1819-1827: Parry’s first voyage.—Object, to survey
Lancaster Sound and prove the non-existence of Crocker
Mountains.—Discovery of new lands.—Parry Islands.—Attains
longitude 110° W., thereby winning the bounty of five
thousand pounds offered by Parliament.—Winters near Melville
Island.—Second voyage.—Ships _Hecla_ and _Fury_.—Examines
Duke of York Bay and Frozen Strait of Middleton.—Winters
off Lyon Inlet.—Sledge journeys.—Object, to make Northwest
Passage _via_ Prince Regent Inlet.—Reached Port Bowen.—Ten
months’ imprisonment.—Destruction of the _Fury_.—Hasty
return to England. Fourth voyage.—Purpose to reach the Pole
_via_ Spitzbergen with sledge boats over ice.—_Hecla_ as
transport.—Parry’s farthest, 82° 45´ N., reached June 23, 1827.
[Sidenote: _PARRY’S FIRST VOYAGE_]
The principal object of Lieutenant W. E. Parry’s first voyage under the
direction of the British Admiralty was to pursue the survey of Lancaster
Sound, so abruptly discontinued by Captain Ross the previous year, and
decide the probability of a northwest passage in that direction, thus
settling the much-disputed question of the existence of the “Crocker
Mountains,” which Parry, who had accompanied Ross, declared from the
first to have been an ocular illusion. Should Lancaster Sound not prove
navigable, Smith and Jones sounds were to be explored.
The _Hecla_, 375 tons, and the _Griper_, 180 tons, were strengthened and
provisioned for two years. Sailing from the Thames May 11, 1819, they
reached Davis Strait the last week in June, and here experienced a good
deal of annoyance from ice, through which they made a slow and difficult
passage by heaving and warping, reaching Possession Bay a month later.
Upon landing the men were not a little surprised to see their own
footprints of the previous year; a fox, a raven, some ring flowers, and
snow-buntings were seen, also a bee. Tufts and ground plants grew in
considerable abundance wherever there was moisture.
Proceeding on their voyage, they reached, by August 4, longitude 86° 56´
W., three degrees to the westward of where land had been laid down by
Captain Ross. Passing through Barrow Strait, they found ice to such an
extent north of Leopold Island that Parry determined to shape his course
to the southward and explore the beautiful sheet of water to which he
gave the name of Regent Inlet.
The compass now became useless, owing to the local attraction, and the
binnacles were discarded. Having penetrated one hundred and twenty miles
and having given the farthest point of land the name of Cape Kater,
it was found necessary to return to the southward or be caught in the
ice. Skirting the north shore of Barrow Strait, they later passed two
large openings, to the first of which Parry gave the name of Wellington
Channel, also naming various capes and inlets, as he passed them, Batham,
Barlow, Cornwallis, Bowen, Byam Martin, Griffith, Lowther, Bathurst, and
others.
Navigation now became extremely difficult, owing to thick fogs, but
notwithstanding many obstacles they reached the coast of an island
larger than any yet discovered, which they called Melville Island, and
by the 4th of September Lieutenant Parry was able to make the joyful
announcement to his crew that, having passed longitude 110° W., they were
entitled to the reward of five thousand pounds promised by Parliament to
the first ship’s company which should reach that meridian.
To celebrate their success, they gave the name of Cape Bounty to the
farthest neck of land sighted in the distance. Every effort was
now made to push forward in the hope of reaching longitude 130° W.,
thereby securing the second reward held out by the government. They had
progressed but a short distance when, to their great disappointment,
farther advance became impossible by reason of an impenetrable barrier of
ice.
The approach of winter decided Lieutenant Parry to seek the shelter near
Melville Island and there prepare for the long winter months.
To the group of islands in the vicinity of which he had taken refuge, he
gave the name of Georgian Islands, in honour of His Majesty, King George
III, but later the name was changed to Parry Islands.
Knowing well that good spirits meant good health in the tedious winter
months, Lieutenant Parry established a school for his men, as well as
the diversion of a newspaper, and the ship’s crew acted several plays,
which were most enthusiastically received. In spite of enforced exercise
and other methods for keeping in good physical condition, scurvy showed
itself among the crew, and such antiscorbutics as lemon juice, pickles,
mustard, cress, and spruce-beer were put into requisition. Later,
snow-blindness afflicted some of the men, but was relieved by washes and
the wearing of black crape before the eyes.
