PARRY AND HIS SCHOOL
Sir Edward Parry was one of the greatest of Arctic discoverers.
Without an equal as an organiser and administrator, unsurpassed as a
leader of men, he was an accomplished officer and a bold and resolute
navigator, knowing when to take risks and when to avoid them. Parry
was a very perfect sailor, thoroughly well read in all that concerned
his enterprises, thoughtful and levelheaded. While promoting hilarity
and good-fellowship, he was, through life, deeply yet unostentatiously
religious. He was the beau ideal of an Arctic officer.
Parry was the son of a physician at Bath, where he went to school. As a
boy he was tall and athletic, very popular, with a good ear for music,
a talent for acting, and a habit of doing all he had to do with all
his might. Miss Cornwallis, a friend of the family and a near relation
of the Admiral then in command of the fleet blockading Brest, obtained
an appointment for him. Young Parry could not have entered the service
under better auspices. He continued to serve in the Channel, Baltic,
and North Sea, always fortunate with his captains and winning their
regard, until he attained the rank of Lieutenant.
His next service was on the coast of Scotland, and one season his
ship was employed to protect the returning whalers, when he made his
first acquaintance with pack ice. In these days Parry was devoted to
the study of navigation and surveying. He made several useful surveys
of harbours in Scotland, which his captain sent to the Hydrographer,
and he wrote a little book on nautical astronomy for the use of young
officers which his father caused to be printed. It contained useful
directions for finding stars in the northern hemisphere.
In 1813 he served on the North American station, and was engaged in
an important and very dangerous boat action up the Connecticut river,
when between 40 and 50 privateers and letters-of-marque vessels were
burnt. On this station Parry formed a life-long friendship with Charles
Martyn, the Admiral’s secretary, who was about the same age, but died
young in 1825.
After the peace Parry was anxious to be employed in an exploring
expedition. He had been much interested in African discovery, and had
read the narrative of Clapperton with deep interest. He therefore
volunteered for Tuckey’s Congo expedition, but could not get back in
time to join it. His letter and his little book on nautical astronomy
were shown to Sir John Barrow, who was so pleased with them that he
recommended Parry, whose age was then 28, for the command of the
_Alexander_ in Ross’s expedition. He then had had 15 years of service,
and had necessarily acquired a considerable knowledge of ice navigation
during Ross’s re-discovery of Baffin’s Bay.
The Lords of the Admiralty, as we have seen, were not satisfied with
Captain Ross’s report. It was thought that there should have been
a closer examination of the sounds at the head of Baffin’s Bay,
and accordingly it was resolved that another expedition should be
despatched to discover whether Lancaster Sound opened on to a channel
leading to Bering Strait. Lieut. Parry received the command of the
expedition, and nearly all the officers and men who had served in the
Buchan and Ross expeditions volunteered to go with him. They were to
receive double pay.
The memorable success of this expedition was perhaps due to the
youthfulness of the officers. The oldest was Captain Sabine, R.E.,
the astronomer, who was 30. Beechey, Parry’s first Lieutenant, the
accomplished artist and writer of the _Trent_, was 23. The other
Lieutenant, Hoppner from the _Alexander_, was about the same age. The
remaining executive officers were eight young midshipmen aged from 17
to 19, three rather more.
Two vessels were selected. The _Hecla_ was a very strong bomb vessel
of 375 tons, built at Hull in 1815. Her consort was a slow-sailing old
gun brig, the _Griper_ of 130 tons, with a deck of 6 feet raised upon
her, to increase stowage. Lieut. Liddon commanded her. Both were barque
rigged, the object being to restrict the number of men working the
vessels. Stores and provisions were got on board for three years[115].
The main objects of the expedition were the advancement of the
knowledge of geography and navigation, as well as of science generally.
On the 21st of July, 1819, the _Hecla_ and _Griper_ were off
Sanderson’s Hope, when Parry counted 88 icebergs from the crow’s-nest.
