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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 SITUATION or THE IlECLA AND FUKT, Juguit 1 , 1825. i i ^^ r ^fh^ t \ O Y A (1 li S IS THt ^IIICTIC SEAS, I ROM 1821 TO 1825,' KOli THK DISCOVEIIY OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE TO THE FACIFIC OCEAN, -it, DUBLIN: TRIMED BV li. NArPEIl, liO^ CArfcL-blKIiLi . 1830. a I NTRODUCTION. It iM necessary to inform the reader, that the following Book is the sequel of a volume already published, under the title of '* Arctic Voyages," and containing an account of the several expe<< ditions sent out from England, for the purpose of discovering a passage along the northeru shore of the North American Continent into the Pacific Ocean. To those who may not be possessed of the compilation alluded to, it is proper briefly to state, that several circum- stances had led the Board of Admiralty to expect, that an opening would he found on the western side of Davis^s Straits and Baffin's Bay, which would lead to our £ast Indian posses- sions and to China, and thus shoiten the course which vessels have hitherto been obliged to take by the Cape of Goo.i Hope, at the southern extremity of Africa eastward ; or else by Cape Horn, which lies at the south of the great con- tinent of South America, westward. It seem- ed to his Majesty's Government, therefore, au IV ohject worthy of a great nation, to equip and lend cut an expedition, wliieli should determine a question so important, hoth to commerce and science. Accordingly an expedition was arranged, and the command given to Captain Ross, who set sail on the 18th of April, 1818, and having proceeded through Davis's Straits, and cosisted round the northern, and north-eastern extre- mity of Baffin's Bay, he came to the conclu- sion, that there was no inlet which offered a reasonable hope of effecting a passage west« ward, and returned to England on the 30th of October. It appeared, however, to the Board of Ad- miralty, that in one part, (namely, Lancaster's Sound, which he stated to be blocked up with mountains), he had not made his observations with such accuracy as to justify his conclusion. A second expedition was therefore sent out in the year 1819, under Lieutenant, afterwards Captain Parry, who had been second in com- mand under Captain Ross. He was ordered to explore the bottom of Lancaster's Sound, and, if possible, to pass throud^h it to Behring's Straits, which divide the continent of North America front that of Asia. This voyage was not successful in accom- plishing the wished-for passage. It added greatly, however, to our geographical know- ledge, by many important discoveries. Captain Parry having reached the entrance of Lancas- ter*a Sound, north latitude, 73° 55', west lonf^i- tude, 77° 40', found an uninterrupted passage to the westward, till he crossed the meridian of 110°, west longitude. Here the ice met him^ and conjoined with the severity of the cold weather which now set in, constrained him to winter in a harbour, called from that circum* stance. Winter Harbour. As soon as the season opened in the follow* ing year, 1820, Captain Parry resumed his westerly course ; the ice, however, after he had made a short progress, offered such an insur- mountable barrier to his advance, that the summer was nearly consumed in fruitless at- tempts to penetrate it. Obliged, therefore, to consider the feasibility of passing another win- ter in these dreary regions, he called a council of his officers, and finding that there was not a sufficiency of provisions for such a protracted absence from England, as would be necessary ill case he remained, and that the health of the men had begun visibly to decline, he was re- luctantly obliged to set the helm about for England, where he arrived in the month of November, 1820. The succeeding expedition, which was sent out from England, under the sanction of the British Government, forms the subject of the following narrative. It now only remains to inform the reader^ a2 that the accounts given by the respective com- manders of these expeditions, have been thrown into the form of conversations, in order to make the narrative more intelligible to young persons, and to introduce such explanatory matter as seemed necessary. *'\i • ( »(- ' " ! ' • /' '■f-r "Vr n >;» »i •r .^•_,. ARCTIC VOYAGES. ■» r .r. r .'■■♦, t •/ ■ I CHAPTER I. \ Captain Mackey, the commander of a mei<- chantman, which traded hetween England and Ireland, having been induced to take up hi« residence with a merchant of respectability^ in Waterford, named Jones, and who was part- owner of his vessel, during the time that the ship was unloading her cargo at that port, was much interested by the amiable disposition and intelligence of the two sons of his host. Wil- liam and Patrick, then boys, used on their re- turn from school each day, seek out their friend, Captain Mackey, who was always ready, when business did not occupy him, to relate the oc- currences of those voyages, in which he had been engaged ; for he had sailed with Captain Parry in his three expeditiontt for the disco^ Tery of a north-Wd«t passage, and was well qualified to describe the various occurrences of these well conducted enterprises. It was, however, in the long evenings of summer, that William and Patrick Jones had most gratification, and indeed most instruction, in listening to Captain Mackey : their father was then present to direct their minds to such improving reflections, as the narrative of his visiter suggested, and gently to prevent their thoughts from wandering away from the sub- ject before them, an evil to which those who are acquainted \vith young persons, well know them to be liable. They had an excellent map spread out on the table before them, on which they were required to follow the course of the expedition; and it was the care df this judicious parent, that his sons should point out the places that were mentioned, in order that thus the geo- graphy of these northern seas, being connected with so many interesting facts, might be inde- libly imprinted on their memory. In this way Captain Mackey had recounted the first voyage of Captain Parry, as well as those of Other navigators who had preceded him ; and the reader will now suppose them seated in Mr. Jones's drawing-room, which looked out upon the neatly dressed garden of his residence, in the outskirts of Waterford^ ftnd commanded a delightful view down the broad and navigable river Suir, into the Qoun- iias of Kilkaony md WexfQxd, Captain Mac- key, to assist liin memory, liad the notes before liim, which he had made during the course oi his voyage, but he seldom consulted them, ex- cept to guide him in the order of his narrative, and with the dates and positions of the several places which he had occasion, to mention. " Your boys," said he to Mr. Jones, " evince such a laudable curiosity upon the subject of these Arctic discoveries, and they gratify me so much by their pertinent observations, titat I shall feel a pleasure in giving them an account of Captain Parry's second voyage." " Accept my warmest thanks," replied I^r Jones, '* for your kindness ; my sons, I know, are duly sensible of the trouble you have already taken — and though I feel it almost too much to ask you for a continuation of your narrative, your go >dnes8 will consider our request, but the consequence of the interest you have excited." The discoveries, (began Capt. Mackey,) which had been made by the expeditions already sent out, having afforded sufficient ground to en- courage the belief, that a north-west passage might still be found from the Atlantis to the Pacific Ocean, his gracious Majesty, King George the Fourth, was pleased to command, that another attempt should be made to effect that object ; and because of the zeal, intelli- gence, and intrepidity displayed by Capti Parry, the Lords of the Admiralty entrusted him with the conimand of the expedition. Patrick, I suppose the Hecla and Griper, 11 10 wiiich had gone upon the former expedition* were too much hatteri;d hy the sea, and strained by the ice, to suit your purposes a second time. Captain M. The Hecla had been found so well adapted to this service, and was so little injured by the former voyage, that she was again selected, together with another ship of precisely the same class, named the Fury, of 370 tons burthen ; Capt. George Francis Lyon being appointed to the command of the former, and Captain Parry to that of the latter : aboard the two ships were placed 118 men, including officers, all prime seamen ; and many, like my- self, companions of Capt. Parry on his former ▼oyage ; we w?re victualled for three years, it being possible that we might be so long absent. WiUiam. The prospect of being shut up for so long a time in these dreary regions might have damped the spirit of men less inured than ycm were, to the hardships of a cold climate. Captain M. Though provisioned for so long a period, it was more with the view of being jbi^pared for the worst that might happen, than with the expectation that we should need them . Such confidence had we in our commander's skill, and so much assurance of success did our former experience give us, even before we em- barked, that we spoke of spending the second winter, either, at the Sandwich Islands in the Pacific Ocean, or at Canton, in China, after passing through Behring's Straits. ' But besides this, we were never better pro- 11 vided against ttie severity of the eold : a stove of aa improved congtruction wa« fitted up. which carried heated air into every part of the holds and of the cahins, and completely pre- vented the moisture of our hreath from col- lecting into ice, on the sides and ceilings ad- joining to the hammocks : a thick coating of cork, was also applied all round the inhabited parts of the ships, whilst shutters and plugs of the same material were fitted to every window, sky-light and illuminator, to prevent the escape of the warmth which was produced inside ; and still further, to provide us with all things ne- cessary, the Lords of the Admiralty sent out with us the Nautilus transport, which was to accompany us to the margin of the ice, in order to relieve us of part of our lading, in crossing the Atlantic, and to enable us to take with un twenty live bullocks, and 118 tons of coals for each ship ; an arrangement which afforded us the luxury of fresh meat for a long time after leaving England. . . . 1 mustnot, however, omit to mention a sim- ple and most ingenious contrivance, which was adopted for the first time, for melting snow into \%iiter for our consumption, during the winter months, without any additional expense of fuel. The smoke issuing from the galley fire, and in- deed the heat it gives, does little service be- yond the ordinary purposes of cooking, to which it is applied. It occurred, however, to a Lon- don mechanic, to occupy a portion of the A3 •Vii , I V'l' It ; I f I i opening, or chimney» through which the smoke ascends, by a metallic vessel or tank uf con- siderable size, allowing the smoke to pass freely up on each side of it, and thus to com- municate a constant heat to the vessel. In the top of the tank, was placed a large circular hole for supplying it with snow from the upper deck, and in the lower part was inserted a cock for draining off the water* This apparatus^ which was so little in the way, that it could not even be seen, produced, without any increase of fuel, sixty-five gallons of pure water per day, a quantity more than sufficient for our whole consumption. In our official instructions we were directed to proceed as quickly, as might be consistent with due precaution, towards, or into Hudson's Strait, until we should meet the ice, when the Nautilus transport was to be cleared of its pro- visions and stores, and to return to England ; we were then to penetrate to the westward, i;hrough Hudson's Straits, until we reached some part of the coast of the continent of North America, where we were to pursue our course westward, to Behring's Straits. If we happily reached the Pacific Ocean, we were to proceed to Kamtschatka, from thence to the Sandwich Islands, or Canton, and having refitted there» and refreshed ourselves, we were to return to England by such route as might be deemed convenient. . On the 29th of April, 1821, we weighed an- I I per our 13 clior from Deptford, a town on the river Thame* below London ; but I shall not detain you with the proceedings of our voyage to the Orkney* and across the Atlantic, into Hudson s Straits. On the 14th of June, we met the first iceberg, being in latitude, 60° 48', and in west longi- tude, 53° 13' ; and having, according to our instructions, taken out of the transport the provisions which she carried for our use, we took leave of her with three cheers, and pro- ceeded to the westward with as much expedi* tion, as contrary winds, tides, and floes of ice, would permit, the last of which invariably im- {Krde all ships that attempt to pass through them previous to the month of August: so much more difficult is the navigation of the sea iathis quar- ter, than that of Davis's Straits, or Baffin!s Bay, which are open and navigable with little or no risk, as early as the month of May. William, I perceive that after making Cape Farewell, which is the. most southerly point of Greenland, you did not enter Davis's Straits, but leaving t\ienx to the north, your ships prc»- ceeded along the same parallel of latitude, till you reached the entrance of Hudsonts Straits. Will you be so good as to oxplain to us the rea- son why you were ordered not to entei Baffin's Bay? ^ Captain M, The experience of our former voyage made Captain Parry sensible, that there was litUe expectation of making his way through Lancaster's Sound ; it was, therefore, r\ I I' : I u :lll 14 thought advisable by the Lords of the Admi- ralty, that we should, in a lower latitude, ex- plore a passage to the sea, which the observa- tions of Hearne and Mackenzie had demon- strated to wash the northern shore of the American continent; and Hudson's Straits and Bay offered, in the opinion of competent judges, the best hopes of success. I o Jght here, however, to mention, that Hud- son's Bay is situated to the north of Canada, and reaches in its whole extent from longitude 78° to 95° west, and from latitude 52° to 68'^ north, and is so called from Henry Hudson, who discovered it in the year 1610. The entrance of the bay is between Resolution Isles on the north, and Cape Chidley, (which is the most northerly point of the coast of Labrador,) on the South. Our commander s purpose was to steer through the Straits of Hudson, and hav- ing made the island of Southampton, to steer northward, in the hope of finding some wes- terly inlet into the North Polar sea. But to return from this digression, it was not till the 5th of July, that we made Resolution Island, which, as I have just mentioned, is at the entrance of Hudson's Straits. It is in lati- tude 6 1 ° 20 ' north, and west longitude, 64° 55 '; we soon after, however, entered the Straits, and slowly advancing westward, passed on the 21st; and in latitude 61° 50' north, longitude, 67° west, several islands, known by the name of Savage Islands. On that day a number of kay- 15 ackt or men's canoes, came ofF to the ships with natives aboard, who opened a barter with us. They were unreasonable, however, in their de- mands, so that we only obtained two barrels of blubber in exchange tor some knives, large nails, and iron hoops ; they wanted saws, and harpoons, which we could not spare. Soon after a large oomiak, or woman's boat made its appearance, containing seven females and four men, who were followed by four other oomiaks, each containing from fourteen to sixteen per- sons, the majority being females and young children. They were, beyond all comparison, the worst specimens we had ever seen of that people ; for not only were they disgustingly filthy in their habits, eating the seal blubber raw, and drinking the train oil, which they had with them, but they were dishonest and impu- dent also, endeavouring to steal every thing they could lay their hands on. The disgust which our seamen could not help expressing at their conduct, seemed to cause them the most malicious amusement ; and when any one of the crew turned away, unable to bear the sight without being sick, they would, as a good joke among themselves, run after him, holding out a piece of blubber or raw seaFs flesh, dripping with oil and filth, as if inviting him to partake of it. But a worse trait than all was displayed by 'two women alongside the Hecla, who, de- void of all affection for their offspring, actually oft'ered to barter their two children, for a few ). i i 11 ' iM 1 1 ?i I J i!i 16 pieces of old iron, beginning very deliberately to strip tbem of their clothes, which they did not chuse to consider as included in the in- tended bargain ! In the forenoon of the next day, ( Sunday) a number of canoes and one oomiak, came from the shore ; but as no intercourse would be suf- fered with them till after divine service, they became very impatient, and walked on the ice alongside the ships, vociferating, ** pilletai/" (give me,) so loudly, that we could with dif- ficulty hear the Chaplain's voice. At a quar- ter before noon, the wind coming round to the southward, and the ice being somewhat less close than before, we cast oiF, and made sail up the Strait, not sorry to leave this unamiable people, who in addition to the vices of savage life, were destitute of natural affection. On the 31st of July, we got a glimpse of Salisbury Island, in the western horizon, being then in latitude 64° north, and longitude 75° 48' west. On the following day we neared Nottingham Island, at the western extremity of Hudson's Strait. This is separated from the north shore by a channel about four leagues broad. Several canoes and one oomiak came off from the mainland, containing about twenty persons, of whom more than one half were wo- men and children. In their features they did not differ from the Esquimaux last described, but they wc^e better behaved. They brought a little oil, some skin dre:»ses, and tusks of the •se of leing 75^ lared imity Ifrom 'ues laine [enty wo- did bed, light the 17 walrus, which they were desirous of barter* iiig for any trifle we would give them. Many of tlie jackets of those people, and particularly those of the females, were lined with the skins of birds, having the feathers inside. After a run of forty miles during the night, almost without seeing any ice, we came on the 2d of August to a body of it so closely packed, that we could not advance farther ; the latitude observed at noon, was 64i° 59', the longi- tude 79® 40' ; and you may well conceive, with what interest we regarded our situation, having arrived at the western extremity of the Strait, and being now about to enter upon seas not hitherto explored, or else but im- perfectly known. We had reached, in fact, the channel running between Southampton Island and the land to the northward, which we afterwards ascertain- ed to be the continent of North America. This channel, called by its discoverer, Middleton, in 1742, Frozen Strait, stretched north-west; and through it our commander determined to work his way, although it then appeared com- pletely obstructed with ice. It was, however, the passage to Repulse Bay, which it was our duty to examine : one fact encouraged us to force it ; the ice which closed it up, was evi- dently not the production of the past winter, but appeared to be pushed in and jammed, as if by the pressure of a larger body at its wes- tern end. I was in the crow's nest at the time, Tft I i 1 18 and I must say, that the prospect of advanciiifr through to compact a body, appeared as unpro- mising as could be ; and yet strange to tell, shortly after the ice suddenly separated ! and I might almost say, disappeared, so as to ren- der the Straits navigable. Mr, Jones, How very extraordinary ! Then no one should ever pronounce a passage im- practicable in those seas, however closely pack- ed the ice appears. Captain M. I mention it to shew you, what changes often take place in icy seas, and how improper it would be to despair of advancing, because, to the observer's eye, the way before him was blocked up. This was on the Idth, but as it was necessary to examine the channel before we would beat the ship through it. Captain Parry made the necessary signal to our. consort, to stand off and on, during the night, whilst he himself went, with a party to sleep on shore, at the northern extremity of Southampton Island, in order to commence the examination early in the morning. They made a tent of the boat- sail, and lay very comfortably during the night. The men left on watch, reported, that a great number of white whales, seals, and narwhals, were seen by them playing about near the beach ; the white whales were the most numerous. The noise these animals made, resembled a hoarse low toned bark- ing, more tlian any other to which it could be 41. , 5J 19 compared ; Jind it was remarked, that their co- lour was whiter than any that had been before jieen. After Captain Parry had conipjeted his Riirvey, he found on his return the boat's crew amusing themselves in catching Home|sniall fish, railed sillocksjof which theyhad discovered great numbers left by the tide in pools on the rocks, and had already caught more than a large bucket full. They proved excellent eating, and al- though we were not badly off for fresh provi^ sions, we considered them a very agreeable va- riety. On the morning of the 17th of August, the weather being too foggy to move, parties from both ships went on shore at Southampton Island, to examine the country. The land rose gradu- ally from the beach to the heigiit of sixty or seventy feet above the level of the sea, and was full of ponds of fresh water, the intermediate ground being covered with rich vegetation. Nine or ten deer, of which several were fawns, with a large buck, as usual, bringing up the re re of the herd, were met by some of the sai- lors, but they were too wary to come within gun shot ; nor were these the only animals in «ight, for we saw a great number of black whales, playing about near the beach, which from the total absence of ice, would have af- forded a rich harvest to a fisiihing ship. The latitude observed when the fog cleared away,' was 65^ 20', the longitude, by chrononieteri 81'^ 57'. Some of our party observed traces !! i ' ilil 1 ! 