Davis Strait, the name which it bears at the present day. Davis now proceeded westward for about 60 leagues, and fell in with a cluster of Islands in the middle of the strait. The navigators however of those days, notwithstanding the ardent spirit of enterprise, for which they have been so highly vaunted by some cotemporary writers, appear to have been disheartened by circuni- stanties, which a Ross or a Parry would have deemed scarcely worthy of their notice. The discovery of a north west passage rXPKDlTION OF DAVIS. {^3 was the avowed object of tlie oxpodilion of Davis, lie arrived at Greenland, at the latter end of the month of July, and at the latter end of August, in the finest season of the year, happening to meet with some thick mists, and contrary winds, he determines to return home, and arrives at Dartmouth on the .3()th September, after an absence of little more than three months from England. As an intrepid seaman, Davis is entitled to the highest praise, but there are other and higher qualities requisite, in order to form the character of the commander of an expedition, the principal aim of which is discovery, and especially the discovery of so difficult ui object, as that of a north west passage. On his return to England, Davis expressed his firm belief of a free and uninter- rupted passage to the westward, although his belief, from the extent of his discovery, must have had nothing but mere conjec- ture for its foundation. It must be evident from the latitude, which he reached, compared with that of subsequent navigators, that he could not have been warranted in drawing his con- clusions of the positive existence of a north west passage, from any knowledge, which he had acquired of the geography of the country, or from any information, which he had obtained from an intercourse with the natives. In one instance he foundedhis belief of having actually discovered the long-sought passage, from the simple circumstance, of the colour of the sea, in the strait up which he sailed, resembling that of the main ocean ; and this alone is sufficient to prove the insufficiency and weakness of the reasons, which he alleged for the existence of a communication in that particular quarter, between the Atlantic and Pacific. From the favorable reports however which Davis made, and particularly of the great lucrative advantages which would arise by establishing a brisk commerce with the natives, in peltry* the London merchants were encouraged to fit out another expedi- tion, and on the 7th May, 1586, he again sailed from Dartmouth, and directed his course as before to Greenland, where he arrived at the latter end of June. This voyage appears in some respects, to have been attended with a commercial aim, for Davis describes, that the natives came off to him m great numbers, to trade with •-i F 34 SECOND EXPEDITION OF DAVIS. liim, in seal skins, stags, white hares, and fish. The sailors however could scarcely eradicate the belief from their mind?, that the natives were a kind of witches, and that they practised several kinds of enchantments. It is a rare quality in a traveller, to decline giving the d3scrip- tion of any particular object, which he may have fallen in with, from the notion that on account of its extraordinary or wonderful nature, he might be considered as dealing largely in fiction and romance, this however appears to have been the case with Davis. An iceberg, such as is seen in the high northern latitudes, was an object, which had scarcely ever yet fallen under the observa- tion of any former navigator ; in fact, the existence of those gigantic accumulations of ice. the base of some of which rests upon the bottom of the ocean, was scarcely known of; Davis however fell in with several of these mountainous masses, but he declines to describe them, on the singular principle, that his veracity might be called in question. The seamen of those days were not of the race of the Hep- burns, who accompanied a Franklin or a Ross, willing however as they might hava been to enter upon any enterprise, to which any lucrative advantages were attached. The great accumulations of ice, and other untoward circumstances natural to the northern latitudes, dispirited the seamen of Davis, and it was with the greatest difficulty that he could induce them to continue the voyage northwards. They, however, reached the latitude of 67° north, where they found land trending to the westward ; and on running southward to 54°, they fell in with a great number of inlets, where from the appearance of the sea, it being of a greenish colour, their hopes began to revive that they should still meet with the much desired passage. Encountering however some tempestuous weather on the coast of Labrador, Davis bent his course homewards, and arrived in England the beginning of October. It must however be remarked in exculpation of thi^ apparently timid conduct on the part of Davis, that the vessel in which he sailed, was from her buflhen by no means fitted to contend with the storms, the fields of ice, and other natural obstacles, which abound in the high northern latitudes, and THIRD EXPEDITION OF DAVIS. 35 when it is taken into consideration, that his vessel was not larger than a common fishing smack, her burthen being only 35 tons; our surprise is not the more excited at the hardihood of Davis, in undertaking so perilous a voyage, in a vessel so totally inadequate for the purpose, than it is at the folly and parsimony of the Bristol merchants, who could select such a vessel for a voyage of discovery, from which her chance of return was far beyond probability. The preceding voyages of Davis may be considered as decided failures as fur as concerns his avowed aim, and it may be fur- ther aflSrmed, that no great essential advantage accrued from either, whether we regard them in a commercial or a geographi- cal character. The countries which he visited, had been disco- vered long before by Frobisher, and other navigators, and al- though he unreservedly promulgated his opinion of the existence of a north west passage, yet he did not give a single datum, on which the validity of that opinion was founded, on the contrary, with the knowledge which we possess at the present day, of the geographical situation of the Arctic Regions, and of the coun- tries adjacent to them, we are entitled to draw the inference, that the reports circulated by Davis, of the existence of a north west passage, were wholly built on fiction and conjecture, and not supported by any deductions drawn from his own personal knowledge of the geography of the countries situated between the 65° and 75° of north latitude. It is true, that he had im- proved his nautical experience, and, therefore, had become more capable of conducting any expedition which might be after- wards despatched for the discovery of the geographical situation of the countries within the Arctic Circle. His previous failures had not in the least dispirited him, nor depressed his hopes of ultimate success, and, accordingly, we find that he succeeded in inducing the merchants to fit out another expedition, and on the 19th May, 1587, he sailed again from Dartmouth with two vessels of greater tonnage, and better equipped for the attain- ment of his object. Ho arrived in the middle of June on the west coast of Greenland, along which he coasted, till he reached the latitude of 72° 12'. By currents and contrary winds, he was 36 DISCOVERIES OF DAVIS. driven to the south, and arrived at the strait, discovered by him- self on a former voyage, which is now known by the name of Cumberland Strait. He explored this strait for about sixty leagues, and in latitude 61o 10 he discovered a headland, to which he gave the name of Cape Chidley ; and to a promontory, ho gave the name of Sanderson's Hope, in honor of the chief pro- moter of the expedition. We must also award to Davis the rightful claim of having been the discoverer of the Strait, that now bears the name of Hudson, which is but a continuation of the same strait which bears the name of Davis Strait, only ex- tending to a higher degree of northern latitude. > The last voyage of Davis, like his two former ones, did not occupy much more than three months, as ho arrived in England, in the middle of September ; the merchants however, who had borne the expence of the expeditions, and who, from the sanguine representations of Davis, had flattered themselves, that inex- haustible mines of wealth were to be opened upon them, felt no disposition to undertake another expedition, although the opinion of Davis still remained the same, that a north west passage, actually existed, and that it only required a fortunate combina- tion of circumstances, to accomplish its discovery. The mer- chants however, were not disposed to run the risk of meeting with that fortunate combination of circumstances, as nothing had yet occurred, which could lead them to believe that it was an epoch very near at hand ; consequently Davis was not employed in any subsequent expedition, for the discovery of the north west passage. The unfortunate issue of all the voyages which had been hi- therto undertaken for the discovery of a north west passage, did not operate with that discouraging force, which might have been expected, although it for a time diverted the attention of the English merchants from the plans, which they had formed for a successful competition with the Spaniards and Portuguese, in their commerce, by means of a northern route to India. At the time when the English undertook their northern expeditions, they did not feel themselves competent to contend with the naval strength of Portugal, and there great desire was, in consequence, EXPEDITION OF CORNELISON. 87 to find out somo passatre, by which they could reach the east, without encountering the fleets of their vigilant and jealous rivals. All the attempts to find a passage by the north west, had proved unsuccessful, and although the belief of the existence of that passage was still strongly prevalent amongst the English navigators, yet neither the government, nor the merchants felt disposed to advance the funds requisite for the equipment of a vessel destined for an undertaking, which, as yet had been at- tended with positive loss and disappointment. Although th& English nation was rapidly increasing in resources, and had been taught, from some recent political events, to know its strength, yet the spirit of discovery, as far as the north west passage was concerned, languished considerably, and the atten- tion of the merchants began to be directed to other quarters, by which the treasures of India could be obtained, and by a route, to which usurpation had not hitherto advanced any claim. From some obscure allusions made by the Dutch navigators, and by Oliver Brunell, an Englishmen, it was conjectured that a north eastern passage might be found to India, and the Dutch, who where then beginning to hold a secondary rank amongst the maritime nations of Europe, resolved to attempt the discovery of it ; accordingly in 1594, the United Provinces sent forth an expedition under the command of Corneli? Cornelison, to which William Barentz was attached, as the pilot. Notwithstanding great praise is due to the navigators of that period, for the enterprising spirit which they manifested on many occasions ; yet it must be admitted, that, on their pe- riodical returns from their respective voyages, from which, scarcely any benefit resulted, they always brought home with them reports of such a flattering and encouraging nature, that the strongest inducements were held forth to the projectors of the expeditions, to send forth fresh ones, as they were actually led to believe, that they were on the very verge of a discovery, from which inexhaustible riches were to be their reward. Thus Cornelison sailed round the North Cape, and passed the Straits of Waigatz, about forty leagues from which the main land ap- peared trending to the south east. This favourable omen, added 38 SECOND EXPEDITION OF CORNEMSON. to the depth and openness of the sea, was considered by Corne- lison, so decisive of the existence of a north eastern passage to India, that without prosecuting his researches, in order to ascertain if his conjecture were true, he returned to Holland with the joyful tidings, that the northern maritime nations of Europe had now a route of tlieir own to India, and that the commercial supremacy of the Portuguese in the cast, was con- sequently on the eve of its dissolution. So confident were the States General in the truth of the repo of Cornelison, that they actually equipped a fleet of seven ves- sels, six of which were laden with merchandise, suitable for the Chinese and Indian markets, and Barentz was appointed chief pi- lot of the expedition. This fleet, it is true, sailed at an unseason- able time of the year, for on approaching the coast of Nova Zembla, it was found scarcely possible to proceed on account of the accumulation of ice ; they however succeeded in passing the straits of Waigatz, and here they learned from the Russians, that in about ten weeks the frost would be so intense, that a passage might be effected over the ice to Tartary. They also learned from the Samoiedes, that in about five days sail to the north east, the land took a south easterly direction, and this was to them a strong confirmation of their hopes, that they should soon arrive at the markets where their merchandise was to be disposed of. The cold however became severe ; the weather stormy and wholly unpropitious for any further progress, and the whole fleet returned in safety to Holland, with their cargoes untouched. The discovery of the north eastern passage appeared therefore to be attended with difficulties equally discouraging and insur- mountable, as those which had been experienced in the numerous attempts to discover the north western passage, and the States General in consequence felt no longer disposed to incur the ex- pence of a third expedition. Impressed however with the con viction of the great benefit that would accrue to the country, by the discovery of the north eastern passage ; and even if it should fail, that the maritime spirit and nautical skill of the people, H'ould be thereby greatly fostered and encouraged ; a proclama- tion was issued, offering a considerable reward to any one, who BARENTZ'S EXPEDITION. 89 slioulil succood in discovering a route to China, by a northern tjiissag'o. This was a bait too tempting" for the Amsterdam nier- clianls to withstand, and accordingly they fitted out two sliips, the command of which was given to Barentz. He sailed with the fullest confidence of success, and in the early part of June, he had reached so high a latitude, that he had constant daylight; a few days afterwards, he discovered land to the eastward, which by observation was found to be in latitude 80° 1 1'. It is from this voyage that the Dutch claim the honor of being the discoverers of Spitzbergen ; although it is on record that it was discovered by SirHughWilloughby in 1553, he having seen land in latitude 80", which may bo considered as the northernmost point of Spitzbergen. The name of Spitzbergen, or sharp mountains, was given to it by Barentz, on account of the many peaked and snowy mountains, with which that inhospitable region abounds. The subsequent proceedings of this expedition, form one of the most interesting narratives of perilous -undertakings, of hair breadth escapes, and of an accumulation of human suffering, which is to be found on record of any of the voyages, which had been then undertaken for the purpose of discovery in the northern latitudes. Human credulity is often put to the stretch, to attach any verity to the relation, not only of the extent of suffering which the frame of man can endure, before life is drawn from its last hold, but also of the wonderful energy and fortitude, which the human character can display amidst accidents, where death presents itself under the most horrid visitations, with scarcely a single ray of hope to enliven the prospect. Barentz was a man of undoubted courage and enterprise, but his constitution was not of that iron make, so as to enable him to bear up against those perpetual hardships and privations, which he was certain to undergo in the perilous undertaking in which he had engaged. From Spitzbergen he shaped his course for Nova Zembla, hoping to find a passage to the eastward in a lower parallel than 80", and early in the month of August he found himself in the latitude of 77°. Strong winds from the eastward here impeded his further progress, and in order to save 40 BARFNTZ'S EXPEDITION. Ilis ship from being wrecked, he was obliged to make bor fust to an enormous iceberg, which from its gigantic bulk, and apparently resting on the bottom of the sea, ho flattered himscjlf would prove a protection against the heavy gales, which caniu rushing on him from the eastward. This circumstance, however, is sufficient to illustrate the igno- ranee which prevailed at that time, relative to the nature of these vast accumulations of ice, or Barentz in the midst of summer, would not have ventured to make fast his ship to one of them, as instead of being his protector, it might prove the immediate instrument of his destruction. The ship had not been twelve hours lashed to the iceberg, when with a violent explosion it burst asunder, breaking into innumerable fragments, and that which appeared the previous moment to be a fixed and durable mass, towering to the skies, was as it were the next moment sunk in the ocean, and scarcely a vestige of its being left, with the exception of some solitary floating masses, which, dashing against each other by the fury of the waves, were splintered into F a thousand pieces. Exposed now to the most imminent danger, Barentz saw himself obliged to return, and after encountering the greatest hardships, he reached Icehaven in latitude 73° 60'. He had profited very little by the experience of the English rwvigators, who had preceded him in their attempts to explore thj3 Arctic Regions, and he consequently committed the fatal error of seeking an inland harbour, instead of keeping as much as possible to the open sea, where in proportion to its depth the danger is less, of being imbedded in the ice. On reaching Icehaven, the ice against which they had been for some time contending, closed in upon them, without the slightest chance of extricating themselves. The ship had not been victualled, nor otherways prepared for such an unexpected occurrence ; and the crew, which now con- sisted of only seventeen persons, saw before them the dreadful prospect of passing the winter in this inhospitable spot, with a scanty supply of provisions, and utterly unprovided with any of those necessaries, which were requisite to protect them from th« «lFFF.lUN(;s or IS.MU NTZ. 41 extreme severity of llio cold. I'ortimately tor tliein llio shoron nbouniied with drift wood, width furni.shed them not ordy with u supply of fuel, but ulso with the muter la Is for tho construction ot a house, in which they could pass the dreary winter which was before them. Bereft of tho slijvhtost hope of emancipating themselves from their dreadful situation, ihoy prepared to meet the difficulties and privations which awaited them, with proper resignation, although tho prospect of many long cheerless months of utter darkness, independently of their personal sufl'cr- ings, was sufficient to strike despair into the most courageous breast, and to induce that indillbrencc of a prolongation of life, which is tho usual attendant on accumulated sufi'erings. It was not however solely with tho rigor of tho climate that they had to contend, but they wero obliged to keep a strict and con- tinual watch against being surprised by the bears and foxes, which may be said to be the only inhabitants of tho dreary scene ; in fact, the imagination can scarcely conceive a situation more horrible than that to which Barcntz and his hardy crew wore exposed. Darkness and desolation were around them, enveloped in the densest fogs, they appeared as if thoy were shut out from the world, and driven, as it were, on tho very vero-e of creation, to linger out the remainder of their life under a combination of the most horrible sufferings. In the early part of November the last ray of the sun ceased to illuminate these desolate regions, and with it, they felt as if they had bidden adieu to the last source from which any comfort was to be derived. The cold now set in with an intensity too severe for endurance, and to increase their sufferings, their wine and beer were frozen, by which they wore totally deprived of their strength. By means of the drift wood, they were fortu- nately enabled to keep up large fires, but the collection of that indispensable material was attended with the greatest pain and danger. A bear would often rush upon them from a mount of ice, which had concealed the animal from their view, for so sreat were the boldness and audacity of these ferocious brutes, that they would fearlessly assault the wooden hut, although many of them paid the forfeit of their life for their temerity. The skins 2 G 42 TWELFTH DAY IN NOVA ZKMUI.A. of iheso iinimaU proved of essuntiul service to llio mariners; with tlie fat they supplied their lamps, and on an emergency they could make a meal of the flesh, althoujrh its extreme rankness wa8 highly offensive and disgusting. The flesh of the loves was however by no means unpalatable, and a, great number of these animals were caught in traps, set on the top of the house ; the skins were converted into clothing and bedding, and were the effectual means of saving the crew from being literally frozen to death. It is a remarkable circumstance that the foxes and bears seldom appear in the country at the same time ; the bears migrate to other quarters, with the departure of the sun, when the foxes appear in great numbers, and follow their natural avocation of rapine and plunder. One of the most interesting incidents attending their dreary sojourn in their gloomy habitation, was, that although afar from all human converse, and suffering under privations suffi- ciently severe, to check every ebullition of mirth, the crew still forgot not to celebrate the respective holidays as they camu round, to pledge the cup to those far away, and to whom their return was a matter of doubt and uncertainty. The cus- tomary fare smoked not indeed upon their Christmas table, but in hearty mirth and glee they ushered in the coming year, and surely no men had ever greater reason to look back upon the past without regret, or to look forward to the future with hope. It must, however, been a scene fraught with the deepest inte- rest and curiosity, to have viewed their jollities on twelfthday, when their cake was a pile of biscuits, and the < rew sat round their rudely fashioned table, in their respective characters ; the gunner appearing as the King of Nova Zembla, and the Queen only distinguished from her subjects, by a white handkerchief tied round her head. In this manner they cheated misery of some portion of its poignancy, and, although in the midst of desolation, a beam of mirth stili broke in upon them, and in imagination lighted them to the merry scenes of their country, and their homes. It was on the 27th January that the crew were exhilirated by the re-appearance of the sun, and with it also returned their most Dt:i'AKT(lItli: IKOM ICY HAVEN. 4J1 ferocious enemy, the hour. The woutlier was liowovor loo bois- terous and inclemonl to luiinit of any operations being executed, in order to effect their emancipation from their icy imprison- ment, but with the advance of the season, and the increase of the solar power, they looked forward with the most joyous expectation for a termination of their sufferings. Dreadful how- ever was the certainty, which now burst upon them, that their Khip had received so much damage from the pressure of the ice, and its protracted exposure to the rigour of the climate, that every prospect must be abandoned of again taking her to sea, as DO personal exertion, under their present disheartening circum- stances, accompanied also with u total want of the necessary materials for repair, could ever place the ship in a condition to effect her passage through the ice, or to contend against tho storms which prevail in the northern latitudes. Under this try- ing dilemma, their only chance of delivery from impending death lay in their boats, but these also stood in need of repair, and even then it became a matter of tho greatest doubt, whether they could be made sufficiently seaworthy, as to stand the wear and tear of the floating ice, and other obstacles, which they would have to surmount. The boats however were their only resource in this alarming emergency, but it was the beginning of June before they could commence the repair of them, and on the 13th, their task was so far completed, as to enable them to commence the operations for their departure. Previously to quit- ting their desolate habitation, Barentz drew up a statement, which he committed to writing, of the misfortunes and suffer- ings, which they had endured, adding a list of the names of the crew, and other particulars, which, on the supposition of their inability to effect their passage homeward, or their being totally lost, might be the means of conveying to their country some in- telligence of their melancholy fate. This written document he deposited in the hut, and on the 14th June they left Icy Haven ; a faint gleam of hope cheering them on, but fear and despair holding: dominion over them. The health of Barentz had been for some time on the decline, disease preying upon a frame already exhausted by fatigue 44 OI.ATII OF UARENTZ. and unxioty, still it was lK)p(^d, that as tlioy approached tho more southern lotitudos, some Hymptoms of coiivalcsconce might exhiliit themHolves, and that his lifo would bo prolonged until they reached some settlement, whore medical assistance could ho obtained ; their hope however was not destined to be realized, daily his decline was visible, and in I'l days after the departure from Icy Haven, ho died, to tho groat atHiction and regret of his whole crew, who placed tho most unbounded confidence in his nautical skill and experience. History furnishes numerous instances of long voyages having been performed on tho sea in open boats; oven tho early naviga- tors ventured across tho Atlantic, in boats not exceeding 10 tons in burthen, but there is not one on record, stamped with such an extraordinary character as the present, in which two small boats ventured to navigate tho frozen ocean, subject every moment to bo crushed to pieces between floating masses of ice, and the crew by day and by nighf,, for upwards of forty days, exposed to all the extremities of cold, fatigue, and famine. It has boon com- puted that these two boats navigated nearly 1*200 miles, before they arrived at Cola, where they found lying throe Dutch ships, in one of which tho crew embarked, and arrived safely in Hol- land in October 1597. Wo have hitherto seen that in tho discovery of tho north west passage, England has stood alone in tho attempt, and although every expedition had boon as yet unsuccessful, yet the belief was still prevalent that tho passage did exist, and that it only re- quired skill and perseverance to accomplish its discovery. The English and Dutch, at tho close of tho sixt'^onth century wore too deeply involved in hostilities with Spain, to bend their attention to the prosecution of foreign discoveries, and particu- larly to one which had been as yet accompanied with nothing but loss and disappointment. The minor maritime powers of Europe urged on by a spirit of commercial rivalry began grad- ually to emerge from the supineness in which they had in- dulged, and taking advantage of the temporary check, which the spirit of discovery had received in England, they determined to profit by tijo discoveries, which had been already made in the MNI)F,NAU*9 F.XI'KDITION. 4S norlhorn parts of America, thorohy hoping' lo Im» tlio first iiiurriv- ing at the ^-oal, althou<^h thoy inifj^ht luivo boon tlio last to Rtarl. Amongst tho lossor powers, tho Danes began to roar tboir head, and to cast a wistful look towards tlioso commercial advantages, which would accrue to them from tho discovery of tho north west passage, and for tho accomplishment of which their geographical situation so well fitted them. Accordingly in 1(K)5. tho king of Denmark caused an expedition to bo sent out, for tho ostensible purpose of exploring tho coast of Greenland, the command of which was given to Admiral Lindonau, but tho majority of tho officers were English, amongst whom James Hall acted as chief pilot. The result of this voyage was tho discovery of some good sounds, bays, and rivers, as high as 69", but here tho crow becamo mutinous, and after having according to the example of Elizabeth put two Danish malefactors on shore, Hall returned to Denmark, where he found that his admiral had arrived before him. Although tho existence of the golden mines of Greenland had been disproved by an assay of " tho glistening metal" which Frobisher had brought to England, yet tho belief that not only gold, but silver was also to be found in that country, was so strongly impressed on tho general opinion of the Danes, founded on the authority of Hall and of Knight who accompanied him, liiat the former had not long returned Irom his first expedition, tium he was appointed to the- command of four small vessels, the object of which, was not so much the. discovery of lands unknown, as the discovery of mines of gold and silver, with which the voyagers were to return as the monopolists of so lucra- tive a branch of commerce, and tho founders of their future fortune. The following remark of Hall cannot but excite a smile, for on his arrival at Cunningham Fiord (Bay) ho says, "they all landed to see the silver mines, where it was decreed, we should take in as much as we could." Not finding however, any lo take, they resolved to carry home with them some production of tlio country, and therefore they seized upon five Esquimaux, with whom they returned to Denmark, where they, doubtless appeared asmiserable substitutes for tho expected cargo of gold and silver in the following year, Hall sailed again to Greenland, but the 46 EXPEDITION OF HALL AND KNIGHT. fiew muiinied, and obliged him to return. In 1612, he was employed on an expedition to Greenland, projected by some English merchants, but touching on that part of the country, from which he had taken the five Esquimaux in his second voy- age, he was recognized as one of the perpetrators of the act, and a native stabbed him in the side with a dart, of which wound he died shortly after. Amongst the companions of Hall, was John Knight, who con- tributed not a little to inflame the imagination of the Danes, with the inexhaustible riches of the gold and silver mines of Greenland, and who was consequently thought worthy by the company of Muscovy merchants of London, to command an expe- dition for the avowed purpose of discovering the north west passage. He accordingly sailed in 1606, and on reaching the coast of Labrador, his little barque was so incumbered with ice, that he took refuge in a small bay, where it was his intention to haul his vessel ashore, in order that she might undergo the necessary repairs. Shortly after his landing, he made an excur- sion into the country, in order to examine the interior, as the existence of the silver mines was still predominant in his ima- gination, and in some degree, he had been able to keep his crew to their duty, by the pictures, which he laid before them of the enormous riches, which they were on the point of accumulating. From this excursion, however. Knight never returned, and from the circumstance of the crew being subsequently furiously at- tacked by the natives, the conclusion was drawn that he, and his whole party had been massacred. After repairing their vessel, the crew bent their course towards Newfoundland, and after encountering numerous hardships and difl&culties, they arrived in safety in England. Thus the merchants of England saw themselves defeated in every attempt, to obtain a participation in the Indian commerce, by either a north western or a north eastern route ; but still their hope was not wholly extinguished of succeeding in the attempt, as the difficulties, which had hitherto arisen, were to be attri- buted more to the ignorance of the navigation of the northern latitudes, and the relative situation of the adjacent countries, EXPEDITION OF HUDSON. 47 than to the actual impossibility of discovering where the pas- sage was to be found. All the navigators had hitherto directed their course in an eastern or western direction, and it was there- fore determined upon by the merchants of London, to send out an expedition on an entirely different route, and to attempt to discover a passage by sailing directly across the north pole. The failure of tho former expeditions, had been in some degree attributed to the command of them being intrusted to men who, although celebrated for their nautical skill, as far as the simple navigation of a vessel extended, were yet manifestly deficient in that enlarged science, which ought to characterize the com- mander of an expedition, the avowed aim of which was discovery. Acting under this impression, the projectors of the expedition, selected Henry Hudson as the commander, a man who to con- siderable science, combined the courage and intrepidity of his profession. On the 1st of May 1607, he sailed from Gravesend in the small barque called the Hopewell, having a crew of only ten men and a boy. The first land he made was Greenland* from which he directed his course to Spitzbergen, which he made in latitude 78°. Having nr.vigated as high as 80°, and the season being far advanced, he directed his course homewards, and ar- rived in the Thames on the 15th September. Although the result of this expedition was by no means pro- mising, nor even satisfactory, yet Hudson sailed the following year on another expedition, the aina of which was the discovery of a north-eastern passage. In this attempt however he also failed and returned home on the 26th August. Amongst the virtues which distinguish the English character, that of perseverance in a good cause, may be considered as one of the most conspicuous, and perhaps in no case has it been more strikingly displayed, than in the many attempts which were made to discover the north west passage. Expedition after expedition had been sent out, and each returned with the same unfavourable results, accompanied with the severest disasters and death. Hudson, whose character as a skilful and scientific navig<»tor, was in these times of the highest rank, had twice sailed on a voyage of discovery, without increasing in any con- 48 Mi^TiNY OF Hudson's crew. siderable degree the stock of knowledge of the geographical situation, or extent of the countries which he had visited. Re- lying however upon his superior science, and the favourable reports which he made, the former projectors of his expeditions determined upon fitting out another, and the command was accordingly given to Hudson. It is however remarkable, that although the failure of many of the preceding expeditions, had been attributed to the smallness of the vessels employed on tho occasion, from their total incompetency to contend against the fields of ice, through which they had to make their way, yet in the present Inst, ?e, a tiny vessel of only fifty five tons, was equipped with provisions for only six months, and with these inadequate means Hudson sailed to navigate an ocean in which the most appalling dangers confronted him on every side. For some time success appeared to smile upon him ; he sailed through Frobisher's Strait, where he had to contend with contrary winds, and vast accumulations of ice. Persisting however in a westernly course, he arrived at the north-western point of Labrador, which he named Cape Wolstenholm, near to which he discovered a cluster of Islands to the nearest head-land, of which he gave the name of Cape Digges. The land was here observed to have a scuthernly direction, and the heart of the intrepid mariner was cheered with the hope, that the object of his voyage was obtained, as a great open sea stretched itself before him, which he flattered himself might be the long sought for chaanel into the Pacific. Here however the narrative of the unfortunate Hudson terminates, and the subsequent part is only to be gathered from the spurious and doubtful testimony of Abacuk Pricket, one of the mutineers. For some time a spirit of discontent had manifested itself amongst the crew, but it had not yet broken out into open rebel- lion. From Purchas' Pilgrims we learn, that Hudson with the view of befriending a young man of the name of Green, who had shown a predilection for the sea, took him under his protection, and from the respectability of his connexions, he was led to believe that he should find in him a youth of integrity and honor. For the purpose of exonerating him from the duty of the ship, MUTINY- OF Hudson's crew. 49 he appointed him to be his clerk, made him the companion of his cabin, and treated him in every respect, as if he were his own son. The ship had been above three months threading a labyrinth of ice. and navigating in channels of great intricacy and danger, when finding it impossible to proceed, they hauled the ship on shore, and in about ten days afterwards the ice formed an impassable barrier around them. With the view of encouraging his crew, Hudson proved to them that they had sailed above a hundred leagues farther than any former navigator, and that with the breaking up of the ice, he had the most confident hope of succeeding in the object of his expedition: provisions however began to fall short, and Green insidiously fomented the discontent, to the destruction of his generous benefactor and friend. During the early part of the winter, the white partridges were killed in such abundance, as to annul any fear of suifering from actual want. These birds however, from the constant annoyance to which they were subject, migrated to a distant quarter, and the subsistence of the crew now depended upon the swans, geese, ducks, and other wild fowl, which visited their place of abode in great numbers, but which could not be killed with the same facility as the partridges. This resource even at last failed them, Snd the crew were obliged to live on moss and frogs.* On the return of the spring the ice broke up, and the crew now found a supply of food from the fish, which they caught in largo lumbers, but this resource soon failed them, and the murmurs if the crew became deep and loud. Hudson perhaps foreseeing hat it would be impossible to quell the agitation of his crew, 10 long as they were in an inactive state, made the necessary ^reparations for his departure, and with tears in his eyes, he listributed to the crew the stock of provisions that remained hich was barely sufficient for fourteen days. It was on the 21st June that the conspiracy broke out, ana 'ignant indeed were the feelings of Hudson, when he found at Green was at the head of it. It was the plan of Green and We have given this statement on the authority of Purchas, but it carries with It its own lutation, as the frog is aa hibernating animal, and could not be taken in the depth of winter Tin its torpid state. 13 „ . 50 MUTINY OF HUDSON S CRFW. the other conspirators to turn tho captftin and the sick adrift, by which a greater quantity of provisions would fall to their own lot. So well orjranized was the conspiracy, that the conspirators bound themselves by an oath, wl ich ran as follows, " You shall swear trutli to God, your prince and country ; you shall do nothing but to the glory of God and the good of the action in hand, and harm to i.o man/' This oath being taken by all the conspirators, Hudson was seized and bound, and with the sick and maimed, was lowcied into the boat, making altogether nine persons. Tho provisions which was given them were scarcely sufficient for two days maintenance, consisting of only a small quantity of meal; but they were provided with a fowling piece, some ammunition, and an iron pot, in which to cook any victuals that might fall in their way. fn this melancholy situation, with nothing but a slow and horrible death before them, the lowing rope was cut, and the boat went adrift amongst the floating ice, in a situation in which death awaited them every moment. Vain was the hope of Hudson to fall in with a ship, which could rescue him from his perilous condition ; and from the treatment which tho natives of the country had received from former navigators, Wno instead of conciliating them by presents and other acts of kindness, had frequently kidnapped several and carried them away with them- it was considered as throwing themselves into the hands of their \ murderers, to land upon any part of the coast. Of the maniici in which the brave Hudson, and his unfortunate companions wici their death, no information was ever received ; it was howevei ascertained, that the mutineers no sooner saw the boat with theii late captain in it out of sight, than they quarrelled amongsi themselves as to the course which they should pursue. Thej seemed to be aware of the consequences which would follow them were they to return to England : and Green, who was elected t« | be their captain, determined to keep the sea, until he had tlit king's seal to show for his safety. On their arrival at Capi Digges, Green went on shore, and in a quarrel with the native? was\illed . The sufferings of the mutineers were now so great that they were compelled to eat their candles, and to fry tlii EXPEDITION CF SIR THOMAS BUTTON. 51 skins and crushed bones of the fowls, which with a little vinegar is reported to have made " a good dish of meate." Robert Iver the second of the mutineers, died of actual want, and the remainder of the crew reached Galloway in Ireland, in safety. The report of the discovery by Hudson of a great sea to the westward of Cape Wolstenholme, was considered by the English merchants as strongly indicative of the existence of the north western passage, and in order to determine the outlet of that sea, an expedition was fitted out, the command of which was given to Capt. (afterwards Sir Thomas) Button. It may appear con- trary to prudence and sound judgment, to Inve accepted in this expedition, of the services of two men, who were implicated in the mutiny, by which the unfortunate Hudson lost his life ; but their well known skill and experience in the navigation of the northern seas, seemed to operate as an equipoise to the criminality of their former conduct, which they succeeded in convincing their employers was more forced upcn them by the threats of their companions, than the actual result of their own cruel and perfidious dispositions. The names of these men were Pricket and Bylot, the latter of whom bore the reputation of being one of the most skilful pilots of his time, although in other respects bereft of any of the advantages of even a common education. This expedition sailed in 1612, the names of the vessels being the same as those which were under the command of the cele- brated Cook, in his last voyage— the Resolution and the Discovery. Capt. Button shaped his course direct for Hudson's Straits, with the view of penetrating into the great open sea as described by Hudson ; continuing in a westerly course, he fell in with the main land of America in latitude 60° 40; to which he gave the name of Hajpes Checked. Finding his passage impeded to the westward, he bent his course southward, and in latitude 57<' 10 discovered a river, to which he gave the name of Nelson's River, and where he determined to pass the winter ; the cold however became so intense, that many of the crew died, and the remainder were supported through their sufferings, and prevented from yielding themselves up to despair, solely by the judicious and able conduct of their captain. He diverted tho'r minds from 52 LETTER OF SIR THOMAS BUTTON. dwelling on the misery and privations which they were under- going', by proposing to them questions on navigation and geo- graphy, and by thus blending amusement with instruction, he kept their spirits from drooping, whilst he was continually cheering them with the prospect of a speedy termination to their sufferings. As the spring advanced, game became more abundant, and so numerous were the white partridges, that it was computed that above twenty two thousand were killed and consumed by the crew. On the disappearance of the ice in April, Button launched his vessels, and bent his course northward, sailing along the western coast of Hudson's Bay, as far as latitude 65°, where he fell in with a number of islands, to which he gave the name of Mancel's Islands, but which are now laid down in the charts as Mans- field's Islands. This may be considered as the utmost boundary of Sir Thomas Button's discoveries, for after passing a few days in the vicinity of Mancel's Islands, he directed his course home- wards, passing Cape Chidley, and after a very quick passage arrived in England, at the close of the autumn of 1613. Button was certainly the first English navigator, who reached the eastern coast of America, on the western side of Hudson's Bay, and it may be added that there is, perhaps, scarcely any navigator, who conducted his expedition with greater skill and judgment than Sir Thomas Button, it is also much to be regret- ted that no history was ever published of his voyage, on which account much is left to conjecture as to the real issue of it, and to the actual extent of his discoveries. An old and very interesting letter from Sir Thomas Button, to Lord Secretary Dorchester has lately been discovered by Mr. Lemon, in the State paper office, in which no doubt is expressed of the possibility of making the north west passage. This curious document is as follows: ' '• ■■' '''■ • '" ti-^"-- " First, whether there be any likelyhood or probalitye to com- pass the design — ^yea or noe. To that I answer that my opinion is nowe as it ever hath bin, since my return from thence, and as I then delivered it, with the particular reasons of it, to my most royall Master, of most famous memorye, that there was LETTER OF SIR THOMA» BUTTON. M Kinge James, that beingo undertaken in a fitting waye, and a dewe season I made, and doe make, as full accounpt of the fea- siblenes of it, as I doe of any knowne chanell that is best knowne to us in these Norther partes, and to be performed with as little daingor, and was soe approved by His Matie to be ; who inforst as manye, and as important questions, for his owne satisfactions, as if all the best experienst marriners of the Christian World had convented themselves togeather, to have drawne the in- tergatories. The same reasons have I delivered to many most honorable and knowinge persons, and to our best Mathamati- cians, as Mr. Briggs, Mr. Wells, and others, with all the best masters and mariners of our Kingdome, as alsoe to others, both Hollanders and French ; and in my discourse with any one of them all, they never went unsatisfied from me, of the probabilitie of it ; and for farther accompt herein att presentt, I can give non ; but if my journall, or any other my notes or papers (with ought ells in me) may give His Matie any farther or fuller satisfaction, when I waight on His Highness, which I hope will be much sooner than is fitt for them to advaunce (for to sett out too tymelye, is to faule too soone into that danger, that too late a repentance cannot healpe them out on) I will doe my best, out of my auld experience, to affurther the good of it, and prevent the evells and inconveniencies that pretendinge men, of little experience, or not att all, may suddenly bring uppon it ; — for I will bowldlie saye, that whoe shal be fitt to have the manedg- inge of this unparaleld busines, ought first to be soe religiouse, as to hould his end the happiest, that dyes for the glorye of God, the honor of his Kinge, and the publique good of his Countrye ; .11 which, in this designe, have their severall and perticuler interest ; and therefore he must not looke backe for feare of the dainger of either unknowne coastes, hideouse stormes, darke «ind longe continewed mistes, to lye amonge and all wayes to see more landes and islands of Ice, than he can see of sea, and oft tymes rocks under him in sight, when he shall, within thrice his ships lenght, fynde twentye fathom water ; and to incounter this, under favor, must he be well armed, that shall undergoe this busines; for thrice sithence my beinge there, hath it bin 54 EXPEDITION OF BYLOT. attempted, and for ought I hero, little, or rather I may bouldlye saye noo advauncement given i'* the busines ; therefore there cannot be too much curiositie used, to put it into a good and choiso hand ; which I will heartilye praye may be most happilyo lig'hted on ; for wee live not in the adge to fynde, that they are the most pcrfitt, which makes the gloriosts shewe. In consequence of these sanguine expectations entertained by Sir Thomas Button, his relation Capt. Gibbons, was despatched in 1614 in the Discovery, in search of the north west passage, but he encountered so many impediments, arising from adverse winds, fogs, and ice, that he returned without having made any discovery worthy of being recorded. Although every attempt to discover the north west passage, had hitherto failed, and attended with circumstances sufficiently disheartening, to deter even the most sanguine from the prosecu- tion of the enterprise ; yet it was generally admitted that oui* geographical knowledge had been considerably enlarged, and that a channel had been opened for the establishment of a particular branch of commerce, which had hitherto in a great degree, been confined to our intercourse with the Russian ports. The merchants of London perceived that a wide field was open for their commercial operations, in trafficing with the natives of the northern countries of America for their peltry ; and with the ulterior view of establishing that commerce, and enlarging our geographical knowledge of the countries bordering on the strait, which was known by the name of Hudson's Strait, keeping at the same time the discovery of the north west passage, as one of the principal objects in view ; they determined to fit out the ship Discovery, for a fourth voyage, giving the command of her to the uneducated Bylot, but fortunately appointing William Baffin as his mate. This expedition sailed in 1615, but the result by no means an- swered the expectations of the projectorsof it ; indeed in a geogra- phical point of view, a very slight addition was made to the know- ledge which previously existed, although it should be mentioned that it is the first voyage on record, in which a method is laid down for determining the longitude at sea, by an observation of BAFFIN S Finn KXPEDITION. ftS the heavenly bodies. In the noighbuurhood of Resolution Island. Baffin saw the sun and moon at the same time, and availed himself of this circumstance to make an observation for ascertaining the longitude. On this subject, ho observes with much justice, " if observations of this kinde, or some other wore made at places fur remote, as at Cape Bona Spcranza, Bantam, Japan, Nova Albion, and Magellan's Straits, I suppose wo should have a truer geo- graphy than we have." The expedition returned to England in tlie month of September, without the loss of a man. Although this expedition was not. distinguished by any disco- very of importance, yet the projectors of it wore so well satisfied with the zeal and skill displayed by those, to whom it was en- trusted, that they fitted out the same ship for a fifth time, and Bylot was again appointed master, and Baflin, pilot. It however appears that Baffin raised some strong objections to being em- ployed in this expedition, and no surprise need be entertained when the inadequacy of the means is considered, compared with the dangers and difficulties which ho had to surmount. The crew consisted of only seventeen men and a boy ; the vessel was of too diminutive a burthen to withstand the shocks to which she would mevitably be exposed in her passage through the ice, and of the almost fatal consequences of which, he had experienced several uistances in his former voyage. In Purchas we find the instruc- tions which were given to Bylot and Baffin, and they are certainly drawn up with great clearness and judgement. " For your course you must make all possible haste to the Cape Desolation, and from thence, you William Baffin, as pilot, keep along the coast of Greenland, and up Fretum Davis until you come toward the height of 80°, if the land will give you leave. Then, for fcare of inbaying by keeping too northernly a course, shape your course west and southerly, so farre as you shall think it convenient, till you come to the latitude of 60°, then direct your course to fall in with the land of Yedzo about that height, leaving your farther say ling southward to your own discretion, ac- cording as the time of the year and the wiudes will give you leave. Although our desires be, if your voyage prove so prosperous Baffin's fifth expedition. that you may have the year before you, so that you go so furre southerly as that you may touch the nortli part of Japan, from whence or from Yedzo, if you can so compasse it without dan- gers, we would have you to bring home one of the men of the country, and so God blessing you with all expedition to make your return home again." It was onthe 26th March 1616, that the Discovery sailed from Gravesend, and after a prosperous voyage across the atlantic, thoy reached Davis' Strait, and came to an anchor in a sound, in latitude 70" 20'. An attempt was made to enter into a friendly communication with the natives, but rather than commit them- selves into any intercourse, they made a precipitate flight, leaving even their dogs behind them, in which a great part of their riches is made to consist; for, without these useful animals they would be unable to travel to their different fishing stations, or to trans- port themselves and families to their distant locations. From some gestures and exclamations which the natives made, pointing constantly to the Sun, it was conjectured that the opinion rested in their mind, that the strangers had dropped from that lumi- nary, and that their visit boded no good to them. They appeared to be in a wretched state of indigence, living chiefly on seals flesh, which they devoured in a raw state. As the summer advanced the ice began gradually to disappear, and Baffin, determined to keep a northernly course, but at mid- summer the cold was so intense, that the sails and ropes could not be handled, on account of theirfrozen state. As they approached the latitude of 75^ the ice had disappeared, and their hope of success was strongly excited when they saw before them an open sea, the navigation of which appeared to be free and uninterrupt- ed and leading perhaps directly into the Pacific. Meeting with some tempestuous weather, they were forced into a sound, in which the whales were so numerous that it was named Whale Sound. Sailing from this sound, they took refuge in another inlet, which extended northward to 78", and to which they gave the name of Sir Thomas Smith's Sound. Speaking of this sound Baflin says, " It is admirable in one respect, because in it is the BAFFIN'S ril.TII EXPEDITION. 5T greatest variation in the compass of any part of iho world known, for by divers good observations, I found it to bo above five points or 56° varied to the westward." In pursuance of his instructions, Baffin directed his course in a south westerly direction, and to his groat mortification soon mado land at the entrance of a sound, to which ho gave the name of Alderman Joneses Sound, and proceeding still further westward, he discovered in latitude 74" 40' another great opening, which was named Sir James Lancaster's Sound. The hope of the dis- covery of the passage was now copsiderably diminished, for Baffin began to suspect that he was only sailing in a largo bay, on the boundaries of which some good harbours might be found, but which might not contain any inlet, or strait which led into tho Pacific. In many places the shore now became inaccessible from ice, and which, on their approach southwards, appeared rather to increase than to diminish ; having sailed down to the latitude of 65" 40*, and the barrier of ice still increasing, all hope of effecting tho passage was abandoned : several of the crow wore disabled by sickness, the scurvy having appeared amongst them, and it was therefore determined to direct their course for Green- land, where such herbs could be gathered as would cheok the progress of the disease. Having remained there some time for the recovery of tho crow, they left on the 6th August, and ar- rived at Plymouth on the 13th September, "for which, says Daffin, and all other blessings, the Lord make us thankfull." The extreme severity of the climate, superadded to the dan- gers of the navigation, and the risk of perishing by famine dur- ing the winter months, deterred the majority of navigators from prosecuting the discoveries in the north west ; and indeed, tho last voyage of Baffin seemed conclusive of the impracticability or effecting a passage round the north of the American continent, although some were still sanguine enough to believe that the passage could be found, provided the attempt were made at a proper season of the year, and in a higher latitude than that which had been hitherto explored. The English merchants con- sidered that ihey had been imposed upon by the favourable re ports, which had been successively promulgated by the different 3 I 58 EXPEDITION OF OX Tiavi{vator8, who had boon employed by thorn in the north western diHCovorios, as not tlio Mlightcst benefit had accrucul to them indi. vidually, and tlioir patriotism was not of that exalted character, as to induce them to incur the exponce of an ex[>edilion for the more purpose of solving* a geographical problem, or of discover- in)^ a sound or river, whieli presented no other advantage than offering a harbour, where their ships could lie snugly frozen in, with perhaps a very remote chance of ever being able to navigate the ocean again. Fifteen years had elapsed since the expedition of Baffin, durin<( which interval, the discovery of the north west passage wai» treated as one of those chimeras, which had started into the head of some visiouarics, without the sli^^htest ghance of its realiza- tion. It must however, bo acknowledged, that although disappoint- ment had attended every attempt to discover the wished-for pas- sage, yet that the attention of the country, had boon thereby drawn to some great commercial undertakings, amongst which may bo enumerated, the establishment of the Hudson's Bay Company, and the Greenland Whale Fishery. Still however, the spirit of discovery was not wholly extinct in England, although it might have lain for some time dormant, for in 1631, Capt. Fox, who to make use of his own words " had been itching after northern discovery, ever since 1606, when he wished to have g'one as mate to John Knight \* obtained from Charles I., the loan of ono of his ships, for the avowed purpose of exploring the arctic regions, and discovering the north west passage. As this expedition was fitted out under the auspices of government, th< commander was supplied with many scientific instruments, wi;l the history of all the discoveries of his predecessors, and witii an autograph letter of the king to the emperor of Japan. Fox, in regard to his personal character, was not well fitted for the commander of an expedition, in which an indulgent and conciliating disposition towards the seamen was requisite, and their esteem and attachment were to be gained by affabi- lity, and a scrupulous attention to their wants and necessities. Ho was by no means deficient in natural courage, but the conceit EXI'UPITION OP FOX. 69 was iinprcsicd upon his mind, llmt lie wag eminently superior in nautical skill and mental acquirements to any of lii» predceos- sors. His very language partakes of this hitter trait in his character, for in the history of his voyage "luMulmonisheM the l^entle reader not to expect here, any flourishing phniKos, or ih)(}6ontterm8; for this child of mine, hegot in the norih wonIs cold clime, where they breed uo scholars, is not ahlu to digest the sweet milk of rhetoric." Fox never reached a higher latitude than 06", for his progress up Hudson's Strait was greatly impeded hy the ice, although in size, the masses were "never bigger than a largo church.' He claims to himself the honor of being the discovv'rer of an island, to which ho gave the name of Sir Thomas Rowe's Welcome, and where he found the burying places of the natives. The corpse appears to be deposited generally with the head to the westward, in a kind of coHin, made of loose plank, and placed upon a platform of drift wood, which is sometimes raised to the height of two feet. With the bodies were deposited bows, arrows, and other warlike instruments. A double tent of spars of drift wood, put together closely, is ei. cted over the codin as a covering, to secure tiie body from the depredations of the foxes, hoars, and wolves. The rapacity however of these animals, enables them in a short time to break through this feeble protec- tion, and not a vestige of the corpse is then to be found. In some instances the coflin and planks are omitted altogether, and the corpse then rests simply on the drift wood. Fox returned to England in the month of October, full of con- • ccit of the discoveries which he had made, and of the great and noble actions which he had achieved, at the same time boasting " that he had not lost one man nor boy, nor any manner of tackling > having been forth near six months, all glory be to God." It did not however escape observation, that the pride of Fox was wounded by the mfavourable issue of the voyage, although he modified his chagrin, by declaring that he had contributed very largely to the discovery of the north-west passage, in having been the discoverer of the island which l.c hac" named Sir Thomas 60 EXPEDITION OP JAMK8. Rowe*8 Welcome, and where he expressed his firm opiuioa that the passage would ultimately be found. In almost all the expeditions, which had been fitted out for the prosecution of the northern discoveries, the merchants of Bristol appear not only to have been the chief projectors of them, but also to have cheerfully borne the whole expence, although the object might in reality be called a national one, and not in any degree confined to individual profit. In no instance was this laudable and patriotic spirit more strikingly evinced on the part of the Bristol merchants, than when the appointment of Fox to the command of the expedition took place, for they appeared so resolved not to be excelled by the London merchants in maritime activity, or in their endeavours to discover an easier and a shorter route to India, that they fitted out an expedition to the same quarter, and the commander Captain James, was furnished with the same instructions as Fox, and also with the same credentials from the King. Captain James had distinguished himself as an able seaman in several voyages which he had made across the Atlantic, but he was wholly ignorant of the art of navigating a vessel amongst ice, and in fact, previously to his appointment to the command by the Bristol merchants, it may be said that he had never seen a mass of floating ice in his life. In Hudson's Bay he met with such tempestuous weather, that he says, " the sea so continually over-reached us, that we were like Jonas in the whale's belly." Either from timidity, or insuperable obstacles, he was unable to cross Hudson's Strait ; but there is one circum- stance which redounds to his character, and in some degree absolves him from the charge of cowardice ; which is, that unlike many of his predecessors, he determined to winter in those inhos- pitable regions, although he was by no means prepared, either by an adequate supply of provisions, or necessary clothing for his men, to endure the rigour of an arctic winter. He fixed upon an island now known as Charlton Island, in latitude 5'2>° as his winter resi- dence, and a hut was built for the reception of the sick, which being covered with the main sail, and as James expresses him- self^ " thatched with snow," was all the habitation which they EXPEDITION OF JAMES. 61 had to protect them from the intense severity of the winter. Fortunately for them, they were able to collect a sufficiency of drift wood, to enable them to keep up large fires ; but never- theless their wine, vinegar, oil, and in fact, every thing that was liquid was frozen so hard, that they were obliged to cut it 'with a hatchet. To augment their sufferings, they were at- tacked with the scurvy, which reduced the crew to such a state of lassitude, that it was the month of July before they could gain strength sufficient to get the ship in a state of readiness for their homeward voyage. The charge of extreme timidity has been brought against James, in his conduct during the whole of this voyage ; but it is a question, the solution of which is rather in his favour, whether the difficulties which he so magnified as to ren- der the north west passage not only an improbable, but an im- practicable object, remain not even to the present day in their full force ; and which the late voyages of Ross and Parry have not in the least degree removed. The simple contradiction of the opinions of James by those, who considered themselves to be gifted with greater sagacity and skill in the conduct of a similar enterprise, by no means invalidates the arguments which he brought forward touching the improbability of a north west passage ; they have hitherto been verified without a single ex- ception, and the cavillers of James must adduce their irrefragable proofs of the rectitude of their own views, before his recorded opinions can be negatived. ' ' In the Cabinet Cyclopsedia are the following remarks on the subsequent attempts to discover the north west passag<) " The voyages to Hudson's Bay, although they did not dis- prove the existence of a north west passage, were not calculated to raise sanguine expectation:^ of finding it in that quarter. Be- sides the difficulties of the navigation, and the hardships arising from the climate, gave navigators a disinclination to proceed thither. The English had almost forgotten Hudson's Bay when an accident again drew their attention towards it, and it became the object of commercial, when it had ceased to awaken geogra- phical interest." The French settlers in Canada, in their travels through the Cf2' EXPEDITION OF GILLAM. interior in search of peltry, at length arrived on the shores of Hudson's Bay. One of these adventurers named Grosseliez, having" visited that coast, conceived that it possessed great ad- vantages for the prosecution of the fur trade. He proceeded to France and laid his representations before government. He did not however meet with any encouragement from the French ministers, but the English ambassador at Paris listened to him with attention, and gave him a letter to Prince Rupert, with which he came over to England ; here he was favorably received, and immediately engaged to go out in one of his majesty's ships, not merely to make a settlement in Hudson's Bay, but also to seek again for the passage to China by the north-west. Re- specting this projected voyage, Mr. Oldenburgh, the first secretary to the royal society, writes in the following terms to the cele- brated Mr. Boyle: " Surely I need not tell you from hence what is said here with great joy, of the discovery of a north-west passage, made by two English and one Frenchman, lately represented by them to his majesty at Oxford, and answered by the royal grant of a vessel to sail into Hudson's Bay, and thence into the South Seas; these men afl&rming as I heard, that with a boat they went out of a lake in Canada, into a river which discharged itself north-west into the South Sea, into which they went, and returned north-east into Hudson's Bay." Captain Zachariah Giilam was appointed to carry out Grosso liez to Hudson's Bay, and to prosecute the north-western dis- coveries. Giilam wintered at Rupert's River, considerably to tlio north of Charlton Island, yet he does not complain of the severily and long continuance of the cold, from which James' company suffered so much. At this place Capt. G illam laid the foundation of the first English settlement, by building a small stone fort, to which he gave the name of Fort Charles. The king, who had encouraged the expedition, continued to favor the adventurers in consideration of their having undertaken at their own costs and charges, an expedition to Hudson's Bay, for the discovery of a new passage into the South Sea, and for the finding of some trade .n furs, minerals, and other commodities, whereby great advan- tage might probably arise to the king and his dominions. His ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY. majesty Cir tho bottnr promoting their endeavours for the go( d of his people, was pleased to confer on them exclusively all tK a bnds and territories in Hudson's Bay, together with all the trade ihereof, and all other which they should acquire, &c. This extraordinary charter, with its sweeping exclusive privileges, which was granted to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1669, con- tinues without abridgement to the present d^v. Though dis- covery was amongst the ostensible objects of thi-^ charter, the indolence of monopoly prevailed, and for some time the north- west passage seems wholly to have been forgotten.* In the beginning of the eighteenth century, Mr Knight, governor of the factory established by the Hudson's Bay company on Nelson's River, learned from the native Indians, that at some distance to the northward, and on the banks of a navigable river or inlet, there was a rich mine of native copper. Ho immedi- ately applied to the company for ships to discover this rich mine > his representations however met with no attention, and he was obliged to remind the company, that they were bound by their charter to make discoveries, and he threatened to call on govern- ment to enforce that condition before they would comply. Two ships were at length fitted out for the expedition, the sole direction of which was entrusted to him, and he sailed in 1719, by God's permission to find out the Straits of Arrian, in order to discover gold and other valuable commodities to the northward. These ships never returned, and the fate of Knight remained for a long time a mystery. A vessel was despatched in search of Knight, but no conclusive information was obtained. In the year 1769, however, the following melancholy intelligence was collected by Mr. Hearne, from the Esquimaux in the neighbour- hood of Marble Island. " When the vessels arrived at this place, (Marble Island,) it was very late in the fall, and in getting them into the h. '>our the largest received much damage, but on being fairly in, the English began to build the house ; their number at that time seeming to be about fifty. As soon as the ice permitted in the following summer, 1720, the Esquimaux paid them another visit; * Cabii^et Cyclopaedia, Maritime and Inland Discovery, Vol. II. ' - ' ^ 64 CAPTAIM PHIPPS' EXPEDITIOW. hy which time the number of the English was very greatly re- duced, and those that were living seemed very unhealthy. Ac- cording to the account given by the Esquimaux, they were then very busily employed, but about what they could not easily describe ; probably in lengthening the long boat, for at a little distance from the house, there was now lying a great quantity of oak chips, which had been made most assuredly by carpenters." I ''A sickness and famine occasioned such havock among the , English, that by setting in of the second winter, their number was reduced to twenty. That winter, 1720, some of the Esqui- maux took up their abode on the opposite side of the harbour to that on which the Ejiglish had built their houses, and frequently supplied them with such provisions as they had, which chiefly consisted of whales^ blubber, and seals' flesh, and train oil. When the spring advanced, the Esquimaux went to the conti- nent, and on their visiting Marble island again in the summer of 1721, they only found five of the English alive, and those were in such distress for provisions, that they eagerly ate the seals^ flesh, and whales' blubber, quite raw, as they purchased it from the natives. This disordered them so much, that three of them died in a few days, and the other two, though very weak, made a shift to bury them. Those two survived many days after the rest, and frequently went to the top of an adjacent rock, and earnestly looked to the south and east, as if in expectation of some vessels coming to their relief. After continuing there for some time together, and nothing appearing in sight, they sat down close together and wept bitterly , At length one of the two died, and the other^s strength was so far exhausted, that he fell down and died also in attempting to dig a grave for his companion. The skulls and other large bones of those two men are now lying above ground close to the house. The longest livet was, accord- ing to the account of the Esquimaux, always employed in work- ing iron into implements for lfaem> probably he was the armourer or smith." The great question of the discovery of the north western pas- sage ceased for some time, on account of the great improbability^ of its existence having been so strongly expressed by Capt. CAPT. PHIPP8 EXPEDITION. 65 James, and other subsequent navigators, to excite the attention of either the government of the country, or of private adventurers. It was however, in the year 1773, that an application was made to the Earl of Sandwich by the Royal Society, who laid before his majesty George the third, a proposal for the equipment of an expedition for the purpose of investigating how far the naviga- tion to the North Pole was practicable. The king hesitated not to comply with the wishes of the Royal Society, and immediately issued his commands that every assistance should be given to wards the promotion of the enterprise. Capt. Phipps, afterwards the Earl of Mulgrave, was entrusted with the command of the expedition, and the Carcass and Race- horse bombs were selected as the most proper vessels to be em- ployed. On the 19th April, 1773, Capt. Phipps received his commission for the Racehorse, and Capt. Lutwidge for the Car- case, and on the 4th June they sailed. The result of this expe- dition by no means fulfilled the general expectations. The high- est latitude which Capt. Phipps reached was 80° IT latitude, longitude 18° 48^. He however made some curious observations respecting the formation of the icebergs, and which appear to have escaped the notice of all preceding navigators. He says, " during the time that we past among the Seven Islands, we had frequent opportunities of observing the irresistible force of the large bodies of ." ^ating ice ; we have often seen a piece of seve- ral acres square, lifted up between two much larger pieces, and as it were becoming one with them, and afterwards this piece 80 formed acting in the same manner upon a second and third, which would probably have continued to be the effect, till the whole bay had been so filled up with ice, that the different pieces could have h? d no motion, had not the stream taken an unexpected turn, and sent the ice out of the bay,'' Capt. Phipps arrived in England in the month of September with the firm conviction that the navigation to the North Pole was not practi^ble higher than 81° of latitude. 66^ IITE OF CAPT R09# CHAPTER II. THB LIFE, AND' FIRST VOYAGE OF CAPTAIN ROSS. It is well known that the discfovefy of tTie north western pas sage has always been a favourite object of enterprise with Mr. Barrow, the highly gifted Secretary to the Admiralty, and at his earnest recommendation it was determined to fit out an expe- dition, which was to be sent forth with such means and power, as to determine at once the existence, or nonexistence of the long sought foT passage. On the llthl>ecember 1817, Capt. Ross received a letter firom Sir George Hope, his former patron, and then one of the Lords^ of the Admiralty, containing the information that it was the mtention of government, to fit out two ships on an expedition to determine the existence of a north west passage, and desirini^ him to forward without delay hio consent, or dissent to take the command of it : Capt. Ross was informed at the same time that the ships would be fitted out in the* eompletest manner pos- sible ; that he would be provided with Greenland pilots, who had been accustomed to navigate the northern seas, and be accoTi'.;^f« nied by men eminent in geographical science, and nautical skill Under these flattering prospects, Capt. Ross expressed his ex- treme readiness to undertake the command of the expedition, and on the 16th of the same month he received orders to proceed with all possible despatch from Loch Ryan to Greenock, in the Driver, and on being superseded, he was to proceed to London. Previously to entering upon the account of 10b first voyage, we will give a few particulars of the life of Capt. Ross, whose name will ever stand conspicuous amongst the enterprising navigators of this country. * LI-Ffi OF CAPT. ROBS -^ the f>iAce, which claims the honor of having given birth to Capt. Rom, is Stanraer, a small fishing town, remarkahle fur il« ■jystors, on the west coast of Scotland. He is the younger son (/f the Rev. Andrew Ross, minister of the Inch, in Galloway, and has one surviving brother, Mr. George Ross, the projector, we bolieve of the Arctic Land Expedition, which is now in progreas under Gapt. Back. A second brother was the late Major General Andrew Ross. At an early period Capt. Ross evinced a predilection for the navy, but very little information is extant of the early period of bis professional services. In the year 1805, he was promoted to his lieutenancy, and in February 1812., through the recom- mendation of Admiral Sir George Hope, was promoted to the rank of commander, and on the 21st March of the same year, was ap- pointed to the Briseis brig of 10 guns, then serving on the Baltic station. His bravery in this ship procured for him the Swedish order of the aword. In the night of the 28th June 1812, his iietitenant Thomas Jones, with a midshipman and 18 men, mo»t gallantly attacked and recaptured an English merchant ship Jying in Pillau Roads, armed in expectation of such an event, with 6 guns and 4 swivels, defended by a party of French troops on her deck, and surrounded by amaJl crafts in the act oi receiving her cargo. In October, the Briseis captured the Le petit Poncet, French privateer, of 4 guns, and 23 men •, and drove on shore three other vessels of the saime description. The subsequent appointments of Capt. Ross, were June 7th 1814, to the Actneon of 16 guns, and August 23rd 1815, to the Driver sloop. At the close of the war, he Lad to «hare the lot of a multitude of gallant and meritorious officers, in being consigned to half-pay, and compulsory inactivity. To an ardent and enter- prising spirit, accustomed to the bustle and restlessness of the sailors life, a «tate of inactivity is always irksome., aiKl in the highest aegFoe depressing to the spirits. Capt. Ross appeared determined to fiiinanci,pate himself from the languor which is ever Ihe attendant upon a want of employment, and the return of peace, tpresenited him with a favorable opportunity for under- taking an enterprise^ u^pon which he ha>d ^ptrobably ^rst thought 68 FIRST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. when a nameless and unnoticed reefer, as well as when in his higher rank and maturor years, he cruised in the frozen north The enterprise in question was that of exploring Baffin's Bay, and searching for a north west passage to the Pacific ocean. Deeds of enterprise will always possess superior claims on the human mind, their chief tendency being to increase the stores of human knowledge, to open fresh sources of commercial speculation, and to excite in our breasts the spirit of compatriot pride, in the fame and honor which belong to our country, in iiaving been the birthplace of those illustrious characters, who, in contempt of the most appalling dangers, and at a sacrifice of all personal happiness, venture into the desolate and uninhabited resrions of the world, where nature has hitherto sitten en- throned in the unbroken silence of a past eternity, and where the ground has hitherto, never been indented by the footsteps of a human being. According to the orders received from the Admiralty, Capt. Ross, proceeded to Greenock, and arrived in London on the 30th December. He was immediately furnished with the necessary directions, and after inspecting several ships, he selected the Isabella and Alexander, as being the most suitable, on account of the strength of their build, for the seas which he would have to navigate. Having prepared every thing which was necessary for the safety of the ships, and the comfort of the crews, he received from the Admiralty the following official instructions. , ■ ■ By the Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Ireland, His royal Highness the Prince Regent having signified his pleasure to Viscount Melville, that an attempt should be made to discover a northern passage by sea, from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean ; we have in consequence caused four ships or vessels, to be fitted out and appropriated for that purpose, two of which, the Isabella and the Alexander are intended to proceed FIRST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. together by the north westward through Davis' Straits ; and two, the Dorothea and Trent, in a direction as duo north as may bo found practicable through the Spitzbergen Seas. And whereas, we have thought fit to entrust you with the command and direction of the former expedition, and have directed Lieutenant Parry, who has been appointed to command the Alexander, to follow your orders for his further proceedings, you are hereby required and directed to proceed to sea, with all convenient despatch in the Isabella, and taking under your orders the Alexander above mentioned, make the best of your way into Davis' Strait, through which you will endeavour to pnss to the northward without stopping on either of its coasts, unless you shall find it absolutely necessary. In this passage you may expect to meet with frequent obstructions from fields and islands of ice ; to get clear of which, and to ensure the safety of the ships and people committed to your charge, will require from you, and all who are under your orders, the greatest precaution and vigilance ; and as the navigation among ice may be considered as an art to be acquired only by practice, we have directed that there be appointed to each of the ships under your orders, a master and mate of whale fishing vessels, well experienced in those seas, from whose knowledge and skill you may derive material assistance. It is not improbable that in the early part of the season, when you may be expected to arrive in Davis' Strait, the ice may be found to stretch across from land to land ; but as ice is known to vary in its position from year to year, and several times in the course of the year, and in those places, where not fast to the ground, is almost constantly in motion by winds, tides, and currents ; if* on your arrival it should appear to present a compact barrier, you will of course be prepared to avail yourself of the first opening which may be discovered, to pass to the northward. As however in the present state of uncertainty with regard to the movements of the ice, and with the very imperfect knowledge we have of this Strait, and still more so of the sea beyond it, no specific instructions can be given for youi guidance, the time and manner of proceeding to fuliil the ulterior object of your desti- 70 F. t ;. During the whole of this conversation, Capt. Ross had been employed with a good telescope in observing their motions, and he beheld the first man approach with every mark of fear and distrust, looking frequently behind to the other two, and beck- oning them to come on, as if for support ; they occasionly re- treated, then advanced again with cautious steps in the attitude of listening, generally keeping one hand down by their knees, in readiness to pull out a knife which they had in their boots ; in the other hand they held their whip with the lash coiled up; their sledges remained at a little distance, the fourth man being apparently stationed to keep them in readiness for escape. Sometimes they drew back the covering they had on iheir heads, as if wishing to catch the most distant sounds ; at which time their features could be discerned, displaying extreme terror and amazement, while every limb appeared to tremble as they moved. Sacheuso was now directed to entice them to the ship, and two men were sent with a plank, which was placed across the chasm which separated them, they appeared still much alarmed, and requested th:\t he only should come over, he accordingly passed to the opposite side, on which they earn- estly besought him not to touch them, as if he did they should ceriainly die. After he had used many arguments to persuade them that he was flesh and blood, the native who had shown the most courage, ventured to touch his hand, then pulling himself by the nose, set up a shout, in which he was joined by Sacheuso and the other three; the presents were then distributed, con- sisting of two or three articles of clothing, and a few strings of beads ; after which, Sacheuse exchanged a knife for one of theirs. The hope of obtaining some important information, as well as the interest naturally excited for these poor creatures, made Capt. Ross impatient to communicate with them himself, and he there- fore desired Lieut. Parry, to accompany him to the place where the party were assembled ; it appearing to Capt. Ross that Sac- heuse had failed in persuading them to come nearer the ships, they accordingly provided themselves with additional presents, con- 4 N 90 FIRST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS sisting* of iooking^ g-lassos and knives, together with some capa and shirts, and proceeded towards the spot where the conference was held with increased energy. By the time Capt. Ross reached it, the whole were assembled; those who had been originally 'eft at a distance with their sledges, having been driven up to join their comrades. The party, therefore, now consisted of eight natives, with their sledges and about fifty dogs, two sailors, Sacheuso, Capt. Ross, and Lieut. Parry ; forming a group of no small singularity, not a little increased by the peculiarity of the situation on a field of ice, far from the land. The noise and clamour may be easily conceived, the whole talking and shouting together, and the dogs howling, while the natives were flogging them with their long whips to preserve order. vf ,fr i> .rtt 't. The arrival of Capt. Ross and his party produced a visible alarm, causing them to retreat a few steps towards their sledges; on this Sacheuse called upon them to pull their noses, as he had discovered this to be the mode of friendly salutation with them. This ceremony was accordingly performed by each of the party, the natives during their retreat making use of the same gestures the nature of which was not before understood. In the same way the party imitated the shouts of the natives as well as they could, using the same interjection Heigh yaw! which was afterwards found to be an expression of surprise and pleasure. They then advanced towards them, while they halted, and presented the foremost with a looking glass and a knife, repeating the same presents to the whole, as they came up in succession. On seeing their faces in the glasses, their astonishment appeared extreme, and they looked round in silence for a moment at each other, and then at the strangers, immediately afterwards they set up a general shout, succeeded by a loud laugh, expressive of extreme delight as well as surprise, in which the party joined, partly from inability to avoid it, and willing also to show that they were well pleased with their new acquaintance. uuw /<, .rsoiiux'j A^Having now acquired confidence the natives advanced, offering in return for the knives, glasses, and beads ; their own knives, Sea Unicorn's horns, and Sea Horse's teeth, which were accepted. By this time the officers of both ships had surrounded them, FIRST VOYAGE OF OAPT. ROBS. jtfl while the bow of the Isabella, which was close to the ice, was crovsded with the crew; and certainly a more ludicrous, yet interesting' scene was never beheld, than that which took place while they were reviewing the ship, nor is it possible to convey to the imagination, any thing like a just representation of the wild amazement, joy and fear, which successively peivaded the countenances, and governed the gestures of these creatures, who gave full vent to their feelings. Their shouts, halloos, and laughter were heartily joined in, and imitated by all hands, as well as the ceremony of nose pulling, which could not fail to in- crease the mirth of the sailors and of the whole party. •" ' ' ' The natives now accompanied the party to that part of the bow of the ship, from which a rope ladder was suspended, and the mode of mounting it was shown them, but it was a considerable time before they could be prevailed upon to ascend ; the new wonders that now surrounded them on every side caused fresh astonishment, which after a moment of suspense always termi- nated in loud and hearty laughter. ' ' '■"• ■• • '"■''' The only thing they looked on with contempt was a little terrier dog, judging no doubt that it was too small for drawing a sledge, but they shrunk back as if in terror from a pig, whose pricked ears and ferocious aspect, being of the Shetland breed presented somewhat of a formidable appearance. This animal happening to grunt, one of them was so terrified, that he became from that moment uneasy, and appeared impatient to get out of the ship. Among other amusements afforded to the officers and men on board, by their trials on the inexperience of the natives, was the effect produced upon them by seeing their faces in a magnifying mirror: their grimaces were highly entertaining, while like monkies, they looked first into it, and then behind it, in hope of finding the monster, which was exaggerating their hideous gestures. A watch was also held to the ear of one, who sup- posing it alive, asked if it was good to eat. On being shown the glass of the skylight and binnacle, they touched it, and desired to know what kind of ice it was. During this scene one of them wandered to the main hatchway, and stooping down FIRST VOYAGB OF CAPT. ROSS. saw the sergeant of marines, whose rod coat produced a loud exclamation of wonder, while his own attitude and figure did not less excite the surprise of the tars, who for the first time discovered some unexpected peculiarities in the dress of the natives '-«(.'■•-»'' , ,'i,r •■■-.-■! >, .-f.v/ n. ■v/,!;' u-" ^ n-in^'i f. They wore now loaded with various presents, consisting of some articles of clothing, biscuit, and pieces of wood. They then departed, promising to return as soon as they had eaten and slept, but there were not any moans of explaining to them what to morrow meant. The parting was attended with the ceremony of pulling noses on both sides. . ■> . ! mn irn^ u.i On the 11th August, the drifting of the ice was the forerunner of a southerly breeze, which made the situation of the ships no longer tenable, they were therefore obliged to cast loose, and after passing through several narrow channels and much loose ice, they advanced seven miles to the westward, and fortunately found a place of safety under the lee of a very large iceberg, which lay aground in one hundred and fifty fathoms. No sooner however were both ships fast, than an immense floe of ice, with two small bergs in it, came into contact with the large berg, the corner of which was raised several feet ; a huge piece of the precipice was struck oiF by the concussion, and fell with a dread- ful crash, breaking the ice below it, and raising a wave that rent the floe in pieces for several hundred yards, and made the ships roll considerably. The ice then took a circular motion, and com- pletely closed the spot which the ships had left but a few minutes before. It continued to drift the whole day, and a heavy fall of 8no\i coming on, the land could not be seen ; the weather how- ever began to clear at midnight, and a bottle containing a narrative of the proceedings was left on the floating ice. The following day was sufficiently clear to allow of some good observations being made, and having taken accurate bearings of the land, it was found to form a spacious bay, which was named after the Prince Regent, in commemoration of his royal highness' birthday. vhH binrff ."rinift ?ul m tioimv.'iirro^ vnimn on n-jn On the 13th, the berg by which the ships had been protected, having separated in several pieces, the ships cast ofiF and made FIRST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSa ^ sail, but before thoy had proceeded ten miles to the westward, they were stopped by a barrier of largo floes and ber^s, which seemed to extend from the land to the main ice. The atmo- sphere was extremely clear, and all distant objects seemed wonder- fully raised by refraction. It was afterwards ascertained that the land seen from the mast head, must have been at the immense distance of one hundred and forty miles. The ice was now closings in upon them, the weather had every appearance of a gale, and no time was therefore lost in seeking a place of shelter, which they wore fortunate enough to find close to an iceberg, that was firmly secured to the land ice. , ,• They had not remained long at their moorings before they were gratified by the appearance of three of the natives at a distance. Sacheuse was furnished with presents and sent to speali to them, and he found they were not his former acquaint- ance, but other natives, who had received a good report of the strangers, and therefore they had not testified any alarm at their appearance ; Capt. Ross accompained by Lieut. Parry repaired to the place of communication, and having performed the customary ceremonies, invited the natives on board ; they wore however no sooner on board than they began to beg and steal, laying their hands on every small piece of wood which they met with, and pocketing every nail that they could find about the ship. After spending some time in helping themselves to whatever appeared portable ; Meigack, who had promised to introduce his wife to them, and his two sons accompanied by three other Esquimaux, were shown into the cabin, where, after much solicitation, they gave a specimen of their dancing. While Capt. Ross and his party were amusing themselves with the strange distortions of the dancers, and too absorbed in the con- templation of the singular scene before them, to pay particular attention to the actions of the other natives, Meigack took the opportunity to slip unobserved into the state room and purloined Oapt. Ross' best telescope, a case of razors, and a pair of scissors, which he artfully concealed in his tunic, and then rejoined the party as if nothing had happened. He however did not escape the vigilance of the steward, who followed him on deck^ g4 FIRST VOVAOB OT- CAPT. R088. Ihero cliarged him with stealing the articles, and made him return thorn, which he did without the least hesitation. Capt. Ross now found fault with Meigack for not bringing his wife to see them, when he inquired if the Captain's nation con- 8i8ted wholly of men. or if thi re were women amongst them. On this Capt. Ross showed him a portrait of Mrs. Ross, at which the whole party seemed much surprised, and for some lime seemed to think that the picture was alive. A thought then suddenly seemed to strike them, that the ladies might bo in the other ship, upon which they all set off for the Alexander, but finding their mistake they soon returned, evidently much disappointed. A parcel was in the mean time made up, as a present to their king Tilloovvah and put into a canvass bag, but Sacheuse discovered that there was no ^reat probability of the presents being delivered, on account of the pilfering disposition of the people, and therefore Capl. Ross determined to deliver them in person ; the natives left the ship promising to return with some specimens of the iron, for which Capt. Ross undertook to give them a large harpoon, a lance, and a large piece of a broken spar, telling them at the same time that they should not be permitted to come on board, nor receive any further presents, till they brought it. The natives returned on the following day, but brought neither the iron nor the dresses, on which they were refused to come on board, when they became noisy and impertinent. They said they had been to Inmallick, a headland to the northward to procure stones, for the purpose of cutting off the iron from the rock, and they also gave the information that the water was clear of ice on the northern side of the Cape. This intelligence could not fail to raise the spirits of Capt. Ross as it inspired him with the hope of making some progress, as sooQ as he might be able to move from his present position. On the 16th the large iceberg, which had so long defended the 'ships from the drift ice, and from the gale separated from the land ice, and took a southerly direction. Towards the evening the ice had opened sufficiently to warrant an attempt to effect a passage to the northward, but Capt. Ross being very anxious nut to quit his position without some further communication with FIRST VOYAOE OF CAPT. ROSt. 95 iho natives, a man was sent to tho mast head to look out for ihein. Tho natives however not appearing, the ships cast loose from the ice, and made sail from Prince Regent's Bay. Capt. Ross giving the name of the Arctic Highlands to the country, being situate between the latitudes of 76° and 77° 40 north, and the longitudes of 60" and 72" west. On the 17th, the course was continued along the land at the distance of five or six miles, among numerous icebergs, and pieces of loose ice. It was now discovered, that the snow on the face of the cliffs presented an appearance both novel and in- teresting, being apparently stained or covered by some substance, which gave it a deep crimson colour. Many conjectures were formed concerning the cause of this appearance, and a party was despatched from the ship to bring off some of the snow. It was found that the snow was penetrated in many places, to a depth often or twelve feet by the colouring matter, and that it had the appearance of having been a long time in that state. On being brought on board, the snow was examined by a microscope, magnifying 110 times, and the substance appeared to consist of particles, resembling a very minute round seed, all of them be- ing of the same size, and of a deep red colour. On being dis- solved, the water had the appearance of muddy port wine, and in a few hours it deposited a sediment, which was again exa- mined by the microscope, and on being bruised, it was found to be composed wholly of red matter, which, when applied to paper, produced a colour resembling that of Indian red. It was the opinion of Dr. Wollaston, that this was not a marine production, but a vegetable substance produced on the moun- tain immediately above it. In the evening they came in sight of Cape Dudley Digges, where the situation of the ice obliged them to pass very close to the land, and as they approached the coast, a considerable swell was perceived for the first time, which was considered as rather a favourable omen. Cape Dudley Digges was found to be a few miles to the southward of the situation in which Baffin has laid it down ; it appeared to form a precipice of about eight hundred feet in height, was perfectly clear of snow, and presented a yel- 98 FinST VOVAOE OF CAPT. ROBS. lowish vegotation nt the top ; behind it, at the distance of eigh- teen miles, there were seen high mountains, covered with snow. About six miles to the north of Cape Dudley Digges, a beauti- ful glacier was seen, filling up a space of four miles square, and extending several miles into the sea. Its height appeared to be, at least one thousand feet. To the northward several huts were plainly distinguished, which Capt. Ross was led to believe to ho Petowack. Wolslenholme Iwland was now in sight to the northward, and as the ships were steering for it, with a fine breeze, and the sea almost clear of ice, all idea of communicat- ing with the king of the Arctic Highlands was given up, the hope of attaining tho grand object of the enterprize, being now raised to such a height, as to make that which was considered desirable a few hours before, an object of no moment whatever. On the 19th, Carey's Islands were discovered, which may bo considered as the highest degree of latitude which Capt. P.'^"" reached, being in latitude 76° 49^ north, and longitude 73° 10 west. His course was now to the south west, and after passing seve- ral Headlands and Bays, which were named in honour of his private and professional friends, the expedition may be said to have arrived at that point, where all hope of obtaining the great object of the enterprise was banished, and by which, Capt, Ross exposed himself on his return, to the most severe animad- versions, not only from the public in general, but even from some of the officers who accompanied him on the expedition. As the opinions which Capt. Ross then held, laid the foundation of the subsequent expeditions of Capt. Parry, and it may also be added of that expedition, which constitutes the chief feature of this work, it is considered requisite for the right understanding of tho subject in all its bearings, that the statement of Capt. Ross should be fully laid down in order that it may be seen, whether the charges which were brought against him have been substan- tiated by future navigators, and whether he were in reality de- serving of that obloquy, which was so indiscriminately and pro- fusely heaped upon him. - i , ; r -v . . 'r On the 29th August, the nearest land was the southern point PIR8T VOTAOE OF CAPT. ROSS. 97 of Baiik*8 Bay, to which Capt. Ross govo the namo of Capo Cun- ningham, and the mountains, which wore seen at a distance weio also named Cunningham mountains. The southern extremity of the land was named Cape Charlotte, being in latitude 74° Si' north and longitude 79° 30' west. The land could not be approached kiearer than five leagues, on account of the packed ice. Between Cape Charlotte and the land, a wide opening appeared, but the wind shifting to the westward, it could not bo explored ; the wind shortly afterwards veering to the southward, the ships tacked, and stood in under all soil. On the 30th, the weather being thick and cloudy, they continued to steer so as to gain the middle of the opening, but the wind being light and variable, not much progress was made. The land was now seen, which forms the northern side of the opening, extending from west to north, in a chain of high mountains covered with snow. In a short time afterwards, the south side of this opening was dis- covered, extending from S. W. to S. E. forming also a chain of very high mountains. It may be necessary to premise by way of elucidation, that thi« strait or opening was no other than Lancaster Sound, in which the reputation of Capt. Ross ran the risk of being wrecked, without the prospect of the slightest salvage being afterwards obtained. The entrance of the channel was judged to be about forty- five miles wide, the land on the north side lying in an E. N.E„ and W. S. W. direction, and on the south side nearly east and west. In the afternoon of the 30th, the wind having oblig- ed the ships to stand to the south side, Copt. Ross had an excel- lent view of the most magnificent chain of mountains, which he had ever beheld : this chain, and the cape which terminates it, and forms the eastern extremity of the land on that side . i,T^ -I »,? CAPT, JOHN ROSS. R. N. "Mj^ia/*.! t\^i *1Y\>'\ COMMANDER JAMES C. ROSS, R. N. ' i'.*J* >f*l«^»V» «». y M - Mr. WILLIAM THOM, R.N.''^''^ ^' J>«'^ . .V Mr. J. Mo'DIARMID. Surgeon. '«' * tf^J^'^'^Mig^ ''^ »tJl'> . .7 •. Mr.BLANKEY, ' . Mates. H'""<^1 , MlV THOMAS ABERNETHY, \ R. N. Gunner. ^^^^^^I*^ '»♦'•, IP «?10:3 in • fli, FenoDs^ whose Name is printed in Italict, arc since dead. -H kj^ihi LAST VOTAOB OF CAPT. ROM 111 ^Mdm I yW '^^^ ^ rilOMAS, R. V. , '*«i ••••'"- ^'i j'^ ^ . Mr. G.TAYLOR. S ' Mr. ALEXANDER DRUNTON, En^cliwvr. ^ ALLEN MoMNNISS, Second Engineer. ' '^* ' Mr. I GUT, Steward. ui: ..,„, " »«*^ > ■ .1 ' ii "■ . , Mr. &IIRlEVE,Carpontcr»8Mut». " '*^* ' ' . -' *?' .(/'hI ,»/..(t )i:.... ,y ^1' //BNRK AYRB, Cook, RICHARD WALL, a Petty Officer. / ^ ^ .' i>* .^jb J V THOAf.45 ^/1R5L W, Armourer. * J.»>i ..; JOSEPH CURTIS, Seaman. ** lr.;ilM . - JOHN PARK, <0b , ^ ^ ^ U'uuui' if JOHN WOOD, do. \T 'I'i*^ ' u ' ANTHONY BURK, do. Lost hh sight by excessive flis. !/ ' DAVID WOOD, do. tiM ' JAMES VIXONf ^ These three volunteered from the BARNEY LACHEY, S John at Greenock, and were never 'y. . GEORGE BAXTER, N at sea before. V. ! , i • *^^ «r ■■■'■- , ' \ As was the case in the former voyages of Capt. Ross and Parry, tho regular agreement was entered into w ith the officers and mcn^ that on their return to England all papers, writings, documents, plans, drawings, &c., which they might have made during the voyage, should be delivered up to Capt. Ross, in order to prevent any other account of the proceedings of the expedition being published, than what proceeded from Capt. Ross himself. It is particularly necessary that this circumstance should be borne in mind, for as that agreement has been avowedly infringed, the character of certain individuals becomes materially affected, in having supplied the materials for the compilation of the present work, and must in a certain degree tend to excite the suspicion, that the information which has been furnished, is not of an official or authentic character. ^^ .;....,...v .- . y^ " It must also be remarked that Capt. Ross himself had by public advertisements, and every other means in his power, circulaidd a report to that effect, when he must be himself aware that the infraction of the agreement, on the part of any of his officers oi -VT« 4 112 LAST VOTAOE OF CAPT. ROU. men was not done, until he had himself infringed the agreement which he had entered into with them. It was amongst other things, which will be hereafter noticed, stipulated that in case the men should at any time be short of provisions, they should then receive double pay, which was to be paid them on their arrival in England, That this paucity of provisions did take place, amounting to almost positive starvation, cannot nor was denied by Capt. Ross, but so far from this part of the agree- ment having been fulfilled, an objection yras raised to the pay- ment of even the usual wages to the men, on the pitiful plea that the moment that they were taken on board the Isabella, they could not consider themselves as forming any part of the crew of the Victory, which had been abandoned, and consequently as their duty as seamen had ceased, they were not entitled to the payment of the stipulated wages. This subject will, however, be more fully discussed at the close of the work, when we shall also entermore fully into a detail of the extraordinary, and it may be added ungenerous and unjust circumstances of the refusal of the government, to award any compensation to the men employed in the expedition, on the ridiculous and erroneous plea, that no precedent could be found for it, whereas one was actually existing in the case of the reward of Government to Capt. Parry, of £5000, on his pene- trating beyond a certain longitude, which sum was divided in the customary proportions l^etween the officers and crew, whereas in the case of Capt Ross, who it is well known by all the crew, was almost the most ineffective man on board, the entire sum of £5000 has been awarded to him to the total exclu- sion of all the other persons composing the crew, and particu- larly of Commander Ross, to whose skill, energy and enterprise, may be ascribed all the success by which the expedition was distinguished. . On the 28rd May, the steam being got up, the Victory cast off from the buoy at Limehouse, and sailed down the river. Whilst off Deptford, a number of useful articles were obtained from his majesty's dock yard, which it was conjectured would prove highly useful on the voyage, and conducive to the health and II) ,/ DEPARTURE FROM WOOLWICH. 113 comfurt of iho crow, on their arrival in the nortliern latitudos. Whilst on the passage down the river, part of the engine gave way, which doubtless presented a flattering prospect of the great value which it would possess, when put in action to propel the vessel through a floe of ice, when it broke down even on ''ibiii smooth water of the Thames. On the arrival of the "Victory ot Woolwich at 3o clock, it being then high water, the accident was repaired, and the crew were paid their wages in advance At four o'clock, the Victory cast ofl* from the buoy, amidst the cheers and acclamations of the people on shore, and the crowds that were assembled round the ship in boats. The weather was beautifully serene and clear, the silken colours of the Victory fluttered in the breeze, with their golden ornaments, being the liandy-work of a lady, who presented them to Capt. Ross, as a token of her admiration of the noble spirit, which urged him to . brave the perils of the icy regions^ in a laudable attempt to pro- mote the interests f f science and of commerce. It was a sight at once exhilarating and flattering to the spirit of the nation, to^ witness the enthusiasm which appeared to pervade the mind of Till ranks of people, as they cheered the gallant vessel, which was destined perhaps to carry the flag of Britain, where no flag ever waved before, and to complete an achievement, which had occu« pied the maritime spirit of the country, from the earliest period of its history. At Woolwich, Capt. Ross obtained from his majesty's dock yard, a very fine launch and two boats, that were out with Capt. Franklin, with all their guns, equipments, and stores. At G ravesend, the pilot was taken on board, and having put the. mechanics on shore, the Victory steamed down the river until her arrival ofi^ Margate, wluere Sheriff Booth, his brother, ant* Capt. Duke, R. N. were put on-fihore, bidding farewell to their g-allant friends, and wishing them a safe return to their native ■ land. In the Downs, the wind freshening to the eastward, the. ehgiiie was stopped, the paddles hove up, and at 9 a.m. took in. all sail, except the close reefed fore topsail, foresail, and fore and. aft main sail. It may be necessary to remark, that the Victory was. 114 ARRIVAL AT THE ISLE OF MAN. rigged out in a peculiar manner, being square-rigged in her fore- mast, and schooner-rigged in her main and mizen masts. On the 25th, it was cloudy weather with a strong breeze at N. E., at midnight passed Portland Lights, and at 5 a. m. the motion of the ship, and swell of the sea, broke one of the launch''s tow ropos, which obliged them to stand under lee of the Isle of Wight, for the purpose of getting it repaired. The wind abating a little, they made sail and passed the Eddystone, when the wea- ther becoming still more moderate, they set all studding .sails, but soon after took them in, and hauled round the Longships. From the 27th to the 30th they stood off and on, making but little progress, the wind being about N. W. ; but on the 30th the wind coming more round to the westward, they lay along the land ; in the course of the night, the wind veered to the north- ward, and they tacked to the westward. On the 31st they set the engine to work during the day, but stopped it at night and hove the paddles up, having made little more than a knot an hour. Finding that they did not gain any thing by tacking, they furled ail sails, sent down the yards and attempted to steam to windward, in which they continued until 4 a.m. of the 1st June, but they were soon obliged to have recourse to their sails again, as the steam scarcely enabled them to keep their course, and so far from making any progress, they were driven somewhat to leeward. On the 3d they passed Holyhead, but the engine proving defective, having broken the starboard key of the inter- mediate shaft, they were obliged to put into Port Douglas, in the Isle of Man, where they brought up in the bay in seven fathoms water, at 5 a.m. of the 6th June. Capt. Ross went on shore, and sent off a supply of fresh beef, water, spars, deals, &c. The decks of the Victory were soon crowded with visitors, amongst whom was the governor, who invited Capt. Ross, and Com- mander Ross to dine with him. A supply of shoes, stockings, shirts, &c., was also obtained at Port Douglas, and the engine being repaired, Capt. Ross became anxious to proceed on his voyage, in order to reap all the advantages which the season could afford. The wind however, being to the north westward. ■*■ .#' ARRIVAL AT TORT LOGAN. 116 they were obliged to remain until the 7tb, when the wind came easterly, which blows right into Port Dou ."if;, > . ..« .. * On the 26th, the engineer reported the boilers to be once more tight, and the small bellows repaired, but from the variable state of the weather, little or no use could be made of the engine. fNv;/-?: ;"■■?■■;, . „\. ::,; ■.';;:;.■ ;, %.r, ''„...;)■.../■. ;.■..,. .?^. A number of birds were now seen, which announced their apptuach to Irnd, some of which were shot by the crew, and were found by no means to be unpalatable. They are known by I.A9T VOYAflE OP CAPT. ROSB. 119 Ihe name of the sheorwators, and like ibo awks, abound in prodigious numbers on the coasts of Greenland, and some of thi islands in Daffins Bay. ' . » . As they were now approaching the latitudes, whore fresh water ice was to be obtained for the boilers of the steam engine, the engineer was busily employed in connecting the feed pump to the small engine, from which a great benefit was expected, lot only in alleviating the labor of the crew, but in expediting the progress of the vessel. The Norway yawl was also got in repair, and every preparation was made for overcoming the obstacles, and providing for the difficulties which they were on the eve of encountering, and to which they looked forwards with a truly noble spirit, resolving to show that, although success might not attend their efforts, the failure should not be attri- buted to want of energy or resolution. The 28tl) being Sunday, the whole crew attended divine service, a practice which much to the credit of Capt. Ross, was leligiously observed during the whole of the voyage, excepting on those pressing occasions, when the navigation of the vessel peremptorily demanded the services of the crew. A quantity of fern was now seen floating on the water, a cer- tain indication of the vicinity of land, and a good look out was kept for Cape Farewell. On the 1st July a suit of warm cloth- ing was issued to every man, and other necessaries provided as protectors against the inclemency of the climate, which it would shortly be their lot to endure. On the 4th Commander James shot a solan goose, which formed a dainty dish for the inmates of the cabin, but the sailors •ave the preference to the usual fare. The weight of the goose vithout the feathers was 6Ib 2oz. On the 6th they had strong breezes from the southward and .he eastward, by which the ship made one hundred and thirty miles in twenty-four hours; but they were obliged to shorten sail on account of the great strain which was on the tow ropes of the launch. On the same day a bottle was hove over-board, with a letter m it, detailing the proceedings of the vessel, the latitude being 60° IQf. N. The wind continuing fair, the ship 110 l,A8T VOYAOE OF CAPT. ROS« nmde on tlio 7th ono liundroil nnd forty-fivo niiloR, in Iwonfv- four liouFH, and on the 8ih tho first land was ficon ; on the Mime day a largo tree was picked up, winch measured 31 foot in length. A groat number of birds of diflbrent kinds were now neon flying in all directions, many of which were sliot by tho crew, but principally tho sheerwaters, tho average weight of which was thirty-two ounces; several fiyh were seen on the 9th; and on tho 10th tho provisions that had been shipped on board tho John, wore taken out of tho launch, from a fear that as they were approaching tho ico, somo accident might occur by which the stores would bo lost. On tho rZlh being Sunday, no divine service could bo hold on account of the occupations of tho crow, and particularly the engineers, who were emi)loyed the whole of the day in putting the engine into a proper state for action, which was to bo tried as soon as a requisite quantity of ice coulJ bo obtained for tho filling of tho boilers. The crew were chiefly employed in pick- ing up the drift wood, which was floating in abundance about trie ship, ami which was too precious a commodity to neglect every opportunity of obtaining. On the 13th tho first iceberg was seen ; the land being in siglit, and a boat was sent out for the purpose of loading her with ice, as they wore not only very short (,( water, but it %vas required for the purpose of the steam engine. The boat suc- ceeded in obtaining a cargo of fresh water ice, and there being no fear of a regular supply of ice being to be had, the furnace was kindled for the purpose of trying the connecting machi- nery of the feed pump, to work with the small engine without the assistance of the crew. The steam was got up in one boiler; the connecting machinery answered well, but the small bellows required all the force which could be applied to it, A fair wind springing up, all sail was set, the land being still in sight, and a brig was seen standing in for it ; a number of whales were also seen, one of which came so near the ship that it was fired at, but it was not ascertained whether thfe shot took effect. ; ii > . ! •.• '. .'A A On the 4th, a very large iceberg was scon from which somo LAST VOYAOF OR PAPT. RCmg. Til ninro ico was ohtiiined, and as ihoro wns now nn nhunHonrc m*" frohh wator, sonp was (1iNtri!)uUMl lo all the orow, and noarly the «v liolo of tlio 5Ui was omployod in ihn washinf^ of their clothog Tlio wind still was fair and on the 15lh, the onpfino was pot ready for starting, but a heavy soa runnin<^ on the following* day, with stron^^ hroozos, it could not bobroujfht into action. On Hio 17th tho wcathor havinj^ moderated, preparations woro mado for get- ting" up tho steam; tho fires were lighted and all hands blowing at the small bellows. The steam being up sufficiently to work tlio small engine, tho larboard paddle wheel was lowered, and tho steam sot on. For about three hours, tho engine appeared to work well, but then on a sudden it gave way and tho steam was lot off. Not a moment was lost in attempting to discover where tho defect lay, when it was ascertained by tho engineer, that two of the pipes in tho foro and aft boiler had burst, and were as flat as a pancako. It was mentioned by tho engineer that the slonm had been too high at some period in tho rivor, for tho pipes to bear, and that tho water was also too low. Capt. Ross, the engineers, and the armourer wore up all night, endeavouring to repair the damage, and on tho following day water was pumped into them to sco if they were tight, but they were found to be as leaky as before. In two hours the water had all leaked out. but by great exertion the engineer succeeded in getting the steam up with a fair pressure, but the steam came roaring out of the larboard boiler, just by the furnace door, as well as at the lower part of the boiler; at the same time that there was not steam enough to work the small engine, wherewith to blow the small bellows ; in a short time afterwards the starboard key broke and the engine stopped altogether ; this was the more disastrous as the weather was highly favourable for tha operation of the en- gine, light winds and smooth water. The 19th being Sunday, divine service was performed, but lit- tle progress was made as the weather was almost calm, with very light winds ; a number of whales were seen at a distance, playing about a large iceberg, and from their motions they ap- peared to be in search of their prey. Judging that they might be in search of fish, soundings were taken, and the depth was 35 fathoms, with coarse shells and coral. A fishing line wa^ 6 . R ATI LAST TOYAOF OP CAPT. R08II now put overboard and tliroo hnliibut woigliing OTtbs, and one cod wc'ijrliinj^ li'Jbs wore caught. On tho^lst land was in si^ht, and the steam was i^ot up, but tbe engine worked very badly, on account of tlio larboard boiU er leaking so much tbat it put tbe fire out; tbe crew however laboured bard, working the bellows to keep tbe steam up, and tbis severe labour in addition to tbat of navigating tbe vcshcI, created no little dissatisfaction amongst tbe crew, wbo in their hearts wished the engine at the top of an iceberg, or like Jonns in the belly of a whale; for so far from diminishing their labour, or expediting their progress, the utmost speed which they reached was two knots in an hour, during which time they were obliged to be incessantly working at the bellows, or exposed to the danger attendant upon the gathering of the ice for the purpose of feeding the boilers: soundings were again taken in 80 fathoms, but no bottom. Commander James caught another fine cod. The fires were now drawn, all the clinkers cleared out, and light set to the furnace, but all to no purpose, as the larboard boiler continued to leak so much that the fire was put out as fust as it was lighted ; the steam however from the starboard boiler, work- ed the larboard wheel with the starboard wheel up. At 8 p.m. the "watch was set, every man in tbe ship, sixteen in number, taking it by turns during tbe night to blow the bellows, to keep the steam up. Tbe progress during the time tbe steam was up, was 1 mile 2 furlongs per hour. The officers caught several very fine cod, and two ballibut. At 11 p.m. the engine was still at work, but the crew were much fiiiiguod, and almost choakod with the sulphurous exhalations arising from the furnace. On the 22nd, a light and fair breeze springing up, all sail was set ; the steam was let off and tbe paddle hove up ; at 1 p.m. tacked and stood in with the land, A number offish were caught, which being weighed amounted to 453tbs. At midnight of the 2'^Td, they were close in with the land about South Bayor Wylic Ford, and s cnt a boat on shore to look for a harbour ; at three the boat returned, and commander James took the ship into a very fine harbour, but it was amongst a parcel of islands. The ship was however got safely in, and made fast to the rocks in thiee fathoms water. LAST VOYAGE OF CATT. RO»i. 1*28 Tlie crow now bognn to dismanllo the vosbcI, ami (^ot tlio fore- mast and mizon-iimHt out. At 7 the governor, the ininiHtor> and a boat's crew came on board, and infurmed C.'apt. l!os8 that ho lay in a very dangerous (dace. Tl»ey breakfasted in the cabin, and Capt. Ross and commander James returned witli them on shore. They were now informed that the wreck of the Rookwood of London lay inside the luirbour, whiclk turned out to be a most fortunate circumstance, as the Victory was greatly in want of nniny things, with which she could be supplied from the wreck. Capt. Ross entered into a negotiation with the governor for the stores of the Rookwood, the terms of which were agreed to, and it was determined to take the Victory whore the Rookwood lay, for the more convenient and speedy shipment of her stores. At 1 p. M. they cleared away, cast off, and ran up the harbour with the fore topsail at the head of ihe sheers, and brought to in 18 fathoms. On the 25th, a few Esquimaux came on board, and exchanged a number of articles with them for skins and warm clothing. The governor also sold them a quantity of warm clothing, which in a subsequent part of the voyage proved highly acceptable ; Capt. Ross and his nephew dined with the governor, and they were joined at tea by the doctor and the purser. In the mean time tho crow were busily employed in getting the Rookwood's stores on board, and getting the fore-mast out, and getting the Rookwood's mizen-mast in its place, and a small spar for a jigger-mast instead of a mizen-mast. On the 26th, all hands were called to get the ship ready for sea, and sent the launch on shore for some of tho Rookwood's coals, the remainder of the crew to heave short. At 11 a.m. got tho launch alongside, dropped her astern and made all secure. At noon shipped the anchor and got under way, accompanied by the governor, minister, and two boat's crew to assist in towing the vessel out of the harbour. Being now in a fair way, the governor and his party took their leave, giving three cheers, which were returned by the Victory by a salute of three bombs. The wind was fair, and several icebergs in sight, some of which appeared to be in motion, and which in consequence required tho utmost skill in the navigation of tho vessel, as one of those 124 LAST VOYAOF OF CAPT. ROSS. enormous masses coming in contact with her, might have proved her destruction. , ?ii ; • On the 27th, the second bullock was killed, as it was daily decreasing in size and goodness, partly from a paucity of fodder, and partly from the necessity of supplying it with water obtained from melted ice, which evidently affected the animal, and would perhaps have ultimately proved its death. The prospect now became gloomy and portentous of the difficulties to which they were approaching ; in every direction the ragged iceberg reared its gigantic mass, and in the evening of the day forty-nine bergs wore in sight, seeming like so many giants disposed to dispute all further progress to the inhospitable regions which they guarded. Towards midnight, the wind freshening, the larboard tow rope of the launch broke, and all hands were called to secure the launch, with a strong breeze blowing, and a nasty jobble of a sea running. Whilst John Wood one of the men, was getting into the boat, he had the misfortune to break his leg, on which the ship was hove to, in order to get him on board, in doing which the fore top mast was carried away ; Wood was however brought on board, and his leg was set ; but here one of the differences manifested itself, between the fitting out of the Victory and that of the Hecla in which Capt. Parry sailed. In the latter there was a regular birth for the sick, with every con- venience for their comfort and recovery, but in the Victory no such preparations had been made, for Wood was taken down into the birth where the crew messed, and laid upon the deck on his bedding, amongst a parcel of casks of flour, sugar, and a hogshead of tobacco, and not one of them even lashed, at the same time that the vessel was then in an open sea, and if there had been any sea running, the casks and hogvshead would have been all sent rolling about, and have crushed the poor follow to death before any assistance could have been obtained. It must however be mentioned, that no proof is given of any complaint having been made by Wood to Capt. Ross, of the danger of his situation, and therefore it would be both unjust and illiberal to attach blame, where perhaps none is due. V,j The launch was again made secure, and part of the crew LAST VOYAOE OF CAPT. ROBS l^ were employed in clearing away the wreck of the fore top mast, whilst the remainder were preparing to get another up, which as a godsend, they had obtained from the Rookwood. On the 28th, the Island of Disco was in sight bearing south east, with a number of icebergs in every direction, and in the same day Hare Island was seen, but the wind being fair for the point to which they were steering, and neither the Island of Disco, nor that of Hare offering any inducement for landing, the Victory bore away steering due west. Lat. 68'' 40', long. 56° iC. The 29th the wind having subsided, the steam was got up in both boilers, and the engine was kept going until midnight, when a fair breeze sprung up, and the steam was let off; the car- penters were employed in fitting some spare davits to which a boat was hoisted, which was on deck, in order to make room for a capstan which was got from the Rookwood. Land was now in sight, the bearings of which were N. N. W., on which a more westerly course was steered, with the view of making direct for Lancaster Sound. On the same evening a cask was picked up marked Jane, which was supposed to belong to a ves- sel of that name, which had been lost. The weather was beau- tifully mild, and although the Victory was now in the same lati- tude and longitude, as where the Hecla and Fury were beset in the ice, yet not a morsel of it was at this time to be seen as far as the eye could extend. ' •; On the 31st, the west land of Davis' Straits was seen, and the ship sailing with a fine fair wind, but it soon afterwards becom- ing calm, the steam was got up, but the larboard boiler again proved leaky ; the fire was however kept in all night, but the labour bestowed upon the engine was of little use, for although no impediment presented itself by the ice to the free naviga- tion of the vessel, the rate of sailing did not exceed two knots 'per hour. ' '' * ^* On the 2nd being Sunday, divine service was performed and in the eveninff a bottle was thrown overboard with a letter en- ^'closed, reporting the proceedings of the ship, being then in lati- tude 74' 17' north, and longitude 67° 10' west. The following ♦ day being calm the steam was set on, but all the progress that X1G LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS was made, was no moro than a mile and a quarter per hour, and towards evening the engine was obliged to be stopped, owing to the feed pump being out of order. Capt Ross and the engineer were employed the whole of the night in repairing it, having ascertained that the vent was stopped by a quantity of tallow, which had by some accident fallen into it. Early on the follow- ing morning the larboard paddle was put down, but it had not been down five minutes, when it was discovered that a leak had sprung in the starboard boiler. The larboard boiler was how- ever still kept on, which gave ten revolutions in a minute, or one mile and a quarter per hour. With the starboard boiler the average of the revolutions was thirteen, the maximum never exceeding fifteen. - f ' - ^ i. v^^u , v - r' ^'^ Some ice being in sight, the boat was despatched for a load, as the stock of water was exhausted, and consequently the engine became wholly useless. On the 6th land was seen bear- ing from N. N. E. to N. W. One of the men having descried a piece of whale flesh floating on the water, the dingy was let down and the flesh was picked up, affording some good food for the dogs. A large piece of timber was also picked up, sup- posed to l.ave belonged to some vessel that had been wrecked. On the 7th the boats were employed gathering ice, and both the paddles of the engine '.'ere down, the first time since the ship had left Scotland, the engine was however obliged' to be stopped on account of the cistern not being able to melt the ice quick enough to feed the boiler. The weather being calm, the opportunity was taken for clearing the launch of coals and provisions, and it was a fortunate circumstance that it was done, as on the following day, the 9th, the wind came on to blow strong from the S. S. W., when the vessel became entangled in '' some loose ice, and had shortly afterwards to contend against '"' some loose streams of ice, which drove against the bows of the vessel with a most destructive force. Towards evening Cape ' ' Franklin was discovered bearing N. W. by W., wilh strong' • breezes during the remainder of the night. " On the 10th the land was seen on both sides, when it was '" found that the ship was in Prince Regent's Inlet The temper-^ ' LAST VOYAGE CF CAPT. ROSS. 12T aturo of the water was 33, having been 40 a few liours before. The wind being fair they sailed rapidly along, making seven degrees of longitude in 24 hours, with scarcely any ice to be seen; towards midday a heavy fog came on; the land was observed in the vicinity of Admiralty Inlet, but the weather soon became so very thick that they suddenly found themselves within a mile of a low long point; they hauled their wind, but it suddenly dying away, left them on a lee shore ; the steam was immediately got up, when fortunately the fair wind returned, and with the loss of the main boom, they got out in a clear way again. This was certainly a most riarrow escape, for the place in which the ship was, was very near a lee shore, the wind was dying away, and a very heavy sea running. In the roll of tho sea the main boom swung over and broke, and the gail" came rattling down on deck; on the same day a floe of ice was seen, and on the 11th they fell in with the loose ice, which occasioned them a deal of trouble, and shortly afterwards with stream ice, but which was open enough for them to sail through. Passed Port Bowen at noon and Prince Leopolds Islands came in sight, bearing east. They stretched along the opposite shore of Port Bowen, and fell in but very little ice; some strong breezes sprung up in the evening, on which they shortened sail, took in the fore top sail, and set all the storm sails. At midnight hove to with strong gales blowing. . ,; , . ,-. m^ On the 12th they fell in with a stream of ice under their lee, the weather was very foggy, on which all hands were turned up to clear the ship of it. On the evening of the same v day they came in sight of the place where the Fury was aban- doned by Capt. Parry, and a ship was seen a long way to leeward ■. of the Fury. All sail was now set to work up to the Fury, and at 1 P.M. Commander Ross could see the tents on shore, but not the ship. In the evening the weather became more moderate, ' and the before mentioned officer went to seek for a piece of * grounded ice to make fast to. The ship now stood in for the i land, and the boat with Commander Ross returned, all inshore afloat. The steam was got up and continued working all the ).3th^ the water being very smooth and clear of ice A birge J 128 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. Bear was seen, liut at too g-roat a distance to obtain a sl)ot at hini. The ship was made fast to a berg aground, but the wind becom- ing fair, they cast off and made sail. Thcfair wind was however of a very short continuance, for it suddenly veered and became foul, when the steam was again got up, but as the tide was running strongly against them, they made fast to a piece of ice. On the turn of the tide, got under way with the steam, but were • obliged to stop the engine repeatedly in order to get up more power; at the same time the whale boat was running away with whale lines, to track the ship along while the steam was getting up. They continued in this manner to track and steam, until they arrived at the Fury's stores, one boat sounding a head of the ship all the way. All the officers went on shore, but it was now clearly ascertained that no vestige of the Fury remained. It was conjectured that the ice had taken her off the bank, and then she sunk. The depth of water at the edge of the bank is five fathoms, and shoals away gradually as the beach is approached, this being generally the case along the whole line of the coast. The crew were in high spirits on discovering the sound condition of the Fury's stores, and huraorbusly styled it the North Pole Victualling Yard. The crew had for their supper some of the preserved meats off the beach, and they pronounced them to be excellent. The hands were now all employed in getting some of the stores on board, and the Victory became in some degree revictualled. The Fury was abandoned in latitude 7*2" 46' N. and longitude 91° 50' W. Capt. Ross left a letter in the dog kennel, in remembrance of the Victory, and the crew, one and all, on casting off from the beach, exclaimed " God bless Fury Beach'' >"'.>i-/ hr « t if.- ;^^ »*;■;* ./iifij» vir.-c-tt. *-»M«>»<(|f i>4.4j,;. ^' The Fury was abandoned in 1825, and Capt. Ross did not reach the same place until 1829, making' aii interval of four y-ears that the stores of the former had been lying on the beach> in the same situation as they had been left by Capt. Parry, exposed to all the severity of four arctic winters; but notwithstandiHgnhis most seV6r6 trial, the bread was thfe only thitig that w«t inany degree iiijured. Thte preserved theats were found to be in excel- lent condition, and the vegetables, particularly the carrots and LAST VOi\OE OF CAPT ROSS Vl^) parsnips, wore in a state of complete preservation; even the bread towards the middle of the casks was in good condition, being musty only in those places where it had been subject to the immediate influence of the weather. It was a most provi- dential circumstance for the crew of the Victory, that the Fury's stores were in such good condition, and it will be found at a subsequent part of the voyage, that, but for that seasonable relief, it amounts almost to a certainty that not one of the crew of the Victory would have lived to see his native land again. On leaving Fury Point, the wind came on to blow heavily from the south, accompanied by violent rain, the Victory sail- ing along undiscovered land, with the ice closely packed on shore, and several icebergs in sight. On the 16th they continued to tack off and on, and at 10 p.m. made fast to a berg. At noon four of the officers went on shore on an island, and being the first discovered beyond the latitude to which Capt. Parry had sailed, it was taken formal possession of, the silk colours were hoisted, three cheers were given, and some gin from the distillery of Mr. Sheriff Booth was drank on the hill. The crew on board an- swered the cheers, and the Victory miay now be said to be entering on an ocean which had never before been ploughed by a British keel, and where the sound of the human voice had never before been heard. The latitude of the island was 71° north. 'i In the afternoon of the 16th, the berg floated and sent the vessel adrift, on which the anchor was let go, and the steam got up. but it was found of little use, as they were running among cross ice, which impeded the motion of the paddles, and as a fair wind sprung up, the engine was stopped. They now sailed through some very large floes of ice, and the weather coming on thick, they made fast to one of them where they remained during the night. .i. ^.i -^ i>i .' On the I8th they still continued to sail among loose ice, and about noon a young whale came and played round the ship, when Curtis, one of the seamen hove a lance into her, and she plunged away, but not having any line to the lance, the fish escaped alto- gether. It was a matter of regret to the crew that this whale was not caught, as their stock of oil began to fall short, and 6 s 130 LA8T VOYAGE OF CAPT. R08S. the flesh would have afforded a good supply of food for the dogs. The fog clearing away, the ship got under weigh with a favourable wind, sailing amongst very heavy ice, which some- times came down upon the ship with such force, that all hands were frequently turned up to bear the vessel off, but she having such way on, she would come against the pieces with such thumps, as threatened to knock her bows in, and the greatest apprehension was now felt that she would soon be beset in the .JO. It was evident that the strain on the vessel was almos.t more than she could bear, but it was only by carryii • a press of sail that the ship could force her passage through lie ice, and therefore it was at best a choice of evils, the only question being whether it were better to run the risk of carrying away some of the masts and rigging of the vessel, than by diminishing the propelling force, incur the chance of being beset in the ice, with the season closing fast upon them, and the danger presenting itself of the vessels baring the fate of the Fury, by being so nipped by the ice, as to render her wholly unseaworthy. It was re- marked by some of the crew, that the ice which was in immediate contact with the vessel had assumed a reddish hue, and it was supposed at first to have been caused by the blood of the whale which had been struck by Curtis, but it was subsequently ascer- tained that the ice had taken off all the red ocre from the bows and sides of the vessel, which where as rough as if they had been indented with a hatchet, u.^ v il i. ::» ;,.;ic,„, ;;.: ,'L:„u, 1 . The land was still in sight, and they now stood on for it, as well as the ice would permit them, taking regular soundings which varied from 10 to 12 fathoms. The water was however found to decrease in depth on which the boat was sent away to sound but she found the bottom very irregular, which excited some "degree of alarm, as it was impossible from the pressure of the ice to keep the boat a-head, for at one time the depth was only ** 1 1 feet, and consequently the most imminent danger existed of "the vessel getting aground. Finding the water so shallow, the " boat was got on board, and the ship stood off from the land ** amongst cross ice. A favourable omen however now presented itself, which was the increasing darkness of the sky, from which LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. hU it was conjectured that there was clear water in the direction which the ship was steering, for it is a phenomonon well known to those who are accustomed to navigate the arctic seas, that in proportion to the clearness of the sea from ice, the sky assumes a darker or a brighter hue, which it is to be accounted for, upon the established principles of reflection. With this favourable prospect before them ; they made all sail towards it, the ship at times receiving such thumps as to shake the whole of her rig- ging. At 9 P.M. they came in sight of clear water, apparently running west, on which they continued to run until 3 a.m. of the 19th, when they were completely beset in the ice, and made fast to a large piece, which was evidently grounded. At 9 a.m they dropped the deep sea lead overboard, and found the whole body of ice driving south. At 1 1, the rudder was unshipped fur fear of pressure. Here they remained beset until the 2" rd, when they moored the ship a little in shore. Two bears were seen on the ice, one of which was severely wounded, but it got away. Two seals were also shot, but they both sunk. The ship had scarcely made f of a mile for the last 24 hours, but towards the evening of the 23rd the ice opened a little, and all hands were called to track the ship through it, but shortly afterwards it was made fast to a floe, as there was not any wind which could assist the vessel through her difficulties. On the following morning a breeze sprung up, and all sail was set to force the vessel through the ice ; this however being found insufficient, the engineer was ordered to get the steam up, and they cast ofi" and stood in for land. At 7 P M. they made fast to a berg in 7 fathoms of water. The first sea unicorn was here seen, but at too great a distance to obtain a shot at him. S'everal whales were also seen, but too far off to be taken. The ice appeared closely packed, but the steam did them here some good service, as it enabled them to work in shore, but a breeze springing up directly foul, they were obliged to make fast to the ice again. Commander James here shot a seal, the length of which from the tip of the nose to the extremity of the tail was seven feet ten inches; its circumference, behind the fore flippers five feet six inches, and its weight seven iHindred and eighty pounds ; the fore flippers measured in lenS^th 132 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROBS. ton inches, and in breadth five inches and three quarters : ttie hind flippers were fifteen inches in length, and in breadth when expanded, two feet. On the 26th the weather was foggy, the steam was however got up and they stood in for land. Commander Ross shot a seal, and a boat was hoisted to bring it on board, when it was found that it was not mortally wounded ; a knife was plunged into its heart, and immediately afterwards the thermometer wus in- serted, when the temperature was found to be 99. Some progress was still made with the steam, but it was oblig- ed to stop every now and then for the purpose of obtaining more , power. At 6 the boat was sent away to seek for a place to make fast to, and on her return reported that a very g ood one had been found. With some difficulty and not without some danger the place was reached, and the ship made fast to two or three pieces of ice well sheltered from wind, tide, and pressure. The officers went on shore and returned with a very fine hare, it was nearly the same size as the common hare, the body was white with the exception of a few solitary black hairs, rather longer than the rest being dispersed over every part, and which appeared as if the animal were shedding them, as they came away at the slight- est pull. The tips of the ears, and the short hair within the ears were black; the tail was short and white. a? > i i On the 27th Commander Ross went on shore to make some observations, whilst the remainder of the officers extended their walk up the country. On their return they reported that they had seen some small fish in a lake, as well as the print of some t deer's feet ; they had also seen some hut'^ and graves of the Esquimaux. Some of the men took the dingy to the lake, and caught with a net about forty fish of the size of a sprat ; they ; partook of the favour of the whiting, but the smallness of their size did not repay the trouble of their caption. The men ,als9 . shot a hare and two grouse. •-,-':? "^ ' » ,ff' j : /. l; - ' . . On the 28th a fine northerly wind sprung up, but it was found impossible to take any advantage of it, on account of the weather proving very foggy, and the ice being very closely packed. On the following day the wind blew strong from tho LAST VOYAOE OF CAPT. R099. 133 N. W., with heavy min, and the ico still closely nnekod. At 4 P.M. some clear water being seen in the direction to whore it was intended to steer, they cast off and made a trial, but there lioin**- a larg-ofloe of about 10 miles in length, they were entirely Mocked up, ' ' ■ ' '" " '•' ' • '■'• • ''' '''*' ''*'•- /-; ' On the 30th and 31st they still remained besot, but on the night of the Ist September the floo wholly disappeared, and by llio aid of a norlhorly wind, they warped the ship to the point and then made sail, steering- a south westerly course, as the water appeared to run more clear of ico in that direction. The density of the fog" was however greatly against them, but they continued to run until 10 a.m., when the fog cleared away, and they found themselves completely surrounded with ice and clos- * ing fast upon them. The ship was now completely besets the sails wero furled, and the rudder unshipped. Soundings were obtained in 52 fathoms, the ship driving by the lead south- west. At 8 P.M., a pressure came on which gave the launch a severe nip; the wind N. N. W., blowing hard. Capt, Ross shot an ivory gull. This bird is rather larger than the kittiwake gull, the bill of a deep lead colour, the edges and tips yellow i>;h, two inches long from the angles of the mouth ; the orbits of the eyes are red, the irides brown, logs and feet black ; the tarsr.s one inch and three quarters, the entire plumage of a snowy whiteness, the length of the bird is nineteen inches, the breadth forty-one inches. On the 2nd and 3rd they were still beset, sounded and found 120, 130, and 70 fathoms with stones and gravel, the latter con- sisting of fragments of gneiss, granite and quartz rock. On the 4th the wind coming round to the south-east, great hope was entertained that the ice would open, nor were they disappointed in their expectations, for on the following day at 10 P.M., it opened, and the ship got under weigh, endeavouring to get in with the land, for since they were beset, it was dis- covered that they had driven with the ice a long way to the northward. After receiving some heavy thumps from the ice, they succeeded in getting in with the land, and made fast to a berg. This was found to be nearly about the same place as where Capt. Ross shot tho hare on tho 27th August. 134 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. The 6th boin^ Sunday, divine service was performed, after which Capt. Ross, Commander Ross and the surj^con went on shore. They returned at 2 p.m. having seen a number of red deer, hares and mice, two of the hares were killed, and the deer were fired at, one of Ihcm was wounded, but it made its escape. They now cast off, and ran between two headlands, which were supposed to be the opening of a passage, and a boat was sent away to sound and examine it. On the following morning the officers went again on shore, and during their absence the boat returned, and found the supposed passage to be a bay. On the 7lh the weather being fine, the boat was again sent out to measure the extent of the bay, and found it to be five miles in length and about four in breadth, but completely filled with ice. Whilst the officers went on shore they ascended an eminence to see if they could discover any clear water, but very little was discern- ible. They brought with them two hares, one weighing Otbs. 1*2 oz., the other only 5tbs. lloz. On the 8th the ice slackening a little, they cast off, and proceeded out of the bay, but the weather coming on foggy with a foul wind they made fast again. The water was so clear of ice that the boat was sent out to some islands in a northwesterly direction for the purpose of ascertaining if any passage existed in that quarter, or if there were room for the vessel to navigate between them. The report was so favour- able as to induce Capt. Ross to steer for them, which he deter- mined to carry into effect as soon as Commander Ross and his party returned on board, they being on shore on a shooting expe- dition. Commander Ross returned with two hares and found a dead deer supposed to be the one which had been fired at on the preceeding day. The boat was immediately despatched to bring it away. At 8 p.m., they cast off with a light wind from the north, but they had scarcely rounded the point when it changed to the south-east, and having tracked the ship the length of a whole line, made fast to a berg. The boat returned with the deer, the whole weight of which was 235tbs, the head and neck weighing 86^ tbs. '"' On the 10th the ice cleared away, the weather was fine and rather a cheering prospect presented itself to the crew. They arrived at the Islands, but were obliged to make fast on account T.AST VOYAGE OF CAPT. llOi 9 186 of tho *uo l)oing closely packed. The officers wont on shore and erertod n inonuinont. Tho ice was now running at a ropid rate, and the diney with three hands was despatched to report the apponranco of the coast, but the ice closed suddenly upon them, and thoy wore prevented from getting on board for nearly five hours. It was found to be very dangerous to bo amongst th© islands, as the tide was very rapid, although the persons sent in the dingy reported that there was clear water on the other side of them. It was therefore determined at all hazards, that the attempt should be made to reach the quarter where the clear water had been seen, but within a few hours the ship had some very narrow escapes ; they soon got beset in the ice, and in en- deavouring to effect a passage through the islands, every rope 4 was carried away, which was made fast. It was not until the 12th thot they got under weigh, and ran through amongst the islands, the tide during the whole of the time running very ra- pidly ; the situation of the ship was now not only awkward but exceedingly dangerous, it was the third time that she had run ^ among very heavy ice, receiving frequently those tremendous thumps, which made her timbers tremble from the bow to tho stern. At 4 a.m. they made fast to a berg, which was aground, but both the place and the berg were very unsafe. They cast off and warped to another island, to which they made fast ; clear water was now in sight, and they made another attempt to get hold of the main land, the ship receiving some very heavy nips and thumps, and taking out lines ; besides having the whalo boat amongst the ice clearing the linos, but about noon they succeeded in getting into clear water. The boat and lines were got on board, but tho wind being foul, they were obliged to beat until 7 P.M., and then made fast to the ground ice, seventy yards from the shore. At mid-day on the 13th, the bergs floated, but by having a line on shore, the ship, bergs, &c., were hauled in shore, and grounded the ice. Capt. Ross here went on shore and ascended the hills ; during his stay there he took a sketch of the land, but there was little of interest in it, as it presented nothing but a scene of the wildest desolation, with not a living object except the isolated Victory to enliven it. On this day ■'-»»! V n*! ..;' 11, .i ...J. if ijit'*'. Tmi •^u;:»t|ho')«j ',>it»i'V»jr?'' : ?'"•'■' 136 liAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROM. tlwTo was nn eclipse of the moon, which was distinctly visihio. A favourable breeze springing up they sailed about seven miles, and then they came in contact with a chain of islands, with the ice closely packed. Hero they made fast to a berg under an island, and the oflicers went on shore, and put a pole up with a piece of copper, and some other things fastened to it, with tho Captain 8 name, that of tho Victory, and the date of tho month and year inscribed upon it. On the return of the officers, ihoy reported that they could see from the hill a great extent of clear water, and the land appearing as if it inclined to the westward, 'i'ho squalls from tho W. S. W. now became so heavy that the ice was sometimes in motion. During the night the launch got so severe a nip, that had she not risen to it, she would most probably have received so much damage, as to render her repair impracticable. • , j . '• :■ , On the 15th, the approach of winter was announced by a fail of snow, which did not tend much to raise the spirits of the crew ; for bold and undaunted as their hearts might bo, the prospect of passing a winter in such a cheerless clime, with dangers of tbo most appalling Vlt'd surrounding them in every direction, could not be looked upon without feeling some of those sinkings and misgivings of tho spirit, to which even the most courageous are sometimes subject, when the darkness of disappointment is closing fust upon them, and the day star of hope is shrouded in tho gloomy clouds of despair. ' : ' .' The prospect to the hardy mariners was by no means unpromis- ing ; they had not as yet met with any impenetrable barrier to their progress, on the contrary tha sea appeared to be more clear of ice, than it had been for some time previous, nor was tho navigation attended with any more prominent dangers than they had hitherto encountered. Their accidents had been hitherto but few, and of no serious moment, and merel) such as could be repaired from the stores of the vessel. It is true that in two instances an extraordinary piece of good fortune had befallen them ; the first in obtaining possession of the stores of the Rookwood, and the second, which was of the most vital conse- aucnce findin"- the provisions of the Fury in such excellent con- LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 137 >lil.Hlil MLW (tlllitfl llMdlll Mfll I.I' dition that all foar of actual want was banished from their minds A considorablo portion of tho Fury's stores was still left on tho beach, and therefore Capt. Ross, in default of provi- sions, had only to retrace his course to his magazine, to obtain the supply which he might stand in need of. This circumstance alone was sufficient to instil spirit and confidence into the hearts of the officers and the crew, and prevent any despondency com- ing* over them as to a possible dearth of provisions. The snow storm of the I5th was not of long duration, but on the same Jay the launch was nearly lost by the capsizing of a largo piece of ice, which came in contact with it, but it fortu- nately rose to the ice, and thus escaped any serious injury. At 6 A.M. all the hands were turned up to heave the ship out of the place where she lay, and they continued to lieave for throe hours, carrying away the hawsers and lines, and nearly capsizing tho after-capstan; they then made fast to another berg, but after all their toil and trouble, their progress had not exceeded (ivo yards, at the same time they had the mortification to know that the wind was fair, and clear water as far as the eye could rcoch. After breakfast another attempt was made, by placing a spring upon each quarter, but after trying every possible scheme, they were obliged to make fast again at noon. The ice was now setting in very rapidly, and by noon they were so completely blocked up, that they could walk very easily on shore. In tho evening, three hands were sent on shore, to go a short distance over land, for the purpose o^ ascertaining the state of the ice, but they reported every thing to be stationary in regard to ti, with the exception of a large pond in the middle, which was not frozen. ' On the 16th the wind continued to blow very hard, but rather more westerly. During the night a sharp frost set in, which made their anxiety still greater to effect their liberation from their icy imprisonment. The wind drawing more off the land, an endeavour was made to heave the ship more in shore. At high water the berg floated, they cast off and got a short distance, when they again made fast, and got into the same place, where they carried away their hawsers, ropes, &c. In 6 T r 138 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS 1 »< ,i. the evening Capt. Ross and a party went on shore to ascer- tain the stale of the ice, and found that the water was quite clear in the direction in which it was their intention to steer. It was however a tantalizing sight, for the ship appeared to be immoveably fixed, although the ice was clearing fast away. At this time the wind was blowing from W.S.W. when on a sud- den it shifted to N.E. ; Capt. Ross declared that in the whole course of his life, he never met with so sudden change from one quarter, to the other immediately opposite to it. It was sup- posed to portend hard and severe weather, and in consequence all hands were turned out to moor the ship afresh, and to get her into a snugger birth. On the 17th the wind continued to blow most violently from the N. N. W., but fortunately for the ship she was in a good har- bour. A vast extent of clear wrter was seen in a westerly direct- ion, but the vessel being beset at the edge of the floe, rendered it impossible to force a passage ; the sea at this time was breaking very high over the vessel, and the ice was kept in an undulating motion, which had a most extraordinary and novel appearance. The ice appeared to be packed as closely as possible, far away to the N. E. by E., in the direction of the islands, the distance of which appeared to be about 8 miles. In consequence of the tempestuous state of the weather, another hawser was got out, and other precautions were taken to ensure the safety of the ship. The temperature of the air was this day 23°, that of the sea 28°, latitude 71° 49. ' . ' ' ■ * '" On the morning of the 18th, one of the bergs got afloat in shore, which obliged them to unmoor, and to moor the ship afresh. After breakfast, Capt. Ross and his nephew went on shore, to take an observation of the state of the ice from a high hill, when their eyes were gratified with a vast expanse of clear water stretching away to a considerable distance, but a very heavy sea running outside. The ice that confined the ship was m continual motion, a circumstance which had never before been witnessed by any person onboard, some part of the ice was from 50 to 100 feet thick. The circumstance of the Victory being so loner beset, became I AST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. 139 a matter of deep regret to Capt. Ross, and the whole of the offi- cers and crew, for since the northern expeditions were fitted out, a greater prospect of success never presented itself; the wind was fair, the sea open before them as far as the eye could reach, and the ship lay tossing about at the edge of the floe, with no immediate prospect of being liberated. It were illiberal to at- tach any blame to the officers in having brought the vessel into such a predicament; for the most consummate caution and skill j were necessary, in navigating the vessel amongst islands, the shores of which were surrounded by floes of ice, and which it was not in the power of the most skilful pilot to avoid. The ex- treme turbulence of the weather contributed also not a little to impose upon the commander of the expedition, a line of conduct which, under any other circumstances he would not have pursued, at the same time there were not wanting those on board, who secretly murmured at the plan of operations which had been adopted, and who hesitated not to say, that their present dilemma was actually owing to bad management, and an erroneous judge- ment. The crew felt their disheartening situation most acutely, and as the frustration of hope generally sours the temper, it is not to be wondered at, that many little bickerings and quarrels arose, which could not be attributed to any degeneracy of dispo- sition, but to the effect of disappointment, operating on anxious and sanguine spirits, whose minds were wholly bent on one object, and that object likely to elude their grasp at the moment when it appeared to be within their reach. On the 19th the same depressing scene preRen^ed itself, the ship was still imbedded in the ice, the wind fair, and the water clear of ice towards the westward. In the offing a large piece of ice was observed setting to the south east, which inspired the officers with some hope that their liberation was not far dis< tant ; but on the following day that hope was found to be an illusion, for it was discovered that during the night, the ice had set in, and had formed a complete blockade. According to the calculation of Commander Ross, the islands were eight miles distant from the ship. , . :- ■- ■> v This day being Sunday, divine service was performed, and l40 LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. in the afternoon the crew were permitted to go on shore, but as to any pleasure or amusement being derived from the excursion, it was wholly out of the question. As a matter of recreation or relief from the monotony of the ship, it was eagerly embraced by the majority of the crew, who were disposed to regard any change with satisfaction, but the picture which presented itself to their view was that of desolation in its most comprehensive sense, and which perhaps few besides themselves ever beheld before. It was a spot on which the human voice had never been heard ; not a vestige of man, of his labour or his industry was to be seen, their ship appeared the only inhabited place on the globe, them 'ves the sole inhabitants of it. Still however, whatever tends to abstract the mind from the immediate contemplation of its sufferings, possesses a salutary influence upon the spirits, they become thereby freshened and invigorated to endure the fate that may be in reserve for them, and by nobly contending against their difficulties, enjoy at last the proud satisfaction o^ having overcome them. Commander Ross accompanied by the surgeon, and the steward also went on shore, and from a hill they saw one or two islands to the southward ; the land on which they were, appeared to be inclined towards the westward ; but as far as their eye could reach, which they calculated to be thirty five miles, not a piece of ice was to be seen. The two islands just mentioned were also supposed to be about that distance. Towards evening the ice made a slight move, but it was by no means to that extent as to excite any hope of its being so general as to effect their emanci- pation. The air by the thermometer was 26^, the water 28°. On the morning of the 2lst, so far from the ice having made a move in their favour, they found themselves completely blocked up with young ice, and at 9 a.m. all hands were sent on the ice to break the young ice, and if possible to effect a passage for the ship. This measure was however considered as the most injudi- cious and useless that could have been adopted. It was .not in the power of a thousand men, much less of eighteen, tolmake such room as to admit of the passage of the ship, on account of LAST VOYAGE OF OAPT. ROSS. 141 the uncommon heaviness of the ice. It was indeed supposed by the crew, that the plan was suggested by Capt. Ross more with the view of giving tliem some exercise, than from any hope which he could entertain of deriving any advantage from it. The men might have attempted with an equal chance of success, to bore through an iceberg to admit the passage of the ship, as to accomplish it by merely breaking the ice around her. The labour of the day would not have been perceptible on the following morning, and the only satisfaction which the men could enjoy was, that they had obeyed the commands of their officers. The latitude by observation was now found to be 70° 0' 0" north, ano longitude 92° (V 0" west. Some vivid flashes of lightning were seen during the night, but unaccompanied by thunder. On the 21nd the weather was very fine, with the wind inclin- ing to the westward. It was found at daylight that the ice was making a move towards the north east, on which all hands were turned up, and some of them sent on the ice to loosen some of the heaviest pieces of it, but they found that their labour was all in vain. It was now determined as the last resource, to attempt to saw a passage for the ship through the ice, and the ice saws with the necessary gear were delivered to the men. At 10 a.m. they commenced sawing, and by noon with one saw they had cut nearly to the ship. It was found that the sawing weakened the neck of ice to which it hung, and the prospect of liberation stimulated the men to renewed exertions. At 1 p.m. the wind came on to blow strong from the S. S. W., and the ice began to move a little, but was still stationary in the immediate vicinity of the ship ; it was however no little satisfaction to find that she was now held only by a small floe, which was attached to the ground ice. The saws and all the gear were now brought on board, and a five inch hawser taken out for the purpose of making fast to a berg that was going to the N. E. It was perhaps the first time that an iceberg had the honor conferred upon it, ot towing a British ship, although we know that the direct contrary was once in contemplation, of towing the icebergs by British ships to the tropics, for the purpose of difiusing their refrigerat- ing power on the countries situated between them The sight 142 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT, ROSS. however must have been one of great novelty, to observe tho majestic berg with its now companion, affording its gratuitous aid towards accomplishing the discovery of the north west passage, and Capt. Ross cannot complain of not having met with an auxiliary, where he the least expected to find one, and one which by its formidable power, would enable him to dispense with the services of hit. -nost unserviceable steam engine. If however the berg was willing to perform its duty, tho hawser was not or could not, for the former no sooner began to put its powers in action, than the latter broke, and it became necessary to apply to the berg again to have the hawser once more fastened to him. In the mean time the purser and tho surgeon went on shore to examine the state of the ice, in case the new towing machine should prove successful in pulling tho ship out of her icy bed, and their report was highly favourable. The wind was however blowing hard from the southward, and f as night was coming on, Capt. Ross judged it most advisable to moor the ship again,and redouble their exertions on the-following day. A snow storm came on towards night, and the most serious apprehensions were entertained that should the snow fall to any great thickness, the difficulty of liberating themselves would be greatly increased, in fact it became a question whether it could be accomplished at all. Early on the following morning all hands were turned out and employed on the ice, with axes and hand- spikes, to force the pieces of ice asunder: Capt. Rpss and hts nephew went on shore, and on their return to their unspeakable satisfaction, they found the Victory clear, and wholly effected by the main labour of the crew. The ship was immediately got under weigh, although the wind was foul, and by six o'clock P.M., they had sailed ten miles along the land ; at night they made fast to a berg, and Commandes James was sent in the whale boat to go round a point, under which the shijp Fay. On the return of Commander Ross, he reported that he had found a bay, but it was full of ice. The wind was now at the southwest with the ice going with a flood tide to the eastward. The satisfaction which had been experienced on the liberation 1 of the ship was however of short duration. On the following LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. 