He boldly determined not to creep northwards along the land floe of
Melville Bay, but to force a passage through the middle pack direct
for Lancaster Sound. An older man would have hesitated. But there is
no great success without risks, and young men take them. The ice was
only 80 miles wide in that most favourable year, and Parry was at the
entrance of Lancaster Sound by the 28th July.
It would be difficult to imagine a more exhilarating moment than that
when the Croker mountains were found to have no existence and the wide
channel was discovered, leading into an unknown region. The lofty
cliffs, with their scored sides like pillars and buttresses, form a
grand portal to the unknown, as Dr Fisher described them, “like an
immense wall in ruins, rising almost perpendicular from the sea.” There
was a fresh breeze, and the _Hecla_ ran quickly up the channel, with
mast-heads and rigging crowded with officers and men eagerly looking
westward.
Then there was some ice obstructing a westward course, but a wide
channel opened to the south. Parry sailed down it for 150 miles, giving
it the name of the Prince Regent, while the western land was called
North Somerset, after Parry’s own county. A strong ice-blink across
the channel induced him to turn north again into the westward channel.
Then a wide open channel was discovered to the north and received the
name of Wellington, but that was not the way. Westward Ho! was the cry,
with new discoveries and new islands in every watch: Cornwallis Island,
named after Parry’s first naval patron; Cape Hotham after one of the
Lords who signed his instructions; Griffith Island after Admiral
Griffith, who was first Lieutenant of the _Culloden_ at the battle
of St Vincent. On into the unknown sailed the _Hecla_ and _Griper_.
Upwards of 20 islands were discovered and named, the group collectively
being called the North Georgian Islands. Pressing westward no landing
was effected until an island was reached which was honoured with the
name of the Comptroller, Sir Thomas Byam Martin. A more promising
land was found, within sight of Melville Island, the Arctic paradise.
Without knowing it Parry had passed the barren limestone isles, and his
first landing was on the more promising carboniferous region.
Sailing along the south coast of Melville Island, so named after the
First Lord of the Admiralty, the expedition crossed the 110th meridian
and thus became entitled to the bounty of £5000. In September the young
ice was forming fast, and the _Hecla_ and _Griper_ were brought into
snug quarters by sawing a long channel through the ice. The top-gallant
and topmasts were sent down, all but the maintopmast which was left as
a guide to returning sportsmen, and waggon-cloth housings were rigged
over the upper decks.
One of Parry’s greatest merits as an Arctic explorer was his success in
bringing officers and men through the long winter in good health. This
was due to his forethought, power of organisation, genial disposition,
and warm sympathy for all who served with him. He had prepared for
a winter before leaving England. The closest attention was given to
the prevention of damp between decks by means of hot air from the
Sylvester stove. Good bread was baked, beer was brewed, and rules were
enforced respecting diet, clothing, and above all sufficient daily
exercise. Parry wisely realised the equal importance of exercising the
minds of his people. A school was opened to teach reading and writing,
accomplishments which were not so general in those days as they are
now. A newspaper, edited by Captain Sabine, and entitled the _North
Georgian Gazette_, kept the officers amused, and they, in their turn,
devoted themselves to the amusement of the men. Parry was himself a
good musician, playing on the violin, and a capital actor. A theatre
was erected on the upper deck in spite of the intense cold, and the
farces popular in those days were performed by the officers, with songs
between the acts. An operetta entitled the “North-West Passage” was
also composed by Parry and acted with great applause. By these various
means, and by giving the closest attention to every detail, the first
modern Arctic winter was a splendid success. The gunner had slight
symptoms of scurvy which were soon removed, and one man died of some
other disease, but all the rest emerged from the winter in perfect
health.
