The accounts that had been given by Captain Ross, particularly
respecting the apparent mountains, named by him _Croker Mountains_,
across Sir James Lancaster's Sound, not proving either conclusive or
satisfactory, the Lords of the Admiralty ordered two ships, the Hecla
and Griper, to be prepared for a further voyage of discovery in Baffin's
Bay. The command of these vessels, as already stated, was given to
Captain Parry, who, in the previous expedition, had been second in
command under Captain Ross. It was one important part of his
instructions, that he should advance to the northward, as far as the
opening into Lancaster's Sound; that he should explore the bottom of
that Sound, and, if possible, pass through it to Behring's Strait. The
number of men in both the vessels was ninety-four; and many of them were
those who had accompanied Captain Ross.
_Narrative of_ CAPTAIN PARRY'S _Voyage for the Discovery of a
North-West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean._
Captain Parry arrived at the entrance into _Lancaster's Sound_, on the
30th of July, 1819; and, this day, saw no fewer than eighty-two whales.
Some of the officers and men landed at _Possession Bay_, and recognized
many objects which they had seen there, when with Captain Ross. The
tracks of human feet were observed upon the banks of a stream. These at
first excited much surprise; but, on examination, they were discovered
to have been made by the shoes of some of the same party, eleven months
before.
In sailing, westward, up the Sound, Captain Parry says that it is more
easy to imagine than to describe the almost breathless anxiety which was
visible in every countenance, as the breeze, which had hitherto impelled
the vessels, increased to a fresh gale. The mast-heads were crowded by
the officers and men looking out; and an unconcerned observer, if, on
such an occasion, any could be unconcerned, would have been amused by
the eagerness with which the various reports from those stations were
received.
After the vessels had proceeded a considerable distance, they passed
some bold headlands, and high mountains. They also passed an inlet, to
which Captain Parry gave the name of _Croker's Bay_, and which he is of
opinion may, hereafter, be found a passage from Lancaster's Sound into
the Northern Sea. They were thence carried along briskly for three days.
On the 4th of August, there was, from the mast-head, an exclamation of
"land!" and that sound, which, on ordinary occasions, is of all others
the most joyful to a seaman's ears, was, on this, the signal for
disappointment and mortification. The land, however, proved to be an
island.
The vessels continued their progress, and several bays, capes, and
headlands, were successively discovered. On the 22d there was a clear
and extensive view to the northward; the water was free from ice, and
the voyagers now felt that they had entered the Polar Sea. The
magnificent opening through which their passage had been effected, from
Baffin's Bay, to a channel dignified with the name of _Wellington_, was
called, by Captain Parry, _Barron's Straits_.
In latitude 75 degrees 3 minutes, and longitude 103 degrees 44 minutes,
an island was discovered; and Captain Sabine, with two other officers,
landed on it. They found, in four different places, the remains of
Esquimaux habitations. These were from seven to ten feet in diameter;
and to each was attached a circle four or five feet in diameter, which
had probably been the fire-place. The whole encampment appeared to have
been deserted for several years; but recent footsteps of rein-deer and
musk-oxen were seen in many places.
The circumstances under which the voyagers were now sailing were,
perhaps, such as had never occurred since the early days of navigation.
There was land towards the north; ice, it was supposed, was towards the
south; the compasses by which the vessels had been steered, now varied
so much, that they had become useless; and all the surrounding objects
were obscured by a dense fog: consequently, there was now no other mode
of regulating the course of the ships, than by trusting to the
steadiness of the wind.
