JOHN ROSS, JAMES ROSS, AND THE NORTH MAGNETIC POLE
After his return from the re-discovery of Baffin’s Bay, Captain Ross
must have continually regretted his mistake about Lancaster Sound. He
was discredited, and longed to have another opportunity given him.
When Parry returned from his northern journey in 1827, Captain Ross
offered his services to the Admiralty to lead another expedition for
the discovery of a North West Passage. His idea was to take up the
plan of Parry’s third voyage and seek for a passage at the south end
of Prince Regent’s Inlet. The Admiralty declined, but he was fortunate
enough to find an old friend who was willing to supply the funds. This
was Sheriff Felix Booth, who gave him £18,000 towards the expenses of
an expedition. Captain Ross bought an old packet that used to run from
Liverpool to the Isle of Man. She was only 85 tons, but her stowage
was increased by raising 5½ feet upon her, and she was fitted with an
engine and paddle-wheels, but the engine was scamped and badly made,
and proved useless. She was named the _Victory_. Captain Ross persuaded
his nephew to go with him. James C. Ross, now 29 years of age, had been
with his uncle in the _Isabella_ and with Parry in all his voyages,
and in his last northern journey. In all his Arctic service he had
been a diligent observer, giving special attention to magnetism. He
also studied natural history and was a careful collector: moreover
his prowess had been shown in having killed and secured more than one
payable whale. He was the life and soul of his uncle’s expedition, and
such success as it obtained was mainly due to him.
Mr Thom, who had been with Captain Ross in the _Isabella_, was purser,
and Dr M’Diarmid, surgeon. Blanky, the first mate, had been with
Lyon in the _Griper_, and with Parry in the _Hecla_ in 1827. The
second mate, Thomas Abernethy, was a character who served in many
expeditions, whom I knew well in after years. He was born at Peterhead
in 1802 and went to sea at the early age of ten, serving in several
voyages to Davis Strait. He had been ten years at sea when he was
wrecked in the _Fury_ in 1825. He was with Parry in 1827, and was
afterwards gunner of the _Blossom_. Abernethy was a very handsome man
with a well-knit frame, and was resourceful and thoroughly reliable.
The crew consisted of nine good men, and seven weak or useless hands.
On July 5th, 1829, the little _Victory_ was off Cape Farewell. After a
short stay at Holsteinborg she was very fortunate in passing through
the ice of the middle pack, and it must have been with strange feelings
that Captain Ross entered Lancaster Sound, and sailed over his Croker
Mountains. The ship entered Prince Regent’s Inlet, visited the beach
where the _Fury_ was wrecked, so well known in after years as “Fury
Beach,” and sailed onwards to the south, hoping for an opening
westward. Upwards of two hundred miles of previously unknown coast-line
were thus revealed. Captain Ross gave to this new land the name of
Boothia Felix, in honour of his generous friend who fitted out the
expedition, and ultimately the _Victory_ was established in winter
quarters in “Felix Harbour” on the coast of Boothia in latitude 69° 59′
N.
It was not until January, 1830, that Eskimos were met with. Their
dwellings, which they could build in 45 minutes, were circular domes of
snow, 10 feet in diameter, entered by a long passage. Light was given
to the interior by an oval piece of clear ice, half-way up the dome.
The stone lamp was fed with oil and moss, and the cooking-dish was
also of stone. They used canoes for fishing in the summer, and a very
remarkable kind of sledge in the winter, drawn by dogs. To construct
this a number of salmon are packed together into a cylinder 7 feet
long and wrapped up in skins well corded with thongs. Two of these
cylinders are pressed into the shape of runners, and left to freeze.
Cross-bars made of the legs of deer or musk oxen are then fixed across,
and the bottom of the runner is covered with a mixture of mossy earth
and water, which freezes to the depth of two inches. The icy surface is
then made smooth so as to run easily over the snow.
Captain Ross gave a very good character to this Eskimo tribe, whom he
named Boothians. They are very affectionate to children, and treat
their aged people kindly. They are also very kind to their dogs, never
driving them for more than four days in succession, seldom so much, and
then giving them a day or two’s rest. The tribe only numbered about 160
souls, and were quite uncontaminated by civilisation. Like the Eskimos
of Igloolik the Boothians proved intelligent geographers. One of them
drew a chart showing that Prince Regent’s Inlet ended with the Gulf
of Akuli, and that there was no channel leading westward, a statement
which was afterwards confirmed by Dr Rae. James Ross, who conducted
all the travelling, received much assistance from these people. They
lent him dogs, sometimes drove them for him, and gave him much useful
information.