On the approach of summer Parry resolved to equip an expedition to
explore the interior of Melville Island. The party was to consist of
himself as leader, Captain Sabine, R.E., Dr Fisher, two midshipmen
named Nias and Reid, two serjeants of marines, two privates, and two
seamen. Tents were taken, consisting of blankets passed over a ridge
rope, supported by two boarding pikes. Provisions were loaded on a cart
made of boards and the wheels of a field-piece. There were three weeks’
provisions, and the diet per man per day--which was insufficient--was:
1 lb. biscuit, ⅔ lb. of preserved meat, 1 oz. salep powder, 1 oz.
sugar, and half a pint of rum. Besides dragging the cart with 800 lb.
of provisions and tents, officers and men carried spare clothing and
sleeping-bags on their backs as knapsacks, 17 to 20 lb. each. Small
faggots of firewood were also taken.
The party reached the northern coast of Melville Island, and some land
seen to the north-east and supposed to be an island was named after
Captain Sabine. In returning, Parry kept more to the westward, towards
a range always in sight which the party called the Blue Mountains. In
an Arctic June the climate is not severe, and they travelled at night,
sleeping in the comparative warmth of the day. As the party approached
the southern coast, or rather the deep gulf on the south side of
Melville Island afterwards called Liddon’s Gulf, they entered a deep
ravine. The scenery was grand and imposing. In the steepest part the
axle-tree of the cart split in two. It was impossible to repair it, so
it was left, the wood of the cart being used to make a good fire to
cook their ptarmigan.
[Illustration: The Parry Islands.]
Two reindeer were also shot, and musk oxen, hares, ducks, and brent
geese were seen. The ravine of the broken cart was called “Bushnan’s
Cove.” Parry described it as “one of the pleasantest and most habitable
spots we have seen in the Arctic regions.” Mosses, dwarf willows,
saxifrages, and ranunculi were found growing. Owing to the breakdown
of the cart, the loads that each man had to carry on the return march
to the ships were from 60 to 70 lb. On the 15th of June the ships
were reached after an absence of a fortnight. The details of this
journey are specially interesting because it was the first naval Arctic
travelling of modern times.
Until the ships could be got out of their winter prison, shooting
parties were sent in various directions for fresh food, and 3766 lb.
were obtained, consisting of 3 musk oxen, 24 deer, 68 hares, 53 brent
geese, 59 ducks, and 144 ptarmigan. An inscription was carved on a huge
block of sandstone 12 feet high and 22 feet long by Dr Fisher. It will
for centuries commemorate the wintering of Parry’s Arctic expedition in
Melville Island.
When the ships got free of the ice, Parry again shaped a course to the
west as far as Cape Dundas, meeting with large, heavy, and extensive
fields of ice, which were quite impenetrable. This was the heavy
ice-flow from the polar ocean which finally impinges on the north-west
coast of King William Island. Nothing more could be done, and Parry
resolved to return home, surveying the west coast of Baffin’s Bay
to 68° 15′. The exploring ships arrived at Peterhead on the 29th of
October, and were paid off at Deptford on December 21st, 1820, all in
excellent health.
This is one of the most memorable of all the Arctic voyages. It
practically settled the question of a connection between the two
oceans. Great discoveries were made, and important scientific
observations were recorded. An Arctic winter was faced with
preservation of health and Arctic travelling was commenced. Men of
science as well as sailors received excellent training. This was the
only expedition which has produced a President of the Royal Society and
a President of the Royal Geographical Society. Besides the training of
Arctic officers who continued in that branch of the service, Parry’s
first voyage brought out qualities which shone forth in after years at
the battle of Navarino and in the first China war[116].
The Arctic discoverers were received with enthusiasm by their
countrymen, and the authorities justly placed the greatest reliance
on the skill and judgment of Parry, who was promoted to the rank of
Commander.
Captain Parry thought quite correctly that a passage could not be
forced by a sailing vessel on the parallel of the south coast of
Melville Island. His conclusion was that it could only be effected
along the north coast of North America, in which again he was quite
right. But at that time only the mouths of the Mackenzie and Coppermine
were discovered, and the distribution of land and water to the north of
America was known to be excessively complicated. Parry advised that the
next attempt should be by way of Hudson’s Bay.