143 day the ship got under weigh, and the whale boat was loworod for the purpose of towing her. As the ice was now running fast to the northward, Capt. Ross and his nephew went cu shore to make the necessary ubservatioQg, and shortly after their return the ship was again fast. The dingy was sent away to sound, the depth varied from five fathoms to twelve ; the ship was moored to a berg in five fathoms, but as she lay amongst a parcel of Islands, between which the tide ran with great rapidity, and as it happened at this time to be flood tide, the berg floated, and the tide took the berg and the ship with such force, that the latter was driven on a rock. She was however got off without sustain- ing much injury, it being a fortunate circumstance that the rock was very round at the top, for which reason the vessel could not lodge, but glided off into deep water. A hawser was now taken out and made fast to a berg a-stern, and the ship was hove to it, in order to take her more out of the stream. ''*" Capt. Ross not altogether approving of the place were tho ship lay, went en shore foj the purpose of discovering another of greater safety, and on his return the ship was got under weigh, but they had not proceeded far, when on going through a very narrow passage between two bergs, the ship grounded on the tongue* of one of them, and it being flood tide, it was not with- out great exertion that she was hove off. The ship was now taken to the place pointed out by Capt. Ross, and secured in the best possible manner. The whale boat was lowered down, and a party went on shore on a cruise of observation, and appeared well satisfied with the situation of the ship, and the prospect which presented itself to them, if they could once succeed in getting clear of the islands. A raven, a few gulls, and a seal were seen tiiis day, but at too great a distance to be fired at. The snow fell in great quantities during the whole of the day, with light winds from the north. The temperature of the air and the water being both 30°. • [r .\ »- I ' . ; On the following morning the 25th, the tide had risen to such a height as to cause the bergs to float, and the ship and the bergs * A long: piece of ice which projects from the berg a considerable distance under water, and its feize is according to that of the b<" 144 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. drove with the tide, until the hawser which was on shor** brought the ship up, and the wind at the same time beintj off the land, no further danger was apprehended. At 11 a.m. the ice came in amongst the islands with such rapidity, by which it became so closely packed, that it was found requisite to alter the position of the ship : they had not however departed more than twenty minutes, when the ship was as closely imbedded in the ice as she was before. This being the birthday of Capt. Ross* son, he and his officers went on shore after dinner, and built a monument on the top of the island, and in the middle put a pole and copper, with the names of himself, his officers, and ship engraved on it. Capt. Ross named the island Andrew Ross' Island, in remembrance of the natal day of his son. On their return the ice was still in the same position, with one very narrow lane of water, and all outside closely packed. Temperature of the air !IS°, of the sea 29\ Not the slightest appearance presented itself on the following day, of effecting any alteration in the position of the ship • during the night a very heavy fall of snow had taken place, but the weather was quite mild considering the season of the year. It was remarked that where there was still water, there was scarcely any ice; by which however it must be understood, that the young ice of the present year is meant. The weather on this day was not foggy near the ship, but it was so hazy all round the liorizon as to prevent them seeing the land, or the situation pf the ice» which now appeared to surround them in every direction. The chief employment of the crew during the time that they were beset in the ice, was making mats ; an occupation as much in unison with the professional avocations of the sailor, as if they had been placed cross legged upon a tailors board, to sew the seams of a flushing jacket. But it was indubitably a stroke of good policy on the part of Capt. Ross, to cut out some employ- ment for his men, in order to save them from the ennui attendant on a life of inactivity and idleness, which was the inevitable result of their inclosure in the ice, and the consequent cessation of the customary duties of the ship. The wind at this time appeared to be settled to no particular LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 145 point, blowing from the north and north west at one liour, and then veering to the east the next. It was however observed that the fail of snow was the heaviest, whilst the wind blew from tho north, and the flakes fell so thickly as to conceal the sight of the land from the ship. Capt. Ross had the misfortune on this day to lose one of his Esquimaux dogs, which was attributed to its long confinement on board the ship, and the short allowance of food to which it was obliged to be restricted. On the tilth it came on to blow very hard from the north, but the situation in which the ship had been placed, protected it in a great measure from the violence of the gale, although some apprehension was entertained, that if the wind came from the southward, it would be found necessary to change the situation of the ship, which if the ice continued to accumulate as it had done during the two preceding days, would be found a task of almost insuperable difficulty ; with this impression on the mind of Capt. Ross, he despatched Commander Ross for the purpose of discovering a more convenient place in which the ship could be moored, but although the place was found, it appeared almost impossible to navigate the ship to it, as it was discovered that to the windward of the islands, the ice was closely packed, and presented an almost impassable barrier to the point to which it was their intention to steer, Towards evening the officers went on shore, and found that the ice had opened in a very extraordi- nary degree, but still not sufficiently as to admit a passage for the ship. It now became the general opinion that they would be soon obliged to take up their winter quarters. The frost had set in with some violence, and were they to attempt to retrace their course, they would have to contend not oaly against the ice of former years, but also with the young ice that had been made during the present season. It was on the 28th September, 1824, that Capt. Parry went into Port Bowen with the Hecla and Fury, and never effected his passage out until the 26th July, 1825. In all the other ex- peditions also, the latter end of September, or the beginning of 146 LAST VOYAOK OF CAPT. R09S. October, was the time when the vessels wore stationed in their winter quarters, and therefore on the part of the crew of the Victory, it was rational to suppose that their labours as far as the navigation of the vessel was concerned, wore drawing fast to a close. The great object of solicitude therefore, now was to select the safest place where the Victory could be laid up for the winter, for it was too evident that the place in which she then lay, was surrounded with many dangers, and wholly destitute of the least protection from the violence of the winds. The country itself presented few or no temptations, not even those of a common kind, which distinguished the wintering places of any of the ships, which had been employed in the former expeditions. The islands by which they were surrounded, appeared to have the curse of barrenness upon them to the utmost possible extent; a solitary bird at times showed itself, but it was only on its passage to its natural haunts, and even the animals indigenous to the climate, appeared to visit them only on particular occasions, but seldom made them the adopted place of their abode. Com- mander Ross was so thoroughly convinced of the ineligibility of the situation in which the Victory then lay, that in the evening ho took the whale boat, with the hope of discovering a passage by which the ship could be got out. He was fortunate enough to discover one, but the flood tide had packed the ice so closely that any attempt to force a way through it would have been fruit- less. The temperature of the air was this day 21°, the sea 27°. On the 29th, a heavy gale came on to blow from the north accompanied by snow, and which tended in no trifling d^ree to increase the danger of their situation. It was however deter- mined to use every exertion to get the ship into the clear water outside, the bearing of which was north east, to north west by north. From the north west to the south was a solid body of ice closely packed. ■_ "■ ' ' .• i^ '/^.•,. Early on the morning of the 30th« the ship was got under weigh : her course lay through a passage of about three quarters of a mile in length, and the tide running at the rate of three miles an hour, but it was found that the ship stemmed the tide only one mile an hour. To the great surprise of Capt. Ross LAST VOVAOE OP CAPT. RO»S. 147 however on potting" through the passage, the lond was discovered to run to the south east, and, as v\'as supposed, clear water to it. They therefore kept the land on board on the starboard side, as this point to the south cast was about throe points on the larboard bow. They continued to sail until mid-day, when from an observation taken from the fore topsail yard, a complete body of ice was seen stretching all the way to the southeast, and where they had flattered themselves that a passage was to be found, it was discovered to bo entirely blocked up with heavy ice, and according to all appearance the land seemed to be joined to it. In a short time it was ascertained that the pack of ice was stationary, which annihilated at once every hope of effecting u passage in that quarter. The principal object now in view, was to discover a harbour where the ship could be laid up for the winter. The ship was made fast to a borg, but finding it not very safe, they cast off and made fast to a better, which had been discovered by Commander Ross in the whale boat, and which in the place of another harbour proved for the time a very ser- viceable one. It was however evident to Capt. Ross and his officers, that no time was to be lost in fixing upon a harbour for the winter, and therefore Commander Ross and himself set forth on an expedition in the whale boat, but returned unsuccessful. During their excursion they saw the print of a bear's foot, which on being measured was found to be thirteen inches and a half in breadth, and fourteen inches and a half in length. They also saw the impression of the feet of several animals, such as the ermine, fox, hare and deer. The object however which attracted thoir notice most particularly, and to which they attached a peculiar interest, was the remains of an Esquimaux hut, which had been very recently built, and which enlivened them with the hope that a tribe of that people inhabited some of the adjacent coasts, and that they should be enabled to establish a friendly intercourse with tb«m during the winter; it was also considered as of psttuliar importance, in consequence of the information which might be obtained from them of the geography of the neighbour- ing countries, and the probable existence of the passage of uhieh they were in search. V 118 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. On tho following day, they wore still further tonvincod that the Esquimaux were in the vicinity, os Commander James and the surgeon discovered in one of their walks, a trap very recently made by the Esquimaux, for the capture of the smaller animals ; this trap Commander Ross baited, and then returned on board. The greatest impediment which now existed to their getting in closer with the land was an iceberg, which stood direct in their passage, ond actually seemed as if it were placed designedly to obstruct their further progress. It was determined to attempt the removal of this obstacle, and all the crow were accordingly employed in cutting up the berg for the purpose of getting it afloat, and thus the case was to be reversed, that as the berg had formerly towed the ship, the ship was now to tow away tho remnant of the berg, as soon as it had been so far broken up, as to render it moveable. It is not to be contradicted that thero is some merit even in making an attempt, although its execution can scarcely be said to be within the range of probability. The very attempt to discover the north west passage has something meritorious in it, although it may be the firm conviction of nine- teen out of twenty that it never can be discovered at all ; there was for the same reason, some merit in the attempt of Capt. Ross, to navigate his ship by the power of steam amongst fields and floes of ice, for if he had succeeded, he would have put to the blush a multitude of carping, cavilling wiseacres, who had the presumption to ridicule the attempt, and to consider it rather as the absence of common sense in the gallant Captain, than a proof of the soundness of his judgement, or the sdnity of his intellectual capacity. The cutting up of an iceberg, about sixty ieet in height, and grounded seven fathoms deep in the ocean, bespoke a noble confidence in the powers of the projector, and a most laud- able contempt of those insuperable difficulties, at which the mere common plodding man turns prudently and wisely away, from the conviction that his time and labour will be lost in the at- tempt. Nevertheless the crew worked stoutly at the destruction of the berg, and as one slice flew off after the other, Capt. Ross had the proud satisfaction to know that the berg's bulk was so much LAST VOYAGE OF OAPT. ROSS. 149 less than it was before the slice was taken off. It is said tlmt when Capt. Ross was under the discipline of his writing domine, the first copy in his attempt to become a proficient in round-hand was " Perseverance overcomoth difficulties/' and the opportunity was now afforded him of carrying that salutary maxim into exe- cution. WhiUt seated over his hippocrene in his cabin, the re- membrance of his round -hand copy flashed upon him as one of the reminiscences of his early days, the result of which was that the conviction burst upon him, that although the cutting up of the berg hud an indisputable claim to be ranked amongst the diffi- culties of the first class, yet that there was a power, which could overcome it, and to that power he determined to apply. When Buonaparte projected the road over the Simplon, one of the everlasting monuments of his transcendent genious, he was told that the difficulties were too great to admit of its execution; he answered, // nq a pas une difficult S dans le monde, que I'hom- me ne peut pas subjuguer, sHl poss€de de Vactitivit'e et de ta perseverance. It is to be supposed that minds of corresponding vigour and grandeur will engender the same ideas, and to say that the mind of Capt. Ross ever conceived an idea bearing any relationship to that, which was generated in the mind of Buona- parte, is perhaps paying him the highest compliment which the historian of his memorable exploits in the arctic seas has it in his power to bestow upon him. The cutting of the road of the Simplon was accomplished by perseverance ; the cutting up of the berg* was not accomplished, because the same eminent virtue was not practised. After five hours labour, during which time the berg h&d gradually lost about one sixteenth of its original mag- nitude, but was still so immoveably fixed that the whole navy of England could not have towed it from its position, Capt. Ross very prudently declined any farther demolition of the berg, and retired from the arduous task with the flattering consolation, that, although he could not command success, he had most richly deserved it. The temperature of the air was this day by thermo- meter 2'^^ of the sea 26°. ,.u . ,! During the night of the 2nd, a heavy fall of snow took place, which occasioned the crew some labour in clearing awaY< The 150 LAST VOYAOB Or CAPT. ROM. officers wont on shore on a shooting oxcursion, and returned with two fine hares. A raven, sovoral grouso, and a number of seal were seen, but at too great a distance for the siiot to toko efibct. The temperature of tho air was then two degrees lov^ei than on the proceeding do j. On the following morning it was evident that a bear had paid a visit to the ship, as its track could bo distinctly seen round the ship, and as it was conjectured that the animal would pay them another visit, it was determined to lie in watch for him, as its skin would be no trifling acquisition as a winter clothing. The Esquimaux dogs were tried on this day, but they were all young dogs, and had never been in a sledge before. Two of them dragged the sledge to a short distance, but they seemed quite strangers to the work. It was evident that they would require a deal of training before they could be rendered quite serviceable. The temperature of the air was this day 18° below the freezing point, the severest cold which had been yet experienced. From the state of the weather it was now evident that the place were they now were, wbs destined to be their winter quarters, for even the passage by-which they had arrived at it, was so completely fW)zen over, that the dogs were driven over the young ice, drawing one of 'the crew in the sledge. This opinion was strongly corroborated, by the orders issued by Copt. Ross to the engineers to take ihe engine to pieces. This task was however found not to be no easy of execution as was sup- posed, for it was not without great difficulty that some of the parts were got asunder, as the frost had the tendency to make the iron work fly and ,snap like glass. The occupation of the engine, like that of Othello, may now be said to be gone, for it was supposed that when once takiftn down, it never could be set up again, independently of which, no fuel could be obtained for the generation, of the steam, and therefore the whole of it became a Mass of useless lumber fit only for ballast, or to be left as a present to the first tribe of Esquimaux who might be so fortunate as to fall in with it. ^j i^fi .>"'.<: t« 'i,tj,MT«r'>'vt. •> r,,f^,i^ ^ ., . ; The distance from the land under which the ship was shel- tered was about seven miles to the southward, and they had now I »1 4 3? rl o I s Q % % Ml t-3 2< ^ M li .>'■'• J /!">> /■SK* LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. IBI been five days in their position, and the ice had accumulated seven or eight inches in thickness. At some distance from the ship there was a small stream ot water in which an object was seen floating, which to all appearance from the vessel was a dead seal. Four hands were despatched with the Norway yawl, and they hauled the boat above a hundred yards over the ice, which kept bending all the time like a bow, but on arriving at the place where the dead seal was supposed to be found, they discovered to their great disappointment that it v/sis a piece of ice in the small stream of water. This day Capt. Ross issued his orders that the temperature of the sea should not be taken any more. The temperature of the air was 15° below the freezing point. About nine in the evening the Aurora Borealis was seen very brilliant from south west to south eastk It was first seen through a thick mist in the zenith, but as the mist passed away, the Aurora increased in brilliancy ; the stars shone with great brightness, and not a cloud was to be seen. Towards midnight the aurora became less brilliant, and the sky was again obscured by mist ; the wind was light from the northward, which shifted to south by west, moderate cloudy weather^ The appearances of the aurora iucreased in number and brilr. liancy as the season advanced, Sometiiii«Sv it formed a splendid arch across the heavens, of a ptfle landbVHi flatno# running with inconceivable velocity, and resembli^ the spiral motions of a serpent. This arched form of the aurora seems the most magnifi- cent of all its diversified appearances, the arches are sometimes single and sometimes, several concentric ones appear, but generally they rarely exceed five and are seldom limited to one. They are sometimes composed of a continuous stream of light, bright at the horizon and increasing in brilliancy at the zenith, and when the internal motion is rapid, and the light brilliant, the beams of which they are composed are discernible ; the internal motion appears as a sudden glow» not proceeding from any visible concentration of matter, but bursting forth int soveral parts of the arch, as if an ignition of combustible matter had taken place, atid spreading itself rapidly towards each extremity. *• 15^ LAST VOYAOE OP OAPT. R08«.^- Iri th«> Bffch described by Capt. Parry/ the 'i»ii4r part only frais well defined, the space under it appearing^ daikasF if a 'bla«k cloud had been there, which howffrer was not the case,' &« the stars were seen in it nnobscared except by the light of the aurora. The revolution of an avch from north to south, occupies at different periods a space of time varying from twenty minutes to two hours, and sometimes it appears stationary for several hours together. V -* u:^ / - r ; ' 4« Innumerable streams of white or yellowish light', appigaV sometimes to occupy the greater portion of the heavens to the south of the zenith. Some of these streams of light are in soft lines like rays, others crooked and waving in all i^orts of inregular figures, and moving with great rapidity in various directions; among these might frequently be observed the shorter collections or bundles of rays, which moving with greater velocity than the rest, have acquired the nanie of Merry Dancers^ -t '- *;-?^"t ; Total darkness would sometimes ensue from the sudden dis- appearance of the aurora, and (hen it would as suddenly re-appear in forms altogether different from those which preceded, over- spreading the sky with sheets of silvery light, wafted quickly along, like thin strata of clouds before the wind. Sometimes narrow streaks of flame shot forth with extreme velocity, travers- ing in a few seconds t|il entire concave of the heavens, and dis- appearing beneath the^milfl ea^stern horizon. Occasional broad masses oJT light' sudd^nl;^ appeared in the zenith, and descended towards the earth in the form of beautiful continuous radiated circles. ■*'^*'--*^^'---'''^'*5*'i^'>-—*^^^^^^ -^i^'-f*^ -?^^^ Speaking generally, the lustre of the polar lights may be described as varying in kind as well as in intensity ; sometimes it is pearly, sometimes imperfectly vitreous, and sometimes almost metallic. Its degree of intensity varies from a Very' faint radiance, to a light nearly equal to that of the moon. * " " ^ T^ie colours of the Aurora Borealis are of various iinis, ftnd do not seem to depend on the presence of any luminary/ biit to be generated by the motion of the beams; tlie rays or beams are steel -gfey, yellowish grey, pea green, celandine green, gold yellow, violet blue and purple ; sometimes rose red, crimson red. 4 '> 1=) O H 5! ^ 3 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 159 blood red, greenish red, orange red, and lake red. Some of th« beams appear as if tinged with black, and resemble de..«e colu.^ni of smoke. The arches are sometimes nearly black pawing into violet blue, grey, gold, yellow, or white, bounded by an edge 01 yellow; the colours are also sometimes vivid and prismatic. Early observers were disposed to assign to the aurora an im- mense elevation above the surface of the earth. The height of that seen in 1737, was computed at 825 miles ; Bergmann from a mean of thirty computations, forms an average estimate at 460 miles. Euler gives the altitude of several thousand miles to the aurora, and Mairan fixes the elevation of the greatest number at 600 miles at least, Dr. Blagden brought it down to lao, and Mr. Dalton could not assign a less elevation to the aurora seen in this country in 1826. But the result of the observations made by the several arctic expeditions seems to be, that the height of the aurora is different at different periods, it occurs at elevations much higher than the region of clouds ; though instances are mentioned by Capt. Frankling and Dr. Richardson, in which the aurora has been seen at a less elevation than that of dense clouds, the under surfaces of which they often saw illuminated by the meteor. j . . The magnetic property of the aurora, or its power of agitating the magnetic needle, had long been suspected by philosophers, and though still doubted by some, and not confirmed by the observations of Captains Parry and Foster, seems now sufficiently established by the observations of Captain Franklin, Lieutenant Hood, and Dr. Richardson. During the first voyage of Capt. Ross, the ship was in a situation when the aurora appeared, that the electrometer could not be used ; nor in the last voyage were any decisive conclusions arrived at. At present, little more than the fact seems to be ascertained, as great obscurity still hangs cer the cause from which this effect proceeds, and the mode of its operation ; and it sometimes happens that one observation has a tendency to neutralize the conclusion to which another would lead. The aurora sometimes approached the zenity with- out producing the usual effect on the position of the needle. It is generally most active where it seems to have emerged from T' ^ ■ ' ■ L " ' ' ■ ,•> %M I Si LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. A0B6. behind a cloud, and the oscillations appear only to take place, when beams or fringes of the meteor are on the same plune with the dip of the needle. Capt. Franklin was led to consider that the effect of the aurora on the needle, varied with its height above the earth. That it did not depend on the brilliancy of the meteor was manifest, from the fact that in hazy cloudy nights the needle deviated considerably, though no aurora was then visible, and he felt unable to determine whether this proceeded from a concealed aurora behind the clouds, or entirely from the state of the atmosphere. Clouds sometimes during the day assumed the forms of the aurora, and he was inclined to connect with their appearance the deviation of the needle, which was occasionally observed at such times. The appearance of the aurora is said to be sometimes attended with singular noises. Though Parry, Franklin, Richardson, Scoresby, Ross and others never heard such noises, and Hood and Brook only think they did ; all express an opinion to defer to the uniform testimony of natives and residents, so far as to admit that such sounds may sometimes be audible, but their rare occurrence is demonstrated by the fact, that Captain Franklin's party felt unable to confirm this report, though the appearance of the aurora had been registered 343 times at Bear Lake, in the seasons of 1825 and 1826. The noise as described appears to be a sort of crackJing, whizzing, rustling sound, compared to that of an electric srjark — to the falling of hail — to the rustling of a large flag in a gale of wind — to tho noise made by a flock of sheep in breaking through a hedge — to that caused by shaking or waving a piece of paper, and to the rushing of wind. Pro- fessor Jamieson declares his belief in the existence of such sounds, and states that he has himself heard them. In the polar regions the aurora begins to appear in October, and aontinues to May, but the lights are the most intensely luminous from November to March ; it is very various in its duration, it some- times appears and disappears in the course of a few minutes, at other times it lasts during all the night, and occasionally con- tinues for two or three days together. .^f^ brttH It woi) now determined to commence the dismantling of the LA6T VOYAOB OP CAPT ROSS 155 ghip, and to fit her out for their winter quarters. The engineers proceeded in taking the engine to pieces, and some of the heavi- est things were got on shore, as the ice leading to it was now a compact body, without a single intermediate patch or pond of water. It was on the 6lh October that their former visitor, the bear, was seen again to be approaching the ship, and the noces- sary preparations were made for receiving him in such a manner that it should be the last of his visits. The animal approached with some caution, stopping at times and holding up his black nose, as if to catch the scent of the victuals that were cooking on board the vessel. In regions where it might be thought, so large an animal must necessarily perish, their sense of smell is very keen, and it is certain that they were attracted to the ship by the etfluvia of the victuals. The animal in question appeared to be so intent upon the delicious odour that regaled his olfactory senses, as not to observe the approach of the men, who were sent to accomplish his destruction, and they succeeded in con- cealing themselves behind a mount of ice awaiting his approach, when he no sooner came within shot, than they fired, and killed him on the spot. The prize was carried on board, and his weight was found to exceed five hundred pounds, it being sup- posed that he had lost above twenty pounds of blood. . - o?.;ih >:)(;. r, < .• • ■ .:. ■, ■ ■ .-. . ft, in. li^ His length from the snout to the tail, was . . 6 8 ' ^" From the snout to the shoulder blade 1 8 ' ' " ' -i' Circumference of the body near the fore legs 5 2 - ■' ' ;^«i>i Ditto " of the neck 2 10 ^' Breadth of fore paw 8 *' ^ Ditto of hind paw 7^ Length from the snout to the occiput 1 3 ^^- Height at the fore shoulder 3 10 U.IU Circumference of hind leg 1 5 ■^'^^^- ' 'i J' Ditto ■■"■'>' of fore leg 1 3 ''"'>'^« Ditto • '^ of snout before the eyes .... 1 5 ^'"■^' Fore claws 2. * '^^'^ Hind ditto i^^^uxxt ' ' TaJr*^^^';^ i; , 3| 106 LAST VOYAOB OP CAPT. ROSS. ^" It mnst however be observed that tliis was a small ftpccimon ijf the species, and excessively lean, indeed if the venders of bew's grease of the metropolis, depended upon the supply from the animals of the polar regions, the commodity would be exceed- ingly scarce, for it may be said with some truth, that the life of a polar bear is one of starvation, and it was seldom that one was killed, the condition of which, demonstrated that its ursinine appetite had been regularly satisfied, or in fact that it had ever been satisfied at all. In the intestines of one of the bears that ■wore killed, a mass of vegetable matter was found, which proved to what extremity the animal must have been driven for food, as it generaHy managtis to support nature on seals, and the remains of fish. When its appetite is satisfied, it is a lazy, sleepy animal and only drawn from its hole by the impulse of hunger, when its ferocity becomes truly formidable, and its extraordinary strength generally insures it the victory over its less powerful opponents. The bear that waskilledby the crew of the Alexander, on the first voyage of Capt. Ross, weighed l,131|tbs, after allowing thirty pounds for the loss of blood, consequently by comparison, the bear killed by the crew of the Victory, was about two thirds of the size of the former. Capt. Ross ordered that a skeleton should be made of the bear, which, considering that sailors are not the most expert anatomists in the world, was well and ably executed. The skeleton would have appeared either in the British Museum or in that of the Zoological Society, as e^ dis- tinguished trophy of the last expedition of Capt. Ross, but it was unfortunately left with the ship itself, to havo t.„(y/ j/o^b .,:,.„.'. .,; 1(3 marrowless bones '^ -' 1.1' '» "r ' 1 III ., , , I ,r,i i ,...., ., , , ,1, Bleached by the merciless blast, its form ' t,, , w, vif . ,,- To the power of corruption left. , , '* On the 8th the ship was exposed to some violent gales, ac- companied with a heavy fall of snow. The crew began to clear the hold of provisions, and to stow them away, where they were ; to remain for the winter. The two boats which Capt. Franklin 1 had with him in his expedition were hauled on shore, and every exertion was now made to get the ship nearer in shore. The i LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. RObS 167 ^plan adopted was cutting a canal ufitern of the vessel, and then by moan§ of a hawser attached to the land, hauling the length 'of the canal that had been made. Some idea may however be firmed of the extreme arduousness of this undertaking, when the first day, one foot was the whole of the progress, which they had made — the second day they succeeded in cutting six feet, and the greatest extent which they ever reached was twenty feet, the sailors having in their labour to wear leathern boots on account of the water, caused them to suffer most severely with cold feet, and as the thermometer was sometimes below zero, their boots were sometimes a mass of ice at the soles, which kept the feet in a continual state of numbness. The interior of the ship also underwent some alteration, the carpenters enlarged the ship's company's mess-berth, by shifting the fore bulk head four feet further forward, and other methods were adopted for contributing to the comfort of the crew, during the dreary season which was before them, although it was in many respects found impossible to accomplish that desirable purpose, to the extent to which it had been carried in the Hecla and Fury ; in fact it has been without hesitation repeatedly stated by several of the crew, that they would never sail again on an expedition of that kind in any other vessel than one fitted out by government. The apparatus on board the government ships for diffusing a regular and com- fortable temperature in the ship's company's berths was complete in every respect, and during the most intense frost which they experienc«ed, the thermometer never fell below 60° in the lower deck, whereas in the Victory the temperature never exceeded 45", being only thirteen degrees above the freezing point. The clearing of the ship was now proceeded in with the utmost alacrity, all the sails were unbent, and she was literally stripped. On taking the engine to pieces an accident happened to one of the men, which obliged him to keep his bed, and deprived the ship for some time of his services, which under the present cir- cumstances was much to be deplored, as the labour, which the crew hiid to undergo, exposed as they were to the continual ificle- mency of the weather, required every hand, which the ship could 'afford to Spare in bringing her to her desired staUop, skoiiWA^i 158 LAit VOYAOB Of GAPT. ROIS. The 11th being Sunday, divine senrice was performed, and in the afternoon the crew wore allowed to take a walk, during which they saw a fox, the first of which had been seen in the country. They had directed their course to the southward, fancying that they should feel loss from the severity of the wind, and their expectations were realised as long as they proceeded on their walk, but on their return to the ship, the wind came on to blow sharply from the N. N.W., accompanied by drifting snow, which actually prevented them from seeing many yards before them, and it was not without some difficulty that they could find their way back to the ship. The greater part of the 12th was employed in removing the powder out of the ship, and stowing it away on shore. Two seals were seen on the ice, and Capt. Ross and Commander Ross wont to try to shoot them, but before they had got within shot, they had dived into their holes. An account of the provisions was this day taken, and it was found to the satisfaction of the crew, that they had thirty months provisions on board, and about 18 chaldrons of coke and coal. The small quantity of the latter was rather calculated to excite some apprehension, at all events it was well for them, that they could not foresee the protracted length of their residence, in the inhospitable regions in which they then were, or the greatest alarm would have been raised in regard to their future comfort and subsistence. There was one circumstance attendant on this paucity of fuel, which was that the certainty existed that no further use could he made of the steam engine, for even if an opportunity offered itself on the homeward voyage, or in the prosecution of their discoveries, of employing it to any advantage, they would be obliged to relin- quish it from a total want of fuel ; the folly therefore of having encumbered the ship with such a useless appendage became every day more apparent, and it became at last proverbial amongst the crew, when speaking of a useless object, to compare it with their steam engine. ■' ^^ This evening the aurora borealis shone with uncommon spieh- dour, appearing in broad masses, and breaking suddenly into columns and streoiuers, filling the whole hemisphere. LAST VOYAQI OP CAPT. ROBt. 1S9 Tke following linM wert written on the appearance of this beent* bTi«wJtj«K IH|h qiilvVIng In the air, as shadows fly, '' /til" vJikjm-/ ,h(HA» ?>ii> ' Tho Northern Lights adorn the mure sky ' -.'i •. 1. ^iii ^ 'I't lL»f»!i'»!»'). nq Diiiinid by siiptrior blaze, the stars retire, '..• : ■ ' ■•^'mI; '».!*" <»"• • 'iM. 3' And heaven's vast concave gleams witli sportive At* '» •'' ( . vi> rri ■:;i::r Soft blazing in the eust, the orange hue, i '* r«tOtr»«t /.bi: The crimson, purple and ethereal blue, * *>;ht Transflx'd with wonder on the frozen flood, '.'Mi ^ ' ■ 'i; • .'y *| ' The blaze of grandeur flred my youthful blood ; ^'."^iC" '>,'• /. - ■ . ., V • ''■ Deep In th' o'erwhelming maze of nature's law?, •'■■,«< •'<:.'■'•■ i ■ ;•••'; ■,••-, -, Midst her mysterious glcom I sought the cause ; ; But vain the search, Inscrutable to man U.. 'ji>i. :-, ■?'. 'i-- . ',r- ,••:■ '.^ Thy works have been, O God, since time began, ■Jnic li !- ; ^i,t-.':.v'^, ■.'i'sr And still shall be. — Then let the thought expire : ■-• ."a;r«''.- {Mz/vv •!*-!•''' ., As like the splendour of Aurora's fire I To dark oblivion sunk in wasting flame; , Like the dim shadows of departed fame. r ,. On the 14th the snow fell so heavily that the ship could not bo seen from the shore, and it tended in a great degree to retard the operations of the crew, as it rendered the passage over the ice more difficult and in some respects also more dangerous, on account of its concealing those cavities in the ico, in which tlie 160 LAST VOYAOB OP CAPT. ROBt. ■ailors were plunged up to their knees, ^p() gat^i^d )J^|^ -^R^^ with the load which they wore carrying. The berth for the ship's connpuny wus now completed, and it was acknowledged that some very great improvements had been made, but still it was in no degree to be compared to that of the Hecla. It must however be admitted, that Cupt. Rosg could only execute the plans which he hud formed for the con- tributing to the comfort of the crew, according to the means which were in his possession, and the small quantity of fuel compared with that which wos on board the government ships, was certainly a great drawback to the execution of those mea- sures, by which the comfort of the crew could be more perma- nently promoted. At the same time it must be considered, that the fuel on board the government ships had not been uselessly and foolishly wasted, in keeping up large fires for the purposes of a steam engine, and this circumstance alone ought to have had its preponderating weight with Capt. Ross, before he adventured upon a plan, the failure of which was clear and evident to every one but himself. The Hecla and Fury arrived at their winter quarters, with their stock of fuel comparatively speaking scarcely touched ; whereas the Victory, from the con- sumption of the steam engine, had her stock very seriously diminished. It is true that in some of the northern latitudes a considerable quantity of drift wood is always to be found, but this can only be gathered in clear water, and not in the depth of winter, when it would be found of the greatest service. This was therefore a resource from which Capt. Ross was shut out* and the country itself in which ho had taken up his winter quarters affording him not the least supply, he was obliged to husband his resources, and this is sufficient to account for those limited measures which were adopted for the comfort of the crew, in regard to the temperature of their berths. , During the cessation from their labour, the crew employed ■ themselves in making traps for catching the animals indigenous ' to the country, particularly the foxes, whose skins were highly ' prized as a protection against the cold. Commaijd'er'ltpss set several traps for seals, in which he was generally "^successful. LAST VOYAOt Of CAPT. ROSS. 101'^* 7ilti\fi V&ki btihW'iinimals wore found of groat mw, indo. <^ ndoiitly of the oil, which was extracted from their bodies, anc('^ food which the flesh afforded to the dogs. Commander KosI w two grouAe, but notwithstanding repeated attempts, hoeould'^^ t succeed in killing them. '"'' The heaviest parts of the engine had now been conveyed <$h snotr^^ '^ Hid the boilers aiune remained, but on attempting to get them ^'^ Wp the Iiatchway, tliey wore found to bo too large. If they were '^' allowed to remain on board, thoy would bo the moans of frus. ^ |tating the plans, which had been formod for the interior regula- ''^ on of the ship during its winter sojourn, and therefore no '* her alternative was left than to cut the boilers in two, which '' as accordingly effected by the engineer; and thus another and '' most insuperable obstacle was raised to the engine ever being ' ed again. The boilers being cut in two, they were conveyed ' '- shore with the greatest difficulty ; the men complaining iuch of the task, as at all events they were now only worth eir value in metal, and if they had dropped to the bottom of the ean, it would liave been no loss to the ship. On the I8th the thermometer was for the first time at Zero, fceing one day sooner than when the Hecla wintered in Port j ' owen. The houfc'ing of the ship was now proceeded with in " e most expeditious manner; two tanks were put over the '" latchway for condseners, and the cooking apparatus in midships as shifted, in order that the line of funnels for the transmission f heat might go right round the ship ; the deck over head was *"■ xy wet, owing to the partial thawing of the snow, and it '^ treated a dampness, which independently of its chilling proper- ies, was not considered as conducive to the health of the crew '' TJie whole employment of the crew was now directed to . en^er the ship as comfortable as possible, during the long and ' floomy winter which was before them, but it was the general ""^ •pinion, that however great their exertions might he, the vessel lossessed not the capability, nor were even those resources at hand * ly which xnany of the obstacles could be removed, which pre- ' entefl themselv.es in several instances to t^e establishment o' ■.u..lfiAUi^*' -^i"! '•■■ ^^■:a*;..' •<.. -^T ;••■ jf5; •■.;■ "t .j,i ,y/'<,(i^ m ^i-?rff "vf^vp ^(i. . f^cfir" s- '■■ .y ;.■■ '■'-■•' ■•tr,«^! ■'■;,•.; - ^»iiv^v^:- LiaiiBqaio-> ft "^j;«>^i.t;jh fj' ' .,>.■- frr?;'V-i:. •••••,: : ^..vr^jijir- 'i ^8€ Hull ^jii'^riAf'^ vmn/l -y^J i''>->H:i-''' i • ;'r /tr . M-ij^-.: .,,?? il>^ ■•(■' #■ 1^4 LAdT VOYAGE OF OAJ»T. ROli. ;.■<;> 'i-.^ "^1; if)' :K PmOCESDIKGa ON BOARD THE VICTORY IK FELIX HARBOUR, DURINO fHB WINTIM .., , OF 1829, AND THE SPRING OF J 330. " : ■ ■ ' •■• . :.'X J;!0d<; l>'>).fin ''■■'-•■- '"'^ ' •- •■ ' r ■; t^'^i,'!.- .-if .v/, „i ofh 1o The month of November set in witli strong* gales, which con- fined th© crew to their exercise on deck, but it was now discovered that unless a stratuin of some kind Was placed between the snow and the decks, that no probability existed of keeping ihem in a state of dryness, or preventing the penetration of the sn6w-water, by which the insalubrity of the berths would be greatly augmented, it was therefore determined to employ the crew in digging holes on shore, and severe indeed was the labour, for so small was the progress which they made, that if ihey succeeded in penetrating a foot a day, they congratulated themselves on having accom- plished a great feat. Fortunately however they arrived at a stratum of gravel, with which they lirsd the upper deck, and then covered it with a thick layer of snow, which together formed a. covering, which bade defiance to the influence of the frost, as far as the exterior condition of the ship was concerned. A large oven having been erected in the lower deck, a fire was made in it for the first time on this day, and in half an hour, the temperature had risen ten degrees, which rendered the berths of the crew more comfortable than they had hitherto experienced. Thfe brew were divided into five different watches, and it was the duty of the three which had the morning watch, to remaiii on board the whole of the day, for the purpose of drying the dedk dil^eii^ head. I'he remainder of the crew were employed in bstiikirtg thb iship outside with snow, and completing the gravelling and sno wing LATST VOtAOE OF CaPT. ROSS. 105 of the upper deck. Tlie bread store was examined and found to be in g^ood coiulition, the whole weighing 2T00tbs. At 8 P.M. tlie aurora was observed to begin in two concentrio arches; the greatest arch from the eastlo west, passing through the zenith ; the smaller arch south of the largo one, at an altitude of 45^ shouting fine rays from all parts, but most brilliant from the western. These arches disappeared at half-past eight, and another most brilliant one was seen north of the zenith; the centre passing through the pole star, the extremities touching the eastern and western horizons, emitting fine rays with all the prismatic colours. This arch was soon broken, and the aurora flitted about, in beautiful coruscations in the north western part of the heavens, shifting round to the southward ; the moon shone unclouded a.t the time, and the aurora was seen sometimes passing her, eclipsing her in splendour. At 9** 30 the aurora disappeared, the weather moderate at the time, with some light fleecy clouds in the sky, which had a dark appearance when passing under it. It blew hard from the westward in the morning, but moderated towards evening ; the wind shifted to the southward next day with moderate weather. , Very little attention had hitherto been paid to the geological character of the country, as the business of the ship had hitherto absorbed all the time of those officers, who were enabled to make the necessary observations m order to determine the general structure of the island. A considerable portion of the north and cast coasts bespoke the existence of primary rocks, the hills rising to an average height of one thousand feet, and presenting acute summits, declining by shurp prolonged ridges. There was apparently a ridge of hills of the trap formation, skirting the shore for the space of about four miles, and interrupted in two places ; this ridge roFe to about half the general elevation of the island, and presented a vertical prismatic fracture at the summit accompanied by the usual rapid slope below, t • From the general character of the land, it may bo concluded that the country in general is of primary formation. From the forms whiqh the mountains assumed in the interior, it is most probable that they consisted of granite, but no certain conclusion LAiT VOYAOB OF CAPT. ROSS, can be furm^d of it, as gneiss is found to assume forms equally rugged and acute. The cliflfe however near the shore presented oharacters which can scarcely belong to the former rock, and it is therefore most probable that they consist of gneiss, which appears to be the prevailing substance in those parts of Baffins Bay, which have been explored by former navigators, m .'» -»'i» i' The banking of the ship outside was now nearly completed, although from the extreme severity of the wind, which blew chiefly from the N. N. E., the crew were very often obliged to suspend their labours, not being able to endure the intensity of the cold. ^ ;:;-. ;- The rigour of the climate however did not deter the officers from pursuing the sports of the field, if such a term may be allowed, when speaking of a desolate country covered with snow, and where scarcely any signs of vegetation were to be seen. Commander James killed several grouse, and two ptar- migan, in some respects resembling the species which inhabit the highest mountains of Scotland. The male bird was per- fectly white, with large scarlet naked eyebrows, which in the female was scarcely perceptible: the plumage of the latter was variegated black and rusty-i'ufus ; the legs and feet of both were thickly clothed with long white feathers down to the claws, giving them the exact resemblance of a hare's foot. Commander Ross also shot a gull, known by the name of the Kittiwake gull, one of the most elegant birds of the species. In the full aged bird the bill is of a beautiful lemon yellow; the orbits and the inside of the mouth, of a beautiful saffron red, inside straw colour ; legs of a livid colour; the top of the head, the nape back, wings of a fine ash colour, tips of the wing-coverts black, the rest of the bird, white. In several young birds, the bill and orbits were of a deep livid, in some the yellow was making its appearance ; the plum- age differed from the old ones, in the ash colour being deeper^ and more generally in the upper parts of the bird ; many of the wing, the wing covert, and tail feathers being tipped, otherwise- marked with black ; the lower parts Irke the old birds were Whtte<;^ '<: ^'i«f -is^^i'j i:-^ff-:i.;i vi,^-- :;,-., I, i^-i,.^i:ij-.Uri^ ■••«'- iC jiji^iiJ^a.' LABT VOYAGB OF CAPT, ROBt. 167 An accident occurred on the 12th, which was very nearly being Attended with the most serious consequences : a number of articles had been taken out of the ship and placed on the ice, preparatory to their being taken on shore, and not the slightest doubt was entertained that the ice was too firmly set to endanger the safety of the thing's. The wind on the proceeding day had been blowing a gale from the westward, but still it did not appear to have any influence on the ice, but early on the morning of the I'Zlh, the ice gave a most heavy shock which made a fissure in it of nearly a foot in breadth, by which the water came pouring through, covering the ice for a considerable distance, and overflowing every thing that had been placed upon it, especially the different parts of the engine. Strong apprehensions were now entertained that the things were irrecoverably lost, as it was most probable that the water would not recede before it was frozen into a solid body of ice, from which it would be impossible to extract the articles before they were rendered wholly useless. It was how- ever, not the peril which attended the present accident which excited in the minds of the officers so great a degree of alarm, but it was xhe fear that they might be frequently visited by these irrupticns of the water, and the vessel might be then so nipped with the ice, as to render her wholly unseaworthy. It was a circum- stance which had never occurred on any of the preceeding expe- ditions, and it came upon them so suddenly, and by surprise, that no measures could be taken to avert the consequences of so serious a calamity. The consequences of this disaster, were how- ever in the present instance, not so extensive as was originally apprehended, for although the water did not wholly recede, yet it so far subsided, as to enable the crew to get possession of the things which had been submerged, and they were without loss of time placed beyond the reach of a similar accident, It must however be observed that some of the things were lost. >^. m ^i)vyu The 13th of November was the last day that the sun was seen above the horizon ; the sea around then presented one unbroken surface of ice, over which excursions of one or two miles distance were made — all around was bleak and dreary, and the only in*' dication of the presence of man, was the spot where the ship layl 168 LAS1 VOYAOB OF CAPT. ROBS. a death-like stillness prevailed, interrupted only by the voices of the crew, or the occasional barking; of the dogs. Tfle distance at which sounds wer^ heard in the open air, during* the bonti^. nuance of intense frost, seems almost incredible ; persoi^s huvo been distinctly heard conversing in a common tone of voice, at the distance of a mile. »"li<* u .Tf>u»a> «crj boi^jiiffn-* miii 'jUJ. On seeing the sun set for the period of three months, the follow* wg beautiful lines were written, "-'*♦ ♦.>»<>'''» «*'• tj9t^3v> P''^'^'^*' splendour re-pos^ess the sky, ,^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^,^ .^ ^^^^ Owiv'An'* shine in renovated majesty, .^^.^.^g^^^^ .^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^j ^,, d$!j } ';■ ^on dep*rtips orb methinlis I see, ..^ a^l'^wJ ba£ ,^aoI ifl)"! ^jyj,^.., A equnterpart of fwl mortality^ .jj^v ^.j^,, Hfima ,bfluoi ,x_hod ^l;,„ i ^mblern of tnJ^^^ ^Jien life> «MwIifl|ns sj^tn^Sj^fjjg g^^ diuom OfiT hfiB ,^Vh «W(jOW^ wJrTit»'i^>f%ht «ff»|lg*no<»j«on(%it (noik ^tjibfiorn-^ ^ All, all is darkness— as it »e'ei bad ^one! ' J^ LAtT TOTAOf OP CAPT. ROIS. 109 .Y«t noifor •ver it man^s glory ied, ^ t^ ^_ '.. ^,HU name for ever numbered wiih the dead, »,„i;, « ,l.j,;fw jxi v/i;! ^"^ yo" *»f*i*»» O'N *he immortal part of npan, ,(^j„i )„ f-on««/i Shall end in glory as it first began- .^, f ,,..„f yj^jolj^ib noed Like him encircled in celestial light . 1:h :^'>m!jH!b lufl Shall rise triumphant 'midst the shades of night. -'>io\i.^*' native energies again resume \HV»''VtSV, «0 Dispel the dreary winter of the tomb , ■- ■ xv'vv^ \.«J And bidding death with all its terrors fly. Bloom in perpetual spring through all eternity. ' '■■ This day the 14th, one of those extraordinary and sudden changes took place in the temperature of the air, which had been observed in the voyages of Capt. Parry, and which set all philosophical principles at defiance to account for. The weather I was fine with the wind at south east, when on a sudden about mid-day, the astonishing difference of forty -eight degrees took place in the temperature of the air, the thermometer rising from 15 degrees above zero, to 21° above the freezing point. The change however was of very short duration, as the thermometer soon after fell to 14 degrees above Zero. Towards evening an object was observed at the base of one of the smaller icebergs, and a party set out from the ship to ascer- tain what it was. On approaching it they discovered by its large tusk or horn, to be a sea unicorn, and it being the first that Ihey had seen in that part of the country, they were the more anxious to obtain possession of it. By some dexterous manceuv- ring, three of the crew got within shot of it, when all of them firing at once, the animal was killed. The prize was conveyed on board, and on measuring it, it was found to be twenty-two feet long, and twelve round, the head nearly one fourth of the body, round, small, and terminating in an obtuse rounded snout The mouth was small, but no teeth. It is not always found with its tusk Entire, but, in this specimen, the tusk was coinplete, proceeding from the upper jaw, diverging to one sMe, and 170 LAST VOTAOB 07 CAPt, lOiS. ,...v>, The horn of this animal was long the subject of a kind of superstitious respect. It was said to be efHcacious in the cure of several distempers, and was prized as being of the very highest value. The Margraves of Bareuth possessed one, which cost them six hundred thousand dollars, and the king's of Den- mark have a throne formed of it, which is esteemed more valu- able than if composed of gold. The horn is of a finer texture, and takes a better polish than the elephant's. . ,» . The sea unicorn is generally taken by a harpoon, the barbed part of which is about throe inches long, having a line attached to it of about five fathoms in length, the other end of which is fastened to a buoy of a seal's skin, made into a bag and inflated, The blade is fixed in the end of the shaft in such a manner, that it may be disengaged from the handle after it is fixed in tl animal, and the shaft is then pulled back by a line which is tied to it for the purpose. When struck, he immediately plunges, and carries down with him the seal skin buoy, which fatigues him. As he must come up in some pool to respire like the whalei 1 h LAST VOYAOE OF CAPT. ROSS. 17 | is followed and killed with spears, and as he frequents the chasms and pools in the ice, he fails an easy prey to the natives. l^'^'The weather becoming rather more mild, the crew were employed in digging gravel for the upper deck, but the transport- ation of it over the ice to the ship, was a task of no small difficulty. The inequalities of the i( o with its slippery nature, proved to bo so many stumbling blocks to the laden mariner, and many a basket full of gravel instead of forming the carpet of the upper deck of the Victory, lay scattered about on the ice, with the bearer of it at the same time measuring his length upon the ice, as a proof of his inability to preserve his equilibrium over the rugged road which he had to travel. Some of the crew were employed in training the dogs to the sledges, as it was the intention of the officers to penetrate further into the country, as soon as the ship had been put into that condi- tion, which, as far as its capabilities would admit of, was required for the winter sojourn. An accident however befel one of the dogs, the name of which was Annatatatook, who in fighting with another received so severe a wound in the throat, that it died on the following day. This circumstance was the more deplored, as Annatatatook was a bitch far gone with youno-, and it was intended to rear her offspring as a kind of a corp de reserve of their canine establishment, which as the only means of enabling them to explore the country, was a matter of no minor consideration. The name of Annatatatook implies in the Esquimaux language, " the first in the chase," but it must be observed that the Esquimaux seldom give any names to their dogs, as they govern them entirely by the reins and the whip, and a particular exclamation of Whew ! whew ! the dog that was killed was the property of Capt. Ross, the victor belonging to Mr. Light, the steward ; the dog was skinned and in its belly was found the standing part of a mutton ham. The following circumstance is by no means undeserving the attentipn of those, whose enthusiastic exertions have been direct- ed to the improvement of the intellectual character of the sailor, at the same time that we do not mean to rank ourselves amongst that class, who consider that the sailor ought to be called upon 1T2 LAST VOYAOt OF CAPT. R08f. to partake of the march of intellect, and to lose in the perusal of religious tracts, the genuine and nohle character of the Briitsh sailor. Far be it from our design to instil the doctrine, that the principles of religion ought not to be strongly and deeply implanted in the breast of the sailor, for perhaps there is not any avocation of life, in which a full reliance on a divine providence is more necessary than in that of a sailor, but it is the attempt which has been made to bring the mariner within the influence of sectarian principles, which has met with the reprobation of every one, who evidently sees in that attempt a degenerating influence upon the peculiar and original character of the sailor, which it is the interest of the country to uphold, and on which it may be said that its very safety depends. It is impossible to withhold our encomiums on Capt. Ross, for the strict adherence which he exacted from his crew in the observance of the sabbath, but the circumstance particularly alluded to is that several of his crew could neither read nor write, and there- fore they were deprived of every opportunity of self improvement. The bible lay before them, as so many pages of paper stained with certain black characters, but of the import of which they were as ignorant as of an autograph letter of the emperor of China. Through the long dreary season which was before them, with few or no amusements to beguile the tedium of an arctic winter the perusal of the bible would have afforded them not only the liighest intellectual enjoyment, but would also have confirmed them in their religious principles, and from the mouth of their Saviour they would have learned, that in the day of trouble and tribulation, God forsakes not those who truly and in spirit call upon him. The circumstance having been reported to Capt. Ross, that it was the earnest desire of several of his crew to learn to read and write, it was determined that a school should be opened, by which not only the wishes of the ignorant part of the crew would be gratified, but it would prove a source of amusement and employment to the educated part of the crew, who perhaps for I the first time in their life, were to be called upon to undertake I the arduous task of education, and ,, ,. . ,, . ' To (each th« old idea how to shoot LAST VOTAOB OP CAPT. llOSt. 173 It must indeed have been a novel exhibition, and a most de- lectable treat must it have been to the caricaturist, to catch a ((limpse of the weather-beaten sailors, in their Flushing jackets and tlieir Arctic dresses, "with hair unkempt,*' seated on their forms with their primer in their hands, and audibly repeating, as they were in their turns called up before their highly-gifted domine, a-b ab, e-b eb, o-b ob, and then with their iron fists, which had been inured to the handspike, and the handling of the main braces from their infancy, scrawling O's ond pothooks, and commencing the formation of the figure 8, with the lower semicircle instead of the upper one. On referring to our documents, the existence of which, however, is most posi- tively denied by Capt. Ross, we certainly confess that we cannot discover any minutes of the proceedings of the school, nor is there any information extant, which could aathorizc us to denounce any of the scholars as being so refractory as to incur the dis- pleasure of the domine or monitor, for which transgression he was condemned to be put into the corner, with the fool*8 cap, made of a seal's paunch, placed on his head ; nor is there any proof that the domine was obliged to have recourse to the salu- tary infliction of the titillating punishment of flagellation, for any breach of the discipline of the school, by which according to Dr. Johnson, that which was put into the head was whipped out again at the tail. Minuteness is particularly to be recommended in the narrative of all voyages which have been made to countries, which no one has ever visited before, and all the proceedings ought to be noted down with an accuracy and fidelity which cannot leave a doubt, even in the minds of the most sceptical, of the authenticity, and reality of the circumstances which are reportod to have taken place. It is to be sure an undoubted fact that Capt. Ross in his first voyage, did describe the Croker Mountains with an accuracy and fidelity, which, could leave no one to doubt their existence, but let it be considered, that although there may be an accuracy in the description of an object, there may be an inaccuracy in the observation of it. and to the latter circumstance is to be attributed all the wonders, miracles, monstrosities, errors and 1714 LAM' VOYAGE OF GAPT. ROM. mistepresentaiions, which are to be found m the narrative of all trayel)eE» from the time of Cain, whom we have good reason, to suppose was the first traveller into a distant country, to that of Capt. Ross, for the discov'ery of the north west passage. V** V It is under the impression of these inconvertible truths, that we have endeavoured to be as minute as possible in the descrip- tion of the pedagogic establishment of the Victory, as it may serve as a pattern to all future voyagers, whose destiny it may be to sojourn during the winter in the Arctic regions, with little but their own thoughts, and the prospect of being frozen to death to amuse them, during a dreary night of three months duration. Accordingly we have dived deeply into every document, in order to discover if the system of education adopted on board the Vic- tory was according to the plan of Bell or Lancaster, or whether the preference was given to the grammar of Cobbett or Murray ; considering the knowledge v/hich we possess of the undeniable competency of several individuals on board, to form a correct judgment of the respective merits of the two works, butnotwith' standing all our researches in that particular subject, we are as aompletely in the dark, as Capt. Ross himself regarding the existence of the north west passage ; nevertheless, we are enabled to state thus far much, and in which we are borne out by out own personal experience, that as far as regards the progress which the pupils made in the several branches of learning, it was so decidedly confirmed, that we discovered that if they could not read nor write when they entered on board the Victory, they were exactly in the same condition when they left it. This is however, not done with any intent to cast any slur uptm the pedagogic talents of those who undertook the task, as arduous as that of discovering the north west passage itself, of teaching a full-grown saMor, who has hitherto known but four letter* o' the alphabet, and those are engraved on the compass, in the binnacle, the art of reading the Ist Chapter of the IstSbok of Chronicles, 6r to indite a lender epistle to his inamorata in'|iat« cllffe Highway, or the Point at Portsmouth, in which, although the writer vreis at ihid moment of its transcription^ Kribg ^ia a Iti^pi^Malre of 'W deg«^e« b«loW Zero> he coakl ex^t reisirfais VOtAOK^* t. R'ftfi. ITS biirn!n* thbtt^hts of everla-^tfug (iodiWanty/and tnflame tlie heart of Ms li^ldved, with the fief j^ prbtestatioms of his ejerlmi'mg Neverthbl^ssthe dmniriie of the Vibtory bo«ld " kiy the flatter • iti^ iififctidh to hi& sotrf,'* that he had only failed, where many and Wisef men have faiiled before him, and that if he had not iucbeeded in making ahy addition to the march of intellect on board th6 Victory, he was still entitled to as much applause, as mariy falsely celebrated members of the intellectual corps, who undertake to teach a chimney sweeper the science of astronomy, because he is professionally engaged in ascension, or attempt to malkea statuary of a cook, because he is generally employed in carving. It being found that the stock of biscuit was getting very low the baking of bread was commenced, during which operation the temperature of the lower deck increased ten degrees, and the baking days became, comparatively speaking, days of com- fort to the crew. The allowance per week was 60 lbs. of bread, and 76^tbs of flour including suet and raisins. The weather being rather mild, the crew succeeded in obtain- ing a sufficiency of gravel for the upper-deck, and the interior arrangements of the ship may now -be said, in a certain degree to be completed. It being found necessary to erect c^ome -edifice on shore, for the purpose of affixing the instruments necessary for making the usual scientific observations, the crew, whenever the weather permitted were sent on shore, and they began their operations by making a pillar of snow for the thermo- meter, and an observatory on the highest hill from vhiohthe observations could be taken. A fire hole was also commenced in the observatory, but as it wasampossible to keep up a constant fire in it, the temperature- was gcBefally so cold as to preclude almost the possibility of taking any of the observations. The manner in which the observatory was built was by cut- ting large square slabs of snow, which were worked off to such a nicety as to resemble blocks of marble, and when placed upon each other, had all the appearance of a handsome piece of masonry, and isaaimperviou8tothe'inflttiin^ofthe'«'Xt«i^iOr atmosphere as if it had been constructed of granite. It is a false idea that a 176 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R08I. house of snow must necessarily be cold, it possesses indeed the nconvonience of being when first made, prejudicial to the eye- iuight from its extreme whiteness, and this would be seriously felt by the Esquimaux, if the interior of their dwellings retained the original whiteness of the snow, but from its continued exposure to the smoke of their fire and other incidental causes, it assumes by degrees a colour approximating to a deep orange, and in some instances to a dark hrown. A bed of snow does not carry with it any of those associations of warmth and comfort, which we generally attach to our place of repose, but the crew of the Victory had for a length of time no other bed, with only a skin or blanket interposing between their bodies and the snow, the principal benefit of which was the absorption of the moisture occasioned by the partial thawing of the snow from the heat of the recumbent body. It is the death bed of the Esquimaux, as well as his hymeneal couch, and so powerful is the force of habit, that it is a question whether he would exchange it for the bed of down of the monarch. ■ ,. ,, . Whilst some of the crew were employed in building the observatory, others were engaged in the erection of a wall of snow on the south side of the ship, which is represented in our plate of the Victory as she was frozen in, in Felix Harbour, The interval between the wall and the ship formed an avenue, in which the crew exercised themselves. • ; ;^ f.f y^ ■ To compare the Victory as she appeared in Felix Harbour to her appearance when off Woolwich, might be equal to comparing an antiquated dowager in the drawing room at night, with her false teeth, false hair, and false bosom profusely coloured with white and red, and then beholding her on the following morning divested of all her fictitious ornaments, and appearing in her genuine character, a hideous, disgusting figurr , Of the Victory at Woolwich it may be said -• I well remember how the ship lay yonder There was music on the festive deck, the wine .ilte water pour'd, And they bravely drank tuoeeas to her and to . •V;^,'/'':;tf 'Wri' '^^ ht\ everjr man on bo»rd, > , t i i t; la LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. RObS 177 , And the gazers gave a rending snout as she ^ a du.« h>iiii.!3?i, c-.. _-i. .' i. . 'if/jmiupaC'I odj /d „ . ■ went down the riVer : * '• Storm came on at length, but wave nor wind could ^ ^dtnU^liii h .,c-z:^t..- . ... ... , O.K.iTJe mfj of , yet her course impede. She braved a fiercely surging sea, as a strong 't ' VTiiiO .n.... -. - . . „, . .. .. . •■''vo/dtj'-'n; 0M0« , :, « <. ,. , man braves hisst3 vioxy v 1.13 offi d oh^^ 'r L'Oi{}(>lQt> 'i^u?;»i.'Tot'| !.^^>!'.:.a r^fflui huA .tiijil '*- hit .?f)irij» i>«.f.v? ', iutniw(coW j» •ft}* »rt* ,»l3*b »/ii«9l ^rf> no -iicuot f «« 9i»dT ol boa 19*1 01 Ms^euj *n«il' t''»"'*''3f t'^is '*>«'' ^. 2 a tl-JDii 1.- c>fr .'^ /"'. LAhC VOYAOE OF CAPT. ROBS. The following is the scale of the temperature of the egciffii^r • I ' ! '. , , Atmosphere for the month of J^ovember. d oi luodjj* - -1 1 Highcat Lowest 1 Wiglicst Lowest Highest Lowest Nor. Below Above Below Ab(,ve Below Above 1 14 ' 1 12 10 23 18 8 14 is 8 24 7 S 14 14 7 25 16 4 5 15 1 26 m 5 7.ero. 1 16 4 27 6 6 i:> 17 Zero. 28 ST 7 15 18 Zero. 29 36 8 22 J 19 3 7 30 1 » SS 20 5 10 '^6 2! 9 11 34 22 1 18 1 On the 1st and 2na of December, the erection of the observa- tory was proceeded with, and some of the crew amused them* selves with cutting hgures out of the ice, and placing them in different positions, and certainly no sculptor made such grotesque objects from such rude materials. The appearance of the objects however afforded a fund of amusement to the crew, as each found in them a resemblance to something or to some person which he had known, and a nick name was given to it accordingly. An attempt was made on the 3rd, to obtain some more of the things which had been overflowed by the eruption of the water, and some hope was entertained. that the very valuable boilers, now divided into four pieces, might be extracted from the ice. If instead of four useless lumps of copper, the crew had been called upon to save a puncheon of rum or gin from the ice, no doubt exists but the utmost alacrity would have been used, but after I*AST VOVAGK OF CAPT. ROSS. 179 having expended several days in cutting away iho ice, in order to obtain access to the valuable articles, they considered their labour to be entirely thrown away, for the articles themselves were not worth the saving-. On the 5th a visitor came on board, the first it may be said as belonging to the country, but it was in the shape of an ermine, who had been attracted to the ship either by the scent of some particular object, or had selected it as a place of refuge from the pursuit of gome of its enemies. For some time it concealed itself under one of the tanks, but in venturing on the lower deck, it was made a prisoner, and some hope was entertained, that as it had not sustained any injury either from a gun or trap, they should be able to preserve it, but whether from the confinement, or the administration of improper food, it lived only four days. The weather was now too severe to allow of the crew working outside of the ship, and therefore they were employed on board picking oakum and making spun yarn. The observatory was finished on the 9th, and a flight of steps was made to it, but the cutting out of the boilers from the ice appeared an endless task to the crew, and they began to suspect that it was a \a\ r im- posed upon them, more with the view of giving them some sana- tory exercise, than from any value which was attached to the recovery of the articles. Their labour appeared to be that of Tisiphon, for on leaving off their work at the expiration of the watch, with the full expectation of accomplishing their task on the following day, they would find to their mortification that the tide had filled up the cavities which they had made ; and the thermometer standing from 25 to 30 below zero, the articles became as it were encased in a fresh body of ice, through which llieyhad to perforate before they could arrive at the place, whore Ihey had finished their labours on the proceeding day. Capt. Ross and Commander Ross generally passed their mornings at the observatory, the result of which will be found in the appendix to this work, but the weather was at times so loisterous, and the tide so very heavy, as to render the pas- sage to the obser>^tory impracticable. During the w v.le week, the wind was so excessively boisterous, and the weathei 180 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS in geh^ffiCl 86 iftctement;^^^^^^ both the oflSdek^iind crew to the vessel; the latter took their exefcise on the upper deck, but in their own language, " it was pinching work and no mistake." The carpenters took the advantage of the boisterous weather, to construct the framework and other nccesfsary articles, for the adjusting of the instruments in the observatory, but in fact some apprehensions were entertained that the weather had injured the observatory, particularly the roofing, as the flag -staff, which had been erected on it, was carried away ; but on the 20th, Commander Ross was able to effect a passage to the observatory, and with the exception of the accident above alluded to, found every thing in a good condition. ' -— -**' Christmas day was now near at hand, and it was resolved that the day should be kept with all the mirth and ceremonies, by which it is distinguished on land, nor was it to be celebrated without its usual concomitants of roast beef and plum pudding. On the day previously, the oflScers went on a shooting expedition, with the hope of obtaining some game for their Christmas dinner, but they only saw two hares, which they tried in vain to kill. It was now nearly five years that the stores of the Fury were deposited on the beach, little suspecting by those who placed them there, that in the Christmas of 1829, they would form a part of the dinner of the crew of an English vessel, in nearly as good condition as when they were abandoned. The first dish that was set on the table, before the crew of the Victory on Christmas day, was a pie made of the preserved meats of the Fury, with vegetables that had also been preserved, and vegeta- ble soups, the roast beef and plum pudding followed, with a pint and a half of rum to each mess. Previously however to sitting down to dine, divine service was performed, and the day was celebrated with the same solemnity and rejoicing as if they had been on land. In the evening the crew amused themselves with singing and dancing, although in the latter amusement, they felt the want of those objects, which impart the gi^atesl ©harm to it, f6T there was no sparkling female eye to give animation to tfle scene, nor a rosy lip on which a passionate kiss coutd bo im- LAST VOYAOE OF CAPT. ROSS. 181 pressed, but still it was a striking specimen of the great pliability of the human character, which can conform itself to the circum- stances under which it is placed, and find an enjoyment, and a satisfaction in an amusement or pursuit, even when the chief object is wanting from which that gratification is derived. Th© evening was spent in singing the old national songs, " the army and navy for ever ; the king God bless him ; and God save the king." During the morning of the 26th, Commander Ross was em- ployed at the observatory taking observations, but the weather was too severe to allow the crew to follow their avocations in the open air, and the greatest apprehensions were now enter- tained, that unless a change in the weather speedily took place, the frames of the engine and the cylinders would be irrecover- ably lost in the ice. The 27th being Sunday divine service was performed, and in the afternoon the crew took their customary exercise on deck,' Since the establishment of the school, Sunday evening was ap- propriated for the examination of the pupils by the officers ; a duty which generally devolved on Commander Ross, and it speaks no little for the stock of patience which that able officer must have possessed, to undergo the trying occupation of listen- ing to the rude attempt of the aspiring pupil, to get through a verse in the bible, by spelling every word, and then stammering out the pronunciation of it, which was perhaps any thing but the real one. It is perhaps not to be wondered at, that on some of these scholastic examinations, the gallant Captain of the expe- dition was observed to be comfortably asleep in his arm chair, chiming now and then with a sonorous snore, in with the draw- ling tone of the pupil, steering his way to the be tof his ability through the first six verses of the appointed chapter, and being at times- obliged to bring up in order to take a correct observation of the diflScult course which was before him, and where the greatest clangor existt^d ijf his sticking fast, without the chance of getting offragain^.. In all cases where it becomes a difficult matter to finda^^ub^^ct for the employment of our leisure time^ it generally DappQosfthat fiome extraordinary {^ndmopstrous scheme is thought I8i LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. R0S9. of, whidi on any other oecasion would never have beori admitted for a moment, to hold a place in our imagination. It 'Was per- haps on this tery principle that Capt. Ross projected his lutt voyage, at all events it was evident that the Sunday exercises of the pupils in reading the bible aloud to the erudite officers and crew, was a project, which was very little calculated to instil into the mind of the adult pupil, a predilection for biblical learn- ing*, or to act as a stimulus to the prosecution of his studies. In a school, where all the scholars are dunces, as was the case with the sch ol of the Victory, no fear can exist of the exposure of incapacity more in one quarter than another, for the fools-cap would sit equally well on all, but there is something so utterly re- pugnant to our feelings in the public exposure of our ignorance, that it is an ordeal which few can undergo, and which has a tendency to frustrate the very object, which it is intended to gain. The weather moderated on the 28th, and the crew were again employed in the ti^yphonical task of cutting the cylinders out of the ice. During their operations however, a kind of Godsend appeared to them, in the shape of a large piece of ash timber, and every exertion was made to obtain possession of it. A calcu- lation was made as to how many fires it would contribute to light, and how many ovens it would heat for the bakings, and the hope was entertained, that as one log had made its appearance, others would come from the same quarter, and thus a regular supply of fuel be obtained without encroaching upon their private resources. Possession was formerly taken of the log of timber, but it was the will of the fates, that the hope of the sailors should not be realized, for the waters came rushing over it, and the timber and the cylinders appeared as if they were most likely to be left as a legacy, to the next company of adventurers, who might be dis- posed to penetrate into those latitudes, for the enjoyment of the delightful recreation, of experiencing the utmost possible degree of cold which is known on the surface of the globe. ^ I An official account was taken of the health of the crew at tho close of the year, and it was found with the exception of tlo armourer to be in the best possible slate. In fact it may b« said, that the crew had as yet undergone no privations, and their ox- LAST VOVAOE OF CAPT. ROSS. 183 pof^uru to the rigour of the climate had not been of that duration as to effect their health. They might in some roopeets be regarded; aa a hive of bees, who when a glimpse of tine weather shows itself, take the advantage of it, and leave the hive, but who keep themselves comfortably housed in the midst of their provi- sions, as long as the bad weather continues. The labour in which the crow were employed exterior to the ship, might be viewed more in the character of exercise, than the imposition of an arduous task ; indeed it might comparatively speaking, be said to be all night-work, the light being merely sufficient to enable them to distinguish the objects, and that only under cir- cumstances of a peculiar nature. On the 30th the weather being mild, the crew were sent on shore to obtain some sand, and that part of the crew which went under the name of the walking party, brought every forenoon two casks of water on board. In one of the shooting excursions» Capt. Ross saw the impression of a wolf s foot, which for some time afterwards was known to hover about the ship, but always eluded the vigilance of the sportsmen. The following is the scale of the Temperature of the exterior j,.,,, Atmosphere for the month of December 1829. ,,, ,; Highest Lowest HiBhest Lowest Highest Lowest Dec. Below Above Below Above Below Above 1 34 12 25 23 24 18 .,.• 2 26 IS 26 24 20 16 - ; 9 24 14 26 25 21 16 r ; 4 17 15 27 26 29i 25 : :> ^■!i hi , 5 19J 16 81 27 30 29 ' <» i' ■ l^',i-;^-: ..f^. 15 17 86^ 28 32 26 I'i'- 7 28 1 18 83 SO 29 87 SO 'Uy> !'■ -.il Ih- j.^-r 17 19 22 18 30 38 25 /.. -».lt 'to nyiJ. •2tf 20 m 20^ SI 20 20 •oi • -'.9 IV 11 S3 81 92 20" 27 16 26 (I •)• '(1 t'l 184 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. The new year broke upon them with extraordinary mildness, which enabled the officers to pursue their amusements on land, and to give the crew that exercise, which their health demanded. On new year's day an extra allowance of grog with preserved meats was served out to the crew, and in the evening they made themselves merry with singing and dancing. Perhaps no set of men had ever greater reason to drink with real glee, the old year out and the new one in, than the crew of the Victory ; although no bells sounded at the midnight hour, announcing the commence- ment of the new year and the departure of the old one, with all its troubles, trials, and difficulties on its back; although the wassail bowl circulated not round their table, and many a light- some heart was called upon to rejoice that another year of its life was gone ; although love mingled itself not in their cups, yet they filled their glass to those who were far away, and who were perhaps at that same moment, drinking the health of those who in their solitary ship, were strangers to the festivities of the season, and whose mirth was like the beam of the sun that illumined them, faint and cheerless. Nevertheless it was to them a source of rejoicing that the new year was begun, which according to their sanguine expectations, was either to see them at the object of which they were in search; or to return them to their native land. i . . . On the 2nd the weather was very thick, with a keen piercing wind from the south east, and not being able to perform any manual operations exterior to the ship, the crew took the oppor- tunity of cleaning out the tanks, from which they took four bushels of snow. On the following day, the weather assumed an extraordinary mildness, the thermometer having risen twenty- three degrees ; all the officers went on shore on a shooting excur- sion, and the surgeon shortly afterwards returned for a hook, the party having shot a hare, which got under a rock beyond their reach. It was not without some difficulty that the animal was secured; on weighing it on board, it was found to be .7tbs dloz. A measurement of the young ice wcvs taken this day, ^nd it was ascertained to be five feet four inches thick. " *" ^ * "^sn^' The 6th was employed in hauling the long brass ^^ belonging to the Fury, to the top of a hill for the purpose of firing it occa- LABT VOYACK OP CAPT. K088. 185 A'Mdiiiiii yiiiinbiofcilz'j i':i/f ni. >y w.^l 8.11 Moniilly in hrdct to try the Velocity of sound, and it mny i»«» nffirmod that the firing of thii gun lod to an event, which opened a now scene to the crew of the Victory, and tended in a very considerable degree, to break the monotony to which they had liithorto been accustomed. It was on the 9th, at 11 a.m. that Allan Mc'lnnifis shouted that he heard some strange voices, and in a few minutes afterwards a tribe of Esquimaux were seen on tlie beach, armed with bows and arrows, but in other respects evincing the most friendly disposition. Capt. Ross was at this time absent from the ship, and Commander James, the surgeon, and Mc'Inniss went in search of him. On the officers approaching the Esquimaux they seemed very timid, for they were then stand- ing in a line three deep, and in the middle stood an old man wVio was very infirm, and who apparently was the father of the com- munity. The officers still continued to approach them, but they did not mo7e from their place, on which the officers dropped their guns on the ice, when the Esquimaux broke their lines, and brought out from the centre the old man formerly mentioned. The frankness of communication observed towards natives in their situation was practised towards them, and a mutual good understanding was soon established between them. They then ame towards the ship without hesitation, but the old man was obliged to be drawn thither on a sledge, as well as his son wh» had only one leg ; the name of the old man was lllictu, and that of his son Tullooachiu. ■'-... : The general features, bodily and intellectual of these poor people, are nearly the same as those of the other Esquimaux tribes.particularly those, which inhabit the coasts of Baffin's Bay. The description of savage life is nearly applicable to all portions of mankind, placed below a certain degree of refinement, but the amiable character of the Esquimaux, forms a striking contrast to that of most savage nations. Tnsulat,ed by nature from thct rest of the world, they have no idea of any other human beings, and there is more of the true spirit of cont^entment to i»e found amongst them, than is probably to be i^^t with in any other cla?!? of mankind whatsoever. Happy in his smokj' dvv:ej|iing, ^he Esquimaux ktiows nd want, feels no inconvenienpe^j^nless (I19 ,156 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. weather prevents his accustomed hunting'; he tills no land, nor concerns Viimself about any right of property, his experience extending only to the arts befitting his mode of life, and the climate forbidding his desiring any thing beyond common animal wants. In person they are short but stoutly made, the complexion is olive ; the lace broad, and the eyes small and piercing; good humour is fully expressed, but they have an indescribable mixture of wildness and ignorance. ; .rrw'j' 't*.;! i-'-rM.i. > '• Notwithstanding their rude habits and their seclusion from all civilized society, they are still an ingenious people, and their clothing and implements display considerable skill in the manu- facture. Their sledges, knives, spears, &c., are formed from the bones of the whale and other fish, for wood is scarcely known amongst them. Their garments are sewed with great strength and neatness, their needles being made of bone, and their thread of mosses. The upper garment resembles a smock /rock with a tapering skirt, and has a hood, in which the women carry their infants, but the dresses of the men have the hood also, and the trowsers and boots are alike for each. Tn very severe weather the natives wear a double set of garments, the furs being next the skin and outwards, the fleshy sides of the two hides coming together. They use immensely long whips with great dexterity, made of hides and plaited extremely well ; the thongs are as thick at the largo, end as a man's thumb, tapering off' gradually, and terminating with a single lash of the same material.- The children have them for their amusement, and the whole tribe crack their whips in a style superior to French postillions. The number of Esquimaux at this time amounted to thirty one, but their dogs and families were about three miles from the ship, where they had built their huts. Capt. Ross took some of them into the cabin, and showed them some pictures of Igloolik voyage, whilst others on the ice amused themselves with the fiddle, and with looking at themselves in the looking glasses. Some food was offered them , but they refused to eat anything, although they did not testify any great objection to drink some of Felix Booth's gin, which gradually rendered them merry and familiar, and in the evening they returned to their huts. Capt, Ross and Com- X.A8T VOYAGE OF CAPT. RObS. igf mander Ross accompanied them for nearly two miips, and having parted from them on the most friendly terms, returned on board. ^^ At the close of divine service on the following day, the officers went in search of the habitation of the Esquimaux, but before they had proceeded a mile, they saw the Esquimaux approaching-, and they returned with them to their huts, where every proof of kindness, which their savage nature could suggest, was shown to ihe illustrious visitors. It is perhaps not illiberal to remark that this kindness was in a great degree, the consequence of the presents, which Capt. Ross had brought with him, for on receiving any thing, their joy was excessive, jumping and shouting in the most hideous manner, and making the most extraordinary ges- tures, as if they were a set of lunatics. The tribe consisted ot about 70, and it was ascertained that the place where they had now constructed their huts, was what they called their stow- hole, or depository of their winter provisions, it appearing to be the custom of these people, during their hunting excursions in the summer, to bury the produce of the chace in deep holes in the snow, and then in the winter to construct their huts in the immediate vicinity of their magazines. From information obtained from them, the rein-deer and other ar- |ticles of food which were seen in their stow-hole, had been )uried there since last September, and as soon as this stock )f provisions was exhausted, it was their intention to move farther into the country, where they had established another nagazine. The natives in return for the presents, gave Capt. Ross a bow ind arrow, and several of them were induced to return with Ihe officers to the ship, with a view no doubt of having some further presents made them. Two of them were taken into the jabin when dinner was served up, but they seemed to view the rood things with positive disgust, and no invitation nor entreaty puld induce them to partake of them. .-.u.wi ,., j It may be here necessary to state, that on ihe kailing of the heel it; was a. regular order throughout the ship, that no man p to be allowed to purchase any article of an Esquimaux, and TIO » })nJ5 8«?»)'* .Hjii..'" 188 , ^ LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. therefore wlionever any of iheEpquimnux came into the cabin, they were placed rank and file, and Capt. Ross and the steward had to ovcrlmul them to see what they had for sale, and accordingly a8 the a'eward expressed his opinion, and the consent of Capt Ross obtained, the articles were all bought; they consisted thiefly of their own dresses and fishing" tackle, but they were all put under lock and key, and under the immediate charge of Capt. Ross himself, until at last he obtained such a quantity of these things, that the steward was obliged to fill three casks, the size of each cask being 336 gallons. The poor creatures contrived however to sell some things clandestinely to some of the crew, and were far better paid for them than by Capt. Ross himself. This circumstance called forth a spirit of deception amongst the natives, for as self interest predominated here as well as in more civilized countries, they concealed many of their things until they had been examined, and then in the absence of Capt. Ross, they would repair to their stow-hole, and sell them to good profit to the crew. It was a matter of great wonder to many of the crew, the ex- treme eagerness which Capt. Ross manifested to collect a Tast! qui^ntity of articles from the natives, which on his return to {England, could not be made of any possible use. As a proof of | the ingenuity of the people, and in some respects of the natu/al productions of the country, it was most at^visable that a speci- n(i©n of almost every article should be obta,ined,butthe collect) jnl of three or four casks of Esquimaux dresses and othe? uselessl articles, might certainly contribute to fill up the hold of tliel vessel, and appear as the trophies of his mighty undertaking, to astound the eyes of his countrymen on his return. Fronl some circumstances however which have taken place since tl)J return of Capt Ross, and we allude in the first instance to tlie^ pAUOTama of Felix Harbour, got np under tho immedial(| auspices of the gullant Captain ; and in tho second to the reprfr s«iita|ion of the ^iriheiplo scenes of his expedition, also got ub Diider the imDiediate direction of the Captain^ exhibiting in YAUxhAll Oftrdens, and in both of which, if report be not guiliflf LAST VOYAGB OF CAPT. ROSf. 1^ of falsehood, the services of the Captain are not gratuitous, we repeat that on taking* these circumstances into our consideration, it is by no means an improbable conjecture, that in the collection of Ro many Esquimaux dresses, bows and arrows, fishing tackle, and dog whips, a most lucid idea had shot suddenly into the brain of the naval hero, as he was pitting pondering in his fauteuil, in one of the dark and dreary nights of the Arctic winter, thftt although it was by no means his desire that the public should look upon his expedition as a farce, yet were he to turn it ?nto a farce on his return, it could not fail to prove a hit, especially if it were announced in conspicuous characters in the bills of th* day, that the actors would appear in the real dresses of the coun» try, each fumiwhed with a bow and arrow, and a fishing rod and a bone hook, all of which had been brought home by the princi« pal actor in the farce. In order however to render the scenic description of it complete in all its departments, it was necessary that many auxiliaries should be obtained, which were to impress on the minds of the spectators, the most thrilling sensations of the dangers and hair breadth escapes which the gallant Captain had undergone in his various feats, with the terrible monsters which were indigenous to the country. Thus it was necessary that a number of skins of seals, and of sea unicorns should be obtained, which on their arrival in England, being properly stuffed, could represent ad vivam, whilst squatting at the base of an iceberg, an example of the high courage and intrepidity which the Cap- tin frequently evinced, in his desperate encounters with the harmless animals. A sledge or two might also be found highly useful, and strictly in character with thq scenic exhibition, and then having already some dogs of the country in his possession, properly trained to the drawing of a sledge, the whole of it would present a coup d'asil never before witnessed in this country. We certainly confess that we give the whole of this statement as a conjecture, but at the same tinrve we feel convinced, that we have put a most lenient construction upon the act of Capt. Ross. in filli ^ three large tubs with Esquimaux dresses and other articfefe, one of which would have been sufficient to convince the people of England, that there was something mort true and 190 LAST VOTAGB OP CAPT. ROSS. real in his description of the natives of Felix Harbour, .than Idi the existence of the Croker Mountains. On the 11th tv/o Esquimaux came to the ship, one of whom was Tullooachiu, who had but one leg*. It had boBn taken off below the knee in the most masterlike manner, the operation of which was thus described ; the upper part of the leg T/as bound with thongs, and the flesh stripped from the lower part with their rude knives, the bone was then inserted in a hole in the ice and finapped asunder, the parts were then scared by some light jd moi^s, and nature did the rest. He was introduced into th^ 3abin, and on being informed that another leg could be made for him, he burst out into the most frantic exclamations of joy, and the carpenter was called in to take the measure of the new leg that was to be made. As soon as this ceremony was completed^ Commander James laid before them a piece of paper and asked them to trace on it the way which the land trended, and according to their marking, every thing appeared favourable to the object of the expedition; according to the account given by them, the expedition had already seen the coast of America and that forty miles to the south west were two great seas, divided by a narrow strait or neck of land. It was computed that about nine days journey would bring them \ to the place which they had marked out. , ,,^5^; or); ] *i The weather continued fine, the wind north by west, but the [ frost was intense in the extreme, of which some idea may be formed, when it is stated that the increase in the thickness of the ice was from 3^ to 4f inches daily. ,..,„..., had c; On the I2th ten Esquimaux came to the ship, five of whom were taken into the cabin, for the purpose of forming a chart of the adjacent coast, and they varied very little from the account given by those on the preceding day. During the night of the 18th, the ship received some very heavy shocks in consequence of the ice cracking, and which rendered their intercourse with the land more difficult. Capt. Ross, attended by a party, proceeded towards the Esquimaux village, but on their vvay they met about a dozen coming to the ship, and they all returnee! to the huts, h was ascertained that they had, b^ on a sealing excursion but with- LAST VOYAGE OF CaPT. ROSS. t91 out SUCC6S*. Tt is' a' tnost curious sight to observe one of the Esquimaux watching the resort of the seals ; in the first place he constructs an edifice of tablets of snow of a semicircular form, in the vicinity of a place which is known to be a seal's hole, and he will sit for many hours in a crouched form, with his elbow's resting on his thighs in despite of the most inclement weather, watching with all the eagerness and intensity of the cat watching the mouse, the appearance of the seal from his hole. On the projection of the snout of tiie seal from the water, the Esquimaux remains as if breathless and motionless, until by degrees the animal crawls from the water and continues its course on the ice as if in search of food. The Esquimaux how- ever moves not until the seal has attained some distance from the hole, when he suddenly darts upon him, and kills hin^ with his spear. On this occasion Capt. Ross took with him a paper for the women to form their plan of the coast, but they seemed all to be alike, and at the same time highly encouraging to the future prospects of the expedition. On their return Com- mander James killed three grouse, and from the report of the natives, it was ascertained that an abundance of game was to be found higher up the country, but that in their present place, it V as comparatively scarce. An unfortunate accident this day befel the launch, which got completely under the ice and the crew were occupied the whole of the following day in the extrication of it. About noon they were visited by some of the Esquimaux, amongst whom were two women, and Tullooachiu, who had come to make some inquiries about his wooden leg, but although it was not quite finished, he tried it on, and ap- peared highly delighted with his new acquisition. The Esquimaux women are not the most lovely objects in nature ; their features are disagreeable, their hair long and harsh and exceedingly black, their dress approaching very nearly to the ridiculous. The hood comes round the face, and leaves "only a little of it exposed. The vest in front falls into a stomacher point, but the most singular things are the boots, which come up higher than any fisherman's, and are nearly as large round as her bod} The fur of these and of the garment between them LAST yOYAOE OP OATT. ROSS. and the vest and of the mittens is worn inside. These prepo9> torous lady^s boots are stated to be i\te most essential part of an Esquimaux woman's dress, forming their pockets, their tool boxes, and even their provision cupboards. When the ladies were detected in pilfering any thing on board the Vic- tory, the pilfered article was sure to be found ir. their boots, [n some respects the female appears to be more stupid and ignorant than the male ; on coming on board they looked round, either with the most stupid indifference, or were struck dumb with astonishment, as they had never seen a ship before, nor indeed a man besides their own race. They were nothing loth to receive whatever present were offered them, and as the intimacy increased between them and the ships c/ew, it was found that their favours were to be purchased at a very cheap rate, or by a very trifling present, but nevertheless the consent of the husband was previously asked and on the condition of receiving part of the presents, it was never refused. It is the opinion of these Esquimaux, that their race sprang from a female beneficent spirit, and that the other creatures of the earth, and particularly their dogs are descended from i wicked female spirit, who is made accountable for all the acci* dents, and even the deaths which occur. There is generally a conjuror or angckok amongst them, who pretends to possess an almost unlimited power over this malignant spirit, and who in casesof sickness, is called in to exercise his dominion over the spirit, and to compel him to forbear giving any further annoyance to the afflicted person, and it not urifrequently happens that iiature effects the cure, and the merit i'* given to the conjuror. The cold which the crew now endured was intense in the highest degree, the thermometer being 40 degrees below ssero, that is 7% degrees below our freezing point. Capt. Ross tried the mercury to see if it would freeze, and in two hours it was a solid body. Mercury ought to freeze at 89 J. In this extreme cold the temperature of the lower deck was seldom higher than 40, being only 8 degrees above the freezing point, except on those days when the oven was lighted for baking, when It rose from 50 to 97. LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 193 During the night of the 15th the launch filled with water, but the weather was too severe for the crew to work outside, and therefore the most serious apprehensions were entertained, that *'\e loss of the launch was irromediablo. Notwithstanding the exireme cold, Tullooachiu was drawn to the ship by another Esquimaux, it being the appointed day on which the wooden leg was to be finished ; they were luken down into the cabin, and the carpenter brought the leg, and fitted it to the stump, when he walked about the cabin exhibiting the most extravagant joy. He was so delighted with his new acquisition, that he would not allow the carpenter to take it off again, but showed the greatest anxiety to reach home, in order that his wife might make him a skin shoe to put on the end of the stump, to prevent him from slipping on the ice. Previously to seating himself in the sledge, he took off his wooden leg and carried it on his lap. The weather for some days was so severe that no communica- tion was had with the natives, and the crew were confined to their usual operations on board. The health of the Armo irer was evidently daily declining, and little hope was now enter- tained of his recovery ; the weather had a sensible effect upon his disorder, which being asthmaiic, he could not endure the incle- mency to which he was exposed, nor those sudden transitions, which distinguish the northern climatesi and which are evea ' trying to the most robust constitutions. •. r m> ' ./< On Sunday the 17th it blew a heavy gale during the whole of the day from the N.N. W., but the weather moderating on the 19th, three men and two boys came to the ship, and were taken by Commander James into the cabin, where having made them some trifling presents, they were induced to draw a chart of the neighbouring coasts, and it varied considerably from the for- mer ones, which had been drawn by the natives, on their first coming to the ship. According to the first charts that were drawn, little doubt existed of a passage being to be found ; but according to the chart now drawn, the place in which the Vic- tory then was, was nothing but a large bay, indented with ma- ny smaller bays and bights, and a great number of very large ■islands. From some information, however, which these Esqui- I 9 2c 194 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROS8. maux furnished,Commander James was induced to attach greater faith to their report, than to that which had been previously given, and yet 't would have been highly injudicious and premature to have acted upon the information of any of the natives, from the consideration ci the great discrepancy which existed in their reports, although it must have been allowed, that personal inte- rests could not have led them to falsify their information, or to have given it designedly wrong, merely for the purpose of mis- leading. At all events, the information which those Esquimaux gave, was not calculated by any means to enliven the hopes of the Commander of the expedition, or to lead him to believe, that he was in, the direct track of becoming the discoverer of the north west passage. Previously to their leaving the ship, a present of an empty cannister was made to each of them with which thp»^ seemed highly pleased, but their manner of fitting on the lid was clumsy and awkward in the extreme, and when one of them suc- ceeded in getting it on, he shouted for joy, as if he had accom- plished a most wonderful deed. '''. ,•••' On the 20th, the interminable labour was resumed of digging the parts of the engine out of the ice, and considering the almost total worthlessness of the articles in reference to any future use, to which they could be applied on board the vessel, it is perhaps saying not too much, that it was a labour to which the men | should not have been subjected, exposed as they were continually, not only to the severity of the frost, but to the immersion ot their feet in the v^ater, which occasioned a continual numbness in their extremities, highly injurious to their health. It is sometimes not an easy matter to convince an individual of his error, notwithstanding the circumstances become so multiplied upon each other, that the most positive proofs hourly present themselves to shew to the individual that the course, which he is pursuing, is the wrong one. Capt. Ross, it might have been supposed had received the most convincing proofs during his voyage to Felix Harbour, unless his mind was of that marble constitution, that scarcely any impression could be made upon it, that he ha«i committed a most egregious blunder iu affixing a LAST VOYAGE OF OAPT. ROSS. 195 s^eam engine to his vessel, unless he could, by his ingenuity have converted un iceberg into such a combustible substance as to supply the deficiency of coals, or that a fl e could be made to yield to the propelling power of the paddles, witb the same facility, as the waters of the Thames at Richmond. When therefore we find the health of the crew actur.lly endangered in attempting to regain possession of such a rrryss of lumber, which certainly entitled Capt. Ross to have the inscription of " Dealci in Marine Stores," painted on the stern of his vessel, wo cannot but consider it as one of those preposterous acts, which even a wise man will sometimes commit, in order to shew to the world that in some things, he is as great a fool as some others of his fellow creatures. Capt. Ross was at this time taken ill, but his indisposition was not of long duration. The severity of the season had pre- vented the officers from pursuing their sports on land, but on the 20th, Commander James went on an excursion into the country, and shot one grouse, several others were seen, but the sportsmen could not get within shot of them. The party visited the huts of the Esquimaux, but very few of them were there, as they were employed in sealing, having caught from 17 to *iO in two days. At a quarter past twelve on the 20th, the first glimpse of the sun was obtained after an absence of fifty -two days, and the hearts of the crew became exhilirated, as their long dreary night was drawing to a close, and the period fast approaching when they were to be emancipated from their icy imprisonment, and once more hoist their sails in the prosecution of their adventurous en- terprise. The feelings which animated the breasts of the whole crew of the Victory, on the return of the sun, can only be appre- ciated by those, who, suffering under a great and heavy depri- vation, behold themselves on a sudden emancipated from the weight of it, and a bright and animating prospect opening itself before them. To the aspiring and ambitious mind, the view of the object, which was to light him to his deeds of fame and noble enterprise, was hailed with all the fervour natural to the enthusiast, whose whole soul is absorbed in the accomplishment of some great and .noble purpose, and who feels his energies 196 LAST VOYAOR OF CAPT. ROSS. advance in utrongth and power in proportion as be surmounts tlw ODstacles, which pre«ient thoin^iolves to his success. That there were some ambitious souls on board the Victory, who were not led solely by a love of lucre, to eng'age in the perilous enterprise, cannot for a moment bo considered as a matter of doubt^ and it may be said • /ryi r r . >• .■ , • ■ .- -»r--. They have felt A presence that disturbs them with the juy Of elevated thonj^hts ; a sen«e sublime »t .. . Of all this glorious world we see 5 ' • .^ ■ .- I ts g-low by day, its smile by nigh , t Are but reflections caught from thee, • ,_ Where'er we turn thy glories shine, .,,... And all things bright and fair are thine. *'!.r:' .'• 'f When day with fare^vell beam delays, '•*'*' ; ••;<'«.<' Among the opening clouds of even, • / •!■ i .-, :* < i'- ::'i.i .,. And wc cau almost think we gaze , ,}(...,>,•/?,< ,! ^ j^ ... Through golden vista's into heaven; ;.»•>? -> ..t " So soft, 30 radiant, Lord! are thiue. , ', Af '.^ t When night, with wings of starry gloom, ".'-ii^j -.f •j/ch <>? M* r'Hii O'ershadows all the earth and skiee, 4,^, . !,,.,|ffff sfjj-J ^' ,,. Like some bright, beauteous bird, whose plame So sparkling with unnumbered eyes ; , i 11 That sacred gloom, those fires divine, "^ i-^-nf'tr ^rneif "^"^V"^ So grand, so countless, Lord! are thiiwt ^*'*' ^'^ '- ''^T 9 2d f &<)! ^ LAST VOYAGE OF OAPT. ROSS With llie appearance of the sun, the weather assumed an oi^ (raordinary degree of mildness, the wind blowing frona the south west, and the crew took the advantage of it to spread some gravel on the ice, for the purpose of making a walk from the vessel to the land. This labout was however in many respects rendered fruitless, for the irruption of the water was sometimes so sudden as totally to cover the gravel, which under those circumstances might be considered as wholly lost, A considerable number of Esquimaux visited the ship on the 22nd, and they were all taken into the cabin, but some of them evincing a strong disposition to pilfer whatever they could slily lay theii< hands upon, Capt. Ross expressed his determination thelt nolle sh<^uld be admitted into the cabin btit under particular circumstances, and then not in a body, and never more than three at a time ; for it was found impossible to keep such a vigilant eye upon them as to prevent some of the things from being car- ried away. Some of these natives were as tiall as 5 feet 9' inches, while others wer^ as diminutive as 4 feet 9 inches. The oldest of them was 44, the youngest 28. On the 28rd, a most beautiful exhibition of the Aurora display- ed itself, which was not confined to one part of the horizon, but appeared in vivid coruscations in every quarter of it, being equally as bright in the south as in the north, and throwing a light on every object almost equal to the rays of the sun. The 24th being Sunday, vras the day appointed for the burial of the armourer, and the crew were called to breakfast at half- past seven, in order that the ceremony might be performed before the Esquimaux came on bo.\rd, and previously to the regular service of the day. At half-past nine the whole of the crew were mustered, and pait of the burial service was read; at ten the corpse was Carried, attended by the whole of the crew to the grave, and although uohe of tliv.V gorgeous and emblazoned trappings which wave ov^rthe putrid remains of the noble and the rich, distinguished thishumble procession of the funeral of a British sailor; although no undertaker; that sickening compoimd of exterior grief and inward joy, strutted slowly and stately before the corpse, calculating the amount of his gains, and the best pbssible means LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. 20S of enhancing them according to the station whuh the deceasod held in life — although no funeral bell sounded from a neighbour- ing church, proclaiming what is pompously called, to the world, which includes the circumference of quarter of a mile, that death has made room for another of his victims on the the earth — although no surpliced priest stood bare-headed on the brink of the grave, muttering from a book the words, which he }ias known from his infancy by heart — although the earth in which the corpse was to be placed, had not been consecrated by some lawn-sleeved niitered dignitary of the church — yet in default of all these supposed necessary and indispensable ceremonials, which accompany the interment of the individual, who dies in the dim and gloomy curtained chamber, not less fervent were the prayers ; not less acceptable in the eyes of heaven were the rude and simple forms, which marked ihe interment of the sea- man of the Victory on a desolate shore, which might never again be visited by those, who placed him there, or by one who spoke the language of his father-land, and where he might sleep in his rugged gra\e, in a region of desolation and unbroken silence, as soundly as those, who lie mouldering in the sculp- tured mausoleum, or in a royal charnel house. Arranged round the grave, which was only 2^ feet deep, the' crew beheld the partner of their toils laid in his last resting place — no coffin enclosed his remains — no gilt escutcheon told his name and age, his hammock was his shroud, his pillow a piece of granite; the latter part of the funeral service was read, the grave was filled up with coarse gravel, and as the crew retraced their steps to the vessel, thoy might say Mi ■•lo;?' (.,.,, thefe h A low artil loticly pl'ace of tChi »' " '' • " ., J . Reposes in forgetfulncss-aiid there , i ,, ■ . ./,.-,, ,,|i, . J he streaininc- eve ot misery is closed , .,•.,.• ^ ; , -, Upon whose coach the worh ulul wearied frunflc Reposes in forgetfulncss-aiid there , j The streaming eye of misery is closed In sweet and dreamless slumber; on that bed '<(,,n*» JJi';; ,, • , J, i Around that silent dwelling place, the rcil i ^h 7>iMtiJf.i' . •■ 204 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. iftOSS. > Of darkness cartains closely ; uot a sigh -^ v - Nor lightest wnispering of the suiiimcr wind n'r)«'"'":^ During the morning of the 28th, the wind blew strongly from he north, with heavy driving jnow, but notwithstanding these liscouraging circumstances, the ship was visited by fifteen Esqui- maux, ten men and five women, and by the latter, certain indi- lalions were given, that although they had neither dresses nor kins to barter for any of the commodities to which they mio-ht ake a fancy, yet they wel-e nothing loath to enter into a certtin irivate negotiation, by which the crew might receive the best iquivalent which they had to give, for any old rusty knife or )ther article which they had to dispose of. There are certain vords which have a peculiar expression attached to them, when iroceeding from the mouth of a beautiful woman, and although t cannot be exactly said, that the Esquimaux ladies came up^to ny ideal which the crew of the Victory may hav© formed in their wn minds of feminine beauty, or that their lips were fashioned pronounce, or were rendered still more beautiful by ihe whisper of some endearing word, such asmy dear, my duck, or *\y darling, yet when the word koom'g issued Vron the mouth of buxom Esquiniaux dame, there scarcely remains a doubt that be sailor to whoih it was addressed, would have liked the" lips bat pronounced it better had he understood the meaning of it, ut so little had he any notion of the real signification of it tha' 210 tAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. (or aught ho knew, it might have implied an invitation to a sumptuons dinner of seal's flesh, and whale's blubber, or a formal polite inquiry into the state of his health. The expression of the word was also attended by a particular motion of the head, which consisted in a projection of the nose as far forward as possible, but for what purpose the gesture was made, whether indicative of contempt or aflection was a problem too difficult for the unedu- cated seaman to solve, although he might have ranked as one of the most adept scholars in the classical gymnasium of the Victory, We know that in certain parts of the Mongolese country, a tweak of the nose is similar in its meaning to our shake of the hand, and the harder and more severe the tweak, the moro sincere and ardent is the esteem which is entertained ; it was certainly possi- ble that the customs of the Mongolese might have penetrated far as the country in which Felix Harbour was situate, but still it would have been rather a dangerous experiment on the part a British sailor, to have taken an Esquimaux lady by the nose, before he had thoroughly convinced himself that it would be received as a token of her respect and esteem. In the mean time however, the solution of the vfordkoomg cii grossed the attention of the sailors, for from the manner in whidi it was whispersd in their ears, no doubt whatsoever existed, tlial some very significant sense was attached to it. It happened that one of the petty officers of the vessel had acquired a slig^ knowledge of the German language, and imbued with the spirii of a Johnson or a Walker, he decided that the Esquimaux wod koonig, was evidently derived from the German word konig, al though by what means it had travelled from Leipsic to the coun try of the Esquimaux, appeared like the very object of which was in search, to be decidedly undiscoverable. The significa tion of the German word is a king, and therefore it is by n means a deduction half so far fetched, or so extravagant as son) of the etymologies of Johnson, that the Esquimaux word koonig was one of high endearment, signifying most probably that tli individual to whom it was addressed was the king or chief of he affections ; this was a most plausible and talented conjecture, bi then what construction was to be put upon the pouting or pra LAST VOVAOK OF CAPT. ROSS. ^H jcdion of the nose ? this was a direct puzzler to the whole of the inquiring crew, as they sat in their smoke dried berth, aod perhaps had the question been propounded to them by their domine, of the composition of the nucleus of the earth, there could not have existed a g-roater diversity of opinion, than was expressed on the momentous question, which then engrossed their undivided attention. Amongst the many minor subjects, to which the government of the country directed their attention in the fitting out of theHecIa and Fury, was the selection of a library of the principal books, which treated of the former voyages to the Arctic seas, and which were always ready at hand to be referred to, when any difficulty presented itself, or when an explanation was re~ quired of any of the habits or customs of the several tribes of the- Esquimaux, who inhabited the country. This unfortunately how- ever for the crew of the Victory was not the case, and therefore they were bereft of that valuable source of information, which would at once have relieved them from their present embarrass- ment, and have served them as a guide in their future transactions with the Esquimaux ladies. Chance will, however, often effect what the most studied preme- ditation and diligence will never accomplish : the sailors had never yet been permitted to extend their walks as far as the huts of the Esquimaux, and therefore they had never yet enjoyed the oppor- tunity of observing thoir manners and customs in private life, and how far they differed in their essential character from the customs of more civilized nations. There are, however, to be found amongst every people, customs of nature as contra-distin- guished to those of habit and education ; and there is one belonging to the former class, which was introduced by Adam and Eve, car- ried by Noah into the Ark, and which has descended to almost all the children of that great patriarch, who migrated from the Tower of Babel to the four quarters of the world, and which, in its general practice, it will be universally admitted, has been the parent of some of the most extraordinary scenes which have beeii enacted upon the globe. It has however been surmised by those who pretend to be learned in such matters, that as the said cus- «J1«| LAST VOYAOB OF CAPT. ROSS, torn Is not known amonsrst the Esquimaux, thoy could not havo been included in those tribes who wandered Irnm Babol, and therefore, it may bo conaidorod as a direct proof that thoy are an original people, and that as they know nothing of th* Tower of Bal>el. nor of tho cuntoms which were practised there, it follows that the Tower of Babel knew nothing of them. We aro aware that we aro here treading upon delicate and dangerous ground, for if the custom alluded to was in practice at the time of Adam, and there are not any documents existing to prove that it was not, and taking into consideration at the same time, that it is a direct natural habit, we are entitled to draw the inference, that the Esquimaux must have had an Adam and Eve of their own, whose natural habits were contrary to those of ours, although at the same time, it is a subject most proper for the solemn and serious investigation of the learned members of the Antiquarian Society, whether the effect produced by tho habit natural to tlie Esquimaux, is the same in its ultimate bearings and relations, as that which is daily and hourly witnessed in the descendants of that particular Adam and Eve, of whom, for many very obvious reasons, wo, tho said descendants have such good and groat roa- son to be excessively proud and over-flowingly grateful. V The custom which has given rise to this deep and erudite pre- amble or exordium, is in its consequences often very alarming and marvellous, in its application delightfully sweet, and which, they who have acquired it, feel no disposition whatever to relin- quish, which in itself shows that tho schoolmaster with his march of intellect, has got before him a task of no enviable a nature, in his attempt to cure and controul the radical and inveterate hubils of the human race, no matter to what end or purpose they may be directed. ;^Mni... •-;t'' ,\, ■•>:-.■ lJeCt. . . ,.., , .. ; , -, :,, .; ,, ., ,. It must certainly be admitted that there are certain actions performed by the human race, which are so fixed and definite in their operations, and which may be considered as so unusually appertaining to the innate dispositions of the animal, that their exhibition, whether displayed amongst the Japanese, the Pata- gonians, or the Esquimaux partakes of the same character, and is governed by the same rules snd principles. We are indebted to our researches into the Physiology of man, for the important discovery that the natural operations of eating, dfinking, walk- ing and sleeping, are performed very nearly the same by the people on the shores of the Chinese seas, as by those on the !2U tAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. shores of Baffin's bay ; but then on the other hand, therearesotne others, which are performed with a decided diflFerence, and yet the effect produced is indisputably the same, which is in itself a conclusive illustration of the philosophy of Kant and Leibnitz, that two opposite causes can produce the same effect. A direct ex- emplification of the foregoing proposition is to be found in one of the customs of the Esquimaux, and which has given rise to this valuable and erudite dissertation on the innate properties of the human race. The custom alluded to, and which so deeply puzzled both the learned and unlearned individuals comprising the crew of the Victory, is that of the collision of lips, vulgarly known by the name of kissing. Now it will be seen, on referring to the dictionary of the Esquimaux language, given at the end of this work, that the word koonig, which was whispered by some of the Esquimaux ladies into the ears of the admiring sailors of the Victory, implies the act of kissing, and had the ladies oflfered their lips at the same time that they pronounced the word, there is perhaps very little doubt but that the sailors would, as it were by a kind of inspiration, have stumbled upon the meaning of the word, and the usual labial collision might have taken place. On the other hand it must be observed that if one of the sailors, more enamoured than the others, had shown any indication to salute the lips of one of the Esquimaux ladies, according to the manner and custom of his own country, the in- tent and meaning of the act might not have been understood by her, and further that she would have been equally confused and confounded, had he whispered in her ears the word kissing, as he had shewn himself at the sound of the word koonig. Nature in general does a great deal in these cases, for the act of kissing is not acquired by the mode of education adopted, by either Bell or Lancaster, but nature was, under the present circumstances, completely at fault, or at least, she had not rendered her instruc- tions so clear and definite, that thoy could be*^read oflF at sight, without the immediate interference of some other person or power experimentally versed in the matter. •-• > . , , J J The moment was however near at hand in which all the doubts ,a(id.surmis It has been said by Isaac Iselin, who penetrated deeper into the physiology of man than any other philosopher ancient or modern, that, in a rude uncivilized state, man seldom exhibits any examples of wit or humour ; a pun or an epigram from an Ashantee or an Esquimaux would indeed be considered as a lite- rary phenomenon, and certainly we could not expect amongst the members of either of those nations, to meet with an editor of | the Comic Annual, or of Figaro. There is however one habit peculiar to the Esquimaux, in which some humour is exhibited, and that is in the aptitude in which they applied their nicknames to the officers of the ship, according to the different characters which they exhibited, and which shewed, that notwithstanding [ i - 11 ii ,< J i. 1 , , If .,->:t., LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT, ROSS. T2\ iheir natural ignorance and intellectual darkness, there was a degree of shrewdness about them in catching up the truits of the character of those with whom they associated, and there is Htllo doubt but that the character, which every one bore in his tribe could in some degree have been gathered from the name which had been bestowed upon him. To Capt. Ross they gave the soubriquet or nickname of Puluach, w hich signifies a raven, and various reasons were assigned for the application of this epithet, first, that a certain degree of resemblance existed in some of their exterior parts, particularly in the beak and the nose, and further having ascertained that he was the chief or governor of the whole crew, as well as nearly the largest incorporeal magnitude, they betowed upon him the name of that animal, which is nearly the largest with which they are acquainted, that goes upon two legs, although it must be allowed that the slow and solemn gait of the Captain bore no affinity whatever with the hop, skip, and jump of the raven. It is also said that the tones of the Captain's voice are not the most musical which have been known to issue from human lips, and which, therefore on account of their hoarseness, might have reminded the Esquimaux of the croaking of the Ra- ven; on the other hand, however it was affirmed by those, who pretended to have investigated the matter deeper than any other person, that the epithet of the raven was not applied to the Cap- tain from any exterior resemblance, which might exist between the two bipeds, but that it originated in a similarity, which dis- played itself in some of their natural habits, and particularly in a kind of ravenous appetite which is displayed by both, whether it be a mess of putrid whale's blubber on the one part, as the lawyers have it, or a haunch of a rein deer on the other part. Another version however of the cause of the soubriquet was given, in which it was attempted to be proved, that the alleged ravenous appetite of the Captain, had no reference whatever to any vora- city which he might evince when seated in his cabin before his roasted hare or grouse, but that it referred exclusively to the most ravenous appetite which he had exhibited to appropriate to him- self all their jackets, trowsers, mittens, boots and other para- phernalia of dress, and which appetite there appeared not the slightest prospect of appeasing. 222 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R099. To Commander James they applied the epithet of Augliecock, which implies the bold hunter; and to Mr. Mc'Diarmid the sur- geon, they gave the name of Tooktoo or the reindeer, on account of the lightness and agility of his motions. > -^^ '" • " ■>» • With the return of the sun, the officers were enabled to extend their excursions further into the country, and Commander Ross was sometimes absent from the ship for three or four days toge- ther ; in fact the whole extent of geographical discovery wa^ accomplished by that officer, Capt. Ross himself taking no part nor interfering in the slightest degree in any of the expeditions that were planned for penetrating into the interior of the country. We shall have occasion in a subsequent part of this work to en- large upon the most extraordinary and contradictory evidence which was given on this subject before the committee of th House of Commons, by Capt. Ross and his nephew, in which eac of them gave a statement so diametrically opposite to the other and so varying in some of the most essential points appertainin? not only to the general conduct of the expedition, but also to th extent of the discoveries that had been made, that it is irapossi ble for both of them to appear in the public estimation as total!) exonerated from falsification ; at the same time it must be ad mitted that the evidsnce of Capt. Ross i« corroborated by Mr Booth, whereas that of Commander Ross has nothing but hi own immediate affirmation to stand upon. As one proof of th extraordinary discrepancy which distinguishes the evidence ( Capt. Ross and his nephew ; the latter was asked if he accom panied his uncle on the expedition to the Arctic seas as secon. in command, to which Commander Ross replied, that he di not go out precisely as second in command, but in a great mea sure sharing with Capt. Ross the chief command, that is to say he had the entire direction of the navigation of the ship, with- out being under Capt. Robs' commavd. ' ' To those who have been accustomed to consider Capt. Rosea* the conductor of the expedition, and to whom all the merit is t( be given, if merit there be, of any of the discoveries that wer( made, the folio wing evidence of Commander Ross will be perused with some surprise, f^; ic ^r-^in^u^^ ^ ,:vm fr ^^r • f .fr » -k-, - Commander Ross was asked, what was the nature of tlio LAST \OYAGE OP CAPT. ROSg. 223 agreement under which you embarked in the expedition with Capt. Ross ? There was no written agreement, no specific agree- ment, but It was quite understood that having been so long em- ployed on former similar voyages, I best understood the nature I of the navigation of those seas, and therefore that I should render some important assistance to him in his undertaking. Was any stipulation entered into with Mr. Booth for youk going personally on the expedition, as a condition of his assist- ance being given ? Mr. Booth said to me, that it depended only on me whether or not he would then decide whether the expedi- tion should go or not. " If," said he, "you decide that you will accompany the expedition, I will decide that the expedition shall go, but if you hesitate to say whether you will accompany it, I must also hesitate to decide." What portion of the duties devolved upon you in the progress of the expedition? The conduct of the ship was entirely en- trusted to my care. I certainly conducted the expedition from its commencement to its termination. In the various surveys which took place, what part did you lake of the geographical discoveries made ? The whole extent of geographical discovery, is perhaps, between six and seven hundred miles of new land ; out of that six or seven hundred miles, probably about two hundred miles were discovered by the >^hole expedition in the ship ; the remaining four or five hun- dred miles were discovered by myself, in the conduct of parties Jetached from the ship : those expeditions were severally plan- ed and conducted by myself. . „. . ' Capt. Ross not accompanying you? Capt. Ross not accom- lanymg me. -.. ^-.c -. ;. s,. : ;,.•,,.,..,..,...,.., .^ Did you personally make the observations from which you in- ormd you had discovered the true position of the north magnetic lolo ? I did ; for two years previous to the time I went to the ^agnetic pole, I was engaged in observations, necessary to de- JrJTiitie its OKact position ; having ascertained and determined W exact spot, I then conducted a party to the point so deter- iinftd, and there I niadfe a series of observations, by which I ■^certained that to be the exact position of the magnetic pole. •ii4 LAST VOYAGK OF CAPT. R0S8. f Capt. Ross in u previous purt of the evidence, stated that the maj^notic polo, or in other words, the position where the hori- zontul compass Ims no power of traversing to any particular point, is in longitude ahout 96' 47', and that the area to which the situation of it has heon reduced, is about one mile. ■ '• As all the circumstances connected with the discovery of the true position of the magnetic polo, will be detailed at full lengtl' in a subsequent part of this work, we shall now return to the examination of Commander Ross, as it will appear by his evi- dence, that the conduct of the expedition was performed in a most extraordinary manner, for the Victory in some degree ro- sembled the town of Brentford, when two kings sat on the throne, who were coequal in power and authority, and neither of them responsible to the other for his actions. The evidence of Commander Ross thus continues, and which is deserving of the most particular attention. Did you conduct the observations in Geology, Natural History and Botany. Such observations as were made upon those subjects were of course conducted by myself. When you say you conducted them, do you mean that they were confided to you by Capt. Ross ? No, they came to me a; a natural consequence, I was the only 'person who at all under- stood the nature of those subjects, but I was not ordered to under- take them. / never received an order of any kind from m) person in that expedition. You say that you and Capt. Ross were coequal ? No, I do not say wo were quite coequal. I say I was not under his command, lut I do not mean to say I had the same voice as he had. You did not look upon yourself as under his command ? Cer- tainly not, 1 would not have gone out under such circumstances, Had you any authority over the men ? I had, but it was more of habit perhaps than any thing else. Could you have changed the course of the ship without tlif authority of Capt. Ross ? Yes, I have frequently done so, but i Capt. Ross had thought proper to have found fault with any thini I did, all I should have said would have been, "you must in futur conduct the expedition yourself " LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R098. ' 2^ If you and l.o had differed, you have no doubt which wou.d have been obeyed by the men ? It would not have been n.vht in me to have disputed that point with him, I never .hould have ihouferht proper to have continued in command of the .hip if Capt. Ross wished to assume the command. .. j.i- With your experience of naval matters in cases of danger do you consider it possible there should be two officers of coequal ,)Ower? No, the command must devolve on one person • - On whom did it devolve? In all cases it devolverl upon me as respecting the conduct of the ship ... . .'. ,. The question did not arise between you and Capt. Ross? No It was quite understood between us before we sailed -■'■'' What was understood? That I should conduct every thinff my. self Capt. Ross might have said if he chose, « I do not approve of this or that," and then I could only have said, " you must conduct It yourself, both cannot do so." , v . : .„ . That being impossible, a deference to the one or the other being required, who paid the deference? Certainly I should immediately have yielded, but then from that moment I should lave ceased to command, and left him to conduct the expedition From whom did you consider your authority to emanate ? Frol \lr. Booth. Do you account for this divided authority in the ship from vour connexion with Mr. Booth ; did you consider yourself as represent- ing the more immediate interest of Mr. Booth in the shin ^ No You have said that Mr. Booth would not have engaged in the xpedition unless you were a party to it? I did not say he would lot, I only repeated the converstaion between him ond myself- .esaid if I hesitated to go, he would hesitate to Say whether' he expedition should go or not. ./^ -f. r.t, for that must always be done in an unknown region. The authority emanated from you i Yes, he could not have G gone without my permission. Had, throughout the expedition, Commander Ross the Com- mand of the ship ? Never, but under my orders, I allowed him to do the duty as first Lieutenant, I gave him the command, which I conceive a first Lieutenant ought to have, but he has no right to say that he had a joint command with me. The first Lieutenant of a king's ship takes the command ? Yes and carries on the duty. I had other things to do in many respects, and he had power to work the ship, and put her about without reference to me. The responsibility rested with you ? Yes, Was he amenable to you for disobedience of orders ? It would have been mutiny. Do you think it possible that Commander Ross should have imagined he had an independant command ? It was impossible, he must have known discipline better than to suppose there could be two commanders in one ship. , ,, LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 229 ^^ Did Commander Ross ever assort an independence of your command ? There were circumstances of that nature arose, but I immediately took that part which prevented their recurrencr^ You uniformly asserted your own authority as the commander of the ship ? Yes, in every oase, when it came to a desperate case, I saw the necessity of taking nobody's advice, and acted on my own decision. I never asked him a question except on some rock, whether to go on this or that side : I refer to the period when we abandoned the ship ; it was life and dea'h with us then, and I found f was more called on to uphold my authority than I had been before, and I was always present with the people. In the other case it was necessary to give Commander Ross more command, because he was absent from me with part of the crew. There was one particular instance when the men demanded to know what I was going to do, and I said I would not condescend to tell them, but they were to obey my orders, and that the first man that refused it must answer for the consequences, pnd I heard no more of it. He received no distinct authority from Mr. Booth ? None what- ever, he does not even know of my agreements with Mr. Booth, he never saw them. The expeditions he undertook were undertaken at your sugges- tion ? Entirely of my suggestion, he did not even know Mr. Booth until I introduced him. Had Commander Ross refused to accompany you, should you have gone? I should. Would Mr. Booth have consented? Certainly he would. It is impossible to reconcile the evidence of Capt. Ross and Commander Ross on any grounds of even comparative truth, and certainly had the latter been able to make out his case according to the testimony which he gave, there scarcely remains a doubt that the proposed grant would not have been recommended by the committee, for it would have divested Capt. Ross of the principal feature of his claim. The following examination of Mr. Booth will shew that Commander Ross must have been actually labour- inff under a delusion, in supposing that any authority was dele- 230 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. gated to him by that gentleman, or that he was to be considered in the slightest degree as holding an independent command in the ship. The evidence of Mr. Booth is altogether interesting, as it throws considerable light upon the origin of the expedition, at the same time that it places him in the rank of the most mu- nificent patrons of science which this country has produced. . Being asked if he entertained any objection, to state the cir- cumstances which first induced him to undertake the charge of the enterprise, which Capt. Ross commanded, he replied, not in the least. I had known, he said, Capt. Ross for some years, and I undertook it for the credit of the country, and to serve Capt. Ross, thinking that he was slighted in his former expedition ; and on account of some ill-natured reports which were circulated anonymously against him, I conceived that there was a cloud hung over him, and he was anxious for the opportunity of going out again. The first time he applied to me, we were looking over the globe, and he was explaining to me what he had done before; I felt interested that all discoveries should be made by our countrymen, and I really was then excited, and was sorry that another expedition was not appointed to go out to explore the northern regions. He said he should like very much to have the opportunity of going out again, but that govern- ment would not send out another expedition. I said, I regreted very much if that were the case, but did he know it for a cer- tainty ? He said, not exactly, but I will endeavour to ascertain. He then, I believe, had some private communication with Lord Melville, whether he thought they should do so or not, (this was in the year 1827,) and Lord Melville said, there was no intent- ion, at present of sending out any further expeditions, but he could not say what they might do hereafter. Capt. Ross then said, I should like very much to go out again, and I think I could do it at a small expense: I said, well then, put down, and let me see what you call a small expense. He afterwards brought me a paper containing his calculations, making it about £10,000, I said, I should have no objection to advance £10,000, if that be the utmost sum required, but I said, I will not engage in it, because there is £*ZO,OOG reward for any person, who shall LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. RORS. 281 discover the passage, and it would look very much as though I had an object in view. I think it was a twelvemonth after that he came to me and said, now it is all over, the reward of £20»000 is done away with, and there is no chance of an expe- dition going out again. I then said to him, I am glad of it, and that if he wanted me to assist him I was willing to do so ; he was amazingly delighted ; on which I told him, I will assist you, but remember it must be in the utmost confidence, and I will not do anything that is inimical to government. I asked him, how we could find out whether that would meet their approbation, unless he were to mention the whole circum- stance, and I said I shall not do anything unless it is kept a profound secret. He then informed me that Lord Melville was his friend, and he thought he could mention it to him in confidence, and ask him if there would be any objection to a private individual fitting out such an expedition, Lord Melville's answer was, that he could not see any objection, and that if there were any small things lying at Woolwich from the former expedition, that would be of service to him, he should like very much to forward his views. It was suggested there should be two ships and a second was fitted out, (the John,) but the crew of that vessel mutinied in consequence of the great delay that had occurred, and they proceeded on without her ; the proceeds from the sale of this vessel were £1800, therefore my advance now rests between £17,000 and £18,000. During the absence of the expedition I maintained the men's wives, expended about £380, which has been since stopped from the men out of the - payment, which has been made to them by government. A member of the committee here asked Mr. Booth, To whom did you give the command of the expedition ? To Captain Ross. Captain Ross was the sole commander ? Yes, he was the sole commander, with liberty to appoint whom he pleased under him ; I only said, let them be men who will be of great service. I left the command entirely to him. " "" ''^^"' '*'« '' '^ ^'^'' • ' ' Did you make any stipulation that Commander Ross should accompany him? No, it was the wish of his uncle, which I thought a very natural one ; his uncle said, he was not doing any 23i LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R099. thing, and was a clever young man, and if I had no objeotiour, ho should like hioa to accoropany him, as it might obtain his promotion. . i .,,, , ... '» ':'*a t^ttnf -f't '^4p» Mor j/ -^'J^IowI Had Commander Ross refused to go, would you hiwe sent the exppditiv.n? Certainly I should. f < ». i'? »> airtt «v, ju-^^nn o, If Captain Back had been selected by Capt. Ross, would he have been equally acceptable to you ? Most undoubtedly ; I left il to Capt. Ross to appoint whom he pleased to accompany him. With regard to Commander Ross, after I was introduced to him, I told him I was delighted to think he was going, he having been out in the former expedition, and having been in the Fury when she was lost, I thought he would be of infinite service to the expedition. ? ,>('^ .^..j,, ^,..4 The result of the evidence of Mr. Booth must be considered as a direct corroboration of that given by Capt. Ross, and con- sequently a full contradiction to that which was given by Com- mander Ross. It establishes the point irrefutably, that Capt. Ross was in possession of the chief and sole command of the expedi- tion, and that Commander Ross could not regard himself in any other character than that of a subordinate oflScer. To return to our narration of the expedition ; on the 30th the weather being moderate, with light winds from the S.S.W.; a party of Esquimaux were observed approaching the ship, but as it was not the intention of Capt. Ross that they should come on board, he with Mr. Mc'Diarmid set out to meet them, and accompanied them back to their huts, with the exception of Tullooachiu, who had privately brought an arrow as a present to one of the crew. He was allowed to proceed to the ship where he staid about three hours, amusing the crew with some of his antics on his wooden leg, on which he now appeared to be as completely at home as on his natural one. On the arrival of the party at the huts, not a single native was to be seen, for with the return of the sun, the fishing season had also commenced, and the seals began to emerge from their sub- marine dwellings tp, take their customary rambles on the ice. For the purpose of enticing the seals to a particular place, the Esquimaux make a large hoi© in the ice, in the immediat« tAST VOTAOB OF CAPT. ROSS. ,|^3 yicnity of which they sit cowering with a patience that might serve as an example to the juvenile angler; for the uninitiated observer would take the form of the Esquimaux, to be some fixed and unshapen mass, having neither life nor animation, so mtent is t e anxious creature in watching every motion of the water, with the hope of beholding the projecting snout of the animal, which 18 to furnish so dainty a meal to the fortunate captor Notwithstanding the many rebuffs which the Esquimaux had endured relative to their reception on board the ship, not a day elapsed scarcely without some of them paying a visit, and bring- ing with them some of their manufactured articles, apparently wuh the view of being restored to the favour and the privileges which they had formerly enjoyed. On the 31st, a great number came to the ship, amongst whom was the mother of Tullooachiu a very aged woman, whose chief intent in visiting the vessel was' to obtain a sight of the individual, who had rendered her son «uch an essential service by the manufacture of the wooden leg The carpenter was no sooner pointed out to her, than the aged lady threw her arms around him, and began the ceremony of koomgwg, with as much fervour and ardour as she might have emced m her more juvenile days; she fondled over him as if he had been some dear relative, whom she had not seen for ■^ lapse of years, and in her wild unsophisticated manners the .bserver of human nature might have learned the lesson, that he virtue of gratitude belongs not exclusively to the civilized creature, but that it is equally to be seen in its genuine brightness a the snow hut of the Esquimaux, or the wigwam of the Indian This day being the sabbath, the crew were called to divine mice at 10 o'clock, and in their absence the female part of the nbe returned to their huts, but the men remained, and as soon nhe service was over, they joined the sailors on the ice plaving ith them at foot-ball and leapfrog, and certainly nothing could ^raore ludicrous than their rude attempts at jumping in the latter «me, m which they were greatly impeded by the particular iake of their clothes, which would not permit them to take the ecesBary stride with their legs, so as to clear the back, over Ijich they had to jump. It must also be supposed that the 8 e "» -ZH .^34 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R0S9. sailors were not sparing in their tricks upon them for which reason they were often seen rolling over and over like the bears of their country, and by their extreme awkwardness, affording an infinite fund of amusement to the mischievous crew. In the came of foot-ball the slippery nature of the ice occasioned many disasters, and in the extreme eagerness of the natives to obtaina kick at the ball, they often met with those accidents, which were well calculated to excite the risibility of their playmates, but in their turn they had often a laugh at the sailors, when they stumbled into a pool of water, or were laid sprawling on the ground, from their inability to maintain their footing on the slippery surface. When the games were concluded, the sailors requested leave to accompany the natives to their huts, but a decided refusal was given. The bearing of the huts from the ship was direct northeast, but although they were permitted to take an excursion into the country, they wer^ directed to bend their course south west. They however were no sooner out of siffht of the ship, than they gradually veered round towards the south and the east, until they came in sight of the huts, but for fear of detection they dared not venture into their immediate vicinity Whilst they were taking a view of the wide and desolate region around them, they perceived a dog belonging to the Esquimaux barking at something behind a bank of snow, on which one of the females proceeded from the hut to ascertain the cause of the violence of the dog, when she discovered it to be a bear in his winter harbour, which immediately made towards her, and seized her by the leg; fortunately the natives came to her assistance, and she escaped from her perilous situation with only a slight wound on her head. The Esquimaux were not long id despatching the ferocious animal, and they bore him home d ■ * . I triumph. ^ ,jS ,,_•; ',-,►• ■„••.,•-• V^^'^'J •■• ^t*' " '•■< 1'-. ) fr.- f ri^ rSff^'I-Ml LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSi, 285 The following is the scale of the Temperature of the exlertor , Atmosphere for the month of January 1830. Highest. Lowest Highest Lowest :Highe8t LoweHt Above Jan. Below Above Below Above Below 1 ' 16i 15 12 35 32J 23 37 34 3 SI 15 13 83 26 24 33 28 8 17 11 14 40 36 25 27 20J 4 10 7 15 39 38 26 31 27 5 9 5 16 42 36 27 32 15 6 15 nj 17 43 37 28 24 17 T 12 7 18 30 10 29 23 17 8 3S 12 19 22 9 80 30 20i 9 29 27 20 39 24 31 32 28 10 11 S6 3 3 34 29 21 22 1 40 S8i 21 85 The month of February set in with an intensity of cold, which precluded almost every kind of out door wotk ; the ice was found to be 6 feet and a half in thickness ; and at one parti- cular time, the thermometer was 45 degrees below Zeto, makihg n degrees below the freezing point. In spite however of the inclemency of the weather, the Esquimaux vii^ited the ship Jvery day, and on one occasion the man accompanied them, v^ho itole ari article froih the cabin, but he performed the act i^ith 10 much dexterity that the loss was ndt discovered until soime ime after his depatture from the ship. He now came with his ace bound up, and evidently suffering under great pain. Capt. Ross onsidered this to be a good opportunity to obtain restitution; of he stolen property, and he worked upon the credulity of the liief, by assuming the character of the physician, and aft«r retendifig to inspect the diseased part, tcitd performing dome 236 LAtT VOYAGE OF CAPT. U08S. Other of the torn fooleries which are enacted by the members of the medical profession in the enlightened Island of Englarul, he very gravely informed hia patient that his malady was to he attributed to no other cause than that of having purloined an article which did not belong to him, and that his sufferings wcro to be considered as a direct punishment for so flagitious an act. The cure however came next into consideration, and although Capt. Ross put on the portentous gravity of the physician, con- tracting his eyebrows and appearing as if he were thinking of saving the world from a second deluge, so abstracted did he stand in thought, yet he differed from the practice of the English physicians, for his prescription referred not to either an emetic or an aperient bolus, but he informed his wonder-stricken patient, that no chance whatever remained of his recovery until he had restored the stolen property, on the contrary that his pains would increase daily in their poignancy, and he would be rendered for ever after incapable of killing a seal or enjoying the flavor of the flesh of the rib of a walrus. These Capt. Ross knew to be two of the greatest privations, which an Esquimaux can undergo, and he therefore politically selected them, as most likely to work upon the ignorance and credulity of the untutored savage, who after having looked upon him for some minutes with the eye of astonishment, mingled with an expression of fear, darted away, and taking the direction of the huts, was soon out of sight. A patient of this kind would cut a sorry figure within the bills of mortality of the metropolis, or rather a physician within the same district would, indeed, cut a most lamentable appearance if his patient after receiving his advice and prescrip- tion, instead of lodging a sovereign in the palm of his hand, were to take to his heels, and in the most unceremonious manner leave him to the enjoyment of his own company. If however the talent and ability of a physician are to be estimated according to the efficacy of his prescriptions, no one has a greater right to boast of his success than Capt. Ross, in the effect which hi: prescription produced upon the Esquimaux, for in a very shor time, his patient was observed hastening towards the ship, and oi being admitted into the presence of Capt. Ross, he delivered to LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R089 . 237 him the stolen property, and the joy of the valetudinarian was already seen beaming on his countenance, for his confidence was BO great in the prescriptive powers of the captain that no doubt whatever re«ted on his mind of his cure being completed Still however he had no idea of having made aH the amends in las power for his dishonest action, without being suitablv rewarded for it ; it was true that he was to be cured of his ' malady by the restitution of the property, but that with him was not all-sufficient ; the act in his opinion deserved some further reward, for as it was by no means one of compulsion, but of his own free will, it followed according to his mode of reasoning, that as the original owner of the article appeared to place a' great value upon it, it would only be becoming and just in him to reward the individual well, who had 'been the means of restoring it to his possession. A person of his particular propensity, could not be supposed to be a very welcome visitor on board the ship, and therefore the property was no sooner recovered from him, than he was po- litely escorted out of the vessel, during which ceremony, he con- tinued to mumble some words to himself, the meaning of which however could not be defined by those, who had the charge of hira, but he contrived by his gestures, to make them understand that he expected a reward for his act of honesty. They however on the other hand, contrived to convey the information to him, that it was a kind of act, which was not rewarded in the country to which they belonged, and further that he would never be allowed to come on board the vessel again. Notwithstanding however the great pain which he was suffering, he lingered about the ship, expecting that the reward would be tendered, but findino- that his expectations were not likely to be realized, he walked wlkily away, not very well pleased with himself in having given up the property, without first bargaining for an adequate Reward, and very much displeased indeed with those who could »ct so unjustly and dishonourably, as not to remunerate an indi- »idual for so distinguished an act of probity and honesty. It lappened however that an assuagement of his pain took place ■in the following day, which in a certain degree reconciled him 238 LAST VOYAGK OF CAPT. R089. for the loss of ttie property, and tended to convince him that Ins cure was principally owing to the surrender of it to its proper owner. nr i ■ Although the thermometer stood at 40 and « below Zero, the men were°employed on shore in digging gravel, for the purpose of strewing it upon the canal, which as a work of utility was con- sidered of very trifling value, but as one of exercise for the pre- servation of the health of the crew, might be extremely proper and judicious. The cold may at this time be considered to have been at its greatest intensity, the thermometer varying from 40 to 45" ; but still the Esquimaux visited the ship daily, although the treat- ment which they now received was very different to that which was shown towards them on their first acquaintance ; in fact, the conduct of Capt. Ross on this occasion is spoken of, not in the mildest terms of censure, but in those of the most severe reproof and disgust. It is admitted that one or two of the natives had been en"trapped in some paltry act of theft; but the experience of Capt. Ross must have taught him, that thieving appears to be as inseparable from every uncivilized and savage people, as any other decided propensity of their nature. The temptation to theft was scarcely to be expected to be overcome by a race of people, who for the first time in their life, beheld scattered around them, some of the choicest articles of human ingenuity, and the value of which appeared in their eyes not to be estimated by any scale to which they had hitherto been accustomed. A nail was to them of great value, and it was an article which they could purloin, without the loss of it being felt or discovered; taking into comparison however the extent of the thefts whicf the Esquimaux committed, to those which were perpetrated by the natives of the Islands of the Pacific Ocean, when first visitet by Capt. Cook, it must be admitted that the shades of guilt ar( darker in the latter than the former. We certainly feel dispose! to acquit Capt. Ross of all obduracy of heart, and are willing t believe that his treatment of the Esquimaux was to be attribute! to some cogent reasons, which he had imbibed for restricting tb intercourse between them and his crew, but still we know tha LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS, 239 lie carried that treatment to an unjustifiable length, and thereby exposed himself to the charge of great ingratitude, in having obtamed from them all the information which they had to give him, relative to the geography of their country ; in having got into his possession a profusion of their articles, natural and manufactured, with a very inadequate return; in having received from them, all the respect and kindness of which their savao-e nature was capable, and then treating them literally as if they were but a degree removed from the bears of their native land. One ofthese instances occurred on Sunday the 7th February' when as early as 9 in the morning, a party of the natives were seen approaching the ship ; the thermometer was then stand- ing at 45° which is the lowest degree marked upon it, but reck- less of this intense cold, which, to use one of the terms of the sailors, was keen enough to cut them in two, the natives plodded along, and arrived at the ship about 11, just as the morning ser- vice was completed. Not one of them however was admitted on board, nor any refreshments oflFered to the poor shivering creatures, and to copy the words of the manuscript before us, "it was heart breaking to sep the poor women with their babes skulking under the lee of a snow wall, where a fortnight ago they were treated like kings and queens." They remained in the immediate vicinity of the ship until 3 o'clock, and then al- lowing them 4 or 2 hours to reach their homes again, and the same space of time to travel to the ship, making altogether a space of 10 hours, that these creatures were exposed to the incle- mency of th^ weather, without the slightest sustenance or sup- port. Let not the advocates of civilization preach, that it has a tendency to humanize the heart, and to call all the finer chari- ties into active play: history and experience contradict the assertion, for there are oft^n more genuine kindness and hospi- lality to be found in the wigv^ana of the Indian, than in the gorgeous palaces of the great, and we shall shortly ha,ve to adduce an instance of the conduct of the Esquimaux, in contrast with that of the English, which will not; redound in the least to the aredit of the latter. An experiment was tried on the 8th and 9th, for the purpose 1140 LAST VOTAGB OF CAPT. ROSS. of trying the velocity of sound. Commander Ross repaired to the huts of the Esquimaux, which were at the distance of about three miles and a half from the ship, and a gun was fired ; the time intervening between the flash, and the report reaching tiio place where Commander James had stationed himself was just 16 seconds, making thereby the sound to travel at the rate of about a mile in five seconds. On the same day, the temperature of different parts of the ship was tried, The lower deck in the night time when all the fires were out, was from 32° to 35°, in the day time from 36° to 40°, but when tho process of baking was going on, the temperature of the mess berth was seldom under 50^ but never higher than 60°. In the cabin during the day time, the thermometer ranged from 60° to 70», and it has been known to be as high as 85° ; during the night from 12 o'clock to 7, A.M. from 60° to 60°. In the steward's room, not two yards from the cabin, during the day 18° to 20°, with very little variation during the night. This scale is however very low when com- pared with the register of the Hecla, the lower deck of which was ordered to be kept at 75°, and never was under 60°, although there was no cabin either fore or aft. On the 10th, the cold was too severe for any of the crew to ▼enture outside, but still the Esquimaux' came to the ship; meeting however with no kinder reception than on the preceding day, their stay was not of long duration. On the following day, some of the men ventured to the Esquimaux huts, but how different was the treatment, which they experienced from that which was shown to them by the English christians. The yaks, as the sailors called the Esquimaux, no sooner saw them approach- ing, than they hastened to meet them, showing them every mark of kindness and attention which the innate goodness and simpli- city of their nature prompted them to perform. They brushed the snow off their jackets, and in the most pressing manner invited them^nto the huts ; certainly they had no table to set before their | high and haughty guests, laden with choice provisions, noti could they pledge them in their goblets of wine, or their buwis of punch, but their manners bespoke the hearty welcome — some logs of wood were placed on the fire, and for the first time were ','i&. LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 241 a party of Euglish sailors the inmates of the hut of an Esquimaux. The opoortunity was not lost of taking an accurate observation of the method in which the huts are built, and particularly of their interior, which, certainly from the offensive smell which pervaded it, arising from the putrid masses of blubber which lay in one part of the hut, the stench of the dogs, the cadava • rous smell of the clothing of the natives, with some other nameless circumstances, rendered the whole an abode by no means agree- able or inviting. f The huts were built on the banks of a small river, and their construction is commenced by tracing out a circle of about 12 feet in diameter. The snow in the interior circle is next divided with a broad knife, having a long handle, into slabs three feet long, six inches thick and two feet deep, being the thickness of the layer of snow. These slabs are tenacious enough to admit of being moved about without breaking, or even losinff the sharpness of their angles, and they have a slight degree of curvature, corresponding with that of the circle from which they are cut. They are piled upon each other like pieces of hewn stone, around the circle which was traced out, and care is taken to smoothen the beds of the different courses with the knife, and to cut them so as to give the wall a slight inclination inwards, by which contrivance the building acquires the properties of a dome. The dome is closed somewhat suddenly and flatly, by cutting the upper slabs in a wedge form, instead of the more rectangular lape of those below. The roof is about eight feet high, and the last aperture is shut up by a small conical piece; the whole is built from within, and each slab is cut so that it retains its position without requiring support, until another is placed beside it; the lightness of the slabs greatly facilitating the ope- ration. When the building is covered in, a little loose snow is thrown over it to close up every chink, and a low door is cut through the walls with the knife. A bed-place is next formed, and neatly faced up with slabs of snow, which is then covered with skins, or if they are to be obtained, with a thin layer of branches, to prevent the snow melting by the heat of the body. II ' - :■-■■••" •" 2i '•■ '■ ■" '-■-'- « ?. 