As the spring approached, the ships were made ready for the first
opportunity to escape from the ice, which, however, remained impenetrable.
On the 1st of June an excursion was made across Melville Island by
Lieutenant Parry and others, carrying provisions for three weeks. They
found such parts of the ground as were free from snow covered with dwarf
willow, sorrel, and poppy, also moss and saxifrage. A few ducks and
ptarmigan were killed. Upon his return to the ship the middle of June,
Captain Parry ordered his men to make daily excursions after sorrel,
which they procured in large quantities and greatly enjoyed. On the
western side of the island at Bushman’s Cove, in Liddon’s Gulf, they
found “one of the pleasantest and most habitable spots we had yet seen in
the Arctic regions, the vegetation being more abundant and forward than
in any other place, and the situation sheltered and favorable for game.”
Though channels and pools were everywhere forming, it was not until the
second of August that the great mass of ice broke up and floated out.
The ship now made for the open water, but after a short advance, in
spite of every effort, they found themselves once more prevented by the
impenetrable barrier of ice from making their way westward. There seemed
no alternative but a return homeward, and after taking certain additional
observations of the two coasts extending along Barrow Strait, they set
sail for England.
A warm welcome awaited the daring navigators, who had reached a longitude
greater by more than 30° than any other explorer; who had discovered many
new lands, islands, and bays; had established the fact of a polar sea
north of America; and had wintered successfully in the Arctic, bringing
back his crew in good condition.
[Sidenote: _PARRY’S SECOND VOYAGE_]
Parry’s unprecedented success and the enthusiasm for Arctic exploration
throughout England decided the British Admiralty to send out a second
expedition to attempt a passage in a lower latitude than that of Melville
Island. The _Hecla_ and the _Fury_ were manned and provisioned and put
under the command of Captain Parry and Lieutenant Lyon, whose travels in
Tripoli, Mourzouk, and other parts of northern Africa had already brought
him consideration and some degree of renown. The transport _Nautilus_ was
to accompany the ships as far as the ice, and transship extra provisions
and stock as soon as room could be found for them.
The ships sailed from the Nore on the 8th of May, 1821, and by the
2d of July were at the mouth of Hudson Strait, having parted with the
_Nautilus_ the previous day. Icebergs in formidable numbers had already
been encountered, and the desolate condition of the shores, the naked
rocks, the snow-covered valleys, and the thick fogs encountered were
anything but encouraging.
Progress was now made through very heavy floes, and between strong
currents, eddies, and icebergs they were menaced by serious danger
for more than ten days. While embayed in the ice, they sighted near
Resolution Island three strange ships also fast in the ice. These they
later managed to join, and found them to be Hudson Bay Company’s traders,
the _Prince of Wales_, the _Eddystone_, and the _Lord Wellington_,
chartered to convey one hundred and sixty emigrants, who intended
settling on Lord Selkirk’s estate at the Red River. Of these people
Lieutenant Lyon writes an interesting account:—
“While nearing these vessels, we observed the settlers waltzing on deck
for above two hours, the men in old-fashioned gray jackets, and the women
wearing long-eared mob caps, like those used by Swiss peasants. As we
were surrounded by ice, and the thermometer was at the freezing point,
it may be supposed that this ball _al vero fresco_ afforded us much
amusement.”
Some days later they fell in with some Eskimos, who came out to the
ships, the men in their kayaks, the women in their special “oomiaks.” The
natives boarded the ships and, says Captain Lyon:—
“It is quite out of my power to describe the shouts, yells, and laughter
of the savages, or the confusion which existed for two or three hours.
The females were at first very shy, and unwilling to come on the ice, but
bartered everything from their boats. This timidity, however, soon wore
off, and they, in the end, became as noisy and boisterous as the men.”
“The strangers were so well pleased in our society,” continues Captain
Lyon, “that they showed no wish to leave us, and when the market had
quite ceased, they began dancing and playing with our people, on the ice
alongside.
