2

THIRD” “VOYAGE FoR THE DIscoVERY é
OR: un WEST PASSAGE.

ae THE YEARS 182425,
IN HIS MAJESTY’S SHIPS

HECLA hes fea ae
‘.
ONDER THE ORDERS oe

x CAPTAIN WILLIAM E. PARRY, RN, ERS.

AND COMMANDER OF THE EXPEDITION. — -ccehabpreytaaes
a! ia ‘ A

ae ;

ILLUSTRATED BY A MAP.

ty PHILADELPHIA:

Vn C. iy AND I. LEA, oe STREET.

: 1826. ae

Ny
o
a.

’
‘

a9 $ ; TO
‘THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE

LORD Vi SCOUNT MELVILLE,

“FIRST LORD COMMISSIONER FOR EXECUTING THE OBFICE OF LORD
HIGH ADMIRAL OF GREAT BRITAIN AND ay ae A

oe. oe. Ge ome tee *
; 4 “J
aM THIS VOLUME, .
\ ] ' ‘ at Ce ‘

. CONTAINING

ie JOURNAL OF A THIRD VOYAGE FOR T

fe

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE FROM
ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC,

IS IN SCRIBED,
WITH THE GREATEST RESPECT AND GRATITUDE, ° & ie
BY HIS OBLIGED AND FAITHFUL SERVANT, |

\ *

WILLIAM EDWARD PARRY.

Persea ear

ADVERTISEMENT.

“Tue English Edition of this Work is accompanied by a
series of Meteorological Tables, which would greatly increase
the bulk, and of course the expense of this Edition, if ap-
‘pended thereto. On mature reflection, the Publishers have

judged it advisable to omit them, as not being of general uti-
- lity proportioned to the additional expense to the purchasers.

The public Libraries contain the Quarto Edition of the Mi |

age, where the curious may consult them.

ai

ee ee

CONTENTS.

PAGE

_ UnTRODUCTION : : i : x : ix

Official Instructions . : fs : S a i xvi
CHAPTER I. ,

sd 4 2
. Passace to the Whale-fish Islands, and removal of Stores from the
_ Transport—Enter the Ice in Baffin’s Bay—Difficulties of pene-

z ty of the Season : : A his itis ;

CHAPTER Il.

\

Enter Sir James Lancaster’s Sound—Land at Cape Warrender—Meet
with young Ice—Ships beset and carried near the Shore—Driven
back to Navy-Board Inlet—Run to the Westward, and enter
Prince Regent’s Inlet—Arrival at Port Bowen : .

ee ee. _ CHAPTER IIL. .

Winter Arrangements—Improvements in Warming and Ventilating the
Ships—Masquerades adopted as an amusement to the Men—Es-
tablishment of Schools—Magnetic and Astronomical Observations—
Meteorological Phenomena : . : a ser

CHAPTER IV.

Several Journies undertaken—Open water in the Ofing—Com-
mence sawing a Canal to liberate the Ships—Disruption of the
Ice—Departure from Port Bowen : - : uae

, trating to the Westward—Quit the Ice in Baffin’s Bay—Remarks |
on the Obstructions encountered by the Ships, and on the Severi-

Meteorological Phenomena continued—Re-equipment of the Ships—

42

35

79

vill ~~ CONTENTs.

CHAPTER V.

Sail over towards the Western Coast of Prince Regent’s Inlet—Stop-
ped by the Ice—Reach the Shore about Cape Seppings—Fa-
vourable progress along the Land—Fresh and repeated obstruc-
tions from Ice—Both ships driven on Shore—Fury seriously da-
maged—Unsuccessful Search for a Harbour, for heaine her down
to repair . . . é

° ° °

CHAPTER VI.

Formation of a Basin for heaving the Fury down—Landing of the Fu-
ry’s Stores, and other Preparations—The Ships secured within
the Basin—Impediments from the Pressure of the lce—Fury hove
down—Securities of the Basin destroyed ‘by a Gale of Wind—
Preparations to tow the Fury out—Hecla re-equipped, and oblig-
ed to put to Sea—Fury again driven on Shore—Re-join the Fury ; ;
and find it necessary finally to abandon her oii Lhe

CHAPTER VII.

Some remarks upon the Loss of the Fury—And on the Natural Histo-
ry, &c. of the Coast of North Somerset—Arrive at Neill’s Harbour
'—Death of John Page—Leave Neill’s Harbour—Re-cross the Ice
in Baffin’s Bay—Heavy Gales—Aurora Borealis—Temperature of
the Sea—Arrival in England—Concluding Remarks on some Na-
tural Phenomena peculiar to the Polar Seas—On the Discoveries

of the Old British Navigators And on the North-West Passage 132

APPENDIX.
NATURAL HISTORY.
ZOOLOGY, by Lizutrenant James Crarx Ross, R.N., F.L.S. - 165

BOTANY, by Prorsssor Hooxen, F.R.A. and LS. &c. &c. - © 196

GEOLOGY, by Pnorzsson Jamuson, F.R.S.E., &c. &c. including

Notes on the Specimens collected during the former Voyages to
the Polar Regions : F Pras Bas Ue ; wr. 210

:
j

INTRODUCTION.

NotwitTuHsTanpineG the want of ‘success which had attended
the efforts of the late Expedition to the Polar Seas, the en-
couragement held out by Captain Franklin’s description of
the navigable state of the sea on some parts of the northern
coast of America, together with that of the Russians to the
westward towards Icy Cape, induced His Majesty’s Govern-
ment to cause another attempt to be made for the purpose of
effecting a passage by sea, between the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans; and the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty” be-
ing pleased once more to honour me with the command, I
was appointed to His Majesty’s Ship the Hecla on the 17th
of January, 1824; Captain Henry Parkyns Hoppner having
received his commission for the Fury on the same day. The
William Harris, transport, of 342 tons, Lieutenant J. W.
Pritchard, agent, was appointed to carry a portion of our
heavy stores across the Atlantic, and to return to sini
after discharging her cargo im Davis’s Strait.

The equipment of this Expedition was, in most respects, so
similar to the last, that it will only be necessary here to notice
the few alterations and additions which experience now led
us to adopt. The principal of these consisted in placing Syl-

'_-yester’s warming stove, before described as so effectual, in

the very bottom of the ships’ holds, the whole being enclosed
9

od

seer

x NTRODUCTION.

within a strong bulk-head. The main or direct volume of
warm air escaped through a sliding brass register upon the
lower-deck; while the flues which passed through the cabins
of the officers into that of the commander, were made to run
along the lower part or floor, and nearly close to the ship’s
sides, which are usually the coldest parts. By this improved
method, an increased rapidity in the current of air was pro-
duced, and therefore an additional warmth to the cabins most
distant from the stove.

In the selection of provisions,-our chief erideavour on this
occasion was to vary as much as possible the kinds of meat,
and to increase to the utmost extent our vegetables and anti-
scorbutics. With this view a small quantity of salt beef was

_ substituted for apart of the pork, and a much larger supply of

>

newly-corned beef was furnished. The meats preserved in
tin consisted of beef, mutton, and veal, some seasoned and some
plain; a pound of preserved carrots or parsnips per week for

each man was substituted for a pint of gravy soup, and the

supply of lemon-juice was increased by one-third. For
the use of the sick, some salmon and cream, preserved in
tin cases by Messrs. Morrison and Company, were also fur-
nished; the pickles consisted of onions, beet-root, and cabbage,

‘which are by far the best kinds. In order to make the most

of our stowage; binns were built for the pease and cocoa, in
the store-room passages; and with the same view split-pease
were furnished, instead of whole ones. For the use of travel-
ling-parties, we were supplied with a small quantity of beef-
pemmican, made by pounding the meat with a certain portion
of fat, as described by Captain Franklin. .
To the list of instruments before furnished, were added an
invariable pendulum, and several hygrometers on Mr. Da-

INTRODUCTION. xi
niell’s ingenious construction. Six chronometers were sup-
plied by government to the Hecla*, and four to the Fury; but
-severak of the makers, with their accustomed emulation, sent
out watches on trial, making the Hecla’s whole number amount
to twelve. In addition to our former establishment, Lieute-
nant Henry Foster was appointed to the Hecla, nominally as

» assistant-surveyor, but in fact to perform the duties of Astro-
nomer to the Expedition, for which he was fully qualified.

It being customary to record the names of the officers em-
ployed on voyages of this nature, a Table is here annexed,
showing the whole establishment on board each ship.

* One of these was Mr. Murray’s No. 816, which gained one of the annual
‘prizes of 300/. at the Royal Observatory, for its superior performance.

oe il

ate enti

owe
ee

mi INTRODUCTION.

Ses

<

ON BOARD THE HECLA. ON BOARD THE FURY,
RANK.

Officers’ names. No. Officers’ names. - |wo.

——— fi

{Commander . |) William Edward Parry | 1||Henry Parkyns Hoppner| 1

John Land Wynn . : E

Lieutenants Joseph Sherer: . HoratioThos.Austin
Henry Foster : James Clark Ross

Surgeon . . ||Samuel Neill, M. D. 1}/Allan M’Laren i

Purser. - |/William Harvey Hooper! 1|\James Halse . :

Assistant-Surgeon|} William Rowland . | 1||Thomas Bell :
John Brunton or Ry C

mg cgae as. Eat) Berkley Westropp
Midshipmen ae Be r 4 2 Chas.Crump Waller
nee Horatio Nelson Head_) Bewand Reo
Clerk . 4 .jJames Harrison ., 1||William Mogg
Gunner . . {John Brothers . - | 1/[JamesMoore .
oatswain . ]William Smith , | 1}/William Wentworth
Carpenter . ||George Fiddis. .. | 1||Charles Purfer .
Greenland Master||John Allison ‘ .| 1||George Crawford
Ditto Mate . .\|George Champian 1/|Thomas Donaldson
Cook : y ‘A é 1 5 : ;
Leading Men . : E 4 - : 2
; Quarter-Master . : ° 1 ‘ : ‘
; Gunner’s Mate : . 1 : “ A
Boatswain’s Mate é . ' 1 5 d fi
' {Carpenter’s Mates : “ ; ) : . s
Armourer’s Mate | : A 1 3 3
bes Sailmaker 4 ep 8 1 a if
; Captain’s Steward : 1 i i
Able Seamen . ‘ A 95 i .
MARINES,

Serjeant . .|iCharles Wise
Corporal. . : :

John Morrison

INTRODUCTION. Xlil

_ In the course of our equipment, the ships were frequently

_ visited by Sir Thomas Byam Martin, Comptroller of His

Majesty’s Navy, and subsequently by Viscount Melville, and
the other Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. Early in
May, we were ready to proceed down the Thames, having
now received, as on each former occasion, all possible assist-

ance from the Navy and Victualling Boards, and from Captain

Hill, Commissioner of the Victualling Depot at Deptford, in
every arrangement which could in the slightest degree contri-
bute to the success of our enterprise, or to our individual!
health and comfort.

- In performing the duty which has, by their Lordship’s di-
rections, once more devolved upon me, of drawing up an ac-
count of our proceedings, I have considered it expedient to
avoid all minute and technical description of our first season’s

operations, which, whatever labour and vexation they may —

have cost ourselves, would probably have afforded little inte-
rest or amusement to the public. In the circumstances attend-
ing our second season’s navigation, and particularly those
relating to the loss of the Fury, I have deemed it right to en-
ter more into detail; considering, on the one hand, that the
loss of one of His Majesty’s ships is an event too serious to be
lightly disposed of; and on the other, that I could thus alone
do justice to the unwearied zeal and exertions of Capitan’
Hoppner, our officers, and men, on that occasion.

The nautical, astronomical, and other observations, together
with the meteorological registers, and the description of the
specimens of natural history brought home in the Heela, have

XIV INTRODUCTION. —

been thrown into an Appendix, constituting the latter half of
the present volume. Our observations upon atmospheric
refractions in high latitudes, and on the diurnal variation and
change of intensity of the magnetic needle, together with
Lieutenant Foster’s experiments with an invariable pendu-
lum, have been communicated to, and read before, the Royal
Society; and as I understand it to be the intention of that
learned body to honour these several papers by giving them a
place in their Transactions, the general results alone have,
by the kind permission of the President and Council, been
- mentioned in this volume. *

The labours of Lieutenant Foster, in the various and mul-
tiplied branches of useful science to which his attention is at
all times directed, and for which his talents so eminently
qualify him, will in themselves best serve to do him the jus-
tice which he merits. I should, however, be ill requiting
Lieutenant Foster for the assistance (and I am happy to ac-
knowledge the instruction) I have received from him in the
course of this voyage, if I omitted to bear my testimony to
the unceasing zeal and assiduity with which he devoted him-
self to every species of observation and experiment, which
cotld promote the several objects of the Expedition, or con-
tribute to the interests of general science.

To Professors Jameson and Hooker I beg leave once more
to offer my warmest acknowledgments for their kindness in
undertaking to examine and describe the geological and bota-
nical specimens now brought home. The memoir by the
former gentleman in the Appendix, will be found to contain
a valuable and comprehensive account of the geological char-

* Pages 64, 65, 67.

INTRODUCTION. XV

acter of all the lands visited in the course of our discoveries in
- the Polar Regions during the last eight years. To the zeal
and industry of Dr. Neill, who entirely superintended the
public collection of specimens of Natural History, and has
furnished a variety of important geological notices, the pub-
lie are very highly indebted; and the Zoological Appendix by
Lieutenant Ross will furnish ample evidence of the attention
paid by that gentleman to this department of science, in addi-
tion to the immediate duties of his station.

I cannot close these introductory remarks, without once
more attempting to do justice to the merits of those whom it
has been my good fortune to command on this and the former
occasions of a similar kind. To Captain Hoppner, who has
been my constant companion from the very commencement
of these enterprises, I feel every. possible obligation for his
steady and persevering zeal in this service, and for his advice
and assistance on every occasion. To the officers, seamen,
and marines, my best acknowledgments are also once more
due, for the zealous support I have at all times received from
them in the course of this service; and I am happy to repeat
my conviction, that, had it depended on their conduct and
exertions, our most sanguine expectations would, long ere
this, have been crowned with complete success.

OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS.

By the Commissioners for executing the office of
Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, &c.

Lorp Viscount Metyitie having communicated to the
King the proceedings of the late Expedition into the Arctic
Seas, and his Majesty having been graciously pleased to ex-
press his commands that another Expedition should be fitted
out, for the purpose of pursuing the attempt to discover a. pas-
sage by sea between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and of
ascertaining the geography of the Northern boundaries of the
American continent;

_ We have thought proper to appoint you to the command of
the Expedition, and you are hereby required and directed to
put to sea in His Majesty’s ship Hecla under your command,
with His Majesty’s ship Fury, whose Commander has been
_ placed under your orders; and taking with you the William
Harris transport, which the Navy Board has been directed to
place at your disposal, for the purpose of carrying a proportion
of your provisions and stores across the Atlantic, you are to
proceed, as quickly as may be consistent with a due care not
to part company, up Davis’s Strait, and, having arrived at the
latitude in which you may think it advisable to cross over to
the Western side of that strait, you will take the first favour-
able opportunity of clearing the transport of the stores and
provisions with which she is charged for the use of the Expe-
dition; and, having so done, you are to send the transport -

eels.

OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS. 17

back: to nga so as to prevent her incurring any danger
from the ice, reporting, by that opportunity, your proceedings
to our Secretary, for our information, and then making the
best of your way with His Majesty’ s ships, in the prosecution
of your orders.

The experience of your former voyages seems to. prove that

the two channels which afford the most reasonable prospect of

a passage for the ships into the sea, which bounds the north
coast of America, are that round Cockburn’s Island, near
which your last voyage terminated, and Prince Regent’s Inlet,
which you discovered in your former.

Several considerations, but particularly the obstacles which
you found in Prince Regent’s Inlet in 1819, might have in-
duced us to give the ppeteniadé to the attempt to make a pas-
sage round Cockburn’s Island; but the strong opinion which
you have conveyed to us in favour of the attempt through
Prince Regent’s Inlet, the confident hope which you express
that the ice, which, at the period of the year in which you
visited the inlet, obstructed your passage, was likely to be re-
moved by circumstances of .season and weather within the
navigable part of the year; and the confidence which we are
justified in placing in your judgment and experience, deter-
mine us to. authorize and direct you to pursue the course
which -you consider the most shad a namely, through
Prince Regent’s Inlet.

You willy therefore, after you have despatched the trans-
port home, make the best of your way to Lancaster Sound,
and, proceeding through Barrow Strait, endeavour to make,
through Prince Regent’s Inlet, your passage into the sea
which bounds the continent, and thence westward to the
Pacific.

Should you succeed, in this first ean of passing through
Prince Regent’s Inlet, it is probable, from what has been al-
ready Mieavidrad of these parts, that you may find different
courses opening to you. ‘The decision as to that most likely
to conduce to the objects of the Expedition, must be referred

Qa
a

a OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS.

to your own judgment, on a view of the existing circumstances
of your own former proceedings, and of the discoveries of Cap-
tain Franklin (with a copy of whose account of his proceed-
ings you are furnished), at the mouth, and to the eastward, “4
the Coppermine River.

If you shouldsbe so successful as to find a practicable pas-
sage down to the coast of America, you are to make the best
of your way in accomplishing the main object of the Exxpedi-
tion, without stopping to examine that coast, or for any other
object not of imperious importance; but whenever the ships
may be checked in their progress by ice, or unavoidable cir-

cumstances, you will take every opportunity of examining the
coasts and islands in the neighbourhood, and of making all
useful observations relating to them.

His Majesty’s government having aii sient two Land Ex-
peditions for exploring the North Coast of America, the one
under Captain Lyon, to proceed from Repulse Bay across the
Isthmus towards Akkoolee, and thence along the coast to-—
wards the Coppermine River; the other, under Captain Frank-
lin, to proceed from Mackenzie’s River to the Icy Cape: it
would be desirable, if you should reach any part of the coast,
that you should mark your progress by erecting flag-stafls on a
few of the most distinguishable points which you may succes-
sively visit, and you are to bury at the foot of each staff a bottle,
containing such information as you think may be useful to
the Land Expeditions, and any particulars relative to your
own proceedings, which you may think proper to add.

As one of the great difficulties under which Captain Frank-
lin’s last expedition suffered, was the want of provisions, you
are also to bury at the foot of the flag-staffs such proportion
and kind of provision as you may dlink advisable. And, as
it is possible that the flag-staff may be removed by natives,
you should surround it by a pile of stones, conspicuous from
some point of the shore, which may guide the Land Expedi-
tions to the depots there left.

-It is unnecessary to give you any detailed directions as to
the concert of signals with them, as you have informed us that

OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS. 19

you have iota arrangements of that nature with Captains Lyon

and Franklin, respectively ; and if you should meet with these

officers, or their parties, and that they should be desirous of
coming on board, you are to receive them, bearing them as
supernumeraries.

_ Should you happily reach bin Pacific, you are to orion to
Seacntsohatela, for the purpose of delivering to the Russian
governor duplicates of the journals and other documents which
the passage may have supplied, with a request that they may
be forwarded overland to St. Petersburg, to be conveyed from
thence to London. From Kamtschatska you will proceed to
the Sandwich Islands,or Canton, orsuch other placeas you may ©
think proper, to refit the ships and refresh the crews; and if,
during your stay at such place, a safe opportunity should oc-
cur of sending papers to England, you should send duplicates
by such conveyance. And, after having refitted and refreshed,
you are to lose no time in returning to England by such route
as you may deem most convenient.

It may happen that your progress along the North Coast of
the American Continent may be so slow as to render it desira-
ble that, if you should not be able to accomplish your passage
into the Pacific earlier than the autumn of 1827, you should
be assured of finding a depot of provisions at that period, in
the most advanced ee to which they can safely be con-
veyed.

In the event, then, of our not receiving from.you such in-
telligence as may render the measure unnecessary,” we shall,
about the close of the year 1826, direct the Commander-in-
chief on the South-American station, to despatch a vessel with
a supply of provisions and stores, so as to be at Behring’s
Straits about August or September 1827. (The commander of
this vessel will be directed to make the best of his way round
Cape Prince of Wales, where he may expect, as we are in-
formed, to find an inlet in latitude 68° 30', in which Captain
Kotzebue is stated to have found anchorage a few years since.
He will be directed to lie in that anchorage, or in the nearest
good anchorage he may find to that latitude; and he will be

20 OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS.

ordered to'erect, in the most prominent and visible situation,
a flag-staff for your direction. As it is possible that you may
touch at the Sandwich Islands, this officer will be directed to
call at Owyhee, in order that, if you should have passed to
the southward, he may not be put to the inconvenience of going
on to Cape Prince of Wales: and this affords a reason of pre-
ference for your touching at Owyhee. And you, on your
part, if you should first reach the neighbourhood of Captain
Kotzebue’s anchorage, should erect a flag-staff, or a pile of
stones, in some conspicuous: place, and bury a bottle with a
paper, which may acquaint the said officer of your having
_ passed. This vessel will be directed to remain in that neigh-
bourhood as long in the autumn of 1827, as the season will
admit; and when she is obliged to leave it, her commander
will bury, under a pile of stones, in some conspicuous place,
directions where you may find a depot of provisions, of such
species as he may judge likely to be most a to you, and
that he may be able to spare.

Whenever the season shall be so far advanced as to make it
unsafe to navigate the ships, on account of the long nights
having set in, and the sea being impassable on account of ice,
you are, if you should have so far advanced as to prevent your
return to England, to use your best endeavours to discover a
sheltered and safe anchorage, where the ships may be placed
for the winter; taking such measures for the health and com-
fort of the people under your command, as the materials with
which you are supplied for housing-in the ships, or hutting-in
the men on the shore, may enable youtodo. And when you
find it expedient to resort to this measure, if you should meet
with any inhabitants, either Esquimaux or Indians, near the
place where you winter, you are to endeavour, by every means
in your power, to cultivate a friendship with them, by making
them presents of such articles as you may be supplied with,
and which may be useful or agreeable to them. You will,
however, take care not to suffer yourself to be surprised by
any attack from them, but use every precaution, and be con-
stantly on your guard against any hostility.

OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS. aa

You will endeavour to prevail on them, by such reward,
and to be paid in such manner as you may think best to an-
swer the purpose, in the event of your making progress to
the westward, to carry to any of the settlements of the Hud-
son’s Bay Company an account of your situation and proceed-
ings; with an urgent request that it may be forwarded to
England with the utmost possible despatch. es
If you should, on your arrival. at Prince Regent’s) inlets

find the passage to be impracticable, you are at: liberty either
to seek any other opening in that quarter, or to wait. in the
inlet for any change in the state of the ice which you may
have reason to expect; but if your expectations in this parti-
cular should be disappointed, and if you should find yourself
unable, during the favourable season, to effect a passage to the
southward and westward, it is evident that nothing can be
gained by wintering ina situation which may in any year be
reached from England before the passage can be practicable;

_ and) we, therefore, order and direct that you do not, under
such circumstances, attempt to winter out, but that if you find —

yourself prevented from proceeding, with some prospect of
ultimate success, further in that direction than has been already
explored, you are to take care to ensure your return to Eng-
land at the end of the present season.

We deem it right to caution you against suffering the two
vessels placed under your orders to separate, except in the
event of accident or unavoidable necessity; and we desire you
to keep up the most unreserved communications with the
commander of the Fury, placing in him every proper confi-
dence, and acquainting him with the general tenor of your
orders, and with your views and intentions, from time to
time, in the execution of them, that the service may have the
full benefit of your united efforts, and that in the event of un-
avoidable separation, or of any accident to yourself, Captain
Hoppner may have the advantage of knowing, up to the latest
period, all your ideas and intentions relative to a satisfactory
completion of the undertaking.

, 22 OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS.

We also recommend that as frequent an exchange take
place as conveniently may be, of the observations made in the
two ships; that any scientific discovery made by the one be,
as quickly as possible, communicated for the advantage and
guidance of the other, and to increase the chance of the ob-
servations of both being preserved.

We have caused a great variety of valuable isiahmelicia to
be put on board the ships under your orders, of which you
will be furnished with a list, and for the return of which you
will be held responsible; and we have appointed Lieutenant
Foster, as assistant surveyor, an officer well skilled in astro-
- nomy, mathematics, and various branches of knowledge, to
assist you in making such observations and experiments as
may tend to the improvement of geography and navigation,
and the advancement of science in general. We deem it un-
necessary to specify these objects, a detail of which you have
already been furnished with, in our instructions for the guid-
ance in your late Expeditions, and to which we refer you;
not doubting from the zeal and ability with which you have
conducted the former Expeditions, that you will on this be
equally diligent in collecting information yourself; and you
will impress on the minds of Captain Hoppner and all the offi-
cers under your command, the importance and necessity of
each respectively using his best exertions to promote the se-—
veral scientific objects of the Expedition.

From Captain Hoppner we have every reason to expect
drawings of the land, of natives, and their various implements,
and of objects of natural history, in which he will be assisted
by Mr. Head, who has received an appointment as Admiralty
Midshipman, principally with this view. You are to direct
Lieutenant Foster to be particularly careful to keep an accu-
rate register of all the observations that shall be made, in the
same form, and according to the same arrangement, that were
followed by Captain Sabine and Mr. Fisher on the late voy-
ages; and you are to place in charge of Lieutenant Foster the
several chronometers with which you have been supplied for
the Hecla.

4

OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS. 23

- You are to avail yourself of every opportunity of collecting
and preserving specimens of such objects of natural history as
may be new, rare, or interesting; and you are to instruct
Captain Hoppner, and all the other officers, to use their best
diligence in increasing the collections in each ship; the whole
of which must be understood to belong to the public.

The knowledge which Doctor Neill, surgeon of the Hecla,
has been represented to us to possess in this department of
science, will be of material service to you in arranging the
collections of, and making notes upon, the various subjects of
natural history. In the event of any irreparable accident hap-
_ pening to either of the two ships, you are to cause the officers
and crew of the disabled ship to be removed into the other,
and with her singly to proceed in prosecution of the voyage,
or return to England, according as circumstances shall appear
to require; understanding that the officers and crews of both
ships are hereby authorised and required to continue to per-
form their duties according to their respective ranks and sta-
tions, on board either ship to which they may be so removed.
Should unfortunately your own ship be the one disabled, you
are, in that case, to take command of the Fury; and, in the
event of any fatal accident happening to yourself, Captain
Hoppner is hereby authorized to take the command of the
Expedition, either on board the Hecla or Fury, as he may
prefer, placing the officer of the Expedition who may then
be next in seniority to him, in command of the second ship;
also in the event of your own inability, by sickness or other-
wise, at any period of this service, to continue to carry these

instructions into execution, you are to transfer them to Cap-
- tain Hoppner, or to the surviving officer then next in com-
mand to you, who is hereby required to execute them in the
best manner he can, for the attainment of the several objects
in view.

In the event of England becoming involved in hostilities
with any other power during your absence, you are neverthe-
less clearly to understand that you are not on any account to

24 OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS.

commit any hostile act whatsoever; the Expedition under your
orders being only intended for the purpose of discovery and
science, and it being the practice of all civilized nations to
consider vessels so employed as excluded from the operations ~
of war. And, confiding in this general feeling, we should
trust that you would receive every assistance from the ships
or subjects of any Foreign Power, which you may fall in with;
but special application to that effect has been made to the re-
spective governments.

You are, whilst executing the service pointed out in these
instructions, to take every opportunity that may offer of ac-
quainting our secretary, for our, information, with your pro-
gress: and, on your arrival in England, you are immediately
to repair to this office, in order to lay before us a full account
of your proceedings in the whole course of your voyage;
taking care before you leave the ship, to demand from the offi-
cers, petty officers, and all other persons on board, the logs
and journals they may have kept, together with any drawings
or charts they may have made, which are all to be sealed up;
and you will issue similar directions to Captain Hoppner and
his officers, &c.; the said logs, journals, or other documents,
to be thereafter disposed of as we may think proper.

Given under our hands, the 12th of May, 1824..

MELviLLe,

Wo. JoHNSTONE Hoe
G. Cocxsurn,

G. Crierx,

W. R. KK. Dovenas.

~

Lo
Wiiu1am Enwarp Parry, Esa.,
Captain of His Majesty’s Ship
the Heela.

By Command of their Lordships
J. W. Croxer.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS.

Admiralty Office, 12th May, 1824,
“Sir, | bet: Sie

tional information:—

In reference to that part of your general orders which
relates to the ship intended to be sent in the autumn of 1827
to meet you, I am commanded by my Lords Commissioners
of the Admiralty to communicate to Me the ae addi-

It is thought advisable, winter a view of assisting the ob-

: jects of Captain Franklin’s Expedition, that the vended in-

in 1826.

so fortunate as to accomplish the passage in that year.

‘tended to meet you in 1827 should endeavour to meet him

- Her commander will, ititenies: be directed to reach those
latitudes in the summer of 1826, to make such discoveries
and observations as may open themselves to him, and to look
out for Captain Franklin, or even for you, if you should be

He will remain in that neighbourhood as late as the season
will admit, and will then repair to the Sandwich Islands, or
to the nearest place where he may be able to replenish his

" the manner detailed in your instructions.

provisions; when he will, as early as possible in the year 1827
(if you should not have already met him), proceed to act in

i : He will mark his proceedings in 1826 by the erection of
i flag-staffs or piles of stones; and with notices where may be

ie parture that yeery as well as in 1827.
j B+ I am, Sir,
; Your very obedient Servant,

}
j ° Captain Parry, Hecla.

- found a depot of provisions, which he will leave on his de-

J. W. Croxerr.

bias
:

iti

wei iene
VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY
OF A

NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

CHAPTER I.

PASSAGE TO THE WHALE-FISH ISLANDS, AND REMOVAL OF

STORES FROM THE TRANSPORT—-ENTER THE ICE IN BAF-
FIN’s BAY—DIFFICULTIES OF PENETRATING TO THE WEST-
‘WARD—QUIT THE ICE» IN. BAFFIN’S BAY—REMARKS ON
THE OBSTRUCTIONS ENCOUNTERED BY THE SHIPS, AND ON
THE SEVERITY OF THE, SEASON.

“Tur equipment of. the Hecla aud Fury, and the ae of

the William Harris transport, being completed, we began to
move down the river from Deptford on the 8th of May, and
on the 10th, by the assistance of the steam-boat, the three
ships had reached the Northfleet, where they received their
powder and their ordnance stores. ‘Two days were here em-
ployed in fixing, under the superintendence of Mr. Barlow
and Lieutenant Foster, the plate invented by the former gen-

tleman for correcting the deviation of the compass, produced
by the attraction of the ships’ iron; and the continuance of —

strong easterly winds prevented our getting to the Nore till
the 16th. During our stay at Northfleet, the ships were
visited by Viscount Melville, and the other Lords Commis-
sioners of the Admiralty, who were pleased to approve of our
general equipment and arrangements.

Se

~ ome

ele .

i
28 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

On the 18th Commissioner Cunningham came on board, to
pay the ships’. companies their arrears of river wages, and also
three months in advance. Our few remaining wants were
readily supplied by the kindness of Vice Admiral Sir Benja-
min Hallowell, our kind friend Commissioner Cunningham, ~
and Commodore Sir Edward Owen; and at three a. Mm. on
the 19th, we weighed and stood to sea. On the following
morning we fell in with his Majesty’s sloop Brisk; when her
commander, Captain Hope, came on board, and it being his
intention shortly to put into Yarmouth for water, he kindly
offered to accompany us for a day or two, to take our pilots
and letters. The Sylvia, revenue cutter, joining us the same
day, Lieutenant White, her commander, who was immediately
bound to Harwich, received our letters, with which ‘he parted
company the same evening. Light and unfavourable winds
prevented our finally clearing the sands till the 25th, when
Captain Hope received our pilots, and also our despatches and
letters, giving us the usual salutation of three hearty cheers,
as he bore up for Yarmouth. Light and variable winds still
obstructed our progress, but, by a singular coincidence, we
passed through the Pentland Firth on the 30th, being the
same day that we had taken our departure from the Orkneys

ree years before. I wrote to the Secretary of the Admi-—
_ralty, informing him of the progress of the expedition thus
Ps and having committed our letters to the charge of the
pilot, to be landed at Thurso, bore up to the westward with a
favourable breeze. The variation of the magnetic needle,
observed with Mr. Barlow’s plate, was 28° 12' W., corres-
ponding, within a few minutes, with that observed at Long-
Hope in 1819. In passing Bara and Rona on the morning of
the 31st, our observations placed the west end of the former
island in latitude 59° 06' 45", longitude by chronometers 6°11’.

During our passage across the Atlantic, and afterwards on
our way up Davis’s Strait, we threw overboard daily a strong
copper cylinder, containing the usual papers, giving an account
of our situation. We also took every opportunity afforded

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. — 29

by light winds, to try the temperature of the sea at different
depths, as compared with that at the surface, of whieh : an ac-

count will be given in another place.
On the 12th, as we began to approach the meridian of. Cape
Farewell, we met, as usual, with flocks of sheerwaters, (pro-
cellaria puffinus, ) which have received their popular name
from the uniformity with which they'are here seen. From ~_

the 12th to the 16th, being between the parallels of 58° and Bhi:
614°, and the meridians of 37° and 56°, we passed seven pieces

of drift-wood, from four to sixteen feet in length, all appear-

ing like.the root-end of the trunks of small trees that had
i been.a good while in the water. On the 16th we saw the
first iceberg, being in latitude 602°, longitude 55°; and after

that time we fell in’ with those bodies of ice almost daily.
The temperature of the sea, which was ‘50° soon after our
ag leaving Orkney, experienced little. alteration in our passage
across the Atlantic, till-we had reached the longitude of 33°;
it then pretty gradually decreased to 32°, about the meridian
| of 56°, in latitude 633°. Its temperature from this time, as
_. usual in the Polar Seas during the summer, varied from 28°
to 36°, according to our proximity to ice, or the contrary.

On entering Davis’s Strait, we had a long succession of thick
weather, which prevented our obtaining an observation for =

latitude during a whole week; but as this was accompanie
by south-easterly winds, our progress was a rapid one. On
i the 21st, at noon, we observed three miles to the southward of
the Arctic Circle, being in the longitude of 57°06' 31"; and “iy
3 after running thirty miles in a N.4W. course, we made the
packed ice, which had, for several hours before, been distinctly
indicated by a clear bright <‘blink,’”’ assuming the form of a
low well-defined arch, extending over the whole western ho-
rizon. On hauling up a few points to the eastward, we soon
lost sight of it, and early on the following morning passed
Reef-koll, in twenty-five fathoms’ water, at the distance of
ten or twelve miles, sailing among a number of grounded i ice-
bergs, which usually announce a ship’s approach to this head-

80 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

land. There is said to be a dry shoal off Reef-koll (or Ris-

kol, as it is called in some charts), at the distance of ten miles;

but I have never met with it, and can pain no nN informa-

tion respecting it. whey

I now determined, as the eistebiedy and most secure seule of

; clearing the transport, to anchor at Whale-fish Islands, rather
than incur the risk of hampering and damaging her among
the ice. Fresh gales and thick weather, however, prevented.

our doing so till the 26th, when we anchored at eight a.m.,

in seventeen fathoms, mooring the ships by hawsers to the

rocks, and then immediately commenced our work. In the
mean time, the observatory and instruments: were landed on
a small island, called, by the Danes, Boat Island, where Lieu-
oe <tenent Foster’ and | myself carried on thé magnetic and other
_ observations, during the stay of the Expedition at this anchor-

age, of which a survey was also made.

We received greatattention and civility from the Danish assis:
~ - . pitiés atthis pleas as wellasatLievely,in the Island of Disko, to
‘ which, settlement Captain Hoppner and myself went in a boat

on the 30th. We found. there, besides the inspector, Mr.
West, and the other officers resident in the colony, First Lieu-
tenant Graah,jof the Danish navy, who had for some time
ast been employed in surveying the coast of Greenland, in
- the neighbourhood of the settlements, and who kindly shewed —
~us the’charts he was engaged in constructing. Among other
_ information, he communicated to us the situation of a danger-
~ ous newly-discovered rock, dry at low water, and bearing
from the flag-staff on Lievely point S.. 43° W., distant 73
miles.* After dining with the inspector, we returned to the
ships in the afternoon accompanied by that gentleman and Lieu- .
tenant’ Graah, receiving, as we left the harbour, a salute of
twelve guns. The latitude of Lievely, by Lieut. Graah’s ob-
servations, the result of which he unreservedly communicated,

* I find, since my return to England, that Lieutenant Graah has done me
the kindness to distinguish this rock by my name, on his chart.

4 is 69° 14' 32", the longitude 53° 42" west of Greenwich, and
oe variation of the magnetic needle 72° westerly.
hehe harbour of. Lievely is excellent for small vessels,
_ having a good depth of water, and being quite land-locked;
_ but it appears rather narrow for ships of three or four hun- ,
dred tons. The settlement is principally situated on the
- south shore of the harbour, where there are several tolerably-
built wooden houses, among which that of the inspector is a
good-looking and convenient one. There are but six or seven
Danes, besides the officers, belonging to the establishment;
’ and most of the Esquimaux were, at this season, absent in the
interior, for the purpose of killing rein-deer, from which oecu-
pation they do not usually return till September or October,
when their services begin to be required for the whale-fishery, the
Jatter being carried on here only during the winter months.
__ A small schooner lying in the harbour, is sent every summer
to bring the oil from the northern settlements, in readiness for
_ the arrival of the vessels which comeannually for the purpose of
taking that article to Copenhagen, and at the same time bringing |
_ out supplies of provisions and other stores. On our return to the _
ships we found arrived there Lieutenant Holboll, of the Danish —
navy, 2 gentleman much attached to the pursuits of natural

~history, who was engaged in making a collection of | speci- i,

mens of the animal kingdom, ' principally birds, with eee 4
Elie was shortly about. to’ return’ to Copenhagen. He was ac-
- €ompanied by a clergyman and another gentleman belonging
to one of the southern establishments, who came on board our
ships to pay us a visit. We did not fail to shew them every
attention in return for their civilities, and they returned on.
shore much’ pleased with their reception. On the following
day, when the gentlemen left us for Lievely, we returned
their salute with an equal number of guns; and I gladly take
this opportunity of remarking how much we were gratified |
___ by our intercourse with them. To Mr. Plim, the principal
_ officer at the Whale-fish Islands, I also feel particularly obliged
for his attentions, and for the offer of every assistance in his
power.

*% | -

($2. . ‘THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY —

Early on the morning of the 3rd of July, the whole of our
stores being removed, and Lieutenant Pritchard having re-
ceived his orders, together with our depatches and letters for
England, the William Harris weighed with a light wind from

_ the northward, and was towed out to sea by our boats. The | :

day proving calm, we employed it in swinging the Hecla, in
order to obtain the amount of the deviation of the magnetic
needle, and to fix afresh the iron-plate for correcting it, On
the following morning, the wind being southerly, the pilots
came on board, and the Hecla weighed to run through the
north passage; in doing which, she grounded on a rock lying ©

- directly in the channel, and having only thirteen feet upon it

at low water, which our sounding boats had missed, and of
which the pilot was ignorant. The tide being that of ebb, we
were unable to heave the ship off immediately, and at low
water she had sewed three feet forward. It was not till half-
past one, Pp. m., that she floated, when it hecame necessary to
drop her down between the rock and the shore with hawsers;
after which we made sail, and, being soon after jomed by the
Fury, which came out bythe other channel, we stood round
the islands to the northwards. This rock was not the only

one found by our boats which may prove dangerous to ships
going in and out of this harbour, and with which our pilots -

were unacquainted. Another was discovered by Mr. Head,

_ about one-third of the distance across from Kron Prins Island

to the opposite shore of the S. E. entrance, and has not more
than eighteen feet water on it at low tide; it hes very much in

the way of ships coming in at that channel, which is the most

commonly used. The latitude of the island on which the
observations were made, called by the Danes Boat Island, is

74° 28' 15"; its longitude, by our chronometers, 53° 12’ 56";

the dip of the magnetic needle, 82° 53', 66; and the variation,
70° 23' 57"' westerly. The time of high water, at new moon,
on the 26th of June, was a quarter past eight, the highest tides
being the third and fourth after the conan and the per-
pendicular rise seven feet and a half.

oy

ee OO Oe ee es

;

;

Wb eye a 8A 7.7 tae Se
cs va | wir .
Pere Re

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. Bite 39

Bor the following remarks on the geological character of
eres islands I am indebted to Dr. Neill. ‘‘ Four of the
islands belonging to this groupe, which we examined during
our stay, are composed of well-defined gneiss, intersected by
veins of red feldspar, and beautiful quartz, nearly approaching
to rose-quartz, the. strata dipping towards the N. N. E., at

"an angle of 23°. In the composition of the rock, the quartz

predominates; the mica, which is nearly black, is next abun-
dant, and the feldspar most sparing. On examining a recent
fracture, the feldspar is scarcely perceptible; it is only on sur-—

- faces that have been long exposed to the influence of the

weather that it seems evidently to compose part of this rock.
In one place we noticed a detached mass of greenstone, con-
taining a number of crystals of glassy actynolite, but, unfor-
tunately, the mass was so tough that it could not be broken
without destroying the crystals.”

The ships standing in towards Lievely on the afternoon of
the 5th, Lieutenant Graah very kindly came off to the Fury,
which happened to be the nearest in-shore, for the purpose of
taking leave of us. On his quitting the ship, a salute of ten

*guns was fired at Lievely, which we returned with an equal

number; and I sent to Lieut. Graah, by a canoe that came on
board the Hecla, an account of the situation of the rocks we
had discovered. Light northerly winds, together with the —
dull sailing of our now deeply laden ships, prevented our

‘making much progress for’several days, and kept us in the
_ neighbourhood of numerous ice-bergs, which it is dangerous

to approach when there, is any swell. We counted from the
deck, at one time, no less than one hundred and three of these

- immense bodies, some of them from one to two hundred feet

in height* above the sea; and it was necessary, in one or two
instances, to tow the’ ships clear of them with the boats. We

had octasion, ee this time, to remark the more than usual

* We had occasionally the means of guessing, with tolerable precision,
the height of the ice-bergs, by the Fury passing close to hem

5

34 _ THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

frequency of fogs with a northerly “wind, a circumstance
from which the whalers are accustomed to augur a considera~
ble extent of open water in that direction.

In standing off to the westward, we made the main ice in
the longitude of 583°, scarcely differing five miles from its
position in 1819 in the same latitude, and about the same
season. ‘The land of Disco was high above the horizon, and
quite distinct at the distance of three-and-twenty leagues.
On the evening of the 13th, being in latitude 71° 02', and
longitude 58° 36', the ice was observed, on the clearing up of
a fog, to be slack for a considerable distance within the mar-
gin of the “‘ pack.”” Though it was my intention to have
attempted the passage across it to the westward, in a latitude
one or two degrees higher, the favourable appearance it now
assumed, combined with a fair wind and its usual accom-
paniment, clear weather, induced me at once to enter it,
which was accordingly done, and the ships pushed several
leagues within the margin.

The ice soon beginning to close around us, our progress
became so slow, that, on the 17th, we saw a ship at the mar-
gin of the ‘‘ pack,” and two more on the following day. We
supposed these to be whalers, which, after trying to cross the
ice to the northward, had returned to make the attempt in the
present latitude; a supposition which our subsequent difficul-
ties served to strengthen. From this time, indeed, the ob-
structions from the quantity, magnitude, and closeness of the
ice, were such as to keep our people almost constantly em-
ployed in heaving, warping, or sawing through it; and yet
with so little success, that, at the close of the month of July,
we had only penetrated seventy miles to the westward, or to
the longitude of about 62°10’. Here, while closely beset,
on the 1st of August, we encountered a hard gale from the
south-east, which pressing the ice together in every direction,
by mass overlaying mass for hours together, the Hecla receiv-
ed several very awkward “nips,’’ and was once fairly laid
@n her broadside by a strain which must inevitably have crush-

OF A _— PASSAGE. 35

eda vessel of ordinary strength. In such cases, thé ice is
forced under a ship’s bottom, on one side, and on the other up
her side, both powers thus acting in such a manner as to bring
her on her “beam-ends.’’ This is, in fact, the most favoura-
ble manner in which a ship ean receive the pressure, and
would perhaps only occur with ice comparatively not very
heavy, though sufficiently so, it is said, to have run complete-
ly over a ship in some extreme and fatal cases. With ice of
still more formidable dintensions, a vessel would, probably, by
an equal degree of pressure, be absolutely crushed, in conse-
quence of the increased difficulty of sinking it on one side,
and causing it to rise on the other.*

This gale, which commenced on the 31st of July, was the
only strong or even fresh breeze we experienced in the course
of that month; and the indications of the barometer, during
its continuance, deserve to be noticed. On the morning of
the 31st, about the time the breeze commenced, the mercury
began to rise from 29,255, and reached 30,271 on the evening
of the 1st of August, when the breeze moderated, the weather
cleared up, and the barometer again began to fall. Neither
in the strength nor the direction of the wind, nor in the state
of the atmosphere, did the mercury indicate the weather we
should have anticipated from it; for the breeze, soon after the
fall of the barometer, shifted to the northward, with a clear,
dry atmosphere, whereas the column had continued to rise
steadily during thirty hours of strong southerly wind, accom-
panied by thick and wet weather.