244 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. A kind of potch is bfuilt before the door, and a piece of clear ice is pJaced in uti aperture cut in the wall for a window. The purity of the material of which the house is framed, the elegance Of it 5 construction, and the translucency of its walls, which transmitted a very pleasing light, gave it an appearance far superior to a marble building, and it might be surveyed with feelings somewhat a-kin to those produced by the contemplation of a Grecian Temple ; both are temples of art, inimitable of their kind. ,^ . •'^?r,"-" ' >t\ Previously to the departure of the sailors, the natives were asked to favour them with a dance and a song, although it might be supposed that the entertainment which had been derived from their exhibition on board the Victory, was not of that enticing' nature, as to instil into them a longing for a repetition of it. It was however some gratification to observe, that the dance which they now executed, was different in its motions and gestures, from that which they had witnessed on board the ship. The dance was begun by one person placing himself in a variety of attitudes accompanied by the most extraordinary gestures, and I the most hideous distortions of countenance. Like the similar amusements of different climates, this dance contained the inde- cent allusions, which are well known to form an essential featurel in the dance of many naticns in other respects far advanced inl civilization. The body was generally in a stooping posture, and the hands resting upon the knees ; after a few minutes, thel performers began to sing "Amnah, a;aA,''atid in a very short iim the second performer, who had been looking at the other in m lence began, as if inspired, to distort his face, and imitate tha indelicate attitude of the first, and soon after to sing as chorns^ "Hejau / Hejau /" After this had continued with increasing energy for ten minutes, the tune was suddenly changed to shrill note, in which the words "Weehee, Weehee^'' were utterej with great rapidity. They then approached each other by sli|] ping their feet forward, grinning, and in great agitation unll their noses touched ; the ceremony of kooniging was performej and a savage laugh ended this extraordinary performance. viq •Mj re >-'.Jil)i|i 1 j» ( ! '^<\y V\i LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 243 It is not to be determined whether it was the effect of their gcholastic education on board the Victory, or whether it was the impulse of their own natural feeling, but there was scarcely a ' sailor, who did not draw a comparison between the treatment which they received from the savage and untutored Esquimaux in their snow built huts, and that which the Esquimaux received from the tutored and civilized Europeans in the comparatively splendid cabin of the Victory. Their visits were at first most; welcome ; iheir acquaintance was courted, and their good-will and confidence obtained by presents and other distinguished acts of kindness ; but it would appear that in this friendly and charitable mode of action lurked the predominant principle of self interest ; they had something to communicate which might lead to results of the highest consequence; from them was to bo obtained the most correct information of the geography of the country to the westward, on which perhaps the very success of the expedition depended ; it had been given to the full extent of their knowledge in their rude and artless manqer, the information was found to be correct, no disposition was shown to misled or deceive, and in return for these services, they were at first caress- ed, and treated with all the urbanity and kindness of the equal. In proportion however as their stock of information declined, and every advantage had been obtained, which it was possible to bo expected from a people so limited in their resources, and so con- fined in their means of knowledge, a treatment was, adopted towards them, which did not stop at mere unkindness and incivi- lity, but it degenerated at last into downright cruelty and in- humanity. The plea that they were inured to the climate, was offered in extenuation of the heartless conduct in allowing them to remain for the space of several hours, " skulking under the lee of a snow wall," with the thermometer at about 80^ below the freezing point, and taking no more notice of their helpless and desolate condition, than if lhe> nad been so many prowling beasts of the country ; witholding from them even the benefit of a little temporary warmth on board the ship, to cheer them on their homeward way. We have not been able to trace any substantial or well-founded ason, for the line of conduct which Capt. Ross thought proper 244 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. to adopt towards those harmless creatures; for personally they had not offered any offence to him or any of his crew. It would indeed be idle to expect any very high, or refined notions of morality among a half civilized horde, but taking mto consider- ation the whole of their conduct, witk the strong and almost irresistible temptations to which they were constantly exposed, they appeared to be regulated by feelings, that with very few exceptions, did them great credit. The affection between parents and children, and between man and wife or wives, for they take more than one if they can maintain them, was strongly marked, and yet infidelity on either side appeared to be no crime ; the ladies were by no means shy of their favors, but the previous ceremony was gone through, of asking the consent of the hus- band, which in no case was refused, with this provision however, that the present which was made on the occasion was to become his undisputed property. The only unfeeling part of their con- duct, (but which is common to the Indians as well as the Esqui- maux,) is that of forsaking the aged and helpless, and leaving them to their fate, and the same is the case with regard to widows, who are not fortunate enough to obtain a second husband. On the other hand it must be observed, that the women have much more influence and are more respected than generally happens in half civilized societies, nor are they subjected to that degree of labour and drudgery, which usually prevails in them ; their uuties being generally confined to domestic concerns, preparing skins, making and repairing clothes, cooking and taking care of their children, whom they suckle to the age of three and sometimes four years. The Esquimaux women are by no means prolific, a family of four children being considered a large one ; nor does it appear to be a prevailing opinion amongst these people, that '.iie man is happy who has his quiver full of them, for as they may be considered to be a wandering race, the transportation of a ]arge family becomes a matter of serious consideration. It is the scarcity of food which most generally impels the Esquimaux to change their dwelling, for having little foresight or providence for the future, they seldom lay up such a supply as to secure them fro»n occasional scarcity. ''•^'^' '-^'''' • '■■• «■-. '^^ -" v. "i-**^ An Esouimaux is by nature a glutton ; he will devour four or LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 245 five pounds of seal or walrus flesh at a sitting, and during the day, ten pounds will barely satisfy his rapacious appetite. It is highly probable that the alternate feasting and fasting, to which tlie gluttony and improvidence of these people so constantly- subject them, may be the cause of many of the complaints with hich they are afflicted, for although they seem to endure pri- vation with resignation, yet they no sooner obtain a supply of food, than they eat to that inordinate degree, that they are to be seen lying in their huts, so distended by the quantity of meat they have eaten, as to be scarcely able to move, and suffering consi- derable pain from the extreme repletion. At particular seasons of the year, the seals become uncommonly wild, the walrus has quilted the ice, and the reindeer and other migratory animals iigenous to the country, have left the coasts to search for a more luxuriant pasture deeper in the country. It is then that the Es- quimaux desert their habitations and migrate to other quarters, where the greater probability exists of procuring the means of subsistence, and perhaps a more desolate object cannot be ima- gined than the deserted village of the Esquimaux. The interior of the huts presents an appearance of wretchedness, which baffles all description ; the very snow which composes the beds and fire places is turned, in order that the most trivial object may not be left behind ; even the bare walls whose original colour is scarcely perceptible for lamp black, blood and other filth, are not left perfect, as large holes are made in the sides and roofs, for the convenience of handing out the goods and chattels. The sight of a deserted habitation is at all times calculated to excite in the mind a sensation of dreariness and desolation, specially, when it has been lately filled with cheerful inhabi- tants, but this feeling is even heightened rather than diminished, ifhen a small portion of these inhabitants remain behind to endure be extreme of wretchedness, with the prospect of a lingering orturing death before them, and this is too frequently the case ivith the aged and the infirm, who not being considered able to indure the fatigues of the journey to a distant quarter, are cruelly eft behind to seek for their own maintenance, in the best possible ay which they are able. Capt. Parry mentions an instance of ^^ LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROBS. this kind, in «hich an old man and hU wife ^ere left beW™!, Shout any lamp or a single ounce of meat belong.ng to hen,, Zhile three small skins on which they were ly.ng, were all the :„;!. which they possessed to protect them from the mcU. Lency of the weather. It would be difficult to conceive a more To cible picture of human misery and desolation, and thesurv.vo, Ipp aring as ho must to himself, to be the last remnant of th, h'man race, must have presented a spectacle of hornd sufferiag at which humanity shudders. „ . ', In this peculiar trait of the character of the Esquimaux h, certainly Lnds far beneath the American I«d.an, although o. thlotherhand he rises superior to the African- ,„ an m ellect™ l,.»,pver he may be said to stand on the lowest scale of ;ran' at:: 'exhih" i'ng a strange mixture of intellect and d„>. TZ, of cunning a»d simplicity, of ingenuity and stupidit, Cr mind appears in many respects to be a centre, round wh.eb I^a sTngle idea radiates, which can establishh.m as appertam- ■°g to the great family of mankind as a thinking bemg^ o, whicl can prove his superiority over the animals w«h which . r. in dX association. Immersed i» the darkest ignorance b, possess Lt the most remote idea of a superior being : sab,e«. Tno law divine or human, he acts from the immedia e impuls. of l" s feelings or his passions, without regarding "--It a' » nable to any one for the consequences of his actions. The law. S lent'ol that property has only one end which is. the gra cation of his sensual appetites. Thus the chief riches of an b«^ ; X consist in the number of his dogs, as those "f .^"e Upan^ the number of his rein deer; the common affairs of an ts,. rnlu^ femily could not be carried on without their dog, f. Xh taso'n, when young, they are entrusted to the ^ it of the women who bring them up wHh all "»;;P-'''»;" r„t when trained, they are treated with great harshn^.s » cruelty by the men. though they could scarcely exist at aU « orthem' Six of those usefiil creatures will draw half a «.. the rate of seven or eight miles an hour, and P-ceed wrO. - fifty or sixty miles a day; yet they appear to get v«ry Ullle to LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 247 ind when on a journey are never suffered to eat until they arrive at the end of it. Some idea may be formed of the extreme stupidity of these people when it is related, that few of them could be tau<^ht to count beyond five, and not one of them beyond ten, nor could their simple minds be brought to entertain the slightest idea, of the meaning of our term, to-morrow. When they spoke of per- forming a certain action at no very distant period, — they never said, fVe will do it to-morrow, but, fVe will do it when we \avt slept, this mode of expression is however in a great degree to )e accounted for from the circumstance, that if their day was to be calculated like ours, by the rising and setting of the sun, and on which our term to-morrow depends, it would be found impossible to apply that epithet to a period, which could not take place for three months, or in other words, as their night is of three months duration, during which time not a single glimpse of the sun is to be seen, they could not consistently with that circumstance, BiBxany other definite time for the performance of an action than what was to be regulated by those acts, which they performed at periods, without any reference to the rising or setting of the sun, by which any horo logical information as to the regular e of time could be imparted to them. i; ,' An Esquimaux may in some respects be said to be the connect- ing Unk between the human and animal creation. The human animal seems merely to live for the gratification of his appetites, which having satiated, he yields himself up to sleep, and only wakes to go in search of a fresh supply of food, the surplus of which his instinct teaches him to hoard up, as a preventive against future want» The Esquimaux, knows no stated time of fest during his long and dreary winter, when the bear, the Wolf and the fox are the only animals which prowl round his habitation ; he is in almost every respect an hibernating animal, dosing hway the hours in listless inactivity, until the return of fte sun, which rouses him from his torpor, and breathes into Mitt the spirit of a renewed existence. Many were the proofs, which the crew of the Victory received of the utter degradation ^ these seini>aiiimals, and in their attempts to instil, any kind «J48 LAST VOYAGE t>F CAPT. ROSi. of instruction into their minds, they might as well have essayed to plough the rocks of their country, with the view of reaping an abundant harvest. The truth of this remark was strongly confirmed in the circumstance of the young Esquimaux, whom, from an apparent shrewdness in his intellect, Capt. Ross selected as a fit person to be received into the gymnasium of the Vietorv. The primer was put into his hands, which he turned over and over with the vacant curiosity of the ape, but of the use or intent of which he was as ignorant as the latter animal would shew himself, if a fiddle were put into his paws. It must have been not the least of the ludicrous scenes which the school of the Vic- tory exhibited, when the young Esquimaux was called up before his preceptor, Capt. Ross, in order to be initiated in the rudi- ments of the English language; A, vociferated the domine, but the pupil made no other response, than raising his hand to his head, began to scratch it violently. Capt. Ross remembered that when a difficult word was propounded to him by his domine to spell, he very frequently applied his digits to his head, as if to give an extTaordiuary excitement to the brain within, and he therefore by analogy concluded that the motion of his young pupil was directed to the same purpose ; A, repeated the domine with increased emphasis,— /joomwcA / koomuck! exclaimed the pupil, holding something between his dexter finger and his thumb, and shewing it to his wondering preceptor with every token of satisfaction,— A, cried the domine, stamping the floor with his foot, — tamooawoke! tamooawoke! vociferated the pupil, holding the object between his fingers close to the mouth of the preceptor; the meaning of the exclamations of the domine was an insoluble puzzle to the pupil, and the motions of the pupil were a problem as difficult to be solved by the preceptor. However amongst the learned works dispersed on the table betoie the erudite dispenser of knowledge, was an Esquimaux vocabu- lary, on referring to which it was found that the word koomuck, 6io>nified a vile crawling insect, which takes up its habitatioii amongst the hair of human beings, and that the word ianao- awoke, signified to eat. It may be easily conceived that t))« discovery of these significations, could not fail |o rouse tin LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. '^- 249 jWfbity of the precfeptdf; 'ftrid little donbt remains, ttiat Tiad any hifltrutnent of a flagellating power been at hand, some part or parts of the corporeal frame of the stupid and indecorous pupil would have been visited by its severest infliction. If human actions however are to be weighed by their motives, it would have been an error in judgement on the part of Capt. Ross, to have poured out the vial of his indignation upon the head of the unoffending savage ; and further, had he been thoroughly ac- quainted with the manners and customs of the people, with whom he was then associating, he would have known, that the offer which the young Esquimaux had so unceremoniously, and in his opinion so indecorously made him, so far as being to be considered an insult, was in reality, a decided proof of his respect and esteem, for the Esquimaux not only eat the vermin of their own heads, but they in the most friendly manner present them as a bonne bouche, to be enjoyed by those for whom they enter- tain a particular regard. It was on this principle that the boy tendered the insect, which he had just entrapped to Capt. Ross, and which on its being rejected, he very deliberately put into his own mouth, holding it for some time between his fore teeth, as the French would say, pour savourer mieux le gout. It may be easily supposed that this thriving pupil was soon expelled the school, as in the first place, it was found impossible to convey the least instruction to his mind ; and in the second, he was by no means a proper associate for the crew in his filthy state, with the majority of whom, cleanliness was a distinguished feature in their character, and when taken into due consideration, it was perhaps a politic step which Capt. Ross adopted, in re- stricting the intercourse of the crew with the natives, as it was found impossible to come in contact with them, without being visited also by their vermin. It cannot have escaped observation, that in many instances uuring the stay of the Victory in Felix Harbour, the crew were tailed upon to perform some duty exterior to the ship, at a time when the common feelings of humanity would have prompted their commander to have kept them under shelter, and not to have exposed to the severity of a climate, wbich even the natives of U 2 k 250 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. tho country could scarcely enduro, clothed as they were in their almost imponetrabie coverings of seal and bear skins. Thus on the 11th February, when the thermometer was at 45" below Zero, or 77" below tho freezing point, the men were sent on shore to erect a monument, as they termed it, by which they meant a monument of the folly of its projector, from which useful service they all returned frost-bitten, the pain of which was ex- treme, and tho only palliative for which they found to be con- tinual friction with the hand. The usual custom of rubbing the part aftected with snow was seldom resorted to, as the cure was found to be not only uncertain, but very slow in its operation. Despite of the severity of the frost, the Esquimaux came to the ship, but the cold was so intense, that their stay was of very short duration. Capt. Ross tried the temperature of the air, and found it to range from 50 to 55", making 87" below the freezing point, an extreme of cold, which scarcely any animal life can endure. Every method was adopted to increase the temperature of tho sailors berths ; the cook's fire was ordered to bp kept in until. 10 P.M. ; the fires in the oven were kept constantly lighted, and by these salutary measures, the crew were enabled to main- tain a comfortable heat in their berths, and to protect themselves from an extreme of cold, which if it did not actually endanger their lives, Would be most probably attended with the loss of some of their limbs by mortification, which generally affects the parts that are frost-bitten. The morning of the I'ith was beautifully serene, although no abatement took place in tho intensity of the frost ; nothing dis- couraged nor discomfitted however by the weather, eight Esqui- maux v/omen with their childrei\ came to the ship, and it was a most lamentable sight to behold the poor shiverinj^- creatures crouching behind a mound of snow, and expecting every moment that some relief would be afforded ihem from the vessel. After waiting some time and finding that their hopes were not realized, one of the women ventured on board, but her visit was no sooner made known to Capt. Ross, than he ordered her away; some pei'haps, not ill-founded suspicions being excited in his mind that the lady visited the ship from a different motive than the LABT VOYAOB OP CAPT. ROSB. 2ftl acquisition of a needle or an empty cannister. So intent how- ever were these creatures in obtaining any old pieces of rusty iron, or other articles, which might have been thrown from tho ship as useless, that having discovered the place where the dirt of the ship was put, they employed themselves for above an hour in scratching amongst it, and if they found an article to which they attached any value, they set up a shout of joy, but not the least quarrelling or discord was observable amongst ihem. On the first acquaintance of the Esquimaux with the Europeans, they appeared to possess no other idea of obtaining a particular arlicle, than by the way of barter, and in this respect they strongly assimilate with other savage nations, whose notions of traffic never extend beyond the principle of a fair exchange, and in which the relative value of an article is determined not by its intrinsic worth, but by the utility with which it is accompanied. Thus, we were informed by the late intrepid African traveller, Mr. Landers, that for a couple of needles he could obtain an elephant's tooth; foT a piece of scarlet cloth, not worth half-a-crown, he had received two hundred cowries, with which, as being the cir- culating medium of the country, he had procured a sufficiency of food to maintain himself and his companions for two months. Thus in the system of barter which was established between Capt. Ross and tho Esquimaux, a needle or a fish-hook was no equivalent for the skin of a fox or an ermine, hut each was satis- fied with his bargain, and perhaps each thought the other a simpleton for parting with his valuables at so cheap a rate. When however Capt, Ross had filled his three flour tubs, with the articles which he had obtained in exchange for his needles and his fish hooks, and the natives experienced a difficulty in adding to their stock of European wares, owing to the restrictions which Capt. Ross had placed upon their commercial undertakings, they had recourse to another expedient, which was a system of importunate begging, in which however the women were by far the greatest adepts ; but then their supplications were accom- panied by such persuasive looks — such expressive leers — such lender ogles, and such pokings out of the nose, thdt to suppose U&'l LAST VOYACiK OF CAPT. ROSS. a British sailor could withstand them, wore to suppose with an equal degree of truth, that destiny had selected Capt. Ross ai the fittest of all the British navigators to discover the North West Passage. Many a needle did a graceful projection of the nose obtain, and without attempting to penetrate deeper into the Eleusinian mysteries of B^elix Harbour than properly becomes us, we may be allowed, sub silentio, to venture an opinion, that the sailors of the Victory obtained for a fish-hook or a rusty nail, what the late Duke of York very generously paid for by places, pensions, and promotions. , ,. . r,. f.,.. A British sailor and gallantry are synonymous, not that kind of gallantry is here meant, which laid a Nelson prostrate on his quarter deck, or a Moor, on the plains of Corunna, but we mean that peculiar attention and livility towards the female sex, which are ever shown by the kind hearted, the noble, and the brave. Although the Esquimaux ladies were not allowed to experi- ment their seductive wiles on the callous heart of Capt. Ross, and his subordinate officers, yet permission was granted to the sailors to accompany their female visitors on their way to their huts, and although they did not exactly offer them their arm, to enable them the better to surmount the hillocks of snow, which impeded their progress, yet many kind endearments passed between them, such as those that are in practice amongst the more passionate sons and daughters of Italy, France and England. A quadrille on the snow, even to the inspiring sounds of Weippert's band, would doubtless be a human phenomenon, and not less so was the dance with which the Esquimaux women delighted the sailors previously to their taking leave of each other ; it was neither a bolero, nor a fandango, nor a waltz, but it was a compound of the wildest distortions, and the most grrotesque movements which ever human iimbs attempted, and at the same time accompanied with some gestures, the meaning of which could not be mistaken. A song succeeded to the dance, and the performers were not con- tent with kooniging each other, but they proceeded sans ceremonit to koonig the sailors, some of whom testified rather a dislike to participate of so much kindness, by which a satisfactory proof was given, that woman in one particular is the same, whether LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS 263 she inhabits the shores of the Tiber, or the icy region of Felix Harbour; for the most certain method of incurring her hatred and displeasure, is to reject her advances and to treat the offer of her fivors with contempt. On the other hand, where is the woman who is indifferent to praise, and who does not rise some degrees in her own estimation, when she sees that a particular degree of attention is paid to her, in comparison to that which is paid to her compeers, and on this occasion, there was one who was jTifted with youth and beauty, (and lot not the angel beauties of England rumple their noses, when the beauty of an Esquimaux (rirl is spoken of, for so imperceptible is the transition from ugli- ness to beauty, that it is impossible to say where the one ends, or the other begins,) and to this exquisite of her race the sailors bestowed all their attentions, leaving the more aged and the ugly " to waste their sweetness on the desert air." It may appear invidious to institute a comparison between the line of conduct pursued by Capt. Parry on board the Hecla, and that, which was followed by Capt. Ross on board the Vic- tory, respecting the amusements which were provided for the respective crews, and on which indeed it may be said that the health of the men in some degree depended. A certain extent of discipline is requisite and indispensable, for in default of it, it is impossible that the duty of the ship can be properly per- formed, but there are circumstances when the judgement of the commander should be called into action, with the view of determining whether some relaxation cannot be allowed to take place in the established discipline, and certainly on no occasion would that relaxation have been more advisable or more laud- able, than during the tedious and depressing imprisonment of the Victory in Felix Harbour. A darkness of three months, exposed to all the rigor of the most inclement climate, rendered it of the utmost importance that constant employment and a habit of cheerfulness should be kept up amongst men so situated, it being well known, in addition to many recommendatory circum- stances, that there exists an intimate connexion between de- pression of mind, and that dreadful disease, the scurvy; that bope and joy not only prevent, but materially aid in the cure of 254 LAST VOlfAOE OP CAPT. ROSS. It, while gloom and despair never fail to aggravate its fatal malignity, • f^ ' • <^' ■■■-■■ •■-' '■- • ■■■''i- ■ , - •- - ■: \ ' There are circumstances in which it would not be a derelic- tion of duty, nor a departure from the dignity of the officer and commander, that the latter office should in some degree lose itself in that of the friend, and by a becoming and amiable condescen- sion establish the pleasing proof, that although filling a humbler station, the value of the common seaman is properly appreciated and rewarded. In this respect, Capt. Ross must not attempt to stand in the shoes of Capt. Parry; the latter knew the value of his men, he knew that each of them was to him a diamond, although still in the rough, and his mind seemed bent upon devising those amusements which might disarm their dreary situation of its ennui, and thereby lead them from gloom and discontent, to comparative cheerfulness and happiness. Capt. Ross, was in some degree a hermit in his cabin, physically unable to make long excursions in the country, or to bear the fatigues of the chace, his sphere of action was a circle of about two miles, the ship being the centre point, and consequently his chief employment was confined to the operations on board the ship ; overhauling the breeches, jackets, trousers and mittens of the natives, and establishing himself as the first merchant in that line who rrer visited their coasts. Capt. Parry on the contrary, had his theatre and his concerts — not an evening passed, if even- ing there could be, during a three months darkness, that a play or a farce was not acted, and the crew were permitted to partake of the recreation, although cautioned to remember that tlw/ were not in the gallery of Astley's or the Surrey, where it it a kind of privilege of their cast, to be as boisterous as the el ment which they make their home. It is true that Capt. Parry had his school on board the Hecla, and on the return of his ship to England, it was most gratifying to him to learn that every man on board could read his bible. Wo pretend not to appre- ciate nor to judge of the extent of the talents of the students ff the Hecla, nor of the pedagogic abilities of those to whom their ediuc^tioiv was entrusted, but this we do know, that if some of the students t}f the Victory could not read their bibio when LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROBS. 255 they sailed from Woolwich^ they were just as ignorant of its contents, that is, as far as self-perusal could extend, as when they were received on board the Isabella: nevertheless Capt. Ross had the merit of following a good example^ (and there is some desert attached even to the power of properly discrimin- ating between a good and a bad example,) for the very choice of the former pre-supposes the existence of a sound and superlative judgment in the individual, as it is not every man, who having two roads before him, the one leading to his goal, and the other diametrically opposite, that can from the very force of his own discrimination, select immediately the right one. Respecting the amusements provided on board the Victory, they were like angels' visits, very few and far between, and when they did appear, they were also like those same angels' visits, for a very few participated in them; it was a kind of Almacks, in which aristocratical pride and official pomposity bore the rcendancy over honest worth and plebeian virtue, and where a distinct and positive line was drawn between the commanders and the commanded, beyond which it was tantamount to mutiny to transgress. Capt. Ross himself was not a sociable character, but in extenuation of his reserve and haughtiness, it must be ad- mitted that the school in which he had been bred, namely, the quarter deck of a British man of war is not the one best adapted to teach a man urbanity and civility towards his inferior; every thing is there regulated by the irr-> power of authority, and in proportion as the individual stands i» be scale of rank, he assumes the airs and consequence of his station, and thiuks himself entitled to look down upon the grades beneath him, with superciliousness and pride. Capt. Parry and the officers under him, knew the exact time when they could unbend and assume the conduct of the familiar, without in the least compromising their authority or their rank, and in justice it must be said, that Commander Ross was not in any way inferior to them, in the occasional assumption of that truly politic and prudent character*, but with Capt. Ross the case was different, he was trebly steeped in the starch pf official iignit/, the maintenance of which he considered to consist in «J56 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT R098. abstracting himseifagmueh as possible ftoiri all fattiUiar inter- e-urse with those who were beneath him, and suffering no oppor- tunity to escape him, fey which he could shew to them that he was their superior and commander. The men were conscious that they owed him obedience ; they were not equally convinced that they owed him their respect and esteem. - --, -^^ ^^- - ^' To those who have studied the prominent characters of savage life, and have instituted an impartial comparison of the different virtues by which thSit state is distinguished, and those which appear most conspicuously amongst a civilized people, the result has generally been manifest, that the virtue of gratitude exhibits itself with greater force in a state of savage nature, than in that of civilization. This position was verified in several instances, in the intercourse of the Esquimaux with the comparatively civilized Europeans, and further that although they were ignorant of the precepts of Christianity as they are written and preached, yet that they appeared in several instances to possess the natural dis- position to practice them, thereby putting to the blush the indi- viduals, who daily read their bibles and professed to regulate their lives accordmg to the precepts contained in it. r.i-- ■•■■ > We have seen that the condvict of Capt. Ross towards the na- lives, although at first kind, friendly and conciliating, degener- ated'by degrees into that of austerity, cruelty and inhumanity, He had obtained from them all the information, which they had it in their power to give ; he had filled Ms flour tubs with their valuables; he had by his interested kindness and generosity im- pressed upon their minds the belief, that he was not only greatly their superior in all the extrinsic advantages and benefits of life, but that he was also intrinsically blessed with a humane, friendly, and benevolent disposition. It is true that the natives had coni. mined some petty thefts, which may have excited thecholeraw indignation of Capt. Ross, but in his native country, would he no have to complain of the theft of his gold, if he had left it care lessly exposed to some of the lower classes ? Beyond this venia fault, and for which Capt. Ross ought to Uve beea fully pr pared, there was not any part of the conduct of the, natives the least deserving of reprobation or censure, nlufih loss of tha ■e i uAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. R089. 251 bard and austeare treatment which they wero daily in the habit of receiving. > .- We have related the circumstance of the abrupt removal of the muimaux vromen from the deck of the Victory, and the suffer- ings which the poor creatures underwent from their exposure to the cold; the kindness however, which the sailors manifested towards them, made them some amends for the treatment which they had received ; and it was during their walk to the huts, that the sailors contrived to makt known to them, that their dogs on board were much in want of food. The women appeared not to take any notice of this appeal to their liberality, but on the follow- ing day, which was Sunday the I4th, divine service was scarcely over, when the same women were observed approaching the ship, each carrying a large piece of blubber for the dogs, and it might be supposed that for this act of kindness, and for such a striking display of the christian precept of returning good for evil, Capt. Ross would have bestowed upon them some reward but in his eye*? it appeared to be nothing more than the proper act of a sub- ject towards his sovereign, or the slave towards his master. Capt. Ross had perhaps read the History of Rome, and remembered the munificent act of Tiberius, who, when the inhabitants of Caproea opened their magazines of wine for his use, and on his taking possession of them, expected some remuneration for the sacrifice which they had made, coolly replied, "It is no more Ihan their duty.'' The sailors of the Victory entertained not however the same opinion as the emperor of the Romans, or the not less sovereign commander under whom they served, for they took the opportunity, during their escort of the ladies to their huts, to remunerate them for the seasonable supply of blubber, by the present of a few needles, and so rejoiced were they at the Return which was made to them for their kindness, that had the tailors taken the whole stock of blubber, which their husbands had brought home on the preceding day, not a dissentient voico would have been raised. To those who have perused the North Georgia Gazette, the circumstance cannot have escaped them, that amongst the crews lif the Fury and the Heola, there were some choice spirits, into U. 2l 25S (,A|IT VOYAGE OF CAPT. RO»9. whose souls nature had infused a considerable portion of Parnassian fire, and who have immortalized in hexameters and alexandrines the loves of Narlook and Ikrnalik, and all their own great and glorious achievements, their conquests and their victories over the hosts of seals and walruses, who very justly considered the human bipeds as base intruders on their legitimate domain, which had been their undisputed right, from the time that their great progenitors sprung out of the ground before Adam, and received from him their name; on which, they steered their course dowa the Euphrates; found their way, by some means, into the Euxine, and thence through the Hellespont into the Mediter- ranean, where after stopping for a short time to view an erup. tion of Mount Etna, which thev found rather too hot for ihera, they plunged through the Straits of Gibraltar into the Atlantic, and thence shaping their course direct northwest, (some power of Heaven being their pilot,) arrived in safety in Baffin's Bay, where they determined to domiciliate themselves, and proceeded to carry into effect the great mandate, which on their departure from the river Pison, was given to them by Adam, to increase and multiply. — And verily the descendants of that same Adam, found on their arrival in the adopted country of the seal family, that the said mandate had been fulfilled in an extraordinary degree. That George IV. or any other monarch, of whom they had never heard before, had any right to take possession of their country, that they had held for the period of about 4000 years, (proving thereby irrefutably that the family of the Seals in point of antiquity i« superior to that of the Guelphs,) and which they had deternriined to keep to all perpetuity, was in their opinion so contrary to every principle of justice, that it was no wonder that wars ai battles ensued, which roused the fire of the poetic geniuses of the Hecla and the Fury, and which like the celebration of Blen. heim by Addison, or of Waterloo by Walter Scott, have been versified by them with a talent which an Addison or a Scott, especially the latter could never reach, for of the effusion of the latter poet it was said— ,<,M^uTj't ^^cwiolU-.r ' Ji^idT' J'aq^'i' '•'•'■'■■ f. ' i , I « »'■■>'-» ^ .GalsiJ'ijeM ^iiii' How prostrate He the heaps of slain* ^ ' \ '. ■■jiaj ion iuri ,£ On Waterloo's innnortal plain; LAiT VOtAOE OP CAFT. ROtf. 259 But none by labre or by shot, Fell h»lf so flat as Walter Scott. But none by sabre or by shot, . ■ » ? jimbaBA'^in ba ,. . ' '^-.jm ■•;,-. o v/r« bn.^; ,f.)ii) We have considered ourselves entitled to enter into the fore- going digression, for the purpose of introducing a new character, amongst the many extraordinary ones which have already figured in these pages, and that personage is no other than the Poet Laureat of the Victory. We know that it is customary before a debutant makes his appearance on the stage, to keep the spectators for some minutes in a state of suspense, in order that their curiosity and anxiety may be wound up to the highest pitch, in anticipation of the phenomenon that is forthcoming, and we see no reason why the same method should not be adopted in the introduction of so im- portant a personage as a poet, in the very nucleus of the Arctic ons, sending forth the effusions of his prolific imagination, amidst such ardent and inspiring objects as the superlative beauty of the Esquimaux women, the exquisite flavor of whale's blubber, the sublimity of an iceberg, the grandeur of a snow storm, the freezing of mercury, the inealcul?ible advantages of a steam engine in the middle of a floe of ice, and though last not least, of Capt. Ross himself. With that modesty however which is inseparable from true merit, we are requested to withhold the name of this great aspirant for poetic fame, but one thing may be relied upon, which is, that it was not Capt. Ross himself, for it would be unjust to suppose that a genius of his transcendant powers, who, with his deep sea clamm had raised the mud of the ocean, and which but for him would perhaps never have been raised at all, could descend to such an ignoble occupation as that of tagging rhymes, and inditing pastorals in a country where a Corydon and Phyllis with their crook and lambkins would be two charact- i!? as rare to be found, as Punch and Judy in a Methodist's liapel. That the following effusi.>n by the inspired poet of ihe Victory, wi!' be copied into every Annual and Magazine, Particularly the Evangelipaji^ and the Methodist's, but not into 2fl0 LA«T VOYA^GE OF CAPT. HOM. the Penny or the Saturday, it being too high and sublime for either of them, cannot for a moment be doubted by any one, who has the talent justly to appreciate poetical merit, and who can trace in the glowing images, which breathe in every line, the vigor of a Landon and the delicacy of a Hemans. We how- ever most willingly grant permission to Capt. Ross to copy it into his forthcoming work, being anxious to furnish hira with every opportunity of giving the utmost publicity, to all the great and generous actions, which distinguished him as commander of the Victory. ♦Twas on the 9th of January a tribe of men we saw, They proved to be a race of men called the Esquimaux, They all were brought into the ship, And much was made of thejn. They got them for to come on board, And treated them as men, Always hereafter, they did come Unto us every day, r Until they were all tired, then they With presents went away. We were all glad to see thii tribe ' -. "'^ , Information for to get, ri -^ . They told us that this was a bay, ' ' ' That we took for an inlet, -; After all this intelligence , , • ■ . That these poor souls had told, *" They would not allow them to come on board, • ' ,*#•• • f ' ' So tliey kept them in the hold. , -t,, -^ „ They was* not in the least aflfronted, i • ]}<\yi ^:"-,'5 ,./ y a >>■ :U^ B"* *heir dresses they did bring, ;.. ■;nl «;s1> /mAim • We should have considered onrselves caUed upon, as the admirers of the genius af ti :poet of the Victory, to have corrected this grammatical error, but we were properly inflaence ~ by the desire to aUow him the same privileges v^hlch are daimed by the majority of the pod !; of the present day, who taka all possible pains *j» shew us tiiat gtamtaxt aa(t poetry have i ntattonship with each other. .,r.. } .„?] ,,,, vv;;!J;r*iKy I.A8T VOYAGE OF CAPT. ItOflS. 231 .pl"9(niio But not a man before the mMt waaitb'vu^iic^^ JiiJ «o {o^'jq") 3('« ,'jno X,ni> Allowed to buy a thing { * ir.'- .for.rtiv .ifiuiii) '>ti v^iiiit- ,.iI/° or^A: Now old Ross comes upon deck, ■ '-J^ "'». "« I''' '"J «*>!> '»»Hr '3JI»! i(,iJ En«[uiring, are they oome! • ,').;. "j ^ n. w . »i i.i .T . • V(Oli t> /f He buys all things, that they have got, Si.r » i < u.. i>. vi. i' f.\^i{OJv. And then, they may go home. " v- ?> m v •' k .v*.' ,jiai'j ;i.!' That Ross he is a cunning dog * ■•.,!. : -.<5 " " . •':.- , .i^U- 'vt lubii/:;-.w- Just fitted tor a We have submitted the remainder of the last stanza of this truly byronic composition, to the examination and exquisite entertainment of the Attorney General, and he has strenuously advised us, (and it would have been a scandal in him to have done otherwise, considering the heavy fee which we paid him for such advice,) to omit it altogether, unless we felt a pungent desire to be sent by "the most potent, grave and reverend Seigniors" of the Kings Bench, to eat blubber and seal's flesh with the natives of Felix Harbour, for the term of two years of our natural life, and to pay a heavy fine to his majesty the king of England, which, en passant, we never could pay, for having been so seduced by the poet laureat of the Victor j, as to throw the slightest shade upon the character of the great com- mander of her, especially on a subject so tender as an attach- ment to female beauty, although the object that excited it may have been a fat, dumpty, squab-nosed, smoke-dried daughter of an Esquimaux seal hunter. Information has reached us that the poet has nearly completed an epic poem entitled Boothia, in which Capt Ross is, of courte, the hero, and Yuggeeyueyet, the youngest female of the squimaux, the heroine. As it is now a long time since a good epic poem ha« been produced in this country, it ought to be considered as not one of the least of the great advantages tha*. have accrued from the expedition of Capt. Ross, that the litera- ture of the country is to ho eniiched with a work which -will nvalthe Thalaba ^ Southey or the Leonid's of Glover ". 262 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROS«« From several observations made by Commander Ross, at thig time, the latitude of Felix Harbour was determined to be 69^ 59, north, and the longitude 92° 2' west. J>m'^ vrrrf u"rfi ., r • The weather on the 16th being extremely fine, Commander Ross went to the huts, and having assembled the whole tribe, he told them, that they were a set of accomplished Tegligtokes (thieves,) and that unles they brought all the things back which they had stolen, they should never be allowed to come near the ship again. This threat had the desired effect, for on the following day, a party came to the ship and brought back all the stolen property, and amongst the thieves appeared, not the least conspicuous, Tullooachiu with his wooden leg. who brought back a knife which he had stolen, and with the greatest sang. frold deposited it in the very place, from which he had taken it, which was the mess berth of the sailors. They did not appear to be in the least affected with any shame on being detected in their little thefts, on the contrary by the restitution of the things, they seemed to think that they had fiilly exonerated themselves from all culpability, and that they ought to stand as high as ever they did in the estimation of the crew. ■ v From the 18th to the llnA the wind blew keenly from the north, which in some degree impeded the excursions of the officers on shore, but still the ship was visited every day by the Esquimaux, who, on one occasion Jwught the skin of a glutton and of a musk ox, and a whole seal, for the latter they obtained a cheese knife. It mav be here necessary to mention, that the articles which Capt. Ross gave to the Esquimaux in exchange for their dresses, skins and other natural productions of the country, were in fact the presents that were shipped on board the Fury, and were found by Capt. Ross on the beach. They consisted of knives, scissars, fish hooks, harpoon heads, darts, cheese-knives, awls, Sec It became a question amongst the crew whether Capt. Ross was authorized to make Use of tho^s articles, as belonging to government in the way of exchange for the productions and ttianiifactures of the country, -and then appropriating the articles BO obtaiM io his sole use; They argued that the articles were LAST VOTAGB OF OAPT. KOSB. Uli 263 shipped by government on board the Fury as presents to the natives of whatever country they might visit, for the purpose of obtaining their favor and confidence, as well as their assistance under any trying emergency that might arise, and that although they might certainly be considered by Capt. Ross in the light of treasure-trove, yet it did not follow that the whole of them belonged solely to himself, but that they should have been dis- tributod for the general benefit of the crew, at all events, that a direct malappropriation of them was committed in employing ihem entirely as articles of barter, and not in the way for which thoy were originally intended by government. . ,. .„^ Itisratherasingular circumstance, that the fancy ofCapt. Ross appeared to be particularly directed to the dresses of the natives; as no great objection was sometimes shown by him to the crew purchasing other articles of their manufacture ; thus, the steward purchased a sledge of Tullooachiu, and on examining it, it was found to be made of salmon, with skins sewed over them, but the cross pieces were the leg bones of the rein-deer. It was not an erroneous conjecture of some of the crew, that when these poor creatures are driven to extremity for food, they turn to, and make a dainty meal of their sledges, as with the exception of the rein- deer bones, the whole of them is eatable. When we refer to the description which Capt. Franklin gives, of the different articles of food by which he and his party were maintained, the compo- nent parts of the sledge of an Esquimaux would under circum- stances of extreme want, be considered a real dainty. There cannot be any comparison between a meal of tripe de roche, and the stinking marrow of a rein-deer bone, and a piece of dried salmon, which by its exposure to the frost has been kept from putridity ; indeed the epicures amongst the Esquimaux do not hesitate to declare that the flavour of the salmon is rather en- hanced by its long keeping, on the same principle, we suppose, that the flavor of the game of this country rises in the estimation of the epicure, in proportion as the bird or animal approaches to putridity. At all events it must be a novel and curious exhibition, l&observe a party of Esquimaux cutting up a sledge, aod carving ont pieces of salmdn ac^ordin^ to th^ir f sspeptiye ,$^^^^^9^ a||rt .^ 264 LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. R098. seasoning them with some of the ^'i extracted from the blubber of the whale. The latter condiment is to the Esquimaux, what Burgess' Anchovy is to the citizens of London, and instances are no; rare, in which an Esquimaux has been known to devour four pounds of seal flesh or of salmon, well soaked in whale oil at one meal, with about half a gallon of water as the beverage. . It appearing from the report of the natives, that the Glutton had made its annual visit to the country, several skins of which animal they had brought to the ship for purchase, Capt.^Ross ordered the mechanics of the vessel to construct some traps for the express purpose of catching them, as a high value was put upon their skins although the equivalent given to the Esquimaux for them, was comparatively speaking, a mere bauble. On the '23rd, a party of Esquimaux visited the ship, bringing with them the skin of a glutton and a seal, for which they received in return a knife, but it was surprising to observe, that great as their anxiety appeared to be, to become the proprietors of s* valuable an article as a knife, not the least quarrelling or alterca- tion took place between them, when the article was handed over to one particular individual. The seal was brought on a sledge drawn by a dog, and the dexterity with which they skinned it, could not have been surpassed by the most skilful anatomist. Several ravens were now seen hovering about the ship, which is always considered by the natives as a good omen, it being indicative that the seals and walruses are plentiful in the adjacent seas, as it is from the offal of their bodies that those birds generally obtainllieir sustenance. Commander Ross made several attempts to kill the ravens, but they appeared to possess all the cunning of their species, keeping as much as possible out of reach of the shot; their bodies however were only wanted as specimens of -the different kinds of birds indigenous to the country, and two being already in the cabinet of Capt Ross, their escape was con- sidered a matter of minor importance. The officers in their excursions were however more fortunate in killing the foxes and hares, as they seWbm; returned without some booty. The former 'w<^re oftly prized on account of their skin$^ but the hares and ^^ouse! formed a deleet»bi&treat to the elite ,of the cabin,Althougli LAST VOYAGE OF rAl'T. ROSS. *265 the partition sometimes of a single grouse was rog-ardod with feelings very much akin to those, which a pack of schoolhoys exhibit on the cutting up of a twelflh-cake, each fearing that Another may obtain the largest share. " ', * ' '. ^'" " '"There was scarcely a single instance during the stay of the V'ictory in Felix Harbour, of an Esquimaux coming individually to the ship-, but on the morning of the *24th, a woman was ob- served approaching, unaccompanied by any of her tribe, and with an assurance, which indicated that she had come upon some special purpose. She ascended the gangway, and placed herself close to the companion hatchway, as if she had almost a right, to assume the station, which she had selected. Considering the savage mode of life to which she was addicted, and the total absence of all cultivation mental or personal, in which she had lived from her earliest days, there was a majesty in her demeanor, and an intelligence beaming in her eye, which stamped her at once the superior amongst her fellows, and declared that she was one of those, whom nature selects amongst a horde, like the genius in civilized life, to give thoia by the force of their intellect, power, dominion and influence over the more rude and ignorant jf their species. It appeared that the imputation, which Com- mander Ross had thrown upon her tribe, that they wore TikUg- iokes, or thieves, had rankled in the mind of this extraordinary woman, and on finding an iron belaying pin, which had been taken away by one of her associates, she resolved to take upon herself the office of restoring it, and drawing it froin under her vestment, she laid it upon the binnacle, with an air of hauleur, as if she defied every one to cast any further imputation upon her tribe. Capt. Ross being informed of the arrival of this woman, whose name was Okkaru, the word signifying a tongue in the Esquimaux language, and which was bestowed upon her on account of her eloquential powers, she was admitted into the cabin, and her demeanor there soon betrayed the superior strength of her intellect, by the total absence of that vacant wonder, which always distinguishes the uncultivated savage, on his first intro- duction to the objects of science and of civilized life. She seated he-self in a chair without stopping for an invitation, and 12 2 m 266 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. seeing' a violin suspended in a corner of the cabin, she appeared almost instinctively to know its use, and gave them to know by -signs, that she should like to hear the sound of it ; a few chords were struck upon it, and as if bitten by a tarantula, she began immediately to dance, but stopped, as soon as the music ceased. Commander Ross now asked her to favour them with a sonsr. but like certain other accomplished singers, she required a great deal of pressing before she would grant the request ; and she also resembled certain singers in another particular, for having once began to sing, there was no such a thing as stopping her. Her .song was like our Chevy-chase, with a few of the longest of the Percy ballads following in succession; or she was like the indi- vidual, vsho really could not sing, although his companions were in their own minds convinced to the contrary, and therefore so importuned the unfortunate wight with their entreaties, that to be. revenged upon them for their obstinacy, he selected the two ; lines: « *• I was there all the wliile, ■' •■ • At the siege of liellcisle. and w ith some slight modulation of the voice, continued to chant them for above half an hour, until he drove the major part of his audience out of the room, considering that the fellow was de- cidedly mad. Fortunately however for the ears of Capt. Ross, and those of the remainder of the audience, this Catalani of the Esquimaux got to the end of her bravura, and Commander Ross made up his mind, that if Okkaru ever visited the ship again, never to invite her to sing. . . , . . . ?. But the superior intelligence of this extraordinary woman, was perhaps the most conspicuous in the readiness, with which she was made to comprehend the manner of laying down on paper, the geographical outline of that part of the coast of America, with which she was acquainted, and the neighbour- ing Islands, so as to construct a chart. It was at first found I difficult to make her comprehend what was meant, but Com- mander Ross discovered that she was acquainted with the four! LAST VOYAGE OF CaPT. ROSS.' i6T cardinaf points of the compass; for on mentioning the word Kannunngnak, she pointed to the north — at that of Pinguvgnak, to the south — at that of Ooagnvk, to the west— and at that of Neeyuk, to the east: he then shewed herihe charts which had been laid down of the country and seas to the westward by somo of her tribe, on their first coming on board the Victory, and following the tracings with her finger, she shook her head on coming to a particular part, as if denoting that it was erroneous. She was now requested to alter it, as perhaps the very success of the expedition depended upon the information, which she was about to furnish, and it would greaily have amused an unconcerned looker on, to have watched the anxiety and suspense depicted on the countenances of the group, by whom she was surrounded, for never were the tracings of a pencil regarded with more eager solicitude. The Esquimaux, who had been previously consulted, had made the bay in which the Victory then was, approaching nearly to a Cul de sac, at all events a difference was distinct as 10 the existence of an open sea to the westward, some denying it, and others aflirming it. From the information of Okkaru, it appeared that there was an open sea, at the distance of about fifly senlks, but a great difficulty here presented itself, of definitively determining that distance from the term which she had used. Senik in the Esquimaux signifies sleep, and they distinguish the distances from place to place by so many seniks, or sleeps, but the length of their sleeps differs nsiderably in winter and summer, the senik of the former being much longer than that of the latter. On referring however to the voyage of Capt. Parrj it was found that one day's sailing of the ship was about equal to forty seniks, and therefore, according to the information of Ok- /artt, the open sea was not much further than one days sailing or fifty seniks. In order however to try the veracity ofOkkaru's in formation, she was requested to draw the line of the coast which they had themselves examined on their passage to Felix Harbour, and they found her delineation of it to bo perfectly correct ; they were therefore privileged to assume, that as her informa- *ion on one point was according to their own experience, con- formable to the truth, it was also €o on the other, and it wa,s 268 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS the source of no little gratificatiott to Capt.^Oss, t(> tiav^ the opinion confirmed by an individual, who appeared to possess such extraordinary talent, of the existence of an open sea to the westward, and Okkaru became in consequence a great favourite on board the Victory. The result however of her superior under- standing*, and the attention that was shown to her, was just what might have been expected : Okkaru was a female, and what female head is indifferent to praise, whether it be on the shoulders of an Esquimaux, or a native of Middlesex. She found that she was treated with a degree of confidence, far superior to what was shown to the other females of her tribe ; for whilst they were not permitted to ascend the gangway, and were kept shivering in the outer air, exposed to all the violence of the elements, the watchman on the gangway made way for Okkaru, as if she actually belonged to the ship ; it is not therefore to be wondered at that she became giddy with her exaltation, and began to assume certain airs, which although infinitely diversi- fied in their operation according to circumstances, perhaps universally attend a too sudden accession of good fortune in every child of Adam from the equator to Felix Harbour. The consequence of all, which was that Okkaru was spoiled ; she con- sidered her admission into the ship and most of the cabins no longer as an indulgence but a matter of right ; she ceased to return the slightest acknowledgment for any kindness or presents; became listless and inattentive in unravelling the meaning of the questions that were propounded to her, and careless whether her answers conveyed the information which was desired; in short Okkaru in the middle of February and Okkaru on the Ist of March were confessedly very different persons, at the same time it afforded no little amusement to observe the airs and graces which she put on, whenever one of her country w^omen accosted her; turning her back upon her, as if it were a condescension to speak to her ; nor was it very easy for any of the crew to per- suade themselves that the Okkaru who brought the belaying pin, and was glad to receive a needle in return, was the same person who strutted about the deck of the Victory, as if she were Cleo- patra herself on board the vessel of Marc Anthony. The in- *>.» rn' LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. 1t09 formation ofOkkaru was in many instances confirmed respecting a sea to the westward, but as to the possibility of navigating it, was a question which subsequent events were to confirm or disprove. On the *i8th the Esquimaux brought another seal, but they were not admitted on board. After the performance of divine service, it being the sabbath day^ the crew asked permission to take a walk to the huts, but the request was most peremptorily refused, in fact, the disposition of Capt, Ross appeared to partake of the nature of a vane, and in some degree to be regu- lated by the quarter from which the wind blew. He certainly never condescended to give a reason for the refusal which he gave to the crew, but it appeared to arise more from the whim ot the moment, than from any good and substantial cause. The E^quimnuv received a few fish-hooks for the seal, but they did not appear very \^ell satisfied with their reward, and as a proof, on the following day theybroughta glutton, but they would not part with it until they knew what they were to receive for it; which proves that notwithstanding their apparent stupidity and ignorance, they began to ascertain some correct ideas of the principles of traffic, by not parting with an article, until ihe equivalent was determined upon^ The month of February ended with fine weather but a very slight diminution \a the intensity of the frost. *i> '.(I '.'Si- ■>•: i:- r... '<■■:,'. :^' • - "i.-.t ::j^ :■■: : .•..■ ■ ■•-■,'■ •i) ?i;.i«s v' ■ . ■ - ■ ■j.vr . ■ -fiV!; i)t:« ':■'■' V ■ • ' ■ ' ■..;.■ ^- ..,_ -• ^ao->Oi5 jii'jis:: Off :'■•;• ^.y- . .••: - ' ". ■■•■ ' ' '' •• ■•" ■■■'■'*'■' •?af>->g^>bno i \. jS'^ >■ ;; ! •■ - ■• "•' '■ ''.■••• •^•!^^ ^:li'iAi.!' " ^■• CfOi v/m-i ;iii^ '•'■:• ti'^' ''■^•i ;--"'^ ■''^^ *' '"'"'''' '^^' ' • ''^'-^ '-'' •^^•-<' ' n%(i (>i(ink Cffii r.(m .jywi'n c^ =>'-^t^v»f ^- i^its^if^y rsj mi^ i'.cff h^i^ ■:1'3 oioy»' dd» 'tj %ii .-^loiulV vjf.'W ±^f*h mU H-^iU hm^n^'■ii>P' ■ ; f>(JT ''■ao!-' •'.«]/ )•> b-yz-'f cuM Imsui^ m \mv3>(i ^f^''- 270 tAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS The following is the scale of the Temperature of the air, by the Thermometer for the month of February, 1830, • • Highest Lowest ■ 1 , - Highest' Lowest Highest Lowest Feb. Below Above Feb. Below Above Feb. Below Above 1 26 25 12 43 39 23 14 n 2 29 25i 13 48 41i 24 11 3* 8 40 S6 14 40 39 25 14 64 4 41 ■ 15 43 38 26 22 11 5 42 16 48 32 27 SO 17 6 42J 17 27 15 28 31 21 7 43 40 1 18 14 9 8 12 42 19 16 n 9 27 4» 20 10 5 10 34 43 21 8 & ]| • 42 22 10 4 ;v, ■!;'... ■ I. ■:■,!■■ 'i ' M ( > ■■, .',1 ■'!■■/ y W ■■(■■ -;^ -vw/t'f *;■': -mo'..) ,?.fif)fifiJf»rtt *!JlO»v-*if; /finnri a! ' f<'>t^r«fo (p/>f» ir-.v "'^ v LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R0%9. .'271 ■I I CHAPTER V. k .■.■■. ■J f 1 i PROCEIiDINGS FROM THE FIRST OF MARCH, 1830, TO THE FIRST OF SEPTEMBER, Mia r Notwithstanding the treatment, which the Esquimaux re- ceived, they continued their visits daily to the ship, bringing with them a number of articles, the majority of which were claimed and purchased by Capt. Ross. Commander Ross find- ing that the trap, which he had constructed for the caption of the gluttons did not prove successful, he questioned some of the Es- quimaux on the subject, and they agreed to build one for him on their own construction. They accordingly accompanied him t a particular place, where it was alleged that the gluttons fre- quented, but strange to tell, not a glutton was caught in the trap, although it was subsequently discovered that the worthy Commander, in spite of his superior sense and wisdom was himself caught in the trap, which the stupid and simple Esquimaux had laid for him. It appeared indeed most surprising to the Commander, that the natives, especially the two, who had assisted him in the construction of the trap, seldom visited the ship without bring- ing a glutton with them, but although he visited his trap daily, not a glutton was to be seen, yet by the marks of their steps in the snow, it was evident that they had been close to it. Suspect- ing that he was the dupe of these artless, simple people, and though not exactly a glutton himself, that he had been entrapped by them, he resolutely accused them at once, Tiklikpoke kakawick mikkee, " you steal glutton." In many previous instances, Com- mander Ross had succeeded m impressing upon the minds of the natives, that he possessed some secret power of discovering their I ITl LAST VOYAOR OF TAPT. ROSS. actions, and particularly, where any fraud was attempted to be practised upon him, and in the present case, the conviction was Rt itrong upon them, that he was privy to the whole ol ti»ei pt'^ceedings, that they confessed that two gluttons had been cauj-ht 'n the trap, but by a refinement of reasoning scarcely to be expected from such uncultivated creatures, they argued that as I'ley had brought the gluttons to the ship, they had rather 'performed an act of kindness, than one for which they should be censured ; but then Commander Ross informed them, that as the glu^v.ons were caught in his own trap, they were consequently his property, and therefore they ought not to have demanded the same reward, as if they had been caught in traps of their own setting. To which the natives replied with all the cunning of the Jesuit, that they had not exacted the reward for the ani- mals, but for the trouble of bringing them. There was on the part of Commander Ross, no surmounting this piece of deep cm- uistry, and he simply informed the natives, that for the future he would take upon himself the trouble of conveying the captured animals to the ship. They appeared fully disposed to acquiesce in this determination of the Commander, still no gluttons were caught in his trap, although the natives continued to bring them. One morning, Commander Ross found a fox in the trap, but some circumstances led him to believe, that the animal was put there designedly by the natives, for the purpose of deceiving him, and appropriating to themselves the whole trade in the gluttons, as being far more valuable than the foxes. ' '*' >-/'''- ^ On the 2d a party of Esquimaux came to the ship with the information of the death of Illictu, the father of Tullooachiu, and who had been drawn to the ship on a sledge, the first day that the communication was opened between the natives and the c re w of the vessel. As this was the first death that had occurred in the tribe since the arrival of the Victory, it was the anxious de(5>]aHxi v^^i•>f^• '>''' T.AST VOYAOK OF CAPT. R099. 277 On the return of the party with the intelligence of the discovery of the corpse, Capt. Ross determined that as it had been deprived by the carpenter of one of its extremities, he would without any further loss of time obtain possession of the other, and he therefore despatched Mr. Mc'Diarmid with two of the crew, to behead llUctu, and to bring to him the head, as Judith did of old that of Holofernes. The decapita- tion was performed by the surgeon, secundum artem ; and l)eing delivered to Capt. Ross, it was determined that it should cut a prominent figure in his cabinet of arctic curiosities. Be it here recorded, that in addition to the many eminent quali- fications which adorn the mind of Capt. Ross, he has obtained a sinattering of phrenology, by which he has been able to determine by certain prominences on his own head, denominated in the tech- nical jargon of the science, organs or bumps, that he possesses in an eminent degree all the virtues which are necessary for the discoverer of the North West Passage. It is rumoured, (but rumour is often a lying hussey,) that it is owing to the extraor- dinary size of the organ or bump of conceitedness that Capt. Ross was induced to undertake his last voyage, at all events, he had now obtained a subject which could amuse him in his leisure hours, and divert him from perfecting himself in so infallible a science as phrenology, by any experiments which he might feel himself inclined to perform on his own head. He turned and twisted the ciput of Illictu round and round; exam- ined this bump and then that, and in the first place he discover- ed that the organ of destructiveness was strongly developed — a subsequent investigation revealed to him that Illictu had destroyed more seals and walruses than any other of his tribe, and therefore he had by his own experimental researches fully confirmed the principles of the science. He also found that tl e organ of amativeness was very large— Capt. Ross knew that Illictu, for an Esquimaux had had a very large family therefore here again he was right— not that his previous knowledge of the extent of the family of Illictu had the slightest influence on the discovery of the extraordinary size of the bump of amativeness ; it was clearly pointed out to the scholars of the Victory during 278 LAST VOYAGE OF CATT. ROSS. one of their evening sederunts (we believe that to be the term, in the country which has the honor of having given birth to Cftpt. Ross, for the meeting of scholars,) and therefore Capt. Ross could not have been led by any previous acquaintance which he had collected, touching the state or extent of Ulictu's family. There was however one bump on the head of Illictu, which in the M.S. before us, appears as No. 16, and on referring to the organic scale it was found to denote the organ of intelligence,* now Capt. Ross himself experienced that Illictu was one of the most stupid of his race, and where all are most notoriously stupid, he who is the most so, must have reached the very climax of stupidity; then what was to be done with bump No. 16? it is true that Capt. Ross had verified the principles of the science in two instances, and where a man has succeeded in any attempt twice out of thrice, no one has a right to throw a stone at him, as a blunderer in his profession : it was however thought advis- able not to push the phrenological researches any further, and the ultimate destination of the head of Illictu was seriatim determined upon. It was put into a net, and let down close to that of the bear under the ice, for the shrimps to take their choice, between the flesh of a savage animal and a savage man, but the shrimps appeared not to entertain any relish for either of them, for on the departure of the Victory from Felix Harbour, no great pro- gress had been made in the consumption of the flesh, and in the third winter harbour, the two heads were entirely forgotten. This attempt to obtain a com|)lete skeleton of the two heads, was however attended with one bad effect, that it gave the ma- jority of the crew such a disgust for the shrimps, that they could never be prevailed upon afterwards to eat them, although this • We rcmemDcr when the bust of Corcler, the murderer of Mai la Martin, was sent by Mr. Or- ridge, the Governor of Bury Goal, to the present Alderman Kelly, It was submitted to the exam- ination of the leading [)hrcnolo(:;i!-ts of the day, but they were kept in ignorance of the exact sub- ject from which tlie bust was taken. The report was, that the organ of destractiveness was verr minute indeed, whilst those if amiableness and humanity were strongly developed. When they were informed that they had been examining the bust of Corder, they looked signiflcantly in each other's face, and exclaimed, " Brother, brotliur, \»e are both in the wron^." This was a Second Bdition of the Edinburg Turnip. LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 279 aversion, like all othtrs, winch havo not a natural oriffin, but are acquired bv circumstances, niig:ht have been easily overcome, if they would for a moment have taken it into their consideration, that the shrimps and in fact, many other fish, which they eat with so much relish in tlioir native country, nourish themselves on the putrid carcases, IjuTian and animal, wiiich casualties have thrown in their way. One lumdred lobsters liave boen known to reduce a plump hiiman corpse to the state of a complete skeleton in a few hours, and yet the alderman or the vestrvman. who mi«>-ht praise the extraordinary sweetness of the sauce which has been made of one of these lobsters, little dreams that the superiority of the flavour is perhaps owincr to its having fed lately on human flesh, which is known to surpass all others in its sweetenino- and fattening qualities. The party, who had repaired to Yakkee Hill for the purpose of ascertaining- the new situation of the Esquimaijx, had so sta- tioned themselves that by means of their telescopes, thoy could observe the motions that were J^oing forward on board the Victory, as well as the actions of the Esquimaux about their huts. They saw the women, who had been to the ship with their peltry, shap- ing their course homewards, and tiiey had no sooner wound round a small promontory from which they could be seen from the huts, than the men were seen runnin3u3.>t>x' ,i-,1i ^ ■* '.■ 'i 'j'-'; • ' '•■ IKMALIK. -- - - •' ' •"-•• ►.-- ARCHNALUAK. KAKK\AKE\U. NARLOOK MELENA. '"' ' TIAGASU. ' OOBLOORAIAK. ..... ULUNENA. '^' NOWUNOW. POOWUTVOOK. MJTCHEUK. ^ From which it appears that, of eleven men of which the tribe ot division consisted, five only had wives, and their families combined amounted only to 14 persons, and not a female amonc^st thoiii that wasmarriag-eable. We expect to receive the sincere thanks of Dr. Malthus for this piece of intelligence, as we have pointed out to him one part of the globe, where the propagation of the human species is remarkably slow, and where there is no fear of the population exceeding the means of subsistence, so long as the seas continue to swarm with whales, seals, and walruses. The 7th being Sunday, after divine service had been performed, the crew were permitted to walk to the huts, at the same time that the steward took the sledge and the dogs for the purpose of cxercisiniT them. Thev bent their course first to the huts which had been deserted, for the express purpose of obtaining a view of the corpse of lUictu, which, in its then mangled state could not have been a very pleasing sight. On entering the hut, in which the surgeon had performed the operation of decapitation, it was evident from the marks which were distinofuishable on the snow, that it had been visited by some savage animal, who perhaps had made a dainty meal of the remainder of the corpse, but still it was conjectured, that had such been the case, some remains of the body would have been found, for it was scarcely possible for LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 281 *ny anima! to have dragged it out of the hut, nor were there any marks on the outside which could warrant the supposition, that an animal had effected its entire removal. The disappearance of the body remained a mystery which never was solved ; or questioning however, some of the tribe, who had built their huts on the ice, they shook their heads in a most signiBcant manner, and it was evident that they knew of the head having been taken away, for one of them drew his hand across his throat, which was at once explanatory that they had discovered the ab traction of the member, and therefore it was most probable that they had removed the remainder altogether, as it was not unlikely that the same party, who had taken such a fancy to the head, might have also the same longing for an arm or a leg, although to what uses they could be applied was a problem, too difficult for their limited capacity to solve. The specimens of the ingenuity of the Esquimaux had hitherto been confined to the manufacture of their bows and arrows, and some articles of their apparel, although it was supposed that had Ihe necessary materials been forthcoming, they would have been able to produce many things fully adequate to prove that their inventive powers were not so meagre and limited as the crew of the Victory were led to believe. Iron and wood were almost wholly wanting; the chief material of all their manufactured articles consisting of the bones of tiie different animals, which were indigenous to their country. On the 18th two women came to the hip, bringing with them a basin made of the horn of a musk ox, but the workmanship was rude and clumsy in the ex- treme. The arrival of these women with this new specimen of Esquimaux ingenuity was announced to Capt. Ross, and it may be easily supposed that he did not let such a favourable oppor- tunity escape him of adding so valuable an article to his cabinet of curiosities. . . . Ji has been said by a great man, that " dire events from trivial causes Eow," and every man, who will give himself the trouble tP take a sui y ,9f his own life, will find that the most important events of it have sprung, not from circumstances to w|j|cli he attached the greatest importance, but from some trifling ihcjdeiiti 1%. 2o "^ 28*1 T.AST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS, wl.ich lie deemed scnrcely worthy of his notice. This position has been notably illustrated by Swift, in the case of a great war ensuing from the trivial dispute, whether an errg can stand on its little end or its big one; and it is well known that the \enrrth of Cleopatra's nose was the cause of a war, in which it nay be said, that Caesar and Anthony fought for a world and a wonian^ and both were lost. When therefore such important events can flow front causes so very trivial, is it to be wondered at that a civil war should have nearly broken out amongst the tribe of Esquimaux, at the mere loss of a basin made of the horn of an ox? but so it is written in the chronicles of those days, and the country is indebted to Capt. Ross, or more properly speaking to the in- dividuals, who, contrary to the knowledge and expectation of that individual have furnished us with the materials for this work, in having been the instruments of conveying to this country, an ac- count of so important an epoch in the history of the Esquimaux people. Thus it is written in the chronicles before us, that there was in the possession of Ooblooraiak, a certain utensil, which after great labour and trouble, he had manufactured from the horn of a musk ox, and from which it was his custom to recreate himself with copious draughts of seal's blood, or in default of that refreshing and gratifying beverage, with water from the rivulet or from ice thawed over his lamp. That it was on or about the 8th March, 1830, according to the computation of tlio Kabloonas, that the said Ooblooraiak betook himself to a distame from his dwelling, to certain holes or cavities in the ice, then and there to kill certain seals and walruses for the support of his beloved wife Ulunena, and their chubby beautiful offspring, and to regale himself on his arrival at home, with a hearty potation of the blood of the aforesaid animals, from the cup made of the ox's horn. It further appears in the said chronicles, that Ooblooraiak, like the husbands in more civilized countries, possessed the fullest confidence in the integrity and decorous conduct of his beloved Ulunena during his absence, and con- sequently left her in possession of all his goods and chattels, amongst which, was comprised the valuable cup or basin, the worth of which to him was greater than its weight in silver or LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. 0S9. 289 gold, those metals being to him as mere pieces of shining dross, in comparison to tiie transparent and beautiful solidity of a circular piece, of horn. Delicately indeed have the said chronicles hinted, that many European husbands have been most wofully deceived, in the estimate which they have formed of the integrity and decorous conduct of their wives, during their temporary absence from home, and therefore that it becometh not any Kabloona to bespatter with the mud of his censure the wife of Ooblooraiak, for any little wandering, which she may have committed from the straight forward road of duty, whilst her husband was seal- ing the fate ot a seal, for the gratification of her blubbery appe- tite. It is the custom of the Kabloona wives on the commission of any particular peccadillo to ascribe it to the irresistible tempta- tion of a certain individual who holds his court in Pandemonium, considering that as their amiable and virtuous progenitor Eve, could not withstand the seduclive and fascinating powers of that finished gentleman, it ought not in charity to be attributed to them as a crime, if at any time they yielded to an over-powering temptation, which might be designedly or accidentally thrown in their way. Unfortunately however for Vlunena she could not shelter herself under the wings of so accommodating a person- age for any transgression which she might commit, for she had never heard of his existence, and we sincerely hope that her Ignorance will be everlasting. But that Vlunena was tempted and irresistibly tempted — the chronicles distinctly relate, but by what witch, imp, fiend or devil, there is no record existino- to tell. She had just fulfalled the pleasing occupation of the mother, ib having satiated the appetite of her children with a few pounds of seal's flesh, and had plentifully lubricated their throats with a corresponding quantity of the best rancid oil, when our devil (for no other person could have been guilty of such a wicked act,) must either by land or by water, (the chron- icles are certain he did not come from above,) have found his way to the hut of Ulunena, and there infused his tempting spirit into her hitherto pure and sinless heart: she looked at the basin of the ox's horn— but why did it at this time so particu- larly attract her attention ? aim had freauently and daily looked '281 i:.A8T VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. at it, and soiVf in it no more than the specimen of her dear husband's ingenuity, and the favourite utensil from which he quaffed his invigorating potations of the sanguineous fluid of the seal — She looked at the basin again, (the devil himself or one of his imps, must have been at her elbow,) What f she exclaimed (we have translated this monologue literally from the original before us,) what ? if I were to take the basia to the Kabloonas\ what might I not obtain for it? — some hooks < some needles ! and Oh! perchance — a looking glass? — there was happiness — there was rapture in the very thought — to behold daily and hourly her own beautiful countenance, her black and streaming hair, in all its wild and matted confusion — to be able to adjust her Togluga (band for the hair,) with becoming grace, and to see that her hood was not put on awry; what was the worth of an insignificant basin of horn, in comparison to such inestimable advantages ? Her husband might make another basin, but was the opportunity to be lost of obtaining possession of so valuable an article as a looking glass, for the Kahloonas might never visit their coasts again ; thus like many other daughters of Eve, who are about to commit an act which their conscience disproves, she argued herself into a clear imputation of all crime in the disposal of the basin, and making a confidant of Kak- kaakenu, they set forward to the vessel with the devoted article, but great and grievous was the mortification of Ulunena, when instead of the much wished for mirror, she received only four needles and two fish-hooks. The sun had just shown his upper limb above the horizon, when Ooblooraiak was seen crawling into his hut, dragging after him a ponderous seal, from the posterior part of which he anticipated a sumptuous feast of some broiled cutlets, and an invigorating draught of its serous blood, but in order to obtain the latter, it was necessary that the animal should be immediately anato- mized, or the blood might be so coagulated, as to render it un- potable. Into the throat of the animal, Ooblooraiak plunged his knife — Ossarsaree mikkee,* exclaimed Ooblooraiak, give me the * The literal signification of these words, is "Beloved Bitch," it is however an expression of peat •adearmmt.amongst the Esquimaux, and should a love-sick swain amongst them, ever dttempt LAST VOYAGK OF CAPT. ROSS. 285 basin. The blood was flowing on the ground, and Ulunena brought not the basin. The basin ! repeated Ooblooraiak/m the most authoritativo tone ,^Kab—Kab^Kabloona, stammered Ulunena, and looked as pale, as a smutty smoked Esquimaux could h)ok — Ooblooraiak sprang from the ground, the bloody- knife 'n his hand, and with a stentorian voice roared out, Nuk- huckpoowuknuicheuk! !^ It was a sound at which Ulunena shook with terror, and liad she been educated at an English boarding school, where the pupils are taught how to faint with grace and elegance, there is little doubt but that she would have displayed some of the evolutions, circumvolutions, and revolutions which are practised on those occasions; nor, as the novelists have it, could she apply her handkerchief (not having one) to her eyes, and rush out of the hut con strepito— hut she did what every other Esquimaux woman would have done on such a terrific occasion, when her husband stood before her with a bloody knife in his hand, and his utterance choaked with rage, she threw herself on her knees, not for the purpose of imploring the pardon of her offended husband, but as being the posture most convenient and proper to enable her to crav> 1 out of the hut, and seek a refuge in the hut of Kakkaakenu, her coadjutor and accomplice in the atrocious act. Tookoopoke / Tookoopoke /+ now sounded through the whole village ; like rabbits when hunted out of their holes by the ferrets, from the opening of every hut were seen crawling the inmates, to learn the cause of the dreadful commotion. to indite an epistle to his Inamorata, this would appear at the commencement as synonymous with our, " My dearest life," or "My darling love." ♦ This word is decidedly untranslatable » but, by a subjoined note we are Informed, that it con- tains the essence of all the curses of Eniulphns, and the quintessence of all the anathematising curses of the Roman Catholic Church. The G me of the English, the F— — r of the French. and the S 1 of the Germans, are in comparison to it, epithets of mildness. J t The Greek* bad no word in their languago for parricide^ aa it was a crime they did not 8«p. pose a huff-an being oould commit » on Uie same princii^e, the Esquimaux have no word In their language for murder, it being a crime unknown amongst them. The signification of Tookoopoka is "kill he does," as In their language, the auxiliary verb always follows the active, and the verb foUows the noun, aa Keilukpoke, " knot he ties," Kakleekpuk,; " breeches, he puts un his." 286 tAST VOYAGE OV CAPT. ROSP. Oohlooraiak appeared, and as well as his rago would permit hira, he made known to the assembled tribe the heinous crime ipvhich his " beloved bitch" had performed, and another proof was now given in addition to the many thousands that are recorded in every page of history, that let the guut of an individual be ever so great, there will be found some, who will attempt to palliate it. and in some instances to exonerate the reputed crimi- nal altogether. It is however, in some respects, not with the Esquima'ux as it is with the Kabloonas ; with the former the de- linquent had every one of her own sex to espouse her cause, they saw in her transgression, nothing more than what every one of them would have done under similar circumstances of strong temptation ; and without the light of Christianity to guide them on their way, or the power of education to influence their actions, they, from a natural bias, looked with an eye of indulgence and forbearance on the fa-dt, which their fellow woman had cooi- n.itted. and resolved to rescue the delinquent from the vengeance of her infuriated husband. With the Kabloonas on the contrary, small indeed is the mercy which is shown by a female to a fallen one of her own sex, and if she has stepped aside from the palli of vlitue in one particular direction, the damned sinner might as well look for mercy from the fiends of hell, as the female culprit from her sister woman. With the consciousness that th^ same crime cannot be imputed to herself, for the best of all reasons perhaps, that her virtue has never been tempted, nor her heart been ignited by the fire of an ardent love, she assumes to herself the character of the spotless saint, and thinks herself entitled on every occasion, to splutter forth the effusions of her indignation and contempt for the individual, who, after all, has only shown herself in obedience tq the laws of nature and her God The Esquimaux is the child of nature, the European the mechan- ical subject of education and civilization, and we require not at the present day, the eloquence of Jean Jaques to show us the relative superiority of the two characters when taken in the ab- stract, and wider as the circle of a man's experience extends in the world, the i iner will be his conviction, that in proportion LAST VOVAOE OF CAPT. R0S9, 287 ap an individual depnTts from tho course pointed out to him by nituro, and allows himself to be governed by the forms and ceremonies of civilized life, the more he is to be feared and sus- pected, and to be treated, as if with the acquired knowle^e of those ceremonies, he had also become habituiited to all tho vices which disfigure the human character. It was the influence of this principle that impelled the crabbed cynic Diogenes to strip the cock of its plumes, and turning him loose into the academia exclaimed, 'Behold the man of civilization!' " • . Whilst thus descanting on the relative advantages of nature and education, the hubbub of war has been sounding in the Esqui- maux village, and happy will posterity deem itself, that a fait'ifiil chronicler has been found, to record the various exploits which were then achieved, the singular instances of generalship per- formed by the combatants, and lastly the peace that was affected by the all conquering power of female persuasion. Singular indeed would it have been if the latter event had not taken place, considering that Ulunena had succeeded in enlisting every fe- male of the tribe in her behalf, and they, in addition, holding a considerable number of the male population under their dominion, for let it not be thought that such a weighty difference exists in the domestic relations of an Esquimaux and a European, that the character of a henpecked husband is not to be found amongst them, for as Adam was the first person who appeared in that character in the theatre of this world, it is not to be wondered at that a number of people, have been ever since most anxious to follow in his steps, and to show themselves as willing and able as he was to enact the character, to the very life, in all its shades and diversities. It was indeed confessed that on the present occasion the Esquimaux women assumed a power, which did not belong to them, but that is by no means a circumstance of any very great rarity.either in the vicinity of Felix Harbour or on the banks of the Thames, for instead of allowing their husbands to interfere personally in the business, they placed themselves at the entrance of therr huts, and prevented their egress, con- sidering that there was already a suflficiency without, to bring tlie matter to an amicable issue, and that were the number to 288 LAST VOYAGE OF CAFT. n0S8. be increased, the greater would be the risk of the war being extended to an indefinite term, and the harmony of the settle- ment destroyed for ever. To say that any action of consequence was ever committed without a woman being remotely or imme- diately connected with it, were to give our enemies an indisput- able proof in their hands, that we know nothing either of woman or the world in which she moves. U^ko is she f said the Schah • of Persia to one of his attendants, who brought him the intelli- gence of the death of one of his subjects, who had his brains knocked out by falling from a scaffold.— Go and inquire, said the Schah, Who is she ? The messenger returned, and informed the Schah, that he had made the necessary inquiries and had learned, that the man overbalanced himself and fell from the scaffold— fFAo is she ? vociferated the Schah, bring me instant intelligence, or the bastinado is your lot.—The messenger re- sumed his inquiries, and on his return to the Schah informed him, that he had ascertained that one of the most beautiful women of his harem was passing by, and the man in attempting to obtain a glimpse of her, overbalanced himself and fell. I knew it, said the Schah, there never was a circumstance of any conse- quence that ever took place, in which a woman was not in some degree concerned. It appears that this principle acts with equal force in the vicinity of Felix Harbour, as at the court of Ispahan, and although daily experience proves to us that a woman is often the fomentor of broils and quarrels, yet, that on the other hand, she is the most successful peacemaker that can be selected, except in cases of jealousy or infidelity, in which she is a person as fit and proper to be chosen a pacificator, as a tigress in the settling of a dispute between two lanibs. The loss of the basin was undoubtedly one of a serious and mortifying nature ; it was looked upon as a kind of heir loom iu the family, and more than all, from what utensil was the invi- gorating draught of the Beal's blood henceforth to be taken ?— thesa were circumstances undoubtedly calculated to raise the. asperity of a more cold blooded being than an Esquimaux, but , then on the other hand, was nothing gained, as a son of Erin would say, by the loss of the basin ? the season foi salmon fish- LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSSi 289 ing wag fast approaching ; was tho acquisition of a dozen of fish-hooks to be regarded as a trifle, when perhaps fifty times the value of a basin of horn might be obtained, and their stow-holes filled with fish as an absolute safeguard from alt future want? And then, were there not a dozen seaKs skins lying uselessly in corner of the hut for the want of the materials and instruments 10 convert them into clothing for the ensuing winter ? and now that the said materials and instruments had been obtained by s address and activity of the affectionate spouse of Oohloo- raiak, was it to be visited upon her as a crime, and punishment (0 be inflicted upon her, as if she had committed an act which compromised the character or happiness of her husband and fiinily? These were arguments, which Ooblooraiak himself could not controvert, he looked at tho hooks, and in imagination hesaw the number of salmon dragged by them from their native element into his stow-hole ; he looked at tho needles, and Ihneva declared that she should now be able to manufacture |jr him one of the best suits of clothing, that had ever hung on liisback, since they had become man and wife; he laid down tho vengeful knife on tho snow, his nose and that of "his beloved bitch" were heartily rubbed against each other, and Tiggeetaguo arriving at that opportune moment with a fine seal, the throat was cut, and catching the ruby liquor in the palms of their hands, for want of a horn basin, they drank oblivion to tho past, and permanent concord for the future. Whilst these eventful circumstances were passing in the filiage of the Esquimaux, no great difference was observable in he daily occupations of the Kabloonas on board the Victory. Their life was a dull, uniform state of monotony, with very little enliven it, and that little dealt out with a sparing and nig- gardly hand. It is not to be wondered at if ill humour and dis- content now and then exhibited themselves, especially as it was rell known that Capt. Ross and Commander Ross in many points ere unfriendly towards each other, and that their views and aims, heir opinions and plans did not in the least harmonize together. 8 the active efficient officer, the weight of the expedition was pon the shoulders of Commander Ross ; the responsibility of 13. I p !190 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROM. it upon those of Capt. Rush ; the judgement and science of the one was to be put into the scale with the negative ability of the other, and that, which the former accomplished was acceded to the latter, as the avowed and acl4 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R09S. ^/\t ouiJJw wef^i'i >.'h!kii.* >;. ii':*^> »^i^ EOtU^i^J^v^^t' ^fi^ -iiiiaav^ by the force of stratagem to bring the animals within the fange of his shot, .t-i«ib«; '?'^ ^.-;;jf. '; .■'■i .^'•''■' •'' ■'■ ' Respecting however the principal object which he had iu view, to ascertain the existence of an open sea, the knowledge which he obtained of the possibility of prosecuting the voyage to the westward was by no means satisfactory. To the north east, the. water appeared to be more open, but then the whole presented such a fixed body of ice, as to frustrate every expectation of forcing a passage through it, and the experience of Commander Ross told him, that the ice was always firmer packed in tne bays and inlets, than where the sea was open. The distance of the Victory from the strait of the Hecla and Fury was very snoall; The latitude and longitude of the wintering place of the former being 69" 69 north and 92° 2,' west, whereas that of the latter, taking it at the northernmost point of Melville Peninsula was, latitude 691° 0' north and 88° 0' west; thus the Victory was actually very nearly in the same latitude as the strait of the Hecla and Fury, and differing only four degrees in the longitude. In the expedition of 18'il, Capt. Parry penetrated up the Strait betweei Cockburn Island and Melville Peninsula as fai as 8*2" 35 wesl and gave to it the name of the Strait of the Hecla and Fury in the map however laid by Capt. Ross before the Committee o the House of Commons, he gives its utmost longitude as 88^ bu on what authority is left wholly to conjecture. There mus however be some gross mistake in the reports of Captns. Parrf and Ross, for according to the former, the length of the Strait which is the width of Melville Peninsula is not more than sixl] geographical miles, whereas according to the latter, taking i in the direction of E by S, it commences in longitude 80^ wes and its supposed termination is in 88°, tiakin^ a difference ( nearly three hundred miles between thf cakaalation of Captn Parry and Ross. The general result orall "Ae arctic voyagei has been, that they have distinctly pointed cmi the route which the North West Passage cannot be discovered, Ca Parry proved the total inutility of any further attempt « Hudson's Strait, and along the eastern coast of America up Vo\ Channel, the navigation of which, perhaps, is the roost dange I AST VOYAOB 0» OAPT. ROSS. )M 0U8, difficult and ut'j^nainof any other of equal extent within the seas of the Arctic Regions. The chief cause of these difficulties is DOW sufficiently obvious, but it must be admitted that the position in which the Victory was placed both in her first and second winter harbour, was not one in which much information culd be acquired by the force or direction of the currents, to which 80 much importance is attached in the navigation of unknown seas, and especially where their extreme termination is disputed point. We know that our old navigators invariably und a strong current setting down the channel, called Rowe's Welcome, along the coast of America into Hudson's Bay, f,om ibice through the Strait to the westward, carrying with it »hole fields of ice, together with those immense masses mown by the name of icebergs, conveying them along the mst of Labrador, across the banks of Newfoundland, and the ijl of the Gulph Stream, and never quitting the American side ^the Atlantic, although westerly gales of wind are almost as onstant as the Gulph Stream, where then originates this per- »tual motion of the sea to the southward ? certainly not in Baf- VsBay, where no current was found to exist, nor in Hudson's ly, into which it is poured down from the northward ; nor in aneaster Sound, where little or none was found ; it can therefore ■nly originate in some open sea to the westward, and this rcumstance has been the great subject of speculation amongst I navigators from the earliest period. The first discoverers »into have been aware of the cause of the currents originating 'a sea to the westward, and concluded that they flowed round: 16 north east pdint of America, which they imagined was not r distant from Rowes Welcome, and accordingly their Kieavours were directed, but in vain, to discover lliat point. •Pt. Parry ascertained the important fact that a perpetual cur- nt »eis through the Strait, which divides the continent from a' rge island to the northward of it ; so strong indeed, that it brings tth u out of the polar sea, and wedges into the strait, such im- 5tt8e fields of ice, as to render a passage through the strait utterly P»!«s«, for no sooner does a disrufition^ (sometimes of a square- » or mor» ^^^ A'f """^^ "'' ©i ^^ tkWT VOYAGE OF CTAPT ROM. 29T lie «Mo *ft*ir pftiiing'thertralt turnings round to the wWiwaW towards the north east cape, and that on the American side round Icy <^ape to the eastward. The same fact has been since ex- perienced by two Russian corvettes, which found the current fctting- so strongly to the eastward, as to occasion some alarm lest they should not be able to return. Proceeding along the northern coast of America to Hearne»s River, we have the testi- mony of Capt. Franklin, that the same kind of drift-wood was deposited on the western shores of jutting headlands from thence 16 Cape Turnagain, and from the testimony of the Esquimaux, tliat a considerable part of their supply of wood for sledges^ boats, bows and other implements, is received from the wesfern shore of Melville Peninsula behind Repulse Bay. These are unequivocal proofs of a current setting easterly from the pacific along the northern coast of America; but we are able to trace it still further into the Atlantic. Being impeded in its course in this cul de sac behind the isthmus of Melville Peninsula, it is necessarily turned to the northward along the western shore of the latter, still finding an outlet by the strait of the Heck and Fury, it rushes through beneath the ice, with which the strait is hermetically sealed, at the rate of four miles an hour, carrying with it down Fox Channel, large fields, floes, and detached masses of ice to the southward, and making together with a flood tide of eighteen hours out of the twenty-four in tiie same direction, the navigation up that channel so hazardous and harassing as it was found by Capt. Parry, and which.rendei all future attempts by the same route hopeless and therefore unadviseable. From Fox's Channel it sweeps along both sides ff Southampton Island round Hudson's Bay, and through the «Mt down the coast of Labrador, and across the banks of New- foiindland into the Atlantic. ' -- -^ "• y «» .^'m- „.i/ There are those who in the plenitude of their sagacity, have Mended to discover in the various expeditions that have been Jted out by the English government for the discovery of the {forth West t>as€age, ah obstinate and culpable adherence to i^.^^J^^V^!;.^^ *^^® ^^®" declared unattainable, and which if ittamed ^Ouia be useless for all the purposes of co'mmerw. 18 2^ «J98 lAfiT VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROBS. IhWe fttfe th© people who suppose that all merit consists iq pounds, shillings and pence, to them the naval glory of the -rountry is a mere bauble— the physical and moral knowledge •Of the globe a kind of will-with-the-wisp, which when obtained is not worth the trouble bestowed in the acquisition of it— the interests of science and humanity, mere paltry considerations and synonymous with folly and hypocrisy : but although wo confess that those expeditions are vulnerable in some points, yet we trust that those who direct the energies of this mighty empire, will not be turned aside from the prosecution of scientific dis- coveries by the cavils and objections of empirical soi-disant phi- losophers, who attach no value to any pursuit but that in which themselves are immediately engaged. It is true that all human power has its limits, dominion frequently changes hands, and riches make to themselves wings and fly, but knowledge endur- eth for ever, and the names of Cook, Parry, Franklin and a host of others, who have contributed so amply to enlarge the sphere of knowledge, will shed a lustre on our naval history, and stimulate the youth of ages yet to come, to imitate their bright example. It was the excursion, which Commander Ross took on theQtli March, which gave rise to those doubts in his mind respecting the probability of success in their great undertaking, which subsequent observations tended to confirm, and which threw the , sickly hue of disappointment over his future operations. It was the opinion of Capt. Parry, that the great difficulty lay ontiio eastern side of the strait of the Hecla and Fury, and that could lie succeed in forcing his way through it, a clear passage then existed for him to the westward. The observations of Com- njander Ross however tended to disprove this opinion of Capt, Parry, for the winter harbour of the Victory in 1830 was only four deo-rees to the westward of the str&H of the Hecla and Fury, and yet the supposed sea of Capt Parry was not found to be in existence, in fact, there is good reason to believe that the strait so called, was nothing more than an inlet or bay between Mel ville Peninsula, and the laud which was called Cockburn IsUnd ,, althoiigh it was nevOT pr<^v6d to be such by any mariner having LAST VOYAGE OV CAPT. ROSS, 209. circumnavigated it. The opiDiou was strongly impressed upon the mind of Commander Ross that the Victory was in a very critical situation, and he hesitated not to express that opinion to Capt. Ross in the most unqualified terms. His arguments were however always met by a counter opinion, that no substantial grounds existed for such discouraging notions, and that as no responsibility whatever rested upon his shoulders, it would bo- come him better to attend more immediately to the deparlmenta specially entrusted to his care, and leave the management of the expedition to those to whom it was entrusted. In fact the evi- dence before the committee of the House of Commons distinctly shows that a difference of opinion existed between Capt. Ross and Commander Ross on some very essential points, and in which the former was not competent to give his opinion at all. The following is one of the many proofs that can be adduced The 170th question to Capt. Ross is, Do you conceive you have ascertained the fact, that there is no practical communication between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean? Positively to the southward of the seventy-fourth degree. ; ,. \ You do not mean to express an opinion decidedly that it is impossible there should be a communication discovered further north? Certainly not. ■ »". a/i. . ' You still think it is possible there may be a practical comniii- nication? I think it possible, but not very probable. .-iii:' On this subject Commander Ross is asked, You do not think the voyage has furnished any conclusion against the existence of a north west passage? No, it has made it still more certain than it teas before, that a North West Passage must exist. • ..': ' Upon what observations made in the last voyage, do you ground that opinion? From the additional portion of the out- line of the continent of America explored upon this occasion on the northern coast of America, and the western coast of Boothia. ^©0 you believe that it v\M)uld be practicable to go through ihat North Western Passage? There is no question, that it i^uld be much more easy, now that we are acquainted with the natnte of the formation of tho continent of America,^ ^'J'»'f ^ilr* 5'' The following difTerenco of opinioij is how^vef sUU more 300 , LA«T VOYAOfi OF GAPT. ROtS.. ,^ Striking, aod lb© answer of Comraantler Ros* is well dewrviuj of attention, as it is strongly indicative of the inimical dispos,, ition of his mind towards his uncle, at the same time that it 18 corroborative of our previous statement respecting that want of fViendly feeling, which ought naturally and professionally tu have existed between them. Oapt. Ross is asked, Did you ob erve the difference in the altitude of the two sea?, east and west of Boothia Felix ? Yes. Do you draw any conclusion from that difference of altitude which bears on the subject of the North West Passage? I con- sider it to be negative. You consider it a presumption ' Yes, a presumption that there is no such passage, but not a proof. What was the difference? The difference is thirteen feet. Upon the supposition that the land is continuous, northward from the seventy -fourth degree to the pole, should you expect to find that difference of altitude in the seas ? I should certainly from the rotative motion of the earth. > .v s-- — On this subject Commander Ross is asked, Are you aware of the fact, that the two seas, right and left of the isthmus which unites Boothia with the continent of America, are of different altitude? No, 1 am not, nor had we the means of ascertaining the fact with accuracy. It would take at least two or threa months to ascertain it with the accuracy such an observation - .4. f would require. :• - - ' j-. * .-4n j i.arrrtt'im,..^; You have no reason to suppose such a thing ? None whatever; no, t never heard of it till this moment. ^i,A,,; -w- Has Capt. Ross never told you that ho had ascertained that to be the fact? Capt. Ross may have made observations which have satisfied his own mind, hut I doubt whether he can hau made observations that would satisfy the minds of those, who: may investigate I he matter^ . v /,,■ rif'--rl[t *''-'^ '!'>'! There is an imputation, accompanied with a sneer in the M answer, which must have been rather mortifying to Capt. Ross, but it is by no means a solitary instance in which a latent dis- position exhibits itself, onihe part of Commander Ross, to de- preciate the observations, which Capt. Ross reports to have been LAST VOYAOK OF CAPT. R08gJ*'^ <■ ^Ol ' mde by himself; and «hicT,"tte^lainif 'coiilcT iot Kav J lieen mado. under the circumstances in which Capt. Ross was at lh6 tirae^ We give him some credit for the dexterous manner in which he parried some of the questions that were put to him by the members of the committee, and which if answered in a direct/ straightforward manner, would have proved on whose brow the laurels were to be placed, and at the same time, that that brow was not his own. .. : ■■> ■; .>i"jjjii^ On the same day that Commander Ross took the excursion wh.ch has been already described, the purser and the surgeon' set out on an expedition to the huts of the Esquimaux, which were situate to the south east. On their way thither, they killed a bird, called the white-winger scraber, but the common name of ^h.ch IS the black guilemot. The body was entirely black with the exception of a white spot on the wing, which is a dis- tinguishing mark of the bird in all its ages. The bill is black and the legs and feet are crimson It generally lays two eggs' about the size of a pullet's, of a dirty white with black spots' It makes its nest in the holes, which are found in the fragment. of the rocks on the shore. The measurement of the bird is gene- rally about twelve inches in length, and from nineteen tc> twenty m breadth. The plumage of the young birds is varied black and white, but the legs and feet are dusky, instead of the crimson colour which distinguishes the older birds. The bird is sometimes killed in the Shetland Islands, but its chief habit- ation may be considered to be Baffin's Bay, and the surround- ing inlets. , ' , During the excursion of Commander Ross, he made some pb- serrations respecting the geology of the country, but they did not agree with those, which were made by Mr. Thom6 an '■'^f toy »«* ■■• a02 ' VA»T VQYAQM OF CAPT. R081. ^hd east coast, bespoke the' exirterce of primary rocks, thehilU rising to an avarage of 700 feet, and presenting acute sura.nUs. declining by sharp prolonged ridges. A table land would scarcely be to be expected, in a country vrhero the summits of the hills are for the greater part of the year, exposed to the most intense frost, and where, in consequence, they must assume that acute and jagged form, which generally characterise the hills of the Arctic Regions. The granite possesses the character of that substance, as it is found forming mountain masses, and therefore it is not improbable that this rock forms a portion at least of the country. ' The observations of Mr. Thorns and Mr. McDiarmid went to show that the cliffs appeared, wherever they were exposed, to present an appearance of stratification. The specimen they pro- duced seemed almost entirely limited to gneiss, a circumstance to be expected from the stratified appearance already mentioned, It is probable that some members of the trap family exist, although it is impossible to determine under what form, as a solitary specimen only was found, being a very compact anil line grained greenstone, of a somewhat porphyritic character, On the whole the researches of the respective officers did nol throw any great light on the geological nature of the country, and the specimens of the granite, which we have in our possess- ion, do not differ much excepting in the colour, from the granite -found in the vicinity of Aberdeen, the polar granite being of an orange colour, that of Scotland of a dusky white, 'm f Mr. Thoms and Mr. Mc'Diarmid having extended their excur Bion too far, were benighted on their way home, and it was noi without some difficulty that they reached the vessel ; nor woulJ this have been so easily accomplished had not some blue lights been fired cff at intervals, and guns fired every five minutes frooi the ship, as a guide to the travellers to direct them on their way They were two hours and fifty minutes rambling they knew ^ot whither, and but for the report of the guns, which in ibat . cUtnate is heard at a great distance, it is not improbable bm that they would have had to pass the night under the lee of « LAST VOYAGE OV CAPT. ROSS, 30S mound of ice, with perlmps a be&r as thoir companion, and the howling of the wolves to convince them that they were not X^^ ya\y animated beings in that desolate part of the country. The vessel was on this day visited by two women, one maiii iind two children, bringing with them for sale some shoes, the skin of a young seal, and some dried trout. The articles were all purchased by Capt. Ross, and the latter formed for fomo time no unsubstantial appendage to his breakfast tablp, ftitliongh, it mufit be acknowledged that the appetite must be of a very peculiar kind that could accommodate itself to be satisfied with viands prepared by hands, which may literally be said to be encrusted with the dirt, which has clung to them from their infancy, and by people, with whom even the slightest degree of cleanliness is never known. It was however a discovery which Capt. Ross had made long before he was visited by the Esquimaux, in Victory Harbour, that every thing has an inside and an outside. The interior of an egg" cannot be defiled, even if the egg itself passes through the filthiest hands, and analogically arguing, Capt. Ross satisfied himself with the thought, that although some very unpleasant associations might accompany the exterior of the trout, it did not follow that those same associations extended to the interior. He also considered his own person as a very substantial prop to the soundness of that argument, for on looking at it from any of the two and thirty points of the compass, it does not present the most pleasing and prepossessing exterior, but then, when we con- sider the interior, we find much to approve of and esteem, for if the mind be the standard of the man, no one will deny that Capt. Ross stands high in the scale. We write from the inform- ation of others, not from any extensive personal knowledge ; our authorities are in existence, and can be appealed to for the (iieracity of our statements, but if at any time, we have cracked the satiric thong too smartly, it has been done more in pity than la anger, that an individual who, in many respects, possesses a great and iu)ble mind, should in some instances have shown him- self the slave to certain passions, which are the distinguishing kaits^^of themean^nd the ignoble w©» 4/>ji>.i iJwow t mxks, to be well soaked and saturated with the rancid liquid. At the expiration of the said six seniks the fish was dragged from its oily habitation, and being suspended by its jowl from the top of the hut, was left in the full and undisturbed enjoyment of all the smoke, stenches and other efiiuvia, which are the universal concomitants of an Esquimaux dwelling, and which in the end impart to the fish that exquisite flavour which is so gratifying to the taste of the Esquimaux epicures. hAfbjianuv»)i> &v«a btu« We are very prone to think that that, which we like ourselves, must also be liked by others ; it is however a national pecu- gQ8 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. "> liarity ; the Italian stares with wonder if a person expresses Ins dislike to Macaroni, the German cannot be brought :o be. lieve that any one can turn away with disgust from a dish of Sauerkraut, the Spaniard cannot conceive that any dishke can be entertained to olive oil and garlick, and a Frenchman would think himself entitled to call into question the taste of that intlw vidual, who might be so rude as to turn up his nose at a decoction of onions and frogs. Can it then be imputed as a fault, or eveu as an error of judgement in Meviak, when he came to the con- elusion that as the trout, or trouts which hung dangling over his head, were undoubtedly the greatest dainty which his hut afforded, they could not fail to be considered also as such by the great and powerful Kahloona, who appeared to possess the greatest authority in the hugo and vast machine, which had by some means, wholly wonderful to him, found its way to his country. The thought was by no means an unhappy one on the part of Meviak, and therefore without any further loss of time he proceeded to dislodge the trouts from their smoky position, and he was rejoiced to find that they were in prime condition, the oil well absorbed and penetrated into every part— the original colour wholly lost, and approaching nearly to a black, and the odour very much resemoling that which a fish ought to have, which had been absent from its native element for the period of about six months, and exposed during that time, to as vile a combination of effluvia as ever surrounded the pendent body of a trout. .-.vQi :v.yt ,■ •:■?' ■V^-' •' ■ , 1 • • Nevertheless Meviak repaired to the Victory with his pisca- tory dainties, and as the last stage of its eventful existence, (if the solecism be allowed,) we have described it as forming a conspicuous object on the breakfast table of Capt. Ross, but let the wiseacres of this world say what they will, there is fr^ quently a happiness in ignorance, which all the wisdom of the ancients and the moderns cannot give us. Had Capt. Ro^ witnessed the process of purifying the fish from the clotted blood, had he been present at its immersion in the unctuous inass^bad he daily and houily observed it suspended m a« . -Mo;).:b hm m^) ^i^iA) «« boT9'008ib ^mmux^^^i f^U .otM^^^'" " LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. d09 atmosphere, pregnarU with the most sickening effluvia, he would have exclaimed wilh the poet . - n i -JK ; . Base viands That tlo oornipt iny wholesome blood and turn The hue of health, to pale cadav'rous looks, Tliat with jour tainted smell do pall the sense And sicken tli' appetite, 1*11 have none of ye. ■■'■ M. .; .ii5 . . .t II. • - ■ ' The same Esquimaux that had brought the trout, returned on the following day, bringing with them Aa// a bear's skin, and on being questioned as to what had become of the other half, they prevaricated for some time, and at laat confessed that they had left it at their huts, thereby famishing another proof that simple as these people might appear in their general habits, a degree of low cunning was amalgamated wilh their character which is generally looked for in depraved and degenerate dis-' positions. On the other hand it may be said in extenuation of their conduct, that it was instilled into them by their transactions with the crew of the Victory, and the evident inclination that was shown to overreach them in their bargains, and to give them a poor equivalent for the articles which they brought for sale or barter. Thus they argued with themselves that it was most likely that two halves would fetch more than the whole for if % brought the latter, they should only receive a few needles or hsh-hooks, and they should receive the same for a half. It was to (hem a kind of separate transaction, and each to receive its separate reward or remuneration ; they were however rather defeated in their expectitions when they were told that the half ttf a skin was of little or no value, and that in fact they had spoilt bartiele altogether in having cut it in two. To this they 'nswered, that although it was cut in two, an expert hand »uld so sew them together, that the division would not be per-^ »pta»le. Notwithstanding these arguments and courrter argu-'- "ents, enforced on each side with all becoming gravity and 'Portauoe, the Esquimaux discovered to their loss and discom- 310 lAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. fiture, that in the estimation of the Kabloonas two halves are not equal in value to the whole. ' ^ " i^V ro/ u> m>nr-e The white Bear, (the ursus maritimus of Linnaeus,) may be con- sidered as the largest and the most ferocious quadruped of the Arctic Regions. He finds an abode congenial to his hardy nature in those desolate fields of ice, which lock up the polar seas during a great part of the year. Prowling over the frozen wastes, he satiates his hunger on the marine animals, such as seals, who break through the ice to breathe the open air, or he plunges into the sea in pursuit of his prey. Possessing an astonishingly acute scent, great activity and strength, and equal cunning, he contrives to support existence in regions, where it might be thought that so large a quadruped must necessarily perish. Ever watchful, he ascends the hills of ice, called hummocks, to extend his range of observation over the wide plain, where a solitary seal may perhaps be resting, or to snufFthe tainted air, by which he knows that some remains of a whale or a walrus, deserted by the fisher- men of Europe, or the native Esquimaux, will afford him an ample feast. He doubtless often suflPers long and extreme hunger, for the seal, which forms his chief subsistence, is as vigilant as tlie bear, and he is often carried out to sea upon some small island of ice, where he may remain for days without the possibility of procuring food. The polar bear has been seen floating in thi« way at a distance of two hundred miles from any land ; swim- ming excellently, he however, often travels from one island to another, or visits the shore, where he commits fearful ravages, In Iceland, where these destructive animals land, the inhabitants immediately collect together to destroy them. Near the east coast of Greenland, they have been seen on the ice in such numbers, that they have been compared to flocks of sheep on a common. ■' The polar bear retreats fronii iiian, but wheh iatfa6ked he is a formidable enemy. His extraordinary sagacity is well known to the whale fishers, who find the greatest difficulty in entrapping him, although he fearlessly approaches their vessels. The follow- ing instance of its sagacity are curious. '^'^ • " ^' ' ' ' A seal lying in the middle of a large piece of ite, with a holi LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 311 list before it, wag marked out by a bear for its prey, and secured by the artifice of diving under the ice, and making its way to ihe hole by which the seal was prepared to retreat. The seal owever observed its approach and plunged into the water, but he bear instantly' sprang upon it, and appeared in about a minute afterwards with the seal in its mouth. ... ,. ,..,;, ,■ The captain of one of the whalers being anxious to procure a br, without wounding the skin, made trial of the stratagem of aying the noose of a rope in the snow, and placing a piece of blubber upon it; a bear ranging the neighbouring ice, was soon enticed to the spot by the smell of the meat, he perceived the bait, approached and seized it in his mouth, but his foot at the same moment by a jerk of the rope, being entangled in the noose, he pushed it off with the adjoining paw, and deliberately retired.' After having eaten the piece he carried away with him, he re- umed ; the noose with another piece of blubber being then re- placed, he pushed the rope aside, and again walked triumphantly off with the blubber. A third time the noose was laid; but excited to caution by the evident observation of the bear, the sailors buried the rope beneath the snow, and laid the bait' in a ieep hole dug in the centre. The bear once more approached, ind the sailors were assured of their success, but bruin more ai,^acious than they expected, after snuffing about the place for 'kw minutes, scraped the snow away with his paw, threw the rope aside, and again escaped unhurt with his prize. v- , ,, The female bear is as fierce in her hostility as the male; but lothing can exceed the affection which she feels for her young. be difficulty of procuring food for them, and the hardships to fhich they are exposed, no doubt call forth this quality. Some f the instances on record are as singular as they are aflecting, l>e following is one of the most striking. .,.....'. Early in the morning of the 10th March, the man at the bows ave notice, that three bears were making their way very fast ^er the ice, and directing their course towards the ship. They^ ^ probably be^n invited hy the blubber of a walrus, which the K'n had set on fire, and which was burning on the ice at the* "' ^fthQir approach., Thgy proved tqjbe a she , bear and her sn IA6T VOYAGIT OF CAPT. ftOS*. ttW'^UbB, but the latter were nearly as large iis the dam. They tan ^gferly to the fire, and drew out from the flarrtes part of the flesh of the walrus which remained unconsumed, and ate it vo- raciously. The crew from the ship threw great pieces of the flesh; which they had still left upon the ice, which the old bear carried away singly, laid every piece before her cubs, and divid- ing them gave each a share, reserving but a small portion to herself. As she was carrying away the last piece, they levelled their muskets at the cubs, and shot ^ em both dead, ^and in her retreat, they wounded the dam, but not mortally It would have drawn tears of pity from any but unfeeling hearts, to have marked the affectionate concern manifested by this poor beast in the last moments of her expiring young. Though she was sorely wounded and could but just crawl to the place where they lay, she carried the lump of flesh she had fetched away, as she had done the others before, tore it in pieces, and laid it down before them, and when she saw they refused to eat, she laid her paws first upon one and then upon the other, and endeavoured to raise them up. All the while it was piteous to hear her moan. When she found she could not stir them, she went off", and when at some distance, looked back and moaned, and that not availing to entice them away, she returned and smelling around them began to lick their wounds. She went off a second time as before, and having crawled a few paces, looked again behind her, and for some time stood moaning. But still her cubs not rising to follow her she returned to them igain, and with signs of inexpressible fondness, went round first me and then the other, pawing them and moaning: finding at last they were cold and lifeless, she raised her head towards the ship and growled her resentment at the murderers, which thej returned with a volley of musket balls, she fell between her cubs and died licking their wounds. - • * -' ^ '," . uHJ A fevr years ago when one of the Davis' Strait whaleW, W closely beset among the ice to the south west, or on the coast o Labrador, a bear that had for some time been near tlie shf? at length became so bold as to approach alon^de, probablj tempted by the offal of the provision thrown overboard by il* LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 313 cook. At this time the people were all at dinner, no one being required to keep the deck, in the then immoveable condition of the ship ; a hardy fellow, who first looked out, perceiving tlje bear so near, imprudently jumped upon the ice, armed only with a handspike, with a view, it is supposed, of gaining all the honour of the exploit of securing so fierce a visitor by himself, but the bear regardless of such weapons, and sharpened probably by hunger, disarmed his antagonist and seizing him by the back with his powerful jaws, carried him off with such celerity that on his dismayed comrades rising from their meal and look- ing abroad, he was so far beyond their reach as to defy their pursuit,, ^^,,^,,j, rr-'^'i ■ . .» A circumstance communicated by Capt. Munroe of the Nep tune, of rather a humourous nature as to the result, arose out of an equally imprudent attack made on a bear in the Greenland Fishery, by a seaman employed in one of the Hull whalers. The ship was moored to a piece of ice, on which at a consider- able distance a large bear was observed prowling about for prey. One of the ship's company emboldened by an artificial courao-e, derived from the free use of rum, which in his economy he had stored for special occasions, undertook to pursue and attack the bear that was within view. Armed only with a whale lance, he resolutely and against all persuasion set out on his adventurous wpioit. A fatiguing journey of about half a league over a yielding- surface of snow and rugged hummocks brought him within a few yards of the enemy, which to his surprise undauntedly face4 him, and seemed to invite him to the combat. His courage teing by this time greatly subdued, partly by evaporation of tbe.?timulus, and partly by the undismayed and even threaton- i^ aspect of th^ bear, he levelled his lance in an attitude either % offensive or defensive action, ajid stopped; the bear also stood still; m vain the adventurer tried to mUy his courage to make /ltje^ttRck,j bis enemy w^s too formid^bfe, and. hig appe&r^cc too imppsing. In vai« aUo.be about64, Mfanced his lan«e, and mad^. j^oyits of ^^teifik,, iWj^emy eithqr, pot uiidprsthe gallant captain, to contribute by his own person to the LAST VOVAGE OF CAPT. ROSS 315 fiitness of a polar bear, and to be hereafter vended in the shape of bear's grease, for the growth and heautification of the hair of the belles and beaus, the dowagers and codgers of the metropolis, and to exclaim. '• 1 ' 1 ., )V -.-...Hnl'f.tl To what vile purposes do we come at last. .' -1 ! • '_i;j)» » . ■ . ... 1 i » I , i 1 !■ 1 1 Of the party who visited the ship on the lOth, two remained on board the ship, whose names were Narlook and Jkmalik, the age of the former was 25, the latter '27, and on tlie following day they made their first appearance as scholars in the Tirocin- ium of the Victory. Finding them however to possess the sanio degree of ductility as a block of marble, Capt. Ross employed them in the building of a snow hut similar to those inhabited by themselves, and to his great surprise the whole was com- pleted in 15 minutes. Supper was served to them about 8 o'clock, consisting of rather more than 8 pounds of baked seal, every morsel of which they demolished, diluting it at times with copious draughts of water, which in the whole must have amounted to two gallons. A singular habit of these people was here taken notice of, which was that of picking their teeth after their meals with their hair, of which they extract three or four from their head, and twisting them into a kind of brush, which from their wiry nature are well adapted for the purpose, they generally spend half an hour in the operation of picking their teeth, until they fall asleep, groaning from the efi'ects of repletion. As gluttons they are perhaps not to be equalled by any people of the world, and from the long state of inaction in which they are kept during their tedious winter, their bodies assume a corpulency, which renders them very unfit for the purposes of active life. It was however a scene of great merriment to the crew, to watch their actions as they laid themselves to sleep, and when reclining on their ham- mocks, they appeared more like two huge savage animals than numan beings. They would have made an excellent representa- tion of the monster Caliban, and in their natures they were «jually gross and sensual. Whether it was the novelty of their situation, or the effects of indigestion, their sleep was of short 316 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R089. duration, but like the passenger in the mail coach, who notbeinj^ fthle to pleep himself, was determined that none of his fellow passengers should enjoy any re't. their senik was no sooner over, than they thought it not possible to show their respect for the kind treatment which they had received, in a more effective manner than by singing a duet, which made the sailors start up one by one from their hammocks, wondering where such unearthly bowlings came from. In vain the sailors roared out, avast! avast! wider and wider the singers strained their throats, and shriller and shriller came the sounds upon their startled ears. A valuable acquisition would they have proved to join in the matins of a pack of monks, and if, as those same monks tell us, the angels of heaven are delighted with the harmony of their canticles, tenfold would their raptura have increased, if the deop sonorous voices of Narlook and Ikmalik had mingled in the pious strains. Not an angel would have kept his place in hea- ven, but they would have been seen sliding down the rainbows in crowds, to enjoy the harmonious sounds of the Esquimaux Lablaches. It is sometimes a very difficult task to stop a person, who is determined in his own mind to exhaust his powers of cantation, but it may have happened that the Esquimaux unable to understand the meaning of the exclamations of the sailors, construed them in an opposite sense, and considered them as direct indications of their applause, and a kind of flattering encore for the repetition of the duet. , ., ,.i * vnrirovr.^ v.ot' ^ There is however one never failing method of stopping the singing propensity of an individual, when it threatens to imi- tate eternity so far, as to have no end to it ; and that is, to pre- feent him with an ice or a sillabub, which by giving his mastica- ting powers something to do, grants a respite to his eantatory ones. Of the former, the sailors of the Victory had an abundance to give to their singing friends, but the great question was, whether they would prefer a mouthful of it to a sudden inter. rnption of their duet. An. English sailor however is seldom wanting in ingenuity in the discovery of a remedy for any evil that may suddenly come upon him, and finding that no imnie» mediate prospect presented itself of the singers arriving at the LAST VOYAGE OF CaPT. ROSS. 317 fineTa, 6ne of the crew hastened to the hole where the seal's flesh was kept for the dogs, and returning with a good heavy lump of it, threw it down before them, exclaiming, " There ye d—^l lubbers, stop your mouths with it." It soon appeared that the mastication of a few pounds of seal's flesh, and the utterance of a series of harmonious sounds cannot be carried on at one and the same time— the sounds suddenly ceased— but the life of man is a chequered scene, whether it be in a berth on board the Vic- tory in Felix Harbour, at the court of St. James', or an Irish- man's study in a buck room of the attic story of a residence in St. Giles'. The ancients tells us, that a man in attempting to avoid Scylla, frequently falls into Charybdis, and we have an ge synonymous in our language, when a man falls into one evil by avoiding another, that he has jumped out of the frying- pan into the fire, and such was, to their great misfortune, the Inl of the sailors of the Victory in whose berth the two Esqui- maux had been allowed to take up their lodging for the night. It is true that a stoppage had been put to the duet, and so far a great evil was suspended, but then a new light suddenly burst upon the sailors in the discovery that a seal, like a pheasant or a partridge, has some peculiar cuts, or slices to which the gas- tronomes give the preference, and for the peace and quietness of the sailors, it unfortunately happened that the lump of seal's flesh, which the sailor had abtracted from the hole, was just one of those favourite bits, to which the Esquimaux epicures give the preference. A man who throws a bone to two hungry curs, must necessarily expect a battle, and the lump of flesh was no sooner thrown to the Esquimaux, than each of them snapped at it, and catching hold of it with their hands, raised such a hub- bub with their expressions of angor and defiance towards each jtther, that the sailors found, in the jargon of the English law- eri, that they had taken nothing by their motion, on the con- 'fary, it became a question, whether their duet was not to be referred to the discord, which now raged between them, acconii. 'anied m it was by the most hideous yells and liootings, which iver burst from the throat of an enraged Esquimaux. It is lowever a great consolation to an individual to know when he 318 LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. R098 has committed an error, that an im^nediate remedy for it is at hand, and that man approaches very fast to the character of the finished fool, who hesitates for a moment to apply that remedy as soon as it presents itself; thus, if the gift of a thing" has oc- casionod a quarrel between two persons, the most efHcjicious method of putting an end to it, is to take it away again, and so thought the sailors of the Victory ; the gift of the seal's flesh had aroused the pugnacious dispositions of the Esquimaux, and therefore to quell the violence of them, they took the seal's flesh away again, but after every storm there remains for some time a heavy swell, and although the Esquimaux rolled themselves round like two large bears to take another senik, yet ever anon a groan and a growl burst forth, like the muttering of thunder at a distance, indicative of the storm that was past, and threat- ening to return, if the slightest provocation were given. Having passed their senik without any further disturbance, they made their appearance at the breakfast table in the morn- ing, but a basin of cocoa and a biscuit was to them a fare by no means of that substantiality as to accord with their voracious appetite ; the steward therefore repaired to the hole in whicli the seal's flesh was kept, and having extracted thence a lump, or clod of about eight pounds, it was put into the oven, and in the space of a short time it appeared reeking on the table to the great delight and gratification of the august visitors of the Vic- tory. A bucket of water containing a gallon was placed betw eeii them, from which their libations were long and frequent — and as long as a morsel of flesh remained on the board, or a drop of water in the bucKct, the visitors showed no disposition to alter the position in which they had placed themselves. Their sumptuous repast being over, they proceeded to put a top to to the snow house, which when finished very much resembled house in England that has by some means found its way into the Court of Chancery, for no tenant could be found to inhabit it, and its only use was to shew Capt. Ross the c -nptiness of humao grandeur, j^nd that the Esquimaux is as happy with his roof of .^fDo^ as the mon^krch with his roof of golden freiwprk. ,;/,,i^ Commander James took the opportunity of the stay of tin LAST VOYAGE ^ * rT. ROSS, 319 vvo Esquimaux on board the ship, to induce one of tliem to ac- company him on an excursion to the northward, as from his supposed knowledge of the localities of the country, he mig-ht he of great service to him, in directing him to that part where it was most likely that an open sea could bo found. On the* receipt of a trifling present, Ikmalik consented to accompany Commander Ross. Accordingly they set off in a sledge, Ikmalik taking the reins, and to the fancy of Commander Ross, it appeared if the dogs were conscious that the reins were in the hands of a native of their own country. They had not travelled far when they met a party of Esquimaux, directing their course to- wards the ship, bringing with them a seal, which on being weighed was found to be *i34lhs. Whilst Commander Ross was driving four in hand, over hillocks of snow and hummocks of ice, Capt. Ross was adding another monument to his fame, having despatched eight men from the ship to build a monument of snow, to the south west of Felix Harbour, to which as no utility whatever was attached, it could only be compared to other monuments, which have been erected in various parts of the world, to perpetuate some act of folly or of guilt. Capt. Ross had this consolation to support him, that his monument was like the pyramids of Egypt, not likely to be overthrown by human hands, for it became a question, if during the long course of an eternity to come, it would be again visited by a human being, who could trace in its construction, a me- morial of the great and mighty deeds which were achieved in the vicinity, or stand at its base, and meditate de vanitate mundi tt fuga seculorum. It cannot be imputed as a fault to a man to wish to raise a monument to himself, for it is a feeling natural to a human being to wish to live beyond the grave, to have his name and deeds carried to other times ; and to know that it will pronounced with reverence in after ages, even when the marble on which it was engraved has crumbled into dust. A Newton, a Howard, a Milton, or a Shakespear, require no brazen wbletto perpetuate their name, they will live until their immor- iaitty itsblf eixpires. The monuments of kings and of warriors ffhohave desolated the earth, should be built of the materials I' U» vijjg Off) lo vh!i»!iyt.f«}»f>. .(tiif Aooi Hiniii*\. ■vi>b/t.*ii>iLi!;' J 320 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. with which the monument in Felix Harbour was constructed, for the sooner their names are swept from the memory of mankind, the sooner will their crimes and atrocities be forgotten. Wren has his monument in the edifice which he built. Michael Angelo in the celestial figures which breathe upon his canva«s, Watt in the discovery of the most powerful agent in the world, and t\.> Duke of York in a long spiral column of rounded granite, sur- mounted by something worse than folly. A monument of snow, which would gradually melt away and be absorbed by the earth, is all that the major part of the puissant and illustrious princes of this country, have a right to expect from the people. . On the return of the sailors from the building of the monu- ment, they were of course questioned as to what objects of curl, osity or of note they had seen, in order that they might be duly registered in the log-book of the day. We know not whether it arose from a latent disposition to mischief, or a desire to turn the report into ridicule, but it must have been rather a difficult task to have kept the risible faculties, under any command, when the momentous objects which they had seen were related to Capt. Ross. Imprimis, they had seen ten bones of a rein-deer, which must have been killed some years ago, a specimen of which they had brought with them to be put into the cabinet of curiosities Secondly, they had found a small piece of wood- which, as it was evident that the tree to which it belonged was not indigenous, must have been deposited there by human hands or conveyed thither by some convulsion of nature. As this was a subject worthy of investigation, and might throw some im- portant light on the natural history of the country, it would have been considered by them as an act of great neglect, if they had omitted to take possession of it; it was therefore delivered wiik due form into the hands of Capt. Ross. Thirdly, they, had seen some rocks covered with snow, anc* some without it, these they very proporly left behind them. Fourthly, they had seen the impression of a bear's paw on the snow, which being measured was found to be 14 « inches; minuteness in all poinU of natural history is particularly to be commended, as it ia the high road J>y.^hi^\^,^pinpa)Ratiye anatomy a'"^«s ^^ >^* '*!^®* ^^^^^^^' LAST VOVAOE OF CAPT, ROSS. 321 they unanimously declared that all of them had found it so ex- tremely cold, that they were obliged to relinquish their task of monument-building-, from the fear they entertained that they should all be frost-bitten ; Capt. Ross shut the log-book and retired to his cabin. « ,-. v-w',.,u iu.i-ivn .m/ m The sagacity of the dog has open long proverbial, but a cir- cumstance occurred on the I2th, which exhibited that property in the highest degree. Commander Ross had extended his excursion to a considerable distance from the ship, according to his own calculation, about 12 miles, and his dogs not accustom- ed to such long stages, were completely weather-beaten. Amongst the dogs was one of the name of Peter belonging to the steward, who became the ringleader in as serious a conspira- cy as ever threatened the empire of Rome under the govern- ment of Catiline. This conspiracy was no other than to leave Commander Ross in the lurch, and make the best of their way back to the ship, where, basking before the oven fire, they should be more comfortable than skulking behind hummocks of ice with scarcely anything to eat. A man, and so has a dog a right to improve his circumstances by every lawful means in his power, and we know that the former, whatever the latter may do, is very prone to have recourse to unlawful ones, when it is found inconvenient ov inexpedient to adhere to the lawful mode. Whether however the canine conspirators viewed the matter in that light previously to putting their project into execution is not to be found in any of the records before us., nor does it appear by what signs, gestures, arguments, or expostulations, Peter so worked upon the passions of his companions as to induce them to join him in his criminal scheme. Commander Ross was well known to be particularly humane towards his ani- mals, and therefore it may be considered as a gross act of ingra- titude on the part of Peter, to have concocted such a barefaced conspiracy, but Peter, like the human bipod had an argument ready at hand to show, that so far from ingratitude being attached to his chAMtet, it was a sense of duty fend obedience which urged him jto the stfep, for as he was not the properly of Commander Rtjss, I he owed him heithbr service nor fidelity, oil the contrary, itVaft 14. 2 T 32'2 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. his duty to return to his lawful master to whom he owed his allegiance. This argument on the part of Peter would have been held good in any court of ipted poudre in England, but not 80 with his companions. Nevertheless there are few circum- stances from which a moral cannot be drawn, if a person does but know where to look for it, and in the present instance, let those, who are addicted to bad company take warning by the punishment, which was inflicted on two of the conspirators, of the ruinous and disgraceful consequences that ensue in associat- ing with wicked companions, for they are gradually led into the commission of crimes, which bring them to an ignominious end. Commander Ross with his companion Ikmalik, had ascended a hill for the purpose of ascertaining the nature of the surround- ing country, when Peter taking advantage of their absence quietly betook himself off, followed by two of his companions, and by some instinctive power, which it is here impossible to explain, they directed their route direct for the ship. It was about 4 o'clock P.M that the steward was standing near the gangway when to his great astonishment he observed Peter, the ring- leader, approaching the ship, not as usual merry and frisky, with his tail erect, but hobbling along, followed by his compan- ions, and apparently so footsore that he scarcely ventured to put his feet to the ground. Still however the faithful creature no sooner saw its master, than it appeared to forget all its afflictions, but the unexpected return of these animals excited some very unpleasant apprehensions respecting Commander Ross, for it was not supposed that they would have left him, had not some serious and perhaps a fatal accident befallen him ; it was therefore determined that should he not return in the interim, a party should set off by daybreak on the following morning, and it was expected that by taking the dogs with them, they would bo able to discover the exact route which Commander James had taken. <■ :.•..:•'!. ^i "■•- ;'"-:'•- ?-* -om-mt^^* *r;dl nr •:»'»*f a nine months' frost upon it, must indisputably have had the effect of altering its natural shape, by the shrivelling up of the muscles, and the attendant contraction of the fibres. It was im possible for the cook to gainsay the profundity of these remarks and having immersed the joint in the seething fluid, he repaircc to the cabin where divine service was performed, and where lie heard an excellent and appropriate discourse, from the 4th cliapic of Leviticus, 8th verse. The hour of dining arrived, the stewarc placed the reeking joint on the table, and all the pleasure of a gratified appetite by anticipation, was visible on the countenanc of every associate of the cabin. The instrument was aires sharpened, by which the first incision was to be made into the joint, and a free vent give to the savory juices which had been for the long period of nine months imprisoned within it, when lo! an extraordinary exclamation, rather analagous to the 15th curse of Ernulphus, burst from- the lips of the carver, for the discovery burst upon him, that instead of the buttock as ha{ been determined upon, the villainous Esquimaux had imposed upon him with the entrails of the animal, which had been dex terously squeezed and rolled into a globular form, very much resembling the buttocks, which are daily to be seen in the win dows of the cook-shops of the metropolis. There were some on whose countenance the indications of the suppressed laug were visible, whilst on others appeared the dark and gloomy frown of anger and disappointment — never did the latter during their arctic residence anticipate a more sumptuous feast, and never were they more grievously disappointed. Quicker than the joint was brought, was the paunch of the animal taken away, the laugh went roiilid the ship at the expence of the individuQl, who had given to the value of fourteen pence for a dinner for liii LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. .3*27 Jogs, and he himself to have enjoyed it, only by — anticipation. Vengeance, direful vengeance, was vowed against the rogues, who liad dared to practise so gross an imposition, but it was subse- quently ascertained that their fault consisted in attaching a su- periority to a particular part of the animal, which the Europeans were not able properly to appreciate. We believe that one of the best touch-stones wherewith to try the temper of a man, next to that of having a termagant for a wife, is to disappoint him of a dinner, the enjoyment of which he has been anticipating for some previous days, and especially if on the morning of the expected pleasure he has stinted himself at breakfast of an extra egg, or an additional slice of ham or beef. Woe to the breech of the school boy, which under such circumstances is exposed to the flagillating wrath of the dinnerless domine, the rod descends with tenfold accumulated force, and double are the number of stripes that are inflicted. Woe to the place hunter, who under such circumstances presents himself before his patron ; for the chances are then ten to one in his favour, but he receives a fund- amental salutation instead of the office for which he is soliciting, and lastly, woe to the crew of a ship, whose commander has been for some days anticipating the exquisite gratification of a juicy slice from a buttock of musk ox beef, and suddenly discovers in the moment of the long expected fruition, that he has been most scandalously and villainously duped, and that he has bar- tered away his valuables for a nauseous mass of tripe, guts and pannch. On such occasions the sailor boy is sent to the mast head, and the crew to build monuments of snow; the scholars receive double lessons, and himself a double portion of Booth's best cordial gin. Still however the balance was not so much against Capt. Ross, as the miscliievous wags of the Victory were inclined to promulgate ; it is true he had given to the value of one shil- ling and two pence for an article, which had given his subordi- naies a great deal of trouble, and had excited in his own breast certain pleasurable emotions, which were never doomed to be realized ; but then , when the other lump of beef was culina- rily and anatomically surveyed, it was ascertained without the posflibility of doubt to have once belonged to the fore quarter 328 , LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS, of the animal, and although a severe disappointment had cer- tftrnly oticurred in the first instance, it was decided that after thvi joint had undergone the necessary process of being thawed, it would amply remunerate the associates of the cabin for the gross imposition that had been so flagrantly practiced upon them, by the marchandes de viandes of the Esquimaux nation, in dis. posing of the intestines as an edible part of the animal. ft was perhaps well for the Esquimaux, that none of them visited the ship on the day when this lamentable disappointment took place, or the treatment received by them would have been such, as perhaps to deter them from ever visiting it again. On the following day the angry ebullition of the captain had sub- sided, and when the Esquimaux made their appearance bringing with them two beautiful dogs, they were received according to the usual custom adopted on such occasions, which was somewhat similar to the haughty nabob giving an audience to his depend- ent satraps. A person, who buys an ass at Smithfield, generally repents that he has bought him at all, for although the purchase may be a work of very easy execution, the getting home of the animal partakes very often of the opposite character. The dogs which the Esquimaux had brought, were, fine, full grown, stately looking animals, portending by their exterior appearance, that they were physically able to drag the captain of the Victory to inspect the monuments of snow, which his crew had erected in divers parts of the country, or to convey his person on any other excursion, which the peculiar nature of the service on which he was employed might require. The price demanded for the dogs was high, but then who would like to be drawn along in a hackney coach, by two half starved, decrepid animals, first- cousins to Rosinaiite, and with whom flesh and bone appear tn have entered into a deed of separation for ever : when they could be hurried along by the pampered steeds of royalty, or the noble generous animals, which make the pavements of the metropolis tremble with their prancings and their curvettings. It appeal* however, that it is not the degree of latitude or of longiiii^e in which a man, may find himself, that alters the nature of "hi^ ciiaracter, he is the same whether shivering beneath an arctic 1 LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. 329 ,ky, or burning under a tropical sun ; Capt. Ross felt a pride in being the possessor of two of the finest dogs which had yet {)e9n soen in the country, and after many o£fers, refusals, compro- mises, and deductions, the animals were transferred to him as his inalienable, and undisputed property : the person who buys a dog, )uy8 also with him the certainty, that he has by nature given to him an appetite which must be satisfied, and it is similarly iitualed with those, who buy a horse or an ass; but the next g;reat important question to be decided, is, whether the animal can properly perform the duty for which he was purchased. The man who buys a draught horse, expects that he will answer to the character that is given of him, and the man who buys a roadster, free of all vice, does not expect to be thrown over its liead by its kicking or plunging, the first time that he mounts it. Consistently with this principle, Capt. Ross fully expected that his two dogs would shew themselves off' to the best advan- tage in their harness, but to his great mortification, he found that to put a dog into harness and to make him draw, are actions so essentially opposite in their nature, that it by no means follows that one must be the result of the other. It may also happen, as was the case in the present instance, that if one of the dogs were disposed to draw one way, the other dog shewed a strong inclination to draw the opposite one, thus the power on each side was so justly balanced, that Capt. Ross instead of progressing was actually stationary, during which time he might enter with himself into a dispassionate disquisition on the difference between absolute and relative motion. On a sudden however, the dogs took into their heads to be of one accord, but instead of moving in a direct, straightforward line, as it was the desire of Capt. Ross that they should do, with the exception now and then of making a little detour to avoid a hummock of ice, they moved ij^ a circular direction by which the sledge appeared as if it were placed on a pivot, and Capt. Ross within it, resembling a huge tptotum tvvirled round and round, with the danger of the cehtri- fuff^l force jseing so great as to throw him out in a tangent.'mea- suring his length on a hillock of snow, like Falstaff when buD- clled out of the bucking basket into the Thames. 14. 'i II 830 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. FOBS A man may readily and easily console himself under one mh. fortune, but, when as Young says, they come in battalions, fo| lowing each other in as rapid succession as the explosions of a cracker, it requires a greater portion of stoicism and philosophy to bear up against such an accumulation of ills than generally falls to the lot of a human being. The misfortune which Capi. Ross had undergone respecting the buttock of beef, was scarcelyl overcome, and his mind had by degrees assumed its wonted serenity, when the circumstance of the dogs again occurred to rouse all the dormant passions of his breast, and to make liim appear in the world, that is, within the area of the ninety -second degree of west longitude, as a being selected by the fates to be made the butt of all the cheating propensities of the Esquimaux people. That man is, however, greatly to be prized, who comes to us with his aid or consolation in the hour of our affliction, and Capt. Ross found a friend in the steward, who undertook^ the difficult task of breaking in the dogs, and before a few weeks had elapsed, he had the satisfaction of finding himself drawn in his sledge by the crack animals of the country. On Sunday the 14th, the Esquimaux, who had their huts to the northward visited the ship, bringing with them two seals and some seal skins; they were given to understand, that as far as the latter articles were concerned, no objection existed to purchase any number which they could bring, but that the hole in which the seal's flesh was kept for the dogs was completely full, and no more could be stowed away. They were invited to dine on board, and an excellent repast they made of the hinder part of a seal, which was baked expressly for them although one of the party preferred eating a few slices in i raw state. This was the day appointed for the regale of the fore-quarte of the musk ox beef, which having undergone the process of thawing, was placed in the oven with the seal's flesh, there to be brought in to a proper state to be placed on the dinner tableo the cabin, for the gratification of the palates of those who wen entitled to the entree. Conceit has a great deal to do in th( affairs of this world, and it is very often governed by particulai LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. ' 331 associations which operate on the mind in proportion to its strength or weakness, from which often result those stubborn prejudices to which every man is more or less a slave, and by which the character of the individual is essentially distinguished By virtue of this principle, it was not to be wondered at, that some of the associatesof the cabin had imbibed certain prejudices against the musk ox beef, which rendered it a matter of indifference to them whether it were burnt to a cinder in the oven, or given to the Esquimaux by mistake for a haunch of seal They could not refrain associating the fore-quarter with the part that had been previously set before them, and therefore they had in their own minds pre-determined not to eat a morsel of it. All pre-determinations are however founded on false principles, and uever was a more able or beautiful illustration of that position exhibited, than in the case of Yorick and the Monk, when the former, before seeing the holy mendicant, had imbibed so strong a prejudice against him, that he determined in his own mind. ' not to give him a single sous." The dinner hour arrived, and the long expected joint appeared on the table : it is a habit peculiar to the human character, to form to itself the image of any particular object or individual, whom report has elevated, and the notion which is then formed has seldom or ever any resemblance to the reality. With a warrior we generally fancy something to be associated that is great, noble, and commanding, but history informs us that some of the greatest generals, have in their appearance been insignifi- cant and diminutive. When we hoar a beautiful woman spoken of, we create in our own minds a certain ideal, which on coming to a view of the object, we find to be decidedly false. Some of the Asiatics to the present day, when they hear the East India Company spoken of, fancy to themselves a very old woman, Ind frequently inquire how old the good lady may be ; and we will venture to predict, that there is not an individual who has formed to himself a picture of the visage and outward form ofCapt. Ross, but will find, on meeting with him, that his fancy b created something which has uo relation with the truth. ■•';')? J7 fir? yd h'*jiil''V'i-<,j < >-\o ■ -•. •• ,j ; re w ' ■ ^■m^.