The young commander started on his first journey with a sledge and six
dogs on March 11th, 1830. Several short journeys followed. At last he
crossed the Isthmus of Boothia, 15 miles wide, with a large lake in
the middle, and reached the western sea. On May 17th he commenced the
great journey with Abernethy, first crossing the isthmus and turning
northwards. He had 31 days’ provisions and eight dogs. He discovered a
bay or channel with a large island in it, which was named Matty Island.
Crossing the channel, Ross and Abernethy left everything they could
spare, and pushed onwards to the northern point, named Cape Felix,
which was 200 miles from the ship. The newly-discovered coast was named
King William Land, and Ross appears to have thought that it was part of
the mainland of North America. The coast then trended to the south, to
a point which Ross named Point Victory (69° 37′ 49″ N). Here a cairn
six feet high was built, and a canister deposited in it with an account
of their proceedings. The furthest point visible to the S.W. received
the name of Cape Franklin.
On May 30th, 1830, the return journey was commenced, and they reached
their depôt the next day, ultimately arriving at the ship in safety.
The dogs, which had been overworked, had been useless after the eighth
day.
James Ross had been very diligent in taking magnetic observations,
and had deduced from them the position of the magnetic pole. After the
second winter he commenced his journey to the exact spot with Blanky
and Abernethy, and accompanied by Captain Ross as far as the western
sea. On the 31st May, 1831, the party arrived at their destination.
They discovered some abandoned snow huts which they found very useful.
The land was low near the coast, rising into ridges of 50 or 60 feet
about a mile inland. The dip of the needle was 89° 59′ and there was
total inaction of the horizontal needle. The British flag was fixed at
the magnetic pole in 70° 5′ 17″ N. and 76° 16′ 4″ W. Leaving Blanky
with the party, James Ross and Abernethy went on, and at their furthest
point found the coast line still running north. Here they built a cairn
of stones. In returning to the ship they were detained by a gale, and
did not reach it until the 13th of June, an absence of 17 days. A large
supply of fish had been secured during the summer.
During the three summer seasons it had never been possible to get the
_Victory_ clear of the ice. She left Felix Harbour only to be driven
into another hard by, which was named Victory Harbour. A third winter
was approaching, and it thus became evident that it would be absolutely
necessary to abandon the ship and retreat to Fury Beach in the ensuing
summer. After the third winter preparations were accordingly made for a
retreat, and on May 29th, 1832, the ship was abandoned. They travelled
on, going round every bay and inlet owing to the roughness of the ice
outside. James Ross with a sledge crew of the strongest men, Abernethy
and Park, pushed on to Fury Beach, and returned with supplies of food
for the sick and weak. On July 1st they all arrived at Fury Beach,
and a house was built for the winter. There were plenty of birds, 50
dovekies being shot on the 7th, and 100 on the 17th.
At Fury Beach they found three of the _Fury’s_ boats, and Captain Ross
and his nephew, with selected crews, proceeded in them to see the state
of the ice in Lancaster Sound. They got as far as Leopold Harbour, and
on September 2nd Captain Ross climbed the hill on the south side, about
600 feet high, but could see nothing but closely-packed ice. Returning,
they left the boats in Batty Bay, and journeyed on to Fury Beach,
where they passed a wretched winter--their fourth. The fifth summer
found them weak and desponding. Their only hope was to meet a whaler
in Lancaster Sound, and for this they set out. First there was a long
journey to the boats in Batty Bay, the sick being dragged on sledges.
Only two men had died, a man who had consumption when he shipped, and
Mr Thomas, the carpenter. Fortunately the boats met with the _Isabella_
whaler in Lancaster Sound, the same vessel in which Captain Ross had
re-discovered Baffin’s Bay in 1818. They were hospitably received, and
reached England in the following October.
Never before had explorers passed four consecutive winters in the
Arctic regions. The results were commensurate with their perseverance.
Upwards of 260 miles of coast line were discovered in the ship,
and the sledge journeys of James Ross covered another 500 miles of
newly-discovered land. The position of the magnetic pole was fixed, and
a large collection of natural history specimens was made.
The gallant explorers were very cordially welcomed in England. Captain
Ross was knighted and all he had expended was refunded to him. James
Ross was made a Post-Captain, and many of the crew received recognition
of their services. A Committee of the House of Commons refunded to
Felix Booth the £18,000 he had expended on the expedition, and he was
created a Baronet. Sir John Ross was appointed Consul at Stockholm in
1838.
Captain James Ross was soon employed on the magnetic survey. His
services were needed in 1836 for the relief of some whalers supposed to
have been frozen up. He fitted out a ship called the _Cove_ at Hull,
taking Crozier with him as First Lieutenant, and Erasmus Ommanney, then
a young Lieutenant, who got his first experience of ice navigation in
this voyage. The mate was A. J. Smith, who was afterwards with Ross in
the _Erebus_.
James Ross had now served fourteen navigable seasons and eight winters
in the Arctic regions, a record never reached by any other man.