The Admiralty accordingly resolved to despatch Parry on a second Arctic
voyage. He was to investigate and settle doubtful questions about
Middleton’s Frozen Strait and Repulse Bay, and then to get hold of the
north-west corner of North America, and if possible to follow that
coast to Bering Strait. The _Griper_ was too small, a bad sailer, and
ill adapted for the work. The great point was to select two vessels
with equal sailing qualities and of equal size. Two bomb vessels were
therefore commissioned, the _Fury_ of 377 tons by Captain Parry and the
_Hecla_ by Captain G. F. Lyon, with Hoppner as his first Lieutenant.
The other Lieutenants were three of Parry’s midshipmen in the _Hecla_,
Nias, Reid, and Palmer. Bushnan[117] was Assistant Surveyor; James
Ross, still a midshipman, was in every voyage. Three new midshipmen who
were afterwards distinguished as Arctic men appear for the first time
in the second voyage, Sherer, Crozier, and Bird[118].
Dr Fisher, who had published his journal of the first voyage, also
joined the expedition, as well as Mr Hooper, the purser, who had
been in the _Alexander_ and _Hecla_, a genial person who took five
characters in the theatricals at Winter Harbour[119]. The Rev. George
Fisher[120] took Captain Sabine’s place as astronomer. Captain Lyon
was an officer of varied accomplishments, a capable traveller, a good
writer, and an excellent artist.
Several improvements were made in the arrangements. The Sylvester
stove, an excellent invention, was better placed, and supplied more
constant currents of warm air. A tank was fitted over the galley fire
for melting snow. Hammocks were substituted for standing bed-places
for the men, and the allowance of Gamble’s preserved meat and soup was
increased. Greater economy in stowage was secured by having the spirits
above proof; and more flour for baking bread was supplied instead of
biscuit. The expedition sailed in May, 1821[121].
In passing through Hudson’s Strait it is pleasant to find how warmly
Parry appreciated the merits of his great predecessor Baffin as a
navigator and observer. An island was named after him near his farthest
point on Southampton Island.
Parry had to choose whether he would reach Repulse Bay by Sir Thomas
Roe’s Welcome or by Frozen Strait. Dobbs had declared that Frozen
Strait did not exist, but Parry preferred the evidence of Captain
Middleton to that of his malignant critic, and resolved to proceed up
Fox Channel and along the eastern side of Southampton Island. It was
very difficult navigation, but Parry was a consummate ice navigator,
and he succeeded in reaching and passing through the Frozen Strait of
Middleton, and in examining Repulse Bay. Thus the first part of his
instructions was complied with.
The next duty was to examine the coast to the northward until an
opening was reached. This was done with great care until the winter
set in; every inlet, some of considerable depth, being surveyed in the
boats. Winter quarters were found under the shelter of an island, and
the same routine was established as at Melville Island. The theatre
was rigged in much greater splendour, dresses had been supplied, and
there were performances once a fortnight. The most successful night
was when the “Rivals” of Sheridan was acted by the whole strength of
the company. Captain Lyon, as Captain Absolute in the “Rivals,” went
through the last act with two fingers frost-bitten.
Eskimo parties visited the ships during the winter, and received
much assistance in food. One of the women was a very intelligent
draughtsman, and showed Parry by the use of her pencil not only a
strait to the north, but also that he was on the eastern side of a
great peninsula. It received the name of Melville Peninsula.
On the 2nd of July the ships were extricated from their winter quarters
by sawing a long passage through the ice, and on the 12th a fine
fresh-water river was discovered, with a magnificent waterfall 100 feet
in height. Rich vegetation clothed its banks, and reindeer were seen
browsing with their fawns. It received the name of the Secretary to the
Admiralty, Sir John Barrow.
In August the long-looked-for opening was at length discovered. It was
found to be a strait, about two miles in width, but loaded with ice.
It was named Fury and Hecla Strait. The ships forced their way into it
for some distance, but the main body of ice was firm, and young ice was
forming. After beating about for several days in a heavy pack, they at
length reached their second winter quarters at the island of Igloolik,
near the entrance to the strait, where they found a colony of Eskimo.