“In order to amuse our new acquaintances as much as possible, the
fiddler was sent on the ice, where he instantly found a most delightful
set of dancers, of whom some of the women kept pretty good time. Their
only figure consisted in stamping and jumping with all their might. Our
musician, who was a lively fellow, soon caught the infection, and began
cutting capers also. In a short time every one on the floe, officers,
men, and savages, were dancing together, and exhibited one of the most
extraordinary sights I ever witnessed. One of our seamen, of a fresh,
ruddy complexion, excited the admiration of all the young females, who
patted his face and danced round him wherever he went. The exertion of
dancing so exhilarated the Eskimos, that they had the appearance of being
boisterously drunk, and played many extraordinary pranks. Among others,
it was a favorite joke to run slyly behind the seamen, and shouting
loudly in one ear, to give them at the same time a very smart slap on
the other. While looking on, I was sharply saluted in this manner, and,
of course, was quite startled, to the great amusement of the bystanders.
Our cook, who was a most active and unwearied jumper, became so great a
favorite, that every one boxed his ears so soundly as to oblige the poor
man to retire from such boisterous marks of approbation. Among other
sports, some of the Eskimos, rather roughly but with great good humor,
challenged our people to wrestle. One man in particular, who had thrown
several of his countrymen, attacked an officer of a very strong make,
but the poor savage was instantly thrown, with no very easy fall; yet,
although every one was laughing at him, he bore it with exemplary good
humor. The same officer afforded us much diversion by teaching a large
party of women to bow, courtesy, shake hands, turn their toes out, and
perform other polite accomplishments; the whole party, master and pupils,
presenting the strictest gravity.
“Toward midnight all our men, except the watch on deck, turned into their
beds, and the fatigued and hungry Eskimos returned to their boats to
take their supper, which consisted of lumps of raw flesh, and blubber of
seals, birds, entrails, etc.; licking their fingers with great zest, and
with knives or fingers scraping the blood and grease which ran down their
chins into their mouths.”
[Sidenote: _FROZEN STRAIT OF MIDDLETON_]
Parry made an examination of Duke of York Bay, and the 20th of August
reached the Frozen Strait of Middleton. Two days later the _Hecla_ and
_Fury_ got well into Repulse Bay, and a careful examination of the shores
was made by parties of officers and men in boats. By the 31st of August
they reached Gore Bay, which was packed with ice. Encountering thick
fogs, northerly winds, and heavy ice-floes, they found that in spite of
every exertion they were being carried back to the spot in Fox Channel
from which they had started some days before. However, they later made
some advance and anchored near Lyon Inlet.
Early in October the sludge, or young ice, began to form, a warning of
approaching winter, to be followed shortly by the pancake ice and bay
ice, which necessitated finding at once winter quarters for the ships.
The southeast extremity of an island off Lyon Inlet was selected, and
called Winter Island, and the monotonous winter closed in upon them
shortly after.
[Sidenote: _TEN MONTHS’ IMPRISONMENT_]
The usual theatrical diversions were provided for the entertainment of
the crew, and the “Rivals” was presented as well as another successful
play. The crew took kindly to a school established by the officers and
to other forms of mental and physical activity designed to keep the
expedition in good health and spirits. Christmas was celebrated with
especial good cheer, and English roast beef, which had been kept by being
frozen, was served, as well as cranberry pies and plum puddings. The
effect of the intense cold upon certain of their stores is interesting:—
“Wine froze in the bottles. Port was congealed into thin pink laminæ,
which lay loosely, and occupied the whole length of the bottle. White
wine, on the contrary, froze into a solid and perfectly transparent mass,
resembling amber.”