20 of £iK{Ukinaux liabitationti ; and here and there stones set up as marks, evidently to gui in making fnity of the irsuing our s northern of the na« } did, and >th of Sep- coast with ^n we ob- ^ liill ; and >llowed us ing sailed in Parry d by two i surprize ►ot where so mute we had ihose we believe en were ige, and Jmoured is hand ' a bow with a set of which and three or four arrowj , they willingly parted on being presented with a knife in exchange. Captain Parry went with them to their hut, which was a rude cir- cular wall of loose stones from six to eight feet in diameter and three in height, in the centre of which stood an upright pole, serving as a support to the deer-skins that formed the top covering. The family consisted of nine per- sons- The canoe belonging to them was care- fully laid on the rocks close to the sea side, with the paddle and the man's mittens beside it. The timbers were entirely of wood, and covered as usual with a seal-skin ; its length was nineteen feet, and its extreme breadth two feet. A handsome seal-skin was smooth- ly laid within, as a seat, and the whole was sewed and put together with great neatness. The paddle was double, made of fir, and the ends of the blade tipped with whalebone to prevent their splitting. Soon after our Cap- tain arrived at the habitation, the party was joined by two women from twenty to twenty- five years of age, having each a child at her back, and by a good looking modest girl of about eight, and a boy five years old. The faces of the women were round and plump, and in short completely Esquimaux. Those of the men had a degree of lankness, which impressed one with an idea of Indian rather than of Esquimaux features. The fire place in the hut consisted of three rough stones care- |-(M m I,; ^ ^i:! , 1 . : f i ^ ' i ^■M !i'v. I I . I I '^i ;". U:, I m il 2(\ les^Iy placed on end against one side, and tJiey had several pots made of stone called pot- stone for cnlinary purposeti. William, Were they as dirty as you found the Esquimaux to be in other places ? Captain M, Far from it ; indeed they seemed to us cleanly both in their persons and in the in- terior of their habitations One instance of it occurred which deserves to be mentioned ; — when leaving the tent to return to the boat$, Captain Parry desired one of ns to tie the ar- ticles we had purchased into a single bundle, for the convenience of carrying them, but the elder of the two male Esquimaux, who watched the man thus employed, would not permit it to be done without excluding u pot, which, as he explained by wiping the lampbljick off with his fingers, would soil a clean seal-skin jacket that formed part of the bundle. As soon as the Esquimaux had become a little more familiar with our party, they re- peatedly asked for sowik, (iron) in answer to which we gave them to understand that they must accompany us to our boats, if they wished to obtain any of this precious article. Accord- ing!} the whole group set off with us on our returi the males keeping with our party and the women a short distance behind. We had hitherto been much pleased with our new acquaintance, who were certainly a good-humoured decent sort of people. We therefore loaded them with presents, and en- deavoured to amuse them by showing them and tiiev pot- stone roil found ? ey seemed I in the in- tance of it itioned ; — the boats, tie the ar- )e bundle, n, but the 10 watclied permit it lot, which, ipblack off n seai-skin le. ' become a they re- answer to I that they ley wished Accord- us on our party luid eased witli certainly a ople. XVe ts, and en- ding them ■f 27 the mahner of rowing onr boats, which had been liauled up on the beach. While the men and children were occupied in observing them, the women were no less busily employed in pilfering, and conveying into their boots some of our cups, spoons, and other small articles, such as they could conveniently secrete. This they accomplished with so much dexterity, that no suspicions would have been excited of their dishonesty, had not one of the officers fortunately missed a cup which was required for supper. A general search being instituted, the Esquimaux were obliged to give up not only the cup, but many other things which they had stolen. Theft is a crime, whether it occur in a civilized country like our own, or on the shores of the Arctic Sea ; and no people are so ignorant as not to be a\fare that it is wrong to take that which belongs to another. To punish them, therefore, Captain Parry directed that every present should be taken from the offenders, and he then dismissed the whole party with great appearance of indignation. William. May I ask you how these peo{^e were dressed ? Captain M,T\ieir dress was in all respects the same in shape as we had observed in former voy- ages: it differed, however, in the material being composed almost entirely of deer skin. The jacket which was close all round, but not tight, came as low as the .hips, and had sleeves reach- ing to the wrist, In that of the women the tail B •1 ni ml^ (1) ; I li i i,ii ;! ! . 'i iil ir' i!r^:l 28 or flap behind was very broad, and so lotig as almost to touch tlie ground, while a shorter and narrower one before reached half way down the thigh. The men had also a tail in the hinder part of their jackets, but of smaller dimensions; before, however, it was straight or ornamented by a single scollop. The jacket was furnished with a hood, which the women wore much larger than the men, for the purpose of holding a child. Their breeches reach below the knee and fasten with a string drawn tight round the waist, the jackets considerably overlapping them, so that though they wear no waistband to their small* clothes, they are eifectually defended from the weather. Their legs and feet also are well clothed, so that cold seldom aifects them. When a man goes on a sealing excursion, he first puts on a pair of deer skin boots with the hair in* side and reaching to the knee where they tie. Over these come a pair of shoes of the same material; next a pair of dressed seal-skin boots, perfectly water-tight, and over all a corresponding pair of shoes tying round the instep. The inner boot of the women, unlike that of the men, is loose round the log, coming as high as the knee joint behind, and in front car- ried up by a long pointed flap, nearly to the waist, and then fastened to the breeches. The upper boot, with the hair as usual outsit'**, I so lotig a« a Bliortei* iialf way also a tail (ts, but of er, it was r\e scollop. »od, which n the men, ild. Their fasten with waist, the leni, so that their small- ed from the rell clothed, . When a he first puts the hair in* ere they tie. of the same ed seal -skin over all a g round the unlike that , coming as in front car- learly to the tjoches. Tlie sual outside, 29 corresponds with the other in shape, except that it is much more full, especially in the outer side, where it bulges out preposterously, so as to give the women the most awkward bow-legged appearance imaginable. This su- pei-fluity of boot has probably originated in the custom still prevalent among the women of Labrador, of carrying their children in them. We were told aften^'ards that the women some- times put their children there to sleep ; but the custom must be rare among them, as we never saw it practised. These boots, however, form their^principal pockets, and pretty capaciou§ ones we found them to be. Some wore a kind of ruff round the neck, composed of the long white hair of the deer skin, hanging down over the bosom in a manner very becoming to young people. The children had a pair of breeches and boots united in one, with braces over their shoulders to keep them up. These, with a jacket like the others, and a pair of I deer-skin mittens, constituted the whole of I their dress. I Mr, Jones, With such indications of winter, I as you have mentioned, I suppose your Com- Imander thought the season too far advanced |to proceed much farther. \ Captain M, We were now arrived as I have «.aid, at the 1st of October, on which day, fome small rain falling, it immediately froze, making tlie decks and ropes as slippery as if ipuated with glass. The thermometer had, for P2 Hi* • 4 ■';« ; I I ■ !M h 1 h 1 i m i! 30 several days before, remained below the freee- iiig point, which change, together with the rapid formation of young ice near the sliorew, gave evident notice of the approach of winter. Captain Parry therefore determined, without delay, to choose a sheltered position for the ships, a measure to which he was still further urged by the fact, that the party on shore had no occasion to use a boat in returning on board in the evening : the average thick- ness of the ice was thi'ee inches and a quarter, though in some places, being much less, seve« ral of us fell in from the difficulty of getting a firm plain to rest on. Indeed, the whole sheet of ice, even in tho^e parts, which easily bore a man*s weight, had a waving motion under one s feet, like that of leather or any other tough flexible substance. The same night, therefore, we moved them into their places by sawing a canal for two or three hundred yards through the ice. The position chosen was on the south side of a small island, lying off the point where the continent begins to trend to the northward, and to this Captain Parry gave the name of Winter Island, calling the spot where we cast anchor and suffered our ships to be frozen up, Safety Cove. Every precaution v/as now taken for the preservation of the boats, sails, and other stores during the season, and arrange- ments were made for the comfort and amuse - lajent of the men. Mr, Jones. Your c ai^tain was well used in i I': ill- I i tl 1 the freee^ with the le shores, »f winter. , without >n for the ill further on shore returning ge thick- El quarter, ess, seve* getting a lole sheet ily bore a nder one s her tough therefore, sawing a 3 through the south int where 9rthward, name of e we cast rozen up, low taken satis, and arrange- id amuse- ill used to 31 Him. I can well conceive how difficult it is to keep up a cheerful spirit among men shut out from the rest of the world, and having little or no employment but what is created to pre- vent idleness. Captain M. And this is the more important among sea-faring men, from the well-known fact, that scurvy is generally brought on when to the use of salt provisions is added lowness of spirits. Pat, I should like to know what new amuse- ments were struck out on this occasion. Captain M, I doubt not but you have seen what is called a magic lantern. It is, in fact, a lantern, one side of which being furnished with a magnifying glass, little coloured gro- tesque pictures are passed through a slit be- tween the light within and the glass ; the sha- dows of which are made to fall on the opposite wall of a dark room. This was presented to Captain Parry by a lady of his acquaintance for the use of the expedition, and though often repeated, never failed to amuse the sai- lors. We had also Patrick's favourite amuse- ment of cricket, on the ice, when day-light permitted, skaiting, sliding, foot-bali and also plays once a fortnight, as in our former expe- dition. The situation which circumstances obliged us to put up with for our winter quarters, was by no means as secure as could have been wished. The bay, though as fine a roadstead B 3 -i fit :1! i:=';-: I ■ ',V { ■',rj I!' Ill •I ! !T U 1 •» :(M '} Pi u 'il i I! 1 ^■' ' 'I, I ;! iiii 32 as could have been desired, if situated in A more temperate climate, was still only a road- stead ; and being entirely upen to the south, was exposed to a pressure from ice in that direction, unless the solid floe now about to be formed by frost round the ships, should shortly become sufficient to guard them from external injury. There was some reason, however, to doubt the efficacy of this protec- tion ; for as the spring-tides approached, the numerous grounded masses around the shores of the bay began to evince symptoms of in- stability, one or two having fallen over, and others turned round ; so that these masses might be looked on as dangerous neighbours, likely rather to create a premature disruption of the ice than as the means of security, which in seas not subject to any considerable rise of tide, they would undoubtedly prove. That which, however, was the most to be apprehend- ed from very high tides, was the possibility of the ships being forced into shoal water, with- out detaching themselves from the mass of ice cemented to their bends, or sides; the weight of which mass hanging upon their sides when the ship was aground, could not but produce very serious injury. Mr. Jones, What precautions did Captain Parry adopt against these contingencies? Capttm M, His measures were such as in- spired confidence in all aboard. He began by removing the ships into rather deeper water, hI in A a road- soutli, ill tiiat bout to should m from reason, protec- ted, the > shores i of in- cr, and masses ^libours, sruption r, which J rise of That rehend-r bility of with- mass of es ; the Isir sides not but Captain RS? ;h as in- e^^an by r water, 33* by cutting thp ice astern, so that we lay in full six fathoms at low water. Several hawsers were also secured to the grounded r.;a8$ house on the shore, where you might have deposited all the things that were not imme- diately wanted ? Captain M, Our Captain's idea was to send nothing out of the ships during the winter, as well to avoid the possibility of loss by pilfei- ing, should any natives visit us, as to prevent a great deal of unnecessary wear and tear in the removal of stx)res to and from the shore. With the same view, it was our Commander's first intention to keep all the boat!< hanging at the davits; but the carpenters having represent* ed their liability to injury by frost, if not pro- tected by a covering of snow, they were there* 4 t I. I rh' \i\ i'l' fore liaiilf^d on shore witli tlicir gnar in them, and co>ercfl with snow. li ■'it n M»t» i;!ii m y \U- l!i CHAPTER II. About the time of our arrival in the bay, the cold became 8o intense that the vapour of our breath, which lodged on the sides and ceiK ings of the cabins and the hold where the men slept, immediately froze and formed a coating of ice, which, in time, would have increased and kept our births damp and unwholesome. To remedy this evil, no time was lost in lighting a fire in the warming stove, which I have before mentioned, every thing being pre- viously removed from its neighbourhood that was likely to create danger. The iron tanks in the main hatchway were laid bare on the top, and the interstices between tliem filled with sand to form a secure platform in front of the fire ; and the sail-room, bulk-heads and stancheons covered with sheet copper. Four steady men, of whom one was a petty officer, were appointed to attend the fire in regular watches, being made responsible for the due expenditure of fuel, and for the safety of every thing about the stove. They had likewise particular charge of the fire-engine, buckets, and two tanks of water, all of which were kept in the hatchway, in constant readinpss in case in tliPm^ tlie bay, 'apour of and ceil- the men % coatinpf ncrcased olesome. I lost in wliicli I Jing pre- ood that [)n tanks on the m filled in front ads and Four officer, regular the due >f every ikewise )uckets, re kept in case 35 of accidents. In addition to these precautionr, some general regulations were established for stationing the officers and men In the event of fire, and a hole was directed to be kept open in the ice, along-side each ship, to ensure at all times a sufficient supply of water. In twelve hours after lighting the stove not a drop of moisture remained. The provisions supplied to the expedition were, as I have already told you, calculated to last, at full allowance, for a period of three years from the day the transport left us, which was the first cf July ; but as in case of our passing three winters in the ice, and at length effecting our object it would be absolutely ne« cessary to extend our resources to the close of the year 1824, Captain Parry made such ar« rangements as were requisite for that purpose^ Such, indeed, was the unbounded liberality with which all our supplies had been furnished, particularly in the important article of pre- served meats, which contain much nutriment in a small bulk, that it was only necessary to adopt, during the inactive season of each win- ter, a reduction of one-third of the usual pro- portion of bread and spirits, and of one-sixth of the ordinary allowance of sugar. This re- duction eould hardly be considered a privation, for the bread was still sufficient, and the spi- rits much more than enough, for men who had no very laborious duties to perform. William. Did Captain Parry establish a^ ) , r: !)« I u»M I ii '( ■ 1 !i 'M'.i '■'I school, for tlie instruction of ihc men who needed it in reading mid writing ? Captain M. Yes ; he set one on foot in hiv own ship, under the voluntiiry superintendence of the captain's clerk ; and Captain Lyon did the same on board the Hccla, which one of the seamen took charge of as schoolmaster. Ta- bles were set up for the purpose in the mid- ship part of the lower deck, some of the men, who were qualified, assisting in the instruction of their shipmates ; and thus there were about twenty individuals belonging to each ship, occupied almost every evening from six to eight oclock. The officers used to drop in occasionally to assist, as well as to encourage the men in this praiseworthy occupation ; and perhaps it may be safely said, that no school afforded a more interesting or gratifying sight. I did not mention to you that in this ex-* pedition we had the advantage of a chaplain, a circumstance gratifying on all accounts, and not less so, that at Captain Lyon's request, his ship's company attended divine service on board the Fury during the continuance of the vessels in winter quarters ; so that thus we were enabled to join in devotion as one congregation every Sunday. Sailors, it is said, ought to be reli- gious, for they see " the wonders of the Lord in the great deep ;" and His protecting hand, though not more constantly, yet appears morer visibly interposed for their preservation ; and certainly there were in our situation a|i4 the '( i' i!!ii : nen who K>t in liix teiideiice jyon did lie of the er. Ta- ttle mid- the men, struotion )re abont ich ship, m 8ix to drop in ncouragc ion; and 110 soliool ng sight, this eX" laplain, a , and not his sliip's »oard the essels in enabled 9n every be reli- he Lord ig hand, irs morer on; and and the 37 fWrfoiinding jur profi- icquired. eriments and the resent to , saw the f listless- iberation lid again iterest us mtly pre- these de- time be- erved the 11 shrimp, n the ice,. it in case and such lich they put over- of fresh- >eriment, or forty- they eat d but the We took cure ske- 1, as ana- a net or ps could ^ V 39 Palrirk. Notwithstanding all your precau- tions and pluns to mod takes in are in the ring them 1 prevents no matter We had rainst the rn higher, wras subse- cabin and y, and un- anket, re- P the ship, were pro- Id, that at a new and 41 improved description, wore issued to each in- dividual in the expedition gratis. They were made of a strong drab cloth with thick soles of cork, and so large as to allow a free circu- lation to the blood. These afforded us tho greatest comfort, it being found that boots or shoes of leather never retain the warmth long, under circumstances of severe exposure. To complete our winter arrangements, we now also began to put on the housing cloths for covering in the upper decks, and thus en- suring a comfortable and sheltered place for walking in any wer.ther dunng the winter. These cloths were composed of a stout and ser- viceable sort of canvcistus. Their deer-skins can now be spread without risk of their touching the snow; and such a bed, as we afterwards found, is ca- pable of affording not only a comfortable but even a luxurious repose, in spite of the rigour of the climate. The skins thus used as blan- kets are made of a large size, and bordered like some of the jackets, with a fringe of long narrow slips of leather. Mr, Jones. This ought to make even the poorest in those countries thankful for the su- perior comforts they possess ; may J ask you to describe more particularly these snow houses? Captain M. After creeping through two low passages, having each its arched door way, we came to a small circular apartment of which the roof was a perfect arched dome. From \\ liillJ; ■ "■till', 41) this three doorwayiii also arched, and of hirger dimensions than the outer ones, led into Q4i many inhabited apartments, one on each side* and the other facing us as we entered. The interior of these presented a scene no less new than interesting. The women were seated on the beds at the sides of the huts, each having her fire* place and all her domestic utensils about her. The children had crept behind their mothers, and the dogs, except the female ones, wiiicli were indulged with a part of the beds, slunk past us in great affright. Their fire-places consist of a single lamp or shallow vessel, made of the pot-stone. The wick com- posed of dry moss rubbed between the hands until it is quite inflammable, is disposed along the edge of the Tamp, and a greater or smaller quantity is lighted according to the heat re- quired or the fuel that can be afforded. When the whole length of this, which is sometimes above eighteen inches, is kindled, it affords a brilliant and beautiful light, without any percep* tible smoke or any offensive smell. The lamp is made to supply itself with oil, by suspend- ing a long thin slice of whale, seal, or sea* horse blubber near the flame ; the warmth of which causes the oil to drip into the vessel until the whole is melted. Immediately over the lamp is fixed a rude ricketty frame-work of wood, from which their pots are suspended, and serving also to sustain a large hoop of bone, having a net stretched tight within it. ti i]^' i: . m .50 Thi8 contrivaiico ib iiiteiultid for tlio receptiufi of any wet things, nnd is usually loaded with boots, slioes and mittens. This bimp was placed at the upper end of the apartment, op- posite the entrance, the beds at each side, leav- ing a passage to the fire-place four feet wide. And here we almost always found two lamps facing different ways, one for each family oc- cupying the corresponding bench or bed-pla(;e. There was frequently also a smaller and less pretending establishment on the same model, lamp, pot and all, next the door ; for one apart- ment sometimes contains three families, which are always closely related; and no married woman, or even widow without children, is without her separate fire-place. Mr, Jones, When all the lamps are lighted, and the hut full of people and dogs, the place must be very wann ? r < Captain M, The heat is then very agreea- ble, though it generally produces a dropping from the roof occasioned by the melting of the snow. This they endeavour to obviate by ap- plying a little piece of snow to the place from which a drop proceeds, and it is for a short time an eftectiial remedy. The most important of their domestic uten- sils, next to the lamp, arc their stone pots for cookery, which are of various sizes, though always corresponding with the dimensions of the lamp, which burns under them. Many of them, we observed, had been cracked ^iuitc 11 I)!!'