On the 2d of September a star was seen; the first that had been visible
for more than two months. Two days afterwards, at a quarter past nine in
the evening, the ships, in latitude 74 degrees 44 minutes, crossed the
meridian of 110 degrees from Greenwich, by which they became entitled to
L.5000; a reward offered by the British government to the first vessels
which should cross that longitude, to the north of America. In order to
commemorate the event, a lofty headland that they had just passed, was
called _Bounty Cape_. On the following day the ships, for the first time
since they had quitted the English coast, dropped anchor in a roadstead,
which was called the _Bay of the Hecla and Griper_; and the crews landed
on the largest of a group of islands, which Captain Parry named
_Melville Island_. The ensigns and pendants were hoisted, as soon as the
vessels had anchored; and it excited, in the voyagers, no ordinary
sensations of pleasure, to see the British flag waving, for the first
time, in regions, which, hitherto, had been considered beyond the limits
of the habitable world.
The wind now became unfavourable to their progress; and a rapid
accumulation of the ice, exposed the vessels to the greatest danger, and
the crews to incessant fatigue. For several days they were unable to
proceed further than along the coast of the island. This was the more
mortifying, as Captain Parry had looked forward to the month of
September, as the period, of all others, favourable to the rapid
prosecution of his voyage. To add to his anxiety, a party of seamen, who
had been sent on shore, to hunt deer, lost their way, and, for three
nights, were exposed to the inclemency of the weather. The most
distressing apprehensions were entertained respecting the fate of these
men; nor, were they finally recovered, without considerable danger to
those who were sent in search of them, and who, had their recovery been
delayed one day longer, must themselves have perished. In gratitude for
this preservation, the nearest headland was named _Cape Providence_.
The increasing dangers and difficulties attendant on continuing the
navigation westward, prevented the vessels from proceeding further than
to some distance along the coast of Melville Island. And, at length,
Captain Parry, finding that no hope could be entertained, during the
present season, of penetrating beyond this island, he was induced to
return to Hecla and Griper Bay, for the purpose of passing there the
winter.
It was now, however, requisite to cut a canal through the ice, which,
since their departure, had extended a considerable distance into the
sea; and to draw the ships up it into the harbour. In this operation,
two parallel lines were cut, distant from each other, little more than
the breadth of the ships; and the ice was divided into square pieces,
which were subdivided diagonally, and were either floated out of the
canal, or sunk beneath the adjacent ice. The labour of cutting this
canal may be imagined, when it is stated that the length was more than
four thousand yards, and that the average thickness of the ice was seven
inches. At three o'clock of September the 26th, the third day spent in
this operation, the vessels reached their winter quarters; an event
which was hailed with three hearty cheers, by the united ships' crews.
The group of islands which had been discovered, were called the _North
Georgian Islands_.
As the ships had now attained that station where, in all probability,
they were destined to remain for eight or nine months, every precaution
was taken for their security, and for the preservation of the various
stores which they contained. A regular system also was adopted, for the
maintenance of good order, cleanliness, and the health of the crews,
during the approaching long, dark, and dreary winter. All the masts,
except the lower ones, were dismantled; and the boats, spars, ropes, and
sails, were removed on shore, in order to give as much room as possible
on the deck. The ropes and sails were all hard frozen, and it was
requisite to keep them in that state, till the return of spring. A
housing of planks, covered with wadding-tilt, such as is used for
stage-waggons, was formed upon the deck of each of the vessels; and thus
constituted a comfortable shelter from the snow and the wind.
The crews were in excellent health, and every care was taken to preserve
it. Regulations were made, in the allowances both of bread and meat: as
a preservative against scurvy, the men were allowed a quantity of
vinegar with their meat, and they, every day, took a portion of
lime-juice and sugar. The next care was for the minds of the men, the
health of which Captain Parry wisely considered to have no small
influence on that of the body. This excellent officer, anxious for their
amusement during the long and tedious interval of winter, proposed, that
a play should occasionally be got up on board the Hecla. He considered
this to be the readiest means of preserving, among the crews, that
cheerfulness and good-humour which had hitherto subsisted. The proposal
was readily seconded by the officers of both ships: Lieutenant Beechey
was consequently elected stage-manager, and the first performance was
fixed for the 5th of November. In order still further to promote
good-humour, and to furnish amusing occupation, a weekly newspaper was
set on foot, called the "North Georgia Gazette, and Winter Chronicle,"
of which Captain Sabine undertook to be the editor, under a promise
that it should be supported by original contributions from the officers
of the two ships.