On the 15th of March, a party under Captain Lyon started out to explore
the land near the ships; they were provisioned for three or four days,
but their experience was most unfortunate. The cold was intense, their
tents at night affording little protection against the frightfully low
temperature. They spent some time digging out a snow hut, which they
hoped would prove warmer, but this was hardly more satisfactory. The
following morning they found themselves almost buried with snow which had
drifted at night during a fierce gale which now raged. All paraphernalia,
sledges, etc., were completely buried. To remain where they were was as
impracticable as to move on. Carrying with them a few pounds of bread,
some rum, and a spade, the party set out in the hope of reaching the
ships. Captain Lyon records their sufferings as follows:—
“Not knowing where to go, we wandered among heavy hummocks of ice,
and suffering from cold, fatigue, and anxiety, were soon completely
bewildered. Several of our party now began to exhibit symptoms of that
horrid kind of insensibility which is the prelude of sleep. They all
professed extreme willingness to do what they were told in order to keep
in exercise, but none obeyed; on the contrary, they reeled about like
drunken men. The faces of several were severely frost bitten, and some
had for a considerable time lost sensation in their fingers and toes;
yet they made not the slightest exertion to rub the parts affected,
and even discontinued their general custom of warning each other on
observing a discoloration of the skin. Mr. Palmer employed the people in
building a snow wall, ostensibly as a shelter from the wind, but in fact
to give them exercise when standing still must have proved fatal to men
in our circumstances. My attention was exclusively directed to Sergeant
Speckman, who, having been repeatedly warned that his nose was frozen,
had paid no attention to it, owing to the state of stupefaction into
which he had fallen. The frost bite now extended over one side of his
face, which was frozen as hard as a mask; the eyelids were stiff and one
corner of the upper lip so drawn up as to expose the teeth and gums. My
hands being still warm, I had happiness in restoring circulation, after
which I used all my endeavors to keep the poor fellow in motion; but he
complained sadly of giddiness and dimness of sight, and was so weak as
to be unable to walk without assistance. His case was so alarming that I
expected every moment he would lie down never to rise again.
“Our prospect now became every moment more gloomy, and it was but too
probable that four of our party would be unable to survive another hour.
Mr. Palmer, however, endeavored, as well as myself, to cheer the people
up, but it was a faint attempt, as we had not a single hope to give them.
Every piece of ice, or even of small rock or stone, was now supposed to
be the ships, and we had great difficulty in preventing the men from
running to the different objects which attracted them, and consequently
losing themselves in the drift. In this state, while Mr. Palmer was
running round us to warm himself, he suddenly pitched on a new beaten
track, and as exercise was indispensable, we determined on following
it, wherever it might lead us. Having taken the Sergeant under my coat,
he recovered a little, and we moved onward, when to our infinite joy we
found that the path led to the ships.”
It was not until the 2d of July that the ships, free from ice for the
first time in 267 days, put to sea, but not without danger of squeezes
from the moving ice-floes which frequently threatened the destruction of
the ship. Pushing to the northward, they entertained high hopes of making
the looked-for passage to the Polar Sea, but unfortunately a formidable
line of impenetrable ice barred the way and determined Parry to make an
expedition along the frozen surface of the strait in which they found
themselves.
For four days Parry, accompanied by a party of six, made a laborious and
fatiguing advance over the uneven hummocks of ice that confronted them.
At times open water made the journey still more perilous. Their exertions
were at last repaid when they came in view of a bold cape, where they
found the strait at its narrowest part about two miles across. To the
westward the land receded until it became invisible, and Captain Parry
beheld the great Polar Sea, into which he had long hoped to force his
way. Naming this the Fury and Hecla Strait, he made ready for the return
to the ships.
Taking advantage of every favourable condition, Captain Parry now made
as rapid progress toward his goal as the ice would permit. Under full
sail they pushed into the rotten ice that formed the barrier to the open
water, but suddenly they became fixed,—not another yard could be gained.
It was now found necessary to extricate the vessels and seek shelter for
another long winter. On the 30th of October, by the usual operation of
sawing, the ships were drawn into the harbour of Igloolik, and made ready
for the winter, which was now rapidly closing.
Excursions were occasionally made with dogs and sledges bought of the
Eskimos, but the season settled down with unusual severity and the second
long winter’s night proved much more trying than the first. Death and
scurvy made their lamentable appearance, and although Captain Parry
desired to make another effort the following year by transferring to the
_Fury_ all provisions that could be spared, and sending the _Hecla_ home
with the sick, this project was abandoned, and on the 9th of August they
turned their faces homeward.
They touched at Winter Island and found radishes, mustard, cress, and
onions that they had planted the previous year still alive. The ships
were drifted about in a stormy sea at the mercy of ice-floes and adverse
currents. Not until September 23 did they get free into the Atlantic;
and, the 10th of October, 1823, reached Lerwick, Scotland.