- 832 I.A8T VOYAGE OF CAPT. R088. Thus was it comparatively situated with the occupants of the cabin of the Victory, they had fancied that the fore-quarter of the musk ox would have some resemblance to the same joint, as it appears from a common ox when dissected by an English butcher ; greatly however did thoy find that their fancy had been running riot, for on the appearance of the joint, it resembled a huge clod, as devoid of any fixed shape or form, as the world itself is represented to have been whilst in a state of chaos. It is the enviable fate of man, to have two of his senses generally satisfied at the same time, namely, his smell and his taste, and pleasing was the effluvium which regaled the olfactory nerves of Capt. Ross, as he seated himself, in anticipation of the gratifica- tion of the other sense before the reeking joint, with the sharp. ened instrument of carving in readiness, and his eye intently fixed upon the part, where the first incision was to be made. It is to be supposed that a joint that has been hung up in a larder, or buried under the snow for the period of eight months, must, even if the animal from which it was cut had been the companion of Noah in his ark, have attained a sufficient degree of tender- ness, to enable even a toothless octagenarian to masticate it. Great however was the surprise ;— keen was the disappointment of Capt. Ross, when instead of finding that the flesh yielded to his trenchant instrument, he found that the impression which he made, was just as deep as if he had been attetVipting to penetrate into a block of mahogany ; some obstacle, some bone must surely be in the way ; he turned the joint on the other side, the same hardened mass threatened to obtundthe edge of his instrument, when it was facetiously remarked by one of the company, that the better way would be to call in the carpenter with his hatchet, or his saw. Again the captain tried another part ; here a slight incision was effected, and hopes were entertained, that as a breach had been accomplished, the interior of the citadel would soon be gained. Capt. Ross remembered the round hand copy, of which respectful mention has been already made, and by dint of hard cutting, carving, and delving, with a spirit of persever- ance becoming so good a cause, he succeeded in amputating LAST VOYAGE OP OAPT. ROSI. 333 few slices, when it was discovered that Ihe exterior of t»)e joint, from its long exposure to the influence of the frost, had assumed a positive degree of ossification, which the common process of thawing had been unable to mollify, and which as an encrusta- tion had prevented the water from penetrating fully to the interior. The flesh was however uncommonly sweet, the frowns of cha- grin gradually disappeared, and the remainder of the day was spent in joviality. Thus, as in the general affairs of human beings, if the individual will but call a little philosophy to his iiid, and look upon the evils and disappointments of this life, »8 merely so many clouds, which will quickly pass away, to be succeeded bv a bright and splendid sunshine, an energy of character woulrl be gradually acquired, which would not allow him to be diveittid from his purpose, by any temporary obstacles which might present themselves, but which on the contrary, would act as a stimulus to him to continue his exertions until his ultimate aim was accomplished. The speculation of monument-building was carried on with great activity on the 15th ; the crew first commencing their operations to the northward, and then directly in the opposite quarter, in verification, we suppose, of the old English adage, of, why should not one fool look at another. It was a task at once onerous and unpleasant to the men, for they could not discern an iota of utility in piling lumps of snow upon each other, and having formed a rude unshapen mass, to have it designated by the sounding name of a monument. As a matter of exercise it was perhaps allowable, but the question was, whether other objects could not have been found, which would kve given an equal degree of wholesome exercise to the crew, and to which some advantage or utility might have been attached, without subjecting them to the inclemency of the weather, and lo the accomplishment of a task to which their physical powers were scarcely competent. It was a principle of action of Frederic •le Great, and of Napoleon the Great, for great he will be '•though he died as a prisoner on a barren rock, even when the lames of those, who have since his time strutted their brief hour 'pon tht stage of this world, considering themselves also to be 334 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. great and potent men, have been swept away from the remem- brance of man ; it was the acting principle of those two groat, but in many respects opposite characters, to husband the force and power of those under them to the utmost extent of their ability, justly considering that if they abused them when not wanted they would not have them at their command when they did • there are however some men too conceited and opiniative to fol- low the course prescribed by others, even though wisdom were the dictator, and experience the guide. We know that the murmurs of the crew of the Victory were deep and incessant, respecting the labor to which they were put in the building of the snow monuments, at the same time that if leave were asked by them to recreate themselves by a walk or land, it was generally refused, so little did Capt. Ross appear in some in. stances to attend to the comfort of his crew, under the severe privations and sufferings to which they were constantly exposed A more striking proof of the truth of this assertion cannot be adduced, than in two instances which occurred about this time, in regard to llie traffic which was carried on with the Esquimaux. It was observed by some of these people, that the crew were much in want of mittens, and the chief merchandize which they brought to the ship consisted of that article and slippers, but allhough the hands of the crew were hourly in danger of being frost-bitten, still Capt. Ross issued his orders that neither of the above articles should be purchased of tho natives, the consequence of which was, that a system of smuggling was established between the natives and the sailors, by which they were enabled to provide themselves with those necessaries, which were actually requisite for their protection against the severity of th.*» '•limate A similar instance of inattention and indifference to the comfort of his crew, was practised on the occasion of Capt. Ross issuing his orders, that none of the crew should be allowed to purchase any of the seals, which the natives were almost in the dai habit of bringing to the ship for sale, or barter ; at the fame time that several of the crew had not a cap to their head. It T was therefore their anxious desire to obtain a seal, wherewitbto Qmploy the skin in the making of their caps, but«o great wui LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROBS. 385 the avidity of Capt. Ross to obtain possession of all the eeaVs gkins that were offered, that he appeared to divest himself of the common feelings of humanity towards his crew, and to see and know them actually in want of the very articles which he was hoarding up ; monopolizing to himself the whole of the trade, and accompanied with the strictest prohibition against any of the crew purchasing a single skin of a seal. It was circumstances like these which alienated the affections of his crew from him; they saw in him their commander whom they were bound to obey, but they could not look upon him as their friend, '" ' ' • The dispositions of a man appointed to the command of an expedition of so extraordinary a nature as the discovery of the North West Pas^sage, should be kind, conciliating and humane ; he is himself in many respects but a passive individual, his whole safety and success depending on the physical power of those under his command, as well as on the confidence which he has been able to instil into the minds of his men, respecting his general character as a mariner, a man and a christian. Amongst the crew of the Victory, there was nothing of that enthusiastic attachment of the sailor to his commander — of that ardent de- votedness to his interests, and of that voluntary sacrifice of all personal advantages, which have been so much the theme of praise during many of the voyages which have been undertaken for the purposes of discovery, and the success of which has been attributed in a great degree to the unanimity and social feel- ings that have existed between the commander and the com- manded. The conduct of Capt. Ross towards his men was sub- versive even of that common esteem, which the seaman ought to feel for his superior officer, and in the sequel of this work, we shall have to record many instances in which the feeling which the men entertained towards their commander, broke out into lit- tle short of direct mutiny. Capt. Ross himself allows before the committee of the House of Commons, that he had at one time great difficulty in preserving discipline amongst his men ; the wason of which was, that from his selfish mode of action, he had weaned the affeetioiM of themen fromiitra, fork is sot * genernl «35 I-AST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. trait in the character of an English sailor, to desert his com- mander in the hour of peril or distress, and instances are by no means rare in whiiJh he has clung to him whilst the ship has been gradually sinkiug,and nobly sharing with him the death of the brave. By the conduct of Capt. Ross a feeling of distrust was generated between him and the men, which if the opportun- ity had presented itself, might have broken out into the most alarming consequences ; there was not one of his prohibitions that was not hourly and daily infringed ; they were founded on injustice and inhumanity, and the men therefore saw not in the infraction any dereliction of their duty. The whole aim of the men appeared to be, to get to the windward of their Captain; to obtain a seal skin clandestinely from the natives was to them a matter of great triumph, and so heartily did the natives appear to enter into the plans of the sai' , that they would frequently hide their articles of traffic behind a hummock of ice, until the opportunity presented itself of smuggling them on board, which generally took place when Capt. Ross was in his cabin at his meals, or whilst he was indulging in an afternoon's siesta. A striking instance of this particular line of conduct on the part of the natives displayed itself on the 15th March, when a young Esquimaux brought a young seal to the ship for sale. From some reason not known at the time, Capt. Ross refused to buy it, and on one of the men ofiering to purchase it, who was literally without a cap to his heaci, he was immediately prohibited by Capt. Ross, and the Esquimaux was ordered to take the seal back with him. This order was apparently strictly executed by the Esquimaux, but having reached some small distance from the diip, he stood still, and made certain signals to the men board, which on observing them to be noticed^ he laid the s down behind a hillock of snow, and walked deliberately ( The men on board perfectly understood the drift of the actionn of the Esquimaux, and they took Ihe first opportunity of fetching away the seal, leaving the question of remuneration to be de- cided between them and the Esquimaux at their next meeting. It was in this manner that the system of diamond cut diamonii WM actod upon between the commander of the Victory aodhii LAST VOVAOE OF CAPT. R08«. 83f men, each trying to over-reach the other, and secretly triumph-. ing over one another in proportion to the success that was sup- posed to be obtained. On the l6th two parties of Esquimaux came to the ship, one from the station at the north east, and the other from that at the Fouth east. The latter brought a seal, which Capt. Ross purchased, and afterwards he took a fancy to their sledge, as well 88 to some other articles, which they had brought with them. In one corner of the cabin lay an old implement, which had once been a file, but now rtiir'ered nearly useless, and wholly de- prived of its rasping power, by having been so frequently called into action in the repairs of the steam engine. Accord-r Ing to the opinion of the sailors, there was generally more than one Old file in the cabin, and both of them pretty nearly worn out; however it was the determination of Capt. Ross to get rid of one of them, although the sailors had no great prospect of getting rid of the other. Taking therefore the worn-out im- plement in his hand, he displayed it before the owners of the sledge, who not being able to appreciate the difference between a file that has teeth and a file that has none, and which, like those of a sexagenarian dowager cannot be easily replaced, except by artificial means, considered that the exchange would be greatly in their favor, seeing that it was a matter of no great difficulty to construct another sAedge, but as to the making of a file, it was totally out of the question, and were they to allow the present opportunity to slip, they might be without a file for the remainder of their life. The bargain wa« 4herefore soon struck, the file and the sledge exchanged owners, the one obtained a useful article, the other a useless one, and yet both were satisfied, '. , . ; . '•-.: : loilat 'Ai 1o 4« Such, and so various are the turns of Ufe.'» 'T Ei.lldoi9l iO vtmiiJ,. j.^ ..jit.'j'.;;.? %b o/ .,: r'.:- :.-M>,* :: • :. ■ " - " . ' '.,.. ?" : ^ The fancy for monument-buildiog having subsided, the uiwi Tfere put to a more useful occupation of obtaining oil fronn the seals that ivere brought by tho natives, and mcMre than a $iiffi- 15. 2x 338 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. ciency was procured for all the purposes of the ship. Until the arrival of the Victory, the Esquimaux had a very faint notion of the method of extracting oil fron^ the blubber of the seals and walrusses, as it was generally used in its raw state without hav- ing undergone any process whatever ; their lamp or cooking place being a large hollow stone, tilled with blubber, in which are inserted as many wicks of moss as are required for cook in": or giving light, but the stench arising from this burning of the unctuous n, ass, is to an European insufferable. It was a plan by no means impolitic on the part of Capt. Ross to attempt to obtain a youth of the Esquimaux nation, who might be willing to be brought up according to the European manners, and to leave a country of comparative misery and de- solation, for one of comfort, luxury and splendour. The views of Capt. Ross on this head were entirely prospective. In his first expedition in search of a North West Passage, he reaped considerable benefit from John Sacheuse, a young Esquimaux, who, instigated by an ardent desire to visit the country of the Europeans, had concealed himself on board the Thomas and Anne, Capt. Newton, of Leith ; and on his arrival in Scot- land, through the disinterested kindness of Mr. Nasmyth the eminent artist of Edinburgh, he was put under proper masters for Uwiching him the English language, and other branches of useful knowledge. When it was understood that an expedition 10 the arctic regions was about to sail under Capt. Ross, it was communicated to the admiralty that the services of : acheuse might be advantageously employed on the occasion, and by in- structions sent to Mr. Nasmyth by the admiralty, he was invited on very liberal terms to accompany the expedition. Sacheuse appeared very indifferent about the compensation, but readily agreed to go, only carefully stipulating that he was not to be left in his own country. His great unwillingness to return to his native land, after having tasted the comforts and blessings of civilized life, seoms more easy to account for, than his original willingness to leave it. He sailed with Capt. Ross on his first expedition, to whose narrative we must refer the reader for an account of the eminent services which were rendered by Sa- LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. J^39 cheuse, and on his return to England, he was taken under the special protection of the admiralty, who agreed to defray the expences of his education, in order that he might in every way be well fitted to act as an interpreter on the second expedition, which was then about to be undertaken under the command of Capt. Parry ; but his death put an end to all these plans. With the remembrance of the great services, which had been ren- dered by Sacheuse in the first expedition, Capt. Ross wished to obtain a substitute, whom he could convey to England, and by imparting to him the benefits of education, qualify him to become an interpreter to any future expedition, that might be projected. There is however a great difference between a per- son voluntarily expatriating himself, as was the case with Sa- cheuse, and a person who is to be induced by promises and bribes to leave his country, and to enter upon scenes unknown, without any innate desire for the acquisition of knowledge, or natural talent, to overcome the obstacles with which that acqui- sition is always accompanied. Some enquiries had been set on foot by Capt. Ross amongst the Esquimaux, whether there was a youth amongst them, who felt no objection to be received on board the ship as one of its inmates, and to accompany them to Europe, with the understanding that if his residence there should prove disagreeable to him, the earliest opportunity should be embraced of returning him to his native country. In this ease however, there were many impressions and prejudices to over- come, which threatened to defeat the plan altogether. In the first place, the conduct of Capt. Ross towards the natives had been by no means such as to obtain their confidence or conciliate their respect or esteem ; they dreaded him as the slave does his tyrant, who rules him with a rod of iron, and who considers himself entitled on the commission of the slightest offence, to trample him under his foot. — To exchange his natural liberty., rude and savage as it was, for a state of comparative bondage and servitude, appeared in tbje eyes of the native youths, an exchange so decidedly against them, that their snow-built hut, diiii their meal of blubber, seemed to them of higher estimation than all the splendid benefits, which l h.e change held out to theio. 340 LfCVr VOYAGE 0^ CAPT. R099. The love of the fetherland with its rude inclement skies, ili perpetual snows, its darkness and its desolation, was paramount in their breasts, and although they were told that they were to )tje carried to a land, where suns perpetual shone, and all the luxuries of life awaited them, yet they could not be brought to leave the spot, where in their infancy they had first learned to twang the bow, and quaffed as a delicious beverage the life- blood of the se^l. It w»8 however on the i6th March, that the plans which had been for some time working in the brain of Capt. Ross, relative, to the adoption of an Esquimaux youth, as his future protegee' were likely to be carried into execution, for a youth presented himself before him, belonging to the tribe, who had fixed their station towards the north east, and who soon gave Capt. Ross to understand that he appeared as a candidate to be received as one of the inmates of the Victory, and to supply the place va- cant by the death of Sacheuse. Lord Chesterfield has said, (and he has said many wise and many foolish things,) that first im- pressions are lasting — Capt. Ross took an accurate survey of the youth, measuring him with his eyes from head to foot — now in the front and then in the rear, turning him round and round for that particular purpose, bul he totally omitted one criterion, which were the bumps on his head, and which, if he had pro- perly ^ixamined, it is most probable that he would have arrived at a decision directly opposite from that which he did come to. in the physiognomy of the youth, there was something by no means disagreeable, on the contrary for an Esquimaux, it was irather prepossessing : the examinator could not indeed discover any traces of the existence of that fire of genius, which sparkles in the eyes of some of England's sons, but he argued with himself that it might probably be there, although he could not imme- diately discover it; at all events, that it Was very possible, that an Esquimaux had a different way of chewing his genius, than a native of the modern Athens or of London. Poowutyook, (the name of the youth,) being the only candidate to represeni the Esquimaux nation in the parliament of the Victory, the ceremony of demanding a poll was dispensed with, although k LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROM. S41 was no Sooner received as a member than he was chaired, for on being ushered into the sailor's berth, he was placed in a chair, preparatory to being divested of many disagreeables that had attached themselves to his personal character, and perhaps were this plan to be adopted with some uf the members that are received into another parliament, situate in a different degree of longitude than Felix Harbour, we opine that the country would be a great deal the better for the riddance. The operation of purification being completed, Poowutyook was in the evening in- ducted into the school of the Victory, and a lesson was set before him, by which he was to be initiated into all the beauties of the English language. In this particular, however, Poowutyook differed in a very trifling degree from the members of the other school or parliament formerly alluded to, who generally have a lesson set before them, which they are obliged to repeat accord- ing to the dictation of their schoolmaster, whose business it is to practise them in the pronunciation of the words aye and no, as being in most cases the only ones which they have to utter, or which their limited capacities are able to comprehend. In regard to the capacity or ductility of his scholars, Capt. Ross certainly appears to have been born under an evil star, for although the first letters of the alphabet were set before Poowut- yook, not a sound could be obtained from him which had any resemblance to that which the letters are known to possess, the A having a sound somewhat similar to the grunt of a pig, and a B to the scream of the parrot. Nevertheless the hope existed in the breast of Capt. Ross, that time ,yould bestow a proper degree of flexibility upon the organs of Poowutyook, and that his ears might ultimately catch the sounds of the letters, so as to enable him to speak the English language with fluency. As a member of the crew of the Victory, Poowutyook had free access to all parts of the ship, but there was one particular place for which he exhibited a special predilection, and that was the berth of the steward, as it appeared to him to be the place, where the eatables seemed to be in the greatest abundance. Many a longing eye he cast upon the different viands as they were ranged 00 the shelves befpre him, or were pendent from the hooks in the 342. LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS; roof, arid it is not to be wondered at that the appetite of Poowut- yook was set in active motion, and that he should fix upon cer- tain articles, by which that appetite could be satiated. It was perhaps the opinion of Poowulyook that a kind of commonalty existed on board the Victory, similar to that in which he had been brou<^ht up amongst his own relatives, and that never having been accustomed to a stated time of eating, he was in obedience to the calls of nature, privileged to satisfy those calls, whenever an opportunity presented itself, or an object could be be found at which his appetite did not revolt. On the day pre- ceding the introduction of Poowutyook to his new situation, a fine hare had been dressed for the table of the cabin, a moioly of v^^hich was reserved to be jugged for the special eating of Capt. Ross. Unfortunately the head of the hare projecting over the side of the dish, caught the roving eye o^ Poowutyook, and the steward being called away to attend upon the gentlemen in the cabin, he obtained possession of the dainty subject and stowed it away in his trowsers; the remains of a grouse shared the same fate, and Poowutyook continued to fill his magazine of provender, as long as an article remained that was within his reach, or the capacity of his trowsers would hold. The next object was to find a convenient place where he could recreate himself with the good things which he had in store, and as he, like other persons of note, did not wish to be dis- turbed in the enjoyment of his meal, the more retired and secluded the place, the more could he enjoy himself over (he dainties, which had so fortunately come into his possession. In one corner of the steward's berth was a large tub which had been once full of flour, but now appeared divested of about three-fourths of its contents. Poowutyook looked into the tub, and saw something very much resembling snow, a substance which had been his dining table from his earliest years, and therefore the happy thought came over him, that a more appro- priate place could not be found, in which he could transfer the contents of his trowsers into the interior of his body. With some difficulty he succeeded in obtaining a settlement in the tub, although he found the substance: into which he plunged to LA9T VOYAGE OF CAPT. R098. : * 813 no very different from snow, as it threatened to suffocate l.im by a dense cloud of whitish dust, which appeared to envelop the whole of his form, whilst at the same time the substance itself was of that soft yidding nature, that when placing himself in a sitting posture, it completely covered the lower part of his body. Nevertheless Poowutyook found himself very comfortable, and the contents of his trowsers disappeared one by one; he had just drawn from his magazine the ill-fated moiety of the hare, which according to every mathematical rule, as it was put in the first, must necessarily come out the last, when on a sudden a most alarming noise struck his ears, arising from the vociferous exclamations of the steward, who, on returning to his berth, discovered the inroad which had been made upon his stores, and uttered the most direful imprecations on the head of the auda- cious thief. Poowutyook still continued to abstract the meat from the occipultal bones of the hare, for he had an equal compre- hension of the meaning of the steward's exclamations as of the Tetagrammaton of the Jewish Cabala. Suspicion as to the real ihisf however soon fell upon the right peijon, and the most active search was made for him—not one of the crew had seen anything of him, it was certain that he had not made his appear- ance on deck, and therefore it was evident that he had stowed himself away in some secret place, but where that place was to be looked for, puzzled the whole of the crew. In the mean time Capt Ross had been apprised of his serious loss; the visions of the jugged hare had been floating for some time before his busy imagination, and now they were suddenly to vanish, and not a wreck to be left behind, er.cept what was to be found in the flour tub, which might consist of certain bones, which Poo- miyook had not found himself able to masticate. Various and divers were the places that were visited in the ip with the expectation of finding out the criminal, but not trace of him was to be discovered ; when Capt. Ros^ precel^ ing the steward and some of the petty officers, entered the berth of the former, and casting their eyes towards the corner, where Hie flour tub stood, beheld to their utter astonishment, a strange ^accountable figure rising gradually from the midst of it, Pke •fv' 344 LAST VOYAOK OF CAPT. ROSS. a ghost from a tomb, his shagg-y veRtmonls ao covered with the contents of the vessel, and his visage apparently so crusted with the farinaceous subs*ance, amalgamating itself with the oil with which it was besmeared, that had the minds of the as- tonished spectators been imbued with superstition, they would have thought that one of the domdaniel caves had been opened by the wand of a magician, and its tenant let loose, to choose perhaps for his future residence one of the monuments of snow, which now towered so nobly on the surrounding heights. It IS said, that there is only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous, and it is equally certain, that there is but one stage from the fearful to the ludicrous. To say that the hair of Capt. Ross stood erect, or that any of his companions exhibited any of the well known signs of excessive fear and tribulation when the hobgoblin in the flour tub first broke upon their vision, were to falsify the records that are before us, and lay us under the imputation of being extensive dealers in calumny and detraction. It is however true that as their eyes had never before beheld such an extraordinary object, they gazed upon it with all the intensity of the most excited curiosity, and it is equally true, that the object gazed upon tbem, not with the slightest tokens of fear, but rather with a look of satisfaction and contentment. That the object, which had placed itself in such an extraordinary predicament, was no other than ths newly elected representative of the Esquimaux nation was soon acknowledged by every one present — no doubt also existed that he was the individual, who had appropriated to himself certain viands which did not belong to him, and it was most evident to all, that the remaining contents of the tub, which he had in such an unaccountable manner chosen as his refect* ory, were rendered, as far, as human sustenance was concerned, of no further use whatever. It would be contrary to the code Napoleon, or to any code, with the exception perhaps of tlie sanguinary and inhuman one of England, to punish an indi* vidual for the commission of an act. in which it is his firm belief that he has not committed any moral wrong, and e pecially, when from his infancy he has lived in the darkeiit LAST VOYAOB OF CAPT. R089. 345 ignorance of the existence of any law, which prohibits a human being, when he is hungry, from satiating his appetite with the ' -^X food that may present itself, and even if it were the moiety of a hare, destined to be jugged for the gratification of the appe- tite of the commander of the Victory. Sacheuse could never be made to comprehend the principle of human economy which gives a man the right to call a thing his own, which an hour before was, abstractedly speaicing, the property of every one. The hare before it was killed by Commander Ross was as much the property of Poom;m^i/oo* as of him who had killed it and although he was no learned civilian nor casuistical lawyer Poowutyook argued the matter profoundly with himself, the result of which was, that as the hare was every man's property before it was killed, it was equally so afterwards. At all events he was fully persuaded in his own mind, that he had only foU lowed the laws of nature in the satisfaction of his hunger, and therefore any idea of punishment was far removed from his thoughts. It is however wisely said that, a child should be brought up in the way it should go, and it was also necessary that Poowutyook should be made acquainted, as soon as possible, with the forms and ceremonies of civilized life, and as an induct- ion thereto, it was considered proper that his back should be visited by a dozen stripes from a stick, which was generally the assistant -of Capt. Ross in mounting the hummocks of ice, and accordingly the operation was performed, although not exactly with the brutal severity, which distinguishes the flagellation of a British soldier. It was however a proceeding which Poowutyook could not possibly comprehend, for it did not form a part of the civilization of the country in which he had been brought up, to punish an individual for an act, to which, according to his be lief, no moral wrong was attached. Consistentlv with this prin ciple, he could not regard the act, which the Kabloonas had just pertormed as an intention to punish him,-but then-if not that what possibly could it be?^Was it a custom ? a ceremony « a fc'nd of masonic probation on his introduction amongst them* IS true that he had heard the word Tigliktoke pronounced, bui that was an epithet, which could not possibly apply to him, or 15. 2y 846 IA8T VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. he had merely taken an allowable step to satisfy the cravings of nature, and so far from that being imputed to him as a crime, he only considered it as a recommendatory feature in his character, that he was able to supply his own wants, without giving his friends the slightest trouble on the occasion. In the midst however of these cogitations, a new light burst upon him, which went in a great degree to show him that the late extraordinary act of the Kahloonas was in reality nothing less than one of direct kindness. When he emerged from his refectory, his seal skin vestments had imbibed such an extraordinary quantity of tlie farinaceous matter, that their original colour was nearly lost, andt herefore for the purpose of restoring it, no other method could be adopted than io divest them of the extraneous substance, which they had acquired, and which could not be done more efficaciously or expe- ditiously than by giving them a good beating. The temperature of the air was not such a^, to admit him divesting himself of his garments, and therefore no other expedient couid be resorted to, than to beat them whilst they were still on his body. As a proof of the rectitude of this opinion, at every stroke such a volume of dust came forth as threatened to suffocate all the bystanders, and to make them appear as if they had been in the same situation as himself. There was another circumstance which tended stronijiv to confirm him in this opinion, which was, that the stick was ap- plied solely to his back, as being the only part which he could not cleanf^e himself; it was in his own power to purify the fore part, and therefore any labor bestowed there by the Kahloonas must be undoubtedly thrown away. Happy is the man, whether he be an Esquimaux or a European, who can conform himself to the accidents and circumstances to which his destiny may expose him, who, like the optimist, places a favorable construction on events | though accompanied with disaster and distress — who looks with composure and complacency on the attacks of adversity, and! sees in the calamities of life the mere common fate to vvhichl flesh is heir to. Pootf>M/i/oo^ had satisfied his appetite, and he had also satisfi(! his mind that it had been done consistently with the rights of nianj although neither Paine, nor the exhumer of his bones had eferl LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 347 ventured into his country, to instil into the ductile minds of the natives the principles of their philosophy. Capt. Ross was how- ever not satisfied with the loss of his judged hare, nor of the other delectables, which had found their way into the trowsers of Poowutyook. He however issued his orders that a strict watch should be kept upon the motions of the young aspirant for the advantages and benefits of civilization, and in the mean time, he ivoiild himself draw up a code of punishment to which he was tube subject on the commission of any immoral act, although tlie preliminary was wholly forgotten of first teaching him in what immorality consisted. The morning of the 18th being remarkably fine, Commander Ross accompanied by Poowutyook, one man, seven dogs and the sledge, set out on an excursion into the country to the south- ward. As the open season was advancing, no o[)portunity was to he lost of examining the surrounding country, and of ascertaininn- the precise point to which the future attempts of the navigators were to be directed. Flattering as their prospects might have been on reaching Felix Harbour, their efforts had certainly not been attended with a proportionate degree of success. They had however the satisfaction and the consciousness, particularly on the part of Commander Ross, on whom the most arduous du- ties of the expedition devolved, of having left no means within their reach untried, that could in any way promote their object. Notwithstanding however the repeated excursions of Commander Ross in almost every direction, nothing yet had transpired to instd into him any sanguine hope that they were in the direct route for the discovery of the long-sought-for passage. The excursion which he now took added little to his stock of inform- ation, or of important knowledge of the geographical position of the country. According to the opinion which Commander Ross now formed, they appeared to be in the midst of a chain of lakes ( ommon to that part of America, but whether they were in fact a part of the polar sea, was a question he found impossible to solve. Leaving the sledge and the dogs to the care of the man, Commander Ro§s accompanied by Poowutyook ascended an emi- 348 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. nence, from wliich the former expected that he should obtain an unmterrupted view of the country. At the foot of the eminence Commander Ross shot a hare, on which Poowutyook expressed his surprise by the most extraordinary gestures. It was the first time that he had ever witnessed the use of fire-arms, and on tak- ing up the hare, he examined it in every part to discover the cause of its death, but not succeeding, he laid it down again, as if distrustful of the effect, which he had witnessed. Okalik tokoopoke, (" hare kill, he does.") said Poowutyook to Com. mander Ross pointing to the animal, and then made a noise with his mouth imitating the report of a gun, thereby implying that it was the noise which had killed the hare ; Commander Ross gave him to understand that he was in error, and shewed him the shot as he proceeded to reload his piece, but this was still more difficult for Poowutyook to understand, for he could not be made to comprehend in what manner the little balls got to the hare ; but when in a short time afterwards. Commander Ross shot a grouse on the wing, Poowutyook appeared as if almost petrified, he looked at Commander Ross — ^then at the bird, and afterwards appeared most anxious to inspect the gun. Commander Ross with the view of trying the firmness of the dispositions of Poowutyook, put a small quantity of powder into the gun, and placing it in his left hand, directed the right to the trigger ; when, on the gun going off, what with the noise, the flash, the recoil and the smoke, an actual degree of terror seized the savage, and without any further hesitation, he set off at the fullest speed, which his rude and cumbersome habili- ments would permit him. In vain Commander Ross called after him, nak/ nak! (*' no, no,") vociferated Pootwutyook, who bent his course in the direction of the ship, and was soon out of sight. Commander Rosp entertained no fear for the ultimate safety cf the youth, for although he was then full 15 miles from the ship, yet he knew that an Esquimaux is something like his dog ; he has a kind of instinctive sense about him, which ena- bles him to direct his course to any particular point over untrod- den fields of snow, and on which no vestige of a human footstep i« to be perceived. It is however generally supposed that an LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 349 Esquimaux directs his course according to the bearing of some remarkable headlands, for in regard to any sideral observations they appear to be as ignorant as the animals which they drive. They certainly have a name for the four cardinal points of the compass, but they know not to what use to employ them, or to make them subservient to any of the purposes of directing them in their course from one station to another, and particularly to those distant quarters, which they frequent in the summer monlhj for the purpose of carrying on their fisheries. Commander Ross on this excursion penetrated above thirty miles into the interior, but every thing tended to convince him that he was not on a continent, for the intersections of land and water, at that time in a compact body of ice, were so fre- quent, that he concluded it was an archipelago of small islands, but that they could not form a part of the polar sea. The short duration of light was however a great obstacle to the prosecution of his researches, and he therefore considered it more prudent to return to the ship, with the determination of renewing them when the days were longer. On his arrival at the ship, he was rather mortified to find that Poowutyook had never made his appearance, but it was ascer- tained by some Esquimaux, who came to the ship on the follow- ing morning from the south east, that he had returned to his snow-built hut and his native habits, bidding adieu for ever to the vaunted advantages of civilization, and to his character as representative of the Esquimaux nation. Capt. Ross ordered a new writ to be issued in the roor- of Poowutyook, who had ac- cepted the chiltern hundreds, bu. trange to say not a candidate presented himself, and the proper ofiicer having made a return to that effect, the borough of Immeeiplue (Esquimaux,^ was for ever after disfranchised. The attempt to metamorphose a savage into a civilized being having failed, the endemic of monument-building appeared again to attack the commander of the Victory, for on the 19th he despatched a party to the eastward, with instructions to build as large a monument as was within their power ; not mighty particular as to shape, but very much so as to magni- 350 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. tude ; the builders however determined not to be particular itt either case, for in the first place, it would have puzzled Sir Geoffrey Wyattville, (who being himself the projector of many monuments of folly, must naturally be supposed to be an excel- lent judge of all erections of that kind), to have determined the exact shape, for it was neither a square nor a circle, nor a parallelogram, nor an octagon, nor a hexagon, but it was a confusion of every figure huddled upon each other, forming alto- gether as rude a mass as ever was reared by human hands. In regard to the magnitude, no complaint could be made on that head : it was indeed not exactly so high as the tower of Babel, nor so broad as the walls of Babylon, but it was quite as high as any monument ought to be, which is to perpetuate the folly of a human being. Whilst the monumental party were trying the experiment of the utmost degree of cold which they could endure, without being benumbed or frostbitten, the remainder of the crew on board, were employed in more useful occupations, and to the result of which Capt. Ross looked forward with profit and advantage. With eyes by no means devoid of satisfaction, ho observed his stock of seal skins increasing, and he was antici- ])ating the hour when he should appear in the exchange of London, as a merchant of- the nrst eminence on that particuKir branch of trade. Scarcely a day passed without the natives arriving with seals, but their method of flaying the animals being different to that pursued by the natives of other parts of America, and which was in some instances calculated to destroy the integrity of the skins, Capt. Ross undertook to instruct some of his crew in the art of properly and skilfully flaying a seal, and they gradually attained to a proficiency, perfectly satisfactory to their employer. The 19th of March was one of the flayinj^ days, under the immediate superintendence of Capt. Ross himself, some of the skins however which were obtained this day were not destined to augment the hoard of the Commander, but to be cut up in stripes, preparatory to their being made into harnevss for the dogs ; the sailors had not yet attained the art of making the dog-whips from the intestiucs of the seals, but LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. UOSS. 351 ^arlook undertook to instruct them for the trifling gratuity of a couple of fish-hooks. The making of a dog-whip and the ability to use it are two very distinct thing;s, and perhaps in no attempt to acquire a particular art, did the sailors of the Victory exhibit greater awkwardness, then in learning the use of the Esquimiiux dog -whip. A person who learns to thrash, generally gives himself a few knocks on the head with the flail before he attains to any skilfulness in the art, and it was very necessary for a sailor in learning how to use a dog-whip, to stand at a respectful distance from his companions, for if it did not so happen that he gave 1 ii.iself a cut or two across the face, it generally fell out that the individuals, who were so unlucky as to station themselves in the immediate vicinity of the practi- tioner, generally received a smart visitation of the lash across their face, or more likely across their legs, as it is necessary to to give the lash a slanting direction for the purpose of reaching the foremost doffs. It is the boast of some of the celebrated whips of our stage coaches, that they will whip a fly off the tip of the ear of either of their leaders, but their boasted dexterity sinks into insignificance when put into* competition with the skill of an Esquimaux dog-driver. The action of the Esquimaux in whipping his dog is somewhat similar to that of the Kussian executioner using the knout, and like the criminal, woe to the dog on whom the lash falls : the dog how- ever is not urged on so much by the lash as by particular exclama- tions of the driver, to which he has been accustomed from his puppyism, and which if not obeyed, his experience tells him that the lash will soon follow. The life of the Esquimaux dogs is one of finished misery ; during their minority, like certain biped puppies, they are fondled and pampered by the female sex, but when out of leading strings, and are consigned over to their rightful master to be initiated in the art and mys- tery of sledge-drawing, their life is one of hardship and pri- vation. The dogs generally appear as the inmates of an Es- quimaux hut huddled up t gethor in one particular place, which is never cleaned from the construction of the hut to its desertion, and the stench of which is amalgamated with the other 352 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. effluvia which rise from a number of other nauseous objects, which are distributed in every quarter of the hut. The interior of an Esquimaux hut, when the lamps are lighted, and it is full of people and dogs, presents a spectacle, which is not to be equalled in any other part of the globe. It may be looked upon as one of the lowest stages of human society, just one degree removed from animal existence, and in which the gratification of the sensual appetites appears to be the sole object of their life. Immersed in the profoundest ignorance, they have not a single pursuit, which has not an immediate reference to their ani- mal wants, which on being satiated, the human brute throws himself down by the side of his dogs, and bloated with the effects of his gluttony, passes away the dreary hours of his life in sleep and inanity. The temperature of the interior of an Esquimaux hut during the depth of the winter, is little calculated to instil any feelings of comfort or pleasure. A thermometer placed in the hut over the fire indicated a temperature of 38^; when removed two or three feet from this situation it fell to S2°, and placed close to the wall stood at 23°; the temperature of the outer air at the time beine: 25" below Zero. It must however be considered that a degree of cold of 57° below the freezing point, is even in that country of rare occurrence. At all events, a habitation in which the temperature averages about 6° below the freezing point, cannot be looked upon as one of comfort, although it must still be borne in mind, that a people, who pass the greater part of their life in the utmost extremity of cold, which is known upon the globe, may consider a temperature of 6° below the freezing point, as one of comparative warmth. Towards the spring of the year, when from the increased temperature without, and the warmth of the huts within, the ice and snow beffin to melt, these poor beings are grievously affected with colds and febrile diseases, which frequently occasion a mortality amongst them, and reduce their population to a very low number. It is also the season in which they are in the greates-t want of provi- sions., and perhaps of all people, the Esquimaux suffer the most from over-gorging themselves at one time, and from actual want LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 353 at the other. It is calculated that of a population of 80 persons, twenty are carried oflf in the spring by febrile diseases, and it is rather singular that the births are in no proportion to the deaths, thereby almost intimating that the race of the Esquimaux is gradually dwindling away. The death of a woman in child- birth is very rare amongst the Esquimaux people, although it , may be truly said, that a cow in England has greater attention paid her in the hour of parturition, than an Esquimaux woman. Nature undertakes the whole performance of the operation- no gabbling officious nurse attends with her cup of caudle, usurp- ing the sovereignty of the apartment, and extolling the beauty of the new-born infant, though perhaps it has been formed in one of the ugliest moulds, which could be found in the whole of Nature's magazine. The Esquimaux woman gives birth to hei child ; a draught of seal's blood invigorates her after her travail, and she rises from her bed of snow, to attend upon her puppies, or to dress a seal cutlet for her expectant husband. The 20th being Saturday, the usual occupation was pursued of cleaning the ship inside and outside, during which operation, Capt. Ross went on a shooting expedition, and Mr. Thoms and Mr. Mc'Diarmid set out on a long walk into the interior. It cannot be supposed that the Esquimaux had acquired any information of the temporary absence of Capt. Ross, but he had not departed long, before a party of them presented themselves, both from the south east, and from the north, bringing with them two seals and two skins. Had it been any other day than cleaning day, the sailors would have bought the whole lot, and have skinned the seals previously to the return of Capt. Ross, but his absence from the ship was never of long duration, his walks extending at the ut- most to two or three miles. The opportunity, however, was not lost by them of purchasing the skins, which were obtained foi a rusty knife and half a dozen nails. The Esquimaux made known to the sailors, they would conceal the seals in a place from which they might fetch them at their leisure, but although they had the utmost confidence in tho integrity of the natives in transactions of that kind, yet they feared that the plan could not be carried into effect without being detected by Capt. Ross, 15, 2 z 354 LAST VOYi^GE CF CAPT. ROSS. particularly, as it was very seldom that leave of absence could be obtained from the ship for any purposes of a private nature. Their offer in this respect being declined, they left the ship with the two seals, and it was not supposed that any thing more would be heard of them that day. Shortly after their departure, Capt. Ross returned, having shot two grouse, but which he would not have found, but for a dog, which he had bought of the natives. Scarcely however had he returned, and retired to his cabin to recover himself from his fatigue, than the Esqui. maux again made their appearance, bringing with them the skins of the two seals, which appears they had taken to some distance from the ship, and there skinned them, leaving their carcasses to be taken up by them on their return to the huts. Their intentions were however on this occasion frustrated, for the sailors were bound in obedience to the orders of Capt. Ross, to apprize him of the visit of the Esquimaux, and at the same time to report to him the articles, which they had brought. At the sound of the seal skins, the Captain rose from his seat, and in a very short time, they formed an addendum to his al- ready extensive stock. It was expected that Mr. Thoms and Mr. Mc'Diarmid would have arrived from their walk in time for dinner, but the hour arrived, and no signs of them could be seea from any part of the ship. Some serious apprehensions began to be entertained for their safety, as their intended route was attended with some danger, it being over the ice to two islands, which lay to the eastward. It was now completely dark, and still no appearance of the travellers. An offer was made by some of the crew to go in search of them, but the darkness was then so great, that Capt. Ross considered that the attempt could not be attended with any good effect, but with considerable danger to the lives of the men. No signs of them presenting themselves, at 7 o'clock, Capt. Ross ordered a gun to be fired, and to be con- tinued every twenty minutes, and that blue lights should be burned during the whole of the night. The firing was continued until a quarter before ten, when the voices of the stragglers were heard, hailing the ship, and great was the joy when they LAST VOYAGE 07 CAPT. ROSI. 855 arrived on board, having completely lost their way, and had it not been for the firing of the gun, and the burning of the lights, they vt^ould certainly have passed the ship, and wandered about the whole of the night, exposed to all the inclemency of the weather. They were not a little rejoiced to find themselves once more comfortably housed between the decks of the Victo- ry ; so relative is the happiness of man — for disposed as he may be to complain of his present condition, let him but be accident- ally thrown into a worse, and he then first begins to learn to appreciate the advantages and comforts, which he enjoyed in the former. On Sunday the 21st, the crew as usual attended divine ser- vice, after which permission was granted them to take a walk on land, and they directed their course towards the uninhabited huts, which had been deserted on the death of Illictu. A strik- ing mstance here occurred of the extraordinary fidelity of the Esquimaux dog. On the death of Illictu, Capt. Ross obtained his fa^rorite dog, wnich was almost grown grey in the service of the family, and which was particularly prized by his eldest son, who had tried every stratagem to obtain re-possession of the animal. On this occasion, the dog accompanied the sailors to the huts, and on their way thither, they were met by a party of Esquimaux, amongst whom was the son of Illictu, and who no sooner saw his father's dog, than he ran up to it, and actually caressed it, as if it had been a long lost child, that was restored to him. It was actually painful to the feelings, to see the tears roll down the cheek of this savage of sensibility, as he fondled over ihe dog, v "nich by its actions fully proved, that he had not forgotten those, in whose service he had been bred. On the arrival of the party at the huts, the dog instantly knew the one in which his former master had died, and immediately entered it, smelling and looking about, as if he were in search of some object, that had boen there, and which he wished to find there again. The whole place was a scene of desolation, and the sailors not being willing to indulge in the melancholy mood, soon took their departure. The son of Illictu, in the mean time, had been trying every stratagem to entice the dog towards him, 356 LAST VOYAOB OF CAPT. ROSS. and taking the advantage of a particular opportunity, darted uif, calling the dog after him. The animal had not forgotten his early associates, and preferred them to those., into whose hands he had been transferred ; seizing therefore the first chance, that had presented itself of emancipating himself from the dominion of his new governors, he followed the son of Mlictu, and a general chase was the consequence. The English sailors, as the pursuers, were not exactly clad to fit them for swift running over hummocko of ice, nor from the comparatively inactive mode of life, to which they had been accustomed for the last five months, were they in sufficient breath to continue the chase for any length of time. On the other hand, it was a terrain to which the Esquimaux had been accustomed from his infancy, his seal skin shoes were well calculated to prevent him from slipping, and the sailors soon found that they had no chance of coming up to their competitors ; fearing also that the chase might lead them to such a distance from the ship as to pre. vent them reaching it before the darkness set in, they very pru- dentiy declined the chase, being well assured that the means were in their power of recovering the dog, by the simple refusal of deal- ing with the natives for any of their articles, until the animal was restored to them. The only circumstance, which the sailors had to fear on this occasion, was the anger of Capt. Ross on the loss of his dog, but when the affair was canvassed between them one snapped his fingers; another took the quid from his mouth, and throwing it on the ground exclaimed, " there and be d— d to him ;" another set up a whistle somewhat similar to the lil- labullero of my Uncle Toby, and the last — but we will leave thede- scriptionof the precise gesture with which it was accompanied, to the knowledge of those, who are somewhat acquainted with the expressive mode of action adopted in general by a British sailor, when he wishes to make it known, that he cares not a thread of oakum for all the Captains in the royal navy, in which of course Capt. Ross must be included. The only thing they had to do was to tell the truth, leaving Capt. Ross to issue his manifesto, de- daring the whola Esquimaux nation under his high displeasure, until the animal was restored to him. LAST VOVAQB OF CAPT. ROSS. 357 It is a singular trait in the character of this particular tribe of the Esquimaux people, that if they commit a theft, they very shortly after restore the stolen property of their own accord, as if they had repented of the act, and were willing to make every restitution in their power for the crime, which they have com- mitted. It is also not less singular, that the stolen property was very seldom brought back by the thief himself, nor by one of his own eex, but that their wives were generally selected for this ungracious and unpleasant duty. The question might be moot- ed, whether the women were naturally in possession of a greater quantity of honesty than the men, and exercised their influence over them, in order to induce them to return any articles that they had purloined ; or whether the restoration of them proceeded from a direct compunction of conscience on the part of the thief, and being ashamed to restore the article himself, he selected those under his controul, to perform the duty for him. The latter hypothesis is not likely to be the case amongst a rude and savage people, who scarcely know how to draw a line between a right and a wrong action, or to determine the principles on which either of them is found- ed. The meum and tuum of civilized life were known amono-st them but in a very subordinate degree, and in attaching the property of others to themselves, they considered that they were only acting up to the universal law of nature, which tells a human being to promote his own happiness, without stopping on the way to consider minutely the means, by which that happiness can be obtained and secured. We know that it is dangerous ground to tread upon, but we cannot shut our eyes to the experience, that the shades of moral guilt, are as diversified as the people, by whom it is committed, and that an act, which by the natives under one particular degree of longitude is branded with infamy and perpetual dis- grace is in a few degrees further to the northward or the south- ward, actually enjoined upon them by the ministers of their religion, as the very test and ordeal of the strength and efficacy of their faith. The standard of moral guilt amongst the Esqui- maux, and particularly amongst those, who wei'e in daily inter- 358 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R089. course with the crew of the Victory, was confined within a very narrow compass. Their conduct in many respects was a direct and forcible contradiction to that of the creature of civilized life, but if tried by the standard, which is adopted by the latter, and to which ho is called upon to conform by education and example, there is very little doubt as to which the preponderance would be awarded. The man of civilization is educated so as to have a distinct conception of the principle of right and wrong, of justice and injustice, of truth and falsehood— in despite, however, of that education, he acts in direct opposition to those principles, and, in fact, the whole tenor of his life ap- pears to be, how he can carry on those actions with impunity, and safe from all detection : the Esquimaux is the confirmed child of nature, in its most rude and savage character— removed but one degree from the brute creation, forming almost the link between animal and human life, destitute of every notion of a retributive justice— amenable to no present nor future tribunal for any action, which he may commit, he appears in the great family of mankind, as divested of the major part of the rights of humanity, with the countenance of his God turned from him, and living in a nook of earth overlooked and forgotten by its Creator. That the sailors on their return to the ship, experienced the ebullitions of their commander's anger on the loss of the dog, is an event of such a natural and certain consequence, that to relate it would be tantamount to the information, that thunder is always preceded by lightning, or that wherever there is light, there must of necessity be a shadow ; to relate, however, that these same ebullitions, stormy and tempestuous as they might have exhibited themselves, were as harmless in their con- sequences, as a drop of rain falling on the plumage of the cygnet, were an assertion, to which even a Quaker could affix his affirmation, without running the slightest risk of being called to account by his elders for a breach of moral conduct, which cannot be laid to the charge of any of the fraternity of the Pures, for the best of all reasons, that they are possessed of the most consummate cunning to prevent the detection of it r LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 359 When a man is in a bona-fide downright passion, the most prudent method is not to interrupt him— a rocket makes a great noise and fluster on first setting off—pass a little while, and every trace of it is gone. There are some fools, who attempt to calm an angry man, by coaxings and whoedlings, entreaties and expostulations, but it is the most infallible method of increasing the violence of the storm ; the sailors of the Victory were not ignorant of this principle of human action, therefore, when the tempest burst upon them, they looked at their commander- then at the brass nails in his chair— then at a bottle of Booth's best cordial, that was standing on the table, and then— they said nothing. The harder it blows, the sooner it will be over, is a maxim, which has cheered many a sea-drenched sailor, as the waves have rolled over him at the helm, and, certainly, the tor- rents of abuse, which flowed from the mouth of Capt. Ross, threatened to overwhelm the hardened culprits with unutterable confusion and dismay; but the tempest was too violent to last, independently of which, the hour had arrived, when according to general custom, one of the monitors of the school was to read a chapter in the Bible to the assembled crew, and it came to pass that the 29th chapter of Proverbs was in rotation for their evening edification, and the monitor read with an audible voice : "A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in tin afterwards." The sailors looked at each other with a significant eye, and Capt. Ross appeared rather uneasy on his seat. Further read the monitor. "A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understand, he will not answer. " Seest thou a man, that is hasty in his words ? there is more hope of a fool than of him." A fear and trembling came over the congregation, for to them it appeared, as if their commander had been suddenly seized with a fit of St. Vitus' dance; so extraordinary and sin- gula- w*^re the twistings and contortions of his body. And the monitor further read : 360 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT, ROSS. ' " An angry man stirrelh up strife, and a furious man abound- eth in transgression." Never did a love-sick g-irl, who had made an appointment to meet her lover at the conventicle of Clayton, of Andrews, or of Melville, hear with greater pleasure the last amen pronounced, which was to be the signal for them to hasten toward each other, after a tedious, and apparently to them a personal discourse, taken from the text, of" set not thy affections on things of this earth;" never did a shoeless, but not a somZ-Icss poet in his attic residence evince greater pleasure on arriving at the close of a didactic poem, on the colossal powers of steam, or the beauties of the her- ring fishery, which is to put the erudite fraternity of Publishers resident in the vicinity of the purling streams, and academic groves of Warwick Lane, and Paternoster Row, into a ferment of competition for the purchase of the copyright, thereby furnish- ing another instance to a captious and unbelieving world, of the extreme liberality, which distinguishes that body of men, in all their dealings with authors — never was delight more strongly imprmted on the countenance of either of those characters, than was on the visage of Capt. Ross, when the monitor arrived at the end of the chapter, and the congregation rose to retire to their respective berths, te ponder on the wholesome truths, which they had heard. Qui capita ille fecit is an adage as old as any of the icebergs, which so criminally conspired to obstruct Capt. Ross in his discovery of the North West Passage, and a great deal older than Capt. Ross himself, but like all other apothegms, it generally inflicts a sting on those, to whom it is applied ; in order however that it might never again be applicable to himself, as far as the sentiments contained in a chapter of the Bible were concerned, he issued his orders, that henceforth the chapter for the evening reading should not be taken in rotation, but should be selected by some competent person, in order, as he expressed himself to fivoid all personalities, which he was fully aware are apt to engender strife, and stir up the blood to feuds and discord. In a previous part of this work, we have alluded to the task which was generally imposed upon the women, of restoring the LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. R09S. 361 stolen property, and the day followinj^ that, on which the dog be- longing to Capt. Ross, and which had formerly belonged to 7/- Itctu, had been enticed away, two women came to the ship bring- ing the dog with them, and exonerating the son of Illtctu from all blame in the transaction, as the fault was attachable to the dog, and not to the man. Tt was not to be attributed, they said, as a fault to the latter, that the dog preferred following his original master, instead of his adopted one, and if the man ran quicklv away for fear of being benighted, and the dog, all the while, kept close at his heels, surely no blame -;vhatever was attachable to him, much less coT-ld the charge of theft be laid to him. It was agreed to give the female diplomatist the full advantage of her argumentci, but unluckily for her, the latter part of her ex- culpatory statement fell to the ground, for although certainly the charge of the theft of the dog could not be substantiated, yet it was discovered that the swivel had been taken from hi^ collar, and Commander Ross gave them to understand that he should consider them, decidedly, as complete Tigliktokes, unless the swivel was returned, and he further informed them, that aU though he certainly considered them entitled to some reward for bringing back the dog, yet that it should be withheld, until the article that were taken from the animal was restored. : t The women did not seem to comprehend the system of pro- spective rewards, and, especially, if dependent on certain condi- tions and stipulations, which it was perhaps not in their power to perform. They had executed their part of the duty by bring- ing back the dog, and therefore their reward was not to be made dependent upon the will and actions of another, over whom they possessed not, perhaps, the slightest controul. If the son of Illtctu refused to give up the swivel, all their trouble in bringing back the dog would go for nothing, and therefore in their eyes it was not an act of justice to withhold from them the leward that was their due, on the conditional plea, that they were to bring back an article, which the present holder of it might not be disposed to relinquish. Plausible however as these arguments were, Commander Ross was peremptory in hia de- i6 3a 362 LAST VOYAOB OF CAPT. ROSS. termination, not to bestow upon them the slightest reward until the swivel was returned. The women left the ship not very well satisfied with the re- sult of their act of honesty, and entertaining a low opinion of the justice of the Kahloonas ; it was also a new creed to them, that their whole tribe were to be punished for the act of a single individual, for Capt. Ross gave the women to understand that no further negotiations would be entered into with any of them in the way of barter, or the purchase of their commodities, until the stolen property was restored. The crew were now employed in unbanking the ship, the «everity of the winter having passed, and no further fear existing, of the vessel receiving any injury from the heavy drifts of snow, against which the embankment was intended to protect her. The removal of the bank of snow would also tend to increase the circulation of the air about the ship, and prevent that extra- ordinary humidity, which the melting of the snow would occa- sion, and which now, as the fine weather was approaching-, was naturally expected to increase every day. It has been mentioned that on the death of Marslin, the ar- mourer, his will was made by Mr. Light the steward, bequeathing the whole of his property to his sister and his children ; it was therefore a matter of no little surprise to the crew, when they were informed that Capt. Ross had come to the determination to dis- pose of Marslin's property, although it would have been a difficult task for him to have shown by what right he disposed of property, which by will was bequeathed to another. In other respects, it could not be expected, even if Capt. Ross him- self had taken upon himself the character of an auctioneer, that the property of the deceased would fetch very high prices, or even that any thing like its real value could be obtained. There certainly existed no necessity for the disposal of the property. for there was no want of room in the Victory to stow it away, and when it is considered, that the amount of some of the pur- chases made by the sailors; was put to the debit account of their wages ; we cannot but coincide with the majority of the crow, LAST VOTAGE OF CAPT, ROSi. 869 in the opinion which they entertained of this transaction , It was further the belief of Mr. Lig^ht, and some others of the crew, that no part of the proceeds of the sale ever reached the hands of those, to whom it was bequeathed. Early in the morning of the 23d, the two women, who had brought back the dog, came to the ship, bringing with them the swivel, which they threw down with an air of contemptuous indignation, as much as to say, " take back your paltry article, about which you have made so great a hubbub." The next great question however to be considered, was the reward, and here the parties were not by any means likely to come to an amicable arrangement; the one expecting a very high reward, and the other determined to give a very low one ; the former considering that they had performed an act of great honesty ; the latter considering that they had done no more than their duty, in restoring a property, wh'ch did not belong to them. The ladies were peremptory in their exactions— the gentlemen were equally so in their refusal : the latter, in the opinion of the Wmer, were mean, shabby fellows—the ladies in the opinion of the gentlemen, were nothing better than a pair of vile ex- tortioners, demanding a tribute on the oart of Caesar, which was not due to Cnesar, and, therefore, they resolved to exert the whole energy of their characters, in repelling so gross an impo- sition. A pair of fish-hooks were offered, they were not to be caught with such a trumpery reward— four needles were added, It was a superaddition of insult to meanness. It was however liigh time that an end should be put to this palaver, when, Capt. Ross, who, we doubt not must have acquired some knowledge of the female character, before he became the commander of the Victory ,and who daily be-thought himself, that the useful stands in a woman's eye, by no means in equal estimation with the orna- mental, whether she be a member of Almacks, or the native of an Esquimaux snow hut ; drew from nis pocket a string of glass Pleads, estimated in the invoice at 4d. and presented the valuable Rift to the ladies Bright and cheerful were their counter nances, as they tooK possession of the gewgaws, for one of them, Je it said, sub silentio, was about to take upon herself the cha- 3f5l LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS, racier of a wife; and where is the* bride elect, who is not de- sirous of bedizening her person to the best advantage, with the fond expectation of finding greater grace and favor in the eyes of her accepted lord ? If a transaction of this kind had taken place, in which two European women were the actresses, the right of proprietorship would have been strongly contested, and perhaps an appeal to the gentlemen of the coif resorted to, in order to de- termine the exact position of the meum and tuum of the business; happily however for the Esquimaux people, they were not yet so far advanced in civilization, as to suft'er, under a worse than an Egyptian plague, in the swarm of lawyers, for whose unhallowed gains, the happiness of the people of England is sacrificed, and therefore they proceeded to settle the business in a friendly way, as they seated themselves under the lee of a hillock of snow ; the result of which was, that the hooks and needles should be the property of the wife of the son of Illiclu, who had been the instrument of the restoration of the dog, and the string of beads, the inalienable property of Terrekewona, the intended spouse of Nutcheuknawhook. During the latter part of the month of March, the weather was beautifully serene, of which Commander Ross took the ad- vantage in order to prosecute his observations, relative to some of the scientific objects, connected with the expedition, and the result of which will be found in the appendix to this work. Scarcely a day elapsed, that the ship was not visited by a party of the Esquimaux, who appeared actually determined to exhaust their stock of clothing, in exchange for some tri- vial things, which were tossing about in various parts o the ship as mere lumber, and the value of which intrinsically was of no consideration. It must, however, be admitted on the other hand, that some of the articles, which they were in the daily habit of bringing to the ship, were in them- selves of trifling worth — £i pair of mittens was a rude adapt- ation of two pieces of seal skin, sewed together in the most bungling manner, and which were found to be excessively in- convenient to the sailors, on account of their not being any separation for the fingers, which rendered them almost whollv useless in any operations whi( h ihoy had to perform or» hoard lAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 965 the ship : the boots and slippers would have been of greater use, if they had been warranted water- proof, but, unluckily, the gtitches were in some places so very like our angels visits, few aod far between, especially, those that were made for sale on board the Victory, that had they been denominated boots on the ven- tilating system, for an equal admission of wind and water, they would have fully answered the character lo which they were entitled from the wearing. The '28th of l^larch was the only day, that the ship was not visited by the Esquimaux, since the acquaintance was estab- lished; the absence of their visit, was attributed by the crew to the violence of the wind, which on that day biew almost a hurricane, but the reason was by no means a plausible one, when it is considered, that they were punctual in their visits during the extreme rigor of the winter, when it was scarcely to be be- lieved that the physical constitution of a human being could have withstood the severity of the cold. On the following day, how- ever, they seemed determined to make amends for the loss, which the crew of the Victory had sustained in the pleasure of their company on the preceding one, for the tribes came both from the north and the east, and it might be truly characterized as a visit of good-will or compliment, for they did not bring a single article with them, either of purchase or barter. A cir- cumstance, however, which occurred this day excited the surprise of the crew, which was the removal of an entire family from the north station, who came and built their huts on the ice close to the ship, seemingly disposed to enter into a more intimate and friendly communication with the crew. In some respects, how- ever, this unexpected display of a desire to increase the intimacy between the two parties, was by no means satisfactory or agree- able to Capt. Ross, for although he had no objection to receive them as occasional visitors, he, on no account coveted, a perma- nent acquaintance, or did he wish to have his new friends al- ways contiguous to the ship. With all their savage simplicity and ignorance, they had shewn themselves in many instances to be most dexterous thieves, and as they had now settled themselves almost under the very bows of the ship, many oppor- ;i66 LAST VOYAGB OF CAPT. ROM. tunlties would be offered them of putting their pilfering dispo- sitions into practice, without the means of detecting them Some parts of the unfortunate steam engine were still imbedded in the ice, and many articles were lying dispersed on the outside of the ship, which would form a valuable prize to the natives, and which, there existed little doubt, would be stolen by them on the very first opportunity which presented itself. It was, indeed, strongly suspected by Capt. Ross, as well as by the majority of the crew, that the natives had established themselves in their new quarters, for no other purpose than to carry on a predatory war- fare against the moveable property of the ship ; for as they must nearly, if not wholly, have exhausted their own stores of cloth- ing, and other vendible articles, no other resource was left in order to enrich themselves with the hooks, needles, old instru- ments, and broken pieces of iron, which appeared to them to be inexhaustible in the Victory, than to station themselves in the immediate vicinity of the ship, and help themselves to whatever commodity might fall in their way, or which their perseverance might enable them to discover. It is certain that Capt. Ross might attempt to remove the intruders, by informing them, that as he had formally taken possession of the country, in the naine and on behalf of his Britannic majesty, they had no right to form a settlement in any part of it, without the express permission of his said majesty, or his representative, who was no other persou than Capt. Ross himself; but the great difficulty presented it- self in making them understand who his Britannic majesty was, or who conferred on him, or on his representative, the right of calling a country his own, which had belonged to them, and their forefathers ever since there was a sun in the heavens, an ox on the land, or a seal in the waters. This was a difficulty which appeared to Capt. Ross of a very insuperable nature : he was conscious that the fee siaiplo of the land was vested in the natives, and although they had not built their huts exactly on Terra Firms, but on the ice, which might be considered a kind of neutral ground, and, claimed by any one, who might feel a disposition to become the proprietor of so extensive a territory ; yet he was not a jurist sufficiently learned in the law LASl VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. 367 ] of properly, as to determine by what means tlie intrucrmg' occupiers could be ejected. Capt. Ross had certainly one law on his side, which, says that if a nuisance comes to a man, and he can prove il to be such, that the individual or individuals so bringing- that ijui*ance, are bound to remove it under a penalty for all damages, which may accrue, on account of the continuance of the nui- jjjpce — that a family of thieving Esquimaux were a direct and positive nuisance in the vicinity of an English ship would not require the eloquence of a Brougham or a Scarlett to prove; but the great and important question presented itself to the vigilant oonsideration of Capt, Ross, by what minner he could make the laws of England applicable to the particular state of societ}- of the Esquimaux people, and make them at once sensible, that they were a mo'^^t intolerable nuisance, and therefore ought to be removed, if not by equitable means, then by the direct inter- ference of the irresistible arm of the law. These were all matters of weighty consideration with Capt, Ross, as he sat over his hippocrene in his cabin, and like a good and virtuous ruler, pondered on the means to be adopted by which the happiness and prosperity of those under him, could be augmented and confirmed. He carried in his remembrance the second verse of the chapter in the bible, which had been read on the preceding Sunday, for the edification of his crew, al- though the contents of the other verses had by some means slipped through his memory, — which verse goeth on to state, " When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn." . Therefore was he determined to prove syllogistically that he was a righteous man, by an immediate attempt to remove the nuisance, which threatened, with such a serious aspect to dis- turb the happiness, and injure the interests of those, over whom he was appointed ruler. Thus was the syllogism formed in the cabin of iha Victory. Tli« people rejoice when the righ'eous are in authority. The people under the authority of Cap'. Ross rejoice, . , Brgo, Capt. Ross is a righteom miin. 368 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS . If, however, Capt. Ross had one point in his favour, as touch, inc^ the nuisance, the Esquimaux Iiad nine in theirs,— an»l they had obtained possession, both parhaiis de jure et de facto, {we believe that to be the jargon of the lawyers,) of the site of their village, and it was shrewdly hinted by one of the officers in tho cabin, that if Capt. Ross calleu upon them to shew by what right they built their village within hail of his ship, they might call upon him to shew by what right he had intruded himself into their country, and had filled his flour-tubs with its produce, for which he had only given them in return, his rubbish. He might indeed have talked to them in high and commanding language of George the Fourth — of Mr. Barrow of the admiralty —of Mr. Booth, his munificent patron — of the attachment of Lord Melville to him as being one of his own countrymen — of the power vested in him to blow up the whole of their village with his steam engine, that is, if the steam engine had not unfortunately for him, blown up itself — of the precise velocity of sound, which had been ascertained (not) by his own power of observation — of the true position of the magnetic pole — and lastly, of the exact altitude, measured by himself, of the Croker Mountains. On all, or any one of these important subjects, he might have edified and astounded the gaping natives, but not a block of snow would they in consequence have removed from their huts, or resigned to him an inch of the sovereignty of their country. ' , ^^ ... v,. ..... Nevertheless, the fear of losing some part of his property daily by theft, arose ever and anon, in the mind of Capt. Ross, like some malicious fiend to disturb the serenity of his midnight rest; strange visions hovered over his heated imagination, he again saw the wonderful figure of Poowutyook rising from the flour- tub, as the leader of the gang of thieves ; he saw in his fancy the remnants of his steam engine emancipated from their iey prison, and carried away by the mere force of thieving, to a latitude, where they would be made of much greater use, than they were ever found to be, whilst on board the Victory ; he saw his own flour-tubs rifled of their contents, his schemes of profit and speculation, burst like the South Sea bubble, and LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. R098. 369 not a seal skin, nor a pair of trowsers left to tell him of his former riches. It is an acknowledged principle hy all Philosophers and Phy- gicians, that great evils require great powers of counter-action ; — violent diseases require violent medicines, and therefore a consult- ation was held in the cabin of the Victory, as to the most politic measures, that could be adopted, under the existing circumstances, which threatened wholly to change the aspect of their aftairsJ to throw a disheartening gloom over their prospects, and mate- rially to alter the established discipline of the ship; for in the latter case, it would be necessary to appoint an additional watch, particularly by night, in order to keep a proper check upon the' predatory disposition of the natives. . The means of prevention are generally commensurate with the extent of the alarm; and therefore in order to justify the proc-eed- ings, which were adopted on this momentous occasion, it will be necessary to give an accurate account of the number of person?, who had so unceremoniously, and unexpectedly located themselves in the immediate vicinity of the Victory, to the great trouble and annoyance of its civilized inmates. The chief subjects of the establishment of an Esquimaux are his dogs and sledges; they are to him what the rein-deer is to the Laplander, or the camel to the Arabian: they constitute the dowry of his wife; the inheritance of his children; the instru- ments of his support, and the principal objects of his care and solicitude. An Esquimaux without a dog and sledge, may be considered in the character of a direct pauper ; he is a kind of dead weight upon the community, and it is only under peculiar cir - cumstances that a character of this kind is tolerated amongst them ;- the law of primogeniture has no existence amongst the Esqui- maux ; for having neither rank, nor titles, nor dignities, noraris- I tocratical pride to support, they leave to the civilized European all the glories and advantages of hereditary birth, and look with conteoipt upon those factitious institutions, which confer titles and property upon a fool, merely because it has pleased Heaven to Isend him into the world before his brother. On the death of the |fatherof afamily, his property is divided amongst his children. ^6. 3 a 370 I.ABT VOYAGE OF CAPT. R09§. in equal proportions, and should any altercation arise, which is very seldom the case, the nearest of kin is called in, and his decision is considered final. It frequently happens that on the marriage of an Esquimaux girl, the husband takes up his abode with the parents of his wife ; and in the case of the natives, who had established themselves in the immediate vicinity of the Vic- tory, one hut contained the fathoi \nd mother, their married daughter and her husband, with four oi five children appertainino- to the latter ; the dogs belonging to the father amounting to six, and those of the husband amounting to seven, forming in the group an exhibition of savage life, which was scarcely to be equalled amongst the wildest of the Indian tribes. In the hut adjoining to this well-tenanted habitation, the interior of which, ^for active life, might be compared to a bee-hive, although not quite so sweet and mellifluous, resided the son of the before- roentioned couple, who preferring the life of a bachelor to that of a husband, had, up to his twenty-sixth year, withstood all the wiles and blandishments of the Esquimaux beauties, but by whom he was, of course, ftill considered as a prize to be won, al- though he obstinately persisted in regarding them in any other light than that of a prize, but the direct contrary, as indisput- able plagues and torments It was, however, necessary that Kenneeluyoo, the name of the wayward bachelor, should have an individual within his hut, who would attend upon his dogs, and have his seal cutlets in readiness for him, on his return from his hunting excursions ; but those occupations could only bo per- formed by a female; and, certainly, in the refined and civilized countries of Europe, a female fulfilling a situation of that kind, in the hut of a young bachelor, would expose herself to be at- tacked by all the imps of calumny, who ever took upon ihein- ^, selves the office of pulling to pieces the character of a woman, .^ It is, however, differently constttuted amongst the Esquimaux; ,,^ Kenneeluyoo chose for his housekeeper a grave, slaid, demure and 1^^ discreet matron, who had fallen into the yellow leaf of widow- ,^ hood, at an early period of her life ; and, who, for reasons, which it were, in this place, illiberal to notice, never entered a second time into the troubles and trammels of matrimony, which, however, by LAST VOYAGE. OF CAPT. ROgS. 871 Boine of Iho moRt spiteful of hor sisterhood was alleged not to have sprung from any indisposition of her own, but from the par- ticular contour of her countenance, which, was perhaps the most hideous, that could be formed of the customary appendages of tho human face, even if ingenuity had been exhausted in placing them in the most grotesque position, which the most exuberant imagination could devise. At her birth, she had the name of Nakkoowoke bestowed upon her, th*> interpretation of which is •* squint she does ;" and therefore as calumny is the loudest, where the beauty of the female is the greatest, according to that ratio, detraction never ought to have sullied with its pestiferous breath the immaculate character of Nakkoowoke. Let it not, how- ever, be supposed that the absence of personal beauty implies the absence of moral worth ; on the contrary, according to Euro- pean experience, we frequently find, that nature, in order to make some amends for her unnatural freak, in withholding from a female every feature that has the slightest claim to beauty, has bestowed upon her moral and intellectual character, every noble property and virtue, which, in their general practice, have a ten- dency to exalt and adorn a human being. A poet of high renown has said, ••/If';.-*/"**'' " That beauty and virtue are the same. And goodness dwells with both.'* ti/ It may have been so in the golden age, or in the fields of Arcadia, or perhaps it may be so in Heaven, but this we know, that if the poet intended his sentiments to apply to the world as it is now constituted, or has been constituted since the times of Helen of Troy, or of Messalina of Rome, he may be consider- ed as having spoken one of the greatest falsehoods, which ever emerged from the pericranium of a poet. It would be most unjust end illiberal to say that beauty and virtue are not to be found as co-existing in the same person, but our hair has not grown grey, without having arrived at the experience that 971 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. beiuty is more often the cause of the loss of virtue, than the means of nreserving its immaculacy. . , Sterne has said that he could draw a moral from the knock- ing of a tenpenny nail with a hammer, although we candidly confess our inability to discover where to look for it, but we have taken an opportunity of deducing a moral from the domes- tic arrangements of an Esquimaux bachelor, which we hope will not be lost upon those of our fair country-women, whose mirrors have reflected the beauty of their countenance, and let them carry with them the conviction, that beauty unless attended by her twin sister virtue, assumes a hideous aspect, and rather than be considered a blessing, it should be looked upon as one of the greatest evils, with which heaven could af- flict them. ' ' • ji Had the colony of the Esquimaux consisted only of the deco- rous, anc' well-behaved persons already mentioned; the slumbers of Capt. Ross would have run no risk of being broken in upon by the intrusive visits of the midnight marauders; the remnants of his steam engine might have quietly submitted themselves to the process of corrosion by rust, without the fear of being meta- morphosed into blubber bowls and drinking cups, by the inge- nuity of the natives; the tubs crammed with jackets, hoods, trowsers, mittens, boots, and slippers might have remained undisturbed in the hold, in sdcial fellowship with each other ; the discipline of the ship might have been carried on according to the system hitherto adopted, nor would the rubicundity of the countenances of the associates of the Victory's cabin been 80 suddenly changed to the ghastly paleness of fear and tribu- lation. ' *'' ' •' - . . It was, however, written in the book of fate, (but those, whp wrote it, could not have had any regard for the feelings of Capt. Ross, nor the slightest commisseration for the situation into which their indiscreet measure so lamentably impelled him,) that, amongst the settlers on the ice, there were four individuals, who, if their characters for integrity and probity were to be estimated according to their physiognomy, might be supposed LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R089. 373 to be as deficient in those virtues as an English bishop in humi- lity— a courtier in sincerity — a nun in chastity — or an author in riches. It might have been supposed that, from the time when Capt. Ross left " the heath-covered mountains of Scotia," to that most auspicious moment of his life, when he found him- self Commander of the Victory in Felix Harbour, the experience must, at some particular period of that time, have burst upon bim, that a more fallacious criterron of the intrinsic goodness and virtue of an individual cannot be consulted, than the form of visage, with which it has pleased nature to endow him ; but notwithstanding, that the truth of that position amounts to al most proverbial validity, yet there are very few, who are not regulated by it in their estimation of the character of the indi- vidual, with whom he is suddenly thrown into contact, and who does not in some measure regulate his conduct according to the opinion, which he may then have prematurely, and unjustly formed. The four ill-favoured Esquimaux had no sooner pre- sented themselves before Capt. Ross, than in his own mind, he determined them to be consummate thieves, and that they had like the gypsies, pitched their dwelling in his vicinity, as hold- ing out the greatest prospect of carrying on their buccaneering exploits to the utmost profit and advantage. It was in vain to tell bim that their peculiar physiognomy was as natural to them, as red hair and high cheek bones were to the natives of his own coun- try; it was a direct loss of time, to expostulate with him on the injustice and impropriety of holding a man to be a thief, beforo he had given some distinct proofs that the character really be- longed to him ; and fiirther, that as he professed to be a christ- ian, it was acting in a most unchristian-like manner, to mete oiit his judgement according to any other principle than that, in which he should wish that judgement should be meted out to him. These arguments might have been considered as some- what worthy of attention, but they all yielded to the prejudice, which he had imbibed, and to the irrevocable opinion which he had fornied, that the four Esquimaux were the canaille of their race, and in the depth of their degeneracy had just selected 371 LAST VOYAGU OF CAPT. ROSS. him, amongst the infinite number of human bipeds, that crawl upon the earth, to be the victim of their licentious and thievish propensities. Whatever faults or national follies may be imputed to the sons of Caledonia, there is no one, who has lived amongst them, or who has been entangled in any transactions with them, but will give them credit for a display of caution, which renders it the eighth wonder of the world, that a Scotchman was ever cheated in his life ; at all events, it must be admitted that that man deserves the character of a skilful tactitian, and a direct clever rogue, whoever succeeded in accomplishing that object; nevertheless, with that laudable disposition, that we have so fre- quently and strikingly displayed of putting the most favorable construction on the actions of the Commander of the Victory, we cannot in this instance withhold from him the merit of our approbation for the extreme caution, which he displayed in his conduct towards the suspicious Esquimaux, for he only followed the salutary maxim of that keen observer of human character, Rochefoucauld, who says, Que c'est mieux d'etre detrompe par nos amis, que trompe', which may be anglicised, that it is better to be undeceived by the Esquimaux, than to be deceived by them. It must not however be supposed — but, it is impossible tn say to what length the imagination of some persons may carry them — that the Victory was put in a state of siege ; that the guns were shotted, grape and canister ; that double watches were put upon the gangways, and that the armourer's forge blazed throughout the night in preparing the weapons of defence against the attack, that was anticipated ; however a council was summoned to meet in the cabin of the Victory, to take into consideration, the danger to which the lives and property of the crew were exposed, and to deliberate upon the mostr prompt and efficacious means, that could be adopted, to avert! the ruin, which impended over them. It was the opinion ofj Capt. Ross, being first called upon to state his sentiments onj the subject, that »/ the Victory could be removed to some| LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 375 other station, no matter in what direction of the compass that station might be, a remedy would at once be found for the evil; for, it was not probable, that the Esquimaux would take the trou- ble of removing their goods and chatties to a considerable dis- tance, merely for the purpose of being in the immediate vici- city of the ship, unless indeed their designs were of a most desperate and villainous character. Not a dissentient voice was raised to tho truth of these observations, but on Mr. Thoms being called upon to deliver his opinion, he unequivocally t^e- dared, that the removal of the Victory to another station was a most judicious plan, if it could be carried into execution, but that he recommended a more easy and feasible one, which was, the removal of the huts of the Esquimaux, and this could be most easily and legally carried into effect, for as they had con- gtrucled their huts upon the land which Capt. Ross had taken possession of, in the name and on the behalf of his Britannic majesty, the Esquimaux ought to be made to pay the forfeit of their indiscretion in building their huts on the land which did not belong to them, by having the said huts burnt to the ground. As our Gallic neighbours would express themselves, there was here a strong sensation manifested both on the right, the left and the centre, for it confounded the intellects of some of the members of the council, to ascertain in what manner a hut of snow could be burnt to the ground. However Mr. Thoms immediately explained, that he had certainly expressed his opinions rather hyper' olically, but having finished liis education at the University of St. Andrews, where it was once the cus- tom to indulge in all kinds of tropes, metaphors, and figures, whiclj had not the slightest relation nor affinity to the subject under discussion, he had inadvertently transgressed the laws which Aristotle had laid down, as the guide for all orators and rhetoricians. He, however, hesitated not to confess that ho had certainly expressed himself rather figurativelv, but his real meaning was, that the huts of the Esquimaux should be so per- foraied by a few balls m their brass six-pounders, as to allow all the winds of heaven to pass through them, and by those means render them so uninhabitable, that they would iM6 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. bo obliged to re-construct their habitations in a safer and more distant quarter. On Commander Ross being called upon to deliver his senti- menta, an attention was observable amongst the auditors, simi- lar to that, which was observed when a Canning or a Mackintosh rose to address the House of Commons. He began by stating, that he dissented in toto from the plans proposed by the two former speakers, as the first was dependent on a contingency which, under the present circumstances could not possibly be brought into effect, and the second was founded upon premises, whi'jh were decidedly er; oneous. It was true, that the Com- mander of the Victory, ,s in the case of all former navigators who had visited unknown countries, had very properly, and as in duty bound, taken possession, according to the accustomed form of planting the standard of Great Britain on a lump of snow, of all the territory within any certain degree of longitude, that might hereafter be determined upon, by commissioners ap- pointed for that purpose. So far the Commander of the Victory, as the representative, for the time being, of his Britannic majesty, was the reputed sovereign of all the land, and territories, of which he had taken possession, with all rights, powers, privileges, and immuni- ties to treat the natives thereof, as the people of a conquered country. Respecting the latter point, he would not now slop to discuss the question, as it must be well known to all present, the exact mode of treatment which has been adopted towards them {hear, hear, from Capt, Ross.) It is, however, allowed that there is not a country, which fulfils its treaties and en- gagements with greater faith, scrupulousness and honor, than England, except in those cases, where it is found to be her con- venience and interest to infringe them ; and therefore in the pre- sent instance, it certainly might be admitted, that their worthy commander had become possessed de facto of the right and power to exercise his control over those natives, who might com- mit any abuses upon the land, of which he had taken formal pos- session ; but, had he been present at the time, when the ceremony of taking possession was performed, he would have called the LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 377 allonlion of his Britannic majesty's deputy to a very serious omission, which was then committed, and which consisted in forgetting to take possession of the ice, as well as the land, and to which f^ross and unaccountable omission might be ascribed the truly perplexing embarrassment in which they were then involved. H;i(l iht"! Esquimaux built their huts on the land, then they nii»»|jt be dealt with as the vassals of his Britannic majesty, to whom that land belonged ; but as they had built their liuts on the ice, he could not discover by any law, which had ever been promulgated by Grotius or PufFendorf, or which had been en- acted by the British parliament, by which the new settlers could be ejecied from the present place of their abode. It is true, that tie glaring omission, which had been committed, might in some degree be rectified by the assembly then present, proceeding with the customary forms, to take possession of the ice in the name of his Britannic majesty; but then they should be involving themselves in the dilemma of subjecting the Esquimaux to the consequences of an ex post facto law ; which, it is very probable, they never could be made to comprehend. He acknowledged, tliat the whole case was beset with great difficulties; and that it required all the talent and skill of their commander, the full possession of which no one was disposed to dispute, in order to overcome them, without at t^e same time compromising his own character, and that of his Britannic majesty, as well as that of the English nation in general. Having therefore briefly stated his opinion of the inexpediency, and, in some measure, the injus- tice of adopting the plan proposed by his two honorable friends, ho should himself submit a proposition to them, which if carried into effect, might be the weans of bringing the business to an amicable issue, and ultimately of removing the nuisance, which had so suddenly and unfortunately appeared amongst them; and to which solely is to be attributed the excessive degree of alarm, which at this moment was depicted on the countenance of our able and highly esteemed commander. Having, to a certain degree ad- mitted the right of the Esquimaux to build their huts on the ice, the next important question to be discussed is, the motive, which could have induced them to commit such an extraordinary act 10. 3 c 378 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. to the great annoyance of a certain portion of the subjects of hig Britannic majesty, and establishing" thereby an intimacy of rather closer nature, than is aj^reeable to the injured and complaining party. A motive of a very sinister and criminal character has bocn attached to them, but. as yet, there had not been any action performed by ihem, to vsrarrant the imputation, which had been thrown upon them. It is true, that some of the party bore the outward semblance and appearance of being thieves, but were every man to be considered a thief who looks like one, there are jjorhaps, a few amongst ourselves, to whom that odious character would be attached. Unacquainted, therefore, as ve are with the manners and habits of the people among-st whom we have suddenly appeared, as if we had dropped from the clouds, it is possible that on a close and iiDparlial investigation of the business, we shall find that their establishment in our immediate vicinity has no referoiuo whatever to ourselves, but to some ultimate object, which ihey may have in view, and which may be a part of their regular mode (if action, although in our opinion, accompanied with suspicion and distrust. It is consequently my advice that a deputation from the assembly, do proceed without further delay to tlio huts, and there hold a palaver with the head of the tribe, touching their present and future motions, and should not a satisfactory answer be given, then to have recourse to such ulterior proceedings, as may be deemed conducive to the pre vention of any permanent injury, and to the consolidation (f our future safety. This plan was agreed to iiemine contradicente, and the proposer, Mr. Thoms, Mr. Light and Mr. Brunton the engineer, were appointed of the deputation, to hold the conference with the chief of the Ksquimau.v tribe : Capt. Ross in the mean liirie remaining sealed in his chair, to await their return, with all t . ' ■ . .,• :. i' . ., l: •.i-/i.,,!.>.. •.■^. :'.■: .^-h .1^1 ■ : -.y! : '■ ':>'.:"' i ; ' , ' ! >' i!>hft^'^-'^' LAST VOYAOE OP CAPT. ROSS. 383 TV following in the scale oj the Temperature of the air, by the Thermometer for the month of March, 1830. / XX HitcliCht LuWCbt Ulilliest Lowest ( 1 Highest Lowcit March Below 1 Above March Delow Above Marcli Below Above 1 SI 28 12 35 23 20 2 2 37 24 IS S7 \t 91 li 5 S 38 24 14 35 22 25 S Zero. 4 S5 24 15 36 19 26 8 H 5 86 23 16 S7i 20 27 22 Zero. 6 87J 8 17 38 20 M 12 ■i\ 7 M 25 18 88 38 29 15 Si 8 2« 19 .' 37 18 30 4 17 9 29 20 30 12 81 20 10 SO 21 27 12 11 30 23 27 55 The operations of the sailors, in the beginning of April, wore chiefly conlinod to clearing' away the banking of snow, and building a sn w-house as a shed for the thermometer. On tho 3d, the Esquimaux came from the huts to the eastward, and brought a seal, the weight of which was 235 tbs. ; they re- ceived a file in return, with which they were highly pleased. After divine service on Sunday the 4th, a number of Esqui- maux came to tho ship from the north, two of whom were going to some place at a distance, where they hud left their canoes on the settini>f in of the winter. This was an opportunity not to be lost by Commander Ross, of exan;ining tiiat part of tho country where the canoes wore left; especially us it was to tlio westward, where the solution of the important question of un open sea might perhaps be solved. It was determined, that li»e two Esquimaux, who were going- for the cuiioos, sliould remain 'm 384 lAST VOVAOF OF CAPT. ROSS. in ll»e sliip durinj^ the ni^ht; and that Commander R088, wiih Blankey the mate, should start ut an early hour, on the foU lowinj^ morniuQ-. The names oi' the Esquimaux were Oobloon raiak, the same personage whoso wife had purloined his horn basin, and Alwak; the former about \'l and the latter about 19 years of ago. According to custom, one of the crew read the bible to Capt. Ross, in the evening, and the two Esquimaux formed part of the congregation. Edification, instruction, or amusement, however, being wholly out of the question with the two new members, they followed the example of some of the members of other congregations; and considering that they had a long and fatiguing journey before them, they thought they could not employ their time more advantageously than in taking a senik, not knowing how long the business which was then transacting, might continue. Scarcely, however, had they rolled themselves up in a comfortable posture, than the reader had ar- rived at the end of the chapter, and the congregation broke up. The steward took upon himself the office of introducing the strangers to their berths for the n'^ht, but not until he had sa- tisfied their appetites with a baked piece of seal, which weighed 9|lb8. before being put into the oven. This quantity was, how ever, demolished by ine iwo gluttons ; and it was the firm be- lief of the steward, that had there been three or four pounds more, they would have been devoured, for not a particle of the 9Ib8. was left on the wooden platters from which they took their meal, and which they afterwardijs licked so clean, that the process of washing them scarcely appeared to be necessary. The steward put his visitors to bed at 9 o'clock ; it being a charge to which he did not testify any great partiality, on account of the respon- sibility, which was attached to it ; for he had not forgotten the handy tricks of Poowutyook ; nor could he leave the strangers a moment by themselves, from the well-founded fear, that something would find its way into their capacious trowsers, which did not belong to them, and for the loss of which he might perhaps be made accountable. He had also received instructions to pack up some provisions sufficient for the main- tenance of Commander Ross and the mate^ on their approaching LAST VOYAOg Of CAPT. ROSS. 385 tour : H was also necessary to provide an extra quantity for tbo two Esquimaux, who certainly ^ould not be great consumers of European viands, provided a seal could be killed on the journey, aoil not being very particul r whether it was dressed or raw, no great anxiety was felt, as to the manner or the means, by which their subsistence could be obtained. The Esquimaux in their migratory travels are entirely dependent upon chance for their support, although they have in particular places their stow-holes or magazines, where a supply of food to any extent can be obtained, and which are a kind of common property, from which any of the tribe that are in need, may extract what quantity they please. In rega to the provision that was made for the maintenance of the Esquimaux, there was very little difference shown between them and the dogs, in fact, they both subsisted on the same kind of food, and might have eaten together out of tho same trough, without the human biped thinking himself in the least degraded, by eating m common with the canine quadruped. The support of the travelling establishment of Commander Ross, was however a subject of serious consideration, for it consisted in all of four human beings, and fourteen dogs ; seven being Imrnessed to one sledge, containing Commander Ross, and the other seven to another sledge, contain4ng Blankey the mate ; the Esquimaux trudging by the side, as if disdaining the ease and luxury of the gliding vehicle. To those unaccustomed to the motion, the travelling in a sledge is by no means a task of easy accomplishment, for, it frequently happens that even those, vho have been inured to it from their infancy are thrown out, although there is little risk attending it of a broken neck, or a dislocated limb ; the only casualty likely to occur, being a slight contusion by coming into contact with a rugged piece of ice, which is generally the cause of the sledge been overthrown. The sledge of the Laplander and the Esquimaux differs in this respect, that the former is so constructed that the person driving cannot be thrown out, as it is completely covered in at the top, with the exception of a small hole or aperture sufficiently large to admit the body in a sitting posture, the lower limbs occupying the fore part of tho sledge, 17. 3 1) 386 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS, and 80 completely covered as to defy the ris^our of the frost. The sledge of the Esquimaux is however completely open, and in its construction is well calculated for travelling on a smooth surface of snow, but when the road is interrupted by frequent projections of ice, or that the surface presents any of those inequalities, which must be the inevitable consequence of a rocky country, skilful indeed must be the individual, who can retain his seat, or who can so adjust the equilibrium of his body, as to make it yield to the numerous inclinations, which the ruggednoss of the road occasions. It must also be taken into consideration, that tractable and docile as the dogs may be, they cannot all of them be made to stop on a sudden, like the horses in a stage coach, and therefore the driver, if he be not actually thrown out into the snow, runs some risk of being dragged a considerable distance before he can persuade his animals by threats or entreaties to stop their course. Capt Franklin on passing the Great S'uve Lake, measured his length several times on the ice, but an Esqni- maux, like the skilful Jehus of the present day, so humours his body to the motion of his sledge, that his overthrow very seldom takes place, for although his body may at times form an nngle of 45** with the horizon, yet he possesses by practice the art of throwing the counterpoise to the other side, and thereby preventing his ejectment from the sledge. The speed of an Esiquimaux dog is on the average six miles per hour, althou;>h when hardly pressed, be has been known to accomplish eight, and it has been well ascertained, that a dog in the continuity of his speed will far outstrip a horse. The road which Com- mander Ross had to travel on, was full of ruts and ravines, for as no Mc' Adam had up to that period made his appoaramp amongst the Esquimaux people, no distinct line of road had beon traced out from one station to another, nor any of the inequalities levelled, which endangered the lives of the travellers, or which might be the cause of the fracture of a leg or an arm The com mander however made very little progress without experiencin? an overthrow, when Alwak, setting aside the dignity of the individual, whom he was accompanying, always burst out into a loud laugh, and danced about, as if he were overcome with jo) LA«T VOTAOB 0» CAPT. ROM gffj .t the occurrence of the accident. In fact, the risible dispo.I. tions of ^««>a* appeared to be excited en the most trivial „cca. mm, and ,f the Esquimaux could have been induced to forn- themselves into a theatrical company, Al^ak would undoubtedly have been chosen as the most proper person to fill the charade^ of . clown. He had also one of the properties peculiar to tha notor ous personage, that he had no particular respect for persons orBlankeythe „,.te was often the object of L mi.slievl' ir-cks, and, m some instances. Commander Ross himself did not escape .hem. Still, however, all his actions were accompanied »,lb such apparent good nature, and a kind of uncontrolable mirth, that instead of taking offence, Commander Ross rather encouraged h,m in his attempted buffooneries, which, althou..h dumsy and awkward in the extreme, brought many a smile on the countenances of the travellers, and tended in a great decree to enliven the dreariness of their situation. Commander Ross however found it necessary to impose a check upon him in one respect, and that was his frequent visitations to the store of provisions, from which it appeared that he considered himself possessed of the right to abstract a portion, whenever his appetite emanded it, which appetite appeared like the anger of the nshman. to be no sooner off than it was on again, and not being very particular in the choice of his viands, he generally .med upon the first object, that presented itself, and neve^ sopped until the whole of it was consumed. There was how ever something contradictory in his character, for a greedy n,a., ..generally a selfish one; this, however, was not the case with AM, for he not only seized every opportunity of stowino- .way -me.bing eatable in his own trowfers. but'he coril^d 1 u P r"". "'*"'' ''"" *''°'^ "f Oobtooraiak. muk- lost mTf """t"". "" ""■""""■ "' " '" '""' -"™'"^'' est meritorious deed. It some.imes happened, that their « lay over such a rugged surface, that Commander Rose the mate were obliged to leave the sledges, and procee. , «Undon those occasions, where the passage wa a„cn,lod travel with him, laughing during the whole of the ,i„,e 3l-!8 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROS8. until all the danger was overcome. In one instance, however, liis love of mischief or of fun carried him rather too far, for having got Blankey on his back, as they were descending a rugged declivity, it struck him, that the most expeditious method of enabling his burthen tt arrive at the bottom, was to throw him over his head, and by the force of gravity, force him in a rotatory motion to reach the surface below. It however fre- quently happens, that an individual is caught in the trap which his dexterity or his cunning has prompted him to lay for another, rnd in the present instance, Alwak in attempting to disencumber himself of his load, lost his own footing, and rolling over and over, he arrived at the bottom before Blankey, whose descent Avas impeded by a mound of snow, and the laugh, which he had intended for another, was turned against himself. It is the current opinion amongst physiologists, that the particular trait of character known by the appellation of humour, is not to be found amongst the savage tribes of the human race, nor can it be said to be the effect of either education or culture. It is a distinct natural property, and some men have a greater aptitude for the enjoyment of it than others. It is not every one who can even enjoy the humour of a Lislon or a Matthews, for from a particular obtuseness of mind, they are not abhj to discover in what the joke consists, much less to enjoy the appli- cation of it. In some respects, however, the character of ^^i^aA belied the opinion of the physiologists, he was in reality an untutored savage, and yet there was at times a display of humour about him, which, although, it might be thrown away upon his immediate associates, was highly relished by Com- mander Ross, and rendered him a decided favorite. The character of Oohlooraiak wap of a very different calibre ; a smile was very seldom seen to sit upon his countenance, and all the attempts of Alwak to excite fun and merriment were met with a decided expression of contempt, nor did Alwak appear to be I ignorant of the real character of his companion, for he seldom ventured to pass any of his jokes upon him, and those, which he did pass, were obliged to be so softened down, that their application was scarcely perceptible. LAST VOTAUII OF CAPT. ROSS. 3S9 Whilst Commander Ross was pursuing his scientific researches, Capt. Ross was comfortably located in the cabin of the Victory, receiving the visits of the Esquimaux, who were looked for regularly every day, but who, so far from bringing" any commo- dities to sell, were reduced almost to a state of positive starva- tion, particularly the individuals, who had established themselves in the immediate vicinity of the Victory. The subsistence of these people depended entirely upon their success in the seal fishery, but, for some time, they had not been able to catch a single seal, and were therefore obliged to apply on board the Victory for their present maintenance. Notwithstanding on the 5ih, that it blew a most tremendous gale, accompanied with snow, the poor hungry creatures came to the ship, imploring the gift of some seal, as they, and their children were starving : this circumstance being reported to Capt. Ross, he ordered a seal to be thawed and skinned, for it must be observed that the seals in two hours after their capture become as hard as an anvil, from the severity of the frost, and cannot be applied to any pur- pose until having undergone the process of thawing. The steward was instructed to tell the Esquimaux to wait until the seal could be got ready for them, but they most probably did not understand him, and with the most dejected countenances directed their steps towards their huts. When the seal was ready, the steward repaired on deck to distribute the food to the natives, but to his great surprise found, they had departed. He was however immediately despatched by Capt. Ross to bring the natives back again, and, with great thankfulness, they returned and made a hearty meal, taking back with them a suflSciency to supply them for the morrow's sustenance. During the season of want, one of the women came to the ship, crying for food, bring- ing her grandson, with her and she remained a length of time imploring with the most pitiful countenance some relief for her- Iself, and her infant charge. It was, however, not until a lapse of sonae time, that Capt. Ross would give permission for the seal to be put before the fire for the purpose of thawing it, but in the afternoon another womaji came and brought four children with her, when their cries for food were so. diistiessing that they 390 LA8T VOYAGK OF CAPT, RO»t. penetrated the heart of Capt. Ross, and he issued hi» orders to Buck (who became afterwards totally blind,) to skin a seal and to put it before the lire to thaw ; but so great was the hunger of the poor wretches, that they took the knife out of Buck's hand, cut the seal open, and proceeded to carve up the animal according to their own fashion, giving their children every now and then a slice to eat, reserving to themselves the congealed blood, that was found in the interior of the carcass, and which was frozen quite hard. The weight of the seal previously to being skinned was ISOtbs ; making the allowance of 40tt)S for the skin, the carcass on being stripped was l40tbs, but after the women and their children had satisfied their appe. tite, the weight was only 112lbs, which gives the scarcely credible quantity of five pounds to each person, a mass, which it would be hardly imagined, that the most elastic stomach could contain. The little urchins had so over-gorged themselves that their respiration seemed nearly to be stopped, and they waddled along, as if they were scarcely able to carry the load that was within them. The only return, however, which Capt. Ross received for this act of kindness, was the consciousness in his own breast, that he had performed an act of humanity in alleviating the wants of his suffering fellow creatures ; for so far from making any attempt to testify their gratitude, they took their departure with the utmost coolness, g'iving the crew to understand that after a senik, they should return to partake of the remainder of the seal, which they in some degree considered to be their own property ; for after having satiated their appetite, they did not wait for the steward or Buck to dispose of the remainder, but one of the women lifted it from the ground, and throwing it into a corner, placed her broad arrow upon it, as it it was not to be touched again until her return. The hurricane continued during the whole of the 6th, and as it was attended with a heavy fall of snovsr, drifting in every di- rection, some apprehensions began to be entertained for Com- mander Ross, who was by necessity exposed to the full violence of the storm, without perhaps the possibility of finding a shelter. It was agreed upon, on the departure of Commander Ross, that a LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 3[)l rocket shoulJ bo let off every night precisely at ten o'clock, and timt two blue lights should bo kept continually burning at the top of the jury main-mast, in order to guide him to the ship, in case that he should reach its vicinity during the night. In conformity therefore with this arrangement, the rocket was fired at 10 p.m., and the blue lights hoisted ; but, from the vio- lonoe of the wind, it was found scarcely possible to keep them alijrht; a quarter of an hour was the utmost that the lights (ould be kept burning, but in the intervals of their being re- lighted, a rocket was fired, which rendered it next to an im- possibility that Commander Ross, if he had arrived in the vicinity of the ship, should mistake his route. ll is impossible to describe the astonishment, which sat upon [he countenances of the Esquimaux, who had built their huts fontiguous to the ship, when the rocket ascended. On the first right that it was let off, two of them had returned from the ■ieal-fishing without success, and at the very moment when they had reached their habitation, the rocket went off, throw- ing a faint glare over their huts, and giving to the whole scene a romantic character, which to their untutored minds, must have appeared as the work cxf some most superior beings, and for vhieh it was impossible for them to assign an adequate cause. Ignorance and superstition are generally in close alliance with each other, and credulity usually steps in to complete the triumvirate. In regard to the latter, Capt. Ross had so worked upon their natural infirmity, that they entertained the belief, that he had in some respects, the very elements under his sub- jection, and that if it were his gracious pleasure, he could direct them to the very spot, where the seals were to be caught. The ascent of the rocket was, in their opinion, nothing less than a messenger of fire, which Capt Ross had sent to some of his dependent spirits above, to summon them to his presence on matters of importance ; and so strong is the principle of self engrafted in every human being, sage or savage ; that the Esqui- niaux verily believed, that those matters of importance solely re- lated to some affairs connected with themselves. In verification of the opinion which they had formed of Capt. Ross; on the 392 tAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R08«. inorning subsequently to the firing of the rocket, the Esquimaux came on board in quest of food, when Capt. Ross, pointing to i particular direction, told them, that if they would direct thei course to that quarter, they would infallibly catch a seal. In full reliance on the truth of this statement, although it then blew a heavy gale, the Esquimaux departed, and by one those strange coincidences, on which sometimes the very fate of a human being depends, a seal was in reality caught, and Capt. Ross ever afterwards stood in their estimation as a super natural being. The stormy weather continued during the whole of the 7th but unarccompanied with snow ; still, however, it was by m means propitious for the objects of Commander Ross' excursion and personally considered it was sufficient to daunt the stoutest heart, and to render nugatory the most judicious plans. Co mander Ross was not, however, one. of those characters, who are deterred from the prosecution of any particular pursuit, by the first trivial obstacle that may present itself. There were only two points, which Commander Ross sought to attain either complete success, or the thorough conviction that it was altogether unattainable; he was never satisfied with half a half measures, and as long as a glimpse of success was belJ forth to cheer him on his way, he never looked backwards witti despondency — nor forward with despair. He was a man cut out by nature to achieve some great work, and we will venture to predict, that if the North West Passage be ever discovered that discovery will be accomplished by Commander Ross. The 7th April was a memorable day on board the Victory, as on it the fate of the steam engine was decided upon, irrevocably, and unalterably. A report had been drawn up by Capt. Ross, stating the manifold advantages, which he had derived from the use of the engine, whenever it could be made of any use at al which was to be carried to the credit side of the engine, f the examination and approbation of all those concerned, directiv or indirectly, in the rational project. Unfortunately, however after straining and stretching the memory to bring to recoiled ion the exact time and place, when and where the enjnymeni LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT ROSS ,193 nt llift great benefits of the engine took place, Capt. Ross found himself in the situation of the bankrupt, who has been racking nis brain for some time to invent a few items for the fabrication of his balance sheet, and cannot discover one, with which he can nope successfully to impose upon his creditors. He certainly- recollected that the starboard and larboard paddles could scarcely ever be brought to work together at the same time ; therefore, by dividing the operations of the two paddles under respective heads, something like a favorable account might have been manufac- tured. But then, when he began to consider the debit side of the business, what an array there presented itself before him ! for, from the time of their departure from Limehouse, to their arrival in Felix Harbour, there was scarcely a day, with the ex- ception of the 3lst June, and the 31st September, that some mishap oraccident to the engine was not recorded in the log book. Notwithstanding, however, the complete failure of the engine, and its total inaptitude to the navigation of the Polar seas, when exposed to heavy ice, Capt. Ross perseveres, in his examination before the committee of the House of Commons, to deliver his opinion, that steam navigation is perfectly applicable in those seas, although his own experience, and that of every one of the crew completely contradicted it. The I92d question runs thus : — How long were you enabled to make use of the paddle wheels of your steamer, after you reached the heavy ice? — The steam- engine gave way before we reached the ice. We never were much among the ice with it, but as far as I could judge, they would answer uncommonly well. They answered quite beyond my expectation. From your experience in navigating the Polar seas, do you think it possible to navigate those seas with a steam boat, with the paddles projecting from her side ? — Far better than in any other mode. Are not the paddles peculiarly subject to damage? — Tney were peculiarly constructed for tne purpose, so that 1 could raise them out of the water at pleasure; one man was sufficient to disengage the paddles entirely from the engine, and raise it out of the water, and out of the way of pressure 17. 3 E 394 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. And it was so contrived, that you conceive steam to be appli- cable to the propelling- of vessels in the Polar seas? — Ves. We are totally at a loss to conceive in what manner Capt, Ross can reconcile this evidence with the actual facts, which took place with the engine, every one of which goes to falsify the opinions, which he expressed before the committee, and which we really think that he never would have uttered, had he been aware that documents were in existence^ and that too in our own hands, by which publicity has been given to the whole account of the steam engine, its erroneous constructioL, and its entire failure. Was he trying an experiment of how far he could play upon the credulity of the members of the com- mittee, when he declared, that the paddles answered quite be- yond his expectation ; at the same time that the truth was staring him in the face, that they were not of the slightest use to him? He may indeed qualify his assertion by the quibble, that he does not say that his expectations were great, but merely, that the paddles answered quite beyond them ; they migh* therefore have been directly low and contemptible, and yet the results have far exceeded the expectation, which he had formed. We know, that the whole afiair of the steam engine is a thorn in the sides of certain individuals, and we do not hesitate to state that an application was, indirectly, made to us to pass over it in a brief and cursory manner ; how far we have thought proper to attend to that application, certain parts of our work are well able to testify ; but relying, as we do, upon the veracity of our informant, and whose statements have been corroborated by another party, we declare that the opinions expressed by Capt. Ross before the committee, are directly at variance with his own experience, and that of the whole of his crew ; and further, that the opinion of Capt. Ross is declared to be erroneous, by the evidence of Commander Ross, who unequivocally states his objections to the use of a steam engine in the Polar seas, and that the navigation of them can only be accomplished by sailing. It was, however, on the 7th April that Capt. Ross sent for Mr. Brunton and Mr. Mc'Inniss, the two engineers, into his cabin, to whom he read the report, which he had drawn up relative to the LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R099. 395 Steam engine, the result of which was to pronounce its condem- nation, and the application of its parts to any other purposes for which they might be required. It was impossible for the engineers to raise any opposition to the condemnation of an article, of which no effectual use could be made, and which in its unserviceable state, was a heap of lumber in the ship ; where- as its most useless parts could be applied as articles of barter with the natives, and be the means of filling a few more flour- tuhs with skins, trousers, and hoods. The fate of the steam engine was, however, sealed; Brunton and Mc'Jnniss affixed their signatures to the statement as drawn up by Capt. Ross, which ffentso far as to exonerate him from all blame in the inefficiency of the machine, and that every exertion had been used to make it applicable for the purposes, for which it was intended; but that a great difference had been discovered between a steam engine, and an engine tl.at is to be worked by steam ; for although the former may be complete and integral in all its parts, it by no means follows as a certainty, that it will perform a single one of its evolutions with accuracy and safety, as was exempli- lied in the engine, that was on board the Victory. The abandonment of the steam engine, however, gave a new character to the ship, the ponderous and unseemly paddle-boxes were unshipped, the funnel was removed, which elicited the joke from the sailors, that they had fortunately got rid of one thing on board, which was a great bore, although there were some other things, or persons deserving of that character, from which they could not so easily emancipate themselves On the following day the violence of the wind ceased, and a prospect of fine weather presented itself. Some of the Esqui- maux came to the ship for food, amongst whom, was a young man, who had an aged mother, scarcely able to crawl out of her hut, and who was almost in a state of complete star- vation. His young wife had just brought him an addition to his family, and she was then pining with want. A few rashers rom the ribs of a seal, would, it was alleged, greatly revive I'er; at the same time, she was not very particular whether they «ere raw or cooked. It may be, that the constitution of an 396 tA9T VOYAOK OF CAPT. ROSS. Esquimaux woman is formed in a different model to that of a European; but, at all events, although it could not be expected of the latter, that she should deport herself with all the masculine strength of the former, yet perhaps were she to emancipate her- self from many of those effeminacies and puerilities, which custom may have sanctioned, but which reason and nature con- demn, there is very little doubt, but that herself, and her oli'- spring would bo considerable gainers by the change. The required relief to the aged mother and the lying-in ludy was granted, the latter of whom became, for the two or three following days, a kind of daily pensioner upon the ship, hor husband cominj? regularly for the rashers; but in proportion as she recovered, her taste appeared also to undergo a variation, for towards the latter part of the husband's visits, the preference was given to the slices off the hinder part of the seal, as being more substantial and strengthening. In the evening the six pounder was fired, and two rockets lei off, with a light burning aloft during the whole of the night, Orders were issued to the watch, to keep a good look-out for Commander James, whose arrival was as likely to take place during the night as in the day time ; for there was no comfort- able inn where he could repose for the night, nor even a habit- ation in which he could seek for shelter. If the imagination were to employ itself in fancying a scene of the most utter desolation and wretchedness ; a more appropriate one, perhaps, could not be selected, than an individual in the situation of Commander Ross, travelling in the darkness of night, .over trackless deserts of snow, exposed to all the violence of the elements, and at a distance from all support or assistance. It is only the heart trebly steeled with resolution and courage, that can carry a man through scenes of so appalling a nature and a degree of compatriot pride rises in our breast, when w think, that our country can be the parent of such men, who estranging themselves, from all the comforts and luxuries of civilized life, devote themselves in the pursuit of knowledge and science, to the severest privations and sufferings, to whom danger appears habitual, and fear an emotion,which they never felt LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. ^J On the 9th, the hurricane returned with greater violence than on the 7th, and so great was its force, that it was scarcely possible to stand on the deck, without clingincr to some object 10 prevent being blown over-board ; the rocket was attempted to bo let off at the regulated hour, but it was blown right off the ship, without ascending higher than the top of the^'main- inast. The weather moderated a little on the 10th, and the crew resumed the labor of unbanking the ship, which was found to be a task not so easy of execution : as the snow, from its exposure to the frost during the whole of the winter, had assumed a hardness, which rendered the cutting of it similar to thftt of cutting stone. Three Esquimaux came from the north; and, at thirty minutes after five, Commander James returned in safety, with the whole of his party, Alwak, being his avant courier, to announce his approach. They brought^with them some salmon, and the entrails of rein-deer, the former of which were caught on the preceding August, and had since that lime been buried under rocks, with several feet of snow on the top of them; they also brought with them three canoes, one of which was purchased by Capt. Ross. It was the intention of Commander Ross to have continued his researches, but his provisions fell short, owing in some degree to the extraordinary gluttony of his Esquimaux friends; and when he arrived at the ship, he had not tasted any food for twelve hours. A lump of seal weighing about mU., was put into the oven for the two Esquimaux, but so greedy were they after food, that they would not wait until it was thoroughly done, but became so importunate to the cook to take it out of the oven, that he at last consented ; and perhaps a more complete exhibition of savage rapacity, was never before witnessed. The distance, which Commander Ross travelled on this occa- sion, was about 70 miles in a S.S.W. direction, but not the slightest indication of a passage presented itself. He crossed a number of very large lakes, which, according to the report of the Esquimaux, abound with salmon of a very fine kind ; and 't is to these lakes, that they repair in the summer months, for 'he express purpose of carrying on the salmon-fishery, which 398 LAflT VOYAGE OF CAPT. R089. if) their principal maintenance during that time, and the residue they bury m the snow, as a provi»iion for the ensuing year. A large herd of rein-deer were seen, steering their course to tlie northv^ard, but they never came within the range of Commander Ross' shot. A singular circumstance, however, came to the knowledge of that officer, during this excursion ; viz : that during the congress of the Esquimaux at Nichilli, they are annually visited by some white people, who come from the westward ; and from the de- scription given of them, Commander Ross supposed them to be a family of Russians or Danes, Their avowed object, in paying this visit, was to traffic with the natives for seal skins and wa! rus teeth ; but as to their permanent place of abode, or by what means or conveyance they were enabled to reach the country of the Esquimaux, was a problem, which could not be solved. It was, however, a circumstance on the whole, to which Com- mander Ross attached a considerable degree of importance; foi should he be so fortunate as to fall in with those people, some positive information might be obtained from them, relative to the adjacent coasts, which might direct him in future as to the course which he had to steer, and solve all his doubts as to the existence of an open sea to the westward If these wander- ing merchants belonged to the Russians, little doubt then existw that they had arrived at the Esquimaux country by the passage of Behring's Straits, and then by the Great Bear and the Great Slave Lakes, to the annual meeting of the Esquimaux at Nichilli. There was, however, one circumstance which went to invalidate Ihat opinion ; which was, that in no part of either of the journeys of Capt. Franklin, does he make any mention of any part of the country through which he passed, being visited by any Danish or Russian merchants ; nor was any information elicited from the Indians, which could warrant the conclusion, that any part their country had ever been visited by a people, who answered to the character of those, which had been described to Cora mander Ross. The conjecture was in some degree plausil that they might belong to one of the Anglo-Russian settlemeiili situated to the eastward of Behring's Straits ; but a strong oti LAST VOYAOB OF CAPT. ROSS. {399 jeclion existed to the truth of that conjocture, on account of tl.o preat distance of Ntchilli to the nearest of the Russian settle- ments, and the consequent impracticability of transporting their accumulated merchandize to so great a distance, over a c^'ountry abounding in natural obstacles, and where the means of trans- porlation could only have been acquired by a combination of hu- man effort, which could not be supposed to exist in so desert and uninhabited a country. It was, however, a subject which par- ticularly engrossed the attention of Commander Ross; and, should, on the breaking up of the weather, and the liberation of the Victory from her present imprisonment, no immediate pro- spect present itself of effecting a passage to the westward, it was his determination to repair to Nlchilli, where he had every hope of obtaining the information, of which he was so much in want. Amongst the natives, who visited the ship on the 10th, was a woman, who had suffered so severely by the frost, that her heels were completely bitten off. which obliged her to walk on her loes; in fact, her whole feet were a piece of deformity, but ^levertheless she contrived to keep up with her companions, on > heir different excursions, nor was she ever known to complain if fiitigue, OoUooraiak and Alwak, the two companions of Commander ioss, remained on board during the whole of the night ; but not- ithstanding the great fatigue, which they had undergone, the itterfelt no great disposition to sleep, and he therefore thought, tat it was most rude and unpolite in his companion, seeing that e could not hold any conversation with the people on board, to ave him to amuse himself with his own thoughts, which,' as ling engendered in the mind of an Esquimaux, could not' be pposed to be of the most refined and elevated cast. Oobloo^ "'a*, therefore, no sooner rolled himself up to lake a senik, than ! received a most ungracious thrust in his side from the elbow liis more vigilant companion, which appeared at first, however, have no more effect upon him, than if it had been applied to e frozen body of a seal. The visitation, however, came at last frequently, that the wrath of Ooblooraiak was at length aroused, 400 lAST VOV*GE OF r»PT. ROSS. and the sailors for the first lime had a specimen of the pu^ili skill of the Esquimaux. It, however, did not consist in infliclm. any punishment on the face or body, by the visitation of the fists but in the quantity of hair, which could be pulled from the head, and severe indeed was the shaking, which the head of .4 Wj received from his more powerful and niuscul .r antagonist '• became at last a question, whether any hair would have b left on the head of Alivak. if the sailors had not interfered, put an end to the contest, by removing the assailant to anolhe, berth, where he could enjoy his repose, without the risk of ... ceiving any further annoyance. Whatever their animosity might have been during the per,, of the conflict, it appeared to have wholly subsided on the f„ lowing morning, as they sat a. their breakfast of baked seal • so little malice did Ooblooraiak seem to entertain towards companion, who had so mischievously and viciously atte™ptoJ| to deprive him of his sleep, that with the greatest good natur, he offered him the choicest cuts from the joint, at the same t,n„ helping him to the greater half of the viands, that were smok,,, before them. Their tepast being over, they were summon.! into the cabin, where each of them received a file from Co., I mander Ross ; and he took this opportunity of hinting to Mu, that if he felt no objection to remain on board the Victory, one of its inmates, and accompany him to his own country, might then remain, and every thing should be done to rend. him comfortable and happy. This offer came so unexpectedly upon Alu>ak, that he scaroel knew what answer to give. There was something so supenj in this young man, to any of the others, who ^ad been take board the Victory, with the view of humamzing them, that e. d Capt Ros^i»bihed a partiality for him. and Al.ak u U^ agreed, that he should be allowed to take i-«o semks before H gave his decided answer; and taking a friendly leave oft officers and crew, he set off to join his tribe. There is. however, one passion prevalent in the world, wh < has created more mischief, defeated more plans. an-J been cause ot greater changes in every relation of life, than all LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 401 Other passions combined, to which the animal man is subject. It must be allowed, that climate has something to do in the generation of it, and consequently, that it glows with greater intensity under an Italian sky, than under a Siberian one. Now It appears, that Aluak was just of that age when this extraordi- nary passion begins to show itself amongst the youths and maidens of the Esquimaux people, although it frequently hap- pens, that no object is to be found, which can call that passion into action; and as reciprocity is an essential feature of its exist- ence, it sometimes dies away, on either side, without producing any of those effects, which so particularly distinguish it in other countries. It is said, and really believed by some simple- tons, that there are two places, in which this passion never dis- plays itself, and those are, a monastery and a nunnery ; we, how- ever, know from experience, that although it may be convenient for the inmates of those establishments, to impress such a belief upon the bigoted, credulous catholics; they may, in some respects, be considered as the very hot-beds of the passion, and that the effects of it as regularly exhibit themselves, as in an Irish village. If, however, the generation of that passion is in the least dependent upon the temperature of the air, (and it is allowed to be so, by all those, who have deeply studied the subject,) it must be admitted, that an Esquimaux liut is the very last place that a connoisseur, or more properly speaking an amateur, would look for a display of it. It happened, how^'ever. that in the hut contiguous to that, which was the domicile of Aluak, lived the fair damsel Narluwarga, then at the blooming ag:e of sixteen, but whom Alwak had chosen as his wife, at the age of four, when he first beheld her infant feet making their impression on the snow new fallen; and the great difference between an Esquimaux and a European, in an affair of this sort, IS, that the former has the means always at hand, of discover- ing before marriage, whether his future spouse has any preten- sions to the character of a shrew or a termagant; and the latter, unfortunately for him, has no means of effecting that discovery' ""til all that is left for him, is, to submit himself quietly to the' «vil, until death kindly steps in to relieve him from it ^f 3f . ' 403 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. On the arrival of Alwak from the Victory, great was the joy of Narluwarga, on again heholding* her betrothed husband ; he showed her the file, which had been given to him, and he also showed her a small bar of iron, which had not been given to him, but which, by some means, that out of respect to his character, shall not be mentioned, had found its way into his trousers; afid greatly delighted was Narluwarga, with the riches that her intended spouse had so unexpectedly come into possession of. Narluwarga was not like Sterne's Maria, of the finest order of fine forms; for like the shrubs and flowers of her country, her stature was stinted and dwarfish; and whatever sweetness she possessed, which nature had been pleased, in one of her most niggardly humours, to bestow upon her, had, ir. the verification of ihe poet's words, been literally wasted on the desert air. Beauty is indeed an ideal thing, the wayward child of a vagrant fancy, shifting like the ever-varying cloud, and equally as fleet- ing and evanescent ; admitting, therefore, our ignorance of the standard of beauty, as acknowledged by the Esquimaux judges, it might happen, that although Narluwarga could not have en- joyed the pre-eminence, of being the reigning toast in the latitude of London, she still might be in vhe eyes of Alwak, all that the eye can look for, or the heart wish for, in woman. It appears, that the Esquimaux are subject to the same accidents and casualties in life, as the natives of more favored regions, and that with them the transition from joy to misery is sometimes as sudden, as the climate in which they live, is from storm to sun* bhine. Scarcely had the blush of joy mantled over the cheek of Narluwarga on the return of her betrothed to his home, than the paleness of despair broke through the oily smearment on her coun- tenance, when the offer was pronounced, by Alwak, of conveying him to the country of the Kabloonas, by which it was clear to her, that she ran the risk, of ever becoming a wife — at least not the wife of her betrothed Alwak. The moans and sighs of the unhap- py girl, sounded throughout the night in her now miserable home; I and they would doubtless have penetrated to the ears of Alwak, had the snow been of that porous nature, as to admit of theirj passage through it ; but the rays of the sun had no sooner gucii'd lAST VdVAfiE ..F r.An. Rnes, ^^g .he jagged »„„„it, „f |,„ „„,i^^ , ,^^^^ ^,^^ ^^^^ lu. of -4te«*; and anolher proof was given, ,l,at they „re in .rror. who declare that stean, is .he most powerful agent! .hat known on earth ; f,.r there is one, in whatever clime, or by whj: over people ,t may be exercised, that is superior to it_a„d that .» . woman's tears. Fast they fell down the cheeks of mrlu. mrga. and her nose came in contact with that of Al^ak. Anv.el „».,<,, shall go.) exclaimed ^/„«A. N~aUa.' NakUa.' Ossar. «r„ Al.ak. Xo, no! beloved Al.ai;) answered NarluJrla Owanee Anveel yanga. said Alva/.-, (sh.- I ,.o far off>^ tZ -..' (Die r shall, cried ^..„J,,, , ^Z, ^^lll:^- me each other m affectionate fri, .: „. The die of ^Z„„A wa" cast, and so was thatof ^aW«,. .^„ ; a wo.non's «e«r» had aJIi„ deler^ned the destiny of a human bein^, and „„ a sin.'e m^^ »e. depencJed the brightness, or the darkness, of .1,. wa , and woof of the web of his future happiness. ' In the msan time so sanguine were the officers of the Victory n .he acceptation of the offer made to Mwak. that orders had' «ea actually g.ven to prepare a berth f.r him; for, even if H -.able to withstand the dazzling splendour of the offer, and II .he .nesfmable advantages, which were held out ,o |„.„ hkely to accrue, on being admitted into the society and *wsh.p of cvilized beings, yet it was supposed, th-ft tie « ..Uchment, which he professed to entertain towards Co d rRoss, would probably ov „ „„,o every other con :,:ora. » .^ohasthe love of country, of kindred, of native b.i.it, iJ n« Uve customs, and other such amiable feelings, stio^n^atized weaknesses by the philosopher and the stoic: . I,. t 'the; h J ..ken.t uuo thoiraeco,, ., that tlio pa,.i„,. , ,■ |,.,e ean warm beast of the seal-clad Kssuimau.. as w. I as the voluptuou™ 'J'l^an ; and above all, they e«,. , „ot snspoct, fromthlTe * conduct of A'..:-,:, f.„, ,„ ,„„,i„,^| ' ' J'"^^/- •«, on the following day, ., they were seated i„ their cabin was seei .^(^4 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R089. the arrival o^Alwak was announced, who, ibey could not suppose. was come for any other purpose, than to enhst himself in the niarine corps of the Victory. When, however, the information was conveyed to them, that he declined the tempting offers, that had been made to him, he was characterized as one of those ind,. viduals, who are wilfully blind to their own interests and will not accept of the good gifts of Fortune, when it has P^-^ed herto throw them in their way ; but when it was proclaimed, that the reason of his non-acceptance was the urgent entreaties, the tea. and the sobs of a love-sick damsel, to whom he was shortly to e married-A fool ! a fool 1 a motley fool! exclaimed the whole assembly; and Alwak was sent back to his hut, and his Narh warqa, to console himself, in her tender embraces, for the loss of all the great and manifold advantages, which he would have derived from his civilization With the return of the spring, th.e country began to assume new appearance ; and something of a romantic character - criven to it, by the various parties of Esquimaux, who were at a distance, directing their route southwardly from the station. which they had occupied during the winter. It is, however... ceneral, direct want that impels these nomadian tribes to wan der to other countries ; for, having exhausted their stock of p visions, and the seals having also migrated to other quarters, t kj are by necessity forced to return to those particular place., whid they had frequented in the preceding summer, and where t e; were certain to find a supply of provisions, which they b buried under the snow ; and so keen is their instinct in direct.n their course to the exact spots where their treasures lie bund that they might be almost supposed to possess the exquisite sce» of the dog. so unerring is the course which they pursue, tarl on the morning of the I'Zth. one of those tribes was seen direct. their march from the northward lo the southwest, in searc rein-deer; but, although they were in sight of the sh.p,tb_ held on their course, as if disdaining to notice it, or to trout . themselves about those, who were in it. - In ihe last excursion, which Commander Ross took, he!^ himself often in the greatest dilemma, on account of then LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 405 possibility of crossing the narrow streams and inlets, which ob- structed him in his progress, and which often obliged him to deviate from the track, which he had pointed out for himself; thereby not only losing a great deal of valuable time, but actually defeating the object of his excursion altogether. It was, therefore, his principal business, on his return to the Victory, to set the carpenter to work to construct a travelling boat of so light a make, as to be fit to be carried on a J^^lcdge, and launched, as tlie occasion might require. Whilst the carpenter was employed in the building of the boat, the engineer was set to work to knock the cylinders of the steam engine to pieces, for the purpose of making lee boards for the ship, which it was supposed would be found of essential use in the navigation of the vessel, when close in shore, or in the narrow straits between the many islands, which lay directly in their course to the westward. On the 13th, the wind came on to blow hard from the north east, accompanied with sleet; as a natural occurrence, however, little notice was paid to it, the attention of the crew being called to a circumstance of a more important nature, and which certainly in- terested them more at that time, than if the wind had blown from allthetwo-and-thirty points of the compass at the same moment. This memorable event was a sudden order issued by Capt. Ross, that the school from that day was to be discontinued. The mo- tive for this most unexpected order, was canvassed with much gravity, in the different berths of the sailors, and various were the conjectures and surmises, which were circulated upon the occasion. By some it was conjectured, that the order did not specifically mean a discontinuance or a breaking up of the school, but merely a suspension, on the principle, that every school has its vacation ; and as the labours of the preceptors had now been continued unremittingly for six months, it vi as time that some relaxation should be allowed them ; and as Easter was near 'at hand, the suspension of the school was to be considered as the Easter holidays. When, however, it was ascertained, that the order extended to the actual dissolution of the school, a private examination took place, of the proficiency, which the scholars 406 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROS! had made in the respective branches of learning ; and whether it was their perfpction, which rendered it unneccessary to con- tinue the scholastic duties any longer. This was, however, a subject of a very delicate nature, for it went to expose certain individuals to an examination, which could not be very agree, able to them, and the exact result of which it was not difficult for them to foretell. This examination, however, inconsequence of some able manoeuvres practised by the interested part s, was never entered into; and after tacking in every direction, .o dis- cover the real cause, it was determined, that the case had only two sides, from which it could be regarded ; the first of which was, that the preceptors had made the discovery, that they were incompetent to teach ; and the second was, that the discovery had been made, that the pupils were too stupid to learn; — from our own knowledge we are disposed to lean to the latter view of the case; although actuated by a j^enuine spirit of liberality, we are bound tocouless. that it a field will not pr-iluce any crops, the fault is to be ascribed to the ignorance awl incompetency of those, who have the tillage of it; for the soil may be in itself naturally good, but rendered unproo.uctive by an erroneous system of management ; on the other hand, there are some soils that, with the most skil.Vil management, siill retain their na- tural barrenness; perhaps the mental soil of the pupils of the Victory, was of the latter description ; and therefore the tillers of it deemed it to be the most prudent method, to give themselves no further trouble in the business. In a former part of this work, mention was made of a sledge that was purchased of tlie natives, by Mr. Light, the steward, the principal materials of which were known to be salmon lapped over each other, with great ingenuity ; and which is a method, frequently adopted by the natives, of conveying their stores of salmon to their different stations; as, at any time, when pressed for food, they can cut up a sled^-e, and a supply is immediately obtained. In the present case, the sledge had been left expo ed to the influence of the sun ; and the steward, in some measure forgetting the nature of the materials of which it was formed, or not perhaps suspecting that any change in tlie salmon could LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 407 be effected by the heat of the sun, had omitted to pay that attention, which common prudence or caution should have prompted him to do. An accidental circumstance, however, led him to the examination of the sledge, when he found it fust falling to pieces; for the sahnon had been gradually subject to the process of being thawed by the solar power; and lherefi.ro, without any further deliberation, he took one of the salmon, and having thoroughly thawed it, it was produced on th^ breakfast table; and although there were some rather unpleasant associa- tions stored up in the memory, relative to a trout, and a certain part of a musk ox ; yet it was generally agreed upon by all who partook of the salmon, that although it had answered many purposes, of which they were conscious, and some perhaps ot Hhich they were happily ignorant, it was no despicable addition lothe breakfast table: and the sledge, in consequence, under- went a regular dissection, by vhich a supply of salmon was procured, which furnished liiany a hearty meal, both for the officers and the crew. On the 14th, several Esquimaux camo from the south east, and fished in the very mouth of the harbour, where the Victory lay. The anglers of the Thames and the Lee, would do well to take a lesson of patience from an Esquimaux fisherman, for, squatting himself on the bank of his fishing place, a casual ob- ierver would take him for some nondescript animal, bereft of all notion ; for an hour to him is not an hour ill spent, if in that lirae be succeeds in catching a fish. His bait is generally a bit )f seal's blubber ; but he has not the delight of the English ingler, in watching the bobbing of his float on the nibble of fish, for the best of all reasons, that he never condescends use one; the tug of the fish is the signal of his caption, when le manages his prey with a coolness, which is very seldom ob- ervable in an English angler. The Esquimaux had not the lightest idea of catching fish by means of a net, until they saw J practised by the crew of the Victory ; but it was an advantage ley were obliged to forego, on account of the impossibility of rocuring the materials necessary for the formation of the nets. • 408 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT ROSS • On the I7ih, two men were sent over the ice to cut a holo, foi the piirjiose of measuring the thickness of the ice, that is, since it had Ijoon examined on the commencement of the winter; when it was found, that the ice had increased T\ inches in thickness, which, to the commander of the expedition, was rather a (lis. couraging circumstance, as it was indicative of the labar anil delav, that awaited him, before he could be emancipated from his present situation. . , On tlie same day, Commander Ross and Blankey went to e\. plore the North Bay, and to find the huts of the Esquimaux; the former was a matter of complete disappointment, for, so far from the result presenting any favorable circumstances, it tended lo convince Commander Ross, that the Victory was in one of the many bays, with which that part of the country was inter. sected, and which did not appear to have any communication with a westward sea. '• On the 18th, being Sunday, the service of the day had scarcely finished, when an Esquimaux brought back the door of a glutton's trap, which his brother had stolen ; and it was ascertained, that in this instance, the homely phrase, of the biter being bitteD, was completely verified. It was not the value nor the utility of the trap door, which had induced the Esquimaux to steal it; but as he was not known to be the thief, by those to whom it beloncred, it was his intention to take upon himself the character of an^honest man, and to restore the stolen property, with the expectation of receiving something as a reward for his honesty, which mio-ht be of more use to him than the trap door. He communicated this plan in confidence to his brother, who gave it his entire approbation ; but at the same time he pondered within himself, whether it would not be the act of a brother, to relieve him from the trouble of taking back the stolen property; and, as the case was decided in the affirmative, he obtained possession of the trap door, and hurried off with it to the ship Here he found, however, to his great mortification, that he ha( been reckoning without his host ; for the parties, to whom tlii stoien property was restored, expressed themselves satisfied a its restoration ; but as to any reward, it was directly opposite ^ LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. 409 their mode of action, to reward an individual for restoring property, which he had stolen; the Esquimaux asserted, that he was not the thief; that, however, did not alter the merits of the case, the property had been stolen ; and having only the bare word of the Esquimiux, that he was not the thief, he was ordered to take his departure from the ship, which he did accordingly; secretly determining within himself, never to take upon himself again, the character of a restorer of stolen property, without he was certain of being rewarded for it. Although the Esquimaux, who had established themselves in the immediate vicinity of the ship, had so conducted themselves as not to give any particular offence to the crew of the Victory, yet their society in the immediate neighbourhood, was not to be much coveted, for an extra degree of vigilance was required to be observed, and every article obliged to be carefully stowed away, which was likely to be within their grasp to purloin. It was, therefore, a matter of great satisfaction to Capt. Ross, when, early on the morning of the 19th, an unusual bustle was observed amongst the Esquimaux huts ; and in the course of three hours he observed, that they were totally abandoned ; and the former inmates with their dogs and sledges, and all their move- able property, were seen directing their course to the south west No compliments passed on parting; no frothy expressions of their high consideration for each other, were exchanged. No tears of regret were shed ; no declarations of their unalterable •espectand esteem ; no pledges of an everlasting affection, passed between a single individual on board the Victory, and any of the lovely maidens of the tribe : unlike the Jews, when they were iriven out of Israel, the Esquimaux did not think their former ■labitation worthy of a single parting look ; but they left it with II its desolations around it, as one which they never wished nor ixpected to see again. On the departure of the natives, their luts were visited by a party from the Victory ; and the first dea, which struck them, was, how human beings could accus- m themselves to live in such a state of the most utter wretch- dness, or in what particular, life could by them be considered a blessing. 