. 51 across in several |ikccs, and inetuled hy 8(>n'' ing with sinews or rivets of copper, so as with the assistance of a lasliing and heing well smeared with soot, to render them qnite water- tight. Besides these tliey have circular and oval vessels of whalebone, of various sizes, with a number of smaller vessels of skin sewed neatly together ; and a large basket of whalebcme re- sembling a common sieve in shape, but with the bottom close and tight, is to be seen in every apartment. Almost every family was in possession of a wooden tnay, very much re- sembling those used in England, to caiTy butchers* meat. They had a number of bowl« or cups made out of the thick root of the horn of the musk ox, as also spoons much like ours in shape. Pat, How do the Esquimaux obtain fire ? Captain M, They use two lumps of stone, from which sparks are struck into a little leathern case, containing moss well dried. If this tinder does not readily catch, a small quantity of the white floss of the seed of the ground willow is laid above the moss. As soon as a spark has caught, it is gently Vilown till the fire has spread an inch around, when, the pointed end of a piece of oiled wick being applied, it soon bursts into a flame, the whole perhaps having occupied two or three minutes. ^^* ■' ''^^^^ - To return, however, to my narrative ; we found our new acquaintances as desirous of t. ■i-.>/ 53 pleasing us, us wc were ready to be pleased. While wo were engaged in examining every part uf their huts, their whole behaviour was in the highest degree orderly, respectful and good-humoured. They eagerly received the various articles that were given them, either in exchange or as presents ; but on no occa- sion importuned us for any thing, nor did the well-known sound of ^^pellitay^ once escape from them. We had also good reason, at this time to think that they were honest. If we dropped a glove or a handkerchief, without knowing it, they would immediately direct our attention to it by pointing ; and if the owner had left the hut before they discovered it, would run after him to return it. Indeed, there was no comparison between them and the Esqui- maux whom we had lately met ; and in proof of it, I may mention, that when our captain, in order to try their disposition to part with their children, proposed to buy a fine lad nam- ed Toolooak, from his father for the tempting consideration of a butcher's knife, as costly an article to him as a gold watch perhaps woul4 be to one of us, he apparently closed witfi the offer, accepted the knife, and sent the boy to his hut for his mittens, which seemed to be all that he cared for in leaving his home. He then set off with us in high spirits, and at first assisted in drawing a sledge we iiad purchased to carry our things ; but as he began by our additional signs to comprehend our true meau- M 5a ing, both he aud hie father grew uneiisy, the former gradually becoming more rehictant to accompany our party, and ere we had reached the ship, he contrived to slink off among some hummocks of ice. Our Captain was too hap- py at observing the workings of natural affec- tion, either to detain him or to ask that the knife should be returned* Pat. Had you, at any subsequent period, an opportunity of ascertaining their mode of build- ing their huts, and the length of time it takes to erect them ? Captain M. We saw the whole process seve- ral times during the winter. It was as fol- lows : — they began by cutting from a drift of hard and compact snow, a number of oblong slabs, six or seven inches thick, and about two feet in length, and laying them edgeways on a level spot, also covered with snow, in a cir- cular form, and of a diameter from eight to fifteen feet, proportioned to the number of oc- cupants the hut is to contain. Upon this as a foundation, is laid a second tier of the same kind, but with the pieces inclining a little in- wards, and made to fit closely to the lower slabs and to each other. The top of this tier is now prepared for the reception of a third, by squaring it off smoothly with a knife, all of which is dexterously performed by one man standing within the circle, and receiving the blocks of snow from those employed in cutting them without. .■7M i- :i!: ^- :^i *'^\ m *, fA 1' • ■ '!<' i ' r\ ir i! I i "! j,;lrf|| 51* When tlie wall hiis thus been raised tu the height of four or five feet, it lea;;s so much inward, as to appear as if about to tumble every moment; but the workmen still fearless- ly lay their blocks of snow, until it is too high for the builder within, to be furnished with the materials from without in the same manner. Of this he gives notice by cutting a hole close to the ground in that part where the door is intended to be, which is near the south side ; and through this the slabs are now passed. Thus they continue till they have brought the sides nearly to meet in a perfect and well- constructed dome, sometimes nine or ten feet high in the centre, and this they take consi- derable pains in finishing, by fitting the last block or key-stone, if I may call it so, very nicely in the centre, dropping it into its place from the outside, though it is still fitted by the workman within. The people outside are in the mean time occupied in throwing up snow with the snow-shovel, and in stuffing in little wedges of snow where holes have been accidentally left. The builder next proceeds to let himself out, by enlarging the proposed door-way into the form of a Gothic arch, three feet high and two and a half wide at the bottom, communi- cating with which they construct two passages, each from ten to twelve feet long, and from four to five feet in height, the lowest being that next to the hut. The roofs of these pas- I'i'n I to tlic o much tumble earless- 00 high vith the uanner. tie close door is th side ; passed, brought id well- ben feet i consi- the last |o, very :s place ited by de are mg lip fling in re been limself ay into gh and mmuni- ssages, from t being se pas- > c w t-H o CO O a o d CO W V. Ill .» 1-J'> 55 sages arc sometimei arched, but more ge- nerally made flat by Blabs laid on horizontally. In first digging the snow for building the hut, they take it principally from the part where the passages are to be made, which purposely brings the floor of the latter considerably lower than that of the hut ; but in no part do they dig till the bare ground appears. The work which I have now described com- pletes the walls of a hut, if a single apartment only be required ; but if on account of relation- ship, or from any other cause, several fami« lies are to reside under one roof, the passages are made common to all, and the first apart- ment forms an anti-chamber, from which you go through an arched door-way into the inha- bited apartments. For the admission of day- light into the huts, a round hole is cut on one side of the roof of each apartment, and a cir- cular plate of ice, three or four inches thick and two feet in diameter, let into it. The light is soft and pleasant, like that transmitted through ground gLass, and is quite sufficient for every purpose. When, after some time, these houses become surrounded by drift, it is only by the windows that they could be distinguished from heaps of snow. It scarcely takes three hours to erect a hut like that which I hav» described. About the same time that the natives set- tled in our neighbourhood, a flock of thirteen wolves croiised the ice, and passed near the !,.r>>-1 'f :ifi ,''!■: ' -L* ?n i 5t; I ^hips ; and in the evening came so close to the I Fury to look for food, that we might have kill-ed them, had we not supposed them £s- qnimaux dogs, to which they bear a great re- semblance, and under that impression abstain- \ ' ed from firing at them, lest we should do these people an irreparable injury. These animals « f! afterwards did us great damage, gnawing the j I sails which had been left on shore, and for a long time baffling all our efforts to trap them. Indeed, though we baited large sharp hooks with meat, tl^ ^y contrived to escape after hav- ing broken or bent the iron. I am happy, however, to say, that before the winter was over, we killed the last of them. To give you an idea of the ferocity of these animals, I shall tell you a circumstance that occurred to myself. One evening we ob- served from the ship a wolf caught in a trap, and immediately several of us ran out to se- cure him. We fired two bullets into the trap, after which finding that he continued to bite V a sword which was thru»t in, a third shot was fired at him. The trap was then sufficiently opened to get his hind legs tied firmly toge- ther, after which being considered tolerably secure, he was allowed to come out ; but no iiiooner had he cleared the trap than he fiew at my throat, and would have done me much in- jury, had 1 not in my turn seized his throat with both my hands, and obliged him to loose his gripe. I received a bite, however, in the l'!:t! 51 arm, and another on the knee, which would have been severe, but for the thickness of my clothes, the animal then bounded off, thongh his hind legs were tied, and in the confusion he escaped. On the following day, he was found dead, at the distance of three quarters of a mile from the ships. At an early hour, on the '' of February, Captain Parry took a la. ^3 pi. y with hiui, of whom I was one, to re-visit the huts. Tlie natives received us with great cordiality, and we soon began to barter nails, knives, &c. for whatever they were willing to part with, and they sold a great number of their things at a very cheap rate. For instance : a single sew- ing needle procured from them a large well- sharpened knife of their own make of stout iron, and for which, in point of usefulness, a hundred needles would not have been a fair equivalent. We dined in the huts, and the Esquimaux gladly took share of our biscuit and meat, and even of a little wine, which, however, they did not relish. At sun-set we returned on board, much gratified with the day we had passed ; our Captain's mild conduct, and the presents which he judiciously made them, hav- ing laid the foundation of that perfect confi- dence and good understanding, which, with little or no interruption, subsisted between us. It was this visit which called forth a trait of honesty that deserves to be mentioned. Some 't. 'i I lli' I 58 oflioers of the Hecla purchased two of their dogs, which on the following evening made their escape, and returned to their huts. The next day, however, they hrought them hack, and, without saying any thing on the suhject, left them carefully tied up on board the Fury, claiming no praise nor reward for having re- stored them to the rightful owners. On the 7th Captain Parry paid another visit to the village, as we called the collection of snow huts, and found scarcely any body but women and children, the whole of the men, with the exception of the two oldest, having gone to hunt seals on the eastern side of tho island. On this occasion one of the women named Iligliuk, a sister of the lad Toolooak, struck Captain Parry as having a superior un- derstanding to the rest, and our subsequent observations fully confirmed us in the correct- ness of that opinion. On the 8th a party of females came aboard, and amused us by singing some of their native airs. They were afterwards amused in turn by several, of the officers, who played the flute and violin, and had formed a little band which met with great applause from our Esquimaux visiters. Whilst they were thus employed Captain Lyon took the opportunity of making drawings of some of the women, especially of Togolat, the prettiest of the party, and perhaps of the whole village. She was about six and twenty years of .age, having a face more oval ^ 1 59 than that of Ksquimaux in general^ very pretty eyes and mouth, with remarkably white and regpular teeth, and possessing in her manner and carriage a natural gracefulness, which even the dress of an Esquimaux woman, and a very dirty face could not conceal. Her husband, a little ill-favoured man of forty- five years of age, was both sensible and oblig- ing, and a fii^st rate seal-catcher. They had two children, one of whom, a little girl, Togo- lat still occasionally suckled, and according to custom, carried in the hood behind her back. Pat, Were they generally successful in catching seals. Captain M. They had exhausted their sum- mer store, and that was the reason of their coming to Winter Island at this season of the year; but so indifferent was their success that we found them, after a few days acquaintance, actually in want of food. Our Captain, there- fore, with great humanity, gave them several pounds of bread-dust, of which there were two or three casks aboard of each ship. Poor creatures, they immediately expressed their intention of returning to their children, who were less able to bear hunger than their pa- rents. But the supply they received from us did not make them in the least relax their ef- forts. Day after day they went out to look for seals ; but with the same ill -success, so that Captain Parry determined on sending them a .|. i'\ ti ('■ :'i GO • frep* supply of bread dust. I was one of thoso appointed to take it to them, and on iny arri- val I actually found some of them in their huts gnawing a piece of hard seal-skin with the hair on it, while few of the huts had any lamp-light ; for you must remember, that the failure of the seal-fishing always brings with it another ca- lamity besides want of food, namely, want of fuel for their lamps; and when this is the case, not to mention the want of warmth and light in their huts, they have no means of melting the snow for water, and can therefore only quench their thirst by eating the snow. William. You were able, I hope, to give them water with the aid of your apparatus for melting snow. Captain M, We did ; and in such quantities used they to drink it, whenever they came aboard, that our coppers could scarcely answer the additional demand. I am certain that one of them drank nearly a gallon in two hours. We sometimes, also, treated them with a wolf's carcass, which, raw as it was, and frozen, and withal tolerably tough, they nevertheless ate with a good appetite. If other food had been plenty, indeed, they would not touch it. I cannot here omit a pleasing mark of tender- ness in these poor people. When we reached the huts it was evident they were suffering the extreme of hunger ; and yet not a morsel of what we carried would the grown people touch, ; i [)f ihosft ny arri- leir Iiut« tlie hair ip-liglit ; e of the (ther ca- want of the case, «d light Iting the y quench to give ratus for uantities ey came ^ answer that one hours, a wolf's frozen, ortheless 'ood had touch it. tender- reached ring the lorsel of le touch, o 61 till they had Arst supplied the wants of their hungry little ones. On the 13th the poor creatures were fortu- nate enough to procure three seals; and it created great joy at the village. One of the men who was there at the time told me that when one of these prizes was announced, there was a general outcry of joy. All th-e women hurried to the doors of the huts, and the chil- dren rushed to the beach to meet the men drag- ging along the prize. One of these little ur- chins, to complete the triumphant exultation with which the event was hailed, threw him- self on the animal, and clinging fast to it was thus dragged to the huts. When the seal was brought in, two elderly women began to cut it up by dividing the animal into two parts, and thus laying open the intestines. These being taken out,' and all the blood carefully baled up, and put into the cooking pot over the fire, they separated the head and flippers from the carcass, and then divided the ribs. All the loose scraps were put into the pot for immediate use7 except such as the two butch- ers now and then crammed into their own mouths or distributed to the by-standers, for immediate consumption. Of these morsels of raw flesh the children came in for no small share, every little one that could find its way to the slaughter-house running eagerly in, and between the legs of the men and women pre- senting its mouth for a lump, just ^s a child D ■■> M: i. t 4" 'Hi! i !'• . 62 of tho same age in Ireland might do for a piece of sugar-candy. Every now and then a dog also would make its way towards the reeking carcass, and, when in the act of seizing upon some delicate part, was sent off yelping by a heavy blow with the handles of the knives. During the dissection of the seal, they have a curious and superstitious custom of sticking a thin filament of skin, or some part of the in- testines, upon the foreheads of the boys, who arc themselves extremely fond of this, it be- ing intended, as wo learned, to make them fortunate seal-catohers. On tho 16tli of February, Captain Parry observing a party of Esquimaux passing near the ships joined them, taking me and two others with him. Having crossed the point of the isAand, wo walked on the ice to the east- ward, where we did not overtake them till they had got above a mile and a quarter from the shore. 4 This party consisted of eight per- sons, who nad by this time separated into two or three different parties, stationed at the dis- tance of half a mile from each other, along the edge of the floe. The party we at first joined were seated on a high hummock of ice, with their spears in their hands, looking out for seals. After we had talked to them for some minutes, one of them named Okotook suddenly started up, and set off along the edge of the ice, without giv- ing us or his companions the least warning. H a piece n a dog reeking ig upon ng by a knives, r have a icking a the in- ys, who 8, it be- ce them 11 n Parry ing near and two point of ;he east- hem till ter from ght per- nto two the difl- long the »ated on Ipears in kfter we one of «Pj and mt giv- rarning. I' 63 The latter scorned so much accustomed to this that they took no further notice than by im- mediately following him, and wo did the same. The whole party walked at a very quick rate, the natives constantly keeping their headti turned towards the sea, to look out for seals. After being thus engaged for an hour and a half, we judged from the motions of a party at some distance beyond us, that they had game in view. As wo approached them Okotook evidently began to be apprehensive, that we who did not understand the matter would spoil their sport. To present this he sent his com- panions one by one to the spot, and remained with us himself, keeping us at such a distance as to allow us to see their proceedings, with- out alarming the animal they were in pursuit of. The other seven Esquimaux now disposed themselves into a single line, so as to make as small an appearance as possible in the direc- tion in which they were going, and in tliis manner crept very cautiously to the margin of the floe. On a sudden they all stooped down quite low to hide themselves, and continued thus a quarter of an hour, during which time they prepared their lines and spears, and then, when the animal appeared to be intercepted from their view, again took the opportunity of gaining a few paces upon him in the same cau- tious manner as before. When they hud thus been occupied for a full hour, alternately creep- ing and stooping down, the seal which had : V .