Many of them were old friends at Winter Island. The habits and customs
of these natives were carefully studied, and an extensive vocabulary
was made of their language.
After leaving Igloolik in the middle of August, 1823, the wind fell,
the ships were beset, and drifted down Fox Channel in constant danger.
At length they were liberated in Hudson’s Strait and returned to
England. Besides the geographical discoveries and the studies of Eskimo
life, the scientific results of Parry’s second voyage were published in
a special volume, and Captain Lyon also published his narrative of the
voyage. Parry was promoted to the rank of Post Captain.
Parry’s discoveries led to the conclusion that an eastern portion of
the polar sea was at no great distance from Repulse Bay, and could be
reached by crossing the Melville Peninsula to the gulf called Akuli by
the Eskimo. It was considered a point of great interest to trace the
coast as far as the mouth of the Coppermine river. For this purpose
the Colonial Secretary, Lord Bathurst, decided to employ Captain Lyon
without loss of time, and the Admiralty supplied the _Griper_, a little
vessel very ill adapted for such service, to take him to Repulse Bay,
where he was to winter and begin his journey in the spring of 1825.
Captain Lyon left England on the 19th June, 1824, and after passing
through Hudson Strait, endeavoured to reach Repulse Bay by way of Sir
Thomas Roe’s Welcome. He was most unfortunate. There was thick weather
on the 1st September and the water rapidly shoaled, so Captain Lyon
came to with two bowers and a stream anchor. There was a tremendous
sea running and the ship was pitching bows under. It was high tide,
the fall 12 to 15 feet, so that at low water the total destruction of
the ship seemed inevitable. The long boat was got ready, and at dawn
a low beach was seen on which a terrific surf was running. At six the
ship was lifted by a tremendous sea, and struck the ground with great
violence along the whole length of the keel. Lyon thought this was
the forerunner of her total wreck. All hope of saving her was gone.
It is impossible to read Lyon’s narrative, describing the magnificent
behaviour of all his men, without feelings of admiration and pride.
At 6 p.m. the rudder rose, and broke up the after lockers. Then the
pressure ceased, and in the morning the anchors were weighed and the
ship was saved.
In a few days thick weather, with heavy seas, came on again. Lyon let
go both bowers and the sheet anchor; the seas swept them fore and
aft, while streams of heavy ice kept driving down upon the ship. The
wind increased to a hurricane and all the cables parted. The trysails
were set, but the fore trysail gaff went and could not be lowered,
every rope being encrusted with a thick coating of ice. They were
still 80 miles from Repulse Bay, with no hope of ever reaching it, and
accordingly Captain Lyon reluctantly decided on returning to England.
He bore up with a sad heart on the 15th September. Yet such a grand
story of the pluck and endurance of British seamen so admirably told is
worth much more than the journey from Repulse Bay to Cape Turnagain,
if it could have been accomplished. Captain Lyon, so enthusiastic, so
dauntless, so able and so beloved, is one of the greatest ornaments of
polar history[122].
Parry thought that Fury and Hecla Strait opened upon a sea which
communicated with Prince Regent’s Inlet, and here again he was right.
His idea was in a third voyage to take that route, and there was a
prospect of co-operation. Franklin was again exploring the northern
coast, while Captain Beechey, Parry’s old first Lieutenant, was
conducting a scientific voyage in H.M.S. _Blossom_ in the direction of
Bering Strait, and extending discovery from the Icy Cape of Captain
Cook to Cape Barrow.
At that period there was no lack of enthusiasm, and expedition followed
on expedition in rapid succession. The _Hecla_ was commissioned by
Captain Parry, and the _Fury_ by his old and faithful comrade in
all his northern voyages, Captain Hoppner, on January 17th, 1824.
Of Parry’s old shipmates in former voyages, besides Hoppner, there
were Sherer and James Ross, now Lieutenants; Crozier and Bird, still
midshipmen; and Mr Hooper, the purser. The most distinguished of the
new officers were Lieut. Foster, the Assistant Surveyor[123], and
Horatio T. Austin, first Lieutenant of the _Fury_.