18- 3g \ 410 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. The stench in the interior of the huts was soarcely to be borne ; and it was a matter of wonder to many, how the former inmates could have escaped those maladies, which are the con- sequence of continually inhaling a pestiferous atmosphere. In one corner of the hut was an elevation of snow, which had been the bed of the inhabitants, and it was made large in proportion to the number of the inmates. In the hut, which had been oc- cupied by the entire family, as already mentioned, the bed occupied nearly half of the hut ; it being thence evident, that father, mother, son and daughter, with their children, had but one resting place for all, the snow above, and the snow below; and yet, if their hunger could be satisfied, the day seemed to pass over them, without bringing with it any of the cares and anxieties, which accompany the toil and drudgery of the civi- lized being. The satisfaction of their animal wants appears to be the only object of their life ; and those being supplied, they enjoy the repose of the satisfied animal, and awake only to make the best of their resources, whenever their appetite preys upon them. An accident befel one of the men, on this day, who fell into the main hold, but he escaped with only a few bruises. For some time, some secret murmurs had been heard amongst the crew, relative to the shortness of their provisions; for, whilst the table of the cabin was daily supplied with all the dainties, which the ship could afford, or the chase could supply ; the crew were put upon a contracted allowance; at the same time, that the stock of provisions on board, did not require, that any change should be made in the quantity of food allotted to them. Fit ding that there was not likely to be any alteration made to their allowance, the crew made a formal complaint, on the 19th ; and although it was first met with something like anger, and an accusation of an unfounded charge, yet, on the crew assuming a peremptory tone, it was judged advisable to accede to their demand, and the customary allowance was al- lotted to them. On this subject, the conduct of Capt. Ross met with the reprehension of those, who, in other respects, were dis- posed to regard his general conduct with indulgence and lenity. LAST VOYAfil-: OK CAI'T. ROSS. 41 1 The stores of his ship were yot ubundant; and, according to Itis own admission before tlie coinmitteo of the House of Commons, tiiere were provisions still remaining' on Fury Beach, sufficient to last eleven months, and which he could make available for the use of the ship, immediately that the navigation was open. In regard to the reliance, which Capt. Ross placed on the stores at Fury Beach, there is one part of his evidence before the com- mittee, which is calculated to excite great surprise, in which he distinctly stales, that ho should not have been justified in undertaking the voyage, if he had not known, that the stores of the Fury were in Prince Regent's Inlet. Now, above four years Imd elapsed since they were deposited by Capt. Parry on the beach; and since that period, no information had ever reached this country, of that place having been visited by any English vessel ; nor was it likely that if any ship had visited that place, that they would not have appropriated to their own use some part of tlie stores, if not the whole of them. Now, we rather suspect, that if the examination had been followed up^ by asking Capt. Ross, from what quarter he had obtained his information, as well as the latest date of such intelligence, it would have been a difficult task for him to have hit upon a satisfactory answer ; but these sort of questions were not upon the list. At all events, it was a bold undertaking on the part of Capt. Ross, not to designate it by a stronger term, to sail upon an expedition, on the chance of meeting with some stores, that had been left four years previously, on a beach exposed to all the rigours of an arctic winter ; when, although his informant, whoever he might be, had apprised him of their being still in existence on the beach, still he had forgotten, at the same time, to tell him, that ihey were in such a state as could be applied to the maintenance of his crew. The chances were against him, that he would find a single article fit for human food ; and yet he unequivocally states, that he would not have undertaken the expedition, if he had not known that the stores of the Fury were perfectly available for the provisioning of his ship. On the 20th, an Esquimaux came to the ship, bringing a seal, which now became rather a scarce article, and he was, therefore. 41^ LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. received with all the courtesy, which is shown to the individual, who presents himself before a man in office, with a hamper containing a haunch of venison; in comparison to the clodpole, who brings a rabbit dangling on a string, caught perhaps in the very preserve belonging to the miin, to whom the present is offered. In general, the value of a seal was estimated c.t half a dozen nails, or two fish-hooks ; but in the present case, a file was given for it ; and many there were, who attempted to catch a seal, with the expectation of receiving the same reward. Although some disappointment had occurred, in the case of Pootwutyook and Alwak, in inducing them to become candidates for the representation of the Esquimaux people, in the country of the Kahloonas ; yet Commander Ross, not daunted by his previous failure, thought that he perceived, in a youth of the name of Takkeelikkeeta, certain rudiments and talents, which would just fit him for the situation of his guide, and attendant on his various excursions ; and Takkeelikkeeta appeared not to entertain any positive objection to be received into the service of Commander Ross, under one important stipulation, which was- that, on no occasion, he should be stinted for food, but that it should be at all times ready for him, whenever his appetite demanded it. Although this stipulation might have been duly fulfilled, as long as Takkeelikkeeta was a resident on board the ship, yet, on an expedition, it might so happen, that no means were at hand, by which the stipulation could be fiUfilled. On this circumstance being explained to Takkeelikkeeta, he agreed to accompany Commander Ross on an expedition, to a place called Shagerwak, where, from some vague information received by Capt. Ross, it was probable that some knowledge could be acquired, of the state of the country to the westward ; especially as it was reported to be visited by a tribe of Esquimaux, whose station, during the summer, was said to be established on the shores of an open sea, which was never known to be frozen during the depth of winter, and the extent of which had never been ascertained by any of the tribe. Accordingly, on the 20th, Commander James Ross, accom- paaied by Blankey and Takkeelikkeeta, set out on their expedi- LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 4I3 tion, with an ample supply of orovisions; having an eye to the fulfilment of the stipulation with the younff Esquimaux, and to guard against any chance of want, which had befallen Comman- (lor Ross on his previous excursion. Unfortunately, however for Ihat enterprising officer, he met with the same impediment to 'his proo^ross on this occasion, as on the former one ; for, not havin^r any boat with him, to enable him to cross the creeks and inlets" some of which were so far thawed, that the water was some depth upon the ice, he found it actually impossible to reach the place of his destination; but not willing to return to the ship without having enlarged the sphere of his discovery, as far as his limited means would allow him, he changed his course to the south west, determined to push his inquiries in that quarter until the stock of his provisions was so far consumed, as to obliffo' him to bend his course homeward. Early on the morning of the 23rd, Commander Ross returned .spirited and discouraged ; not a gleam of hope had shone upon him during his absence, to lead him to believe, that on their emancipation, they would be able to make any great progress to the westward. The supposed open sea to the westward of the strait of the Hecla and Fury, was now proved to be built entirely upon conjecture, and that the most direct obstacles existed to the prosecution of the voyage in that quarter ; settling thereby ^he question, that Capt. Parry pursued a wise course, in deter- mnmg to return to England, instead of forcing his ships throuffh he strait of the Hecla and Fury, where he would undoubtedly lave been wedged in, and been obliged to pass another winter ■rnongst those inhospitable regions. The strait of the Hecla 'nd Fury ,s, after all, nothing more than a large inlet ; the west- fard extremity bounded by the land which joins Melville Pen- nsula and Cockburn Island, so described on the maps, but not "established by any indisputable authority. The 23rd, was the anniversary of the Victory sailing from oolwich,and it was also the king's birth-day; for the news of 'e death of George IV. had not yet reached the country of the ^quimaux. For the purpose of celebrating these two events ■e 8hip was dressed out in all her colours, a salute of twenty- 414 l^AST VOY/LGE OF CAPT. ROSS. one guns was fired, and a gill of rum was served out to each of the crew, to drink his majesty's health. Whilst the preparations were making for firing the guns, Takl^eelikkeeta was standing on the deck, close to the ma.n hatchway, and. on the first explosion, coming as it did upon him unawares, he gave a jump, as high as the weight of h.s habiliments would allow him, and putting his hands to his ears, ran about the ship in the utmost fright and consternatiori. When the second explosion came, ignorant of the laws and discipline of the ship, he made no hesitation to betake himself down the companion hatchway, and bolted straight forwara into the cabin, ^here Capt. Ross was sitting in the full enjoyment of his own company, which, to certain persons, is the most disagreeable company that can be selected. Capt. Ross "nused to such sudden visitations, in a place, of which he might be styled the autocrat, started, as if an apparition had come suddenly upon him and greeted the intruder with one of those damnatory epithets, which form a part of the education of a sailor; but which, although It was spoken in the tongue, which Shakespeare spake, was totally incomprehensible to the Esquimaux, who, seeing no other place of refuge at hand, squatted himself under the table, his hands still applied to his ears, and the utmost alarm depicted on his countenance. Had a Polar bear taken possession of the cabin, Capt. Ross could not have shown greater indig. nation • and in no measured terms abused the watch for allowing the unmannerly savage to intrude upon his privacy ; but it ^as a day of rejoicing, when some degree of relaxation in the dis- ciplineof the ship was allowed; and, on the intelligence being conveyed to Commander Ross, of the place, where his young protege had taken refuge, he repaired to the spot ; but it w some time before the commander could be made to comprehend the cause, which had driven his young charge to take a refuge in a place, of which it was as great a crime to violate the sanctity, as of the dormitory of a nun. The firing had ceased; and twenty.one charges of gunpowder had bepn wasted in raising LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. «15 smoke, and making a noise in commemoration of the birth-day of an individual, who, at that very time was rotting in his golden mausoleum; whose vices and debaucheries have rendered his memory infamous ; whose reckless extravagance has engendered in the hearts of an impoverished people, a hatred of royalty ; and whose name has gone down to posterity, as the synonym of lust and licentiousness. If, however, Takkeelikkeeta had been informed of the cause of the noise, which had lately so much alarmed him, there cannot be a doubt, hut his opinion of the excellencies of civilization would have been greatly enhanced ; and, that his determination would have at once been fixed, to include himself amongst so ra- tioiial and sensible a people ; whose manner of expressing their joy consists in making the greatest possible noise in their power; in putting a few dozen of lighted lamps on the exterior of their houses; and sending up into the air, an illimitable num- ber of sparks of fire, which are extinguished as fast as they are produced, and which end in a noise, which delights the fools, that are staring at it. By degrees, Commander Ross succeeded in allaying the fears of Takkeelikkeeta ; but no persuasion could induce him to ap- proach that part of the ship, where the gun had been fired off. As an encouragement, Commander Ross gave him a file; but he made it known, that he wished to convey it to his parents, pro- mising to return after two seniks. To this, Commander Ross raised an objection ; informing him, that it was his intention to set out on another expedition in a few days, when his services would be required ; and that if he would stop, an additional present would be given to him. Takkeelikkeeta appeared to acquiesce in this proposal, and was taken into the steward's berth, where the stipulation, into which he had entered, was ful- filled to the satisfaction of the young glutton, who, on this occasion, showed himself by no means inferior to any of his t"be, in the general elasticity of his stomach. During the remainder of the day Takkeelikkeeta appeared to be perfectly reconciled to his situation , paying rather more than ■tustoniQry attention to the proceedings on board the ship, and 416 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. particularly to X\e carpenter, who was employed in making the travelling boat. At nine o'clock the steward sought for Takhee- likkeeta, to see him safe in his berth, and to give him his evening meal, but he was nowhere to be found. He had taken the ad- vantage of the darkness to steal from the ship ; heedless that a long and stormy night was before him, and with nothing to guide him in his way, but that natural instinct, which appears to be innate in the whole tribe of the Esquimaux. It was also discovered, that he had not been watching the motions of the carpenter, ^'ithout some premeditated design, for a hammer and a number of nails were missing, of the destination of which no doubt whatever was entertained. Thus three attempts had failed to bring an Esquimaux youth within the pale of civiliza- tion, in all of which, the experimental party had been made the dupe of savage ignorance and duplicity ; and individuals, who possessed the advantages of culture and education, were made the subjects of the low cunning and depraved arliBces of the most unenlightened of their species. On the 24th, the misfortune occurred of the launch gettin completely under the ice, with little chance of recovering it until the ice completely broke up, and then considerable risk was run of its being staved in, by the extraordinary pressure, l( which it would be subject. On this day, the carpenter made pre parations for caulking the ship, as the straining,to which she had been exposed, had opened several of the seams to a considerable extent, and which, if not timely stopped, might be of the serious consequence to them in their future voyage. A great number of Esquimaux came to the ship, on the %\\ who were directing their course to Nichllli. As this wai, the place, which it was expected was visited by some people an swering to the character of the Russians or the Danes, Com mander Ross determined to accompany them, and accordingly the steward was ordered to put up a stock of provisions, sul cient to last for ten days. It was agreed, that Commander Ross, and Abernethy, one the mates, should call on the following day at the huts, for tli< Esquin.aux, who had stationed themselves in the North Bay, an most LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 4I7 Mc'Diarmid consented to accompany them as far as that place • but his absence from the ship could not be allowed for so o-reat a length of time, as the excursion of Commander Ross would most probably occupy. Early on the 27th, Commander Ross set out, but on his arrival at the huts, he found the Esquimaux very sulky, and little in- dined to admit them of the party; this ebullition of their tem- per was said to be occasioned by a particular misfortune, which had befallen them; for so great was their belief in the super- natural powers of Capt. Ross, on account of some most extraor- dinary feats, which he had performed before them, that they in the fulness of their credulity verily believed, that he had it in bis power to avert from them every calamity and misfortune- and, that as one had now occurred to them of a serious nature] they ascribed the occurrence to no other person than to Capt' Ross, on the principle, ihat if an individual can prevent a cala* mity. and omits to do it, he is as responsible for the conse- quences, as if he had committed the act himself. The calamity which h-ad given rise to such an exhibition of ill temper, on th part of the Esquimaux, was the fall of a little boy from a preci- pice, who, was almost killed on the spot; and as, in their opi- nion, Capt. Ross could have prevented this misfortune, if he had ^0 pleased, they considered themselves entitled to vent the full force of their anger and indignation upon his unoffending head 1 he Esquimaux, however, seemed disposed not only to exhibit the extent of their ill humor to Commander Ross, but they ap- reared actually inclined to proceed to more violent measures; in order, however, to bring them to their sen es. Commander Ross «nd Mr. Mc'Diarmid had put their guns to their shoulders vjhen a female, of the name of Kaheakenew, stepped between I'em, and, gradually, a certain degree of harmony was estab- 'shed. It was, however, in some measure fortunate for all par- 'es, that Mr. Mc'Diarmid had accompanied them, as he pro- ^^oded immediately to examine the boy, that had fallen from "e precipice; and although he had received some violent con- unions, no limb was fractured. At a distance, however, from "^ niod.eines, which might have accelerated the cure of the '°' 8h 418 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. boy, he could only apply those secondary remedies, which wore within his power ; but he gave the parents of the boy to under- stand, that little doubt existed of his ultimate recovery. This timely interference, on the nart of Mr. Mc'Diarmid, was, how- ever, of the greatest consequunco to the little boy ; for these sa- vage creatures entertain such a repugnance to be troubled, in any t.f their hunting expeditions, with the aged, the infirm, or the sick, that rather than be encumbered with them, they frequently leave them behind, to endure the slow attack of death, with all the resignation, which they can summon to their power. No doubt was entertained, that such would have been the fa!o of the little boy ; for, being scarcely able to move a limb, he would have been obliged to be dragged along in a sledge, and this was a labour to them of greater consequence, than the mere life of the boy. It was the firm belief of the Esquimaux, that Capt. Ross was an Angekok, or conjuror of the very highest character; and it was an opinion, which he did not wish to eradicate from their minds, for it acted as a check upon their thievish propensities, on the principle, that, by his magiral powers, he could immedi- ately discover the thief, and trace the stolen property wherever it was concealed. Fortune had indeed favored him, ii> many of his magical tricks; for, in several instances, when the Esqui- maux had applied to him, relative to the caption of a seal, and he had given them instructions to repair to a particular spot, where a seal was in waiting for them to be killed, and tlie event actually turned out, as he had predicted, it was not then to bo wondered at, that they looked upon him as some superior being, to whom even the animals themselves owed subjection, and who were so far under his control, that he could by his man- date bring them from the depths of the ocean, to sacrifice them- selves, whenever it pleased him to condemn them. By means of his magnifying glasses, he had impressed t!,e belief on the n)inds of the natives, that he could create animals a thousand times larger, than any that they had ever seen before ; and, as he had actually proiluccd those creatures to their eyes, it was the I.eiglit of folly in their to disbelieve their senses, or to dispulo lAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 4l9 ihe right of Capt. Ross to the character of the most mighty An- gekok, that had ever appeared amongst them. There wore also, some circumstances connected with tlie profc-sion of IMr. Mc'Diarmid, that tended in a groat measure to convince tl.o natives, that a person, v»ho pretended to have the decision of life and death in his hands, must be also soinetl.ing of a suf crior being; for, in many instances, the natives had been cured ofi;ouio tri'r g maladies, and wounds by his skill ; and, in llie present case, wl'.en he had so distinctly stated, that the boy would live, in opposition to the general opinion amongst tbotu elves, tluit his death was inevitable, such extraordinary knov. lodge, tboy thought could only proceed from some power, that was vested in him by some great spirit; and, therefore, it was an act of extren>e fully in them, to give any offence to beings of such a stamp, on whose will, their very life and preservation perhaps depended. The present interposition of Kakeakenew, was not, however, overlooked by Commander Ross, for, as it was perfectly voluntary 0:1 her part, and proceeded from the very best of motives, he took a knife from his pocket, and presented it to her ; on which her joy was so great, that it required all the strength of Com- mander Ross, to prevent him tasting the enjoyment of being koomg''d by the grateful woman, who tried every manoeuvre to bring her nose into affectionate contact with that of the bashful commander, but which was ultimately defeated by him, as l:o betook himself off to his sledge, whither the amorous lady did not think proper to pursue him. Reconciliation having been eflected between all parties, chiefly through the instrumentality of Kakeakenew, the party set out upon their expedition, the Esquimaux being the guides. Com- mander Ross and his party bringing up the rear. During the absence of Commander Ross, the crew on board were employed in various ways; some preparing the different things that might be required for travelling, as the season was now at hand, when the country could be explored in every quarter. The carpenter was using every exertion to get the travelling boat completed ; whilst the engineer, being now absolved from all duty on the steam engine, except knocking to pieces those parts, which 420 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. might be occasionally useful, was set to work upon the manufac< lure of a tea-pot. The weather at this time was uncommonly severe, for, instead of partaking" of the genial influence oftho spring, it bore all the appearance of the inclemency of the winter. 7'Ae following is the scale of the Temperature of the exlerior Atmosphere, for the month of April, 1830. Highest Lowest 1 Highest Lowest Highest Lowest April Below Above Apra 12 Below Above April Below Above 1 10 5 19 23 I 17 2 2 12 13 7 31 9\ 16 Zero. 3 16 14 14 2 14 25 16 1 4 15 5 15 I 17 26 12 Zero. 5 7 4 16 2 4 27 7 6 6 • 17 Zero. 14 28 8 1 7 5 14 18 1 10 29 M 2 8 4 n 19 8 12 30 9 8 9 7 S 20 14 Zero. 10 15 8 21 15 1 11 1 24 22 16 10 ■\.kw On the 1st of May, the crew were employed in clearing the snow from the ship's side, which during the winter had accu- mulated to such a depth, as to reach nearly to the gunwales of the vessel ; and as it was necessary that it should be careened thoroughly, previously to proceeding on the voyage, not a mo- ment was to be lost in removing those impediments, which had collected round the ship, and which, if suffered to remain, might actu^.lly endanger the very safety of it. LAST VOVAOE OF CAPT. ROSS. 42| On .he and. , he first snowbird was seen, which m .hose ia. On .he 3rd Mr. Thon,s, Mr. Mc'Diarmid, and .wo of .he crew ,erese„. up .he nor.h bay. wi.h some provisions for Oom^andrr' m/h.'h "":•'"'"' '"'■' ""' P""-Iar place. wlTe e h could find .hem on h,s journey homewards. Wi.h .he know edffe .he .h,ev.ng propc„,Uy of ,he na.ives, and par.icularly h' the case of provs.ons. wherewi.h .hey could sa.lfy .heir Hut ..nous appe.,.e ; recourse was had. in the presen. ins.anee*.o a" me de guerre for i, was well known, that if the native^ dis! covered .he place, where .he provisions were s.owed away n„ preat part of them would be left for the benefit „f Pn ■ Boss Ahni,i .„.„ k . o™®". ol Commander l!«.. About t«o hours previously .o the departure of Mr. Thorns Ud h.s par.y, wuh .he stock of provisions, a number of KslT .a„x came to .he ship, but it was entirely a complimemary ™ . for .hey brough. no. wi.h .hem a single ar.icle ei.he f^ rter or «;le. Suspecing .hat these people might ol ow om. and discover the place, where the provisions were d no "-1. .hey wore informed, .hat the spirits, who had the I" 'Ol over the seals and .he walrusses, had demanded from , em y any par of the provs.ons, the anger and resentment of .he m would be so grea., that not a seal or a walrus would be Wed to v.s,t .he country for some time, this statement Tt ;-y credence, and had the na.ives been li.eral "n a ^f starvation so great is their dread of the spirits who .he command over .he seals and walrusses, that'not ^ar! tie of the provisions would have been touched. Towards the -.ng.ano.her par.y of Esquimaux arrived a. .he s Jp b LJit n e hgence, that Commander Ross had shot a mu!k o: a h ,d „„,. ,,„,^„^ ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ morrow It was' y ark before Mr. Thorns and his par.y re.urned, havr ;» ted the provisions in .he place agreed upon. 1«ly on the following morning at 4 o'clock Ton, j « -urned himself, his companions, and 1 X" " "» o„. wi.h fatigue. They were obliged to leave' all.:": 422 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. booty a few miles from the ship, the dogs being unable to drag it any farther. Commander Ross was accompanied by only two Esquimaux, whose names were Powyeke, and Elickla, a boy. They had obtained two oxen, one of which was shot by Commander Ross, and the other was driven, by the Esquimaux and the dogs, over a high precipice, and, on reaching the bottom, he bounded like a cricket ball. The Esquimaux have no other method of killing these animals, than by worrying them to death with their dogs ; taking, however, special care to keep the dogs always between themselves and the animal. Commander Ross was not above five yards from the ox, when he tired ; letting fly both barrels almost at the same time, which brought the animal to the ground. On seeing the brute fall, the Esqui. maux immediately took out their knives, and were proceeding to deal with the ox according to their usual custom ; but their surprise was unbounded, when they discovered, that the animal was wounded in two places. Commander Ross gave them to understand, that the wounds were inflicted from his gun ; thi however, they could not possibly comprehend, for they could not conceive how death could be inflicted without some visihli means. Whilst the Esquimaux were examining the wounds two grouse came whizzing past Commander Ross; he fired, ad they both came to the ground. This additional proof of the ex- traordinary powers vested in Commander Ross, and his murder- ous instrument, set the Esquimaux in a state of the greates amaze. Remembering, however, the consequence, which ha( resulted, on a former occasion, by putting his gun into th hands of Poowutyook, Commander Ross cautiously declined ex citing any alarm in the breasts of his companions, who, so fa from wishing to handle the deadly weapon, always kept at th utmost possible distance from it. On the animal being brougl on board, it was weighed by Mr. Light, the steward, and foun to weigh 139tbs. without including the head or any of the offd Mr. Mc'Dianmid also shot a grouse on this day, by which ll dinner table in the cabin was well supplied with game ai beef; in fact, the sailors very frequently contrasted their mo ©f living, with that, which distinguished the officers' cabin; ai LAST VOYAOK OF CAPT. ROSS. 423 the .lifferenco was so great as to excite many complaints, and to raise a murmur, which, under any other circumstances than those, ,n which the crew were ihon placed, might have broken out into a direct mutiny. The weather on the Gth, was uncommonly fine, and the ship was visited by several Esquimaux, amongst whom were the man and b,.y, who had accompanied Commander Ross on his last excursion, and a fre^h proof was now given, of the low cunnin- to uhuh these people are addicted. Mention has already been made of the ox that was driven over the precipice; but. as it was found impossible by Commander Ross, to convey both the animals to the ship, at the same time, he determined to leave the brute at the foot of the precipice, for a day or two, until an opportunity presented itself of fetching it away. Poiinje!,e however, determined to be before-hand with the commandoT- for he argued with himself, that if he cut up the ox, it did not rollovv, that it should be detected, that he was the anatomist ; fcr 1 strong probability existed, that it might have been found by lome of his tribe, and then little doubt remained as to the manner. n which the animal would have been disposed of. Besides, as it as his intention to sell the flesh of the ox to the Kabloonas, it as impossible, he thought, for them to identify the flesh as aving- formed a part of the identical ox, which he had assisted in rivmgover the precipice; and, therefore, when he viewed the usiness from all these points, he hesitated not a moment in re. firing to the spot, and having cut up the animal a C Esquimaux, J conveyed the principal parts to the vicinity of the ship, where i buried them under the snow, to traffic with them as the 'porlunity might offer. ■ , ^ -. - . • .r .! . .. , • As their conduct on the expedition had entitled them to the mmendation of Commander Ross, they each of them received present of a seal knife; congratulating themselves on the quisition of the very article, of which they stood in need, to able them to cut up the buried joints . f the ox. in a proper J dexterous manner. Capt. Ross was not the first among the ny sons of Adam, who have unwittingly placed a weapon in ^ hands of another, which in a short time, is to be turned to 424 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROftS. his own injury and disadvantage. It is certain, and we slat. it from the most indisputable authority, that the fable of tb Monkey, the Cat, and the Chestnuts, had never as yet come under the perusal of Powyeke, but nevertheless he was a living example that the conduct of the monkey appertains to the character c man, whether he lives in the country, which gave birth to Mm^ or in that, which gave birth to Powyeke. Impressed with some suspicion, that were he to offer the flesh of the ox for sale, he might be detected, as having been the individual, who haJ anatomised the animal, he imparted his plan to his fnend Kvjukpun, who, under the promise of participating m the reward, undertook to be the bearer of the ox flesh to the shi- taking, however, special care to conceal from his friend, there history of the ox, or that any one on hoard the ship could laj claim to the flesh of the animal. Kujukpun was as savage i his manners, as he was by his birth, and, with all the effronter of the most accomplished cheat, he presented himself on boan the Victory, with the load of ox flesh on his head, and askini a most exorbitant reward, on account of its extraordinat freshness. Here Kujukpun was caught in his own net; tl extraordinary freshness of the flesh, excited some suspicions, tif" it was part of the animal, which Commander Ross had '" at the foot of the precipice, and Kujukpun was told to 1 his load, and call, after a senik, for his reward. In the meai time, it was ascertained that the animal had been cut up, ai the whole of it taken away ; and, on Kujukpun presentii himself for his reward, he was told, that the spirits hadb« consulted, and the information had been obtained, that 1 possessed no real right to the flesh, he having obtained it fr« an ox, which had been killed by others, and therefore he « disposing of that, which did not belong to him. Kujdf answered, that the spirits told a great skagloo, (lie,) for so from his having cut up the animal, he never saw it in hisl and that if they did not choose to purchase the flesh, he woi take it back with him, and eat it himself. There was a h iiess and audacity about this fellow, which rendered it advisi lo get rid of him, although with some little sacrifice, LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 425 having received a file as a remuneration, he took his departure. The biter was again bitten : for, as the agreement ran between ihe two conspirators, that the remuneration should be equally shared, and that as no method existed, of dividing the file, it became a question, to whom it belonged ? It was proved, on \he])iinorKujukpun, that the file was delivered to him, and, therefore, it became his own property. Unfortunately for Pom;- yeke, he could not prove that the property, for which the file was given, was in reality his own; and, therefore, in default of the proper evidence, he was non-suited, and the file awarded to Kujukpiin. On the 8th, a whole family came to the ship, among whom was a man, on his way to Shagerwak, for his canoe. He remained on board during the night: and although, on the following morning, the weather was so thick and hazy, that it was impossible to see to the distance of fiftyyards, yet he set off m his expedition, shaping his course, as if he had a compass to iirect him. It was always a matter of wonder to the crew of lie Victory, how the Esquimaux found their way to different •laces, and in which their course was always as true, as if they ad land-marks to direct them. This man had his dog with im;and it was generally believed, that this animal was al- fays a great assistant to the wandering Esquimaux, in guiding im to his destined place : but, in the present instance, the dog m\A not be of any use whatever, for it was ascertained, that he ad never been at Shagerwak Without stopping to take a 'nik, the Esquimaux travelled the whole of the night, and at ved on the following day at the ship, with the canoe upon his sad: this was almost the first instance of an Esquimaux refus- igto dispose of any article in his possession ; for, although an dequate remuneration was offered for the canoe, it was refused, ' the principle, that his subsistence depended upon it ; and at were he to part with the canoe, he should not have time to "Id another, before the fishing season commenced. Having ftaken of some seal, he trudged away to the south east, with s canoe on his head : and although the weather continued he thick, he seemed perfectly confident in the r.ghtness of ''' 3 1 « A. urn: a* Oil ^.^ I.ABT VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS/ his course, .Inch hap.onoa to be Uirecdy opposite to tW| by which he had eo.ne ^-m ^A^^^^^^^ ^^ ^ The sliip n»w liegan to assume tue ciiara i JL opo'a.ions : for, «lnl« — »f "- "^ «"-,"''' aLT the boat, the carpenter was busy in .nak.nga sledge,., I "engineer in eo..truc.i.,g a cooking apparatus, wh.eh . be ntae fron. the remains of the illfated steam eng.no. . L ,0th, Conunande, Ross went to one of the lakes to souni and trj or salmon. TUe d.p.b was found to be only seven oe. f ho ns. A lino, with some hooks, was let down th .,«1, ric" Commander Ross had made, and if the report of the „.. tl e were true, they had every expectation of catoh.ng .o« sain „Z which were represented to be of the finest qualUy T« of r crew were sent, with the deep-sea clamm, to try f,. llgHua t,.y reported ,„ have found the bottom at nn,e, four fathoms, with hard blue clay. From the I2th to the I5th, the crow were bus.ly empl.^e ,. „ak Ithe necessary preparations for a long journey, wluc Tas intended to make to the westward, and to compr.sM.. rparrpartie. taking different routes, but -tmg at a ., .La. time and P'-'-'';— rr^^th S-» fell a::d'lX:nrult" flrk: wLd\e foun^d the ,. r :nre::^ma„^rprovided with a -.^ack weU^.. ■\u nrovi«io«s Early on the morning of the 17th, tne par Te VeT ,rUh a sJdge and four dogs : -^ «« ^e- of the second day. Commander Ross »^^ * ^'^J^," ^l; .1 sisting of eight men. with five dogs and '^ ™«» ^'j"; , „.J, «Mch - five X - t-;|; - - ria * agree. .e«t b'-l ^e- "»J ; J, ,, „,, i„ .he h, ''?tT:Z?l^7c:lJ^' Ross postponed his dep. 1 tt: r:h; evemng. They, however, for some re... - LAST VOVAOE OP CAPT. ROSS. .^7 to embark readily in the undertaking?. The weather was beau- tifully fine, with a gentle breeze from the east. Oi. the 18th, seven of tlie men returned, who had been assist. „g Commander Ross; but they were ail in a deplorable state beinff nearly blind. They left the two parties of six each, with provisions for ono-and-tsvonty days, but almost every one of hem complaining of sore eyes. It was the decided opinion of Mr.Mc'Diarmid, that it was a species of ophthalmia, with which he men were afflicted ; and that it had its origin in the con- «tant exposure of the eye to the glare of the snow; at the same time, that a number of fine spiculap were floating in the air, pro- duced by the influence of the sun on the snow, assisted by the high winds, which appeared to blow at this season with un- usual violence. Capt.Ross having expressed liis intention to goto Shager^ ak, although it did not transpire, for what particular honefi* or purpose, preparations were accordingly made for the excur- sion. It is not to be supposed, that a personage of high rank and consideration, can undertake a journey, however short it may be, without a corresponding display of fuss and bustle When the emperor of China visits one of his country houses, few miFes distant from his usual place of residence, he des- latches a messenger to the most distant parts of his empire, to nform his subjects, of the important step, which he is about to ake; and we have only to look into the Court Journal of tliis ountry, to berome immediately acquainted with llie motions of pack of individuals, whom chance in one of the most insane mo- lents of her life, has placed in the ranks of royalty ; but, for fhom the people have as great an affection, as a roman catholic ir a unitarian, a petitioning creditor for a bankrupt, or a rat r arsenic. It cannot, therefore, be supposed, but that some differ- ice was observable, in the preparations that were made for the cursion of Capt. Ross, as the commander or sovereign of the 'ip. than what were made for his subordinates: for, although IS projected expedition was only one of a few hours, yet it as deemed necessary to provide against any contingency, that ight happen, or that might prove injurious to the health and % of the principal person concerned in it. ^.jg LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R095. .It is in our memoranda, that Cap,. Ross set out on his expe. dition ; and. it is stated with the same strict attention to accuracy, S^^h returned from his expedition, his health -"-P"-^.™ lithout the occurrence of any accident worthy of note. Of th. liloveries made by Capt. Ross on this exped.fon, our mom. rlda are wholly silent; but it is the property of great men ., maintain a studied reserve respecting any grand concep.,™, "hich may be whirling in their brain, and to keep the.r mfer.o. Ts much as possible in'the darU. regarding the execut.on of any design, to which their genius may have prompted them. Of the result of the expedition to Shager^ak, just as much transp.red, L of «he descent of Hans Klein to the bottom of the Maels,ra,„, «ith this difference only, that the return of Capt Ross «, proved, by his personal appearance on the quarter deck of iW Victory on the same evening: whereas, for ought we kn3W ,« the contrary, Hans Klein is still prosecuting h,s d.scover.e,, ,n hat hither.; unexplored part of the world ; and w .eh. we a,. informed, on his return, are to be pubUshed uniformly w k Capt. Ross' last voyage; by subscription. ,n quarto, and „* the immediate sanction of His Majesty: as from the ta accounts received from him, it was just about the '-that Cap Ross took possession of Boothia Felix, .n the -- o^' J maiesty, that Hans Klein, also, took possess.on of all the Ian. Thlch he had discovered at the bottom of the Maelstrom, ,a name of his Britannic Majesty ; and, great mdeed would b th Zl the political, geographical and ->-»>«^,;-7^f ,1^ England, if the history of two such valuable add t.ons o tte crown of Britain, occurring about the same per.od, shou d u appear simultaneously, as the Gemini in the zod.ac of o. "t::!rh"rcapt. Ross returned from his expedition. .. Mr WDLmid, accomp-ed by two Esquimaux roug " Blankey. the mate, in a state of almost complete bimdn !d totally unable to accompany Commander Ross any « on his expedition. The attack of this disease, for .t scarcely be called any thing else, began to assume an a.p « he molt serious importance; five of the crew were on h ilt, as almost blind ; and it was we' I kn-wn. that several ot* LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 4;^' men, who were with Commander Ross, were suffering severely from a pain in Iheir eyes, which ahnost unfitted them for any of those arduous labors, which they were then undergoing. To the credit, however, of Mr. Mc'Diarmid, it must be stated, that from his judicious management, the patients speedily recovered ; although it became a matter of necessity, for some lime after^ wards, to protect the eye-sight from the dazzling glare ^of the snow, by wearing shades, or drawing the cap deeply over the forehead. The two Esquimaux, who had assisted in bringing Blankey to the ship, received a suitable present, and then took their de- parture for their station, at the south east. The principal occupation of the crew on board, at this time, was the completion of the lee boards, from which some great advantages were anticipated, in the navigation of the inlets; but the expectations, which had beon formed of them, were, as the sequel will show, by no means realized. On Sunday the 23rd, the two Esquimaux arrived, who were to have been at the ship on the preceding Sunday, for the pur- pose of acting as guides to Commander Ross ; and a proof was now exhibited, that there is a certain authority, which rules with an absolute sway, in the hut of the Esquimaux, as well as in the palace of St. James. Not that we mean to infer, that it IS an authority, which in the least displays itself at the latter *)Iace, for we cannot conceive an English king to be such a illy creature, as to allow himself to be ruled by a woman ; but, )n the other hand, we have a decided proof now before us,' liat it is an authority, which is practised to some extent in the >ut of the Esquimaux, and that, on the present occasion, it m put in full force, in despite of all resistance and opposition. ^he two Esquimaux declared, that it was their full intention to lave kept their appointment on the preceding Sunday, and ad made the necessary preparations for their departure, when, romsome cause, which could not be at the time explained,' lieir wives had entered into a confederacy to defeat their in- intions; declaring it to be their absolute will and pleasure, latthey should not join the expedition of the Kabloonas, and 480 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. leave their wives at home, to pine away the lonely hours in moping melancholy. In vain, the Esquimaux urged, that they were frequently absent from home for a greater length of time, on their fishing expeditions, than they would be, if they ac- companied the Kahloonas ; in vain they presented to the ima- gination of the domineering ladies, the value of the presents, which they should receive —files, fish-hooks, needles, and per', haps a string of beads— it was like talking to one of Capt. Ross' monuments of snow; the women had made up their minds, that their husbands should not go ; at the same time, like the women of other countries, they could not give a gooi or substantial reason for the resolution, which they had formod , it was a fancy, a whim, a conceit, a crotchet ; it was, in fad, just such a reason as nine-tenths of the women, born in the latitude of 52" north, can give for many of the actions, which they commit, and which contribute-.? so largely to the increase and permanency of domestic happiness. Our documents are silent as to the acts or manoeuvres practised by the Esqui-naux, to overturn the resolution of their wives, and thereby pormit- ting them to repair to the ship, with the view of accompanying,' some of the officers on their expedition ; and therefore it may be supposed to have proceeded from that constitui'onal fickleness of character, which has been the dowry of woman, since Eve commenced the deplorable work of the multiplication of the human species. The Esquimaux were very much disappointed, when they found, that Commander Ro^s had set out without them, but tliOT excused themslves for thoir n'-gloct in another way, by slat- ing.tlvatthey had mistaken the day, an J, in fact, from their riid' and uncertain method of calculation, it was scarcely possible to make them com;)reheod the exact day, that was meant. As to a prospective calctihition of three or fotir days, it was a task fir beyond their capacity, f. r, with th an| I.A9T VOYAGE OF CAPT. HOSS. 435 suo- e ro of the crew, should be brought into the cabin, when a deo-ree of selfishness was observed, which could not but tend to lowe°r their commander, in the good opinion of the whole of the crow. Jt was this narrow and illiberal mode of action, that Capt. Ross adopted towards his men, in all matters, which had any relation to the scientific objects of the expedition, that rendered the service in which they were employed, more galling and irksome than it' otherwise, would have appeared to them. Although one of thJ petty officers of the vessel was an excellent shot, and more su^ cessfulin his shooting expeditions, than any other of the crew, tl orders were peremptory, that all the birds, which he shot, we.. to be brought into the cabin; and if any of them would make a specimen, it was laid aside, in order to be skinned ; but if it was found, that it was not fit for a specimen, so determined was Capt. Ross, that no one but himself should possess a specimen of ■iny of the animals or birds common to the country, that, for the )urpose (,f so mutilating the animal or bird, as to prevent its lemg employed as a specimen, either a leg or a wing was cut iff. sometimes even its head, and then the carcass was delivered athe man, who shot it. he being allowed to have it dressed for lis dinner. Whatever the men shot, was obliged to be reported t> the cabin, with the same exactness and punctuality, as the -e searching for diamonds, or the labourer in a silver mine: and system of exclusive property, gave rise to many tricks and lancBuvres on the part of the crew, by which they got to the indward of their captain: and particularly in the case of tho oward, it was the means of his obtaining many specimens, hieh he would have succeeded in conveying to England, un.' nown to Capt. Ross, but for the ultimate abandonment of the "p. The plan generally adopted by the shooting parties, and pecialiy by Mr. Light, the steward, was to bury the game or her birds at a small distance from the ship, and then to take e first favorable opportunity of conveying them clandestinely ^ board, when the steward, to use his own words, was obliged be as sly as a mouse, whilst he was skinning the birds, giving e carcasses to some of the crew to make a meal of them. Many ^"yjoke passed m the sailors berths, at the expense of Capt. 438 I.A«T VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. Ross. When they were enjoying themselves over the roasted carcasses of the birds, that ought to have been regularly entered in the book of the cabin : and perhaps they were eaten with greater relish, because an interdiction was attached to them. Nor were the tricks unfrequent, that were passed upon the cap. lain, as he sat in judgement over the contents of the shool.ng bags • for, if it were known, that he wanted a specimen of a par- ticular bird, and they had been so fortunate as to shoot one. the most especial care was taken, before it was exhibited, to mut.. late it to such a degree, that it could never be made use of as a specimen : if, on the other hand, any kind of bird was killed, of which he had two or three specimens, it was laid before him, with all becoming gravity and submission ; and having despoiled it of some important member, it was as gravely, but not quite so sub- missively, returned to the person, who shot it. In fact, in this, a. well as in some other instances, it was the study of the crew in what manner they could over-reach their captain : at the same time, that he was congratulating himself, that no man m less imposed upon than himself; and when he surveyed his spe- cimens in his cabinet of curiosities, he chuckled at the thoughl, that from the strictness of the orders, which he had issued, he was the only person, who had a specimen of a King and Queen Duck • when, at the same time, there were two of the crew, who were in possession of a far better specimen than himself. On the 6th, a party were despatched from the ship, with some provisions for Capt. Ross ; and having deposited them at an ap. pointed place, they returned, bringing with them a gull and a plover which were cooked for the evening's repast, wiihoe having been subject to an examination in the cabin, respectiD| their fitness to be receivea into the cabinet of curiosities. Capt. Ross returned on the 7th, having been at NiM without having made any important addition to his previou knowledge of the geographical situation of the country, ( obtained any information, which could be of use to him as guide to his future operations. Capt. Ross was, however, ner. considered to be a communicative character, for, m ina« instances, although he and his nephew were engaged mtl LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 437 mne pursuit, and had the same end in view, yet there existed a reserve between them, as if each of them were afraid to com- niunicate their discoveries to one another, from the suspicion that if any merit were attached to them, it might be wrested from him, and the laurel planted on the brow, which did not deserve^it. The existence of this discordance was particularly visible in their examinations before the committee of the House of Commons, for they not only contradicted one another, on some most essential points, but, in some instances, the observations which Capt. Ross pretended to have made, were entirely new toCommander Ross, he never having heard of them before his ap- pearance in the committee room. In regard to the collection of specimens, Capt. Ross, as we have seen, issued his orders respecting them; but Commander Ross distinctly states, that he was the only person, who understood any thing about the subjects, to which they referred. Thus, in question 330, Com- mander Ross is asked. Did you conduct the observa^tions in geo- logy, natural history, and botany i.Such observations as were made upon (hose subjects, were of course conducted by myself. And collected the specimens ? — Fes, every thing of that kind. When you say you conducted them, do you mean, that they were confided to you by Capt. Ross?— Ab, they came to me as a natural consequence ; 1 was the only person, who at all under- stood the nature of those subjects, but I was not ordered to un- dertake them. J never received an order of avy kind from any person on that expedition. The most extraordinary instance of contradiction, however, 18 to be found in the opinion, which they respectively entertain of the danger attending the discovery of the North West Pas- age, and the advantages that are likely to accrue from it On this subject, Capt. Ross is asked, in the 196th question 'rom your experience of the Polar seas, do you conceive that ny further attempt to discover the North West Passage would >e attended with great danger? — 1 do. And if successful, would it be attended with any public bene- t i— / believe it would be utterly useless. The indications, that were relied upon in the beginning of 438 I-*»T VOYAOB or CAPT. K09S. these voyage. .,f discovery, a. to leading to the conclusion, that a passage might be found, have totally failed i-TA^v have been totally disproved. . Commander Ross being examined on the foregoing subject, and having slated his firm belief of the existence of a North West Passage; the question is put to him, supposing the North Western Passage to be accomplished, would it be at all bene- ficia to commerce ?-/< w 9««'« uncerlain, he answers, wkal benefit, may result from it-in favorable seasons it may h possible to get through it, mth i^ery link difficulty,- for tnstanee, on our last voyage we sailed in an ope« sea, v>here tt ts muall, covered with ice; but it was a remarkably favourable season, such seasons may occur periodically, if so. there would be m difficulty, on those occasions, in getting from Baffin s Bay t, Behring's Straits. Do you believe that any attempt to penetrate, would be at- tended with danger J-No/AM? more than th^ ordinary dang» of navigating the northern seas. Any more than in a common whaling expedition !-Jtfo«, except a little more perhaps from being unnecessarily close,, with the lard, but nothing to deter the attempt. Thus, in the first place, we have the exhibition of Capt. Ros) not only collecting specimens himself in natural history, but pre- venting every one under him from collecting any ; at the samettn.., that we have the statement from the m.mth of his nephew, that hi. uncle does not understand any thing about natural history, .. any of the sciences, which so particularly engaged his om immediate attention during the voyage; and we have aright, therefore, to draw the inference, that whatever scientific dis. coveries were made, or which may be laid before th. pu I.., in the work to be published under the immediate inspert... and sanction of Capt. Ross, are in no ways to be attributed to In,.- self, but to his more accomplished nephew, on whom the wh.1. burthen of the undertaking seems to have rested. In fact, it i. impossible to peruse the evidence of the committee of the Urn of Commons, without being forcibly struck with the dispositi.., which appears to have actuated some of the members of H 1A8T VOYAGE OF CAFT. UOSS. 439 just 10 put tl.ose questions to him, which are intended to elicit an answer favorable to his cause; and, in some instances, the questions are so decidedly of that kind, denominated amoncrst the lawyers as leading ones, that it is scarcely possible to'divest the mmd of the idea, that the routine of catechetical inqruiry Lad been previously arranged, and that Capt. Ross was per- fectly prepared for the questions, that would be put to him We will take for example, the following questions, and' who will then dispute, that Capt. Ross is not an excellent fencer The members of the committee were naturally desirous to know the exact scientific objects, which had been attained by the expe dition; accordingly the 53rd question runs-What are the scien tilic objects, which you conceive to have been attained by your expedition ?-and we doubt not that the members were sitting auirechs auribus, to hear the statement of all the objects so attained, and on which the claim of Capt. Ross, for remunera- tion from the country, was partly founded. We can, however imagine them looking at each other, with no little tokens of surprise, when the answer was given as follows: "When near the magnetic pole, we were then in a position, where the hori- zontal^ compass has no power of traversing to any particular point. Now, this answer has as much reference to the question and must have been as satisfactory to the propounder of it as the answer, which was given by the Frenchman, who, on meet- mg one of his countrymen in Piccadilly, and wishing to show his knowledge of the English language, politely accosted him saying "Good a morning, Sare, did it rain to-morrow?" to which he received the most significant answer of " Yes, it vas." What the Frenchman could make of the answer of his countryman, we know not,— nor do we know, what the members of the com-' mittee could make of the answer of Capt. Ross-it certainly had not any reference to the question, that was put to him, but he committee were satisfied, that the scientific objects, which le had attained, consisted in telling them of a particular cir- ^umstance, which every tyro in science must have Known ^ould be the case, were he ever to arrive at the position, which ^apt. Ross describes. 440 LAST VOYAOE OF C»PT. R09S. If however, we turn to U.e question,, whicl. carry «itl, th,™ the tamp of premeditation and mutual adjustn.ent, we have .miy to mentL Jho«,, wl.ich are put to Capt. Ro.», on the subjoe, of the magnet. To allege that, amongst the members of ,h. committee, there were not .ome individuals of acUnowMgod talent, were to expose ourselves to the imputation of a wlful pe,. version of facts ; but it does not follow, that those men of talent ever ioined the committee, for, as five were a quorum, it is possible that, as the committee sat only three days, it was composed of the non efficients, with Sir Andrew Agnew in the cha.r, who, in consequence of the valuable information obtained from Capt. Ross, intends, in the next session of Parliament, to extend te provisions of his Bill for the better Observance of iio Sabbath, to the Esquimaux nation. The questions, to which we allude, .re as follows We do not aver exactly, that Sir Andrew Agnew v,as the honorable member, who put the questions to Capt. Ross; but that they were put by some one. who had had a peep be- hind the curtain, and had learned his part properly, cannot ad,«>l of a doubt. /r . f Capt Ross having explained to the members, the effects .1 li,.ht, heat, and all other combinations, upon the magnet i. asked,-Did you remark, whether light, such as the hght of. candle, had any influence upon it (the magnet) ! he answers :- The light of a candle has also an effect upon it. Did vou remark, that any metallic substance produced a. effect on the magnet? — Fes. The buttons of your coat?-ne buttons of my coat fo^ duced an effect upon the magnet. Capt Ross considers, that the discovery of light, especially the light of a candle, having an influence on the magnet, is a crreat desideratum in science ; we have, therefore, considered il proper to bestow upon that discovery, our most special notice in order that all those, whose lives depend on the correctne of the compass, may regulate their course accordingly, and mak the necessary distinction, between the time when the candle burning, and when it is exanguished. In regard to the covery that the buttons of hi« coat had an influence on m LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. 441 magnet, we will unhesitatingly express our firm conviction, thut not even the talented Sir Robert Peel, the gallant Sir Edward Codrington, nor Ireland's champion, Daniel O'Connell, all being members of the committee, would have thought of the buttons on the coat, if, like the toasts, which are given to the toast- master, it had not been sot down in the Itsi, as a question, which could be very easily answered, and to which very little consequence was attached, whether answered in the affirmative or the negative. At all events, we are certain, that no bailor will substitute brass buttons for cloth ones, in consequence of the disrovery of Capt. Ross; or that he will make any difference in his reckoning, whether ho has on a plain Flushing jacket, or his best Sunday coat, with a double row of brass buttons glit- tering on either side. It must, however, be remarked, that Capt. Ross, in several in- sliinoes, intimates to the committee, that he withholds from them certain points of information, as it might prove prejudicial to liis forthcoming publication; and, therefore, we can only com- ment upon that part of the evidence, which is before us ; and we do not hesitate to affirm, that Capt. Ross is highly obli- gated to every member of the committee, who questioned him: for, had they been well-paid advocates, they could not have exerted themselves more strenuously for the benefit of their client, by putting such questions to him as tended to enhance the merits of his services, although they had no immediate re- ference to the voyage, for which the reward waste be awarded to liim. Thus, a considerable portion of the examination is taken up in discussing the extentof his discoveries during ihe first voyage in 1819, every question of which is so regulated as to Wd to an affirmative answer, and declaratory of the great services, which he rendered to commerce, and particularly to llie whale fishery, as he was ihe first, who proved to the whalers, lliat it was possible to cross Baffin's Bay from Disco to" Lancaster Sound; and that he had also discovered the place where the whales resort to breed : which place, however, if he did dis- "ver it, he has forgotten wholly to mention in the history of his oyage. >9. 8l ^4'2 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROS9. To return, however, to our narrative. On the 7th of June, Capt Ross returned /rom his expedition, bringing with him some birds* of various kinds, and some fish, that he had caught in salt water with a number of salmon, which he had caught in the lakes • he had also seen hundreds of rein-deer, but not within rana-e'of his shot. He left some provisions for Commander Ross. on In island, which proved a very seasonable supply for him. On the l^th, the Esquimaux came to t'lie ship, who went to Shagerwak for his canoe. He brought with him his wife and family • the former of whom went by the name of Mrs. Tiggula. geoo ' She was, however, by no means a lady of the most refined and delicate habits; for, being apparently of a sulky and taci- turn disposition, she paid very little attention to the objects around her ; but her chief amusement appeared to be, to pick the vermin out of her head, and to eat them, giving her children, now and then, one to taste, as a kind of relish to them. On the 14th, several of the crew were taken alarmingly ill with a complaint in the bowels, and it became the general be. Mef that it was occasioned by the victuals being cooked in the apparatus, which' was Slater's patents; the boilers of which were made of copper, but the tin lining of which was found to be worn off. The steward was so ill that he was obliged to ke.p his bed, which he did for three days; by judicious treatment. however, he was off the sick list on the fifth day. On the evening of the 14th, Commander Ross returned, bring- ing back with him only two of his dogs, out of nine; having been under the painful necessity of killing some of them, as food for the others. He had been absent twenty-eight days from the ship during which time, the stock of provisions, wnich he had taken with him for his dogs had become completely exhausted; every attempt had failed to catch a seal, and no other alterna- tive was left, than to kill a dog, to keep the others even in com- mon condition to draw the sledges. It was not, however, on^ the painful feelings, which the death of the dogs excited in the breast of Commander Ross, but it was also the great embarrass. ment, into which he was thrown, by the defalcation of the only power by which the aim of his expedition could be accomplished. LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS 443 With the death of the do^s, an extra degree of labor fell upon the men, for that, which the animals were accustomed to perform ,.ow devolved upon the former ; and severe, indeed, were the difficulties, against which they had to contend ; at the same time, that they were destitute, in some measure, of that support, «l.ich was necessary to support their strength, or maintain the regular state of their health. On their arrival at the ship the men appeared like human skeletons : their flesh shrivelled their countenances wan and doleful, their gait feeble and tottering and their general appearance bespeaking the liberatea inmates' of a prison, or a few miserable objects, who had esc.ped from he city of the p! ifne. The result of this expedition was any thing but fortunate, or cheering; in fact, to whatever quarter Commander Ross directed his course, the conviction became still stronger impressed upon him, that, in regard to the ultimate object of the expedition the prospect before him was one of the most disheartening nature. The extent of his researches to the southward, had lot indeed been very wide, but as he never conjectured, that ihe passage was to be found in that quarter, he had not paid uch particular attention to it, as he had done to the westward It was, however, his comparatively total failure in the latter yarter, which determined him to prosecute his researches fur- tier to the southward ; and, with that perseverance, ar ' un- daunted fortitude, which are the prominent feature,, ii. his character, he determined upon another expedition to the south- rad, taking with him, however, that material, the want of V ith was so severely felt on his preceding excursions, and ■^hich contributed in a great degree to their failure. Tiieraonthof Junemay be denominated the sporting season the Esquimaux country: the birds have migrated from the outh, and not a day elapsed, but some of the crew of the Vic »7 came home laden with the spoils of the chase. There was, ^^ever, something rather unsportsmanlike in their proceed- 'gs, for they killed the hares, although big with young, from "e of which, Commander Poss took four young ones ; the fouse were shot in the very act of incubation ; the deer, in the I 444 I^AST VOYAGE OF CAPT, ROSS. act of brin-in- forth its young; in fact, every consideration, >.hich influences the conduct of the genuine sportsman appeared ,vith then, to be of no eftect-if their bag were only filled; the circumstances, under which it was accomplished, were nover taken into the account. Amongst the most beautiful of the birds that were killed, were the mountain hawks, or the great northern diver, two of which were shot in one day, by Robert Shreeve, the cari)enter's mate, the male bird weighing 13tbs, 3oz and the female Otbs lOoz. They were delivered over to Capt. Ross, and they appeared as no secondary ornament in his cabinet of curiosities. Commander Ross having determined to take another excursion, the crew were employed, from the 21st to the 'Z4th, preparing the necessary materials, provisions, &c., for the journey. I rom the great mortality, that had taken place amongst the dogs, ,n the last excursion, it was found difficult to supply their place; for the crew, partly from fatigue, and partly from sickness, were by no means in a fit condition to undertake any very severe labor ; none of which was, perhaps, more hard and try i„g to the constitution, than the dragging of a sledge over the snow, when the surface had in any degree yielded to the in- fluence of the sun. In winter, when the snow, froro. the effect of the frost, presents a hard, solid, and almost impenetrable sur- lace the sledge passes over it with little or no corporeal labor, as smoothly as over a sheet of ice; but when the snow begii. to thaw, the sledge penetrates deeply into it, forming a rut like a plough over a field, and the draught then becomes op pressive and severe. On the -iSth, ten of the ablest hands set out with the boat, to convey it to a certain distance, where Commander Ross was to take it up, he being in great hopes, with the aid of this boat to cross the various creeks and inlets, which proved such - obstacle to him on his former expedition ; at the same time, t it was of that fragile make, as to offer little safety or pro tection, when navigating amongst heavy bodies of ice, impellei by the different currents, and thereby driven against the smalki borgs, which were grounded at the bottom. The men left tin LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. 445 ship, at 8 oVIock in the raorninjr, and Commander Ross fol- lowed them the same ni^ht at 9, having- twelve days provisions with him. During the whole of the 24th, the carpenter was employed in getting the pumps in order, and on the following day, the sliip was pumped clear, it being the first time that it had been performed for nine months; the stench of the bilged water was, however, so great as almost to sicken the men ; ai \ when it is considered, that closely, and compactly as the ship may have been built, it was scarcely possible to prevent a portion of the noxious effluvium from escaping, some degree of surprise is naturally excited, that the health of the crew should have been 80 long preserved, or that the ship should have escaped some of those epidemical diseases, which are the consequence of inhal- ing a tainted atmosphere. The labor of the pumping being completed, the crew were set to work to cut the ship clear, as it was found she had a list or inclination to the starboard ; after considerable difficulty, hey succeeded in righting her about 6 inches, but still she' lad a considerable leaning, which, as it occasioned a severe pressure upon her starboard timbers, it became a matter of ?reat importance to remedy the evil with all possible expe- lition. From the thickness of the ice, it was, however, found mpracticable at that time to bring the ship to her proper level, ind, therefore, she was obliged to be left in a straining position,' ^ it was not feasible to support her on the starboard side, by he props usually employed on those occasions. On the 26th, the wind came on to blow hard from the west, lut several hands were sent with the dinegy, to a lake with the eine, with the expectation of catching some fish, but after aving spent almost the whole of the day, they returned in the vening, without a single fish. This attempt was made upon le report of some of the Esquimaux, who spoke largely of the uaD«- y of fish, that were to be caught in the adjoining lako^ jd the first experiment did not tend to induce the crew to l«fe any great confidence in the different reports, the truth of •>ith, they had yet to confirm. 446 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. The effects of the extreme fatigue, which some of the crew had undergone, in the late excursion with Commander Ross, now began to show themselves, for of the few, that were left on board, seven were laid up with swelled legs: the conse. quence of fatigue, superadded to a constant exposure to the severity of the weather, and especially to their extremities being perpetually subject to an extraordinary degree of cold. Moderate exercise was prescribed for them, but with some the complaint appeared to be of an obstinate nature, and very unwilling to yield to any of the remedies recommended, deficiency of manual power was, however, at this period to be particularly deplored : for a number of hands were almost al. ways absent on an expedition, either with Capt. Ross or hi nephew ; and the season having arrived, when the preparations were to be made for proceeding on the voyage, an extra portion of duty fell to those, who were left on board, and which was the instigation of many complaints, which Capt. Ross, in some instances, scarcely knew how to redress, as tbey were actually founded on right and justice, and by no means in contravention of the discipline of the ship. The men expressed their readiness to perform the regular, and allotted duties of the ship, but they also required their stated periods of rest and relaxation. Thus, the larboard and star board watches were in tluty bound to work during their spective watches, but, at the expiration of the stipulated per of four hours, they were not in the least inclined to prolon their labors, but turned in, into their hammocks, as regularly a horse into his stall, or a pig into his stye. This was, how- ever, a system, considering the extreme paucity of hands, whicl could not be allowed, consistently with the despatch, that wa necessary for the repairs and the rigging out of the ship. I vain did Capt. Ross expound to them the urgent necessity of uii remitting labor; in vain did he hold out to them, that the (lis covery of the North West Passage was in immediate prospec before them, and which was only to be accomplish'^d by puttin' the Victory in a proper state to prosecute her voyage ; — in regan to the first, although it might be evident to them, that thew re- tAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. RoSS ^j co^pl, with it;-a' ; iLl7he::" '" """"^ ''"•'"'' '» .an. point, it n,igh. be .rue "h^at th 7 "'"' "'"' ''"P"'" WestPassage was before tbej b . ,„ Tr^^"' ""' '^'-"' •heirobdurateand obstinate Z'p ell onthrt^ """ '"'" of the expedition had any leiral „rn! f , '^'"'""""der .he acc„„p,ish.e„t of it! "1"^ r^^^ t^'VYr "''' perhaps, eventually „f their lives The^ t K ' ""''• r.!ion, whether the excursions on land we're to blT " ^"""^ .r.he risk run of not havingthe ship in a ope tarorr"^"' ment, on the breaking ud nf th^ ,• « I^^*^ state of equip. Co.n,a„der Ross was'r ^afdl uls^'T™'' '"^ '">''^- ™ id'e .0 talk of prosecutii TZl t T""'""' '""' " »hioh they then lay. without'first ascTr !L . «Lr"^;' '" Ike geographical situation of the country t" ' ^""^ ™^e any progress at all; or whet thj :err:ot'T^'"; " ...he utmost extent of their voyage as Tar as.r T"'"^' .esterly was to be considered CVm Bo . '*"''="°" ''/'"-nrallible way to s;ive'r XT: C:; •"' »».aot with the land wmI ^ "'"" """' '" «»'""< " ""' lana, which was to constitnia .i, i »ir further progress. . constitute the barrier to Prudence and Foresight had something to do in th.V. . • .h« opinion of Commander Ross and some^h ^'"'"» ™ to foolhardiness was the nalt of ,7 "^ ""'^ """^'^ -= the sequel will perhaj: sC o ^^ Te" '"" d' ?""" « correct judgment ought to be awarded ^ T "^ ""^ ^forward with some feelings of LZ,! ' *"""''' "" ■-"anner, i„ which Capt rIs will I ''""-■'''"^ *" "'"'"" •ii'^Ss of the voyage from hi fi '""'"?^'^"'''' *''e pro- h»"r. and whether t ^, have thl . ""' """""^ -"«" '."- existed in ^^ ^^^fZ ::rtt T^ •.«tb. most richly deservin«- of it *° "■"« '"dtvidual, '".ng the temporary absence of Capt Ross fr„„ ,u , . -venmg p...^ cer. without soL ofTheZ tajg 448 tA8T VOYAGE OF CAPT. R0S9. the ship, on a shooting excursion, and seldom they returned, without a considerable booty. They discovered, that the geese had begun to lay on the margin of the lakes, and their eggs formed a dainty and wholesome repast. The eggs, on being weighed, were found on an average to be 4^ ounce«-ofa dingy white, faintly speckled; and the discovery of a goose's nest, where the process of incubation had not begun, was regarded by them in the light of a treasure; to the natives however, it appeared to be a matter of very trifling import. whether the egg were fresh laid, or whether it were within a few days of being hatched ; half a dozen eggs beaten up willi the young ones, in all the stages of their growth, from the first development of the form, to the complete formation of the fetus, proved to the natives, what a dish of callipash and callipeeis to the gormandizing alderman; nor were they very particular.as to the embryos being wholly divested of the shells, for the iattei appeared to be nearly of the same use, as beans in the feed of horse, to force hiin to masticate the oats more thoroughly. The quantity of fowl, which was daily brought to the shij proved of essential service, not only in promoting the health i the crew, by affording them a regular supply of fresh fooi but it tended to husband the resources of tlie ship, which, a they were ignorant of the duration of their voyage, was a matte of serious consideration. Trifling as was the information, which Capt Ross lia obtained on a former expedition, he determined o^. anoth er.cursion, which the sailors designated by the appropriai appellation of a tramp, which, in their vocabulary, signified journey without knowing the place, to which their course w to be directed. Accordingly, early on the morning of the 291 a party were sent forward to the distance of about 9 miles, wi the boat, provisions, &c., and having deposited them in a certa place, some of the men were to return to the ship, whilst tl remainder were to await the arrival of Capt. Ross. During absence of the men from the ship, an Esquimaux arrived w his wife and two children, bringing with them a small saira of the weight of 10 ounces. The fish was immediately deliver LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R09S. 449 over to the cook, to dress it with the sauce a la Maiire D' Hotel as a seasonable repast for Capt, Ross, previously to the journey,' which he was on the eve of commencing-. From the report given by these Esquimaux, the lakes in the vicinity abounded with salmon, but thoir means of catchin- them were so confined, that they were frequenllv in a starving condition, although they saw shoals of tish in the water from which they could have derived their subsistence for some months to come. On Capt, Ross' expressino- |,is doubt of the truth of the report touching (he quantity offish in the lakes, arisincr f.om the total failure, which some of the crew experienced in fishir.o. in one of them, when not a single fish was caught, the Esquimaux" apparently hurt at the want of faith, that uas reposed in himi )irered to accompany Capt. Ross to the lakes, where his wordi ;oiild be verified, and if such were not the case, he would fore- j'o ail claim to any reward, which might otherwise be his due This offer would have instantly been accepted bv Cr.pt. Ross, but IIS party were in waiting for him at some distance, in a direction pposite to the lakes, and therefore he informed the Esquimaux. Iiat although he could not at that time take advantage of hiJ Ifer, yet, if he would return after ten seniks, he would give im a handsome reward. This, the Esquimaux promised to per- )rm, hut he had not then asked the consent of his wife, and it 1 certainly a great act of folly in any man, to enter into a con- act for the performance of an action, when it i:, actually de- endent upon the authority of an individual, who has not'been insulted at the time, and who, by nature, is so wavering and iconstanf, that that which she approves of to-day, is reprobated id discountenanced to-morrow. Capt. Ross had received two oofs of the fragility of an Esquimaux's promises, and, there- re, he did not place any great reliance on that, which he had St then received. He might indeed have received some con- mationof it from the mouth of the wife herself; but, to the eat surprise of Capt. Ross, she was discovered to be dumb, 'ich, so far from provinjy a drawback to her marriage, invested Mvith the character of one of the best wives amongst the Es- |maux people. The infirmity of the wife led Capt. Ross to '^' 3 M 45) LAST VOYAOB OF CAPT. R099. believe that, in this instance, the promise would be Icept ; and, hiiving rewarded them with a couple of fish-hooks for the salmon, whicirthey had brought, they left the ship, bending their course to the south east. At 7 o clock in the evening, Capt. Ross left the ship on liis excursion, but half an hour had scarcely elapsed, before one of the party returned, with the intelligence that the sledge h^l broken down, and that the carpenter was to accompany him to the spot, for the purpose of repairing it. Towards evening some more of the party returned, having seen on iheir way five deei with their fiiwns. On the following day, the whole of the crew were on tlie alert, with the hope of falling in with the deer and the fasvns, but, after spending nearly the whole of the day in quest of them, they returned with only two geese and three plovers. The crew were now chiefly employed in painting the mast heads, and rigging out of the ship, in which they were encoii- raged by the thought, that they were then fitting the masts, which were to bear their sails into seas, where a sail had never been reefed before, and which were to be filled with the breeze, that was to waft them to a land, untrodden as yet by European foot, and which was to carry their names down to posterity, as the greatest, the noblest of British mariners. On the 3rd of July, Commander Ross returned from his excur sion, and on the same evening Capt. Ross returned, brin^in? with him a heavy load of fish, which he had obtained fromtlie Esquimaux, amounting to between four and five hundred pounds. These were fish, that the Esquimaux had buried since lasl August or September, it being their custom, in general, to bun in the snow their superfluous stock, to which they repair in tin winter when short of provisions, but, notwithstanding thei habitual gluttony, they will sometimes endure the utmost ej treme of hunger,' rather than undergo the fatigue of travellm to their stow-holes, to fetch away a part of their contents. Tl whole of these fish were as hard as a rock, from the intensity i the frost, but, on beina thawed, the juices of the fish appeare to be as fresh as on the day of their capture. This great nur LAST VOYAGK OF CAPT. ROSS. 45| Der of fish were obtained for a seal knife; but Capt. Ross was obliged to leave a still greater number behind him, which a party were to be sent from tlie s!.ip, on the following day, to fetch away. Capt. Ross saw two bears, and salmon innumerable, of which he was resolved to take the advantage, by sending a party with a net to catch them. Commander James could have almost expended his ammunition in firing at the different animal,s, par- ticularly deer and bears; but, not being possessed of the means of conveying them to the ship, from the inability of the crew to (ira^ the sledges, he forbore firing at them, although, in some in- stances, he found it necessary to check the audacity of the bears, 1.V a visitation from one of his rifle balls, and to show them, that lie was perfectly prepared for them, if they should presume to make an attack. On Sunday the 4th of July, a ratio of three pounds of salmon, and four ounces of rice, was served to each man, in lieu of pre- served meats, and from its being a complete change of diet, ivith the prospect of its continuance, the crew exhibited some pecimensofthe prevalent vice of their new acquaintance, the Esquimaux, in gluttony; from which, however, no ill effects merited themselves on the following day, although it was in ome measure to be feared, from the peculiar state in which the ish were dressed. Late in the evening the parly returned, which had been de- pfitched for the fish, which Capt. Ross had left behind him, and le number, which they now brought, was considerably greater lan that, which had been brought by Capt. Ross. These fish ere, however, not all of them the produce of the last year's Ty, for the greater part of them were fresh caught. The i were immediately set to work to clean out a tank, that had pen obtained from the stores of the Fury, for the purpose of reserving the fish, as a supply for the ensuing winter. The ethod of stowing away the fish, was performed by first laying thick layer of snow at the bottom of the tank, then a layer of fi, and so on until the tank was filled. The Esquimaux, in wing away their fish, never adopted the plan of gutting them, which an unpleasant flavor was imparted to the flesh, ^52 I-A9T V< YAGK OF CaPT. KObS. especially that part, which was contiguous to the liver ; it wa«, however, no trifling occupati.ni for the crew of the Victory, t» gut and clean between two and three hundred fish; and as it was considered an extra labor, apart from the usual routine of the duty of the ship, there were some amongst the crew, who, not- withstanding the hearty meal, which the fish had afforded them on the preceding day, heartily wished, that there was not a salmon to be caught in any of the lakes of the country. On the 7th July, Capt. Ross had the satisfaction of emanci- pating from their thraldom the major portion of the pieces of the steam engine, which had been imbedded in the ice, ever since the Victory had been in her present harbour. The acqui- sition of them was, however, scarcely worth the labor, wh.ch was bestowed upon it, for their value was now only merely relative, as to the uses, to which they might be afterwards ap. plied, for in themelsves they were nothing more than so many pieces of useless lumber. Durincr an excursion, which two of the crew made this day, for the°purpose of intercepting some of the deer, which were observed bending their course to the northward, they fell io with an old fox, which had seven cubs. After some manoeuvring, they ffot within shot of the mother, and soon killed her. when h.r entire progeny were caught by the sailors, and conveyed on board. r *u On Sunday the 9th, «n Esquimaux came to the sh.p. for the purpose of informing Capt. Ross, that he had a number of sa mon in a stow-holc, which it was his desire to dispose of; and a party was shortly afterwards sent with the Esquimaux to con- vey the salm.m to the ship ; the remuneration demanded, bcir.? only a file and a seal knife. The party returned in the evenn,. with 163 f sh; 105 being dried, and the remainder not dried. In speaking of these fish, which were called salmon, t e) n.ust not be supposed to come to any thing approaching t • size of the fish caught in the rivers of Scotland or England ; fact, thev can only be considered as a species of trout, tor i whole 163 weighed only l-21tbs. 6oz., which is not a pound ^ a fish The number, that were caught, however, appea; Ill Koss LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R083. 453 actually incredible, nor in one instance could we ourselves* give credit to it, on the statement of only one of the crew, that was present, but we made the enquiry of another of the crew, and he fully corroborated the statement of his messmate. On the 15ih, two of the old Esquimaux came to the ship, and formed Capt. Ross, that they were going to fish; Commander OSS determined to accompany them, for. if their report were true, a few hauls with the net uould furnish them with an ample .supply for the whole of the ensuing winter. The Esquimaux rcniuined on board all night, and early in the following morning, Cointnunder Ross and Mr. Mc'Diarmid started with them, attended by eight men and two sledges. The rep rt of the natives, respecting the number of salmon, tl.at swarm in these lakes, was soon verified, for, on the first haul with the net, they brought 5:iO on shore !_and the next haul, 1130!! Nothing, however, could exceed the surprise and j .y of the Esquimaux, when they saw such a shoal offish tumbling .n shore, accustomed as they had nitherto been to catch them nly by two or three at a time, according to the number of looks, which they might have in their possession. Or. this occasion, however, when they saw the fish coming in shoals on ^hore, they jumped into the water, uttering the loudest excla- nations of joy, and began to ladle the fish out with their hands, browing them as far upon the land as possible ; but the most extraordinary of all their motions was, the manner, in which hey would have killed the fish, had they been permitted by Commander Ross; for, taking the fish in their hands, they car- led it to their mouth, and opening it to its full extent, bit off- lie back part of the head of the fish, not disdaining to eat the itten part in its raw state, and to all appearances with an ex- uisite degree of relish. Commander Ross had, however, lived H enough in his native country to know, ihat there were other eople besides the Esquimaux, who consider the jowl of the 'Imon by no means as an inferior part of the fish, and therefore efelt no great inclination to have all his fish mutilated in that jarter, where the epicure looks for his dainty morsel of gristle. ■•"'^'- it impossible to convey all the fish to the ship. Com-* 454 LAST VOYAGB OF CAPT. R088. mander Ros8 gave the Esquimaux as many as they could carry; and he «-ave them to understand, that after three semks, he should be at the lake again, when, if he were equally success. ful, a further supply should be given them. On the nih, the mess-berth of the crew was removed to the fore head, for the purpose of having the winter one cleaned, and painted : for, what with the constant burning of the lamps and other accidental causes, the winter habitation had assumed a blackness, very much resembling a blacksmith's forge, or the interior of a gasometer. '< Black were its sides, as dens ol Erebriis, And they, who dwelt therein, look'd like the fiends, Who in Tartarean caves the damned vex, And from their throats belch forth huge wreaths of smoke, Of sulphurous stench, stifling the breath of life " A part of the labor of the crew now consisted in getting ou board the flags, pikes, &c. as well as all the instruments, that had been used in the observatories; and every thing indicated the approaching departure from a place, which might never be visited again, and where few circumstances had occurred to ren- der the recollection of it agree ible. The m .nument of sno^ would in a short time be the only record, that the place had been visited by the stranger : but there was no one left behind, to tell whither he was gone, or the fate, that had befallen him. The rigging of the ship was now nearly finished ; on the 20th, the crow's nest was got up, and the Victory, as the sailors e)!. pressed themselves, began to look like herself again; on the •ilst, some of the sails were bent, and the crew got their chests and bedding ashore, for the purpose of giving them a proper airing previously to moving into the half-deck. The sailors were, however, greatly tormented by the mosquitoes, which swam in those latitudes in the summer months, and from which thej could scarcely find any protection either by night or day. The chief businessof the Esquimaux, at this season of the ycai LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 455 appeared to be. the transportation of their hoards of fish from one station to another ; for it was remarked, that they never fixed their habitations twice in tiie same place, which imposed upon them an additional degree of trouble, for it was natural to suppose, that they would build their huts where their magazines were to be found : on the contrary, they built their huts at a distance from their stores, on the principle, we suppose, that it is not so well to take the horse to the water, as to bring the water to the horse. In pursuance of his appointment with the two Esquimaux, Commandei Ross repaired, after the three seniks, to the fishing lake, and, on his arrival there, he found, that his acquaintance had been there several hours before him On observing him ap- preaching, they set up a loud shout of joy, and placed them- selves in the most grotesque attitudes, pointing to the lake, as if declaratory that the cause of their joy was there to be looked for. On arriving at the margin of the lake, Commander Ross was well able to account for their transports of joy. for the lake appeared actually as if it were filled with fish. No time was lost in throwing in the seine, and at the first haul they brought out 3,4nO! the seine threatening to break every moment, with the weight of the fish. There is only one other haul of fish on re- ord, which can stand the comparison with this most wonderful Iraught of fishes : but the former, was a miracle, the latter, a latural occurrence. The tacksmen of the salmon fisheries of Scotland, however, would look upon a haul of 3,400 salmon in nenet, as one of the greatest miracles, that ever happened in "leir country, since their patron Saint Andrew fed, and satisfied le hunger of three hundred of their highland countrymen with bullock's liver. . The number of men on the sick list were still great; nor was loir progress to recovery so rapid, as the nature of their com- lamt had originally led their medical attendant to suppose jould be the case. Daily exercise was prescribed to them : and |e facility, with which fresh provisions were obtained, excited strongest hope, that the complaint would soon yield to the 456 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R0S9. regimen, that was prescribed. A slight indication of scurvy alw) manifested itself at this time, which excited greater alarm than any other complaint, with which the crew were afflicted: for the scurvy on board a ship, the small-pox in a Hottentot villao-e and the cholera in an Indian army, are similar in their mortal consequences. As Commander Ross did not return the same night, from ins fishing expedition, some apprehensions were entertained, that an accident had befallen him, and accordingly a party were sent from the ship, to ascertain the cause of his protracted stay. Half way from the ship, however, he was seen advancing ; his sledges so laden with fish, that the dogs, with the assistance of the men, could scarcely drag them along. It appeared, from the report, which he gave, that he threw the net in a second timo, entirely for the benefit of the natives, and the number of fish caught, amounted to 2,360 : making altogether, in two hauls, the almost incredible number of 5,760 fish ! 1 Commander Rom appropriated only 600 to himself; leaving the remainder to be disposed of by the natives amongst themselves, according to their own will and pleasure. This step, on the part of Cora mander Ross, was one of great kindness and humanity toward the poor creatures ; for one of their chief means of subsistence during the winter, or, when the seals begin to get scarce, is their hoards offish, which they may have caught during the summer ; and two such hauls, as had been obtained by Com- mander Ross, was nearly sufficient to place the whole of llie tribe out of the fear of suffering from want, for the whole ofti) ensuing winter, independently of the ample supply of food, whic it furnished them for the present time. If the minds of the Esquimaux were inclined, previously tc the capture of so many fish, to entertain the belief, that the strangers were beings of a supernatural cast, the late eveiii! were well calculated to confirm them in that opinion ; for it va^ far beyond the limits of their conception, to comprehend, thai the capture of nearly 6000 fish, at two hauls, could be accoin plished by any other beings than those, who had the subj tA«T VOTAOE OF CAPT. ROSS. 487 of the animal world under their dominion, and which, therefore hastened m swarms to be killed, whenever it was the will of Ihe.r masters, that their lives should be sacrificed. It was the intention of Commander Ross, to have left with the natives a piece of netting, sufficiently large to enable them to catch a Inmted number of fish at a time, and it would have been a kind of boon to the nation at large; but his good intentions were fmstrated by the misconduct of the Esquimaux themselves, who in return for his generosity, in having bestowed upon them' such, number offish, attempted to steal one of his nets, an .ct,i„ his eyes, which rendered them undeserving of any future act of kindness. ^ j On the 22nd, two of the crew were sent inland, for the pur- po^of bringing some of the articles, which Commander Ross bad left m a particular place, from his inability to convey them t« the ship, on account of his heavy load of fish, which he had to convey ; and on their return to the ship, they brought with them .hve leveret which they had hunted down, and which it was >„ hope, that they should be able to keep alive during the remainder of the voyage. These men also brought home some small birds, which they M kil ed for their tameness was so great, that they were able fc knock them down with their poles. They alumst verified the escription in Cowper's beautiful lines, supposed to be written b Alexander Selkirk:— I ? ,' , " They are so unacquainted with man. Their tameness is shocking to me." lOn the a4th July, the ship, for the first time since its beinff Hed up, was entirely free from ice, and the launch was f rly so. The feelings of the crew may be easily imagined, jthe near prospect, which presented itself, of their emancipation Imalong, dreary, and helpless state of entanglement ; and [extreme delight, with which the seamen, imprisoned as they f been for so many months, - in thrilling regions of thick 458 l'A»^ VOYAGE OF CAPT. R089. ,.bbed ice." looUea forward to the ti«,e, "he" once m„,e on tWu own element, they would listen to the shr.ll wh.s.le, t " Which doth order give , : , ■ To sound, confus'd, and mark the threaden .ail.. Borne with the invisible and creeping wind, Draw the hoge bottom, through the furrow'd «ea, Breasting the lofty surge." Early in the morning of the 25th, Commander Ross took .« • ,„ the cououv for the purpose of gathermg flower,, mI^ .^hat might fa., in his ^^^j;^^:^^ r;.":^r.d"'.:viit;:eV :::::: .„ ah^perhL. tha Flora -"'^^^; '"J^^,, ,^^^ ,h, few "winged inhabitanU TfTal ' Iha Ithrgaudy dies and glittering hue. whi. al.tht the eye in tropical climes. Here, there was no roam,.; I firty in the sun-.it fields, and sequestered de.ls wher. tb. l£ primro., the golden buttercup, the s^end^ o^J« The danLg daffodil, and the sweet-scented -»';»"; P-J'; . .A Here vou cou.d not lie at your length at mid-day, rrle ofl'/broad-breasted mountain, pur,e with - flower entranced with silent extacy ; or s.t on a shady ban ! I' on the earliest primrose of the year, w.th adm.n Sr, or bend in a retired nook, with intensity of .n.e. Tver ho blue minute flower of the forget-me-not. No-.h Na tu e «as seated on her throne of sterility, in thevery ver ^ her empire •, some tiny flower, to which a., odour was den aid pa.e and faint in colours, peeped through some crevio ;!ck shrinking from the sui.en b.ast, which at times swep » Id appafently conscious of the brevity of its exis« S^me stinL'd blades of grass, which had borne the weigW ,„ow of an arctic winter, shot forth their spiral h-d^ ■" -■ tufts, yielding to the hare its scanty food, but forbid « natu eto bear a seed. The pilgrim in the Steppes of b,b.i LAST VOYAGK OF CAPT. ROSS. 459 inthe deserts of Africa, or the sHvannahs of America, has the tree, under which he can shelter himself, but in the region of desolation, the eye u.nders over an illimitable extent of snow- covered rocks_the vault of heaven resting upon them, round and round, as it it were the limits of the world From such a region as this, little could Commander Ross ex- pect to gam, whereby he could enlarge his knowledge of the animal or the vegetable kingdom, or obtain any valuable addition to IS scanty stock of natural curiosities. Amongst the ahimals hitherto obtained, their natural history was well known as beinc. only modifications of the species known to exist in other latitudes. In the ornithological department, not a bird was seen, the natural history of which was not well known, or which were not the common inhabitants of countries, which had been viMterl by the earliest navigators, or the description of which was not to be found in the works of the olden writers The seas yielded hut the seal, the walrus and the whale; of the molluscous animals, the specimens were of the most insignificant »ind, and differing very little from the common perriwinkle of ir seas. The specimens, with which Capt. Ross had succeeded in filling lis cabinet, were but so many types of the same species, known n his own country, and from which not a single department of cience could be enriched or benefited. The anxiety and ex ense. bestowed in bringing a rhinoceros or a tapir to this ountry, deserve the unqualified approbation of every one who 1 solicitous to extend his knowledge of the wonders of the iimal kingdom ; but it would be a matter of some difficulty to termine the necessity or utility of bringing a hare from Fe'lix arbour, which, neither in its natural properties nor habits Iters m the slightest degree from the same species of animals' at abound in the hills of Scotland, as well as ahnost in ev^rV ftude in the world. There was indeed some degree of prid; being able to say, that it was a hare caught where no Euro-' an ever caught a hare before, and where it is most probable atno European will ever catch another. The answer, therefore B perfectly correct and judicious, which Capt. Rom gave tJ ^0 LAST VOYAGE OF CAl'T. ROSS. the comm-iltee of the House of Commons, where he was asked. .' What were the scientific objects, which had been obtained by the expedition?" and he answered, "That when he was at the magnetic pole, he was in a position where the horizontal com- pass has no power of traversing to any particular point." Every exertion was now used to make the vessel ready for sea; for it was expected every day, that the ice would be in motion, after which every moment would become of the utmost consequence, and the loss of a single day might be the means of frustrating the end of the voyage altogether. On the 26th, the launch, which had been drawn under the ice, was released from its entanglement, and hauled on shore above high water mark, when, on examination by the carpenter, it was found, that nine of her timbers were broken, and some of the butts started. This was regarded as rather an unfortunate circumstance, for the services of the carpenter were fully required on board the ship, and yet it would by no means have been an act of prudence or of common discretion, to have left the launch behind them. ' - • / The weather had now become exceedingly tempestuous, i companied by heavy rains, but still not a night elapsed, that the officers and men did not repair to the lakes, both with the net and the angle. The success with the former, has been already stated, and with the latter it was almost equally great, k eleven days, the crew caught with the rod 369 fish, the weigli of which was 237tbs. It was not. however, only with the ne and rod, that they pursued the sport of fishing, but they hadab recourse to the gun, and it was perhaps the most amusing of al the three methods ; for frequently they fired into a thick shoa at random, and the noise and bustle occasioned by the woundei in the water, were a source of great merriment to the sportsmei * On the 1st August, the main ice was seen in motion, whid had been stationary ever since the 17th of October 18i9;l)« still no immediate prospect presented itself of a speedy emM cipation from their protracted imprisonment. Unfortunalel! there were ten of the crew on the sick list, which, at this part cular juncture, was a matter of the most serious import. &* LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. -«o. TUTAUE OF CAPT. ROSS. 4Qj te, who «ere reported to be i„ g„„d l,e„|i„, hereby no means able to perform the common duties of the «hip, much le™ ..undertake the execution of those .evere and arduous labors, which were in daily prospect before them On the 5th, the launch being repaired, was got to sea, and ' brought alongside of t.,e Victory. The crew were employed ,„ getting the boats on board, as well as every thing that was m shore. They then proceeded to water the ship, whilst the mechanics were employed on the lee-boards On the ll,h and 12th, the wind came round to the south, with ihe ,ee running strong to the north. Lanes of ivater were dis- linrtly seen between the floating masses of ice, the current appa- r.» ly from three to four knots an hour. In order to enable the Victory to accomplish her departure, a south-westerly wind was .ecessary to clear the passage of the ice ; but the wind had set nfroa, the north, and continued to blow with great violence ™ the I-Zth to the latter end of the ™onth. This^delav enabled tern, certainly, to put the ship in ,he best possible 'state for he prosecution of the voyage, but still their prospect, on the We, was any thing but of an exhllirating nature. It was on « 2nd of July, that Capt. Parry eflected his escape from Win- » Island, and that period was almost thought too late to hope rany successful result, previously to the setting in of the ensu- f winter ; with Capt. Ross, however, the month of August was «ly closed and still no prospect of his liberationr it was r!?/" . "''"''''' "^"' -■"«?"* of September would kp.e before he could proceed on his voyage ; and as in the -ding year, he had been blocked up in thf middle :f Oct -he had not before him much more than a month, which he V, might be able to employ in the prosecution of his' ^ e w,nd still continued to blow hard from the north, and, on 2 .'"'■'"'"P- ■'» «- '« «••« "hole of the crew a severe "fication to see themselves cooped up, as it were, in a small .and, at a distance from them, the ice running in lanes, by 46*1 wA8T VOYAGE OF CAJ»T. R0»« which they might have been able to extricate themselves from their imprisonment. On the 2l8t, the ice cleared away a little to the norlhward, where, on account of the prevalence of the winds from that quarter, it appeared to be closer packed than in any other place. Com- mander Ross went in a boat, to examine the stale of the ice; and, on his return, he reported, that no immediate prospect pre. sented itself of prosecuting the voyage, and even then his liope was not great of being able to effect a considerable advance- nient ; at all events, that they had to look forward to a most difficult and intricate navigation, in which it would be neces- sary to call all the nautical skill of the officers into action, to save the ship from destruction. The dismal prospect, which the present situation of affairs held out to the men, tended in a great degree to dispirit them for nothing presented itself before them, but another winter en campment, if the term may be applied to the operations of a ship, with the certainly also pressing upon their minds, that thev should have to endure a scarcity both of fuel and provision^ of the former, their stock was gelling low, and well indeed w it for them, that the steam engine had not been found applicali to ihe navigation of the Polar seas, or they would not have hai fuel enough even for their present purposes, much less to sii| port them through the rigour of another winter ; during wiiic perhaps, their very lives depended upon the fires, which \h\ would be enabled to keep in the respective berths of theslii It must be admitted, that, during the two or three precedii months, no scarcity whatever of provisions had been experience arising from the almost inexhaustible supply of fresh fish, wlii the lakes produced, and the birds and animals, which were da brought to the ship by the officers and men. This regular wholesome supply of provisions not only tended to improve health of the men. but it prevented that heavy and consi drain upon the stores of the ship, which in a short time w have so far exhausted them, as actually to make them depend' for their maintenance, upon the very animals, which fr^q LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. R088. 453 Hose northern seas, and which cannot be considered palatable to any taste, but that of an Esquimaux. The occupati^on of the officers and men, during the night, was chiefly conhned to angling, and their success ,n general far ex- ceeded the.r expectations. It, however, could scarcely be called angling, fur the shoals of fish came often so close in shore, that they might have been ladled out with the hand. On the 30th they had the misfortune to lose two of their rods overboard' one of which bel. -yed to Capt. Ross; and although the crew dragged for them with the seine, they could not be recovered On the following day, however, the rod belonging to Capt. Ross' «- seen floating, by the steward, but the other was irrevocably One of the sailors was despatched regularly every day on shore, to obtain some grass for the hare; although it was in vain to expect, that the life of the animal could be preserved during the winter, when no food could bo found on board, by which it could be maintained. The ice still remained closely packed round the ship, but on he 31st, the wind veered round to the westward, and a dawn ^f hope now burst upon them, that their period of emancipation vas at hand ; but short and momentary was the light which lumined the darkness of their situation, for, on the 1st the .«d changed to the northward again, blowing exceedingly ard with heavy falls of snow, and the mean of the thermome- fer below the freezing point. This wa. to them a melancholy ^rbinger of their future fate-it was a warning to them, that le summer was nearly at a close, and a prognostic, that the lason was fast approaching, when all the fortitude and energy their respective characters would be called into action to lable them to support the trials and privations, which they ould have to undcriro. On the 2nd, the uind blew a hurricane, more violent and ere, than had ever been remembered by the oldest seaman I board. It was in vain to attempt to bear up against it the e-topmast yielded to its fury ; and, for some time, the strong. apprehensions were entertained, that the upper rigging of ship would be entirely blown away. The con sequencer's of 464 "•^•T VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. this hurricane were, however, in another respect, of still more injurious consequences to them, for it impelled the ice from the northward, in large floes, into all the bays and inlets; and ihus the difficulty of the Victory aflFecting her passage through it. was greatly enhanced. Capt. Ross for some tim^ had it in his con. templation, to move the ship a little further to the northward, but the situation, in which the Victory was placed, was uo pecu- liar and awkward, that no opening whatever could be obtauRd The harbour was directly under an island, with a passage butwocn of about -20 to 30 fathoms broad, but exceedingly shallow, wilh the exception at the spring tides, and then there was water sufficient in some places to carry her through. Pieces of wood were laid down as buoys, for the purpose of making a fair cl.au nel, but the depth of the water taken by soundings, was si unequal, and the changes so sudden, that one moment, the vessel might be in deep water, and in the next, her keel might be rest- ing on the bottom. There was sufficiency of water to enable the Victory to circumnavigate the island, but the ice was always 80 closelv packed about the outside of it, that all attempts al navigation would be found fruitless. In the main passage, whew the Victory lay, the depth of water was sometimes only 15 inches, and generally varying from three feet to four and tirj fathoms. To attempt to force this passage at low water, woul( have been tantamount to the destruction of the ship, or to a deten tion for another winter in the harbour, which might ultimatelyl^ the means of defeating altogether the object of the expedition It was the determination of Capt. Ross to get through thepas sage at high water; and, taking advantage of the springtide* on the 4th September, the men, with three hearty cheers, thre off the lines, and began the warping of the ship through ll passage. It was the moment of enthusiastic exhiliration througl out the ship ; from man to man the hurrah of congratulatifl passed merrily, for the ship was again afloat, and steering " wards for her destination. ' _ It was exactly at two o'clock, on the 4th September, thattl Victory left Felix Harbour; but short, indeed, was the period their mirth, for she had scarcely proceeded three times her c LAST VOYAOE OF CA»»T. HOSS. 4^5 length when she grounded on a rock, and, as ll.e lido ebbed, she slipped off, and took the bottom. The situation of the Viclo.y was now of the most alarming nature ; their only hone was that she might float at high water; to enable her to do which it wa8 found necessary to lighten her, which could only be effecied by taking ev.ry individual article out of her, which was a labor of no trifling character :_the danger was great ; the remedy, that was to be applied, would have paralyzed the energies of the common man, and despair would have crept slowly upon them as if the task, which they had to accomplish, was beyond the' o.ean8 of human power. It is not, however, the characteristic of the English sailor to ponder on the execution of an act, when the safety of h.s ship is ,n jeopardy, or which falls within the sphere ttf .8 duty to perform-no murmur then is heard, but heart and ^ou! are combined to accomplish the act, and in the ultimate emoval of the danger lies the reward of the sailor. Afier an extent of labor, perhaps unparalleled on board a ship he Victory was literally gutted; and all her stores, provisions' «t forgetting the flour tubs, filled with the produce of Cant' 0S8 commercial undertakings with the natives, were placed on .e beach. A foreboding, not of a very pleasant nature, did ot fail to come across the minds ot some of the crew, whether eir present situation might not be looked upon as the counter- m of the fate of the Fury; and whether their stores might It be the fortunate means of saving some future navio-utors m starvation, in the same manner as they had been sav'^ed by i Stores of the Fury. ^ With feelings of the most intense anxiety, they awaited the w of the tide, for on it their future fate depended. Should the ^tory not float at high water, their situation was indeed des- ate in the extreme, for it then appeared to them, that no ler alternative was left, than to leave the Victory, as the Fury 'been left, and seek to regain their native country by reaching ins Bay in their boats, and there attempt to fall in with some he whalers, who were accustomed to frequent the entrance of ^caster Sound, or the inlets farther to the southward. But ' in this last refuge, as the only object to which the dro wninff 3 o ^88 LAST VOYAOK OF CAPT. BOSS. marine, could chng. the dreadful thougl.t intruded itself ,1„. Ty Tould be oJiged to winter in the country or. at t « ir of the year, the hope «as vain of falling m wUh a wh.l«, as those ships were by that time on the r homeward passag.; and therefore, a dreary prospect of nearly n.ne months of .,. ferv and destitution was before them. .V .J fl 1 Iteadily was the eye fixed upon the vessel, as the t,deflo». rourd her and deeper and deeper was the anxiety with wl,,eh rirU ;as regarded, which indicated the alt tude of the t, .. wTs Iv thre: quarters tide, and still the V.ctory was * ,rry The water had risen above the numerical mark o„ « ^^dder and therefore, unless she was actually jammed ,a W ween «o rocks, the confidence amounted almost to a cer.a.n ,, Lt shnvouM float before the water had reached theh.gh« ,., Ik It was one of those trying moments of human hfe, w . description =" -« a few ' earth'".? "''" l"""', '"^''' ''"'' "'s"" ^- "P™ *>•« face e earth, the most desolate and forlorn of human beings s w^rTto'bV "v*" I-""""' consideration, whether the 1 r u '^^^'PV-i immediately on board the Victory ::^'i\r''\r " ^ ^"^''^•^ ^""-«' »--s» 4- ; lunch Th T I'V '"' """"''^ °" '•»"'» l-y -o- of launch. The chief objection to the adoption of the former 17 .ncrease of the depth of water, which the Victor, «Wdraw. and thereby augment the risk of her eroundinl'lr ^.ef^m which, perhaps, she never coumCS ^ p! 1 / ""■ " '""''• '" '"'"'"^ *-' -y through ass ge, to prove successful, .heir future plans might be % defeated, by the necessity of being obliged to stop l« the stores, &c. were conveyed on board, by fhe slow " d " « n, portant po.nt, some hands were sent to the nord,- ^. '0 obtain soundings : and although their report cou"d tt 408 LAST VOYAGK OF CAPT. R098. be interpreted as decidedly conclusive of the measures, that were to be adopted, yet it was determined, that the provisions should be immediately re-shipped; of course, all hands were set to work, and a heavy labor it was, which they had to perform. The whole of the 6th and 7th. was employed in bringing the things on board ; although, during the greater part of the latter day, the Victory lay aground, and in a most awkward and dangerous situation. lu the words of one of the officers of the ship, if any pressure had now come on from the ice, it would have been their fate to sayto the Victory, as was said to the Fury, " Good bye Victory " In fact, dangers appeared to accumulate around them in every quarter; and their only chance of emancipating them- selves from their perilous situation, was to cut through the bergs, and thereby obtain a passage for the ship. On the 8th. the re^shipraent of the stores was completed, and the men ^ere set to work with the ice saws, to cut the bergs to pieces The wind, however, still continuing to blow from the north and the north-east, contributed not a little to retard the., operations, for the ice was continually impelled with the tid. into the bay, and, in a short time, formed such heavy masses, tbB it was in vain to attempt to force a passage through them B] dint of great labor and perseverance, however, a channelwa made through that part of the ice. immediately on the bows* the ship, and the hawsers were heaved on the head, for the purpc of warping her through the channel ; but, notwithstanding their united exertions, not a single haul or square of the capste. could be got, indeed it appeared, as if the ^^iPr^MT! ably wedged in between the ice. and that it defied all hu.. power to advance her a single fathom from her present pos.l.o On the nth, the wind came round to the south, which n pired the crew with some hope, that their emancipation * ► at hand, but the ice remained every where stationary, andU frost was so severe, that every particle of water was covei with young ice. This was a most disheartening prospec the whole crew, and excited in the breast of Capt. Ross. I most serious apprehensions for their future fate ; for it appe to him that no other destiny awaited them, than passing anoi LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R08». 469 winter in the same harbour, which might ultimately oblige them to bear away fur England, on the breaking up of the ice, in the following summer, from a total inability to prosecute the voyage from a scarcity of provisions. • •' During the whole of the Uth, all hands were employed with the ice saws, and to all appearance a passage was open for the ship; an attempt was now made to get a haul of the capstern, but the ice prevented it, for so closely was the ship bound in with heavy ice, that the ice saws could scarcely penetrate to llie depth ; even the force of the capstern, with three hawseiw, was not suflScient to move her an inch from her position. ' On the evening of the Uth, the Aurora borealis shone with uncommon splendour, it being the first time that it had been seen since the preceding winter. Bright and beautiful as was the phenomenon, it was still to them the harbinger of approaching winter, and that the time was near at hand, when it would be the only light, which would beam upon them from heaven, or which would illumine the desolate region around them. On the 12th, nine Esquimaux came to the ship, the majority of whom were entire strangers; they had left at a distance four- teen women and children, for the purpose of rigging out their tents, but not having any article of traffic with them, they excited very little attention, and were allowed to depart, without any presents being made them. The crew were still employed on the 12th, in cutting the bergs, and, on the foUowing day, the ship floated, with a head wind from the south, and, to the great satisfaction of the crew, the ice running to the north. On the 13th, the vessel was visited by a whole tribe of Esqui- maux, who, in the present situation of the ship, with every hand engaged either on deck, or on the ice, were by no means very welcome visitors. They appeared, however, to be of a very dif- ferent opinion, for they did not testify the slightest disposition to leave the ship ; on the contrary, they gave Capt. Ross toun. derstand, that it v ^ their intention to take their senik on board, and to proctod on their journey, on the following day. Capt. Ross was not without some experience in the character ol 470 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROS9. these people : and it is very natural to suppose, that an indivi, dual, who has been frequently cheated by a particular class of persons, is not very solicitous afterwards to renew their ac. quaintance. He, therefore, in an authoritative tone, gave the Esquimaux to understand, that they might take their senik in any other part of the world, which their fancy might select ; but that it was his positive determination, that it should not take place on board of his ship. This was, however, a mode of arguniGnt, which they did not understand, or if they did understand it, it did not in the least harmonize with their own individual feel, ings ; for as, frota the'r infancy, they had never been subject to any authority, hey were not disposed to bend to it, from a per. son, who, alth ugh he might have dropped amongst them,ina most extraordinary manner, and appeared to be invested with the character of a superior being, yet it was to them by no means a settled point, that he was to determine the exact place, where they were to keep their senik, and to deny to them those rights of hospitality, which had been allowed to their brethren. The vicinity of Felix Harbour was not, however, the only place, in this motley world, in which the might of the strong prevails against the claims of the pauper and the dependent. The Es- quimaux had come without a passport ; for they had brought neither skins, nor trousers, nor hoods, nor mittens, nor any ar- ticle of their household gear : and, therefore, with all that coarseness of manners, which is habitual to the British sailor, when he is standing on the deck of his own ship, the Esquimaux were by turns handed down the ladder, and left to take their senik under the cope of heaven, which perhaps to them was a nobler covering, than the smoke-dried rafters of an English vessel. The wind continuing to blow from the south, the ship, on ih 15th, was heaved a-head, with the ice running north, making a heavy pressure against the stern of the vessel, and exciting some apprehension for the safety of the rudder. Some very opposite opinions were at this time held on board the ship, as to the course of management, which was pursued on this occasion ; and many there were, who, although they could not boast of holding tlio King's commission, or who had gone through their examina LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. K0S9. 47 1 lion before the lords of the Admiralty, yet who had gained sufB- cient experience to decide, that there is an essential difference between having the command of an expedition, and the possession' of the abilities requisite to perform the duties of it. On the 16th, the ship was heaved out in clear water under Ihe island, and every preparation was now made for sea. In the mean time, however, some serious complaints were made to the commander, in regard to the nature of the provisions, and the effect, which they had upon the health of the crew. As the winter approached, they were allowed a certain quantity of salmon every alternate day ; but the fish, that were allotted to them, were those, which had been preserved in vinegar, if, in this instance, the word preservation may be allowed.' After undergoing the process of boiling, the fish would drop all to pieces, nor were they accompanied with that wholesome smell as to iDvite the appetite to partake of them. The fish, selected'for the mess in the cabin, were taken from one of the pickled casks, and they were always cooked by themselves ; but the fish, destined for the messes of the sailors, were all cooked together, or rather steamed, for every thing, that could be done, was performed by steam ; the consequence of which was, that the middle part of the fish was raw, whilst the outer parts were like so much saw- dust, mixed with water, and accompanied with such a disgusting smell, that the office-s in the cabin could not endure it, and the fish was no sooner put upon the table, than it was taken off again. It was rather a ludicrous sight, to observe one oflicer after the other, appl^^ing his fingers to the nostrils of his nose, on the introduction of the fish, for the purpose of preventing the odour ^eachuig the olfactory nerve, and then all of them bursting out nth the same exclamation, "Take it away, take it away ;" and he fish was again committed to its original element, for even l>e cats, of which there were four on board, would not even •artake of it. In regard to those animals, a circumstance occurred, which strongly corroborative of the proverbial cunning of the fox, t has been stated, in a previous part of this work, that an old v was killed, which had four cubs, and these animals were 47*2 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS brought on board the Victory, and were allowed to run at large about the lower deck, where they had for their companions, the four cats, who did not appear by any means, to relish this en. croachment upon their hitherto undisputed sovereignty. Amongst the cats was an old torn, who might be considered the patriarch of the feline community, and who, from his age and standing, ought not to have been exposed to the tricks and gambols, which the young foxes were continually playing, and which, certainly, were sometimes performed at the most unseasonable times, especially, when old tom was taking his senik, before the fire in the stove. The cubs, in some respects, found the three younger cats to be rather of a sociable disposition ; and there is very little doubt, but that the cats and the foxes would have lived on very friendly terms with each other, had it not been for the surly and morose disposition of old tom, who appeared to have other things to thmk of, than playing at bo-peep or hide- and seek with the intruders, amongst the tubs and chests, which were stowed away in that part of the ship allotted for their habitation. The foxes appeared to be thoroughly convinced, that, single handed, they were no match for old tom, but their natural cunning told them, that by entering with eachother, into an offensive alliance against him, not only his haughty spirit would be subdued, but perhaps their own supremacy established; at all events, he would be brought to the knowledge, that they were not the animals to be treated with that indignity and con tempt, which had hitherto been their lot to receive from him. The first point of attack, projected by the allies, was against the food, which was daily allotted for the consumption of oli' tom, for they appeared not to be ignorant of one of the firs principles of war, which teaches, that the surest way to brinj an enemy to submission, is to starve him out. The allies acti up to this principle, attended regularly at the time when t cats were fed ; and old tom had no sooner taken possession his allotment, and had retired to some corner, for the purpose comfortably enjoying it, than the allies f-Howed him, ' showed not the slightest disposition to obtain from him allotted portion of food, by any direct act of hostility or aggn Illl m 149T VOYAOE OF CAPT. RO«S. .I73 ,ion One of the allies placed himself i„ ihe front „f old ,om not darmg to lay hi, paw „po„ .he |„„p „f „„,,, „^^^ ,_^ ^^J .na.ueat,„g; nor d,d torn appear to treat the impudent observer ,f ,.s actions, «uh any tokens of fear or resentment. On . „d,len, however, an attack was made i„ a quarter, which ,„m „.lo expected, and the reason of which h, could not possibly ,>e.s. Thu part, so rudely and insolently attacked, wa. Install; and to attack the tail of a cat is Bon„l ;„ • j- • 1 . , * ' *° equal in inai<^nitv 10 the tweak of a nose or a onW i„ .k /• o 'J' christians. . : 'P'* '" "" *"'«■ """""g'' "'« 11 wo,dd have been deemed a direct act of cowardice, on the (.rl of toBi, not to have resented this attack upon his tail, and therefore, with a beconiing spirit, he turned round to puni»h the insolent assailant, by the severest infliction of his talons, which ,,. strength would allow him. The assailant expected the ■ashmen, that awaited l,im, and dexterously parri.d the blo» h..h would have excoriated his face. Old torn, haviii. put' -.n,my in the rear to flight, coolly returned to conclude bis «.l;b„t great, indeed, was his disappointment, when he »verc that whilst he was defending himself against tbo .«k in the rear, hts enemy in front had (Legally and unjusti- aly seized upon his provender, and was then dovourin.. elnnd a tub, the ast portion of it; casting a look of maliciou's ■mmpl. towards old torn, who retired to a corner, in the sulks -.*.ng all those at Jericho, who had brought him to a country' here his very food was snapped away from him, by a set of Hies, which, in his native land, never dared to show thoir face* Ills presence. It was, however, not only once, Iwice, nor thrice, that this ralage.n was played upon old torn, but it was also practised airmthe oiher cats; and the faxes supported the character ounnmo^and artifice, which was given them, at their origin ^ulu^e, and which was confirmed to them hy Noah when s^nUhem adrift from his ark, to propagate their species on " regard to tl.e curing of the fish, a very serious charge of •^eci, not to call it by a much severer name, was brought ^' 3 p 474 IA»T VOVAOE OF OAPT. «0««. a-rainst Capt. R.«« •, an,l «lncl. wa8 loo unforlunately suUtan. ti'ated. in li.e effect, whicl. the eating of H.e C « Imd upon tl,. health of the erew. The apparatus in which the foh « ere bo,W was one of Slater's Patent ; the boilers of which were made „ copper, and tinned inside, but, from the constant use ,n w ,cl, they had been kept, the lidng was ahnosl whouy worn oft. 11,.» being a good supply of .inegar on board, the coppers were fi led with salmon, and then covered with vmegar ; after bu,l,„g eiffht or ten minutes, the fish were taken out, with great ca,. and placed regularly, like herrings, in an empty cask; a„J then the boilers were again filled with fish; the same vu.eg., serving for several boilings. This plan was pursued unt, .». large casks were filled, and then it was discovered that ih. fish were sforgly impregnated with copperas, from tie delo... rious etf-ect, which it produced on tho-e, who partook o'. U; and ,he contents of the two casks were therefore thrown on tl« beach, in Victory Harbour, as a n.anifesto of the wtsdon, a„J caution pursued by Capt. Ross, in his management of the „,.«• „al economy of the ship. Nor was this the only .n.tance, ,. which Capt. R..SS appeared to lose sight of the con,n™ dictates of foresight and prudence, in the regulat.ons, wind adopted, for the management of the victualUng oc partmea, . his vessel • -i J In consequence of the erection of the steam engme there a great deal of copper funnelling on board, wh.ch »u J condemnation of the engine, was a heap of lun.ber, fit ouj augment the stock of a marine store shop. It was a b„gU „ generated in the mind of Capt. Ross, that th.s iunnelhng a,. t applied to some specific purpose, even > il were n. manufacture of a trumpet, wherewith to sound •'- f--;; ' first of British navigators. It was. however, detcrn nc k -Capt. Ross, that a more useful utensil than a trumpet, s l.oul ,„,! of them, without t..k,ng it in the least into cns.dcraW whether they were ,n any respect appluuble „r the pur,,,.^' vvhi.h it was intended .hey should be applied, or «l.cth«> apphcation u.ight nut be considered as a manifest d.»i^)l the most consummate ignorance and want of all foresight, «l. tAST VOyAGE OF CAI'T. ROSS. 4,/-, .,er di.ti„sui«l,e.l .he conduct of any indivi.lu.l. .o „l,o,o cro a„d »uperm.e„dence ti.e vluable hcul.l, of a number of ,.„.„ was cnnnded. In the various fishing panics, i„ which the officer, and ,„..„ I,ad been employed, a great inconvenience had been felt, f„r tl,o «nt of some utensil i„ which to cook their provisions, and whjch frequently obliged the men to eat their food in an „„. cooked state. Capt. Ross, no doubt, had heard in England, of copper kettles and «.ucepa„s, and as he was in possessLn of „„ .mple supply of the material where-from they could be raanu- acured. he ordered the engineer to cut off two pieces of tho funnelhng, for the purpose of converting , hem, with all possible «pedu,on, ,nto two kettles, for the benefit of the fishing parties III which to bo their food fn,.i D..„ , = I'""'"*' "'"' ""«'• ^-xpl- R"5» was perhaps not aware. .Iiat another metal ,s neccsary. before copper can be used with any safety for culinary purposes; and in cMenuuiion of his con- duct on this occasion, it „,u.t be udam.cd, that that n.e.al was "0. 10 be had, and therefore, perhaps, a cautious and prudent man would never have converted the funnels into either ket- ^es or saucepans in .vhici, the food, that «as to be eaten by his men, „as to be dressed, without fii.t taking into his considera- on, whether the lives of the consumers of the food might not llicreby be forfeited. The saucepans were, however, made »bj C, and which terminated in his blindness. Buck, as well others of the crew, who were engaged in the fisl.i'ng pa es, were accustomed to eat a great deal of fi.h ; and frequenth ey would no. wait until they were boiled enough. „h,' h wa^, Wajs done in the copper funnelling, .vhich so impregnate, |e food with copperas, .ha. scarcely a man escaped the ef. f. ■ ,"" ".^.S^'^'"''"" "f "«= ovil, the, would mak, fcal after meal, with not a bit of bread to neutralise tli «no„sq„al:,y of the food, for their allowance of bread wa »mall, that they would frequently consume their weekly portio^ ree days, leaving themselves, during ihe other four. wi. other food than what was cooked in the copper funnelling. 473 LAST vrVAOK OF CaPT, llOSa. It was not to be woiidtTed at, that tlie iiumi v\ero itulm rd, (,„ these occasions, to draw a comparison between the food allullcj to them, and that \^^ich was allotted to the officers, Willi ilm latter, tliere was no short allowance, no restriction as to quiliiy or quantity: their table was always supplied with the best fare, that the ship could supply ; an abundance of bread, preserved meats, wine and spirits ; whilst, in the mid>t of their laboriois duty, the men had literally not enough to eat, nor a glas^s of grog to give a stimulus to their spirits. The labor, which the men had to perform in dragging the fisli to the ship, was too severe for the stoutest men to endure, miicli less those, who were stinted in their food, and who were de. prived of those stimulants, by which even a temporary stren^ili could be imparted to them. The method of transporting the fish to the ship, was in large bags, made of tarpaulin, which, being filled, were placed on the sledge, and then made fast with a very strong lashing. If the men had any bread left, which was a rare circumstance, they were accustomed to place it on the top of the bag of salmon ; but it was a difficult matter to keep it drv, for the ice at that time of the year, was very rotten and hollowj for which reason the men would be in one moment on level ice, and the next, up to their middle in water, with the sledge and all the fish also immersed in it. It was a rare occurrence to know more than six men at the sledge ; for so few were able tO| sustain the labor and fatigue, that it would almost have amounteiij to a sacrifice of their lives, to have put them to the sledge drag it. Four men were generally the complement, that I'eri able to be put to the sledge ; and the weight upon it, sora times amounted to 900 or 1000 lbs. the number, of fish beioj generally about 300, which, upon an average, weighed ihn pounds each. The great irregularity of the ice rendered labor still more burthensome ; for in many places it was a coi tinual standing pull, with scarcely a single declivity, which coiili give a temporary respite to the men. Some part of the foregoing may be considered, m a certi degree, as retrospective matter, having an immediate referei to some circumstances of the voyage, which have already go' m "»T VOVACE OP CAPT. BOSS. 47, ,,„,lor aiscns.i„,. ; but so„,e frc»l, screes of i.,for,„a,i„., |,„ve ».cy opened upon us, and which „i|, ,e„d .„ eoufi™ ,he faUi! Bc...o„ o ,he charge, which Cap.. Ross, most injudiciously and u„.dv,scdl,, pubLcl, ™ade against us, .ha. our informa.iol ,v„s „o. derived from any authentic source, and that his work (if ever mukes us appearance) was to be looked up to, as the only irae and fa.thful narra.ivo of all his exploits, achievements «o„rs, adventures, sins, transgressions and blunder,,, rcte' l,a u, person commuted, or caused others to commit, who wer! ., .r h s „u.hor,.y. fron. the sailing of the Victory from Wool- ..cl., h,s fortunate reception on board the Isabella, after which • .x.r,l,ng ,0 h,s own statement before the committee Lf the Hou e .fCo,„n,„ns, Ins surveys and discoveries were of far greater consequence, than any which he had made, during the wLle Tf ..s,.,„« , ,n the Arctic seas, by which he has him^self furni hed »»..!. a cn.enon whereby to judge of ,he value of those dis- haemly ,oh,s joming the Isabdla, in order to ascertain ,o a bat t:: "'"" "' '"""• "'''<"' ''* ■""«'« -'«- - f ; .7 ;;, 'Hi:-' • >> '».. '>■* '-r i. ■ iit • ' M■^^' : iatiu^vt^.i: ■ 't I, ' li .; >'<;:V •i.. , . i^i !'i ;■ I , .■-■■-■■■',f ■'! ' 478 LAST VOVAUii. UV CSVl KUbS .. .! > ■ : I CHAPfKK VI, »i ■ > . «■ t : *!»»".•' • ..;.-■■..■ PROCBBOINOS ON BOARD THE VICTORY, DURING IIBR PASSAGE PROM HER FllLl TO HER SECOND WINTER UARBOUft.^ , < 1830-1. , , ■ . ... , .. • ' . H ! i On the 17th of September, the ice opened in a nio-t evira ordinary manner, v%kth the wind from the norlh-north Ae and the Aurora shining most brillianlly. A boat was duspuu to examine the ice, and, from the report, that was receive! n its return, at 1 o'clock p.m., the Victory was once more undi sail, and she stretched along the land until 4 p.m., when, liavi made nearly four miles, a boat was sent a-head with a w Hue, and the ship was made fast to a berg, with the intentii of remaining in that position until the f«>llowing morning, A considerable degree of censure was attached to Capt. Ri by the whole of the crew, for ihe most injudicious act of fasti ing the ship to a berg, under the circumstances, in which tl were then placed, nor does it appear, that the censure so pai was not in every respect well founded. This was, however, the only error of judgment, of which Capt. Ross was acci in the management of the ship, through the diflScult and intrii navigation, which he had to encounter, and which requiredflt only the most consummate skill, but a most extraordinary defl g, of presence of mind, which are seldom found combined iol(j , same person. |i « hi LAST VOTAOB OF CAPT. ROtt. 419 There were some on board the Victory, who had sailed on former expeditions to the Polar seas, and who had witnessed ilie tact and ability, with which certain circumstances were Uken advantage of, and seized, as it were, by the forelock, showing at once the determined spirit of the commander, and his noble daring, in -lashing through the difficulties by which ho was beset. • . . ' i We will not lay timidity to the charge of Capt. Ross; but tliere is a great difference between that animal couragd, which displays itself amidst the carnage on the quarter-deck of a man (f war, and that bold and invincible fortitude, which is the louchstone of the man, in the hour of dangers and difficulties. he man who, in the heat of an engagement, will show, that he las a lion heart within him, will frequently show himself the iffeiiiinate, or, more properly speaking, he will appear as launled and unnerved, when his physical energies are to be lied into action, for the purpose of avoiding or surmounting In impending evil. This apoears, in some respects, to have n the character of Capt. Ross ; for, in many of the trying jtualions, in which he was placed, either from pusillanimity or discretion, he acted in direct variance with the judgment of ose, who, although, they might have been his inferior in rank, re perhaps his superior in nautical skill, and in that boldness promptitude of action, which are the most striking features the great and noble character in the immediate hour of iger. R(*rhe gravamen of the accusation against Capt. Ross, in the a8«8ent instance, consisted in the unnecessary act of his fasten- t\» the Victory to the iceberg, when circumstances so combined, pa«o have enabled him to dash through the passage, and thereby gilt the vessel into an open sea, instead of exposing her to omentarily so severely nipped by the ice, as perhaps to ren- her unfit altogether to prosecute the voyage. t the time of the Victory leaving Felix Harbour, the wind south, and the ice running north ; the wind then veered d to the west north-west, and the ice still runninsr to the l»; It then changed to the south west, but the ice still 480 LAST VOY GE OF CAPT. ROSS. running in the same direction. Now, if the Victory had beer, pushed through, instead of being fastened to a berg, the north. easternmost point, as well as all the islands, that lay off it. would have been cleared : this was the current opinion amon feelings of the crew, to be coop.d up in an inlet, when about ^0 miles further outside of the land ice, there were an abun-' ce of clear water, and the signs of it, to a considerable distance 'very elements, however, seemed to conspire against them" itlio prevalence of the northerly winds drove the ice into the' 't>and the frost was so severe, that the ycung ice began to "ne a thickness, through which it was difficult to effect -r ag'e, I" the 2lst, the wind was variable, but blowing very hard- Ice cleared away a little, but left the ship a-ground on »ce. At 5 P.M. the wind veered round to the north- •3q 4gj LAST VOYACE OF CAPT. R09S. ward, and drove the ice into the inlet, carryin- every thing before it. and forced the ship two or three feet closer in shore. The ice was now closely packed, and, at low water, the sb.p careened four streaks. . , -n . i On the 27th, the rudder was unshipped ; the wind still blow- ino- hard from the north-east, and about two miles off, a vast expanse of clear water, with a very dark watery sky; but the ship was so blocked up. that it was then reduced to a certainty that their progress for that season, was at an end. Com mander Ross left the ship, to take a view of the position, u which the Victory lav, and to seek for a place, where she might harbour for the winter. He ascended a hill, and to the northward saw a clear sea, in which the Victory ought to have been if she had kept on her course, on the day that she left Fe lix Harbour, instead of being fastened to the bergs, from whicl act the whole of their disasters were to be ascribed. Comman. der Ross marked out a place for a harbour, but, on examining it more minutely, it was found to be too shallow. From the 29th September to the 3rd October, the crew wen laboriously employed in getting the ship into her winter haf hour, and in five d.vs they got her no further than 35 feet The crew were principally engaged in cutting a canal fortl;^ ship to winter in. or rather the canal was cut for the purpose^ gettino- the ship into deeper water, for where she then lay,* heavy °ice was clear of her bottom ; but, at low water, she vv. fall on her broadside, if she were not shored up evory t.d which was one of the severest labors, which the crew had undergo, during the whole of the voyage : in fact, it may affirmed, that the privations, which they underwent at this ; riod, and the constant and unremitting labor, to which \\ were exposed, may be denominated as the most trying part *" the voyage In the first place, each man had to keep his vva! every ni"-ht, with the thermometer as low as 15 below zero. soon as°morning broke, all hands were turned out to saw' ice, for the purpose of making the canal ; and every piece was cut, had to be got on the ice, for there was not depth water sufficient to suck it under it. The whole of this ice, t LAST VOYAGE OF CAIT. RosS. 4^3 was -t, was not les. than four feet in thickness, and every piece had to be boused up on the other side, by the capstern Byadmeas-urement, the crew cut 855 feet of ice, before they ^ot into tl,e,r winter harbour : the men often working like horses, dunn. the whole of the day, and then to turn out two or three fmes inthe night, accordingly as the tide served, to shore :he vessel up, to prevent her careening on her broadside. Some of t e men would fall in the canal, head over ears; and before they could get to the ship, their clothes would be frozen, the jacket to the waistcoat, and the former so hard, that it would almost stand upright. But, on those occasions, Capt. Ross never followed the example of Capt. Parry : nor did he cheer h.s men, by saying, ^' Come, my lads, bear a-hand, out a^ain and tell my steward to give you a good glass of gron-." But the first thing., that was heard from Capt. Ross, was his "well-known grunt of displeasure, and then the exclamation, " It serves you ri.^ht-oome make haste, and shift yourselves." And even when a man got wet in the Victory, there was no warm air stove 10 thaw or dry his clothes, for the ship had nothing but a small' >ove of Slaters Patent: but, to keep up as large a fire as pos- »ibe, the stove would not consume more than two pecks a day • nd the whole consumption of fuel on board the Victory in the' lead of the winter, was no more than three pecks and a 'half or ^ur pecks per day : whereas, in the Hecla and Fury, the con utnption was, five pecks to the warm air stove; five to the alley, If to the cabin. If to the gun-room, f of a peck to the uds .pmens berth, and a peck to the sick bay: making in |U4r per day ; the temperature of the men's berths on the lower ;ck. was never below 60; whereas the temperature of the 'ctory's lower deck was seldom higher than 36, except on iking days, which was only once a week, when the lower deck is as high as 54, which may be considered as the maximum- lereas, in the cabin, the thermometer was as high as 7o' the erage being 65. . „ ' It was not, however, only the shoring up of the vessel, that '"ved the men of their rest; but if at any time it was h water during the night, they were called up to heave the 434 LAST VOYAGE Of CAPT. ROSS .hip aslorn, as far as they had cut the canal dur.ng the day aad then when the ship was clo.e up, they were not allowed ,o return to their berths, but they were obliged to waU exposed to the severity of the frost, until the tide ebbed, that the ve«l might be propped up. to prevent her falling on her broad.d, as they had no more than four or five feet of water the whole length of the canal. By the end of October, the V.ctory may be considered to be in her winter harbour, her forehead 10 feet 4 inches, aft 10 feet 6 inches, and a few feet further there «« no more than 9 feet 6 inches. The following is the scale of the Temperature of the exierm Atmosphere, for the month of October, 1830. 1 tlighestj Lowest ! I iighest Lowest Highest Lowes. Oct 1 Below Above Oct. Below Above Oct. 23 Below Above 1 19 1 12 12 6 : 22 22 2 18 14 13 8 9A 1 4 3 19 14 14 3 4i 25 h 2 4 18 13 24 16 26 6 10 5 91 16 18 18 27 7 10 6 11 above 17 18 15 28 9 9 7 11 above 18 12 8 29 I 6 8 13 19 12 5 30 2 9 •Ji 20 2 4 31 8 24 10 5 Zero. 21 6 13 11 4 ID 22 16 19 \ . From the Ul November to the lOth, the principal duty of* crew was unrigging? the vessel, and preparing her for her m tering; the wind blowing strong, sometimes accompanied wii LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R088. 4S5 Hlow, from the northward and the westward. The ship was ha.iked up as during the preceding winter, and a snow deck was raised as a protection against the violence of the weather. Snow walls were also built about the ship, and an observa- tory was commenced on the highest hill in the immediate vici- nily of the harbour. The powder was got out of the ship, for .ear of fire, and the boat§ housed up, and covered with snow, to keep them from renting. A spar was placed on a high hill as a flag-staff; for the purpose of guiding the Esquimaux to the ship, whose visits, during the preceding winter, had, in many in- stances, been highly acceptable, as they were the purveyors of different kinds of food, and of materials, from which the winter clothing was to be made. In fine weather a flag was hoisted on the spar ; but it was necessary to keep a constant watch upon it, as it was an object, which the Esquimaux women had a great desire to obtain possession of, as an ornament round their On'the 30th October, the sun took his departure for three months: and trebly steeled as the heart may be, and competent to bear up with fortitude against the accidents and casualties of life, there was something most trying to the feelings, in the Ihought, that the great luminary, which dispenses light and heerfulness upon the earth, was to be a stranger to them for hree months, and they removed from all the comforts, which ould render life desirable. As it was considered necessary to re-establish the intercourse nil the natives, for various reasons, but particularly on account f the regular supply of food, which they were in the habit of ringing for the dogs, Capt. Ross took the earliest opportunity f visiting the old harbour, where he drew upon the boilers Inch were left on the ice, some figures, and a large hand, as a uide to the natives to their new station : when, however, the ifling distance is considered, which the second harbour was om the first, it was not likely that a roving people like the squimaux, would not discover the vessel ; for, although she ight not be exactly visible from Felix Harbour, the sound of her ^8, which were now and then fired for experimental purposes. "s ■■ ^- 4*{tJ LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS, would have been a sure indication to them, that the Kabloonai were still in their vicinity. It must, however, be remarked, that the Esquimaux had no very urgent motives for visiting the ship, they had already, in their commercial dealings with Capt. Koss, denuded themselves of almost their whole stock of cloth, ing; and until the seals began to be plentiful, they had scarcely any other article, which they could barter away with the Euro. peans, for their fish-hooks, needles, files, and old pieces of iron. On the 1st December, the crew were put into five watches, the principal reason of which was. to keep all the men in a re. gular state of exercise. Two of the watches were continually walking in the day-time; two were at work; and one was down below, for the purpose of keeping the lower deck dry, and in good order. The working party about the ship, were em- ployed in building a snow wall four feet high, which reached from stem to stern, and which served the purpose of a screen to the men, in their various operations about the ship. The officers now began their usual occupation of the chase, and seldom a day elapsed, that some animal or game was not brought to the ship. A very rare animal, a black fox, was killed on the 3rd December ; and the following day, a while one and a hare. During the whole month of December, not a Sunduy elapsed, that a roasted hare did not smoke on the table in the cabin; and in truth it may be said, that the gun was the best purveyor of food for the cabin, which was known, during the whole of the time, that the vessel was blocked up. On the 18th, being Sunday, the usual service was performed: and in fact, it may be stated, as a general thing, that during the whole of the time that the expedition was out, not six Sundays elapsed, that divine service was not performed, but it was more a matter of discipline belonging to the ship, than the offecc of a Religious spirit. The service began generally a little after ten, and lasted for about an hour, during which time, the whole of tlie morning service was gabbled over in one breath ; so that it was scarcely possible to understand a single word that was said, A sermon was certainly read ; but had it been compiled in the Esquimaux language, it would have been equally instructive ani l.*9T VOTAOE OF CAPT. ROSS. 48y edifying to the majority of the congregation ; the great aim of ■be reader appearing to be, to get to the end of it, with all the „ped.t,on m l„s power. Capt. Ross was himself by no mean. '!t^7l^.r'"'' "'"' '"-«S"'" »''servanee of the duties of the Sabbath, was more mechanical than the result of that ,nw.rd feehng of sanctity and reverence, on which true reli- ,m ,s founded; nor. in the opinion of the crew, did he act up .olhe performance of those christian principles, which breathe i^ ..™e of those subhme prayers, which so particularly distin- f«,sh the serv.ce of the Church of England. The prayers, that are ,„ general used at sea, were, it is true, read or gabbled over every Sunday; and u was always remarked by the crew, whe,; Capt. Ross came to that beautiful prayer, " Almighty Lori God .ho alone spreadest out the heavens,^' that healwaj^ read, with a deep and profound voice, the latter part ofit,"andth t wo ..av return ,„ safety to enjoy the blessings of the land, and the f™..s of our labor ;" but strong indeed was the contra t, wh ch appeared between the doctrines, which issued from his mouth and t„e conduct, which he pursued towards his men He e «em safety to his native land, supported and strengthened .) .hat God, to whom m his desolation he had prayed for sue- »u, and ,t was net refused him. But did he, in return for such ' gracious display of divine Providence, give to his men the «of the,r labor-did he, from the inluence of a grTteJ n , g.ve to those, who had stood by him in his forbrn and 2 rate situation and without whose aid and manly efforts, he n nhabued land did he give to those men even what ™the,r lawful due, and for which they had stipulated, on en- ™g uuo h,s service? Was it not refused and withheld from n,on a qu.bble, which would have disgraced the very lowest e g,^ned and wiggod rogues, that pe.-ambulate tL pave- f Wes mmster Hall > If 1. did not do these thing', an > h h,s crew have brought against him, and of proving, tha . oft^H"" - /j™.«hen he declared, before thf 'c m whl h . r" :' Commons, that all the men were satisfied * what had been done for them by the Admiralty. 4g& LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. As this subject is the great ground of complaint, which the crew of the Victory have against Capt. Ross, and as it still re- mains an unsettled point, attaching a considerable degree of obloquy to the character of that officer, it is right that the country should be put in possession of the real merits of the case. ,n order that a just decision may be formed, as to the quarter xvhore the odium ought to attach. i rk i. Capt. Ross, when before the committee, was asked : "On what terms did the men engage with you for the voyage ?"-His an- swer was, " They first engaged with me to go as a whale voyage, and then to share with the crew of the whaler, which 1 took out with me to carry the stores ; then this whaler mutinied, and I made a new agreement with the men, by which I was to pay them at the same rate, as they were paid on board the Isabella, and they were to run all risks, and the whaler did not go. "Was any written ageeement entered into, between youanrt them?" " None whatever:' , ,. „ . Now, had any member of the committee put the following question to Capt. Ross, <' Was it not port of the agreement entered into between you and them, that, in the event of their being reduced to short allowance, they were to receive double pay would not Capt. Ross have deviated from the truth, if hehd answered in the negative, and does he not himself state, before thi committee, that the crew were fifteen months on short allowance and that three of the men must have died in a fornight, soei hausted were they with cold, fatigue, and hunger. Thus, the cii cumstanceof the men being on short allowance, is unequivoca established by himself: on what ground, therefore, was not th part of the agreement fulfilled, that the men, on beingput^ short allowance, were to receive double pay ? It is also wort^ • of particular observation, that the correspondence, which loi place between Capt. Ross and Mr. Barlow of the Admiralty^ a direct tendency to impress upon the minds of the public.! the most ample justice has been done to ihem. and that m have declared themselves fully satisfied with the conduct the Admiralty towards them. Now, it mustbe remembered. H' the Admiralty has nothing whatever to do with the disp I.«ST VOTAOE OF CAPT. ROJ^. 4gg between the men and Capt R„ss; but that, as far a, it, conduct " 'Z u " '" "''"'"^ "'"'"'" '"?""'«•'' ""<' "« "ore than »uld have been expected from the official members of one of the most important branches of the service of the country The truth is, that Capt. Ross, on his return, found' himself in . tnost unpleasant dilemma : he had, on his departure, calcu- late upon an absence of about fifteen month,, in which case. I would perhaps have been able to fulfil the engagements which e bad entered into with his men ; but a pro racted ablle „f four years and a half, greatly increased the claims upon m means, which he possessed of dischargin.. them Under these circumstances, Capt. Ross thought that he had .0 other alter,,a„ve, than to make an appeal to the Admira ty .0 afford h,m the means of defraying obligations of so T Z' character. „ h.s Letter to the honorable George Elliot Capt Ir T' " '\ 'V'" *'*'■ "'"""'"^ *" '""• "- "- ■'. y no be •be to compel the payment of their wages, after October .83, all hopes of saving the vessel, led ,„ her abandonmen ' *ere must here be a typographical error, as the Victory was not' bandoned unt.l the 28th May 1832,) but a sense of what is due my character, as an officer of the navy, and a feeling of wha ue t emen, .Hose constancy .as never skakenllr^ ::"rt? sZr:; ::L'::r ^*""'^ '-" -'''"■-- ^ ••- ente'rtain a thourhtrry^ubLflrwhllbrilt.: »ade the payment of their well-earned wages I 1 1 ^ owevpr wifK .r.,r -1 J wdg^es. i am anxious, rr. '">'/'«'"'«' "-^n^. to appeal to their lordships in . lim mstance, ,„ the confident persuasion, that an undertlk S. so entirely of a naval nature, will receive their coulte" «e af r ^ T7"""" "'" '"' P'^''^^'' "> ^-'-J" the mJ '"'"'"'^y ^"'''"'^ «» P-blic objecjs. as fairly to m, »der the circumstances I have described, that the pa! ;:«- to the lord. Of the .^^ ^ofTe riT: 490 LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. R088. men employed in the late expedition to the Arctic seas : show.ng the pay that would be due to each on the principle, that Upl. Ross would have felt it his duty to act towards the men, had the discharge of their claims rested upon himself instead of bcng taken up by the lords of the Admiralty, on the ground of iho public nature of the service, to which the object of the exped.. lion was directed. On the transmission of the list. Capt. Ross expressed his firm conviction, that the officers and men would consider themselves fully recompensed by the proposed scale of ^"^ * The following is the List, as delivered by Capt. Ross^ George Mc'Diarmid William Light Thomas Blanky Richard Wall Anthony Buck Allan Mc Innis James Marslin John Park Joseph Curtis John Wood Robert Shroeve Henry Ayre Thomas Abernethy Chimham Thomas George Taylor - Alexander Brunton Barney Lachey David Wood James Dixon George Baxter Surgeon Steward Mate Seaman Ditto 2nd Engineer Armourer Seaman Ditto Ditto Carpenter's Mate Cook Mate Carpenter Mate 1st Engineer Landman Seaman Landman Ditto * ■ « £. s. d. 818 18 3 \T1 14 8 345 9 4 171 16 127 9 169 18 8 36 18 8diPdonth( rvoYajft 126 17 125 125 166 165 17 7 9 4 2 8 329 14 8 296 10 8 3i9 9 4 617 15 121 15 121 U 89 121 [voiil 11 £4,580 12 3 or und l«»T VOV»OE OF CAfT. R0S». ^j,, Tivo days afcer the trainmission of thi» Il.i .„.!,■ . i-alty, a Letter was received bv r»„. P V "'' "' ^''■ l.e secretary to the AdlraUv In ^H .7'' """ ^'^ ''""""• commnnded by the lordsrf t f a , "''? ''" '"""''■ """ *"> '' .,«/, itmsmuoh as the exDPdi.l ^^y^^/y's yo,y,„. .f Admiralty, yet. /^o:! „:;::ir: r' ^^ "r ''-"' fnrthe benefit of science- of "„ "7"''"? l-O"" underlako,, ™-e„t, the peri,o::i;::,ti:„tcr;he;'tt:'ir: .'^olon. protracted a Period. and their uniform",;,,::'' nder crcumstances the most trying, to which BH,U. ' ..e, perhaps, ever exposed; and thei h.rrUh f ""'""'" l..isfiea of the utter iLhiii t'y .f C ! R l'? ^'f '"""""" - entered into by hi.,'and of'.he d^ t ' .' '" r^I't ta people have providentially arrived in „," , i !l " "'''"" .™ been induced, under such peculiar ci!!: / ^r.^' ..nlsandthe persons employed in the expedition from nr» If necessuy rather than wait till Pari a,„e„ 1, , ra- bbled, to which it is intended to submit the case tL-> " «pbave therefore directed the accountant , nera" he " advance to Capt. Ross, the sum of 4.5S01 ll riL o ^^ ong as officers of the crown Unr , ' ^"* ''^'■>' "ant of every particular, and wi,h which the' ^ ^' "° i«'livid„al so undertaking it that Thev Z """"""''"^ *" rto do. either directly „°r i^di e t Iv "^thT "1 '"" °"^ -Jo b ru;,,„,2;-^^^^^^^^^^^^ ' "'"* '""""''' "P"" '""• Hi' creditors become cla- ,j,T vnv*r.K. OF C«PT. R09S. ,• ,„ ,l,» government of the country to l,elp „orou», and l.e api>l.e. to H.o gover ^^j, eulator l,aJ Mm out of..-., -barra-sment^ Now, ^^_^ ^^^.^^,^^ ,„^ ,^,., no more right toappca to the ^ ^^^ ^ ,,, ,,^,, th„n any other speculator, n «' »^»; ? ^,„.„, ha. ., been engaged-, and »" « ?« "^ 7 1, ,.„ef, if he fa,, i. r • '" ^^rr t:i;;r— y'pi .on.. . h- been turned to the call, ^^^ P^/^^P ^ ^^,^ ,,,e of the seamen p..in. circumstances, ^ ^^^ tid, To teU the iords „r . of the Victory. But we vvu .^^^^, to award the granlof Adn.iraUy,thattheyWnoP-^^^^ nearly -WOOi^to Capt. RosMo pay ^^^^^ .^.^^^^ ,^^,^j „ sanction of Parlmment Ihey hav ^^ ^>-«'' '>-^^- *" r:;r iTnl 'r:pedition.lhieh « entirely of a private "»"'«'''"'' expedition of Sadler. „ected with government, as a b-> "J^J ,^^ ^^,, „„i «-"• 7£^"rr;eH::;:a;a propeny .0, seamen of the ^ .clory n ^^i^a^hame upon that memb. r'^'t'CT^rdT 's^TtLtvoice to thegra„t„. who could have raised ,., ^^ d„ cry shame upon the ™ for; on the same P"".-P ^ * , . ^.^^ j 5000(. to Cap.. R« Parliament for ''«"'*'"S '""" ' „Tbenefit to the expeJi- an achnowledged ^'f^-^Z^:X hrunt and hard*, the toils and danger o P ^^^ ^^ „„, which their country has award _^^^ . that the country thought prope^U.U>w^P_^^^^^ ^^^^^^ Jenner, MeAdam, Parry, and other gre ^^^^ were brought regularly before P"'-"/"^ .;°; ^^ ^.ee .« be paid, until the grant had been confirmed by the hr en Ull LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. I93 that, on his return, lie finds himself wholly unable to pay the men. whom iio had cng-ajred. and. therefore, that as the expedition was undertaken in a ship, they were the most proper persons to pply to, to defray the expenses of his Quixotism. It would, in- ked, have been a novel case, if the lords of the Admiralty, in an ihusiastic moment of admiration of the great achievements of .pt. Ross, had simultaneously put their hands in their pockets, (1 subscribed their thousands each, to assist him out of his pre- icament; and we rather suspect, that if the relief had to come om that quarter, Capt. Ross would not have received an answer lo his application in two days ; but the money, they advanced was not their own, nor was it theirs to advance, without the faiiclion and authority of the Parliament of the country They very coolly tell Capt. Ross, that they will not wait for the meet- ing of Parliament to sanction them in the grant; but their faces ■ivould have been something like the semaphore in length, at the op of their official residence, if Mr. Hume had caught his eye ipoii the item, in the expenditure of the Admiralty, paying to Japt. Ross, the sum of 4,580/. and had moved, that the lords of he Admiralty having paid so large a sum of the public money oa private individual, without the consent and approbation of 'arliament, the said lords should be called upon to make up the m advanced, out of their private purse, and in default of its not mg produced from that quarter, that it should be stopped from leir salaries. The foregoing strictures have not been passed, from any dis- osition to cavil at the amount of the sum, which was given to lernen, for they dearly earned every shilling that was paid; ut we have considered it a flagrant instance of the disposal of 'e public money, without the sanction of those, to whom the Jople have delegated the appropriation of it, and which has ^rhaps been the means of impressing the belief upon the inds of the people of this coun'jy, that the seamen of the ictory had received their full du