While thus detained, there was not the smallest appearance
of any clear water to the westward, and I remarked, more-
over, that contrary to what had hitherto been the ease, we had

* It has more than once occurred to me, under such stress of materials
as this, that, independently of the absolute strength of our ships, the cir-
cumstance of their being quite full, and stowed with minute attention to
closeness in every part of their holds, might have contributed something
towards their withstanding such enormous pressure,

Nig, iinet?

36 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

not drifted in that direction, ae EN the strength and
duration of the gale. I determined, on this account, to direct
our endeavours more to the northward, in hopes of there find-
ing the ice less compact. By dint of constant and extreme
labour, and at the expense of some of our westing, we gained
the latitude of 72° 34' on the 19th of August, where the ice
still presented as impenetrable a barrier as before. Continuing
our efforts to push to the northward, we had, on the 29th of
August, arrived in latitude 73° 1@', on the meridan of 63°
40', in which situation, from our experience in 1819, we had
reason to expect there would scarcely have been any ice at
this season. The obstructions, however, continued nearly
the same, notwithstanding our being much favoured by south-
easterly winds, till the 8th of September, in latitude 74° 07',
_ and longitude 69° 54', or about one hundred and ten miles to
the W. N. W. of the situation in which we cleared the “ pack’?
in the year 1819. Here the ice became more slack, but it
was not till the following day that, having forced our way
about forty miles farther, or to the latitude of 74° 14’, and
longitude 72° 25', we at length succeeded in releasing our-
selves from the more than ordinary barrier of ice in the middle
of Baffin’s Bay.

I shall, doubtless, be readily excused for not having entered
in this journal, a detailed narrative of the obstacles we met
with, and of the unwearied exertions of the officers and men
to overcome them, during the tedious eight weeks employed
in crossing this barrier. I have avoided this detail, because,
while it might appear an endeavour to magnify ordinary diffi-
culties, which it is our business to overcome rather than to
discuss, I am convinced that no description of mine, nor even
the minute formality of the log-book, could convey an ade-
quate idea of the truth. The strain we constantly had oc-
casion to heave on the hawsers, as springs to force the
ships through the ice, was such as perhaps no ships ever

before attempted; and by means of Phillips’s invaluable cap-

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. | 37

_ stan,* we often separated floes of such magnitude as must
otherwise have baffled every effort. In doing this, it was
next to impossible to avoid exposing the men to very great
risk, from the frequent breaking of the hawsers. On one oc-
casion three of the Hecla’s seamen were knocked down as in-
stantaneously as by a gun-shot, by the sudden flying out ofan
anchor, and a marine of the Fury suffered ina similar manner
when working at the capstan; but providentially they all es-
caped with severe contusions. A more serious aceident occur-
red in the breaking of the spindle of the Fury’s windlass,
depriving her of the use of the windlass-end during the rest of
the season.

In considering the causes of this our bad success, it will not
be difficult to shew, by comparison with what we experienced
on former occasions, that it was to be attributed to an extreme-
ly unfavourable season, both as regarded the quantity and
closeness of the ice, as well as the actual temperature, and the
general state of the weather during the month of August, the
very best of the year for navigation in these seas. It has al-
ready been seen that the main body of ice reached one hun-
dred and fifty miles farther to the W. N. W. in the parallel
of about 74°, than it did in 1819, while the eastern margin,
where we entered it, was found precisely in the same meridian
as usual at that season; so that the actual breadth of the barrier
appears to have been fifty leagues greater than before.’ In
the absence of actual observations during the preceding win-
ter, itis not easy to conjecture whether this circumstance ©
arose from the unusual severity of that dreary season in 1823 ©
and 1824, or from the tardiness of the returning summer’s

* Icannot omit this opportunity of expressing my admiration of this in-
genious contrivance in every trial to which we put it in the course of this
voyage. By the perfect facility with which the machinery is made to act,
or the contrary, it is easily altered and applied to any purpose, in ten or
fifteen seconds ; and the slowness and consequent steadiness of the power;
render it infinitely less trying to the hawsers than any purchase we were
before enabled to adopt on board a ship.

*

38 ' THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

warmth in dissolving the ice produced during the winter;
either of which,causes, but more particularly both combined,
would sufficiently account for it. That the summer was a
wretched one we had too much reason to know; and the fol-
lowing comparative view of the temperature of August, 1824,
with that of the five preceding and one following year, will
afford very striking evidence of the fact:-—

TEMPERATURE.
Year. Latitude. Max. Min. eae
one gn <i OM ake: a
Mie ba Woman ep tiny ki age eps 32.6
HaDH MES HOlBER NY 1) Pag hg 36.6
1822. . About69h. . 9 50. 97 33.7
1823 . . 692 to662. . 55 24 37.8
18B4isj0, cali Mito FSS) aos 2e0- 36.5006 29.7
$B 5 4 oi COE SOT BLac. inl iGugl wnyib 35.8

Not less remarkable than the temperature of August was
the extraordinary weather which accompanied it, and which,
indeed, may perhaps be considered as its cause; for of the
thirty-one days in that month, there was actually but one im
which we had not a deposite of snow, sleet, rain, or fog, du-
ring some part of the twenty-four consecutive hours; and a
northerly wind, which is the usual harbinger of a clear, dry,
wholesome atmosphere, was just as thick as any other.
For ten weeks in July, August, and September, though we
were constantly watching for an opportunity of airing the
ships’ companies’ bedding on deck, we could only venture to
do so once.

When a considerable fall of snow in light flakes takes place
at a low summer temperature, the formation of young ice is,
of course, very greatly accelerated, and this was so much the

' ease in the present instance, that on several days, even in the

middle of August, the ships could scarcely be dragged through
it; whereas that obstruction, the most tedious and vexatious

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. © 88

we have to contend with, never occurred to us before, till
e full a month later than this. The appearance around us, un-
der these circumstances, was sometimes a curious, and, toour -
prospects of advancement, rather an alarming one; for the
water and the air being both too cold to dissolve the snow, it
remained floating upon the surface till every pool was entirely
covered with it, so that the sea, which just before had been
diversified with alternate light and dark patches, was imme-
diately converted into one uniform surface of white. * This
phenomenon, to the extent in which it now occurr d, was to
me a new one; and there can be no doubt that, had the’ tem- .
perature continued low for two or three days together, while
the sea was thus covered, a sheet of ice would have been
formed, too solid to have been again dissolved during the same:
season. It was impossible, therefore, not to apprehend at
times, that a continuance of weather so unseasonable might
expose us to the unpleasant dilemma of being frozen up
during a winter in the middle of Baffin’s Bay.
During our passage across the ice, the temperature of the
sea-water at the surface differed at times from 28° to 32°, this
change evidently depending on the quantity of ice which was
dissolying and covering the surface at the time; but during
colder weather, when little or no dissolution was going on,
the temperature of 28° almost invariably prevailed. On our
leaving the western margin of the ice, it rose at eight leagues’
distance, to 32°, then fell immediately to 31° and 30°, which
continued for sixty miles on a westerly course, and then gra-
dually decreased to 28°, on approaching Sir James Lantaster’s
Sound. In the year 1819 its temperature remained at 37°,
for a run of sixty-three miles in the same direction. Our
detention in the ice afforded occasional opportunities of trying
the temperature and specific gravity of the sea-water at differ-
ent depths; an account of these experiments, together with a
few others subsequently obtained, will be given in one con-
cise view, at the close of this season’s narrative.

=<"

40 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

Our soundings, in crossing Baffin’s Bay, increased with
tolerable regularity as we advanced to the westward. When
only a few miles within the eastern margin of the ice, on the
15th and 16th of J uly, we had from two hundred and thirty-
five to two hundred and eighty fathoms, muddy bottom. On |
the 18th, the depth had increased to three hundred and fifty- -
five fathoms, and on the 21st no soundings could be gained

with four hundred and seventy. Advancing still farther to

the ndérthward and westward, a line of seven hundred to se-
ven hundred and fifty fathoms did not reach the ground.

The constant besetment of the ships, and our daily obser-
vations for latitude and longitude, afforded a favourable op-
portunity for ascertaining precisely the set of any currents by
which the whole body of ice might be actuated. By attend-
ing very carefully to all the circumstances, it was evident that
a daily set to the southward obtained, when the wind was
northerly, differing in amount from two or three, to eight or
ten miles per day, according to the strength of the breeze,
but a northerly current was equally apparent, and fully to
the same amount, whenever the wind blew from the south-
ward. A circumstance more remarkable that these, however,
forced itself strongly upon my notice at this time, which was, |
that a westerly set was very frequently apparent, even against
a fresh breeze blowing from that quarter. I mention the
circumstance in this place, because I may hereafter have to
offer a remark or two on this fact, in connexion with some
others of a similar nature noticed elsewhere.

Witl?f respect to the dimensions of the ice through which
we had now scrambled our way, principally by warping and
towing, a distance of between three and four hundred miles,
I remarked that it for the most part increased, as well in the
thickness as the extent of the floes, as we advanced westward
about the parallel of 71°. - During our subsequent progress to

the north, we also met with some of enormous dimensions,

several of the floes, to which we applied our hawsers and the

OE Wiel iat au Geran ei

’ OF A\ NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 41

power of the improved capstan, being at their margin more
than twenty feet above the level of the sea; and over some of
_ these we could not see from the mast-head. Upon the whole,
however, the magnitude of the ice became somewhat less to-
wards the north-west, and within thirty miles of that margin
the masses were comparatively small, and their thickness
much diminished. Bergs were in sight during the whole
passage, but they were more numerous towards the middle of

the “pack,” and rather'the most so to the southward.

BR i ink i deat alg er te a mae -

3
q
’
.

ef
re

Brunnichii), dovekies (Colymbus Grylle), and ivory
(Larus Eburneus); but the rotges were by far the most nu-
merous, occurring, at times, in considerable flocks, and occu-
pying the small pools of open water between the floes, espe-
cially to the westward. A flock of ducks, appearing generally —
of the eider species, was also now and then observed, and
even as early as the middle of August these were always fly-
ing to the south-eastward. A few solitary seals, and two or
three bears, were all that we saw besides, only one or two
whales occurring till after we had entered Sir - ames Lancas-
_ ter’s Sound.

The birds we saw were rotges (lca Alle), looms @:

RR.

42 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

CHAPTER IL

ENTER SIR JAMES LANCASTER’S SOUND—LAND AT CAPE
WARRENDER—MEET WITH YOUNG ICE—SHIPS BESET AND
CARRIED NEAR THE SHORE—DRIVEN BACK TO NAVY-BOARD
INLET—RUN TO THE WESTWARD, AND ENTER PRINCE
REGENT’S INLET—ARRIVAL AT PORT BOWEN.

Ai our past obstacles were in a moment forgotten, when
_we once more saw an open sea before us; but it must be con-
fessed that it was not so easy to forget that the middle of
September was already near at hand, without having brought
us even to the entrance of Sir James Lancaster’s Sound.
That not a moment might be lost, however, in pushing to the
westward, a press of canvass was crowded, and being happily
favoured with an easterly breeze, on the morning of the 10th,
we caught a glimpse of the high bold land on the north side
of the magnificent inlet up which our course was once more to
be directed. From the time of our leaving the main body of
ice, we met with none of any kind, and the entrance of the
Sound was, as usual, entirely free from it, except here and
there a berg, floating about: in that solitary grandeur, of
which these enormous masses, when occurring in the midst
of an extensive sea, are calculated to convey so sublime an

idea. .

On the morning of the 11th, the ships being taken a-back
with a fresh westerly breeze, when near Cape Warrender, I
landed in a small bay close to the westward of it, accompa-
nied by several of the officers, in order to examine the coun-
try, and to make the necessary observations. Dr. Neill ob-
served, on landing, that ‘‘ the beach was covered with fragfhents
of flesh-coloured feldspar, closely studded with red garnets, va-
rying in size from that of a garden pea to that of a walnut.
We could with difficulty determine the nature of the forma-

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 43

tion of the coast, the surface of the ground being almost en-
_tirely covered, either with snow, luxuriant rein-deer moss, or
debris from the neighbouring hills. In one place, however,
we observed a small part of the rock in situ, and could with
certainty determine it to be of gneiss formation. Feldspar,
in large plates, thickly set with garnets, composed the greater
part of the rock: these plates were separated by thin layers of
quartz and mica, closely blended together, the strata dipping
in a northerly direction, at an angle of thirty degrees. We
_ found on the beach several nodules of clay-ironstone, but
i could not observe from whence they were detached.”
i The vegetation was scanty, but a few plants were added
to our collection by the gentlemen who accompanied me.
Our party was successful in killing three rein-deer out of a
small herd, the only one seen; these gave us one hundred and

. ninety-two pounds of venison, exclusive of the heads, hearts,
&e., which, as usual, became the perquisites of the successful
sportsmen. The latitude observed at our landin g-place, which
was on the eastern side of a bay, three-quarters of a mile wide,
and close to Cape Warrender, was 74° 28' 16", the longitude
by chronometers, 81° 51' 12" 9,* and the variation of the
magnetic needle, 104° 48’ 30" westerly.

' A narrow stream of water ran down the centre of the bay, ~
communicating witha small lagoon, just within the beach; and
on the steep side of a hill at the back of a considerable space
of level ground, fronting the bay, was an immense mass of

‘ snow and ice, containing strata of muddy-looking soil, the ru-

_ diments, perhaps, of some huge iceberg, which, ages hence,
may here be tumbling into the ocean.

On the morning of the 12th we were once more favoured

‘with a breeze from the eastward, but so light and unsteady,

that our progress was vexatiously slow; and on the 13th, when

. * This latitude will be found to agree exactly, and the longitude within
one mile of the position assigned to Cape Warrender in our chart of 1819,
and obtained by the intersection of astronomical bearings taken at a consi-
derable distance from the coast,

44 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

within seven leagues of Cape York, we had the mortification
to perceive the sea a-head of us covered with young ice, the
thermometer having, for two days past, ranged only from
18° to 20°. On reaching it we had, as usual, recourse to
‘<< sallying,”’ breaking it with boats a-head, and various other
expedients, all alike ineffectual without a fresh and free
breeze furnishing a constant impetus; so that after seven or
eight hours of unsuccessful labour in this way, we were
obliged to remain as we were, fairly and immoveably beset.

It now appeared high time to determine as to the propriety
of still continuing our efforts to push to the westward, or of
returning to England, according to my instructions on that
head, under particular circumstances. As the crossing of
the ice in Baffin’s Bay had of itself unexpectedly occupied —
nearly the whole of one season, it could not, of course, be
considered that the attempt to penetrate to the westward, in
the manner directed by their Lordships, had as yet been
made, nor could it, indeed, be made during the present year.
I could not, therefore, have a moment’s hesitation as to the
propriety of pushing on as far as the present season would
permit, and then giving a fair trial, during the whole of the
next summer, to the route I was directed by my instructions
to pursue. In order, however, to confirm my own opinion °
on this subject, I requested to be furnished with that of Captain
Hoppner; and finding that his views entirely agreed with my ©
own, I resolved still to pursue our object by all the means in
our power. |

The next breeze sprung up from the westward, drawing
also from the southward, at times, out of Prince Regent’s In-
let, and for three days we were struggling with the young
ice to little or no purpose, now and then gaining half a mile
of ground to windward in a little ‘‘ hole” of open water, then
losing as much by the necessity of bearing up, or wearing,
(for the ice was too strong to allow us to tack) sallying from
morning to night with all hands, and with the watch at night,
two boats constantly under the bows; and after all, rather

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. © 45

losing ground than otherwise, while the young ice was every
hour increasing in thickness.

- On the 17th, when we had driven back rather to the east- -
ewd of Admiralty Inlet, an easterly breeze again enabled us
to make some progress, The sea was now, for the most part,
covered with young ice, which had become so thick as to look
white throughout its whole extent. The holes of water could
now, therefore, be more distinctly seen, and by taking ad-
vantage of these, we succeeded in making a few miles of
westing, the “leads”? taking us more in-shore, towards Ad-
miralty Inlet, than before. Towards sun-set we became more -

and more hampered, and were eventually beset during the

night. A breeze sprung up from the westward, which in-
ereasing to a fresh gale, we found ourselves at daylight, far to
the eastward, and also within two miles of the land, near a

_ long low point, which, on the former voyages, had not been

seen. The sea was covered with ice between us and the shore,
all of this year’s formation, but now of considerable thickness

and formidable appearance. ‘The wind continuing strong, the

whole body was constantly pressed in upon the land, bearing

the ships along with it, and doubling one sheet over another,

sometimes to a hundred thicknesses. We quickly shoaled the
water from seventy to forty fathoms, the latter depth occur-
ring about a mile from the beach; and after this we drifted
but little, the ice being blocked up: between the point and a

_high perpendicular berg lying a-ground off it.

The sails being furled, and the top-gallant yards got. down,

- we now considered ourselves fortunate in our situation; for

had we been only a quarter of a mile further out, we should
have been within the influence of a current that was there
sweeping the whole body of ice to the eastward, at the rate
of a mile and a half an hour. Indeed, at times, this current.
was disposed to approach us still nearer, carrying away pieces
of ice close to our quarter; but by means of long hawsers,
secured to the heaviest and most compact of the small floes
in-shore of us, we contrived to hold on. Undersuch circum-

46. THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

_stances, it evidently became expedient to endeavour, by saw-
ing, to get the ships as close in-shore as possible, so as to
. secure them either to grounded ice, or by anchoring within
the shelter of a bay at no great distance inside of us; for it
now seemed not unlikely that winter was about to put a pre-
mature stop to all further operations at sea for this season.
_ At all events it was necessary to consult the immediate safety
of the ships, and to keep them from being drifted back to the
eastward. I, therefore, gave orders for endeavouring to get
the ships in towards the bay, by cutting through what level
floes still remained At the same time an officer was de-
spatched to examine the shore, which was found safe, with
regular soundings in every part. So strong had been the
pressure while the ice was forcing in upon us, that after libe- —
rating the Hecla on one side, she was as firmly cemented to it
on the other, as after a winter’s formation, and we could only
clear her by heavy and repeated ‘sallying.”” After cutting
in two or three hundred yards, while the people were at din-
ner on the 21st, our canal closed, by the external pressure
coming upon the parts which we had weakened, and in a
few minutes the whole was once more in motion, or, as the
seamen not inaptly expressed it, ‘‘alive,”’? mass doubling un-
der mass, and raising those which were uppermost to a consi-
derable height. The ice thus pressed together was now about
ten feet in thickness in some places, and, on an average, not
less than four or five, so that while thus forced in upon a ship,
although soft in itself, it caused her to tremble exceedingly; a
sensation, indeed, commonly experienced in forcing through
young ice of considerable thickness. We were now once more
obliged to be quiet spectators of what was going on around us,
having, with extreme difficulty, succeeded in saving most of
our tools that were lying on the ice when the squeezing sud-.
denly began. Towards evening we made fast to-a stationary
floe, at. the distance of one mile from the beach, in eighteen
fathoms, where we remained tolerably quiet for the night, the
ice outside of us, and as far as we could see, setting constantly,

it.
. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. © 47

ata great rate, to the eastward. Some of our gentlemen, who
had landed in the course vf the day, and who had to scramble

their way on board over the ice in motion, described the bay

as deeper than it appeared from the offing. Dr. Neill «found,
on such parts of the beach as were not covered with ice or
snow, fragments of bituminous shale, flinty slate, and iron-
stone, interspersed amongst a blue-coloured limestone gravel.
As far as he was able to travel inland, the surface was com-
posed of secondary limestone, partially covered with a thin
layer of calc-sinter. From the scantiness of the vegetation
here, the limestone seemed likely to contain a large propor-
tion of magnesia. Dr. Neill was about to examine for coal,
which the formation led him to expect, when the ice was ob-
served to be in motion, obliging him hastily to return on
board.’’. Lieutenant Ross ‘‘ found, about two-thirds up a small
peaked insulated hill of limestone, between three and four
hundred feet above the level of the sea, several pieces of coal,
which he found to burn with a clear bright flame, crackling
much, and throwing off slaty splinters.”

Hares’ burrows were numerous on this hill; Lieutenant Ross
saw two of these animals, one of which he killed. A fox was
also observed, in its summer dress; and these, with a pair of
ravens, some wingless ducks, and several snow-buntings, were
all the animals noticed at this place.

A sudden motion of the ice, on the morning of the 22nd,

- occasioned by a change of wind to the S.E:, threatened to

carry us directly off the land. It was now, more than ever,
desirable to hold on, as this breeze was likely to clear the shore,
and, at the same time, to give us a run to the westward. Haw-
sers, were, therefore, run out to the land-ice, composed of.
some heavy masses, almost on the beach. With the Hecla
this succeeded, but the Fury being much further from the

_ shore, soon began to move out with the whole body of ice,

which, carrying her close to the large berg off the point,
swept her round, the latter, where, after great exertion, Cap-

_ tain Hoppner succeeded in getting clear, and then made sail to

So ioe

fn.

e
ma

48 oPHIRD VOYAGE POR THE DISCOVERY

beat back tous. In the mean time the strain put upon the .
Hecla’s hawsers being too great for them, they snapped, one
after another, and a bower-anchor was let go, as a last resource.
It was one of Hawkins’s, with the double fluke, and imme-
diately brought up, not merely the ship, but a large floe of .
young ice, which had just broken our stream-cable. All hands
were sent upon the floe to cut it up a-head, and the whole ope-
ration was a novel, and at times a fearful one; for the ice, be-
ing weakened by the cutting, would suddenly gather fresh-way
a-stern, carrying men and tools with it, while the chain-cable
continued to plough through it in a manner which gave one
the idea of something alive, and continually renewing its at-
tacks. ‘The anchor held surprisingly, and after this tremen-
dous strain had been put upon it for above an hour, we had
fairly cut the floe in two, and the ship was riding in clear wa-
ter about half a mile from the shore.

I was now in hopes we should have made some progress, for
a large channel of clear water was left open in-shore; a breeze
blew off the land, and the temperature of the atmosphere had
again risen considerably: We had not sailed five miles, how-
ever, when a westerly wind took us a-back, and a most dan-
gerous swell set directly upon the shore, obliging me imme-
diately to stand off the land; and the Fury being still to the
eastward of the point, I ran round it, in order to rejoin her be-
fore sunset. The current was here setting very fast to the

- eastward, not less, I think, in some places, than two miles an

hour, so that, even in a clear sea, we had little chance of stem-
ming it, much less beset as we were in young ice during an —
unusually dark night of nine or ten hours’ duration, with a
heavy fall of snow. The consequence was, that when we
made the land on the morning of the 23rd, we had been
drifted the incredible distance of eight or nine leagues during
the night; finding ourselves off the Wollaston Islands, at the
entrance of Navy Board Inlet. We stood in under the islands
to look for anchorage during the night, but the water being
everywhere too deep close to the shore, we made fast at

®

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. .. le 49
: vat

_ sunset to some very heavy ice upon a point, which we took

_ to be the main-land, but which Captain Hoppner afterwards

found to be upon one of the islands, which are at least four in
number.

Here we found the current still setting to the eastward, and

__ at one time during the night it was so strong against a fresh

easterly wind, that we were obliged to set our top-sails a-back,

_ ‘to keep the ships clear of the ice. At length, on the morn- °
ing of the 24th, before daylight, one of the anchors slipped - teat
out by the sheering of the ship, and the other hawser imme- :
diately breaking, we made sail off the land. At daylight, the °

. easterly wind having freshened to a gale, and dispersed almost

the whole of the young ice, I made the Fury’s signal to join

us as soon as she had saved our hawsers, and we then bore up

along the land to the westward. We had a fine run during

the day, but towards evening met with a great deal of young

ice packed together by the breeze now blowing. We also met

here with some “old ice,” one floe of which, or rather field, Ne

was immensely heavy, and too extensive to see over. About

Cape Craufurd it led us close in with the land, which is all so

bold in this neighbourhood as to leave nothing to fear in that

respect, and after running till eleven at night, we hove-to for a

daylight, some ice being seen a-head. The wind died away ee

at midnight, and was succeeded soon after by a contrary breeze, ie
the thermometer gradually falling from 28° in the morning ae

17° at night, so that our enemy, the young ice, once more be-

gan to exert its influence. Being off Eardley Bay, towards

sunset, and observing that the current still set to the eastward,

I went in-shore in a boat, to look for some place of tolerable

security in which the ships might hold on during the night,

but without success. We were, therefore, under the necessity

of taking our chance under-way, if the latter term may be

applied to ships that, for eight hours, did not move ten times

their own length through the young ice. I was glad to find in

the morning, however, that we had lost little or no ground, by

7

Airs Vale heey. fey

” oo, aa THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

which it appeared that the current, which, on the evening be-"
fore, was setting to the eastward in-shore, at the rate of not
less than a knot and a half, did not extend to the deeper water
in the offing. On.the 26th we were favoured with an easterly
breeze, which, gradually freshening, promised, in earnest, to
take usinto Prince: Regent’s Inlet. We sailed through many
miles of tough young ice, with a heavy press of canvass, keep-
ing two boats a-head, by ropes attached to the bowsprit, till
it was dangerous to do so any longer, and in a few hours found
ourselves within the inlet, and in perfectly clear water in-shore,
the breeze having driven all the young ice off the land, as
well as a body of old floes, which just left us room: to sail
within it. The wind came in extremely hard gusts, out of
every ravine and valley, with which this coast abounds, oblig-
ing us to lower our small sails frequently; and soon after dark

_a gale came on so suddenly as scarcely to give us time for

taking in our canvass. Having reduced to the maintop-sail
and stormésails, and the sea not being heavy, in consequence
of the wind being well off the land, we passed the night with-
out accident, though in constant anxiety, from the expectation
of meeting with the main body of ice under our lee. The
weather was, in truth, most inclement, being extremely dark,
and small snow being drifted off the hills in such continued

clouds as to make it impossible to look to windward, and

rendering both the atmosphere and the sea extremely thick.
After midnight the wind began to moderate, and by de-
grees also drew more to the southward than before. At day-
light, therefore, we found ourselves seven or eight miles from
the land; but no ice was in sight, except the “sludge,” of
honey-like consistence, with which almost the whole sea was
covered. A strong blink, extending along the eastern horizon,
pointed out the position of the main body of ice, which was
farther distant from the eastern shore of the inlet than I ever
saw it. Being assisted by a fine working breeze, which, at
the same time, preyented the formation of any more ice to

yea is ee caer “We eh em

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. —:—«sO#SS*dLL:

_ pbstruct us, we made considerable progress along the land, and

‘at noon were nearly a-breast of Jackson Inlet, which we now
saw to be considerably larger than our distant view of it on
the former voyage had led us to supposé. We found also
that what at a distance appeared an island in the entrance,
was, in reality, a dark-looking rocky hill, on the south side.
A few more tacks brought us to the entrance of Port Bowen,
which, for two or three days past, I had determined to make
our wintering-place, if, as there was but little reason to ex-
pect, we should be so fortunate as to push the ships thus far.
My reasons for coming to this determination, in which Cap-
tain Hoppner’s opinion also served to confirm me, will be
sufficiently gathered from the operations of the preceding fort-
night, which convinced me that the precarious chance of
making a few miles more progress could no longer be suffered

a.

to weigh against the evident risk now attending further at-

tempts at navigation: a risk not confined to the mere expo-
sure of the ships to imminent danger, or the hazard of being
shut out of a winter-harbour, but to one which, I may be per-

“mitted to say, we all dreaded as much as these,—the t06 ob-

vious probability of our once more being driven back to the
eastward, should we again become hampered in the young
ice. Joining to this the additional consideration that no known
place of security existed to the southward on this coast, I had
not the smallest hesitation in availing myself. of the present
epportunity to get the ships into harbour. Beating up, there-

fore, to Port Bowen, we found it filled with “old? and

«“ hummocky” ice, attached to the shores on both sides, as

low down as about three-quarters of a mile below Stoney

Island. Here we made fast in sixty-two fathoms’ water, run-

ning our hawsers far in upon the ice, in case of its breaking

off at the margin.

On entering Port Bowen, I was forcibly struck with the
circumstance of the cliffs on the south side of the harbour
being, in many places, covered with a layer of blue transpa-

&

* .
52° THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

rent-looking ice, occasioned undoubtedly by the snow par-
tially thawing there, and then being arrested by the frost, and
presenting a feature very indicative of the late cold summer.
The same thing was observed on all the land to which we
made a near approach on the south side of Barrow’s Strait this
season, especially about Cape York and Eardley Bay; but as
we had never been close to these parts of the shore in 1819,
it did not occur to me as any thing new, or worthy of notice.
At Port Bowen, however, which, in that year, was closely
examined, I am quite certain that no such thing was to be
seen, even in the month of August, the cliffs being then quite
clear of snow, except here and there a patch of drift.

Though it was evident that we could not possibly get the
ships round Stoney Island, into the proper anchorage (neither
indeed was it desirable, on account of our prospects of an

“early release in the spring), yet it was expedient to remove
them immediately from the sea-margin of the ice, by cutting
a canal into the floe as far as was necessary for their security;
a work that was accordingly commenced on the following day.
The ®abour proved extremely heavy for the men, the floe
being thick and full of large hummocks; but considerable pro-
gress had been made on the morning of the 29th, when a gale
came on from the. eastward, which for six or seven hours
blew in gusts, and with a violence I never remember to have

_seen exceeded, occasioned probably by the high lands between
which we were lying. Masses of ice constantly breaking off

from the edge of the floe, kept us in continual apprehension
of our hawsers being snapped by the additional strain thus oc-
casionly brought upon them, in which case we should have
been driven to sea, and probably into the old ice, which had

_ been in sight all day off the harbour. Happily, however, we
held on, and were enabled to resume our work the following
day, the canal already cut being now scarcely perceptible,
from the washing away of the ice composing its sides. On
the evening of the Ist of October, we had accomplished

_

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 53

enough for our purpose, and the ships were warped into their
winter-stations, which we had the satisfaction to think were
extremely favourable for an early release in the spring. :

We lay here in fifty-three fathoms water, over a bottom of
_very soft mud. The sea, soon after, being covered on the

outside with a floe of young ice, which was not again removed
for the winter, we suffered no further disturbance; but the

easterly winds were occasionally so violent for several days —

after this, that I did not consider the ships sufficiently secure
for commencing the winter arrangements, until the bower-
cables were carried out from each, and taken round large
hummocks of ice, as far up the harbour as possible. After

- these precautions had been taken, we were finally settled

about the middle of October.
Late as we had this year been in reaching Sir James Lan-

- easter’s Sound, there would still have been time for a ship

engaged in the whale-fishery to have reaped a tolerable har-
vest, as we met with a number of whales in every part of it,
and even as far as the entrance of Port Bowen. The number
registered altogether in our journals is between twenty,and
thirty, but I have no doubt that many more than these were
seen, and that a ship expressly on the look-out for them would
have found full occupation for her boats. Several which
came near us were of large and ‘‘payable’’ dimensions. 1
confess, however, that had I been within the Sound, in a

_ whaler, towards the close of so unfavourable a season as this,

with the young ice forming so rapidly on the whole extent of

’ the sea, I should not have been disposed to persevere in the

fishery under circumstances so precarious, and to a ship un-
prepared for a winter involving such evident risk. It is pro-
bable, however, that on the outside the formation of young
ice would have been much retarded by the swell; and I am

inclined to believe that a season so unfavourable as this will
be found of rare occurrence. ,

We observed a great many narwhals in different parts of
Barrow’s Strait, and a few walruses, and should perhaps have

54 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

seen many more of both, but for the continual presence of
the young ice.

I shall close this season’s narrative with the result of a few
experiments made at different times on the specific gravity

and temperature of the Sea-water at various depths below the.
surface.

WATER BROUGHT UP Temp. of
1824. Irom
Pp. when i
DAY. TIME. From a Specific Brot | a F Atmo- RENARES
depth of |Gravity. Neste Bro’t | ater| Sphere.
pee Ma Rasen as
Fathoms --°' |9 A of ae
June 24.) 8P.M. 48 Sas 34 32
July 8)10.30AM} 109) . ||. .133 1137 | 37.5 | whole depth 2 fa.
(|) Surface|1 .0039157 > thoms.

| 3 |1.0204167
13 |1.0290|71

| | :
18, a a sige B . 131.5|31t033| Closely surrounded

1

30 11 0261/66 | Bt ae hoaies
100 |1.0257|72

\} 215 | o267/57_|J

5

C Surface 0018 55
1.0191/59.5
10 1.0256/57
- 1.0257/61
} 1.0267/59.5) Il, Q : .
25. P.M: < 50 1.0267 59.5 ‘a 32.5 34.5 Bi,
100 |1.0264|55.5
200 11 .0271156 ©
i 300 |1.0270/58
L 400 |1.0263/59.5| J

5 11.0255]/52 a Oe
30/128. 5! 18 2 |sight: whole deptho
300 |1.0275)52 ra water 365 fathoms.
Whole depth 210 fa-
13.) Aim. || 200 11.0962161 28. 5/98. 3] 20 $ | ,ynole depth 210 fa
r Dissolyed from —
} |young salt-water ice
18). . . 1 Surfacel1.0087/50 |. . an ineh thick, con-

getable substance.

From a paft of a
19 is dd dh ORNS OOLAMT .. | © +5 Joerg, dissolved on
’ board for drinking.
Oct. 2.) P.M. | a Nae i .|29 los } 18.5 7

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE 55

CHAPTER III. |

WINTER ARRANGEMENTS—IMPROVEMENTS IN WARMING AND
VENTILATING THE SHIPS—MASQUERADES ADOPTED AS AN
AMUSEMENT TO THE MEN—ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHOOLS—
MAGNETIC AND ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS—METEO-
ROLOGICAL PHENOMENA.

Our present winter-arrangements so closely resembled, in
general, those before adopted, that a fresh description of them
here would prove little more than a repetition of that already
contained in the narratives of our former voyages. On each
succeeding occasion, however, some improvements were made
which, for the benefit of those hereafter engaged in similar
enterprises, it may be proper to record. For all those whose
lot it may be to succeed us, sooner or later, in these inhospi-
table regions, may be assured that it is only by rigid and un-
remitted attention to these and numberless other “ little
things,”’ that they can hope to enjoy the good state of health
which, under the divine blessing, it has always been our hap-
piness, in so extraordinary a degree, to experience.

In the description I shall offer of the appearances of nature;
and of the various occurrences, during this winter, I know
not how I can do better than pursue a method similar to that

heretofore practised, by confining myself rather to the point-

ing out of any difference observed in them now and formerly,
than by entering on a fresh description of the actual pheno-
mena. ‘To those who read, as well as to those who describe,
the account of a winter passed in these regions can no longer
be expected to afford the interest of novelty it once possessed ;
more especially in a station already delineated with a tolerable
geographical precision on our maps, and thus, as it were,
brought near to our fire-sides at home. Independently, in-

ee ae ae

56 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

deed, of this circumstance, it is hard to conceive any one thing
more like another than two winters passed in the higher lati-
tudes of the Polar regions, except when variety happens to be
afforded by intercourse with some other branch .of ‘ the
whole family of man.” Winter after winter, nature here
assumes an aspect so much alike, that cursory observation can
searcely detect a single feature of variety. The winter of
more temperate climates, and even in some of no slight seve-
rity, is occasionally diversified by a thaw, which at once gives
variety and comparative cheerfulness to the prospect. But
here, when once the earth is covered, all is dreary monoto-
nous whiteness—not merely for days or weeks, but for more
than half a year together. Whichever way the eye is turned,
it meets a picture calculated to impress upon the mind an idea
of inanimate stillness, of that motionless torpor with which
our feelings have nothing congenial; of anything, in short,
but life. In the very silence there is a deadness with which
a human spectator appears out of keeping. The presence of
man seems an intrusion on the dreary solitude of this wintry
desert, which even its native animals -have for a while
forsaken.

As this general description of the aspect of nature would —

suit alike each winter we have passed in the ice, so also, with

very little variation, might our limited catalogue of occurren-
ces and adventures serve equally for any one of those seasons.
Creatures of circumstance, we act and feel as we did before

on every like occasion, and as others will probably do after us"

in the same situation. Whatever difference time or events
may have wrought in individual feelings, and however differ-
ent the occupations which those feelings may have suggested,
they are not such as, without impertinence, can be intruded

upon others; with these “the stranger intermeddleth not.”

I am persuaded, therefore, that I shall be excused in sparing

the dulness of another winter’s diary, and confining myself

exclusively to those facts which appear to possess any scien-

tific interest, to the few incidents which did diversify our
i: 4

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. — 57

confinement, and. to such remarks as may contribute to the
health and comfort of any future sojourners in these dreary
regions...

It may well be sipposed that, in this climate, the pritiaipel
desideratum which art is called upon to furnish for the pro-
* motion of health, is warmth, as well in the external air as in
the inhabited apartments. Exposure to a cold atmosphere,
when the body is well clothed, produces no bad effect. what-
ever beyond a frost-bitten cheek, nose, or finger. As for any
injury to healthy lungs from the breathing of cold air, or from
sudden changes from this into a warm atmosphere, or vice
versa, it may with much confidence be asserted that, with
due attention to external clothing, there is nothing in this re-
spect to be apprehended. This inference, at least, would ap-
pear legitimate, from the fact that our crews, consisting of
one hundred and twenty persons, have for four winters been
constantly undergoing, for months together, a change of from
eighty to a hundred degrees of temperature, in the space of
time required for opening two doors, (perhaps less than half
a minute) without incurring any pulmonary complaints at all,
Nor is a covering for the mouth at all necessary under these
circumstances, though to most persons very conducive to
comfort; for some individuals, from extreme dislike to the
pies henna and freezing of the breath about the ‘ comfort-

” generally used for this purpose, have never worn any
Po defence for the mouth; and this without the slightest
injurious effect or uncomfortable feeling beyond that of a cold
face, which becomes comparatively trifling by habit.

In speaking of the external clothing sufficient for health in
this climate, it must. be confessed that, in severe exposure,
quite a Joad of woollen clothes, even of the best quality, is in-
sufficient to retain a comfortable degree of warmth; a strong
breeze carrying it off so rapidly that the sensation is that of
the cold piercing through the body. A jacket made very
long, like those called by seamen ‘‘ pea-jackets,’’? and lined
with. fur throughout, would be more effectual than twice the

8

58 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

weight of woollen clothes, and is indeed almost weather proot.
For the prevention of lumbago, to which our seamen are espe-
cially liable, from their well-known habit of leaving their loins
imperfectly clothed, every man should be strictly obliged to
wear, under his outer clothes, a canvas belt a foot broad, lined
with flannel, and having straps to go over the shoulder. *

It is certain, however, that no precautions in clothing are
sufficient to maintain health during a polar winter, without a
due degree of warmth in the apartments we inhabit. Most
persons are apt to associate with the idea of warmth, some-
thing like the comfort derived from a good fire on a winter’s
evening at home; but in these regions the case is inconceivably
different: here itis not simple comfort, but health, and there-
fore ultimately life, that depends upon it. The want of a con-
stant supply of warmth is here immediately followed by a con-
- densation of all the moisture, whether from the breath, victuals,

or other sources, into abundant drops of water, very rapidly
forming on all the coldest parts of the deck. A still lower
temperature modifies, and perhaps improves the annoyance by
converting it into ice, which again an occasional increase of
warmth dissolves into water. Nor is this the amount of the
evil, though it is the only visible part of it; for not only is a
_ moist atmosphere thus incessantly kept up, but it. is rendered
stagnant also by the want of that ventilation which warmth
alone can furnish. With an apartment in this state, the men’s
- clothes and bedding are continually in a moist and unwhole-
some condition, generating a deleterious air which there is no
circulation to carry off; and whenever these circumstances
combine for any length of time together, so surely may the
scurvy, to say nothing of other diseases, be confidently ex-
pected to exhibit itself.
With a strong conviction of these facts, arising from the ex-

* Most Greenland sailors use ae but many persons, both ones and
men, have an absurd prejudice against what they call “ wearing stays.”

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 59

_ treme anxiety with which I have been accustomed to watch
every minute circumstance connected with the health of our
people, it may be conceived how highly I must appreciate any
means that can be devised to counteract effects so. pernicious.
‘Such means have been completely furnished by Mr. Sylves-
ter’s warming apparatus, a contrivance of which I scarcely
know how to express my admiration in adequate terms. The
alteration adopted on this voyage of placing this stove in the
very bottom of the hold, produced not only the effect naturally
to be expected from it, of increasing the rapidity of the cur-
rent of warm air, and thus carrying it to-all the officers’ ca-
bins with less loss of heat in its passage; but was also accom-
panied by an advantage scarcely less important, which had noz¢
been anticipated. This was the perfect and uniform warmth
maintained during the winter in both the cable-tiers, which,
when cleared of all the stores, gave us another habitable deck,
on which more'than one-third of the men’s hammocks were
birthed; thus affording to the ship’s companies, during seven
or eight months of the year, the indescribable comfort of nearly
twice the space for their beds, and twice the volume of air to
breathe in. It need scarcely be added, how conducive to
wholesome ventilation, and to the prevention of moisture be-
low, such an arrangement proved; suffice it to say that we have
never before been so free from moisture, and that I cannot but
chiefly attribute to this apparatus the unprecedented good state
of health we enjoyed during this winter.
The mean daily temperature upon the Hecla’s lower-deck
during the winter isgiven in the meteorological abstracts; in the
_ tiers it was generally about 60°, and never below 56°, and that
of my cabin (hitherto much the coldest part of the ship) was
63°, from December to April inclusive. The two coldest of
the officers’ cabins, which were ‘those at the foot of the after-
ladder, varied between 50° and 60°, the mean being about 56°,
and all the others were several degrees higher. Mr. Daniell’s
hygrometer was tried on several occasions in different parts of

60 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

the ship. The following examples will show how great a de-
gree of dryness was maintained below:—

Temp. of : Temp. of Bis
Day. ie Part of the Ship. He The Dew — Remarks.
Ext.Air. Apartment. gis
h. m "

Jan. 9,11 30a.m. —22° Middle of lower- deck-67. 5 4.53. 5 All the people
had been on

' thelower-deck

for an hour and

a half previous-

ly, but were off

the deck at the

time.
Captain’scabin . . +64 ah A few people
Apr.5,11 30. —20°3Gun-room. . . . +642 +504 below; the cop-
‘ Middle of lower- deck -L63, 5 +55 persboiling,and
: meat taking out.
—11,930p.m.4+6° . . . Ditto . . --66 +55 The ship’scom-
pany in bed, ©

I must add to these remarks, which the vital importance
of the subject has alone induced me to continue to such a
length, that no means for the production of internal warmth
will prove sufficient, without the most minute attention to
the stopping of every crevice communicating with the exter-
nal air. ‘There should, on'this account, be no openings what-
ever, but those for the stove-pipes and the two ladders; the
sides and upper-deck should be lined with thick cork, the
former being defended also externally by a high and broad
bank of snow, and the latter by a thick covering of snow and
sand, especially over the closed hatchways, where it is ex-
tremely difficult to prevent an accumulation of moisture be-
low. Ihave heard a doubt expressed whether, with all these
precautions, there is not a risk of not admitting enough fresh
air for healthy respiration, and to afford draught to the fires.
But I do not think there is any reason for this apprehension;
enough, and, without great care, more than enough, for these
purposes will always gain admission by the frequent opening
of the doors; for it should be remembered that the more

Yea NN age pert pM

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. © 61

warmth is produced below, the more forcibly will the cold
air from above find its way in to supply the place of that
which is rarefied. A constant struggle is thus going on
between the two; and that wholesome ventilation, whereby
a warm and dry atmosphere can alone be maintained in a
crowded apartment in any climate, and in most temperate
ones is best promoted by a free admission of atmospheric air,
is here most effectually ensured by due care not to let the cold
preponderate. It was found a great improvement, during
the winter, to turn the fore-ladder “fore and aft,’’ so that
whatever cold air came down in opening the doors, immedi- —
ately passed towards the galley-fire, by this means prevent-
ing, for the first time, any condensation of vapour at the foot
of the ladder. We also derived great advantage from lead-
ing the pipe of Sylvester’s stove, and that in the sick-bay,
into the galley-funnel, thus getting rid of all but one chim-
ney, which being a large one, was quite sufficient for ven-
tilation.

The ventilation which goes on upon a ship’s lower-deck,
especially when assisted by the excellent means above alluded
to, exhibits itself curiously in cold weather, by the quantity
of vapour which is always visibly ascending through the gal-
ley-funnel, like a dense column of smoke, and which is most
dense at night, when everybody is below, and there is no
fire in the range; because the vapour is then most abundant
and most rapidly condensed in its ascent. Another curious
phenomenon generally takes place in the day-time, when the .
fires are clear, and very little besides aqueous vapour is es-
caping. The smoke (for such it appears to be) is divided
into two separate streams, one at each side of the cylin-
der as you look at it, while in the centre nothing is percep- —
tible. ig

The explanation suggested by Dr. Neill is quite satisfacto-
ry. The cold iron condenses the vapour in immediate con-
tact with it into a visible form, while that in the centre is held
in solution by the warm air at a distance from the metal; and

62 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

as the spectator always looks through several strata of this
condensed vapour at the sides, and only through one in the
middle, the effect becomes that above described.