■»:.. I 4 ' f I I 64. been lying on the ice, took the water, and they then gave up the chase. During this time Okotook could scarcely restrain his impatience to be nearer the scene of action ; and when Captain Parry produced a spy-glass, which appeared to bring his com- panions close to us, he had not words to ex- press his surprise and sat^':faction. In a short time he held it as steadily as we did, and ex- plained by signs every motion he observed. As we returned towards the land, we came to a small rising on the level surface of the floe, not larger than a common mole-hill, and of much the same shape, at which one of the Esquimaux immediately stopped. His compa- nions still walking on, called us away, explain- ing that what we saw was the work of a seal, and that it was probable the animal was about to complete his hole and come up on the ice, in which case the man would endeavour to kill him. We watched the man at the hole, however, with a glass, for more than half an hour, observing him constantly putting his head down towards the ice, as if in the act of listening for the seal ; but without otherwise changing his position, after which he followed us on board without success. We found, afterwards, that if a man has any reason to suppose that a seal is at work be- neath, he immediately attaches himself to the place, and seldom leaves it till he has succeed- ed in killing the animal. For this purpose, or, and icarcely le scene reduced lis com- s to ex- a short and ex- ved. ire came B of the lill, and s of the i? compa- explain- lf a seal, ,s about the ice, ivour to he hole, half an ing his e act of fherwise followed has any lork be- to the lucceed- ^urpose, i: 65 he first builds a snow wall, about four feet in height, to shelter him from the wind, and scfit- ing himself under the leo of it, deposits hiu spear, lines, and other implements upon littlo forked sticks, inserted into the snow, in order to prevent the smallest noise being made in moving them when wanted. But the most curious precaution, to the same effect, consists in tying his own knees together with a thong, so securely as to prevent any rustling of his clothes, which might otherwise alarm the ani- mal. In this situation a man will sit quietly, sometimes for hours together, attentively lis- tening to any noise made by the seal. When he supposes the hole to be nearly completed, he cautiously Ufts his spear, to which the lino has been previously attached, and as soon as the blowing of the seal is heard distinct- ly, he drives it into him with the fprco of both arms, and then cuts away with his knife the remaining crust of ice, to enable him to repeat the wounds, and get him out. While the animal is struggling, if it be a small one, the Esqniniv1 mh 1 i' ' h ' f 1 :• ■ ',. ' ( [ ' ,i' ) ■^.' .■ ". ri it-'A *-nt geason of the year. The morning of the 5th of April proved fa- '"htq '' • • i| -■■ :^':, ".. t .' ■;■, . tit . t 'i !■:''. 1 • r? -ill < f . Si'-? r >-i 11 'l'^ •..' ;'M "J i'/'i ''i: Si "^! 80 vourabiu for a journey, which our Captain wished to take to the newly built distant huts, where the party mentioned above had esta- blished themselves. Uigliuk, who had come to Winter Island the day before, promised to be his guide. At six o'clock a party set out, taking with them a supply of bread-dust, be- sides their own provisions and blankets. As the distance was too great for her little son Sioutkuk to walk, we knew not till the mo- ment of setting out, how that was to be ma- w "cd, there being no sledge at hand for the purpose. We found, however, that a man whom we had obseTved for some time at work amongst the hummocks of ice, had been em- ployed in cutting out of that abundant mate- rial, a neat and serviceable little sledge, hol- lowed like a bowl or tray out of a solid block, and smoothly rounded at the bottom. Pat, Was there nothing else used in tlie construction of it ? Captain 31, Nothing — the thong to which the dogs were attached, was secured to 9 groove cut round its upper edge, and the young seal-catcher was drawn along with great convenience and comfort. After two hours and a half brisk travelling, we arrived at the huts, and were received by the women (for all the men were absent) with every expres- sion of kindness and welcome. Each was de- sirous of affording us lodging, and we spee^ ' japtaiii it huU, i esta- l come ised to set out, ist, be- ts. As :tle son ;he mo- be ma- for tlie a man at work Jen em- it mate- ?e, hol< ^ block, in tlie which id to ^ ind the th great o hours id at the Hen (for cxpres- was de- we spec- 81 dily arranged matters so as to put them to thei least possible inconvenience. The huts were four in number, and in their mode of construction exact counter-parts of those at Winter Island. What gave a pecu- liarity, as well as beauty also, to the interior appearance of their habitations was, their be- ing situated on the ice, which being cleared of the snow, presented a flooring of a splendid blue colour. A seal or two having been lately procured, every lamp was blazing and every pot smoking with a hot mess, which, together with the friendly reception we experienced, and the warmth produced by exercise, gave us an Idea of comfort that we could scarcely have believed an Esquimaux hut t^apable of afford- ing. On the arrival of the men, who came in towards evening with two seals as the reward of their labours, we were once more greeted and welcomed. My host, for we were divided amongst the huts, was gratified to find that his wife had arranged every thing for my ac- commodation. Toolooak having been one of the seal-hunters, it fell to his mother s lot to dissect it. We had, therefore, an opportunity of seeing this disgusting operation once more performed, and entirely by the old lady her- self, who was soon up to the elbows in hlood and oil. Before a knife is put into the animal, as it lies on its back, we observed vrhat before escaped us, that they pour a little water into its mouth, and touch each flipper and the middle K 3 ii - jl t ■ t ■ ' %i .X ■ f VII t ■Ia:1-'.- ■I » I I w ! hi '■■ 1 ' ■||. Y lll ^iiJ' i 1 ;i 1' ' 1 ■1 i i'lii; m •l..;.::|| 82 yaf the belly with a little lamp-black and oil, taken from the under part of the lamp. What benefit was expected from this preparatory ce- remony we could not learn ; but it was done, with a degree of superstitious care and seri- ousness, that bespoke its importance. The boys came eagerly into the hut as usual, and held out tlieir foreheads for the old woman to stick the charms upon them, in order that, as these poor ignorant creatures supposed, they might become successful seaHiunters. Aa soon as this dirty operation was at an end^ during which the numerous bystanders amus- ed themselves in chewing the intestines of the seal, the strangers retired to their own huts, each bearing a small portion of the flesh and blubber, while our hosts enjoyed a hear- ty meal of boiled seal's flesh and gravy soup. The young boy Sioutkuk, ate at least three ])ounds of solid meat, in the first three hours after our arrival at the huts, besides a c|uantity of soup, all which, his mother gave liiai whenever he asked, without the smallest remark upon the danger of a surfeit. It was a few days after our return from this visit, that we began to make some show of re- equipping the ships for sea ; for though this was a business that might, if necessary, have been accomplished in two or three weeks, and we had many weeks before us ere we could expect to be releatsed, our captain thought it better to cheer the men with thc«e tokens of departure from ii i ,nd oil, What ory ce- s done, id seri- The Ell, and man to hat, as i, they 3. As m end, s amus- ines of ir own Le flesh a hear- gravy at least 5t three ssides a jr gave smallest om this iv of re- this was ve been we had 3ct to be to cheer re i'rom 83 Winter Island. Wo, therefore, brought down some of the boats to the ships to repair, put up the forge on the ice, and built a snow house over it, and set about various other jobs, which made the neighbourhood cf the ships assume a busy and bustling appearance. On the same day that we commenced these o{>erations, Okotook and Iliglii^k with their son, came upon their sledge from the distant huts to pay us a visit. Desirous of entertaining them well, in return for their late hospitality, Captain Parry provided abundance to eat, and showed tliem every thing about the ship that he thought likely to amuse them. But of all the wonders they had ever witnessed, on board, there was nothing which seemed to impress them so strongly with a sense of our superio- rity, as the forge, and the work which the ar- liourer performed with it* The welding of two pieces of iron, especially excited their admira- tion, and I never saw Iligliuk express so mucli astonishment at any thing before. The other Esquimaux looked stupidly on ; but with her it was evidently the utility of what was going forward that forced itself on her mind, and she watched every ; troke of the hammer, and each blast of the bellows will', extreme eager- ness. Iligliuk was always very much enter- tained also by pictures, having any relation to tlie Esquimaux in otlier parts, and received great pleasure from a description of any dlf- t'orencc in iheii* clothe^; utcnbil:? or weapoui ; 'A'$^;^ ■ '-■ . ( ( : ■■" ■v '^ ..-'■ *- * i _ . :>. ■■ r: t '' 84 but in general siie had no invlinaiion to admit the inferiority of her own tribe to any other. She was always extremely inquisitive about her own sex, whether Esquimaux or Kabloo- nas, listening with eager attention to any ac- count of their dress or occupations; and in common, I believe, with all the rest of the Es- quimaux, wondered how we came to travel to their country witliout our wives. On the 1 1 tJi of April we cleared away the $row ibat liad been banked against the ships' «ides. We also began to clear and turn up a •yiill piece of ground as a garden for each nhip, in which vre hoped to produce something in iae way of vegetable diet before our de- pa v^u re, especially, as we had on board seve- ral glazed frames for hot-beds. There was not at this time a bare spot of ground any where to be seen, so that we had to clear away the snow, in some places two or three feet deep, in order to find a space that would suit the purpose ; and it was then so full of stones and frozen ground, that it required great labour even to prepare mould enough for the frames. These were, however, com- pleted in a few days ; and sown with mustard, cress and peas ; the latter having been found to produce the greatest quantity of green sub- stance at Melville Is b?nd On the 13th the remainder of the Esqui- maux left their stathsu at Winter Island, and fct oil" for the otiier village. to admit ny other, ive about • Kabloo- t any ac- i; and in )f the Es- ) travel to away the the ships' turn up a , for each something •e our de- )ard seve- rhere was round any d to clear ^o or three ;hat woukl so full of t required Id enough ever, com- h mustard, been found green sub- the Esqui- [sland, and I i 1 ; I Mr, Jones. Did they not call at the ships to take leave of you before they set off ? Captain M, A few of them did ; but it was evidently more for the sake of what they could get from us in presents, than because they were attached to us. Indeed I do not think one of them would have put himself to the least inconvenience for us, unless with the hope of reward. Even our favourite Iligliuk, whom we had loaded at different times with the most substantial marks of kind- ness, had latterly received our gifts more as a right than a favour. She and her hus- band came among the rest, but it was to beg some things to which they had a fancy, Ilig- liuk, after remaining some time aboard, sudden- ly started from her seat, and hastened on deck without saying a word either to the captain or to any one present, whilst Okotook only gave us a ** good bye," of which expression he had learned the meaning, and then, without giving us time to return the compliment, they both hastened out of the ship, leaving us all in some astonishmeiit at this singular leave-tak- ing, which we then supposed to be the last. On the 22d of April we could begin to per- ceive that the snow on shore was diminishing, but how slow the process was, may be under- stood by the fact, that it was necessary to make a mark on some stone, to be assured that it was actually going away. Five raveuf «' if ■■^"'11 'i MM ■'4 , I K Hi' :'.W..VI.". i||yH|j|. ' ■V'' 1 Hlt'/ii 1 1 i i'"' r t i IJii 1 1 ill li ' ! 1 ": Iri'-'' il rf-'!' . 1 1; 1 1 '■ i 86 were seen this day, all quite black ; four o them were flying in pairs. Mr, Jones, Your account of these people shews us how thankful we ought to be, who have the light of true religion to lead us to a knowledge of our duty ; and those around us who can teach us to correct the selfishness which I fear is natural to man. But was there not one solitary instance of a grateful feeling having been excited amongst them, by youi* kindness. Captain M, There was one, and it gives me pleasure to mention it. On the 22d a number of Esquimaux came from the distant huts to the ships, and among the rest a man named Arnaneelia and his wife, the latter hav- ing the front of her jacket adorned with a great many strings of beads, which had been given to her, arranged with exact uniformity. She had scarcely reached the cabin when she produced a little ivory comb and a pair of handsome mittens, which she presented to our surgeon, Mr. Kdwards, at the same time thank- ing him for the attention he had shewn her, on an occasion when she had been taken in a fit along- side the vessel, from which he had re- covered her by bleeding. They stated that they had seen two rein- deer on the preceding day, going over the ice, from the main land. They spoke of this with great pleasure, and we ourselves, as you may suppose, were not sorry at the prospect ot them people ►e, who us to a mnd us fishness IS thefe feeling )y youi* it gives 22d a distant t a man ter hav- [ with a ad been Pormity. hen she pair of d to our 9 thank- iwn her, 1 in a fit had ra- wo retn- • the ice, his with y^ou may spoct ot 87 changing our diet for a little venison. They now became extremely urgent with us for wood, to make bows and arrows, most of their own having, with the childish folly that ac- companied their first barterings, been parted with to our officers and men. Having several broken oars which could be turned to little or no account, on board, Captain Parry was able, at no expense of our useful stores, to furnish them abundantly with wood for this purpose. On the 23d, being St. George's day, which is, you know, celebrated as the anniversary of his Majesty's birth day, we commemorated that event in the best manner our situation would permit, by dressing the ships in flags at the mast heads, and making a certain addi- tion of meat and spirits to the ships' compa- nies. Okotook having been afterwards seized with a dangerous attack on his lungs. Captain Par- ry, notwithstanding his late very ungrateful conduct, acted as you might expect from a man of humanity. He had Okotook, Iligliuk, and their son removed on board the Fury, and treated the invalid with as much care and attention as he would have paid to one of his own seamen. I must here mention two little circumstances, which give a favourable impres- sion of these people. When our Commander sent for Okotook, he desired his messenger to try whether a slight objection to Siuutkuk^s be- ing of the party, would induce Okotook to leave '-■U'' r ^ fe nri tw ! I , 88 liiin nt the huts, with his othei* roiations. The boy he thought could be of no assistance to his father, and lie was besides such an eater, that less than three times the daily provisions of an able seaman would not suffice him* Tho instant, however, that the proposal was made> Okotook, without any remark, began to take off the clothes he had just dressed himself in to set out. No farther objection was of course made, so he again prepared for the journey, Digliuk assisting him with the mo^t attentive solicitude : — and this latter is the other favour- able circumstance that I intended to mention. During the journey from the huts to the ship, she had scarcely taken her eyes off her husband's face the whole time, and, indeed, on her arrival, seemed almost worn out with fa- tigue and anxiety. A bed of wolf-skins having been prepared for the sick man, he was soon placed upon it, and such remedies applied as Mr. Edwards judged necesisary for his complaint* On the following day he was better, and now submitted with great patience to the application of a blis- ter; though I believe his confidence in our mode of cure was afterwards much shaken for a time, by the pain which it occasioned. Both he and Iligliuk seemed very sensibly to feel the comforts and advantages of their present quarters, and a '^ coyenna" (thanks) now and then fell from their lips. Nothing, however, ♦:ould exceed the attention which the latter The to \iM r, that ons uf . Tho made> ,0 take self in course )iirney, tentive favour- lention. to the off her eed, on vith fa- repared ipon it, Idwards On the bmitted f a blis- in our kken for . Both to fee) present ow and owever, e latter S9 paid to her husband. 8he kept licr eyes al* Tiu»st constantly fix(>d upon him, and «eenied anxiouiily to anticipate every want. It was aniiising* to see Okotook take a dose oi' physic, for the first time in his life. He knew its taste was not pleat^ant, but this was certainly not all that he dreaded ; for before he put the cup to his lips with one hand, he held on by his wife with the other, and she by him with both hers, as though they expected :m explosion, or some such catastrophe as the immediate effect of the potion. The quantity of water which he drank in the course of twenty- four lioui'S was beyond conception, and the cabin fire was in] requisition the whole day, melting snow for his use. They were both extremely particular as to the purity of the water tliey drank. Some that had been melted in one steamer, and which we thought very good, neither of them would touch, or at least always spat out again. If the water was much above the temperature at which it freezes, they also disliked it, and ijumediately put snow into it to cool it down. Iligliuk, who came on boai*d with one side of her hair loose, loosened the other also this day, in consequence of her fan- cyingf Okotook to be worse, for even in this remote corner of the world, dishevelled locke bespeak mourning. It was not, however, with her the mere semblance of grief, for she was really much distressed throughout the day, all our endeavours not availing to make her '■* •i .|.>-.i! I-',.- if':U ■« ■■ ), .fr-* * ■ - I r ^■\^- h ■Vl" I A- t '■'4' h'-I 92 indulgence but a light ; ceased to return the least acknowledgments, for any kindess or pre- sents; became listless and inattentive, in un- ravelling the meaning of our questions, and careless whether her answers conveyed the information we desired. In short, Iligliuk in February, and Iligliuk in April, were confess- edly different persons ; and well will it be for us all, if we take the lesson from her — ^that talents, unless they are under the direction of good sense and right feeling, do not entitle tlieir possessor to the respect or good opinion of mankind. -• ' Mr. Jones. You have offered the best ex- planation of her conduct that could be given. She was ignorant — ^but had capacity; you found her superior to those with whom she lived, and being lifted up by your praises above the level to which she was accustomed, and in which she would, but for you, have al* ways remained, she lost her balance and expos- ed herself to ridicule and censure.— William and Pat, remember Iligliuk* ,, 4., v; . •'«* ',',).■ CHAPTER IV. As there was now reason, from the state of the weather, for believing that Captain liy*; ■ ■ Ml ♦■ ' , ^sf-4 ■ft, iJ-> ■ i;' M '•Hm (' ■ ' 94 killed on the spot. On the following Sunday, after an impressire sermon by the Chaplain, liis remains were interred with great solemnity. On the IGth a family of the Esquimaux ar- rived from the distant huts, bringing with them all their goods and chattels, and with the intention of taking up their abode on the ice near us» They accordingly built their huts about a hundred yards from the Fury's stern, and soon after came a second — evidently to make the most of us ; for though the weather each day after their appearance was favorable, and they had no food of their own, they made no effort to procure any except from the ships, to which the women duly brought their cook- ing pots for bread dust. Captain Parry would not encourage this, and declared he would give them nothing if they did not labour for themselves ; but the seamen were so good- natured, that they contrived to get plenty of food. In return the Esquimaux provided them with mittens, of which all on board were now furnished with an abundant supply. On the 23rd of May, however, they depart- ed for Armtroke — ^influenced probably by the hope of falling in with us again during the summer ; for they knew we were going in that direction. Previous to their setting out Cap- tain Parry sent for them all on board, and gave them one of their own sledges, of which they were much in want for carrying their goods, a couple of boarding pikes, some knives, ■ :-j\ were now 95 and several cannisters filled with bread-dust for their journey. Such an accession of riches was near producing a serious effect, especially upon the women, whose joy threw them into immoderate fits of laughter almost amounting to hysterics, which were succeeded by a flood of tears. Mr, Jones. I suppose the Spring was now far advanced? Captain M. On the contrary, the weatker was extremely discouraging. As our present position was S^° south of Melville Island, our winter station in the former expedition, we might now reasonably have expected a milder climate ; yet the sea and land had actually thrown off less of their winter covering by the close of May than was observed in this latter place. The parts of the land which at Winter Island were most bare, were the smooth round tops of the hills, on which, here and there occurred a little pool of water from which, taking all together, within half a mile round the ships we should at this time have had great difiiculty in filling half a tun ; whilst by this period of the year, in our former voyage, we had had several hours of hard rain, which had mado the surface of the ice assume a green - white, here it was still as white as a covering of snow could make it. Another comparison was also made to the disadvantage of our pre- sent situation ; the first flower, the Saxifrage or London Pride, wa» at Melville Island brought :n ■ u ' * J n~'h K > • 1 ■'At .