[Sidenote: _DESTRUCTION OF THE FURY_]
This expedition having proved the impracticability of a passage through
the western extremity of Melville Island or by way of Fury and Hecla
Strait, it was hoped that a passage might be accomplished through Prince
Regent Inlet. For this purpose, Captain Parry was again fitted out in the
_Hecla_ and in the accidental absence of Captain Lyon, Lieutenant Hoppner
was put in command of the _Fury_. The expedition sailed from Northfleet
on the 19th of May, 1824, and entered Davis Strait about the middle
of June. Lancaster Sound was not reached until September 10, and Port
Bowen was made their winter quarters. After ten months’ imprisonment,
the ships were once more free, but, later overtaken by gales, both ships
sustained serious damage. Drift ice caught them and threatened immediate
destruction. The _Fury_ was thrown on shore and seriously damaged. Later
it was found necessary to abandon her. The _Hecla_, now overcrowded by
the provisions and crew of the _Fury_, could no longer pursue her course
and was forced to return to England. Bitter as was his disappointment,
Parry clung to the idea that a northwest passage would some day be
accomplished, and to this end he wrote:—
“I feel confident that the undertaking, if it be deemed advisable at
any future time to pursue it, will one day or other be accomplished;
for setting aside the accidents to which, from their very nature, such
attempts must be liable, as well as other unfavorable circumstances
which human foresight can never guard against, or human power control, I
cannot but believe it to be an enterprise of practicability. It may be
tried often and fail, for several favorable and fortunate circumstances
must be combined for its accomplishment: but I believe, nevertheless,
that it will ultimately be accomplished.”
“I am much mistaken, indeed,” he continues, “if the Northwest Passage
ever becomes the business of a single summer; nay, I believe that nothing
but a concurrence of very favorable circumstances is likely ever to make
a single winter in the ice sufficient for its accomplishment. But there
is no argument against the possibility of final success; for we know that
a winter in the ice may be passed not only in safety, but in health and
comfort.”
[Sidenote: _PARRY’S FOURTH VOYAGE_]
“I in April, 1826,” writes Captain Parry, “proposed to the Right
Honorable Viscount Melville, the first lord commissioner of the
Admiralty, to attempt to reach the North Pole by means of travelling
with sledge-boats over the ice, or through any spaces of open water that
might occur. My proposal was soon afterward referred to the president
and council of the Royal Society, who strongly recommended its adoption;
and an expedition being accordingly directed to be equipped for this
purpose, I had the honour of being appointed to the command of it; and my
commission for his majesty’s ship the _Hecla_, which was to carry us to
Spitzbergen, was dated the 11th of November, 1826.
[Illustration: ENTERING LANCASTER SOUND]
“Two boats were constructed at Woolwich, under my superintendence,
after an excellent model suggested by Mr. Peake, and nearly resembling
what are called ‘troop-boats,’ having great flatness of floor, with the
extreme breadth carried well forward and aft, and possessing the utmost
buoyancy, as well as capacity for storage. Their length was twenty feet,
and their extreme breadth seven feet. The timbers were made of tough ash
and hickory, one inch by half an inch square, and a foot apart, with a
‘half timber’ of smaller size between each two. On the outside of the
frame thus formed was laid a covering of Mackintosh’s water proof canvas,
the outer part being covered with tar. Over this was placed a plank for
fir, only three-sixteenths of an inch thick; then a sheet of stout felt;
and over all, an oak plank of the same thickness as the fir; the whole
of these being firmly and closely secured to the timbers by iron screws
applied from without.”
“On each side of the keel,” continues Captain Parry, “and projecting
considerably below it, was attached a strong ‘runner’ shod with smooth
steel, in the manner of a sledge, upon which the boat entirely rested
while upon the ice.” Two wheels were also attached, but soon discarded as
useless, owing to the unevenness of the ice.
Two officers and twelve men were selected for each boat’s crew. The
_Hecla_, acting as transport for the adventure, sailed March 27, 1827,
and made Hakluyt’s Headland by the 13th of May, where she was shortly
beset by an ice-floe which carried her off to the eastward, causing both
delay and vexation. For the safety of the _Hecla_ it was found necessary
to return to Spitzbergen and secure anchorage in a safe harbour. This
Parry accomplished and, finding a convenient recess, which he named
Hecla’s Cove, made ready for the main object of the expedition.