One very healthy comfort which I had long wished to esta-
- blish for the ship’s company, but could never till now venture
to attempt, was that of providing the conveniences for a certain
number of men daily to wash themselves from head to foot in
tubs of hot water, throughout the winter. For this purpose,
a portion of one of the tiers was skreened off every morning,
and the practice was continued during our whole stay in win-
ter-quarters, without the slightest annoyance from moisture;
so capable was the atmosphere below of holding this addition-
al vapour in solution.

Every attention was, as usual, paid to the occupation and
diversion of the men’s minds, as well as to the regularity of
their bodily exercise. Our former amusements being almost
worn threadbare, it required some ingenuity to devise any
plan that should possess the charm of novelty to recommend
it. This purpose was completely answered, however, by a
proposal of Captain Hoppner, to attempt a masquerade, in
which officers and men should alike take a part, but which,
without imposing any restraint whatever, would leave every
one to their own choice, whether to join in this diversion or
not. It is impossible that any idea could have proved more
happy, or more exactly suited to our situation. Admirably-
dressed characters of various descriptions readily took their
parts, and many of these were supported with a degree of
spirit and genuine humour which would not have distraced a
a more refined assembly; while the latter might not ae dis-
dained, and would not have been disgraced by, copying the
good order, decorum, and inoffensive cheerfulness which our
humble masquerades presented. It does especial credit to the
dispositions and good sense of our men, that, though all the offi-
cers entered fully into the spirit of these amusements, which
took place once a month, alternately on board each ship, no
instance occurred of any thing that could interfere with the

1 he) a

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 63

yegular discipline, or at all weaken the respect of the men to-
wards their superiors. Ours were masquerades byes ii
-centiousness—carnivals without excess. .

But an occupation not less assiduously pursued, and of infi-
nitely more eventual benefit, was furnished by the re-establish-
ment of our schools, under the voluntary superintendence’ of
my friend Mr. Hooper in the Hecla, and of Mr. Mogg in the
Fury. By the judicious zeal of Mr. Hooper, the Hecla’s
school was madé subservient not merely to the improvement
of the men in ‘reading and writing (in which, however, their
progress was ‘surprisingly great), but also to the cultivation of

_that religious feeling which so essentially improves the charac-
ter of a seaman, by furnishingdhe highest motives for increased
attention to every other duty. Nor was the benefit confined
to the eighteen or twenty individuals whose want of scholar-
ship brought them to the school-table, but extended itself to
the rest of the ship’s company, making the whole lower-
deck such a scene of quiet rational occupation as I never be-
fore witnessed on board a ship. And I do not speak lightly
when I express my thorough persuasion, that to the moral ef-
fects thus produced upon the minds of the men, were owing,
in a very high degree, the constant yet sober cheerfulness, the
uninterrupted good order, and even, in some measure, the ex-
traordinary state of health which prevailed among us during
this winter.

Immediately after the ships were finally secured, we erected

the observatory on shore, and commenced our arrangements
for the various observations to which our attention was to be
directed during the winter. The interest of these, especially
of such as related to magnetism, increased so much as we pro-
ceeded, that the neighbourhood of the observatory assumed,
ere long, almost the appearance of a scattered village, the num-
ber of detached houses having various needles set up in them,
soon amounting to seven oreight. The details of these obser-
vations being given in the proper tables, it is only my inten-
tion to offer ‘here a brief account of the subjects on which we

64 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

were principally engaged, together with the general conclu-
‘sions at which the experiments enabled us satisfactorily to
arrive. :

The first observations on the variation of the magnetic nelle:
on our arrival at Port Bowen, discovered to us the interesting
fact of an increase in that phenomenon, since our former visit
in 1819, amounting to about nine degrees, namely, from one
hundred and fourteen to one hundred and twenty-three degrees.
By employing delicately suspended, instead of supported
needles, we also found a diurnal variation to an amount, and
having a regularity, of which we had before no idea. The
maximum variation westerly was observed to occur between
the hours of ten, A. M., and ong, Pp m.; and the minimum be-
tween eight, p. m., and two, a. M.;* the quantity being seldom
less than 13° to 9°, and sometimes amounting to five, shi and
even to seven degrees.

In connexion with these oheennaeiods we subsequently in-
stituted a regular series of hourly experiments on the magnetic
intensity, with a suspended needle of a peculiar construction,
which admitted of the intervals of vibration being observed
with minute accuracy; by which means we found a diurnal
change of intensity, subject, indeed, to occasional anomalies,
but in the mean of a number of days exhibiting a regular in-
crease of intensity from the: morning to the afternoon, and as
regular a decrease from the afternoon to the morning. It also
appeared that the sun, and, as we had reason to believe, the
relative position of the sun and moon, with reference to the
magnetic sphere, had a considerable influence both on the in-
tensity and diurnal variation, although the exact laws of this
influence may still remain to be discovered.

While unassisted Nature was thus developing, on a large
scale, some curious facts on the subject of magnetism, Lieu-

* The exact time of diurnal maximum variation, deduced from a mean of
one hundred and twenty days, or about four months’ observations, was 11h.
49m., 4.™. That of the minimum variation was 10h. 01m., p, a1.

*

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 65

tenant Foster was besides engaged in repeating the interesting
and important experiments of Messrs. Barlow and Christie
(detailed in the Philosoph. Trans. for 1823, part il. ) upon a
_ needle having its position modified, and its directive power re-
duced, by the application of artificial magnets. A very curious
and remarkable result soon repaid his labour, namely, that the
frue bearing upon which a needle exhibits its minimum vari-
ation (we might, perhaps, venture to call it none), is the same
at Port Bowen as at Woolwich, or about S. 38° E.,* which
would almost lead to a conclusion that this is a constant line all
over the world. A similar coincidence seemed to obtain, with
respect to the magnetic bearing of the line of mazximuwm varia-
tion, which here appeared to be about N. 66° E., agreeing
very nearly with that determined in England by Mr. Barlow.
We did not succeed in obtaining, during the winter, any
satisfactory results directly tending to establish the fact of a
regular diurnal variation in the dip, either with a dipping-
needle having its magnetic intensity weakened by the influ-
ence of artificial magnets, or otherwise; although, from the
ever-varying changes of intensity by which a horizontal needle
is solicited, it would appear that correspondent alterations in
_ the dip must necessarily be going on.

I have purposely deferred to this place the few remarks I
shall offer, in my journal, respecting Mr. Barlow’s plate for
correcting the effect of local attraction on board a ship. Pre-
viously to the expedition leaving the river Thames, and when
all the stores had been received, the plate on board the Hecla
was fixed by experiment, under Mr. Barlow’s personal super-
intendence, at Northfleet, in such a manner as would undoubt-
edly have afforded a correction, if not quite absolute, at least ’
sufficiently so for every practical purpose, in all but the polar
regions of the earth. On our passage up Davis’ Strait, how-.
ever, it was observed that, in certain positions of the ship’s
head, of course principally those approaching to east or west,

* Or S. 85° W. at Port Bowen (magnetic). See Mr. Barlow’s Essay..
9

Hay rks oe We if ™, Pe oe Mein! us oak (URAL kasi het pail sats A! fe EI a tN
wrt yea Sty ah rahe bs is
4 * ‘ Ca Pendens. (ay

66 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

a considerable and increasing error was still occasioned by the
attraction of the iron. A little consideration served to show
that this might a priori have been anticipated, on account of
the extreme minuteness with which, under a directive power
very greatly diminished, it would be necessary to determine
the true position of the plate; for instance, an error.in position
not at all to be detected by observation at Northfleet would, in
Davis’ Strait, discover itself to the amount perhaps of several
degrees, inasmuch as the whole phenomenon is there exhibited
on a larger scale, proportionate to the decrease of directive
energy. During our stay at the Whale-fish Islands, therefore,
we gladly availed ourselves of the opportunity to obtain the
correct position of the plate. In doing this, we followed the
simple method recommended and adopted by Mr. Barlow,
Swinging the ship round successively on the different points,
and thus obtaining the deviation by magnetic back-bearings
taken simultaneously on the land; and afterwards finding, by
experiments on shore, that position of the plate which correct-
ly represented the same amount of deviation. The plate thus
placed was now to undergo a severe trial on the ship’s arrival
in Barrow’s Strait, and Prince Regent’s Inlet, where, from
the extraordinary increase of dip, and the consequently aug-
mented effect of the ship’s iron upon the magnetic needle, the
compasses had before been rendered wholly useless on board
ship. Never had an invention a more complete and satisfac-
tory triumph; for, to the last moment of our operations at sea,
did the compass indicate the true magnetic direction, requiring,
of course, at times, a considerable degree of tapping with the
hand, merely to relieve the needle from friction. And even
at Port Bowen, where the dip is eighty-eight degrees, and the
magnetic intensity acting on a horizontal needle extremely
weak in consequence, the azimuth compass on board actually
gave the same variation as that observed on shore, within the
fair and reasonable limits of error of observation under such
circumstances. Such an invention as this, so sound in prin-
ciple, so easy of application, and so universally beneficial in
practice, needs no testimony of mine to establish its merits;
*

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. - 67

_ but when I consider the many anxious days and sleepless nights

which the uselessness of the compass in these seas has formerly

- occasioned me, I really should esteem it a kind of personal in-

gratitude to Mr. Barlow, as well as great injustice to so memo-
rable a discovery, not to have stated my opinion of its merits,
under circumstances so well calculated to put them to a satis-
factory trial.*

The amount of atmospheric refraction at low temperatures
was the subject which, next to magnetism, appeared the most
interesting to investigate. The extreme difficulty attending
the use of the repeating-circle during intense cold, rendering
it next to impossible to obtain with that instrument observa-
tions of astar having quick motion, with the minute accuracy
requisite for this purpose, we were led to adopt the simple
method of observing the setting of a star behind a horizontal
board fixed edgewise on a neighbouring hill, the altitude Of.
the board being obtained at leisure, by repeated observations
with the circle. _The numerical details of these observations
being given in the proper Tables, I shall only add in this place,
that they make the refraction at low temperatures, and from
the altitude of 43° to 74°, as computed from the Table in the
Nautical Almanac, considerably in defect.

The rest of our time was chiefly occupied in the observations
for latitude and longitude, the former by Mr. Bailey’s very
useful tables and formula for the Pole star;t the latter by the

several methods of occultations, eclipses of Jupiter’s satellites,

the moon’s transit, and by lunar distances, the chronometrical
longitude being also taken into account. Lieutenant Foster
also omitted"no opportunity of observing the transits of the
several small stars given in the “ Astronomische Nachrichten,’?
for comparison with the moon in right ascension, for the pur-
pose of obtaining the absolute longitude. |

_ * On repeating the experiments at Northfleet, on the return of the Hecla

to England, the plate was found to remain equally efficacious,
+ Published in the Philosophical Magazine, June, 1822.

68 “THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

A six-pounder gun was placed at the head of the bay, a dis-
tance of nearly thirteen thousand feet, or about two nautical
miles, in order to ascertain the rate at which sound travels at
different temperatures and pressures of the atmosphere. Our
observations appear to indicate a decided decrease of velocity
with an increased density of the atmosphere; the rate of
travelling decreasing from one thousand and ninety-eight feet
per second, at a pressure of 30.118 in. and temperature
-++33.5°, to one thousand and fourteen feet per second ata pres- _
sure of 30.398, and temperature —38.5; all other circum-
stances being alike.

The extreme facility with which sounds are heard at a
considerable distance, in severely cold weather, has often been
a subject of remark; but a circumstance occurred at Port
Bowen, which deserves to be noticed as affording a sort of

‘measure of this facility, or at least conveying to others some
definite idea of the fact. Lieutenant Foster having occasion
to send a man from the observatory to the opposite shore of

the harbour, a measured distance of 6696 feet, or about one
statute mile and two-tenths, in order to fix a meridian mark,
had placed a second person half-way between, to repeat his
directions; but he found on trial that this precaution was un-—
necessary, as he could without difficulty keep up a conversa-
tion with the man at the distant station. The thermometer
was at this time —-18°, the barometer 30.14 inches, and the
weather nearly calm, and quite clear and serene. :

The meteorological phenomena observed during this winter,
like most of its other occurrences, differed so little in charac-
ter from those noticed on the former voyages, a8 to render a-
separate description of each wholly unnecessary. It will,
therefore, be sufficient for me to give one general and concise
account of the whole, confining myself. to such facts as were
either new to us, or appear in other respects to merit a distinct
notice.

The Aurora Borealis, which constitutes one of the peculiar
features of a polar winter, occurred with nearly the same fre-

CEE ET ae hh! Oe ea Ta whe, a
P3 v7
bap AGEN Proe eK ay
ne gr SN
aus

_ OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 69m

quency as on former occasions: The number of nights on

which it is registered, are— — ‘ Mee:
Two. in October, boil
Five . 4, November, y Be? cca
_ Seven ._ ,, December, r

' Fifteen ,, January, *
Thirteen ,, February,
Five 3) March,

’ ;
being in the whole forty-seven, from October to March. It
may have appeared faintly on a few other occasions, not no-
ticed in our journals, and unquestionably would have been seen
more frequently, but for the height of the land on the south
side of Port Bowen, which intercepted our view to the alti-

tude of five or six degrees. By far the greater part of these .

phenomena assumed one general character, and occupied nearly
the same position. . It usually consisted of an arch, sometimes
tolerably continuous, but more frequently broken into detached.
regular masses or nebule of light, extending from about
West to S.E. (true), which bearings correspond with N.E.b.N.,
and W.b.S. (magnetic.) It sometimes, however, extended a_
few points beyond those bearings, but very rarely occupied
any of the northern part of the heavens. Its termination to
the S.E. was never exactly visible, owing to the height of the
land in that quarter; but, upon the whole, the arch seems
to have been more frequently bisected by the plane of the
magnetic, than by that of the true, meridian. The altitude
of the upper margin of a permanent arch seldom exceeded
ten or fifteen degrees, and from this corruscations were gene-
rally observed to be shooting towards the zenith. In a few
instances the arch itself passed as high as the zenith, and on a
Single occasion, on the 28th of January, its direction was
from true north to south. The lower edge of the arch was

generally well defined and unbroken, and the sky beneath it

appeared by contrast so exactly like a dark cloud (to me often.

_ of a brownish colour,) that nothing at the time of viewing it

¢

70 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

could well convince one to the contrary, if the stars Mibing
there with undiminished lustre did not discover the —e
tion.

This winter faasonny afforded but few brilliant displays of
the Aurora. The following notice includes all that appear to .
me to require a sepgrate description. %,

Late on the night of the 21st of December, the phenome-
non appeared partially, and with a variable light, in different
parts of the southern sky, for several hours. At seven on the
following morning, it became more brilliant and stationary,
describing a well-defined arch, extending from the E.S.E. ho-
rizon to that at W.N.W., and passing through the zenith. A
very faint arch was also visible on each side of this, appearing
to diverge from the same points in the horizon*, and separating
to twenty degrees’ distance in the zenith.’ It remained thus
for twenty minutes, when the corruscations from each arch
met, and after a short but, brilliant display of light gradually
died away. Early on the morning of the fifteenth of Janu-
ary, the Aurora broke out to the southward, and continued
variable for three hours, between a N.W. and S.E. bearing.
From ‘three to four o’clock, the whole horizon from south to
west was brilliantly illuminated, the light being continuous
almost throughout the whole extent, and reaching several de-
grees in height. Very bright vertical rays were constantly
shooting upwards from the general mass. At half-past five,
it again became so brilliant, as to attract particular notice,
describing two arches passing in an east and west direction,
very near the zenith, with bright corruscations issuing from it;
but the whole gradually disappeared with the returning dawn.
At dusk the same evening, the Aurora again appeared in the
southern quarter, and continued visible nearly the whole night,
but without any remarkable feature.

*Tam aware that this appearance is usually referred to the effect of
viewing the phenomenon in perspective ; but I here describe appearances
only,

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. — Ti

About midnight on the 27th of J anuary, this phenomenon.
_ broke out in a mel compact mass of brilliant yellow light,
situated about a 8S.E. bearing, and appearing only a short dis-
tance above the land. This mass of light, notwithstanding its
general continuity, sometimes appeared to be evidently com-
posed of numerous pencils of rays, compressed, as it were,
laterally into one, its limits both to the right and left being
well defined ‘’nd nearly vertical. The light, though very
bright at all times, varied almost constantly in intensity, and.
this had the appearance (not an uncommon one in the Aurora)
of being produced by one volume of light overlaying another,
just as we see the darkness and density of smoke increased by
cloud rolling over cloud. While Lieutenants Sherer and Ross,
and myself, were admiring the extreme beauty of this pheno-
menon from the observatory, we all simultaneously uttered
an exclamation of surprise at seeing a bright ray of the Au-
rora shoot suddenly downward from the general mass of light,
and between us and the land, which was there distant only
three thousand yards. Had I witnessed this phenomenon by
myself, I should have been disposed to receive with caution
the evidence even of my own senses, as to this last fact; but
the appearance conveying precisely the same idea to three in-
dividuals at once, all intently engaged in looking towards the
spot, I have no doubt that the ray of light actually Pised
within that distance of us.

About one o’clock on the morning of the 23rd of February,
the Aurora again appeared over the hills in a south direction,
presenting a brilliant mass of light, very similar to that
just described. The rolling motion of the light laterally was
here also very striking, as well as the increase of its intensity
thus occasioned. - The light occupied horizontally about 2
point of the compass, and extended in height scarcely a degree
above the land, which seemed, however, to conceal from us a.
part of the phenomenon. It was always evident enough that
the most attenuated light of the Aurora sensibly dimmed the

“e * MCari DS Bat aie Mae be ay Ae i UM Stl Rime aE a CS e 9!
2 % 4 oeren ee Fees UE} May
mite ‘ ty a re

72, THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

stars, like a thin veil drawn over them. We frequently listened
for any sound proceeding. from this phenomenon, but never
heard any.
On several occasions which seemed the. most Sevousrisle for
the purpose, the electrometer with gold-leaf was applied to
the chain, but without the slightest perceptible effect. The
chain was attached to the sky-sail mast-head by glass rods,
precisely in the manner described on our last voyage, the
pointed end of the upper link being considerably above the
mast-head, and one hundred and fifteen feet from the level of
the sea. That the atmosphere during the winter-months was
favourable to the excitement of electricity, appeared from the
facility with which a small electrical machine, constructed by
Mr. Rowland, was found to act. The sparks given out by
this machine, of which the cylinder was only six inches long,
and five in diameter, Dr. Neill considered as large as are
usually elicited from apparatus of much larger dimensions in
England. Our variation-needles, which were extremely light,
suspended in the most delicate manner, and from the weak di-
rective energy susceptible of being acted upon by a very
slight disturbing force, were never in a single instance sensi-
_ bly affected by the Aurora, which could scarcely fail to have
been observed at some time or other, had any such disturbance
taken place, the needles being visited évery hour for several
months, and oftener, when any thing occurred to make it de-
sirable.
The meteors called Hallisgiatans were much more frequent }
‘during this winter than we ever before saw them, and particu-
larly during the month of December. On the 8th, at a quarter
past seven in the evening, a particularly large and brilliant
meteor of this kind fell in the $.S,W., the weather being
very fine and clear overhead, but hazy near the horizon. On
the following day. _ between four and five p.m., another very
brilliant one was observed in the north, falling Gen an altitude
of about thirty-five degrees till lost behind the land; the
weather was at this toe clear and serene, and no remarkable

sly

Tien:

A :

Ng Ted
py

ee a eR ee Ce RTO GE
fi " é

‘OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. — 73

- vehange took place. On the 12th, no less than five meteors of
- this kind were observed in a quarter of an hour, and as these
were attended with some remarkable circumstances, I shall
here give the account furnished me by Mr. Ross, who with
Mr. Bell observed these phenomena. ‘‘From 7 to 9 P.M.
the wind suddenly increased from a moderate breeze to a
strong gale from the southward. At ten it began to moderate
alittle; the haze which had for several hours obscured every
star, gradually sinking towards the horizon, and by eleven
o’clock the whole atmosphere was extremely clear above the
altitude of five or six degrees. The thermometer also fell
from —5° to —9° as the haze cleared away. At a quarter
past eleven my attention was directed by Mr. Bell to some
“meteors which he observed, and in less than a quarter of an’
hour five were seen. The two first, noticed only by Mr.
Bell, fell in quick succession, probably not more than two
‘minutes part. The third appeared about eight minutes after
these, and exceeded in brilliancy any of the surrounding
stars. It took a direction from near @ Tauri, and passing
slowly towards the Pleiades left behind it sparks like the tail
of a rocket, these being visible for a few seconds after the me-
teor appeared to break, which it did close to the Pleiades.
The fourth meteor made its appearance very near the same
place as the last, and about five minutes after it. Taking the
course of those seen by Mr. Bell, it passed to the eastward,
and disappeared half way between @ Tauri and Gemini. The
fifth of these meteors was seen to the eastward, passing through
a space of about five degrees from north to south parallel to
_ the horizon, and moying along the upper part of the cloud, of
haze which still extended to the altitude of five or six degrees.
It was more dim than the rest, and of a red colour like Alde-
baran. The third of these meteors was the only one that left
a tail behind it, as above described. There was a faint ap-
pearance of the Aurora to the westward near the horizon.”
On the 14th of December several very bright meteors were
observed to fall between the hours of five and six in the even-

10 a.

i a4

ing, at which time the wind freshened from the N.W. by N.
i ery re manner. On this occasion, as well a

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OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 75

_ Haloes appeared very frequently round the moon, particu-

larly about the times of her opposition, and when there was
any haze in the atmosphere. Two or three times an indis-
tinct paraselena was seen on each side, situated, as usual, upon
the halo, and at the angular distance of about twenty-three
degrees from the moon. In one instance only, the paraselene
were slightly coloured with a faint red tint. In the autumn
and spring, particularly the latter, haloes and parhelia were
very frequently about the sun, the measurement of their an-
gular distance from that luminary being always between
twenty-two and twenty-three degrees. None of-these phe-
nomena were such:as to deserve further notice, except one on
the 29th of March, when at 9.30, a.m., an imperfect halo ap-
peared around the sun, with a faint parhelion on each side.
On the part of the halo directly over the sun, was seen a seg-
ment of an inverted circle, faintly coloured; and again above

- this, at the distance of 46° 40" from the sun, was a short seg-

ment of another inverted circle, coloured like a brilliant rain-
bow. circle of broad but faint white light could be traced
completely round the heavens, passing through the sun and

-parhelia, and parallel to the horizon; and situated on this cir-_

ele, at the distance of 1144° on each side of the sun, was a
large white spot. The phenomenon exhibited a part of that

~ described at Melville Island, on the 19th of April, 1820, the

eircles now seen, besides the halo, corresponding with those
marked z dv, m fn, and ¢ u, in the diagram accompanying
that description.* Minute particles of snow were at this time
falling in great abundance.

Particular attention was paid to the changes in the barome-
ter during this winter, to which much encouragement was
given by the excellence of the instruments with which we
were now furnishedt. The times of register at sew had been

* Narrative of the Voyage of 1819—20, >

+ For this circumstance we are indebted to the kindness and well-known
scientific zeal of Mr. Daniell, who himself superintended the construction
of our barometers, and especially of one excellent instrument, by Newman,

igiyh
*

Rs

76 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

three and nine, A.m.,and p.m.; those hours having been re-

commended as the most proper for detecting any horary oscil-
lations of the mercurial column. When we were fixed for the
winter, and our attention could be more exclusively devoted
to scientific objects, the register was extended to four and ten,
and subsequently to five and eleven o’clock. The most rigid at-
tention to the observation and correction of the column, during
several months, discovered an oscillation, amounting only to
ten thousandth-parts of an inch. The times of the maximum
and minimum altitude appear, however, decidedly to lean to
four and ten o’clock, and to follow a law directly the reverse,

as to time, of that found to obtain in temperate climates, the

column being highest at four, and lowest at ten o'clock,
both a.m. and p.m. The whole of the observations being
comprised in the Meteorological Abstracts, with the general

results stated at the bottom of each, can be consulted with
great convenience; and the Table which follows the Abstract.

for the month of April 1825, will afford one comprehensive
view of six month’s observations on this interesting subject.
The barometer did not appear to indicate beforehand the
changes of the weather with any degree of certainty. Indeed
the remark that we had always before made, that alterations
in the mercurial column more frequently accompany than.pre-
cede the visible changes of weather in these regions, was
equally true of our present experience; but on one or two oc-
easions hard gales of considerable duration occurred without
the barometer falling at all below the mean altitude of the co-

_lumn in these regions, or even rose steadily during the con-
tinuance of the gale. During one week of almost constant
blowing weather, and two days of very violent gales from

the eastward, in the month of April, the barometer remained

. considerably above thirty inches the whole time. — It is ne-

cessary for me here to remark, that the unusual proportion of

to be used.as a standard with which the others could be compared. We

owe a similar obligation to Mr. Daniell, with respect to thermometers.

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. ae
easterly winds registered in our journals during this winter
must, in my opinion, be attributed to the local situation of
our winter-quarters, which alone appears to me sufficient to
account for the anomaly. The lands on each side of Port
Bowen, running nearly east and west, and rising to a height
of six to nine hundred feet above the sea, with deep and broad
ravines intersecting the country in almost every direction,
may be supposed to have had considerable influence on the
directjon of the wind. In confirmation of this supposition, in-
deed, it was usually noticed that the easterly winds were with
us attended with clear weather, while the contrary obtained
with almost every breeze from the west and north-west, thus
‘reversing in this respect also the usual order of things. It
was moreover observed that the clouds were frequently co-
ming from the N.W., when the wind in Port Bowen was
easterly. I must, however, except the gales we experienced
from the eastward, which were probably strong enough to
overcome any local deflection to which @ light breeze would
be subject; and indeed these were always accompanied with
overcast weather and a high thermometer. After the middle
of October the gales of wind were very few till towards the
middle of April, when we experienced more blowing weather
than during the whole winter. —

The mean temperature of this season we considered rather
high, as compared with that of our former winters, in propor-
tion to the latitude of the station, as will appear from inspec-’
tion of the annexed Table, containing a comparative view of
the mean temperature during six winter months at each
station, arranged according to the latitudes of the respective
places.

78 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

Mean temperature ofthe Atmosphere at

MONTHS. | Melville Port Teloolik Winter REMARKS.
Island, | Bowen, } Lat. 691° |_ Island,
Lat. 743° | Lat. 734° 1g99_3 |Lat. 6640,

1819—20,] 1824—5, 1821—2
° o- ° ° ‘
‘1October —6.46} +10.85| -+ 9.79} +-9.51| The temperatures contained in
this Table for Melville Island,
November| —23.6 | 5 ' 99.37) 414.75 Igloolik, and Winter Island, are

those given inthe Narrative of the

besa co ‘a Hiiaw Voyage of 1821—2—3, with the de-

Tap eae ae : 10.08 a0 15-94 duction of 3° for the warm atmos-
phere of the ship. This correction,

January | —33.09)—28.91) —20.07| —25.96).nich can only be a mean approxi:
mation to the truth, perhaps makes
February | —35.19| —27.52] —23.41] —27.97|the temperature of Melville Island
i rather too high, and that of Igloo-

March —21,10} —28.37| —22.75| —14.64|lik somewhat too low.

ed ee ee ee

Mean —24,04) —16.30} —1 are —11.71

The distribuéioniof the cold, if I may so call it, was now
also somewhat different, the coldest month being January,
next March, and then February. The difference, however,
in the mean temperature of these three months was remark-
ably small, ranging only from —27°.3, to —28°.9. The
_ thermometer did not rise above zero till the 11th of April,
having remained below that point of the scale for one hun-
dred and thirty-one successive days, the only instance of this
. kind we have ever known. So low a mean temperature for
three successive months would, if considered separately, have '
appeared to form a season of great severity, and certainly,
with respect to personal comfort, did so; but viewed in con-
nexion with the three preceding months, seems only to fur-
nish a compensation for the unusual mildness of the early part
of the winter. |

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. | 79

:
ay Fs

CHAPTER IV.

METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA CONTINUED-—-RE-EQUIPMENT:
OF THE SHIPS—SEVERAL JOURNIES UNDERTAKEN—OPEN’
WATER IN THE OFFING—COMMENCE SAWING A CANAL TO
LIBERATE THE SHIPS——DISRUPTION Ox ‘THE ICE——DEPAR-
TURE FROM PORT BOWEN. ; fy.

; ae
£ he

Tue height of the land about Port Bowen deprived us long-
er than usual of the sun’s presence above our horizon. Some of »
our gentlemen, indeed, who ascended a high hill for, the pur-
pose, caught a glimpse of him on the 2nd of: Bobaugenan on the
15th it became visible at the observatory, but at the ships not
till the 22nd, after an absence of one hundred and twenty-
one days. It is very long aftersthe sun’s reappearance in
these regions, however, that the effect of his rays, as to
warmth, becomes perceptible; week passes after week with
scarcely any rise in the thermometer except for an hour or two
_ during the day, and it is at this period more than any other,

perhaps, that the lengthened duration ofa polar winter’s cold
is most wearisome, and creates the most impatience. Towards
the third week in March, thin flakes of snow lying upon black
painted wood or metal, and exposed to the sun’s direct rays
in a sheltered situation, readily melted. In the second week
of April any very light covering of sand or,ashes upon the
snow close to the ships might be observed to make its way
downward into holes: but a coat of sand laid upon the un-

sheltered ice, to the distance of about two-thirds of a mile, for

dissolving a canal to hasten our liberation, produced no such
sensible effect till the beginning of May. Even then the dis-
solution was very trifling till about the first week in June,
when pools of water began to make their appearance, and not

80 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

long after this a small boat would have floated down it. On
shore the effect is in general still more tardy, though some
deception is there occasioned by the dissolution of the snow
next the ground, while its upper surface is to all appearance

undergoing little or no change. Thus a greater alteration is

_ sometimes produced in the aspect of the land by a single warm
day in an advanced part of the season, than in many weeks
preceding; in consequence of the last crust of snow being dis-
solved, leaving the ground at length entirely bare. We could
now perceive the snow beginning to leave the stones from
_ day to day, as early as the last week in April. Towards the
end of May a great deal of snow was dissolved daily, but owing
to the porous nature of the ground which absorbed it as fast as
it was formed, it was not easy to procure water for drinking
on shore, even as late as the 10th of June. In the ravines,
however, it could be heard trickling under stones before that
_ time, and about the 18th many considerable streams were form-
ed, and constantly running both night and day. After this, the
thawing proceeded at an inconceivably rapid rate, the whole
surface of the floes being covered with large pools of water
rapidly increasing in size and depth.
We observed nothing extraordinary with respect to the
sun’s light about the shortest day; but as early as the 20th of
November Arcturus could very plainly be distinguished by
the naked eye, when near the south meridian atnoon. About
the first week in April the reflection of light from the snow

became so strong as to create inflammation in the eyes, and ©

notwithstanding the usual precaution of wearing black crape
veils during exposure, several cases of snow-blindness occurred
shortly de svnanis

During this, as in each saiseeding winter passed in the polar
regions, we failed to obtain, even in the severest cold, any
absolute hygromeitrical expression for the state of the atmo-
sphere, although we had now the advantage of being furnished
with the excellent hygrometers on Mr. Daniell’s construction.
‘By the experiments given in the Meteorological Abstracts, it

ie OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. Ct Say

| Appears that, below an atmospheric temperature of +6°, we
- failed in obtaining any deposit upon the bulb of the instru-

ment, though on some occasions the ether was frozen in the
attempt. On several days during the winter, a haze, or more
properly afog, occurred, of such density as to obscure objects
at the distance of a quarter of a mile, when there was no per-—

- ceptible fall or drift of snow to have occasioned this appear-

ance. It always happened, indeed, during serene weather,
and generally consisted only of a stratum reaching one or two
hundred feet above the sea, over which we could see from the
observatory, while it seemed to occupy the whole of the har-
bour below. That the atmosphere was extremely dry, how-
ever, during the winter, appears probable from the circum-
stance noticed on the former voyages, of ropes becoming quite
slack by an increase, or rather by a continuance of cold. For
instance, a worn whale-line sixteen hundred and forty-four

_ feet in length, being stretched quite tight between the Hecla

and the shore, for the purpose of marking the road in dark

weather or snow-drift, relaxed so much during the coldest

months, that forty-nine feet were hauled in from time to time,
to keep it in its place upon'the snow-pillars by which it was
‘supported. I have already noticed the readiness with which
electricity was excited by.a very small machine, a facility

_ which the medical gentlemen attributed to the dryness of the
atmosphere. It would also appear that something like evapo-

ration is going on, from the fact repeatedly noticed even in
the most severe part of the season, that a brass instrument en-
tirely sheltered from the wind may one day be seen covered
with numberless minute snow-crystals adhering firmly to the
metal, and the next perfectly clean and bright, without any
possible assistance from wind, or artificial heat. The same
thing sometimes occurs also with the thin film of ice which
collects upon the eye-glass of a telescope, occasioned by the

‘vapour of the body. The drying of our washed clothes in

the open air could be performed in part, for the first time,
about the beginning of April, by hanging them against a shel-
1]

82 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

tered snow-wall facing the south, and having a black painted
canvas cloth suspended along it.

There was no want of well-defined clouds this caste
these were almost entirely of the kind called cirro-stratus, or.
approaching to that modification. Cumuli and cirro-cumuli
occurred only with the advance of spring. The sky in this
respect differed from that of our winter at Melville Island, and
_ also from those at Winter Island and Igloolik, clouds occurring

much more frequently than at the former, and more rarely
than at the two latter stations. This difference seems to have
coincided nearly with the state of the sea in the offing at each
wintering-place, clouds occurring with more frequency in
proportion to the extent of open water in our neighbourhood.
At Port Bowen we had occasionally lanes of clear water in
the offing as late as the 22nd of January, and the ice could be
heard in motion till the 11th of February, but the water was
of small extent after the first month subsequent to our arrival
in winter-quarters. The occasional occurrence of fog, and
the appearance of a dark water-sky to the northward, fre-
quently observed from the hills during the winter, render it —
extremely probable that Barrow’s Strait was never entirely
closed, —a probability confirmed by the appearance of it at
all times of the year in which it is accessible by ships.

There are perhaps few things more difficult to obtain than a
‘comparative measure of the quantity of snow that falls at dif-
ferent places, owing to the facility with which the wind blows
it off a smooth surface, such as a floe of level ice, and the col-
lection occasioned by drift in consequence of the smallest ob-
-struction.* Thus, its mean depth at Port Bowen, measured

* If even a fair measure of the depth could be obtained, it would not. im-
mediately determine the comparative quantity ; for a cubic foot of snow so
minute as that which falls in high latitudes, and in the compact state in
which it lies upon the ground, would probably weigh much more, and pro-
duce a great deal more water, than the same measure in a less severe cli-
mate, where it usually falls in larger flakes. The weight of a cubic foot

A AO teary) My ee a : Wi hes Maa

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 83

in twenty different places on the smooth ice of the harbour,
_ was three inches on the 5th of April, and on the 1st of May

it had only increased to four and a half inches, while an im-
mense bank fourteen feet deep had formed on one side of the
Hecla, occasioned by the heavy drifts. The crystals were, as
usual, extremely minute during the continuance of, the cold

_ weather, and more or less of these were eae falling, even

on the clearest days.

Lieutenant Ross tried the thickness of the salt-water ice
during different periods of the winter, by digging holes in
that formed upon the canal by which the ships had entered,

and found it to have increased in the following ratio:—

Whole thickness, Thickness Proportion of that above

Date. in inches. abovethe sea, to that below, the latter
: in inches, being=100,
‘November 20th, 1824, . 30.5 . . 3.8 . . . 14.23
he December Asthye hie, oh BGS Aovehs AA VS 12.90
' January ist, 185, Bi RAD Nh abs | 0 DCL he ete a ea eae
Pepriamy, .2ndye 6 S59 gO aie ia, SOD
March Zhao OAR eel hee a ee ae
April Andy ta Oe OA Cn hs Osa G

May iniiAR SH nce By Leek iO hy

The animals seen at Port Bowen may now be briefly no-

ticed. The principal of these seen during the winter were

?

bears, of which we killed twelve from October to June, being
more than duringall the other voyages taken together; and seve-
ral others were seen. One of these animals was near proving
fatal to a seaman of the Fury, who having straggled from his
companions when at the top of a high hill, saw a large bear
coming towards him. Being unarmed, he prudently made
off, taking off his boots to enable him to run the faster, but
not so saaachity precipitated himself over an almost perpen-
dicular cliff, down which he was said to have rolled or fallen

of snow at Port Bowen, dug out of a drift, and weighed by Mr. Rowland,
was thirty pounds, being the mean of several experiments, all agreeing very

nearly. >

ao

84 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

several hundred feet; here he was met by some of the people .
in so lacerated a condition, as to be i i, Very dengerone state
for some time after. * wien OF

A she-bear killed in the opéa.’ Teter on our first arrival *
Port Bowen, afforded a striking instance of maternal affection
in her anxiety to save hertwo cubs. She might herself easily
haye escaped the boat, but would not forsake her young, which
she was actually ‘towing’ off, by allowing them to rest on
her back, when the boat came near them. A second similar

instance occurred in the spring, when two cubs having got

down into a large crack in the ice, their mother placed herself
before them, so as to secure them from the attacks of our
people, which she might easily have avoided herself.

This unusual supply of bear’s flesh was particularly service-
able, as food for the Esquimaux dogs we had brought out, and
which were always at work in a sledge; especially as, during
the winter, our number was increased by the birth of six nga
of these useful animals.

One or two foxes (Canis Lagopus ) were killed, and four

‘caught in traps during the winter, weighing from four pounds

and three-quarters to three pounds and three-quarters. The
colour of one of these animals, which lived for some time ‘on
board the Fury and became tolerably tame, was nearly pure
white till the month of May, when he shed his winter-coat,
and became of a dirty chocolate colour, with two or three

light-brown spots. Only three hares (Lepus Variabilis J)

were killed from October to June, weighing from six to eight
pounds and three-quarters. Their fur was extremely thick,
soft, and of the most beautiful whiteness imaginable. We
saw no deer near Port Bowen at any season, neither were we
visited by their enemies*the--wolves. A single ermine and
a few mice (Mus Hudsonius), complete, I believe, our
scanty listof quadrupeds atthis desolate and unproductive place.
_ * The men applying his name to the hill, called it Mount Cotterell, by

which it is distinguished in the chart, for the sake of reference in our mea-
surement of its height.

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. — 85

Of birds, we had a flock or two of ducks occasionally fly-
ting about the small lanes of open water in the offing, as late
as the third of October: but none from that time till the
beginning of June, and then only a single pair was occasion-
ally seen. . A very few grouse were met with also after our
arrival at Port Bowen; a single specimen was obtained on the
23rd of December. and another on the 18th of. February.
They again made their appearance towards the end of March,
and in less than a month about two hundred were killed; after
which we scarcely saw another, for what reason we could not
conjecture, except that they might probably be on their way
to the northward, and that the utter barrenness of the land
about Port Bowen afforded no inducement for their remaining
in our neighbourhood,

Lieutenant Ross, who paid great attention to ornithology,
and who has himself drawn up the zoological notice given in
the Appendix, remarked that the grouse met with here are of
three kinds, namely the ptarmigan ( Tetrao Lagopus), the
rock-grouse ( Tetrao’ Rupestris ). ), and the willow-partridge
( Tetrao Albus). Of these only the two former were seen
in the spring, and by far the greater number killed were of
the first-mentioned species. . They usually had in their maws
the leaves of the Dryas Integrifolia, buds of the Savifraga
Oppositifolia, Salix Arctica, and Draba.Alpina, the quanti-
ties being according to the order in which the plants have here
been'named. A few leaves, also, of the Polygonum. Vi ivipa-
‘yum were found in one or two specimens. The snow-bunting,
with its sprightly note, was, as usual, one of our earliest vi-
sitants in the spring; but these were few in number, and re-
mained only a short time. A very few sandpipers were also
seen, and now and thenone or two glaucous, ivory, and kitti-
wake gulls. A pair of ravens appeared occasionally during
the whole winter betty as at most oly our former winter sta-
tions.

The following oe of animals, mostly killed Ae
the winter, were furnished me by Mr. Mogg, by whom and

Lieutenant Ross they were taken.
a

86. ' THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

“Temperature of the
Date. Animals,
a Animal. Air.

October 17th, 1824 . Arctic Fox. . +105° . +199
November 9th, — ., dito... 106 . +7
January 4th, 1825 . ditto . . . 104 . —28
March 27th, — . Ptarmigan. . 102 . —I1
April 4th, — . ditto. ke AOS ge
ig GES) SVE. Pe atto wes dO ee
& 14th, a ditto ty Fs TODS NG
‘bf ‘ — . AEG. aA ATOR th se
ie 16th, — . White Bear . 100 . +11
te pe Ni a eae GUO Snob set ie 99. . +11
35 29th, — . EO ne 99.5. —1
June 2lIst, — .. Glaucous Gull. 100 . -}37

With a view to extend our geographical knowledge as much
as our means permitted, three land journies were undertaken
as soon as the weather was sufficiently warm for procuring
any water. The first party, consisting of six men under
Captain Hoppner, were instructed to travel to the eastward,
to endeavour to reach the sea in that direction, and to dis-
cover the communication which probably exists there with
Admiralty Inlet, so as to determine the extent of that portion

of insular land on which Port Bowen is situated. They re-

turned on the 14th, after a very fatiguing journey, and having
with difficulty travelled a degree and three-quarters to the
eastward of the ships, in latitude 73° 19', from which position
no appearance of the sea could be perceived. Captain Hopp-
ner described the ravines as extremely difficult to pass, many
of them being four or five hundred feet deep and very pre-
cipitous. These being numerous and running chiefly ina
north and south Anemone appearing to empty themselves
into Jackson’s Inlet, preclude the possibility of performing a
quick journey to the eastward. During the whole fortnight’s
excursion, scarcely a patch of vegetation could be seen. In-
' deed, the hills were so covered in most parts with soft and
deep snow, that a spot could seldom be found en which to
pitch their tent. A few snow-buntings and some ivory-gulls

8

me

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 87

_ were all the’ animals they met with, to enliven this most bar-
ren and desolate country; and nothing was observed in the
geological character differing from that about Port Bowen.

Tn the bed of one of the ravines, Captain Hoppner noticed
some immense masses of rock, thirty dr forty tons in weight,
which had recently fallen from above, and he also passed

‘over several avalanches of snow pic to a vast height:
across ata

The two other parties, consisting of four men each, under
the respective commands of, Lieutenants Sherer and Ross,
were directed to travel, the former to the southward, and the
latte the northward, along the coast of Prince Regent’s In-
let, for the purpose of surveying it accurately, and of obtain-

ing observations for the longitude and variation at the stations
formerly visited by us on the 7th and 15th of August, 1819.

I was also very anxious to ascertain the state of the ice to the
northward, to enable me to form some judgment as to the pro-
bable time of our liberation.

These parties found the travelling along shore so good as to
enable them, not only to reach those spots, but to extend their
journies far beyond them. Lieutenant Ross returning on the
15th, brought the welcome intelligence of the sea being per-
fectly open and free from ice at the distance of twenty-two
miles to the northward of Port Bowen, by which I concluded
—what, indeed, had long before been a matter of probable
conjecture—that Barrow’s Strait was not permanently frozen
during the winter. From the tops of the hilis about Cape
York, beyond which promontory Lieutenant Ross travelled,
no appearance of ice could be distinguished. | Innumerable
ducks, chiefly of the king, eider, and long-tailed species, were
flying about near the margin of the ice, besides dovekies,
looms, and glaucous, kittiwake, and ivory gulls. Lieutenant

* Captain Hoppner gave a very favourable report of a tent made of a
patent cloth composed of two parts of cambric, with caoutchoue (elastic.
gum) between. It is the manufacture of Mr. Mackintosh, of Glasgow, and
is quite impervious to water.

ee OD pe

as. THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

‘Sherer returned to the ships on the evening of the 15th, hav-

ing performed a rapid journey as far as 724°, and making an
accurate survey of the whole coast to that distance. In the
course of this journey a great many remains of Esquimaux
habitations were seen, dnd these were much more numerous
on the southern part of the coast. Ina grave which Lieute- .

nant Sherer opened, in order to form some idea whether the _

Esquimaux had lately been here, he found the body apparent-
ly quite freshs but as this might, in a northern climate, remain
the case for a number of years, and as our board erected i in

1819 was still standing untouched and in good order, ye cer-

tain these people had not been here since our formef ‘visit.
Less numerous traces of the Esquimaux, and of older date,

_oecur near Port Bowen, and in Lieutenant Ross’s route along

shore to the northward, and a few of the remains of habitations

were those used as winter residences.’ I have since regretted

that Lieutenant Sherer was not furnished with more provisions
and a larger party, to have enabled him to travel round Cape —
Kater, which is probably not far distant from some of the
northern Esquimaux stations mentioned in my Journal of the
preceding voyage.

The longitudes observed By Lieutenants Sherer and Ross at
the two stations laid down in 1819, by actual observation on
the spot, were found to be from fourteen to seventeen minutes
to the eastward of the positions assigned to them in the former
chart. A difference of fourteen minutes the same way also.
occurs at Port Bowen; itis probable, therefore, that the whole
of our former discoveries to the westward of Prince Regent’s
Inlet will be subject to a correction in the longitude of about -
fourteen or fifteen minutes. That this error does not extend
to the eastern part of Barrow’s Strait, appears certain from the
near coincidence, already mentioned,* between our longitude
observed on this voyage at Cape Warrender, and that in which
it was placed in the survey of 1819. A corrected chart of the

* Page 43,

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. ye 39

_ whole of Prince Regent’s Inlet is now given, the eastern coast,

from Cape York to Cape Kater, being constructed principally
from the surveys made by Lieutenants Sherer and Ross, and

- the longitudes accurately deduced from the meridian of Port
Bowen.