On the 4th of November the sun sank beneath the horizon, not to appear
again above it for the space of ninety-six days. On the 5th the theatre
was opened, with the farce of "Miss in her Teens;" and Captain Parry
found so much benefit accrue to his men, from the amusement which this
kind of spectacle afforded them, and with the occupation of fitting up
the theatre and taking it down again, that the dramatic representations
were continued through the whole winter, and were performed and
witnessed with equal pleasure, even when the cold upon the stage was
intense.
The sinking of the sun below the horizon, for so long a period, seemed
to occasion a painful sensation to the animals, inhabitants of the
island, as well as to the human beings who had sought a temporary asylum
on it: for, from that time, the wolves began to approach the ships, as
if drawn thither by a melancholy sympathy; and they often howled, most
piteously, for many successive hours. They, however, seldom appeared in
greater numbers than two or three together; and it was somewhat
extraordinary, that although the crews of both vessels were, for many
weeks, intent on killing or catching some of them, they never could
succeed. Only one bear was seen during the whole winter: it was of the
white kind, and had tracked Captain Sabine's servant quite to the ships;
but, being there saluted by a volley of balls, it ran off and escaped.
The circumstances under which the crews of these vessels were situated,
being such as had never before occurred, it cannot be uninteresting to
know in what manner they passed their time during three months of nearly
total darkness, and in the midst of a severe winter.
The officers and quarter-masters were divided into four watches, which
were regularly kept, as at sea; while the remainder of the ship's
company were allowed to enjoy their night's rest undisturbed. The hands
were turned up at a quarter before six in the morning; and both the
decks were well rubbed with stones and warm sand, before eight o'clock,
at which time both officers and men went to breakfast. Three quarters of
an hour being allowed, after breakfast, for the men to prepare
themselves for muster, they were all assembled on the deck at a quarter
past nine; and a strict inspection took place, as to their personal
cleanliness, and the good condition, as well as sufficient warmth, of
their clothing. The reports of the officers having been made to Captain
Parry, the men were then allowed to walk about, or, more usually, to run
round the upper deck; whilst he went down to examine the state of the
deck below, accompanied by Lieutenant Beechey and Mr. Edwards the
surgeon.
The state of this deck may be said, indeed, to have constituted the
chief source of anxiety; and, at this period, to have occupied by far
the greatest share of attention. Whenever any dampness appeared, or,
what more frequently happened, any accumulation of ice had taken place
during the preceding night, the necessary means were immediately adopted
for removing it: in the former case, usually by rubbing the wood with
cloths, and then directing hot air to the place; and, in the latter, by
scraping off the ice, so as to prevent its wetting the deck, by any
accidental increase of temperature. In this respect the bed-places were
peculiarly troublesome; the inner partition, or that next the ship's
side, being, almost invariably, covered with more or less dampness or
ice, according to the temperature of the deck during the preceding
night.
All the requisite examinations being finished, the men, when the weather
would permit, were sent out to walk on shore till noon; but, when the
day was too inclement to admit of this exercise, they were ordered to
run round and round the deck, keeping step to the tune of an organ, or
to a song of their own singing. A few of the men did not, at first,
quite like this systematic mode of taking exercise; but, when they
found that no plea, except that of illness, was admitted as an excuse,
they not only willingly and cheerfully complied, but they made it the
occasion of much humour and frolic among themselves.