■:/''.ti . ^;■il t.. ■•■ .'ll '.ill ■ "•'i*'>^'1 fi.r"^" •■"'I i.' 'I > 1v?i r. ri! • > w ?,i:' »; It) 4 •i n '!I;Sl 96 on board as a matter of curiosity a day earlier than we saw the same plant in flower at Winter Island ; and this although the extreme cold of winter at the former place was far more severe than at the latter — ^facts which shewed us that the permanence of the ice around us here was influenced by local causes ; making the navi- gation of these seas extremely difiicult, and the prospect of advancing very unpromising. Nor were we the only inhabitants of these regions who seemed to think the season of mild weather tardy in advancing ; for there was about this time a general muster of birds. One of our oflicers killed a raven and a pair of grouse ; Captain Lyon was out for several hours with his gun and met with ei^ht rein- deer, but found them too wild to be ap- proached. Under all these circumstances, therefore, Captain Parry came to the determination, now that the ships were ready for sea, to try what oould be eifected by sawing and cutting the ice, for he thought it vexatious to see open water daily in the ofling and not to be able to take advantage of it: arrangements were there- fore made for getting every thing except the tent and instruments on board the next day, and for commencing the more laborious ope- ration of cutting our way out immediately after. On the 2nd of June, at 3 o'clock, P. M. a thin white cloud was observed to extend across the northern sky* from north-east to south- ^^^ earlier iyinter cold of severe us that ;re was 5 navi- It, and iising. f these ason of r there f birds, i a pair several [it rein- be ap- erefore, )n, now y what ng the open able to e there- ept the xt day, as ope- ly after. P.M. a d across south - ;e 97 west. The wliole of tlie heavens southward of this was covered with a similar kind of cloud, that to the northward exhibiting a clear blue sky : the edge formed a very perfect arch, and here the cloud was much more dense than in any other place, reminding one of a veil of gauze, of which there were more folds in that part tlian elsewhere. Though the wind was with us at W. by N., it blew gently over to the S. S. E. still retaining its perfect and con- tinuous arch-like form at the margin. In a quarter of an hour it had got to the southside of the zenith, and in an hour and a quarter had totally disappeared beneath the southern horizon, leaviifg the whole of the heavens perfectly cloudless. This was the mosft striking phenomenon of the kind we had ever wit- nessed, and while the arch remained near the zenith, the magnificent can<9py had a singularly grand and imposing appearance. '' On the 3rd of June, at 6 o'clock, A. M., both the ships companies under their respective officers were set to work. It was proposed to saw a cut through the ice from ihe Fury's quarters, 50 feet wide, and diverging to 250 at the edge of the floe ; and in length 2020 feet, or just one-third of a nautical mile, and then to cut transverse sections here and there in order that the pieces might be floated down^ the opening to the sea. Nothing could exceed the alacrity with which this laborious work was undertaken and continued daily from six p "■■» ). I •ii«». ( i ' : ii: •rlin.!'!!!) ''»!!il - iii |:!'J 98 In the morning till eight at night, with the intermission only of meal times ; nor could any thing be more lively and interesting than the scene. The days were beautifully clear, the sea was open as far as the eye could stretch to the northward, and the busy hum of our voices could be heard, mingling with the cheei*ful songs, by which the Greenland sailors are accustomed to keep the necessary time in the action of sawing the ice. In the course of the first week we had com- pleted the cuts, the thickness of the ice being in general four feet ; but in one or two places above ten feet and a half. Laborious as this part of the operation had been, we soon found it likely to prove the least troublesome of the whole ; for on endeavouring to pull out the pieces every effort failed, till at length we were reduced to the necessity of cutting each block diagonally, (as indeed we had done on our former voyage,) before it could be moved from its place. After a week*s experience we also learned, that much time had been lost in completing the whole of the lateral cuts at once ; for these, partly from frost, and partly by the closing together of the sides of the canal, all required sawing a second, and in some places, even a third time. It was sur- prising also to see how powerful a resistance was occasioned by the " sludge," produced in sawing, or as the sailors called it humorously the " saw-dust," contiuning in the cut anil til the could ^ than ar, the ;tch td voices lieerful rs are in the A com- e being ) places ; as this n found 5 of the I out the gth we ng each done oHi 5 moved )erience een lost I cuts at d partly 3 of the and in was sur- ssistance duced rn norously cwt am 09 keeping the masses united In some cases also a saw was squeezed so tight by the pressure of the ice in the cut, that it was necessary to release it by sawing out with a second a cir- cular plug of ice completely round it. Mr, Jones. Such severe labour, attended with damp, for no doubt the thaw was going on rapidly, must have been very prejudicial to health, and increased the sick-list ? Captain M. Yes, about this time we had to lament the loss of two of our comrades, Wil- liam Souter, Quarter-master of the Fury, who, no doubt got his death by cold. He died on the 25th of June, of inflammation in the bowels, after a few days illness. The other was Reid, who died the day after; and yet, his death was hastened by seeing his companion who had been a very short time before healthy and strong so soon cut down ; certain it is, that when Souter was expiring, Reid told the Chaplain he should not be long after him ; and on the 26th he said he should go at our bell, (half-past six,) which vas the very time he breathed his last. They were interred in one grave with all possible solemnity, and a neat tomb of stone and mortar, was built over the ^po|;, ^nd onp of ^ similar description was rais- (?d pver the remains of poor Pringle. Scarcely had these melancholy duties |b<^eii performed, when thp wind veered about to th^ westward, promising an almost immediate opening of the ice, and rendering it unnece^* ■"*Hi ^•1 »■'♦•; 'l- '-It i". ''Hi :!|!i ..?■ /'.•. I ''1 \: 100 sary for U8 to continue the sawing. Iniked, the alteration, which the surface of the land underwent by the wind veering to a different quarter, is almost inconceivable, except to those, who have experienced the rapidity with which such changes take place in arctic regions. I believe that not one of us if removed from Winter-Island in May and brought back in July, would have been able to recognize the very spots on which we had been in the habit of walking for the last nine months. On the 1st of July, 1822, the ice drifted oft the land, being carried out by the wind, and on the 2nd we moved out of the dock, where our ships had been closed in for 267 days, — at seven o'clock, we made sail with a fresh breeze, W.N.W., an^ having cleared the rocks at the entrance of the bay, ran quickly to the northward and eastward up Fox*s Channel, keeping the coast of the continent on our left; at noon, on the 3rd, we were in latitude 66° 50', and longitude 81° 51', after a fine run of several leagues. The same day as we passed along, we observed a party of people on the shore who hailed us, and on coming aboard proved to be some of our old friends of Win- ter-Island, who had taken leave of us exactly forty days before, and were now ovci*taken by us in one day*8 sailing. Patrick, Were they glad to see you ? Captain M. They expressed much joy at the meeting, repeated each of oiu: names with 101 great earnestness, and appeared, indeed, much gratified. They were loaded as usual with presents, both by officers and men, which af- fected them with greater joy, because tUe meeting was totally unexpected. In half an hour, therefore, we were obliged to dismiss them, and to their honor be it recorded, one of them, as he left the ship, gave me a piece of seal-skin for parree, the first offering, as we all remarked, that had ever been received from them by our Captain. -> After proceeding some miles we found the channel in which we were sailing beginning to close: *ho ice to the eastward drifting towards the land floe to the westward. We therefore made all expedition to secure the Fury, but were not able to get out of the way of the Hecla, which following in our track, and unable to bring-to in time, was swept along-side of us by the ice before Captain Lyon could secure his hawsers, the tide running very strong. We escaped, however, very well, after much grinding and squeezing, with the long oar of the Hecla*s boats torn to pieces by the Fury*s anchor, which al«o was rendered unser- viceable by being badly cracked in the shank. But it was at the time when both the tide and the current set to the southward that we experienced the greatest danger, and, indeed, had well-nigh lost both the ships ; a heavy and extensive floe took the Hecla on her broad- side, and being pushed ou by another large y 3 1 ■■ ■ .«} ■ *>( ■■'■ '9^, ■,1;''3)! ^^M ^"li m^e \im h ' [ ftf I i S^' : f.i': ■ H I! .'; 102 body of ice, gradually lifted her stern, as if by the action of a wedge. The pressure still increasing, at length became too powerful for resistance, and snapt three hawsers by which she was held, — at the same moment three others soon followed. The sea was too full of ice to allow the ship to drive, and the only way by which she could yield to the enormous weight which oppressed her was, by leaning over the land-ice, while her stern at the same time was lifted more than five feet entirely out of the water. The lower deck-beams now complained very much, and the whole frame of the ship underwent a trial which would have proved fatal to any less-strengthened vessel. At this moment the rudder was un- hung with a sudden jerk, and destruction ap- peared inevitable, when, by the goodness of Providence, the pressure which had been so , dangerous at length proved their safety ; for by its increasing weight the floe burst up- wards, unable to resist its force longer, and the vessel righted. Our escape in the Fury was almost as ex- traordinary ; a little before noon, a heavy floe some miles in length came driving down fast towards us — threatening to crush and over- whelm us. In a few minutes after, it struck a projecting point of the land-ice, breaking it up with a tremendous crash, and forcing num- berless immense masses, perhaps many tons in weight, to the height of 50 or 60 feet, from fa as as as as if e still ful for ivliicb three 00 full e only irmouB eaning e isame sly out i8 now frame would ^hened ¥as un- lion ap- ness of [)een so ity; for irst up- ;er, and t as ex- avy floe >wn fast id over- struck a aking it ng num- ^ tons in et, from 103 vrhicli tlioy again rolled down on the maiii or land-side, and were quickly succeeded by a fresh supply; while we were obliged to be quiet spectators of the grand but terrific sight, being within a few hundred yprds of the point, and perfectly certain that if the floe had struck nearer to us, or come against our side, nothing could have saved us. Mr, Jones. I hope, when this danger was past, that you were able to get on ? Captain M, By the 12th of July, after long and unremitting perseverance, and by taking advantages of every opening and breeze of. wind to move the ships to the northward ; we had reached the latitude of 67° 18', when we observed an opening in the land like a river, which caused our Captain to take a party with him in a boat to examine the soundings of the coast. Approaching the opening he found so strong a current setting out of it as to induce him to taste the water, which proved scarcely brackish ; and a little closer in perfectly fresh, though the depth was from fourteen to fifteen fathoms. On the following morning, the 13th of July, the ice being still close in with the land to the northward. Captain Parry took a party to ex- amine the supposed river in the boats ; and at the same time to try for salmon with the nets, as the place appeared to promise some fish—- as those who could be spared had leave to go ashore also, he was shortly followed by a se- ,;>■■ • ■ . ''^ f i r -m n i> -Itl J^Mf>l ; 1 '■ v. ii!"' l4 ■• «'« 104 coiid boat, in which 1 got a scat ; and by CapC« Lyon and a party in two other boats. Imme- diately on opening the inlet we met a rapid current setting outwards, and after rowing a mile and a half np, we came to some shoal water extending quite across. Landing on the south shore, and hauling the boats up above high water mark, we rambled up the banks of the stream, which are low next the water, but rise almost perpendicularly to the height of nbout 200 feet. As we proceeded, we gradu- ally hoard the noise of a fall of water, and being obliged to strike more inland as the bank became more steep, soon obtained a fresh view of the stream, running on a much higher level than before, and dashing with great im- petuosity down two small cateracts. Just below this, when the river turns almost at a right angle, we perceived a much greater spray, as well as a louder sound, and having wiilked a short distance down the bank, suddenly came upon the principal fall, which surpassed in grandeur any thing I had ever seen. At tlie head of this fall, the river is contracted to about 150 feet in breadth, and meets a fall of fifteen feet — its channel is then narrowed to 120 feet — when, as if it had mustered all its strength previous to its final descent, it tum^ bles in one vast sheet of water ninety feet more. The dashing of water from such a height produced a cloud of spray, broad co- lumns pf \(\kn:]i were coubtantly forced u{)^ 105 like the successive rushes of smoke from a great furnace ; and on the top of this column a splendid rainbow was occasionally formed by the bright rays of an unclouded sun. The roaring of the cataract was almost deafening, and as we were able to approach the head of the fall, even as close as a single yard, the very rock seemed to shake under our feet. The basin that receives the water below the fall is about 400 yards in diameter. The fall is about three quarters of a mile above our landing-place, or 2^ miles from the entrance of the river. You may imagine how refreshing it was to the eye, so long habituated to the dreary uni- formity of a snow landscape, to rest upon such a beautiful spot. The river widened above the fall, and preserving a smooth unruffled surface for a distance of three or four miles, wound in the most romantic manner among the hills, its banks adorned with the richest vegetation, and affording pasture to a herd of rein-deer, which we^e grazing beside the stream : and the whole scene enlivened by the brilliancy of a cloudless sky. It was called the river Barrow, in honor of the Secretary of the Admiralty. When we returned to the boats our sportsmen carried with them four rein-deer. About this place our Esquimaux friends had prepared us for meeting with vast numbers of *the walrus, or sea-horse, or elephant, as it is -.'u, -..5' [, «■ ..'fa ;:s;.,i 106 indifFerontly called ; and accordingly we fell in with such a multitude of these animals as was not probably to be seen in any other part of the world. As we advanced they became more and more numerous every hour, lying in large herds upon the large pieces of drift ice ; and as it had fallen calm, the boats were manned to endeavour to kill some for the sake of the oil. On approaching the ice, we found them huddled close to, and lying upon one ano- ther in separate droves of from twelve to thirty ; the whole number near the boats at one time being about two hundred, and the number passed at night amounting to a thou- sand. They waited quietly to be fired at, and even after one or two discharges did not seem to be greatly disturbed, but allowed the people to land on the ice near them. When approached, however, they shewed an evident disposition to give battle. After they had got into the water three were struck with harpoons, and killed from the boats. When first wounded they became furious, and one which had been struck from Captain Lyon*s boat made an at** tack upon her and injured several of the planks with its enormous tusks. It is curious that a number of the others came round the wounded animals, and struck them with their tusks, as if joining in the attack against them —many of them had young ones, which when* lot sisattlted, they either took between their fore flippers to carry oiF, or bore away on their backs. Those killed were females, and the largest was fifteen hnndred- weight, although by no means remarkable fur its size. Having hung up some quarters of it for Steaks, the meat was, not only eaten, but preferred to our ship's provisions. It was both tender and well-flavoured, and the only ob- jection arose from the dead colom* of the flesh. The heart and liver, above all, were truly excellent. We recollected afterwards, that Captain Cook called it ^' Marine Beef." From the prodigious number of these crea- tures we became nearly certain that two islands which were in view were the same laid down by Iligliuk in her chait, and it was with no small gratification that we observed how accu- rately she had fixed their position. We row, therefore, proceeded with increased confidence to the spot beyond these islands, where we were told we might expect the passage that was to conduct us into the Polar Sea. We now supposed ourselves, at last, after so much labour, at the very threshold of the door that was to open a way to final success : but in proportion to the excitement which hope produced, was our deep and bitter mor- tification at perceiving, that one unbroken sheet of ice extended completely across the mouth of the Strait, from the northern to the southern land ; and this too at so advanced it tl . ' ■^ ..'ii (^1 i'/f| i.K^-' r-i; ,: u iii'' i i i. 1 '■- 1 1 l'.'^^ 108 period of the fine weather as the middle of July. Pat, Wo need not ask you what Captain Parry did ? Captain M, He endeavoured, of course, to push through the Strait, which he expected would conduct him to the Polar Sea ; but I ought to mention, that it was not the mere presence of the ice blocking up the, passage « which discouraged us — it was the nature of the ice which lay before us. It consisted of a floe so level and continuous, that a single glance was sufHcient to assure us of the dis- agreeable fact, that it was the formation of the winter, and had suffered no disruption this season ; and that we must wait for the break- ing up of this floe before we could hope to sail round the north-eastern point of the Ame- rican continent. ^ We could plainly perceive several tents on the low shore, immediately abreast of us, and about 10 o'clock, A.M., five canoes appeared at the edge of the land-ice, intervening be- tween us and the beach. Our Captains, there- fore, left the ships, each with a party, and rowed to meet the Elsquimaux, being extreme- ly desirous of learning from them all the particulars of our situation. The canoes approached us with great cau- tion : in a few minutes, however, after we had joined them, some presents served to dissipate all their apprehensions, and we immediately He of iptain se, to )ected but I mere assage ire of id of a single le dis- ion of on this break- ope to ) Ame- ents on us, and ipeared ing be- , there- y, and :treme- all the at cau- we had isaipate )diately 109 persuaded them to turn back witli us to tlie shore. Being under sail in the boat with a fresh breeze, we took two of the canoes in tow, and dragged them along at a great rate, much to the satisfaction of the Esquimaux, who were very assiduous in piloting us to the best landing-place upon the ice, where we were met by several of their companions and con- ducted to the tents. Before we had reached the shore, however, we had obtained one very interesting piece of information,^jiamely, that the land before us, on which we were about to disembark, was called Igloolik — the same which Iligliuk laid down, and that the strait now blocked up by the ice was that which would conduct us into the Polar Sea. William. As it was now summer, what kind of houses had they substituted for the snow houses ? Captain M. We found here two divisions of tents ; there being eleven M'here we landed, and five more about half a mile to the north* ward. As soon as we reached their dwellings, we were surrounded by a crowd of men, wo- men, and children, all carrying some trifling article, which they offered in barter ; a business they seemed to understand as well as their countrymen to the southward. We were, of course, not backward in promoting a friendly understanding with them, by means of a few presents. ,.., ,,\i . .