The variation of the magnetic-needle now observed by our
travellers, at the stations before visited in 1819, was found to
have changed in the same way, though not precisely to the
same amount, as at Port Bowen; the observations of Lieute-
nant Sherer giving, to the southward, an increase in that phe-
nomenon, from 118° 24' to 123° 47’; and those of Lieutenant
Ross, to the northward, from 115° 37' to 116° 52', the elapsed
‘interval being nearly six years. These differences in the
amount of change may in part be owing to the sluggish tra-
versing of the compasses, and partly to the observations having
been made at different times of day.

The whole of the coast travelled over by our panties consists

of secondary. limestone; that to the southward becoming gradu- *
ally lower, and more’shelving next the sea; but to the north-

ward ec continuing: generally high and precipitous. At a place
near Cape York, Lieutenant Ross observed that the strata,

which are chiefly horizontal, or nearly so, dipped to the N.

W.., at an-angle of about ten degrees, the cliffs overhanging in

a fearful manner at that part. Ina massof limestone recently _

- fallen from the cliffs near the same spot, were also found some
erystals of rhomb-spar, containing a portion of bitumen.
As soon as the thermometer began permanently to keep up

to the freezing point, the observatory was prepared for the

reception of the clock and pendulum; and after trying various
_means of keeping up a regular temperature during the times
of observation, the experiments were commenced towards the
middle of June, and three series were completed by Lieutenant
Foster before we went to sea. The result of these experi-
ments, with some account of the method of conducting them,
will be found in the Appendix.

12

DO ‘THIRD VOYAGE FOR TFHE DISCOVERY

The heights of two hills above the sea were measured tri-
gonometrically and barometrically; and one of them (Mount
Cotterell) was also accurately levelled, by way of comparing,
though necessarily on a small scale, the results given by those
three modes of measurement. *

The great depth of water in which we lay at Port Bowen
prevented our observing the rise and fall of the tides during
the winter, by the usual method of a pole moored to the bot-
tom. In the spring, however, when the fire-hole along-side
the ship could be kept constantly open, we adopted another

plan, which it may be useful to describe. A stone of about:

three hundred weight was let down the fire-hole to the bottom,
having a whale-line attached to it. The line was rove through
a block fixed to an outrigger from the ship’s side, and to its
other end was fastened a weight of fifty pounds. By this
means, the line was kept quite tight, and a marked pole being
attached to it, served to indicate with great accuracy the per-
pendicular rise and fall of the water. The observations being
given at length in the tide-table, I shall only here mention the
fact, that during nine weeks in the months of April, May, and
June, the morning tides were found, almost invariably, to rise
several inches higher than those of the evening.

Towards the end of June, the dovekies (Colymbus Grylle)
were extremely numerous in-the cracks of the ice at the en-
trance of Port Bowen, and as these were the only fresh supply
of any consequence that we were able to procure at this un-
productive place, we were glad to permit the men to go out

occasionally with guns, after the ships were ready for sea, to.

obtain for their messes this wholesome change of diet; while
such excursions also contributed essentially to their general
health and cheerfulness. Many hundreds of these birds were
thus obtained in the course of a few days. On the evening of

* The height of Mount Cotterell, by trigonometrical operation, 701.460 ft.
» 4! barometer ay 695.500
2” ays levelling aS 702,500

~~ S

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. : 91

‘the 6th of aly, however, I was greatly ivan at being in-
_ formed by Captain Hoppner that John Cotterell,* a seaman of
the Fury, had been found drowned in one of the cracks of the

ice, by two other men belonging to the same party, who had
been with him but a few minutes before. We could never
ascertain precisely in what manner this accident happened, but
it was supposed that he must have over-reached himself in —

stooping for a bird that he had killed. His remains were

committed to the earth on Sunday the 10th, with every so-
lemnity which the occasion demanded, and our situation would
allow; and a tomb of stones, with a suitable inscription, was
afterwards erected over the grave.

In order to obtain oil for another winter’s consumption, be-
fore the ships could be released from the ice, and our travel-
ling parties having seen a number of black whales in the open
water to the northward, two boats from each ship were, with
considerable labour, transported four miles along shore in that
direction, to be in readiness for killing a whale and boiling
the oil on the beach, whenever the open water should ap-
proach sufficiently near. They took their station near a re-
markable peninsular piece of land on the south side of the en-
trance to Jackson’s Inlet, which had, on the former voyage,
been taken for an island. Notwithstanding these preparations,
however, it was vexatious to find that on the 9th of July the
water was still three miles distant from the boats, and at least
seven from Port Bowen. On the 12th, the ice in our neigh-
bourhood began fo detach itself, and the boats under the com-
mand of Lieutenants Sherer and Ross being launched on the
following day, succeeded almost immediately in killing a
small whale of ‘five feet bone,”’ exactly answering our pur-
pose. Almost at the same time, and as it turned out very op-
portunely, the ice at the mouth of our harbour detached itself

* It is remarkable that this poor man had, twice before, within the space
of nine months, been very near death; for, besides the accident already
mentioned, of falling down the hill which bears his name, he was also in
imminent danger of dying of dropsy during the winter.

92 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

at an old crack, and drifted off, leaving only about one mile
and a quarter between us and the sea. Half of this distance
being occupied by the gravelled canal, which was dissolved
quite through the ice in many parts, and had become very
thin in all, every officer and man in both ships were set to
work without delay to commence a fresh canal from the open
water, to communicate with the other. This work proved
heavier than we expected, the ice being generally from five
to eight feet, and in many places from ten to eleven, in thick-
ness. It was continued, however, with the greatest cheerful-
ness and alacrity from seven in the morning till seven in the
evening daily, the dinner being prepared on the ice, and eaten
under ine lee of a studding sail erected as a tent.

On the afternoon of the 19th, a very welcome stop was put to
our operations by the separation of the floe entirely across the
harbour, and about one-third from the ships to where we were
at work. All hands being instantly recalled by signal were,
on their return, set to work to get the ships into the gravelled
canal, and to saw away what still remained in it to prevent
our warping to sea. This work. with only half an hour’s in-
termission for the men’s supper was continued till half-past
six the following morning, when we succeeded in getting
clear. The weather being calm, two hours were occupied in
towing the ships to sea, and thus the officers and men were
employed at very laborious work for twenty-six hours, during
which time there were, on one occasion, fifteen of them over-
board at once; and indeed several individuals met with the
same accident three times. It was impossible, however, to re-
gret the necessity of these. comparatively trifling exertions,
especially as it was now evident that to have sawed our way
out, without any canal, would have required at least a fort-
night of heavy and fatiguing labour.

Previously to commencing my journal of our operations
at sea, I shall here close our account of Port Bowen, in which
we had been imprisoned between nine and ten months, with
Dr. Neill’s remarks on the geological character of this coast.

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. | 93

' and with an abstract of the most material nautical and other

observations made during our stay there.
‘¢ All the eastern shore of Prince Regent’s Inlet which y we
had an opportunity of observing, is formed of secondary lime-

stone, distinctly stratified in horizontal beds. The lowest

stratum is very soft and friable, of a dull yellow colour, and
contains a large quantity of the fragments of shells of marine

animals, , Over this occur several strata more compact than

the former, varying in colour from gray to'black. These al-
ternate with each other in long undulated streaks several hun-
dred feet in length, varying in thickness from that of a line to
several feet, and containing many bivalve shells, lepides, &c.
When struck with a hammer, the limestone emits a disagree-
able smell, and it burns nearly snow white; by chemical tests,
it was found to contain from twenty to thirty per cent. of car-
bonate of magnesia, with a little sulphur and bitumen. Over
this lies a stratum of a brick-red colour, more compact than
the other, and hard enough to give sparks with steel; it con- _
tains a considerable proportion of siliceous earth, red oxide of
iron, and carbonate of magnesia. This stratum always ex-
tends to the surface, and is fre sgetitly from two to three hun-
dred feet in thickness; from its superior hardness and dura-
bility, it frequently overhangs the less compact subjacent
strata. From its brick-like appearance, and being formed by
the action of the weather into various romantic shapes, as of
broken arches, decayed walls, niches, and turrets, it does not
require any great fertility of imagination to trace in it the
ruins of ancient castles, or stately palaces.

<¢ Extensive beds of ‘coral and madrepore rise from un-

‘ known depths to the summits of the highest hills, and inter-

sect the before-mentioned strata. They occupy at their base (
a space equal to the former, if not greater, but gradually nar-
row towards their summits, and have their sides pressed upon
by the neighbouring strata. These beds contain caverns
partly filled with broken shells, and fragments of madrepore
and limestone cemented together by calcareous matter, their

94 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY _

walls being incrusted with well-formed crystals of calcareous
spar, possessing little lustre or transparency, on account of the
quantity of red oxide of iron they contain. The beds of ma-
drepore, from their resisting the destroying effects of the
weather better than the neighbouring strata, often reach a .
greater elevation, their flat tops being sometimes raised seven
or eight hundred feet above the level of the sea. This cireum-
stance gives to the land a very rugged hilly appearance, when
seen from a ship inshore, but it is very different at a distance
in the offing, or a few miles inland, when the country appears
as it really is, very level, but intersected by some deep pre-
cipitous ravines. :

“The low ledges on the coast are strewed over with rolled
masses of granite, gneiss, syenite, mica-slate, elay-slate, horn-
blende-slate, and old red sandstone; the first three are very
abundant, the others less frequent. They vary in size from
that of pebbles to: masses of several hundred tons in weight;
by those who travelled inland, these were observed to be very
few in number, quite small, and much rounded. It is more-
over worthy of remark that these boulders were found only
on the surface, not an instance having occurred of any being ~
observed to protrude from the precipices or the sides of ra-
vines; thus affording strong reason to conclude that they were
brought from the westward; subsequently to the formation of
the present land, by a current of water, or some other unknown
agent.

**The limestone of. PortyBowen and its vicinity contains
also vesicular quartz, flint, jasper, red and brown hematite,
and Lydian-stone. Small pieces of black wood-stone and
bituminous shale were found on the beach, the latter bearing |
the impression of the bark of one of the palm tribe.”

by 93 observations of the stars, with the repeating

Mean latitude of the Observatory at Port Bowen, Pita
P “3 13
circle

_ OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

ther ee >

5 i : Six oecultations of fixed stars by the moon 88
Shs! Twenty-three transits of the moon . . 88
Mean _| Twenty-one eclipses of Jupiter’s satellites 88

Longitude of< Six hundred and twenty lunar dis-
ditto by tances (viz. 310 3 East, and 310 88
Per) West ofthe moon) . ....,
a Nine chronometers . . . . . . . , 88
Received longitude, being the Mean of the above . . . 88

Mean dip of themagnetic needle . . .... , , 88
Mean variation of ditto . ° % 123

95

54 59.4 W.
57 30.99.”
52 08.85

54 22,41 ”

55 08.1 ”
54 48,55 ”
01 23. N.
2155 OW.

Mean time of high water on full and change days ‘a tay bie Em,

Highest Spring-tide . .
Lowest Neap-tide ...,

. ft. 4in.
ab | 13.

ye

96 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

CHAPTER V.

SAIL OVER TOWARDS THE WESTERN COAST OF PRINCE RE~
| GENT’S INLET—STOPPED BY THE ICE—REACH THE SHORE
ABOUT CAPE SEPPINGS—FAVOURABLE PROGRESS ALONG
THE LAND—FRESH AND REPEATED OBSTRUCTIONS FROM
ICE—BOTH SHIPS DRIVEN ON SHORE—FURY SERIOUSLY
DAMAGED—UNSUCCESSFUL SEARCH FOR A HARBOUR, FOR
HEAVING HER DOWN TO REPAIR.

On standing out to sea, we sailed, with a light southerly
wind, towards the western shore of Prince Regent’s Inlet,
which it was my first wish to gain, on account of the evident
advantage to be derived from coasting the southern part of
that portion of land called in the chart ‘‘ North Somerset,”
as far as it might lead to the westward; which, from our form-
er knowledge, we had reason to suppose it would do as far at
least as the longitude of 95°, in a parallel of about 723°. After.
sailing about eight miles, we were stopped by a body of close —
ice lying between us and a space of open water beyond. By
way of occupying the time in further examination of the state
of the ice, we then bore up with a light northerly wind, and
ran to the south-eastward, to see if there was any clear water
between the ice, and the land in that direction; but found that
there was no opening between’ them to the southward of the
flat-topped hill laid down in the chart, and now called Mount
Suerer. Indeed, I believe that, at this time, the ice had not
yet detached itself from the land to the southward of that sta-
tion. On standing back, we were shortly after enveloped in
one of the thick fogs which had, for several weeks past, been —
observed almost daily hanging over some part of the sea in —

e ss ~ OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 97

‘die offing, though we had scarcely experienced any in Port
Bowen, until the water became open at the mouth of the
_ harbour. | ;

On the clearing up. of the To on the 2Ist, we could per-
ceive no opening of the ice leading towards the western land, —
nor any appearance of the smallest channel to the southward
along the eastern shore. I was determined, therefore, to try
at once a little further to the northward, the present state of
the ice appearing completely to accord with that observed in
1819, its breadth increasing as we advanced from Prince Leo-
pold’s Islands to the southward. As, therefore, I felt confi-
dent of being able to push along the shore if we could once
gain it, I was anxious to effect the latter object in any part,
rather than incur the risk of hampering the ships by a vain,
or at least a doubtful attempt to force them through a body of
close ice several miles wide, for the sake of a few leagues of
southing, which would soon’ be regained by coasting.

Light winds detained us very much, but being at length
- favoured by a breeze, we carried all sail to the Eee ices
the ice very gradually leading us towards the Leopold Isles.
Having arrived off the marhoraintaiy on the morning of the 22nd,
it was vexatious, however curious, to observe the exact “nee '
dence of the present position of the ice with that which it occu-
pieda little later in the year1819. The whole body of it seemed
to cling to the western shore, as if held there by some strong
attraction, forbidding, for the present, any access to it. We
now stood off and on, in the hope that a southerly breeze,
which had just sprung up, might serve to open us a channel.
In the evening, the wind gradually freshened, and before,
_ midnight had increased to a strong gale, which blew with con-
_ siderable violence for ten hours, obliging us to haul off from,
the ice, and to keep in smooth water under the eastern land
: until it abated; after which not a moment was lost in again
_ standing over to the westward. After running all night, with
light and variable winds, through loose and scattered ice, we
suddenly found. ourselves, on the clearing up of a thick fog
13

98 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

through which we had been. sailing on the morning of the
24th, within one-third of a mile of Cape Seppings, the land
just appearing above the fog in time to save us from danger,
the soundings being thirty-eight fathoms, ona rocky bottom.
The Fury being apprised by guns of our situation, both ships
were hauled off the land, and the fog soon after dispersing, we
had the satisfaction to perceive that the late gale had blown
the ice off the land, leaving us a fine navigable channel from
one to two miles wide, as far as we could see from the mast-.
head along the shore. We were able to avail ourselves of this
but slowly, however, in consequence of a light hii
breeze still blowing against us.

We had now an opportunity of discovering that a Tati neck
of very low land runs out from the southernmost of the Leo-
pold Islands, and another from the shore to the southward of

‘Cape Clarence. These two had every appearance of joining,
so as to make a peninsula, instead of an island, of that portion

of land which, on account of our distance preventing our seeing
the low beach, had in 1819 been considered under the latter

H character. It is, however, still somewhat doubtful, and the
Leopold Isles, therefore, still retain their original designation

on the chart. The land here, when closely viewed, assumes
a very striking and magnificent character, the strata of lime-

* stone, which are numerous and quite horizontally disposed,

“being much more regular than on the eastern shore of Prince

Regent’s Inlet, and retaining nearly their whole perpendicular

height, of six or seven hundred feet, close to the sea. The
south-eastern promontory of the southernmost Island is par-
ticularly picturesque and beautiful, the heaps of loose debris
lying here and there up and down the sides of the cliff giving
it the appearance of some huge and impregnable fortress, with
immense, buttresses of masonry supporting the walls. Near
Cape Seppings, and some distance beyond it to the south-
ward, we noticed a narrow stratum of some very white sub-
stance, the nature of which we could not at this time conjec-
ture. I may here remark that the whole of Barrow’s Strait,

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. as 99

BY ste

i as fan as we. could see to the N.N.E. of the islands, was en-

- ‘tirely free from i ice; and, from whatever circumstance it ‘may
_ proceed, I do not think that this part of the Polar Sea is at
any season very much encumbered with it. Sibiy
It was the general. feeling, at this period, among us, that
the voyage had but now commenced. The lrouseh of a bad
“summer, and. the tedium of a long winter, were forgotten
in a moment, when we found ourselves upon ground not
hitherto. explored, and with every apparent prospect before
us of making as rapid a progress as the nature of this navi-
gation will permit, towards the final accomplishment of our

object. .
_ Early’on the morning of the 25th, we passed the opening.

in the land delineated in the former chart of this coast, in lati-
tude 73° 34", which we now found to be a bay about three
miles deep, but apparently open to the sea.
friend Hastines Eiwiy, Esq., of Bristol, as a token of grateful
esteem for that gentleman. The wind falling very light, so that
the ships made no progress, I took the opportunity of landing
in the forenoon, accompanied. by a party of the officers, and
was soon after joined by Captain Hoppner. We found the
formation to consist wholly of lime, and now discovered the
nature of the narrow white stratum observed the day before
from the offing, and which proved to be gypsum, mostly of the
earthy kind, and some of it of a very pure white.
the rock near our landing-place contained a quantity of it in
the state of selenite in beautiful transparent laminz of a large
size. The abundance of ‘gypsum hereabouts explained also
_ the extreme whiteness of the water near the whole of this part
of the coast, which had always been observed in approaching

it, and which had at first excited unnecessary apprehensions as —

to the soundings along the shore. This colour is more particu-
larly seen near the mouths of the streams, many of which are
quite of a dirty milk colour, and tinge the sea to the distance
of more thana mile, without any alteration in the depth, except
a gradual, diminution in going in. The vegetation in this

ere

I named it after my -

A’ partial. «i

wy

100. —s- THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

place was, as usual, extremely scanty, though much more

_ luxuriant than on any of the land near our winter-quarters, and

no animals were seen. -The latitude of our landing-place
was 73° 27' 23", the longitude by chronometers 90° 50' 34.6,
and the variation of the magnetic needle 125° 34' 42" west-
erly. From half-past nine a.m. till a quarter past noon,
the tide fell two feet three inches; and as it was nearly sta-
tionary at the latter time, it was probably near low-water. —
A breeze enabling us again to make some progress, and an

open channel still favouring us, of nearly the same breadth as
before, we passed during the night a second bay, about the
same size as the other, and also appearing open to the sea; it
lies in latitude (by account from the preceding and following
noon) 73° 19' 30", and its width is one mile and a half. It was
called Barry Bay, after my friend Carrain Rozert Barry,
of thé” Grenadier Guards. We now perceived that the ice
closed completely in with the land a short distance beyond us,
and having made all the way we could, were obliged to stand
off and on during the day in a channel not three-quarters of a
mile wide. This channel being still more contracted towards
the evening, we were obliged to make fast to some grounded
land-ice upon the beach, in four fathoms’ water, there to await
some change in our favour. We here observed traces of our
old friends the Esquimaux, there being several of their circles
of stones, though not of recent date, close to the sea. We also

_ found..a_more abundant vegetation than-before; and several

plants familiar to us on the former voy ages, but not yet pro-
cured on this, were now added to our collections.: The geolo-
gical character of the land was nearly the same as before, but
we found here some gypsum of the fibrous kind, occurring in
a single stratum about an inch and.a half wide, About a mile
to the north of us was a curious cascade or spout of water, issu-
ing from a chasm in the rock, and falling more than twa.hun-
dred feet perpendicular. Our gentlemen, who visited the
spot, described it as rendered the more picturesque by innu-—
merable kittiwakes having their nests among the rocks, and

4 OF A, NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. | 101

constantly flying about the stream. The latitude was 73° 06’

17"; the longitude by chronometers 91° 19' 52''.3; thedip of
the magnetic needle 88° 02.1; and the variation 128° 29' 1f"
westerly. .

The ice opening in the afternoon of the 27th, we cast off
and run four or five miles with a northerly breeze. . This wind,
however, always had the effect of making the ice close the
shore, while a southerly breeze as dtniformly opened it, so.
that on this coast, as on several others that I have known,
a contrary wind—however great the paradox may seem—
proved, on the whole, the most favourable for making progress.
This circumstance is simply to be attributed to the greater
abundance of open water in the parts we have left behind (in
the present instance the open sea of Barrow’s Strait) than
those towards which we are going. We were once more
obliged to make fast, therefore, to some grounded ice close to
the beach, ‘rather than run- any risk of hampering the ships,
and rendering them unable to take advantage of a change HA
our favour.

A light southerly breeze on the morning of the 28th gradu-
ally cleared the shore, and a fresh wind from the N.W. then
immediately succeeded. We instantly took advantage of this
circumstanée, and casting off at six A.M. ran eight or nine miles
without obstruction, when we were stopped by the ice, which,
ina closely packed and impenetrable body, stretched close
into the shore, as far as the eye could reach from the crow’s

nest. Being anxious to gain every foot of distance that we
could, and perceiving some grounded ice which appeared fa-
vourable for making fast to, just at a point where the clear
_ water terminated, the ships were run to the utmost extent of
__ it, and a boat prepared from each to examine the depth of water
- at the intended anchoring place. Just as I was about to leave
the Heela for that purpose, the ice was observed to be in rapid
motion towards the shore. The Fury was immediately hauled.
in by some grounded masses, and placed to the best advantage;
but the Hecla being more advanced was immediately beset i

102 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

‘spite of every exertion, and after breaking two of the largest
ice-anchors in endeavouring to heave in to the shore, was
obliged to drift with the ice, several masses of which had for-
tunately interposed themselves between us and the land. The
ice slackening around us a little in the evening, we were ena-
bled, with considerable labour, to get to some grounded masses,
where we lay much exposed, as the Fury also did. In this
4 situation, our latitude being 72° 51' 51", we saw a compara-
: tively low point of land three or four leagues to the southward,
- which proved to be near that which terminated our view of
this coast in 1819.
On the 29th, the ice being slack for a short distance, we
4 shifted the Hecla half a mile to the northward, into a less in-
“’ secure birth. I then walked to a broad valley facing the sea
oats near us, where a considerable stream discharged itself, and
ae . ‘where, in passing in the ships, a large fish had been observed
ee to jump out of the water. In hopes of finding salmon here,
we tried for some time with several hand-nets, but nothing was
caught or seen. In this place were a number of the Esqui-
maux stone circles, apparently of very old date, being quite
overgrown with grass, moss, and other plants. In the neigh-
bourhood of these habitations, the vegetation was much more
luxuriant than anything of the kind we had seen béfore during
this voyage. The state of this year’s plants was now very
striking, compared with those of the last, and afforded strong
evidence, if any had been wanting, of the difference between
the two seasons. I was particularly struck with the appear-
ance of some moss collected by Mr. Hooper, who pointed out
to meupon the samespecimen the last year’s miserable seeds just
peeping above the leaves, while those of the present summer
had already shot three-quarters of an inch beyond them. Ano-
ther circumstance which we noticed about this time, and still
more so as the season advanced, was the rapid progress
which the warmth had already made in dissolving the last
year’s snow, this being always easily known: by its dingy
eolour, and its admixture with the soil. Of the past win-

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 103

ter’s snow not a rae tilee could be seen, at the close of July,
on any part of this coast. These facts, together with the
beautiful weather we had enjoyed for many weeks past, all

tended to shew that we were now favoured with an unusually

fine summer. We found in this place, in the dry bed of an
old stream, innumerable fossils in the limestone, principally
shells and madrepore. On a hill abreast of the Hecla, and at
an elevation of not less than three or four_hundred.. feet
above the sea, one particular spot was discovered, in which
the same kind of shells first found in Barrow’s Strait in 1819,
occurred in very gréat abundance and perfection, wholly:
detached from the lime in which, for the most part, they were
found imbedded in other places on thiscoast. Indeed it was. quite

- astonishing, i in looking at the numberless fossil animal remains

occurring in many of the stones, to consider the countless
myriads of shell-fish and marine insects which must once have
existed on this shore. The cliffs next the sea, which here rise
to a perpendicular height of between four and five: hundred
feet, were continually breaking down at this season, and add-
ing, by falls of large masses of stone, to the slope of debris
lying at their foot. “The ships lay so close to the shore as to be
almost within the range of some of these tumbling masses,
there being at high water scarcely beach enough for a person
to walk along the, shore. The time of high water, near the
opposition of the moon this night, was between half-pasteleven
and midnight, being nearly be same as at Port Bowen at full
and. change.

The ice opening for a mile and a half shoe on the
30th, we shifted the Hecla’s birth about that distance to the
southward, chiefly to be enabled to see more distinctly round
a point which before obstructed our view, though our situa-

tion, as regarded the security of the ship, was much altered be:

for the worse. The Fury remained where she was, there
being no second birth even so good as the bad one where she
was now lying. In the afternoon it blew a hard gale, with
constant rain, from the northward, the clouds indicating an

ge

104 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

easterly wind in other parts. This wind, which was always
the troublesome one to us, soon brought the ice closer and
closer, till it pressed with very considerable violence on both
ships, though the most upon the Fury, which lay in a very
exposed situation. The Hecla received no damage but the |
breaking of two or three hawsers, and a part of her bulwark —
torn away by the strain upon them. In the course of the
night we had reason to suppose, by the Fury’s heeling, that
she was either onshore, or still heavily pressed by the ice
from without. Early on the morning of the 31st, as soon as
a communication could be effected, Captain Hoppner sent to
inform me that the Fury had been forced on the ground,
where she still lay; but that she would probably be hove off
without much difficulty at high water, provided the external
ice did not prevent it. I also learned from Captain Hoppner
that a part of one of the propelling wheels had been destroyed,
the chock through which its axis passed being forced in con-_
siderably, and the palm broken off one of the bower anchors.
Most of this damage, however, was either of no very material
importance, or could easily be repaired. - A large party of
hands from the Hecla being sent round to the Fury towards
high water, she came off the ground with very little strain, so
that, upon the whole, considering the situation in which the
ships were lying, we thought ourselves fortunate in having in-
curred no very serious injury. The Fury was shifted a few
yards into the best place that could be found, and the wind

again blowing cage from the northward, the ice remained

sem about us. A shift of wind to the southward in the after-
noon at length en gradually to slacken it, but it was not till
six A.M. on the 1st of August that there appeared a prospect
of making any progress. There was, at this, time, a great
deal of water to the southward, but between us and the. chan-
nel there lay one narrow. and not very close stream of ice
touching theshore. A shift of wind to the northward deter-
mined me at once to, take advantage of it, as nothing but a
free wind seemed requisite to enable us to reach this promis- .

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 105

‘ing channel. The signal to that effect was immediately made,
“but while the sails were setting, the ice, which had at first

been about three-quarters of a mile distant from us, was ob-

served to be closing the shore. The ships were cast with all
‘expédition, i in hopes of gaining the broader channel before the
ice had time to shut us up. So rapid, however, was the lat-

terin this its sudden mevement, that we had but just got the

ships’ heads the right way, when the ice came bodily in upon
us, being doubtless set in motion by a very sudden freshening
of the wind almost to a gale in the course of a few minutes.

The ships were now almost instantly beset, and in such a man-
ner as to be literally helpless and unmanageable. In such,

_ tases, it must be confessed that the exertions made by heaving

at hawsers or otherwise are of little more service, than in the
Occupation they furnish to the men’s minds. under circum-
stances of difficulty; for when the ice is fairly acting against
the ship, ten times the strength and ingenuity could in reality
avail nothing. ©

The sails were, however, kept set, and as the body of ice
was setting to the southward withal, we went with it some

— dittle distance in that direction. The Hecla, after thus driving,

and now and then forcing her way through the ice, in all
about three-quarters of a mile, quite close to the shore, at
length struck the ground forcibly several times in the space
of a hundred yards, and being then brought up by it, remained
immoveable, the depth of water under her keel abaft being
sixteen feet, or about a foot less than she drew. The Fury
continuing to drive was now irresistibly carried past us, and
we escaped; only by a few feet, the damage invariably occa- —
sioned by ships coming in contact under such circumstances.
She had however scarcely past us a hundred yards, when it
was evident, by the ice pressing her in, as well as along the
shore, that she must soon be stopped like the Heela; and
having gone about two hundred yards further she was ob-
served to receive a severe pressure from a large floe-piece

‘ forcing her directly against a grounded mass of ice upon the

14

vhs
A

106 THIRD VOYAGE ¥OR THE DISCOVERY

beach. After setting to the southward for an hour’ or two
longer, the ice became stationary, no open water being any-
where visible from the mast-head, and the pressure on the
ships remaining undiminished during the day. Just as I had
ascertained the utter impossibility of moving the Hecla a sin-
gle foot, and that she must lie quite aground fore and aft as .
soon as the tide fell, I received a note from Captain Hoppner
informing me that the Fury had heen so severely ‘‘ nipped”
_ and strained as to leak a good deal, apparently about four.
inches an hour; that she was still heavily pressed both upon
the ground and against the large mass of ice within her; that
the rudder was at present very awkwardly situated; and that
one boat had been much damaged. As the tide fell, the Fury’s
stern which was aground was lifted several feet, and the He-
cla, at low water, having sewed five feet forward and two
abaft, we presented altogether no very pleasing or comfortable
spectacle. However, about high water, the ice very oppor-
tunely slacking, the Hecla was hove off with great ease, and
warped to a floe in the offing to which we made. fast at mid-
night. The Fury was not long after us in coming off the
ground, when I was in hopes of finding that any twist or
strain by which her leaks might have been occasioned, would,

in some measure, have closed when she was relieved from
pressure and once more fairly afloat. My disappointment and
mortification, therefore, may in some measure be imagined,
at being informed by telegraph, about two a.m. on the 2nd, _
that the water was gaining on two pumps, and that a part of

the doubling had floated up. The Hecla having, in the mean

time, been carried two or three miles to the southward, by

the ice which was once more driving in that direction, I di-

rected Captain Hoppner by signal to endeavour to reach the

best security inshore which the present slackness of the ice

might permit, until it was possible for the Hecla to rejoin

him. Presently after, perceiving from the mast-head some-

thing like a small harbour nearly abreast of us, every effort

was made to get once more na the shore. In this the -

ae ‘
OF A Neer ee PASSAGE. 107

#iée happily favoured us, and pas making sail, and one or two
tacks, we got in with the land, when I left the ship i in a boat
_ to sound the place, and search for shelter. I soon ‘had the
mortification to find that the harbour which had appeared to
present itself so opportunely, had not more than six or seven
feet of water in any part of it, the whole of its defences being

, composed of the stones and soil washed down by a stream

which here emptied itself into the sea. From this place, in-
' deed, where the land _gradually became much lower in ad
vancing to the southward, the whole nature of the soundings
entirely altered, the water gradually shoaling in bape O.ohiee
the beach, so that the ships could scarcely come nearer in
most parts than a quarter of a mile. At this distance, the
whole shore was more or less lined with grounded masses of
ice; but after examining the soundings within more than
twenty of them, in the space of about a mile, I could only
find two that would allow the ships to float at low water, and
that by some care in placing and keeping them there. Having
fixed a flag ‘on each berg, the usual signal for the ships taking
their stations, I rowed on board the Fury, and found. four
pumps constantly going, to keep the ship free, and Captain
Hoppner, his officers and men, almost exhausted with the in-
cessant labour of the last eight and forty hours. The instant
the ships were made fast, Captain Hoppner and myself set out
in a boat to survey the shore still further south, there being a
narrow lane of water about a mile in that direction; for it had
~ now become too evident, however unwilling we might have
been at first to admit the conclusion, that the Fury could pro-
ceed no further without repairs, and that the nature of those

repairs would in all probability involve the disagreeable, I
“may say”the ruinous, necessity of heaving the ship down. .

After rowing about three-quarters of a mile, we considered
ourselves fortunate in arriving at a bolder part of the beach,
where three grounded masses of ice, having from three to
four fathoms water at low tide within them, were so disposed
as to afford, with the assistance of art, ‘something like shelter.

108 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

Wild and insecure as, under other circumstances, such a place ,
would have been thought, for the purpose of heaving a ship:
down, we had no alternative, and therefore as little occasion .
as we had time for deliberation. Returning to the ships, we.
were setting the sails in order to run to the appointed place,
when the ice closed in and prevented our moving, and in a
short time there was once more no open water to be seen. We
were, therefore, under the necessity of remaining in our pre-
sent births, where the smallest external pressure must inevita~_
bly force us ashore, neither ship having'more than two feet of
water to spare. One watch of the Hecla’s crew were sent
round to assist at the Fury’s pumps, which required one-
third of her ship’s company to be constantly enalage at
them.

I now received from Captain Hoppner the following more
detailed account of the Fury’s accident, which it is proper for
me here to record.

¢¢ We had scarcely driven clear of the Hecla at 10.30. a.m.
on the Ist, before a heavy floe-piece pressed against our lar-
board quarter, and forced the ship against a high mass of
~rounded ice which threatened to tear everything away. The
sh ip received so severe a ‘*nip,”’ that she trembled violently,
«hilst the beams and timbers cracked, and a crash like the
report of a musket was heard under the larboard quarter by
two or three persons who chanced to be below. The rudder
was forced hard over to starboard, and but very little more
pressure seemed requisite to tear it from the stern-post. Find-
ing, after a short time, that the ice did not ease again outside
of us, everybody was employed in securing the boats and an-
chors, which had already suffered materially, and had nar-
rowly escaped being torn to pieces in passing the high ice.
While we were thus employed, the carpenter reported the
ship to be making water rapidly. From a wish not to create
any unnecessary sensation, and to make our situation appear
as favourable as possible, it was at first treated lightly, and
the pumps not set to work till after dinner, when the water

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. — | 108

had risen to four feet in the well, and after trying ¢ one and
two of the pumps, it was found necessary to set all four to:
work to keep her free, it being computed that she made saan
three feet per hour. Me
s¢ At the time we were first driven in, it wanted about an

hour of high-water, and the ship had then barely her draught
of water abaft; so that when the tide fell she sewed more than
six feet abaft, whilst her bow, which was very much depressed,
just took the ground. As it seemed probable that the same floe-
piece which had caused all the injury, might assist to drag us off
when it again set from the land, the stream-cable and a six-
inch hawser were secured to it; but unfortunately it began
moving about low water, and the ship being too firmly fixed, the
ropes broke after bearing a heavy strain. It was not until mid-
night that the ship floated, when we hove off, and were again
driven to the southward amongst the body of ice; all our ex-
ertions being directed to getting hold of a large piece outside
with the hope that it would drag us off the land. This, how-
ever, we were unable to effect; and were in momentary ex-
pectation of again driving on shore. The Hecla was now
driving fast from us, and as our people were nearly exhausted,
I communicated our situation to Captain Parry by signal; and
a breeze springing up soon after from ae land, opened the
ice sufficiently to enable the ships to join.”

The ice coming in with considerable violence on the night
of the 2nd, once more forced the Fury on shore, so that at
low water she sewed two feet and ahalf. Nothing but the
number and strength of the Hecla’s hawsers prevented her
sharing the same fate, for the pressure was just as much as
‘Seven of these of six inches, and two stream-cables, would
bear. The Fury floated in the morning, and was enabled to —
haul off a little, but there was no opening of the ice to allow
us to move to our intended station. The more leisure we ob-
tained. to consider the state of the Fury, the more apparent
became the absolute, however unfortunate, necessity of heav-
ing her down. * Four pumps were required to be at work

110 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

without intermission, to keep her free, and this in perfectly
smooth water, shewing that she was in fact so materially in-
jured as to be very far from sea-worthy. One-third of her
working men were constantly employed, as before remarked,
in this laborious operation, and some of their hands had be-
come so sore from the constant friction of the ropes, that they
could hardly handle them any longer without the use of mit-
tens, assisted by the unlaying of the ropes to make them soft.
When, in addition to these circumstances, the wet state of
the decks and the little room left, as well as the reduced
strength for working the ship, or heaving at hawsers among
the ice, be considered, I believe that every seaman will admit
the impracticability of pursuing this critical navigation till the
Fury had been examined and repaired. As, therefore, not a
moment could be lost, we took advantage of a small lane of wa-
ter deep enough for boats, which kept open within the ground-
ed masses along the shore, to convey to the Hecla some of

the Fury’s dry provisions, and to land a quantity of heavy

iron-work, and other stores not perishable; for the moment
this measure was determined. on, I was anxious, almost at
any risk, to commence the lightening of the ship as far as

our present insecurity and our distance fram the shore would.

permit.
The wind blowing fresh roti the northward, which always:

increased our difivulties on this coast, the ice pressed so vio-
lently upon the ships as almost to force them adrift during the
night, employing our people, now sufficiently harassed by their
work during the day, for two or three hours, in still further
increasing our security by additional hawsers. We continued
landing stores from the Fury on the 4th, and at night a bower-
cable was passed round one of the grounded masses alongside
of her; for if either ship had once got adrift, it is difficult to
say what might have been the consequence.

At two a.m. on the 5th, the ice began to slacken near the
ships, and as soon as a boat could be rowed along shore to the
southward, I set out, accompanied by a second"from the Fury,

yp

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. Lil;

for the purpose of examining the state of our intended harbour
since the recent pressure, and to endeavour to prepare for the
reception of the ships by clearing out the loose ice. On my
arrival there, the distance being about a mile, I found that one
of the three bergs had shifted its place so materially by the
late movements of the ice, as not only to alter the disposition
of these masses, on which our whole dependence rested, very
much for the worse, but also to destroy all confidence in their
stability upon the ground. Landing upon one of the bergs,
to show the appointed signal for the ships to come, I perceived

about half a mile to the southward beyond us a low point, form-

ing a little bay, with a great deal of heavy grounded ice lying
off it. I immediately rowed to this, in hopes of finding some-
thing like a harbour for our purpose, but on my arrival there had
once more the mortification to find that there was not above six
feet of water, at low tide, in any part of it, and within the
grounded ice not more than twelve. Having assured myself
that no security or shelter was here to be found,*I immediately

returned to the former place, which the Hecla was just reach- ~

ing. . The Fury was detained some time by a quantity of loose
ice which had wedged itself in, in such a manner as to leave
’ her no room to move outwards; but she arrived about seven
o’clock, when both ships were made fast in the best births we
could find, but they were still excluded from their intended
place by the quantity of ice which had fixed itself there.
- Within twenty minutes after our arrival, the whole body of
ice again came in, entirely closing up the shore, so that our
moving proved most opportune.

’ x

»112 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

CHAPTER VI.

FORMATION OF A BASIN FOR HEAVING THE FURY DOWN—
LANDING OF THE FURY’S STORES, AND OTHER PREPARA-
TIONS—THE SHIPS SECURED WITHIN THE BASIN—IMPE-
DIMENTS FROM THE PRESSURE OF THE ICE—FURY HOVE
DOWN—SECURITIES OF THE BASIN DESTROYED BY A GALE
OF WIND—PREPARATIONS TO TOW THE FURY OUT—HE-

CLA RE-EQUIPPED, AND OBLIGED TO PUT TO SEA—FURY -

AGAIN DRIVEN ON SHORE—REJOIN THE FURY; AND FIND
IT NECESSARY FINALLY TO ABANDON HER.

¥

As there was now no longer room for floating the ice out

of our proposed basin, all hands were immediately employed

in preparing the intended securities against the incursions of
the ice. These consisted of anchors carried to the beach,
having bowef®cables attached to them, passing quite round
the grounded masses, and thus enclosing a small space of just
sufficient size to admit both ships.* The cables we proposed
floating by means of the two hand-masts and some empty
casks lashed to them as buoys, with the intention of thus
making them receive the pressure of the ice a foot or two be-

‘low the surface of the water. By uncommon exertions on the

part of the officers and men, this laborious work was com-
pleted betore night as far as was practicable until the loose ice
should set out; and all the tents were set up on the beach for
the reception of the Fury’s stores.

The ice remaining quite close on the 6th, every individual
in both ships, with the exception of those at the pumps, was
employed in landing provisions from the Fury, together with
the spars, boats, and everything from off her upper deck.

“The ice coming in, in the afternoon, with a degree of pressure

which usually attended a northerly wind on this coast, twisted
the Fury’s rudder so forcibly against a mass of ice lying un-
der her stern, that it was for some hours in great danger of

* See the diagram, p, 114.

OP x NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. LTS

_ being damaged, and was indeed only saved by the efforts of

‘Captain Hoppner and his officers, who, without breaking off

the men from their other occupations, themselves worked at
the ice-saw. On the following day, the ice remaining as be-
fore, the work was continued without intermission, and a great
quantity of things landed. The two carpenters, Messrs. Pul-
fer and Fiddis, took the Fury’s boats in hand themselves,
their men being required as part of our physical strength in
clearing the ship. The armourer was also set to work on the
beach in forging bolts for the martingales of the outriggers.
In short every living creature among us was somehow or
other employed; not even excepting our dogs, which were
set to drag up the stores on the beach; so that our little dock-

‘yard soon exhibited the most animated scene imaginable. The

quickest method of landing casks, and other things not too
weighty, was that adopted by Captain Hoppner, and consisted
of a hawser secured to the ship’s main mast-head, and set up
as tight as possible to the anchor on the beach; the casks be-.
ing hooked to a block traversing on this as a jack-stay, were
made to run down it with great velocity. By this means
more than two were got on shore for every one landed by the
boats, the latter, however, being constantly employed in ad-
dition. The Fury was thus so much lightened in the course of
the day, that two pumps were now nearly sufficient to keep her
free, and this number continued requisite until she was hove
down. Her spirit-room was now entirely clear, and on ex-
amination the water was found to be rushing in through two
or three holes that happened to be in the ceiling, and which
were immediately plugged up. Indeed, it was now very evi-
dent that nothing but the tightness of the Fury’s diagonal ceil-
ing had so long kept her afloat, and that any ship not thus
fortified within could not possibly have been kept free by the
pumps. . ;

. At night, just as the people were going to rest, the ice be-
gan to move to the southward, and soon after came in towards
the shore, again endangering the Fury’s rudder,” and pressing

* I haye mentioned the endangering of the rudders so frequently about

>

15

“

114 THIRD VOYAGE FOR T'HE DISCOVERY

her over on her side to so alarming a degree, as to warn us
that it would not be safe to lighten her much more in her
present insecure situation. One of our bergs also shifted its
position by this pressure, so as to weaken our confidence in
the pier-heads of our intended basin; and a long “ tongue”
of one of them forcing itself under the Hecla’s fore-foot,
while the drift-ice was also pressing her forcibly from astern,
she once more sewed three or four feet forward at low water,
and continued to do so, notwithstanding repeated endeavours —
to haul her off, for four successive tides, the ice remaining so
close and so much doubled under the ship, as to render it im-
possible to move her a single inch. Notwithstanding the
state of the ice, however, we did not remain idle on the 8th,
all hands being employed in unrigging the Fury, and landing
all her spars, sails, booms, boats, aad other top-weight. In
the afternoon, we carried a third bower-anchor to the beach,
and secured another cable to the bight of the former ones, on
the north side of the basin, as shewn at 6 in the annexed dia-
gram, which will give the best idea of the nature of the har-
bour we were forming.

£05

this time, that seamen may ask why they were not unshipped. It will
give a tolerable idea of the critical situation in which we had for several

Pee RNR SF)
dS PaRER y shiy ear ON ere
a"

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 115

- This was the’more necessary, on account of the long bight of
the cable frome to g, which any pressure would be sure to
bring home upon the ships, and also because the ice always
exerted the greatest force from that side. Indeed, the whole

space we could hope to render secure was so extremely con-
tracted, that we could not afford to lose a single foot of it; and
having made these preparations, we anxiously looked for the
- ice slackening, that we might clear out our harbour, and
have an opportunity of trying its efficacy for our intended
purpose.

The ice still continuing very bow! on the 9th, all hands
were employed in attempting, by saws and axes, to clear the
Hecla, which still grounded on the tongue of ice every tide.
After four hours’ labour, they succeeded in making four or
five feet of room astern, when the ship suddenly slided down
off the tongue with considerable force, and became once more
afloat. We then got on shore the the Hecla’s cables and haw-
sers for the accommodation of the Fury’s men in our tiers
during the heaving down, struck our top-masts which would
be required as shores and outriggers, and, in short, continued
to occupy every individual in some preparation or other.
These being entirely completed at an early hour in the after-
noon, we ventured to go on with the landing of the coals and
provisions from the Fury, preferring to run the risk which
would thus be incurred, to the loss of even a few hours inthe
accomplishment of our present object. As it very oppor-
tunely happened, however, the external ice slackened to the
distance of about a hundred yards outside of us, on the morn- |
ing of the 10th, enabling us, by a most tedious and laborious”
operation, to clear the ice out of our basin piece by piece.
The difficulty of this apparently simple process consisted in
the heavy pressure having repeatedly doubled one mass under —
another, a position in which it requires great power to move ~

days past been placed, to state that we had never had sufficient depth of
. water (about twenty-five feet) for doing so.