The officers, who dined at two o'clock, were also in the habit of
occupying one or two hours, of the middle of the day, in rambling on
shore, even in the darkest period; except when a fresh wind or a heavy
snow-drift confined them within the housing of the ships. It may well be
imagined, that, at this period, there was but little to be met with in
their walks on shore, which could either amuse or interest them. The
necessity of not exceeding the limited distance of one or two miles,
lest a snow-drift, which often arose very suddenly, should prevent their
return, added considerably to the dull and tedious monotony which, day
after day, presented itself. Towards the south was the sea, covered with
one unbroken surface of ice, uniform in its dazzling whiteness, except
that, in some parts, a few hummocks were seen thrown up somewhat above
the general level. Nor did the land offer much greater variety: it was
covered with snow, except here and there a brown patch of bare ground in
some exposed situations, where the wind had not allowed the snow to
remain. When viewed from the summit of the neighbouring hills, on one of
those calm, clear days, which not unfrequently occurred during the
winter, the scene was such as to induce contemplations, that had,
perhaps, more of melancholy than of any other feeling. Not an object was
to be seen on which the eye could long rest with pleasure, unless when
directed to the spot where the ships lay. The smoke which there issued
from the several fires, affording a certain indication of the presence
of man, gave a partial cheerfulness to this part of the prospect; and
the sound of voices, which, during the cold weather, could be heard at a
much greater distance than usual, served, now and then, to break the
silence which reigned around,--a silence far different from that
peaceable composure which characterizes the landscape of a cultivated
country: it was the death-like stillness of the most dreary desolation,
the total absence of animated existence.
The weather became intensely severe; and, during the latter part of
November, and the first half of December, Captain Parry's journal
presents little more than observations on it; and oh the meteoric
appearances and fantastic illusions of light and colour, with which the
voyagers were often amused. At one time, the moon appeared to be
curiously deformed by refraction; the lower edges of it seeming to be
indented with deep notches, and afterwards to be cut off square at the
bottom; whilst a single ray or column of light, of the same diameter as
the moon, was observed to descend from it to the top of a hill. At
another time, several transparent clouds were seen to emit, upward,
columns of light, resembling the aurora borealis. The aurora borealis
itself appears to have been seldom witnessed, in the splendour with
which it occasionally illuminates even the northern parts of Scotland;
still it was both frequent and vivid enough to give variety and beauty
to the long nights which the voyagers had to endure.
The new year was ushered in by weather comparatively mild; but it soon
regained its former severity. Captain Parry and his crews did not,
however, experience those effects from the cold, even when 49 degrees
below 0, which preceding voyagers have stated; such as a dreadful
sensation on the lungs, when the air is inhaled at a very low
temperature; or the vapour with which an inhabited room is charged,
condensing into a shower of snow, immediately on the opening of a door
or window. What they did observe was this: on the opening of the doors,
at the top and bottom of the hatch-way ladders, the vapour was
condensed, by the sudden admission of the cold air, into a visible form,
exactly resembling a very thick smoke. This apparent smoke settled on
the pannels of the doors and on the bulk-heads, and immediately froze,
by which the latter were covered with a thick coating of ice, which it
was necessary frequently to scrape off.
The extreme severity of the cold, which was sometimes prevalent, may be
imagined from the following fact:--A house, erected on the shore, for
scientific purposes, caught fire; and a servant of Captain Sabine, in
his endeavours to extinguish it, exposed his hands, in the first
instance, to the operation of considerable heat; and he afterwards, for
some time, remained without gloves, in the open air. When taken on board
the ship, his hands presented a strange appearance. They were perfectly
hard, inflexible, and colourless; possessing a degree of translucency,
and exhibiting more the external character of pieces of sculptured
marble, than of animated matter. They were immediately plunged into the
cold bath, where they were continued more than two hours, before their
flexibility could be restored. The abstraction of heat had been so
great, that the water, in contact with the fingers, congealed upon them,
even half an hour after they had been immersed. During the cold
application, the man suffered acute pain, by which he became so faint
and exhausted, that it was requisite to put him to bed. In less than
three hours, an inflammation came on, which extended high up the arm;
and, soon afterwards, each hand, from the wrist downward, was enclosed
in a kind of bladder, containing nearly a pint of viscid serous fluid.