^n^ii '•;';■! .5 G ;H '*;"■ t » -m 11 hi I i >i • •■« m: . i 110 Mr, Jones. What sort of tents did they in- habit? Captain M. Tliey varied in size according to the number of occupants, and consisted of several seal and walrus skins ; tlie former dressed without the hair, and the latter with the thick outer coat taken off ; the rest were shaved thin, so as to allow of the transmission of light through them. These were put toge- ther in a sort of clumsy and irregular patch - ivork, fokrning a kind of bag, and supported near the middle by a rude tent pole, about six or seven feet long, composed of several deers' horns, or the bones of other animals lashed together. The lower part of the tent-pole rests on a large stone to keep it from sinking into the ground, and being in no way secured, is frequently knocked down by persons acci- dentally coming against it, and again replaced upon the stone ; nothing can be more rude or clumsily contrived than the whole. The lower borders of the skins are held down by stones laid on them outside ; and to keep the totter- ing fabric in an erect position, a line of thong is extended from the top on the side where the door is, to a larger stone placed at some distance. The door consists merely of two flaps contrived so as to overlap one another, and to be secured by a stone laid upon them at the bottom. This entrance faces the east or the ^outh-east, and as the wind was now blowing fresh from that quarter, and thick H'. ■•' ey in- ording sted of former jr with t were nission t toge- patch- )ported )ont six 1 deefs' lashed siit-pole sinking secured, ms acci- replaced rude or le lower y stones 3 totter- f thong e where at some of two another, on them the east ^as now d thick >''i 111 i it' 3 fnow begiiming to fall, their habitations did not impress us, at first sight, with a very favor- able idea of the comfort and accommodation afforded by thenri. William, Was the inside of the tents more comfortable ? Captain M. The interior may be described in a few words. On one side of the end next the door was the uoual stone-lamp, with the cooking-pot suspended over it, and round this were huddled, in great confusion, the other utensils together, with great lumps of raw sea- jhorse flesh and blubber, which at this season they enjoyed in great abundance. At the in- ner end of the tent, which is also the broad- est, and occupying one-third of the whole apartment, these skins are laid as a bed, having under them some of the marsh-cistus when the ground is hard. Comfortless as these tents appeared to us in a snow-storm, they are in general not deficient in warmth as summer residences, and being easily removed from place to place, they are certainly well suited to the wants and simple habits of this wandering , people. When a larger habitation than ususd is required, they contrive by putting two of them together, to form a sort of donble tent, sqmewbat resenibling a marquee, and supported by two pples. If Jt were not the natural and happy dispo- lltion of Iheise people to be pleased, and to :ir :>. ■f\ -il t Tl mm 'I i^ifclL ■r>t ,.■ It' !) i,*T, * 11 flliii *. i y 112 plAce implicit ^nfidence wherever kind treat- ment is experienced, that confidence would soon have been ensured by our knowledge of their friends and relations to the southward, and the information we were able to give them respecting their late movements. In return for all this, they gave us the names of the different portions of land in sight, many of which being recognised in Iligliuk's chart, we no longer entertained a doubt respecting the generid accuracy of what they had told us. By the time we had distributed our pre- sents, and told them some long stories about Winter Island, to which they listened with eager delight and interest, we found the wea- ther becoming so inclement as to induce Cap- tain Parry to make the best of his way on board, and to take a more favourable oppor- tunity of renewing our visit to the Esqui- maux. The sea^ however, was too rough and the gale too strong, so that we were forced, after an ineffectual attempt to row to the ships, and after having one of the boats stove, to return to the tents, where we were welcomed in the kindest and most hospitable manner. That we might incommode them as little as possible, we were divided by Captain Parry into parties of two in each tent. Im- mediately on our arrival they offered us dry boots; and it was not long before we were entirely ** rigged out" in their dresses, which, thoroughly drenched as we were by the sea, id treat- B would 'ledge of nthwardy ive them n return es of the many of hart, we ;ting the »ld us. our pre- 'ies ahout ned with the wea- luce Cap- s way on le oppor- e Esqui- )o rough we were to row the boats we were ospitable them as Captain nt. Im- d u» dry we were if which, the scRy U3 proved no small comfort to us. With these and a seal-skin or two as a blanket, we kept ourselves tolerably warm during a most incle- ment night; and the tents, which but a few hours before we had looked on as the most comfortless habitations imaginable, now af- forded us a sufficient and most acceptable shel- ter. We talked to the natives about their re- latives, and were pleased to see the anxiety with which they made their enquiries. They gossiped, and chattered, and laughed till near midnight, when at length they left us to our repose. . . i. . About seven the next morning, that is on the 17th of July, we returned to our ships, whither five canoes arrived soon after and lay to for an hour. In order to repay the hospita- ble kindness of our friends, we sent them away abundantly supplied with tin canisters, knives, and pieces of iron hoops. In a couple of days after our return to the ships, we were gratified in observing that a large " patch'' of the fixed ice had broken oft' and drifted out of sight; and as this left us something to examine, we bore up along its edge for that purpose, as well as to avoid the disturbance of our friends, of whom we saw eleven canoes' full coming off from the shore and approaching us with loud shouts. We took two of them on board, and above an hour was occupied by our Commander, in en- deavouring to gain additional information re- )■ iifiii^. i ii I m ii n !■■' ^' 'ill «Dectiiiff the land to tlie westward, and t]i» time wnen' we might expect the ice to break np in ihe Strait; after which he dismistied them with various useful presents. Oh the 23d, tis we were still waiting for the breaking up of the ice, we went ashore to pay another visit to the Esquimaux, who came down to the ice in great numbers to receive us, repeatedly stroking the front of their jackets with the palm of the hand, and calling Out tinutf a word which signifies what cheer ? Nothing could exceed their attention to us oft landing ; some one attached himself to each of us immediately on our leaving the boat, pointing ot^t the best road, and taking us by the hand or arm to help us over the streams of water, and attending us wherever we went during our Stay on snore. The day was fine and pleasant, so that every thing assumed a different appearance from that on our former visit, and we passed some hours on shore very agreeably. About half a mile inland from the tents we found the ruins of several winter habitations. They were built of a circular and dome-like form, as the snow huts, but with more durable materials, the lower part being of stones, and the rest of the various bones of the whale and walrus gradually inclining inwards and meeting at the top. '"'* Pat. I suppose from their having such sub- stantial dwdUhgs these Esquimaux, with whom ^■WVr 1 4 « ^ ' and tli» to break lismissed ig for tho re to pay ho came receive of their id calling t cheer? to us on each of .pointinff the hand )f water, it during lat every rom that ne hours f a mile ruins of ere built ;he snow ials, the i rest of 1 walrus eting at nch sub- bhwhom 115 you had now upencd an Intercourse, make this place a constant residence, having also such abundance of food in the neighbourhood. Captain Af. We thought so too at that time; but we afterwards discovered that such was not the case. In every direction around tho huts, were lying innumerable bones of wal* ruses and seals, together with skulls of dogs, bears and foxes. We were not a little sur- prised to find also a number of human skulls, lying about among the rest, within a few yardi of the huts. Pat, Oh, Sir, perhaps the Esquimanx aro cannibals, and these were the remains of th« bodies they had devoured. Captain M. So, indeed, we were inclined to suspect at first, but we soon found out our error. They bury their dead in th|e snow» placing slabs of the same material over them, and cementing them by pouring a little water in the seams. Such a grave is not likely to be a very secure one, in a place wl^ere dogs are not half fed, and wolves are numerous ; and this accounted for thoi hitman bones which lay on all sides. On the return of the boats a few evenings after this, Lieut. Reid brojught us an account that a new family of the natives had arrived, bringing with them a quantity of fine salmon and venison, of which sonie very acceptable samples were procured for both ships. Desi- rous of following up such an agreeable kind of i/ •' I*! f.«l t'O !' .';) m^^.i I ■*'•■■ 116 barter, Captain Parry went ashore the next morning, for that purpose; but jcould only procure a very small quantity of fish from the tent of the new-comer, a middle-aged, intelli^ gent man named Toolemak. He found from this man, that in order to obtain a fresh sup< ply of fish, three days would be required, and accordingly bargained with him, that he should receive several useful articles, both in wood and iron, if he brought a quantity of the desired delicacy. Captain Lyon no sooner heard of this ar- rangement, than he proposed to accompany Toolemak on the intended expedition, with one seaman, and obtained our Captain's con- sent, as the best means of acquiring some information respecting the interior of the is- land. He was, however, directed not to be absent more than four days. His account of his proceedings, after leaving the Hecla, was so interesting that I asked and obtained p^- mission to take a copy of it. It is as fol- lows:-— " Accompanied by George Dunn," says Captain Lyon, " I found Toolemak on land- ing, who conducted us to his tent, in which, for two hours, we had to receive his acquaint- ances who came to gaze at us. A new deer- skin was spread for me; and Dunn having found a corner for himself, we all lay down to sleep,-— my host, his wife, their little son, and a dog having turned in beside me, under the next ould only 1 from the id, iutelli' »und from fresh 8up« uired, and that he 8, both in tity of the f this ar. ccompany ion, with ain's con- ing some of the is- lot to be ccount of ecla, was ined p^* is as fol- r -. i'** »» n> ' says on land. in which, tcquaint- ew deer- 1 having down t^ son, and N under w * ■» .1 P I .I* IB m D < D & tfi W b O w O » 117 cover of a Bnc \rarui skin. At 10 o'clock next morning', we started and found the sledge on the beach. Four men were to accompany us on this vehicle, and a second was under tho charge of three boys who had eight dogs, while our team consisted of eleven. Mounting on these we went rapidly forward over the ice for -about six hours, to W.N. W., when we came to a high, bold land, and a great num- ber of small islands wild and barren in tho extreme. We here found the ice in a very decayed state, and in many places the holeg and splits in the surface were difficult, if not dangerous to pass. At the expiration of eight hours, our impediments in this respect had so much increased, as to stop our further pro- gress. Dunn, the old man, and myself there- fore walked over a small island, beyond which we saw a sheet of water that precluded any farther advance except in boats. ** In the hope that the morning would prove more favourable for our seeing the prospect, the only advantage now to be derived from our journey, since the fishing place could not be reached, as we could not cross tho$e fissures in the ice without boats, we decided on passing the night on one of the rocky is- lands. The Esquimaux lay down to sleep on the rocks, having merely a piece of skin to keep the rain from their faces; and in this comfortless state, they lay quietly for eight liours. Oiir little hunting tent just held Dunn f ?•■ t ■jw V.'l {■ M li.- 1^. M i-f \'K : I ' '■i. .'!' 118 and myself, keeping us dry except from a htream of water that ran under ug all night. . " The morning of the 27th was rather fine for^ a short time, and we saw above thirty islands, which I named Cox's Group, varying in size from one hundred yards to a mile or two in length. Two deer were observed on the northern land, and Toolemak accom- panied Dunn in chase of them. One was kill- ed by the latter, as he informed me, in con- sequence of Toolemak's lying behind a stone and imitating the peculiar bellow of these ani* mals, until it was led by curiosity to come within gim-shot distance. On crossing to bring over our game we found that the Esquimaux had already skinned and broken up the deer after his own manner, and my companions be- ing without food I divided it into shares. The entrails and paunch I was about to leave behind ; but learning from' the anxious looks of the natives, that they considered these parts a great delicacy, I assigned them to a young man of our party who bore them off in triumph. " A skin was now taken from the sledge as a seat, and we all squatted down to our repast. In ten minutes die natives had picked the deer's, bones so clean, that even the hungry dogs refused them. Dunn and myself made our breakfast on a choice slice cut from the spine. I here obtained the meridian altitude, which gave the latitude 69^ 2(i' N, the wes- from a light, her fine 3 thirty varying a mile bserved accom- i^as kill- in con- a 8tone ese ani« come o bring uimaux le deer ons be- shares, leave s looks these m to a off in dge as repast, d the ungry made m the itude, wes- 119 tern extreme of Iglo6lik bearing E.S.E. about fourteen miles. ^1 Soon after noon we set forward on our re- turn, and without seeing any object but the flat and decaying ice, passed on with our for- mer swiftness, dashing through large pools of water much oftener than was pleasant to men who had not been dry for thirty hours, nor warm for a much longer period. Our eleven dogs were large fine looking animals, and an old one of peculiar sagacity was placed at their head, by having a longer trace so as to lead them over the safest and driest places. This leader was quick in obeying the voice of the driver, who did not beat, but repeatedly talked to it, and called it by name. It was beauti- ful to observe the sledges racing to the same object, the dogs and men in full cry, and the vehicles splashing through the water like rival stage coaches. When the snow and ice are very hard and smooth, six or seven dogs will draw from eight to ten hundred weight at the rate of seven or eight miles an hour, and will easily under these circumstances perform a journey of fifty or sixty miles ii day. " In summer the dogs are employed to carry burdens, in a kind of saddle-bags laid across their shoulders ; and a stout dog thus accoutred, will accompany his master laden with a weight of about twenty or twenty-five pounds ; besides which, as their scent is ex- cellent; they are useful in finding the seal- J/. 7- f- )■• • It > A. .'..X M"' .. ill ^ :l >► "I" 120 hul«s, and in tracking deei*. In killing bear> the dog8 act a very essential part; two or three of them, when led by a man, willingly attacking one of these ferocious creatures. Indeed, the only animal which they are not eager to chase is the wolf, of which the great- er part of them seem to have an instinctive dread, giving notice at night of their approach by a loud and continued howl. " We were joyfully welcomed by the pec* pie whom we had left the day before, parti- cularly by Ooyana who had been one of our companions, and whose guest I was now to become ; and, the place of honour, the deer- skin seat was cleared for my reception. His two wives, for these ignorant people practise polygamy, occupied one end, for it was a double tent, while at the opposite extremity the parents of the senior wife were establish- ed. The old mother assisted the young wo- men in pulling off our wet clothes and boots^ which latter being of native manufacture, she new soled and mended, without any request on our side, considering us a part of the fa- mily. Our knapsacks and clothes being wet, we gladly turned, in presence of a dozen or moi*e of visitiTS', into oui' blanket bags, which had been better preserved. Dunn slept in the little tent to watch our goods, and I had H small portion of Ooyana's screened off for me by a seal's skin. m ll^l ig beai> two or willingly eatures. are not e great- tinctive pproach he pec- parti- of our now to deer- Hia )rac«isc was a tremity tablish- mg wp- I boots^ ire, she request the fa- ng wet, ozen or which lept in II I had off for r mo. ; to me ; ook out outsicjo it been eatiirctf ing our iiffused ho ran delight, (vaiting ;ame at the na- terrible uld not a gro- Tired le tenty 1 1 was > farth- nance ; ttioned wn for t loud ning I xpect- [ soon came crying 125 out thai ** a little ship** was comings and m fact I found the boat nearly on shore. My host's senior wife now anxiously begged to tattoo a little figure on my arm, which she had no sooner done than the youngest insisted on making the same mark ; and while all around were running about and screaming, these two creatures sat quietly down to embellish me. When the boat landed, a general rush was made for the privilege of carrying our things down to it. Awarunni, who owned the little dog that slept with me, ran and threw him as a present into the boat, when, after a ge* neral koonik, we pushed off, fully sensible of the kind hospitality we had received. Too- lemak and Ooyanna came on board in my boat^ in order to pass the night and receive pre- sents, and we left the beach under three cheers." Though Capt. Lyon in this excursion makes but one astronomical observation, he had seen enough, however, to satisfy Captain Parry that it would be desirable, should circum- stances permit, to make another visit to a spot to which the Esquimaux themselves at- tached some importance. We had, for several days past, occasionally seen black whales about the ship, and our boats were kept in constant readiness to strike one for the sake of the oil, in which endea- vour we at length succeeded. It proved a mo- derate^- sized one of above '^nine feet bone,*' 4- f.: I ?;:• -Jll I' ■ '1 '•I i' 4 i' 'I ■'■.5 flU 126 Exactly suiting our purpose. The operation of flinching this animal, which nras thirty-nine feet in length, occupied most of the afternoon, each ship taking half the blubber and hauling it on the ice to put into casks. We also boiled one hundred and twenty gallons each, and then put the rest into tanks and casks, being a sup- ply sufficient for at least two years. When we had stowed away the blubber, wc took in tow the carcass for the use of the Es* quimaux; nor had we proceeded far till we observed several canoes paddling towards us. When we came up with them and informed them of the prize we had for them, they with great delight dropped their canoes astern to the whalers tail, from which they cut off enor- mous lumps of fle«h and ravenously devoured it, after which they took charge of the animal, and made it fast to a mass of grounded ice for their future disposal. On the 9th of August, we had the satisfac* tion of seeing another large patch from one to two miles in width, separated from the fixed ice, and soon drifted out of sight to the south- east. Toolemak came on board the Fury this day, when our Captain employed him for two hours, in drawing a chart of the Strait. Ho was but an indifferent draughtsman; yet by dint of questions, we found all our former ac- counts confirmed, respecting the existence of a passage to the westward in this immediate neighbourhood. He also agreed with all our >eration ty-nine ernoon» hauling > boiled id then ; a sup- )er, we the Es- till we rda US. formed iy with tern to r enor- voured inimaly ice for itisfac* m one e fixed south- ry this >r two . Ho fet by ler ac- nce of ediate 11 our 127 other informnnts in stating that, from the west- ern extremity of the Strait, no land was visible to the westward, iioither was any ever heard of in that direction by the Esquimaux. The fact he, as well as all others of whom we had en- quired, answered with a whine of sorrow, meaning thereby to intimate that their know- ledge and resources ended there. The only ac- tual addition, however, which he furnished to our former information was, respecting some Esquimaux inhabiting an island of considerable size, at a great distance to the eastward. These people he called Sead-ler-me-oo, a general term by which they distinguish all Esquimaux not belonging to their own tribe, and of whom, with great self-conceit, they invariably speak in terms of undisguised contempt. Time was now quickly passing over, for we were arrived at the 14th of August^ and not only were we making no progress, but we were not even ascertaining whether the sup- posed Strait had any existence. To put an end, therefore, to this suspense, €aptain Par- ry, along with Mr. Richards, and two men from each ship, set out in the direction which Captain Lyon had previously taken, and with greater success; for by passing over the ice which separated the islands of Cox's Group, he at length reached the main land, and tak- ing a northerly direction arrived on the 18th at the ultimate object of their journey, the extreme northern point of the peninsula, over- ■i;* .