".l , , . J ill .,1 . IH", , ' ■■ - ' ' '■ ■-^••^'^^ *■ •''^'' . . ,i ,- - •..., Uii{^tu\ TIT; !■ lTI 1 »fl.t ''O' ■< » ^ .;' , .......... -^0 - ^ ^ - ■ ■■ LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROM. 49r The following is the scale of the Teyn^erature of the exterior Atmosphere, for the month of December, 1830. Iliehesl Lowest Higliest Lowest HighesI : Lowest Dec. Below Above 13 Dec. Below Above Dec. Below 20 Above I 17 12 241 22 23 10' 2 12 2 13 31 29 24 19 11 » Zero. 6 14 29 19 25 20 16 4 18 2 15 35 20 26 26 21 5 18 8 16 31 19 27 26 la 6 8 6 17 10 15 28 IS 9 7 9 8 18 24 15 29 24 10 8 14 U 19 26 24 SO S5 so 9 18 in 20 26 23 31 45 40 10 18 10 21 27 26 11 20 18 22 26 10 The year 1831 set in with an intensity of cold seldom expe- Nced. the thermometer ranging from 44 to 56 below zero, and frafew days was 601 degrees, making 921 below the freezing Nt of Fahrenheit. This may be considered as the extreme of N experienced during the whole of the expedition, and against f)ich It 18 scarcely possible for any human constitution to m. In despite, however, of this severity of cold, the men |quently went on a shooting expedition ; and on one day, they lied four foxes, one of which was a black one, the weio-ht fnff 7rb. 3oz. _^ ^ rowards the I6th, the weather became more mild, the ther- Nter standing at 25 above zero ; and on the 19th, the eyes [the crew were again gladdened with a sight of the sun, fse upper limb just peeped above the horizon, and then sunk fn. It was, however, to them a most cheering sight, and *• 39 468 IA»T VOYAGE OF CAPT. K0S9. they hailed it »ith ala,ost the reverence of the Po'--"- «''» - lards it as his god, .he dispenser of happ.ness and he Ith. ^Notwithstanding the cold was at times exceedingly sevco. Colli Ross 'omitted not a single day in visiting the ob.,. vatr.y, whilst the chief e.nployment of Capt. Ross was atte„d,„. '"TJe'SoTS-y can,e in very mild, the thermos., .Lhove .ero. The -o^;f^/;t:::::"h;:h;t: i! killin"- crrouse and foxes ; of the lormer oi ' •' Kuuu^ to'""' , . , iViP largest ever seenin one time, fifteen in one covey, which was the largesi Tt par of the country. On the 9th, a fox was caught tnthe glutton tap, with its' tongue literally frozen to the graUnj, £ a day Ipsed, without the men ^'ingin. .n -WJ-; the skins of which, however, were claimed by Capt. Ross al though the men stood much in need of them, as a protect,, rri'nst the cold. On the Uth. one of the young foxes g.. ad if , who had been the inhabitant of ^Le 'ower ocU, du„. the whole of the winter, and who was one o the allies, in .1 attack on the provender of old torn; and although, ,n one stance he might have evinced the cunning and sagacity o . ace yet. in alubsequent one, he shewed himself rather a fo^ for, hiving obtained his liberty, although he earned away w him a badge of his former slavery, by running away with piece of chain round his neck, yet he soon forfeited the ad» tage he had obtained, for, on the day subse.,uent t» his e»p he was again caught in the trap, and carried back :n t,™^ to his companions. ,, On the 23d, Commander Ross and Blankey commenced dipping needle; and so arduous and enthusiastic was . officer, in the search of science, that he never -tired to el three nights, during the whole of which, he «- watch 'needle, with an intensity, as if the very safety of the si pendod upon it, or that it was to be a guide to them, t. ultimate object of their labors. .... For some weeks, a great coolness had subsisted bot« Capt Ross and his nfephew; neither of them hardly deign- to speak to the other, nor scarcely interchanging willi « Last voyage of caft. ross. 499 otiier the usual terms of common civility. Commander Ross visit- ed the observatory, perfectly indifferent to any of the proceed- inga, that were going on on hoard, as far as his uncle was con- cerned ; and, having returned to take his meals, he would follow jiis scientific pursuits, without holding any communication with liis uncle, or appearing as if he were in the least dependent upon liim, as to the course of action, which it was his pleasure to pursue. It is most certain, that Commander Rond a scolding wife are amongst the greatest miseries, which a nan can endure ; but we cannot conceive a more unpleasant and rksome situation, than for two individuals to be cooped up ^ith each other, in the same cabin, under the circumstances, in iliich the Victory was placed, and from which there was no ^cape, except taking a walk on land, with the thermometer at Oor 80 below the freezing point; or perhaps sitting in a cor- er, and attempting a few chords on the fiddle, to the gn U nnoyance and vexation of the ears of the opposite party. For 5veral weeks, the uncle and the nephew appeared as if they had ^"teach other to Coventry; but, on Wednesday, the 2nd of larch, the fire, which had been concentring for some time i« >eir breasts, like the lava in the craters of Vesuvius and Etn^ Ill 500 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. burst forth with an explosion, which terrified the other inmates of the cabin; the result, however, of which was, that the fire of animosity, having nothing further to feed upon, gradually died away : the uncle took from his cellaret a magnum of Booth's best cordial, the steward was called in to place the glasses od the table, the materials for punch were at hand, and the uncle and the nephew shortly afterwards turned in to their respective berths ; having thoroughly convinced themselves, that the cabin of a ship blocked up in the ice, in a latitude of 70 north, is one of the most improper places in the world for vo persons to live in, who are at enmity with each other. The month of March was very little inferior to January, respect to the severity of the cold, the thermometer being some days as low as 50 below zero ; and it was a general remark, that the spring of 1831, far exceeded that of 1830 in coldness, and was nearly three weeks later; the difference of temperature rano-ino- from 30 to 45 degrees, and the transition sometimes so sudden, that, one hour, the men did not find it too cold to walk on deck, and the next, exposed to a frost of 60 or 70 below the freezing point. The chief employment of the crew, during the month of March, consisted in fetching gravel for the canal, and building enow houses for the purpose of shading the thermometer. The success of the shooting parties was so great, that the table of the cabin was seldom without game, particularly roasted hare, which was a standing dish on the Sundays ; in fact, the signification of the word privation was not known iu that quarter, for the life of Capt. Ross, was, comparatively speaking one of ease and comfort. On the 4th of April, the biscuit was examined, and was found to be in good condition, there being above 6 cwt. remaining. For the better preserving of it, it was put in the casks, and stowed away in the driest part of the ship On the 6th, five hands were ordered to hold themselves in readiness for a travelling party, which was to set out on the 19ili Some of the crew were employed in the construction of a teiit, iu which it was intended that the travelling party were « LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. 501 eep. The object of .his expedition was to obtain .„™e n.usk oxen, .nd to explore the land which runs to Cool^s Bas.n. This bay .rb».,n, lay to the northward of the ship, with a long point of l.„ runmng out to the eastward, which made the point bear n„„h.east iVom the sh,p. From the entrance to the head of the bay, was about 37 miles, but there were a number of very fine 71' "'"^•'„7P""" "•«-»-''■- into it; the description of one of. Inch, will be g,ven in a future part of this work. Cooks B.,„ lay about 38 miles due north from the ship, and' it was Lpposod by gomg to the head of this bay, there would be found . narrow neck of land, or perhaps a passage On the 12th some seal skins were delivered to the party for le purpose of making some travelling shoes; and on the i4th »e of the Esquimaux dresses, which had been purchased of le na„ves, the preceding winter, and stowed away in the flour lbs, were given to the crew, in order to make of them a deer n covermg for the party, whilst sleeping in the snow house ,« tlus ume of the year, during the travelling expeditions i; . found necessary to build a snow house ar every s.a.e o ting- place. "^ » ""^ ■Ihe H.h of April was Commander Rosss bir(l,.day, being 'n 31 years old; it was celebrated in the cabin, and the crew fl each of them an extra allowance of grog ^^ 18th, the provisions for the travelling party, were all •Shed and stowed away in the mat sacks ; and on the f„l. 'ngday, „,ne hands were sent forward about two miles with Pledge. On the 20th, all hands were up as early as half past i m the morning ; and having partaken of a hearty breakfast »lt past three they set out on their excursion. ko carpenter was now set to work to make a large sled-r. ke one generally i„ use, was found not to be sufficiently' ^Wlhe conveyance of the articles, particularly the salmon 'he musk oxen, which they killed on their different expedi- ■• 1 lie engineer was also employed in making a travellin.. e. as Capt. Ross had expressed his intention of taking a Iwcurs.on in a direction, contrary to that, which Comman- 5f)> LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. R0S8. do^ Ross hart taken, although it was well known, that hU e,». ■lions were never of very long duration. On the •ast, part of the snow was taken off the upp r i.V alth u!h it Ji>y ..0 n.eans considered to be a prudent ao, ., Z ar" of Capt. Ross, as the removal of it tended, .n a gr« de-ree, to increase the cold of the lower deck. Thr Esquimaux came to the ship this day, who had b™ despatched by Commander Ross, with instrucuons to Capt. R,. to send some men with them, to tneir huts for the purpose., brin^in.. away some salmon, that had been burred s.nce .hep,. o d":^ lugusl The Esquimau, remained on board all „,,l. and :arly n the following morning. Capt. Ross Mr. Mcta "d. and three men. accompanied by the Esqu.mau.. se ., Tith the dogs and sledges, to fetch the fish and returned . ri- lock brin..ing with them, M'ilbs of fish ... very good m ditit. One "of t"he Esquimaux eame back with the party.d remiiiued on board all nigbt. „ , i „i The consequences of taking off the snow fro.n the upper now beoan to show themselves-the lower deck was as old . •Hhe lead of winter ; and the te.nperature of the ,„s.™ room where the chronometers were kept, was as low as M.i reglTheat of which, during the two former w.nters, was n., so low as 30 or 40. i„!„„l„(r«i On the aSth, two Esquimaux eame to the sh.p, br.ng.ng.. .hi the carc:ss of a llrus, for which Cap.. Ross gave - file One of them brought with h.m a p.ece of .ron-. "vhich his son had promised, on the preceding day, and a ,,« eaiin boots, which,although of therudestworkmansH^^^ found ofthe greatest service in resist.ng the effects of thes. in the travelling expeditions. The allowance of the men had been hitherto half a p- * preserved meat daily, which was now changed to a poun^ a half offish ; a change by no means »g«-''';7 '^ "^ , had not yet forgotten the effects, -'-V \ s d t them, during the preceding winter, and who, cons.de" fatigue and labour, which they had to undergo, found i LAST VOYAOE OF CAPT ROSS. 5O3 nourishment or strength, from so flaccid and watery an aliment as fish. On the 26th, as the steward was returning from a shootincr excursion, he espied at a distance a fox, which for a time stood and looked at him, and then darted off, dragging something after h.m.and on arriving at the ship, he discovered that the fov which he had seen, was no other animal, than the identical fox which had previously made his escape, and caught again on the follow- Tday. in the trap; his cunning, however, taught him in future avoid a trap, and no further tidings were heard of him, durinir the stay of the Victory. ' The sledge, the travelling stove, and the tent, were now com- pleted, and the provisions were got ready to take out for Com- mander Ross, according to the agreement made with him previously to his departure; but on the following day, beincr' Sunday, the 1st May, divine service was scarcely over, and the mu on deck, than Commander Ross was seen coming over the ^ce by himself; having left his party on that morning, at 3 )ciock, about twenty miles from the ship. The reason of his eturn without his party, was, on account of one of his men saving his foot severely bitten by the frost ; and he left orders ohis party, to start on their return to the ship, at 8 o'clock, in rJer that Taylor, whose leg was hurt, might be got on board le same night. At half past eleven, nine hands were sent for- ards, towards the travelling party, for the purpose of assistino- lem, as perhaps the very life of Taylor depended upon getting ■'n under the surgeon's care, with all possible expedition. At half past three, three Esquimaux arrived, bringing with em a seal and five salmon, the weight of which was thirty 'unds. being the largest fish, which had as yet been seen in at part of the country. They left the ship at half past eight, ving their solemn promise, that they would return in three' ys, bringing more fish with them. As they left the ship, they ^gout, Menek luma, menek /mtwa,— that is, "for the next seal, ife to be well cleaned and sharpened." At half past eleven at night, the whole of the party returned, Taylor was immediately taken to the surgeon His foot 5^)4 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R0S9. was frozen all along the sole ; part of the heel and one half of his foot from the toe upwards, was severely bitten. His whole foot was like a bladder of hogs-lard, so severely was it blistered. Part of the blisters were transparent, which were lanced by the surgeon, and after undergoing a proper dressing, he was put °The report of Commander Ross could not be considered very favourable to their future progress; he observed the sea on iho other side, and returned to the ship over the ice, by the route by which she came up to her present moorings. The Esquimauv had been to Cook's Basin, and had pulled down the monuments, that had been erected for the purpose cf obtainino- the spars, that were in the middle. The reason for the Esquimaux going so far to the north, is, that there is a very fine salmon river, about sixty miles from the ship, in a bay called by the natives Awatootoak Bay, and this may be con- sidered as the boundary of their peregrinations to the northward, The account, which Taylor gave of his foot having become frost-bitten, was, that one morning when they began their jour- ney,the thermometer was at 16 degrees below zero; and at the time, he had on, over his under-travelling shoes, a pair of seal skin boots, in a wet and damp state ; but that he never perceived that his foot was frost-bitten, until some time after they lid been walking. Two of the men, Richard Wall and Thomas Blanky, were taken ill with a complaint in their bowels, whicl rendered it an act of necessity on the part of Commander Ros^, to hasten his return, in order that the men might have tli( benefit of medical aid. , , On the 3rd, three Esquimaux came to the ship, and brougi some salmon, weighing 61|tbs. The gluttony of these pcopl has been already mentioned, but two of these people surpasse 1n their appetite, every thing which had been hitherto witnesse indeed, it appeared to be, in every sense of the word, insatiable and as they were going to remain on board all night, it w determined to try, on the following morning, the utmost exte« of their appetite, in order to discover, if there actually exislf^ any bounds to it. Six salmon were prepared for their breakfasi LAST VOYAGE OF CATT. ROSS. 505 wcighiiig, in the whole, IS^lbs. which was, on an averag-c, five pounds to a man. One of thetn contrived to consume three pounds, leaving twelve pounds and a half ti» be devoured by his com- panions, whoso appetite appeared to increase in the ratio of the decrease of the food, that was before them. On a sudden, both of them were seized with an excessive vomitinrr, which appeared to be to them such a common occurrence, that with the greatest coolness, they allowed the malady to subside, and then, if permitted, would have returned to dispose of the remaijider of the fish ; but, in this, they were prevented by one of the officers, who had quite satisfied himself with this specimen of Esquimaux glultony. These human cormorants took their departure soon after breakfast ; but in a short time, they were succeeded by an- other party of their tribe, consisting of two men, one woman, and two children, one of whom was quite an infant, in fact, it could not have been born more than six days. The Esquimaux give the name to their children from the 3rd to the 10th day afier their birth; and yet, in the naming of their children, they do not act with that consummate folly and impiety, which dis- inguish a people, who call themselves the most civilized of he world, amongst whom the ceremony exists, on the christ. sningofa child, of insisting that a particular person shall take ipon himself all the sins and transgressions of the child, until iebe an adult; and that he shall, at the same time, lay himself inder the obligation of performing certain duties towards the :hi!d, which he never intends to perform ; although he swears, n the presence of his God, that he will most religiously and lithfuUy perfoim them, to the best of his power and ability his impious ftuce is not acted, in the naming of an Esquimaux fiild, yet it is a day of rejoicing amongst them ; but their re. iicings, at the best, are, like their climate, cold and senseless : smile on the countenance of an Esquimaux, is like the beam 'his sun in th^ autumn of the year, spiritless and cheerless, the ugh of joy is seldom heard in his hut of snow; and although le song andt^e dance at times enliven his dreary hours, yet his 'rlh 18 seldoin the spontaneous effusion of the heart, but breaks fth like a fa.nt ray of the moon through a cloud of mist. 22, !5T 6(W LAST VOYAOK OF CAPT. RO«f!. The namos of the Esquimaux have always a distinct signif cation, in allusion to 8omc particular personal qualificatiun, or to some moral or physical property belonging to the parcitg- when once given it is never changed, for no great risk is there run, of some miserable, half-starved miser dying, with his coffers full, and his rent-roll as long as the pedigree of a Welchman, leaving, as the last act of his folly, that the person, to whom he has bequeathed his property, shall not inherit it, unless he change his name, which, however, after all, cannot be done without the consent of the King, which by the bye is never asked, and of which he knows just as much as he does of pauperism, by ex- perience ; in all of which, a striking proof is extant, that the head of a nation can do many things for the benefit of his people, which, if the sycophantish tribe, who are around him, were to tell him, that he had done, he would raise his eyes with wonderf to heaven, overcome with surprise, that, like the mole, he done so much business in the dark. The Esquimaux were not many days acquainted with the! officers and the crew of the Victory, before a name was givenio every individual, according to the properties, which they thought they perceived in him, and to Commander James, the naracofi Augluga was given, on account of his activity and fortitude,! It being determined by the father and the mother of the infant, who came on board on the 8th, that ho should be named afte:) Commander Ross, he was brought to him for the purpose oil giving him the name ; and on that officer pronouncing the wordl Augluga, the child became invested immediately with it, Commander Ross could not refrain from smiling, when helookedl upon the coarse and ill-favored features of his godson ; but as liel did not at the same time undertake to teach him the vulgai tongue, nor to bring him to the altar for the purpose of confir-J mation, the ceremony passed ofiF very agreeably and unosten] "tatiously, the party being afterwards regaled with a sumptuoui feast of salmon, not dressed exactly a la Maitre d' Hotel, buj swimming in an exquisite sauce of whale oil and grease. The principal part of the duty of the crew, during tl.e remaL^ der of this month, was taking away the snow bankmg, and cuij l*«T VOYAOE OF CAPT. ROSS. 5;,y ,i,,g boles in the lake, for the purpose of measuring the ice .Inch was founJ to be 5 feet 8 inches thick. The engineer was employed m making lamps instead of stove, for the travellinir pty who were to bring back with them some tallo«r obtained «„■ the musk oxen by which they would be enabled to husband (licr stock of o,l, which had experienced a considerable diminu- t,.D dunng the preceding winter. Tho transportation of the lallow, from Us additional weight upon the sledge, was, however Ihe cause of some serious complaints by the men, whose sireno-th ... not in that state to enable them to drag a heavy load, e.pe"ci. A great inconvenience having been experienced by the travel- »S parlies, for the want of some vessel or vehicle to transport em across the lake, the carpente- was .rdered to construct bmem the shape of a flat-bottomed punt, which was then to .covered with stout canvass and painted. These boats wore , their construction so light, that they could be carried on .etopof a sledge, whilst at the same time, their buoyancy .. so complete and their covering so impervious to water, tha^ «y served admirably for the navigation of the lakes, and ,;arti- ilarly for those, who were employed in the fisheries, for when .longer wanted on the lakes, they served as a receptacle, in teh sow away the fish, and to transport them on tie % to the ship, independently of the relief which it eave the men. gave The whole of the I3th and 14th, was employed in getting the msions ready for another expedition: a considerable quantitv pork was boiled on the occasion, to be taken by the party i„ .d of preserved meats , all the bones were taken out of the pork or er to render it lighter in the carriage, and it was fo'ui 51 th meat did not freeze so hard if divested of the bone a n allowed to remain in it. ' «nCap. Ross and his nephew, now experienced anothe ^eeu theu: and bo great was the offence, which the latter 508 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. was supposed to have received, that, on the following day, h refused to attend divine service, and set out upon a walking excursion into the country. On returning on board, he brought with him some living insects, that he had obtained out of the fresh water ice, in a torpid or frozen state : by holdmg them in his hand, and exposing them for a time to the heat of the sun, they all came to life, but their existence was epheraeral, as they died before the close of the day. On the 16th, every thing was in readiness for the departure of the two parties : Capt. Ross taking with him five men, and provisions for 21 days, and Coumander James, also five ir-- They were to travel in company for some distance ; and, Capt Ross leaving the commander, the latter was to be supplied with provisions, in addition to his own, so as to make up a sufficiency for 21 days; and it was farther agreed, that Capt. Ross, on his return, should leave five days provisions for 1- nephew, at Nichilli, and another supply between that place the ship. 1 v 1 / The party of Commander Ross were to travei to the head of the north bay, and thence to the south-west to Nichilli; anJ the reason for directing his route in that quarter, was, thattk Esquimaux were in some part of the bay ; they having told hi. that they would direct him a nearer way to Nichilli, than thai by which he travelled, on the 1st of June of the preceding year, The Esquimaux were eleven days in travelling from the ship I. Nichilli', but Commander Ross and his party would l.ave tn veiled faster, had they not been obliged sometimes to waitfoi the Esquimaux, who were, in general, such lazy follows thatii was impossible to rouse them from their seniks ; for, althoug they were well shaken, and punched and pinched, and kicked their only answer was, a deep surly grunt, somewhat sinu -to that of rousing a pig in its stye. At another time they wooli spend several hour* in repairing their sledges, when m reahi] they did not stand in need of repair; but it was a subterfuge.! the part of the Esquimaux, to give them an opportunity ot dulging in their indolent habits. In this expedition., an Esquimaux, of the name of M^-ti LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 5^9 exhibited an instance of ereat mrr«« •* .-ed^eoutofasoHd piece 'o^'e/rchLlned"'"'""""^ ' .en. and, i„ .o„e .speets. was' , Ju/ri' ef^eT r:;!^ sMge, ,„ common use. It „as made f„ .he shape „f a .V «uoden bowl ; and althouo-li it „;,, „„, ^ °* * '"'^e -eyance for the person y t it an " 7" """""'''''"' ™- conveyance of the p'ovisi;„ra„o.heZ:sJr''''"''' '"^ '"^ ..cted with the expedition. It must howe: 1 1"""'' ^•'"• . ese expeditions, they never .raveUed Z ;,;dlt:::^''■" II Ihey could possibly avoid it. ^ '"""' It was soon after this expedition was planned that .h„ . mderstanding which had for a short time subrted h . ^'^ R.. and his nephew, was again inter™ pted t, u J" "''■ cumslauce, which threatened to defeat not „ I .. " "'• .bjecs, which they had in view, ZiyV: d"""""""" '- ~ "f "-« -Mition. It was we^Crn'ra:; T -w, that Commander Ross was the very life and sZl of . V ^.es and plans, that wer« brought 'forwad b!lho*h y « lu view, wniist, on the other hin^ n .. oi^owm ot years, to take upon himself thp r^^.p those active HntJ^c „,k' u l """^eii me performance > neiiner of them knew nor seemed to 610 tAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. care about the actions of the other ; when, by consulting^ and lay. ing before each other their respective plans, a path might have been chalked out, by which, not only many of the disasters. which had occurred, might be remedied, and provision made against their recurrence, but the very means might have been adopted, by which the success of the expedition could have been confirmed. These continual quarrels between the two officers, were also a great drawback upon the general harmony of the crew, and in some respects subversive of the discipline of the ship. It was impossible not for the men to entertain an opinion as to the particular party, who was in the wrong; and as Com- mander Ross was decidedly the greatest favorite of the two disputants, it excited a degree of ill blood in the breasts of the crew towards their commanding officer, which was by no means favorable to the order, discipline, and harmony of the ship; in fact, in some respects, it was a house divided against itself: m party espousing the cause of Capt. Ross, and another, that o. Commander Ross; and thus, the quarrels of the two officers did not terminate amongst themselves, but their effects were visible on the whole of the crew ; and the battles of the officers mn fought over again in the different messes of the ship, until, foi some time, quarrelling and wrangling were the order of ik day. On the afternoon previously to the departure of the ex tion, the two officers evidently saw, that they must either relinj quish travelling together, or a reconciliation must be effected between them. Like the majority of quarrels, it required odIi an advance and a friendly word on one side, to meet with corresponding feeling on the other ; but the vile passion of pri generally interferes on those occasions, and checks the effusi ^of those amiable feelings, which may be inherent in the cki \acter, but which, like the corn of the field, are choaked upar prevented from coming to maturity, by the baneful influence the tares. The two expeditions were accompanied by seven men, as iliaries, who were to assist the fatigue party, to a certain distan LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. HOSS. gj, and then return to tliesliin ti.« ™.e fo. eight „,i.e:i-aH:e Tr^:;';; "'^"' "" '"«"• three on the morning of the lyih. " ^"'"''e'' l'as« During the absence of the officer ih^ „ 10 make another fishing n„„, ^ W^?.:, h '^T" ""' ""'"^'^ and which Capt. Ross ha'd CS;'*' ""%'''^''''^ ''--^ ofi.cons,ruc.ion.it„asf„und „:n'Jre'x.:i'r *':, "^•""- occasion In which it had been en,plot"d " "*"' °" '"^'^ On the 2Ist, Mr. Thorn and Mr. Mc-n;,™; i • l , wen. .0 the old harbour, to bring a^av,!:- ^V" ''""'''' been left .her.- ,r. the preceding learMh™".?:":' ""' '""' lions were not very great of fin2 ^'" "■"'■■ *"?«<='»- - -e been^brar/iriSXrr-""^'' In this, however, they were aor^nnkr ''" ^3^ *he Esquimaux. ." .I,e articles i^ i^JZZ ZX^I^!:' '''' ""'•" % were all covered with snow. Th" .- '. ' °'"'""^'' .» old iron stove, that was in the V c,7ry Zn ."T ,"'"" '"""" -erpool, but it was in many respecL onl" ,.. """^^'^ '<• i;y oflumber, which was alrLd/ontl & '" '"* ^— On Sunday the 22nd, no service was nerf 7* ke absence of the officers, instead of w'h I T ' "" """""' "' Vd himself in making fishing rod, Todt' "'"■'""""' *■"• I.' ferrules to them The ft^l / ""^ ^"S'neer, in affix- *e-. of therhipSing wXf2 "T '"* ^''' «"« -" '0 each of the men, and aTeJ tTof; " ° .f "' "™^ "- '- "'- o'clock. The remainder o'tleZn: "'^ """""' »me unimportant matter, such as in IT ""' """"P'^'' '""ff'te wall that shaded he tlLlI T ^"^^ ""P'"""' '^- ';;."». The wind btwS;rrN K'.ottn'''' 'l»«er part. aUended with some very se" rega'les. " '"' S12 LAST VOYAOr. OF CAPT. ROSS. As the test of ...inparison between the temperature o t e seasons of 1830 and 1831, the following is tlie scale of the external atmosphere for the month of May. [lighest Lowest 1 rllghest Lowest Highest Lowest May 1 Below Above May Below Above May Below ■ Above 12 15 12 1 23 30J 12 2 12 1 13 22 i 9 24 26 h 20 3 10 2 14 32 to 25 S3 17 4 20 5 15 32 10 28 33i 21 5 21 4 16 29 8J 27 36 17 6 20 4i 17 28 12 28 45 2U 7 19 4 1 18 [ 25 16 29 22 11 20.1 1 i 19 S2i 10 30 30 15 9 2.1 1 i 20 1 24 8 31 28 16 10 22i 4 21 25 14 M 19 4 22 22 1 18 1 The first of June was the day appointed for the ampnta' of Taylor's foot, as Mr. Mc Diarmid evidently saw, that it neve oould be of any further use to him. The diseased part n poulticed every day, since he was brought on board, made so.iij times with soft bread, and at another time with oatmeal. was, however, the particular wish of Taylor, that Capt. Ro should be on board at the time when the operation took pk and therefore it was postponed until his return. It becaii •however, a question with Mr. Mc'Diarmid, whether the poj ponement of the operation might not endanger the life of| patient, and therefore he determined not to wait the returj Capt. Ross; on the inspection of the foot, however, it ^J found to be too much swelled, to allow of the operation bei t*9T VOVAOE OF CAPT. ROSS. 5I3 prformed, and therefore the postponement became a matter ot necessity. , The return of Capt. Ross was not looked for, for some days but, to the great surprise of the crew, he suddenly mado his' appearance amongst them, leaving his party nearly a day's journey behind him. From the well known repugnance of Capt. Ross to expose himself, without the most urgent necessity. to any mclemency of the weather, his arrival could not have been looked for on this day, as the wind was excessively hio-h with the snow drifting so heavily, that it was difficult to discern a hundred yards in advance. His motive for leaving his party and travelling to the ship by himself never transpired ; nor' perhaps, was there any foundation for the rumour, which was current on board, as to the cause which impelled him to an act, 80 contrary to his general mode of action ; for as to any benefit of a geographical or scientific character, resulting from his ex- pedition, it was the general opinion, that ho might just as well have remained comfortably in his cabin. At half past one in the morning, Capt. Ross' parly arrived at ihe ship, completely exhausted with fatigue, and one of the crew ifith his foot frost-biltjn, which happened to him on the day if his starting from the ship; but it was not judged by Capt. 'oss, to be a case of such urgency, as to call upon him to send le man back to the ship ; but it was generally considered, that, necessity had nothing to do in the business, humanity had a jreat deal, but it appeared at the time, that it was not convenient pay any attention to its call. The whole of the party returned a very precarious state of health, which was attributed, in a feat degree, to their being put upon an allowance of fish, to the ital exclusion of meat; at the same time, that their weekly lowance of bread was not sufficient to last them three days. It was impossible to decide on what principle Capt. Rops uld suppose, that his men could sustain the continual fatigue W labor, to which they were exposed, on such a weak and ^tery aliment as fish, which, as an article of human food, is lown to possess proportionably the least quantity of nutritive itter, of any kind of sustenance which is adapted to the sup- '^' 3u 514 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R0S3 ,,„rt of man. Was it rational to suppose, that the strenojtl, „, ,ealth of the^en.on their travelling parties, «,th the.r .mpovo. rished fare, could be in the same condition as that of the office,, who had been previously accustomed to the best of fare, an total strangers to the privations of any k.nd of food, v,l c particularly suited their taste „r appetite The men v,ho had sailed with Capt. Parry, were continually drawmg theu com- parison between the fare, which was allotted to them on board Ihe Hecia and Fury, and that, which was distributed to them on board the Victory : in the former, every thing was given out with a free and liberal hand ; in the latter, parsimony appeared to be the ruling principle, without any regard to the co,.e. nuences, which such niggardly conduct might have upon t e health of the crew. Capt. Ross seemed to forget that t e health and physical powers of a man depend as much upon ,1. kind of sustenance, which he takes, as any other an.ma . creation; although, if he had personally tried the experiment, . restricting himself to the diet, to which he conBncd h,s men, n scarcely admits of a doubt, that the next monument, wh.ch «, raised in the country of the Esquimaux, would have beoa ov., his own remains. . . i a . During the excursion of Capt. Ross, he obta.ned anot a proof, that there was very little reliance to be placed on tk. word of the Esquimaux. They had promised to take h.m b,. nearer route to NichiUi.^ni accordingly he had made ana, pointment with Commander Ross, to meet him at that plaee., the 21st of May; but the Esquimaux, who comparatively plae. little value upon their own time, considered that Capt. Ross. far resembled them, as to place no value upon his; and theref. it was a matter of very little consequence, whether they arm at NiohUli. a day sooner or a day later. As to any punctu. I -m the keeping of an appointment, it was a thing, they c not be made to comprehend the meaning of ; .t formed no f of their conduct observed amongst themselves ; and, thereW as they could not be brought to believe, that Capt. Ross, ,n> excursion, had any other aim in view than to see the beauties . the female ones) of their country, it could not be imputed to m LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. 515 as an act of unkindness or ill breeding, if they conducted him (othe appointed spot, by a circuitous route. Capt. Ross had, in 1,18 own fatherland, often heard the adage, " that ail wLys lead to Rome ;" and, judging by analogy, he was positive, that all the ways in the Esquimaux country led to Nichtlli : but it was certainly an act of gross misconduct on the part of the Es- quimaux, not to designate it by a severer name, to take such a circumbendibus to Nichilli, that the body of Capt. Ross was exposed to all the rudeness and severity of their climate, foi- nearly six days longer than there was, in reality, any occasion for as instead of arriving at Nichilli, on the 21st, their arrival 'did not take place until the 27th ; and this delay was solely to be attributed to the circumvolutionary disposition of their guides wlio, instead of proceeding in a straight line to the destined Vt, went in a curvilinear direction, until, at one time, they vere at a greater distance from Nichilli, ih^n they were when hey set out from the ship. To speak of a man keeping his emper on an occasion of this kind, were to invest him with lie equanimity of Job himself; and therefore it was, perhaps otat all unlikely that the sudden and unexpected return of -apt Ross was, in a certain degree, owing to some offence hich he had taken for the conduct, which had been observed )wards him, and which perhaps determined him, as early as ossible, to close his acquaintance with a set of people, who tlier from wantonness or ignorance, had been the instruments exposmg his person to six days additional buffeting with ■lis of snow, showers of sleet, the merciless pelting of hail, and le violence of the northern gales, which threatened every mo- entto capsize his sledge, and plunge him three feet deep in e snnw * e snow. On the departure of Capt. Ross from Nichilli, he left Com. •nder Ross with 17 days provisions, and a farther supply was i^e left him at a certain place, to meet him on his return. At 7 o clock on the morning of the 2nd, the operation was rrormedon Taylor's foot, and in half an hour the man was laid "IS cot, with every prospect of doing well. h the 3d, the whole of the party who had accompanied Capt. 516 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R0S8 Ross, were so seriously indisposed, that they were all put into a steam bath, which was one of Capt.Jakyr8 patent. The illness of these men ought to have taught Capt. Ross a lesson, that a change in his conduct towards them, in regard to their diet, was an act of imperious necessity, but there are some characters upon whom all experience is lost, and who, having formed to themselves a particular line of conduct, persevere in it, in despite of the conviction, which daily and hourly imposes itself upon them, that it is founded on prejudice and error. On the 6th, the party that were to carry out the provisions to Commander Ross, made the necessary preparations for their de. parture, and in the afternoon a fiitigue party got ready to take the sledge a few miles, for the purpose of alleviating the labor to those, who were appointed to take it to its destination. At 7 o'clock in the evening, the steward and a few men set otF witli the sledge, and returned at 4 o'clock in the morning, leaving the travelling party to proceed with all expedition, to the place where the provisions were to be left for Commander Ross, for whom some apprehensions were felt that he might be greatly in want of them. Although Capt. Ross had projected another excursion, and he had expressed his determination to set out on the 7th, yet tl- wind blew with such uncommon violence, and the weather c the whole appeared so very inauspicious, that he postponed his departure until the 9th, when he set out early in the morninj accompanied by five men and a sledge. Some notion mayb formed of the opinion, which the crew entertained of these excur- sions of their commander, for they always spoke of them as cruises thereby signifying, that he did not know where he was going to, nor how long'he should be out. In another sense, they were de. signated as tramps, for the men were obliged to foot it oversno- jund ice, like a wandering gang of gypsies, the world then home, the heavens their canopy, and a lump of snow their pillo- On the 10th, a party of natives came to the ship from t' south-west, who, on their way, had fallen in with Capt. R and his party, two days before, and had supplied them with s- salmon and cod-fish, which were the first that had been seen in LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 517 of the country- j tliey were called by the sailors Tommy Cod • '•joy were in reality the fish known by the name of the Coal It ^s a fish of very low estimation as a table fish, a d is eldom seen in our markets, although they have their iiabitation near to our shores as the Dogger Bank. But the value of '— depends, in a great measure, upon the circumstances in tiie thmg itself is found : a bowl of water, in the desert, carry in value its weight in gold ; and to the famished Ira.' r, the food, that would be rejected and despised in the hour plenty, becomes in the time of want, an estimable dainty, ^apt. Ross having returned by himself, on his arrival' at the he despatched Mr. Mc'Diarmid and five men, to the assistance i party, whom he had left about ten miles to the southward. L>r from the vagueness of the directions given to Mr. Mc'Diar- or that he took a course contrary to those directions, it un- rlunateiy happened, that he missed Capt. Ross' party, who '-ived at the ship without him, worn do;.n with fatigue, at clock m the morning, having been nearly 12 hours in travel. 10 m.les. Mr. Mc'Diarmid and his party returned about five r.s afterwards, having fallen in with the track of Capt. Ross» h by which it was clear to them, that all further search was necessary, as their course was in a straight direction for the '"', and, therefore, their arrival before them, was a mutter ^ery little doubt. the 11th, three Esquimaux with their wives, each having chddren, came to the slnp. and brought eighty pounds of |raon and cod-fish ; seme of the former were dried and some "the weight of the latter was from 6 to 14 oz. On the mmg day, another party of natives arrived, bringing 36tbs. salmon; and 3|lbs. wero served out immediately to each man^ ^leu of preserved meats. In this unpardonable manner did It. Ross persevere in forcing upon his men a kind of fn jd, Ich, as a general one, was injurious to their health, and to- ly unfit to support the physical strength, which they were ly and hourly called upon to exercise. h the 13th, Commander Ross and his party arrived, after an We of 29 days He had penetrated a great deal further 5J8 LAST VOYAGE OF CAl'T. R033. than on iho preceding year, and returned by the isthmus, ^hi.h divides the sea, that is, the head of Prince Regent s lulel, and the sea where Nichilh is situated ; the distance from sea to so. is about fifteen miles, intersected by several lakes. Commander Koss was informed by the natives, that this newly d.seovere.l sea abounded with whale, seal and walrus; but the report of the natives was not confirmed by any personal experience, on the pan of Commander Ross, for although a seal would have been highly acceptable as food for the dogs, not one was to be caught, Commander Ross gave the name of Isabella Cape to the longest point of land in this sea ; and to an island he gave the name of Abernethy Island. One of the most singular effects of the cold, that exhibit. itself on this expedition, was the frost smoke, that rose from ih, sea in thin volumes, as if from a furnace. This was more inj. rious to the human frame, than the keenest atmosphere; for, was no sooner wafted by the wind over the land, than ii create such a cutting and exquisite cold, that the men were obhg. to put on all the clothing they coi^ld muster, to prevent the, hands and feet from being frost-bitten. The rising of th. wreaths of smoke, from the moveless surface of the sea, was most extraordinary sight ; the feeble moon struggling throng' them, and even the natives were afraid to stir abroad at t^ hour.' In the dim twilight of the day, that followed, the uur, hunter would sometimes venture forth to seek the deer, or trac the musk ox to his snowy lair. But in the midst of the n.gf superstition might have conjured up some portentous lor,, accompanied by a host of terrors; for strange sounds wereof^ abroad in the air, caused by the meeting of masses of disjoiot* ice or the splitting of the rocks with the intensity of thecoli even the piteous cry of the seal was sometimes sufficient create an alarm ; there were noises also on the deep and ^ shore for which they could not account: so that these tempoi exiles from their native land, were often, like the peop Ecrypt, during the plague of darkness, when in the subl,i description of the Apocrypha, " they heard the sound of k^ things rushing by, even by their doors, and in their chanH I.A8T VOYAGE OF CATT. ftOSS. 510 but saw not the form thereof." No visitor camo to cheer the lagging moments; no friend dropped in to tell of pas^incJ events, or share their solitary meal. There were no events to tell of; the land was sealed and covered; within each silent dwelling was seen to criimmer the lamp, that but seldom dies- and deep and dreary was their solitude, as if they were the last romniints of the human race. Whatever discoveries Commander Ross might have made of a geographical or scientific character, he seemed much disposed to keep them within his own breast; he, however, hesitated not to communicate the intelligence, that although he had discovered a sea to the westward, by which they could extend their voyao-e ^nthat quarter; yet, on the whole, it presented not that favor ble appearance, as to entitle him to draw the conclusion, that uch an uninterrupted navigation could bo obtained as to bure the object of the expedition. Still, however, such a dis- loveryhad been made, as to inspire Capt. Ross with the hope lat as soon as a passage could be effected, from the situation n which the Victory then was, their progress to the westward )ght be so far advanced, before the setting in of the ensuin- inter, as to determine in the most decisive manner, the orea't iestion. whether they were or were not, in reality, in the rack for the discovery of the long-sought for passage. Tiie Esquimaux, who came to the ship on the 14th. brought Ih them several articles of their merchandize, as their stock fish was quite exhausted. They found a ready market for their articles; as during the course of the preceding winter pt.Ross found himself under the necessity, of abstractincr' N the flour tubs, some of their contents, in order to mee^t ^urgent necessities of the men ; some of whom were literally out that supply of warm clothing, which was indispensable lllieir protection against the severity of the cold rhe quantity of game, which wis now daily brought to the P. was m itself sufficient to have supplied all the messes of , 8h«P ; but, to the great mortification of the crew, a very 11 portion of it indeed found its way to their table The N, however, adopted by the men, was, one of stratacrom 5 LAST VOYAOK OF CAPT. R089. and smuggling-many a grou.o smoked on their board, ^h.lsl their captain, reclining in Ins arm-chain in the cabin, >vas g,a. tifvincr himself with the thought, that a fish regimen agreed so wJll with the health of his men. If the steward or any of the petty officers, who were allowed the privilege of shooting, by virtue of a licence granted by their commander, emptied the contents of their shooting bags before him ; little did the wise and sagacious captain suspect, that a grouse had been hidden in one place, a bunting in another, a duck m a third, and a goose in a fourth place; and that when he was en- ioving his senlk, the hidden treasures were secretly conveyed on board, and in a short time afterwards found their way, by some means, into the caboose, where they were allowed to fry and frizzle, until an opportunity presented itself of conveying them to the messes below. Du.ing the expedition of Capt Parry no man was allowed to carry a gun on the Sabbath; in this expedition, however, the service of the day was no sooner over, than some of them went on their shooting excursions; an on Sunday the 19th. their success was so great, that they brougl to the ship, ten plovers, four buntings, five ducks, one snipe,an six grouse n : grous«. • r ♦ I, The ice about the ship was now melting fast, in tact she at this time surrounded with water ; but the difierenceof thetw^ winters began to be very perceptible ; the present one hm at least 18 dayslater, or according to the opinion of Capt.Rof three weeks. The tide pole was this day let down, and iM lowest tide was found to be nine feet, and the highest fourtee, feet, four inches. * On the 22nd, a survey of the provisions was taken, and evei thing was found in good condition, with the exception of cask of rice, which was entirely spoilt. * The labor of the remainder of the month of June, was directi to getting the ship in a proper state for sea. The ship* watered, and the tanks stowed away in the hold ; the remain* ot the housing was taken off, and the ship was begun to be rigg« On the 30th, some hanc^s were sent to Vakkee Hill, tobrin?i ' mizen loom on board, as well as the gear of the flag ^ U«T VOVAOE OF C*FT. ROSS, 621 On Ihe 2nd July, Commande, R„a, „ent on a shooline ex- ,edil.o„, and b,oug:l.l back with him five E«iuimau,, f„u, „f r am had never been al the ship before. The astonishment, hKh these poor creatures evinced, on bein^ taken down into h« cb.n, wa» most extraordinary ; they appeared as if some .g.c,ans «and had stricken them motionless; the only part b„uuhem Laving any tendency to motion, being their eyes, .huh rolled about from one object to another; and then havinff .pparcntly satisfied their gaze, thoy burst into a kind of hyste! ncl laugh. On being offered some refreshment, they shook ta, heads excla,m,ngJV«*JV<,A; but when they saw their com- p.mo„ who had been at the ship before, set to to devour the U, « Inch was placed before him, they threw off, by degrees all U„e. and in a very short time gave a decisive proof, that they ,m wel able to support the character of their countrymen for el. of g uttony. On discoursing with one of the me^, it was ..covered, that he was the possessor of two wives ; but he very ».ll, mfmated, .hat one of them was very much at the service f.ny one, who, on seeing her, might take a fancy to her They .opped on board until 8 o'clock in the evening, and then de. arled with some trifling presents. On the following day a party set out in search of the huts .his particular tr.be, but returned unsuccessful, during thei «ce, five men, and three women with three children ar' -eda. the ship; but, although they brought neither fish,' nor «ea w..h them, yet they were very importunate for some ' ey co„|d lay their hands upon ; in fact, they appeared to be a -deceitful and dishonorable set of being:, Zn t "at e he ,mmed.ate v.c.nity of Felix Harbour. There was, how ^'. i degree of fun and humour about these men, which hid ' been witnessed in any other individuals of th Esqu.W >e and after a very little persuasion, the sailors got them to p" ' "the manner, in which they kill the seals. 5„e of ThemT -.s .he seal, and lays himself prostrate on the fl ' .hj s supposed to be close to its hole; the native approaches y.and w.th as little noise as possible towards the a-imal » 5i2 liAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. but Stops immediately that it raises its head. As soon, however, as the seal drops its head on the surface of the ice, the Esquimaux proceeds towards it, until he gets within the reach of his spear. The seal, not being an animal of very quick motion, and having its head generally in a direction contrary to its hole, the Esqui- maux darts at it, in its attempt to dive into the water, and kills it with his spear. On the 4th, a party set out in a direction contrary to that which the first party took, for the purpose of discovering the huts of these people ; and found them on the shore of a lake, in the vicinity of which, it was supposed they had encamped themselves, for the benefit of the fishing. On the arrival of the party, the natives were found all asleep. The access to their toopiks or tents not presenting any difficulty, as was the case with the snow huts of the natives in Felix Harbour, the sailors entered them, and such a scene of misery and wretchedness hdd never before been presented to their eyes. In the first tent were two families, consisting of two men, two women, and three chiL dren; in the second, two men, two women, and three children; and in the third, one man, two women, and one child. ThiJ was the man, who had two wives; but although there wer only six women belonging to the tribe, two of the ugliest o them had fallen to his lot; and it must be allowed, that anEs quimaux woman, who has reached the superlative degree ugliness, must be one of Nature's most finished pieces. appeared, however, that the Esquimaux was not so much bigamist by choice, as he was by necessity. There were butli men belonging to the tribe, and six women ; and, therefore, followed, as a matter of course, that one of them must eitbi pass a life of single blessedness, and be the only old inaid _ the community, or she must share the connubial bed with \\ first of her sex, who might be disposed to admit her as a sleepi * partner. Polygamy is not disallowed amongst the Esquiroai but, so far from it being general, it very seldom happens, tk the two sexes are so unequally proportioned, as that a wonii can have two husbands, o| a man, two wives. It must »1 be observed, that the afferent tribes of the Esquimaux; '*' Jf ••*" VOVAQE OF CAPT. R0S9. 5.^3 onlj be considered as each of them constituting one family more or less numerous, according to tl.e time that a particular' number of them have determined to separate from the parent stock, to form a tribe or family amongst themselves. Thus it .ery seldom happens, that an Esquimaux girl will look for, or accept of a husband out of her own immediate family or tribe and, m th.., respect, they bear a strong resemblance to the' pps.es, who very seldom intermarry with each other It has been generally asserted, that polygamy is nof conducive to population, and for that reason it is the intention of Dr kalthus to have a bill introduced into Parliament, with the intent of legalizing polygamy in this country; although he .«sht,pr,marily to adopt some measures, by which the .feople of th„ country shall become polygamists. with their o^n free w, h for ,t .s too frequently seen, that rather than take a second mfe, the husband would deem it one of the greatest blessings, hat could be conferred upon liim, if he could, by any legal ^o decent means, disencumber himself of the wife, that he has got T ere „„,, h„„,,„, „„ p,„„f forthcoming, during the L'e the sailors were acquainted with the Ksquimaux bigamist, he had any particular reason to complain of his fate-no ^ I he was better clad, or that his toopik was kept in better fc*r, m consequence of his having two wives to clean it, in- nead of one : for, in regard to the former, the whole of the tribe L 1 * ""* "'<=<""?'«'« nudity, with the exception of a deer "thrown over them, which served them in the day for ^*ng, and in the night for their bedding: and in regard to Natter, neither of the wives could complain of performine a htcr degree of labor than the other; for, as the tent or /ool.A as never cleaned « all, and the dirt and filth suffered to accu- Nate until an English pig-stye, in its dirtiest state, was Karat„ely a place of cleanliness to it, it was not to be sup- «kich both of them appeared to be exactly of one accord » summer huts of these people differ greatly from their ""ones. Their mode of erecting them, is, in the first place, »i«ke a citele of stones, about seven feet in diameter: a pole 5.4 LAST VOYAOK OF C»PT. BOSS. % is then placed aptigl.t, but not exactly in the middle; and u. the ton part of the rtick are the skins attached, somelh.ng ,n the shape of a marquee. The height of the tent .s about 7 to 8 c ♦ ' On the entrance of the sailors into the toopik of the husband with two wives, the latter did not seem in the least abashed at the presence of the intruders; they were lying on the ground. with no other covering than their daily clothing of the deer skin- at their heads were the remnants of some fish, of which they had been partaking on the preceding day : and the hule hurnan animal, that was crawling about them, in a state of nudity now and then took a bite of one of the fish, lookm,. exactly like a monkey squatting on its hinder parts, munching a biscuit or an apple. The Esquimaux ladies were certainly destitute of any article of furniture, on which they could invile their visitors to sit down and rest themselves ; nor were there any refreshments at hand, wherewith they could be regaled, unless perchance their appetite might lead them to partake of a slice of stinking salmon, or a raw cutlet of putrid seal flesh The ladies, however, rose from their couch, in all the capti vation of their morning deshabille ; and the first act, which th younger of them performed, was, to advance towards Ridiar Wall, who was the stoutest of the parly, and with a bevvitchin look invite him to the ceremony of kooniging. Richard wa however, not to be tempted by the wiles of the seducer, a^ made the best of his way out of the tent: it being also pretl] evident, that the lady was disposed to try the experiment on ther- mainder of the party, they all followed the example of^. leaving the ladies to form whatever opinion they pleased, specting the gallantry of the Kabloonas. The husband folio. them to the outside, and, from his gestures, they were able understand, that it was the intention of himself and hislr - to visit the ship, for the purpose of pointing out an exce ( fishing place, and, particularly, where the Tommy Cod orj fish were to be caught. The ladies, it was supposed, mdigri at the aflFront, which had been oflFered them, (for, certainly, greater insult can be offered to a female, than to reject the faj LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 5^5 wliich 8he offers,) never condescended to show themselves a.a.n, and the party soon after took their departure for the ship. They had not been there many hours, when the Esquimaux .ere seen approaching, the two wives bringing up the rear- but, whatever ill humour they might have evinced in the morn-' in„.. it had now wholly subsided, and they came on board with laughing countenances, and greeted their former acquaintance with every token of satisfaction. Some refreshment was given them, and it was agreed, that they should go a-fishino- on the morrow; Commander Ross, and Mr. Mc'Diarmid to accompany them. After stopping a few hours, during which, their eyes were in every direction, to see what they could pilfer, they eft the ship, for the express purpose of taking a senik, pro- m.smg to be punctual to their appointment on the following day. o In anticipation of this fishing expedition, one of the crew «as despatched to the lakes, to bring away the fishincr-rods • md early on the following morning. Commander Ross and Ur. Mc'Diarmid were on the anxious look-out for their guides .ut, at 12 o'clock, not one had made his appearance. At wo, Commander Ross set out to the huts in search of them ut, on his arrival there, he found that they were all gone. In le evening, the man returned, who had been sent to the lakes •id he reported, that he had met the tribe, travellincr i„ the irection of NichilU, which was directly contrary, to w'here the I'mg place was situate. It was some time, before the cause Ihis conduct could be discovered, but it was at last ascer- •ned, that at their visit to the ship, on the preceding day ey had stolen several trifling articles ; and the suspicion was 'w entertained, that they were afraid to keep their appoint- Bnt, from the fear, that the theft had been discovered, and ey were then ignorant as to what might be the consequences tfiera ; or the extent of the punishment, that would be inflicted ''» them. During one of the shooting excursions, which the men took ihe 7th, a fox's burrow was discovered by Abernethy, who 526 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. .uss immediately repaired to tl.e ship, to inform Co,„ma„dor R of the eireumstance. As some expeetat.ons of good sport w enlertaii>ed, Commander Ross, wuh four men. set off f„i ih, burrow, and after an hour's hard digging, they came to a you,,; family of six cubs, all of them of a dark brown colour Th. sport, however, which the old foxes gave to the men would k„ been greatly relished, even by an English hunter ; fo' the ,,la« where they l,.d established their burrow, was so full of hote, that they were .:o sooner driven out of one, than they took .. fuo-e in another. It was the wish of the men, to take theoM „n°es alive : for having got possession of their progeny, U «, expected, that it would not be a difficult task to tame the™ and ultimately to transport them to England. After hm>l.„g»d dodging them for nearly two hours. Reynard always contr,vei ,0 escape from the snares, that wer. laid for him; and there »„, as no immediate prospect presented itself of taking t ho,„ al„, it was determined lo shoot them, which was u....mately acco.. pushed, although, not without some difficulty. On exa,„u„.; Ibe burrow, there were found in it, the rema.ns of the skn„ hares, weasels, mice, birds and even Bsh The men cam their booty to the ship in triumph ; but they afterwards UA that in attempting to.rear the cubs, they had imposed upon tl,.„ selves, a task of no common difficulty, and. which, even * accomplished, was not attended with any profit or adva,,... The live stock of the Victory now consisted of the six fox-c* two hares, and one mouse, all most valuable specimens o( ., quadrupeds of the country, and worthy the trouble of «« conveyed to England, where they would be found not to d* in the slightest degree, from the indigenous species. The carpenter was employed during the whole of the in making a salmon spear, similar to the one used by the nal« It greatly resembles the spear used in England for striking «l " with the exception, that the Esquimaux spear has only one p-.« which is made of bone; the shaft or handle being made otse* or eight small pieces of wood, lashed together. The spear «» by the carpenter, was all in one piece, and the prong ma* iron. When it was shown to the Esquimaux, they were LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R0S9. 5^7 delighted with it, that they would have taken all their clothes from their back, in exchange for it, and have returned to their huts, literally in a state of nakedness. Capt. Ross went to the lakes to try his success with the spear, but he returned without catching' a fish. The tides were now exceedingly high, the water having risen 18 feet 5 inches; and it was a most mortifying circumstance (0 see an open sea before them, and to know that their ship was jammed up with the ice, in a small bay, wholly unable to extricate herself. On the 13th, the boats were ^ot off from the shore, in expectation that the ice would give way, from the effect of the high tides, and enable the vessel to proceed on her voyage In the afternoon (,f the ISth, Mr. Light went to the lakes with his salmon spear, and succeeded in striking a fish which .e conveyed on board. This spear was bought by Mr! Light of an Esquimaux, at Widsford or Holsteinburg ; and it was' the first salmon, that had ever been caught by any of the crew, tvith a spear. Commander Ross also succeeded in striking threJ m\\ fish, the whole weight of which was Itb. 5oz. The veather was, however, exceedingly inauspicious for fishing, the m coming down in torrents, and the wind blowing a strong- ale from the eastward. On the 14th, two Esquimaux arrived at the ship, bringing ith them thirty.five pounds offish ; but as they were all of last ^ar 8 catching, they were not held in very high esteem. These l^quimaux remained on board till the 16th, when they were to [company Commander Ross and a party, to one of the five hrs in North Bay, of which mention has been already made, Id which was reported, by the natives, to abound with all kinds jfish, Accordingly, early on the morning of the J6lh, Com- Mer Ross, Mr. Mc'Diarmid, with eight men, guided by the 1^ Esquimaux, set out on this expedition, Capt. Ross accom- pmg them part of the way; but who returned to the comforts Ithe ship, at 12 o'clock, on the following day, bringing with ^ a plover and a snipe. He saw a deer, and in his hurry to load pn with ball, he broke his ramrod. The 17th, being Sunda> , K Ross, immediately on his return, proceeded to the per- 528 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R08B. formance of the religious duties of the day : hut, whiUt he was reading the Liturgy, he was taken so ill, that he was obliged to leave the cabin, appointing Mr. Thorn to finish the service. In the afternoon, the whole crew left the ship, for the purpose of taking a walk, and brought home with them three fine pintail ducks; but the lakes were now getting so clear of ice, that it was a difficult matter to get near to the birds. On the 18th, the carpenter was employed caulking the top. sides; the crew were put to picking oakum, and making putty, the stock of pitch being exhausted. Capt. Ross took a walk to the northward, and returned at midnight, with two grouse two pin-tail ducks and a snipe. He saw two deer, but could not come within shot of them. ^ , „ i • On the 20th, some of the party arrived from North Bay, leaving there. Commander Ross. Mr. Mc'Diarmid, and two of the crew. They brought a load of fish with them, the greater part of which being last year's fish, were scarcely eatable. They, however brought with them thirty-one fresh ones, and Capt. Ross ordered, immediately, that 'Ztbs. of the stale, and lib. of the fresh fish should be distributed to every man ; thereby aifording a« additional proof, that a man, who, once gets into a wrong roa^ generally perseveres in it, until he falls headlong into a sloug from which no power is able to extricate him. In the evening, the party left the ship for the bay, takin? with them, the net; whilst the crew, on board, were employe in cleaning the fish, taking 180 on shore, for the purpo^ of drying them. , On the 21st, Capt. Ross went on a shooting excursion, an ^ returned on the following day, with a hare, a sand-piper, an a mouse! and, on the following day, he set out again v.. two of the crew, one of whom, he in a short time sent back . with a sand-piper's nest, as well as the old bird. On the 22nd, Mr. Mc'Diarmid arrived on board, for the purp of obtaining additional hands, to assist the party, that were their way to the ship, with the load of fish, which theyt caught. He informed Capt. Ross, that in the first haul the net, they caught 500, and the second haul, 1143. LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R09S. 529 foquimaux when they saw the latter haul, plunged into the water, and began to ladle out the fish with their hands, uttering the loudest exclamations of joy, and clapping their hands in an extasy of del.ght. This mode of fishing with the net, had never before been witnessed by these people, nor could they be brought at first to comprehend in what manner the fish were caught, particularly those, which had got entangled in the net It, however, gave them a distaste to their own method of fishing ' for the contrast appeared so great, between bringing out a so hlary fish, and hauling them out by hundreds, that it opened as It were, a new era upon them, and implanted certain ideas in their minds, which might afterwards contribute, in a most important degree, to their personal welfare. The fishing party arrived at the ship, on the 23rd, bringing with them the sledges, laden with a cargo of prime fresh salmon [he average weight of which was 3 lbs. 2 oz. The party after mights rest, took their departure from the ship, accompanied )y some additional hands, and two sledges. The crew on board rere employed in cleaning, washing, and pickling the fish in inegar, and in the course of the day, they had deposited in leir casks, 389; reserving a certain number of the fish fresh for resftnt use. We have already cursorily hinted at the deleterious effects |hich these salmon, pickled in vinegar, had upon the health of |e crew, in consequence of their having been prepared in Ipper vessels, of which the tin lining had been worn off. In ^ present instance, it was most difficult to account for the ^tinacy of Capt. Ross, in persevering to have the fish cured in Nils, of which the injurious effects had been already experi- N. and which actually extended to that alarming length as fendanger the lives of the men. It was not many days after * fish had been cured, that the effects of the copper were dis- hishable upon the fish ; and it was so evident that they lenot safe to eat, that the whole stock was condemned and |wn upon the beach. It was not, however, the immediate lljf the fish, that excited some regret; for, at that particular Kthe supply of fresh provisions was so abundant, arising ^ 3 Y 530 tABT VOYAGE OF CAPT. R09t.f. from tliG success of the sportsmen with their guns, that th^ could have dispensed with the fish altogether. They however, looked forward to their casks of fish, as a resource for the ensuing winter when the birds and animals would become scarce, and little was to be obtained by the hunter, or from the natives, but the flesh of the seal and the walrus; and perhaps, occasionally, a lump of musk ox beef, with which, however, some rather un- pleasant associations were accompanied. , ^ , . , , On the !l5th, a party came to the .hip. having left their sledge about four miles distant, it being too heavy for them to dra. along; the road being exceedingly bad and rugged, owing,,, a great measure to the decayed state of the ice, which bn.ke under them almost at every step. This party had been twenty- two hours without any refreshment, and eighteen on their leg,, with a heavy load dragging behind them. Each man had taken his loaf with him on the sledge, but the bread soon got sosa. turated with water, as to render it not fit to be eaten : the rrea themselves were sometimes up to their middle in water, and this deplorable state, they were obliged to tramp it over t cracklincr ice, floundering every minute their whole length in some pool of water, with not even a morsel of food, to suppo: them on their march. At one o'clock, Mr. Thorn, and a party of eight, went fort sledge, and returned at six: even these eight men found t labor of dragging the sledge to be almost too much for the. what then must it have been for only five, and one of them ve- il! 2 This continual and excessive labor excited a spirit discontent amongst the men, which perhaps, but for the influeni exercised over them by Commander Ross, would have brokf out into open mutiny. They looked upon it as a species labor which they were not hired to perform, and wl.ich i,ad immediate reference to the discipline of the ship ; still, ho, ever they might not have displayed so great an unwillmgne and 'repugnance to the performance of the labor, had a con sponding disposition been shown on the part of Capt. ^ support them through their fatigue, by that attention to tl personal wants, and to the support of their physical strenf l«8T VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 53, •hich could only be aceompli.I.eJ by a liberal administration of nutr.t.ous food. The «,q„el will very soon show, how directly opposite w^ the conduct of Capt. Ross, and how richly deserv. mg he proved himself of that dislike, which the men entertained for him. By the last party arrived from the fishing place, information «a, brought that one of the men. Anthony Buck, was taken ill mth severe fits brought on, it was supposed, hy ealing stale and uowholesome food, particularly salmon, whi, h had been dressed .. Ihe copper funnelling. This man, however, was not the only one of the crew, who was indisposed, although not exactly in the same manner, nor from the same cause It was the duty of the steward to wash the wearing apparel .h.t h,s task of washmg commenced, having twenty-two blanket, and four quil.s, wth four months apparel to wash, and all in cold water, wth no one to give him the slightest assistance through- out h.s arduous labor. The washing was obliged to be post- poned, on account of the difficulty of getting a good supply of water. m,.,l the latter end of June, and then the labor lasted for hree or four n.ghts, during which time, he was never in his ted. The effect of such a continual dabbling in cold water W.8, that he lost the use of his hands, by which, in the courj of a few days he could not hold a tumbler, nor wipe out a tea c«p; he was then put upon the sick list, but by the necessary applications, the use of his hands was restored to him On the 26lh.a party of four left the ship for the fishing place leaving Capt. Ross on board to amuse himself with the pickling ifwrae salmon in jar. for his own private eating. On the fol- owing day, the same party returned, bringing with them 280 "Imon, and a note from Commander Ross to his uncle, inform- »g lum, that at one haul, he had caught 8343 salmon, and that e was on his return to the ship. The greater portion however, 1 this extraordinary haul was wasted, as the men openly and «ldly declared that they could not stand the fatigue any longer • Mndependently of the privations, which they were obliged to' mwgo on account of the badness of their diet, there wa. 5q^ LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. R088. • • scarcely one of them that hod a boot to his foot, and t!>oso who wore them, had obtained them clandestinely from the Esquimaux. TIjus, the effects were beginning to display themselves of the solfish line of conduct, which Capt. Ross pursued, in prohibit, iiig his men from purchasing any of the skins from the natives, as in that case, they would hiwe been able during the winter months to have provided themselves with those articles of ap. parol, of which they now stood so much in need, and for the want of which, their feet were brought to a complete state of excoriation. One of the men, Joseph Curtis, perhaps one of the finest men on the expedition, made a complaint to Capt Ross on this subject, and declared, that his feet were in such a wounded state, that he could not possibly accompany the next travelling party. The answer, that Capt. Ross made, was, " Oh( that's all stuff, you must go, if you walk without feet." It was. however, not only in regard to the comfort and health of his men, as far as their clothing was concerned, that Capt. Ross evinced a callousness of disposition, and a reckless inattention to their wants, which literally rendered him odious to the crew ; but in cases where their health was concerned, he treated their appii- cations with contempt and indifference. On the same day that Curtis made his complaint, about the state of his feet, another of the crew applied to Capt. Ross for some medicine, (Mr. McDiar- mid being at North Bay,) having beeii for some time afflicted will) a constipation of the bowels. The advice, that Capt. Ross gave him, was, " 'to throw the physic to the dogs,* and to swallow a musket ball, and if that had no effect, to send another after il; then swallow a cartridge, set fire to it, and the devil was in it, if a passage would not be obtained." The poor fellow was, how- ever, refused all medicine, and in less than twenty-four hours, he was seized with a violent fit. These acts on the part of a commander, whose very existence depended upon the health and *" strength of his crew, appear so diametrically opposite to that line of conduct, which a prudent or a feeling man would have com mitted, that we should be inclined to discredit them altogether, were they not transmitted to us by an authority, of whose veracilj no doubt can be entertained ; at the same time, that they ati '*" '■"»*<'i! "I- OA»T. .OS,. jjjy .„,oborateJ b, .„„„.er p,.Hy. „„„ w», „„« „f ,„« ,„ffe,e„ „„ 1» oxHM^on, .» con^quenee of the culpable ne^lec a„d i„ d,irere ce .bat were ,h„w„ to the maintenance of the hcal"h a„d comfort of the crew. This conduct appear, in . ,,iM ,„„"' wh.„ u .8 CO traated w.lh hi, public declaration of those very ™en representmg them, a, having »,ved hin. with a con ane7 «b,cl. was never shaken under the most appalling, prospe" ^ ,.do whose fide ,ty and obedience he was so great^'ndrbtjd ( . Ross therefore, on his own showi„„. stands Jiliy JlZ . the blackest ingratitude, or he has exhibited Lse f „' c ar»cter. the most unfit and improper to conduct an eTp ^i on •be successful result of which, depended so much upon a I,' a. ...cessant attention to the health and comfort o( iLZt iiKicr his command. ®"^ In the afternoon of the 27th, . party of feu, were sent to the , for fish and on their way they met Commander Ross on his -*a to the sh.p : he arrived about midnight, worn down wi h .S.e an hunger. On the following day, the 28th. the p! J '■ '.'"" "7 '""[^ »°' draw the sledge any further; they e|^.re, ,cft n about three miles from the ship. I„ the co fa' •1» day the party, that had been with Commander Ross urned. bnng.ng with them Anthony Buck on a sledl ho on the.r journey to the ship, had had three fits, one of l-h..t was feared would terminate his existence ; in ^1 all nen, who were of Commander R„ss> party, w;re m"e o M ..disposed, arising from the unwholesoraeness of their fbod 'J he., contmual exposure to wet and cold, without the means' ob^.n.«gt eslightest relief. Ath„,fpastthree,sixme„: I or the sledge, that was left behind by the party arrived •he morning , and at ten at night, nine men and two .ledges despatched for the last cargo of fi.h. At 6. on the fo ! which Mr. Light was despatched with another man, to the •tance of the party, and returned on board, at 10 p m l>e men, who were able, were now employed about the fish, 584 <'A8T VOYAOB OF CAPT. R08S. curing, drying, and slowing them in the barrels. In a pro. spective point of view, these fish were regarded as a bounteou. gift of Heaven ; for. in the event of the Victory bemg blocked up for another winter, a certainty existed of the crew being put upon short allowance; and the plentiful supply of fish on board would enable them to weather the winter, without the fear d suffering from actual want. The whole number of the fish caught, were 4986. but not more than "1000 were brought to the ship • the remainder were entirely wasted. The greater part of the fish were preserved in vinegar, and stowed in barrels ad ho-sheads : a considerable number were salted and dried. some were dried, and not salted. The number pickled i- vinegar, was 1^84; independently of twelve jars, done m superior manner, for Capt. Ross, and twelve of the largest, an.l finest for Commander Ross. The number dried, were from 30flto r.00- and those, that were salted, were represented to excel all the others in the delicacy of their flavor. The distance of tk fishing place from the ship, was about 13 or 14 miles: hut Ih. most laborious part of the business was conveying the fi.!.o„ the back of the men, from the place of fishing to the salt water and then to the sledge, which was about three-fourths of a n,.!e Every man had to carry about 50 salmon, averaging m ^velg 150lbs ; no triHing laod to carry over rocks and rugged grouJ when the men were frequently no sooner off the former, than u.fiv minutes afterwards they were up to their middle in water ; a. this may be considered as the general character of the rod on which they had to travel from the place, where the sld;' was loaded, to the ship. There were six of the fishing pa.| on the sick list, all ofthem complaining of a pain in their bmvel Buck and Baxter were seized with convulsion fits : the for. had three in 6 hours; and the latter was in aht 1^ hour, ar at one time it was feared that he would never recover. * On the 2nd of August, the labor of drying and curing i' fish may be considered as being completed, and some ter, were erected on shore, for those which were drying, in or^ to protect them from the rain. The preserved fish were sto. away in 7 casks, No. I containing 250, No. % 200, No. 3.. LAST VOVAOK OR CAPT. ROSS. 635 No. 4, 339, No. 5, 55, No. 6, 211, No. 7, 244, beeidos a tierce of ttlted, and about 400 dried. On the 3rd of August, the boats were ^ot off from the shore' the ship was cleaned, and the watering of her commenced. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, to the great surprise of all on board, the ice gave way about the ship, and she drove her own ' ,gth. making exactly 10 months and 2 days since she had ived at all from her position. On the 1st of August of the preceding year, the ice was all in motion, but no symptoms „ftl.at desirable event had, as yet, taken place, although the fhip was literally surrounded by water. The prevalence of the westerly winds, which appeared to have set in on the 4th of August, and blowing with uncommon violence, was greatly adverse to the ice running out of the bay; at all events, even if Ihe ship were clear, it would not have been possible to make any Vt headway, with the wind blowing directly in their teeth. On the 5th. the whale boat was hoisted up. for the purpose of leing repaired, and the powder was got on board. The crew rere employed in repairing the sails; and all was bustle on loard, to get every thing in such a state of readiness, as to be nabled to start, on the breaking up of the ice. Commander »os8 went on shore, for the purpose of taking a survey, and e saw the water clear to the eastward. To the westward owever, it appeared to be stationary. Mr. Mc'Diarmid went ^ith the dingey to the lake, and returned at midnight, havin- id very little success, bringing home with him only one pin! ilduck. •'I Towards the evening the ice was in motion about the ship ith light winds from the W.N.W , and all hands were on the' ert, to take the advantage of it, but their hopes were blighted the budding, for the wind veered round suddenly to the 'fthward, driving the ice into the bay, and apparently choak- ? up every outlet, by which the Victory could escape. It ■^8. however, necessary that the strictest watch should be kept. It was well known to the majority on board, that when the' > once begins to be in motion, a particular spot will be oaked up one hour, and the next, scarcely a piece of ice si to seen. 536 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R099, A serious remonstrance, in the shape almost of a round robin, was at this time made to Capt. Ross, on account of his deler- minea perseverance, in having the food of the sailors cooked in tho copper apparatus. With the daily exhibition before his eyes, of the effect, which the victuals so cooked, had upon tlie health of his men, there being scarcely one, who did not com. plain of an affection of the bowels, and some actually unable to perform the duties of the ship ; it appeared to all, that their commander was laboring under a most deplorable infatuation, or under the influence of the most direct inhumanity, in obliging them to subsist on food, which had been proved to be of so deleterious a nature; it was not, however, until an absolute refusal was made by the whole crew, to partake of any more food cooked in the copper apparatus, that Capt. Ross was brought to his senses, and he issued his orders to the engineer to make some tin boilers to fit into the apparatus, and that, which a discreet and prudent man wouid have done, from a sense of propriety and humanity, was forced upon Capt. Ross, as a direct act of compulsion. On the 8th and 9th, the ice was quite stationary, with light winds from the southward ; a circumstance, however, occurei on the latter day, which, although it passed off without any immediate injury, might have been attended with the mostseriou consequences. The vessel had for a length of time been mad fast to a berg, which, as it was aground, and apparently to b permanently fixed, not the slightest apprehension was enter tained, that any danger could occur to the vessel, in fasteninj her to it. On the afternoon of the 9th, however, the berj capsised with a tremendous crash, and would most probabi] have placed the Victory on her beam ends, but fortunately t' haweers snapped with the sudden strain, and left the vesi » without any moorings. All hands were immediately turni out, and she was moored afresh to another berg; but, from ' unsettled state of the ice, her position was not considered of positive safety. Commander Ross was employed this day, in takir? an with the theodolite, it was, however, perceptible to the w ciew, that some fresh disagreement had broken out betw LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R08S. g^y Commander Ross and hio iir.«i^ l -il so^e time aftertal ' ' '"" ""'" ''' "<" '--P'- On the 11th. tho ah\rx „ »d .he ea.t, accompanied with heavvli; ^' ""^ """ """• 0„ the ,2th, a tribe of Esquimaux came io the shin a "0-^e had th::t;„!;:;?i;t:::rf "^''^ "» purpose now ni eomin. „„ board wa, , T '''^' '"'' I. left the ship at midnirrh, ' ° '""'* " repaired. . J.y. wuh 'h s :SlamTbr. *" "'"'" "" ''" '°"- -.niegforthecarpeL:::::'" '"""^ "^"""^ "- '"' »*i»,? altogether of tTe'ntv tf^^ "" "'' "''"'<' *"''«' "Idren. Thefe people TliTAT'T' """' """"""' '•'"'' *,es of an ^d '^c^!z:v'r:^:::r::::!:7:'' ": > a scene took Diace wh;nh u . "^"^ ^^"^^ on board, % co.d havettLtr i:r :„ra?2:i'^; '""''''" respect whatever was paid ,o persons tr / ^"""''»'"^'^ ^'r: Uia. to the female's, whether tlev ZlTr' 17"'""^ o»rpuIe„t doctor, or the grave aLmf T'^ '°°''"' ke of the female, ih. -f "•"''^'^ captam himself. J tne leraales, the sailors recognised eir former ,«-»„. |(a,m consequence of which, many a nose oat,, in to affH . i«n, which, although it mi.ht have been .Ihl ToT fc was no, much relished by the other; neiU,er the c-armva he, nor a masquerade a, the Opera House could lave ex d uch a motley and original group, as was at thistimeTo bj k::vr:;crth?h::a:r:^!£L:r" -t ;-a% to the condition of Adar^n^IHer .: of the forbidden fru.t : the grotesque appearance of the 538 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. sailors in their uncouth habiliments, a mixture of savage clumsi. ness, and civilised skill ; the confusion of noises and discordant sounds, 'iroceedino- at one time from the interjectional exclama- tions of the Esquimaux, and at another, from the hoarse and blufl voices of the sailors, amongst which were now and then heard the commanding words of the captain, attempting to make hini. self heard amidst an uproar, which would have impressed on the mind of the spectator, some idea of the confusion, which reigned at the Tower of Babel; and then, when the ladies of the Esqui- maux nation, began to display their grace and agility in the dance, catching hold of the first sailor, that came within their reach, no matter whether an officer or a foremast man, and hugging him to their afiectionate bosom, which imparted the favored being, some idea of what his feelings would be if he should perchance happen to fall within the embraces of shaggy bear, and then the performance to conclude '^as our pla bills have it) with a grand display of antics, performed by th most active of the company, which antics, consisted in the placing themselves in the most grotesque and ludicrous tudes, and distorting every feature of their face, to increase lli| ugliness, which nature has so lavishly bestowed upon them. It is most probable, that this truly original performance wou have concluded with the exhibition of the antics of the had not Mr. Light, on a sudden, strack up some inspiring souiij from his violin, which appeared to have the same effect up the whole tribe, even including the children, as if every ODei them had been bitten by a tarantula. In some respects, tl might be compared to a congregation of Jumpers, attemptinj catch the spirit, for the spirit of emulation appeared to every breast, as to which could excel the other, in the of their jumps; in one of which, the entire dress of one of ladies fell from her shoulders, and left her in paribus natuh bus. The dress was politely handed to her by one of the si to whom she said, Kogennaf Kogenna / (thanks ! thanks! having thrown the doer skin over her shoulders, began to again, until the music ceased, as if no accident whatever befallen hor. LAfcT VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 539 The farce at last was ended ; and, after a repast of baked seal and blubber, the happy natives were rowed on shore, the officers accompanying them, Tuluach leading" the way, on his mended wooden leg ; in fact, if a drama of life in Vakkee (the Esquimaux country) could have been got up, in imitation of Life in London, there is very little doubt, that Tuluach would have been chosen to act the part of Dusty Bob; Mr. Light giving him previously a few lessons on the violin, Mr. Mc'Diarmid took one of the Esquimaux with him, on a hooting excursion ; but it was wit)' 'he greatest difficulty, that ifi could get the simple savage to stand near him when he ired; for Mr. Mc'Diarmid no sooner put the gun to his shoulder, than the native took to his heels, and remained at a consider- able distance, until the gun was discharged. On this excursion le killed three leverets, weighing on an average 3 lbs. 2oz. In consequence of the vessel being surrounded with water, he Esquimaux could not get on board, except by means of the )oat from the ship ; a circumstance by no means disagreeable to Capt. Ross, nor indeed to the whole of the crew: for, during the time of the natives being on board, all business was sus- pended ; and as their visits were sometimes very unseasonable nd ill-timed, the crew had it n. / in their power to determine the exact time when their visits should be paid. On Sunday tlie 14th, they presented themselves on the beach, making signs that it was their wish to come on board: to which Capt. Ross consented, and a boat was sent for them. It was, however, a most difficult matter to make some of the women sit still in the boat ; and one of the youngest, who appeared to have fixed her affections upon Curtis, one of the men who rowed them on board, considered that there was neither law nor rule why she should not koonig him in the boat ; the consequence of which was, that if it had not been for one of the sailors, the lady would liave been immersed head over heels in the water. This, how- ver, is no great punishment to an Esquimaux, male or female : iOr, in their travels to their different fishing or hunting stations he ice is frequently so rotten as not to bear their weight, ivnd hey are plunged into the water-, but it appears to be such 540 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. a rratter of course with them, that little or no notice is taken of it. During the night of the 14th, the dogs of the natives dis. covered the fish, that were drying on the beach, and left them not until they had fully satisfied their appetite. Not a moment was lost, in getting all the fish on board ; for the dogs had not only eaten a great number, but spoilt a still greater, by gnawing them in different places, biting the head from one, and the tail from the other, thereby rendering them, as an article of food, of little or no service. On the I5th, ten Esquimaux came on board, complaining that they were much in want of provisions. Some seal and blubber were cooked for them ; for fortunately Abernethy had shot a seal on the preceding day, and had succeeded in getting it on board, which was not always the case, even if the animal were mortally wounded. The seal seldom travels far from its hole, (the open space of water being called so by the Esquimaux, when the seals come up for the purpose of respiration,) and even if the bullet were to strike him in a vital part, he rushes into the water, and dies beneath the ice. On the departure of the Esquimaux, Commander Ross gave a certain quantity of dried fish to those, who had families, and a smaller quantity to those, who were single. The chief part of the fish were those, which had been mutilated by their own dogs: but the mere want of a head or a tail did not appear by any means to depreciate ik fish in their estimation. The natives were then on their way to Nichilli, their dogs being loaded like asses; for as there is neither snow nor ice at this period of the year, and the convey. ance by the sledge being wholly impracticable, they sling their luggage over the backs of the dogs, like two paniers. Some o( the dogs, however, will not submit to this drudgery • and, io the present instance, three of them objected to being put to such ; degrading occupation; they were therefore left behind, to seek their own living, and to enjoy a life of independence, witti starvation as their companion. . ^ The weather for the month of August was exceeding!) inauspicious; on the 16th, a heav) fall of snow took place LAST VOVAOE OF CAPT. ROSS. 54, .„d i';'>»'i"-«'-l 10 rain and snow alternately throughout the „™mder of that day. and part of the next. The ice remained .UUonary, and no immediate prospect of it clearing away. ..the me«s deck; whilst the remainder were employed in n^ngthe watering of the ship, which, when completed on ,he I8tb, exceeded .n quantity, rather more than six tons. On the 19th, the weather was variable and thick. In the .™,i.g Commander Ross went on shore, and killed a hare ..daplover, he also found the grave of an Esquimaux, and Wught the skul on board. This skull supplied the place of Ins in F I H I """^ ""'" '^'' '"' ''"' ''-^S' »f "-e shrimps, in Felix Harbour. On the 20th, the wind Mew strong from W. S. W. and the Tl.',' ^" ""• '""""'"S •''y- ho-over, the w nd . m which the Victory then was, was the most adverse wind 1.1 could blow, as there was not the slightest shelter for the .p. Towards evening, the berg, to which the vessel was fasU 1 tT' v-"*'"'' ""•* ""' '"'"" ""•""'' ""' immediatelv got aJr. The Victory was now in a very awkward predicament . wmd at east blowing dead upon the land, which drove the * bo y of ,be ice direct into the place where the ship 1 y .rlunately. however, the wind did not continue long in that quar. ■. for. on the 22nd, it bUw fromtq e northward, with all the .se ,ce dnftmg in shore. An anchor and a hawser were taken a berg astern, it being aground, and the ship was fastened h the 85th, five men were sent on rakkee Hill, to build a Nment, but as wisdom sometimes comes with the growth of p was determined by Capt. Ross, that this monument should l^ !t .?''''°"'' '""^ '^'"""'""^ the different monu. |ls,«vhichhad been erected of snow, and as their gross and Kable stupidity could not discover any possibfeTse ■' .kILk/'''"':'"'?'''' ''"''*«'""' ""t -"demolishing '.thereby despoiling th»ir count,, of the handyworks of a 542 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R099. set of men, whose equals they never saw before, and whom it was most probable they never would see again. On the evening of the 26th, the ice set in with an over powering force, by which the. whale boat got a tremendoui nip, which broke all her timbers and hve thwarts, and rendered her'nearly wholly useless. After some labor she was got on board when Capt. Ross determined that she should be cut in two and a four-oared boat made of one of the parts. The wind coming on to blow from the south and east, it was judged ad visable to moor the ship afresh, and a party were sent on shore for that purpose. The crew were afterwards employed ii greasing the masts, loosening sails, and other duties necessar to be performed, previously to the vessel leaving her ser-* winter harbour : an event, which was daily to be looked for, which required a vigilance on the part of the officers, tk gave them little leisure for any other occupation.. Early on the morning of the 27th, the moorings, which ha been fastened to the shore, suddenly snapped, from the heav strain, that was continually upon them: all hands were turni outtosecure the ship again, but although it was elFeeted, ' situation, in which the vessel lay, was not considered as wli exempt from danger. At 8 o'clock in the evening, the ^^ blowing from the westward, the ice became oil in motii driving to the southward and the eastward. Six of the m were sent in one of Franklin's boats, for the purpose of asci taining the state of the clear water, that had opened to il northward. ' The 28th was the day of emancipation of the Victory ii her long confinement in her second winter harbour. The ra ing broke, with fresh breezes from the south, but at 8 o'cl the wind changed to the W.N.W. All hands were emplo; in clearing the ice from the ship. At 9, hove the larbc ■ hawser taught, and then cut it, as it was under a piece of that was aground. Several hands were now sent on shore bang off whatever remained belonging to the ship ; an^ 1 p. M. the ship was warped up to windward. At 4 p. M.lhe was made fast to a piece of ground ice. Commander ^ LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. 543 with a boat's crew now went on shore, for the purpose of ascer- ,a.n.n, the state of the ice, that was running out of the North Bay, which had continued without intermission for 8 or 9 hours- and therefore it was his opinion, that there must be an end to it. He ascended a very high hill, that looked not only directly into the bay, but also up it; and, on his return on board he in- formed Capt. Ross, that the ice seemed to be more clear. Accord- :„gly,as the wind was from the W.N.W. they cast off; and stretch- idalong the land, keeping the ship in the wind, for the purpose of getting the dingey on board, she being away to cast off" the line A piece of ground ice under their lee, obliged them to go aboui ^hip on the starboard tack, by which a great deal of ground was ost, which was considerably increased by being oblio-ed to .ke the launch in tow astern of the ship, thereby hanging as a jad weight upon her, when she ought to have been entirely ee from every incumbrance of the kind. The ship having ardly headway, again brought another berg under their lee ^hich It was found impossible to weather, and the ship struck on her larboard bow, which shoved her head up ; but, as she id not lose her headway, she went about her own'length od took the rocks forehead, and her stern dropped in on the ^rg, and the rudder was knocked nearly to pieces. This accident, as it was significantly styled by a certain party as m reality any thing but an accident; for it was known to I the eflFect of downright mismanagement. At this particular iriod, one of those quarrels had taken place between Capt OSS and his nephew, which had assumed almost the character a regular periodical occurrence, and which actually threw a )om over the whole proceedings of the expedition." On first preaching the berg, it was strongly recommended by Com- ander Ross, to go to leeward of it; for, as the ship was in iys, the danger was great in attempting to go to windward in the event of the ship missing stays, there was no other aspect, than being driven right upon the berg, to the destruc n perhaps of the ship; at all events, to the commission of H damage, as might render it impossible to proceed on the 'age. . .;;;tv 544 LAST VOYAOB OF CAPT. ROSS. Had Capt. Ross been at this time on friendly terms with his nephew, it is perhaps probable, that he would have condescended to follow his advice ; but there was something degrading and humiliating, in the idea of listening to the counsels of an Indi. vidual, who had perhaps transgressed against his high authoTity, or who, in several instances, might have attempted to show him, that wisdom and age do not always accompany each other. It is a feature of the human character, although not a very amiable one, of acting in direct contradiction to the advice of those, witli whom we are at enmity ; as it is a wound upon onr solf-Iovo, to suppose that we can allow ourselves to be guided by those, who have perhaps offended us in some particular point, althougli no offence was in reality intended. In this instance, we will give Capt. Ross the credit, to suppose, that he was not so grossly ignorant of the management of the ship, as not to see that the advice of Commander Ross, was at once proper and judicious; but he was determined to verify the Latin adage, " Video meliora, sed proboque sequor,'' which may be anglicised, I saw that it was proper to go to leeward of the berg, but i was determined to go wrong, and went to the windward of it. The consequences, however, of this accident, were of tb most serious aspect ; the ship was for a time unmanageable, am in a situation, that had the wind come on to blow with violen from the northward, the sailors would then in reality \\m been obliged to exclaim, " Good bye, Victory." During t whole of the night, the carpenters were employed in repair! the rudder, and as it could only be performed by lantern ligl the task proceeded slowly and insecurely; independently, ho ever, of this untoward event, the ship was lying all the whii with her fore foot on the rocks, in the most imminent danger having her bottom injured, or of falling on her broadside. order to provide against the latter calamity, a hawser wasg out to the westward — it was a matter almost of life or death-i very existence of the Victory depended upon this moment— it either England, or a miserable residence perhaps for an unli ed time, in a country of desolation and wretchedness depended on the strength and goodness of the hawser-l LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 515 .train was tretnendou^^the men were hanging on their hand- 8p.kes_another haul of the capstern. and perhaps all was safe.-It was a moment of breathless expectation _Yo ho'-, my lads, exclaimed Commander Ross-Yo ho ! echoed the seaman-off she goes! cried Commander Ross.-Helm-a-Iee cned Capt Ross.-Steady, my lads, cried Commander Ross J she .s r.ght.-The Victory floated into deep water-she was auied m shore to the westward, and remained in that position (luring the whole of the night. . The morning of the 29th. broke with strong breezes from west by south, all hands were tt.rne.l out as early as 3 o'clock ...the morning and the first part of their duty, was to ship the r..(Jcier. The boat was hoisted up, and the vessel was once more .inder way. The dingey was got on board, and the ship stretched gallantly across the hay. towards the north point. At 5 p m .c breezes freshened, by which, the jib was split, and the mizen .- boom carried away; a new jib was immediately bent, the y working hard to windward. Capt. Ross now made a rial of h,s lee boards, but their utility was nearly on a par with he steam engine. At 7, set the gatf top-sail and fore-top-gal- an -sa.1, some heavy squalls coming on, with the wind voerin.r to the northward ; thick weather accompanied with snow. They no.v entered a small bay clear of ice ; the ship was hauled to the |v.nd andput about while in stays; the wind, however, baffled er rom westering, but still having head-way, she ran so close the s ore, that according to the phraseology of the sailors, lliey could spit their quids on the rocks. The jib at last took the right way, and as the ship came round, Je caught With her heel upon the rocks, so close to land, that was very easy to step from the slern on shore. At 11 they Nked agam, and stood over to the south-west shore ; the boat as sent away with a forty fathom line, and it was made fast on lore; they hove on it, but it slipped off, the ship having at at l.me shortened sail. The lead was heaved overboard, and und tvventy-ihree fathoms water ; the anchor was let go and mother Ime run out, to which the ship was made fast. In the "«".oon, Commander Ross surveyed the bay, and on his return. 548 tA«T VOYAGE OF CAfT. RO«i. the Shi,, was got to the head of it. The wind* N. N. E. ,i.h snow ; the ice running to the southward. Commander Ross gave the name of Victory Harbour to the bav. About two miles and a half to the north-e;.st of t|„8 harbour, there is a passage round the point, through which runs a verv strong tide. Tl;e Victory ran up this passage, as she r-ame'up the inlet in 1829; it is very narrow, and on the .shind. which forms the passage, there was, what one of the seamen, who was a native "of the first gem of the sea/' denommated, a verv laro-e gull rookery. It was, however, a very rare circiim- stance to find tliis passage dear of ice; for generally, m con- sequence of the tide running so rapidly, the floe pieces get athwart, both with the ebb and the flow. It was the general rustom for one of the crew to be sent over the land, for the purpose of ascertaining the state of the ice to the northward; the sea in that direction being a great distance, and the travel, liner bad, it being over very high hills, and the surface of so roc'kv a nature, that the men did not call it walking, but scram, blu.c^. The difficulty of walking was so great, that it generally occupied a man three hours to go over the hills to arr-ve at Ihe sea on the other side. In general, there was a great extent of clear water to be seen to the north ; bui it was found impos. sible for the Victory to get to it, owing to the bay, in which she then lav, bcinjr so full of ice. On ti.e 30lb, Commander Ross, and a boat's crew, went to the passage, to see if it were clear of ice ; and, on his return, be reported, that it was blocked up, the ice runnmg to the northward. On the evening of the same day, he made another .urvey, and found the ice much more open ; some hope was there fore entertained, that their present harbour was not intended t. be their winter one. - On the 31st, the hands were employed in moormg the shi *Capt Ross and his nephew went on shore, to take some obsei valions: the former having expressed his determination to mal a personal examination of the ice : for he seemed on a sud e to be endowed with that kind of resolution, which is ofu taken for courage; but which is, in reality, the efi"ect of IA9T VOYAGR OF CAI'T. R098. 547 feeling of desperation, wliicl. lakes possession of a man u !,«„ ho finds himself in a dilemma, from wliich there appears scarrely any hope of extrication. It may happen that success somotiinen attends the individual under those circumstances, and then he I as, the meed awarded to him of discretion and of talent; where mm he has been merely acting- upon the coute qui coute, nee k-or- nothing system, and, like the desperate gamester, trusting his all to the hazard of a single throw. The two officers returned at half past eight in the eveninn- neither of them very well satisfied with their excursion; for some very unpleasant suspicions could not fail to rise in the breast of Capt. Ross, that the expedition, as far as the discovery of the North West Passage was concerned, was drawing fast to a close. Commander Ross, however, with that perseverance and un- daunted spirit, which characterized him during the whole of the voyage, and which rendered him so justly a favorite with the whole of the crew, was not perfectly satisfied with the result of the observations, which he had made during his excursion with his untie ; and, therefore, after stopping a short time on board, for the purpose of taking some refreshment, he set off with a boat's rrew lo^ examine the state of the ice at the entrance of the bay. To his great mortification, he found it completely blocked up, and no signs exhibiting themselves of an innnedialo change. Two seals were shot this day, one by Capt. Ross, and ihe other by Abernethy. Towards evening, to the great satis- faction of the crew, the wind came on to blow hard from the S.W., and before the night closed, it blew a gale direct from the south. This was the very wind, for which they had earnestly prayed, as being the most favorable for driving the ice out of the bay, and removing the blockade at the entrance, ■io as to enable them to get out. On the morning of the 1st September, the wind continued to »low strong from tho south and south-west : the crew considered hat their return to England, depended upon the continuance of his wind, and it was, therefore, with the most anxious feelings hat they watched even the slightest change of it, dreading the 548 lAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. HOSSi least variation of the vane, as if their existence depended upon it. The consequences were well known to all the men, if they should be obliged to winter in their present harbour ; for no otlier/ate then awaited thera, than to travel to Fury Beach the following spring, with the distressing uncertainty upon their minds, whether they should find the stores as they had left them; as on board the Victory, the stock of provisions was barely sufficient to last till the following May, supposing the men to be on full allowance. It was, however, foreseen by the men, that if they wintered in their present harbour, some diminution would take place in their allowance, with the view of husbandinn- a sufficiency, to enable them to travel to Fury Beach in the spring. It must, however, have been rather a severe trial for the f.elings of the men, to know that the officers were on full allowance, even to actual luxuries, when they were stinted in almost every individual article. ' ' < v .? .» It is a trite truism, that the fate of individuals, and even sometimes of empires, depends upon a trifle ; and having no right to ques-tion the veracity of the following statement, it may with justice be said, that the fate of the Victory was sealed by the unpardonable obstinacy of one individual. During the time that the Victory was in Victory Harbour, a watch was kept night and day, for the purpose of keeping a look-out for the ice, the thermometer, and other minutiae belonging to the ship. In consequence of the wind blowing from the south-west, it was the opinion of all on board, that the ice would make a move; and so anxious was Mr. Light for this event, that he could I scarcely get a wink of sleep, but turned out of his hammock, every hour, to ascertain the state of the ice. At 3 o'clock, in | the morning of the 1st September, Mr. Light went on deck, a 'was rejoiced to see the bay clear of ice : nor was there anyl 1o be seen in an easterly direction, for the distance of twoorl three ra les Richard Wall at that time had the watch, a Light used every argument to persuade Wall to inform eithefj Capt. Ross or Commander Ross of the circumstance. Tl»j refusal of Wall to convey to either of the oHicers, a piece m information of such vast importance, was certainly a grosl tA9T VOVAGB OF CAPt. B09^, ^^^ derelictionof his duty but on the th k ^'- -- ^-hTl:; rr;:t::.' ;?""'""•"•• on which, perhaps, the very success of .h V * ■"'""' .„d also the existence itself of tie K, T"'"" ''''P^"''^"'- ha,te„ed to convey the i„f„7 !• 7 " "' *''" """' ''-' """l .i.l.er of the coj^ „' i trr "w '^ "^ ""' *""''"«^' •" weare perhaps arffuin^ Tn the f ,, ' ""'"' """'■'''^' «hat .r.He 'itive^itnrn^::; . 7^:h:::t/a,r':^ r-'-- each other : and whether th» f ° "" '""'"^ 'owards .idhi^selfopent^ a"""""""!' ""' '" ^^""'y ••«- .rufthedut^frsj^Thrrir '""'"'-^ '- " » H™. The,o.de„ oppoLitrJol^tst^JJ^ •>,«•-=' -eoclock, the icecame runnino- into ,l,a k ' ^"'^ Uh the 2d, the bay was full of ice Tn iKo m -ed, ace„rdi„„y'as the tide flowed or ebbed nU "" T picking oakum ' ^'^ """""^'" °^»''« «">" *'.3o'clock, in themornineofced as to the quantity of the suo-,r f„r ,1 '*'""-''°" »»' ■'-io-. forfoldays! -st ^fa ;; e LIZT' V ~ was, however, no. b. , „or s.c-a^cd I nt wiS ,.A, „ quart, in regard lo streno^th com -edto ll,c company s. They had, also, f„r breatf^ , . .7 »rvcd meats, or salt pork ol beef- bu. .1 1, . i ' " 1831, .he cabin brcLfas. f, rl c'o . , f 7"' !'" T'"' f."i.'. a .ierceof eahed salJn. ted llT; .r'T? -inter; and one of .he dried or'saUed'sr:' ' : J pa t of wh.cl,. were q„„e ro.len , but if perchance, no, »» re , ch! " al ? ' '"dependently of which, .here , bread, .he sup,,l. bemg always adcjua.c lo .heir ggj L\ST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. The same difference existed in regard to the dinners : that of the crew, consisting of a small quantity of barley soup, wi.l, the portion of bread of five ounces, formerly alluded to, and a uiece of salt pork or beef, or preserved meat, according as tl.c dnv came, appointed for each kind of meat. On those dnvs. however, when fish was served out to the men, they had no meal at all on which account, they frequently complamed, that lliey were'as hungry after their dinner, as they were before it. The followincr 8 the manner, in which the barley broth was made; and some idea may then be formed of the degree of nutrition, which it contained; at all events, a correct judgment mayb^ arrived at, whether it were sufficient to keep up the strength c the men without some other additional nutriment. Three pints o barley were put into a copper, full of snow, andasthesno melted, a further supply was put in, until a sufficiency of wat was obtained. On the water coming to a bod, a piece of sa beef or pork, about the weight of four pounds, was put into ii and then it was allowed to boil for three or four hours ; or unt, the dinner hour of the crew, which was 12 o clock. It. then served out to every man, in an equal proportion, almost acrrain of barley, and this meagre, stinted fare, was for- teen men!! Their supper consisted of about a pint of with the aforesaid portion of bread. In several mstances, „,en have been known to eat their weekly portion of brea two days; for when the bread was served out, it was gener.1 new, and the men,to use the phrase in the manuscript be ore did ^ot then know when to knock off. On the other hand of them were so desiro ,s o husband their scanty alio. through the week, that they frequently exposed their lo f t. frost, in order that it might get so hard, that it could only be ' with the hand-saw. ^. . i ,„i Before entering into any comments on this truly ui conduct of Capt. Ross towards his men, from who. expected the strength of a Hercules, and the power of a it may be curious to see the opposite side of the pic u which he himself forms the most prominent character, geated' at the head of his table in the cabin, and casli» Villi l»9T VOYAGE OF CAPT. R0S9. 353 .agronomic eye upon .he savoury dishes, as they were ph.oed before h,m by the steward. The firs, course consisted „» «.ea With the Lh Tth: reiT^r :nSer:„- .hich the shrimps were still feeding at no sreat di,.„ f >he™, .he fish having disappeared;with thT Lip ^on^ ossified parts, which generaliy formed on. „f .k .fold Ton.; the Scotc'h " "'"oh the f™. appeared to be on such bad terms wUh each other, that s 6, ftom courting each others company, they seemed resolved ,a .hew themselves at the utmost possible distance from e.c other- or they might be compared to the vs.ts of the angel, to this world, very few and far between Even the murkiest night has now and then a s ar to brea ,h. nhscuritv and there are few minds, however dull and stapid, i i h do not now and then exhibit a scintillation of intelleCua, „ower The most grave and saturnine character can at tM« out on a smile, and a flash of wit may at some particular penod, irradiate even the mind of the dull and posing mathemattcn. From these abstract truths it ceases therefore to be a matte, ;f wonder, that a pun or a jest, or a stroke of h"— ;»; then shot forth from the grave and gloomy m.nd of Capt. R, and at no period was that phenomenon more hkely o oc han after he had satisfied the crav.ng. of •>«»??».»«, b,> o oportionate admixture of salmon, soup, p.e and pudd.ng. 1, rtCTat Johnson has declared, that his mental facuU.eaw., neer more obtuse than after a good dinner ; but »on «,« ZZonere parva. which means that the man .s a snnpe, who compafes great things with small, or in other words, W. whocomp i, ti,e,e(o,e whatever might have \m Z cT:!" . ^oW„. it certainly was not similarly c„rsti« ur , Ross Exempli gratia. Capt. Ross had just e«r :i Zm th .ice 0^ pu'ddilg on his plate, one of the ,a. ofthe raisins, when turning to Mr. Mc'Diarmid, with an » ' at seTf.satisfac.ion. holding the -- between h,s « grettv BC" , 1 . „„:,a^ « Whom do YOU think thai . finger and his thumb, he inqmred, Whom ao y ^ ui »" Thp oueslion was a poser to the doctor, he kn« now resemble ? ^^^^^^^^^^ I ^^^^.^ ,„, ,,om his wor^ that there were many tnmgB i» « ♦!,„♦.< Tru LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 655 blance might have held good. Not more anxiously could that paragon of bigoted stupidity and intellectual dulness, the duke of Gloucester, await the answer to one of his sapient conun- drums from his toad-eater, than the commander of the Victory looked to Mr. Mc'Diarmid for his answer. To the son of Escula- piu8 the solution of the problem of the quadrature of the circle would perhaps have been an easier task — "Do you give it up?'* exclaimed the captain. " I could compare you, with great propriety," said Mr.Mc'Diarmid, " to some of the great men of antiquity, and even of modern times ; but I fear I should shock your well-known sense of modesty.'' " Pooh !" exclaimed Capt. Ross, "you need not go so far back as Alexander or Confucius, for my resemblance: my name is Jack, is it not?" " Certainly," replied Mr. Mc'Diarmid. "Then," said Capt. Ross, "the re- uemblance is two-fold— for do I not at this moment resemble lillle Jack Horner ? did he not put in his thumb, and pull out a plum--and have I not done the same ?" Capt. Ross burst into a loud laugh, and so did the remainder of the officers— but, in Ihe laugh of the two parlies, there was both a resemblance and a difference: the captain laughed at himself, and the officers laughed at him ; the former laughed at his own wit, the latter at his foolishness. The poet laureat of the Victory did not allow this circumstance to escape him, for, on turning to his album, we find the following written on the 7th of September, 1831:— The great Capt. Ross, Both haughty and cross, • Was eating his pudding and pie, He put in his thumb, And pulled out a plum, And said what a great fool am I. We may perhaps have given to this anecdote a higher degree of embellishment than its merits deserve ; but as the scene ac- tually took place in the cabin of the Victory, it may stand as iilustrative of The feast of reason and the flow of soul, which rendered the cabin banquets so delightful and amusing 556 L.A8T VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. From this erratic trip into the regions of Fancy, we turn lo the more beaten path of sober reality, in which, truth must bo our guide ; and where, if we do at times venture to stray, *- From grave to gay, Irom lively to severe, we are drawn back by the genius of History, to a more strict and rigid performance of our duty. The dinner in the cabin of the Victory is nearly closed ; and, with the unnecessary adjunct of a Stilton cheese, the appetite of all may be said to be appeased. Seldom, however, was the table without some game, animal or feathered ; for although the men were certainly, in the majority of cases, allowed to keep llie game they killed, yet it was very seldom that they could obtain permission to leave the ship, to shoot on their own ac« count; and when the leave was obtained, it was generally on a Sunday, a day on which Capt. Parry would not allow a gun to oe fired. Some of the best shots, particularly Abernethy and Wall, were frequently sent on a shooting expedition, but the pro- duce was destined for the table of the cabin ; although it is not to be supposed, that they produced to Capt. Ross all the game they killed. In one instance. Wall shot at one fire three geese out of four : two of them certainly found their way to the cap- tain's table, but one of them was privately cooked for one of the messes; although it was found necessary to have it dressed on, the same day and hour as Capt. Ross' goose, from a fear that the smell of the bird, whilst baking, would betray to him, that the men had at times other fare to live upon than barley broth | and cocoa. The distinction in the quality of the daily beverage between I the men and the officers, was also not less striking. Snow, melted into water, is not at anytime considered as conducive! to health: it was, however, for a considerable period, the only drink, which the crew of the Victory could enjoy ; whilst tlie| officers in the cabin regaled themselves with wine twice a week, and the intervening days with snow water also — but then ill was deprived of its injurious effects, by a proportionate quanl tity of the product of the Whitechapel distillery. LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R088. Maps .11 further comments are supe,fl„„„, „„ this trulv ,poh.,c conduct on the part of Capt. Ross, which, wa itse'f ,ne of the causes, wh.ch alienated from him the good J ia'd ..eem of h.s men, and rendered them actually inl'lf ptrformmg the duties of th. .K:„ -.u . ^ incapable uf atoh,whlh,i„s„mecaetVas:;:: nt :; """'' "'" "«• «.ca„ be entertained, hit tbeeLef^^-^''-^^ ^'" .hip, .»d particularly of „„e, under he t;in'U",:::;''" "'" * .he Victory „as placed, ,o hushanVL :~r:i;h Ihe utmost spin of economy j but on the „ih. e'ources, with .5 .he desperate situation fn wh th Cam o„ '^'"'•/°"^''"- '.rroundod by the gloomy prosnecrof ** '"'"''•''^' .i.'er amongst the icrwUh ,Ke ° ^-^"^ """""^ ''"'"'f"' f. that on th^ approach of th! the .err.ble certainty attached to Lon his ship'.' *'" ""'''" '^'''»°' •>« "»"'d 1.-0 ,0 "" '''°"" of '«". "J Providence his guide ; »"glil to have been his chief «nJ„ . l »i'» of his men by every meai n h"^' '""P""*"" **■" ™ed thom to dro'o p fr mZe, ZmouV"' n' ""' '" ""'' "•^ied. Thefare'ofa felorinTirh':;?'"^''"™ k respects suoerior in th * u- . ; ^"*" P"on. was in fof.h'eVictoT; al if t hid . 1^''' '" "^ '"' "' ""' Ling, as the'ailors t led ; o7 a c"? '" "'^- '^''""' "' y and other animals IZT It "'" P"""" "' ">« ..b.t were ki Ud /.s r "^ '""^ •""*' °' "■« ■"»* -en. would'htbe oirtrd'tr I*'^ ^''^"^"• .operform the common duties '.'J '" Jf™ -"-'oO 'nor remonstrance appeared to have any efff' T" Psit on of Cant R«co • . ^ ®°"^^^ "Pon the *e «sh, elTciairtW TV'""^" -?--"'«<• 'o him, o'fitfo^huTntnti^ot,':;:^^^^^^ '» ^-gar, H«fy their appetite whh t ' V i *™"*'''*''« they could -.^thUmUdrepresen.:rrr :---;: 558 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R09?. With that attention, .vhich it deserved ; Capt. Ross had chalked out for himself a certain line of conduct, and although future circumstances might tend to convince him. that ,t was founded on error and prejudice, still it was persevered in, with a met unaccountable apathy, as if self alone were the predominant principle, before which, all other considerations were to be con- sidered as amounting to a null. . Comparisons are said to be odious, but in some cases they are productive of good ; for, in many respects, they are the guide, truth or at all events, to the better representation of our con duct 'on 'certain points, when it was either difficult to draw; positive line of action, or, that the judgment itself was nol«tron onough to determine the proper distinction between the circun stances by which that action is to be regulated, and by wl. the justness or culpability of the act is at once decided I true, that many men, from a notion of false prule, disda.r follow in the track of others, as it is supposed that it atlac to them a littleness and insignificance of character, which, m opinion of the world, are apt to render a man despicable contemptible. Thus, for instance. Capt. Ross might have m dered it as a stain upon his general character, if he had « descended to follow the example of Capt. Parry; and certainly former could not have been ignorant of the manner, m vvh.cli latter conducted the expedition, of which he had the command recrard to the particular attention, which he paid to the hw and comfort of his men, as well as the extreme liberality, .h he always evinced, in seconding any pursuit or plan, by w their happiness could be promoted : nor could Capt. Kos ignorant that there were several on board the Victory, who sailed with Capt. Parry, on almost all his expeditions, , therefore it was most natural for them to institute a compaf of the two modes of treatment adopted by their former their present commander, and the question then becomes d. difficult solution, as to which of the two would prepondera the scale of their estimation. There is, however, another circumstance, which place' conduct of Capt. Ross, in a still more extraordinary ligW LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 559 mast be admitted, that he had a most disheartening prospect before h.m, and sufficient almost to harrow up the energies of any man, who is not cast in the mould of a Napoleon, or a Marco P« It was evident to ail the crew, and consequently it i« not to be supposed, that Capt. Ross was the only person on board wo was ,II-,nformed on the subject, that they never should be able to get the ship out of the harbour, in which she then lay and consequently, that on abandoning the vessel, a great part of .he provisions, which were of a bulky nature, must of necessity he left behind. So convinced were the crew of this fact, that inreg:ard to themselves, they knew that they should have to'leave ,»ll their apparel behind them, and, therefore, in anticipation of hat event, they employed themselves in cutting up their clothes I- make out of them the best suit they could for travelling; and busy were the sailors in this occupation, that their berths ight be compared to a tailor's shop, although they had just ason to complain, that a goose was seldom to be found in them "onsistently with this principle, Capt. Ross must also have Down, that in the manner, in which they would be obliged to 'avel, he must necessarily leave a great part of his provisions in 'e ship, and this turned out eventually to be the case. Then as le abandonment of the ship was reduced almost to a certainty, « niggardly manner, in which the provisions were doled out' iich formed a part, that would have to be left behind, appeared the crew, as an act of perverseness, which they attributed a characteristic infirmity of the individual, of which unfortu- *ely they were destined to be the victims. iVe speak it advisedly, that on the return of the crew to their live country, one of the chief causes of their complaints, was, I treatment which they received, in regard to their food. The ntry itself, in which they wintered, particularly in the year ". was by no means destitute of those birds and animals, which the sailors, had they been permitted, could have :ured for themselves, an ample supply of good and whole- |e provisions : grouse and hares, if not in actual abundance, still so plentiful, that a tolerable sportsman was able to Ig home two or three brace of the former, and a couple of 560 l^ST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS the latter ; in fact, in many instances, the officers have brougk homo four brace of grouse, and a leash of hares; but, although the Kame laws were not acttially introduced into the country, the whole of it was a kind of preserve, in which only a few particular individuals were allowed to sport ; and if, now ai,d then, leave were granted to an unqualified person, to sport ov« the manor, it was under the restriction, that, like the hired came-keeper, the whole of the game, that was killed, was to be brought to (he individual, who, as the representative of the monarch, that, by some precious instance of good fortune, had lately had so valuable a territory annexed to his domimons, m,. until the will of the said monarch be further known, jusli, entitled to receive all the produce of the country, no malle, where, nor bv whom it was obtained. It was, perhaps, no bad stroke of policy, on the part of Copt Ross, to impress upon the minds of the poor benighted nal„e, the belief, that the propriatorship of all the seals and w.l™.« was vested in him, and that they were so far under his contid that not one of them could be killed, unless his will o,da,»d it Acting under this false impression, the natives somelm. brought a seal to the ship, as if it were nothing "">'«' «'>»"f', vering up the property to the rightful owner -and by tl,« mean!, a regular supply of food was obtained for the dogs,«, out which, it would have been difficult to keep them alive, , maintain them in such a condition, as to enable them ^J the sledges. This very circumstance was, however, freqm. seized upon by the crew, as the basis of the comparison li w „ ImselLs and the brutes: for if it could not be e.p. edof the latter, that they could perform the labor ,„, upon them, if not properly fed, how much less could it b^^ ' pected of them, if they were fed on such weak insipid f« ZL and barley broth, the nutrition of which, partKuU, latter, consisted in the insignificant quantity of gluten could be extracted from three pints of barley, and the which could be drawn by decoction, from 3 or 4 po. J .alted beef or pork. There is, however, always a gre. M tainty existing as to the time, when the consequences of b. lAST VOVAOE OF CAPT. ROSS. fg, acuons begin ,0 display themselves; and many (here are, who Wsely flat er themselves, that because those consequences do ,.t .^mediately show themselves, they stand for ever exempt from them. Thus. Capt. Ross sa,v not any particular conse- juenccs resuUu,g immediately from the system of diet, to which ^ men were restneted. but a short time wil perhaps ^how him. tot h, calculations were bull, on faUe principle,, and hi conduct, the result of a weak and partial judgment It was nearly dark, on the evening of the 7th September, that .party of Esquimaux belonging to the family of Tuluaeh, came I. the ship, complaining much of the want of provisions, which .ppeared rather strange to the officers, when it was well known , hem that their slow-holes were full of fish, and perhaps .tier fil ed, than ever they experienced before, on account of .great number of fish, that had been given to them, on the ifcnt fishing parties, which the men belonging to the Victory M not bnng away with them. It appeared, however, from ,. la ement of these people, that each season has its appointed .»d of food in the same manner, as distinguishes more favored entries In the summer, they generally resort to their stow- I .when their principal diet is fish, as the seals have then pated to other quarters, about the month of September Uer, the seals begin to make their appearance, bu't as ye:,' yfew had been seen. Three or four had been shot by the tcers, and by some of the crew, particularly Abernethv f and fa .rcumstanee had come to the knowledge of thenitives their previous visit, they now presented themselves before the '>iAngekoh to pray his interference with the seals, to force to appear in greater numbers. They had applied to their iogekok and he had accordingly, paid a visit to the spirit m the lower regions, holds dominion over the seals, and a i^ conflict, according to the representation of the Angekok, aken p ace between them. In the end, however, tb/grea P 'vas obliged to succumb to his superior prowess, and a l«i» was given, that the seals should be set at libertv For reason, however, which they could not exactly ' divine, 582 lAST VOVAOE or CAPT. BOSS. (althoueh they had their suspicions on the subject,) the gre.t Sr t h!d failed in keeping his promise-the seals were s t.U kept Tm visiting the upper world, and the consequence of ,h,ch TZ that fnless the spirit below, could by son,e .neans b. loLht to his sense,, and forced to forego his hold upon ,h. TaU the whole of the tribe would be reduced to sta vat,o„ Untrthl pressing exigency, to whom could they apply «,A the greater hope of averting so great a calamity, than totk m ghtv Angekok on board " the great house," as the Victory ..s Lmed? for they were thoroughly convinced, that he had it n his power, to give the refractory spirit below such a hearl; drubbing, that he would be glad to relinquish his dominion, n.l only over the seals, but also, over all the other animals, wh.ch had thrown themselves under his protection. When an individual has once succeeded in impressing upo. the mind of another. . sense of his superior dignity and imp. • ance, it becomes him to be very circumspect in adopting » line of conduct, by which, he might so far commit himseU,. to excite a suspicion, that his dignity and importance had ,, eait; as r.1 substantiality in them, as the foamon the , of the billow, or the mist on the summit of the mountain^^ hanna Southcott succeeded in persuading a set of fool idiots, that she wns pregnant with young Shi oh Mr OCo • has succeeded in convincing the people of Ireland, that h certainly sent amongst them, by St. Paul. St. ?"*»-•. o' St. P to frighten my lords Althorpe and Brougham into fits, ythJ power, that he possesses over two millions of the " finest p* fedpisantry" in the world, and Capt. Ross has sncceedd convincing the committee of the House of Commons, th^ benefits which science and navigation have derived from hi. vovage, justly entitle him to £5000 from the pubhc p. ' Nowit iinot to be supposed, that any one ofthistriumvKa.e regard to the first-mentioned personage, the iricism be alio. would commit a slngfe action, by which their dupes co« disabused of the opinion, which they had formed, although* certain suspicion, will «tt imes intrude themselves upon! LAST VCYAOE OF CAJ»T. ROSS. 553 notice, that, when the voyage of Captain Ross, aa written by himself, makes its appearance, some of the members of the afore- said committee will look at each other, witii a sheepish stare of wonder and astonishment. Judging from the foregoing cases, vre may be warranted m drawing the conclusion, that Capt. Ross would not commit a single action, which could tend to alter the opinion, which the natives had imbibed, touching his supernatural powers, and the consequent controul, which he held over the animals in their submarine residences. He was, however, placed in a very tick- lish situation ; for, if he proceeded to put his supernatural powers into action, the chances were greatly against him, that one additional seal would come out of its hole, to be run through the body by a spear, or to have a bullet shot through its head, and then his influence, as a mighty Angekok was, like Wolsey's greatness, gone for ever. On the other hand, if he did not put his supernatural powers into action, ho would appear in the eyes of the natives, as the instrument of their starvation ; for, although he might not be the immediate cause, yet if he had it in his power to prevent it, and refused to do it, he was directly an accessory to all the sufferings they might endure, and eventually perhaps to their very death. This is a striking proof of the great danger, which a man runs, in taking upon himself a character, which does not belong to him, or the duties of which he is unable to perform. If Capt. .{08S had confined himself in his official capacity, as the commander of the Victory, to the nautical affairs of his ship, and to the great object of his expedition, and left Angekokin'g |lo those, who were deeper initiated in its mysteries, it amounts Vraost to a certainty, that he would not have found himself in m stiange dilemma, in which he was now placed. It is, jiowever, the characteristic of superior minds, to emancipate |hem8elves from an embarrassment, with a certain tact and leadiness, which 'he ignoble mind can never reach: the dolt Mil let an oppor. .aity pass, which the individual, whose mind upon the alert, will greedily seize upon, and which may 5Q4 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. Ultimately be the means of carrying him through his difficulty, with credit and advantage. The natives were thoroughly convinced, that the seals were under the dominion of Capt. Ross ; on the other hand, Capt. Koss was thoroughly convinced, that the conviction of the natives was decidedly false; nevertheless, it was politic in him, for very cogent reasons, to suffer them to remain in their error, and, therefore, he undertook, that if they would pay a visit to the ship, after a senik, he would take care that a seal should be in readiness fjr thom. Fortunately for Capt. Ross, two seals had been br- ght to the ship, on the preceding day, which were not yet skinned, and, therefore, the fulfilment of his promise did not depend upon the contingency of being able to kill one, indeed, if he had not been swayed by a particular motive, he could have given them the seal at that moment, but the delay was designedly sought for, in order to confirm the natives in their belief of his supernatural powers, and that the acquisition of a seal at any time, depended merely upon his will. It must not, however, be supposed, that the assumption of the character of the mighty Angekok, on the part of Capt. Ross was intended merely to refer to the dominion over the marine animals ; but he found it to be his interest, that the natives should entertain the belief of his supernatural powers, as it was the mean? of preventing many thefts, which would other wise have been committed, on the ground that the power ',va? vested in him of discovering the thief, and of forcing him lo the restitution of the stolen property, with the immediate inflict ion of the punishment annexed to the commission of so hienous an offence. In regard to the feelings, which appeared at this time to |)redominate in the minds of the officers and the crew, tliej could only be distinguished by a general exhibition of despon dency, and a comparative relaxation in those measures, which had an immediate reference to the object of the expedition, Their actions chiefly related, not so much as by what meao they were to proceed on their voyage, but in what manner, aoil LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 565 at what time they would be able to commence their return, which was, in itself, attended with a certainty of suffering and privation, sufficient to appal the stoutest heart, for, that it could be accomplished without the sacrifice of life, was too clear to admit of the slightest doubt. Their hope of salvation from a death of actual hunger, rested on a very uncertain foundation- for, although they had left a quantity of provisions at Fury B°ach, sufficient to maintain them for a few months, yet the pMoability was great, that the stores might have been dis- covered by the natives, and carried away ; or, that if they were siiU on the beach, it became a question whether they would be found in such a condition, that they could be made any use of, as articles of food. When the stores were discovered on the' ieach, in 1829, they had been there about four years, it would not be until the summer of 1832, that they would be enabled to reach the beach again ; and after an interval of nearly three ysars, in addition to the previous four years, it could not be expected that the stores could be found in very good condition. There was, however, one circumstance, which inspired them *iih the hope, that the stores would still be fit for consumption nd that was, that they had on board the Victory, some of the iores, which they had brought from Fury Beach, particularly reserved meats «nd vegetables, which were nearly in as good ondition, as whtn they were shipped in England ; and as it as to be expected, that they would be deeply buried in the low, from a three years accumulation of it, little doubt then isted, that their condition would be good and wholesome. It became at last a settled point with the men, that they had ached the extent of their voyage to the westward, and deep d serious were the complaints, which were uttered, for the tal want of skill and judgment, which had been evinced in »ciDg the Victory in so perilous and unfavorable a position ■ilhe evening of the 7th September, one of the men went the top of the nearest hill, and, on his return, he reported ^l the ice appeared to be setting into the bay, but that to the «tward. the sea was clear of ice as far as the eye could reach, [was under these circumstances, that the crew felt the misery 5QQ LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. rf their .Uuation ; the prospect before them «a. good .nd ch,e,. i„g. but the vessel was as firmly bound as .t she had bee. *edeed in with iron. It was suggested by Commander Ro», whether it were not practicable to cut c groove or cana ,h,«,jl, the ice, sufficiently 'arge to allow of the passage of the sh.p and it was generally believed on board, that ,f the command had been vested in that officer, the experiment would have be» tried; at all events, that some plan would have been put ■» operation, by which the Victory could have been got mto ih, open sea. The extraordinary and sudden variation of the «,„ at this time, was also a great impediment to the execution oi any scheme, which had for its design the liberation of the skp for if it blew from a favorable quarter in the morning, in lb evening it blew from a wholly opposite one, hanging also ch,e«, to the northward, which, although favourable for clearing >hl bay of ice, was directly against the sailing of the ship. It was, however, evident to Commander Ross, that a, tk situation of the Victory was desperate, some means of the ». nature ought to be employed to remedy the evil-, but thero« always a counteracting power existing, to render abortive » plans which he might propose, and to throw those obstack. the way of their execution, which rendered him at last. i. certain degree, indifferent to their situation, and careless ab« the adoption of any of the measures, which were at times p. posed, for effecting the liberation of the ship. The lepcH the man, who had been sent on the evening of the Jlh, « considered to be so favorable, that Commander Ross delermw on the following day, to take a personal survey of the positiP of the ice, and if the sea to the westward were clear of ice, was his intention to attempt to reach it in a boat, and ..rm once at the knowledge of the existence of a western pas.^ 'or whether, as it had been hitherto conjectured, they «.b reality entangled amidst a number of bays and islands, .» were bounded to the westward by the main land. : Early on the morning of the 8th, Commander Ross. a» panied by Mr. Mc'Diarmid, set out upon their expedition. II had scarcely lost sight of the ship, when turning suddenly r. t*ST VOtAOB OP CAPT. R099. .„ e,n.ne„ce, the accl.vity of which wa, ,„ steep, that they could not cl,mb .t, to their great surprise they beheld at MZ d,..nce two of the natives, who appeared ,o be'bua ^ ,:;Ca ,n making a hole ,„ the snow, but for what partieufar purlle e, could not conjecture. It was generally believed on ZZ leVicto-v, .hat the natives had emigrated from that DaVTlf ,he country they having been last seen on theirTay from th ^iks .oMc^lU; and, therefore, the cause ori^Tudi: yarance, and tn so small a number, as well as in a quarter .h«o there was scarcely any thing to invite them, excited Sreaty the cur.osUy of the two officers, and they resolved to ,a.ch the,r motions, as the result might lead them to a further k^wledge of some of the habit, of these semi-savages, whose bneral character, as the acquaintance increased, by n^ mea^I |» m the estimation of those, who had any deaUngs Z The natives were seen to cut out several large slabs of snow ^ having penetrated almost to the ground, ,hey were observed throv something into the hole, and then to place the slab. t »ow over tt, stamping them down with their feet, and con- K th.s process, until all the sla.s were replaced, after [W .havmg well stamped upon the whole, they left the place, IfMling their route towards Nichilli III was a question now between the' officers, whether they tof tl IT »"«.-"'-' -d ask from them an expl.nZ wIk '.r r'"**" this particular part of the country- U^ther they should allow them to proceed on their way' ousted and then examine the place,' in which they lad den either some of their food or their treasures. As to any btTrrtr ""-!"--"•— HUletoblgai ^ ofleir Z T •"■"r" '""^ '° """^ '" •he know. t UK ^'"^ ^'"' ^*"''""'' ""-y "isht perhaps hit such measures as to frustrate the discorerv of the .m!? «, on which they had been employed Th^t therf tilt " T:'' "''""' "> •"""--"- ^^^^^ t: "" y """"^ """ ""^^ but unluckily a tac, a covsy of grouse rose at a shon distance from k. LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R0»8. Mc'Diarmid, who, very properly oonsider.n,; tha a brace of ™ «ouW be more acceptable than the knowledge of per. C some trivhl ac. committed by a brace o, Esqu.mauv, ,e wan, on which the Esquimau. suddenly stopped; but, .nstea o Mowing any dispc.iticn to form an -^- -^ ^ ^^^; strangers, they took .o their heels, and ran off w.tha 11 the «- pediUon, that their cumbersome habiliments would al ow th ™. Havrg gained some distance, they stopped, apparently for th. X- of -tching the motions o^^^^o^..^..^^^.^^^ that they were not pursued, they walked on a>. a slower rat., ftnrl were soon out of sight. Commander Ross, being aware that a deep and low cunn„g „a?oronhe characteristics of these people, proposed to Mr Mc'DTarm d. that they should defer visiting the place we. To Cimaux had lately busied themselves unt>l theu ret.™ to the Ihip; for it was not improbable, that tie Esqm^au, milT fro,^ some eminence, be watching the.r mot.ons; a„d» might, from some become aequa nted mib that they had been detected in their proceeding., into the open sea to the westwara. oa eve, wasthe prospect whichhe^^^^^^^^^^^^ 'of the coast was completely ^^'^^"^^^ "P „nonberff- asifW trance of the bay. herg -^^^^^^.tm^^^^^^^^^^^ ice in * had corjspired to P'-^'^'^f;: th^ las. wished for. To .. part cular place where they were luo [o .he gloom and misery, which this P-p-'^^J^J"; J'/J to the westward was completely clear of .ce. and the sky o dark blue colour, which in those • W.tudes .ndtoa.e» the e^ ■"'" ^Olf'OK OK C*PT. KOBB. aice of open water. The nr<> much of his valuable time, in the elucida- «l • mystery, which, after all, turned out to be nothing more gH [AST VlrtTAOE OF CAPT. R0««. than the performance of the customary rites, which the native, observe in the interment of their children. In the attention, which the Esquimaux, belongmf to the co,,„. try in the vicinity of Victory Harbour, pay to the dead, the di,. tinction is most striking as regards the aged and the young the former seldom have the ceremony of sepulture performd upon them, but they are suffered to rot away in the.r deserted hut, as if. with their last breath, all ties of kindred, of fih.lo, connubial affection, were to be broken for ever To the young, however, a little more regard is paid, but it .s, generally, H. effect of maternal affection. Instances are by no means «.« amongst these unenlightened beings, that the son has n,ade»» of the bones of his father, for the pointing of h.s spear, .»d arrows, whilst, with a careless and indifferent look, he has «.. his dogs gnawing the flesh from them. A heap of snow .s ih. bed as well as the grave of these outcasts of the human r.«; and to them it is a matter of indifference, as no light is to daw. upon them in another world, under what circumstances cormp.- ion claims its tribute. . ,1,. „,„. . Some degree of curiosity was e.c.ted amongst the go,, a, they looked upon the stiffened corse of the mtan , « divine the reason of the natives, for bringing the ch.l .0. great a distance from their dwellings; and, perhaps alt^ various conjectures were hazarded, not one was, in reality, iWtn. one The question, however, which was now agitated, « ^h^ther the infant was to be re-interred, or carried to the .1,, as a subject for the surgical skill of Mr. Mc'Diarm.d: to* credit of Capt. Ross be it said, he gave it - "is decided opu- that the former course should be adopted, and after a deliberation, the corse was thrown into its «nowy grave^ " , .now was thrown upon it, with the same hurry and ind.ffer. as the callous sexton shovels the consecrated earth upo« christian. Where is the difference i the winds of heaven «.. again the dust of both ; but it will be gathered together map. where the mere form of sepulture, or the substance on whicli head reposed, will not be the subject of inquiry. . On the morning of the lOth, the wind blew fresh fio"' tAST VOVAOE OP CAPT. ROSS. north-west, and the ice Stationary Tn .!.„ mr, of all on board ih. • I ^'**' '"'P""^' >">»'- ..de a move, as f1; TerlT^"' '"" "'"""'' '" '"« "f"""-- .hip, on a shooting exenrZ ^ [ "' '''"'°' '^^'"» *'» wal, sent in .he dfrecTor K- K. "'"''""'' """ »' ">« ">«" hem of .be »ove of Te ^o "nd t f '"' *"''"' '" "PP"- hip. Before .be re.ur ;:;::' "f .r^*':-' """™ '" *"" » had become again s.a.ionZ [ , °""^ P"'>'' "'« Fkedthan i. was blVrl "'^' ' '' P°"""*' ""« <^-'»-'y The 1 1th, was Sundav hnf f.^ «pl.inod. no service wis rfled'^^b""""" "■"' ""' ■"" »ives in the afternoon with .J . "■"" *"'"'«•' "»"- c, whilst the office" "nt ^^ ^"^ ""' '"'"''^ ™ "'o ""^ - very -cessti as /LIbTb"'""' '" "'"^'' *'"'^ ;o««.nd two hares one of K u^ """ "'"' ">«■»' "'"^ " ".i.H. have Teitp Lrd^'inff "":• ''"^• ■i"i»f. m„s. by .bis .il' Zt ntrly e,S """"T;"* '•ever, i. appeared .0 revive and a 1 , ' " ""'''*"• «.o" the hiffhes. hill n .' ■? ' """' ""' '" ''"il'l -" -Hf/a;e^ii::rj:;vr2^- '""""•*""' «men., it was resolved .baTinLl *''«.«''"»*'««'<». of a »ldbe.ubs.i.uted for i. M LiLh/TJ T """• ^"""•' .rchitects. .0 whom L . ^ ' ""' **'" ^"""»"' ^'•'S , 10 wiiom .he erection was entras.ed Rv a:^. christened ./' V ''^''^'''^'''S 'hoform of an obelisk, «q-l ndrtrv' o d?" '''^"' f" '^"' P"^^'« '••"' •-<»« --.^«.dbed;it\::Jrr;— ^^^^^^ ° ' "'"'='' frequently take place, m .he wind, in t.*9T ^OVAOE 0» CAPT. ROSS- u .»,« different quartew, from which it those high lat""*"-;' "^L Iming. U We* ft"-" *« ""'"'• " We« on this day. I" **•" "°"J",^'. at 4, from the e.rt. .ni .. 2 ..„. it blew from the -"'^-;; ; ^ ;„y Wy gale. 5, frcm the north-north-wes^ ^To J„„ed til. the 14th, hu. th. The g»le« from the ._ ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ Unes .nd erew «ore sent out •>" ;''^' 'ue, and then laying tta hawserMhat were frozen »*eyo» g^^ ^^ ^^^ .^ip „,,;„,, „ove. The ico-t-'' -"^ ^"e not removed from her *, apprehended that .f the ce «;«' " ^^^^^„ t„ that.whick Tmight «nthe«r. rnot-on re^^^^^^^^^ ^„, ^,„, ,.^ «he experienced on her "8 ^ . ,^ her in the moBt in'"""''"* f"'^; ,,„t l„ the hilU, to take oW -, On the 15th, three hands were sen ^^^^^^^ nations of the state "^ ^'T' '-'jt^nd the month of thefc., that it was closely packed' ,tly seUhe ermine trap, b«ti.« On their way to the h.Hs, they expectation,* „„„ as a matter of »—;;*; Jd\e derived from the sl>i.. any great profit or »« jto^.^er. being of a very .1. so .mall an animal. '"" ^ j their necks, anda«p. natnre, was worn by the offi-' ^"7., ,,,, ,«. „ho we«. stitions notion was ^so ^^^f^^^^i cold.— ' ermine-B shin, was neve, known ^^^ ,^ey m Some apprehensrons were now en ^^ ^^^ ^^^ he obliged to kill the ^''fj^^'l^ ,„, ,.,, and walr» ♦ „.„x came to the sh.p, Wen w _^ ^^^^ ^^ ^, nor had any seal been .een for --« ' ^^^.^^ ^^^ country. It -'"/""Jt saw several seals playing* took, on the 16th, that he saw ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ' patch of water, but he could no^g ^ ^^.,,„, Lcount of the fickle '^f*; hauled o,H to the place, . tion at the ship, the d^gcy J'^ ^\,,„,, ti„a, Comma»to« the seals had been seen, and J » * , ,,, g„„ek. ^eceeded in ^IT; ^^Ttol ship! two l.re. .^ as he \va8 called, also dto g ^_,,. grouse. ''*^**^ * . , . y^ ty^at the ship may H^ By the 19th, the ice vras so thicK, woa '^9T VOVAOKOFCAPT. H09S. jyy considered as to be iotally frozen in n inches thick, and every 24 hours .dd. /. -^""u"? ''' ^^' ^^ Ik « -^ added to its th cknf»« Tk ™ly chance now, of escaping „u. „f „,;, b,y J ZZ,- groove across it, in cast the ice sho„M ,1' ^ '"^ ' So^e hope indee. .as ^n.ertai::;^ t IrjrL'lt ''• "■ f""» " «""«y. taken from a hill i„ the i,.™ '^ i °' .he ice was seen on the outside, runn^; ra^; 1 1;'""''^ ward, whilst, at the distance of about two nnl! f u '°""'- «f .he bay, no ice whatever was to be seen 1 7 T"'" - si.«a,io„ for the ship, perhaps could not' have ri sIT"; and every day brouo-ht with it tho • r . selected, -e.;i beL uud:r .hTtir/:":;-;:';- s"^" prospect would have presented itself, than Ont h K * »w.heIotof,hecrewof,heVictorv 7" .'''."'■ '*'"^'> ««» •;; 0^ -e ^;e.„in, r...J:Z!j::^"^rZ1£ when the wind, hauling to the south ..t ^k • ^' |.»^ « the north-east point lay a Ing'w:" I 7 k" *': ""'"' k floe. Which completei; UolTl.'T.lZt' "^ I [h, unfortunate circumstance not occurred i, . ^ >f-. that the ship would have b:„',ro:v :.rr' -"-:;::;: -;r:iVa;v;rdr:'r e -s placed there by some hostile'' en uj tlr h 7 "Po» of preventing the Victory fro™ fj " nl' h vl i'. however, an undoubted fact thatTo fhi, fl "'^• K; to be ascribed, the circle of h'';:::;^" h^ to pass the winter in her present ha bou^ «„Tit J' h pursuit r„ f !"', T" "' "''^' '' '""'""'.^ --"•y I pursuit. In fact, the ,l,sc„vorlos of Capt. Ros», i„ his r' 4 n LAST VOTAOK OF CArT. ROSS. l»,t voyage, may he considorod as rather negative than po«.„e, W ho Lnain.ydetcr,„inod .here the North West Pa..a,o «,. It to he found, hut ho h,.s thrown very httlo l.ght as to tl,e nuarler where it is to be found. ..,,•, ^ On this snhjeot. it may not only be curious, but h.ghly ,nle. resting, to take a view of the opinions of some very able nam.cal men Iho were summoned before the committee of tl,e House of Commons, particularly of the evidence of Cupt. Boauta, „ho although the drift of the questions, that were put to hrn, was clearly diseernihle, gave. some of his answers ,n a man„e,, that the friends of Capt. Ross did not expect and, winch gave them some reason to wish, that he had not been quesfooeu .. all Capt. Beaufort is asked, in the first place, W hether u, k opinion, the expedition undertaken by Capt. Ross, had been „roduetive of any important a.lvantage in mat.ers of e:co!rrapl,v To which, he answers. That it has added a sl^ort but nnpor... link to our knowledge of the geography of the northern extreme "Has it been productive of any important advantage «, respect to the navigation of the Arctic seas V'^-lt has o„ j . :Zkere u. ca««o< yo, by shutting up Prince f^'^J^^. it tl,r»ws no further light on the navigation of the Arctic e 1 Do vou think the voyage would go far towards the d > " ',.1 • •♦,r/' "TVip most interesliDj mining the geographical curiosity i - The most of all the voyages, must have been t^-at. which showed t,» in throu.>-h Lancaster Sound; I think that none of the lo,., can cl: into competition with that, which broke a pa.,. through the west side of Baffin's bay.' _ .. You allude to Capt. Parry's first voyage I - I do. •. Do vou consider that the closing up of Prince Rege.1 'inlet narrowsthe range, within which, a North West Pa« may be found, within a short compass r'-" It only nar,o« by one of the openings." , . , ,., "Does it not narrow the opening to something above 54 grees north latitude ?"-" There are several openings fro»> end of Lancaster sound •, Prince Regent's inlet was one of * hv closing that, Capt. Ross has removed one of the p'^b. LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 579 means of gettinor to the westward, but there arc three still open, in which success is just as likely as in the other." "Will you specify theirnarnes ?"--- One is, g-oinir out hy the Wellington channel to the north-west, that is, o-oino- northward of the chain of islands discovered by Capt. Parry, and approx- imating- the pole; another, proceedin^r by Molvillo island, in the same direction, that Capt. Parry previously tried ; and the third, would be by getting to the south-west as soon as the vessel has passed the cape, which Capt. Ross supposes to be the northern extreme of America, and then endeavoring to get over to the shore, laid down hy Capt. Frouklin and Dr. Rich- ardson : all those three are still open to future enterprise." • Do you consider that the closing the most southerly outlet, closes that, supposed to be the njost likely to be practicable ?'' •'No, for that is not the route 1 should hcwe taken, if employed on that service. ^^ Notwithstanding this answer, so unfavourable to the judg- ment of Capt. Ross, the members of the committee appeared most anxious to obtain from Capt. Beaufort, an admission, that Capt. Ross was not in error, when he selected Prince Regent's inlet as the most advisable route, for the discoverv of the passage. The members, therefore, shape their questions in the following manner: "Was the passage by Prince Regent's inlet considered, before this expedition, as one of the most likely ?" — "There was alvvavs a great difference of opinion upon that subject, amono"st those, who pursued the enquiry." •' It was one, which, if the British government had pur>ued that object of discovery, they might have very probably directed their attention to ?' — " It is very likely, hut it iconl'd have de- fended a good deal upon whom they employed, and what was the prevailing opinion amongst those best informed." "Was that Capt. Parry's opinion?" — " I really do not recol. 'set; I had not much conversation with him upon that part of the subject." At the conclusion of this part of the evidence, one of the lost sapient of 4he mombors enquires, " // the sea had been 500 LAST VOYAGE OF CAf'T. ROSS. clear of ice, there would have been a great probability of find- ing a passage ?"— ' To which Capt. Beaufort replies, undoubtedly r The circumstance of discovering a sea clear of ice, in a lati- tude of 70 north, and longitude 90 west, must have been a phenomenon, which could only have presented itself to the imagination of one of the erudite members of Capt. Ross' com. mittee ; at all events, the whole evidence of Capt. Beaufort went to prove, that the quantum of merit to be awarded to Capt. Ross, which was to be an equipoise to the sum of £5000, was very small indeed ; in fact, he strips from his brow some of the very laurels, which Capt. Ross had, in his own evidence, so strenuously labored to attach exclusively to himself. We allude particularly to the great advantages, which the whale fisheries are supposed to have derived from tVie discoveries of Capt. Ross, and which, one of the members estimates at £•1,000,000 annually, although we strongly suspect, that the information on that subject, was obtained from Capt. Ross him- self. Capt. Beaufort is asked, " To whom do you attribute the discovery of the whale fishery on the west side of Baffin's bay!"' The gallant captain must at this moment have been laboring under the greatest stupidity, not to discern the drift of the question ; for it was expected, that, considering the object for which the committee were assembled, his complaisance would have carried him so far as to announce, that he considered Capt. Ross as the discoverer, although it must have appeared rather singular to him, that any discovery, which Capt. Ross might have made in the year 1818, should be then brought forward to bolster up his claim for the grant of £5000, for the great talent, which he evinced, and the services, which he had ren- dered to his country in the year 1830-3. The answer, however, wliich Capt. Beaufort gave, was directly contrary ic the one, that was desired, for he replied, " To the several voyages that had been made there, but to none in particular:' It was, however, necessary, that Capt. Ross should be made to have something to do with those discoveries, although, if the members had been guided by any prudence, or if they had been in any degree acquainted with the great extent of the discoveries made by LAST V0V40E OF CAPT ROSS. .-Jgl Capt. Ross i„ his first voyage, tl.ey would have carefully ab. .fined from touching upon .hem, for fear of breaking their heads .ga,nst some of the cragged prominences of theCroker mountains No.h.ng great, nor grand, however, was ever accomplished with-' .at perseverance ; and although the individual may be foiled in .™e of his attempts, it speaks not much for the energy of hi, ebaracer, ,f he shrink from the further pursuit of his obje^ on ac' count of a few obstacles, which chance or design may mischic- ™.ly have thrown in his way. Thus (and we mean it out of t e .rest sp,r,t of conopliment to the member, who undertook tl il ,,r. cular part of the examination) it was resolved to put such .est,o„s,„Capt.p..auf„rt. from which he could not escape, and o W he "' TT" """'"^ '"' •"'" '" ^'™ ""y °".- answer. >W, the one wh.ch was wished for. Capt. Beaufort having in a ?™ral way, spoken of the advantages derived to the whale .kenes, by the several voyages, which had been made to the .cue seas, he was asked. Which of the voyages was first in (ieH-H,s answer was considered as a kind of climax, in favor f tWsupphant. lor having answered, "Capt. Ross' certainly " (bowed and retired. ''-"my. The man. whose name stands first on the list of bankrupts, eer- ily enjoys the advantage of priority, if any advantage there m U; and according to the same process of reasoning, it was ly oomphmentary to Capt. Ross, and confirmatory of hi. J he wa. acknowledged, by so competent an authority at of Capt. Beaufort, to stand as the alpha in the list of - V tors h,„ _^^^^^,,^^,^^^ ^^^^^ _^ of those, from whose pockets the £5000 were to be ^L'll '" ?" '"'"' "^ "'^ ''--veries, or to the - of those talents which were requisite for the aecom- »ent of the object, of which he was in pursuit. Cr't r: ^""' -'""'y a matter of interest but P tanoe, to take a general view of the discoveries, that "'«o„ f . V- c o^ P ^^^^^ ^^ . ^^^,^ „,^,,„,,,, .^ ,, It was here ^l-l^^e ^ K. o y ^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^ _^ ice, the extonsjon "f - nch .^^^, ^„„,, ,„deas .onth cape of tbo .nUt n a ..U ;_^^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^,^„„„,, to east-nonh.cast. Owing to i tempestuous wealfc.,, of the --^,;>-;;X :!: 'a t lerous^miets and ro*, the irregularity of the coast, ^^^^^ ,ess dangc,.^ for which it was remarkable, the prog ^^ ,. J- »«,i thev suereeded m peneiravuin than ;«''>"-: y;'^^ ^''^„ ..„„„H«de 92" west, where O.c U latitude of 70 north n ^^ ^^^^ ^^^^,^ ^ ^.^^^„, after having -"""^J^^^^^e , and at the distance of forty «* decidedly westerly, while the una to the southward, was seen trending ^^^^^ ,„ Here the expedition was arrested by a . impe ^ of ice. and the ship was -^ ;", J'J^e Lntinen... „,,ieh was called ielix HarW^,^ _^^ ^^^ .^,^. southward bemg named ^^^f 7' ^a Of the r.« the peninsula to the -tV-na^--- ;,;.,„, u a- been conclusive, and '"'3™' j^ulars extant. The« snoct. however, there are not any P""<^" y^l Icovery of a barren -ct "J ^J. «;^ ^^ J- ^.,, ,o..ed with ice Oiree.— ^the^^ ^^'^^^ ^^ ^,, ., tlirect. advantages whatever ar _^„ducive to the proi any value, either in a — i^^-;;; "^ere couW ^ tion of the commerce of the couniry. LAST VOYAOR OF CAPT. R03S. 5g3 positive objection to the territory bein^ taken possession of, in the name of bis Britannic Majesty, as Capt. Ross only followed (he example of some former navig-ators, who have planted the standard of Great Britain on a barren rock, which has never since been visited, by any of the subjects cf the said kinjr, and of which, he the said king- knows as little, as he does ''of his nowly acquired territory of Boothia Felix. It is also proper that Capt. Ross should not have let the opportunity .slip him, of paying- a just and well-merited compliment to his munificent p;.tron, Felix Booth Esq. by naming a country aftor him, which, though in itself the seat of barrenness and desolation, has been' named Boothia Felix, thoug-h perhaps not upon the same prin- ciple, as the cognomen of Felix has been attached to a part of Arabia. It is, however, the opinion of Capt. Ross, that the discovery of the Gulph of Boothia, and the continent and isthmus of Bnothia Felix, is an object of the hig-hest importance, and that it forms one of the principal features of his expedition. The principal features of his first voyage, were the discovery of the Croker Mountains, and some large hills, covered with red snow. On the supposition, therefore, that the value of the discoveries )f the two voyages, could be reduced to pounds, shillings, and lence, they would stand as follows : — £ s. d. Croker Mountains - - - - Hills of Red Snow - - - Boothia Felix 000 £000 The chief pleasure of the traveller is in his progress to his lace of destination ; and therefore greatly is Capt. Ross de- >rvmg of commiseration, when, instead of progressino- in the scovery of the Nort-h West Passage, he was obliged to" retrace s steps from Felix Harbour: but it was rather fortunate for m.that the whole extent of this retrograde movement was ""Pnsed in the extent of four miles; thereby shewing, that in 08V LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. the year 1830-1, he was four miles farther from the objoct; which he had in view, than when he took up his wintPT quarters in Felix Harbour, in 1819. Felix Booth, esq bavin;;' served the office of Sheriff for the city of London, it wa<» highly considoralo in Capt. Ross to commemorate the event, by naming- his socond winter harbour, "Sheriff's Harbour." The extent of tlie dis. coveries, from the time of entering- Sheriff's Harbour, to iho period of quitting it in 1831, consisted in the single one made by Commander Ross, that no passage existed below the Tlst degree. It must, however, not be omitted to mention, that Capt. Ross says, " That notwithstanding the severity of tie summer, we travelled across the country to the west sea, hv n chain of lakes, thirty miles north of the isthmus, when Com mander Ross succeeded in surveying fifty miles more of the coast leading to ihe north-west, and tracing the shore to the northward of the position of the ship.'' By the use of the pr noun we, it might be supposed, that Capt. Ross himself, was included in those travelling parties. It is certain that, on some occasions, we did accompany the fatigue party from the ship.tn a certain distance; but we then generally found it convenient t return to the ship, judging very correctly, that a warm berth \\\ our cabin, with a comfortable potation of the ex-sheriff's cordial before us, was preferable to running the risk of the loss ofoi/r nose or our feet, by the severity of the frost. In one of the travelling expeditions mentioned by Capt. Ross, his sole purpose was to leave some provisions for Commandei Ross, at an appointed place, which being done, he retraced hii steps to the ship. On the following day, the weather beiD» propitious, he extended his walk to some distance from the ship when on a sudden he espied a group of Esquimaux evidenll] tjoming from the place, where the provisions had been dep sited : some of them making the most extraordinary motion! and appearing unable to walk in a straight line, stumbling- falling at every step, which, according to the judgment of Cap Ross, could not proceed from any other cause than the slippei state of the ground. The Esquimaux were accompanied by foi children, who seemed to be very satisfactorily employed inlj LAST VOYAOK OF ,Mrr. K088. -,„- ,ke,„. however, great was the .urTZ7cJ\' 7 '? greater his indi.r„aiion „h.„ "'"""f*"'"- R»'». ""d "ill !hichthe little :z:-:'z':j.'''''"'' *•"" "■« -•■"'•'. -f I tko biscuits, which had been ,1 !,^'/'" ""'^""^ '^^^ "'"" -« Ross : and th t e cause ru'.' ""' "^" "' ^""•"'»"• Lniors of the group ZloZl u'T"'' ■""""'" «' ""' .f the ?^„u„d^ut osorio^ ''° """'"' '" "'« ^''PP-y '•»'« .. ri„ iot'o theirrd:;::::;c:re;StT' -^'^^ *ie„oy to put tl,em i„ ,he enjoy^cn of h. ," •"'"' " h-ingfrom inebriation. A deep' cow If di.T' '"'""' \m, the countenance of Can, R V J ''"^pleasure camo Upaid no. the -elt a^r.^ f ' 'Ji ' Jd i^Tr'T ;•■" U the opprobrious epithets of rJ.VoL h ' feed; and, to complete the sum of tl* ^ ^ '""^ ""•* U appeared determined to Z^ ^u^^T^- ''" k surest means of allavino. ih • i ""^*^^ea captain, as [ «a,is or allaying the violence of his ano-pr Tk- [owever. in his eyes, was an act of Jnc I ^ ^^"'' leir commission of he theft « H IT"' ^"P^^^^^^d to iresn supply ; and, on the r arrival at ih^ ^i ^ .J the ground strewed with various ari! / h/ooLt^ « drawn from every canister, which had been filled ,t >li«d sp.lt upon the ground. Some attempts had hee„ 7 hjon the packages, which contained' te ^2 tft.r:d\:r:::L:-::— ;rr:v «'" Known to nave e'lven n «oal ^ u ifflH ♦„ ?iiven a seal, would not have hp«»n *ea to remain unappropriated and th.. \, lK^"priaien, and that even eomeofthc 4 P g^ LAST VOYAOK OF CAPT. RO^-t, provisions were in a atalo. as if the natives did not deem them worthy of their notice. There was. perhaps, in this conduct of the natives, something very nearly akin to the habits of tU brute which, having satiated its appetite, leaves the rcnnainder to putrify on the ground : or perhaps the effects of the spirits had been so overpowering, as to deprive thenn of all self-possea- fiion, and force them to pursue a line of conduct at variance with their usual habits. A European, who has once found his way to the wine cask, generally repeats his visit ; and it was. there- fore, strongly suspected by the seamen, that were they to deposit the provisions in tho same place, the Esquimaux would again discover them, and appropriate them to the same purpose as they had done the former stock. They, therefore, determined to conceal the provisions about a mile further on the route. Ly ivhich they knew that Commander Ross would return to the ship; but they had scarcely commenced their labors, when that officer and his party hove in sight : and welcome indeed was the supply of provisions to them, for their stock was completely exhausted, „or had they tasted any food for nearly twelve hours. During the latter part of September, the wind blew from the S W to the S.S.W. driving the ice into the bay, as if there .ere no other place, in which it could accumulate. On the 20th, ii came in with such force, as to drive the ship eleven feet nearer the shore. It was, therefore, necessary to moor her afresh; and this was done by taking her chain cables on shore, aD^ giving them a turn round a very large rock, and then backei to an anchor. . The ship v^as no sooner securely moored, than a man wi ,ent on the hills, to take a survey of the ice. The report p that it was making off the shore, and that clear water .v^ 'be seen as far as the eye could reach : to their great rriortifii tion however, the bay was completely choaked up. and also seaward or south-east of the harbour. Perhaps no situat.! could be more galling to the crew of a vessel, than that which the seamen of the Victory were now placed. From ship to the open sea. the distance was not greater thant miles at the farthest ; beyond which not a piece of ice wa^to LAST VOYAUR op CAPT. ROSS ^gf teen directly in the route, which ii was their intenlii.n to take. A» the seamen termed it, a glorious run was bef.ire them, and ihey bound as fast, as if wedged in with a mass of molten iron. ; On the 21st. a heavy gale came on from the south by west, and its effects on the ice in the bay, were watched with the molt intense anxiety, as being the wind most favorable for driving the ice out of the bay. Two men were sent upon one of the hills, to watch the motion of the ice; it was seen run- ring with great rapidity to the north-east, and all clear along Ihe coast. At the mouth of the bay, however, it was quite stationary, forming a barrier, which it was impossible to break through, and which seemed to be placed there by an adverse fate, lo thwart them in their projects. Early in the morning of the 22nd, the wind veered round to the N.N. W., blowing fresh. The ice began to drive out of the bay, and to the northward. This faint glimpse of hope, however, lasted but for a very short time, and it seemed to the anxious tnariners, as if it had been only done in mockery of their expect- ations. For several hours, one floe after the other disjoined itself from the mass, and with a loud crackling noise, accord- iDgly, as the huge bergs were impelled against each other, was earned along with the stream, forming altogether a grand, and in a certain degree, an exhilirating scene. It is difficult for the human imagination to form an idea of the grandeur of the wdden disruption of an immense body of ice ; the gigantic Classes coming into collision with each other, with such a de- Iructive force, that no fabric of human art could bear up against I. On several occasions, was the ponderous body of the Victory ifted out of the water, by these floating masses, threatening very moment to throw her upon her beam ends, as if she were omore than a floating cork ; in one instance, the compressing ower of these masses was so great, that the Victory was so 'f litted up, that her keef rested upon the ice, giving her a St to the starboard, that it was expected every moment she 'oald be capsized. '■•*^'- -'^'-'.'.-jm 4.;, _j...-3 _^,,,.,,, ,.,,.^ ^^, ^-^^^ The '>2nd was the day, on which the hopes of the crew were CQ gg^ LAST \OYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. raised to the highest pilch. At 4 o'clock in the morning, to their astonishment and joy. the bay appeared all clear of ice. as if the ^ork had been achieved by the potency of some power- ful magician; and that he had literally swept it away by the effect of his incantation8.,The ice wasabove a mile and a halfofi shore and at 7 o'clock, all hands were turned out to cut a canal through the young ice; impressed with the hope that the period of their emancipation had arrived. At 10 o clock, how. ever they all returned on board, on account of the ice begmning to close in, but at twelve, it again made a move outwards, and the men were enabled to resume their labors. By 3 o'clock, the canal was finished, and all were now on the tiftoe of expecta- tion for the moment when the Victory was to be loosed from her moorings, and to proceed on her voyage. Towards n.giu the ice was setting N. E. with variable winds; but siill, if no adverse circumstances took place in the night, the flattor.rii hope was entertained, that it would be possible to tow the ship along the canal, and gain the offing, where there was not the sliohtest appearance of ice Early on the morning of the 'Z3rd, two men were sent over the hills, to survey the state of the ice, and although they re- ported that it was close packed in shore, yet that it was quiie loose in the offing. All hands were immediately put to clearin? away the heavy ice from the mouth of the canal, and the whale boat was sent away to examine its siate in the offing. It wa« found, that it was setting south-west ; this, indeed, was a sevei. check to the fulfilment of their hopes, and by 10 o'clock onihe following morning, the last blow was given to the emancpatio. of the Victory-her doom was sealed ; for the ice set into i^ bay at a most rapid rate, bearing some resemblance to lb« mas'caret or the bore of the Ganges, sweeping every thing befo. it with an irresistible force, and before midday, the whole of te bay was more densely choaked, than it had ever appeared* any previous period. All hands were now employed m secur.