There were, however, three fingers of one hand, and two of the other, in
which this vesication did not form. These fingers continued cold and
insensible, nor could the circulation in them be restored; and,
eventually, the amputation of them became necessary.
The distance at which sounds were heard in the open air, during the
continuance of intense cold, seems almost incredible. Captain Parry says
that his people were distinctly heard, conversing in a common tone of
voice, at the distance of a mile; and that he heard a man singing to
himself, at even a still greater distance. Another circumstance
occurred, scarcely less curious than this: the smell of smoke was so
strong, two miles leeward of the ships, that it impeded the breathing.
This shows to what a distance the smoke was carried horizontally, owing
to the difficulty with which it rises, at a very low temperature of the
atmosphere.
In the severest weather, the officers sometimes amused themselves by
freezing quicksilver, and beating it out on an anvil, so great was the
severity of the cold; yet, not the slightest inconvenience was suffered,
from exposure to the open air, by persons well clothed, so long as the
weather was perfectly calm; but, in walking against even a very light
wind, a smarting sensation was experienced all over the face,
accompanied by a pain in the middle of the forehead, which soon became
severe.
As a specimen of the average proportion of ice formed in the harbour, it
is stated that, where the depth of the water was twenty-five feet, the
ice was found to be six feet and a half thick; and the snow on the
surface was eight inches deep.
Towards the end of January, some of the port-holes of one of the vessels
were opened, in order to admit the carpenters and armorers to repair the
main-top-sail-yard. On the 3d of February the sun was seen from the
main-top of the Hecla, for the first time since the 11th of November. By
the 7th, there was sufficient day-light, from eight o'clock till four,
to enable the men to perform, with facility, any work on the outside of
the ships.
On the 15th, Captain Parry was induced, by the cheering presence of the
sun, for several hours above the horizon, to open the dead-lights, or
shutters, of his stern-windows, in order to admit the day-light, after a
privation of it, for four months, in that part of the ship. The baize
curtains, which had been nailed close to the windows, in the beginning
of the winter, were, however, so firmly frozen to them, that it was
necessary to cut them away; and twelve large buckets full of ice or
frozen vapour, were taken from between the double sashes, before they
could be got clear. This premature uncovering of the windows, however,
caused such a change in the temperature of the Hecla, that, for several
weeks afterwards, those on board were sensible of a more intense degree
of cold, than they had felt during all the preceding part of the winter.
The months of March and April seem to have passed tediously on, in
watching the state of the weather. The crew of the Griper became
somewhat sickly, in consequence of the extreme moisture, which it was
found impossible to exclude from their bed-places. In May, Captain Parry
laid out a small garden, planting it with radishes, onions, mustard, and
cress; but the experiment failed, though some common ship-peas, planted
by the men, throve extremely well.
On the 12th of May, some ptarmigans were seen. These were hailed as a
sure omen of returning summer. Several of the men went out on shooting
excursions; and, being exposed, for several hours, to the glare of the
sun and snow, became affected with that painful inflammation in the
eyes, called "snow-blindness." As a preventive of this complaint, a
piece of black crape was given to each man, to be worn as a kind of
short veil, attached to the hat. This was found to be sufficiently
efficacious. But a more convenient mode was adopted by some of the
officers: they took out the glasses from spectacles, and substituted
black or green crape in their place.
In the beginning of May, the men cut the ice round the Hecla. This was
done by means of axes and saws, and with astonishing labour; for the ice
was still more than six feet thick. On the 17th, the operation was
completed, and the ships were once more afloat.
Captain Parry and Captain Sabine, accompanied by ten other persons,
officers and men, set off, on the 1st of June, to make a tour through
the island. They took with them tents, fuel, and provisions; and
carried their luggage in a small, light cart, to which the sailors
occasionally fastened their blankets, by way of sails. They travelled by
night, as well to have the benefit which any warmth of the sun might
give during their hours of rest, as to avoid the glare of its light upon
the snow. The vegetable productions which they observed, were chiefly
the dwarf willow, sorrel, poppy, saxifrage, and ranunculus. The animals
were mice, deer, a musk ox, a pair of swallows, ducks, geese, plovers,
and ptarmigans; with some of which they occasionally varied their fare.