^1 « . t *-''!■ Hi- T P' 128 looking tlie narrowest part of the desired Strait, which was here two miles in width. Beyond this to the west, the shores again separated to the distance of several leagues, and further westward they did not douht they had discovered the Polar Sea,-^no land ap- pearing to the utmost limits of the clear ho- rizon. After despatching one of the party to the foot of the point for some of the sea-water, which was found extremely salt to the taste, they hailed the interesting event by three hearty cheers, and by a small extra allowance of grog to drink a safe and speedy passage through the channel just discovered, which the Captain named the Strait of the Fury and Hecla. They also built a pile of stones upon the promontory, which, from its situation with respect to the Continent of America, was called Cape North East, and setting Qut on their return reached the ship on the night of the 20th. The arrival of Captain Parry was very op- portune ; for at the very time the ice was in the act of opening out, and continued to do so for the rest of the night, so that on the 2 1 St the ships wave nearly in clear water. We got under weigh, therefore, on that day, and on the 26th were off Cape North East, and had begun to indulge the most flattering hopes of making a rapid progress, when tliese hopes were at once dashed, by a report from the Crow's Nest, that another barrier of fixed !• n desired I width. $s 9gain leagues, ubt they land ap- pear ho- party to la-water, he taste, >y three lowance passage , which Wy and les upon ituation imerica, ing out e night ery op- was in 1 to do on the water, at day, I £)ast, teriqg tliese from fixed 129 ice stretched completely af course 'ation of circum- re on? ; British n Parry y which ]«idered by call- ?s of the d Lieu* y fully of not the win^ nger to out for gloolikji 131 which would aflTord security to the ships dur^ ing the winter, and an early release in the spring. CHAPTER V. On the 2ith of October, the ships, after encountering many difficulties in working through the Strait of the Fury and Heclk, ar- rived off the point where the tents had first been pitched, and were immediately greeted by a number of Esquimaux, who came running down to the beach, shouting and jumping with all their might. From thence to the 30th we were employed in cutting a canal through the ice, which in some places was from twelve to fourteen inches thick, and in a few several feet. The whole length of the canal was 434*3 feet. Mr. Jones, I should not be surprised to hear that you were discouraged at the prospect be- fore you. '"' Captain M. This summer*s navigation had certainly added to the geographical knowledge of the north eastern coast of America and the adjacent islands ; but it had effected nothing in reference to the accomplishment of a north- west passage. The discovery of the Strait of the Fury and Hecia, had made known a channel of communication between the wa- ters ; but the ice rendered it impassable, and H h ■ '•'■•id .'»t of the staff, containing a statement of the ships having been there. On the following day, we began to retrace our course. On the 30th we were off Winter Island, having in this period moved along the coast one hundred and sixty miles, of which we had not sailed fifty, the remainder having been effected by drift- ing, while beset with the ice. Nor did the drift ice stop here ; It whirled us past Whiter ":M ]' ':. n M i;: .'-iti f> ' \ U6 Island towards Lyon's inlet, half way up which our ship was driven without the possi- bility of stopping her, and left at the mercy of the ice and currents among rocks and dan- gerous shoals, while the Hecla was in no bet- ter plight. Mr. Fife, Greenland master of the Hecla, died at this period, and his body was committed to the deep with great solem- nity. ■::_ ,/.•;.,•.. -^^^,1 ...-.^ .; From this time we saw no more ice, but made our way down Davis's Strait, and across the Atlantic with fresh breezes and flowing sails. On the 10th of October we reached Lerwick in the Shetland Isles, where we en- joyed the first intercourse with civilized man for twenty-seven months. The bells were rung; the inhabitants flocked from every part of the country to express their joy, and the town was at night illuminated, as if each inhabitant had a brother or a son among the crew. But the men who had in so striking a man- ner experienced the protection of the Most High, felt it their first and most sacred duty to acknowledge in public the mercies they had received. On the 12th, therefore, being Sun- day, the officers and men of both ships attend- ed Divine Service on shore, when the wor- thy Clergyman of the place offered up in a most solemn and impressive manner, a thanks- giving for our safe return ; at the same time calling on us never to forget what we owed to him who had so mercifully defended us, and ^v ir. 147 besides these temporal deliverancca, had t^o signally manifested his love in spiritual bless- ings. On the 16th being off Whitby, on the coast of Yorkshire, Captain Parry went ashore, ac- companied by the Chaplain and Astronomer of the expedition, and set off for London. The ships, after touching at the harbour for pilots, arrived in the Thames shortly afterwards, and we were paidofF at Deptford, on the 14th No- vember, 1823 ; not, however, without tendering our services, if it should be the wish of his Ma- jesty's Government to send out another expedi- tion to navigate the Arctic Seas, and again at- tempt the long-sought-for passage into the Pa- cific Ocean. *■ I' ■• \:-M CHAPTER VI. Mr, Jones. The boys are aware that when Captain Parry's first voyage was undertaken, it was wisely determined by His Majesty's Government to send an expedition by land, to explore the northern coast of America, froni the mouth of the Copper-mine Kiver to the eastward, and to set up conspicuous marks along the shore, in the hope that when Captain Parry should have entered the Polar Sea, from Baffin's Bay, he might derive information^ as ■: "'I m I? If m to liiti furtiicr course, from the labour&^ of tlie land party. William, Yes, Sir ; we have read Captain Franklin's " Journey to the Shores of the Po- lar Sea," and we know that setting out on tlie '2l8t of July, 1821, from the mouth of the Copper-mine River, in latitude 67® 43' north and in longitude 1 15° 36' west, he persevered in following the line of coast till August the 18th, struggling through unexampled difficul- ties in the hope of reaching the head of Re- pulse Bay, and that he was obliged to desist irom further progress at Cape Turnagain, in latitude, GS"" 18^ north and longitude 110'' 5' west. Pat, And wo know, also, that points to which Captain Franklin advanced could not be more than about two hundred miles from the head of Repulse Bay, which Captain Par- ry surveyed in his second voyage^ much about the same time. Captain M, So that you can understand now the judicious plan which was struck out by the Lords of the Admiralty in 1824, for tracing tho connexion of the shores of the Po- lar Sea, which Captain Parry saw in one of his expeditions from Igloolik with Point Turnagain, at which Captain Franldin's ope- rations terminated. Pat, Was tho command given to Capta!n Parry ? Captain 3L Not to Captain Parry (for a x^ of tlic d Captain >f tho Po- mt on tlie th of the 43' north ersevcred ugust the d difficul- A of Re- l to desist lagain, in 110° 6' points to could not liles from 3tain Par- uch about nderstand struck out 1824, for 9f the Po- in one of ith Point din*s ope- Capta!n ry (for a 149 tiiird expedition was maiked out fur him) but to his companion Captain Lyon. I was not one of this latter Commanders crew, having preferred sailing with the former to whom I was much attached. .» > . Mr. Jones, We cannot expect, therefore^ an account of Captain Lyon's voyage; but yon can info***n my sons as to its general result. '^ap,.^ " M. The e r^'^'lition of Captain Lyon was equally remaikakle for enterprise and courage, with those which preceded it, and it added something to our geographical knowledge ; but, with respect to its main ob- ject, it was unsuccessful, and that from causes which could neither be anticipated nor re- sisted. On the 12th of June, 1824, the Griper set sail for Repulse Bay, in company with a Sur- veying Vessel, which carried part of her stores, as far as the entrance of Hudson's Strait, where they arrived on the Sd of August. By the 30th they had headed the South Cape of Southampton Island, in latitude 61° 50', north, longitude 84° 2' west, and here I cannot avoid giving you an extract from Captain Lyon's Account of his Voyage, illustrative of that calm devotion and submissive reliance on the Divine power and mercy, which so often characterize the British sailor. " The Griper was sailing, on the 1st of September, north-east from Cape Southampton, towards Cape Fullerton in Sir Thomas Rowe's 4 %i-n v.^ •■<■' M 1:1 I 150 Welcome, when suddenly she came to seven fathom, which obliged him to bring her up with three bows and a stream anchor in suc- cession ; yet not before they had shoaled to ifive fathom and a half. This was between eight and nine a.m. the ship pitching bows under, and a tremendous sea running. At noon the starboard bower anchor parted, but the rest held. He adds, — " As there was every reason to fear the falling of the tide, which we knew to be from twelve to fifteen feet on this coast, and in that case the total destruction of the ship, I caused the long- boat to be hoisted out, and with the four smaller ones, to be stored to a certain extent with arms and provisions. The officers drew lots for their respective boats, and the ship's company were stationed to them. The long- boat being filled full of stores which could not be put below, it became necessary to throw them over-board, as there was no room for them on our small and very crowded decks, ov^r which heavy seas were constantly sweep- ing. In making these preparations for taking to the boats, it was evident to all that the long-boat was the only one which had the slightest chance of living under the lee of the ship, should she be wrecked ; but every officer and man drew his lot with the greatest com- posure, although two of our boats would have been swamped the inst?.nt they were lowered : yet such was the noble feeling of those around 151 ) seven her up in 8UC- »aled to etween 2^ bows g. At ed, but re was le tide, fifteen le total 9 long- le four extent 8 drew ship's long- ild not throw )m for decks, sweep- taking tat the Eld the of the officer (t com- d have vered : around 16 inc, that it was evident, had I ordered ih^| boats in question to bo manned, their crev^^* would have entere,d them without a murmur* | In the afternoon, on the weather clearing a . little, we discovered a low beach all around -j astern of us, on which the sea was running to^^. an awful height, and it appeared evident that^^ no human power conld save us. At three p.m.^^ the tide had fallen to twenty-two feet — only six feet more than we drew, and the ship hav- ing been lifted by a tremendous sea, struck with great violence the whole length of her keel. This we naturally conceived was the fore-runner of her total w jck, and we stood in readiness to take the boats, and en- deavour to hang under her lee. She conti- nued to strike with sufficient force to have burst any less fortified vessel, at intervals of a few minutes, whenever an unusually hea- vy sea passed us, and as the water was so shallow, these might rather be called breakers than waves, for each in passing burst with great force over our gangways, and as every sea ' topped,' our decks were constantly and frequently deeply flooded. All hands took a little refreshment, for some had scarcely been below for twenty-four hours, and I had not lain in bed for three nights. Although few or none of us had any idea that we should survive the gale, we did not think that our comforts should be entirely neglected, and an order was given to the men to put 1 ^ i* m 152 ^ii t]M)ir best and warmest clotliing, to sup- ^ i;**t life as long as possible Every man, ^lerefore, brought liis bag on deck and dress* Si himself; and in the fine athletic forms Vhich stood exposed before me, I did not see "^ne muscle quiver nor the slightest sign of "^arm. The OiHcers tach preserved some ^,Seful instrument about them for the purpose W observation, although it was acknowledged by all that not the slightest hope remained* ' And now that every thing in our power had been done, I called all hands aft, and to a merciful God offered prayers for our preserva* tion. I thanked them dl for their excellent conduct, and cautioned them, as we should in all probability soon appear before our Makei^ to enter His presence as men resigned to their fate. We then sat down in groups, and, shel- tered from the wash of the sea by whatever we could find, many of us endeavoured to ob" tain a little sleep. Nevev, perhaps, was wit* nessed a finer scene than on the deck of my little ship, when all hope of life had left n9» Noble as the character of the British sailor is allowed to be in cases of danger, yet I did not believe it possible that amongst fortyw one persons not one repining word should have been uttered. Each was at peace . with his neighbour and all the world, and perfectly resigned to the will of God. At about G P.M. the rudder which had already received some very heavy blow?, rose Jind 153 hioke up the aftoi-lockcrs, and this was the last severe shock which the ship received. We found by the well that she made no wa- ter, and by dark she struck no more. God was merciful to us, and the tide fell no lower. At dark heavy rain fell ; but it was borne with patience, for it beat down the gale and brought with it a light air from the northward. At nine p.ai. the water had deepened to five fa- thom, the ship kept off the ground all night, and our exhausted crew obtained some broken rest. " At four A.M. on the 2d on wsighing the best bower, we found it had lost a fluke ; and by eight we had weighed two other anchors and the stream, whicli were found uninjured. The land was now more clearly visible, and the highest surf I ever saw was still breaking on it, and on some shoals about half a mile from the shore. Not a single green patch could be seen on the flat shingle beach, and our sense of deliverance was doubly felt from the conviction that if any should have lived to reach the shore, tlie most wretched death by starvation would have been inevitable. In standing out from our anchorage, which, in humble gratitude for our safety, I named the Bay of God's Mercy, %ve saw the buoy of the anchor we had lost in ten fathom, and weighed it by the buoy-rope, losing, there- fore, only one bower-anchor. We now hoist- ed the long-boat in, and an occasional glimpse '<■. jif V, «i| 154 of the sun enabled us to determine the anchor- age, whicli was in latitude 6S° 45' north and longitude 86'' 32' west. The land all round it was 80 low, that it was scarcely visible from the deck at five miles distance, while the point which I had taken for Cape Fullcrton, and which I now named after Mr. Kendall, Assis- tant Surveyor, was higher than the coast of Southampton hitherto seen, although still low land. The extreme of the right side of the Bay, was named after Lieut. Manico. The ship being now somewhat to rights, I called the hands aft, and we offered up our thanks and praises to God, for the mercy he had shewn to us." On the 7th of September they were enabled to come to an anchor between Cape FuUerton and Whale Point, on the Coast of America. They then proceeded cheerfully under every disadvantage of weather, to work their way up the Welcome, til another heavy gale on the 30th, demonstrated the utter hopelessnei>:s of the attempt to reach Repulse Bay in that vessel so late in the season. Having, there- fore, lost all the bower anchors and chains, and being yet above eighty miles from Repulse Bay, with the shore leading to which they were unacquainted, the compass at this par- ticular time being perfectly useless, and it be- ing impossible to continue under sail with any degree of safety in dark twelve hour uightS; with the certainty too that the vessel 155 eould not beat oti' a lee shore even in nioile- rate weather, Captain Lyon thought it hi» duty to those who wore under his command, to return, and accordingly they set the ship's head to clear the Welcome. They proceeded to ply through Hudson's Strait, and ran into Portsmouth on the 9th of December, 1824', nearly half a year after they had left Dept- ford. i^ . » f:. Captain Parry received orders to take under his command the Hecla and Fury, for the purpose of effecting if possible the long sought for passage, and in consequence moved down from Deptford, on the 8th of May, 1824, fully a month before the sailing of tk^. Gri- per. Their instructions were to seek an en trance into the Polar Sea by Pi'in^'e'Regent s Inlet, and thence to steer along the shore of the North American Continent, passing Hearne*u River and Mackenzie's River, and proceeding by Behring's btraitf into the Pa- cific Ocean. William. Who was Captain Parry's asso- ciate in this expedition ? Captain M. His former companion Lieute- nant, now Capt. Hoppvier On the 8th of May, they moved down the Thames to Deptford, and on the 6tli of June, cast anchor at the Whale Fish Islands in Baffin's Bay, in north latitude 74° 28', west longitude 53° 12' where the William Harris transport, which had ac- compuuied them thus far> in order to lighten ■■;i / .a K II I 156 them by carrying a part of their stores, trans- ferred her lading to the Discovery Ships, and on the 3d July left them to return to England. On the following morning the Hecla and Fury weighed anchor, and entered the ice. They were, however, so deeply laden, and the wind was so adverse, that for several days they made but little way, being all that time sur- rounded by ice-bergs, which were so nume- rous, that at one time we saw and counted no less than one hundred and three, some of them from one to two hundred feet above the level of the sea, and found it necessary in one or two instances to tow the ships clear of them with the boats. The summer of 1 S2i> was so cold, that from the 1 7th of July to the end of the month, we had only penetrated seventy miles to the west- ward, or to the longitude of about 62° 10', though our crews were almost constantly em- ployed in heaving, warping or sawing through the ice, which obstnicted our pr(»gress. Here while closely beset, on tlie 1st of August, we encountered a hard gale from the south-east which, pressing the ice together in every di- rection, by mass overlaying mass for hours together, the Hecla received several very awkward " nips," and was once fairly laid on her bro.idside, by a strain which must inevi- tably have crushed a vessel of ordinary strength. In this case the ice was forced un- der the ship's bottom on one side, and on the 157 other up her side, both powers thus acting in Mich a manner m to brinf^ her on her beam- ends. Had the pressure overcome the resist- ance which the vessel offeised, it would in all probability have crushed the sides of the ves- sel together, as a man squeezes an empty egg- shell to pieces in his hand. Eight tedious weeks were employed in pe- netrating through this barrier, it being the 9th of September ere the vessels saw an open sea before them, and were able to make for the entrance .of Sir James Lancaster s Sound, which they reached on the following day. That not a moment might be lost, a press of canvass was crowded, and being favouredwith an easterly breeze blowing up the sound, we soon caught a glimpse of the high, bold land on the north side of it. This, however, was not to be of long continuance ; for, on the 1 3th, when within seven leagues of Cape York, we had the mortification of perceiving the sea ahead covered with young ice, an indication that the summer was gone. In fact, each day now increased the thickness of the fresh ice, so that, with every effort, our vessels were beset, even before we had fixed on a conve- nient harbour to winter in. A continu- ance of tlie same bad weather and obstruc- tions from the ice, obliged Captain Parry, after he had entered Prince Regent's Inlet, to chuse Port Bowen, on the eastern side, as a winter sUitioii lie was not able to make it, 4 f .i'..: I 4L, i, I 158 Iiovvever, till the ntiddle of October, beyoiul which time he would still have continued his course, but for the apprehension he had of being drifted back to the eastward, should tlie ships again become hampered with the young ice, in addition to which he considered that no known place of security existed south- ward on the coast. Had we, indeed, reached this point three weeks or a month sooner, which we should have