^ * the ship, as well as the boats that were on the young ice,aB after a considerable degree of labor, the ship was got to bottom of the canal, and there made fast. ..^^^^.^^^^ '■"" *°''*0»- «r CAPT. BOSS. 533 On the 24lh. the ice again ^^de a move, as ,f it »„uIH 1 .H^bay; but no., if the navigation had been earthewtl h ,d from the north, „hieh. although favorable fo clea i„! U of ice, was contrary to enabling the ship if ou. tn T ^, north east point of the bay ^' ' ° '''*'' "'* overy hope was now abandoned of rear-hin^ v i 7 Iho Victory. The shin wa« ,K I ^ "''""^ "=''"' '" /• ' "« ^'"P was therefore properly secured, more a, ' P'-;f -dence for the approaching winter, than wTth any e,peo.at.on of ever being able to get her to s;a aga.n Shi ™ totally ^rtgged. and every thing, that could befaTen wa, r "" ;"'/"" "" ''^""p"™ "' "•" p'ovisionrwhTch wje now reduced to a very small quantity ; it being asc rtainod "tirr;i;tr"'^------ ; -bed namely, the l^^t Z fr;:!Z7Z T ;: £' "'""'• ™ *-^ -""' -^ Cop*- «°- i^ the crown . tr i tn, VT ' "' T'' "' '"' """"^"'"^ of Commander ta, for U must be unde^ood, that when sneaking of any el not t"""''' ""' """''' •'^ ""= '"««' <•«<=-. for « hirnself, although on his return, the fable, of the fly on % assumed, by making use of the first person p'lural, then S nar. ,^T '"f"'''""'"'^- "h-^ he accomplished ; in * »? feature, namely that both of them are decidedly ignorant J subject matter, to which their authority is attaclL' .h 1.: .• ^' ?""" °f ^"P'- K°-' ""a'ive to the discovery UhT ' P"''- "' ^•'"'■''' '"' »P» '» --<)« the greate^ »f ".e account a, wholly fabulous, and that the .„,e position 590 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT.ROS3. ,.; of the pole is a problem still remaining to be solved. We ven- lure to express this extraordinary opinion upon the circumstance, that if .^uch an important event had actually taken place, as the aiscoverv of the magnetic pole, it would have been a matter of .uch triumph and exultation, that tbe whole crew would have been made acquainted with it, as "the chief crown and glory' of the expedition. We have it, however, positively in our power to affirm, that .omeof the crew had never heard of the discovery of the magnetic pole, until the supposed position of it was pointed out to them, by Commander Ross, in the Panorama of the expedition exhibited in Leicester square. We have had this circumstance corroborated by two of the crew, one of them a petty officer; and therefore it naturally gave rise to some doubts in our mind, whether the discovery of the position of the magnetic pole was ever, in reality, accomplished in this ex- pedition. Considerable information, however, on tins important point, was elicited from several individuals, who were examined before the committee of the House of Commons; but it will be seen that the individual, to whom the honor of the discovery belongs, and from whom, in consequence, it was to be supposed that the greater portion of valuable information was to beo tained, was merely asked two or three questions : v^hilst, onth other hand, such questions were put to Capt. Ross, as we« likely to impress upon the minds of the committee, that ^ himself was the actual discoverer of it. We have already taken all becoming notice of the discover of Capt. Ross, that the light of a candle and the buttons of coat had an effect upon the magnet; and in the course of t^ inquiry, he is asked-- The position of the magnetic pole h. 'already been determined by previous observation ?'-*' Ves previous observation; by our own observation we had de mined we were within a very short distance, where the s^ was, from the magnetic pole. By continuing these observaUC we arrived at the spot." ^m^^c. ....... ....^ - In explanation of this answer, it must be observed, tha^^ was by an excellent dipping needle, constructed by Jones, Commander Ross was able to determine the spot, with to. LAST VOYAOK OF CJPT. R099. 59I mecision ; but it was then feared, that the real position of ,he' pole «,uld only be approached by a land journey, which w.. beyond the limited means of the expedition. These fears were however, dispelled, by the discovery of the western sea, men- lioned in our narrative of the events, which took place in the year 1831. The party, who were first sent on the iavestigation .this interesting subject, had with them but a very small supply of instruments, and therefore brought back with them only some imperfect indications of the object, of which they were in ».n=hi but when it appeared, that another winter must neces. «rily be passed in those regions, preparations were made for a more accurate survey : and in May 1831, a series of observations determined, as far as the evidence of instruments is conclusive 4. place of the magnetic meridian, and the exact position of the magnetic pole. Capt Ross, on being asked the exact longitude of the posiiron ^ the pole replied,--" That we have not yet exactly determined tne point of longitude— about 96°. 47' " Was this answer founded on truth, o'r was it given tl mislead he c„„,„,„ f„, ,he purpose of reserving to himself the faU lip anation of it, a. some future period ; or, it might happen, ^.Commander Ross had not then imparted to his uncle the «.ct longitude ; for it must have appeared open to the meanest Pacuy, that if the longitude had not been determined on to «pot. It was not probable that it could be determined in U r J ^ "^ V"" P""^ °f r^^^^oni^g. he might have said, 1,!!*!.°°!. ?""''"'' """ '"""•'^ " longitude of A'c*a- *ooA, but that he would determine both in his residence at « ' j , . ' '**^ ^® passed it, as we passed ^und It, the compass turned towards it horizontally ; and when ■« were to the north or south of it. we turned a variation of ■'■'• - ^-r:--- V r^^>l LAST VOYAGK OF CAPT. KOSS. 180 degrees. When we were east or west, our variation i*as 90 degrees." " Did that increase by degrees, or all at once ?" — " By de- grees, as we proceeded round it; our instruments were con- structed for the purpose, delicately hung on hairs. I had one instrument constructed by Dollond, for the express purpose of observing the diurnal variation." " Although Capt. Parry never arrived at the point of the magnetic pole, is it not the case, that i had ascertained its situation, by experiments, that he had made ?" — " Certainly not Capt. Parry is as much on the one side, as Capt. Franklin was on the other ; and it is an extraordinary fact, the mean between the two, comes within a short distance of the actual spot." " Does Capt. Parry state, in any part of his despatches to the Admiralty, or his book, that he discovered the magnetic pole » '— " No.'* "Relays no claim to it?'* — "No. he only stated the sup. posed situation of it, which turned out to be 100 miles erroneous." " Within what area do you conceive you have reduced the situation of it? — " One mile." " Will you state to the committee, how near to the actual position of the magnetic pole, in the expedition under your com. mand, you, or any observer attached to that expedition, ap- proached the position, taken oy estimate, and not by observa. tion?" "The position was taken by observation, by Commander Ross, who reported to me, that he had reached the exact spot; this accorded with my own observations at the ship, and at several other places, at a short distance from the position h laid it down." '' " Are the committee to understand, that at several differeiil 'spots, that particular position of the magnetic needle, that • took place, which authorizes you to assert, such spot or spots to be the true position of the magnetic pole ; in other word? did the needle dip perpendicularly at more than one spot, and" at more than one vhat was the distance between any oni and any other ?" . ,.^^, ,,,.,. "" VOVAOi.: OK CAPT. ROM. 593 W. have it „ol in »«, ,S„„er « would have hesitated for a moment, to impart to tl! »»Utee, the exact time when the name was so affixed a -^.«g .0 the pMn tenor of the question, that was pm o'l,im" h 1 r" ,"'"' ""^ '''■''^"'•"^' ">»' ""e put to him . J» answered, •• It was named after the Duke of Clarenc"; j^^ LAST VOYAGK OF CAPT. R08». »od oa the Sunday after my arrival, ^ '"f^^'^'^;^'^'''' ^'^ miMion lo change the name to that of King William. ThecommUtfe were perfectly sa.i,6ed «i.h the a„.wer although not the slightest information was g.ven to them of the individual, who affixed the name, nor the t.me «he„ the ceremony was performed. On thic subject we can only .a,, that an opportunity was here afforded to Capt. Ross, of do,„g b^t justice to a meritorious and highly talented .nd.v.dual, „h cl, he richly deserved from him, and without whose service. S led ion'would scarcely have one redeeming featu. to »ve7from contempt and oblivion. We hesitate not to affi™. It throughout the whole of the evidence as brought befoe he c mmiuee, there wa. a decided disposition »» J-' ^a^ Ross forward as the grand mover, the fnmum moW? of all ih. mol important transactions, which distinguished the exped,. r • a7d keeping the individual in the back ground, to «ho„ r;. rit of ever; discovery was due, and who alone wa, e vinj of the favor and gratitude of his country. That ^ evalf answers, which Capt. Ross gave, m many instan* 7oM not have been satisfactory to the comm.ttee, must b muted by every individual, who has perused the report of : idence but not in a single instance, did -7 --»- •Hn« nn receivino- an evasive answer to his quesuon, tr: ;b if coZti; answered, some information .i,. lave bl d^ived, ever repeat his question or call upon ^ Ross to give some further explanation on the subject then unte his immediate examination. , „iin„wtlie« As elucidatory of the foregoing remarks, we will take the . amtat on of Capt. Beaufort, hydrographer to the Admira r egard to the discovery of the position of the magnetic p^^ ' °d?n which the question, are so couched, as tf Co..»a«d. UnsB had had no concern whatever in the discovery •Have you any reason to believe that Caft. Ross too- or .fat he approached the temporary position ofthemagn. pol dulg Z last voyage."-" From .kat A. says, he «• t, have been very near it ; and his observations very .» lire with those of Capt. Franklin and Capt. Parry, in *' "•T vorAon or capt. rom. ^j pmio», voyage,; ,h«y all p„i„, to about .ho ,ame pi.„ buth» ™ Z""*' """'" *» " ">«" hi' predecessor, " '^ ' "' *" ■•You consider that Ae approached much nearer to it than .n of h,s predecessor, '.--.■ Ye,, close to it. I should thn'k" • Do you mean, that he in person approached nearer to it' nepw.orhoth.rr-!hrdi;t:^rer;:r:hj:r .ervation,, appear to have been close to it - "''" It must be borne in mind, that Capt. Ros, admit, in hi, «■ Jnce th. He himse.r „a, not „ithi„ ^ mile, of the" ptiri: The examination continues : Did he fiv thn .u .• »...etic pole «ith greater accufay.tban ad etre ' ' done by other.. ■'_" I think whoever approached I'lTt ».7 be con,idered to have the best claim t'o'.ha ho„o but the ». benospeci6cor precise point, within a degree o half a . pee : like the point of a needle, it, exact Z', ^'" -olved in doubt, even with the molt ^ T """ '"' '"" « I J ' " «" Win ine most accurate observatinn o«^ «. be determined only by observing the direction of h. ik at several different point, around it " °"* '■Do you conceive that the phenomena observed by T.n, K with respect to the magnetic pile ar« „f . ^ ' .«ie„ce r-.. Certainly, a, cLfirmi!;l;itroftr": •agnetic pole, and a, contributing to our littlH , * «.ie knowledge, which Hanstein and other, re st," A "T lursuing." ^*"' assiduously The examination of Mr. Children one of ih^ c » Ro,.. Society, i, highly intlrng Vnd T^Z' " »" tt concern, the jrreat question of the posTtir„f *.r •Snettc pole; a.H in it, he very proper^ aid w K net roffard to t- .J .^„ .. , ; t""F''"y> and with a « tKo ? ^' *^® '^"'^^'^ °" ^hose brows whioK Mhe most deserving of wearing them. - ''^'\'T''^ Mr. Children is asked " Aro v/mi ^r • . - -of Capt. R„„. dtoveesT.heTa"?'""'''"^'''' Nition ha. been productive of mp r LraT . "'" ence»"— ."T *Ki«i, •* u . ""PO"ant advantages to « - I think ,, has. by Commander R„„ having jgg' IXST VOVAOK OF CAl'T. ROSS. 1 il,fi nositidii '<( tlK. north magnetio pole; 1 tV.uk that there is a s.ngular «» ""^""^^ " „„;,,„,Uion „f ..derations by Pr ^^^ philosophical Transaol,«„, " *"" !t ic liis of equal variation •, at the conclusion of .h« „n magnetic lines equ attention of (h. ,.per he says ^^^^ ^ J^' ^in stro^.e^ -i.'^t thei.por.an. "^larrs^ «; than ny thing 1 can say. It is a posfrrip, ,. Mr B r"I;er. on Iho present situation of .ho ma,„eUc Hnes of equal variation. " Since this paper was read, and ih. 'obe and chart referred to in this article were drawn C.p. Res' has returned from his long and adventurous voyage^ It w be een by a reference to the polar chart, that aUhough 1 « enabled to lay down the curves of equal variation to «,k» a ew degre Jof their point of concurrence, yet hey all . 1 rted before arriving at it, for want of sufficient data. Th« Tr, now supplied, and' it is very gratifying to me, as I hope JL be also to Capt. Ross and to Commander James Ro. find that the very.pot, in which they have found the m* J t dictr. th/t ir, the pole itself, is precisely tliat po,... Ly^lobe and chart, in which by supposing all the 1, "Lt the several curves would best preserve their « ..y Ir cter, both separately and conjointly as a sys em, J imoortance as it strikes me of their coincidence, is th«, i . cTearWo very great importance to navigation, to know* te i ion of the needle is in every part and the lines of e,o variation which Professor Barlow has laid down, wil b. - I respect extremely important. If they be true ; the,, c. lidenoe' with the actual observations of Commander J» Ross, must necessarily give a g^^t/™""^;,";:' '» '""^m On this part of the evidence of Mr. Children, we n» allowed to say a few words, as it contain, a d.screpano . I Evidence of Capt. Ross, which called for some m- planation. but which, it — <" ^'^""e'^.*/""'" '^, ^ Littee to enter into. According to the evidence of Mr Cb.M' rwvsr vovAofi of capt. robs. 59^ Piofessor Barlow wa8 in possession of the knowledge of the exact spot where the magnetic pole is situated ; this, is however mre than can be said of Capt. Ross himself, for. on being asked by one of the committee, to state the point where the magnetic pole is. he answers, "That the longitude of it has not yet been determined, but he supposes it to be about 96« 47' « Now weare borne out in our conjecture, by the information transmitted to us by two individuals, who were with the expedition, that Capt Ross knew nothing of the position of the magnetic pole until his return to England, when it was communicated to him by Commander Ross; it is certain that the latter officer was not in the least in the habit of imparting to Capt. Ross the result of his scientific discoveries; and we can assert, with the utmost con- fidence, that Capt. Ross, so far from his being able to state, that he was within forty miles of the magnetic pole, was hardly within a hundred of it. The only two individuals, who were on the supposed position of the magnetic pole, were Commander Ross, and Blankey the mate: the distance from the ship being about 132 miles to the westward, as laid down in our chart. The first experiments made by Commander Ross, to determine the exact position of the magnetic pole, were made in the spring of 1830, during Ihe sojourn of the Victory in Felix Harbour: they were con- inued from Sheriff's Harbour, in 1831, and finally from Victory Harbour, in 1832 ; but, whatever the respective discoveries night have been, it is most certain that they were not comma- bleated to Capt. Ross, from the impression, that existed in the "■nd of Commander Ross, that whatever discoveries he made ey were exclusively his own ; and that he was not under any ►bligation to communicate them to the commr;ider of the ex- 'dition, of whom he considered himself, in regard to his ^lentific researches, as wholly independent. That this absence all confidential intercourse between the two officers, must ave been highly detrimental to the general design of the ex- sdition, cannot for a moment admit of a doubt. Whatever I'ghthave been the physical infirmity c.fCapt. Ross, so as to ^ble him from taking those long excursions into the country, 5^g I.ART VOVAOt OF CAlT. R05«. which were noccwary for the prosecution of particular scieiui6c pursuits, yet he was by no moans incapable of agisting a more able and vigorous inaividuul with his advice and experience, on some points, the investigation of which might be attended with the greatest benefit to the general design of the expedition. But so far from either of them soliciting the assistance of the other, or entering into any active co-operation, by which a pat- ticular end might be accomplished, the result of their respectiye scientific inquiries was as little known to each other, as if they had been declared rivals and competitors for a prize, the buccgm of which depended on the closest secresy. The conduct of Commander Ross was perhaps regulated by his intention lo give to the public, on his return, an accurate description of his scientific discoveries, and therefore any communication of them to another parly, might have operated as an injury to his pub. lication; it is therefore most probable that, on the return of the two officers, a coalition took place between them ; and that il was thought most advisable for both parties, to form one worii, embracing the discoveries and general information of both, than to commit a mutual injury, by a separate and independent pub- lication. In regard to the secresy, that was observed touching the (^i^ covery of the magnetic pole, it must be allowed, that there is an essential difference in the information, which Commander Ross gave to the committee of the House, and that, which U been transmitted to us by our informants : the former distinctly tells the committee, that having discovered the position of tlw magnetic pole, he conducted a party to the spot ; the latter informs us, that they never heard of the discovery until the spot was actually pointed out to them by Commander Ross himself, in the panorama, which was exhibited in Leicester- square. It the midst of this conflicting testimony, it is most difficult to say, to whom credence is to be given ; we cannot attach any corrupt motive tu Commander Ross for the evidence, whick he gave, nor, on the other hand, can we trace any motive, bj which our informants could be actuated in declaring their" treme ignorance of an event, which forms the roost inaportan LiJT VOV40« or OifT. ROtl. f^ «lute of iho expedition, and which alone perhap, will rend.r imroorable in the annals of navigation. There is, however, another subject connected with the igno. mo m whiol, the crew were kept in regard to the discoveries k..«ero made, which goes a great way to confirm our suspi- .,.«, that .ome of the event, of the voyage had a characL p,en to them on the return of Capt. Ross to England, which a^ „o, take place according tc the statements given by that .fee, to the commutee of the House of Common., I„ ,h- .ficl letter, which Capt. Ross, wrote on board the Isahell. „f H..U„ Baffio, Bay to the honourable George Elli.^s . ,'t "" J .Adm,ralty he says, " we have however the consolation fh" le results of th.s expedition have been conclusive, and ," »nce highly .mportant : and may be briefly comprehended ithe fo lowng words ; the discovery of the guiph of Boolht kc^,„,e„ta.d m.us of Boothia F.lir, !nd^ If tt," « of islands, rtvers, lakes. &c." I„ all the voyages, wl i^h .veoome under our perusal, we have generally found a cI • n .r.«o„y performed on taking possession of a newly di c v red «7 m he name of the reigning sovereign, and ce ta L y cud not be supposed that so valuable an accession to e m,shdom,n,ons. as a few hundred mile, of rocks and Z 7 - could have taken place without the necesty ^rb " fgone through, and the event celebrated with tha^ 1. ■' -ay befitting so important an occasion ReqS T„ ™a.,on on tha, point from one of our authorities! ^o^,,: '"ed "that the country of Boothia commences ^Z^Z -7 furthest discovery up Regen.-s Inlet; the south pofn G.rry Bay is about 25 to 30 miles in S S W di„„, .» Possession Place lies about eighteen miles in a' S ^W ■on so on we go till we get up to Fell.. Harbour; which '^beheve ,t is all called Boothia, iu, as to the ^a.e of Ve have jivcn this |,„rt vcrhafim, as it .t»„d. i,, ,hc ma- guQ i.Asr vorACK or capt. rom. ™«.,ipt before u.; and certainly it must be admitted, that w. „, warranted in drawing the conclusion, that the last voy.g. of Capt Rosa has been distinguished by a character, which « wholly foreign to that, which has been impressed upon eve,, previous voyage of discovery, namely, that the crew of the ship should be kept in actual ignorance of the principal d.scoverie. that were made, until their return to their native country. lt„ perhaps, no irrational conjecture, that some susp.con was lurk. Lit in the breast of Capt. Ross, that his crew would have be.. disposed to laugh at the circumstance of his taking for.nalpo,. session of a tract of barren ground, of which the bear and fo, have held the fee simple from the time they emigrated f» Eden, and therefore he took upon himself individual y, as the,. presentative of his Britannic majesty, the distingmshed office, rf annexing so valuable a territory to his dominions, not doubly but his title vould be as good and indisputable, as if it hi been established in the presence of a host of witnesses Capt Ross, according to our authority, stands nearly m t „me predicament respecting the magnetic pole for m 4 „anuscript before us. we read. " the magnetic pole was fou by Commander Ross, both in the first spring, and in the secJ viz 1830, 1831, but none of us knew anything about i/, «»« rve'came home ; for instance, 1 knew nothing of .t unlil «- Commander Ross at the panorama, when he to d me ,t« .bout 134 miles to the westward of the ship, which m«.tb Inland. Capt. Ross knows nothing about the ma gnH>c f ok During the progress of this work, we have had tl,ech.,{ brought against us of having wielded the satiric thong « severely upon Capt. Ross, and that actuated by some spi,.u partiality, we have withheld from him that merit, which otl. ' have been so much disposed to award him. We profes,. willingness to appear at any oar, which the most ardenu mirers of Capt. Ross may select, and then and there to pw that we have '• nothing extenuated, nor set down augW malice r but that we have been guided by a determined >pi to expose the facts, as they have been representcil to «M which have reached us from those quarters, where no m» LAST VOYAGE op CAPT. ROS.. ^j .ithout the n,ost Lt;: vl: rAc: '"'"""' " '-^ •"""•• Ibe public eye. Let it alllT T ^ ^'"^ ™t"nitled ,„ r ;"'. ivei u also be cons dered that r»„. d the first to eomraetiee hn.iiii,- l , ^"P'' ■''"'' ""m PP"^ »nd ^.-i.c:::tr;:i:Lt:::r„r:r- -t^- we were not in possession nf . . public, that .^e e.pediti„„ ;'n::::v;;r„:t".ro:"r "'''" ^^^^-"-^ b«n furnished us by anv indi T , t. """^ ™''''"'" ^ad »».l-.pedition Sufficfe e en T " '*' """"P'"-^- ^ •>'"• .o«ho„.hat.he pubLsreJe rj; ;7-^;''-''--'lduced .hatevor in .tu.h: and we ca, di^ Jt rhi^Th t "': '''""■'""'»" -io-ly for the appearance ofhCbrc'a t 7 r'''^' «e »i.ht contrast his own statement of ce.tlTn' oi" " *""" »ith that of which we nr« i crcumstances, «i^ed h,an,e wS ale ^d "o ^7:^1 T"? ''"' ">- V..ndertaUi„,.it is said, was ri'one ': 7 he'f^^^r » error of jud^tnent now and then exhib" ted utif i ""',, .1 10 have been visited by the keen ilfl f' °"^'" ^i-!e, but it should have been sof"en«. "' "'"''" "' "' " respect, whi.h is due „ ., . '""' "" """"""■ "f « itive. cou.;;;:: ; : p:.tr:'.rr """"" --^ wr tlie probab/e loss of hi. t " "'^-S^' ""d »»orable 'service o his co trv f"' '""'"i ^"""P^ "" '^^ ^^P^'l^on to advance the r^i; 7™ .^ ^^ l^^^^'; • "«t,„„. to which he belongs. Far be Tt C™ . ' "^ «o,er of that s,a„,p with fndi.„ tv o. 111 "' I '""' " '^d «s we may be to ,„ete ^ d'srespect : but, dis. «h acharacVr wlrver " "" 7^'""- "■«" approbation • '- ^'i" -"' :St'r '.:;::t':Te7 " '"" '- -^'^ "■ ^nces any xrreat nnrl . . • ? ' ^^^^'^ * P^'-^on com- ^';-" into a Cose e™:;.!:,:':? :r;:^7:;';':p--- 'ether he cHn no.f • . . °^" abilities, and 'IB can pertorrn with v s-nr anrl «««. , «Mch .he aceomplishtnent oHh g a TnJTh IT f ""' ». must necessarily deoend r, '"'' ''' •>" '" H»ct so.e great'undin Lg .::".:r '"""^ '"'"-''" "ion of the Red Sea with the M . ""'•'' P™J«'' *••« i«'hoe„dhi„.„f "f "" ^^''^"•'""nean : another tn.y ^ If dec 111 lot ■id le gQ2 I^AST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. aristocracy to a nation ; and a third may project the discovery of the North West Passage; but the mere project, without the talent to carry it into execution, is a bubble and a bauble ; an.l so far from the projectors gaining the esteem and respect of their cotemporaries, they frequently expose themselves to con- tempt and ridicule. Dr. Darwin projected the refrigeration of the tropics, by towing, perhaps, the very icebergs, that stood in the way of Capt. Ross' progress, to the vicinity of the equator, Lord Monboddo* projected an improvement in the declining stature of his countrymen, by the importation of a few hundred Patagonians ; and we know a certain baronet, who projected a life-boat, in which half of the crew were drowned, the very first time it put to sea. It is not, therefore, the mere project itself, which is deserving of the slightest consideration ; and by the same parity of reasoning, we consider, that the individual, who projects an expedition for the discovery of the North West Passage, and attempts to carry it into execution, is only de- serving of our respect and approbation, in proportion to the talent and ability, which he displays towards the accomplish- ment of his design. If, however, it should appear, that he has completely over-rated his abilities— that he was totally incompe- tent from physical infirmity, to the performance of those duties, which his situation particularly imposed upon him— that he was obliged to be dependent upon ;he skill and exertions of an other for any discoveries, thai might be made— that a want of corporeal energy, and an imbecility of judgment manifested themselves on several occasions, when those properties were the most wanted— then are we entitled to withhold the meed o^ our approbation, and to give to each transaction that depth o colour, which its culpability or its imprudence might deserve If, however, the expedition of Capt. Ross had been confinedn its original character, as a mere matter of private speculatioD, • This eccentric, but most learned man. had a groat aversion for every one who was of a ia nutivc stature, entertaining the opinion that every little man was a specimen of the degenena btate of the human race. Being ouce on a visit in Perthshire, where his lordship wm m puest a lady and her two sons, the UUer far advanced to manhood, but very low in«(«t«f were 'introduced to him; and during their temporary absence, the moU.er. in the ftilae^J initcnial affcction. said. "Well, my lord, and what think you of my tv.o sons?" "Exert Milijccts madam," ^ashis lord>am arfcles had been declared by l,i,„, to be of no further «l«e to h,Msel , he was determined that they should not be of he slightest value to any other person The intention of Capt. Ross was, however, nearly frustrated. .he determtnafon, which the earth evinced not to receive ...Ton and other marine stores within its bosom. The labor .aUmg the excavation was begun i„ „. beginning' •nuary 1832, and severe indeed did it prove to the men ^oyed on u, in fact, i. i. Uoseribed as having been The «««..ry.ngand painful task, which they had undergone, d„r,t « whole „( the voyage. Siv or seven men. after worki,,J3 ' .ole with pickaxes and chisels, for three orl I " not s d ^^,^„^ ,„^^^ ^^_, ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ur _ days. »is at thir; ^"^ '"'"'"™'' "•"'" "'« ™^" """1 '«ft their .s the ho, „„ ,,.„^„i„^ ^^ .^ .^ ^^^ .e.r a their tools buried, and the hole filled up wUh drift it LI K '""■ ""' '•''>"*?'" b-»S of very slj; «,„„ he men were frequently obliged to Teave off^Tk 'J to return to the ship before they had even recovered thei; .or cleared the hole of the snow, which had dri tod inU « lus employment had been one of necessitv or f N encv ihA m«„ ij . ""-essity, or of common •"'ilH of h ;':'"'"'" they questioned themselves as to 'voyalefo" 1 ' '>-"«l---ed during , he whole of yage, for . purpose of neither individual, nor ^-eneral ,^«f demarcatton between authoritv and obediea'e . and 010 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. whether, in those cases, where the bounds of the former were overstepped, they were not authorised to refuse their unlimited adherence to the latter. Some idea may be formed of the extreme cold, to which the men were exposed in this useless task, by the following scale of the weather fo.- the month of January mi, when it will be seen that the frost was at some periods seveniy. nine degrees below the freezing point. >] 1 Uowebt I lighest Lowest Highest Lowe Bt llif^tiesi, Above Jan. Below Above Jan. Delow Above Jan. BlIow 5- = I 86 1 26 12 16 12 23 82 28 2 8 4 88 85 40 25 22 36 13 14 15 25 12 30 25i 30 27 ?4 26 26 82 21 28 21 17 18 22 2-, 5 40 36 16 30 i 18 27 25 18 6 47 44 17 15 8 28 26 23 7 46 33 J 18 13 8 29 30 22 8 44^ 84 19 20 14 30 80 20 9 47 42 20 27 10 31 35 24 10 , 45 38 21 28 22 11 38 15 22 m 27 The men were employed at this excavation, for nearly woetis, when the discovery was at last made by Capt. R()S8,ttii they had been spending their strength and labor in vain; in other words, that he had employed them on an underlakin which was not to be accomplished by human strength or exel Sooner would his men have been able to make an exfl ion vation in the layers ofwhinstone of the Highlands ofScoib than they could have succeeded in making one in the H bound ground, on which they had been picking away fort last two months. The pickaxes and chisels were all brolt in the attempt ; but so determined was Capt. Ross, that LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. fiH raluable treasures should not fall into the hands of the nativo. that he ordered the whole of them to be taken to the summit of one of the neighbouring hilU. and there buried in separate heaps, according to the size of the holes, which the men could make It was, however, the opinion of the whole of the crew that .f the Esquimaux .hould ever chance to visit the depository of the treasures, little doubt existed but the discovery of them would take place: and, as the last boon, perhaps, wi.iJh a Euro- pean will ever ^rant to these poor benifrhted creatures of the north, we sincerely hope that, in their rude-fashioned way they m^y ere now have converted the iron into their hunting spears and the wood into the construction of their sled.res At the commencement of the year 183Z, the" carpenter was employed ,n making six sledj^^es, four of large dimensions for carrying the two boats, and the other two rather smaller' for the conveyance of provisions. The boats were the same' as apt. Franklin had on his journey, and were peculiarly adanted for navigating amongst ice : it was in fact, on these two bmtts hat the hopes of the crew depended of ever renching their lative land again, and therefore they were put in the best .ossible repair, which the skill of the carpenter could accom- ilish: they had been buried in the snow during the whole of he winter, in order to keep the wind Jrom renting them and hey were now got on board, for the purpose of being caulked nd otherwise repaired. In the beginning of January, James Dixon, a landsman, died >d great was the difficulty, which the crew experienced, in laking his grave. They were for a time taken off from the oportant labor of making the excavation, to dig his o-rave "severe as was the task, not a murmur was heard amongst e crew as it was the last office, which they would have to norm for one of their companions, who had shared with them «'r dangers and their sufferings, but who was now to be laid •>is narrow house, to sleep his eternal sleep in the unbroken ence of nature's dreariest solitude. It was a wpek before >^en could penetrate to a depth, sufficient to hold the body then the labor was similar tc that of digging at a rock. g,2 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. their progre.. at the closo of tho day boinR .crcoly p.tccptibl.; and frequently the work of tho preceding day «a. rendered of little import, l,y the drifts of «now, which filled „pthevacu„», and whicl, imposed „,,on them the additional .rouble of c lear.ng it away, before thev could recommence their labors. It was about the beginning of April, that the boats were g., i„ a complete state of repair; the sledges were comple.cd, and preparations were now made for taking the boats d„„ the country. The launch was cut out of the ice, and hove on ,h.,. on the 6th. and on the Tth tho travelling things were al g« in readiness. On the 19th, they started with the two boat,.. the sledges, took them about a mile, and then returned on b«rf to dine; at two o'clock they started again, and succeod«l in getting them over the lakes on the salt water, about tb™ „iles and a half from the ship; and in the even.ng, the™ returned on board to sleep, intending to renew thcr jour.., early on the following morning. The weather. ho«,,,, proved so very unpropitious. that they were obhgod to «, their journey until Sunday the md. On that d.y. .he ..J parties took out the sledge and provisions; then took mu the boats and sledge about two miles on the salt water, .» returned on board about 7 o'clock. On the 23rd at 9 A. M. tho tv.o parties consisting of foutW includin.. Capt. Ro.s and Mr. Mc'Diarmid, left the sl„p. .. lotto the first boat on the salt w..e,- by 10, and got K :" to the other boat and sledge by half past 1. An o, quantity of provisions was put in each boat, and the .- cooking gear, and other things were put on the sledge, . 12 thfy proceeded with one boat and sledge together, abi-ut tvvo miles, and then had to return with the boat for ' olr sledge. The diffivulty of getting the boats down country, was far greater and mo, e harassing than was a. pLtei, having frequently to be dragged over very hea^ lakes, hills and vallics; in fact to take a look at the d ff« face's, which they had to cross over, it would scarce, been thought possible that the task could have been ac plished. A whole day has been frequently spent in gelling" an uue he ore h 4 LAST VOYAGE OK CaPT. ROSS. y,3 boat a quarter of a nnle, owin^ to the irregularity of the ice- a..a he w ole strength of th.teen hands 1 ^ec, fired tod 1' bout along to a certa.n distance, and then to return Ir other boat, and frequently for the sledge also U i" h re diflieult to say .hat distance the .en t^rave.M. f 1 L;' ,e oats were got between thirty and forty n.iles in a .t S hne^omthe sl.p yet .t is impossible to «. the number of" U Hhich they travelled, in their frequent trin« fr . f.nn, th„ ch,ef p„,t of .ho ..i^l.t, sleepin, i„ .Li, J^l^]' kul. Ihe Ihermometer sometimes 30° below zero Tl,„ .which the s„o. houses >ve. hui.., ..Sm^J^Z^. e,e made of square pieces of s„ow, cut with a cu ll He. so .ha. ao„.e of the slabs were as lar^ as he Tot b ..;.ome larger, and some smaller, accorl,,, as . le^ e „M ecu.; there were four sides to the house, buf it wa, fi' '^ ee«ry to have two houses, and they were bji^t " „ " ..»o. The walls were bu.lt about five or six fee, hi.b „„ b h wore la,d two boat oars, and a sail was .preal 'oZ i"«p. Lumps of snow wore put on the .ail, to keep U from ..blown ,„„,. The bedding of the men, during L'Z « f .ho journey, was made of deer skins, the l„w!r par, o W, was l,ke a bag, coming a little above the hip' fho ;r part covering the head. Frequently in the momfng ha! »eep „g dro,s been so stiflened with the frost, that Tathe e„„,t would break. This was in a great measure ,, u lo breath, wh.ch, imparting a certain degree of moistul M er skm, rendered it liable to the influence of the frost ' m .h.s s.ate, without the skin ever having been thawed >c» on their bed of snow to sleep m^T- r" 'rf' """ '"'"'' ""♦ " « *• "•. -<• after as they started back for the boat, whieh had been left • *. and succeeded in getting her „p to the other boa. by ■«• They then proceeded to take one of the boats further 614 LAST VOYAGK OF CAPT. ROSS. on the route, to the distance of about three miles, and then rfr turned to the tents or snov/ houses to sleep, having" during tl* day walked upwards of ten miles; the thermotnelor at midnighi being- Ti" below zero, or 54" below the freezing- point. On Wednesday the 25lh, all hands were turned out as usual at six, and after breakfast, proceeded with the boat to the land, and returned for the sledge; and after considerable labor got her to the place where the boat was, and 4hen proceeded wiili the boat and sledge for about three miles. Here they were obliged to travel one mile with the boat, and then return fortlie sledge, and so on alternately for the distance of about 8 mile>, Four hands were left to build the snow huts, the rcmaindei were despatched to bring up the second boat, which was a mil! astern. It was the belief of the whole crew, that a much longer true would have been occupied, in getting the boats down tlie country, if Commander Ross had not taken upon himself lb management of the business. On the commencement of lb travelling, Capt. Ross travelled with them, or rather lie u dragged or carried ; but as to any assistance to the strength o the work, he might be compared to the kind hearted and cod siderate quaker, who, on seeing a pavior very h-ard at work kindly offered to assist him, by giving the usual grunt, when ever the rammer was driven upon the stones. It was the genera belief, that if Capt. Ross and his nephew had been upon gom terms with each other, which they never were for a niontlito gether. Commander Ross would have worked equally to any ma in the service ; nor would he have required Iho men totou liii home to the snow house, after they had been dragging a lieav load during the whole of the day The presence of Capt. Rossii *■ deed was not required at all, for he was rather a drawback upo than a stimulus to the exertions of the men, and was looked upo more as a dead weight than ar acquisition. To the men, bore the character of the ass in the team, who, instead of lendir, his strength to the draught, considered that it would be f more comfortable for him to be dragged along by the liorsi aad thus rendered himself a positive nuisance, instead of Last voyage of cavt. ross. 015 PO-openiliiifr member. It was considered high time for Capt. ^ossto think of travelling-, when the final farewell was taken ifthe ship; and indeed had he possessed any reg-ard for iho lealth and convenience of his crew, he would not have imposed ipon them, the additional labor of dragging his ponderous frame iver hills of snow, and hummocks of ice, when their strength lad been brought to a state of almost complete exhaustion, by he daily fatigue, which they had to undergo. At this time' the nen were on full allowance, but there were two or three of hem, who could not eat the whole of it, on account of the omplaint in their bowels, from which ihey never properly re- overed, and therefore they were frequently obliged to apply ■"Capt. Ross for some medicine. it was on one of these travelling parties, that two of the men ere very ill, and they applied to their captain for some relief, utiiis only answer was in his usual imperious tone, "Go alono^ lore, and see if you cannot find some salt water, and take a ood drmk of it, and if you cannot find ar.v water, swallow a Wket ball." This, said one of the poor fellows, I thought ^ryhard usage, for a man that had been working the wlw.Ie the day. more like a slave than an English seaman, and be treated so by his captain, an old man, who now depended »lireiy on the strengtli and health of his crew, whether he ould ever see his native land again. ' Capt. Ross was one of iose, who, on the first travelling parties, could nv>t eat the l>oie of his allowance, but rather than share the surplus with s men. he would put it carefully into a bag, so that by the ne that the boats, provisions, &c., were all got down to the ">e spot together, he loft his bag of spare provisions behind '". when they all returned to the ship for the last time. It may be rither interesting to take a view of the isolated lie of the Victory, at the time when she was on the eve of ing abandoned, and then compare the conduct of some of the ^alids. with the boasts, which they wore daily and hourly l^iiiff.oftho great strength and exertion, which they wouhi I forth on every occasion in which they would be required. tl'<^ firM place, Aniliony liuck was blind; and although \m ^j^j LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. spirit was willing to undergo his proportion of the fatigue, jet his infirmity in a great measure prevented hitrt. George Taylor had half his foot frozen off, and therefore became a conlmual pensioner upon the exertions of his companions. Henry Ayre, the cook, was an old man, fit for the caboose, but unable to endure any great fatigue. Mr. Thoni was an old man. clever and steady in his official capacity, but totally incapable of accomphsbioe any hard work. Mr.Mc Diarmid, although a native of it. north had by some means acquir*.-! a few of the liabitMf tl,f" Gascon: for it was his boast, that when put to the trial. h would be found in strength equal to a Irewer's dray-hur.o,U when properly put to the sledge, he exhibited the power of coslermongcr's Unackor. In the rear of these incapables, cais Capt Ross himself, the oldest of the old, whoso boast it wa that he could drag as much as any of the crew; and tku.ki were they that tl.ey had such an efficient individual amon?^ them, who, although he could not exactly put his shoulder! the wheel, on any emergency, for the best of all reasons, ik there was not any wheel to put it to, yet who, when h.rnm to a sledge, could show the youthful part of the crew uht sexagenarian could perform in the way of rivalling a Horde or an Atlas. On the first travelling expedition, the draw mg powe of Capt. Ross were put to the test, but the seamen soon pc ceived that he had a very peculiar method of dragg.njr, pa takin- son ewhat of the character of the restive horse, . instea'd of dragging, is obliged to be dragged along by t eoll horses it was natural for the seamen to expect, when they ^ their worthy captain apply himself to the traces, that the sai diminution of the draught would be experienced, as ^ l.eu additional horse is put to a team, to drag a load up a hill; stran.re to say, the direct contrary was experienced, especial by those, who were in the front, for it appeared tx) thorn oo sudden, as if VI or H additional stone were placed on theslcdg noi finding, however, that to be really the case, they chrec Iheir attention to discover the cause of such an unexpected position on their strength, when they found out that, allhci their captain had got hold of the traces, yet it was not tot lAST VOVAOK OF CAPT. RO,,s. „„ ppose of giving- his hcrculoaii ,trpno-fl, , .1 pe.s „f .he load, .bat „as be i d ht bm \'^:?J^'="'« P- miffh. be carried more easily » , . '"' """ '"""'^ po«ibly be done byTe 7^ «"^ ^'""fort^o.y, .han could u the .n, .^.^iraTi::::: tiv:: r^-"- Ito preference .0 bein» drae-o-^l »l . ^ ' '*'"'' S"" .« a. tl-e latter par. °of:f:':'7;;"'';\'^^ ^""""-^ .hink .ha. he was' an as. wbZef he -iSfJ"' 7" ""'"'•' )res8that opinion uoon thnir • 7 ^ ^''^ '^''"^ ^« '«^- •^-A. discovered O.e p^ul'^f rrje /J ^T'"™' '"" »ed ; b«. .ha., when p„. .„ .he drarfo aT ^ ?' '^°"- • ve^ ,ype of .he old n,ule. which .h'e abbe a'd 1 "" »ped so us.i.y. in s.erne. Sen.i^on.al Journey "' """ iS:£::oThtif:'::;r"" t '- '^"'- «- .^e ■'■> the Journey = bu.' lle^arrTh: aT ' '"'"'t'^ •men were e„,ployed, .hey all a^rerd. I.h "' "",."''"'' . preference .o i,. ra.her .han .o The I f„ .S/""'"^, ^1™ y. in .heir snow houses It „». • "'*^ '"'' "-'^ •he word, cowrino-Ta CO """""'"y' '" "-e fulles. sense * ^"wnn^ m a corner, thev annPTP^.r] i;i, .«. in a den-no cordial .o cheer .he'r dZ '" "'""-■ ^' •» invigora.e their e.hans.edf „.;«;:" ^'";"-'"' »J their chilly habi.ation ; and if .hfy ventured .'" "^'"^ '" "•» »•>"« -de scene, which lay tefore e"' "* ^l^^P ""' " view bu. immense drifts of snow I,,!, T' ? ^"^ "'" "toity of .he blast J^ 1 ** *'°"S ^y ">« . y 01 .ne blast, and threatening to burv them Lj » accumu iitin"- masses IVkn . j . -^ """'"■ 'P-enLula.ron """" "'" ""' "^^^ ''"''■'- of ^Friday the 2r,h, the weather having modera.ed, .he men 4k L*9T VOV*0E IT OAPT. ROSS, . . u . 1 „,i. « and took the boat and eledge for a short lefttheu huts about 8^and ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ dUtance and then a.W ^^^ ^^^^ considerably in. "'"I'dt aef one t,e,„e„dou» d.ifts of snow, which M ,reased, on accoun preceding day. and winch Thl ::'!". -oLt:hfotM>.^ we. f.<,uen..y 0.1,. rrrcctous .ute. --xp,;»r:::;r-:: whilst some were employed in clearmg ^ ^^^^^ .edge, to enable ^''-^ "^t :,: ^r,,,. Z. «- ah- „f these obstades^t e ^ tan 0^^^ ^^^^ ^^,^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^, acco.nj.an,ed w th h avy have to pass another n,i»* .nto them, tl-t they s ^ ^^^^ ^,_^^ ^^, a,y ,„ the.r snow ho -es ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ _^^_^ ^,,^_^,,, tinned to blow «>^>' 8 ^ne of the boais was left. determined to return to the snp _^^ the land, and the "^''rj, ^r.^ Cached the huts.W Sunday, they set ou on th return, an ^__^ ^^^ 4U«« v^nrl forrtterW inhabited, by ^ pasi ^. i* y he'sledge wTh 'them, the burthen on which being very , h!v wefe enabled to travel at a quicker rate : and about I they wc.e enat> ^^^^ ^1 ,^^^._,g. „.|i, t t r'^ >e' Ha*Tg%artaUen of some refresh.cn,,. about n miles, n g t^ ,„,„ed into their banmocks, ai „h„le of the trav.^bng party tu^ed t ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^ .„„„d --leed wa« the.r slep^ ^g^ ^^^^ ^^^ „ous week, they had s y ^^ ^^^^^^^ ._^ _^ ^^^^^_^, -srw^"rr'x-.------^^-""'"^ the heavens. „i,..„. f,nm the fi During the time that these men were absent f'O™/" tho^e It remained on board, had been employed ,n mS. and cooking other provisions, to e .„ readu«. . final departure of the crew from the vessel. The beg May was cbieny occupied in getting the prov.s.ons o.U LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 619 ipon deck, and making bags to contain the bread and some days previously to leaving the ship, Capt. Ross was employed burying some boxes; and, in order to deceive Esquimaux, he placed at the head and foot of the holes e Esquimaux skulls, meaning thereby to denote, that some n was buried there. Not more solicitous could the miser ^himself about his hoards of buried gold, than Capt. Ross ..owed himself about the contents of his boxes ; not an indivi ^•••' could divine the motive of his solicitude, for to every one .oeared as a matter of little moment, whether the treasures the boxes contained, fell into the hands of the Esquimaux' that not the slightest probability existed, of the place being visited again, the fact being ascertained, that it mot the route to the North West Passage; and it was cer- i.that the country held forth no other allurement to induce manner ever again to navigate its seas. A circumstance ^ever, came to the knowledge of the crew, on their journey n the ship to Fury Beach, which excited some conjectures in •mmds, that they had discovered a clue to the motive of Ross, for burying so many articles, as well as his great itude to keep them from the hands of the Esquimaux • it wever st.ll remains, in a certain degree, an unsettled point' Id the charge of extreme selfishness, attached to Cant. Ross' acis unrefuted. the day previously to the abandonment of the ship the were all assembled in the cabin, and Capt. Ross ha- pgued them on the arduous duty, which they had to undergo P the severe privations, which they would have to endure' however, promised them individually, that should they be ortunate as to reach their native country, they should, H^ h.s influence, be placed in such situations, as to ensure ; a comfortable provision for life, as a reward for their rs, and their unflinch.ncr steadiness in the hour of trial anger The manner, in which those promise, were ful- f". will he hereafter stated. »« "n .he 19,1, M«y, tm, ». 7 o'clock in ,he monung, ^20 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. RO^SS. that the Victory was abandoned: and down the cheeks of some of the hardy weather beaten mariners, a tear was seen to fal as they stood upon the beach, and waving their hats, gave three cheers, exclaiming- " Good bye, Victory." A glass of Booth cordial had been given to each man, a few minutes before h left the vessel ; and the cheering thought that they were homeward bound, gave a temporary animation to their spirits and reconciled them to many a loss, with which the abandon ment of the vessel was accompanied. On leaving the ship, every man was allowed a blanket, sewed up in the shape of a hop sack, the weight of which did not exceed 7 tbs. ; two shirts, hot in wear at the same time ; three pair of hose ; two pair t drawers, and two pair of trowsers, with the jacket and waistcoa in wear: so that the whole weight, which a man had onttii sledge, could not exceed 10 lbs. On the other hand, the weight that Capt. Ross had on the sledge, was supposed to exceed 3 m His bedding weighed nearly 50 lbs. for it was made ofilii skin of the musk ox ; his coverlid was a large wolf's skin, lii cloak a seal skin; his jacket was lined with deer skin; sleeping boots were made of bear skin, the hairy part ins and two large down pillows, for his head to rest upon. He b also three cases and four large bags, the contents of which vv never discovered by the crew ; but frequently they have s him, when they have turned in, and he thought they we asleep, repair slyly to one of those bags, and take from it s kind of eatable, with which he was wont to regale himse private, and which some of the crew, who watched his raotioB were disposed to include amongst the privations, which he to the good credulous people of England on his return, that had endured in common with his men. At the time of leaving the ship, Capt. Ross said to his ni " You must take no more than your ordinary wearing apparel, at this time it is life or death with us ;" but at the same time, himself put a mass of lumber on the sledge, which was not the slightest use to any one, nor perhaps to himself, consider) the nature of the journey, which he had before him. Now' men argued amongst themselves, that if instead of putting r-AisT VUYAOE OF CAPT. Ro39. (;,, enormous uJdilional load of lumber upon the de.Ige, ullowinff him, however, an extra quantity of bedding, on account of hi. old age, he had brought with hira a corresponding load of pro visions, he would have been able to have given them a greater quantity of food per day; but it was this culpable necrlecl <,n the part of Capt. Ross, to the common comfort of his men which alienated their esteem from him, and in the end rendered him so contemptible in their eyes, thai had they had their op t,on the first thing, that they would have left behind them would have been the captain himself. It is a fact, that there were brought down to Fury Beach, between 30 and 40rbs of cocoa-nut oil, that might have been burnt for fuel in the month of June 183i; and whilst the men were travelling for nine days successively, they had nothing wherewith to moisten their mouths, or to drink with their biscuits, which was onlv half a punod a man per day, but a handful of snow in one hand and in the other the biscuit and the preserved meat, both of which were as hard as a rock. The crew had not been away three days from the ship before hey were put on an allowance of two thirds of a pound of .read per day, and half a pound of meat. The officers were .uton the same allowance; but it may be necessary to remark hat on their travels from the ship to Fury Beach, the crew were' -vided into three watches, each occupying their own tent, with 3 of the superior officers placed over them. One of the in 'viduals. who has furnished us with the documents for this ork, was attached lo the watch belonging to Capt. Ross, and •use his own words, it would fill a large volume, were he to late all the mean and shabby ways, which he saw practised yihat individual. The order for the short allowance was 'ven by Capt. Ross; but to him it was of no consequence for fe had brought with him from the ship a spare box of provisions 'dependently of other things wherewith to satiate his appetite' n several occasions, he repaired to his spare bag, and to his «e of cordials, when his men were eating snow, or crushing neath their teeth an icicle, as a refresher to their mouths -^eral times has he covered his head with his musk ox skin. ^22 tA8T VOYAGE OF CAPT. R083. >,hich v^a« his bed, and eat his biscuits so that none should see or hear him. The crew were about five days in reaching the place where the boats had been left ; no time was then lost in proceeding with them, and they succeeded in dragging them eight miles farther; but the travelling became here so difficult, the ice forming almost a complete barrier, that it was determined to leave the boats, and proceed with the sledges, three in number, to Fury Beach. The place where the boats were left, was called Good Harbour, and a considerable quantity of pro- visions was buried under them, in case they should have lo return to them in the following August or September; font was running considerable hazard to proceed to Fury Beach, v^iih the great uncertainty existing, that any provisions, or any thin. else were to be found there, it being then three years since the Victory visited it last. It was here that Capt. Ross mentioned a circumstance to to men which set them all in a state ot wonder, as not the slighieit whisper of it had ever been heard before, nor could they for a moment believe, that there was any truth in the strange report which he made, but that it was done to answer some purpose, which they could not at that time discover. It may be reniem. bered, that Capt. Ross declared, before the committee of the" House of Commons, that lie would not have considered himsel warranted in undertaking the expedition, if he had not knowi that the Fury's stores wore in good preservation, and oof waited his arrival to be formally taken possession of, notii the name of his Britannic majesty, but of Capt. John Ross, wb had every reason to look upon them as a far greater godsend, tha England once received from Austria, in the shape of £5OO.0« . one half of which was immediately voted away, to supporttt reckless extravagance of George IV., in his soi-disani improve ments of Windsor caslle. By what power of divination or of witchcraft, Capt. K« had arrived at the knowledge of the stores of the Fury beii still on the beach and in good condition, he totally omitted impart the necessary information ; uor did any of the nienibi fflll L^ST VOVA&E OF CAPT. ROSS. Q^t) Hnk it becoming in then., to put a question to him of .uch a luzzl.na nature, the answering of which would have confounded hi. in a greater degree, than any of the two and thirty question. which George III. put in one breath, to the wonder-stricken rawer of Chiswell-street. It was. however, perhaps a deep troke of policy on the part of Capt. Ross, to hold out the attermg and cheering picture to his crew, that no danger hatever existed of them being starved to death ; althoucrh he nld not answer for them not being frozen to death, for so lon^^ the certainty existed, of the Fury's stores being on the beach he certamty also existed, if they did not in reality succeed n dmmg with the governor of Kamschatka. that one of the realest evils, which a sailor dreads, namely, that of being put . short allowance, could not possibly take place durino- their .rosent voyage. How great, therefore, was the astonis'hment 'the crew, when Capt. Ross now informed them, that when was at Wiodford, on the eastern coast of Baffin's Bay in i9, he had written a letter to Mr. Booth, instructino- him to tout the John, with the least possible delay, and to'despatch er direct to Fury Beach, for the sole purpose of bringing away ■e remaining stores of the Fury. The only reason, which Capt. Ross had given to his men for irect.ng his course towards Fury Beach, was the hope, that should there find such a stock of provision^, as would ensure )em from all risk of actual want: and it maybe trulv said at It was a hope, of which no wise or politic commander m have wantonly robbed his men, under the severe and nn? circumstances, in which they were then placed. It was irdaily habit to cheer one another with the prospect, that al- iu?h they were then on short allowance, a few days moro >uld bring them to Fury Beach, where plenty was supposed »wiiit them, and where they expected to be placed under no 'tnction whatever, as to the qnaiitity, which it might be 'ir pleasure to consume. A faint glimpse was, however, ob. ned into this extraordinary conduct on the part of Capt. Ross, ^ the extreme anxiety, which he evinced not to leave his the beacn. .• ^ v.-- We will, however, contrast the report of those proceed.np, as transmitlea to us by three of the crew, all of whom agroeb every particular as it is set down in our narrative wlh ,h. evidence, which Capt. Ross gave to the corom.ltee o the Hou« of Comnums ; and the only commit, which wo shall atpre« „,ake, is, that either Capt. Ross or his crew depart egr.j,. ously from the truth. But we have before us, three sepm,. accounts of the journey from the Victory to Fury Beach, „d ,hey all coincide in their description of the severe sufFenng., which they underwent, on account of tho want of water. W, also solicit attention to the extreme sapience, by wh.ch some. I the questions are distinguished, preserving, at the same t,™ , becoming silence as to the drift, which so clearly shows n,elf durinff the whole of the examination. The 7Tth question is-" When did you abandon your .hi,' On 29th May, 1832. And you proceeded on foot northward i, FuryBeachr— " Yes." ' „. • ,i "Did you undergo any very great degree of suffering, .« 4 course of your journey to Fury Beach »"_" m did ; »e b to carry our provisions, our /««i, the sick, our tents, a„d.p, cimens." " For what distance ?"-" Near 300 miles. " Over sno«, or what surface V-" Over ice and snow .. Sometimes over land covered with snow -m suffered «o,. * v,ar,t of water, havivg to melt the snow before we could j-l drop to drink.''* .,. c « j r* « m,,/ "To what was your beverage latterly confined? - ««' entirely and lime juice.'' . .. Did you suffer rerj, muchfron, cold durtng your jo»m _•' Yes we all suffered very much from it." This question must have appeared excessively smgul.r Cant Ross, after he had informed the committee, that the« eierienced on the journey, was sometimes 32° below z« M» below the freezing point of Fahrenheit. zero. tA«T VOYAGE aw CATT. ROSS. Q^y Could your men have undertaken tho journey 100 miles further ?"— " Certainly not; they were quite exhausted when we arrived at Fury Beach ; we had our last day's provisions." " I think you said, you had nothing else to drink but water ; uring how long was that »"— ." Fifteen months." " You had cocoa to drink ?"— " We had cocoa and burnt pease all the time," It must be observed, that the men acknowledged that there was plenty of cocoa, but that it was withheld from them on ac- count of the want of water, at the sane time that there was no ack of fuel, wherewith to melt the snow. "There was no time when you had nothing but water?" Capt. Ross here evades the question, in the most artful man- ier,by answering,— " The water we had to get, by melting the mow; we had to carry our fuel to melt the water." This was in -ality, no answer to the question proposed to him ; for there is very essential difference between telling the committee, that here was a time when they had nothing but water, and not Ten that, and telling them, what he had told them before, that he water was to be got from the melting of the snow, for which Wpose they carried the fuel along with them. It is these evasions, these direct and positive contradictions, conapared with the information transmitted from other quarters, lat incline us to throw so much discredit upon the evidence f Capt. Ross. It was not indeed to be expected that Capt. OSS would, in any of his answers, so commit himself as to give seto an extended examination of any particular circumstances : id he also knew well, that there was not another individual, be called before the committee, who had been on the ex- idition, excepting Commander Ross, and his evidence had no imediate reference to those minutiae of the voyage, on which »pt. Ross was questioned. It was, however, rather fortunate flhe latter individual, that the committee, iu the questioning Commander Ross, confined themselves to such points, which im immediately bear on the conduct of Capt. Ross towards 'men: for, in general, when they did venture upon them, a feet contradiction was certain to ensue. ' ■ •rf'''i ^'' ' ./ 628 3LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. Tims one of the committee, after having put a few unirn portant questions to Capt. Ross, respecting the proceedings oi their journey to, and on tlieir arrival at Fury Beach, proceeds to ask : " I need not ask you, whether all this period vas (not) one of the greatest mental anxiety to you ?'* — " It cerlainlj was ; and the greatest difficulty 1 had was, in preserving dh. cipline among the menV We will contrast this evidence with that of Commander Ross, to whom the following question is put: — "The preservatioi of discipline was perhaps a circumstance most necessary, ci such trying occasions, for the preservation of the lives of al parties concerned : some cases of insubordination might liav arisen probably ?''-t-" There were trijiivg circumstances of h subordination, but very irijiing'' " Did not Capt. Ross himself, on all those occasions, exti a controlling power T—" They seldom went to Capt. /}o& they generally came to me." " Do you not recollect any case, in which Capt. Ross exerle his controlling power, under rather trying circumstances?"-' remember one occasion, after we had abandoned our ship, -which Capt. Ross did exert his controlling power, but it t only on one occasion,^ " Was not very prompt decision necessary oa that occasion — " Yes, certainly.'' " State what Capt. Ross did upon that occasion?"— " /tf not present upon the occasion, and only heard of it ; J c not aware of the circumstances.^' We shall be able very shortly to state this particular ocii sion : but, in the interim, it is impossible to read this part the evidence, without being forcibly struck, in the first pla with the contradictory evidence or the two oflficers; secondl ■with the private knowledge, which gome of the membew of committee possessed of particulajf occurrences of the vojag and thirdly with the adroit n^ann^r, in which Commander R( escapes out, of the. noose, in which he ran the greatest ri^k being caught. . . , ? . > It is most certain th^t be w^si qot present, on the oam l*«T VOTIOI 0» CAIT. I|09». g.^g for it took place in Capt. Ro.,' ,e„, ; but we may be allowed to „pre,s our doub. of Commander R„., being ig„„ra„. „f .h! ci»»,.tances, when they were well koowu .„ .he whole of he ,r.w: but we shall perhaps be able to show, that the cireum- «.nce, wh.ch gave rise to the .olitary exercise of Capt. R„„. ».,oll „g power, were not greatly to hi, credit, and therefore !i:!r:fm;^°"^""' "' '"'"""-'" «- - p^w. «. To return to the narrative. Commander Ross had been ab. .H.e«ha..ed. and if no .ood^rtefe ^.TfZ -mander Ross, tn a few days, the greatest fear was ente" ...ed.,, at they would be obliged to retrace their steTs to 'he 0, where they had left the boats, if it were only t .al vantage of the provisions, which were buried under them (.en were he men .an.ali.ed with the sight of ducks and other' ,m>c owl, wh,ch came within gun-shot of them ; but had . k,lled them, no use could be made of them as an article of . from the want of fuel to dress them. At the latter end Ik journey, however, a few were killed, and carried to Fury «h, where , hoy formed a most dainty meal fur the officers «, on .he 24th June, whilst the main body were travelling ke .ee, about a mUe and a half from the la^. that, on castinf SMnd h.s sledge, drawn by his two companions, with the '«n.o„ jack flying on a boarding pike, d«„oling .i.ereby t e stores were safe on Fury Beach. , would be a difficult .0 describe the joy and exultation, ,hieh p-rTaded the of the crew, on the receipt of this gbrious intelligence. Mwo partie, immediately proceeded towards each other, en Commander Rosa imparted the additional pleasing i„.el. «Sk they had been washed off. but had been fortunately ed on shore «gain. The distance to Fury Beach, from "Commander Ross fell i„ with the main body, was only "•ys journey ; uid on the foUowing day ha repotted, that 530 l^A8T VOYAGE Of CAPT. KOSB. they would fall in with a monument, from which the heacl< could be distinctly seen. Although it was the month of June, Commander Ross had experienced some very severe weather, the thermometer standing in the sun at noon-day, somelim« 40O and at others 10° above zero, and in the night 10° below. On Commander Ross first starting for Fury Beach, he and his companions were on the same allowance as the men, who com. posed the main body : but, on their arrival at the beach, they were not limited as to their provisions; and on the two partier" meeting, they had with them 40 lbs. of bread, and the sa., weight of preserved meats, which they shared amongst thei messmates, whose hunger was so great, that, to use their m phraseology, they could have devoured the flippers of a seal. For the first day or two after the arrival of Commander Ros the crew were put on full allowance, but then it was afterwar. unexpectedly reduced to the former quantity. Durino- the previous part of their journey, thoy had plenty cocoa, tea, and sugar on the sledges; but then it was veryi ffaciously observed by Capt. Ross, that an infusion of ne„h could be made, without the assistance of water, and iherefo the anicles remained in their packages untouched : the quanlil of tea amounted to 16 lbs. and the cocoa to treble that qua, tity The crew had now succeeded in obtaining a little watei and as the good news had bee,., brought, that the stores oft! Fury were in good condition, it was expected, that Capt Re would have shown some relaxation in the severity of his condu, and have given to the men some additional nourishment, consid. in., the unparalleled fatigue, which they had lately undergo^ bul not the slightest change took place in his conduct, .bi appeared to be regulated but by one principle, and that vrasi love of self. The men at this time had only two meals a day, those on a limited allowance : it was then natural to sup, that the thought would have entered into the mind of^e considerate commander, that if he exacted duty and obed.el from his men, they had a right to expect that he would form his duty towards them; the principal part of wluch was. that the men should have that no- Ishm^^nt distr.D^ f lAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. (Jgl to them, which mifflit be necessary to uphold the streno-th which they were continually called upon to exercise, and" on which the very existence of himself and the whole of the crew depended. The continual cry of Capt. Ross to his men, was 'It IS hfe or death with us, therefore haul away." But how was the former to be sustained, or the latter averted, if the oM-nmon means of subsistence were withheld, and at a time when no occasion existed for such a rigid system of economy: k. ,f Capt. Ross had not committed another egregious blunder they were then only four days journey from the place, where an ample supply of provisions of ev.ry kind awaited them, and which, consequently, would have authorized the most prudent commander to make the most liberal use of the provisions which were then in his possession. It was, however, the opinion of the whole of the crew, that it was the desire of Capt. Ross to carry his stock of cocoa-nut oil (0 England, as well as some other things, which he had brought with him from the ship, but which, in the eyes of the sailors were only like so much ballast or useless lumber. After experiencing considerable fatigue, the party arrived at Possession Place, of which, in the year 1829. Capt. Ross, Com- mander Ross, Mr. Mc'Diarmid. and Mr. Thorn, had taken ormal possession ; and sincv that important act had taken )Iace. no one had been so bold or presumptuous as to dispute the «vere,gnty with them. To the northward of that place, there is i deep bay, called Garry Bay ; to the southward of which, a long lomt runs to the eastward, called Garry Point, so named by -apt. Parry, out of respect to one of his esteemed friends Ni- holas Garry, esq. The distance from the south point of Garry ayto the opposite side, is about 30 miles, and the bay itself. ' 'ength, is nearly the same distance. Instoad, however, of nnug his course direct for Fury Beach. Capt. Ross determined ' travel round the Bay, with all the three sledges : thus im- «>n? on the men an additional and useless labor, which, in eir then exhausted state, they were very incompetent to en- T*'. The travelling round this bay, was represented to be the ost fatiguing and irksome, which had been experienced sine* Q^ lAST V0YA04 0» CA»T. BOM. their depatmre from the .hip. The land ^a, » high on th, other ,iL, that the n,e„, after walking .e«ral m.les couW scarcely perceive any difference in the distance : and €«. ^ande^Ros. himself, «ith th* aid of hi. telescope, fance , „ they were all under the influence of some northern w..ard; f«, »mUh it was evident to him. that all the locomot.ve po»,„ of the party were in full action, yet they st.ll appeared to n,.k. „o progress; but on the contrary, the objects at a d,s,an« seemed to recede from them, in proportion as they came Ma,« to them Capt. Ross indeed felt not the inconvenience « Ih,. de layTn reaching Fury Beach : for, muffled up in h.s tra. , dres^ he very comfortably reclined in h.s sledge. .nst.lW, S' spirits into hi. exhausted men, by the auimatmg c,.( ' Haul away, lads, it is life or death with us." An ace*,, however, happened to Capt. Ross, which certa.nly had a ,» dency to reduce his spirits, and to give an add.t.onal ace,b , ;< 'temper, at no time, of the most amiable or plac.d k.d Whether it «ere owing to his clumsiness or h.s eage,„» cannot now be decided, but on visiting one of h.s chest, .k contents of which were well known to the crew he „,.«. . foTtunately broke one of the bottles, out of which burst,. « 'Ir^ken stream, the juniper extract, which had flowed ,«. the alen.bic of the Whitechapel distillery, and wh.cl. hi, thought was doomed "to waste its spirit on the desert But happy indeed is the man, who ha. a remedy at handf, any .alami.y, which may befal him ; and in this respect f,« any m y, . 't p„„, d„., for in close conligMl indeed »as the happ.ness of Capt. Koss, lor .n 6 with the aforesaid cheat, stood a little green box, kno«nb,„l significant title of hi. provender box. Potent indeed were s. of the content, thereof, and frequent visitations were made . .„.f„,i„ a corner stood a square green bottle of p« 1, .nensions, which, on the departure from th-><'P. «- « J ' ' cherry bounce, and, a. a substitute for the jun.,«r ex raa fault whatever waste be found with it. To it, therefore, Capt. R.... apply, to co..sole him for the loss, which !« experienced., and as ha had been taught by •» do™-, a thing, that i. irrecoverably lost, cannot possibly be reco«i I-AST VOYAGE OF tfAFT. R088. ^33 .. F«^ Beae... O^^ ^ToSa: ^r^ 7,r" ^'' .cl, were done by deputy for Caot k1 u '^"""'"S ..d three geese killed Ld „„w T ^"""^ ™' ""° •'"'^'''• »».h.M These ': eXuTd "TX ""' """^*' ""' 1«»; l.«t»., in thi. ins „ce did 2" "r" """"' "' ^"P'' :t:i:^:t-^-T::r~^ -^"™ee„c..si„ri::re„rpeSr"'-^'''- Ihearrival at Fury Beach f nob i . ^™ .hirty-one da/s colr^ o^^^ ^ht ''h" 1 '"'^' '^''"'^ '•ijht line bein^ about isn T . '^' '^'^""""' '" " « oouid not iT::::i:ti i"r """d" r •'^- li»» being made to it n„ '•''*'' /oO: a considerable ad. C-^fURol, in akin!' the s 7" "' ""^ '"J"''"''"'' '^""''-' '"api". Hi's eoJe'dCr'p^^Brh ^^U ^ ?,' '"^'^^^ -mbered that the travelUng'eorL 'at: Z'Z StThe b "V; "^ V"" ''^'"'"^'' "-" '"« ^^-^ of Mar ?euing the boats down the country ^ "Shtat S" '■""' '''"'""■ °" "^'"^ ^»^<"^ ""«>«>' "" peed that th T " '■""'• '""'g'>'=''» have been ..hat the extreme satisfaction, which Capt. Ross must i"?a„d vl h <■ ;" *' *'"'' '"""''"' '"'<- hi"' ™-« » every 7Z ' 1 " '"'"' ""^ ''"' "^ ^'^ ^"'-'' »■"' - e.. ^ '"y danger, and lo u,hose fidelity aU obedience he ouea 4 M g34 LAST VOYAGE OF CAIT, t,Qi»- SO much :•• and further, ll.at " he xcould have felt ashamed ojhirt self" to have v/ithheld from those very B^eritorious mc, the common nourishment, to «hieh they »ere entWed and «hich p„.ht to have been distributed with the most liberal hand ecu. .id'ering the superfluity by which he was surrounded, and th. exhausted state in which his men appeared before h.m On the arrival of the men at Fury Beach, there were bu aboul y lbs. of bread remaining: each amn had his own bread b.g hut some were entirely empty, and in others a very .,„.U portion was left. It was just luncheon time when the c,„ ianded ; but although behind them were provs.ons of e«,, kind Cayt. Ross would not allow a biscuit .>or any other kind „f provisions to be touched, although iho men were l.terall, ,. « state of positive hunger. The crew were divided into .!,„ parties or watches: one under the con.mand of Capt.Ross; - second under that of Comu.auder Ross, and the thud u,,J, Mr. Thorn, the purser. Each party resided in a separate.- which was pitched immediately on reaching the shore ; and , occasion now occurred, alluded to in the evidence guc. I, Commander Ross, before the committee of the House of C. mons, in which a spirit of insubordination man.fe.ted >(«' but which Capt Ross brought down upon himsel , by h,s »« and illiberal conduct, which are epithets of complete nuld» in comparison to those, which we should have used, had .el- lowed the manuscripts, now before us. The tents were all pitched ; the crew found themselves m paratively comfortably housed; and those in the te„.s ,. Commander Ross and Mr. Thorn, were happily b»^J"« fving their appetite with the be-,, provisions, which .1 moment could be procured. The messmates of the U„.,d ihe command of Capt. Ross, were looking forward to the Ply of provisions, which would be distributed to the«., . ' p/rhaps a glass of grog, as a reward fo, their steadiij^. fidelity to their duty; when Capt. Ross coolly old th , „ait until the morning, and in the mean lime to eat up remainder of their bread. A conduct like this, so oppo^ what the men had a right to expect, naturally roused then, I.A.T VOVAGE OF C*PT, Ro... ^,5 ,We, Which, perhaps, „ight with some semhlanco of truth ho .,g™..,zed ..oneof insubordination; but ,ve question „.„,. .hether. ,f the men under such circun,stancos,\ad procee ed ..break open the rst chest of provisions, which Zy eou d „.e.t, they ,vould have been declared guilty „f« b,L,h „f d,.,phne, by a jury, even of Cap.. R„.s- own picking. Thomas ent ,and SO g^reat was the valu*» wKir.K » i i . ■ ^ , . vaiue, which he p aced upon the services of th s man. that it !.,«« *\. . * e whole crew that he would rather part with any' bee of tta, than with h,m. Knowing, therefore, the influence, which ^po„es«d orer Capt. Ross, he made no hesitation to speak to bun m a bold and peremptory tone, declaring, that it was most «.nA.!oas.nd shameful conduct in him to keep his men" rch ..,a.e of starvation, „ben it „as expected by all, thaT t r the .m«l a. Fury Beach, they should have everv nouri.hmen .l„eb the stores of the Fury would permit of; " You mil; ......ell," said Thomas, .-hang „p^ biscuit anllet ufa ..k.t,t, as keep us ,„ a state of the greatest hunger, with 1 "[ T'^'""' """'"^ •" " This was a kind of fanguage . *b,ch the autocrat of the Victory had no. been accusLfd! i! thr.h "7 /" "'-•■''f disrespect and insubordina- , that ,he pr.de of a c.p.ain of .he royal navy of Great nl..n was aroused, and he began to .a Ik of .he duty and obe «c. which a sailor owes .o his commanding officer, and the «q«e„ces, which always follow from a breach of discipline y.m perfocly coincided with everything, which his com! ...der had sa,d : b„,, on .he ..her hand, he mai„.ained, .ha. Jhadm every respect performed their duty towards him Lerefore .hey were not to be kept i„ a sU.e of sterva.ion! k» they were surrounded with provisions of every kind srf lent to support them for a twelvemrtnlh. Tlie members of the committee of .he House of Common. e»-«d anxtous to elicit from Commander Ross, the exact' tuWy .h ,„,.„, ,^ ^^^^^^ hi. controlling ""• The truth i6,.h.t u wa, never exerted a, all, on the gg^ " . IA«T VOTAOS OF CAPT. ROM. contrary, the men. by tl.eir bolJ and determined ma«ner, .,. orted their con.rolliug power over l,im ; and, «uh con»,..e,at,k rMuotanco, he drew from his provision bag some pork a„d bread which were distributed amongst the insubordinate, ; bu. ho would not allow them either fresh meat, lime juiee or coc™, Durin.^, however, almost the whole of the night, the men i. Cupt Ross' tent, were eating bread and sugar m the.r b a„k«^ with their head covered over, so that "the d_d b-e should not hear their mouths a wagging. ...-:.■ I ' « ' I„ a very short time every thing assumed a regular com^rf acti-m The men were allowed three meals a day, nidep... dentlv of cocoa and lime juice: in fact, not a complamt ™ heard from any of them, on account of a shortness of provisw The first employment of the crew was, in getting in order ll, sails, spars and cordage, which were on the beach; the bet. were hauled up, for the carpenter to repair; Mr.Thomand so. of the crew were employed in separating the preserved m..l. from the soups and vegetables; and Capt. Ross, with so» others of the crew, were laying some of the heaviest ot l« spars, for the purpose of constructing a temporary house;. tlpsails and courses being used as the covering. In abo„te,s or ten days, a house was built 30 feet long, and 6 feet br.. The position of the house was, as near as it could be. N.N.t and S.S.W. the door fronting to the eastward. The .»l« was divided, leaving a place for the officers, which consist. of a bed-place for each officer, and a mess-berth: andassoo.. the house was 6nished, it was regularly taken possession of I the respective crews. It must be remarked, that each crew I. to fit out their own boat; by which it became a trial of c», lalion amongst them, as to which boat should be first got,.. for sea. ■ •' "■ "■ <'■■'<•" "' <'-'."•-. • '■" It was on the 23d of July, that the ice made a move on F. ' Beach, and by the 27th, a fair prospect presented .« getting down the inlet, having clear water as tar as the could Teach- this opportunity, however, could not be en,b,.c en account of the boats not being finished ; or, according version of one of onr authorities, Capt. Ross had determ. IA«T VOYAGE OF CAPT. R08t. 537 ihat he would leave Fury Beach on the Ist of August, it beinff some day, that he wished particularly to commemorate, but when that day arrived, the ice was all closed ; still Capt. Ross continued to persist in his resolution, although the only prospect of success, which presented itself, was a little clear water just inshore, being ignorant, at the same time, where an outlet into ihe open sea was to be obtained. Each boat had six weeks provisions on board : and that, in which was Capt. Ross, was as deeply laden as a sand barge, with the risk of crossing Prince Regent's Inlet, which is 40 miles across. i-. .: .. i., ,., .... With three cheers the men took their departure from Fury Beach; and by dint of hard labor for nine hours, shoving the .oatsaiong with boarding pikes, boat hooks, &c. they succeeded n getting about five miles, and then had to unload all the three loats and haul them on the ice, some distance towards the here. The place, where they pitched their tents, on this day, ■ras the same where the Fury got her squeeze, and the HeclJ ras on shore. ' ■ * ' ■ ■ ' •■ • •> - . . I . ,■.... On the following day, they resumed their voyage, and herever there was any opening, they in general took the be- efit of it ; but severe indeed was the labor in loading and un- king the boats every time : and, in some instances, after unching the boats, their progress has not been greater than )ny yards, and then they had to haul the boats over very irre "'"i^«- •' ^ :>.,.;^... :..;.. ..> ,„•, ,;,v^.:..: ;; : : v: J ., It was not until the 17th of August, that they reached Ca.- ide Beach, so called from a strong stream of water, that m into the sea, a distance only of about 16 miles from ury Beach. Here the ice was uncommonly heavy, with a roDg pressure, and running outside like a bore.* They were iliged to remain here for some days, the stock of provisions 't decreasing, and the men put on three-fourths allowance. '1 the 23rd the ice was quite stationary, when, on a sudden! wind came on to blow from the northward, and the liJ >■ ' : .' > ! ; / -ft * i . I , .1 .' . • i . -. t ■ ■ ■ ■ Tlie Bore or Masctrtt-is an appellation given to th« rushing in of the Ude in the Indus and ='». Which comes with such Indescribable violence, aa to endanger the banks which ■jQicr iv« I ^g LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROBS westward, and drove the ice off to the southward, from which to all appearances there was clear water for a boat to proceed to Fury Beach, for a fresh supply of provisions. It was agreed that the most able-bodied men should be picked out, for iht purpose of making a good boat's crew, and attempt to reach Fury Beach. Accordingly seven of the ablest men set off in i boat, and, having a fair wind» they got to the Beach in less t three hours. On their return, however, they were detained very much by the ice, nor with the utmost exertion could they teacii the place where the other boats were, by two miles : they wen, therefore, obliged to get the boat on shore under shelter, as thi ice pressed in with such an overpowering force, as to render »1 navigation wholly impossible. From this place a messenge (J. Park) was despatched to Capt. Ross, informing him of iti arrival of the boat, and requiring his orders as to their fulun proceedings, which were, that all hands were to hasten to \h place where the boat was, and bring the provisions to Cascadi Beach. It was not until the spring tides set in, that any pro spect presented itself of getting the boat, that had been to Fu Beach, up to Cascade Beach, and then it was obliged to b tracked inside the heavy bergs, which were lying aground. During the time, that they remained at Cascade Beach, whii was nearly a month, the crew were, in general, on the look o for an addition to their allowance of provisions, in the shape a hare or a duck, or, by way of novelty, even of a fox , bat eve the very animals appeared to shun a place, which seemed to 1 usurped by desolation alone, and where she reigned in allii horrors in undisturbed sovereignty. Seldom did the sportsm penetrate into the country where the Victory was abandone without being rewarded for his exertions, by an abundance game and other indigenous birds ; but a whole day might spent in the vicinity of Cascade Beach, without bagging a sin ' bird. The chief motive of the men, in traversing the hills, w to look out for clear water, and they frequently amused thei selves with building up monuments of stones, which, until ci roded by time, will stand as the only and last memorial ofi country having been visited liy human beings, who first brol LAST VOITAOB Of CAPT. RoSA. 039 he silence of its solitude, and stood on the summit of its hills, ig if they were the last remnants of humanity. During one of these excursions, as Mr. Light was travelling over a very high hill, for the purpose of tracing the heavy stream of water, from which the name of Cascade Beach originated and the fall of which was estimated at not loss than nearly 400 feet, he was surprised at a specimen of the cockle in its'most perfect shape. The whole of the land in this part of the country 1, however, nearly the same as in the vicinity of Port Bowen, 1 regard to minerals, with the exception, that at the latter place' greater quantity of agate and madrepore was found, but no cockles. North Somerset is the name of the mountains, from Ihe south point of Fury Beach down to the extreme north point 5f Regent's Inlet. On the top of these mountains, there are a %m{ many petrified worms, shell-fish, &c.; a piece of the horn )fa rein-deer, as well as a piece of wood, in a petrified state, ^ere also picked up ; the latter was about an inch in circum-' erence. Here might the geologist and the antedeluvian stand and neditate,and wonder by what convulsion of nature, the remains I creatures of more temperate climes should be found imbedded Dthe rocks of a country, which may almost be considered as he boundary of animal life, and where their species could not lossibly exist amidst the destructive influence of its rigorous limale. By what powerful agent, acting in the far-gone fe of ages, was the piece of wood, which was found petrified 1 the mountains of North Somerset, carried to the place where was found, at the distance, perhaps, of many thousand miles m the place of its growth. The disbeliever of sacred writ lay here find something to ponder upon, and a glimpse of that ght may shoot across his darkened soul, which guides the true Bliever to discover, in those little things, the mighty hand of le Lord, and to trace in them iLe proofs of the great and won- >rful deeds, by vrhich he has manifested his power to the sons naen. Truly has it been said, that there is no picking up a pebble the brook-^ide, but we find all nature in connexion with it. g|j) lAet VOYACB OF CAPT. ROM. Insignificant as mighi appear th^ petrifactiotti, Wi»ic!i tHe Van dering seamen of the Victory picked up on the mountains of a sterile and desolate country, they are, neverthelesE, the fragmpits of a mighty whole. The philosophical observer will ascend his inquiries, from the pebble to the rock ; from the rock to iLe mountain range, from the mountain range t© the " great globe itself," from the globe to the system, with all its rolling orbs, from the system to the visible heavens " powdered with stars," from the visble heavens to the invisible and countless myriads of suns, systems, and erratic orbs, that are contained in illimitable space, and from those to the contemplation of space, time, anil eternity, viw*^' ■"•'i-^.-«w ^'■■■- •- ■ -'• -^^^'V; \ :' ' "^ '*1 • » * ■*■ „ ,j^g whole up tracing from the dreary voiJ, .v^^l*^^* -*'*< The world producing essence, who alone .^^s^a I ^i*J^^ ;i . Possesses being. • J- .> - ■--- ■- '' '* ^ ■'•^' It being the determination of Mr. Light to trace Cascadi River, if possible, to its source, he walked along the banks of i for a considerable distance, until his progress was obstructed byi heavy patch of snow, which hung over the river from bankl bank. This he walked over for nearly a mile, when he p down at the further end, and went for some distance under tli snow, until he was nearly wet through, when he rolinquishe all further search. He was induced to prosecute l.is reseatc! from the hope, that the river might lead him to a lake, in ^hic some fish might be caught, but the task occupied him a greatr time than he could be spared from his duties at head quartet On his return to the boats, he descended into a valley, wherel picked a number of cockle-shells out of the rocks ; and on ^ arrival at the boats, he mentioned the circumstance to Ca] Ross, who determined to visit the place in person, for the pi pose of obtaining some good specimens of the pelrifaclioi The valley, in which they were to be obtained, was at a cd" derable elevation, and it was a task of no little magnitiide Capt. Ross to undertake, considering his extraordinary obe^ii which, by the sailors, was compared to that otllUctu, who in the vicinity of Felix Harbour, aud ^hose fat was dm t-AST VOYAGE O^ CAPT. »0S9. Q4, Ihre* incU in thickness. The travfellinff was al.A ... Ihe top of the column, which, if the English Deonla Za tirtu« or spirit in then, thev wouU n„ll^ . ""^ ^Iridual who attemp ed ^ ^TrSl '^"" ' ""' ""^ *el. vaiie,. discoveredll'TL? il:^*;r,^-'''- J.pe,.„d p„„ie, which threatened to be ^Jd^d wirL le sncces, a, the discovery of ,he great object, of whilh they .been m search. By great exertion, however exercised Z *ng, pushing, and dragging, he ultimately ar ived at t e ^^,.nd obtained some very fine specimens^f , e pe iflc 'm. From the summit of an adjoining hill Cant R V! .7c.ear view with his telescopl ; ai.'!':;,? ;fj:;;''^ w vast expanse of dear water, which determined hm 'o 1 »Sn7L" '" '""''■ '"" '° '"^^ "° '"""- "■"« in" »lB^ht, so named «„ account of a fox running aw^y „ith koot belonging to the cook. : ■ ^ ""y witn ■The whole of the game shot during the slay of the party at rtbt r" """ •'"-•*-°f"'>-h werekUl d\y Light, on the mountains, and the other was shot by Mr eD,a,m.d. There was therefore a hare to each boat, of whVch ,.rt f r ''• »'""••"•"'•' i« very numerous in «ek». The usual weight of the bird is about 12 02 • thev far m„,e „„„„„„, ,, ^h, northward, b„t. owing to the long "t'on ofthe p,rt,«, Cascade Beach, they hfd nearly a"! •n further to tiie Southtvard. ' *"" •"^^' ^ ■rfl« '!>«« tltat^Capt. Ross aHd tTio steward arrived at thJ A ^«j LA.»T VOYAGE OF CAPT. R089. boats, the ice was making off from the shore, so that orders were given to make a move, wheo the boats were got dowik as far as Boot Bight, when a party went on one of the hills, to take a survey of the state of the ice ; but there was a supineness, at this time, in the conduct of Capt. Ross, which excited the astonish, ment of the whole of the crew, and led them to believe thatw disposition existed on his part, to take advantage of any favor- able occurrence, that might present itself. At this time there wap a very fine opening, but Capt. Ross did not seem willing to embrace it, until every one of the crew cried out, that it m shameful to see such an opening, and to let it pass, without taking the advantage of it. After some time was spent in unprofitable procrastination, a move was made from Boot Bight, and they got down on tlie other side of Batty Bay ; but, in the crossing of that bay.i strong breeze sprung up. from which, Capt Ross' boat, oi account of its being so heavily laden, and at the same timi parrying so much sail, took the sea in at such a rate, that itwj reported by Thomas, the carpenter, that the boat was half ful of water ; and at the same lime that it was so lumbered up,tlia it was not possible to bail her out. The foresail was haul down, which eased her a little, and a place was made, bolhfn and aft, for the purpose of bailing, the water being up to I knees. The other two boats hove to, and when all was ri?l in Capt. Ross' boat, they ran in for some low land, that was see to the southward ; but it coming on to be very dark and disnul and the wind blowing tremendously hard, they landed on beach, and pitched their tents, leaving the boats at anchor. On the following morning, some of the lumber was got Capt. Ross' boat, viz. some spafe shot, fifty fathom of whale li that had been used for a cable, and a cask of tamarinds. Tlii however, did not make much difference in the draught of t Jboat in the water : and it was ejcpected by the crew, that Caj Ross would leave behind him some large chests, the weight one of which, was not less than six or seven hundred weigl as well as another chest, that was on the. beach, containing i^eral specimens, also, a carpenter's tool chest, as well asscT LAST VOTAGI OF C APT. ROBS. 543 olI.er small boxes and bags, all belonging to Capt. Ross, and the contents of which were not known to any one. As a proof however, of the strict attention, which he paid to the o-ratifi- cationof his appetite, the following were the contenls^'of the large chest packed up by himself, and soldered in canisters •— iwo canisters of boiled beef, two of roast beef, two of collared heef, two of seasoned beef, two of veal, two of mutton, two of carrots, two of parsneps, two of soup, two of carrots and gravy two of flour, two of cocoa, four of biscuit ; two. of the biscuit made in the Victory and two. that had been on Fury Beach with bread and many other things. It was the crew coming to the knowledge of circumstances of this kind, which excited to much ill blood between them and their commander- and who, as they had been frequently told by him, that it was life or death with them, ought to have loaded his boat with other things, than mineral specimens or carpenter's tools, of which there was already an ample supply in the regular carpenter's chest. The beach where they now were, was called Tamarind Beach on account of a cask of Tamarinds, that was left there It m early in the morning, that they took their departure from his place, and the same night arrived at Monument Bexch, fhich is the extreme north-east point of the inlet. This place m 80 called on account of some of the crew building a large nonument, which, like the rest of them, runs the risk of never «ing seen again. On their arrival there, some of the crew rent on a very high hill, with the telescope, to take a survey of he ice, but it was quite stationary in the direction, io which was their intention to shape their course. They were every ay anxiously looking out for a passage across the inlet; but it hs the opinion of Capt. Ross, that the ice never broke up that ^ar in Lancaster Sound, although, in that respect, the majority the crew did not coincide with him. It was, however, their 'neral opinion, that Commander Ross would have found his »y over: and during their stay at Monument Beach, it wa» oposed, ihat he should take a certain quantity of provisions t of each boat, and that he and the crew should make the ^^ L^?T VQVAQE OF CAPT. ROW, atlfinjpt to oblttin a passage over the ice. Commander Ross expressed his willingness tp try the hazardous experiment, but a decided objocliop wa? raised to it by Capi. Ross, who felt no great inclination to sh^re in the hazard of the enterprise; nor, on the other lmn4, to see himself jilmost alone in a desolate and ii^hospitable country, with no other chance of escaping from starvation, than making his way hack to Fury Beach, and there making himself as comfortable, during a long and tediou, winter, as the resources of his own mind would allow him. MX hope was now abandoned of getting across the sound; but pieviously to taking a final departure from Monument Beach, it was determined to take another survey of the state of theicq, and a party was accordingly sent to the summit of a veryhigli mountain on the promontory, from which a view could be ol). tained of Prince Regent's Inlet, Barrow's Strait, and Lancaste; Sound ; but, as far as the eye could reach, an impenetrable! mass of ice presented itself, forming a barrier to all further progress in that quarter, which it was in vain to attempt to overcome. _ _ ^, «.!> ^r..-: ..- .■»-.:>'<.- k>. .-t-.-^ ' The anxiety an4 suspense, which now weighed upon evei mind, may be easier imagined than described ; the young i had already assumed an alarming thickness, and the frost of oi night might so block up the passage to the southward, that e^ei the return to Fury Beach would be foupd impracticable. During the stay at Monument Peach, which may be consi dered a part of Leopold South Island, in about the latitude 73«» 56', and longitude 90° west, some slight symp^oiiiS of ll scurvy clisplayed theipselves, and the men were, therefoi allowed to take daily excursions on shore, during which tin killed six foj^es, all of which were eaten by t^ie crew. T" hares were seen, but they were beyond the reach of the gi Jhe foxes, ?is well as the hares, were aU white. The Aur Borealis was visible almost every night, which epabl?4 t^e on some occasions, t9 extepd their journeys, which woqU ' have beep pracUcable amidst the ciramerian darkness of norther^ latitudes, The view, which tbe crew ha(} froip il Promontory Qf LfOflql^ ^<^H^^ hW^^'h if J^^V^W^S^^ ^^' I.AST VOVAOl OP CAPT. ROM. gjj, ta.n de,c.l,lion in its uttermost extreme. A dead ,„d di.heart k«.»nd of ,h.., o„o voices, or the deep howl of .l>e solUary ,c mind might have employed itself with the speculation of h. „,e or necessuy of such a vast portion of the globe being I. w list the soluary outcasts of nature, which inhabit it,appea placed on the verge of the dominion of creation, to mark the «n46 .f.n.- LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. «0»t. closing in upon them, and literally choking them up. At lU lime, the men had no other clothing than what they stood up right in their whole covering at night consisting of a bUnki made in the shape of a sack, into which they crawled, andihe drew the open ends over their faces. The chief object of n aki. these bags was, that they could not get out their feet to be froze The mrihod, in which the men frequently slept, was follows -.-Three trenches were dug in the snow, each cai of holding seven men, a covering of canvass was thrown the trenches, and a layer of snow over the canvass : they \\» got into their bags or blankets, and huddled close together f, the benefit of the reciprocal heat. There was an officer iu ea( trench, viz. Capt. Ross, Commander Ross, and Mr. Thorn. T bhiukJts of the officers were lined with skin ; but it is scare possible to form an idea of the misery and wretchedness, vvl, the men endured in their terrible dormitories ; the frozen. was their bed beneath, and the cold, to which they wereexpoi was at one time, 3i» below zero, or 64o below the freez, point of Fahrenheit; afier encountering many hair-brea, escapes, from the treacherous state of the ice, they succeed getting eighteen miles to the southward, and were then ob f to haul the boats on shore, on account of the young ice ma so rapidly, and the consequent danger incurred of having 1 frozen in. They remained in this place for two days, during « time they shot two foxes, which were eaten by the crew as as an old rook that was shot: in fact, although it could n, literally said that it was all fish, that came to their net, yet shot whatever came within their reach ; and that which, in own country, would have been rejected with disgust, was, their present circumstances, considered as a dainty morsel. On the ice opening a little, some further progress was. and, alter being exposed to the most imminent dangei, . succeeded in reaching Batty Bay, which was on the Ist of! ber. Here their progress was completely impeded by they ice, and it was feared, that all further hope of reaching Beach by the boats, must be abandoned. In this situatioo were obliged to pitch their tents on the ice, not being ai nou ir nd lel. lAlT VOTAOE or CAPT. ROM. gj, M shore, ...e distance being about two n.ile,. The clj ... here ,o exce.s.ve, that one of „,e n,e„ Icsi .he ,„,. J t H«'. and there was scarcely one. who was not frost-bittl , Khy, and the accdent wa» occasioned by his rolling a„ o„„ty «d cask on shore, having no mittens on at the time nZ/ benight, that they .lept „„ ,he ice, they had .c 'rcefv II .gh to melt a liule of it for the purpose of' naking sZ'Jl whtch reason they were obliged to burn the li-ne-jui e c ' I con,n,enced cutting up the boat's cable as a pan of thet Utc!;r itTc ^'^™T'— -saltation was held Z ,T "".'*, •^'"""■^■"'" Ross, as tothe step, which .«ld be taken w.th the boats, as well as the measure Zh ch ere to be adopted, ,„ .ecure their return to Furv Beach ,. id the impossibility of reaching Furv Beach in .1 i . ..i™ should be lost in the unlotdirjof hi JthenT , '" ™ over the ice on shore, where tty XCttl" h f ".until the breaking upof the ice, win tLVZTdheTbfe Ch';: '""^' '° -' f>e-4ue„ted i;:i: Thetask of unloading the boats wa, commenced , and when it «.dered, that every artiel. was obliged to b carrild o" Mc separately, to a distance of above two miles a^d V .he articles of a very heavy and cumbersome kind an -7' y*.n be formed of the labor, which the men h' "tt uTdet" »^d durtng the whole of the time, to an intensity of cold .eh ..was thought scarcely possible for the human'oonstt; .was on the morning of the 2od of October, that they com- ■a hauling the boats on shore, all the hands being putTo » . With great difficulty they had succeeded in dr'ag'^ L. *««talf way, when the ice suddenly gave way under her . lay as snug a. if she were in a cradle. Every en '«' was made to get herou, again, but as fas. as they au ed «» the .ce. it broke i„ again ., .„d for sooie time Jwast- ^g LAST VGYAGB OF CAPt. R6S*. pectedlW darkn«iM wouia clos^ in ut>on thfem, before lliey 1: lot her clear, by which considerable ri«k v^as run. of ever bei able to extricate her, as, by the following mornmg she ,n,gh he so frozen in, a* to render it impossible to move her. Under this dilemma, the expedient was adopted, of putting a boat', mast under her bows: and the seamen having declared, that it was life or death with her. (a cant phrase, which they used o. all occasions of a desperate nature, in mockery of their com mander ) they applied their whole strength, and with a suddei jerk brought her upon the ice . They had not proceeded fa, when the boat again broke in, but, by adopting the previoo plan she was got out: and the ice becoming stronger as the ftpproached the shore, they at last succeeded in la^jding her.an placed her about 30 feet above- high water mark. They the returned for the other two boats, experiencing the same did culties and accidents in their transportation to the beach ; ho as the safety of the boats was now secured, the dangers.. h# they hftd undergone were forgotten. The crews of Command Ross and Mr. Thorn, slept that night in the boats: but Ca, Ross, not relishing so Cold a berth, had his tent pitched on 1 beach, where, with a fire in his stove, he enjoyed the comfort a sound repose. " On the following morning, all was bustle to fetch away things, Which were still remaining on the ice : and loud « the murmurs 6f the crew, 6n seeing the rubbish, with «l Capt Rods' boat was ladert, a grcftt part of which, had itb burned on Yakkee Hill, or thrown as playthings for the wh. instead of subjecting the men to dtag them from place to pli would have been only commensurate with their intrinsic val and have impressed upon the minds of the men, some sli conviction, that all sense of feeling for tt^ir^siUiation, y obliterated from his breast. There being no prospect of conveying the things, by meat the boats, to Fury Beach, Capt. Ross issued his orders to mas, the carpenter, to 'break up three of the bread casb make from them some Sledges, as the vehicles for the trans ation ofihe stores, pmvisiofts, &c. to ^-ury Beach. Dunn? ".A.T VOYAGE O, c»PT. .o„. ^^^ ■y tim«thalth«9«rpemer wag thus employed tl,. . i. homing pve, tl,e boat,, and render 7/.;: """ *»'«? following y.,r. which wa effected bvf. T""' •""" '»« own anchors, and pili„g .to„ra„d ^ofr"? ^ '''"" "'"• *''-' .he., and then -er4 .He:;!' J^'l^ 17 .""»'- -' It was on the 4th of OrmK .u . ^ of snow. . ,. r» Batt, Bay, having attnce of ^^' r' '''" '"'"""" feach. it being rendefed g lit" 1 "" " 'V™"" '" ^^"'^ »d two bights, where T 1 ;,r„;::r; "^''7'»'' -> s- fteateat difficulty, on account otT^u "^"^ "'"> ""> .eresc^nierous'thatU waslld '"""■"-''^ "f i-. which .labyrinth : and frequen ,v I '""""^ ">« •'^''^^^ "'rough >le.el. Mocked up. Zt. yylTo^Zr' '" '"' ^"^°™- -.1.. breaking through then^^ Xh ^^ mV^ ""''''' ..eral days in the accomplishment "' """P'*'' Previously to leaving Batty Bay. 2 ,bs. lo ozs ' of ' b,V, V ere served out to each m«r. a«j *u- ^ biscuit . .he™ until their arrlrr at FurvB ''Tl """'^'"'"^ "^"^ '» »pe«uous the weather mU Ll^ ' """''' ^^™'« ""'^ Lned on the" wj Vh", ^^^ .;;wo »iles before^ey ^Vo^^l rCrid^ order to render them lie-hter «« ♦»,« j sieuges, .in the loaded -.^t^^ ^i; IfX^Z^'Vt' JSMhatwere taken out of the sledges.'^.ere lef on !he beach .he ulterior v.ew of fetching them from Fury Beach DurT ..me. that the sledges were unloading and reDairL ,h T "*^ .pi.ched on shore, and the crew rfm:inern"^tTh: h- Early on the following morning they proceeded J ,V -/.leaving behind them two chestf. conZ g „s ^ t' .-nt. &c. one ten,, and several other articfe 07 .hi; % advanced only 10 n,iles, and again pitched heU terns ■ .he men worn with fatigue and hunger, consumed thet' »pt a l„„p of „^,^^ ^^^^ .^^^ possesstop of their house, but they immediately decan,ned eM tAST VOVAOE OF CAPT. «0... „ soon .. the rigluf-1 o«»«'^P'''f i^'^^^^^lre'doo^^Td't' .. .he house. Capt. Ro.. --^^^r " epic, of vhich U. ceeded to harangue hi> " , ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ _^^,^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ been IranBmilted *<>»»' "'"'"y? ,,^ eehes of other greatrae™, degree of influence, «>>'«'';'''';; The first topic wa., hi. H had upon the fund, o the c-^'^^- ^^^., ,„,„,„ ,„ ,„a „, .incere congratulations to h.s c , ^.^^^^ ^^^^ „,„„ arrival at Fury Beach, «''''=^*'J' ",„,,. „hich was. the e,U.. ascribe to its only true and g»""""";^\; ^^j evinced on e,«, ordinary talent and »>"lf"'n<'«''>J' .^^^ action-the pron,,,, occasion, in «Wch they c„« < be c ^^^ ^^^ .^ ^^^ ^^ and '--^y P;"»it trid labor, which theyhad lately., viation of the great tali u ^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ opportunii; dergone-the parental care, ^^^ ^^^^ proraolio,,. sho«nf«r the preservation of th „di„,,y and™,. ,heir personal ^or^^''";--^'f:^^':X^,^ he bad exhibited o ampled instances "^ f"""^'^'^; ^^,,^ „o doubt, woulJ re»i various occasions and w ic , ' ; , ,ho proudest.. for ever impressed upon their recoi. noblest traits of hi, f^J^^^'^^.^.^^..^^, ,hat he announc^ It was with the greatest ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^.j_^^ „„ them, that he continued »» ««' ^^^^ _^^ ^^^.^^^^ ^^^ ^^ country, with whom he had e« ^j ^ion-, and* ,ance of the -""^^''^ f,X r'retted to inform the™,,! although on the "^^^t h»nd * . ^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ♦*>« S-' ■'rr;.' h t y had'so nobly and gallantly, in the pursuit of «>'ich " J .^ ^^^ ^^„, ,„„ the last three years of their hfe.w J ^^^^^ ^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^ uncertainty, as when h ■ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ f, Woolwich, yet St 11 It wou _^j ^,,,^j "^«- '° '-r !:l thl val a£, which they had left U monuments and "'he' J ,,erlasting proof. ' t»>-- -f •:::;: og'r a satisfaction to him.toinfo™. -h:n7i:d:::;ro.itp— -^^^^^ LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. R0S8. 651 of the following year, in getting on board a whaler; he, however, made no doubt, that if such should be their fate to be starved to death, they would meet it with that calmness and resignation, which had hitherto distinguished them, since they were under bit command ; and he should be ashamed of himself, if the same fate threatened to befal him, if he did not exhibit that high for- titude and energy of character, which they had seen so strikingly displayed him, during the trying scenes, through which they had been hteiy destined to pass. He was happy to inform them, that an estimate of the ways and means had been laid before him, and that, provided they kept their appetites within proper bounds, of which he professed bis willingness to set the example, a sufficiency of provisions was )nhand to. support them through the winter; anticipating, at the ame time, that the benefit of fresh meat would be frequently ibtained from the indigenous animals, particularly the foxes, of ihich he gave them liberty to shoot as many as came within the ange of their guns. It was also gratifying to him, to tell them lat the stock ofspiiKswas exhausted, with the exception of a nail quantity, which he reserved for medicinal purposes ; he aving arrived at the conviction, from personal experience, thai le use of spirits is attended with the most injurious effects, and lal he is disposed to attribute the general good health, which the w have lately enjoyed, to ro other cause than an abstinence om the use of spirits. As illustrative of this part of the speech of Capt. Ross, we may allowed a parenthetical licence, and quote the 7 1st, 72d, and ii questions, which were put to him by the committee of the ouse of Commons. " "^ •"•'•' " f Hst. ' During how much of the latter part of the voyage were ii(?) without spirits?"—" Fifteen months.'' ' ^ ^f PJ, " Do you attribute to the absence of spirits any portion tlio health, which you latterly enjoyed as a crew." " I cer- nIydo;',t j.^'J'x,,, _;. ', ' ; ^^■■'^"''■-"" ^='-^^ f r' ,,...?. !3J. '■' Had there been an abundant supply of spirits, and they I been taken freely, do you consider your health would hava so goQdr'— " 1 do not think it would." g-*^ LAST VOYAOB OP CAPT. »06S. We leave tliis part of the evidence without any further com. mcnt, than that it appears most strange, and almost inexplicable to our vulgar capacity, that, what was bad for the men, should be good for the master; at all events, there is no existing pro ' that the health of the latter ever suffered from the periodi( visitations to a square glass vessel, deposited in a corner of one fff the chests, which the former had to drag over the hummo.k! of ice. the contents of which, however, were refused thcm,evi, in the character of a medicine. * The last topic, of that most senseless arrangement of Lnglis! words in a state of juxta-position, commonly known by the titl^ of a King's Speech, is generally the most important ; and a Capt. Rosl could, with the greatest propriety, exclaim in the sup posed language of Alexander Selkirk— •' I am monarch of all I survey; !' ■ • My right there are none to dispute " It may be naturally supposed, that the last topic of kis speec partook of the royal character ; and certainly to the men, vh pro temvore, might be considered as the subjects of the vicero of Boothia, the last topic of his speech was the most importaD as it embraced the imperative restriction, that, although f" abundance of provisions of all sorts were on the beach, not a m was to dare to touch a single article, until it was d.slnbuteJ him in the regular manner, however keen his appetite or m manding as the voice of nature might be, that it should satisfied. In return for their obedience in this point it « promised that they should be put immediately on full alio ance, and should continue so, as long as the stock of proviso would sanction the advance. To the seamen these were, .ndei " iovful tidings in the desert;" and although we have noa^l rily for stating, that an address was voted by the men toCa Ross, thanking him for his most gracious speech, and prom. . to take the subjects of it into their immediate consideration; j with comparatively merry and lightsome hearts, they entereJi house, and, whilst the stove was tixing by the engineer, U amused themselves with eating bread and sugar, which no scto boy could have eatert with greater relish, and as soon asthesi t.A«T VOYAGB OF CAPf. RoSS. 553 ris fixed, and the fire threw its enlivenihg- blnj!e dvpr their chllr labitation, then, with the sincerest thanks to Him, who fed Elijah (he desert, they prepared to make their evening- meal, which consisted of dumplingrs and pea-soup, although, perhaps, not com. (ountled exactly according^ to the recipes of Dr. Kitchener or in. Glasse; after which, they turned into their blankets, and heir rest was doubtless as sound as that of those, who were reposincr 1 their beds of down, and under their canopies of costly silks " On the following morning-, the wind came round, blowing tre- londously hard, continuing with undimin.shed violence until the 3th. During the interval of the 5th to the I3th, tho men were iployed in repairing the house, and building a snow wall round about nme feet thick. In the erection of this wall, however nsiderable mconvenience was felt from the want of water as ey could not afford to waste their fuel in the melting of the "w; and, on the other hand, it was found impracticable to build »va!l m a solid manneir without water, which, being immedi- elj frozen on its application, served the purpose of mortar in e adhesion of the slabs of snow, and also closed up any inter- ces, which might be left, through which the exterior atmosphere uld penetrate. In thisdilemma,they had no other alternative ID to have recourse to their own urine, for the preservation of ich, a cask was kept in the house, and with this liquid the wall ^ completed. The engineer was now set to work to build an oven for baking ad, there being an ample supply of flour amongst the Fury's res, and the stock of biscuit, which they broughtVrom the Vic f being nearly exhausted, 'reparations were now made for the equipment of a travelling ly.for the purpose of bringing the things away, which had n left at the first station, about four miles from Batty Bay. meen men were all, that could be spared from the crew, thj ainder being disabled by illness, partly arising from the vy, and partly from the loss of the use of their limbs by the nsity of the frost. IH'ough the men had weathered three winters, with the ther- leter sometimes at 50° below zero, yet they unanimously de- Q54 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R088. dared, that they never felt the cold so severely as on this expe tion to Batty Bay. The thermometer, indeed, was only 10« below zero, but the men attributed the excessive cold, whi they felt, to the difference in their clothing, which was any thir^ but calculated to protect them from the influence of the frost; and niffht, their housing was so bad, as scarcely to deserve the nai of a covering. One night, whilst they were 10 miles from Bat Bay, their tent was entirely blown away, and the snow-drift atll time so heavy and piercing, as almost to cut them in two. Whe the accident happened, the men were all asleep, rolled up their sacks ; and, on suddenly awakening, their feelings c scarcelv be described, when they found themselves nearly covere with heavy drifts of snow, and the wind driving it against thr with a fury scarcely to be resisted. Six days were occupied in the transportation of the thin^^s on the 18lh, they got back to the beach, and happy werelbe to find themselves once again in their snow house. So cotnp rative is the happiness of man, that that, which, at one perr is regarded with indifference and contempt, as being incaiia of administering in the smallest degree to our personal corafi is found, at a future time, to be possessed of some extrao dinary advantages, and from which a positive degree of hap, ness is to be derived. An individual, properly to apprecia the benefits of fortune, ought previously to have been famili with misfortune : and a man, who, sleeping under a tent, idi 74th degree of north latitude, suddenly awakens, and finds blown away, with an arctic snow storm driving in his face.fe. himself in a state of comparative comfort, when he is houi between four walls of snow, with a cheerful fire, throv^iDg genial heat around him, and the cauldron bubbling with the rinaceous meal. ITie moBt valuable acquisition obtained by the crew, byi transportation of the stores from Batty Bay. was, one ofi ' stoves, which had been brought from the Victory. There .e o'isinally, three stoves, one to each boat: one of them brought away, when they took their departure from Batt) U the crew had now brought another, and the third was lofiuo. LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. 655 he boats, at the place just mentioned. There was now a stove for the officers' room or cabin, as it was called, and one for the erth of the seamen; and there being no scarcity of funnelling, he engineer was set to work so to distribute the funnels, that he warm air might be diffused through every part of the house. Notwithstanding, however, this arrangement, the men com * lained most bitterly of the cold, which they had to endure—one ove not being adequate to impart a sufficient heat for 16 men, jrthat they could all enjoy the benefit of it at the same time! here were only four persons to the stove in the officers' berth : lapt. Ross, Commander Ross, Mr. Thom, and Mr. Mc'Diarmid. V coid was at times so intense in the seamen's berth, that they ould not rest in their blankets, but were obliged to walk about he whole of the night, to keep life within them. During the niddle of the day, that the cooking was carried on, (for nothing vas allowed to be cooked in the officers' house,) the temperature if the sailors' berth was seldom higher than 20 or '16 above ero, and at night it has been known to be 30 below it. Every rop of water, that was used, was obtained from melted snow, fhich, however, could only be gathered in calm weather, for he men found it impossible to withstand the severity of the rift, when the wind was even moderately strong : but, on those ays, and many there were, that it blew a gale, there was no ich thing, as the sailors termed it, of projecting their noses out 'the door, for fear of returning with the major part of it cut off. To add to their desolate condition,' the sun was now about leave them ; and the dismal prospect presented itself, of iree months of utter darkness, with the exception, now'and iei.,ofthe flitting coruscations of the aurora borealis, which creased the density of the after darkness. 'j> The sun, though .>tv Shorn of his glory, through the drear profound, iViii'i ^^ '''' 'melancholy aspect and dull orb, . Looks on the day, wliile he strives to pierce And dissipate the slow reluctant gloom Seems but a rayless globe, an autumnal moon, '■•• " ■ • -V!! «ni, lU'j,. V.I, ^^,J., " 'i'*i .. 656 tA9T yOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. Thftt yields opaque, the purple zone of eve. ,_ ^ ,^^ , lio! now he conquers, now subdued awhile, Awhile subduing, the departed mist Yields to a brighter beam. One of the first plans, that was put in operation, was, tin fitting up of some bed places for the crew, of which eight were to be made, four on each side of the house, and each sufficienilj; capacious to hold two persons; when these were finished the carpenter was employed in constructing some cot frames whilst the crew busied themselves in the makir»g of some mat or quii.s to cover them, one for each bed-place; and they m enjoyeo the comparative comfort of a woodeq bedstead, to m ;>f frozen snow. The last time, that the sun was visible, was on the 14th No. vember, on which day the thermometer stood at 32.° below zero or 64*^ below the freezing point of Fahrenheit. Cy the Ist of December, the house began to assume the af poaratico of a regular establishment -.—the bed -places were com pleled ; the oven, which the engineer had made of the coppt belonging to the Fury, and constructed on Slater's principli was put up; a mess table was run along the middle part ofll house; four bed -places were made for the officers, and a uU in (he middle part, so that from the officer's mess berth, each k (.pened to their respective cabin. The stove was placed i the front of the table, tlie funnelling was carried under it.an thence to the outside of the house. Two out-houses were k on the outside of the house : one for the reception of lumber; the other as asnow-house, which was regularly filled with sno whenever the weather would permit. <» - ' The general state of the health of the crew, was, at this tin by no means of a favorable nature. John Wood; Anil. Buck, the blind man, and Thomas, were very ill of the siun , Henry Ayre, the cook, affected with the rheumatism; Ban Lachey, with the loss of the tops of two of his fingers, l.avi been frost-bitten at Batty Bey; and the last on the list,! poor George Taylor, who was again frost-bitten in travell^ LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS (557 from Batty Bay to Fury Beach, but who, nevertheless, contrived to hobble along on his stump, receiving from his comrades every assistance, which it was in their power to bestow. It IS with great reluctance, that we entor upon the relation ofsome particulars respecting Taylor, which, we sincerely i.ope for the sake of humanity, and the personal character of Capt' Ross, are not founded on truth. Our authority is in existence" liDd we give the statement upon the credit of his veracity and Ihe great improbability of a charge of so serious a nature, beinff Ihe result of invention, dictated by malice or ill-will We are perfectly aware of the strong prejudice, which existed in the ninds of the majority of the crew against their commander, ,nJ that they were, consequently, disposed to attach to his ictions the most sinister motives, and to view his general con- luct through the distorted medium of an inveterate dislike lut severe as we may be represented to have been, in our stric- p on certain parts of the private and professional character f Capt. Ross, as far as relates to his conduct during his last .yage, we have still, very frequently, only given the outline the transaction, refraining in the spirit of mercy and com- iBsion. from filling it up with those dark shades, which were ady at our hand, and which were presented to us by the indi- Wuals theinselves who were the victims, and who could not k actuated, by any motive of interest, to exaggerate the cir- ^stance nor to impose upon us with their fabrications. With > knowledge, however, of the propensity, which appears to inherent m the human oharacler, of attaching a degree of cri nal.ty to the actions of another, in proportion to the prejudice ich has been imbibed against him, we should have felt disposed have looked upon some parts of our information, with an eye suspicion, had they reached us upon the authority of a single ■vidual ; but when the same information comes to us, corro- ^ated by the authority of others, we cannot refuse our belief 'I. nor consent to its omission, from a false sense of delicacy ards the feelings of the individual, by whom the act wa"s Petrated and who ought to be branded with everlasting ^^y. If the crime can be brought home to him. We have g5g LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R089. in our progress through this work, examined the conduct of Capt. Ross, abstractedly, as the Commander of the Victory, and, as an individual, who had taken upon himself the arduous task of the discovery of the North West Passage; we have never trespassed beyond those two relations, nor ventured upon a di*. quisition of any part of his previous conduct, which had not an immediate reference to the subject under our immediate discu,. sion That he was able, in the mere character of a mariner, to take* upon himself the command of the expedition, we should stultify ourselves, were we to deny it ; but that therejvere ce,. tain traits in his cU^^acter, which wholly unfitted hnn for ^^ important and resp, -y >le an office, is a fact, which was pro. in every stage of the expedition, and which, even if the appear. ances had been tavorable. would have gone a great way tofru, trate the object, which it was his endeavour to attain. Th circumstance, however, which we are now going to relate. no reference to his professional character, it concerns him man- and for the sake of the character of the species, to whii he belongs, for the sake of his own character, as holding a hi{ rank in his majesty's navy, and in respect for the station, .hid he holds in society, we sincerely hope, that he will be abe. refute the charge, which his crew have brought against hi and, we are certain, that he ought to be grateful to us for tl opportunity, which we now afford him, of washing off a a. and damning spot from his character, which, at present, cli. Xo it, like blood on the hands of the murderer The circumstances, under which George Taylor had hisf> so frost-bitten, as to render amputation necessary, has be already related, and the burden, which he became, m cod^ quence, upon the labor of the crew, after the Victory had b« abandoned. On the journey from Fury Beach to Batty B. poor Taylor was in one of the boats, what the lumber of Cap Ross was in the second,\nd Capt. Ross himself in the th.i ' —a dead weight upon the efficient part of the crew. ^M« it was found necessary to abandon the boats, and to make J best of their way back to Fury Beach on foot, the case of Tajl became one of serious consideration. The distance from B^ LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. (J59 Bay to Fury Beach was about 34 miles ; but the circuitous route hich they had to take, increased the distance to about 4o' The sledges were made for *he transportation of some of the immediate requisites, but not of sufficient strength to bear the weight of a man, in addition to the necessary cargo. Under hese circumstances, the conveyance of Taylor. b> means of the edges, was considered as next to impracticable; and, there- ore, the question was raised, whether it were possible for him ; .bble on his stump, and. if that could not be accomplished, what manner was he to be got to Fury Beach ? The whole of 1 crew proffered their aid towards renH- ing the conveyance him as easy as possible ; but a very ' th ^rent r'an was suo-. sted by Capt. Ross, and that was, to leave ^he poor fellow kind them ! / / If this horrid suggestion be founded in truth, apt. Ross must, at the time, have been under the dominion of me fiend of hell, for from no other source could such an infernal eahave been poured into his mind. The blood chills along ir veins, when we contemplate the dreadful sufferings, which a iman bemg must undergo in such a situation, before death ould kmdly interpose to put an end to his agony. An act like 18 might have been contemplated by a Nero oraDomitian- but at a christian, in the l9th century, should have exhibited such hastance of deliberate cruelty, staggers our belief, and im- .sesuponus the task, which we willingly undertake, of giving »pt. Ross an opportunity of contradicting it. The words of ir informant, are as follows, - // was at leaving the boats rat =»«y Bay J, where Capt. Ross wanted to leave George Taylor '^nd; the man who had lost half hisfoot^ Discrediting this tement altogether, we made application to another indivi. a, who was on the expedition, and from him we received a bal confirmation of it. There are few acts, which will bear Parallel with it, in the whole range i^f the crimes, which, from murder of Abel, have stamped the human race with io-no- 'y. Instances, indeed, are on record, of brutish captdns ving their men on uninhabited islands, and the vengeance of ^ded humanity has in time overtaken them ; but steeled in idred fold cruelfy must be that individual, who. because a (}Q0 , LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. worthy man had been maimed in his service, and had become a burthen upon the personal labor of his messmates, was to be doomed to suffer one of the most horrid deaths, which the human ima"-inalion in iti utmost stretch could devise. But that ("apt Ross was this man, we cannot, under any circumstances, brin; ourselves to believe — that he could for a moment entertain ivd the thought of abandoning a helpless cripple in a desolai country, wh(.re not the slightest prospect presented itself of an escape, is so revolting to every idea, which we have formed our minds of a human being, who, the same moment, was per haps raising his hands to heaven in prayer, for his deliveranci from the troubles, by which he was assailed, and who was in voking that God, who, according to his own words, had guidei and directed all his steps, and who had provided effectual mean his preservation ; we repeat it, that a man, who could accom. plish such a diabolical act, as the one we have been describing must be stricken to the earth with shame and confusion, whei he looks to that God, without whose knowledge not a sparro falleth to the ground. We shall pass over this subject without any further commenl our motive in the dicussing of it has not been to impute tb commission of so barbarous an act to Capt. Ross, but to giT him an opportunity of purifying his character from a stigm which will otherwise cling to his name for ever and purge from that odium, with which it is at present mentioned, in tW quarters where his actions, during the whole of the expedilioi have been so freely canvassed. \ v« The chief employment of the men, during the whole of iheflii ter, was patchipg, mending, and covering their wearing appar with canvass, for, in regard to clothing, their prospect was of tl most discouraging kind. The indigenous animals were b few, from which they could obtain any skins, as the foi seemed to possess the sovereignty of the country, with now a ' then a wolf or a bear as an occasional visitor. The stock skins and clothing, which Capt, Ross had been nearly th years in coHecting, and which were at one time sufficieot equip the crew of a man of war of 74 guns, were all left in tb lAIT VOTfOI OP CAPT. R0S9. flgi 8„„r-tub» ID the hold of the Victory : and therefore, as the c«u„try, unlike that in the vicinity of Victory Harbour fur rished few or no animals, from which a supply of skins could le obtained for the manufacture of clothing, the crew were „der the necessity of patching up their clothes m the strongest Mnner possible, as not one of them had a single dress but what he had in wear, and (he uncertainty before them, of how lone the time would be before they could equip themselves afresh On tl,.s subject we shall have some curious information to eive' „ber we come to describe the manner, in which Capt. Ross' dislnbuted the money, which the Lords of ihe Admiralty ad- vanced for the payment of the wages of the men ' When the Fur,r was abandoned, she had on board a consi. J.,.ble quantity of canvass, interwoven with worsted, which .a. intended for her housing i„ the winter. At the time when e provisions, stores, &c. of the Fury were put on the beach, in 825, the canvass was spread upon it, for the purpose of con- ..nmg the eoals-, and during the time that the crew of the aclory wintered there, every one of them was anxious to obtain .me of this canvass, which, with the exception of the provi- ~, was, in the opinion of the sailors, the best friend they U met with in that part of the country The principal use, to which the sailors applied the canvass ..first to draw out the worsted threads, then tying them to .he, with a weaver's knot, and having obtained I sufficient »h,ch the needle-makers of Whitechapel could not possibly je.lo„s, and then with the worsted they made some gloved mittens. Commander Ross had four needles made, where- «h he employed himself in footing and darning his own "kings, as well as making for himself some muffetees "1; h77« 'l ""' '■""^P"^"'™ of Thomas, the carpenter," »de,able difficulty was experienced in removing the things e purpose of getting at the canvass; and Shreeve, who •tlie carpenter's mate, was too busily employed in the fitting 0. ne interior ot the house, to render them any assistance •chief employment of the carpenter at this time, was, the (y,2 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R09§. flooring of the house ; the seamen's berth being floored with the staves of the empty casks, which were very plentiful on tlie beach, and the officers' berth, with planks. An attempt was at this time made by the steward, to makei pack of cards from the tin of the canisters, from which the pre servedmeats had been taken, but they were found to scratch too much ; which put his ingenuity to the test, to discover some other method of accomplishing his task. He therefore took one of the pickaxes, and dug out of the ice and snow, two boxes o( candles, for the mere purpose of obtaining the paper, in I', were wapped, which being cut into pieces of the of cards, were pasted together until they attained the necessary thickness. The engineer then made four moulds, represei. ;d( Clubs. Spades, Diamonds, and Hearts. They were, however all of one colour, namely black ; but, nevertheless, the sailon contrived to beguile away many a wearisome hour at cribbag or put. Thomas, the carpenter, made a board and a set o chess men for the use of the cabin ; but Capt. Ross having beei himself so often checked in reality, during the voyage, soongrei tired of being checked in sport : and the kings and queens an bishops of Fury Beach met with a fate, which, if it could b visited upon some of the kings, queens, and bishops of certaif" other countries, it would be conferring an inestimable blessioi upon those, who have to contribute the greater portion of tbei hard-earned wages for the support of the useless pomp, the travagance, and the vices of royalty and episcopacy. During the winter, a considerable number of foxes killed ; indeed there were not four Sundays throughout tb winter, that the officers had not a roasted fox on their table fo dinner. On Christmas-day, there were four foxes baked in tk oven, for the dinner of the officers and men. But, instead i BootVs cordial, or Barclay's entire, they were obliged to I satisfied with lime juice ; this however refers only to the s« "men's berth, for the snow not being of a transparent nature, tl Beamen could not discern the proceedings, that were going in the officers' berth ; but, from certain effluvia, that by so means penetrated through the porosity of the snow, a conject« wei LA8T VOYAGE CF CAPT. R088. 603 was formed, that lime juice was not ti.e only beverage, with ,hich the officers regaled themselves. With some difficulty plum-pudding was concocted ; but the plums were in very ad condition, it taking all the crew a whole day, to pick out a sufficiency to make two puddings, one boiled, the other baked. The new year 1833 came in with strong northerly gales, and heavy drift, which confined the men to the house, and protracted he recovery of the sick. The duty imposed upon the men was ■ery trifling; they were oblige.l to take exercise whenever *»^p ■eather would permit them, and their principal labor consisted I carrying snow to the house, fitted up as its receptacle. On the 2d of February, they experienced the indescribable itisfaction of again beholding the sun. which, like a coy and lodest virgin, just showed them a glimpse of its beauty, and len retired. The period of the absence of the sun was eighty lys; and the feelings cf the men, when they first caught a view its upper limb, can only be compared to those of the Peru- ians. who fall down and worship it as their God ; it was to them ie harbinger of brighter days, and the light, perhaps, that as to guide them on their perilous journey to their native Inntry. On the 7th of February, to the astonishment of the whole ^w. two rein-deer made their appearance, at some distance m the beach. Such a circumstance was never known to occur fore the latter end of March, or the beginning of April ; but to convinced that they were actually rein-deer, Commander Ross dAbernethy went after them; the duration of the dayligl t IS however so very short, that they were soon obliged to give thechace, but not till they had ascertained the point, by the 'ks of their feet in the snow, that the animals, which they Jeen, were in reality rein-deer. nthe 8th of February, Chimham Thomas, the carpenter, arted this life, to the particular regret of Capt. Ross, to bra his services, in the way of his trade, were invaluable. He, ever, left an able substitute in Robert Shreeve, but still ihe 01 a man at this juncture, was of the most serious conse- e(J4 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. «088. quence, and especially one whose skill, as a ship carpenter, wa, universally acknowledged. He appeared, however, to have died without the slightest impression of religion on his mind , and although he had a wife and child in England, he never men. tinned their name, nor even sent them a dying request. The day after his deat. , he was sewed up in his blanket, and put into one of the snow houses, but, before he was removed from his bed. place, he was as hard as a rock. He remained in the snow how for nine days, before he could be buried ; the weather bein BO severe, that the men could not dig his grave. Even after labor of ten days, his grave was not above a foot deep ; and o the I6th he was buried, the whole of the crew, that were abli following the corpse, Capt. Ross leading the tuneral processio, Whilst reading the burial service, he had his spectacles on.bi his breath got on the glasses, and becoming immediately froze, prevented him from reading the remainder. He, howeye managed, after making a few blunders, to finish the service, an the corpse was covered over with the gravel of the beach. monument was built on the top of his grave, with a piece v^ood in the middle, and a small plate of copper nailed to with his name, age, and trade, engraved upon it, according the best manner of the engineer. No epitaph was attached it as that particular art of lying had not at that time been, troduced into the country, where Fury Beach was situated. The crew were now reduced to twenty, and they were daily expectation of losing Buck and Wood, whose constiluii^ tvere unable to endure the continual fatigue and hardshi- which they had lately been exposed, and which had been trying and severe, than had ever been experienced at any vious part of the voyage. During the time, that the sun was above the horizon, w during the month of February, was not above an hour, '^ ' ' crew were obliged to take their regular exercise when the weather would permit ; but when adverse, they am^ themselves in various romping games inside the house, by« they managed to keep their blood in active circulationJ- Bame time that it tended to check the growth of the sci lAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R039. q^,. ,vhicli had shown itself in several cases in r»fK J 1 . . '^'oitti cases, in rather an alnrm!. ^ ^ P"'*'""' '"'<'' o" one occasion, thev shot l»o bears, and saw a wolf at »,hi„i. .!,<•, • J J I,- I . ' ""'" '"®y fifed, and severelv Lounded h,n,, but he contrived to make his escaoe pTrl L„ er Ros, followed hi™, by the track of h s ZZ\ c„nT a.rab e d.ta„ce, but the day.,ight closed upon hi™ an e" ,as obhgred to rel,nq„ish the pursuit. I, was on one of those hMons, that the crew were threatened with one of the grea.e lc.», ,es, wh.c under their present circumstances, codd po I ly have befallen them, and which would inev tably ha o Lnged the whole of then, into a state of the deepes despa U d,,consola.,on. The calamity was no other thai the de'a" h Capl. Ross h,mself, which was likely to have ensued from ke rather too o rcible embraces of a bear, which had been aU laced to the place where he was reposing, by some particular |il«ur grateful to his olfactory sense. , The weather being propitious. Commander Ross, with a |o»n party, set out on a hunting expedition, one aim of which las, 10 oh a.n possession of the body of the wolf, which had been .e„ously wounded on a former day, and which it was not Kht possible that he could survive the wound. During their l«ce Capt. Ross, for the purpose of communing with him. If on the difficulties of his present situation, and at the same N luxuriating in imaginali.m on the honors that would be ti (0 him, should he succeed in reaching the shores of Enr. H determined to compose himself on his bed of skins, whilst jhead reposed in soothing softness on his downy pillows. I«e believe that Capt. Ross may, at one period of his life Ive read Tristram Shandy, in which it is slated, upon the' l.omy of Mr. Shandy himself, that man cogitates upon son e jecls, better in a horizontal position than i„ any other ; and '*re as ,t may be rationally concluded, that Capt. Ross had, i» particular perind much to cogitate upon, the . cannot '^ho slightest blame attached to him, if he placed himself • 4"^ Powet Wense to some minds is a species of insufferable torture r .0 them t,s bet.er to know the worst, than ,„ live undl; . don,.„,„n of an alarmed imagination, which converts til KUng shadow tnto substantiality, and in the sullen moan f « wu.d, hears the groans of the dying. Impelled by the spiHt " .ot,„.he.Me.^^^^^^ . "'•'« -l-""!-"" there, ihou miJnigh. has above, Thu, to break in upon my peaceful rest. ■ • ; • . answer was returned to the solemn invocation ■ whilst on .other hand, the mysterious visitant co„.inu;d ^.ep mly along the roof; and once a sound came upon the ear of . a. omshed tenant of the house, as if it were he snul: 1 r "'r' '""^"•^""^ '"'™'"- "ho might p^ '"ture ave scented the contents of his provision bag. lesol ved bo kept ,n . e agony of suspense any longer'capt R Z red out _ Avast ! you there above, by G-d, but you will be riieT'f-^r '"' "°" ""^'"^''"^ «>'"^""" .attended to, when, prompted by " the sweet little ^^Ross applied h,s eye to a kind of loop-hole in the wall r 7 /"' '^ "''"'""'" "' "g'-'-^heo. horrible to' te. the dread reality burst upon him, in the shape of an ( 'osS ggg LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. enormous bear, who had selected him as the victim to be hugged to death, within his shaggy paws. Deliberation were now tantamount to a certain death, and not one by any means which an officer of his Britannic Majesty's navy much less C. Ross would wish to die. With a noble presence of mitul, c acteristic of the genuine hero in the hour of danger, Capt. R seized a loaded musket, which a kind and providential destiny had ju^t placed within his reach, and levelling it at the monster, lodned the bullet in some part of his ursinine carcass. It was a reception, which the animal had not been accustomed to meet with inli native country, and not wishing for a repetition of it, he beUu himself off, as fast as his wound would allow him. • . The historian of the Life of Nelson dwells with compatri pride on the battles of the Nile and of Trafalgar, and we, asil historian of the most memorable years of the life of Capt. Roi are, on the same principle, animated by the desire to delineati in the most glowing colours, those events which may be consi dered as the greatest of his achievements, and on which li founds his claim to the respect and gratitude of an adinirin posterity. Many days, however, had not elapsed before, perhaps, th very bruin paid the forfeit of his audacious attack on the perso of Capt. Ross, for not only himself, but another of his tribe, fe victims to the unerring shots of the steward and Abemeik One of the bears was skinned and quartered, and his flesh hui up on a triangle, as a decoy for other bears; the other bearw also skinned, whilst he was yet warm, and the sailors hitupf the stratagem of taking the carcass down to the beach, and the placing him on his all-fours, which was easily accomplished, as, half an hour, he was as hard as marble. A piece of ironb was stuck into him for a tail, and at a distance he appoai exactly as when he was alive. The carcass was not long tlie ' before it was visited by another of the ^ame species, who be immediately to gratify his appetite with the flesh of his tor companion. In his eagerness, however, to gorge himself ff the abundant meal, that was before him, he capsized thefr mass, when a volley from the sailors, who were lying in LAST VOVAOE OF CAPT. ROSS. (Jf^g l.i.n, made him botako himself to the ice, but ho had not nro- eeded above fifty yards, when he slagg. red and fell. A sledo-e was immediately got out, and he was brought to the hous^e This was the third bear, which had been killed in two days their skins proving highly acceptable, as articles of clothing and bed- ding. In the gall of the latter bear, a substance was found as hard as a stone ; he had also been in conflict with another bear, i he was very severely wounded in the thigh. ^-^ - ^ • ■,- . Early in the month of March, they saw the first dovekey liich was shot. It was swimming about in a little pool of ater left by the tide, and was considerably whiter than they ,re generally found to be. This was, however, attributed to its ,.e, It being evidently a very old bird. These birds generally nake their appearance about the beginning of May, and some ,mes they are as late as the beginning of June; it was, there ore, considered to be a very rare thing to see one as early a. he month of March, and the sailors thence drew the favorable men, that the approaching season would be comparatively Hid and temperate. Two or three hares were shot about the me time, but they were kept f^r the use of the sick, and isued to them in small proportions, for the purpose of makincr messi The allowance of provisions, that the men had on Fury each, was nothing more than preserved meats and lime juice, hich, as an antiscorbutic, was certainly higl.ly beneficial, but' la general beverage, was rather of a weakening nature mongst the preserved meats, there was a considerable quantity veal, which was the only meat, that the crew did not like. fthis meat, every man was allowed a pound for his week's nsumption, bat before it was distributed, the jelly and t!.o fat, at were on the canisters, were taken off for the use of the sick • if a pound was distributed on Thursday, and half-a pound on nday, but it was literally as dry as a horn, and not a morsel salt wherewith to season it. The officers had their choice the different meats, as well as meat every morning on the eakfast table. About 16 lbs. of tea were brought from the P, for the use of the sick, but the officers used it every 670 ^A9T VOYAGl OF CAPT. ROSS. night in the cabin for tea, the crew regaling themselves with coffee made of peas. In the beginning of April, preparations were made for tra veiling : the first thing being done was, to get some of the bread caj-ks up to the house, for the purpose of packing the bread, for, unfortunately, there was a great quantity of bad bread amongst the Fury's stores. Each cask was emptied on a sail, and the cask burned out, and the picked bread put into it. Then al! the provisions were collected, that were intended to be carried down to Batty Bay :— they consisted of 2500 lbs. of bread io casks, and 60 lbs. in a bag. 1400 lbs. of preserved meats, 520 Ihs. of sugar, 190 lbs. of cocoa, 50 lbs. of pea coffee, 4 ewt. oi nearly half a ton of coals, 20 gallons of lime juice, independently of the weight of all the casks and other articles, all of whicli, upon a close calculation, amounted to seven tons, which ki to be dragged down to Batty Bay, a distance of 32 miles, ovei hummocks of ice, and hills of snow. It was computed, that the above quantity would make fourteen sledge loads, but there were only thirteen working hands, sufficient only to man two sledges; so that it was found practicable only to take two sledges at a time, to the distance of about 8 miles, and then to return with the empty ones. On the following day, a similai trip was taken, it the weather permitted, thus making a dis tance of 56 miles, which the men had to travel, and yet the) could only say, that they were eight miles on their route The chief part of the duty in April, May, and the beginuiDg of June, was the ^transportation of the provisions to Bait) Bay. ' ■■ ^^^'- . . ., .^^ ., '.: . . Considerable anxiety was felt as to the condition, in wliici the boats would be found at Batty Bay, as on them they de pended for their deliverance from the inhospitable regions, i which they had existed for the last four years ; and therefore vwiis thought advisable to send a party forward to the bay, ascertain the condition of the boats, before the whole of lb provisions were removed from Fury Beach. Accordingly, party set out, and on their arrival at Batty Bay, they we rejoiced to find, that the boats themselves had not suffered m boot tame LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS. (ffl msAly from their exposure to the rigour of the climate, but hat in regard to their provisions, they were found to have been chiefly consumed by the foxes. In fact, to all appearance, thu ai,iii;al8 had selected the boats as their winter quarters, mak inn- free with every article wherewith they could satisfy their hunger. he pork and beef were nearly all consumed, and by way of a mccedaneum, they had eaten the tops of the steward's sea ,ts, as well as the leather ofFlhethowl pins, and almost the hole of the tarpaulins, in fact, nothing appeared to have come inii-ss to their rapacious appetites. - On one occasion, one of these audacious animals actually into the tent, when the men were supposed to be asleep, ind made a snap at the flame of the candle, by which he singed lis whiskers, which induced him to take his departure to ecover himself from the mistake, which he had made. In a hnrt lime he again made his appearance, and one of the men lentiveiy watched his motions. For a short time he took a ■ey of the different objects around him, when on a sudden, epounced upon asouthwesler cap, belonging to the engineer; rid although the person, who was watching him, threw a ooden candlestick at him, with the hope of arresting his pro- less, he got clear off with it. The whole of the things were, after great labor and fatigue, ot down to Batty Bay, and placed alongside of the boats ; they ere then covered over with the boats' sails, and the beach ot atty Bay had now the appearance of a second Fury Beach. aving now secured the provisions, as well as possible, from the ipredations of the foxes, the crew returned to Fury Beach, here they found Wood, Buck, and Ayre extremely ill, and yiy unable to bear the fatigue of travelling, without being rried. On this account, and influenced by the hope, that a lange might take place in the health of the men, Capt. Ross )posed that their departure from Fury Beach should be deferred a few days, and, in the interim, that a party should be sent Garry Bay, where the ducks were known to resort in -rreU nihors, aid endeavor to obtain a Supply of fresh food for the gy., LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT ^OSS. .rew. Accordingly Commander Ross, with a P"ty. set out. and they were absent about five days. They found the b.rd« t„ be, very shy, bringing home only ^0 king and queen duck.; on thr other hand, however, the dovekeys were very numerous, which famished the crew with some good materials for sea p,e, &c., and which proved a relishing meal, after the diet to which they had been accustomed. It was on the 29th of June, that the crow returned .rom Batlv Bay and during the interval to their final departure, they >^e enmloyed in junking up the cable, gathering all the coa repairing the house, and placing every thing in such a safe position, that it might be readily got at, in case they shoul he obliged to return, and pass another winter in their comfortlesa dwellino- They left as much coal upon the beach as would la.' another winter; there were also 30 casks of flour, each vveigln, 504 lbs and 12 casks of 336 lbs.; 11 casks of sugar. m\ wel-hinir 372 lbs. ; a few kegs of lime juice, and a larore quan* tity'^.f p'arsnips, carrots, soups, &c.. but there was not a singl, canister of meat left. The engineer was also busily employed in makmg three .toves for the boats, on a different plan than those of the Fury..iJ the view of economising the fuel, and decreasing the amount* their weight. The stoves of the Fury weighed, on an averag 80 lbs , whereas those, which the engineer now constructed, d. not wei-h more than 22 lbs. The engineer also made seven other thin-s. which were necessary for the boats, particularl cutting up^ome of the Fury's ice saws, fur the purpose of iron. the bottom of the sledges. Previously to the departure from a. Beach, the carpenters were employed in preparing three sledg. for the conveyance of the sick men down to butty Bay. lUe sledo-es were fitted with four uprights, and a canvass mat ha« out To each corner, on which the men were laid, ridmg mH ' manner, as if they were laid in a rot, the whole of the my Batty Bay. ' '' ' ' '' '- ' ■-'■^'' *' ^ -.Ki* -^.U « _ The final departure from Fury Beach took place on the »i July, and it was ncl. until the 18th, that they arrived at b Ay LAST VOVAGE OP CAPT. R099. 673 Bay, where a tent was immediately pitched for the accommoda- tion of the sick and the surgeon, as well as for Curtis, the cook to prepare their victuals, and attend upon them. The spring-tides took place on the 19lh, when the ice, on «hich they had travelled the day before, was all smashed' up and driven mountains high, whilst the main body of the ice was setting rapidly to the northward, which excited some strono. hope, that their liberation was near at hand. ° A regular distribution of the provisions,' that wore at Batty Bay, was made amongst the three boats, so that no complaint could be made, as to a larger supply being given to one boat iluin to another ; even the coals were measured out by a bouilie oanistcr, by which an ample supply of fuel was given to each boat. On their passage from Fury Beach to Batty Bay they fell in with a colony, or, to use the phraseology of the sailor, a rookery of kittewakes, of which they killed a considerable number ; but the most valuable treasure, which they f^und was a bank of very fine sorrel, of which they gathered a consiJ Jerabie quantity, and which proved a most efficacious restorative the health of the sick. A visible improvement took place in .oth Buck and Wood, the latter approaching fast to convales, :ence. but the former was so afflicted with fits, that his ultimate ^covery was for some time deemed hopeless. In 24 hours he had iirty-two fits, succeeding each other about every quarter of an lour, two of the crew being appointedconstantly to watch over "n. He was, however, in a great measure, cured of them by opting the process, as soon as his eyes began to twinkle, and s forehead to turn red. of applying a wet cloth to his forehead "ch stopped the progress of the fit, and in time he was com- 't^^tfily cured. I lie ice in Batty Bay now begaa to be, what the sailors nned Ijoney-comby, or, in other word, rotten, with a great '«y holes in it, and the outside began to go regularly up and »nw.th the tide; from which it is evident, that with the Noaclung spring tides, an endeavor would be made to dra- boais, or to truck them inside of the land ice to the eZ "« foml of Batly Bay, a distance of about lw« miles: this '^- 4 R ■•9 ^'■ 8J4 L«8T VOVAOj; OF CAPT. »0S9, ' hovever. could not be accrimplished without « considerable decree of trouble, for the first difficult part of the task wa,, l„ cuf away with the axes all the ice. that obstructed the.r passage, as well a, some piece, of flat ice, that were longer than .W boat ; in fine, they had to dig a groove for the Ueel of the b.,a,, «, some fear was entertained, that the boats would not floa,. The ice was for some time stationary in the bay ; but it was il„ Intention of Capt. Ross, after he had got the boats down, .» shift tho tents down to them, but this was ma certam de,.,. found to be impracticable, on account of the h.gh land, wluch was almost perpendicular, and the tide overflow.ng nearly . . „.l,ole of the beach to the base of ths ris.ng ground. A, ll,. tents could not be pitched on the beach, they were mevc about half a mile lower down the bay. a man keeping «.., during tho whole of the night, at his boat, unt.l the t.dekJ left her, and she had grounded. .,.•■,, There are certain passions, which cling to .nd.v.dual el,.. racters, and break forth on every opportunity which pre«u itself, no matter what the circumstances may be, m which A. person may be placed, or whether the time and season » proper, in which a display of them should be exhib,.. Amongst those passions, the love of fame is one of the strong.. I it appears to be an inmate ot every breast, ex bib.i,,. itself only in a greater or less degree, accordingly as the s,,,n> of ambition is dominant in the character. The roads to fame are, however, as diversified and d>s,« i„ their goodness and badness, as the innate disposition d ,„an will permit them-, and whilst some attempt to gam « aims by noble and honorable means, others seek for it in into, and ignominy :-a Howard sought his fame in ac s o pinto 2opy ; George IV. obtained his fame by his acts of debauch, r„d voluptuousness; Lord Byron earned the fame of anho- "able man'by a regular payment of all his debts, and a monu- was refused him ; the Duke of York earned the fame of . honorable man by neve, paying hi. debts ^^•^'^ perched on the highest monument, which the folly rt Lnttymen could erect for him ; Capt. Cook earned his f- tAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R09S. q-j by enlarging .he boundaries of .ho habUablo and inhabited world; Cap.. Ross has es.ablishod his fame, by ,he discovery „ ,he eon..„e„. of Boo.hia, and the monumeu.s, which ho .iLo ereced. .0 celebra.o .he great achievon,e„,. Whe.hcr l" tare wanderer ,„ .hose climes, will discover .hoso monumen.s ,. o„e of .he secre.s, which it n,ust be left ,0 fu.uri.y .odis" elo»; but ,. was natural .0 suppose, that during ,he teLorarv -Turn of Cap.. Ross in the vicini.y of Ba..y Ba/o.herZb eZ ,f . na.ure n,oro momen.ous and i„por.a„,. ...an monure b.lj.ng, would have engrossed his ac.ive and comprehensWe But a reverse of f„r,u„e. as is generally .he case, had no. .. h.„, effected any change in his ruling passions ; fjr, duril fc. «.»ure hours of .he men, when a co,!sidera.e comma d"^ ...uld ave embraced .he oppor.unity, which presented Use f «,ab ,g them .0 recover .heir s.reng.h, by res. and relaxa o «, .the contrary, despatched .hem .„ .he hills, on which -.0 h,a mo„„men.s, and .hereon ,0 affix his name,whch .|„ .nds of heaven w,l, blow upon,and .he s.orms of 1 eav „ 1,0" f..nst unt.1, ,n .he lapse of ti„,e, not a vestige will be e^ o after ages, .he name of him by whose command .he w e reeled. As objec.s, which might in a certain ,1„ 1 «ry for .he prosecu.ion of .he surveys wchr.! 7' » ;-;-ed in .heir winter harbou,. 1 I^m ^S bt to rf' T^ *" -n-dered as not wholly „ », but to employ his men in the buildina- of „.„„ ;» .hey were literally worn down w.th "fat guT" anTu: 'U».e.,cy of the climate, betokens such a want of aU c! . »au„d common feeling, .ha. „o wonder^e d be ex rn"' >d-ospec.fu| .erms, in which .he crew "pel of h Jpable charges, which .hey have brorghTaJiltm'.""' »vmi6t the men were employed buildino- ihl Pt. Ross had ««* «K t>uilding the monuments, . itoss had set the engineer to work to cutout a tin irrtLr r -- '^t °^ ^ ^-- --:■; lo.tl.1, •. u ""'^'"^ ""^of "le highest hills limits b!" :,'"•'' '""""^ " "■"'p "' "---un : 'feveni Its being- blown awav TK« ,., i fa away, i ho avowed purpose of this icm Q-(5 1A8T VOYAIJE OF CAPT. R088. w..>0.or-C(uk was to see hew the wind blew on t^o top of ihc Mil tt8, according to the opinion ofCapt. Rosb, a true judgment „f it could not bo formed on the beach; and by the useoflho . Plescope, the exact point could be determined, whenever the weathcr-cock was visible, which, unluckily for the projector was not always the case. ' During the time that they lay in Batty Bay, the carpentOM were busily employed in caulking and raising the boats ten inches fore and aft, but in midships they were canvassed and laced A great number of dovekies were shot, for they w so numerous, that two of the crew were only absent from tl.e tents two hours, and brought home fifty. It must, however, bo observed, that as long as there were any dovekies to be l.ad the men were not allowed any preserved meats, giving the- instead, a dovekey or a dovekey and a half. The allowance preserved meats was four lbs. per day, amongst six, and to each man a pound of bread, which by the men was consider. a very fair allowance. ' A considerable number of foxes were shot; but allhoui at Fury Beach they felt no objection to partake of a log , reynard's body, they now turned up their noses at it, for at best it was but carrion, and not to be put in competition wit the sweet u holesome flesh of the dovekies. Several bears we: also seen, and that was all, for they kept at too great a di: tance for the bullet to reach them. Not a day elapsed that a man was not sent up to the sum of the weather-cock mountain, to take a survey of the condili» of the ice. hoping to see clear water to the north-east; h although large patches of water were seen, yet it was byP means in a state for the navigation of such frail vessels,! which they would be obliged to embark, and to which, if ar 'accident happened, their situation would be the very extre« of misery and hopelessness. ,, , ,.,^.,. Batty Bay lies about 32 miles north-east of Fury Beach, about 41 from Monument Beach, which is about two milesa « half from Leopold's Island. A party was sent over to i opposite side of the bay, for the purpose cf building auio. I AST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. G77 nicnton the liighost hill, so that there was one on the norlhorn- ,no8t point, and another on the southernmost, with several nilicrs, that Commander Ross had erected as marks to take the angles. That officer had just completed tho survey of the bay, hen the ice broke up. • - ."., It was generally supposed, when the ice bejran to make a move iu the bay, that it would have been better if the boats lad stopped up the bay, but, fortunately, it proved that the ico Made off in that quarter, before it did along the sea-shore, from rhich circumstance, they had the good fortune, at low water, .haul their boats, one after the other, down to the place from' hich they had brought them. It was on the 14th of August, that the wind came round to lewestward, which liberated them in a very short time, and with very little trouble, they succeeded in reaching Monument Ceacli, hen Abernethy was sent up with a telescope, on the highest lountain, to observe the situation of the ice. He was absent bout two hours, when he returned with the joyful intelli- ence, that it was clear water right across the inlet. This in- rmation reached them about four o'clock in the afternoon, hen they immediately went to supper, after which Commander 0S8 and Abernethy returned to the top of the mountain. They ere absent about six hours, not reaching the boats again until idiiight; but their information was of so encouraging a nature, regard to the clearness of the water, that the boats were mediately launched, and they took their departure with a [htair from the west. The distance from Monument Beach the opposite shore, is about 45 miles, but, before half the dis- nce was accomplished, the wind veered round to the south- %,. rd, on which the crew, in Capt. Ross' boat, laid their oars and hoisted a bag and an empty canister to their mast head, a signal for extra allowance, which was immediately granted. I'hout any occurrence worthy of being recorded, they reached other side of Admiralty Inlet, where they pitched their tents, ing traversed a distance of about 74 miles. ^arly on the following morning, they got under way and beded about 40 miles, when they got the boats in amongst 678 .LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. a number of bays, apparently clear from the swell. Here they remained during the whole of the night, and the next morning a breeze sprung up from the eastward, with thick, hazy weather The boats were got out from amongst the bays, and proceeded in search of a better place, when they fortunately arrived a river, which was deep enough for the boats to float in. Tha tents were pitched, and the wind being foul, with thick wea- ther, they took the opportunity of overhauling their boats, am making those repairs, which were necessary. They remainei here for about five days, congratulating themselves on the saf( harbour, in which they now M^ere, for had they not got iIk boats into the river, thore is very little doubt but they wouli have been smashed to pieces, as the sea threw up the ice-bertrsa large as a good-sized house, and with a violence, which scarceh a ship would have been able to withstand, much less the tini fragile boats, in which Uiey wore now embarked, .f . On Sunday the 26th, the weather becoming more moderate and the swell having subsided, it was determined to proceed i the voyage, but, it being then low water, considerable diffidi] was experienced in launching the boats, on account of the hum mocks of ice, which were left by the tide on the beach, Bi^ dint of rowing and sailing, they succeeded in getting about 'li miles on the other side of Navy Board Inlet, and they woulj have been able to proceed further, had not Capt. Ross' bo proved so leaky, that they were obliged to put on shore, fori purpose of pitching the boat, and stopping the leaks. The sk presented a greater appearance of fertility, than was observalilj about Fury Beach, and the frequent tracks oT rein-deer, hare^ and other animals, led them to belieye that an ample supply ( provisions could be found, should they be obliged to remaij there for any considerable length of time. At midnight, it beinj low water, the boat was overhauled, but the leak could not I found. At day -break, all hands turned out to boil some coca when the cook was sent with the telescope to take a Burvey oft ice, when he saw something like a ship, but oonfd not properl make her out; he immediately called Commander Ross, wlij was more accustomed to the glass, and he distinctly ulle irs l*8T VOVAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. OjqI «„ .0 be a Ship All hands were immediately turned out • the ,.U were aunched, during which Capt. Ross was busy in leltin. faquanfty of damp powder, firing off a rocket, and making «,y poss^le s,gna within his power, but the ship was to! „ off to take any not.ce of the«,. The whole of the provisions. .,1 otl,cr articles, were got into the boats, and, with three km the crew hauled «way towards the ship. It was at five Viock m the morning, when the boats left the beach, and every -ce seemed to be animated with fresh strength, as they uiy away, for now ,t was in reality life or death with them .hould this opportunity escape them, they might be obliged' ,e.race the,r steps and pass another miserable winter" at .ryBoac . It was between twelve and one, when, to their «pross,blejoy, they saw a boat making towards them, and in k or. ume n came alongside. Capt. Ross asked the pers;ns ' ' " rfT n"" """ "^' '" ^■'^'"' "''-=■' he answered, .. .. was the Isabel a of Hull, the very same ship, which Capt « commanded on his fir.t voyage of discovery. Capt. Ro,s r: lasTh^^" '/r '-' ''- '"'" "■ '"<> "-couM'haX _.k. at last he sa.d. Are you. indeed, Capt. Ross? He then "ed the Captain, that he was given up by every bodT re was scarcely a man, that could refrain from sheidin. a or now every feeling was absorbed in the exhilara.rng ghM a, thcr suffcngs were nearly at a close, and thefr ■i » to the,r native country scarcely a matter of doubt. The of the sinp, who was in the boat, hauled awav to the vessel he purpose of informing the captain, whiisi the boats of i!Z/ , .r' '""""^ ''"' ""^"'"^ ^"^l' "«'-' »^ 'heir ^4sbed mto the w„ter, and each striving which should be foremost m the cimce. On the boats arriving near the shin ->vgave them three hearty cheers, whicb^ere tu ned crews m the boats, and on arriving alongside, the vie of of new aces, wh.ch they had not seen for four years and a »..de an ,mp„ss,on upon every one of the now joyous crew « Victory, which it were impossible to descHbe. They TsiZ "".'"'""' ""' I'™"'-- -ery one hastening to •ssistance, and not even allowing them to remain in the JL. QgO LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. boats for the purpose of unloading them, but all the crew were taken below, when such fare was set before them, as they had never partaken of for the three preceding years; at the«ame time that orders were given by Capt. Humphreys, of the Isabella, that clean linen should be distributed to the whole of the crew, in fact, everv endeavor was made to render them every comfort, which their peculiar situation demanded. t,ijt During the progress of Capt. Ross' boats to the Isabella, the . saw another ship, which was the William Lee, Capt. Parker, an, when Capt. Humpiireys saw the boats, he took them for tin boats of the William Lee, or he would immediately have hov his ship to; and, indeed, the fact of the report of Capt. Hum phreys goes a great way to invalidate the statement of Capi Ross before the committee of the House of Commons, where' he states, that Capt. Humphreys took the course, which he di up Lancaster Sound, for the purpose of finding out the bones Capt. Ross and his crew, as he did not expect to find them dk Capt. Ross only believed that it was for the purpose ofjimiii out what had become of him, that Capt. Humphreys directedk course for Lancaster Sound. Now this statement is at dir variance wit!