116 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

fiph, and also by the corners locking in with the sides of the
bergs. Our next business was to tighten the cable sufficiently
by means of purchases, and to finish the floating of them in
the manner and for the purpose before described. After this
had been completed, the ships had only a few feet in length,
and nothing in breadth to spare, but we had now great hopes
of going on with our work with increased confidence and se-
curity. The Fury, which was placed inside, had something
less than eighteen feet at low water; the Heela lay in four
fathoms, the bottom being strewed with large = small frag-
ments of limestone.

While thus employed in securing the ships, the smoothness
of the water enabled us to see, in some degree, the nature-of
the Fury’s damage; and it may. be conceived how much pain
it occasioned us plainly to discover that both the stern-post
and fore-foot were broken and turacd up on one side with the
pressure. We also could perceive, as far as we were able to
see along the main-keel, that it was much torn, and we had
therefore reason to conclude that the damage would altogether
prove very serious. We also discovered that several feet of
the Hecla’s false-keel was torn away abreast of the fore-chains,
in consequence of her grounding forward so frequently.

The ships being now as well secured as our. means permit-
top from the immediate danger of ice, the elearing of the
ywent on with increased confidence, though greater alac-
rity, Was impossible, for nothing could exceed the spirit and
zealous activity of every individual, and as things had turned

‘out, thei ice had not obliged us to wait a moment, except at
the actual timkes of its pressure. Being favoured with fine
, weather, we continued our work very eiiclely: so that on the
12th every cask was landed, and also the powder; and the
spare sails and clothing put on board the Hecla.. On the 13th
we found that a mass of heavy ice which had been aground
within the Fury as shewn by the dotted lines in the diagram,
had now floated off alongside of her at high water, still further
%

San oa ae “
ee Oa

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 117
contracting our already narrow basin, and leaving the ship no
room for turning round. At the next high water, therefore,
we got a purchase on it, and hove it out of the way, so that
at night it drifted off altogether. The coals and preserved
meats were the principal things now remaining on. board the
Fury, and these we continued landing by every method we
could devise as the most expeditious. The tide rose so consi-

derably at night, new moon occurring within an hour of high ©

water, that we were much afraid of our bergs floating: they
remained firm, however, even though the ice came in with so

mueh force as to break one of our hand-masts, a fir-spar of ©

twelve inches in diameter. As the high tides and the light-
ening of the Fury now gave us sufficient depth of water for
unshipping the rudders, we did so, and laid them upon the
small berg astern of us, for fear of their being cae by
any pressure of the ice.

Early on the morning of the 14th, the ice slavkening a lit-

tle in our neighbourhood, we took advantage of it, though the -

people were’ much fagged, to tighten the cables, which had
stretched and yielded considerably by the late pressure. It
was well that we did so; for in the course of this day we were
several times interrupted in our work by the ice coming with
a tremendous strain on the north cables, the wind blowing
strong from the N.N.W., and the whole ‘‘ pack’? outside of
us setting rapidly to the southward. Indeed, notwithstanding
the recent tightening and re-adjustment of the cables, the
bight was. pressed in so much, as to force the Fury against
the berg astern of her, twice in the course of the day. Mr.
Waller, who was in the hold the second time that this oc-
curred, reported that the coals about the keelson were moved
by it, imparting the sensation of a part of the ship’s bottom
falling down; and one of the men at work there was so
strongly impressed with that belief, that he thought it high
time to make a spring for the hatchway. From this cireum-
stance it seemed more than probable that the main keel had
received some serious damage near the middle of the ship.

118 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

From this trial of the efficacy of our means of security,
it was plain that the Fury could not possibly be hove down
under circumstances of such frequent and imminent risk: I
therefore directed a fourth anchor, with two additional cables,
to be disposed as at ae in the diagram, with the hope of
breaking some of the force of the ice by its offering a more
oblique resistance than the other, and thus by degrees turn~
ing the direction of the pressure from the ships. We had
scarcely completed this new defence, when the largest floe we
had seen since leaving Port Bowen came sweeping along the
‘shore, having a motion to the southward of not less than a

mile and a half an hour; and a projecting point of it, just graz-

ing our outer berg at e, threatened to overturn it, and would
certainly have dislodged it from its situation, but for the cable
recently attached to it. A second similar occurrence took

place with a smaller mass of ice, about midnight, and near the

top of an unusually high spring-tide, which seemed ready to
float away every security from us. For three hours about
the time of this high water, our situation was a most critical
one; for had the bergs, or indeed any one of them, been car-
ried away or broken, both ships must inevitably have been
driven on shore by the very next mass of ice that should
come in. Happily, however, they did not suffer any further
material disturbance, and the main body keeping at a short
distance from the land until the tide had fallen, the bergs
seemed to be once more firmly resting on the ground. The
only mischief, therefore, occasioned by this disturbance, was
the slackening of our cables by the alteration in the positions
- of the several grounded masses, and the consequent necessity
of employing more time, which nothing but absolute neces-
sity could induce us to bestow, in adjusting and sae
the whole of them afresh.

The wind veering to the W.N.W. on the morning of the
15th, and still continuing to blow strong, the ice was. forced
three or four miles off the land in the course of a few hours,
leaving us a quiet day for continuing our work, but exciting no

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 119

very pleasing sensations, when we considered what progress
we might have been making, had we been at liberty to pursue
our object. The land was, indeed, so clear of ice to the
southward, that Dr. Neill, who walked a considerable distance
in that direction, could see nothing but an open channel in-
shore to the utmost extent of his view.* We took advantage
of this open water to send the launch for the Fury’s iron-
work left at the former station; for though the few men thus
employed could very ill be spared, we were obliged to arrange
everything with reference to the ultimate saving of time; and
it would have occupied both ships’ companies more than a,
whole day, to carry the things round by land.

The Fury being completely cleared at an early hour on the
16th, we were all busily employed in ‘‘ winding”’ the ship,
and in preparing the outriggers, shores, purchases and addi-
tional rigging. ‘Though we purposely selected the time of
high water for turning the ship round, we had scarcely a foot
of space to spare for doing it, and indeed, as it was, her fore-
foot touched the ground, and loosened the broken part of the
wood so much as to enable us to pull it up with ropes, when
we found the fragments to consist of the whole of the << gripe”
and most of the ‘‘cutwater.”? ‘The strong breeze continuing,
and the sea rising as the open water increased in extent, our
bergs were sadly washed and wasted; every hour’ producing
a sensible and serious diminution in their bulk. As, however,
the main body of ice still kept off, we were in hopes, now
that our preparations were so near completed, we should have

* In coasting the high and more precipitous land to the northward of
our present station, the wind always was observed to blow along it, ex-
cept occasionally in passing a ravine or valley. The moment we opened
this lower shore, on our first arrival, we found the wind draw three or four
points off it. Low land is, on this account, much more favourable for
coasting in these seas, than that which is very high. At Melville Island,
as another instance, we met with comparatively few and trifling difficulties
till we came to high land, which I haye no doubt was one cause at least of
our being stopped.

.

120 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

been enabled in a few hours to see the extent of the damage,
and repair it sufficiently to allow usto proceed. In the even-
ing we received the Fury’s crew on board the Hecla, every
arrangement and regulation having been previously made for
their personal comfort, and for the preservation of cleanliness, ©
ventilation, and dry warmth throughout the ship. The offi-.
cers of the Fury, by their own choice, pitched a tent on shore
for messing and sleeping in, as our accomodation for two sets
of officers was necessarily confined. On the 17th, when every
preparation was completed, the cables were found again so
slack, by the wasting of the bergs in consequence of the con-
tinued sea, and possibly also in part by the masses having
moved somewhat inshore, that we were obliged to occupy se-
veral hours in putting them to rights, as we should soon re-
quire al! our strength at the purchases. One berg had also,
at the last low water, fallen over on its side, in consequence
of its substance being undermined by the sea, and the cable —
surrounding it was thus forced so low under water as no
longer to afford protection from the ice should it again come
in. In tightening the cables, we found it to have the effect of
bringing the bergs in towards the shore, still further contract-
ing our narrow basin; but any thing was better than suffering
them to go adrift. This work being finished at ten p.m., the
people were allowed three hours’ rest only, it being necessary
to heave the ship down at or near high water, as there was not
sufficient depth to allow her to take her distance at any other .
time of tide. Every preparation being made, at three a.m.
on the 18th, we began to heave her down on the larboard side;
but when the purchases were nearly a-block, we found that the
strops under the Hecla’s bottom, as well as some of the Fury’s
; shore-fasts, had stretched or yielded so much, that they could
not bring the keel out of water within three or four feet. We
immediately eased her up again, gnd re-adjusted everything
as requisite, hauling her farther inshore than before by keep-
ing a considerable heel upon her, so as to make less depth of
water necessary; and we were then in the act of once mare

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 12]

heaving her down, when a snow storm came on and blew. with
such violence off the land, as'to raise a considerable sea. The
ships had now so much motion as to strain the geer very
much, and even to make the lower masts of the Fury bend in
spite of the shores;’ we were, therefore, most unwillingly
compelled to desist until the sea should go down, keeping
everything ready to recommence the instant’ we could possi-

bly do so with safety. The officers and men were now liter-

ally so harrassed and fatigued as to be scarcely capable of fur-
ther exertion without some rest; and on this and one or two
other occasions, I noticed more than a single instance of stu-
por amounting to.a certain degree of failure in intellect, ren-
dering the individual so affected quite unable at first to com-
prehend the: meaning of an order, though still as willing as
ever to obey it. It was therefore perhaps a fortunate necessity

which produced the intermission of labour which the strength

ad

of every individual seemed to require.

_ The gale rather increasing than otherwise during the whole
day and night of the 18th, had on the following morning, when,
the wind and sea still continued unabated, so destroyed the
bergs on which our sole dependence was placed, that they no
longer remained aground at low water; the cables had “again

become slack about them, and the basin we had taken so much
pains in forming had now lost all its defences, at least during

a-portion of every tide. It will be plain too, if I have succeed-

_ ed in giving a distinct description of our situation, that, inde-

pendently of the security of the ships, there was now nothing
left to sea-ward by which the Hecla could be held out in that
direction while heaving the Fury down, so that our preparations,
in this way were no longer available. After a night of most
anxious consideration and consultation with Captain Hoppner, .
who was now my messmate in the Hecla, it appeared but too
plain, that, should the ice again come in, neither ship could
any longer be secured from driving on shore. It was there-
fore determined instantly to prepare the Hecla for sea, making
her thoroughly effective in every respect; so that. we might at

16

193 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

least push her out into comparative safety among the ice, when
it closed again, taking every person on board her, securing the
Fury in the best manner we could, and returning to her the
instant we were able to do so, to endeavour to get her ont,
and to carry her to some place of security for heaving down.
If, after the Hecla was ready, time should still be allowed us,

It was proposed immediately to put into the Fury all that was
‘requisite, or at least as much as she could safely carry, and

towing her out into the ice, ‘to try the effect of ‘¢ foddering”
the leaks by sails under those parts of her keel which we knew
to be damaged, until some more effectual means could be re-
sorted to.

Having communicated to the assembled officers and ships’
companies my views and intentions, and moreover given them
to understand that I hoped to see the Hecla’s topgallant-yards
across before we slept, we commenced our work; and such
was the hearty good-will and indefatigable energy with which
it was carried on, that by midnight the whole was accomplish-
ed, and a bower-anchor and cable carried out in the offing, for
the double purpose of hauling out the Hecla when requisite,
and as some security to the Fury if we were obliged to leaye
her. The people were once more quite exhausted by these
exertions, especially those helonging to the Fury, whowhad -
never thoroughly recovered their first fatigues. The ice being”
barely in sight, we were enabled to enjoy seven hours of un-
disturbed rest; but the wind becoming light, and afterwards
shifting to the N.N.E., we had reason to expect the ice would
soon close the shore, “id were, therefore, most anxious to con-
tinue our work.

On the 20th, therefore, the re-loading of e Fury com-
menced with recruited strength and spirits, such articles being in
the first place selected for putting on board as were essentially re-
quisite for her re-equipment; for it was my full determination,
could we succeed in completing this, not to wait even for rigging
a topmast, or getting a lower yard up, in the event of the ice
coming in, but to tow her out among the ice, and there put

: OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. | 128

“everything sufficiently to rights for earrying her to some
place of security. At the same time, the end of the sea-cable
was taken on board the Fury, by way of offering some resist-
ance to the ice, which was now more plainly seen, though still
about five miles distant. A few hands were also spared, con-
sisting chiefly of two or three convalescents, and some of the
officers, to thrum a sail for putting under the Fury’s keel; for
we were very anxious to relieve the men at the pumps, which
constantly required the labour of eight to twelve hands to
keep her free. In the course of the day several heavy masses
of ice came drifting by with a breeze from the N.E., which is
here about two points upon the land, and made a considerable
swell. One mass came in contact with our bergs, which,

though only held by the cables, brought it *up in time to pre- .

vent mischief. By a long and hard day’s labour, the people
not going to rest till two o’clock on the morning of the 21st,
we got about fifty tons’ weight of coals and provisions on board
the Fury, which, in case of necessity, we considered sufficient

to give her stability. While we were thus employed, the ice, _

though evidently inclined to come in, did not approach us

much; and it may be conceived with what anxiety we longed

to be allowed one more day? s labour, on which the ultimate
saving of the ship might almost be considered as depending.
» Having hauled the ships out a little from the shore, and pre-
pared the Hecla for casting by a spring at a moment’s notice,
all the people except those at the pumps were sent to rest,

which, however, they had not enjoyed for two hours, when |

at four a.m. on the 21st, another heavy mass coming violently
in contact with the bergs and cables, threatened to sweep
saway every remaining security. Our situation with this addi

tional strain, the mass which had disturbed us fixing itself
upon the weather-cable, and an increasing wind and swell set-
ting eonsiderably on the shore, became more and more preca-
‘rious; and indeed, under circumstances as critical as can well
be imagined, nothing but the urgency and importance of the
object we had in view—that of saving the Fury if she was to

= 4 wari

i

f
-

124 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY |

be saved—could have prevented my, making sail, and keeping, »
the Hecla under way till matters mended. More hawsers
were run out, however, and enabled us still to hold on; and
after six hours of disturbed rest, all hands were again set to
work to get the Fury’s anchors, cables, rudder, and spars on
board, these things being absolutely necessary for her equip-
ment, should we be able to get her out. At two p.m. the
crews were called on board to dinner, whieh they had not
finished, when several not very large masses of ice drove
along the shore near,us at a quick rate, and two or three succes-
sively coming in violent contact either with the Hecla or the
bergs to which she was attached, convinced me that very little
additional pressure would tear everything away, and drive
both ships onshore. I saw that the moment had arrived when
the Hecla could no longer be kept in her present situation with
the smallest chance of safety, and therefore immediately got
under sail, despatching Captain Hoppner with every indi-
_ yidual except a few for working the ship, to continue getting
_ the things on board the Fury, while the Hecla stood off and
on. It wasa quarter past three p.m. when we cast off, the
‘wind then blowing fresh from the north-east, or about two
points upon the land, which causéd some surf on the beach.
Captain Hoppner had scarcely been an hour on board the Fu-
ry, and was busily engaged in getting the anchors and cables
on board, when we observed some large pieces of not very
heavy ice closing in with the lahd near her; and at twenty
minutes past four P.m., being an hour and five minutes after
the Hecla had cast off, I was informed by signal that the Fury
was on shore. Making a tack inshore, but not heing able,
even under a press of canvass, to get very near her, owing to,
a strong southerly current which prevailed within a mile or
two of the land, I perceived that she had been apparently
driven up the beach by two or three of the grounded ‘masses
forcing her onwards before them, and these, as well as the
ship, seemed now so firmly aground as entirely to block her
in on the sea-ward side. We also observed that the bergs

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE, _ 125

outside of her, marked fand g in the diagram, had been torn
away and set adrift by the ice. As the navigating of the
Hecla with only ten men on board required constant attention
and care, I could not at this time with propriety leave the
ship to go on board the Fury. - This, however, I the less re-
gretted, as Captain Hoppner was thoroughly acquainted with
all. my views and intentions, and I felt confident that, under
his direction, nothing would be left undone to endeavour to
. save the ship, I, therefore, directed him by telegraph, <‘ if
he thought nothing could be done at present, to return on board
with all hands until the wind changed;” for this alone, as far
as I could see the state of the Fury, seemed to offer the small-
est chance of clearing the shore, so as to enable us to proceed
with our work, or to attempt hauling the ship off the ground,
About seven p.m. Captain Hoppner returned to the Hecla, ac-
companied by all hands, except an officer with a party at the
pumps, reporting to me that the Fury had been forced aground
by the ice pressing on the masses lying near her, and bringing
home, if not breaking, the sea-ward anchor, so that the ship
was soon found to have sewed from two to three feet fore and
aft. The several masses of ice had moreover so disposed them+
selves, as shewn in the annexed figure, as almost to surround

her on every side where there yas sufficient depth of water
for hauling her off. ;

-
Pa

~ es

gi ~

*

126 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

With the ship thus situated, and masses of heavy ice con-
stantly coming in, it was Captain Hoppner’s decided opinion,
as well as that of Lieutenants Austin and Ross, that to have
laid out another anchor to sea-ward would have only been to
expose it to the same damage as there was reason to suppose
had been incurred with the other, without the most distant
hope of doing any service; especially as the ship had been driv-
en on shore, by a most unfortunate coincidence, just as the
tide was beginning to fall. Indeed, in the present state of the

_ Fury, nothing short of chopping and sawing up a part of the

ice under her stern, could by any possibility have effected her
release, even if she had been already afloat. Under such cir-
cumstances, hopeless as for the time every seaman will admit.
them to have been, Captain Hoppner judiciously determined
to return for the present, as directed by my telegraphic com-
munication; but being anxious to keep the ship free from wa-
ter as long as possible, he left an officer and a small party of
men to continue working at the pumps so long as a communi-.
cation could be kept up between the Hecla and the shore.
Every: moment, however, decreased the practicability of doing
this; and finding, soon after Captain Hoppner’s return, that
the current swept the Hecla a long way to the southward

while hoisting up the boats, and that more ice was drifting in

towards the shore, I was under the painful necessity of recall
ing the party at the pumps, rather than incur the risk, now an
inevitable one, of parting company with them altogether. Ac-
cordingly Mr. Bird with the last of the people came on board
at eight .o’clock in the evening, having left eighteen inches
water in the well, and four pumps being requisite to keep her
free. In three hours after Mr. Bird’s return, more than half
a mile of closely packed ice intervened between the Fury and
the open water in which we were beating, and before the
morning this barrier had increased to four or five miles in
breadth.

We carried a press of canvas all night, with a fresh breeze
from the north, to enable us to keep abreast of the Fury,

OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 127

| which, on account of the strong southerly current, we could
only do by beating at some distance from the land. The

-

breadth of the ice inshore continued increasing during the

day, but we could see no end to the water in which we were

beating, either to the southward-or eastward. Advantage was
taken of the little leisure now allowed us, to let the people
mend and wash their clothes, which they had scarcely had a
moment to do for the last three weeks. We also completed
the thrumming of a second sail for putting under the Fury’s
keel, whenever we should be enabled to haul her off the shore.

It fell quite calm in the evening, when the breadth of the ice

inshore had increased to six or seyen miles. We did not,
during the day, perceiye any current setting to the south-
ward, but in the course of the night we were drifted four or

five leagues to the south-westward, in which situation we had >

a distinct view of a large extent of land which had before

a

on

been seen for the first time by some of our gentlemen who —

walked from where the Fury lay. This land trends very much
to the westward, a little beyond the Fury Poryr, the name
by which I haye distinguished that headland near whichwe

had attempted to heave the Fury down, and which is very

near the southern part of this coast seen in the year 1819. It

then swéeps round into a large bay formed by a long, low
beach several miles in extent, afterwards joining higher land,
and running in a south-easterly direction to a point which ter-
minated our view of it in that quarter, and which bore from
us §. 58° W. distant six or seven leagues. This headland I

_ named Cape Garry, after my worthy friend Nicuozas Gar-

RY, Esq., one of the most active members of the Hudson’s Bay. .

Company, and a gentleman most warmly interested in every-

_ thing connected with northern discovery. ‘The whole of the
bay, (which I named after my much esteemed friend, Fran-

cis CrESwELL, Esq.,) as well as the land to the southward,
was free from ice for several miles, and to the southward and

eastward scarcely any was to be seen, while a dark water-
_ sky indicated a perfectly navigable sea in that direction; but —

a wens

128 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

between ‘us and the Fury there was a compact body of ice
eight or nine miles in breadth. Had we now been at liberty
to take advantage of the favourable prospect before us, I have
little doubt we should without much difficulty have made con-
siderable progress.

A southerly breeze enabling us to regain our northing, we
ran along the margin of the ice; but were led so much to the
eastward by it, that we could approach the ship no nearer
than before during the whole day. She appeared to us at this
distance to have a much greater heel than when the people left
her, which made us still more anxious to get near her. A south-
west wind gave us hopes of the ice setting off from the land,
but it produced no good effect during the whole of the 24th.

We, therefore, beat again to the southward, to see if we

could manage to get in with the land anywhere about the

shores of the bay; but this was now impracticable, the ice
being once more closely packed there. We could only wait,

therefore, in patience, for some alteration in our favour. The
latitude at noon was 72° 34' 57", making our distance from
the Fury twelve miles, which by the following morning had
increased to at least five leagues, the ice continuing to “ pack”?
between us and the shore. The wind, however, now gradual-
ly drew round to the westward, giving us hopes of a change,
and we continued to ply about the margin of the ice, in con-

stant readiness for taking advantage of any opening that might.
‘occur. It favoured us so much by streaming off in the.

course of the day, that by seven p.m. we had nearly reached a
channel of clear water'which kept open for seven or eight
miles from the land. Being impatient to obtain a sight of the
Fury,.and the wind ,becoming light, Captain Hoppner and
myself left the Hecla in two boats, and reached the ship at
half-past nine, or about three-quarters of an hour before high
water, being the most favourable time of tide for arriving to
examine her condition.

- We found her heeling so much outward, that her main chan-

nels were within a foot of the water; and the large floe-piece.

-

Oe ee ~

i A ip a NORTH-WEST PASSAGE 129

a the diagram, p, 125, marked @), which was still alongside
of her, seemed alone to. support. her below water, and to pre-
“Vent, her falling ¢ over still more considerably. The ship had
been forced much farther u up the beach than before, and she had
now in her bilge above nine feet of water, which reached

| higher than the lower-deck beams. On looking down the stern-

post, which, seen against the light-coloured ground, and in

shoal water, was. now very distinctly visible, we found that

she had pushed the stones at the bottom up before her, and

that the broken keel, stern-post, and dead-wood had, by the —
recent pressure, been more damaged and turned up than be-
fore. She appeared principally to hang upon the ground abreast
the gangway, where, at high water, the depth was eleven feet
alongside her keel; forward and aft from thirteen to. sixteen

feet; so that at low-tide, allowing the usual fall of five or six

feet, she would be lying ina depth of from five to ten feet only.

| The first hour’s inspection of the Fury’s condition too plainly

assured me that exposed as she was, and forcibly pressed up
upon an open and stony beach, her holds full of water, and the
damage of her hull to all appearance and in all probability
more considerable than before, without any adequate means of

hauling her off to seaward, or securing her from the further
incursions of the ice, every endeavour of ours to get her off,

or if got off, to float her to any known place of safety,” would

a be at once utterly hopeless i in itself, and productive of extreme
risk to our remaining, ship.

_. Being anxious, however, in a case of so much importance,
to avail Chests of the judgment and experience of others, I di-

_rected Captain Hoppner, i in conjunction with Lieutenants Aus-

tin and Sherer, and. Mr. Pulfer, carpenter, being the officers.

_ who accompanied me to the Fury, to hold a survey upon her, .

and to report their opinions to me. And to prevent the possi-
bility of the officers receiving any bias from my own opinion,
the order was given to them ine moment we arrived on board
the Fury.
Captain Hoppner and the other officers, after spending seve-
vi

130 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

ral hours in attentively examining every part of the ship, both
within and without, and maturely weighing all the cireum-
stances of her situation, gave it as their epinion that it would

be quite impracticable to make her sea-worthy, even if she —

could be hauled off, which would first require the water to be —

got out of the ship, and the holds to be once more entirely
cleared. Mr. Pulfer, the carpenter of the Fury, considered
that it would occupy five days to clear the ship of water; that
if she were got off, all the pumps would not be sufficient to
keep her free, in consequence of the additional damage she
seemed to have sustained; and that, if even hove down, twenty
days’ work, with the means we possessed, would be required
for making her sea-worthy. Captain Hoppner, and the other
officers, were, therefore, of opinion, that an absolute necessity
existed for abandoning the Fury. My own opinion being thus
confirmed as to the utter hopelessness of saving her, and feel-
ing more strongly than ever the responsibility which attached
to me of preserving the Hecla unhurt, it was with extreme

pain and regret that I made the signal for the Fury’s officers _

and men to be sent for their clothes, most of which had been
put on shore with the stores. * roe “

The Hecla’s bower-anchor, which had been placed on the
beach, was sent on board as soon as the people came on shore;
but her remaining cable was too much entangled with the
grounded ice to be disengaged without great loss of time. Hay-
ing allowedthe officers and men an hour for packing up their
_ clothes, and what else belonging to them the water in the ship
had not covered, the Fury’s boats were hauled up on the beach,

and at two a. m. I left her, and was followed by Captain Hoppe

ner, Lieutenant Austin, and the last of the people in half an
hour after.

The whole of the Fury’s stores were of necessity left either
on board her or on shore, every spare corner that we could

q

* The written reports and opinions of Captain Hoppner, the two lieu-
tenants, and the carpenter, are inserted in this part of my original Journal,

lodged at the Admiralty; but it has not been considered necessary to print
them in detail.

a gaa a gn at tt Soe eS

oe - OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. __ 131

find in the Heela being now absolutely required for the accom-
‘modation of our double complement of officers and men, whose
cleanliness ‘and health could only be maintained by keeping
the decks as clear and well ventilated as our limited space
would’ permit. The spot where the Fury was left is in lati-
tude 72° 42' 30"; the longitude by chronometers is 91° 50’
- 05"; the dip of the magnetic needle 88° 19',22; and the vari-
ation 129° 25' Westerly.
When the accident first happened to the Duly: I confidently
expected to have been able to repair her damages, in good
time to take advantage of a large remaining part of the navi-
gable season in the prosecution of the voyage; and while the
clearing of the ship was going on with so much alacrity, and
the repairs seemed to be within the reach of our means and
resources, I still flattered myself with the same hope. But as
soon as the gales began to destroy, with a rapidity of which
we’had before no conception, our sole defence from the incur-
sions of the ice, as well as the only trust-worthy means we
before possessed of holding the Hecla out for heaving the Fury
down, I confess that the prospect of the necessity then likely
to arise for removing her. to some other station, was sufficient
to shake every reasonable expectation that I had hitherto che-
rished of the ultimate accomplishment of our object. Those
expectations were now at an end, With a twelvemonth’s
_ provision for both ships’ companies, extending our resources
_ only to the autumn of the following year, it would have been
folly to hope for final success, considering the small progress
we had already made, the uncertain nature of this navigation,
_ and the advanced period of the present season. I was, there-
fore reduced to the only remaining conclusion, that it was my
duty, under all the circumstances of the case, to return to
_ England, in compliance with the plain tenor of my instruc-
tions. As soon as the boats were hoisted up, therefore, and

_ . the anchor stowed, the ship’s head was put to the north-east-

ward, with a light air off the land, in order to gain an | offing
nelory the ice should again set inshore.

jae : ha ii dah nea
132. THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

CHAPTER VIL. ea . un

m fa te

SOME REMARKS. UPON THE LOSS OF THE FURY—AND ON THE
NATURAL HISTORY, &c. OF THE COAST OF NORTH SOMER-
SET—ARRIVE AT NEILL’?S HARBOUR—DEATH OF JOHN PAGE,
—-LEAVE NEILL’S HARBOUR—RE-CROSS THE ICE IN BAF-
FIN’S BAY-—HEAVY GALES—AURORA BOREALIS—TEMPERA-

TURE OF THE SEA—ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND—CONCLUDING

REMARKS ON SOME NATURAL PHENOMENA PECULIAR TO THE
POLAR SEAS—ON THE DISCOVERIES OF THE OLD BRITISH
NAVIGATORS—AND ON THE NORTH- WEST PASSAGE.

THE accident which had now befallen the Fury, and which,

when its fatal result was finally ascertained, at once put an end .

to every prospect of success in the main object of this voyage,
is not an event which will excite surprise in the minds of those
who are either personally acquainted with the true nature of
this precarious navigation, or have had patience to follow me
through the tedious and monotonous detail of our operations

during seven successive summers. To any persons thus quali-

fied to judge, it will be plain that an occurrence of this nature
was at all times rather to be expected than otherwise, and that
the only real cause for wonder has been our long exemption

from. such a catastrophe. I can confidently affirm, and I trust.

that, on such an occasion, I may be permitted to make the re-
mark, that the mere safety of the ships has never been more
than a secondary object i in the conduct of the expeditions un-
der my command. To push forward while there was any open
water to enable us to do so, has uniformly been our first en-
deavour; it has not been until the channel has actually termi-
nated, that we have ever been accustomed to look for a place
of shelter, to which the ships were then conducted with all.
possible despatch: and I may safely venture to predict that
no ship acting otherwise will ever accomplish the North-west
Passage. On numerous occasions, which will easily recur to

a OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 138

the memory of those I have had the honour to command, the
ships might’ easily have been placed among the ice, and left to

drift with it, in comparative, if’ not absolute security, when’
‘the holding them on has been preferred, though attended with
hourly and imminent peril. This was precisely the case on’

the present occasion; the ships might certainly have been

pushed into’ the ice a day or two, or even a week before-hand,
and thus preserved from all risk of being forced on shore; but
where they would have been drifted, and? when they would
have been again disengaged from the ice, or at liberty to take
advantage of the occasional openings inshore, (by which alone
the navigation of these seas is to be performed with any de- -
gree of certainty) I believe it impossible for any one to form
the most distant idea. Such, then, bemg the necessity for
constant and unavoidable risk, it cannot reasonably excite sur-

prise, that, on a single occasion, out of so many in which the

same accident seemed, as it were, impending, it should actu-
ally have taken place.

These remarks I conceive to be the more necessary, because
I believe that our former successes in this navigation, and our |
entire exemption from serious damage, had served to beget a
very general, but erroneous notion, that our ships were proof
against any pressure to which they might be subject. This
belief extended even in a certain degree to those employed on

this service, who almost began to consider our ships as invul-

nerable; and, for my own part, I confess that, though a mo-
ment’s reflection would at any time contradict such a notion,
I often experienced a feeling of confidence in their strength —
too nearly approaching to presumption. We have now learn- -

ed by experience that a body of ice of no very heavy kind,

when bearing in a particular manner, and with its whole force,

_ upon a ship touching the ground, is quite sufficient to set every

combination of wood and iron at defiance, even when disposed,

as in the Fury and Hecla, with all the skill and strength which
art can suggest. In truth, a ship, like any other work of man,

sinks, and must ever iris into insignificance, when viewed

134 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY ‘
ee, x

in comparison with the stupendous scale on which Nature’s.

works are framed, and her operations performed; and a vessel
of whatever magnitude, or whatever strength, is little better

than a nut-shell, when obliged to withstand the pressure of the»
unyielding ground on one side, and a moving hody, of ice on

the other.

‘These truths, howe wellI might have been before aware
of them, it would not have become me to touch upon, under
almost any other circumstances than those Ihave now detailed.
On no other occasion, indeed, should I have considered it
either necessary or justifiable to dwell even for amoment upon
them. I have done so now with the hope of shewing that,
while we trust it will appear ‘that our own endeavours have
never béen wanting to preserve, as far as was consistent with
our duty, the ships committed to our charge, we also feel and
acknowledge that it has not been ‘‘our own arm,”? nor ‘‘ our
own strength,’’ to which we have so long owed their preser-
vation. : . : : :

The ice we met with after leaving Port Bowen, previously
to the Fury’s disaster, and for some days after, I consider to
have been much the lightest as well ‘as the most broken we
have ever had to contend. with. During the time we were shut
up at our last station near the Fury, one or two floes of very
large dimensions drifted past us; and these were of that heavy
‘¢hummocky” kind which we saw off Cape Kater in the be-
ginning of August, 1819. On the whole, however, Mr. Alli-

son and myself had constant occasion to remark the total ab- ~

sence of floes, and the unusual lightness of the other ice. We
thought, indeed, that this latter circumstance might account
for its being almost incessantly in motion on this coast; for
heavy ice, when once it is pressed home upon the shore, and
has ceased to move, generally remains quiet until a change of
wind or tide makes it slacken. But with lighter ice, the fre-
quent breaking and doubling of the parts which sustain the
strain, whenever any increase of pressure takes place, will set
the whole body once more in motion till the space is again

¥ 1%

* OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. = 135

‘filled up. This was so often the case while our ships lay in the
. ‘3 most exposed situations on this unsheltered coast, that we were
never relieved for a moment from the ola vce is of some
“new and in¢reased pressure. + ey
The summer of 1825 was, beyond all doubt, the warmest
and most favourable we had experienced since that of 1818.
Not-more than two or three days occurred, during the months
of July and August, in which that heavy fall of snow took
place which so commonly converts the aspect of nature in these |
regions, in a single hour, from the cheerfulness of summer into
the dreariness of winter. Indeed, we experienced very little
either of snow, rain, or fog; vegetation, wherever the soil al-
lowed any to spring up, was extremely luxuriant and forward;
a great deal of the old snow, which had lain on the ground du-
_ ring the last season, was rapidly dissolving even early in Au-
gust; and every appearance of nature exhibited a striking con-
‘trast with the last summer, while it seemed evidently to fur-
nish an extraordinary hglteriaver, for its rigour | incle-
mency.
We have seareely. ever visited a dats on which ‘so little of ]
animal life occurs. For days together, only one or two seals,
pha single sea-horse, and now and then a flock of ducks were
seen. I have already mentioned, however, as an exception to
this scarcity of animals, the numberless kittiwakes which were \
flying about the remarkable spout of water; and we were one
day visited, at the place where the Fury was left, by hun-
_ dreds of white whales sporting about in the shoal water close
to the beach. No black whales were ever seen on this coast.
_ Two rein-deer were observed by the gentlemen who extended
their walks inland; but this was the only summer in which we
‘did not procure asingle pound of venison. Indeed, the whole
of our supplies obtained in this way during the voyage, inclu-
ding fish, flesh, a fowl, did not Wired: twenty pone
~ Man.
During the time that we were made fast upon this coast, in
which situation alone observations on current can be satisfac-

Z pas OP PE Oo
Zenpanw earn,

;

136 THIRD it ai FOR. THE DISCOVERY ’

torily made, it is Reve that the ice was setting to the auth- 4
ward, and sornetimes at a rapid rate, full seven days out of
every ten on an average. Had I now witnessed this for the

\. first time in these seas, I should probably have concluded that

there was a constant southerly set at this season; but the expe-

rience we had before obtained of that superficial current which —
every breeze of wind creates in a sea encumbered with ice,

coupled with the fact that while this set was noticed, we had
an almost continual prevalence of northerly ‘winds, inclines
me to believe that it was to be attributed, chiefly at least, to
this circumstance; especially as, on one or two occasions, with
rather a light breeze from the southward, the ice did set slow-
ly in the opposite direction. It is not by a few unconnected
observations that a question of this. kind isto be settled, as the
facts noticed during our detention near the. west end of Mel-
ville Island in 1820 will abundantly testify; every light air of

wind producing, in half an hour’s time, an extraordinary _

change of current setting at an incredible rate along the land.
The existence of these variable and irregular currents adds,
of course, very much.to the difficulty of determining the true

direction of the flood-tide, the latter being generally much the

weaker of the two, and therefore either wholly counteracted

by the current, or simply tending to accelerate it. On this

account, though I attended very carefully to the subject of the
tides, I cannot pretend to say for certain from what direction
the flood-tide comes on this coast: the impression on my mind, ~
however, has been upon the whole in favour of its flowing
from the southward. The time of high water on the full and
change days of the moon is from half past eleven to twelve
o’clock, being nearly the same as at Port Bowen; but the tides
are so irregular at times, that in the space of three days the
retardation will occasionally not amount to an hour. I ob-
served, however, that as the days of full and change, or of the
inbiuste quarter approached, the irregularity was corrected,
and the time rectified, by some tide of extraordinary duration.

Sas The n mean mn riae-and fall was about six feet.

ae | OF. A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 137

_ The weather continuing nearly calm during the 26th, dei
the ice keeping at the distance of several miles from the land,
gave us an opportunity of clearing our decks, and stowing the
things belonging to the Fury’s crew more comfortably \for
their accommodation and convenience. I now felt fore sen-
sibly than ever the necessity I have elsewhere pointed out, of

both ships employed on this kind of service being of the same

size, equipped i in the same manner; and alike efficient in eve-
ry respect. The way in which we had been able to apply eve-
ry article for assisting to heave the Fury down, without the
smallest doubt or selection as to size or strength, proved an

- excellent practical example of the value of being thus able, at

a moment’s warning, to double the means and resources of
either ship in case of necessity. In fact, by this arrangement,
nothing but a harbour to secure the ships was wanted, to have
completed the whole operation in as effectual a manner as in a
dock-yard; for not a shore, or outrigger, or any other precau-

_ tion was omitted, that is usually attended to on such occasions,

and all as good and effective as could anywhere have been de-
sired. The advantages were now scarcely less conspicuous in
the accommodation of the:officers and men, who in a short
time became little less comfortable than in their own ship;
whereas, in a smaller vessel, comfort, to say nothing of health,
would have been quite out of the question. Having thus ex-
perienced the incalculable benefit of the establishment com-
posing this expedition, I am anxious to repeat‘my conviction
of the advantages that will always be found to attend it, in the
_ equipment of any two ships intended for discovery.

A little snow, which had fallen in the course of the last two

or three days, now remained upon the land, lightly powder-
ing the higher parts, especially those having a northern as-

pect, and creating a much more wintery sensation than the

large broad patches or drifts, which, on all tolerably high land

in these regions, remain undissolved during the whole of each

successive summer. With the exception of a few such patches
| 18 i

2 6x

138 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

here and there, the whole of this pee was now free from snow

before the middle of August.
A breeze from the northward hae up strong on od

: 27th, we stretched over to the eastern shore of Prince Re-

gent’s Iflet, and this with scarcely any obstruction from ice.
We could, indeed, scarcely believe this the same sea which,
but a few weeks before, had been loaded with one impenetra-

ble body of closely-packed ice from shore to shore, and as far i
as the eye could discern to the southward. We found this
land rather more covered with the newly-fallen snow than.

that to the westward; but there was noice, except the grounded

masses, anywhere along the shore. Having a great deal of

heavy work to do in the re-stowage of the holds, which could
not well be accomplished at sea, and also a quantity of water

to fill for our increased complement, I determined to take ad-

vantage of our fetching the entrance of Neill’s Harbour to put

"in here, in order to prepare the ship completely for crossing —

the Atlantic. I was desirous also of ascertaining the depth of
water in this place, which was wanting to complete Lieuten-

ant Sherer’s survey of it. At one p.m. therefore, after com-

municating to the officers and ships’ companies my. intention
to return to England, I left the ship, accompanied by Lieuten-
ant Sherer in a second boat, to obtain the necessary soundings
for conducting the ship to the anchorage, and to lay down a

buoy in the proper birth. ‘Finding the harbour an extremely

convenient one for our purpose, we worked the ship in, and
at four p.m. anchored in thirteen fathoms, but afterwards shift-
ed out to eighteen, on a bottom of soft: mud. Almost at the
moment of our dropping the anchor, John Page, seaman of
the Fury, departed this life: he had for several months been
affected with a scrofulous disorder, and he was gradually sink-
ing for some time. This being the only case of disease which
proved fatal in either ship of this expedition, I shall here in-

sert the following brief account of it, with which I have been —

favoured by Mr. M’Laren, surgeon of the. Fury.

.
:
iy
.
f
¥

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. : ‘139

oe In the Be sinitine of Mareh’ this poor man received an in-

. jury over the lower part of the spine, by a fall while deseend-
ing a hill at Port Bowen, where he had been employed with
a party at work. The accident at first appeared so trifling, that

for some days he took no notice of it, and did not complain:

till the 11th, when the part had become so swelled and in-

' flamed’ that he could not-walk. Resolution was in vain at-

tempted; an abscess formed, and was opened on the 17th,

when about six ounces of strumous matter was discharged,
which discovered the injury to be more deeply-seated and
- serious than was at first apprehended; particularly as it occur-
red in a subject that from his white hair, fair skin, and deli-
cate appearance, too certainly indicated a scrofulous habit.
On the 19th, by an unfortunate fall in his hammock, the head-
serew by which it was suspended giving way, the hurt receiv-
ed fresh injury, and so deranged the constitution, that sympa-

thetic fever supervened, and continued till the 24th, when he »

again began to show symptoms of amendment; soon after the
sore assumed a healing aspect, and he was able to walk about
without. pain or difficulty. These favourable appearances
lasted but a short time; the discharge increased, and the sur-
_ Founding par ts became covered with inflamed spots, which af-

terwards suppurated, and separately communicated internally

with the original abscess. He now daily became weaker; on

the 13th rs August hectic fever came on, and wi ened on.

it

the 27th.

The funeral of the deceased took place after divine service ~

had been performed on the 28th; the body being followed to
the grave by a procession of all the officers, seamen and ma-
rines of both ships, and every solemnity observed which the
occasion demanded. -The oe is situated near the beach close
to the anchorage; and a boa d was placed at the head as a sub-

stitute for a fori sbisuleh having on it a copper plate with the

usual inscription.

- This duty being performed, we iemediaiely emi naeeeil
landing the casks and filling water; but notwithstanding the

140 THIRD sddiicaea FOR THE DISCOVERY

large streams which, a show aime before, had Been cube
into the harbour, we could hardly obtain enough for our pur-
pose by sinking a cask with holes in it. Ihave no doubt that
this rapid dissolution of all the snow on land so high as this, 3
was the result of an unusually warm summer. This work,
together with the entire re-stowage of all.the holds, occupied
the whole of the 29th and 30th, during which time Lieutenant
Sherer was employed in completing the survey of the harbour,
more especially the soundings, which the presence of ice had
before prevented. These arrangements had just been com~-
pleted, when the north-easterly wind died away, and was suc-
ceeded, on the morning of the 31st, by a light air from the:
north-west. As soon as we had sent to ascertain that the sea
was clear of ice on the outside, and that the breeze which blew
in the harbour was the true one, we weighed and-stood out,
and before noon had cleared the shoals at the entrance.

Neill’s Harbour, the only one on this eastern coast of Prince
Regent’s Tnlet except Port Bowen, to which it is far superior.
corresponds with one of the apparent openings séen at a dis-'
tance in 1819, and marked on the chart of that voyage as a
‘‘valley or bay.” We found it not merely a convenient
place of shelter, but a most excellent harbour, with’ sufficient
space for a great number of ships, and holding-ground of the _
best quality, consisting of a tenacious mud of a greenish co-
lour, in which the flukes of an anchor are entirely imbedded.
A great deal of the anchoring grotnd ‘is entirely land-locked,
and some shoal points whighs narrow the entranee would serve
to break off any heavy sea from the eastward. The depth of
water in most parts is greater than could be wished, but seve-
ral good births are pointed out \un a survey made by Lieute-
nant Sherer. The beach on the Vest side is a fine bold one,
with four fathoms within twenty ards of low-water mark,
and consists of small pebbles of Bn estone. The formation
of the rocks about the harbour is so similar to that of Port
Bowen, that no description of them is necessary. The harbour
may best be known by its latitude; by the very. remarkable.

ey OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.» 141

bi hapileds hill eight _ anilae south of it, which I have named

‘after Lieutenant. Sherer, who observed its latitude; by the .

high cliffs on the south side of the entrance, and the compara-

tively low land on the north. The high land is the more pe- '

culiar, as consisting of that very regular horizontal stratifica-

tion appearing to. be supported by buttresses, which charac-

terizes a large portion of the western shore of Prince: Regent’s
Inlet, but is not seen on any part of this coast so well marked
as nde,’ It is a remarkable circumstance, and such as, I be-
lieve, very rarely occurs, that from the point of this land
forming the: entrance of the harbour to the southward, and

where the cliffs rise at once toa perpendicular height of not less.
than fiveor six. hundred. feet, a shoal stretches off to the dis-

_tance of one-third of a mile, having from three to eight fa-

thoms upon it. I have reason to think, indeed, that there is -

not more than from ten to fourteen fathoms, anywhere across
between this and the low point on the other side, thus forming
a sort of bar, though the depth of water is much more than sil
ficient for any ship to pass over. The latitude of Neill’s Har-
bour is 73° 09' 08"'; the longitude by chronometers 89° 01’

20''.8; the dip of the magnetic needle 88° 08'.25, and the va-
-Tiation 118° 48° westerly.