done but for the unfa- vourable weather, we should, in all probabi- lity, have penetrated through that iidet, and wintered on some part of the coast of Ame> rica ; an opinion which Captain Parry formed, from seeing, to the southward of Prince Re- gent*s Inlet, neither ice nor islands to ob- struct the passage, while a dark water-sky in- dicated a perfectly navigable sea in that di- rection. Mr, Jones, The winter at Port Bowen was, no doubt, passed pretty much in the same manner as former winters in the Polar Seas ? Captain M. It was rather more dreary, from the total absence of all human creatures except ourselves, the Esquimaux not making their appearance through the whole season. To use Captain PaiTy's words, — It is hard to conceive any two things more alike than two winters passed in the latitude of the Polar Re- gions. The winter of more temperate cli- mates is occasionally diversified by a thaw, which at ouce gives variety and cunipurativo 159 cheerfulness to the scene; but here, when once the earth is covered, all is dreary mono- tonous whiteness, not merely for days or weeks, but for more than half a year togethejr In the very silence which reigns around, as well as the inanimate stillness of every object, there is a desolation with which the bustle and animation that always prevailed round the ships formed a remarkable contrast. To make amends for this, however, the comforts and conveniencies of the men, and consequently their health were considerably improved on this voyage. It may well be supposed that, in such a climate, the chief thing to be attend- ed to is warmth — not only in the body when exposed to the external air, but also in the inhabited apartments. Exposure to the cold, when warmly clothed, produces no bad effect whatever beyond a frost bitten cheek, nose, or finger. The lungs were never affect- ed from the breathing of cold air, or by sud- den changes from this into a warm atmosphere, or vice versa, which always took place when entering or quitting the cabin of the ship. William, Were these changes of tempera- ture very great ? Captain M, In the space of time required for opening two doors, perhaps less than half a minute, there was always a change of from 80° to 100° degrees of temperature, and yet no pulmonary complaint was ever caused by it. It was found, however, thai the warmth '•1 '■•il! ; J 1 Ml f ■..: 1, xA ii-'ti -jll fi n HI h '' f 160 af the body could not be kept up in severe exposure, even by a load of woollen clothes, a strong breeze carrying off the heat so rapidly that the sensation of cold was most piercing : a jacket made very long, like those called by seamen ^'pea-jackets/' and aned with fur throughout, was more effectual than twice the weight of woollen clothes, and was indeed almost weather-proof. Internal warmth was effectually maintained by placing Sylvester's Warming Apparatus in the very bottom of the hold, which con- veyed the heat uniformly to all the officers' cabins and both the cable-tiers. As the former recreations had lost their charms of novelty, these, therefore, were not again resorted to. In lieu of them, however, our two commanders suggested and planned a masquerade, in which both officers and men took a share. Admirably dressed characters of va- rious descriptions readily took their parts, and were supported with a degree of spirit and genuine humour, which made the amusement exceedingly popular ; whilst, at the same time, such was the discipline and good conduct of the crew, that it never caused one of them to forget the respect which wiis due to his of- ficers. But the occupation not less assiduously pur- sued, and of most important benefit to those engaged in it, was the re-establishment of schools on boai'd of both ships. By the judi- evere lies, H apidly rcing : led by h fur CO the ndeed tatned aratus li con- flicers* their ire not ^ever, med a n took of va- ;s, and t and einent time, act of em to u» of- ^pur- those nt of judi- 161 oious ai'rangemcnte adopted tlicse were also made subservient, not merely to the improve- ment of the men in reading and writing, in which their progress was suprisingly great, but .ilso to the cultivation of that religious feeling, which so essentially improves the character of a seaman, by furnishing the highest motives for the attentive discharge of his duty. Immediately after the ships had taken up their births, the Observatory was erected on shore, and arrangements were made for the va- rious observations, to which attention was to be directed during the winter ; and this gave oc- casion to a most striking proof of the facility with which sounds are heard in cold weather. Whilst erecting the building the officer super- intending it had occasion to send a man to the opposite shore of the harbour, a measured dis- tance of 6696 feet, or about a mile and two- tenths, in order to fix a meridian mark, and had placed a second man half-way between to re- peat his directions ; but he found on trial that this precaution was unnecessary, as he could, without difficulty, keep up a conversation with the man at the distant station. Amongst the phenomena observed from this 8tation, none were more remarkable than some brilliant displays of the Aurora Borealis. The most striking of these occurred about mid« night on the 27th January, 1825, when it broke out in a single compact mass of brilliant yel- low light, in the south-cast, appearing only a j •( i •'%, mm I'tl 162 short distance above the land. It seemed to be composed of numerous pencils of rays compressed into one, its limits both to the right and left being well defined, and nearly vertical. On the 15th of February, the sun became visible at the Observatory ; but at the ships not till the 22d, after an obscurity of one hun- dred and twenty- one days. Week after week however, passed after that without the effect of his rays, as to warmth, becoming percep- tible. And it was not till about the first week in June, that pools of water began to make their appearance. After this time the thawing proceeded at an inconceivably rapid rate, the whole surface of the floes being covered with large pools of Water, rapidly increasing in size and depth. ; ^ ^r CHAPTER VII. Captain M. I may now briefly notice the animals seen at Port Bo wen during the winter. The principal of them were bears, of which we killed twelve between October and June, being more than in all our other voyages put together, and several others were seen. A she bear, killed in the open water, af- forded a very striking instance of maternal affectioHi in her anxiety to save her two cubs. 163 She might herself have easily escaped the boat ; but would not forsake her young, which she was actually "towing off," by allowing them to rest on her back, when the boat came near them and killed all three. A second si- milar instance occurred some time »fter, when two cubs having got down into a large crack in the ice, their mother placed herself before them, so as to secure them from the attacks of our people, which she might have avoided. One or two foxes were killed, and four caught in traps during the winter, weighing from four pounds and three quarters to three pounds and three quarters. William. But is not the colour of this ani- mal in Arctic Regions, always white in win- ter? ■ ■ -'''■■■ ■■ '■ '-•■- ■ Captain M, It is so arranged by a wise Providence, that the fox, along with some other animals, becomes white in the cold sea- son, that colour being warmer than any other ; and of the fact, one of them which we caught in the traps afforded us a proof. It lived on board the Fury for some time, and was near- ly a pure white till the month of May, when it shed its winter coat, and became of a dirty chocolate colour, with two or three light brown spots. Only three hares were killed from October to June, weighing from six to eight pounds and three quarters. Their fur was extremely thick, short, and of the most beau- tiful whiteness imaginable. We saw no deer •)l i •*? f-- I Mi. i ! 'i'i I'M m ! !■ 164 near Port Bowen, nehher were we vishcd by their enemies the wolves. A single ermine and a few mice completed our scanty list of quadrupeds, at this desolate and unproductive place. The birds were not much more numer- ouf., consisting of a few flocks of ducks and grause. ■■ -"-^^ ■•-' •■;-.' • > ^■-'f With the view of extending our geographi- cal knowledge, as much as our means permit- ted, three land loumeys were undertaken as 80ok as the weather w<4 sufficiently warm for procuring any water. .The first party set out on the Slst of May, consisting of six men, under Captain Hoppner, who was instructed to travel eastward, to endeavour to reach the sea in that direction, and to discover the commu- nication which probably exists there with Ad- miralty Inlet, so as to determine the extent of that portion of insular land on which Port Bowen is situated. They returned after a very fatigfuing journey, and having advanced with difficulty a degree and three quarters to the eastward of the ships, in latitude 73° l^'^ from which position no appearance of the sea could be perceived. The two other parties, consisting of four men each, under the respective commands of Lieutenants Shorer and Ross, were directed by our Captain to travel, the former to the southward and the latter to the northward^ for the purpose of surveying it accurately, and also to ascertain the state of the ice to ted by ermine list of luctive turner- ks and p*aphi- >ermit- ken as rm for set out : men, cted to the sea ommu- th Ad- extent 1 Port fter a iranced ters to ° 19', he sea f four nds of rected o the ward^ rately, ice to 1^5 tJie northward, in order that a judgment might be foi*mcd as to the probable time of our liberation. These parties found the travelling along shore so good, as to enable them not only to reach those spots, but to extend their journeys far beyond them. Lieutenant Ross returning on the 15th, brought the welcome intelligence of the sea being perfectly open and free from ice, at the distance of twenty-two miles to the northward of Port Bowen, by which it appeared more than probable, that Barron's Strait was not permanently frozen during the winter. On the same day, the 15th, Lieute- nant Sherer returned to the ships, having performed a rapid journey as far south as 72^° and made an accurate survey of the whole coast to that distance. In the course of this journey a great many remains of Esquimaux habitations were seen, and these were much more numerous on the southern part of the coast. ♦*-'^ U-. *.:-.'■■ "? «>'In order to obtain oil for another winter's consumption, before the ships could bo re- leased from the ice, and our travelling par- ties having seen a number of black whales in the open water to the i\orthward, two boats from each ship were, with considerable labour, transported four miles along shore in that di- rection, to be in readiness for killing a whale and boiling the oil on the beach. On the 12th the ice in our neighbourhood M v.- 166 began to detach itself) and the boats, under the command of Lieutenants Sherer and Ros?, being launched on the following day, succeed- ed almost instantaneously in killing a small whale. Almost at the same time, and as it turned out, very opportunely, the ice at the mouth of our harbour detached itself at an old crack, and drifted off, leaving only about one mile and a quarter between the ships and the sea. A canal, therefore, was commenced, at which the men worked with great alacrity. In the afternoon of the 19th of July, a very welcome stop was put to our operations by the separation of the floe entirely across the har- bour, and about one-third from the ships to where we were at work. All hands being in- stantly recalled by signal, were on their re- turn set to work to saw away what still re- mained, and so steadily did we labour for the entire night, and till six o'clock the next morn- ing, that we succeeded in getting clear. We stood out to sea on the 20th of July, with a light southerly wind, and made to- wards the western shore of Prince-Regent's Inlet. For some time we made good pro- gress. The labours of an unfavourable sum- mer and irksomeness of a long winter were now forgotten, when we found ourselves en- tering upon seas hitherto unexplored, and with every apparent prospect of making as rapid advances as the nature of the navigation would t I y under d Ros9^ ucceed- a small [id as it ! at the f at an y about lips and tnenced, crity. ', a very s by the the har- ships to »eing in- ;heir re- still re- ' for the Lt morn- • of July, lade to- tegent's od pro- )le sum- er were ves en- nd with Eks rapid )n would 107 permit; towards the final accomplishment of iHir object. Early on the morning of the 25tli of July wo passed an opening in the land, which our Captain called Elvvin Bay ; a little to the south of it a party was sent ashore, who ascertained tlie position to be latitufl^ 73° 27' north, and longitude 90° 50' west. The wind, however, shitted round to tlie northward soon after, and stopped our course by bringing the ice more compactly together. And here commenced, 1 may say, a series of disasters which assailed us one after the other, and ^nded in the failure of the expedition. On the 30th it blew a hard gale with constant rain from the northward, which soon brought the ice closer and closer, till it pressed with very considerable violence on both ships, though the most on the Fury, which lay in a very exposed situation. The Hecla received no damage but the breaking of two or three hawsers and a part of her bulwark torn away, by the strain upon them ; but tKe Fury was forced on the ground during the night, and though subsequently got off received much in- jury. On the 1st of August the wind being south, there appeared a good deal of water in that direction, but between us and the channel lay a narrow and not very close stream of ice, touching the shore. We endeavoured to make our way through this barrier ; but in the effort, the wind suddenly freshening almost to a gale, K '■"■■a • t i'! 168 we wcro InBtantlv beset, and in such a manner as to be rendered literally helpless and unma- nageable. We drifted with the ice for some little way, until the Hecla struck the ground forcibly several times, in the space of a hun- dred yards, and being then brought up re- mained immovable. The Fury continuing to drive, was now irresistibly carried towards us, and the collision of the two ships appeared inevitable. Providentially, however, the ice which beset her deviated a little, carrying her past us at a few feet distance, and thus saving us both from the damage which must have en- sued. She had, however, scarcely past us a hundred yards, when she too was forced di- rectly against a grounded mass of ice, upon the beach. This was, indeed, a fatal accident, for though she came ofF.the ground on the follow- ing day, the 2d of August, she was so severe- ly damaged, by the shock that she was found to take in water by several leaks. In this unpleasant predicament Captain Par- ry rowed on board the Fury, and found four pumps contantly going to keep the sh^p free, and Captain Hoppner, his officers, and men almost exhausted, with the iiEitigue of the Jasi eigbt and forty hours. It now became too evident, however unwilling we might be ,at drst to admit it, that the FWy could proceed no further without repairs, and that the na- ture of those repairs .would, in all probability, J' f manner i unma- 'or some ground a hun- up re- ming to towards ppeared the ice 'ingjier I saving ave en- past us reed di- ponthe ent, for follow- severe- ) found tin Par- nd four jp free, id men the.Jasii me too > be, at Toceed the na- aWlity, • •» 'f#' X H S O la > 25 ffi 1G9 4 nvolve the nocesbity of heuving* the stiiip (luwri I need not detail to you all the diificulties which we experienced in accomplishing this, from the movement and pressure of the ice. We first lightened her, by landing the great- er part of ker stores, in the course of which we found the water rushing in through two or three holes, and that she had sustained most serious injury. The next process was forming a sort of basin, by means of the ice, after which all the necessary arrangements being made, and the Fury's crew being received on board the Hecla, we, on the 18th of August, began to heave her down on the larboard side, but here fresh incursions of the ice thwarted us, — our artificial basin Mas destroyed, and the Fury being again forced ashore, it became quite hopeless to attempt to make her sea-worthy, there being eighteen inches of water in the well, and four pumps being requisite to keep her free. Under all these circumstances Cap- tains Parry and Hoppner, and the other offi- cers were of opinion, that an absolute neces- sity existed for abandoning her. The Fury's boats were now hauled up on the beach, and at two o'clock, a.m., 'on the ^6th of August, Captain Parry left her, being followed in half an hour after by Captain Hopp- ner, the officers and men. All hopes of accomplishing the object of the voyage were now at an end. Wc were 170 arrived at the 2€Ui of August, too lute in the season, even if the ice had suffered us to proceed, for making much progress, uncertain as we were, whether a good harbour would offer itself for us to winter in. But the chief consideration was, that we had now but a twelvemonth's provisions aboard for both ships* companies, which would extend their resources only to the autumn of the following year, so that when the ensuing season would open for us to recommence our voyage, we should have but three or four months provisions in store. Captain Parry^ therefore, from a due regard for the lives of those binve men entrusted to him, and indeed in compliance with the plain tenor of his instructions, felt it to be his duty to return to England. As soon as this con- clusion was come to, and had met the concur- rence of Captain Hoppner, and the other offi- cers, the boats were hoisted up, the anchor stowed, and the ship's head put to the north- eastward, in order to gain an offing before the ice should again set in shore. On the Ist of September, Captain Parry came into a perfectly open sea in Barrows Straits, and was enabled to bear away to the eastward through Sir James Lancastcfr's Sound. On the 17th, at noon, the Hecla had passed to the southward of the Arctic Circle, and from this latitude had generally fine weathei' till she arrived off Peterhead, on the 12th of October, when Captain Parry immediately set lute in d us to icertain would ke chief but a h fillips* sources ear, so pen for Id have n store. regard sted to te plain lis duty iis con- oncur- er oiB- anchor north- >re the Parry rrows to the {ound. >assed and iathei* tthof |ly set 171 oul for London, and die Heda reaching Sheerness on the 20th, was soon after paid off. Pat, I rejoico at their safe return, though I cannot avoid feeling disappointed at the failure. I suppose it may now be considered a hopeless thing ? Captain M. Though this expedition failed, it may interest you to know, that the views long entertained by Captain Parry, and in- deed I mr y add by all who sailed with him, on the subject of a north-west passage, remain unsdtered. " I feel confident," he says, " that the undertaking, if it be deemed advisable at any future time to pursue it, will one day or other be accomplished. It may be tried often, and often fail, for several favourable and for- tunate circumstances must be combined for its accomplishment; but I believe, never- theless, that it will ultim^tf^ly be accomplished. " Happy,** he adds, " rh^W I be, if any la- bour of mine, in the humblo tho'iingh necessary ofiice of pioneer, should nUimately contril^uip to the success of some nicirc fc^rtunate indivi- dual. May it still fall to England s lot to ac- complish this undertaking, and may she ever continue to take the lead in cnterprizos intend*" ed to contribute to the advancement of science, and to the welfare of mankind at large." When Captain Mackey had concluded his interesting narrative, his young auditors, Wil- liam and Pat., expressed their gratitude for i I] 'II II ''Hi ''. fM 172 the information and entertainment wliich it had alForded tliem. It had convinced them, they said, that tlie merit of such expeditions was not to be estimated solely by their imme- diate advantages, but also by the mass of new and important information which they convey- ed to us. And it it^as particularly delightful to think, that their native country had led the way in the acquirement of useful information, and that in prosecuting these discoveries, the conduct of their brave countrymen was not tar- nished by any act of cruelty, while in every season of difficulty, they exhibited a noble ex- ample of patience, courage and subordination. Mr. Jones fully coincided in the sentiments delivered by his sons, and he expressed a hope that they would learn from the nar- rative of their kind friend, to contrast the blessings enjoyed in these countries, even by the poorest, from the hands of a gracious Pro- vidence, with the privations and sufferings of the poor Esquimaux ;^ while the example held forth by the brave* officers and seamen of the different expeditions, should convince them, that difficulties and dangers are best surmounted by patience and fortitude, spring- ing from a firm reliance on the guidance and protection of the Almighty. THE END. It which it iced them, expeditions leir imme- ass of new 3y convey- delightfnl ad led the formation, series, the as not tar- > in every noble ex- rdination. entiments pressed a the nar- itrast the even by ions Pro- suiFcrings example i seamen convince are best , spring- ance and