The Arctic ships were accompanied by a transport which filled them up
at the Whale Fish Islands in Disco Bay. Here, on one of the smallest
islets, the observatory was set up, and Lieut. Foster set to work with
his magnetic instruments. Captain Parry and Hoppner went in a boat to
the Danish settlement of Lievely on Disco Island, where they made the
acquaintance of Lieut. Graah, the explorer of East Greenland.
On reaching the ice, Parry again resolved to attempt the middle pack,
but this time he was doomed to disappointment. The ice was closely
packed, and for upwards of 40 days they were battling with it. At
length they reached Lancaster Sound, but it was late in September
before they entered Prince Regent’s Inlet. Parry resolved to take
up winter quarters on the east side, in Port Bowen, which he had
discovered in 1819.
As at Melville Island there was a very well attended school under
the superintendence of Mr Hooper, the Purser, and Captain Parry was
convinced that to the moral effect it produced on the minds of the
men were owing their cheerfulness, good order, and in some measure
the excellent state of health which prevailed through the winter. At
Captain Hoppner’s suggestion there was a change in the amusements.
Masquerades were substituted for theatricals and with great success.
In the spring there were some travelling parties. Captain Hoppner got
over some very difficult country inland, Ross and Sherer went north
and south. But the great event was the capture of a “payable” whale by
these two redoubtable young Arctics, who had also achieved a similar
success during Parry’s second voyage.
On the 20th of July the ships were released from their winter quarters
and, standing over to the west side, began to shape a course to the
south. Then the ice in the centre of the channel approached the land,
and drove both ships on shore. They were got off, but the _Fury_ was
seriously damaged, officers and men being nearly exhausted by their
efforts to keep her afloat. On the 21st August she was once more
driven on to a stony beach under a very lofty perpendicular cliff, and
hopelessly stranded. The hold was full of water. The greater part of
her stores were landed and she was abandoned, officers and men being
taken on board the _Hecla_. The _Hecla_ reached Peterhead on the 12th
of October, 1825, all hands in excellent health.
For a time Parry’s Arctic work was laid aside, and on the 23rd of
October, 1826, he was married to Isabella, daughter of Lord Stanley of
Alderley. Meanwhile his proposal to attempt an approach to the Pole
by way of Spitsbergen was under the consideration of the Admiralty.
The idea was to make the attempt in boats, which might be hauled over
intervening ice. The Admiralty approved, and the _Hecla_ was ordered to
be commissioned again, Mrs Parry hoisting the pennant, to the delight
of all the old Arctics at Deptford. At this time Parry was also filling
the office of Hydrographer at the Admiralty. His hands were pretty full.
The officers of the _Hecla_ were Lieutenants James C. Ross, Crozier,
and Foster, Assistant Surgeon Beverley, and Mr Halse the purser, who
had served in all Parry’s expeditions.
The _Hecla_ rounded Hakluyt Headland and reached the high latitude
of 81° 5′ N. on June 14th, 1827. Parry then placed the ship in a
good harbour called Hecla Cove, on the north coast of Spitsbergen,
in 79° 55′ N. and 16° 53′ E. Crozier was left in command, and Foster
was fully occupied with his scientific observations. The two boats,
called the _Enterprise_ and _Endeavour_, left Hecla Cove on the 21st
of June, Parry and Dr Beverley being in the first, James Ross and Bird
in the second, with ten seamen and two marines in each. The boats were
flat-bottomed, 20 feet long, with an extreme width of 7 feet carried
well fore and aft. Their timbers were of tough oak and hickory. On
the outside of the frame a new system of planking was adopted, in
order to secure elasticity in the frequent concussions with the ice.