I have been thus particular 4 in describing Neill’s Bigws

because I am of opinion that at. no very distant period the -

whalers may find it of service. The western coast of Baffin’s
Bay, now an abundant fishery, will probably, like most others,
fail in a few years; for the whales will always, in the course of
time, leave a place where they continue, year after year, to
be molested. In that case, Prince Regent’s Inlet will undoubt-
edly become a rendezvous for our ships, as well on account of
the numerous fish there, as ‘the facility with which any ship,
having once crossed the ice in Baffin’s Bay, is sure to reach it
during the months of July and August. We saw nine or ten
black whales the evening of our arrival in Neill’s Harbour;
these, like most observed hereabouts, and I believe on the
western coast of Baffin’s Bay generally, were somewhat he-
low the middle size.

2 8 \d
veh. |
“s f

142 | THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE ‘DISCOVERY ;

Finding the wind at north-west in Prince Regent’s Inlet,
we were barely able to lie along the eastern coast. As the
breeze freshened in the course of the day, a great deal of loose
ice in extensive streams and patches came drifting down from

the Leopold Islands, occasioning us some trouble in picking |

our way to the northward. By carrying a press of sail, how-
ever, we were enabled, towards night, to get into clearer wa-
ter, and by four a.m. on the 1st of September, having beat

to windward of ‘a compact body of ice which had fixed “itself

on the lee-shore about Cape York, we soon came into a per-

fectly open sea in Barrow’s Strait, and were enabled to bear

away to the eastward. We now considered ourselves for-
tunate in having got out of harbour when we did, as the ice

would probably have filled up every inlet on that shore i in a.

few hours after we left it.
The wind heading us from the eastward on the oulk with tis

and wet weather, blige’ us to stretch across the Sound, in

doing which we had occasion to remark the more than usual
number of icebergs that occurred in this place, which was

abreast of Navy-Board Inlet. Many of these were large and —

of the long flat kind, which appear to me to be peculiar to the
western. coast of Baffin’s Bay. I have no doubt that this more
than usual quantity of icebergs in Sir James Lancaster’s Sound

was to be attributed to the extraordinary prevalence and
strength of *the easterly winds during this summer, which

would drive them from the eastern parts of Baffin’s Bay.
They now occurred in the proportion of at least four for one
that we had ever before observed here.

Being again favoured with a fair wind, we now stretched to
the eastward, still in an open sea; and our curiosity was par-

ticularly excited to see the present situation of the ice in the’
middle of Baffin’s Bay, and to compare it with that in 1824. ©

This comparison we were enabled to make the more fairly, be~
cause the season at which we might expect to come to it coin-
cided, within three or four days, weit that in which we left it
the preceding year. ‘The temperature of the sea-water now

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 143,

iigernoced, to 38°, soon: after leaving the Sound, where it had
generally been from 83° to. 35°, whereas at the same season
last year it rose no higher than 32° anywhere i in the neighbour-
hood, and remained even so high as that only for a very short.
time. This circumstance seemed to indicate the total absence |
of ice from those parts of the sea which had last Autumn been
_ wholly covered by it. Accordingly, on the 5th, being thirty —
F iniiee beyond the spot i in which we had before contended with
“numerous. difficulties from ice, not a piece was to be seen, ex-
cept one or two solitary bergs; and it was not till the follow-
ing day, in latitude 72° 45’, and longitude 64° 44’, or about
one hundred and twenty-seven miles to the eastward of where
we made our escape on the 9th of September, 1824, that we
fell in with a body of ice so loose and open as scarcely to oblige
us to alter our course for it. At three p.m. on the 7th, being
in latitude 72° 30’, and longitude 60° 05' , ang having, in the
course of. eighty miles that we had run fhoniien it, only made a
single tack, we came to the margin of the ice, and got into an
open sea on its eastern side. _ In the whole course of this dis-
tance the ice was so much spread, that it would not, if at all
elosely ‘‘ packed,” have occupied one-third of the same space.
There were at this time thirty-nine bergs in sight, and some
of them certainly not less than two hundred feet in height.
The narrowness and openness of the ice at this season, be-
_ tween the parallels of 73° and 74°, when compared with its
_ extent and closeness about the same time the preceding year,
owas a decided confirmation, if any were wanting, that the
summer of 1824 was extremely unfavourable for penetrating
to the westward about the usual latitudes. How it ae proved
‘elsewhere we could not of course conjecture, till, on the 8th,
_ being in latitude 71° 55', longitude 60° 30', and close to the —
_ margin of the ice, we fell in with the Alfiod, “Htiien, and
_ Elizabeth, Whalers of Hull, all running to the northward,’
even at this season, to look for whales. From them we learned
that the Ellison was one of the two ships we saw, when beset ©
_in the “ paell on the 18th of duly, 1824; and that oe were

144 _ THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY .

then, as we had conjectured, on their return from the north- _
ward, in consequence of having failed in effecting a passage to
the westward. The master of the Ellison informed us that,
after continuing their course along the margin of the ice to
the southward, they at length passed through it to the western:
land without any difficulty, in the latitude of 68° to 69°
Many other ships had also crossed about the same parallels,
even in three or four days; but none, it seemed, had succeeded
in doing so, as usual, to the northward. Thus it plainly ap-
peared (and I need not hesitate to confess that to me the infor-
_ mation was satisfactory) that our bad success in pushing across
the ice in Baffin’s Bay in 1824, had been caused by cireum-
stances neither to be foreseen nor controlled; namely, by a
particular position of the ice which, according to the best in-
formation 1 have been able to collect, has never before occur- _
red during the only six years that it has been customary for
the Whalers to cross this ice at all, and which, therefore, in
all probability, will seldom occur again.
If we'seek for a cause for the ice thus hanging with more |
than ordinary tenacity to the northward, the comparative cold- |
ness of the season indicated by our meteorological observations
may perhaps be considered sufficient to furnish it. For as the
annual clearing of the northern parts of Baffin’s Bay depends’
entirely on the time of the disruption of the ice, and the rate
at which it is afterwards drifted to the southward by the ex-
cess of northerly winds, any circumstance tending to retain it
in the bays and inlets to'a later period than usual, and subse-.
quently to hold it together in large floes, which drive more
slowly than smaller masses, would. undoubtedly produce the
effect in question. There is, at all events, one useful practical
inference to be drawn from what has been stated, which is,
that, though perhaps in a considerable majority of years a —
northern latitude may prove the most favourable for crossing _
in, yet seasons will sometimes intervene, in which it will bea
matter of great uncertainty whereabouts to make the attempt. :
with the best hope of success. a

Ke

Pyrsieeer 7

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 145.

'' Asthe whaling-ships were not homeward bound, having as /¢
yet had indifferent success in the fishery, I did not consider it —

necessary to send despatches by them. After an hour’s com-
munication with them, and obtaining such information of a
public nature as could not fail to be highly interesting to us,
we made sail to the southward; while we observed them lying
to for some time after, probably to consult respecting the un-

welcome information with which we had furnished them as to ©

the whales, not one of which, by some extraordinary chance,
we had seen since leaving Neill’s Harbour. As this circum-

stance was entirely new to us, it seems not unlikely that the

whales are already beginning to shift their ground, in conse-
quence of the ‘increased attacks which have been made upon
them of late years in that neighbourhood.

On the 10th we had an easterly wind, which gradually

freshening to a gale, drew up the Strait from the southward, “~ ae

and blew strong for twenty-four hours from that quarter. In
the course of the night, and while lying-to under the storm-
sails, an iceberg was discovered by its white appearance un-
der our lee. ‘Phe main-topsail being thrown aback, we were
enabled to drop clear of this immense body, which would have
been a dangerous neighbour in a heavy sea-way. The wind
moderated on the 11th, but on the following day another gale
came on, which for nine or ten hours blew in most tremen-
dous gusts from the same quarter, and raised a heavy sea. We
happily came near no ice during the night, or it would scarcely
have been possible to keep the ship clear of it. It abated after
daylight on the 13th, but continued to blow an ordinary gale
for twelve hours longer. It was remarkable that the weather

was extremely clear overhead during the whole of this last .

galé, which is very unusual here with a southerly wind. Be-

ing favoured with a northerly breeze on the 15th, we began

to make some way to the southward. From nine a.m. to one

p.m., a change of temperature in the sea water took place from

37° to 33°. This circumstance seemed to indicate our ap-

proach to some ice projecting to the eastward beyond the
19

ie

BAC imei ns, hi at ate A a a

146 JHIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

strait and regular margin of the ‘‘ pack,” which was at this
time not in sight. The indication proved correct and useful;
for after passing several loose pieces of ice during the night,
on the morning of the 15th, just at day-break, we came toa —
considerable body of it, through which we continued to run
to the southward. We were now in latitude 68° 56', and in
longitude 58° 27', in which situation a great many bergs were
in sight, and apparently aground. _ We ran through this ice,
which was very heavy, but loose and much broken up, the
whole day; when, having sailed fifty-three miles $.S.E., and
appearances being the same as ever, we hauled to the E.S.E.,

to endeavour to get clear before dark, which we were just en-

abled to effect after arun of thirty miles in that direction, and
then bore up to the southward. After this we saw but one
iceberg, and one heavy loose piece, previous to our clearing
Davis’ Strait.

On the 17th at noon we had passed to the southward of the
Arctic Circle, and from this latitude to that of about 58°, we
had favourable winds and weather; but we remarked on this,
as on several other occasions during this season, that a north-
erly breeze, contrary to ordinary observation, brought more
moisture with it than any other. In the course of this run,
we also observed more drift-wood than we had ever done be-
fore, which I thought might possibly be owing to the very
great prevalence of easterly winds this season driving it fur-
ther from the coast of Greenland than usual. We saw very
large flocks of kittiwakes, some of the whales called finners,
and, as we supposed, a few also of the black kind, together
with multitudes of porpoises. -

On the morning of the 24th, notwithstanding the continu-
ance of a favourable breeze. we met, in the latitude of 583°,
so heavy a swell from the north-eastward as to make the ship
labour violently for four-and-twenty hours. The northerly
wind then dying away was succeeded by a light air from the
eastward with constant rain. A calm then followed for seve-
ral hours, causing the ship to roll heavily in the hollow of the

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 147

sea. On the morning of the 25th we had again an easterly
wind, which in a few hours reduced us to the close-reefed top-
sails and reefed courses. At eight p.m. it freshened to a gale,
which brought us under the main-topsail and storm-staysails,
and at seven the following morning it increased to a gale of
such violence from N.E.b.N. as does not very often occur at
sea in these latitudes. The gusts were at times so tremendous

as to set the sea quite in a foam, and threatened to tear the

sails out of the bolt-ropes. It abated a little for four hours in
the evening, but from nine p.m. till two the following morn-
ing blew with as great violence as before, with a high sea, and
very heavy rain, constituting altogether as inclement weather
as can well be conceived, for about eighteen hours. The wind
gradually drew to the westward, with dry weather, after the
gale began to abate, and at six A.m. we were enabled to bear
up and run to the eastward with a strong gale at N.W..

The indications of the barometer previous to and during
this gale deserve to be noticed, because it is only about Cape

Farewell that, in coming from the northward down Davis’ »
Strait, this instrument begins to speak a language which has.
ever been intelligible to us as a weather-glass. As it is also »
certain that a ‘‘ stormy spirit”? resides in the neighbourhood —
of this headland, ‘no less than in that of more famed ones to

the south, it may become a matter of no small practical utility
for ships passing it, especially in the autumn, to attend to the
oscillations of the mercurial column. It is with this impres-
sion alone, that I have detailed the otherwise uninteresting cir-
cumstances of the inclement weather we now experienced
here, and which was accompanied by the following indications

‘of the barometer. On the 24th, notwithstanding the change |
of wind from north to east, the mercury rose from 29.51 on-

_ that morning, to 29.72 at three a.m. the following day, but —
_ fell to 29.39 by nine p.m. with the strong but not violent

breeze then blowing. After this it continued to descend very
gradually, and had reached 28.84, which was its minimum,
at three p.m. on the 26th, after which it continued to blow

a

>a

148 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

tremendously hard for eleven or twelve hours, the mercury
uniformly though slowly ascending to 28.95 during that in-
terval, and afterwards to 29.73, as the weather became mo-
derate and fine in the course of the three following days.

After this gale the atmosphere seemed to be quite cleared,
and we enjoyed a week of such remarkably fine weather as.
seldom occurs at this season of the year. We had then a suc-

cession of strong southerly winds, but were enabled to continue
our progress to the eastward, so as to make Mould Head, to-
wards the north-west end of the Orkney Islands, at daylight
on the 10th of October; and the wind becoming more wester-
ly, we rounded North Ronaldsha Island at nen, and then
shaped a course for Buchaness.

In running down Davis’ Strait, as well as in crossing the
Atlantic, we saw on this passage, as well as in all our former
autumnal ones, a good deal of the Aurora Borealis. It first
began to display itself, on the 15th of September, about the
latitude of 693°, appearing in the (true) south-east quarter as
a bright luminous patch five or six degrees above the horizon,
almost stationary for two or three hours together, but fre-
quently altering its intensity, and occasionally sending up
vivid streamers towards the zenith. It appeared in-the same
manner, on several subsequent nights, in the south-west, west,
and east quarters of the heavens; and on the 20th a bright
arch of it passed across the zenith from S.E. to N.W., ap-
pearing to be very close to the ship, and affording so strong a
light as to throw the shadow of objects on the deck. The
next brilliant display, however, of this beautiful phenomenon
which we now witnessed, and which far surpassed anything

“of the kind observed at Port Bowen, occurred on the night of

the 24th of September, in latitude 582°, longitude 443°. It
first appeared in a (true) east direction, in detached masses
like luminous clouds of yellow or sulphur-coloured light, about
three degrees above the horizon. When this appearance had
continued for about an hour, it began, at nine p/m. to spread
upwards, and gradually extended itself into a narrow band of

‘
:
if
Mi
b
y
i
%
:

=

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 149

light passing through the zenith and again downwards to the

western horizon. ‘Soon after this the streams of light seemed
no longer to emanate fromthe eastward, but from a fixed

- point about one degree above the horizon on a true west bear-

ing. From this point, as from the narrow point of a funnel,
streams of light resembling brightly-illuminated vapour or
smoke, appeared to be incessantly issuing, increasing in
breadth as they proceeded, and darting with inconceivable ve-
locity, such as the eye could scarcely keep pace with, up-
wards towards the zenith, and in the same easterly direction
which the former arch had taken. The sky immediately un-
der the spot from which the light issued, appeared, by a de-
ception very common in this phenomenon, to be covered with
a dark cloud, whose outline the imagination might at times
convert into that of the summit of a mountain, from which
the light proceeded, like the flames of a volcano. The streams
of light, as they were projected upwards, did not consist of

' continuous vertical columns or streamers, but almost entirely

of separate, though constantly-renewed masses, which seemed
to roll themselves laterally onward, with a sort of undulating
motion, constituting what I have understood to be meant by
that modification of the Aurora called the “«merry-dancers,”
which is seen in beautiful perfection at the Shetland Islands.
The general colour of the light was yellow, but an orange
and a greenish tinge were at times very distinctly perceptible,
the intensity of the light and colours being always the great-
est when occupying the smallest space. Thus the lateral mar-
gins of the band or arch seemed at times to roll themselves
inwards so as to approach each other, and in this case the light
just at the edges became much more vivid than the rest. The
intensity of light during the brightest part of the phenomenon,
which continued three-quarters of an hour, could scarcely. be
inferior to that of the moon when full. —

- We once more remarked, in crossing the Atlantic, that the
Aurora often gave a great deal of light at night, even when the

_ sky was entirely overcast, and it was on that account impossi-

Sia

150 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

ble to say from what part of the heavens the light’ proceeded,
though it was often fully equal to that afforded by the moon in
her quarters. . This was rendered particularly striking, on the
night of the 5th of October, in consequence of the frequent
and almost instantaneous changes which took place in this _
way, the weather being rather dark and gloomy, but the sky
at times so brightly illuminated, almost in an instant, as to —
give quite as much light as the full moon similarly clouded,
and enabling one distinctly to recognize persons from one |
end of the ship to the other. We did not on any one occa-
sion perceive the compasses to be affected by the Aurora
Borealis.

Some of the changes in the fcnnlcwitants of the sea-water,
which occurred during this passage, appear to me sufficiently
remarkable to require a more distinct notice than is contained
in the Meteorological Abstracts; and as these changes might
be of service to ships making the passage, I here insert in one
concise view the gradual alterations which took place, both on
the outward and homeward bound passage.

_ OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

151

_ CHANGES IN THE TEMPERATURE OF THE SEA-WATER,

Noon 7th

June 7th |

8th
10th
1ith

6
c

12th
it7
13th.
ce
14th
ee

15th
16th
. 66
17th
20th
21st
1895.
Sept. . 16th
Se

17th

WHOM OUWOWUN 0
co)
fat

7 PM,
Midnight.
1 a.m.

5 A.M,
9 a.m.
11 a.m.
1 to3 p.m.
5 PM.

Latitude

the en Farewell,

- 57
58
58
59

7
33
03

Longitude

Ww.

38 34

31 43.
-29 14

23 28

Temperature

of the Sea
changed to

51
52
53
54 to 54,5

i

REMARKS,

e
iy)
Near the meri- Me
dian of Cape
Farewell. swan

ee
a

And for a few
hours at 36°.

Near the ice.
No ice in sight.
do,
do.
do.

(
do.
Probably near -
er some ice.

~ {Changed from

46° to 49° from
11AM.to1 PM.
Ditto to 51° ‘

from 9 to 11
AM. |

152 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

As we approached the Orkneys, I demanded from the offi-
cers, in compliance with my instructions from my Lords Com-
missioners of the Admiralty, all the logs, journals, drawings
and charts which had been made during the voyage. After
rounding the north end of the Orkneys on the 10th of October,
we were, on the 12th, met by a strong southerly wind, when
off Peterhead. I, therefore, immediately landed (for the se-
cond time) at that place, and setting off without delay for ek
don, arrived at the Admiralty on the 16th.

Notwithstanding the ill success which had attended our late
efforts, it may in some degree be imagined what gratification I
experienced at this time in seeing the whole of the Hecla’s
crew, and also those of the Fury (with the two exceptions
already mentioned) return to their native country in as good
health as when they left it eighteen months before. The Hecla
arrived at Sheerness on the 20th of October, where she was
detained for a few days for the purpose of Captain Hoppner,
his officers, and ship’s company, being put upon ‘their trial
(according to the customary and indispensable rule in such
eases) for the loss of the Fury; when, it is scarcely necessary
to add, they received an honourable acquittal. The Hecla
then proceeded to Woolwich, and was paid off on the 21st of
November.

Havine now brought toa close my Narrative of this our
third unsuccessful attempt to decide the question of a North-
West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, I shall here beg
to offer, in conclusion, a few remarks on this and one or two
other subjects, which have engaged much of my attention du-
ring eight successive summers that I have been employed on
this service.

I shall first mention a circumstance which has particularly —
forced itself upon my notice in the course of our various at-

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. - 153

tempts to penetrate through the i ice in these regions; which is,
that the eastern coast of any portion of land, or, what is the
same thing, the western sides of seas or inlets, having a tren-
ding at all approaching to north and south, are, at a given sea-

_son of the year, generally more encumbered with ice than the
shores which have an opposite aspect. The four following in-
stances may. be adduced, in illustration of this fact, and cannot
but appear somewhat striking when considered in viewing a
map which exhibits the ela position of the shores in ques-
tion. .

It is well known that, in the extensive northern sea, reach-
ing from latitude 60° to 80°, bounded on the east by Lapland
and Spitzbergen, and on the west by Greenland, the whole of
the latter coast is blocked up by ice throughout the summer,
so as to make it at least a matter of no easy enterprize to ap-
proach it; while the navigation of the eastern portion of that
sea may be annually performed without difficulty, even to a

_very high latitude, and at an early part of the season. A se-
cond equally well known instance occurs in. the navigation of |
Davis’s Strait, which, from about Resolution Island, in lati- —
tude 613°, to the parallel of at least 70°, is usually inaccessible
as late as the month of August, and a pe deal of it in some
summers not accessible at all; while a broad and navigable
channel is found open on the eastern side of the Strait (that
is, on the western coast of Greenland) many weeks before
that time. We experienced a third and very striking exam- ’
ple of this kind in coasting the eastern shore of Melyille Pe-
ninsula, in the years 1822 and 1823, the whole of that coast.
being so loaded with ice as to make the navigation extremely
difficult and dangerous.. Now, on the eastern side of Fox
Channel, there is reason to believe, as well from the account
of that navigator in 1631 and that of Baffin in 1615, as from,
our own observation, that there is little or no ice during the
‘summer season. In the course of Fox’s progress along the
shore, from the Trinity Islands to his furthest north, no mention

whatever is made in his journal of any obstruction from ice,
20,

154 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

which would hardly have been the case had he met with any ;
and in our own passage, as well as that of Baffin, from Trinity
Islands towards the middle of Southampton Island, little | or
no obstruction was met with from it till well within sight

of the latter coast. The last instance of the same kind which

I shall mention is that of Prince Regent’s Inlet, and of which
_the events of this voyage furnish too striking a proof, the ice
appearing always to cling to the western shige in a very re-
markable manner, while the opposite coast is comparatively
free from it.
These facts, when taken together, have long ago impressed
me with an idea, that there must exist in the polar regions

some general motion of the sea towards the west, causing the -

ice to set in that direction, when not impelled by contrary

winds, or local and occasional currents, until it butts against —

those shores which are actually found to be most encumbered
by it. In confirmation of this idea, I am enabled to adduce
some more definite observations, which would appear to tend
to the same result. In the Narrative of the Voyage of 1821
to 1823, I have shown in how remarkable a manner the ships
were, in two separate instances, set to the westward, towards
Southampton Island, instead of ' being carried in the direction
opposite to a strong wind; and how closely the packed ice was
found to cling to the same land, even against a fresh breeze
blowing directly off the shore.* During the time of our “ be-
setment”’ in Baffin’s Bay, in the month of August, 1824, a

set to the westward, even against a strong breeze in that di-

rection, has already been noticed in the present narrative;t
and a similar circumstance occurred on our last return. In
all these instances, the opportunities were as favourable for
detecting a current as can ever occur at sea, the daily obser-
vations for latitude and longitude not admitting the possibility
of any material error in our actual place, and the ships being,
in three instances out of four, either immoyeably “ beset”? in

* Pp. 78, 481, 482, +p. 40.,

- OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. __ 155

ore ice, ¢ or firmly attached to it, and therefore biased: inde-
: — ‘of dead reckoning.

Whether the circumstances I have above stated may ae
‘any reference to. the well-known fact of the western shores of
lands enjoying a climate considerably more temperate than
the eastern ones in a corresponding latitude, I do not presume
even to conjecture; nor indeed do I feel myself competent to
offer any decided opinion as to the cause of the phenomena in
question. Having stated the facts precisely as they have oc-
curred to my notice, I ‘shall only, therefore, add to these
remarks by suggesting, for the consideration of others, whe-
ther such a tendency of the sea as that above noticed may
not have some connexion with the motion of the earth on
its axis.

In the effect produced by the ice upon the strength of the
wind, there is something so remarkable, that aitieush I have
already cursorily alluded to it in the course of my Narratives,

yet as I have never met with any explanation of it, I am de-
- sirous of once more drawing to this subject the attention of
those who are competent judges of the cause of this phenome-
non. The fact to which I allude is the decrease of wind
- which invariably takes place’ in passing under the lee, not
merely of a close and extensive body of high and heavy ice,
but even of a stream of small pieces, so loose as almost to al-
low a ship to pass between them, and not one of them reaching
a foot above the surface of the sea. So immediate, indeed,
is this effect, that the moment a ship comes under the lee of
such a stream, if under press of sail, she rights considerably,
_ the difference being at least equal to what seamen would es-
timate'a “reef in the top-sails,’’ or sometimes more. Any-
thing like mere mechanical shelter must of course, in sucha _
ease, be wholly out of the question; which is still more appa-
rent from the fact,. that even a coat of “sludge” of the con-
-sistence of honey, covering the surface of the sea, will, though
_ in aless degree, produce a similar effect. I have several times,
under these circumstances, watched the thermometer, to see

156 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

if any sensible change took place in the temperature of the
atmosphere; but if the phenomenon be in any” respect due

to this cause, its amount is certainly too ‘small to be thus

detected.

Another ae | feature observable in the Polar regions,
at least in those parts which are encumbered with ice, is the
total absence of heavy or dangerous squalls of wind. There

is, of course, an exception to this in the neighbourhood of
land, especially such as is intersected by valleys and ravines;
but in a ship fairly at sea, I cannot call to my recollection a

aes

single instance, in the Polar regions, of such squalls as, in

other climates, oblige the seaman to lower his’ ones during
their continuance.

In re-visiting many of the spots discovered by our early
British navigators in the Polar regions, and in traversing the

same tracks which they originally pursued, I have now and —

then, in the course of my Narratives, had occasion to speak
of the faithfulness of their accounts, and the accuracy of their

hydrographical information. I should, however,, be doing

but imperfect justice to the memory of these extraordinary
men, as well as to my own sense of their merits, if I permit-
- ted the present opportunity to pass without offering a still
more explicit and decided testimony to the value of their la-
bours. The accounts of Hudson, Baffin, and Davis are the
productions of men of no common stamp. They evidently
relate things just as they saw them, dwelling on such nautical
and hydrographical notices as, even at this day, are valuable
to any seaman going over the same ground, and describing

every appearance of nature, whether on the land, the sea, or

the ice, with a degree of faithfulness which can alone perhaps
be duly appreciated by those who succeed them in the same
regions, and under similar cireumstances. The general out-
line of the lands they discovered was laid down by themselves
with such extraordinary precision, even in longitude, as
‘scarcely to require correction in modern times; of which fact
the oldest maps now extant of Baffin’s Bay, and the Straits of

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. — heya BB

‘Hudson and Davis, constructed from the original materials,
will afford sufficient proof. The same accuracy is observable
in their accounts of the tides, soundings, and bearings, pheno-

mena in which the lapse of two hundred years can have .
wrought but little change. It is, indeed, impossible for any

one personally acquainted with the phenomena of the icy seas,
to peruse the plain and unpretending narratives of these navi-

gators, without recognising in almost every event they relate, —

sore circumstance familiar to his own recollection and expe-
rience, and meeting with numberless remarks which bear most
unequivocally about them the impress of truth. ‘Tea

While thus doing justice’ to the faithfulness and accuracy

with which they recorded their discoveries, one cannot. less,

‘admire the intrepidity, perseverance, and skill with which,

inadequately furnished as they were, those discoveries were.

effected, and every difficulty and danger braved. That any
‘man, ina single frail vessel of five-and-twenty tons, ill-found
in most respects, and wholly. unprovided for wintering, having
to contend with a thousand real ‘difficulties, as well as with
numberless imaginary ones, which the superstitions then exist-

ing among sailors would not fail to conjure up,—that any man, —

under such circumstances, should, two hundred years ago,
‘have persevered in accomplishing what our old navigators did

accomplish, is, I confess, sufficient to create in my mind a —

feeling of the highest pride on the one hand, and almost ap-
proaching to humiliation on the other: of pride, in remember-
_ ing that, it was owr countrymen who performed these exploits;
/ Of, humiliation, when I consider how little, with all our advan-
Lo we have succeeded in going beyond them. ,

_ Indeed the longer our experience has been in the nayiga-
tion of the icy seas, and the more intimate our acquaintance
with all its difficulties and all its precariousness, the higher
have our admiration and respect been raised for those who
- went before us in these enterprises. Persevering in difficulty,

unappalled by danger, and patient under distress, they scarcely’

ever use the language of complaint, much less that of despair;

158 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY

and sometimes, when all human hope seems at its lowest ebb,
they furnish the most beautiful"examples of that firm reliance
on a merciful and superintending providence, which is the
only rational source of true fortitude in man. Often, with
their narratives impressed upon my mind, and surrounded by
the very difficulties which they in their frail and inefficient
barks undauntedly encountered and overcame, have I been
tempted to exclaim with all the enthusiasm of Purchas, ‘« How
shall I admire your heroicke courage, ye marine worthies, be-
yond all names of worthiness!’? .
- On a subject which has, for many years past, excited so
strong and general an interest as that of the North-West Pas-
sage, a subject which has called forth so much warm British
feeling in every British heart, it may perhaps be expected
that, charged as I have been with three several attempts at
its accomplishment, I should, ere I close this volume, once
more offer an opinion. This I am enabled to do the more
briefly, because the question evidently rests nearly where it
did before the equipment of the late. expedition, and I have,
therefore, little to offer respecting it, in addition to what I
have already said at the close of my last Narrative.* The
views I then entertained on this subject, of the nature and
practicability of the enterprise, of the means to be adopted,
and the route to be pursued for its accomplishment, remain
wholly unaltered at the present moment; except that some
additional encouragement has been afforded by the favourable
appearances of a navigable sea near the south-western extre-
mity of Prince Regent’s Inlet. To that point, therefore, I
can, in the present state of our knowledge, have no hesitation
in still recommending that any future attempt should be
directed. . ied a

I feel confident that the undertaking, if it be deemed ad-
visable 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

* Pp, 487—491.

it will ultimately be accomplished. That it is not to .be un-

OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 159

as other unfavourable circumstances which human foresight

‘can never guard against, nor human power control, I cannot

but believe it to be an enterprise well within the reasonable
limits of practicability. It may be tried often, and often fail,

for several favourable and fortunate circumstances must be com-
bined for its accomplishment; but I believe nevertheless that

dertaken lightly, nor without due attention to every precau-
tion which past or future experience may suggest, our recent
failures under such advantages of equipment as no other expe-
dition of any age or country ever before united, and we trust
also our own endeavours to effect something worthy of so lib-

: eral an. outfit, will at least serve to show. I am much mis-

taken indeed; if the North-West Passage ever becomes the
business of a sin gle summer; nay, I eter that nothing but a
coneurrence of very favourable circumstances is likely even

to make a single winter in the ice sufficient for its accomplish- _

ment. But this is no argument against the possibility of final
success; for we now know that a winter in the ice may be
passed not only in safety, but in health and comfort. . I would
only, therefore, in conclusion, urge those who may at any fu-
ture time be charged with this attempt, to omit no precaution™
that can in the slightest degree contribute to the strength of
the ships, the duration of their resources, the wholesomeness

_and freshness of their provisions, the warmth, ventilation,

and cleanliness of the inhabited. apartments, and the comfort,
cheerfulness, and moral discipline of their crews.
Happy as I should have considered myself in solving this

- interesting question, instead of still leaving it a matter of spe-

culation and conjecture, happy shall I also be if any labours of

mine in the humble, though it would seem necessary, office of ©

pioneer, should ultimately contribute to the success of some

* That none of our past experience may be lost in any future attempts
of this kind in either hemisphere, I am preparing a book intended to be
lodged at the Admiralty, containing directions under each separate head,
for the whole equipment of ships about to be employed on this service.

ae

160 THIRD VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY, oi

more fortunate eddie: but most happy should I again be,
to be sélected as that individual. ‘May it still fall to England’s —
lot to accomplish this undertaking, and may she ever continue
to take the lead in enterprises intended to contribute to the
advancement of science, and to promote, with her own, the
welfare of mankind at large! Such enterprises, so disinte-
rested as well as useful in their object, do honour to the coun-
‘try which undertakes them, even when they fail; they can-
not but excite the admiration and respect of every liberal and
cultivated mind, and the page of future history will undoubt-
edly record them as every way worthy of a powerful, a virtu-
_ ous, and an enlightened nation. : .

END OF THE NARRATIVE.

'

Notse.—The following are the terms in which the Court-
Martial upon Captain Hoppner for the loss of the iy was
messed to capreas the sentence.

And having heard the evidence adduced, and also
the statement of Captain Henry Parkyns Hoppner, the Court is
of opinion that no blame whatever attaches, on that occasion,
to Captain Henry Parkyns Hoppner, his officers, or ship’s com-
pany ; and doth, in consequence thereof, adjudge the said Cap-
tain Henry Parkyns Hoppner, his officers, and ship’s company,
to be fully acquitted.

“ And the said Captain oe Parkyns Hoppner, his officers,
and ship’s company are hereby fully acquitted accordingly.

“

« And the court in justice to the services of Captain Parry, _

the officers, and ship’s company of His Majesty’s sloop Hecla,
as well as those of Captain Hoppner, the officers, and ship’s
company of His Majesty’s sloop Fury, to save His Majesty’s
said sloop Fury, cannot omit this opportunity of expressing the
high opinion they entertain of their very distinguished exer-
tions.”

21

Fes, aay

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4 Abe ee taper nae aint Cie ceeint
NTP Ae ae wey x

ric
ui.

ZOOLOGY.

By LIEUT. JAMES CLARK ROSS, R.N., F. L. S.

Tux Natural History of the Arctic Regions has lately receiv-
ed so much attention, and has been so ably and copiously illus-
trated, that little is now left to be said on the subject. The
present notice is, therefore, confined to an enumeration of the

_ several species which fell under our observation during the late

voyage. Their number will appear small, when compared with
the collections made on former occasions; but the extreme
sterility of the country in the neighbourhood of Port Bowen,
where the Expedition wintered, together with the short period
of our stay in those regions, will sufficiently account for this
circumstance.

It would perhaps have been desirable, on this occasion, to
collect into one view the observations of those who have re-
cently written on the subject, and, together with the additional

information which this voyage has afforded, to have formed a_
complete Fauna of that portion of the Arctic Regions which hae
been visited by the late Expeditions for the discovery of a

North-west Passage. This would, however, have necessarily
far exceeded the prescribed limits of this notice, and probably
have required much more time to execute it, than the early
publication of the Narrative would admit.

The arrangement and generic names used by Cuvier, in the

_ Régne Animal, have been adopted in the account of the Mam-

malia.

166 APPENDIX,,

MAMMALIA.

1. Ursus Maritimus. Polar Bear.

_Tuese animals were frequently met with on floating frag-
ments of ice, both in Davis’ Strait and Baffin’s Bay, but none
were killed until after the arrival of the Expedition at Port
Bowen. There they visited the shipsin considerable numbers,
and in the course of the winter and ensuing spring eleven were
killed. Of these the males averaged 81 cwt., the females about
73 cwt., and the largest which was obtained did not exceed
9 cwt. The very wonderful accounts of the magnitude of these
animals, which some authors have given, appear extravagant
and exaggerated, when we observe that the largest of those
which have been met with in the course of the late voyages
weighed less than 12 cwt., and did not exceed 8 feet 9 inches
in length. | yi

That the gravid females alone hibernate, and that the males
and unimpregnated females wander about in the neighbourhood
of the clear water throughout the winter, has been so fully con-
firmed by the testimony of the Esquimaux on the former, and’
our own experience en the present voyage, that no doubt can
now remain on this interesting subject.

2. Canis Lacorus. Arctic Fox.

Some of these beautiful little animals were caught in traps,
during the winter, at Port Bowen, and one of them lived in con-
finement for nearly five months ; but, notwithstanding the kindest
treatment and attention, it continued wild and untractable to the
last. It began to cast its winter-coat early in May, the fur about
the head and sides first falling off, and exposing a short dark

ZOOLOGY. 167

brown hair, approaching to a blueish black at the base. It died
* at the end of May, before its summer dress was perfected.
In some few specimens the tail was perfectly white, agreeing
with that part of the Linnzan specific character, cauda apice
concolore, but in by far the greatest number the hairs at the
end of the tail were terminated with black.

A single individual of the sooty variety was taken in Novem-
ber, a female, agreeing with that described by Dr. Richardson,*
except that it approached more nearly the size of the other
variety. Pennant, in his 4rctic Zoology, considers this a dis-
tinct species; and it has been described, in Shaw’s Zoology and
M‘Kenzie’s Travels, under the name of Canis Fuliginosus: its
identity with the Arctic Fox is, however, now tolerably well
established.

In confirmation of what O Fabricius says on the subject, I
was informed by Lieutenant C. Holboll (an officer of the Danish —

navy, who had resided in Greenland between two and three

years, for the purpose of collecting subjects of Natural History,) |

_ that he had taken from the same Litter four piles of the sooty,
and four of the white kind.

The only three specimens of the sooty variety which have
fallen under my observation were, as described by Dr. Richard-

son, “of an uniform blackish brown colour;” we may add that

a slight purple lustre is observable in recent specimens only,
and by a peculiar shade of light. The mixture of short dark
and white hairs in the face gives it a ferocity of expression very
different from that of the white variety.

3. Arvicota Hupsonia. -Hudson’s Bay Lemming.

Tue peculiar formation of the fore-claws of this animal, which
distinguishes it from its congenors, has been ably pointed out.
by Captain Sabine, in his Appendix to Parry’s first voyage.
They were but rarely met with during the present voyage, and
only two were caught. Their tracks were sometimes seen
during the winter, showing that they occasionally venture from
their burrows, even in the coldest season of the year.

* Appendix to Parry’s Second Voyage, p. 302.

ae

168° APPENDIX.

4, Lepus Guaciauis. Polar Hare.

AsunpantT on the south shore of Barrow’s Strait; and at

Port Bowen they were occasionally seen during the winter,

where three were shot. They differed from those described by
Captain Sabine in the Appendix to Parry’s first voyage, in
having the ears exactly the same length as the 7 and the
whiskers perfectly white.

5. Cervus TARANDUS, Rein Deer,

Was rarely met with during the present voyage. Two were
shot on the north shore of Barrow’s Strait, near Cape Warren-
der, and a few others were seen on the coast of North Somerset.

¥

6. PHoca retipa. Rough Seal.

A voune animal of this species, agreeing with the descrip-
tions of authors as having attained one year old, was shot at.
Port Bowen in June, 1825.

Besides this species, which was very numerous in the bays
along the eastern shore of Regent’s Inlet, the P. barbata and P.
Grenlandica were seen in considerable numbers on the packed
ice of Davis’ Strait and Baffin’s Bay; but none were shot.

‘7. Batzna Mysticetus, Black Whale,

' Was rarely seen in the course of our progress through the
ice in Baffin’s Bay; but in Prince Regent’s Inlet they were found
in considerable numbers. A young whale was killed in June,
1825, for the purpose of supplying the ships withoil. By means
of powerful purchases, it was drawn up on the fixed ice, and
stripped of its{blubber. This process had scarcely been com-
pleted, when the ice broke adrift and floated off with the car-
cass; thus preventing any further examination, which might
have afforded some very interesting information.

ZOOLOGY. 169

8. Monopon monoceros. Narwhal,

Very numerous in Baffin’s Bay and Prince Regent’s Inlet,
but none were killed. The head and horn of: one was found
above high-water mark at the head of Port Neill. The horn
‘measured 8 feet, and at the base was 8 inches in circumference,
gradually tapering to a fine point, completing 8 spiral turns
from the base to the tip. It was very solid, except about five
or six inches from the base, and weighed 154 lbs.

In the head the rudiments of the second horn, mentioned by
Fabricius and Cuvier, were not discernible.

Besides the eight species of Mammalia above enumerated,
_the delphinapterus beluga, or white whale, was seen in great
numbers along the shores of North Somerset and the neighbour-
hood of Jackson’s Inlet. The trichecus rosmarus, or walrus,
was also occasionally met with; but as none of either species
were taken, no additional information has been obtained.

BIRDS.

Tue second edition of M. Temminck’s Manuel d’ Ornithologie
has been followed, both in the arrangement and generic names
used by him, with a single exception ; and the following authors
are occasionally referred to :—

Gmelin, Systema Wature Linnei.

Fabricii, Fauna Grenlandica.

Latham’s Index Ornithologicus.

Latham’s General Synopsis of Birds.

Pennant’s Arctic Zoology.

Pennant’s British Zoology, 2nd Edition.

Sabine’s Memoir on the Birds of Greenland.

Sabine, in Supplement to Parry’s First Voyages

Sabine’s Appendix to Franklin’s Journey.

Richardson’s Appendix to Parry’s Second Voyage.
22

170 APPENDIX.
1. Fatco Istanpicus. Jerfalcon. |

Falco Islandicus. Gmel.i.p. 275. Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 32. Temm. p-
17. Greenl. Birds, No.1. _
White Jerfalcon. Lath. Syn. i. p. 83, and Supp. p. 21.

Tus bird, of which but a solitary individual had been met
with during the three former voyages, was seen frequently
during the present. A pair, in mature summer plumage, flew
past the ship in September, 1824, in Lancaster Sound, corres-
ponding with the descriptions of authors. above quoted. An-
other, which was seen in September, 1825, in lat. 74°. N., on
the return of the expedition to Baffin’s Bay, accorded nak
with the description of the young bird in Temminck’s Manuel,
p. 18, and commonly knownas the falco gyrfalco of Gmel. i. p.
275, and Lath. Ivd. Orn. i. p. 32.

2.Srrix nycrna. Snowy Owl.

Strix nyctea. Gmel.i. p. 291. Lath. Ind. Orn.i. p. 57. Temm, p. 82.
Fabr. p. 60. Supp. to Parry’s First Voyage, p. cxciii. App. to
Parry’s Second Voyage, p. 342. ‘

Snowy Owl, and White Owl. -4ret. Zool. ii. p. 233. Lath, Syn.i. p. 132.

Was rarely seen, and none were shot. The half of one was
found near Port Bowen, the remaining part having, as we sup-
posed, been devoured by a fox, who left us nothing but the
head and right side of his victim. This individual, as well as
the few others which have béen seen, were all in the state of
plumage described by Fabricius; but none of the mature birds,
described by Temminck and others as being of a pure white,
have ever been observed on either of the voyages. Fabricius
mentions that they are frequently found dead.

8. Corvus corax. Raven.

Corvus Corax. Gmel. i. p. 364, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p- 150. Temm. p.
107. Fabr.p. 62. App, to Parry’s Second Voyage, p. 343.
Raven. Lath. Aa p. 567. Aret Zool. ii. p. 245.

oe Magen,

ZOOLOGY. — 171

ilas been found in the most northern parts of the Arctic
regions visited by the expeditions. A pair took up their winter
residence in the high cliffs of Port Bowen, and occasional ap-
proached the ships in search of food.

During the winter they were frequently observed to have a
white ring round the neck, caused by the accumulated encrust-
ments of the vapour of their own hed and giving them a very
singular appearance.

Winter produced no effect on their sien ae, nor did they dif-
fer in any respect from the European bird.

4, PLeorropHanes Lapronsca. (Meyer.) Lapland Finch.

-Emberiza calcarata. Temm. p.322. App. to Parry’s Second Voyave, p.
345.

Fringilla Lapponica. Gmel. i. p. 900. Lath. Ind. Orn.i. p.440. Faér.
p. 119.

Lapland finch. Arct. Zool. ii. p. 377.

In the midst of the confusion which prevails to this day in re-
spect to the arrangement of this bird, the experience which the
late voyages have afforded induces me to adopt that of M.
Meyer.

I am unable, in this instance, to accede to the opinion of M.
Temminck in arranging it with the snow-bunting, because inits
habits it differs essentially from it, while its external characters
separate it most decidedly from eméeriza. Both in its characters
as well as habits, it unquestionably agrees more nearly with the

lark than with any other known genus. It has the long hind nail of :

the latter ; like it, it soars’ in the air, sings most sweetly on the
wing, and invariably rests or runs upon the ground, never alight-

_ing upon prominences like the snow-bunting, which will fly

from stone to stone, chirping like many others of its congeners.

The form of its bill, however, and the acuminate shape of
its wings, exclude it from the genus alauda ; and as it cannot
with propriety be placed in any other, the necessity of forming

- anew genus, intermediate between the lark and bunting, seems

sufficiently imperative.

172 APPENDIX.

They are more rarely met with than the snow-bunting, arriv-
ing later and returning to the southward sooner, as has beer
observed by O. Fabricius.

The very accurate and minute description of this bird by Dr.
Richardson and M. Temminck, as above quoted, render any
further remark unnecessary.

5 Emperiza nivauis. Snow-bunting.

Emberiza nivalis. Gmel.i. p. 866. uth. Ind. Orn. i. p. 397. Temm.
p- 319. Fabr. p. 117. Greenl. Birds, No. 5. App. to Parry’s
_ Second Voyage, p. 343.

Snow-bunting. Brit, Zool. i. p.444. Arct. Zool. ii. p. 355. Lath, Syn.

iii. p. 161,
AtrHoven it has become necessary to form a new genus for
the proper arrangement of the Lapland finch, I can by no means
agree with M. Meyer in placing the snow-bunting init. Its ex-
ternal characters referring it, without doubi, to the genus embde-
riza, a slight dissimilarity of habits is certainly not sufficient to
remove it from a place it has so long undisputedly held in the
_ system. M. Temminck has formed of these two birds a second
section, differing from the buntings, properly so called, in hav-
ing “Vongle derricre long, foiblement arqué.” In this there
must be some mistake; the hind nail of the snow-bunting is

neither longer nor straighter than many of its congeners, for

instance, the £. citrinella.

They were always amongst the first birds that returned in
the spring; their earliest arrival was about the middle of April,
thus preceding all others, except the grouse, by nearly a month.

We found them breeding at the Whale-fish Islands early in
July, and a nest with six eggs was brought on board by one of
the officers: it was formed of dried grass, and lined with fea-

thers, which were covered with a fine white down. The eggs:

were of a cream colour, thickly covered with small reddish-
‘brown marks and spots.