The tracks, both of deer and musk oxen, were numerous; and one deer
followed the party for some time, and gambolled round them, at a
distance of only thirty yards. The soil of the island was, in general,
barren; but, in some places, it was rich, and abounded with the finest
moss. On one part of the beach, the travellers found a point of land
eighty feet above the sea: this they named _Point Nias_, after one of
the officers of the party; and they had the patience to raise on it, as
a memorial of their exertions, a monument of ice, of conical form,
twelve feet broad at the base, and as many in height. They enclosed
within the mass, in a tin cylinder, an account of the party who had
erected it, with a few silver and copper English coins; and Mr. Fisher,
the assistant surgeon, constructed it with a solidity which may make it
last, for many years, as a land-mark; for it is visible at the distance
of several miles, both by sea and land. In one place, within a hundred
yards of the sea, the remains of six Esquimaux huts were discovered.
After a fortnight's absence, the party returned to the ships.
The approach of summer now began to be apparent, from the state of
vegetation on the island; and, during the warm weather, a great quantity
of sorrel was daily gathered. The hunting parties also brought in an
abundance of animal food. The total quantity obtained, during the
continuance of the vessels at Melville island, was 3 musk oxen, 68
hares, 53 geese, 59 ducks, and 144 ptarmigans; affording, in the whole,
3766 pounds of meat.
On the 22d of June, the men were delighted to observe that the ice had
begun to be in motion; and, on the 16th of July, the snow had entirely
disappeared, except along the sides of caverns, and in other hollows,
where it had formed considerable drifts. The appearance of the land was,
consequently, much the same as it had been when the ships first reached
the island. The walks which the men were now enabled to take, and the
luxurious living afforded by the hunting-parties, together with the
abundant supply of sorrel, which was always at command, were the means
of completely eradicating the scurvy; and the whole of the ships'
companies were now in as good health, and certainly in as good spirits,
as when the expedition left England.
After having made an accurate survey of Winter Harbour, where the
vessels had been frozen up nearly eleven months, Captain Parry resolved
to quit it. Accordingly, on the 1st of August, the vessels weighed
anchor, and stood out to sea. Towards the west, the direction in which
they were proceeding, the sea, at first, presented a very flattering
appearance, being more clear of ice than it had been a month later in
the preceding year, and presenting a fine navigable channel, two miles
and a half in width, which, from the mast-head, appeared to continue as
far as the eye could reach.
They had not, however, proceeded many leagues westward of their winter
quarters, when the wind blew directly against them, and their course was
further opposed by a strong current, which set towards the east. To
these difficulties, great danger was soon added, from the drifting and
pressure of the ice, which threatened the Griper, in particular, with
total destruction. They penetrated to the longitude of 113 degrees 48
minutes, being the westernmost meridian hitherto reached, in the Polar
Sea, to the north of America. But they had made so little progress, and
were in such incessant danger; and the officers had so little hope of
being able to effect any further discoveries of importance, during the
present season, that Captain Parry at length determined to return.
On a consultation with his officers, respecting the best course to be
pursued, it was resolved that, in their voyage homeward, they should run
along the edge of the ice, with the intention of availing themselves of
any opening that might lead towards the coast of America. It was not
till the 26th, that the ships got clear of _Cape Providence_; but, after
that, they had an open channel, and sailed before the wind, with such
rapidity, and so little interruption, that, in six days, they cleared
_Sir James Lancaster's Sound_, and were once more in _Baffin's Bay_.
They now stood along the western shore of this bay, which they found
indented with several deep bays or inlets.