>^ all probability. It was not likely, that C Humphreys would find the bones of Capt. Ross floatmg towari him on an iceberg, followed in succession by a number of olbi littlo icebergs, bearin-- the bones of the remaining part of if crew. Whe"re then was Capt. Humphreys to look for tk They could only be found by penetrating into the interior ofti country, and this step was not likely to be taken by the coi mander of a whaling ship, who certainly had other fish to' than hunting at random over an immense tract of country, wl did not otfer him a single resource, on which he, or the pen accompanying him, could have subsisted for a day. Indeed, members of the committee were themselves so struck with ' improbability of the step reported to have been taken byC Humphreys, that one of them asked Capt. Ross— "Is itlikelj, ' crew of a whaler would do that? To which Capt. Ross answerr '•' That he did it by means of telling them, that they would ■^^ whales there." He, however, ventures upon the opinior «''jlBt«J' ^n** uJKs'yi •li"'"^ .j-.;j-.^ '-'-U ;.-. ..■-".Ka iil'^U-^- .,..ii -t-' -■•■ i m LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. RoSS. ggl ffie objVcl of Capt. Humphreys, in penetrating up Lancaster Sound, had no reference whatever to the bon^s of Capt. Ross for although Cobbett might have been convinced that the bones' which he was taking out of the grourd, were in reality those of Thomas Paine, yet, if Capt. Humphreys had taken an inland excursion, and been so fortunate as to fall in with a heap of bones, we know not by what distinctive marks he could have determined, that they were the genuine bones of Capt. Ross, and perhaps not being well versed in comparative anatomy,'it is not improbable that he might have brought home the bones of a bear, and they might have been decently interred in conse- crated ground, as the valuable remains of a bona fide genuine christian. •"•- '^ ^«»r^ !•■ . :•.?+•/•... In confirmation of the opinion, which we have just expressed transpired that the Isabella and the William Lee had been i.i company almost during the whole of the season, and been as high as Neal Harbour, which is four miles further than Port Bowen, where Capt. Parry wintered in the Hecla and Fury. It (ras also certain, that they had been attracted thither by the hales, of which they caught a considerable number, and not in joint excursion in search of the bones of Capt. Ross. The distance, which the boats travelled from Fury Beach to here the crew were picked up by the Isabella, was between 500 ind 600 miles. Thty had now, as the crew termed it, a ship nee more under their feet, and, thankfe to the Almighty, the ope of once more seeing their native country. It was on the 2d of September, that the Isabella,' oh account f the thickness of the weather, ran into the ice, and got beset 1 Isabella bank, during which time several ships were seen issing to the northward. They were here besei for 12 days, 'd it was owing to the greatest good fortune that they were not pped in two by a heavy pressure, setting the Isabella down on very large piece of ice, which was aground in 70 or 80 fathon s water ; the size of this piece of ice is represented to have been large as the Custom House of London. The pressure, how. er, ceased, and the ship cleared the berg, and she drifted with ' pack, and caught hold of another berg, which was nearer 29. 4 g (jg2 1 AST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. the clear water, for which reason a heavy swell came under the ice, which occasioned the ship to knock against the berg. The uind fortunately happened to shift, so that, with considerable trouble and danger, they got into clear water, but, before this could be accomplished, the darkness was so great, that the mam. mast could not be seen from the quarter-deck, on which account ihey were obliged to find their way through the large bergs..,, the best way they could. :.! In tlie morning they were happy to find themselves in clear water, and in a few days they arriv- 1 at the place where the Greeidand whalers generally fish, and fell in with about thirty vessels, the captains of which no sooner heard that Capt. Rm was on board the Isabella, than they all sent something as presents, for the benefit of himself and his crew, consisting of bottled porter, wine, hams, two casks of ale. several bushels of potatos. and several other things, which they no doubt con. sidered would be nourishing and strengthening, after being so long inured to their meagre fare. But in this respect, the crew institute a heavy and serious charge against Capt. Ross, by dc- clarincr that of all those good things, which were intended for their benefit, not so much as a single potato was given to any of the crew, not even to the sick, of whom they had still three on the list. Capt. Humphreys sent three bottles of wine, and that was the whole, which the crew received until their arrml at the Orkneys. • ■• ■-■■■■-- ^^^■^•- •v,.^ - .?Hr.rv >i;A.5^{ jaawi The Isabella remained in company with those ships, uni the latter end of September, when they took their departure from Malemauk Head, and in about eleven days arrived a. Stromness, where the crew had the enjoyment of a fresh mc.s, Capt. Ross having fallen in with a kind and benevolent coun tryraan, who made him a present of two pecks of turnips ! tw _ l)^ck8 of potatos 11 and two pounds of butter!!! to be distri buted amongst sixteen men ; and this was the fresh mess, llu Capt. Ross allowed his men. who had been four years ap five months from England-who, to use his own words, h stooa by him, under the most appalling prospects, with a coi stancy, which never was shaken, and to wUose, fideUly u tAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. ggjj obedience he owed so much: the question thence arises to quote his own words ag^ain, whether " he ought not to hive been ashamed of himself," in desertin- those very men, when he was placed in a situation, where he no longer stood in need of their services? ^ --- ■'■"• r.<;,. ^■■, ,_, .,.tn i.t-.',.p k) ,'.s : ; In relating the subsequent parts of this memorable voyao-e we have now only to refer to those circumstances, which immediately concern Capt. Ross, in regard to the treatment of his men and in which some charges will be brought forward, which, if not pubhclyand authentically refuted, will cling to him forever as a black spot upon his character. The opportunity is afforded him of rebutting the charges, which are brought against him • and considering the rank, which he holds in society, as a gen ' tieman, and an officer in the noblest service of iho world we look forward with great anxiety to his refutation, which' will of course cover those, who have so wantonly and maliciously i.«iligned his character, with the scorn and reprobation of every true lover of genuine merit. According to our informant, it was fortunate for the crew that some of them were still possessed of a little money, or other-' .ise they would not have had a fresh mess so soon as they lad: for during the whole of the fortnight previously to their rrival at Stromness, they had neither tea, nor cocoa, nor sugar rhe steward having a sovereign in his possession, divided it .etween Buck, Curtis, and Park, giving to each five shillings, nd reserving five shillings for himself; with this money ihoy |id in a stock of tea, sugar, and potatos, to carry them to full; but Capt. Ross gave them not a farthing, nor, to use leir own term, not so much as a fresh herring to help them on leir way homewards. . - . ^t .^ .j.^;., . We consider ourselves bound to notice an unpleasant circura- ! ance, which happened on board the Isabella, between Capt i umphreys and the officers of the Victory, which in the end «rly brought the parties into personal conflict, and Capt. Jimphreys threatened to turn every man belonging to the ctory, out of the ship, on account of some misdemeanour, "ch one or all of the officers of the Victory had committed. 684 ..n tAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R099rfiA;» It w^s the subject of general censure on board the ship, at ilie specimen of ing^ratilude, which the officers of the Victory evinced, after the treatment, which they had received. Tlio cau8^ of this disagreement did not exactly tranapire, but it was supposed to have originated in some old grudge, which had taken place, whilst they were coming down Lan- caster bound. Capt. Humphreys laid in a stock of fresh beef at Stromncss, but none either for his own crew or the crew of the Victory, hy which the men of the latter were reduced to their own resources, They departed from Stromness, and, on coming in sight of the Highlands of Scotland, the men experienced those pleasant fed- ings, which the approach towards home is certain to improsi upon the heart, and more especially in the present instance, when the hope had once deserted them of ever reaching again their native country, and when after the hardships, which they had endured, that country would be doubly dear to them. We must now advert to some circumstances relative to the latter part of the voyage, which will at once fix the value, which the British public ought to award to it, and for which nearly £10,000 of their money have been paid. In the letter,! which Capt. Ross writes from on board the Isabella, in Baffin^ Bay, to the Honorable George Elliott, secretary to the Ad-T miralty, after enumerating the principal features of his exp . dition, he concludes with the expression of his consolationl that the result of his voyage has been highly important science; those results being comprehended in the discoverjol the Gulph of Boothia; the continent and isthmus of Boothil Felix, a vast number of lakes, islands, and rivers ; the undeniabH establishment, that the north-east point of America extendslj the 74th degree of north latituue, and the crown and glorp them all, the placing the illustrious name of our most gracioj 'sovereign on the true position of the magnetic pole. ^8^« 8*^- ^^ The above discoveries are, therefore, according to Capt. h own showing, the principal and most important of his expeditii and we have never hesitated, whenever an opportunity preseotj i*tself of expatiating ou their great importance, and the conseW lAST VOVAOE OF CAPT. ,08,. ggy^^ ,l.iDi, which Capt. Ro» himself possesred, upon tho riK. .-, „ '' .he British people. I,, howeve , appear, that cl, t '^ .. I..er .0 Capu E,.oU, had mod..?; J^ld S.?:^ "'' .fl,„d>soove,,e«,.„d ,h.., but for hi, examination before he -mUtee of the House of Commons, the public would never lavo been made acqucuntecl tvWh «k» • "^-ver --.ediuon L Jn^ii:::^^:;:—:' «e, han those mentioned i„ the letter to Cap.f Elliott On tl„s subject „e m„,t first remark, that Je are not l.ni .. wu any surveys, which Cap,. Ross made of tl,e aZ ; ■ d .-eeUs of Lancaster Sound, on his outward passage, his sole "' 7 '": uV """ ""'"■"•^' - ♦"« b-eding .1 estf • « .bales, and the harbours, in which ships could rep r wor! - .ubjects of minor importance, and not deemed deserving f »..„.... After Capt. Ross bad been received ot bo d^the .bella we know that he went on si.ore for a da, i„ Pos^ti' y.wnch ., almost the north-easterly point of ZncZ" r '"' ^ ""« ■">; '••- '" « quarter to ta'ke a survet of 2 boursand creeks ofUnca.te. Sound ; nor would Capf Hum k» have endangered his insurance, and sacrificed the'nteres" he owners of h.s ship, by altering its destination, mcr purpose of enabling Capt. Ross to take a su vTi'tt Ming places of the whales. ^ "^ ""* he 159th question of the committee rung thus ._" Your .".have hitherto referred to the commercial advantlge I'ed from your first expedition !"_" Yes " "'"""'•ages Semtrr;.?:' ^"" ''""''"'' '"'"^ "--O '■-"the' hi! -"/have surveyed several of the harbours C A . f ''"' ■■*""' '" '"««'^- I have re.surveved .i'urinri"""' "'^""'^ -"-k. ^« ?«..«»/. that he time of the V.ctory entering Lancaster Sound, in 1829 pUder Ross, and we are not sensible of a single survey ■ j-i.. ''■'•^, «—•(•< 'i; ',■,;![''(, pjj'i/y I), 686 LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS that can be attributed to Capt. Ross, after hUrec^|>liou on board the Isabella. I The committee proceed to ask Capt. Ross—" What portion of those surveys were made, after you were in the Isabelkii — " I surveyed the coast, which we had previously not fully surveyed, the coast of the fishery/' 1 " Of the surveys advantageous to commerce, which you made] were the principal pari made before youjoined the Isabella.oi subsequently ?"— " Some before, and some after I joined il,| Isabella." ' Which do you consider of most consequence ?"— " Tb after J joined the Isabella.'' " Did you explore any of those harbours, which you liavj stated, ships might go into to repair in the event of accidents i ships, after youjoined the Isabella f — " Yes. " And any of those creeks, where the whales breed, after y joined the Isabella ?"— " Yes." Here, then, we have the positive admission, extracted frc mouth of Capt. Ross himself, that the most important discoverij of his expedition were made at a time, when his expedition raj be said to have closed, and that it is chiefly on those discover! that he calls upon the country to reward him with £oO00;l the same time that he tells the committee, that he witliJ those discoveries from the public, because such disclosure woj prove injurious to his publication. It is, however, to be remarlij that, in his letter to Capt. Elliott, he makes not the sligbj mention of these discoveries, which he affirms to be the important of his expedition, and which, had they in reality I effected, it were natural to suppose, that he would not have! such an opportunity escape him, of informing the British puj and the scientific world in general, of the important advantaj which had resulted from his four years' residence in the A| '■ seas. As, however, according to the admission of Capt J the discoveries, which he made subsequently to his \om4 Isabella, are, in his opinion, the most important of his voyagf have only to enter jn$9:*n examinati^p^pf^^e^jp^TtlQular ll nd Hia 111 I,A8T VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROsV. 687 ,n which the Importance of his Ia«t discoveries depend, to arrive ai«ome knowledge of the degree of importance, which ought to tealtached to those Avhich were made anterior to his reception onboard the Isabella. From the concurrent testimony of the crew, however there was not a single discovery made after „,n,ng the Isabella, which is worthy of being characterised as f the least importance; if, therefore, that statement be correct, I the degree of importance of the early discoveries, whilst on rd the Victory, ,s to be regulated by the standard of the ,portance, which is affixed to the discoveries on board the .bella, we arrive at once at the value, which we ought to attach those discoveries, of which Capt. Ross speaks in such lauda- .ry terms, m his letter to Capt. Elliott. If, then, the ultimate ^coveries on board the Isabella, turn out to be of no real value importance, and yet are considered by Capt. Ross himself beef greater consequence than any which had been previously ide. we consider ourselves fully warranted in denouncing the ble of the discoveries as comparatively of no value at alf and »>t the committee of the House of Commons, in the recom ■ndat.on of the grant of £5000 to Capt. Ross, could not have ^n actuated by any sense of the services, which had been ren ed by Capt. Ross, but as the easiest and most expeditious hod of assisting him out of the embarrassments, which his iuccessful expedition had brought upon him. \fter a passage of two days and a half from Stromness, the be la arrived and cast anchor in the Humber, and the crew of Victory, on hearing that it was the intention of Capt Ross Toceed to Hull on the following morning, by one of the m boats, and being themselves wholly destitute of money to ^ay their expenses to London, they determined to make an Iicatton to Capt. Ross, for some pecuniary assistance, and *rdu,gly they sent Mr. Light into the cabin, to inform him his crew were desirous to speak to him. Capt. Ross edialely came on deck, and in a gruff, surly tone, he ex- ned^" Well, and what do you want ?" They then informed that they heard it was his intention to leave them in the ii«ff, and requested the advance of a little money to enable mil Iio now II 8sion g88 LAftT VOYAGE OF CAPT. R088. them to roach London. It m\^U bo ' ^bm, ^tl.kl ^ coniiderate request would have been complied with v^.tho, a murmur, but. at first, he evaded it, by telling them tkl 1, had no money. This statement, however, the crew kn well not to he founded on truth, for it was known by all them, that he had a considerable sum in gold in his possessi The men, however, continuing to press their request, and de. daring their total inability to reach London without a sli^rl,; advance of money, Capt. Ross at last consented to allow iIicip d' • -111 1 .I «'.' " " ■' ' ■ ■ j._ 8 a man. It was about eight o'clock in the morning, that the Gazelle steam boat came past the Isabella, when Capt. Ross, his nopl„« Mr. Thom, and Mr. Mc'Diarmid, went on board, and proceeds towards Hull. The crew, however, did not go up until t^ following morning, which was a great disappointment to them for just as they got within sight of the town, the London stear boat shoved off from her moorings, whilst they could see tli whole of the water-side lined with people in expectation seeing them land. The steam boat, however, came alongMili and the master said, that he wanted fourteen of the crew Capt. Ross (one of them, Blankey, having been left on board North Pole, a Greenland ship, to assist in navigating her in and George Taylor remaining on board the Isabella, it b his determination to proceed to Liverpool). On leaving Isabella, th« respective crews gave each other three hearty clu and happy were the men of the Victory, when they found tli selves emancipated from the control of their commander, audi prospect of reaching their friends and home in 48 hours. C" Ross delivered to the steward of the steam boat two pound: each man, allowing them their passage free, b^t^)J<^^\^t^vfi^| visions they partook of, was at their own expense. ^ It was on Sunday night, that they arrived at Deptford, ha^ been exactly foiir years and five months absent from Etigli Thev were ordered by Capt. Ross. to attend at the Adwifj on tii^ foriowmgl^uesaay, but they could not receive any tif" of their pay. It was not until the latter end of October, tbi crew were informed that the Lords of the Admiralty had advuoj llOiM beii I't'fl LAST VOVAOE OF C*PT. »08«. gg, ,«,m Of money to Capt Ross, for the payment of their wa.o, .„d . ey were aceord.ng.y ordered to attend at the office ^Mr Co|.el„nd. Navy Agent. Surrey Street, Strand. W, bJli! „ A ernethy was the first man, who was paid, and. on his c„ : 0.. of the pay-room, he declared that he was paid f ,50 si. r," . c ngmeer was next paid, and he said that he was above £2^0 short; m fact, there was not a single „„„ „f .he crew, who^,! not p.,d n,,n.,s £50 of the sum actually due to him. Tl.isl considered by Thorn as a great hardship, when it ou.ht to nve .een taken .nto the account, that they 'had been nea ly t| le vearsn short allowance, for which no remuneration was to bo g.e„ to . em. Independently of this subtraction from their just em»„,l, here was scarcely a man, into whose hands a b I 1 .lo,,s and tobacco was no, pnt. i„ some instances, amounU mj from £15 to £20. at the same time, that thcv had IT behlndthem all their clothes and bedding The /Ad T richmnnal Hi.ll.. . . . . ^""'"S- • "0 £2 advanced to 'achman at Hull were also deducted. The whole amount which Up.. Ross deducted from the sum advanced to him by he Lo d of the Admiralty, for the najment of his men was f-ZV ..k —e^th. that sum hadno right to findiZfyThrot^ .octets, for Capt. Ross was not empowered by those, who ad ..need the money, to stop from the men any demand Jhich he" Jl. have upon them, for slops. &c.. and which. „;der their « »har circumstances, should not have been made at all «, perhaps, not a difficult task, to point out the quarts from >e crew of the Victory had had their wages paid to the full luation, by which a competency was insureH hJm r .1 binder of his life. The Lw. h'owevor Zt "g 1 I *felse representations, which were continually inserted Lh' perse^ry statement of which led the publicVirv m' e™l a7d r M ""• '""' *"^'""' '° ■"•' "•«" '" the mo! itelr f r"'"''''' ■"*"""• "'*' "-ey determined to lay a 4 T 590 tAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. of the Morning Herald, has been transmitted .to us, and its con. tents are an echo of the universal opinion of the crew, at the same time, that they do not place the character of Capt. Ross in the fairest light. The insertion of the letter was refused by the Editor of the Morning Herald, hut on vvliat grounds, the writer of ihe letter was never informed. > [ To the Editor of the Morning Herald.] " Knowing that the columns of your valuable Journal are always open to the cause of the aggrieved, I beg to trouble you with these lines, on behalf of myself and the rest of the crew, who sailed with Capt. Ross, on his late expedition. The agreement between ourselves and the captain, was precisely the same as on former expeditions, namely, an able-bodied seaman was to receive £3. 4s. per month ; a petty officer, £3 15s.; and as there were two mates and two carpenters, they were to have £8. per month. The agreement with the crews of the H4jcla and Fury was also the same ; and in case there should be any short allowance of provisions, the same wai afterwards to be made up to them. ^ ' -'^ -• ' " The real truth, however, is, that after having been out M months, we received the sums of £110. 15s.^£l60. and« instead of £18*^. 88.-^£il3. ISs. and £456. and we were kepi the whole of the tirst three years on short allowance of provi- sions • those in the cabin having as much as they could la|l their sides to; two-thirds of the time we had no grog, whili it was on the cabin table every night, and yet Capt. Ross lia^ represented himself as having undergone the same private as his crew. As another specimen of the captain s humanilj and justice, he toid us at the time we received the money ^ to us by Government, that whether we considered it our payi 'not we might take it, or leave, and think ourselves d^d ff. c^^Uaking us at the same time $ign a receipt, certifying to Admiralty, that m wer^ satisfied. "^^ >^ '^->'^ ^'^^ ^'^ , " I have troubled you, Sir. with the above statement «t might oe much lengthened, submitting to the public, tl.ro. LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 694 your Journal, whether or not, as Government are about re- warding Capt Ross for his services, some compensation ought not to be made to myself and brother sailors, for the loss we have sustamed in the breach of the engagement made with us after havmg undergone the perilous hardships, to which we were exposed, and during which we were so unfairly treated. " I em, Sir, I ! 'V, . .,v ; ' ^t^ur humble servant, Barney Lackey, ^^;^^^^''^'^'';^^-^^- ''^^- ' -■;:■ •.^.•^ :.. His4.mark." Previously to entering into any disquisition of the c^Ailct'of Cuft. Ross tovrards his n,en, as contrasted with the character which he gives of them in his Letter to Mr. Barrow, it may be' necessary to mention a few circumstances, in which the crew lonsidered themselves treated by Capt. Ross with the most narked display of inhumanity and injustice. , jw. ... .. , Shortly after the arrival of the crew, subscriptions were set .n foot m several places, purporting to be for the benefit of Wap/. Ross and his crew. Now, whether the feelings of Capt OSS were of so sensitive and delicate a nature, as to be wounded Uh the Idea of receiving a sum of money raised by subscrip- OD, or whether he considered that having received nearly 10,000 from the public purse, the crimes of avarice and «tortion might be imputed to him, were he to receive any do- ations from private individuals, are questions, which we wilt 3tnow stop to discuss: but the fact is established, that he no •oner heard of the subscription, that was set on foot in Ply- outh. for the benefit of himself and crew, than, in a fit of noblo sinterestedness, he took the most efficient method of putting Hop to its further progress, although it was the opinion of e crew, that if his own sense of delicacy prompted him to ■t m end to the subscription, he might have confined the ^Ppagfi as far as himself was concerned, leaving it to pro- Bd for the benefit of his crew, who might thereby have ieived a compensation for the loss, which th«y had- sustained the defalcatipn of th^ir wages. ^Q2 tAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. ^•-^"At'tho liine that Capt Ross put an end to the subscription t'^e amount in hand was £160, which was paid over to Capt Ross, and an opportunity now presented itself of sl.owinjr hi, gratitude to a set of men, whose constancy was never shaken under the most appalling prospects, and to whose fidelity and obedience he owed so muck and on account of which he ex- pressed himself very properly, when he declared, that he should he ashamed of himself, if he could for a moment entertain a ihovght of any subterfuge, whereby he might evade the paynmt of their well earned wages. It was, however, a very natural conjecture on the part of the crew, that the £150 would be divided amongst them; for, in their opinion, as it was raised expressly for them, it would be a dereliction of every principle of intccrrity and fair dealii^g, to appropriate it to any purpose, than what it was originally intended for. Great, however, was their surprise, when they heard that £50 was to be given t« Eu.k, the man, who had lost his sight by the frequency oi his fits, brought on by eating the food boiled in the coppei vessels; and the remaining £100 was to be given to H. Thomas the father of Chimham Thomas, who died at Fury Beach, and who was a superannuated mechanic of one of his majestyi dock yards. In regard, however, to the £50 to Buck, it «a subsequently ascertained by a letter received from him, an^ directed to Mr. Light, the steward, that the whole sum, whrcl he received from the subscription, was £4. 4s. lOd. and tins ai Buck expresses himself, " is all, that I have got for my »a misfortune, and I must apply to my parish if I want any redref as I am now wholly dependent on my poor mother, who m her livelihood at the wash tub. In regard to the remaining £100, the crew very proper desired to know what right the father of Chimham Thomas b to the money ; and on what grounds Capt. Ross had presuin to appropriate it to a different purpose, than the individual who had subscribed the money, intended that it should ^ The men declared, that if the £100 had been given to Geo Taylor, who had been rendered a cripple for life, there » not one, who would have raised a dissentient voice to' LAST VOYAGE OP CAPT. ROSS 693 ; but to bestow it upon a total stranger, who possessed the slightest claim to a farthing of it, raised in the breast every one of the crew, a spirit of indignation, which broke ih on every occasion, to the great detriment of the cha- racter of Capt. Ross, and ultimately led to the exposure of circumstance*, which would otherwise have sunk into must, however, be stated in addition, that no Teal strtement ever given by Capt. Ross, of the manner, in which the ) were appropriated ; and that, according to the opinion of I crew, a very small portion of the money found its way into . pockets of the parties, who were supposed to have received iwholeofit. ,.,,,, •....,. . ::^, ^^ .^. ,^^,.,, ^., .,.^._.. . was, however, not only the deductions from their wages the men had to complain of, but it was also the infraction iihe promises, which Capt. Ross made to them, previously to ■e abandonment of the Victory, when he called them "into I cabin, and harangued them on the severe and arduous trials »h.ch awaited them, and that they were henceforth to consider .at It was either life or death with them ; to encourage them however, in the accomplishment of the task, which was before ihem, Capt. Ross promised, that should they be so fortunate as ■■ ^-apt. Ross, was Anthony Buck wh„ M h>s sight from the unwholesomeness of the foTd w^ K Cpt. Ross persisted in ad«ini*lerinff to his cr«„ • ^ .he daily proofs, which were presented to hiZf' 1?"" .ffeots, which it had upon the' health of his c w IIT"' however, something unaccountably unkind in th„ K k C.P.. Ro.to.his.a„. A promisee I'ld t ' i^t::;,,: .rnvatn London, ho should be sent to a celebrTt „ „" r >.lh the hope of some means being adopted bv whi.h K .ightoould be restored. Two montL was Buck'kept n f ' 7" ^.nding the hard earnings of four .ears severt serv e t dailv fecUfon of the letter from Cap.. Ross in the fulfiCnt oS |"...e. but the proffered aid was never received, win a ,a ok »a, recommended to consul, the eccentric Aber^ethy b' ■on. he was very abruptly dismissed with the verrconsol'int *™at.o„,that as he had become blind, he waflTkTvT -.a so for the remainder of his life. Th; o^JZlt:. '".which reflects the greatest discredit upon Cant R^. 1 but be conpiHor.^1 "'"'">• J>"OW this answer coud =1' "ooLTh^ Z fiu '".^^f"""'"" of ">« --. for it was «l, which f '»„, D y ^ * poisonous nature of the sent to Buck, declining ,o „ff„rd any assistance to the ^95 LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. R088. poor man, for the reason, that he brought his blindness upon himself. Capt. Ross was not ignorant, that the cause of the fits, with which Buck was afflicted, as well as several others of the crew, was. by Mr. Mc'Diarmid attributed solely to the fish being cooked in copper vessels, without the customary precau. tion of having them previously tinned ; and, therefore, that the complaints of the men were not groundless; nor the effects of a captious or a discontented disposition. • -' - I John Wood, David Wood, and Robert Shreeve were all ^)ro mised by Capt. Ross, to be provided with a situation under go vernment, but in these cases as in all the rest, the promise was not fulfilled. '; ' ^^ ■-■-■ Richard Wall applied to be received into the police at Wool wich, and obtained the situation. Barney Lachey made an application for the preventive ser vice, Biul succeeded. .John Pack and Joseph Curtis applied for gunners' warrant and are now on board H. M. ship Excellent, under instruction. From the foregoing statement, it is evident that the com mittee of the House of Commons were in an error when thej reported, that " the men had received double full pay untiltlie^ finally abandoned their ship, and full pay after that until ihei arrival in England ; and that they have besides been emplofm in eligible situations in the dock yards, or placed in other s,ik will lead to promotion,'^ In regard to the reward bestowed upon the officers, a refci ence to the report of the committee of the House of Coramon contained in the Appendix, will show its extent ; and to Co« mander now Capt. Ross, there is no reward too great, whw the country can bestow upon him, for whatever discoveries geography or nautical science were made during the voyag jto him and to him only is the merit due. j^.,, „;. To Felix Booth, esq. the munificent patron of the expeditij the King has been pleased to grant the dignity of a barone and his name will for ever stand enrolled as one of the n noble and disinterested supporters of the glory of his counti and the advancement of nautical science. J-^»ii-^ - .^. . O.:^.'-^ ">^^.^<^':>l "^''V'^i * A DICTION ARY i« u itU ESQUIMAUX OF THE And, or aUo Angry .... Arrived, or ci-me . Arrow .... AllDt Aurora boreal is Awaken, he does . A«ay, or atar off Aott), he is . . Ale Loo, Erk-sis^u-yak«poke. . Tik kit-poke.1 , Kukle.okp, , f . Atta. , Arksflik. . . Toof.akpoke. Ow-a-nii . Ow-anut-poke. Oo-hi mow. B. "tejcliof a man . . Kec a-tiiUa, Back of a VVlialel Arru-aug a or Seal . . .J Kool-lnng-a. . kll it Is . . ,/ Mama ite-pok. ' * * * l Mama' in-mut. I«g, or Pockst . . Ikperuk. Klor a woman's 1 Tp-glue-ga. ' lark, he does . . Killo-mo-ak-poke. gear / Nannoke. 1 * • • • *"{ Ninnooke. leads Hu-now-yak. krd Oo-mitku [eat, he does . . . Tig-lik-pnkna, {end. It does . . Ning-oiK.iy^j f\rt i =•>> LANGUAGE. EngtUh. Esquimaux, Air or weather, also Xc^iin Sky or Heaven . /=>«"»• i.» -'.-^ In the open air . . Seilamie, Afraid, he is . . Erksee, Erkseewoke, Alive, be is . . . Innouow-oke. Aloneor by one's self Keesu-mn. Englxth. f3 if -iff Bsquimaiuf,^i^ Bow, for shooting . I*lt-see-ku. ' "' Bow,heshooUwitha Pi.ttuk-suk. ^j Bring Persuuiarsiglt, . Bow-case .... Pitteek-seek-tak, • Bowl of Wood . . I'oo-oo-tuk. Box lllee-we-ak. Braces for children Hwee-te-u-ta, Bracelet Seap-pang-a. Brains . , . . . Karretak. Break .... / Now-ik-poke „ . •! Keek-to-ak poKe. ^••ead She-ga-tak. Bread dust . . . Ka-nib-root. Breast of a Woman Oo-ee ag-nig Breast-bone . . .Toonek-ua." Breeches .... Kakleek. Breeches, he puts on Kakleek- poke. Brent, Goose, orl »• i i Barnacle. . ./ ^U^ gl»k. B'istles Oomia. Brother it is { Brown, By and bye . , . Buoy, made of an \ inflated Seal skin J Button Butterfly, a . . , Kattangootu aniga» Anninga. Kee-yoke-toke. Oo-wut-yar.roo, How-wut-tak. Iche-ru-yuk. Takkee-likkee-ta. C. Calm, it is . . . Canoe Canoe, he paddles a Cap or Hood . . . Charra,a8kinstrap\ worn as a . . / Canister . . , . Cheek . . . iriu-ung-nak-poke. Kei-yak. Kei-yak-to-poke. Nei-seak. Oo-ya-mu-ga,- ,-■* . { H Chew, he does Clay, slate . . . Clench, his tist . . . Cloud ..... Coal Cold Comb . , , , . Come here . . . Come, (commanding) Corat-, hedoes. . . Come down . . , Come, or go oil . . Come, shall 1 . Cut it does, like an Arrow ^^-JT')^ Conjuror. Copper . . . Couch, he does Kuttuk. Oolniak. Oo-loo-a-ga. Ang-oo-la-woke. Ow. wee- wink. Eer-kiit-poke. Noo-woo.e.a. Agga-e. Ik-kee Ilia.u-lik. • • Ku-lee Kar^ree. Keiliarid. Kei-wa, , . t Kanoong-a. Ittuk. Itiuk-eang-a Kut-tuk.poke. Ang.et-kook. Aunat-koa. Annat-ko. Ka-noo-yak. Ka-aktn-nokp. >ti ifr ;:. 698 A DICTIONARY OF Cry, he does . . Keia.woke. CuporBowl,made| Ku yu-tuk. of musk ox horn J ' r Sowe-ak-poke. Cut, (f does . .< Sowe-roke-poke. \^ Pilluik«toke'poke. i "■ 1 ' 1-3®, ,•;••.» u< Dance, he docs Hark . . . Dark, it 'm . . Dart, for birds Daughter . . Dt'iid, he is . Dirt Mi'tnek poke. '»• Tak. r Tak-poke. Noo-oo-ee. Punnuga Pannu. Tokoo-woke. -- Ippiik. Dirty, he is . . ( 'PPV"^ P"'^^' ' (. Oo-m-ya. Deer Tooklo. ,v. ,„ |.„ . „ f Atkanioke. -^ Dive, he does. < ... , „. „ ' • (. At-kak-poke. Deer's horn . . . Nugsuuk. Dive.it does like a \ Ag-^ook-pcke. SPttl ■ • • • J Dog Mikkea. Dream, he does . . SeniU, toomriwoke. T-ress victuals . . Kno-lip Suik-p 'kc. Dress with clothesj An-^'-f -P«^«' I. Kap-put-poUe. Drill, bone for (he 1 King-ke-ak. mouth . . . , j ° Drill, a bone . . . ]k-koo-tak. Drill, bow of . . Kei-woot. Drill, he does. , . ilckoo-tok-poke. Drink, he does . . Immuk-poke. Drinking cup . . . Im-mooschuik. Drop, it does . . ippu-woke. Drum Keilia-ow-tik. Drunk, he is. . . Tokoo-yak-poke. Dry, it is . . . . Pan-nik-poke. Duck King, name) ...^ .. , of a Bird . . / Mit-tiek. Duck Eider, name) . ,• l of a Bird ... J Am-mo«-liguoke. Duck, Long Tail, I ^^ ^. name of a Bird Dust . . . . , iggU'arioo. . Oke-cke. E. Ear • • • •{ East ...,,. East, to the. . . . Eat Eg^ { Eight I Esquimaux . . • Esquimaux, wheal strangers. • .J Elbow Ermine .... European(substan- 1 live) . . , ./ European, (adjec t i ve) Eye Eye, he has an in- I lUu-u-poke. flamed. . . .J Eye-lash . Eye-brow . . Ku-ma-rei-y,.k, Ka-bioot-ku. 'k)4'>''" P. «i;.»i '\ Face { Fall, it doei Fall, the tide does Far off . . • Far off, he is Pat, he is « Fat Father Father or mother in law Fawn . . Feather . Fomalei fanyaDima'l Fern • Fill . I'ingcr Fire . Fish . tjother 1 . • • j { Ke-nar-ra. Ke-niak. E-u-ka-poke. E-u-kak-poke. Ting-ing-oo-oke. Ow-a-nee. Ow-a-nut-poke. Oo-in-nik-loo-woke. Oksumik. Attata. Sakkee. Noke-wa. Shoolok liiral •{ { I!ee-u-tee-ga. He-u-ting-a. Nee-yuk. Nie-yuk-mu. Tamoo-a-woke. Mannig,(plural Man. nian.) Ping-a-hu-at. Kit-tuk-lu-moot. Immut-plue. Sead-ler-mi-oo. Ikko-suga. Ter-ru-ya. Kebloona. Kabloo-nak-ta. Ei-ee-ga. Fish-hook . Five Flesh Flipper (fore) . . Flipper (hind) . . Foetus of a Seal, &e. Foggy, it is . . . Food ..•>.• Foot of a mau or \ animal . . .J Foot-print . . . . Forehead .... Fork, a . . . . Four Fresh Fox Frost bite . . . . Frost bitten . . ., Frozen .... Full, he is . • . Sho ildou.) Arngna. Oo-u-bei». Arree y>na. ( Ne-a koke. \ Ne-a-ko-a. . To-chia-wat. . Omut. - - . Oko ma-it-poke, II vl Kim muga. ' Manu. Mei-ya. Mowng a, Oo a. Hi:h, tall or large, f ^ne-e-woke h'orit is . . .\ "*"? e-woRe. Hi^h, the land is . Noon-ang-i-woke. i,'ii, as tlie Sun . Powna. ""'e Poo.ioo a. l'ol> in a canoe . Pa-kiut. Hod of a jacket") Nei-seak. orcip. . . ./ Nei-ke-a-ga. Ic puts on his hood Nei-seak- poke. J e puts off his hood Nei se ek-poke. Jop, he does . . . Nannu-yak-poke. H>rnsof aRein-deer Nag gi-o. Hot or warm . , . Okko. "iHi-jraake. . . Igloog-a-tusa. »>»•--.. Kanno. jw many . , •/ Kapsu. ^ 'x.v • _t Kapsunu. ow do you do,Y Kanowing-pissu. answer uncertain J Kanno-sing-ilia-goa ummockofice. . Ma-nu-lia. Nei-lik-poke. Ka-lik-poke. Oo-u-gu. Oo i»g-u. Oo-uma, Ig-loo. Ig-loo-mik-poke. Hry, he is . lusband. >.?a iafa I'orhouse .' i ^^) he is at (he •»i -.fcV n Kuans . . Sikkoo. .n,;, . Piud«loo Too-poo-ta. ' ' ' in seals, &c. .) Name. . . , . . Atka-dual-at-tik. Name, what is yours Ku-wit. Name, what is his. Ku-wow-na. NarwiiaK .... Keina-loo-a. Neck or throat . . Toke-loo-ga. . Needle ..... Mitkoke. Needle case . . . Atterak., J Poon«;-ak-|)okp Ang-ik-pok Han-n(ini;-nak. Kan-nun>c-na-imi. No^e f K( .1 Ki Nephew or Niece . Oj;u-0(rn. , Nest of birds . . . Oo-blo-i-it. . .^ „, Not over the lamp . Innetat. f,,, Night. . , « , • Oo-noo-a. „i, ,, , Nine .... i Sit tu- mat. *'**•(. Mikkot-lik.ka.innit. No / Nakka. . „ i \ Na-a. Negative with verbs Ilia. '■ '' '■ No more. . . A Ji".^-*'"- 'i I lei-wak. Nod, he does . North . . . North, to the North, the wind "J «■„„ „., J^ , blows from . . | Kan-V""S-"^l' H'^ North-east .... Akkood-loonawotli, Kcei-nak. , ^ ing-ara. Nostril .... Panca. -• i Now Manga-mang;-ang. O. Oil, blubber . . . O-ku-a-or. Old, he is . . . It-toot-koo-ak-poke. One At-tow-suik. Open the door he\ Mak-pik-poke. does .... J Ornamental band ^ for the Esqui- V Mat-kud-yii-tik. maux men . .J Ornamental brass ^^ or copper, worn \ Row-woot. on the forehead ^ by the women .J Overset King-noo-w. kc. Owl Ook-pic-quak. ■p. '....■ T, ,...: Paddle Pa-oo-tik. Paddle or oanse he | ^^. y.^-to-poke. does . . « • J Pimple Kang«ring-inr,ng-a. Pin, a Too-poo-iow-jak. Plant, a . . • . Noona, Plant, I do , . . . Felleray-ootiga. Plover, golden . . Toodlii-arioo. Pluck off, he does . Erre-tak-poke. Plug, cork or stopper Khpuiig. Plug or stop he does Khemig-pa. Pocket or bag , . Ikporiuk. Poppy Osukc. Pot for cooking , . Oot-koo-sec k. Pot. stone .... Oot-koo-seek-seak. „ 1, , , . f Na-tuck-poke. Pull, he docs . -J Noo.k„.pV,ke. **"die3"*''^ ''*''" *'^} Nu-yak-to-poke. Push, he does .."I ?^'-P''\P"'lt ' (^ A-yaw-uk-poke, Pyrit«s, iron . . . Inneuk. Q. Quartz, or any stone like it > Too-noo-yai.. THE ESQUIMAUX LANOTTAOE. 701 R. ■ r Rain, it docs llavcn . . • Hinv, iis meat Kib, it is . . Kih, small . . Rib, large . Ki^li', that is Rin^ for the fingei llmi', it does (as 1 Hu-a-nu III. tal) .... J poke. Rise, it does (as ihi'tiJe) . . liver or stream Inll, itdoes. . . t.iiigli, it is . . Iloiind, it is . . lb, he does . , iff, for the neck . •{ .} "} iiiii, he does Mak-kook-poke. Too-Ioo-nk. Mik-ke-iik. "' A-oo-pa-look-poke. Nu-lat-ko-a. Tobloinuk. Ti-mun-na. Ti-miin. Ikkut-komeo-tarro. k-pa-iook pok Ooling-oo-oke. Kno-ga-sule Akseii-ka-a-woke. Munniiliiit. Ang-malo-ik-poke. Al-L-vr-luk-pokc Nak-su-anga. Akpa-juke-pok. iinildoes, as water Koo-ook-poke. mfust Siika-woke. iin slowly . . . Su-keit-poke Akook-poke. t»ne , . , . . Ak-lu-nake ilmon ,t, or salt water lor sea . Ind Ind-piper Vss :} l«, a |w, he does . Iiifraga (plant) . , t^ars ' . . . . Iraper, for clean-") ing skins, hich, he does . H" . I, small I, middle sized , young of the ling, excursion 1 |e is gone on .J '•liole . , . . • . . • • s , she does . * | le for the eyes . '(', he doi s , III a snail '^ it does or boat 'i at or on bourd ■en { [liicr. [ol |iliC(]oor,hedoes S. Ik-a-loo. Tarriake. Seoakat. Siggii-uru-arioo. . Toolee-arioo. Kibloo Oo-loo-ak-poke, I Kakud-lantf-nuk. Kiblei-ow-tik. Seak-poks. Koo-inik-poke. Oguke. Neiteek. Kairolik. Ibluow. Neltiok-poke. Ma-ate-pok. Ag-loo. Madleroke Argwinrok-towa. Tikkeemoot. Mik-tiek-poke. Merk-siek-pokc. Ittii yaga. Oo-mi-uk-poke. Seii-(e rook. Kow-inal-luk-poke. Oomiiik. Oomiainu. lUetga ga. '■ Too-ei ga. Ne-ga-bl«-a. Poo-al-ru. Famu-oo-ln. Sikku-woke. Siok, heJij , . . . Annu.ak-poke. ,., Sigh, he does . . Annek-seak-pokt. - Sliver or tin. . . Imront ii*^! ,l.ii Sinew ..... E-wul-loo. ^'''.flii'? ^}i down .... In-git.poot. • W*- Sister-in-law Six . . . , Sing, he does Skin . . . ij I ■•{ Skin of walrus Skin of a guke . . Skin of a whale . . Skin vessels plactjd I Okco-arra. Argwenrak. '*"'' Itrmeik-poke. ' ''"' Amig, -.. > M Amia. Ka-ow. t» i!..;'i Kci-suk. ■'•'<' Mak tiik. ' ,v'\ Ar-ney.wo a. 'Hil (1 • under a lamp . ^ Skin vessels, small/ KtM-ning nik buckets . . .\ Kat-(ak. »•' bkin of deer, made) i, • -i '"• inio a blanket ./ '^«'P''<- Skiparope,hedoesl Kallu-wuk-lnk poke. I Arnow-yak-tokf. Sky . . i Keiliik. t Seila. S edgp, a . . . . Ka-moo-!ik. S edge, he draws a . Kamooksie-oriapoko ^leep Senik. Sleep, he does . . Senik-poke. Slide down it, he does Siitoo woko. Sling for stone '" Smoke, also fog Smoke, he does S'Tiooth . . . Snare for birds . Sneeze, you do Snore, he does lllur Issuk. Issuk-poke. Peu-oki-poke. Mannura. Nci-yak. . Ta-^eo-poolik. , . , Ka inoo e-woke. Snow Appoo. Snow, it does . . Kan-neuk-poke. Snow, there is some Nattu-roo-ik-poke. Snow goose Snow bunting Son . . . or She bears a Sore, it is . •^o rcl Kong-o-lek. Kang-ook. . Kapenno-aua-u. . r Earning a. \ Eer-nu ra. ^ . Ecrnuwoke. f A-ang-mut. '\ A-a-poke. 'H( Soup South . . . South, (o the . South- wt'st . , Spade lor snow •^pta' Ka-yo. P ng-ung-nak. Ping inig na-iuu. Oo-o.;narit. Poo-alle-ray. Kiruk. -Spear for small seal Oonak. Spear for walrus 1 r- ,. ,., nnrl ,vl.„I„ > Kattultk. and whale Spear for deer Spear for salmon Spit, he does . Spittle . . . . Spoon . , • Spirit . . , . Spring . . . •i { Ippoo. Kakku-wei. Kei-se-iik-poke Nro-a-ga. Ilia oot. 'I <> Alloc. Toorngaw, . Toorng-a. . Open«ra. . j ■ ■J , !<.■ -■ KVI- 7(« A DICTIONARY OF Square, It i« . . . 8 (Utnt, he does . . Stab, he does t • • Star 8«hflih Stnid up . . • • Steal, he does . . • Stone . . . • ,. Stone for sharpin? . Straps used by wo- 1 men for carrying > tSeir children J Strike, he does . . String of a bow . . Suckat ttie breast,! he does . • • ) Suckle a child she } does . . • . j Sun, the . . . . Sun, its naine . . . Suh rises ... * Sun sets . . . • Summer .... Summer, in the . . Swallow, pipe of) an animal . ./ Swan Sweat, he does . . Swim, he docs. |- Surprised he is . . Klt-parrik-poke. Nak-koo--woke. Kappuwoke. . , Oo-bloo-riak, ••* Addu-yuggu-yu-«-ye Nekko-iglua. Tiglik-poke. ^^ ; , , Oo-yar-ra. Ar-ru-yak. Kokeo-mowtik. Toke-pa. No-ak-ta Amama-lak-poke, MiUu-kak-poke. Ama-mook-poke. , Nei-ya. ' '•* ♦ . Suk-ke-nilke Ne-ive-woke. , Nippe-woke. Ow-yak. Ow-j'a-'"ce. ' ..,i Iggu-nnj. . .,., . Ko-giike. Ow-miilia-poke. Imnaroke-poke. Nallokc-pnke. Naniiirak-poke. T. Tall, he is . . . • Talk, he docs . . | Tail of a quadruped lail of a whule or") seal, &c. j Take, also used for J a drop .... J Tattooing , . . . Tear, he does , , Tin ...... Tent Tent-pole . . . . That ... { There. . . .| Thief Thimble .... Thin, he is . . .| *• '- Those . . . • • Thread a needle . Throat Throw a spear, he 1 does . ... J Throw a stone . . Throwing a siick . Three. . . ■ . . Thumb. .... Thunder, it does . . Tin-pot .... To, and, or also . • To-day Toe, great .... Toe, second . . . Toe, ttilrd .... Toe, fourth . . . To morrow : . . • To-morrow,thedayl after . . . »J Too lUtle . . . . Tongue .... Tooth Touch, he does . . Tickle, he does . . Tree, a . . . . Triangular, it is . . Trim a lamp she does Turnstone, (a bird) . Two . :..;•{ Loo. Oo-bloo-mu, Put-oo-ga, Tikkj-u-rak. Kei-tuk-kiuruk. Mikkee-liurak. Akkagoo. [j.j Akkagoo-o«ng-».|ii, Akkagoo-oon^.a-li|. Ir-kit-ko-a* [a-n, Okkara. Ke-u-tut-ka. Ak-toke-po. Koo-u-nugguoak. Na-pak-to. Noo-lon-arrik-poki Tat-kuit-})oke. Tallig-wu-aru. Madlerake. Ardlik. Ang-e-woke. Okv.d-luU-poke. Okak-poke. Paiiu->ooi'ga, Seak-puk. Tu-go. . ^^._ .; Ka-ku-na. Allik-poke. Ee-kil-poke. Too-pik. Kan-ua. Oo-na. Tam-na. Ta-ma-nu. Ta-mir-ya. , Tiglig-toke. Tekkiek. Lead-poke. Sead-muk. , Mak-ko-a. Noo-wee-w ke. Toop-koo-ee-id-} uk I in, J,i;t'i.il Unicorn .... Unicorn's horn . Uncle .... Unolinch his flst Undress, you do . Undress, he does Unplug, he doei . Upside duwD, it is U. •i;,'' Ken-na-lii-ga, Nu-lu-wa-ga. Anga. 8aw-wut-poke, Maka-p'Hitik. Marta-pofitik. Mattak-pok'. Tcide-ok'-poke, . Noo-shook pa. Kood-yung-a-«i)li') V. Valley or low land Nak-seak. Very, or extremely Loo-ku-iiu. W. Akle-ak-poke. Me-lo-ee-ak-poke. Noke-shak. Ping-a-huke. Koo-bloo-ga. Kad-lukpoke. Iro-u-su-u-roke. Wait Walk, he does . , Walk, fast . . . Walk, slowly . . Walrus Walrus, he is gone 1 to kill a . . ./ Wart, a Warm Water Water in, or on the Waterfall . . . . We or our . • . Weed, spa (tangle) . Weed, another kind Well, he is . . • West ..... West, to the . • | Wind blows from . Wet, it is . . . . Whale Whale, bone of . ") or J WhuleblubberorOil Oo-it-tia. Pe-huke-poke. Otuk-tak-pnke. Pe-hn-ei-uk pf)lie,| Eiu-ek. Ei-u-ek poke. Oong-noo-a. Oke-ko. Immuk. Im-m k-mie. Kog-lii-nnk. Oo a-goot, Kitko-a. Mu-n"e. Nappawoke. Oo-ag-mik. Oo-ag-na-mii. Oo-ag-na-mool, , Oo-ag-nuk-pnial Koo-ee-uk-poki'i . Akko-wik. Hcoke-huk. Yuk-wak. Ok-u-a. What THl ESQUIMAUX LAMOUAOE. Su-na. Su mu. , Su-mir. • '"■ mere . ,-\ . . Nem-moot. Where of a distant ) v plaoa . • . ./ "e™-nioo.mu. Whet a knife hedoea Arreak-poke Whine or cry.hc does Kei-ya-woke. Whip a . • • • • Ippu-ra-a-tuk. Whip, he does . . Ippu-ra-e-oke-poke. Whistle, he does . Oo-ln-ya-to-p^ke White or any light) „ .f , \^^' coiour . . . . f Kow^look-poke. Who . .,„.!'. 'X Ko-na. .1 „ . ,J Pe-na. Whose IS that . . Ki>ni../^/,n. '* ' 4.. 7oa • Kena-oona. Ke-a. Noo-lu-a. w ant) r » yi»e< Hu- • • L froo-tik. hose is that . Whose . . . ^^'f* • • • • .1 M , i Noo-lu-ang-a. illow, (plant) '' flower made of for tiuder 1'"^ ^, A-noo-nee. ind blows fresh . Pik-seik-poke ind,lj«rd . . . Anno-kluk-poke. )i)'; yl).-.,1f. - ! I ' '-'• .1 I Wind-pipe VVindow . . Wink, he does Winter ... Wolf. . . . Wolverene . . Woman or female generally , Wood. . . Wood grows Wrist . . . Write or } draw I I'j.'i •{ . Tooh-Ion a. Jg-Kullnk. . Si'tlioo.nluk.poke. Okeoke. %^ . Amaroke. Kablee-arioo. Arng-na. Kei-yur. Kei-yu-kuk-poke. Al-yow-lu-ga Adu-yow-se-ga. Tittec-rak-poke. Y. ■ ;,| i' r Yawn he does . . Eiteow-yt.k-pi-poko. V • Ap. Yesterday .... Ik-poke-vuk Yesterday, the day"^ ^ ^ ' before, used also ^ Ik-poke-ku-a-nu for some lime ago J " ■ nu. You (singular) •/ ^K-weef. you (plural) . • \ iiiipsee. ^0"ng. he ,s . . Mak koke poke. ■^ Ik ^■i)'. ' .■■ ^ 'j ' . ! •- rtA ' • [T041 • ■■' V . >• , .'.ir^' • • 1 i i'-iW .1 •! .'■■ APPENDIX. • OFFICIAL AND OTHER PAPERS. THE SELECT COMMITTEE appointed to enquire into tk circumstances of the Expedition to the Arctic Seas, com- manded by Captain John Ross, of the Royal Navy, with a view to ascertain whether any and what Reward may bedui for the Services rendered on that occasion, and to report their Observations thereupon to The House; together with ik Minutes of Evidence taken before them :^Have enquired into the matters referred to them, and agreed to the follouini REPORT: Your Committee have not felt themselves either called upnn by their order of reference or competent to give an opinion m the precise merits or extent of the discoveries made during tk expedition commanded by Capt. John Ross, whether in a geo graphical or scientific point of view ; they have therefore con fined themselves to such a general investigation into the f.ictr as may suffice for a decision on the main question committed i their hands, whether any reward should be allotted from it) public purse, and to whom that reward is due. In the course of this inquiry they find that, in the year 181 Capt. Ross, stimulated by the desire of securing tothisouii' the honour of settling the long-agitated question of a No West Passage, proposed first to his majesty's government, acl 'on their declining to undertake it, to his friend, Mr. Fel Booth, to fit out an expedition for that purpose : that in t following year Mi. Booth, finding that the Act, by which al'j liamentary reward was held out for the discovery of a Noj West Passage, had been repealed, and that no suspicionj interested motives could any longer rest upon the undertakij APPENDIX. -^ " having no other object in view than the a.Ivancomcnt of the honour of his country, and the interests of science, and to gratify the feelings of a friend," immediately agreed to Cant Ross' proposition, on condition that his connexion with the en- lerprize should not be made known : that accordingly, with the exception of about two thousand pounds expended^by Capt Ross, Mr. Booth did actually bear all the charges of the expe- dition, to the amount of between seventeen and eighteen thou- sand pounds: that Capt. Ross, being left by JvTr. Booth at iberty to choose whom he pleased to accoiKpany him, received rratuitous offers of zealous service and assistance, in any ca- pacity, from those distinguished officers, Captains Back and Hoppner, offers equally creditable to Capt. Ross and to the spirit of those, who made them ; but finally selected his nephew Commander James Clark Ross, a young officer of distinguished scientific attainments, who had been employed in every previous expedition to the Arctic seas; and having engaged Mr Thorn as purser, who. as well as Commander Ross, agreed to go without pay, and Mr. Mc'Diarmid as surgeon, together with a crew of nineteen men, sailed from England in May 1829 • that in spite of the mutiny of the crew of a whaler, which had been engaged to accompany them with provisions, Capt. Ross per- «vered, in reliance on finding the supplies, which had been anded by the Fury, on Fury Beach, and then entered upon a ourse of sufferings, of dangers and discoveries, for a summary f which your committee would refer the House to the fol. 'ymg Letter addressed by him to the secretary of the Board of dmiralty. hy of a Letter from Captain Ross to Captain the Honourable George Elliot, C.B.; dated on board the Isabella of Hull Baftn g Bay, September 1833. « / :^ t ...,.U^.: Sir '^'5^ '. '^>oa,u ^" ^"'^ '^'' '^"^""" ^''"""' ^^^"'^ B«y> , ] ' . .. ,. .. September 1833. , _, Anow.ng how deeply my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty ^interested m the advancement of natural knowledge, and particu- V -n the improvement of geography, I have to acquaint you, for |30. . 4 X 7()6 APPENDIX the informatiou of their Lordships, that the expedition, the main object or which was to solve if possible the question of a North West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, particularly by Prince Regent's Inlet, and which sailed from England in May 1839, notwithstanding the loss of the fore mast, and other untoward circumstances, which obliged the vessel to refit in Greenland, reached the beach on which his Majesty's late ship Fury's stores were landed, on 13th August. We found the boats, provisions, &c. in excellent condition, but no vestige of the wreck. After completing in fuel and other necessaries, we sailed on the 14th, and on the following morning rounded Cape Gang, where our new discoveries commenced, and keeping the west- ern shore close on board, ran down the coast in a S.W. by S. course, in from ten to twenty fathoms, until we had passed the latitude 0^2- north, in longitude 94° west ; here we found a considerable inlet lead- ing to the westward, the examination of which occupied two days; at tins place we were first seriously obstructed by ice, which was now sure to extend, from the south cape of the inlet, in a solid mass, round by south and east to E.N.E. Owing to this circumstance, the shallow ness of the water, the rapidity of the tides, the tempestuous weather, the irregularity of the coast, and the numerous inlets and rocks, for which it is remarkable, our progress was no less dangerous than to- dious, yet we succeeded in penetrating below the latitude of 70" north in longitude 92" west, where the land, after having carried us as far east as 90% took a decided westerly direction, while land at the distance&f forty miles to southward, was seen trending east and west. At this extreme point our progress was arrested on 1st October by an impe- netrable barrier of ice. We, however, found an excellent wintering port, which we named Felix Harbour. Early in January 1830, we had the good fortune to establish a friendlj intercourse with a most interesting association of natives, whom bein"^ insulated by nature, and never before communicated with strangers from them we gradually obtained the important information thatvi had already seen the continent of America, that, about forty miles 4he south-west there were two great seas, one to the west, which v divided from that to the east by a narrow strait or neck of land. Tb verification of this intelligence either way, on which our future open tions so materially depended, devolved on Commander Ross, who « luuleered (his service early in April, accompanied by one of the mat? and guided by two of the natives, proceeded to the spot, mid M APPENDIX. ... .h.t the north land w« connected to the sonth, by two ridgca ofhish W, 15 n„le..„ breadth; but taki„. i„.o account a chain of S water lakes, which occupied the vallies between, the dry land, which «.«.lly separates the two oceans, is only five miles. This extraordi- ..ry isthmus was subsequently visited by „,yself, when Con.n,ander Eo» proceeded mmutely to survey the sea coast to the southward of !'T^T. "^ '° "" "'"""''• ^'■''='' •>« ^«c«eded in tracing I. the 9».h degree, or to J50 miles of Cape Turnayain. of Franklin, to " ! . T TJT' °"" "'•"""' '■'" '■"'» "'« ^'h <»«?■•«« of -orth Wu e, trended directly ; during the same journey he also surveyed !h^hl a, . l'""' """'■ "' """ '» "'^ '"'"'' »f 'he isthmus h,.b, by also taking a westerly direction, formed the termination of hewestern sea into a gulph. The rest of this season was employed mcing the sea coast south of the isthmus, leading to the eastward, -hidi was done so as to leave no doubt that it joined, as the natives 1^ prev,ously informed us. to Ackullee, and the land forming Repulse ..rd for 80 miles to the northward of our position, m,. summer, like that of 1818, was beautifully fine, but extremely faourab e for navigation, and our object being now to try a more ir.*ern latitude, we waited with anxiety for the disruption of the «.Wm vain, and our utmost endealours did not succeed in retracin»- Mteps more than four miles, and it was not until the middle of No° >»ber that we succeeded in cutting the vessel into a place of secu- «b.«h we named '. Sherir. Harbouf." I may here mention. 11 T ."" "^^'y^^oo'ered continent, to the southward, *othia, as also the isthmus, the peninsula to the north, and the pro sea, after my worthy friend Felix Booth, esquire, the truly '01.C citizen of London, who, in the most disinterested manner r° me to equip this expedition in a superior stvle. e last winter was in temperature nearly equal' to the moans of Bad been experienced on the four preceding voyages ; but the e« of 1830 and 1831 set in with a degree of violence hitherto be- ' record, the thermometer sank to "'>.. below the freezing point, ^ke average of the year was 10- below the preceding; but not. pding the severity of the summer, we travelled across the H'ylo the West Sea, by a chain of lakes, SO miles north of the «», when Commander Ross succeeded in surveying 60 miles more ' coast leading to the N W., and, by tracing the shore to the APPENDIX. 708 708 „„ passage b«'""'^„'J'l'; in getting the ve«el only U miles to Ihe This autumn we »"«« ^"^J' doubled the Eastern Cape, all hopes ot northward, and as we had not doubled .i^ility, by .„. .aving the ship was at an «"d. »"* P^^ '„, »„ u.i us to U. „,her very severe w,nter, and havnon'^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^. , June 1832, <'-P-''7;"2;t:^w:s na-d .- Vietory Harbo." her present port, which (after h«r) « „^ ,^,^ ,1,^ "-''Z r mTI^'T;: sJaXting the o'nly chance M ., savmgour l.ves,ow.n ^^ the land, making the ctcmt.f obliged to keep e.lher «P°" <" „f 300 miles by nearly one tall, every bay, thus inc..as,ngoud.aceo^ y^^^ ^^^^^_ ^^^ and it was not until the 1st ol July ma pletely -'->^'«"f ''"XulYt'^e boats, three of which W ■ "- •■"' rrTth i: ct b p-identially driven on shore >4 been washed off the "^-^^ P. „„„,„,, heavy appear... were repaired during thi»mn*h _^_^^., ^^^ ^„^„„,, „,^.„ oftheiceaffordedusnoc-rn P P ^^_^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ,^ three boats we --^ -"^^'^ „„„ .'he 1st September we rea* driven on shore, and it was " j^ E. point of A.( Leopold South island now e^aW shed «> ^^ ^^^^^^^ ,ea. in lat. .3- 56' ;«^^/, ',, ,,, p,,„ee Regent. .„le.,B. mountain on the P"'"""'^"'^^ . i^h presented one impenet.* row's Strait, and Lancaster Sound, which p .^ ^^^ mass of ice,iust as ^^^::;ZJ::U„.. tliandes* of anxiety and -P^J^^^^^J.^^.^e vain ; at length, beii,,!.. All our attempts to push I irougi ^^^^^^ ^^y,, ,, want or P-^^on-V : ^^l^lj^ „^„,„,, „here- return to Fury '*'^='<'''' ""''' ..^ „f October.after a mostfaip sustain life ; there we arrived on 1th oOc ■ ^^^^^ ^^,, ,„d laborious march, ''^^'"l^'^'^.^^^^XL of spars. 33 « , Bay. our habitation, wl^ch con .^^^^^^^^^^^ 16, covered with canvass was durii „ feet thick,. i .„a the roof cov^r^ «.t^^ -w ^mjour^to . ^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^^^_ IrSryrkrr stency or ice. and tlnis we^a^.. ^ t^e inhabitants of an iceberg during one « *« ^^'j; , ^^ , hitherto recorded; our sufferings, aggravated by want APPENDIX. 709 clolhingr, and animal food, need not be dwelt upon. Mr. C. Thomas the carpenter, was the only man who perished at this beach, but three others, besides one who had lost his foot, were reduced to the last stage of debility, and only 13 of our number were able to carry provi- sions in seven journies of 63 miles each to Ratty Bay. We left Fury Beach on 8th July, carrying with us three sick men, who were unable to walk, and in six days we reached the boats, where the sick daily re- covered. Althoug-h the ipring- was mild, it was not until the 15th Au- gust that we had any cheering prospect, a gale from the westward having opened a lane of water along shore ; in two days we reached our former position, and from the mountain we had the satisfaction of seeing clear water almost directly across Prince Regent's Inlet, which we crossed on the ITth, and took shelter from a storm 13 miles to the eastward of Cape York. Next day, when the gale abated, we crossed Admiralty Inlet, and were detained six days on the coast by a strong uorth-east wind. On the 35th we crossed Navy Board Inlet, and on the following morning, to our inexpressible joy, we descried a ship in the offing becalmed, which proved to be the Isabella of Hull, the same ship, which I commanded in 1818; at noon we reached her, when her enterprising commander, who had in vain searched for us in Prince Regent's Inlet, after giving us three cheers, received us with every dejnonstration of kindness and hospitality which humanity could dic- tate. I ought to mention, also, that Mr. Humphries, by landing me at Possession Bay, and subsequently on the we.t coast of Baffin's^Bay, afforded me an excellent opportunity of concluding my survey, and of verifying my former chart of that coast. ' I now have the pleasing duty of calling the attention of their Lord- ships to the merits of Commander Ross, who was second in the direc- tion of this Expedition. The labours of this officer, who had the de- partments of Astronomy, Natural History, and Surveying, will speak for themselves in language beyond the ability of my pen, but they will be duly appreciated by their Lordships and the learned bodies, of which he is a member, and who are already well acquainted with his wquirements. , My steady and faithful firieiid,ivir. William Thorn, of the Royal Navy, who was with me in the Isabella, besides his duty as third in command, took charge of the Meteorological Journal ; the distribution and eco- nomy of provisions, and to his judicious plans and suggestions must he attributed the uncommon degree of health which our crew enjoyed : yjQ APPENDIX. and as two out of the three, who died the four and a half years, wert cut off early in the voyage by diseases not peculiar to the climate, only one man can be said to have perished. Mr. Mc'Diarmid, the surgeon, who had been several voyages to theie regions, did justice to the high recommendation I received of him : he was successful in every amputation and operation which he performed, and wonderfully so in his treatment of the sick ; and I have no hesita- tion in adding, that he would be an ornament to his Majesty's service. Commander Ross, Mr. Thom, and myself, have indeed, been serving without pay, but, in common with the crew, have lost our all, which 1 regret the more, because it puts it totally out of my power ade- quately to remunerate my fellow-sufferers, whose case 1 cannot but recommend for their Lordships' consideration. ' We have, however, the consolation that the results of this Expedi- tion have been conclusive, and to science highly important ; and may be briefly comprehended in the following words : the discovery of the Gulph of Boothia, the continent and isthmus of Boothia Felix, and a vast number of islands, rivers, and lakes : the undeniable establishment, that the NE. point of America extends to the 14th degree of north latitude. Valuable observations of every kind, but particularly on the mao-net. and to crown all, we have had the honour of placing the illus- trious name of our most gracious sovereign, William the Fourth, on the true position of the Magnetic Pole. I cannot conclude this Letter, Sir, without acknowledging the im. portant advantages we obtained from the valuable publications of Sir Edward Parry and Sir John Franklin, and the communication kindly made to us by these distinguished officers before our departure from England. ' . . But the glory of this enterprise is entirely due to Him, whose divine favour has been most especially manifested towards us, who guided and directed all our steps, who mercifully provided effectual means for our preservation, and who, even after the devices and inventions o( man had utterly failed, crowned our humble endeavours with complete success I have the honour to be, &c. John Ross, Captain R. N. Your committee have found the statements contained in tli« above Letter confirmed, as far as they have been examined, bj APPENDIX 7J1 the evidence, which has appeared before them ; and, supported by the opinions of Capt. Beaufort, hydrographer to the Admi- ralty, of Mr. Children, one of the secretaries of the Royal Society, and of Professor Barlow, who has made the magnetic variations his particular study, they see no reason to doubt that Capt. Ross nearly approached, and that Commander Ross ac- tually reached the magnetic polo. The importance, especially to a maritime nation, of this discovery, and of the observations connected with magnetic science, arising thereout, is most highly estimated by the scien- tific witnesses, who have been examined, and it is further attested by the zeal, with which this branch of science has been of late pursued by eminent men in every country, and by the expense, which several foreign governments have of late years incurred for the same object. Under these circumstances your committee can have no lesitation in reporting, that a great public service has been lerforraed. Independently of the demonstration, that one pas- age, which had been considered by preceding navigators to be me of the most likely to lead from the Atlantic to the Pacific )cean, does not exist, thus narrowing the field for future expe- itions, if such should ever be undertaken; independently of ^e addition of between six and seven hundred miles of coast to ir geographical knowledge, and of the valuable additions to fagnetic science and meteorology, which this expedition will Ipply, your committee cannot overlook the public service, ihich is rendered to a maritime country, especially in time of ace, by deeds of daring enterprize and patient endurance of Mship, which excite the public sympathy, and enlist the |neral feeling in favour of maritime adventure. Of this result y have strong evidence in the national subscription, which "•shed the funds for the expedition of Capt. Back, in search of t.Ross and his gallant party, to which the Government also itributed two thousand pounds. othe importance of these considerations, your committee happy to have to report that his majesty's government has been insensible. Although Capt. Ross' expedition was un- 712 APPENDIX. dertaken entirely on private risk, and the Board ofAdmiralt could not therefore be held responsible for any liabilities In curred, or be called upon in strictness lo notice in any way th services of the individuals en^aored in it, yet, as far as the power of the Admiralty extends, none of these services has gom unnoticed or unrewarded. It appears from a memorandum de livered in to your committee by the Admiralty, that "all the men have received double full pay until they finally abandoned their ship, and full pay after that until their arrival inEnrrlanrl, amounting to the gross sum of £4,580 ; that they have beside been employed in eligible situations in the dock yards, orplacei in others that will lead to promotion ;" that Mr. Abemethy, th gunner; " has been promoted, and appointed to the Seringa patam;" thatMr. Thom, purser, "has been appointed to the lucrative situation of purser of the Canopus, of 84 guns;" tlia! Mr. McDiarmid, the medical officer of the expedition, "has been appointed assistant- surgeon of the navy, and when quali fied to pass his examination, will be promoted to the rank surgeon-;' that Commander Ross, to whom it appears that tt greater part of the scientific results of the expedition are du *' has been placed on full pay, and appointed commander ( the Victory for twelve months, that he may by that length i service be enabled to receive the rank of post captain, which by a special minute of the Admiralty ensured to him at t expiration of that time;*' and that Capt. John Humphreys, the Isabella, to whoso persevering humanity alone Capt. R( and his party, under Providence, in all probability owe tliei lives, has received that remuneration for the expense of bringing them' home, which, upon consideration, has been thought pro by the Admiralty, and which appears to your committee to a reasonable compensation. Capt. Ross alone, the coraman of the expedition, who had the anxious and painful respoD ^ bility of the health and discipline of the party for above f« years, under circumstances of unparalleled difficulty and I ship, and who had the merit of maintaining both health discipline in a remarkable degree, (for only one man in tweo three was lost in consequence of the expedition) is, owing APPENDIX. 71;) hb rank, not in a situation to receive any reward from the Ad- miralty in the way of promotion. Having incurred expenses and losses to the amount of nearly three thousand pounds, and received no more than the half pay, which had accumulated during the expedition, he remains with the same rank with which he went out. Under these circumstances, and looking to the advantages to science and the honour to his country, which have resulted from the expedition under his command ; looking to the expense which the country has been willing to incur on former occasions for similar expeditions, and to the rewards, which it has voted even for less important and honour- able objects, your committee hope they are not transgressing tbe bounds of a due regard to public economy, in recommending that a sum of five thousand pounds be voted to Captain John Ross. To Mr. Felix Booth, to whose modest public spirit and rare munificence this expedition is entirely due, your committee re- gret that they have it not in their power to propose some fit token of public acknowledgment ; but they cannot forbear offer- ing the tribute of their admiration and respect. The case of a poor man afflicted with blindnes in consequence of the expedition, has been brought before the notice of your committee by a member of the House ; and your committee beg to recommend it to such consideration, as to his Majesty's Go- vernment, after due investigation of the facts, may seem fit. Jpril 1834. |Copy of a Letter from Captain John Ross, r. n. to Captain the Honourable George Elliot, C. B. dated 22d October, ]833. Sir, . i Portland Hotel, 22d October, 1833. The expedition from which I am now returned, having been under- aken in 1829, at my own expense, I necessarily came under certain kngagemonts with the crew, which, according to my expectation at the lime, might be likely to terminate in fifteen months, and in that case I jhould have been enabled to fulfil those engagements; but as the ab- ence of the men has been protracted to four years and a half, the claims kpon me have greatly increased, while, by the loss of my vessel the neans of discharging them has been much diminishtd. 30. 4v 7\4 APPENDIX, In venturing to request you will submit my case to the Lords Com- missioners of the Admiralty, I feel assured that the public nature of the undertaking, and the unparalleled sufferings which have attended it, will bring their lordships to the consideration of the circumstances I have stated, with every disposition to afford me the means of discharging obligations of so sacred a character. It is true that according to law, the men may not be able to compel the payment of their wages after October, 1831, when all hopes of saving the vessel led to her abandonment, but a sense of what ib due to my character as an officer of the navy, and a feeling of what is due to the men, whose constancy was never shaicen under the most appalling pros" peels, and to whose fidelity and obedience I owe so much, I should be ashamed of myself if I could for a moment entertain a thought of any subterfuge, whereby I might evade the payment of their well-earned wages ; I am anxious, ho>vever, with my slender means, to appeal to their lordships in the first instance, in the confident persuasion, that an undertaking so entirely of a naval nature, will receive their countenance and support, and that, under their lordships' recommendation, his Majesty's government will be pleased to consider the voyage as soen- tirely directed to public objects, as fairly to claim, under the circum- stances I have described, that the payment of the officers and men should become a public charge. As the men have most of them arrived in town, and wait the adjust. ment of their claims, I need scarcely add, that it is very desirable thai I should, with as little delay as possible, receive an intimation of their lordships* decision upon this application. ^ ; / , . 1 have the honor to be, Sir, Your obedient Servant, (Signed) ' John Koss, Captain of the Royal Navy. Copy of a Letter from Mr. Bakrow to Captaiw John Ross, R.N, dated Admiralty, 25th October, 1833. ^ Sir, Admiralty, 25th October, 1833. I have received and laid before my Lords Commissioners of tk Admiralty your Letter, dHted on board the Isabella, of Hull, in Baffin'i Ray, in September last, and 1 am commanded to express their lord- ships' satisfaction at the providential deliverance of yourself and coni' APPENDIX. , ^ panions from a perilous situation, unequalled in the records of naviL'atim and their congratulations at your safe return. ' I am, &c. (Signed) John Barrow. Copy of a Letter from Captain John Ross, R. N. to Mr. Barkow, dated 26th October, 1833. ®'''' ' Portland Hotel, 26th October. 1833. in consequence of a verbal communication with Sir Thomas Hardy have the honour to transmit, for the consideration of the Lords Com- missioners of the Admiralty, a list of the officers and men employed on ■the late Expedition to the Arctic Seas, showing the pay due to each jn the prmciple that I should have felt it my duty to act upon to wards' hem. had the discharg-e of those claims rested with myself instead of ^ng: taken up by their Lordships, on the grounds of the'public na. of the service to which the object of the Expedition was directed • I have reason to know that the officers and men will consider lemselves fully recompensed by the propesed scale of pay. I trust I may be allowed to take this opportunity lo express for mv- fand for every person under my command, the deep sense we have ^the kind protection so cheerfully extended to us by their Lordships. 1 am, &c (Signed) John Ross, Captain, Royal Navy. leino lure I topy of a Letter from Mr. Barrow to Captain John Ross, R. N. dated 28th October, 1833. ,, ®"^' . Admiralty, October 28th, 1833. I ave received and laid before my Lords Commissioners of the Ad- |Uy your Letter of the 26th instant, transmitting a list of the officers men employed ,n your late Expedition to the Arctic Seas, show- the amount of pay due to each, according to the scale by which Iwould have felt yourself bound to remunerate them for their ser- f and I am commanded by their Lordships to acquaint you, in -hat although these men have no claim on his Majesty's Govern- - asmuch as the expedition was not sent out by the Board of ralty, yet ,n consideration of its having been undertaken for the 716 APPENDIX. benefit of science, of the sufferings these men have undergone, the peril. ous Hituation in which they were placed for so long protracted u period, and their uniform good conduct und»;r circumstances the most trying tu which British seamen were perhaps ever exposed ; and their Lordships being moreover satisfied of your utter inability to fulfil the engagements entered into by you, and of the destitute state in which these people have providentially arrived in their native country, have been indued, under such peculiar circumstances, from a feeling of humanity, imme. diately to relieve you from your engagement, and them from pressing I necessity, rather than wait till Parliament shall be assembled, to whic^ it is intended to submit the case; their Lordships have therefore directedl the Accountant General of the Navy to advance to you the sum of £4,580, 12tf. 3d.j as the amount which by your statement you feel your. self under an engagement to pay to the persons therein named; from each of whom, on making them payments, you will take a stamped re- ceipt as a voucher in full of all demands they may respectively havj upon you, I am, &c. (Signed) J, Barrov, «P1 < . i ■. OBSERVATIONS ON THE DIP OF THE MAGP From titti PITILOSOPHICAL TR. Date. Time of the ■ day. Poles cf the Needle direct. Poles of Axis direct. Axis reversed J^Iean. Axis direct. Face East Face West. Face West. 1 Face Enst. Face East. r Face West. 1831. o / o , O / 'I o o o , o Feb. 15. Noon. 78 11-5 9i) 34-73 78 6-23 99 25-07 88 49 53 79 26-17 98 37-G7 28. 1 P.M. 81 30 98 38-78 79 35-GO y8 U-f)!) S9 29-72 72 7-86 103 38 44 March 1. 2 P.M. 81 42-8 97 52 81 7 96 49-4 81) 22 80 77 16 100 '_/7 4. Noon. 81 34-8 96 37-4 81 18 97 25 89 13-8 76 30-4 101 10 15. 1 P.M. 81 34 7 96 34-5 81 34-2 96 41 -'2 89 6-15 75 27-5 102 12-3 21. 4 P.M. 75 5 -07 103 G-17 74 12-83 101 8 -03 88 23-14 81 14-5 97 6 22. 4 P.M. 86 7-63 91 30-17 87 00 90 29 88 47-7 86 13 92 35-7 23. 3 P.M. 86 18-2 91 11-35 87 9-14 90 47 88 51-42 86 24-17 90 17 24. 2 P.M. 81 56-5 96 18-7 81 497 96 0-20 89 1 -27 81 57-70 95 40-1 25. 3 P.M. 78 56 98 30 78 1-1 99 27-5 88 43 65 79 51-4 99 12-17 30 3 P.M. 77 41 99 49-25 77 38-75 99 44-4 i 88 43-36 81 23 9 96 58-3 April I. 2 P.M. 76 47-1 loo 2-90 78 29 100 14 -20 88 53-27 81 52-4 95 48 14 1 4 ;'.M. 78 40-67 99 2-17 78 36-33 98 52 88 48-04 80 8-27 97 51-13 May 28. 8 A.M. 86 31-7 92 47 86 26-83 93 30 89 48-87 73 9-5 106 11-5 2 P.M. 86 17-22 92 513 87 2-14 93 32-lG 89 55-71 74 42-2 104 58-22 June 1. Noon. 86 23-67 93 8-33 87 6-17 93 32-83 90 2-75 73 53-67 104 51-67 3 P.M. 85 55-5 93 32-62 86 40-67 93 54 90 0-71 73 22 105 24-83 5 P.M. 86 32-33 93 10-33 87 lfrG7 93 9-83 90 1-79 74 58-83 104 16-83 7 P.M. 86 52-83 93 9-67 87 14-50 93 32-0 90 12-25 74 55 104 24-5 2. 9 A. 31. 84 24-33 96 12-67 82 46-37 96 55-1 90 4-62 82 29-5 97 14-33 11 A.M 84 3 96 25-56 82 32-60 96 35-75 89 54-08 82 36-5 97 26-75 G. 8 A.M. 86 0-5 92 15-83 86 58-33 93 6-07 89 42-38 75 25-67 103 55-83 8. 9 A.M. 86 27-5 92 3-33 87 13-67 92 17-83 89 30-58 75 20 101 36-17 9. 8 A.M. 84 42 83 94 33-13 84 25-G7 93 42-5 89 21-03 77 48-83 100 1 17. 2 P.M. 86 5 92 40-2 87 41-5 91 52-5 89 348 82 41 93 30 5 P.M. 86 9-8 91 48-5 87 45 91 15 89 14-57 80 45 96 30-8 July 13. 2 P.M. 85 43 33 92 4-5 87 50-33 91 42 8'j 20-40 82 23 95 1-5 Aug. 12. 1 P.M. 86 27-5 91 41-7 87 57-5 91 14-7 89 20-35 84 9-2 93 24 2 20. Noon. 80 3-34 98 7-5 80 46-7 97 20-8 89 4-53 76 15-7 101 30 Oct. 21. 1 10 A.M. 84 40-17 93 52 84 24 93 33-45 89 7-40 79 1-89 98 67 22. 9 A.M. 84 40-5 94 16-5 84 50-12 93 49-37 89 24 12 77 29-4 99 -. 23. Noon. 84 9 93 13-9 84 40-6 93 43-2 S3 56-67 78 55-4 99 3-. Nov. 21. Noon. 84 18-8 94 8-1 84 18-1 94 27-9 89 17-98 77 20-5 99 22 22. 1 P.M. 84 56-2 93 46-6 84 54-6 93 48-6 89 21-5 78 55-3 98 24 23. I P.M. 84 43 93 37-6 84 59 93 24-4 89 11 79 39-8 98 8 Dec. 21. 10 A.M. 84 42-9 93 50-7 84 11-7 94 32-6 89 16-97 79 47-5 98 31 1832. Jiin. 21. 1 P.M. 85 21-5 93 2 84 19-8 93 57 89 10-07 79 58-6 98 16-8 ' Noon. 65 1 94 8-6 84 24-5 94 23-2 89 29-32 76 53 100 16-2 Feb. 16. 1 P.M. 84 58-5 95 11-8 83 17 3 95 14 89 40-04 76 46-1 100 52 18. 1 P.M. 83 48-4 95 18G 81 58-1 95 197 89 6-2 77 30- 1 100 39-5 March 17. 1 3 P.M. 83 16-2 94 41-0 82 32 95 42 1 89 2-98 74 53-9 102 45-2 27. ' 2 P.M. 83 30-7 94 48 4 84 2-9 94 384 89 15-1 74 4 5 i02 54-7 April 13. . . • . 83 38-5 94 47 82 47-6 95 14 9 89 7 75 36-9 101 13 15. .... 83 5 5 95 22 5 82 30-9 90 27-2 89 21-52 78 21 98 23-3 AGNETIC NEEDLE, BV COMMANDER J. ROSS. !. TRANSACTIONS, Part I. for 1034. Ics of the Needle reversed. Axis reversed. Mean. Observed Dip. A kVest. Face Weal. Face East. 7 -07 79 17-33 98 52-5 89 3-42 88 56-47 8-44 72 52 105 43-75 88 36-51 89 2-61 7 77 47-42 98 49-6 88 35 88 58 90 78 15-6 99 27 88 51 25 89 2-52 i-3 75 6-9 102 59-5 88 56-55 89 1 -35 5 81 5G-1 95 35 3 88 57-97 88 40-56 r7 87 19-83 90 37-83 89 11-59 88 59-15 7 87 28 91 22 88 47-29 88 49-36 0-1 81 18 97 20-2 89 40 89 2-64 217 80 8-72 97 21-4 89 8- 12 88 56-04 3 3 81 59-4 96 26 4 89 12-0 88 57-68 S14 81 27-12 97 13-4 89 5-27 88 59-27 113 80 20-27 97 48-5 89 2-04 88 55-04 1-5 84 20 94 35-8 89 34-2 89 41-53 3-22 83 24-7 94 5018 89 28-83 89 42-27 1-67 83 44-33 97 7.5 89 54-29 89 58-52 i'83 83 23-33 67 23-67 89 54-71 89 57-71 3-83 83 0-83 97 5-13 89 50-15 89 55-97 4-5 83 38-17 96 37 89 53-67 90 2-96 4-33 85 14-5 94 58-33 89 59-14 90 1-88 3-75 85 20-67 94 290 89 58-17 89 56-12 J-83 82 40-17 96 28-5 89 37-51 89 40-19 517 81 22-33 98 37-83 89 14-04 89 22 33 1 81 42 97 21-5 89 13-33 89 17-18 85 1-3 93 2-3 88 33-65 89 4-22 0-8 85 9 2 93 7 88 53 89 3-79 15 82 37 95 14-83 88 49-04 89 4-74 12 79.45-8 97 38-3 88 44 37 89 2-36 99 53 2 78 15 86 58-47 89 1-50 •67 81 36-67 96 5 88 42-31 88 5 1-86 80 24-5 96 45-2 88 35-03 88 59-57 5. 81 5:-6 95 32-8 88 53 93 88 55-30 2 78 41 8 98 5-6 88 22-47 88 50 22 4 79 28-3 96 51 88 24 68 88 53-07 8 80 36-2 95 55-4 88 34-85 88 52-92 1 81 51-5 94 46 88 44 89 0-49 6-8 81 37 94 41-5 88 38-48 88 51 27 0-2 81 7 95 59-4 88 33-9 89 1-61 2 79 51-7 €6 311 88 30-22 89 5-31 .9 -5 81 30-4 95 37-8 88 49-45 88 57-82 15-2 78 55 96 3.1 88 93 88 36-14 )47 78 28 98 45-6 88 33-2 S8 54-15 3 78 53 98 23-6 88 31-02 88 19-31 >3 3 75 45.4 101 46-7 88 34 12 68 57-82 Remarks. Mean observed dip at Slicnff's T?rty in lat. 70' I' N . and loii^. 91" 54' \V. Variation 96" l-J'-.T W. previous to my jouiney towards the niagiutk pole — ^Sj ■^7-04' N. (1831.) 890 4l'.9" N. Variation 57" 15' VV. ; lat. Gi)o3r 1:." N.; long. 94"r)3' VV. 89 ' 58'-l I" N. Assumed direction of meridian S. 7V' \r. (True.) 89 ) 59'-46" N. Assumed direction of nicridiiui N. 60^ W.; lat. 70 ' 5 17" N. ; Ion..;. 96" i:>'iH' W 89" 55* N. A.ssumetl direction of meridian N. 1.>"M'. Same position a^ on the 28th of May. At Cape Isabella. Lat. 69'' 26' 20"; long.O.^ol'V, At I'rtdleak. liat. (Ah 30 1 '; long. 93 ' 27' .V>' 'V, Obser\ed dip at ShorifTs Kay on my roturn rroii. the magnef'c iku.- >!'L' •i''^> ' N. (|n:jI .) v/bservcd dip at Viciory Harbour 8B'^'■)^•8G > Variaiioii l(H" :i2m'' W. ; lat. 70"9'I8"N.; long. !;l<' .•>(>' 33' W. Ri4 Capt. Ross saw the bear in reality, or in a dream. SUPPLEMENT. » ginal owners,— of the great advantages of a steam-engine in the lidst of a floe of ice, and of the incalculable benefit of the pro- )un we, when speaking of the discoveries of other people. These, and many other things, we acknowledge ourselves guilty )f having committed, but we did not expect that we should have been taunted, for the neglect and indifference, which we have fhown for the valuable and important discoveries during the embedding of Captain Ross, for the period of three years within he regions of thick-ribbed ice ; and moreover for the occasional ridifiule, which we have presumed to throw over some of the most memorable actions of the expedition. In regard to the doubts which we expressed, respecting the discovery of the true position of the magnetic pole, we have been favoured with an official communication from a member of the Royal Society, transmitting us a copy of the Memoir on the 'osmoN OF THE Magnetic Pole, as drawn up by Commander Ross, and read to the fellows of the Society on the 19th December 1833, accompanied at the same time with the request, that we would either incorporate it with the present work, or publish It in a future edition. The latter not being feasible, from the manner in which the work is published, no other alternativo was left for us "an to reject it altogether, (the whole of the work having gone press,) or to give it to the public in a Supplemental Part. In ustice to the highly talented individual by whom the memoir w«8 drawn up, and that the public ^night be put in possession of Ihe most genuine and authentic information regarding the most important of all the discoveries, which were made during the whole of the expedition, we resolved to adopt the latter plan, ispecially as in that very memoir, the opinion,^ which we have "xpressed in the body of the work, touching the participation o. "ven interference of Capt. Ross in any of the principal disco- ejies, 18 fully Corroborated, as well as th« erroneous statements liich were given by him to the Committee of the House of Com- 'ons, as iar as regarded the discovery of the positiou of the lagnetic pole, -ug, ,,» io-ii^f.*to* yj^ ; ,«,,.i ,,„. v. .-,..,.>.... ..„■ ... Although it immediately transpired, after the arrival < f "Pt. Ross, ihat the avowed purpose of the expedition had not to SrpPLEMENT. 'ion. ■vii: .been fulfilled, vet in the letter addressed by him to the H 'George Elliot, secretary to the Admiralty, the public were given to understand, thai certain discoveries had been made, highly important to science, the crown of which was, " the placing ihe ' illustrious name of our most gracious sovereign on the true position of the magnetic pole." In strict conformity with the documents, with which we were furnished for the compilation of the last voyage of Captain Ross, and from the concurrent testimony of several individuals engaoed in the expedition, we were led to form the opmion, that the true position of the magnetic pole had not been discovered, with that certainty and accuracy as were announced by Capt. Ross, in his letter to the Hon. George Elliot ; or, at all events, that he himself had little or nothing to do with the discovery, even to the extent to which it was carried. By a reference to the exumina. lion of Capt. Ross before the committee of the House of Com. mons, the members of that committee could not, from the guarded answers that were given by him, arrive at any other con- elusion, than that he himself had been instrumental in the dis- eovery, and that the information which he gave them was derived from his own knowledge and experience. In order, however, perfectly to understand the statements, as given by Capt. Ross and Commander Ross, and to reconcile ihe difference of the two accounts, as well as to determine to whicli of the two the merit of the discovery belongs, we will, in the first instance, give the statement of Capt. Ross, as it was explained by him in his answers to the Commons' committee. In the 51st question, he is arked if " The position of the mag- netic pole had already bern determined by previous obsirva- tion ?"— " Yes, by previous information ; by our own observation ive had determined we were within a very short distance, whm the ship was, from the magnetic pole. By contini'ing those observations, we arrived at the spot.''- , ,<. v.-^ rv^y In a subsequent part of the examination, readmitted thattfl were not within forty miles of it. When the memoir of Cora mander Ross is given, it will be seen that we were not wnl' nearly double that diilance. i io ii^iUr:', '4 tn ! ' i- SlPI»i,EMl!:NT Q « ,on, M.3. Before you reached ,l.at spot, „I..t „as ,l,o groatest var.ahon of the compass!"-" We were then at a vari-„i<,I .. 90 degrees westerly , previously .„ that, we had bll "^ "- grees, we passed rend it, which-evcr way we passed it, as we passed round ... the compass turned towards it horizontallv and w ,e. we were to the north or south of it, we turned a variation of .80 decrees. When we were east or west, our variation was 90 (Jeorees.' "Within what area do you conceive you have reduced the sifiiaf ion of the maornetic pole ?'*— " One mile " \Ve .ill here just quote that part of the memoir of Comman- er Ross, which relates to the area within which the position of tl.e ma^rnet^c pole has been reduced, and which will U a ore.u unyto confirm the opinion, which we promulgated, that Ca,,i Ross himself knew little about the matter. • " To complete the observations on the intensity of the man-. notic force, and the various experiments which were made, ami ^vhlch It is unnecessary here to notice, occupied the whole of the time that I could devote to that purpose ; and althourrh tjuro IS a ditference, amouoting- to several minutes, in the dimroi.t observations made in the same direction of the needh-, vet the resultant mean dip of the three directions in which thev wne (,l,. tinned, placed us as near to the magnetic pole as, with oiirii!ui<('d means, we were able to determine. And although it cannot hut be a rough approximation, yet it is hardly possible to be more than ofew miles from the exact position. It was at any rate q „fe in, possible for us to know,row that the horizontal needle had ceased to act, m whatever direction to proceed, for the purpose of 'pproachmg it more nearly; /or, in order fn determine its exact 'position, the co-operation of several observers placed at some dis~ iance m various directions of its position would be necessary ' I After the last able and scientific exposition of Commander loss It ,s scarcely necessary to inquire into the quantum of truih |l>"ch lies m the answer of Capt. Ross, that the area in which the losition of the magnetic pole had been reduced to was a mile i Desisting at present from entering into any further discussion, '" v which any of the former Arctic voyages had been distin. gui^bed. To the discovery of the continent and isthmus o Boothiii Felix, we attach nearly the same consequence as to the discovery of Sancho Panza's island of Barrataria, and we have no reason to doubt, that it is still to be found in existence some. where about the 73d degree of north latitude ; although we are acquainted with those belonging to the expedition, who km some faint remembrance of Capt. Ross onqe going on shore, and sticking up a pole, with a bit of red bunting appended to it, the report was then current, that he had been acting in the cha- racter of a godfather to the territory, which was hereafter ami for ever more to bear the latinised name of his generous ami patriotic friend. It may, however, be said to be almost beyi the range of probability, that it will ever be trodden again by a European foot, and that even as an addition to our geograpliicalf knowledge, the intelligence which Capt. Ross has brougl.t honie| with him, respecting its situation, extent, and natural prodiutionsj '. is of so vague and indefinite a character, as to render itatasU of no small difficulty to future geographers to know in whatnianj , iier to describe it. In regard to his discovery of a number i *fis!ands, rivers, and lakes, according to his statement in hislcltei (, .()♦ We are well aware, at the time vhen w« are writing these pages, tliaiCoi mander Ross has received from the Admiralty l)is well-earned promotion; bi)t| distinguish hiin as Gift. Rots would lead to a in'sundcrst&nding as to '< M the two cflBcprs we alluded. ■if >^'>u m ' tUPPLBMBNT. .m •9 % Capt Elliot, we doubt not that such a discovery may have been made in the vicinity of the continent of Boothia, as we are scarcely aware of any continent without a river, nor an inlet of the sea, in which some islands are not to be found. In regard however, to the islands, the discovery was ft,rced upon iiim much against his will, for the Victory got so jammed in between them that she never could be afterwards extricated; in fact, so ffreat was the number of the islands, that if the value of the discoveries ]s 10 be estimated by the extent of t he n umber discovered, the islands will certainly stand first on the list, for according to the statement of several of the crew of the Victory, that part of Prince Reffenfs Inlet, in which the Victory wintered, bears the complete character of an archipelago. There was scarcely a tract of land, which pro sonted the appearance of a continent, which, on a more minute exammation, was not found to be an island; in fact, it was the land being so frequently intersected with water, that threw the peatest obstacle in the way of Commander J^oss from pursuino- his scientific discoveries, to that extent which his talents and perseverance would have otherwise accomplished. Capt Ross certainly speaks largely of his discovery of the breeding' place of the whales; and so grpat was the credulity of the members (,f Ihe committee of the House of Commons, who were appointed to ascertain the extent of the claim of Capt. Ross to £5,000 of the public money, that if, in addition to the discovery of the breeding.place of the whales, he Had informed them that he had discovered the very whale in which Jonah, in former times, took uph,s lodging for three days, it would have been thrown in as a very ponderous item into the scale of his professional services It must, however, be observed, that according to Capt Ross' o«.i admission, the survey of the creeks where the whales resort to breed, was performed by him after he had joined the Isaoolia Ins statement, however, ought to have excited some doubts \n hem.nds of the sapient interrogators of the committee; f.r apt. Humphreys knew his own business too well, and was too "ch ahve to the interests of his employers, than to lose sight of factual object of his voyage, merely for the purpose of con- •^}'-ff Capt. Ross into any creek or harbour, whic(, he rniohl W SUPPLEMENT find it to be his inclination to survey. There is further very little doubt, that the breedinor-places of the whales were known to the majority of the captains of whaling ships, long before ('apt. Ross made hi» debut in the Arctic seas, or before he took upon himself the characlor of principal buffoon in his serio-tra- gico-farcico-comico pantomime of the Discoverer of the Magnetic Pole. ••■'■':■ " , ^ , . . , ,,. If, however, we direct our attention to the different subjects of scientific research, as forming the chief objects of the expedU tion, we shall find, that in whatever progress was made towards their attainment, the talents and exertions of Capt. Ross were very seldom called into action ; at the same time that his answers to the questions put to him by the members of the Commons' committee, are so dexterously and scoitishly worded, as to ieiid them to believe that his brow only is entitled to wear the laurel. Thus, according to the 59th question, he is asked," Do you con- ceive yourself io have attained any other scientific object?" "Yes, I have brought with me a tabl»e of meteorological statements, first stating the direction of the wind, its force, the state of the weather, and the height of the thermometer every hour for throe years, at nearly the same spot, which is considered a very great desideratum, as you will be able to compare it with the temper- ature of other parts of the globe." • ' ' The manner in which he evades the gist of tliis question, is at once obvious ; he is as;ked, " Do you conceive yourself to have attained," &,c. ? To which he does not reply that he had or hail not attain-ed any particular object ; but he merely states, that ho brought home with him a meteorological journal, on the same principle that he also brought home with him some bear skins; but if the acquisition of these skins had depended upon his sljooting the animals, whose carcasses they covered, it scarcely amounts to a question whether he would have had any skins to exhibit at alh-jjiohi* ')•- <-. l •: a-- ♦> >'t1 « 'i 4 i"";^ ♦t.>t>! '^•iii tj' l>oJni>)'i3w Capt. Ross is subsequently asked, " Who had the charge of the meteorological Journal V end he answers, " Mr. Thorn, to whom it was principally entrusted ; and by that officer the men were taught regularly to look at the thermometer every hour, to not« SUPPLEMENT. the wind, itg direction, its force, and also the state of tlie wea- iher. and insert it in a log-book, kept for that purpose, every ))oiir during tlie whole ihrce years that they were employed on Uie expedition. Thus, Capt. Ross is completely absolved from oil participation in the keoping or arrangement of the meteoro- logical journal, and therefore as far as that science is concerned, (lie personal Hcquiromonts of Capt. Ross are of no account what- In regard to the sciences, Capt. Ross is asked, " Are there any other parts connected with science, which you would wish to slate i!" He answers, " There is also a full account of the ^eo- lt)u:y, natural history, and botany, which is principally done by Commander Ross." . .^ , . " What were tl.e botanical discoveries you made ?" " Small plants, incident to all those climates. I ihink there are three r.cw ones, which spring up just for one month in the year. In the month of August they are seen." Thus it is evident, that, as far as the knowledge of Capt. Ross extends, and even that is in a certain degree based on conjecture, the disoveries in botany extend no further than to three new spe- cimens ; we are, however, enabled to state, that Capt. Ross knew no more of the extent of the botanical discoveries than Pootwut- yuk, the Esquimaux; but the committee were satisfied with his answers, and it is an undoubted fact, that Capt. Ross could not have been otherwise than satisfied with the questions that were put to him, for the greater part of them were negative, or so couched, that even a much less skilful fencer than Capt, Ross showed himself to be, would not have experienced any great difficuky in parrying tnem. . . .j,.:.,.; a. - "" ,., ^,^..Ui.y^^^ ,. ..^/-^o'noiJn'wrv r.'*^ -''now y>rf- -^ <^ ■ SUrPLEMENT. j| ,Iii order to show the incompatibility of the observed laws of terrestrial magnetism with the supposition of the earth itself be- ing a mag-net, and at the same time their accordance with the laws, which appertain to a body whose magnetism is induced by electricity, it will be necessary to trace a retrospective view of the several discoveries which have been made connected with these subjects, since the eommcncemont of the present century and particularly within the last ten or twelve years ; at the same' time it will not be uninteresting-, nor by any means devoid of instruction, to trace the source of the discovery of the magnet to the very period when a further light has been thrown upon it, by the discoveries of Commander Ross on the actually f^uppjse'd position of the magnetic pole. It would be here to little purpose to inquire particularly whether the magnet had its name from the shepherd Magous, who, as Nicander and Pliny affirm, discovered it upon Mount Ida, by the iron of his crook, and the nails in his shoes, or whether it was so titled from Magnesia, that part of Lydia, where, according to Lucretius, it was first found. The Grecians, indeed! «howere acquainted with the various names it then went by'. ■indiikewise with its attractive property, have som.etimes called t siderites, from o^V?, iron; but more frequently the Heraclean tone, from the city of Heraelea, in Magnesia; and Snellius may )e right in saying that Euripides was the first who gave it the larae of magnes, though Sophocles calls it lofis Lydius. With respect to the properties of the magnet. Father Kircher ideavors to prove, that its attraction was known to the Hebrews. id from Plutarch, it seems to appear that the Egyptians were It ignorant of it. Pythagoras, Ptolemy, Hippocrates, Empe- >cle8, Democritus, Leucippus, Epicurus, and many more of the icients, knew and admired this wonderful property of the lagnet. It was on account of this quality that Thales and Inaxagoras gave it a soul ; and Plato, who called it the stone of |ercules, said that the cause of its attraction was divine. The discovery of the verticity or directive property of the" ■ignet or loadstone, and the communication of that verticity to 'a or, in other words, the invention of the mariner's compass, I'l SUPPLEMENT. HiHugfi onTy a"con«6qKence bf the former property, appears (obe but of modern date. It is indeed pretended, that tlie eastern na. tions were well acquainted with the property of the magnet, long before the Europeans had learned any thin^ about it. Some allccre that Solomon knew the use of the compass, and that there- Iry he was enabled to send his mariners to Piru. which was then ta.led Parvaim and Ophir* Other authors affiim, that the Chinese about that time, or even earlier than the days of Solo- mon, were acquainted with this most useful property of the magnet. This, however, has been much doubted, altljough it is spoken of both in Duhold's History of China, and thr learned Renaudot's dissertation on the Chinese sciences. Flavius Bond affirms that, on or about the year I'SOI, one John Goia, a noble citizen of Amalphi, a town of Principato in the kingdom, of Naples, first discovered the mariner's compass; and for this he quotes the following verse from Antony of Pa- lermo, recorded by the Neapolitan historians : — *' Primo ded it nautis usum magnet is Amalphi." The arms of the territory of Principato has, it seems, been ever since a mariner's compass. It has also, with equal confidence, been asserted, that Marco Paulo, the Venetian, learned the use of the mariner's compass from the Chinese, and that he first imJe it known in Italy, about the year 1260 ; but this must eviclonily be a mistake, for we find in Purchas' Pilgrims, that Marco Paulo did not set out on his journey to China before the year 1261 nor did he return before the year 1295. It appears, however from some existing documents, that the directive property oftlie| magnet, and the communication of that property to iron, w' ;, known in Europ«: before that time, though to all probabililv^ ', was not used in navigation until some time afterwards wrtf luav be very reasriably attributed to the clumsy way of suspe 'ne- the maffntlic jeedle, which was at first usea.t * See Pineda, de Ket-tts Solomon is. lib. iv. c. 15. ■t Tlie assertion of Dr. Wallis seems to be well founded, vir. that the magKi eedle or cmpass was brought to perfection by gradual steps and partial* provements, and that to these, tlio English may claim a considerable share; i"^ it must be allowed, that they have brought the manufacture of instruincim greater perfection Mian anj other ))Coi'lc in i\\v «orld. 1 «*!; BUtPLEMENT. j^ „^Gassendu8 adduces, as an argument of the French having beon the inventors of the compass, that the north point is al- ways marked with a fleur de lis. As to the pretence of Goro- pius, that tht) compass must be the invention of the Danes, Dutch or Germans, because the thirty-two points of it arc written and pronounced in the Dutch or Teutonic language, has no better grounds than the English claim from the words compass or box. Vincentius Belluaccnsis, and Albertus Magnus, who lived about the year 1245, as well as Livinus Lemnius, make mention of the dinction of the poles of the magnet, as is seen from a tract de lapldibus, which has been attributed to Aristotle, but is supposed lo I ave been the work of some Arabian author, a little or about Iheirown time, which tract has been since lost. Frincis Gabius, a Jesuit of Ferrara, says that the first thing ho iinows professedly written on the direction or verticity of the magnet, was an epistle of Petrus Peregrinus Gallus, about tiie lalter end of the thirteenth century, and that the peregrinations of this same Peter, in magnetical philosophy, were not far from the truth. A few years after, this epistle was clandestinely altered, and in some degree mutilated, by one John Tasnier, who publ lished it in his own name, under the title of Opusculum perpetua memoria dignissimum de natura et effectibus magnetis. Some authors of note affirm, that this Petrus Peregrinus was no other than an assumed name of the English friar Bacon, who flourished in the thirteenth century. . < ' . .; , ^, Amongst the manuscripts of the university of Leyden there is a volume containing many scientific tracts, one of which is a letter of Peter Adsiger, which is dated in the year 1269, and contains an account of almost all the properties of the magnet, as they are known at the present day. The attraction, repulsion, directive property of the magnet, the communication of those properties to iron, the construction of the azimuth compass, the use of the magnetic needle, and the variation, are explicitly laid down in a curious letter, which is entitled, Epistola Petri Adsigerii, in iignationibus natura magnetis, and published b^ Cavallo, iu the second edition of his treatise on magnetism. „; , ' '' 'The important discovery of the inclination or dip of the mag- l^ SUPPLEMENT. netic needle was made about the year 1576, by Robert iSfoiman, a compass-maker, residing in Wapping, who, in 15»J, publishftd a pamphlet, entitled, " The newe Attractive, showing the Nature, Propertie, and manifold Vertues of the Loadstone, witlj the De- clination of the Needle therewith under the Plaine of the Hori- zon. Found out and discovered by Robert Norman." The sole credit of the discovery was awarded to him by Dr. Gilbert and Mr. William Burrows, cotemporary writers on the subject of magnetism. " The iiewe Attractive^' was dedicated to Mr. Bur- row's, and Dr. Gilbert speaks of the author, in the following terms;—" This is that Robert Norman, that skilful seaman and ingenious artificer^ who first found the inclination of the macrnetic needle." Norman thus describes " by what means the rare and slranjre declinino- of the needle from the plane of the horizon was lirst found,'' ' ; • * •'' ' "'-'^ «' Having made many and divers compasses, and using always to finish and end them before I touched the needle, I found con. tinually, that, after I had touched the iron with the stone, (Imt presently the north point thereof would bend or decline down- wards under the horizon in some quantity, in so much that to tlie fly of the compass, which before was made equal, I was still con. strained to put some small piece of wire on the south part ther;;. of, to counterpoise this declining, and to make it equal again. " " Which effect having many times passed my hands, without any great regard thereunto, as ignorant of any such property m the stone, and not before having heard nor read of any such matter : it chanced at length that there came to my hands, w instrument to be made with a needle of six inches long, wbidi needle after I had polished, cut of a just length, and made to stand level upon the pin, so that nothing rested but only the touching of i't with the stone ; when I had touched the same, pre- s^ntly the north part thereof declined down, m such sort, that being constrained to cut away some of that part to make it equal again, in the end I cut it too short, and so spoiled the needli^ wliereon I had taken so much pains. Hereby being struck into some choler, I applied myself to seel^ further into this eUict, aii^ SUPPLEMENT. Li mkwg certain learned and expert men, niy friends, acqt,ai„* . " Seeing that it is manifest tnat there is a declining of the need le and that the same is not caused by any ponderous or weicr| tv matters in the virtue received from the stone, it may be demanded by what means this declining or elevation happeneth, and in which of the two points consists the action or cause thereof? « Peradventure you will say, as others have imagined, that it s in the south point of the needle, elevated by the attractive vir- tue of som^ point of the heavens that way. Perchance you will yield It rather to be in the north point of the needle, which hv some attractive point in the earth or in the heavens, beyond the oarth that way, is drawn down and caused to decline ; and it de- clining, of necessity the other south point opposite must needr. Le 'ifted up. • -'• ' • ■ ■'• " Your reason towards ihe earth carrieth some probability, but if I prove there be no attractive or drawing property in neither of those two parts, then is the attractive point lost, and falselv called the point attractive. But because there is a certain point that the needle always respecteth or shetveth to be void, and with- out any attractive property, in my judgment, this point ou^ht rather to be called the point respective. ° " And further, if it may be proved that there is no attractive or d.uwing power in that point, the power and action in that point ■condemned, then of necessity the power and property, without m external cause remaineth only in the stone, and ' after the leedle beirlg touched with it, having the same power and pro- lerty in it that the stone hath in every respect. "Now, as the needle hath this apparent property in declinin«- inder the horizon, to show the point respective, so it is most ma- lifest that in declining it hath a property in varying or depurfimr ^om the poles, even as the point respective openeth or showelh greater or lesser distance between the said point respective aud 'e pole or axletree of the earth ; and this departing is called ihs 1^ SUPPLEMENT . variation of the rteedle. This variation, however, « no oih.r thing than a certain part or portion of a circle contained be. tween two straighl lines, proceeding both from one cenlri., which may be imagined to be the centre of the needle, and from thence both extending and going directly forth, one to the polo or axletree of the world, and the other to the point respective; and this part of a circle contained betwixt these two lines is said to be variation, ' « And further, it is here to be noted, that always these tw lines have two right lines cutting them directly ih the centre of the needle ; the one of them crossing the meridian at right angles in the centre of the needle, is the true east and west of the world : and the other crossing the line respective at righ' angles, is the false east and west that the varying needle o compass showetn. ^ " This variation is judged by divers travellers to be m equal proportion, but herein they are much deceived, and therefore it appeareth, that, notwithstanding this travel, they have more f(,llowed books than experience in that matter. The variation is said to be proportional or uniform, when in the increasing or de- creasing of a degree of variation is found no certain number -f leagues or miles going, increasing or decreasing in one paral or latitude by like equal proportion, and that if the variation be doubled, going by one parallel, so shall the leagues or mib also. But this is not found to be the case. « For in going from Scilly to Newfoundland, which is not m leaffues, it is found that the needle doth vary more in 200 leagu«! when you come near that country, than it doth in 403 leagn. of your first way. And also in going to Newfoundland, it w eth more in one-third part of the last of the way. than m tw( thirds of the first, and in those parts it is found to be suddei Further, it is found, between the North Cape and Waigatz.ver ' strange in recoiling and coming back again to the westward the pole, before it hath fully accomplished two points of vari lion in the compass; so that at Waigatz it varieth to tho «?i ward, as it doth in Newfoundland ; and the coming hack ag« before it hath accomolished four ooints of the compass, isn SUPPLEMENT. .» Strange, and against the opinions of all that have before written.'*. V . . .-. , ' ,That Norman, in the elucidation of his opinion, was siandinir on th« threshold of truth, and breaking through the obscurity in whKh the variation of the needle was involved, must now be manifest. In the further exposition of this intricate and difficult subject, It may be proper to observe, that what we call the north magnetic pole is in fact a south pole, or, in other words it is a magnetic pole, contrary to that polo of the needle, which is at ttacted by or directed towards the north pole of the earth bo cause the magnetic attraction takes place only between poles of .hflereut denominations, and for the same reason, what we call ihe south magnetic pola of the earth, is, i,i fact, a north poJe ' h IS likewise evident, that according to the position of these .naonetic poles, the compass needle will be differently affected .nd from thence we are entitled to draw the following results -. If the magnetic poles of this earth had coincided with ihe true poes thereof, there could have been no declination or vari- ation of the mariner's compass in any part of the world, that is. If the earth s uniformity be magnetical ; for in that case the needle, in pointing to the magnetic poles, must also have pointed t. the true poles. This needle would, therefore, be necessarily directed along the course of the meridian, or, in other words, it would not have any declination either to the east or west thereof. . . ' . ^^ - - "••• If the magnetic poles were situated in the same meridian and |a opposite parallels upon that meridian which passes throuo-h Ih^Mnagnetic or true poles, from one of the magnetic to the ^her, and upon the opposite meridian all along, there could be I declination, for the reason mentioned in the former case like ise upon the equator there would be no declination ; for tlmuo-h one uf the magnetic poles was only to act upon the needle "in '«^ug along the equator to the distance of 90" in longitude 'Stor^west, the declination would increase; so that at 90^^ d is h ffPin the line of no declination, it would be equal to the p 9oota,ned between the magnetic and the true poles, yet as Mther -nagn^Uc pole m U.is^^^.i^^/^^^ c ig SUPPLEMENT. distance of the neodle, it will act upon the opposite end of it ^vith equal force, and will consequently keep it parallel to itself all round the equator ; but in going from the equator north or fiouth, the declination will be increased so as to be 180« on the Ultle arcs or spaces of the meridian contained between the true and magnetic poles, which is the greatest possible declination, in all cases whatever. It is further to be observed, in this case, that the lines of no declination including these arcs of 180^ form two great circles of the globe along the meridian and equator, crossing one an- other at right angles, and dividing the surface of the globe into four quarters, two in each hemisphere; the one hemisphere having west declination in the north, and east declination in the souih\alf thereof. In the opposite hemisphere it is just the reverse, so that each of the arcs or semi-circles of no declination have east declination on one side of them, and west declination on the other. The small arcs of 180° declination, which are between the true and magnetic poles, we reckon in all cases as part of ti.e lines of no declination, for there, indeed, the needle conforms itself to the meridian as well as in the other parts of the circle, though its ends be reversed. In short, as all the lines of declination or Halleyan lines, as il.ey are very properly called, do coincide and terminate in the magnetic and true poles; so these arcs of 180 are a kind of aop-gaps, making with each of these lines, as in the present ,ase,"'a curvilinear figure returning into itself, which figures from 180° between the pules to 0« declination upon the equator, do each of them include a space larger than the other, till at last they fill up the whole quarter of the surface of the globe. and conform themselves as nearly as possible to the shape and figure thereof. As a variety of this case, we have just to men lion, that the magnetic poles may be situated in the sanne merf .dian. but in parallels which are not opposite. In that case> only alteration which could happen, is, that in the hemisphereii which the magnetic and the true poles are nearest to oiieaB other, the figures, foni.erly the Halleyan lines, become smaller,' the corresponding figures on the opposite hemisphere larger, SUPPLEHENT. •g The line of no declination, which, in thi. case, reprcsonls the equator, would also be proportionably nearer to the poles which 9fe nearest one another. If the magnetic poles were situated in opposite meridians and opposite parallels upon those meridians, which pass throu-h the magnetic and true poles, there could be no declination, (or the reasons mentioned in the former cases; but, upon'tho equator eastward and westward to the distance of 90" in longi- tude, the declination would actually increase, so as there to be equal to .the angle, which - -asures the distance between the true and magnetic poles, and would thence in the same manner decrease for the other 90" to the opposite meridian. The Halleyan lines of 10' 20", &c., as far as the greatest de- clination upon the equator, in this case become arcs or curves, which conform themselves as nearly as may be to the course and direclion of the lines of no declination, and are called by mag- netists, the lines of the first order, but the lines of the greatest equatorial declination cross one another at the distance of 90" in longitude, from the meridian or circle of no declination, some- thing in form like the letter X, or like two Gothic arches joined at the vertex. They are termed lines of the second order, and may very properly be considered as the boundary between the lines of the first and third order; as the lines of no declination are always boundaries between the lines of the east and west de- clination. In this case, these lines' of no declination, including the arcs of 180°, form only one great circle along the meridian, dividing the surface of the globe into two hemispheres, in one of which there is east declination, and in the other west declination. From the greatest equatorial declination to the arcs of 180°, ■jlhe Halleyan lines of the third order are curves returning into khemselves, and in shape nearly resembling parabolas erected Ipon the arcs of 180". As a variety of these cases also, we have |nly to add, that if the magnetic poles were situated in opposite Meridians, but in parallels which are not opposite, then in that Bmisphere,in which the true and magnetic poles approach nearest 1 one another, the figures formed by the Halleyan lines would tyj^ 8131'PLEMEST. be smaller, and in tl.e opposite hemisphere, lhej5orre.pp,.Ji, fijfurcs wouia bo larger in proportion. . °It «as once the general opinion, that .he poles of eve magnet m«»t be diametrically opposite to one «notl>er, as , p,.,:, of natural magnets are generally (ound to be so Doctor Gowon Knight has demonstrated, by expenments, tl the poles of n,agnets nmy be disposed in every poss.ble d.rec ,, The moH extensive case, that can come under our cons.derat, is. when the magnetic poles are situated neither .n the same , opposite meridians, and this seems to have been .he rea p, tb.n of these poles, ever since any observat.ons of the decl „a, of the magnetic needle have been made. In tins cas then n,.es of no declination cannot be either u, the d^ectK, f meridian or along the eqaator. as in the former cases but a U "curves, which are variously inclined to both and they d„ the surface ef this globe into two parts, but those parts are hemispheres, as in the last ease, for they may be of very d„ "IfTemagnetic poles be situated in meridians nearly oppo, the curvatures of those lines are the less but as the mag„ ,.ol.s approach nearer to the same merid.an, the curva.u he lines of no declination become greater, unt.l they al, touch one another, something in form l.ke the figure 8, a, last they complete the two great circles. The lines of the second order, which correspond to the gre equatorial declination, if the magnetic poles be situate m . dins nearly opposite, have a declination "-' ^^1-" „„,.le formed between the magnetic and true poles Bu a Luetic poles approach near the same merid.an. th.s ded , aecLases.'till at last it entirely vanishes together w.th of the arst order, and leaving only the Imes of the th.rd or The foreg.,ing cases will be found to convey every thm. ' is necessary towards an explanation of the dechnation magnetic needle. It is, however, a most important cucum 7:Zr consideration, that in the Berlin Memoirs for t e ye. Euler has, from a series of mathemaUcal calculat ons laid down the spot where (he position of the magneuc pol SUPPLEMENT n| k sou^tiV tor, ana which exactly corresponds with the discoveriet detailed by Commander Ross, in his memoir to the Royal Society. According to that most erudite mathematician, the north magnetic pole seems to be situated near to the meridian which passes by Cape St. Lucar, the south point of California! and between the latitudes of 70« and 80« north. ' - ' The situation of the south magnetic pole at that time seems 10 have been above 60« more westwardly. and near the latitude ofeOVsouth. From ihe position of the magnetic poles, the result is as fol- lows :-From the north magnetic pole a line of no declination commences, and by a route somewhat resembling the letter S it traverses the continent of North America and the Atlantic Ocean to the south pole of the earth, and then, by the arc of 180", to the south magnetic pole. From the south magnetic pole this line of no declination pro- ceeds, and in like manner traversing the Pacific Ocean passes by the islands of the East Indies, and through the continent of Asia to the north pole of this earth, and so by the little arc of 180° to the north magnetic pole. These lines divide the surface of the globe into two parts, and in going eastward from the first to the second line over the' eastern parts of North America, Europe, Africa, and a great part of Asia, there is west declination ; but from the second to the first, over the eastern parts of Asia, South America, the western parts of North America, and the Pacific Ocean, there is east de- chnation. The declination of the lines of the second order cor- responding to the greatest equatorial declination, amounts in this case to Mo ; and for the east declination they cross one another in north latitude 24°, and about £0' in longitude west of the me- ridian of California ; for west declination, the intersection is likewise in 24" north latitude, upon that part of the coast of the Red Sea which is next to Arabia Felix. "That line, which we shall call the Atlantic line of no declin- ation, seems to take its origin from the north magnetic pole, and crossing the different meridians in a south-easterly direction, re- sembling in form the long letter S, it traverses the continent of 22 SUPPLEMENT. North America, enters the Atlantic Ocean to the northward of Charleston, and so proceeds to the south polo. Upon the west side of this line there is east declination, and upon the east side thereof west declination, which last gradually increases as we proceed to the eastward, and till we get beyond the Capo of Good Hope, or midway between the Atlantic and the East India line of no declination, where it amounts to 31° about the latitude of 48^ south, and then it reg-ularly decreases to the East India line of no declination. Again, as we proceed to the eastward of that line of no decli- nation, the east declination increases rapidly till you get to tlie eastward of New Zealand, where it is upwards of 13" even in that latitude ; but from thence as we proceed eastward for about 40" in longitude, this declination appears to decrease; and again it increases till we are to the eastward of Cape Horn, where, in the latitude of 51° south, it amounts to 21° 28, and then gradu- ally decreases to the Atlanlic line of no declination aforesaid. Upon the whole, it would appear that these observations a|:roe pretty nearly with those already advanced, with the ex eption of that decreasing east declination to the eastward of New Zealjnd. But admitting that the vast body of water in the great Pacific Ocean, which cannot have any magnetic properties, should iidt have any effect in producing this irregularity, yet we are not ti expect even that the solid parts of this globe Ccan be so uniforiniy magnetical throughout as to answer entirely with calculation in every part thereof. ■ . . The magnetic needle not only declines or varies from the true north, differently in different parts of the earth at one lime, but likewise in the same place this declination is different at differ- ent times. We will therefore call it, by way of distinction, the variation of the magnetic needle. " '= ^.i -i^ • * ■ At London and Paris, where the most accurate observations have been made towards the latter end of the sixteenth century, and we cannot pretend to much earlier observations, there ww between 11° and li.« of east declination, which gradually de- creased ; so that, in h^s than a hundred years afterwards, there WAS 00 declination at all iu those placo^. From 1657 at London, SUPPLEMENT. 23 and 1666 at Paris, a west declination began, and has ever sine* increased gradually, though not uniformly or in direct proper. tion of the times ; for such is the nature of magnetic declination, that, like the apparent motion of the planets, sometimes it is faster, sometimes slower, at other times it is stationary, analo- gous also to the elongations of the inferior planets, at one time it is to the east, and at another time to the west, alternately , We may farther observe, that the declination lines of the same name have always respectively passed London, some years before the same lines arrived at Paris; and the like observations have been made m other parts of the northern hemisphere, that is in Ibis hemisphere, the Halleyan lines have regularly passed those places first which lay more westerly, and so in order those which lay more to the eastward. From the latter end of the sixteenth century there was an eastern declination over most parts of Europe, while on the coa.ls olNonh America a west declination prevailed; the lines of node- clniation being then situated about the Azores. This line of no decimation has ever since moved gradually eastward, the lines of east declination receding before it, while the lines of the west declination have gradually followed it. In the southern hemisphere, however, it is quite otherwise • for about the latter end of the sixteenth century, a line of no del ci.nat.on passed near to the Cape of Good Hope, upon the east side of which there was west declination, and npon the west s.de thereof east declination ; each of which declinations, in go.ng eastward or westward, gradually increased to a certain degree, and then in the same manner decreased to nothin- somewhere to the eastward of Java. t. . , n.^ ■.'.■ «, .-i^n^ll^' ,Jn the year 1775 the declination in the Pacific Ocean was sup- posed to be easterly over the greater part of that immense sur- face of water. The line of no declination, which was then situ- aled a little to the eastward of the Cape of Good Hope, has ever Bince been moving to the westward, and the lines of east declination I'ave gradually receded before it, while those of the west decli- naUon have followed it with a proportional pace ; so that at the t«po of Good Hope there was a considerable west declination ty^ SUPPLEMENT, of about 24^ and the line of no declination moved many degrees to the westward thereof ^ „ n From these observations it is manifest that the Halleyan hnes in the southern hemisphere gradually mova from east to west, while the motion of those lines in the northern hemisphere is from west to east, and if this conclusion be admitted, viz. that the progressive motion of the lines of declination in the northern hemisphere be constantly from west to east, this discovery will be of as great use to us in framing, regulating, or judgmg of our future charts or tables of the declination or variation of the ma- riner's compass, and will answer the purposes of navigation as well, as if we were thoroughly acquainted with the primary causos of all the phenomena of magnetism. It must be allowed, according to the observations of several iPgenious and scientific men, that the collective magnetism of ihis earth arises from the magnetism of all the ferruginous bodies therein contained, and that the magnetic poles should therefore be considered as the centres of the powers of those magnetic substances. These poles must therefore change their places at- cordino- as the magnetism of such substances is aflFected : and if it be a'dmitted, that the general cause of the diurnal variation arises from the sun's heat in the forenoon and afternoon of the same day, it will naturally occur, that the same cause being continued may be sufficient to produce the general variation of the inao-netic needle for any number of years. For it must be considered, that, ever since any attentive observations have been made on this subject, the natural direction of the magnetic needle in Europe has been constantly moving from west to east, and that in other parts of the world it has continued its motion with equal constancyc '"•«' ■''- " "^^ ""-^^ '" "7 *_' As we must, therefore, admit that the heat in the different seasons depends chiefly on the sun, and upon the whole, that the ,m)nth8 of July and August will probably be found the hottest, while January and February are the coldest months of the year, and that the temperature of the other months falls into the respect- ive intermediate degrees although from calculation we m ■ scarcely pretend to ascertain the absolute heat of any particular month or day, so we must consider the influence of heat upon magnetism to operate in the like manner; viz. that for a short time it scarcely manifests itself, yet in the course of a centur) the constancy and regularity thereof become sufficiently apparent It would therefore be idle to suppose that such an influence could be derived from an uncertain or fortuitous cause. But if it be allowed to depend upon the constancy of the sun s motion, and this appears to be a cause sufficient to explain the phenomena we should, agreeably to Newton's first law of philosophising, look no further. As we therefore consider the magnetic powers of the earth to be concentrated in the magnetic poles, and that there is a diurnal variation of the magnetic needle, these poles must perform a small diurnal revolution proportional to such variation, and return again nearly to the same point. Suppose then that the sun in his diurnal revolution passes along the northern tropic, or along any parallel of latitude between it and the equator', when he comes to that meridian on which the magnetic polo is situated, he will be much nearer to it, than in any other, and in the opposite meridian he will of course be the farthest from it. As the influence of the sun's heat will, therefore, act most power- fully at the least, and less forcibly at the greatest distance, the magnetic pole will consequently describe a figure something of the elliptical kind ; and as it is wtell known that the greatest heat of the day is some lime after the sun has passed the meridian, the longest axis of this ellip cal figure will be north-easterly in the nonhern, and south-easterly in the southern hemisphere. Again, as the influence of the sun's heat will not from those quarters have so much power, the magnetic poles cannot be moved back to the very same point, from which they set out, but to one, which will be a little more northerly and easterly, or more southerly and easterly, according to the hemispheres' in which they are situated. The figures, therefore, which they describe, may more properly be termed elliptoidal spirals. The north magnetic pole may by this ans, be carried with a slow but constant motion, more and more to the nonh-eastward, till it 26 SUPPLEMENT. arrives at the region of the greatest cold, which is supposed to be at some degrees distant from the natural pole of the earth. In this manner the variation of the magnetic needle in the northern hemisphere may be accounted for. But with respect to the southern hemisphere, it must be recollected that though the lines of demarcation in the northern hemisphere have constantly moved from v/est to east, yet in the southern hemisphere, it [% equally certain that they have moved from east to west, ever since any observation has been made on the subject.* It is, therefore, scarcely within the range of possibility, that the ma"-. netic pole in the southern hemisphere can move from east to west, vhilst that in the nortnern hemisphere moves from west to east. On considering '^ i mattei*, however, more attentively, it must in the first place be observed, that in speaking of the declination or variation of the magnetic needle, we always refer to the north end of the needle only. Thus, when the north end of the needle points to the west of the meridian, we say it has so many degrees of west variation, though the south end thereof points as many degrees to the eastward. Again, when the north end of the needle points to the eastward of the meridian, we say it has east variation, though the south end points to the west- ward thereof. And the same language is used in the southern as in the northern hemisphere, so that if the south magnetic pole, which governs the needle in that hemisphere, move to the east- ward, occasions, as we say, the needle to have west variation, and on the contrary, if it move to the westward, it makes what we term east variation. This, therefore, is the cause, on account of which the lines of magnetic declination appear to have aeon, trary motion in the southern hemisphere, to what they have in the northern, though both the magnetic poles of the oarth move in the same direction, that is from west to east. ^ -j^^,^ ^j,,^. ,, ,, In the northern hemisphere there was a line of no variation, Wihich had east variation on its eastern side, and west variation on its western side. This line evidently moved from west to east, during the last two centuries ; the lines of east variation il • See Ciivallo's Treatise on Magnetism. SUPPLEMENT. 21 moving before it, while the lines of west variation followei^ i* with a proportional pace. These lines first passed the Azores or Western Islands, then the meridian of London, and, after a cer- tain number of years still later, they passed the meridian of Paris. But in the southern hemisphere there was another line of no va- riation, which had east variation on its western, and west vari- ation on its eastern side ; the lines of east variation moving be- fore it, while those of the west variation followed it. This line of no variation first passed the Cape des Aiguilles, and then the Cape of Good Hope, the lines of 5°, 10', 15", and 20" west vari- ation following it, the same as was the case in the northern he- misphere, but in a contrary direction. It was originally the hypothesis of Dr, Knight, that the mag- netic poles were at first opposite to each other ; but, according to the doctrine of Mr. Canton, they would not long have con- tinued 80, for, from the intense heat of the sun in the torrid zone, according to the principles already explained, the north pole must have soon retired to the north-eastward, and the south pole to the south-eastward. It is also curious to observe, that on ac- count of the southern hemisphere being colder upon the whole than the northern hemisphere, the magnetic poles would have moved with unequal pace ; that is, the north magnetic pole would have moved further in any given time to the north-east than the south magnetic pole \ ould have moved to the south- ward ; and according to the opinion of the most ingenious authors on this subject, it is generally allowed that at this time the north magnetic pole is considerably nearer to the north pole of the earth, than the south magnetic pole is to the south pole of the earth, rix^^ ^^'-■''^ "^ 'n'-'w-- -^ ■ - -- ^ ■• • We shall now proceed to give the memoir of Commander Ross, as it was delivered by him to the Royal Society^ reserving to ourselves the opportunity of making those strictures, which the subject may require. , '2JS SUPPLEMENT. "On the Position of the North Magnetic Pole, By Commander .„ James Clabk Ross, R.N. F.R.S, F.R.A.S. F.L.S. ^c. Received December 19. — read Decerober 19. 1888. t i The determination of the position of the Magnetic Poles of the earth has ever been considered a desideratum in the science of magnetism, of the highest importance ; and the observations and experiments of the most ingenious and learned philosophers have universally been applied to the solution of this difficult and perplexing problem. Vague and unsatisfactory, however, were the results of the researches and calculations of the most inde- fatigable and zealous promoters of that science, arising, doubtless, in a great measure, from the discordant observations upon which they were founded, — a discordance which was considered to arise chiefly from the unequal distribution of the magnetic sub- stances contained in the earth, and also from the great distances at which the observations were made from the centres of the powers of those magnetic substances, or, in other words, from the magnetic foci, or poles of the earth. The primary cause of magnetic phenomena has always been, and still is, one of the secrets of nature, although several of the laws of magnetism have of late years been gradually developed- and during our absence from England, a greater step perhaps than any former one has been made, through the indefatigable research of Dr. Faraday, by his splendid and convincing proofs of its complete identity with electricity. Still much remains to be accomplished relative to terrestrial magnetism ; and accurate observations with good instruments, as near the magnetic poles as possible, and in various directions from them, were long coii sidered amongst the desiderata for completing the magnetii tlneory of the globo. hi i ' These wants, as far as relates to the northern magnetic re- gions, have been supplied by the expeditions by land and sea that have been sent from England fur the discovery of a Nortli West Passage, to traverse the shores of the American continent; iC SUPPLEMENT 29 and to contribute to the advancement of science in general. In tlie department of magnetism, in particular, the numerous and accurate observations by their distinguished commanders, and those who accompanied them, have been eminently important. Those made to the north-west of the magnetic pole by Capt. Sabine, to the south-west by Capt. Franklin, and to the south- east and north-east by Capt. Parry, Mr. Fisher, and Capt. Fors- ter, have furnished materials that have enabled the J3ritish philosophers to point, with a wonderful degree of precision, to the seat of magnetic concentricity. In contemplating the equipment of the late expedition, a still nearer approach than had yet been attained to that mysterious spot was anticipated from the route that we purposed to pursue; but the smallness of the vessel in which we embarked, neces- sarily limited the number and magnitude of our magnetic instru- ments. A small dipping-needle by Jones, belonging to the Ad- miralty, was, together with a number of other instruments, liberally offered for our use; and having been made with much care by that celebrated artist, for the use of the party that tra- velled towards the north pole under Capt. Parry, and been found on that occasion to answer every purpose for %. hich it was intended, we did not hesitate to consider it sufficiently large and accurate for this service. A description of the instrument accompanies the Table or Observations made by Capt. Parry and Lieutenant Forster in the Appendix to the Narrative of that voyage (p. 168,) and renders any further remarks here unnecessary. It is, however, to be re- gretted, that prior to our departure from England we had no opportunity of making any observations with that instrument; |and a defect in the verticle circle, which was not detected till thJ spring of the year 1831, has rendered it necessary to reject all ihe observations on the intensity of the magnetic force mad© |pri*vu)U8 to that period. The anwexod Table contains most of the observations that were 'f^tained on the dip of the magnetic needle during our late _'>}aj?e m the Victory, and seems to require but little explana- Hon. I have considered it proper to record the mean of the 90 SUPPLEMENT. readings of each end of the needle in each of its eight positions, because, in looking over the Table, it will be seen that scarcely any two results show any very near accordance, and, in some instances, their differences amount to several degrees. Whe:her this arises from any imperfection in the instrument, from the method of magnetizing it, or from a variation in the direoMon of the poles of the needle, I am unabb to determine. As the several readings presented themselves, so they were registered; and the resultant dips, although in some instances they show u very considerable difference, yet, upon the whole, their accoru- ance affords a remarkable instance of the tendency of errors (if such they be) to correct each other. Be that as it may, it is proper that these discordances should be known, in order that their cause may be investigated, and that the obsorvations should not obtain a greater degree of dependence than, on ox;i- mination, they may be found to deserve. Each of tlie recorded observations is the mean of six to ten readings of each end of the needle in its several positions, and the method employed in tliu reversion of its poles is that of Du Hamel. » ^^ i .n;i' - >... Only three opportunities occurred of obse .'ving the dip as we i^roceeded to the southward of Fury Point to our first winter quarters. But these, together with the variation, &c., were im- portant assistants in calling our attention to the rapid approach we were making towards the magnetic pole. A series of obser- vations during the winter led us to expect that that point would be found directly to the westward of us ; but we were unconscious at that time of the existence of an ocean in that direction, and the calculated distance far exceeded anything we could hope to travel over a country whose rugged shores seemed to forbid the Attempt, and to annihilate every hope of its accomplishment, The discovery of the Western Ocean, however, across a narroff ^eck of land to the south-west, which occurred early the folloV' ing spring, gave rise to a small party being sent from ihesliif to endeavour to trace the shores of the American continent as far to the south-west or west as possible. On that occasion, owiii^| to the smallness of the party, it was found impracticable to carrj more instruments than were actually indispensable for detcniiiii SUPPLEMENT. :^ ing the outline of the coast along which we might paw. An azimuth compass, of Capt. Kater's cons'ruction, was the only magnetic instrument that could be taken, and this was soon after leaving the ship, destroyed by a fall over a preripice at Cape Isabella, soon after I had determined that its north point was directed to the north-west. Its action was uncertain to eight or ten degrees, owing to the extreme weakness of the directive force of the needle. • , r, .„:•.;..: r, Imperfect as this indication was, it seemed to cherish the hope of our being able to obtain some interesting magnetic observations ; when having been compelled to pass another wmter near the same spot, I proposed to conduct a party, guided by some Esquimaux, across the country to the westward, and to endeavor to approach as near as possible to the source of mao-net- ism. We accordingly commenced our journey in the middle of May 1831 : but the unfavorable nature of the season prevented my obtaining any observations that could be of assistance to us, until we reached the shores of the Western Ocean on the 28ih of the month. Here good observations were made under the most favorable circumstances ; and the magnetic dip having now in. creased to 89° 41 ,and the horizontal needle pointing to N.570W., led us to expect that, at the distance of about thirty-five mile's 111 that direction, we should attain the object of our wishes. That spot being now well within oUr reach, 1 did not hesitate 10 devote the larger part of the day to repeating tho«e observa^ ions, anticipating that, after leaving that spot, little assistance 'ouid be expected from the horizontal needle in directing our >Pproach to the magnetic pole. Having gained the calculated 'osition on the first of June, without having been able, from he unfavorable state of the weather, during that interval, to Ibtain any more observations, I availed myself of the snow huts a recently deserted Esquimaux village as observatories and icamped the party at a sufficient distance to ensure their m beyond.lhe possibility of producing any influence on the P^ attention was first of all diremea^wW^^din, iiTpossflile'^^ Kd^rpQMon of the magnetic meridian. ' For this purpose I sus- ' 32 8VPPLBMEMT. pended horizontally the needle that was used' only for the deter- mination of the intensity of the magnetic force, first by three or four delicate fibres of floss silk. It remained, however, exactly in the position in which it was placed. A single fibre of tlio floss silk was next tried, and lastly a single fibre of flax. All these failing to demonstrate the smallest amount of horizontal attraction, a second needle was treated in a similar manner, and in all these attempts I was equally unsuccessful. The top of the instrument being so constructed as to admit of a half circle of torsion, this was next tried; but the needle was moved from its position in nearly the same amount as the arc described by the point of suspension, showing that the smallest amount of torsion was sufficient to overcome the directive energ-y of il,e needle. The needle was now removed to the dipping apparatus, and the following observations on the intensity of the vertical force of the needle were obtained, upon the supposition, that in whatever direction a given number of vibrations in the s.ino arc were made in the shortest time, that might be assumed a. the magnetic meridian The direction of the needle is jriveiij in true bearings. S,0'W. S.80.W N.70.W N.40OV N. 10' W. N.SO.W. and and and ana and and N 50"E. N.80-E. N.7a-B S.-'OoE. S.lOoE. ^.W^. hms hms hms hms hin« hms ,0 U '0 10 37 287 10 40 50-2 10 44 3 10 46 59 5 lU « C5 " ;3 62-5 41 13-5 26-5 47 23 50 105 36-6 49-2 45 5 33. 362 67-6 45 10-5 48 7-5 5 W :;.,• S8 42 19 32-5 29 M .J 39 187 40-7 »< «0*7 ^'' 36 10-2 60 ViV in 1 50*a 1 BO 1 50-5 1 M » 5> 2 ' " ^ From these observations it was equally impossible to a direction to the magnetic meridian, the slight differe^ being within the limits of the errors of observation, and amount of the inclination or dip of the needle in each ofl directions being precisely the same. A ^^^^^^l'^^'^' however, may seem to obtain in the directions of S.lO'fi.' SUPPLEMENT. S. 40° E. ; and a direction at right angles to that, S. 75" W. I assumed as the magnetic meridian in the first two sots of dip The mean of these was 89°58'15». The next two sets were taken at an angle of 45no the right of the former, and their mean result was 89° 59* 48" ; and the two last sets, exactly at right angles to the first set, gave the dip 83- 59 . In these last observations, the axis of the intensity needle was put in the stead of its own axis, which accounts for the difference in the readings of the needle in its several positions, as will be seen l.y the table of dips. The reason for my doing this was to pro- vide against the possibility of the observations being influenced hy an injury which the axis of the needle was supposed to have j^ustained, by the great difference that sometimes occurred in its indications. The result of these observations, hovvevor, shows that the injury, if it had met with any, did not materially affect the results; so perfectly do the principles of its construction counteract any slight bend in the axis, or any inequality in the balance of the needle. To complete the observations on the intensity of the magnetic force, and the various experiments which were made, and which it is unnecessary here to notice, occupied the whole of the time that I could devote to that purpose. And although there is a difference, amounting to several minutes, in the different obser- vations made in the same direction, of the needle, yet the result- ant mean dip in each of the three directions in which they were obtained, placed us as near to the magnetic pole as, with our limited means, we were able to determine. And although it cannot but be a rough approximation, yet it is hardly possible be more than a few miles from the exact position. It was, at '7 rate, quite impossible fur us to know, now that the hori- ntal needle had ceased to act, in what direction to proceed for lie [jurpose of approaching it more nearly ; for in order to de- 'irmine its exact position, the co-operation of several observers, laced at some distance, in various directions of its position, Duld be necessary. A series of observations, continued for me months, would afford the most important and interesting 'ta- By such means, not only its actual position^ but its diur- g^ BUPPLEMENT. nal if not Us annual motions, could be determined, and furnisl the' means of investigating most of the phenomena of magnetisrr which are now exhibited on our globe, and establishing for fu lure ages u most important point of reference, by which any pre gressivc movement may bo ascertained, and ultimately broujrl within the reuch of mathematical dotern/nation for any give period. This is precisely what is still wanting; and now that r position is so nearly known, and that it is placed in a spot ea^ of access, and affording every facility for carrying such a seri. of operations into effect, it only remains to be considered whell. those who have the power to promote such an imdortaUing mi attach sufficient importance to the subject to direct its being ca tied into execution. It is certainly every way worthy of o country. The science of magnetism, indeed, is eminently Britis There is no other country in the world whose interests are deeply connected with it as a maritime nation, or whose glo as such is so intimately associated with it, as Great Britain. A the late discoveries and improvementb are to be attributed the perseverance of British science, and the encouragement ai assistance of an enlightened and liberal administration. N will the name of Felix Booth, Esq. be omitted in the list of o country^s most distinguished patriots, whose munificence a, princely spifit have furnished the whole pecuniary means obtaininn- the results which are now presented to the Societ; and I mliv fearlessly venture to add, of enabling a few Briti seamen to' plant the flag of their country upon the northc magnetic pole of the earth. In the first voyage (if Capt. Ross, we find some valuable formation respecting the variation of the compass, and deviai of the magnetic needle, which in this place deserve particu notice. We there find, that since the discovery of the polar Of the magnet, and the consequent invention of the mariners cc pass, great improvements have been made in its constructi AUPPLEMBNT. .h^cve ed. That inotrument was i„ use for .o^e year, beforo .. was U„o«.n .hat the needle had any deviation frC,,„ Z K'«n to be .u.pec.ed, and observation, which were „ado s ai orwards. proved , ha, in EnglauJ and its vicinity, it was eas .08 or 16(30 when the direction of the needle corre.po.fded wu the mer-dm,.. After that time it boca.ne westerly ." I. d ffe .„ different parts of ,he world. Hence it became ab.o,aely necessary, both on this account and becau e g^a ual aterafons to which it was subject, that mariners .1 „ , f rn,shed w.th the mean, of daily ascertaining in every H. a.,o„, the quantity of error or variation of the con,p„ss ^ order to correct the courses to be steered, and the bear n. If objects seen. In ascertaining the quantity of this variation by .lie well-known method, the result-was. till within a few year's pas, generally believed to be correct, or at least not subjec „ mch error. Differences in these results were, however It leugth observed by modern navigators, particularly b! Mr VVales, the astronomer, who accompanied Capt. Cook in hi, ihird voyage, these difference, being from 3» to fi. a ln» «,■.!, .!.„ k- • 1- J . "^ '° "' "'"' even WKh the ships head m contrary aireetions ; under various .l.er circumstances mentioned in the introduction to Cook. wyage, they were from 3« to 7°. It was reserved, however, for that able and scientific „avig«. -, .he late Captam Flinders, to elucidate this interesting tL ■ xplam the probable, and till then the unsuspected .:uIT.,; h ab a,.„„ „f ,,, ,^ ^^^^ conclusionsa'nd to lay dow ir h! v""t""/ "" '"" "' ™"''"°-' -«---'' by Chang foL.^ n [ . * Pf'nciple on which this rule is "^f^f^^Ti" "»' ^' f°»"d "PPli^oble to every circumstance and S3 SUPPLEMENT. to all situiilions, and particularly when it has now been put to the test in Baffin's Bay. V- The memoir, written by Captain Flinders on this subject, is recorded in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, for the year 1805, from this it appears to have been his opinion, that the error of variation consequent on a change in the direction of the ship's head, was produced by the combined force of terres- trial mag-netism and ferruginous attraction within the ship. In the year 1812, the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty ordered experiments to he made on board of five different vessels in the king's ports, " with the view of ascertaining the particular causes of error to which Captain Flinders had adverted, or of obtaining some general results from an inquiry so intimately connected as it appeared to be with the improvement of naviga- tion." These experiments, as far as they weni, tended to estah- lish the fact, and to justify the opinion of Captain Flinders. Still, however, more information was wanted respecting the subject, for the purpose of discovering a rule, that would enable observers to find the true quantity of error in any place and under all circumstances. Although the experiments above mentioned gave some insight into the causes of this variation, they were insufficient to explain them perfectly; nor is it probable that we shall soon be made acquainted with them, ignorant as we are of the nature of many physical appearances of familiar occurrence. Though it woud perhaps be possible, in the present highly improved state of na- vigation, for one thoroughly versed in seamanship and nautical astronomy to conduct a ship in safety from England to any port in the world, without the aid of the mariner's compass, yet, in cloudy and tempestuous weather, or in confitied waters and sur- rounded by land, his doubt and anxiety could only be relieved, or confidence given to his mind, by the compass. It is therefore necessary that this instrument should be rendered as unerrin guide as possible, and this can only be done by a certain, u versal, and invariable mode of finding the true variation, at all times and places, and under all circumstances. SUPPLEMENT. 37 The irregularity of the compass being one of the important objects of the expedition under the command of Capt. Ross, it became his duty to examine the various reports and publications on the subject, and to endeavor to ascertain how far the different systems given to the public are correct, and the rules for cor- recting the deviation of the variation to be depended upon. From the experiments that were made, the following facts were ascertained :-— 1, That every ship has an individual attraction, which affects the compass on board of her, and to ascertain the exact quantity of its effect, though possible, requires the most particular care and the nicest attention. •2. The effect of this attraction being different in different ships, and not always progressive, but often irregular, no general calculation will therefore apply in the case of all ships, so as to ascertain it for the purposes of correction, and consequently all the rules hitherto given for obtaining it, particularly in Arctic climates, cannot be relied on, 3. As six compasses were compared with each other on board the Isabella, and found to agree in the same place, and as thov were all found to disagree when placed in different situations between the stern and the foremast, it is evident that the devin- lion in any ship will vary according to the situation of the com- pass at the time of rsing it ; and, therefore, as the point of change will not be the same at every part of the ship, all obser- vations must be made in the same place, where the point of change has been obtained, since to that only will this correction apply. 4. The deviation does not alvtrays continue the same under the same apparent circumstances, but varies according to the point in which the ship's head lies. 5. The deviation appeared to be materially affected by heat and cold, as well as by variations in the humidity and density of the atmosphere. ' ' '• * - ^' ...i .., 6. The direction of the wind seems to have an effect in dis- turbing the regularity of the deviation. . - ■ * 7. The force or quantity of the dip possesses a decided influ- ence over the force or quantity of the deviation. 38 SUPPLEMENT, ' 8. Although the points of change found with the compass in the same part of the ship will remain the same, unless some ma- terial alteration is made in the stowage of the iron on board, yet the amount of the deviation, with the ship's head on aay point of the compass, will bear a proportion, though not a regular one, to the increase or decrease of the variation or dip, by both of which it appears in some degree to be governed, though the points of change are not ; as they seem to be independent of any influence, except that of the ship's attraction or magnetism, which is not of equal force in every part of the same ship, nor, perhaps, alike in any two. It is, however, presumed that the ex- periments and observations that have been made will be sufficient to correct the errors in the mariner's course, which have so often proved fatal, and which have hitherto been attributed to defects in the compass, to currents, and other unaccountable causes. In conclusion, it only remains further to explain the manner of finding the point of change in deviation. Let the bearing of one, or the transit of two distant objects, (whose true bearing from the ship, or from each other, is known,) be taken, with the ship's head at several points of the compass ; if they all agree, the ship has no deviation ; but, if not, the one which is found to agree is the point of change. To find the deviation for the point steered, let the bearing of the same object be taken, with the ship's head on the point of the course steered ; and add, or subtract, the difference between them, as it increases or decreases the variation. To find the deviation at sea when a distant object is in view, the true magnetic bearing of which is not known, let a boat be sent out of the ship's attraction, to take the bearing of the ob- ject, and then the bearing of it is to be taken from the ship, in the manner before described. But even when no distant object is in view it can be, done in fine weather with smooth water, by veering a boat (copper fastened) astern with a compass. Tlie ship is then to steer on different courses, (the boat always keep- ing her masts in one,) until the compasses of the ship and boat agree. If there is no difference between them on any point, the ship has no deviation. Bat whatever difference is found botwecn them on any point, tliat is the 8hij>'2 deviation for that particular point, and must be added, ot subtracted, to correct the ship's course on that point, according to the true magnetic course of the boat. And, in like manner, the respective differences found on the several points are to be applied to each. On whatever point the courses of the boat and the ship agree, when her masis are in one, that is the ship's point of change. The result of ob- servations made with the ship's head on this point will give the true variation of the compass ; but if observed on any other points, the error of variation will be according to the amount of the deviation, or differences found on those points respectively, between the course of the ship and the boat, and must be applied _|- or — , as the case may require, to correct it. The variation may be observed, either before or after this process, for finding the ship's point of change and deviation ; and if amplitudes, or azimuths, are taken at different parts of the ship, the difference between the azimuth compass (wherever it may stand,) and the compass the ship steers by, ought always to be taken, and ap- plied in like manner to obtain the true variation. It would be a great benefit to navigation, if the bearings of remarkable headlands and other objects on the coasts of differ- ent countries were correctly taken, and inserted in the pub- lished charts. Thus a ship, able to approach near enough to take the transit bearing of any two such objects, whose relative situations were exactly laid down, could thus know at once her deviation, or whatever course she was steering, if the true vari- ation was on the charts, since it v/ould be the difference between that and the true transit bearing, as laid down on the chart, taking into consideration, at the same time, the known variation. Men of war, and indeed all ships, should, at every opportunity, try the deviation, and ascertain these points of change, and that being once found, no change should be made in the stowage or position of any of the larger masses of iron on board. ^ . - It onlv requires, however, a careful perusal of some parts of the memoir of Commander Ross, to discover at once how very slight was the knowledge which Capt. Ross possessed of the actual dis- coveries that Commander Ross had made in maornetical science, and i 40 SUPPLEMENT. in f\ict that he appears to bo comparatively i|[^noi'antof the exltni to which that science has been carried by some of the eminent phi- losophers of the present day ; thus Commander Ross says, " The primary cause of magnetic phenomena has always been, and still is, one of the secrets of nature, although several of the laws of magnetism have of late years been gradually developed,and during our absence from England, a greater step, perhaps, than any former one, has been made, through the indefatigable research of Dr. Faraday, by his splendid and convincing proofs q/" its complete identity with electricity J^ On this subject C«pt. Ross thus expresses himself before the committee of the House of Commons. "Among the valuable observations of every kind which you de- scribed the voyage to have enabled you to collect, are the com- mittee to understand that there are observations connected with magnetical electricity f — " I know of no magnetic electricity. I know of no such term; but the effect of light and heat upon it is an important discovery which we have made.'* " You stated you did not recognise such a term as magnetic ell ctricity, do you mean to state you do not believe there is any identity or necessary connexion between magnetism and elec- tricity {electro magnetism)^* — " I believe they may combine with each other, but I do not understand how electricity can be magnetized : the magnet may be electrified, but I do not know that it can."" " Is that opinion formed from the observations you made during yotir last voyage on the phenomena of electricity and magnetism?" — "No, there was no natural electricity present where we were," In regard to the singular contradictions which exist in these answers of Capt. Ross, with the information contained in the memoir of Commander Ross, it is curious to observe, that the mc^moir was read before the Royal Society on the 19th December 1833, and that the examination of Capt. Ross before the commit- tee of the House of Commons did not take place until the fol- lowing March 1834. Thus, although it was distinctly slated in the memoir of Commander Ross, that the complete identity of SUPPLEMENT. '4| electricity with magnetism had been established by Dr. Faraday, yet, in despite of that information so promulgated, and the dis- coveries which he had made during his residence in the Arctic seas, he declares that he knows of no such thing as magnetic elec- tricity, and that, in regard to any identity between magnetism and electricity, he believes they may combine with each other ; but he does not understand how electricity can be magnetized, in fact, he knows nothing at all about the matter. Indeed what other result could be expected from him, when he gives the following- answer to one of the questions put to him. "Then you made no observation with respect to electrical phe- nomena, which you think would be important to science ?"— " No, none whatever,'''' "With respect to the Aurora Boreal is, it has been a matter of some discussion, whether the Aurora Borealis is accompanied with noise ?" — " I never observed any noise with it, but I have a new theory of it, which I intend to publish." " Did you observe any magnetic phenomena, which you con- sider of importance, apart from the existence of the magnetic pole V — " Yes, the effect of light upon the magnet, and its exposure to such climates." On this subject we must refer to a previous part of the ex- amination of Capt, Ross, when he attempts to explain to the meaibeTS of the committee, the principal points connected with the discovery of the position of the magnetic pole. After having- informed the committee, that he did not know the longitude of the magnetic pole, he proceeds to state, •* When the compass is over the magnetic pole, the power of attraction is at right angles to the needle, and of course it has no power to turn in either direction horizontally. The effect, therefore, that light, heat» land all other combinations which may combine with the magnetic [influence, is at liberty to act upon the needle, and will be unre- strained by the magnetic attraction itself, therefore, when the pun passes round, we saw the magnetic needle following the sun, proving that the sun had an influence upon the magnet, which is great desideratum in science. And was it then unknown to Capt. Ross, that the influence 32. / 42 SUPPLEMENT. ' t)f the flun upon the magnet, had been discovered long before he made his appearance in the world ? and that it is to be found in the writings of Lorimer, Knight, Canton, Cavallo and others, who wrote about the middle of the 18th century : and conse- quently that that which he calls a desideratum in science, and which he wishes the committee to consider as one of the results of his expedition, was known to the very tyro in the science of magnetism, long before the sound of his name was heard amidst the rocks of his native mountains, or the hummocks of ice in Boothia Felix. In other instances, it is scarcely to be supposed that Capt. Ross could have perused the memoir of his nephew, previously to his entering upon his examination before the committee, or he would not have allowed himself to fall into those gross inaccuracies and contradictions, by which it is so particularly distinguished. Commander Ross, when speaking of the equipment of the ex- pedition, says in his memoir, ** The smallness of the vessel in which we embarked, necessarily limited the number and magni- tude of our magnetic instruments. When Capt. Ross was before the committee, he may be sup- posed to be standing on his trial, as to the actual extent of the loss of his personal property, on which, in some respects, his claim to remuneration from the public was to be founded. It is, not, therefore, to be wondered at, that he calculated his losses at | their maximum; but at the same time it is rather unfortunate | for him, that a very grept difference exists in the report of Com- mander Ross and the evidence of Capt. Ross touching these very! objects, which constituted his principal loss. The former states,] that the number and magnitude of their instruments were limited,! on account of the smallness of the vessel. This statement, hoW| ever, is directly contradicted by Capt. Ross, as will appear b/j ''the following examination: — -.f;. " Are you aware whether your nephew sustained any peciiDi-j ary losses from the expedition?"—" No^ except his clothes, wli every one lost.'* «y " Had he instruments?"—" He had a few instruments, but tlief| were not of any very great consequence.'* SUPPLEMENT . IS " You had some extremely valuable instruments >" — " I had the finest instruments that were ever carried out on an expedi- tion." "What were your instruments worth?" — "My instruments and books were worth nearly £1000." *• Could you give a statement of .them?" — " I cannot give an exact statement of them,'* " The whole of which you lost ?" — '* Yes. I saved my sex- tant and one chronometer." " Do you also include that in your £3000 expenses in the out- set of the voyage?"—" Yes." " That you reckon the whole of your loss?" — " Yes £8000." We have in the body of this work frequently been obliged to allude to the palpable questions, which were put to Capt. Ross by some of the members of the committee, and the intent of which could not be mistaken. It must also appear to the mean- est capacity, that some of the members must have acquired some private information touching certain points of the expedition, previously to the committee entering upon their labors, or they never could have framed their questions in the manner repre- sented in their report. Thus it was necessary, as one part of the foundation for their recommendation of the grant of £5,000, to prove that Capt. Ross had sustained a heavy loss in personal pro- perty, leaving the difference between that loss and the £5,000 to be made up by the great and important services which he had rendered to nautical and geographical science, and particularly to the solution of the important question of the true position of the mag5-^«ifci)ble>.' 3^SSOip9*of.t;he members of the committee are fellows'6i*the *Royal Socidt'V.'il' itJ by no means an impro- bable .tas,e'4ljatjhpy,ri^;^ltt ^ave-be^n present at the reading of so imporlanVa document 'arlbp: mpmoii' of Commander Ross, on the interesting question of the discovery of the true position of the magnetic pole, and in which the information could not pos- sibly have escaped them, respecting the paucity of instruments, which were taken out on the voyage, arising from the smallness of the vessel employed on the expedition. Nevertheless the lead- ing question is put to Capt. Ross, — " You had some extremely 44 SUPPLEMENT. ||| ■ . valuable instruments?" The answer is in the aflSrmative in the highest degree, and a loss of £1000 is immediately accounted for. From a general view of the discoveries professing to be the result of the last expedition of Capt. Ross, with the exception of those immediately made by Commander Ross, science has been very little benefited, and even the position of the magnetic pole is still to be confirmed by subsequent experiment and research. ;mst of plates. Portrait, of Capt. Ross, to face Engraved Title-page. PaTe. Chart uf the Route ; ' licparttire from Woolwich '•' View of the Victory in Felix Harbour 'J>*< Esquimaux buUdins Snow Huta ,. --^ •• •;. ,,•. .\ planting of the Standard on the Position of the Magnetic Pole .. .. f/;9 Furv Beach ^'1* Capt. Ross falUng in with the Isabella ^'^ » « ' ' 1 1 » > ■' ■» .»».. >'»i- *• ' * ' ' ' -,>-••■ ■» *' r i J • ;*' FINIS. * " ' '* Printed by W. Hill, 48, Northampton Street, Clerkcnwcll. %