6. TeErrRAo RUPESTRIs. Rock Grouse.

Tetrao rupestris. Gmel. i. p- 751. Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p.640. Supp. to
Parry's First Voyage, p. cxcv. App. to Parry’s Second Voyage, p.
348.

Rock Grouse. Arct, Zool, ii. No, 184, Lath. Syn. Supp. p. 217.

a a i a A he on

ee

ZOOLOGY. 173

Srvirat birds of this species were shot at Port Bowen in
October, 1824, in perfect winter plumage. In these individuals,
the female birds were marked with the black line from the beak,
through the eye, as strongly as the males; and a mark which,
I believe, has hitherto been considered peculiar to the male bird. _

On their return ‘in March they were still in perfect winter
plumage, and the black line through the eye of both the male
and female birds was as conspicuous as in those shot in the
autumn, It was, however, afterwards found on the females in
every stage of obliteration as the season advanced ; and in the
last few which were shot, near the end of May, it had wholly dis-
appeared, agreeing then with Captain Sabine’s description of
birds killed at Melville Island about the same period of the year.
In some of these last few the summer plumage was beautifully

and distinctly seen, by removing the winter covering, which . -

only partially concealed it, and had not yet moulted.

Captain Sabine, in the work above referred to, has already
pointed out characters by which this and the two following
species can be distinguished from each other in their various
plumages.

”

7. TETRAO LAGoPUS. Prarmigan.

Tetraolagopus. Gmel.i.p.749. Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 639. Fabr. p. 114,
Supp. to Parry’s First Voyage, p. cxcvil. App. to Parry’s Second
Voyage, p. 350.

Ptarmigan. Arct. Zool. ii. p.315. Lath. Syn.iv. p. 741.

Was shot at Port Bowen as late in the year as the 16th of No-
vember, 1824, in company with the 7. a/bus, and returned from.
the south about the middle of March, continuing to arrive in
considerable numbers until nearly the end of April.

- During the last week in March about sixty birds of this
species were shot, in which, as in the preceding species, no dif-
ference could be discerned in the plumage of the male and female,
the black band through the eye being equally distinct in both.
I had the opportunity of examining between twenty and thirty
female birds in a more advanced period of the season, showing

174 APPENDIX.

it in different degrees of distinctness, and subsequently many
from which it had totally disappeared.

. After the very marked succession of appearances, which I
have been enabled to follow through above two hundred indivi-
duals, I can entertain no doubt of every female of both this and
the preceding species being marked with the black band through
the eye as strongly as the male in the winter season and in high
northern latitudes. Fabricius mentions that in the winter time,
in Greenland, the rudiments of this mark were observable on
the female bird.

Nearly all the birds of this species had fourteen black and
two superincumbent white feathers on the tail; but occasional
individuals were found with sixteen black and the two superin-
cumbent white feathers, which evidently shows that the number
of tail feathers can never be used as a specific distinction, and
in some measure accounts for the difference of opinion amongst
authors on this subject.

There is also a remarkable peculiarity in the anatomy of this
bird, which merits a passing notice. In all the gallinaceous
tribe, the intestina ceca are very large, but in this bird they are
much more extensive than, I believe, in any of tke others.
Originating about five inches from the vent, they follow all the
convolutions of the direct canal to rather more than two-thirds
of its length, and terminate in a white blunt point, perfectly un-
connected with any part of the intestines for about two inches
from the end. The whole of the rest of the ceca are joined to
the direct gut by a strong and very vascular mesenteric mem-
brane. I am not aware whether either the preceding or follow-
ing species are the same, not having had an opportunity of ex-
amining them after I observed it in this species. In the com-
mon partridge of England, the ceca are only about one-third the
length of the main gut. Their use, in the economy of the bird,
has yet to be determined by the physiologist.

8. Terrao atBus. Willow Partridge.

Tetraoalbus. Gmel.i.p.750. Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 639.

Tetrao saliceti. Temm. p. 471. App. to Frankin’s Journey, p. 681,
App, to Parry’s Second Voyage, p. 347. .

Willow Partridge. Hearne’s Travels,:p. 338.

White Grouse. Lath. Syn. iv. p. 743. . Arct. Zool. ii. p. 308.

ZOOLOGY. 175:

; * i

Was rarely met with during the present voyage, and but few
were shot. Thetwo preceding species retire late in the autumn
to the southward to winter; but this bird has been found in very
high north latitudes throughout the year. On this occasion
they were shot in every winter month except January; and at.
Igloolik, where they were more numerous, they were occasion-
ally seen throughout the winter; which shows that, although
probably the greatest number of them migrate further south,
yet many remain. The colour of the birds corresponding so
perfectly with the snow, in which they bury themselves to a
level with its surface, renders it very difficult to distinguish
them, and accounts in some measure for so few having been
shot. —

Those which were killed during the winter were found to be
in excellent condition; their crops contained principally the
seed-vessels of the saxifraga oppositifolia.

M. Temminck has thought proper to change the name of
this bird to 7. saliceti, for reasons which do not appear to me
sufficiently obvious; I have therefore ventured to employ that
which it received from Linnzus, and by which it has been suffi-
ciently well distinguished by almost every other modern author.

9. TRINGA MARITIMA.
Tringa maritima. Gmel, i. p.678. Lath. Ind, Orn. ii. p. 731. Temm.

p- 619. Greenl. Birds, No.7. Supp.to Parry’s First Voyage, p. cci.
Striated Sandpiper. Arct, Zool. ii. p.472. Lath. Syn. v. p. 118.

' Div not arrive in the neighbourhood of Port Bowen uintil early

in June; at that time the birds of one year old were found in
the same flocks with the mature birds.
They differ in no respect from. the English bird.

10. CHarapRivus pLuviaLis. Golden Plover,

Charadrius pluvialis. Gmel.i. P- 688. Lath. Ind, Orn. ii. p. 740. Temm.
p. 535.
Golden Plover. .Arct. Zool. a 483, No. 399.

ARRIVED in their winter plumage at Port Bowen about the

176 APPENDIX.

middle of May. In the course of the season they were shot in
every state of change, to their perfect summer plumage ; in
which state they are the C. apfricarius of authors.

11. PHataropus uyPERBOREUS. Red Phalarope.

Phalaropus hyperboreus. Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 775. Temm. p. 709.
Greenl. Birds, No. 11. R :

Red Phalarope. Brit, Zool. ii.p. 125. Arct. Zool. ii. p. 494.

_ A smatu flock of these birds alighted under the lee of the ship,
during a strong breeze of wind, and were so fearless of danger
as to approach within a few yards of her, feeding on small
shrimps, which were seen in great numbers. At this time we
were sixty miles from the nearest land, (Disco.)

We found them breeding at Whale-fish Islands, but saw no
more of them after leaving the coast of Greenland.

12, PHALAROPUS PLATYRHINCHUS. Flat-billed Phalarope.

Phalaropus platyrhinchus. Temm. p. 712. Greenl. Birds, No. 12.

Supp. to Parry’s First (oa Pp. ccil. App. to Parry’s Second
Voyage, p. 355.

Tuts bird, which has been so ably extricated by M. Temminck
and Captain Sabine from the confusion into which it had fallen,
‘was but rarely met with during the present voyage; a circum-
starice rather remarkable, from their having been found both at
Igloolik to the southward, and at Melville Island to the north-
ward, breeding in great numbers.

The peculiar plumage of the female bird, which has been so
-accurately pointed out by’Captain Sabine, makes her remark-
able as being one of the very few instances in which the female
‘bird is known to excel the male in beauty of appearance.

13. Srerna aRCTIcA. Arctic Tern.
Sterna Arctica. Temm. p. 742. Supp. to Parry’s First Voyage, p. ccii.

App. to Parry’s Second Voyage, p. 356,
Sterna hirundo. Greenl. Birds, No. 17.

Daa ek Seer ON 177

Abonvanr in 1 Baihiv’s Bay and Davis’ Straits but were only seen,
during the present voyage, in the mature plumage of summer.

14, Lanus ctaucus. Glaucous Gull,

“id glaucus, Gmel. i. p. 600. Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 814. Fabr. p. 100.
"emm, p. 757. Greenl. Birds, No. 19. Supp. to Parry? 3 First

aE p: ceili. ;
Glaucous Gull. Arct. Zool.ii. p. 532, Lath. Syn. vi. p- 374,

Some remarkably fine specimens of this very magnificent bird
were shot early in June, 1825, in the neighbourhood of Port
Bowen. The astonishing size which these birds, under certain
circumstances, attain, fully justifies the assertion of M. Tem-
minck, that they-are the largest of the known gulls, although
Captain Sabine has shown, in the Supplement above referred
to, that the average size of the L. marinus rather exceeds that
of the glaucus.

The dimensions of a pair which were killed on the 11th of
June, being the largest which were shot, and surpassing any
which have yet been recorded, are selected for insertion here :—

Length. Extent. Tarsus. Beak. Weight.

IN. IN. IN. IN. lb. oz:
Males 20:5 45. 0) 33 68 3:4 4,1 4 Ii
Female . . . 315 65 3.4 3.9 ry 6

The wings of the male bird extended more than an inch be-
yond the tail, which is not ‘usually the case in this species.

They were rarely met with in our progress up Davis’ Strait
‘and Baffin’s Bay; but were found in considerable numbers to-
wards the end of July, breeding on the ledges of the high and
precipitous cliffs of the shores of North Somerset. At this
time the young birds were seen covered with a down of a deep
lead colour. / ;

15. Larus ARGENTATUS. ec wines) pe eery gull.

Larus argentatus. Gmel. ip. 600. Temm. p. 764. App. wo Parry’ 6)

Second Voyuge, p. 358.
Silvery Gull. .Arct. Zool. ii. p. 533. Lath, Syn. vi. p. ». 375

23

ena ae ids 5 Aas aN a ca

178 APPENDIX.

Aur the birds of this species which were shot during the pre-_

sent voyage, had the usual dark markings on the flag-feathers
of the wings. An immature bird, killed in July, was marked by
a broad band across the tail, of a dark brown colour, mixed
with small white spots near the extremity. Spurious wing,
and primary covertures, marked longitudinally with the same
colour; in every other respect it agreed perfectly with M-
Temminck’s description of the mature bird in summer.

None of the variety described by Captain Sabine, in the
Memoir on the Birds of Greenland, were shot; and if any were
seen, they were mistaken for the preceding species, whieh they
so nearly resemble.

16. Larus rpurnEus. Ivory Gull,

Larus eburneus. Gel. i. p. 596. Lath, Ind. Orn, ii. p. 816. Temm.
p. 769. Greenl. Birds, No. 21. Supp. to Parry’s First Voyage, p«
cciv.

Ivory Gull. Arct. Zool. ii. p. 529. Lath. Syn. vi. p. 377.

Very numerous in Davis’ Strait and Baffin’s Bay. They were
obtained in every variety of plumage, from the young to the
mature bird. The plumage of the bird of the first year is de-
scribed by M. Temminck, as above referred to, with minute pre-
cision, and that of the second year by Captain Sabine, in the
Memoir on the Birds of Greenland above quoted.

_ The naked circle round the eye is, in the young bird, of a
dark brown colour, in which a very slight tinge of red is obser-
vable: as the bird advances towards maturity, the red is found
to prevail, and the old bird is of a dull red colour. This, I
imagine, is not the case until the fourth year; for many birds,
in mature plumage, were found with this very much obscured.
Of about seventy examined by me, only six were found to have
the red circle unmixed with brown.

Average length of the male, 19 inches, female 18, and young
bird 17 inches; tarsus 1.5

:
|
k:
:

Ph oe ee

ZOOLOGY... 179

17. Larus Tripactyius. Kittiwake.

Larus tridactylus, Lath. Ind. Orn. ii, p. 817. Temm.p. 774. Fabr. p.

{ 98. Greenl. Birds, No. 22.

Kittiwake. Aret. Zool, ii. p. 529, Brit. Zool. ii. p. 186. Lath. Syn. vi.
p. 393,

By far the most numerous of the gull tribe inhabiting that
portion of the Arctic Regions which has been visited by the
late Expeditions. They were found breeding on the shores of
North Somerset in great numbers. Large flocks of immature
birds were seen on the return of the Expedition to the south in
September 1825, attended by the destris fomarinus in consider-
able numbers.

18. LesTRis PARASITICUS. Arctic Lestris.

« Lestris parasiticus, Temm. p. 796. Greenl. Birds, No. 24. Supp. to
Parry’s First Voyage, p. ccvi. App. to Parry’s Second Voyage,
p. 361,
Larus parasiticus. Gmel.i.p.601. Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p, 819.
Arctic Gull. Arct. Zool, ii. p. 530. Brit. Zool. ii. p. 179. Lath. Syn.
vi. p. 389,

.19. Lestris pomarinus. Pomarine Lestris.

Lestris pomarinus. Temm. p. 793. Supp. to Parry’s First Voyage, p.
cevi. App. to Parry’s Second Voyaze, p. 361.

Many of these birds were seen at the Whale-fish Islands early
in July; where it is probable they breed.
_ It is somewhat remarkable that it should have escaped the
notice of Fabricius; yet it is hardly possible that he could have
confounded it with the preceding species, although some
authors have been led into this mistake by not having seen
specimens of both. I am not aware of its ever having yet been
enumerated amongst the birds of Greenland, although they
were seen by us in considerable numbers whilst off that coast.
Their mode of living is similar to that of the parasiticus,
which accounts for their being found constant attendants on
the flocks of young kittiwakes, as already mentioned. They

‘eo

180 APPENDIX:

are more numerous than the farasiticus, and undergo similar

changes of plumage, from the nest to maturity.

20. PRocELLARIA GLACIALIS. Fulmar Petrel.

Procellaria glacialis. Gmel.i.p. 562. Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 823. Temm.

/ 'p. 802. Fabr. p. 86.

Fulmar Petrel. Lath. Syn. iv. p. 403. Arct. Zool. ii. p. 534, Brit.
Zool. ii. p. 203.

21. ANAS SPECTABILIS. King Duck.

Anas spectabilis. Gmel.i. p. 507. Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 485. Temm.

p. 851. abr. p. 63.
King Duck. Brit. Zool. ii. p. 246. Arct. Zool. ii. p.554, Lath. Synv vi.

p. 473.

Tuis and the two following species of ducks arrived in gr eat

\ numbers early in June, in the neighbourhood of Port Bowen.
_- “Few were shot, for as the season advanced they proceeded
northward, to the islands, to breed.

*

22. AnasS MOLLISSIMA. Eider Duck.

Anas mollissima. Gmel.i. p.514. Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 845. Fabr.
p. 68. Temm. p. 848.

Eider Duck, Brit. Zool. ii. p. 243. Arct. Zool.ii p. $33. Lath. Syn.
vi. p. 470.

28. Anas GLactaLis. Long-tailed Duck.

Anas glacialis, Gmel. i. p. 529. Luth. Ind. Orn. i. p. 864, Temm.
p- 860,
Long-tailed Duck. Brit. Zool, ii. p. 268. Arct. Zool. ii. p. 566. Lath.

Syn. vi. p. 528. :

24, COLYMBUS SEPTENTRIONALIS. Red-throated Diver.

Colymbus septentrionalis. Gmel. i. p. 586. Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. is
Fabr. p, 94, Temm. p.916. Greenl. Birds, No. 16.

Red-throated Diver. Brit. Zool. ii. p. 169. Arct. Zool. ii. p. 529.
Lath. Syn. vi, p. 344,

ZOOLOGY. 181

A SINGLE individual, which was shot at the Whale-fish Islands,
agreed perfectly with the description of authors. It was rare-
dy seen afterwards.

25. Ura Bruynicuu. Brunnich’s Guillemot.

Uria Brunnichii. Greenl. Birds, No. 14. Temm, p. 924. Supp. to
Parry’s First Voyage, p. ccix. App. to Parry’s Second Voyage, p.
377.

Wenz found breeding at the Whale-fish Islands, in considera-
ble numbers, early in July. They agreed in every particular
with the description given in the Memoir on the Birds of Green-
dand above quoted, except that the mark on the upper mandi-
ble was, in all the individuals I have seen, of a greenish yel-
low.

They arrived in the neighbourhood of Port Bowen early in
June, and were found in company with the three preceding
species of ducks. At this time several were shot with the
throat and neck perfectly white, in others the feathers on these
parts were black tipped with white, giving them a mottled ap-
pearance; but in the greatest number they were in perfect
summer plumage. This is sufficient to shew that they un-
dergo similar changes from season as the U. ¢roile, as had been
anticipated.

26. Urta GrytLe. Black Guillemot.
Uria grylle. Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 797. Fabr. p..92. Temm. p. 925.
Greenl. Birds, No. 15. Supp. to Parry’s First Voyage, p. ccix.
App. to Parry’s Second Voyage, p: 377.

Black Guillemot. Brit. Zool.ii, p. 163. Arct. Zool. ii. p. 516. Lath.
Syn. vi, p. 332,

Asunpant in all parts of the Arctic Regions visited by the Ex-
peditions.

27. Unia awe. Little Auk.

182 APPENDIX.

Alca alle. Gmel.i. p. 554. Lath. Ind. Orn, ii. p. 795. Fabr. p. 84.

Greenl. Birds, No. 13.
Little Auk. Brit. Zool, ii. No. 233. Arct. Zool. ii. p. 512. Lath, Syn.
Vv. p. 327.

Larce flocks of these birds were met with in the northern
parts of Baffin’s Bay, whither they resort in vast numbers to
breed.

They agreed with Temminck’s description, except that the
small white dot above the eye has escaped his notice. An in-
dividual, shot in September, had the cheeks, chin, and upper
part of the throat perfectly white, breast and lower part of the
throat mottled with black and white, the feathers on these
parts being black tipped with white; in other respects agree-
ing with the description of birds in their mature summer plu-
mage. There is no difference in the plumage of the young and
mature bird, as has been asserted.

28. Mormon FRATEROULA. Puffin Auk.

Mormon fratercula. Temm. p. 933.
Alca Arctica, Gmel.i. p. 549. Lath. Ind. Orn. ii. p. 792. Fabr. p. 83.
Puffin Auk. Arct. Zool. ii.p.511. Lath. Syn.v. p. 314.

ApunpanT at the Whale-fish Islands, where they were found

early in July, breeding in holes in the most precipitous and in-
accessible situations near the sea. The few which were shot
agreed sufficiently with the description of authors. They
were not seen by us after leaving the coast of Greenland.

299. Atca TrorDA. Razor-bill Auk.

Alca torda. Gmel. i. p. 551. Lath. Ind, Orn. ii, p. 793. Temm. p.
936. Fabr. p. 78.
Razor-bill Auk, Arct. Zool. ii. p. 509. Lath. Syn. v. p. 319,

Apunpant on the coast of Greenland. They were found in
considerable numbers at the Whale-fish Islands, breeding in
similar situations with the preceding species. All that were

oe a ee

ZOOLOGY. 183

shot were in mature plumage, and agreed perfectly with M.
Temminck’s description,

The alca pica of Fabricius and other authors is the young
of this bird.

FISHES.

1. Oppipium Pararit.

SEVERAL individuals of a new species of ofAidium were found
in Baffin’s Bay and Prince. Regent’s Inlet, swimming about
pieces of ice which had been much worn by the action of the
sea; the holes and fissures thus made affording them a secure
retreat from their numerous enemies, to which a disposition to
swim near the surfaceexposes them.

In its general appearance, it approaches more nearly the ofthi-
dium viride of Fabricius* than any other of its congeners, but
differs materially from it in the size of the pectoral fin, which

in this species is very much larger, and contains between three

and four times the number of rays of that of the O. viride.
There are also other more minute differences, as will be seen by
‘the following description :—

Hrapv.—Very obtuse, being, in its length, depth, and trans-
verse diameter, equal; broader than the body, flattened and
grooved between the eyes, which are lateral, and rather large,
Irides pearl white. Mouth rather large, placed at the extremi-
ty of the head, and armed with numerous minute teeth on the
palate and either jaw ; lower jaw rather the longer, and with-
out cirri.

Bovy.—Three times the length of the head, ensiform, much
compressed, and gradually tapering towards the tail, which
- is pointed. Neck much arched, giving a greater depth to the

* Fauna Grenlandica, p.141, No.99, La Cepéde, 0. Unernak, ii. p, 280,

184 APPEND IR.

body there than in any other part. Back of a dark greénish-
brown colour, which is lighter on the sidés; belly before the
vent white; vent nearer the head; fins partake of the colour
of that part of the body on which they are inserted.

F 1ws.—Dorsal fin, which rises just behind the head, and

anal fin, which commences immediately behind the vent, unite
with the caudal, and together consist of ninety-five rays; of
which the dorsal and superior half of the caudal contain fifty,
and the anal and inferior half of the caudal forty-five rays.
Pectoral fins, which are very large, contain thirty-seven rays,
and, when stretched backward along the body, extend rather
beyond the vent, and completely cover the whole of the belly
and throat.

They were found to vary in size from 4 to 8 inches: the fol-
lowing dimensions are of an ordinary-sized fish, from which
the above description was principally taken.

—

; nches. Inches.
Length to the caudalfin . . 4.8
of the caudalfn' . . 0.7 ‘ whole length 5... 5
5 of the head 1.2 ithe lengthof the body.
» tothe vent PLEASE Lai tignh
of dorsal-and ventral fins 0 . 8 each.

| ieee)

PP)
”
Greatest depth of the body .

This species is named in honour of Captain Parry, the dis-
tinguished commander of the Expedition.

2. OPHIDIUM VIRIDE.

Ophidium viride... Fabr. Fauna’ Grenlandica, p. 141.
Ophidium unernak. La Cepéede, Histoire Naturelle des Poissons. ii. fi:
280.

Aw individual of this species was taken from the stomach of a
kittiwake, in a sufficiently perfect state to secure its identity
with tolerable certainty. It was 33 inches in length, and ac-
corded with Fabricius’s description above referred to.

ZOOLOGY. © | 185

5. Mertanevs Poraris. (Leach.)
Merlangus Polaris. Supp. to ache First Voyage, p. ae

Was found in considerable i s under similar. circumstances
With the Ophidium Parrii. They constitute the principal food
of the numerous sea-fowl which migrate to the Arctic Regions
in the summer, to breed; but their most destructive enemy is
the delphinapterus beluga, or white whale: from its persecu-
tions they have been known to leap on to the ice by hundreds;
and on one of these occasions, which occurred near Port Bow-
en, and was witnessed by one of the officers, sufficient were
collected to afford several delicious meals to the officers and
crew of the Expedition.

It is this fish which Captain Parry mentions in the narrative

of his second voyage, as having been collected in great num-
bers from the pools left by the falling tide, on the rocks at the
entrance of the Duke of York’s Bay.* They are very nume-
rous in all parts of the Arctic Regions visited by the late Ex-
peditions. |

There is considerable variation in the number of rays in the

fins, which seems not to depend on the size of the fish. The

following, which is the average of a great many, differs slightly

from those given by Captain Sabine as above referred to :—
P48. V3.6. 7D. 13, 15, 20. -A.17, 21., Cr42to 48.

4, Cotrus Poraris?
Cottus Polaris ? Supp. to he First Voyage, p. ccxiii.

Two individuals of a very small species of cottus were found
on the ice near Port Bowen, but in so mutilated a state as to
preclude the possibility of determining their identity with per-
fect certainty. They were each nearly 2 inches long.

* See page 39.

24

TR ag tee RDG

186 APPENDIX.
5. Corrus QuapRICcoORNIS.

Cottus quadricornis. Bloch, Ichthyology, iii. p. 216, plate 108. La
Cope de, Histoire Naturelle des Poissons, ui. p. 241. SBR to
Parry’s First Voyage, p. ccxili.
, - Cottusscorpioides. Fabr. Fuuna Grenl. p.157.

‘. Founp at the Whale-fish Islands in considerable numbers, but
none were seen after leaving the coast of Greenland.

Besides the five fish above enumerated, a species of fleuro-
nectes was seen, and an imperfect skeleton of one was found on
the ice in Port Bowen, from which it was impossible to deter-
mine the species. It was probably either the P. glacialis or
P. stellatus, both of which are mentioned by Richardson* as
inhabitants of the Polar Sea.

INSECTS.

In the following list of Insects, the generic names of P. A. La-
treille (Genera Crustaceorum et Insectorum) have been gene-
rally used, and the arrangement of M. le Chevalier de Lamark
(Histoire Naturelle des Animaux sans Vertébres) has been fol.
lowed in most cases.

PE ee eee

ES ee

1. StmuULIUM REPTANS.

eg ee Te ae a ae © eee ee

Simulium Reptans.. Zam. iii. p. 432.
_ Culex Reptans. Fabr. Fauna Grenl. p. 210, No. 172.

ae Founp at the Whale-fish Islands in considerable numbers. All

the specimens examined by me had two white rings on the
legs ; inthis respect agreeing with those found by Fabricius in
Greenland, and differing oom Linnzeus’s description of those
found in Sweden.

thy Appendix to Franxxrn’s Journey, p. 724.

a a ni

Sees

(Uy rip Tg COM ai TR) eS CE anIEE |
y Tes A EL EES ;
PRA oN

ZOOLOGY. 187°
2. CrenorHora Parril.
- Ctenophora Parrii. Kirby, in Supp. to Parry's First Voyage, p. CCXVili.

. <A sincLe individual was found amongst some plants sent home
from the Whale-fish Islands, and was the only one taken du-
ring the voyage, although I have no doubt that they were very
abundant at that place. It was a female, and agreed exactly
with the excellent description above referred to. The male
has not yet been described.

3. PERDICIA RIVOSA.
Tipula rivosa. Lam.iii. p, 437, sp.3. Fabr. Fauna Grenl. p. 200.

Founp abundantly in all parts of the Arctic Regions which
have been visited’ by the late Expeditions, They are most
abundant by the sides of lakes and in marshy places.

‘4, CULEX CASPIUS.

Culex caspius. Pallas Russesch Reisen, App. i, p. 23, No. 78.
Culex pipiens. Fabr. Fauna Grenl. p. 209.

Tuts beautiful insect is well described in the works above re-
ferred to: it is nearly allied to the C. pipiens, but is (besides the
differences noticed by Fabricius) smaller.. Its bite is very pain-
ful and venomous. .

5. MELITzZA TULLIA, -

Papilio tullia. Fadr. Fauna Grenl. p. 192.

Taken very abundantly at Port Bowen, and found in all parts
visited by the late Expeditions. Individuals vary considerably
in the disposition of the black markings of the wings; but the ~
excellent description by Fabricius has been taken from: the
most beautiful and most common of the varieties, and enables
me, without doubt, to identify the species.

188 _ APPENDIX.
6. Bompyx SaBini?
Bombyx Sabini? Kirby, in Supp. to Parry’s First Voyage, p. ccxy.

A sourrary individual was brought on board, in a very muti-
lated state, by one of the Esquimaux from the Whale-fish Is-
lands. It agreed, as far as I was able to make out, with the
description above referred to; but its identity is doubtful.

7. Bomsus Aroticus.

- Bombus Arcticus. Kirby, in Supp. to Parry’s First Voyage, p. CCXVis
Apis Alpina. Fabr. Fauna Grenl, p. 199, No. 155.

At the specimens brought home from Port Bowen are females,
and correspond exactly with Fabricius’s minute and very ac-
curate description, except that they are smaller—the length of
the body being only ten lines; in which they agree, as well as
in all other points, with those described by Mr. Kirby.

It is the earliest insect on the wing, and has been found in
all parts of the Arctic Regions visited by the late Pata caer
but is by no means numerous.

8. ForMICA RUBRA.

Formica rubra. Lam. iv. p. 98.

Asunpayt at the Whale-fish Islands; it was also found, on the .

preceding voyage, on several parts of the Melville Peninsula.
9. DyspERA ERYSHRINA.

' Aranea erythrina. Lam. y. p. 97, sp. 3.
Aranea rufipes. Fabr. Fauna Greni. p. 226.

Apunpanp at the Whale-fish Islands; it was also found, on a
former voyage, on the shores of Repulse Bay.

10. OxvorES VARIEGATUS.

_ Aranea variegata. Lam. v. p- 102, sp. 24.
“Aranea crucigera? Fabr. Fauna Grea. p. 228.

Founp abundantly at the Whale-fish Islands. This is probably
the same species which Fabricius heard of from the inhabitants

ZOOLOGY. 389

of Greenland; but not having seen any himself, he has made a
mistake in calling it the largest, though it certainly is the most
beautiful of the genus inhabiting Greenland. The 4. saccata
is considerably larger than this.

11. Lycosa saccaTa,
Aranea saccata. Lam. v. p. 103, sp. 27. Fabr. Fauna Grenl. p. 228.

Tue largest and most numerous of the tribe which I have
met with inthe Arctic Regions. It was found at the Whale-fish
Islands, and, on the preceding voyage, on several parts of the
Melville Peninsula.

12, SALTICUS SCENICUS.
Aranea ponies. Lam. v. p. 103, sp. 29. Fabr. Fauna Granl. Bi 22n3

Founp cians in all parts of the Arctic Regions, frequently
amongst the ruins of the Esquimaux huts and graves. It is
very active, and leaps horizontally in a surprising manner.

Besides the twelve insects above enumerated, a species of
sphex and a coleofiterous insect were seen; but as none have
been brought home, I am unable to give them a place here with
any certainty. There are doubtless many others which have
not been observed, for in this branch of natural history there
were not many amongst the officers who collected, and the few
opportunities of landing which occurred during the summer
were generally occupied in some more favourite pursuit.

wen]

190 APPENDIX.

MARINE INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS.

In the following brief notice of the Marine Invertebrate Ani-
mals brought home by the late Expedition, the generic ar-
rangement of M. Le Chevalier de Lamarck ( Histoire Natu-
relle des Animaux sans Vertébres) has been followed in every
‘instance. :

1. BEROE PILEUS.

Beroe pileus. Fadr. Fauna Grenl. p. 361, No. 354, Supp, to Par-
ry’s First Voyage, p. CCXXi.

EXTREMELY numerous in Baffin’s Bay and Davis’ Strait. It
was observed to emit a beautifully brilliant phosphoric light
when agitated, rendering the path of the ship through the
water, on a dark night, surprisingly resplendent.

2. DIANZA GLACIALIS.,
Dianza glacialis. Supp. to Parry’s First Voyage, p. ccxxi. ‘Plate i. fig. 1.

AxunpanT in Davis’ Strait and Baffin’s Bay, but rarely met
with in Regent’s Inlet.

8. Cyanga ARcrTICcA.

Cyanea Arctica. Lam. ii. p. 519. Supp. to Parry’s First Voyage, p. .
CCXXi.
Medusa capillata, Fabr. Fauna Grenl. p. 364, No. 358. ;

*
4. OPHIURA FRAGILIS.

Ophiura fragilis. Lam, ii. p. 546. Supp. to Parry’s First Voyage, P+ CCXxil.
Asterias fragilis. Zool. Dan. iii, p. 28, Plate 98.

Some imperfect specimens of this species were found on the
ice in Port Bowen.

ZOOLOGY. 191
5. OPHIURA FILIFORMIS. .

Ophiura filiformis. Lam. ii, p. 546.
Asterias filiformis. Zool. Dan. ii. p. 24, Plate 59,

6. NyMPHUM GROSSIPES.

Nymphum grossipes. Lam.v.p.79. Supp. to Parry’s First Voyage,
Pp. CCXXV.
Picnogonum grossipes. Fauna Grezni. p. 229, No. 310.

Five specimens of a female and nine young ones were found
on the ice at Port Bowen. They agreed admirably with the
description of Fabricius, but differed from the plate in the
Zool, Dan., in the points mentioned by Captain Sabine, and
which could not have been taken from the animal under con-

sideration.
oe

7. NYMPHUM HIRSUTUS.

Nymphum hirsutus. Supp. to Parry’s First Voyage, p. ccxxvi.
v
Two individuals of this species, which were taken in a dredge
in Port Bowen, differed in no respect from the description

above quoted, except that the two fingers of the mandibules -
are armed with numerous minute teeth along the whole of.

their inner edges, and form a most destructive weapon.

8. IpoTEA ENTOMON.

Idotea entomon. Lam.v. p.159, Supp. to Parry’s First Voyage,
P» CCXXVii.

AsunpanTt at the Whale-fish Islands, and has been found in

all parts of the Arctic Regions visited by the late Expeditions.
| 9. Iporesa Barrint.

Idotea Baffini. Supp. to Parry’s First Voyage, p. 228. Plate i. fig. 4.6,

A ¥Ew specimens, which were found on the ice at Port Bow-

a

192 APPENDIX.

en, differ from Captain Sabine’s otherwise accurate descrip-
tion, in having the spines on the second and third segments
of the body, the longest and strongest; and all of them being
much larger than is represented by the very beautiful engra-
ving. There are also two small spines on the upper plate,
in which the branchiz are included.

10. CAPRELLA SCOLOPENDROIDES.

Caprella scolopendroides. Lam. v. p. 174.

Grammarus quadrilobatus. Zool. Dan. iii. p. 58, Plate 114, fig. 11,12,

Female (young ?)
Squilla quadrilobata. Zool. Dan. ii. p, 21, Plate 56,,fig. 4, 5, 6, Male

(young ?)
Squilla lobata. Fabr. Fauna Grenl. p. 248, No. 225.

Was found abundantly at Port Bowen, but considerably larger
than those from which Miiller’s drawings were taken, and
nearly as large as the magnified figures. They also differ
in having a great number of small spines along the back,
which, however, were not observable on the young ones found
attached to the antennz of the females. They agreed in all
other respects. I have therefore considered them to be of the
same species, as it is probable that Miiller’s drawing were
taken from the young.

11. Cyamus CETI.
Cyamus ceti. Lam. v. p. 176.
Oniscus ceti. Fabr. Fauna Grenl. p. 253, No. 230. Zool. Dan. lil.
B. 69, Plate 119, fig, 13-17. ’
Founp on a young whale which was killed in June 1825, near
Port Bowen.

12. Gammarus SABINI.

Gammarus Sabini. Leach, in Ross’s Voyage, 8yo. ii. p.178. Supp.
to Parry’s First Voyage, p. ccxxxii. Plate i. fig. 8-11.

Founp on the ice at Port Bowen, but not very abundantly.

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| ZOOLOGY. Rate 193

‘13. GAMMARUS LORICATUS.

Gammarus loricatus.. Supp. to Parry’s First Voyage, p. cexxxi. Plate
Ahi 73 era

_ In the figure above referred to, each pair of antennz appear to
be placed on a peduncle, which is not the case.

They were found in considerable numhers on the ice in Port
Bowen. 7°"

14. GAMMARUS BOREUS.

~ Gammarus boreus. Supp. to Parry’s First Voyage, p. ccxxix.

Tue specimens which I possess differ from Captain Sabine’s
description in having the superior antennz as long as the head
and six first segments of the body, and the antennz, legs, and
tail being fringed with the most beautifully fine ciliz, particu-
larly the plates of the tail. The fifth, sixth, and seventh pair
of legs increase successively in length, the fifth pair being the
smallest. In all other respects my Spee ie correspond ex-
actly with his faa

15. TaLirrus NuGAX. "

: ‘
Gammarus nugax. Supp. to Parry’s First Voyage, p- Cexxix.
Cancer nugax. .Phipps’s Voyage, Plate xii fig. 3.

By far the most numerous of the crustacea inhabiting the Arc-
tic Seas. The superior antennz are shorter than the inferior,
which, according to the arrangement followed in this notice,
separates it from the genus gammarus, where it has been in-
advertently placed.

16. Tatirrus Epvarpsit.

Talitrus Edvardsii. Supp. to Parry’s first Voyage, p. ccxxxiii. Plate ii,
fig. 1-4, .

Was found on the ice at Port Bowen in great numbers, The
plate and description above referred to are very exact.
25

cg

194 APPENDIX.

17. NEBALIA GLABRA?

Nebalia glabra. Zam. p. 198.:
Cancer bipes. Fabr. Fauna Grenl. p. 246, Plate i i. Ae. 1.

4

A sINGLE imperfect ys was taken out of a vide of ice;

in too mutilated a state to determine its species with certainty.

18. Mysis rLexvosus.

' Mysis flexuosus. Zam. v. p. 200.
Cancer flexuosus. Muil. Zool. Dan. it. p.34, Plate lxvi.

Tue long and very delicate antennz of this animal were broken,
in the only individuals which I have seen. I have no doubt,
however, of their identity, as they agree in all other points,
with the descriptions and plate referred to.

19. CRANGON BOREAS.

Crangon boreas. Lam. v. p. 201. Supp. to Rarry’s First Voyage, p-
CCEXXV.

Cancer boreas. Phipps’s Voyage, p. 194, Plate xi. fig.1. Zool. Dan. iy.
p. 14, Plate cxxxii. fig. 1.

Vary in size from 2 to 6 inches in length, including. ‘he an-
tenne. The plates referred to are toler ably good, and of dif-
ferent sized animals. All that. were taken had the spines on
the thorax mentioned by Captain Sabine. A few were found
on the ice at Port Bowen, but on the preceding voyage they
were taken with nets, in considerable numbers, off the island of
Tgloolik.

20. ALPHEUS ACULEATUS.

Alpheus aculeatus. Supp. to Parry’s First Voyag ze, p- Ccxxxvii. Plate
ii. fig. 9, 10.
Cancer aculeatus. Jabr. Fauna Grenl. p. 239, No. 217.
\

A sInGLE individual was found dead on the ice at Port Bowen.
They were taken very abundantly, on the preceding voyage, ia

- the neighbourhood of Igloolik.

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BOTANICAL APPENDIX,

BY

,

PROFESSOR HOOKER, LL.D. F.R.A. & L.S.

Regius Professor of Botany in the University of Glasgow.

Ir has been considered proper here, as in the former Arctic
Voyages, to add a list of the Plants discovered during the Ex-
pedition.

In the present instance, this list has been reduced to as small
a compass as possible, there being but few plants which’ had
not been found during the previous voyages; and of the others,
a very limited number having seemed to require particular no-

' tice, it has been deemed sufficient to confine their references |
almost wholly to the Botanical Appendices of the two prece-
ding Narratives of Captain Parry, where the accounts are given
in detail.

The small number of species here enumerated is owing to

‘the few opportunities that were afforded for the officers to go
on shore, as well as to the extreme poverty of the soil in those
places that were visited.

W. J. Hooxer.
Glasgow, April 8, 1826.

DICOTYLEDONES.

I, RANUNCULACES.

1. Ranuncuuvs.

1. Ranunculus nivalis. Linn. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy-
age, App. p. cclxiv. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p. 3.

BOTANY. ‘TO

R. sulphureus. Solander and De Cand. ris

Has. _ Cape Warrender. North Somerset, very abundant. Regent’s
Inlet. ©

2. Ranuhculus hyperboreus. Rottb. Brown in Parry’s Ist
Voy. App. p. cclxiii. Hookerin Parry’s 2d Voy. p. 4..

Has. Regent’s Inlet.

3. Ranunculus lapponicus. Linn. De Cand. Syst. Veg. v,
I. p. 271. ejusd. Prodr. v. 1. p. 35.

Han. Whale Islands, scarce. Lieut. Ross.

This plant has been long known as an inhabitant of Lapland ; and Dr.
Richardson gathered it in the wooded country of North America, from
lat. 54° to 64° north. It had not been found by the officers during any
preceding voyage. Discovered by Lieutenant Ross.

Il. PAPAVERACES.

2. PAPAVER.

4, Papaver nudicaule. Linn. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy. L-
App. cclxx. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. are p. 4.
Has. North Somerset.

Ill. CRUCIFERZ.

3. CARDAMINE.

5. Cardamine bellidifolia. Linn. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy.
App. p. cclxx. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p. 9.
Has. North Somerset ; gathered by Mr. M‘Laren. fo

A, DraBa.

6. Draba alpina. Linn. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy. App. P»
eclxv. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy.'App. p. 5. | Foy

Has. Port Bowen. Regent’s Inlet.

7. Draba hirta. Linn.

Var. 4, 1-3-pollicaris, foliis integerrimis, scapo gracili aphyllo. Hooker
in Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p. 6.

D. hirta. Fl. Dan. t. 142. bow

‘Haz. Port Bowen. Regent’s Inlet.

5. CocHLearia.

8. Cochlearia fenestrata. Brown in Parry’s 1st Voy. App.
p. cclxvi. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p. 7.

198 | APPENDIX.
/\

Has. North Somerset. Whale-Fish Islands, Regent’s Inlet.

The specimen gathered in Whale Fish Islands, consisting of a single
stem, without root-leaves, is twice the size of the common appearance of
Mr. Brown’s Cochlearia fenestrata, and has its stem-leaves ovato-deltoid,
upon a broad distinct footstalk.

6. PLATYPETALUM. ere a

9. Platypetalum purpurascens. Brown in Parry’s Ist Vey. __
App. p. cclxvii.

Braya arctica. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p. 7.

Haz. Port Bowen.

I am indebted to the kindness of Lieutenant Ross Pe fine specimens of
the Platypetalum purpurascens of Mr. Brown, gathered in a former voy-
age, which have enabled me to detect an important error into which I
have fallen in the Botanical Appendix to Capt. Parry’s 2d Voyage, where ”
I have considered this plant as a species of Braya, and described it as B. |
arctica. The habit, indeed, of Platypetalum, Braya, and Parrya, is very Fi
similar; and, without the perfect fruit, it becomes very difficult to distin- :
guish them. Of my supposed Braya arctica, there were only specimens .
in flower in the collection, and these flowers were scarcely fully deve-
loped. In that state, the germen being oblongo-cylindraceous, I rather re-
ferred the genus to Braya than to Platypetalum. I mentioned, however,

‘that the form of its germen was the only point of difference which existed

between it and Mr. Brown’s character of the latter genus. The fully
formed seed-vessel in Platypetalum is ovate or pbioae and the seeds form
two rows.

CT a en Vs oe eae

7. Evurrema.

10, Eutrema Edwardsii. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy. App.
p. cclxx. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p. 9.
Has. Port Bowen. Regent’s Inlet.

8. PARRYA.

‘Ll. Parrya arctica. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy. p. cclxviili.
Tab. B. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p. 8

ny Has. North Somerset ; gathered in considerable abundance by Lieut.
Ross.

BOTANY. ue 199

‘IV. CARYOPHYLLE.
9. Lycunts.

12, Lychnis apetala. Linn. Brown in Parry’s 1st ek
App. p. cclxx. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. APP: p. 9.
Has. Port Bowen. Regent’s Inlet.

10. CEeRastium.

13. Cerastium alpinum. Linn. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy.
App. p. cclxx. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p. 9.
Has. Port Bowen. Whale-Fish Islands, Regent’s Inlet.

11. ARENARIA.
14, Arenaria rubella, Wahl. Hooker in ek 2d Mig
App. p. 11.
A. quadrivalvis, Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy. App. p. colxxi
Has. North Somerset. Port Bowen. Regent’s Inlet.
15. Arenaria Rossii. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy. App. p.
cclxxii. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App.p. 11.
Has. Port Bowen; scarce, and notin flower. Lieut. Ross. ‘
16. Arenaria Pumilio, Br. MSS. Hooker in Parry’s 2d
Voy. App. p. 11.
Haz. Whale-Fish Islands, and Port Bowen, not in flower. Lieut. Ross.
17. Arenaria Peploides. Linn. Sp. Pl. p. 605. De Cand.
Prodr. vy. 1. p. 418. Hooker in Acc. of Capt Sabine’s Plants
of E. coast of W. Greenland.
Has. Whale Islands. Port Bowen. ‘
Found by Lieut. Ross; it had not been seen in any of the preceding
voyages, but is a native of the coast of Labrador and Hudson’s Bay, and ©
of Greenland.

12. STELLARIA.

18. Stellaria Edwardsii. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy. App.
p- cclxxi. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p. 10.

_§. nitida. Hooker in n Scoresby’ s E. coast of W. Greenland,
App. p. 441.

‘Has. North Somerset.

19. Stellaria humifusa. Rottb. in Act. Hafn. v. 10. p. 447. t.
4, f. 14. Fl. Dan. t. 978. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p. 11.

Has. Whale Islands, very abundant. Lieut. Ross.

200” ; APPENDIX.

Vv. SAXIFRAGER.
13. SAXIFRAGA.

20. Saxifraga oppositifolia. Linn. Brown in Parry’s ist
_4S Voy. App. p. cclxxiii. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p. 12.

Has. Port Bowen.

21. Saxifraga Hirculus. Linn. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy.
App. p. cclxxiii. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p. 12.

~~ Has. Port Bowen. North Somerset. Regent’s Inlet.

22. Saxifraga flagellaris. Sternb. Brown. in Parry’s Ist
Voy. App. p. cclxxiii.

‘Has. North Somerset. Regent’s Inlet.

This plant, although found plentifully at Melville Island, does not appear
to have been seen by any of the officers during the second voyage.

» 28. Saxifraga stellaris. Linn.

Has. Whale-Fish Islands.

The flowers of this plant are very small and imperfect, and. it ap-
proaches very nearly to the following species, 8. Mad of Brown in
Parry’s Ist Voyage.

24. Saxifraga foliolosa. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy. App. p.

- cclxxv. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p. 13.

Has. North Somerset; Lieut. Ross.

25. Saxifraga tricuspidata. Rottb. in Act. Hafn. v. 10, p.
446, t.6.n. 21. Fl. Dan. t. 976. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy.
App. p. cclxxiv. . Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p. 13.