On the 3d of September, they passed some icebergs, which were a hundred
and fifty or two hundred feet above the surface of the water; and, soon
afterwards, in an inlet, which Captain Ross had named the _River Clyde_,
the voyagers saw four canoes, each of which contained an _Esquimaux_.
These approached the ships; and the men, at their own desire, were taken
on board. Three of them were young, and the fourth about sixty years of
age. They appeared to be much pleased; and expressed their delight by
jumping, and by loud and repeated ejaculations. Although there was no
interpreter, they bartered several articles, in a manner that showed
they were no strangers to traffic.
Some of the officers landed, and went to visit two Esquimaux tents,
which were situated within a low point of land, that formed the eastern
side of the entrance to a considerable branch of the inlet. The
inhabitants, men, women, and children, on beholding them, came running
out, with loud and continued shouting. Two of the women had infants
slung, in a kind of bag, at their back, much in the same manner as
gypsies are accustomed to carry their children. There were seven other
children, from twelve to three years of age, besides two infants in
arms.
The officers purchased whatever things these people had to dispose of,
and, in exchange for them, gave knives, axes, brass kettles, needles,
and other articles; and then added such presents as they considered
might be further serviceable to them. Though they appeared anxious to
possess whatever the visitors had to give they did not exhibit any
disposition to pilfer. And, in some of the bargains, particularly for a
sledge and a dog, the articles, though previously paid for, were all
punctually delivered.
In stature these Indians, like the Esquimaux in general, are much below
the usual standard. The height of the men is from four feet and a half
to five feet and a half, and of the women about four feet ten inches.
Their faces, in the younger individuals, are round and plump: their skin
is smooth, and their complexion not very dark: their teeth are very
white, and their eyes small; their nose is small, and their hair black,
straight, and glossy. All the women, except one, had their faces
tatooed; and two of them had their hands tatooed also. The children
were, in general, good-looking; and one of them, a boy about twelve
years of age, was a remarkably fine, and even handsome lad.
The dress of the men consists of a seal-skin jacket, with a hood, which
is occasionally drawn over the head. The breeches are also, generally,
of seal-skin; and the boots, which are formed so as to meet the
breeches, are of the same material. In the dress of the women, the
drawers cover the middle part of the body, from the hips to one-third
down the thighs; the rest of which, as far as the knees, is naked. The
children are all remarkably well clad; their dress, both in the males
and females, being, in every respect, similar to that of the men.
The tents which constitute the summer habitations of these Esquimaux,
are principally supported by a pole of whalebone, about fourteen feet
high. This pole stands perpendicularly, and has four or five feet of it
projecting above the skins which form the roof and sides. The length of
the tent is about seventeen feet, and the breadth from seven to nine;
and the bed occupies nearly one-third of the whole apartment. The
covering of the tent is fastened to the ground by curved pieces of bone.
Captain Parry, after taking leave of these his new acquaintance,
directed his course towards England; and arrived in the river Thames
about the middle of November.
* * * * *
With regard to the probable existence and accomplishment of a north-west
passage into the Pacific Ocean, this indefatigable and accomplished
officer remarks, that, as to the existence of such a passage, he does
not entertain a doubt; but that he is not sanguine as to its ever being
accomplished. The difficulties that are presented by the increasing
breadth and thickness of the ice to the westward, after passing Barrow's
Strait, added to the excessive severity of the climate, and the
shortness of the season in which the Polar Sea can be navigated; these
are circumstances which render almost hopeless any attempt to pass from
the Atlantic westward. Captain Parry seems inclined to think that there
is more probability of being able to effect the passage, by sailing from
Behring's Strait, eastward, than from Baffin's Bay towards the west.
But, in this case, it would be an impracticable passage for British
ships. The great length of the voyage, the impossibility of taking out a
sufficiency of provisions and fuel, and the severe trial to which the
health of the crews would be subjected, by suddenly passing from the
heat of the torrid zone, into the intense cold of a long winter, seem to
render hopeless all our efforts to effect the voyage in this direction.
Twenty-seventh Day's Instruction.