It consisted first of a covering of waterproof canvas coated with tar,
then a thin fir plank, then a sheet of felt, and lastly a thin oak
plank, all secured to the timbers by screws. On each side of the keel
there was a strong runner shod with metal, on which the boat rested
when on the ice. A hide span across the fore part of the runners had
two horsehair drag-ropes attached to it. The boats had two thwarts,
a locker at each end, and a light framework along the sides for
provisions and spare clothing; they carried a bamboo mast and tanned
duck sail, 14 paddles, and a steer oar. They started with 71 days’
provisions. The weight of each boat was 1539 lb., when loaded 3753
lb., or 268 lb. per man, besides four light sledges weighing 26 lb.
each. The daily allowance for each man was 10 oz. of biscuit, 9 oz. of
pemmican, 1 oz. of cocoa, and a gill of rum. They slept in the boats
and travelled at night.
When they started the weather was calm and clear, and as they paddled
past the Seven Islands with loose sailing ice ahead the prospect looked
very favourable. But on the 23rd they came to the close pack and hauled
the boats up on the ice in 81° 12′ 5″ N. The travelling work then began
and was most laborious and disheartening. The floes were of small
extent intersected by high ridges of hummocks, necessitating constant
launching and hauling up of the boats. The snow was soft, and there
were pools of water knee-deep on the floes. It was not until July 7th
that they reached a level floe, and on the 11th ridges of hummocks 30
and 40 feet high were again encountered. On the 22nd they at length
came to large floes some miles in extent, but it was too late. The
southerly drift of the ice was increasing to such an extent that they
lost by drift as much as they gained by many hours of laborious and
fatiguing work at the drag-ropes. Parry at length determined to retrace
his steps. His highest latitude was 82° 45′, the highest that anyone
attained for the next half-century. They were 172 miles from the
_Hecla_, having travelled over 292 miles of ground--200 by water before
reaching the ice and 92 over the floes.
After an absence of 61 days the boats reached Hecla Cove on the 21st
August, and the ship arrived in the Thames on the 6th of October,
1827. If Parry had wintered in Hecla Cove and started in February he
would have probably reached a much higher latitude. But success was
not possible owing to the southerly drift of the polar ice. The weight
of 264 lb. per man was much too great to drag for a lengthened period,
and the daily allowance of food was too small. Experience would have
corrected these details, and Sir Edward Parry, it should be remembered,
was the pioneer of Arctic travelling without the mistakes of others to
guide him.
Parry returned to his work as Hydrographer. Of his companions, James
Ross, Crozier, and Bird afterwards won renown as Antarctic discoverers.
Parry was knighted on the 29th of April, 1829. Although his Arctic work
was over, he was hard at work and in harness for the rest of his life.
In 1829 he was offered the difficult post of Agent to the Australian
Agricultural Company. Its affairs had been neglected and mismanaged,
and the Directors turned to Parry, as a most able organiser, to restore
their affairs to a proper footing. He was appointed Commissioner
to the Agricultural Company in New South Wales, receiving also the
D.C.L. at Oxford. He held the appointment for several years, returning
to England in June, 1834. In 1839 he organised the Holyhead Packet
Service, and in the same year became Comptroller of Steam Machinery.
During Parry’s time as Comptroller an immense advance was made in the
use of steam, and it was due to his strong advocacy that the screw
propeller was adopted for naval ships. In 1846 he was appointed Captain
Superintendent of Haslar Hospital and Clarence Yard, a position which
he occupied for five years, retiring in 1851.
Sir Edward took the warmest interest in the searches for his intimate
and dear friend Franklin. His visit to the _Assistance_ at Greenhithe
was ever a sacred memory to us all. In 1853 he was appointed
Lieutenant-Governor of Greenwich Hospital, and began to reside in
January, 1854. He died at Ems on the 8th of July, 1855, and was buried
at Greenwich.
Sir Edward Parry, as we have said, must be ranked as one of the
greatest of polar explorers. No one else had so many and such great
qualifications. His life was wholly devoted first to his country and
next to the good of his fellow men. It has been the privilege of few
men to have done so much good in his generation. His life story has
been beautifully told by his son, and should be read by all.