Having with him seventy-one days’ provisions, consisting of pemmican,
biscuit, cocoa, and rum, with spirit of wine to be used as fuel, changes
of warm clothing, thick fur dresses for sleeping in, and stout Eskimo
boots, he got away June 22, and proceeded in open water some eighty
miles, when the boats came to a trying condition of mixed surface ice and
water, through which it was found necessary alternately to haul and float
them. Owing to the better condition of the ice, it was deemed best to
reverse the usual course of life.
“Travelling by night and sleeping by day,” writes Captain Parry “so
completely inverted the natural order of things that it was difficult
to persuade ourselves of the reality. Even the officers and myself, who
were all furnished with pocket chronometers, could not always bear in
mind at which part of the twenty-four hours we had arrived; and there
were several of the men who declared, and I believe truly, that they
never knew night from day during the whole excursion. When we rose in the
evening, we commenced our day by prayers; after which we took off our fur
sleeping dresses and put on clothes for travelling, the former being made
of camlet lined with raccoon skin, and the latter of strong blue cloth.
We made a point always of putting on the same stockings and boots for
travelling in, whether they had been dried during the day or not, and I
believe it was only in five or six instances at the most that they were
not either still wet or hard frozen. This indeed was of no consequence,
beyond the discomfort of first putting them on in this state, as they
were sure to be thoroughly wet in a quarter of an hour after commencing
our journey; while, on the other hand, it was of vital importance to keep
dry things for sleeping in. Being ‘rigged’ for travelling, we breakfasted
upon warm cocoa and biscuit, and after stowing the things in boats, and
on the sledges, so as to secure them as much as possible from the wet, we
set off on our day’s journey and usually travelled four, five, or seven
hours, according to circumstances.”
They made very slow progress in spite of their strenuous exertions, owing
to the floes being small, exceedingly rough, and intersected by lanes of
water which could not be crossed without unloading the boats. Rain added
to their discomfort, causing the ice to form into numberless irregular
needle-like crystals, which proved very trying to the feet. Elevated
hummocks presented themselves, over which it was almost impossible to
draw the boats.
Even by the utmost efforts they could not make an advance of more than
a mile and a half or two miles in five or six hours. Realizing the
unfavourable conditions for reaching the pole, owing to the advanced
season of the year, Parry soon relinquished that hope and bent his
energies to reaching at best the 83° parallel, if possible. But now to
his utter discouragement it was found that the drifting of the snow
fields was gradually carrying them backward, and that, in spite of every
attempt to advance, they were daily losing ground.
On July 23, they reached their farthest north, 82° 45´. “At the extreme
point of our journey,” says Parry, “our distance from the _Hecla_
was only one hundred and seventy-two miles in a S. W. direction. To
accomplish this distance, we had traversed, by our reckoning, two hundred
and ninety-two miles, of which about one hundred were performed by water
previously to our entering the ice. As we travelled by far the greater
part of our distance on the ice three, and not unfrequently five, times
over, we may safely multiply the length of the road by two and a half; so
that our whole distance, on a very moderate calculation, amounted to five
hundred and eighty geographical, or six hundred and sixty-eight statute
miles, being nearly sufficient to have reached the pole in a direct line.
Up to this period, we had been particularly fortunate in the preservation
of our health.”
Owing to the increased softness of the ice, the return trip was even
more difficult than the advance, the men sinking to their thighs in the
ice slush. By the 11th of August the joyful sound of the surf breaking
against the margin of the ice was heard, and later the boats were
launched into open water, and in another ten days they rejoined the
_Hecla_, and soon afterward sailed for England.
Parry’s remarkable voyages, besides reaping a rich harvest of scientific
data, had proved the navigability of Lancaster Sound, the non-existence
of the Crocker Mountains, and that Prince Regent Inlet opened into Barrow
Strait, which in turn widened into Melville Sound, and thence opened
into the polar ocean. He had added to the map the important archipelago
or Parry Islands, many of which he named and explored; had outlined the
sounds, bays, and inlets through which he had sailed; discovered Hecla
and Fury Strait; and demonstrated the impracticability of making the
northwest passage by way of Frozen Strait.