Has. Cape Warnsider? also ae Whale Island; but not in flower
there. Lieut. Ross.

26. Saxifraga nivalis. ie Brown in Parry’s 2d Voy.

App. p. cclxv. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p. 13.
Has. Port Bowen. Regent’s Inlet.

5 27. Saxifraga cespitosa, Linn.

War. surculis nullis, foliis plerumque trifidis subciliatis, caule uni-tri-
floro, calyce i uaa to glanduloso. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy.
App. p: 18.

S. uniflora, Brown in oe s 2d ae App. p. cclxv.

Haz. Port Bowen, Regent’s Inlet.

This is that variety which Mr. Brown, in his Appendix to the 2d Voy-
age, has called S. uniflora. But the number of flowers on its scape-is
very variable.

28. Saxifraga rivularis, Linn. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy.

App. p. 13.

ee ee

BOTANY: 201

S$. hyperborea. Brown in Parry’ s Ist Voy. App. p. eclxv.
Has. Whale-Fish Islands.

29. Saxifraga cernua. Linn. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy.

App. p. cclxxv. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. ees p- 14.
Haz. Port Bowen. Regent’s Inlet.

14, CuRysOSPLENIUM.

30. Chrysosplenium alternifolium. Linn. Brown in Par-
ry’s Ist Voy. App. p. cclxxv. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy.

App. p. 14.
Haz. North Somerset, scarce. Lieut. Ross.

VI. ROSACEA.

\

(15. Dryas.

‘31. Dryas integrifolia. Vahl. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy.
App. p.cclxxv. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Hey Appipe la. *

D. tenella. Pursh. .
_ Has. Whale-Fish Islands, Regent’s Inlet.
Plants of this species, brought by Mr. Goldie from Anticosti, have been

cultivated for two years in the Botanic Garden at ae ak where they

still retain all their characters.

16. PorenrTibua.

32. Potentilla anserina. Linn.

d. Grenlandica. (De Cand. Prodr. v. 2. P- 582) glabriuscu-
Ja, nana, foliis multo minoribus paucijugis, foliolis obovatis
rubro-virentibus subtus niveis.

P. anserina, Groenlandica., Tratt. ie Bot. P. iv. p- bo:

Has. Whale-Fish Islands,

So different in appearance is this from our common P. anserina, that
from the single specimen I had at first the opportunity of seeing, and of
which the blossom was also unopened, I was induced not only to consider
it different from that plant, but also to believe, that it rather belonged to
the genus Sieversia than Potentilla, so much did it resemble specimens of
S. Rossii. Lieut. Ross, however, was good enough afterwards to communi-
cate to me other specimens, together with his observations made upon the
- living individuals, by which he clearly proved it to be not only a Potentil-
la, but P. anserina, in that state wherein Professor Giesecke found it in
Greenland, and which both Trattinick and De Candolle have ceoeribed as
their var. Grenlandica.

26

a

202, APPENDIX.

The leaves of the smaller specimens are not above an inch and a half in
length ; those of the lar: gest three inches, above quite glabrous, the under-
side white, with a pubescence so short, so minute, and so dense, as to ap-
pear to arise from a pulverulent substance. The scape is generally quite
glabrous, but sometimes there are a few appressed hairs at the upper ex-
tremity. Calyx altogether glabrous, its alternate smaller leaflets lanceo-

lato-elliptical obtuse ; all of them, as are the margins of the leaves, purple. |

When in full flower, the segments of the calyx are recurved; as they
are also in a specimen, given me by Dr. Richardson, which. he had gather-
ed in Arctic America.

33. Potentilla pulchella. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy. App.

p. cclxxvii. Hookerin Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p. 15.
Has. North Somerset and Regent’s Inlet.

VII. ONAGRARIE.

17, Epttoprum. —

34. Epilobium latifolium, Linn. Hooker in Scoresby’s Pl.
of E. coast of W. Greenland, App. p. 410, and in Parry’s 2d
Voy. App. p. 16.

Has, Whale Islands.. Port Bowen, and coast of North Somerset, but
not in flower at either place. Lieut. Ross,

)

VIII. COMPOSITA,

18. Lronropon.
35. Leontodon palustre. Smith. Brown in Parry’s Ist Noy
App. p. cclxxvili. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. AED Pi, re

Has. North Somerset.

«

19. CivERARia.

36. Cineraria congesta., Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy. Appin p-
cclxxix. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p. 17.
‘Has. Port Bowen. Regent's Inlet.

20. _ANTENNARIA.
37. Antennaria alpina. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy. App. p:
cclxxix. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. Ap: p. 17.
Gnaphalum Alpinum. Linn.
‘Has. Whale-Fish Islands,

21, CurYsaANTHEMUM.
38. Chrysanthemum integrifolium. Richardson in Frank-

wig

eh

BOTANY. 203
li’ s Journal, App. p: 749. Hooker i in Pee s 2d Voy aP-

p. 18.
Han. North ‘Somerset. Regent’s Inlet.

IX. MONOTROPE.

Va Ds Pyiotn.
39. Pyrola rotundifolia. Linn. « Brown in Ross’ s Voy. edi Qin

p. 192. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p. 19.
Has. Whale Islands, not in perfect flower. Lieut. Ross.

X. VACCINIEE.

. Vaccinium.
40. Vaccinium eam Linn. Hooker in Party’ s 2d
Voy. App. p. 19.
Has. Whale-Fish age

XI. ERICINES.
rf < . Lepum.
41, Ledum’ adiearet # Thi Hooker in baht S ad Sle

App. p. 19.
Has. Whale-Fish Islands.

; 25. AZALEA.
42. Azalea procumbens. Linn. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy,
ra a ) ae
Has. Ted coin tas Islands,
26. ANDROMEDA.
43, Andromeda tetragona.. Linn. Hooker in Scoresby’s E.
“coast of W. Greenland, App.410. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy.

App. p. cclxxxi, ‘Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p. 20.
- _Has. Whale Islands, but not i in flower. Lieut, Ross.

para Diapensia.

44, Diapensia lapponica.
Has. Whale Island, very abundant.

-

: 28. EmMpeTruM.
A5, Empetrum nigrum, Linn, Hooker i in Parry’s 2d Voy:

App. p. 20.
Has. Whale-Fish Islands.

204) - At APPENDIX.
| XII. SCROPHULARINA,

29, Perovnatirs.

46. Pedicularis hirsuta, Linn. Hipoker’ in Parry’s 2d Voy.

App. p. 22.
Has. Port Bowen, Regent’s Inlet.

XII. POLYGONE.

30. Oxyria.

47. Oxyria reniformis. Hooker. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy-
App. p. cclxxxii.

Rumex digynus, Linn.

Has. North Somerset. Regent’s Inlet.

31. Potyconum.

48. Polygonum viviparum. Linn. Brown in Parry’s Ist.
Voy. App. p. cclxxxi. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. p. 23.
Has. Port Bowen. Regent’s Inlet. eS

XIV. AMENTACES.

32. SALix.

49, Salix reticulata. Linn. Hooker in Parry’s ad Voy.
- App. p. 24.

Has. Whale Islands and Port Bowen; scarce. Lieut. Ross.

The specimens of this plant are very small, not larger than Salix bein
cea; is often to be seen on the Scottish mountains.

50. Salix arctica. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy. App. Pp. cclxxxii.
Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p. 24.

ei Whale-Fish Islands, Port Bowen, and Regent’s Inlet.

. Salix herbacea. Linn. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy.
ae p- 24. ai \ -
' Has. Whale-Fish Islands.

52. Salix polaris. Wahl. Fl. Lapp. Hooker, in account of
Capt. Sabine’s Plants from E. coast of W. Greenland, Linn.
Trans. v. 14, p. 387.

Has. Whale Islands, abundant, Lieut. Ross:

Po

BOTANY. 205

This plant was first discovered by Martins in Spitzbergen, where Captain
Sabine has since gathered it. It does not seem to have been found else-
where, except in Lapland, be in the. habitat above mentioned.

MONOCOTYLEDONES.
XV. JUNCEE.

33. Juncus.

53. Juncus biglumis. Linn. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy,
App. p. cclxxxii. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Ver. App. p. 24.
Has. Regent’s Inlet.

34, Luzuta.

54, Luzula hyperborea. Brown in Parry’s Ist. Voy. App. Pp:
-echxxxiii.

g. minor; folis latioribus, bracteis partialibus vix: fimbri-
atis. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. ne Pe 25.

Has. Regent's Inlet.

XVI. ee a

35. Carex.

55. Carex fuliginosa. Sternb. and Hopp. Hooker in Parry’ S
2d Voy. App. p. 26.
Haz. Whale Islands, Port Bowen, and North Somerset. Lieut. Ross,
58. Carex membranacea. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App.
‘His, North Somerset. Lieut, Ross.
‘Lieut. Ross has marked the specimens he has been so good as to send
me “ Carex compacta 2” of Brown in Ross's Voyage. Thave no means of
determining this point, since I have never seen anauthentic specimen, and
no description has yet been given of it. It is certainly the same as my C,
_membranacea.

XVII. GRAMINE.

35. ALOPECURUS.

57. Alopecurus alpinus. Smith. Brown in Parry’s Ist
Voy. App. p. cclxxxiv. Hooker in Parry’s 2d oy App.
p27.

Has. Whale-Fish Island, Bie Baven,- Regent's Inlet.

w= Var. Viyipara.

206 APPENDIX.
_ 37. Coxropium. ~
58. Colpodium latifolium. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy. App.
p- cclxxxvi. etcccix. Hooker in Parry’s 2nd Voy. ae p. 28.
eum Ic.
Has. Port Bowen. Regent’s Inlet.

38. Purppsia.
59. Phippsia algida. Soland. in Phipps’s Voy. p. 200.
Wahl. Fl. Lapp. p. 25. t..1. Brown in Parry’s ist bee App.

_p. clxxxvii.
Has. North Somerset. eae Ross.

39. Poa.
60. Poa abbreviata. Brown in ‘Parry's s Ist Voy. bot p-
elxxXxvii.
Pai Port Bowen, ey abundant. Lieut. Ross.
. Poa arctica. Brown in Parry’s 1st Voy. App. p.
as. Hooker m Parry’s 2nd Voy. App. p. 28.
Haz. North Somerset. Regent’s Inlet.

Has. North Somerset. Lieut. Ross.

40. PLEUROPOGON.

62. Pleuropogon Sabini. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy. App.
p. celxxxix. t. D.. Hooker in Parry’s 2nd Voy. App. p- 29.

Has. North aie scarce. Lieut. Ross,

41. DescHampsia.
65. Deschampsia brevifolia. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy.
App. ccxci. Hooker in Parry’s 2nd Voy. App. p. 29.

Has. Port Bowen.

42, TRISETUM.

64. Trisetum subspicatum, Palisot. Brown in Parry’s Ist
Voy. App. p. ccxcii. Hooker in Parry’s 2nd Voy. ABP: p- 29.
Has. North Somerset, very abundant. Lieut. Ross.

3. Hi=ROcHLOE.
65. Hierochloe bral Rem. et Schult. Brown in Par-
ry’s Ist Voy. App. p. cexciil. Hooker in Parry’s 2nd Voy.
App. p. 30. i

ae : ‘BOTANY. iM 207

‘Han. Cape Warrender, and North Somerset. Lieut. Ross.

66. Hierochloe pauciflora. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy. App.
p. ccxcii. Hooker in Parry’s 2nd Voy. App. p. 30.

Has, North Somerset,

- ACOTYLEDONES.

XVIII. FILICES.

44, AspipIUM.
67. Aspidium fragile? Swartz. Hooker in Parry’s 2nd
Voy. App. p. 30.
_ Has. Port Bowen, very scarce. Lieut. Ross.
T have puta mark of doubt against this plant, because the only frond I
have seen is young, and destitute of fructification, and because the pinne ©
appear to be more divided than in our European plant of the same name.

XIX. LYCOPODINES.

: 45. Labordb ren, ;

68. Lycopodium Selago. Linn. Hooker in ‘Patty’ s “and
Voy. App. p. 30. 4
Has. Whale-Fish Islands.

-XX. MUSCI.
46. Bryum.
69. Bryum cespitittium. Linn. Hooker in Parry’s 2nd
Voy. App.p. 31...
Has, Whale Islands. | Lieut. Ross.
AT, ENCALYPTA.
70. Encalypta yet ins Hooker in mirc s 2nd Voy.

p- 37.
Has. Whale islaitae and North Somerset. Lieut. Ross.

48. PoLyTRIcHuUM.

71. Polytrichum juniperinum. Hedw. Hooker in Panny’ s
2nd Voy. App. p. 38.
Has, Whale Islands. Lieutenant Ross.

t

308 APPENDIX.
XXI. LICHENES.

49. Grrornora.
72. Gyrophora tesselata. Ach. Hooker in Parry’s 2nd
Voy. App. p.
Has, Port Bowen, collected off the rocks during the winter. Lieut.

Ross.
73. Gyrophora erosa. Ach. Brown in Scoresby’s Arctic

Regions. Hooker in Parry’s 2nd Voy. App. p. 41.
Has. Whale Islands. Lieut. Ross.

50. LECANORA.

74, Lecanora elegans. Ach. Brown in Parry’s ist Voy.
p. cccv. Hookerin Parry’s 2nd Voy. App. p. 42.
Has. Whale Islands. Lieut. Ross.

51, CEeTRARIA.

.

Nas Cetraria islandica. Ach. Brown in. Parry’s Ist Voy.
App. p. cccvi. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App..p- 43.

Has. Whale Islands. Lieut. Ross.
76, Cetraria juniperina. Ach. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy.

App. p. cccv. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p- 43.

Haz. Whale Islands and Port Bowen. Lieut. Ross. ~

77. Cetrarianivalis. Ach. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy. App.
p. cccvi. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p. 43.

Haz. Whale-Fish Islands.

52. CENOMYCE.

78, Cenomyce vermicularis. Ach. Hooker in Parry’s 2d

Voy. App. p- 45-
Cerania vermicularis. Brown in Parry’s 1st Voy. App. p-

cccvil: .
Hab. Whale Islands; Port Bowen, and North Somerset. Liéut. Ross:
79, Cenomyce rangiferina. Ach. Hooker in Parry’s 2d

Voy. App. p. 44
Has. Whale Islands. Lieut. Ross.
g0. Cenomyce pyxi

App. p. cccvii. Hooker in Parry’s 2d Voy. App. p. 44:

Has. Whale Islands. Lieut. Ross.

Oe ee ee ee tm

data. Ach. Brown in Parry’s Ist Voy.

ms Bi ln ee ~ ~~ 3 a - Fm zs
Ee Ee ETE Ee BO RT a

2 Eta eta a ona

—

a ee

Co ee ee
, ha Ha un an si BE

}

OAM 0-8 Pl G8

81. Cenomyce gracilis. Hooker. Hooker in Parry’s 2d
Voy. App. p. 44 oe

Has. Whale Islands. Lieut. Ross. a

82. Cenomyce deformis. Ach. Syn. Lich. p. 268. Enel,
Bot. t. 2051. Hooker, Fl. Scot. P. II. p. 63. .

Has..Whale Islands. Lieut. Ross.
83. Cenomyce coccifera. Ach. Syn. Lich. p. 269. Engl.
Bot. t. 2051. Hooker, Fl. Scot. P. II. p. 63. +

Has, Whale Islands. Lieut. Ross. —

84, Cenomyce bellidiflora. Ach. Syn. Lich. p. 270. Engl.
Bot. t. 1894. Hooker, Fl. Scot. P. II. p. 64.

Haz. Whale Islands. Lieut. Ross.

97

t

210013 APPENDIX.

NOTES a
ON THE GEOLOGY
OF THE

COUNTRIES DISCOVERED DURING CAPTAIN PARRY’S. ee
EXPEDITION. A. D. 1821-22-23.

By Puroressor JAMESON.

Tue length of the Arctic winter, the frequent covering of

snow, even during the summer season, the extreme difficulty

of land travelling, the necessary operations of the ships,—alf
‘militated against extensive and minute geological researches
in the regions visited by the Expedition. Notwithstanding
these almost insuperable barriers to the geologist, the activity
and enterprise of the officers of the Hecla and Fury have made
us acquainted in a general way with the geological nature of
those rude, dreary, and desolate, although — interesting

countries.

The following few additional remarks; stifeanionla by an ex-.

amination of the specimens of rocks collected by the officers
of the Expedition, and by the details in the Narrative, were
written at the request of Captain Parry.

Form. of the Land.—The lands discovered by the Expedition
during this voyage, with the exception of Melville Peninsula,
are insular; and of these latter Southampton and Cockburn Is-
lands are the largest, while Winter Island and Igloolik, for
many reasons, may be considered as the most interesting.

The land, whether continental or insular, appears in general —

to be hilly, with comparatively little low and flat country.*
The hills are usually disposed in ranges, — hills seldom

* Inthe map of Melville Peninsula, a great tract appears without hills,
which is only thus laid down because it was not explored.

GEOLOGY. | 211

appearing to rise from surrounding low and flat tracts, The
general direction of the ranges of hills is not mentioned in the
Narrative; but Captain Parry informs me that the most con-
siderable range met with was in Melville Peninsula, which
extended from the river Crozier, in lat. 692, towards Cape
Germain, in lat. 672, ranging S. by E. and N. by W. The
lands are not lofty; the average height may be stated at 800

- feet, and the highest summits measured did not exceed 1500.

ae above the level of the sea. The valleys are narrow and

ed, and the cliffs and precipices, : in their various fantastic
an gs, sometimes exhibit fronts és of more than an hundred
feet of perpendicular height. The shores are either low, with ,’

‘a shallow sea, or they are rocky and. cliffy, with a compara-

tively deep sea. The submarine land varies in form, and also

_ in mineralogical nature, as is shown by the soundings recorded

in the Narrative; and the geognostical relations of the bottom
of the sea with the rocks of the dry land, are in some measure
pointed out by the facts stated by Captain Parry. The hills
and valleys, during the greater part of the year, are deeply
covered with water (the most abundant of all known mineral
substances) in the state of snow and ice. The various beauti-
ful colours, and striking and often highly picturesque forms,
exhibited by the ices and snows of the Aretic Regions, are ad-
mirably depicted in the Narrative; and we doubt not that the
geologist would, in the lonely, snowy, and icy wastes of the

‘North, meet with splendid displays of those beautiful illustra-
tions of the formation of strata and veins, and of caves and

caverns, which occur, although on a small scale, during the

winter of Great Britain.
No sfrings were met with. Captain Parry informs me that

“no springs whatever were observed in the Arctic Regions

visited by him, the ground at a short distance from the surface
being perpetually frozen.”” During the short Arctic summer,
temporary superficial springs will flow, but these in a few weeks
will be again frozen up. Hot springs are reported, in some
narratives, to have been seen in old Greenland; but nothing of
this kind occurred during the course of the Expedition.

“ am

212 | APPENDIX.

Lakes.—Several single lakes, and also chains of lakes, are
mentioned in the Narrative. In general they appear to be of
inconsiderable size and depth, the largest being only two or
three miles in length. In Melville Peninsula lakes were met
with about 15 fathoms deep in the places which were sounded;
and Captain Parry thinks it probable that, in other parts, some
of them might be twice that depth. The ‘colour of the lake
water was, in general, brownish-green, and its transparency
was in no instance very great.

Rivers.—From the limited extent of the land, the rivers are
neither numerous nor remarkable for size. Those most parti-
cularly mentioned in the Narrative are the Barrow and the
Crozier, in Melville Peninsula, and Gifford River, in Cockburn
Island. Barrow River, in some parts of the few miles of its
course surveyed, was about 200 yards broad; and, near to its
mouth, varied in breadth from half a mile to 400 or 500 yards.
Its banks are frequently steep and lofty, in some places being
nearly 200 feet high, and ornamented by a vegetation unusually
luxuriant for so severe a climate. But the most striking fea-
ture of this fine river is its cascades, one of which is represent-
ed in a beautiful drawing of Captain Lyon’s, admirably en-
graved by Finden. This cascade, with a breadth of forty yards,
is precipitated in one vast continuous sheet of water, almost
perpendicular, for 90 feet. Of the Crozier little is recorded.
“Opposite to their tents it was about 200 yards broad, but this
was only a branch of the main river.’ Gifford River appears of
very considerable size, for we are told in the Narrative that it
was about a mile and a half broad, and continued of the same
breadth for fifteen miles.

Soil.—The solid strata are sometimes covered with alluvial
matter formed by the action.of the weather on the subjacent
rocks ; but I do not find the thickness of this cover or sub-soil
noticed in the narrative. Captain Parry, however, informs me,
that “loose mineral matter of any kind seldom exceeds a foot
in thickness ; and beneath this the ground is literally frozen as
hard as a rock, a pick-axe only bringing off dust and mere

fragments, as from a mass of granite.’” Over this sud-soi/ lies

a layer, more or less thick, of vegetable soil. The depth of the

GEOLOGY. ae 213

vegetable soil, Captain Parry informs me, “ seldom exceeds a
very few, perhaps from four to five, inches, and that only in a.

few insulated spots, sheltered and otherwise favourable for ve-
getation.’? More frequently, however, the bare surfaces of
the strataare exposed to’ the weather, and on these, and in the
chinks of the rocks, a few plants, frequently : cryptogamous, are
seen struggling for existence,

“Rocks»—The general aspect of these Arctic lands, already
noticed, announce the nature of the prevailing rock formations.
These appear to belong to the primitive, and occasionally to
the transition classes. Of the interesting secondary formations
little was met with. The alluvialstrata are not particularly
noticed in the Narrative; and no modern volcanic rocks were.
seen by the officers of the Expedition.

General direction of the Strata—We do not find, in the
Narrative, any ‘observations which could lead us to state with
certainty this feature in the arrangement of the strata.

I. PRIMITIVE ROCKS.

Tus following rocks ‘of this great class were met with, viz.:
Granite, Gneis, Mica-slate, Eurite-Porphyry, Hornblende-rock,
Hornblende-slate, Primitive Greenstone, and Primitive Lime-
stone. All these rocks occur more or less distinctly stratified,
- and numberless transitions of the one into the other were ob-
served. Comparatively few interesting veins occur, and of
these none: remarkable either for breadth or extent were met
with.

. GRANITE.

’Tuuis rock, whichin general is composed of felspar, quartz,
and mica, exhibits the following characters. Some varieties
are grey or white, others red, and these tints are owing to the

_ colourtof the felspar or quartz. The red varieties appear to
be the most abundant, and of these the most beautiful owe their
fine colours to flesh-red felspar.. The quartz in general is grey-
coloured, and simply oe In some varities, however,

214 APPENDIX.

ad

it was in the state of grey and brown rock-crystal, which, when
in cavities, is regularly crystallized. The mica, which varies
in colour, from grey to deep-brown ‘inclining to black, was, in
some specimens, crystallized in tables; but we have not learned
that it had been met with in large plates in the granite, or in
any other of the primitive rocks. Some’ of the granites are
without mica, and therefore composed of quartz and felspar.
Others consist principally of felspar and mica; and on the
coast to the north of Cape Wilson the granites were frequently
almost entirely composed of felspar. Of all the varieties of
the granular structure, the coarse granular is the most frequent,
the collection containing but few specimens of the small and
fine granular. Some varieties are beautifully porphyritic, as
those from Duke of York’s Bay, and the island of Neerlo-
Nakto, Igloolik, and the south shore of the Strait of the Fury
and Hecla; while others exhibit the graphic structure, form-
ing the graphic granite of authors. The columnar, tabular,
and globular structures were not observed. in any of the gra-
nites, nor do we find that granite distinctly stratified was met
with in Melville Peninsula, or in any of the islands. The
following imbedded minerals occur in the granite :-—

1. Rose Quartz, in veins, in Lyon’s Inlet, also in Winter
Island, on the coast north of Cape Wilson, at Neerlo-Nakto,
and Liddon Island.

2. Actynolite, Lyon’s Inlet.

3. Pistacite or Epfidote. This mineral, generally of a yellow-
ish-green colour, occurs either-disseminated in minute patch-
es in the felspar or quartz, or in beautiful small crystals in
drusy cavities in Winter Island, Lyon’s Inlet, near Moyle Bay,
and on the coast to the north of Cape Wilson.

4. Precious Garnet, transparent, and of a fine columbine-
red colour, in Lyon’s Inlet and Winter Island. :

_5. Chlorite. In this variety the chlorite takes the place of
the mica, forming the rock named frotogine by authors, and of
which the summit of Mont Blanc in Switzerland is composed.
It was met with in Winter Island and Lyon’s Inlet.

6. Schorl. In Winter Island a granite was picked up con-
taining schorl, and very minute crystals of Jery/. Schorla-

@noLoey. 215

ceous granite was also found on the coast north of Cape Wil-
son. |
7. Cocolite, In a small piece of granite found on the coast
north of Cape Wilson. .

8. Zircon. In a small fragment from Barrow river, minute
crystals, apparently of zircon.

9. Graphite or Black- lead, in disseminated grains and crys-
tals, in Winter Island and on the banks of Barrow River.

10. Specular Iron Ore, in granite in Winter Island.

11. Iron Pyrites. This mineral, which is one of the most
generally distributed of the metalliferous compounds in dif-
ferent countries, was observed in the granite of Winter Island,
that of Safety Cove, and the coast north of Cape Wilson.

Geognostical Position of the Granite—Neither the details
before us nor the specimens, allow us to infer with anything
like certainty the place or places, in the primitive series, oc-
cupied by the granite here described. Some of the varieties
very much resemble those that form part of the granite- “gneiss
formation; others may belong to the varieties that occur in
vast masses underlying gneiss. |

Geographical Distribution of the Granite-—Specimens were
brought from the shore of the Duke of York’s Bay, Lyon’s
Inlet, Five-hawser Bay, Upper Savage Island, west shore of
York Inlet, head of Gore Bay, Ducket Cove, Winter Island,
near Moyle Bay, Safety Cove, coast north of Cape Wilson,
Owlitteeweek Island, Barrow River, Igloolik, Neerlo-Nakto
island westward of letpolilss south shore of the Strait of the
Fury and Hecla, “oxe’s Islands, Richards Bey Amherst Island,
and. Liddon ene A ae

II. GNEISS.

Tue colours of this rock are red and grey, and its fracture is
sometimes coarse, sometimes fine slaty. The concretions vary
in size from coarse to fine granular, and the coarse granular
varieties sometimes pass into granite. Judging from the col-
lection, and the details in the Narrative, gneiss appears to be
the most abundant of all the primitive rocks in the countries

216 APPENDIX.
explored by the Expedition. The following imbedded mine-
rals were found in it:— i ;

1, Precious Garnet. This beautiful gem occurs abundantly
in grey gneiss in Five-hawser Bay, also in Winter Island, where
hyacinth red garnets are associated with rock-crystal, in Lyon’s
Inlet, and in the rocks of Safety Cove.

2, Rese Quartz. In the Narrative, it is remarked of Ren-
dezvous Island, that it is composed of gneiss traversed by rich
veins of rose quartz, and that large masses of the same were
lying around. .

3. Actynolite, in the gneiss on the banks of Barrow River.
4, Graphite, or Black Lead. Yn Winter Island, Five-
hawser Bay, coast to the North of Cape Wilson.

5. Magnetic Iron Pyrites, in the gneiss on the coast to the
north of Cape Wilson.

6. Common Iron Pyrites, on the coast to the north of Cape
Wilson. ‘ y

Geographical distribution.—Shore of Duke of York’s Bay,
Vansittart Island, Upper Savage Island, York Inlet, head
of Gore Bay, near Cape Wellsford, Winter Island, near Moyle
Bay, Safety Cove,.coast north of Cape Wilson, Owlitteeweek
Island, Barrow River, Richards Bay, and Igloolik. Other
localities are given in the Narrative.

IlI, MICA-SLATE,

Tuts slaty compound of mica and quartz occurs in compara-
tively small quantity, and, judging from the details and speci-
mens, seems in general to form beds subordinate to the gneiss,
which, as already mentioned, is the prevailing formation in the
Arctic countries discovered by the Expedition. Some varie-
ties appear passing into clay-slate, and these may be more con-
nected with the clay-slate than with the gneiss. The follow-
ing minerals occur imbedded :—

1. Hornblende, in the rocks of Five-hawser Bay, and in those
of Neerlo-Nakto.

2. Actynolite. Five-hawser Bay.

3. Tremolite. Five-hawser Bay.

‘

GEOLOGY. 217

. 4. Precious Garnet and Grenatite. These were detécted
_in a small specimen from Igloolik. IG”

5. Rock Crystal, in small clove-brown and brownish-black
crystals, at Five-hawser Bay.

6. Common Iron Pyrites, and. Magnetic Iron Pyrites, in spe-
cimens gathered in Igloolik.

Geographical Distribution—Lyon’s Inlet, Winter Island in
considerable quantity, coast north of Cape Wilson, Igloolik,
south shore of the Strait of the Fury and eed Quilliam,
Gere and Bouyerie Island.

IV. CLAY-SLATE, |
*

Tus rock appears to have been met with even less frequently
than the mica-slate. It is noted as occurring in Winter Island,
Richards Bay, where it contains imbedded iron-pyrites, the
coast to the northward of Cape Wilson, and in Bouverie
Island.

‘

% - yv, CHLORITE-SLATE.

Tuts rock occurs more abundantly than either mica-slate or

clay-slate, but not in such quantity as the quartz-rock of the

transition class. The following imbedded minerals were met
with in it :— Peay

1. Actynolite.

2. Hornblende. —

3. Felspar of a red colour. 4

4, Indurated Talc, or Talc-slate, in, Winter Aekatys and with
apple-green talc in Igloolik.

-§. Massive Common Chlorite, on the coast north of Cape

Wilson.

6. Calcareous Shar and Rhomb Spar: South shore of the

_ Strait of the F ury and Hecla, also in Igloolik.

7. Precious Garnet, in Igloolik.
8. Octahedral ayia of Magnetic Iron Ore. Barrow
River.
9. Red Iron Ore.
10. Iron Pyrites.
Geographical Distribution—Lyon’s Inlet, Winter Island,
28

218 APPENDIX. ;

coast to the northward of Cape Wilson, Barrow River, Igloolik,
south shore of the Strait of the Fury and Hecla, Neerlo-Nakto,
Quilliam Creek, Bouverie Island, Amherst Island, Liddon
Island, and Richards Bay.

VI. HORNBLENDE,.

Tas mineral occurs in the form of beds, and Blea dissemi-
nated, in the other primitive formations. Sometimes the mass

_ is almost entirely of hornblende, when it is named Aornblende-

rock, of which beds occur at the head of Gore Bay, in Lyon’s
Inlet, Safety Cove, Winter Island, coast north of Cape Wilson,
Five-hawser Bay,’and Tern Island. When the hornblende is
arranged so as to forma slaty fock, it is named horndlende-
slate, of which beds were met with in Winter Island. When
the hornblende is associated with felspar, the compound is
named greenstone, of which examples were found in Igloolik,

and i in the island of Neerlo-Nakto.

The imbedded minerals in these rocks are felspar, mica,

chlorite, actynolite, quartz, diallage, common iron pyrites, and -

magnetic pyrites. It may be remarked that the variety of horn-
blende named actynolite appears also to occur in beds asso-
ciated with the hornblende and other primitive rocks.

VII. SERPENTINE.

Tuts rock, considered by some as a compound of diallage and

‘felspar, by others as a simple mountain rock, was’ met with in

different quarters. Its colours are dark leek-green and. greenish
black ; the lustre glimmering ; the fracture splintery, or splin-
tery Eeaned with conchoidal; more or less translucent. The
following imbedded minerals were obseryed :—

1. Brown Diallage.

2. Glassy Actynolite.

3. Fibrous Greenish-gray Talc.

4, Flexible Asbestus.

5. Rhomb-spar and oh

6. Chrome Ore or Chromate of Iron.

7. Magnetic Iron Ore.

8. Iron Pyrites. 7

GEOLOGY. 219

Geographical Distribution —Lyon’s Inlet, near Moyle Bay,
in Winter Island, Liddon Island, Neerlo-Nakto, and Bouverie
Eslands 2/35 ji f "

virll, LIMESTONE.

Aux the varieties of this rock in the collection are composed
of coarse and small granular concretions, loosely aggregated,
and the only colours observed were snow-white and greyish-
or The following imbedded minerals occur in it :—
. Small but beautiful crystals of Mica, at Five-hawser Bay,
ee in Winter Island and Barrow River.
2. Augite, at Lyon’s Inlet, Barrow River, and Winter Tataiieh
. With Serpentine, forming Verde-antico. Winter Island.
. Precious Serpentine. Winter Island.
. Sphene, and Titanitic Iron. Winter Island.
6. Graphite or Black Lead. Coast northward of Cape Wil-
son, Barrow River, and Igloolik.
Geographical Distribution—Five-hawser Bay, Lilie s Inlet,

or i 69>

Winter Island, coast northward of Cape Wilson, Barrow River, ;

and Igloolik.

IX. ‘PORPHYRY.

In the collection of rocks I found but one specimen of por-
phyry, which is eurite porphyry, a rock which may be consi-
dered as a variety of granite. It was found in Five-hawser Bay.

The total absence of porphyry in the primitive districts visited
by Captain Parry is worthy of notice.

Il. TRANSITION ROCKS. .

Tue following rocks, apparently belonging to this class, were
met with in different places: viz., Red Sandstone and Quartz-

rock, Greywacke-slate, Drawing-slate, Flinty-slate, and Lime-

stone.

220 ARPENDIX.

1. QUARTZ-ROCK AND RED SANDSTONE.

Red and variegated Sandstone of the Narrative. Old Red Send-
stone and Transition Quartz-rock, Transition Red Sandstone,
and Recent or New Greywacke of authors.

Tuis interesting rock is composed of granular quartz, some-
times nearly in the state of rock crystal. The granular is some-
times combined with the slaty structure in those varieties in
which mica prevails. Grains and crystals of felspar are: oc-
casionally distributed through it. The felspar is either fresh,
or more or less disintegrated. Some varieties have a structure
apparently conglomerated, and others bear a striking resem-
blance to the gritstone which lies under the coal formation.
Some varieties, met with in Neerlo-Nakto, are vesicular, the
walls of the vesicular cavities being lined with small crystals
of quartz, and bear a distant resemblance to Buhr-stone. The
colours are white, grey, purple, and red; and sometimes the
colours are arranged in stripes. The white,or grey and hard

varieties may be considered as transition quartz-rock ; the red

and variegated as transition red sandstone or recent greywacke.
The following imbedded miner ‘hk occur in it —

1. Felspar.

2. Mica.
3. Chlorite. This variety is either slaty or massive.
4, Pale Rose Quartz, at Lyon’s Inlet.
5. £pidote, or Pistacite. This mineral, minutely dissemina-
ted, gives, we presume, the yellowish-green colour to some
rare varieties of this rock.

6. Rock Crystal, in small crystals, in cavities of quartz-
rock in Liddon Island.

7. Schorl, in the quartz-rock of Winter Island.

8. Red Iron Ore, Neerlo-Nakto,

9. Crystals of Common Iron Glance and Red Iron Ore, in
Liddon Island, and Neerlo Nakto. Scaly foliated iron glance
in Liddon Island, and at Cape Matthew Smith. - Here also,
small foliated iron glance alternates in layers with small- “gran-
ular white quartz-rock.

10. Scaly foliated Iron Glance, Richard’s Bay, ; and the same
associated with red iron froth in specimens from Igloolik.

regia

GEOLOGY. 221

11. Compact Red Iron Ore, at Cape Matthew. Smith, and
Richards Bay; also in Bouyerie Island, along with quartz in-
clining to rock-crystal, and also in Amherst Island. ,

12. Copper Pyrites with Copper Green ; also copper pyrites
with compact iron glance, i in Richards Bay.

\13. Quartz-rock, in which the grains or concretions appear
to be connected together by copper pyrites, and the surface
stained with Green Malachite.

14, Quartz-Rock with Magnetic Iron Ore.

Geognostic Situation.—This rock appears to belong to the
transition class. It very much resembles, in its associations,
_ the transition quartz-rock and ‘red sandstone of Scotland, as
that of Sutherland and Caithness. It may be remarked, that
probably some of the specimens of quartz-rock enumerated
above, as those with schorl, may belong to the primitive class.

Geographical Distribution—Upper Savage Islands, west
shore of Duke of York’s Bay, Five-hawser Bay, Lyon’s Inlet,
Winter Island, Safety Cove, island of Owlitteeweek, island off
Cape Wilson, coast north of Cape Wilson, Igloolik, Cape
North-east, south shore of the Strait of the Fury and Hecla,
- Neerlo-Nakto, Quilliam Creek, Richards Bay, Bouverie Island,
Amherst Island, Liddon Island, along the south shore of Cock-
burn Island onward to Whyte Inlet.

il. GREYWACKE, GREYWACKE-SLATE, AND TRANSITION CLAY-
SLATE.

GrevwAckE and Greywacke-slate, with disseminated iron
~pyrites, occur in Winter-Island, at Neerlo-Nakto, and in Am-
herst Island. The transition clay-slate was met with in Bou-

' verie Island.

i

Iii, FLINTY-SLATE AND DRAWING-SLATE.

Tue only specimen of flinty-slate is one from Lyon’s Inlet.
The drawing-slate was seen in Winter Island, and specimens.
of it with disseminated iron pyrites were picked up in
Igloolik.

222 - APPENDIX.

iV. TRANSITION LIMESTONE.

*

_ From the Narrative, it appears that Amherst Island is prin-
cipally composed of greywacke and greywacke-slate ; and along
with these is a limestone, probably belonging to the ‘transition
class. ,

III. SECONDARY ROCKS.

The only secondary rocks of which specimens were brought
home, are limestone, bituminous shale, and secondary trap. _

I. LIMESTONE,

: . ;
Mountain Limestone, or First Secondary Limestone : the Tran-
sition Limestone of some geologists. |

The colours of this limestone are yellowish-grey, yellowish-
white, and ochre-yellow. In some varieties the fracture is
eoarse splintery, combined with minute-foliated ; in others the
general fracture is foliated, and throughout the mass are cavi-
ties the walls of which are lined with rhomboidal crystals.
Other varieties again have a slaty fracture; lustre glimmering
or shining, and translucent on the edges, or opaque. Flint and
conchoidal hornstone occur imbedded in it. It contains vari-
ous organic remains. The following occur in the limestone of
the island of Igloolik. Corals, two genera, viz., Caryophyllea
and Astrea. A species of a new genus of coral was found ina
piece of limestone by that excellent observer Mr. Stokes, who
communicated the following account of it:—“ The new fossil
coral isa flat lobe, covered on both sides with pores, which are
obscurely laminated, and each pore or cell is continued through _
the substance of the coral. The cells are arranged in curved
radii from a centre, like the lines upon an engine-turned watch-
case, and (which is unusual in corals) increase in size as they
are more distant from the centre. Onone surface the cells ap-
pear to be all four-sided, in which respect also they differ from
all other corals.”? Casts of two species of Z'rilodites, one spe-
cies of productus, a species of terebratula, a species of trochus,
a turritella, a maclurite, and also a nautilus and orthoceras were
detected in the limestone.

GEOLOGY. 223

Of all the fossil organic remains, the most abundant in the
collection is a-species of orthocera, similar to one sent me
some years ago from an island in Lake Huron, by the Hon.
Mr. Maule, and of which a figure is given in the first volume
of the new series of the Transactions of the Geological Society.

Geographical Distribution.—Shoal in York Bay, west shore
of York Bay, Ducket Cove, Amitioke, Pingitkalik, Arlagnuk,
Moge,Bay, and Quilliam Creek, in Melville Peninsula; Win-
ter Island, Lyon Inlet, Safety Cove, Ig¢loolik, Tern fala! is-
land of Oaielew cet Bouverie Island, and Amherst Island.
The island of Igloolik, which is very low and rather level, is
almost entirely composed of this limestone. The specimens
of primitive rocks from that island in the collection, Captain
Parry informs me were broken from detached masses, lying
on the surface of the limestone, there being no fixed primitive
rock in the island. The next island to the north-west, called
Neerlo-Nakto, is also principally composed of limestone, but
abounding much more than Igloolik in fragments of primitive
rock.

II. BITUMINOUS SHALE.

Specimens of this rock from Lyon’s Inlet and Winter Island,
are in the collection. It is a common rock in the coal forma-
tion; but of that formation no other trace was met with.

III. SECONDARY GREENSTONE.

Tus rock, which is a compound of augite and felspar, was
met with in different places; but its particular geognostic re-
lations are not given, and cannot be inferred with any certainty
from the data before us. Specimens were collected in Lyon’s
“Inlet; at Safety Cove, where it is porphyritic ; in Winter Is-
land, where it has titanitic iron ore disseminated through it, |
and sometimes is iron-shot and porphyritic. On the coast to_
the north of Cape Wilson it contains veins of calcareous spar. |

It was met with in Tern Island, also in Amherst Island, and in

Whyte’s Inlet, in Cockburn Island.

924 APPENDIX.

IV. ALLUVIAL ROCKS,

No extensive deposites of alluvial rocks were met with. The
most striking objects under this head are the outliers or boul-
ders or fragments of rocks found spread over the surface of
some of the islands. The surface of Igloolik, a limestone is-
land, is strewed with blocks of primitive rocks; the island of
Neerlo-Nakto, which is principally composed of limestone, is
also strewed over with primitive blocks or boulders; and in
Ambherst Island, in which greywacke and greywacke-slate are
almost the only rocks, rolled masses or boulders of granite,
gneiss and quartz-rock, are not uncommon.

Se ee an. a

Se Le ee ae Ee aN

a

ea eo

~ oT me Nsipse 3 =

GEOLOGY. 225

NOTES ON THE GEOLOGY
OF THE |

‘COUNTRIES VISITED DURING CAPTAIN PARRY’S THIRD
VOYAGE.

‘Tne first landing was made on the Whale-fish Islands, on the
east coast of Baffin’s Bay, which my friend and pupil, Dr. Neill,
aS mentioned in the Narrative, found to be composed of gneiss.
On crossing Davis’ Straits, the next land visited was Capé
Warrender, where all the fixed rocks, according to Dr. Neill,
proved to be primitive, and the principal or only formation
éneiss, which, as is very generally the case with that rock in
these Arctic countries, abounded with imbedded grains and
crystals of precious garnet. Nodules of clay iron ore were

found on the beach, but want of time prevented their original

position from being determined. The ice having forced the
vessels close to the land a little to the eastward of Admiralty

Inlet, on the south coast of Barrow’s Strait, a landing was

effected. The country, as far as Dr. Neill penetrated, was of
compact secondary limestone. On the beach were fragments
of bituminous slate and of ironstone. Mr. Ross found pieces
of coal about two-thirds up a small peak of limestone. The
coal, Dr. Neill informs me, was not black, but brown coal, and
therefore belongs to a new formation of that mineral. The
vessels now forced their way to Port Bowen in Prince Regent’s
Inlet, where they remained during the winter. Expeditions
were made from Port Bowen toward the north and toward the
south, also to the west side of the Inlet upon the coast called
North Somerset. The whole country travelled over on both
sides of the inlet appeared to consist of secondary limestone,
with subsidiary beds of gypsum. No high land was met with;
29

.

226 } APPENDIX.

but on the coast, as at Cape York, perpendicular and high fime-
stone cliffs made their appearance. The specimens of lime-
stone in the collection sent for my inspection exhibited the fol-
lowing characters :—_

1. Secondary Limestone of Port Bowen, Neill’s Harbour, &c.

Irs colours are ash-grey and yellowish-grey, more or less incli-
hing to ochre-yellow and yellowish-brown. In some varieties
the brown colours are disposed in horizontal stripes. The lustre
is glimmering; the fracture is splintery, or splintery combined
with minute foliated, or simply granular foliated, and some va-
rieties are slaty. Itis more or less translucent on the edges, and
generally yields readily to the knife. Some varieties, however,
are so hard as to give afew sparks withsteel. All the varieties,
by friction, give out that disagreeable smell which is so well
known in stinkstone, and to which mineral they may be referred.
The external characters intimate its magnesian character, which
is confirmed by the experiments of Dr. Neill, who found it to
contain from 20 to 30 per cent. of carbonate of magnesia.

It is everywhere very distinctly stratified, and the strata are
uniformly horizontal. Imbedded in them masses of chert occur,
but not frequently. The organic remains observed in the lime-
stone are entrochites, catinulariz, spiropore, turbinoliz, favo-
sites, several species of terebratulz, a trochus, a turritella, and
an orthoceratite.

On the upper parts of the hills around Port Bowen, generally
on the surface of a brick-red limestone, mentioned by Dr. Neill
in the Narrative, were found masses of fibrous brown iron ore,

or brown hematite. These, in all probability, were derived from

veins or imbedded masses in the limestone. In the cliffs, caves
are of frequent occurrence, and these often of very considerable
magnitude.

This, which may be called Port Bowen limestone, extends
onwards to Cape York, and, according to the observations made
during the second voyage, even to Admiralty Inlet and Posses-
sion Bay, and was met with as far south in Prince Regent’s
Inlet as the Expedition explored.

Se a a ee

GEOLOGY. eer

IL. Secondary Limestone of North Somerset.

_ Tue country on the west side of Prince Regent’s Inlet, named
North Somerset, was examined in part, and there, as on the
east side, at Port Bowen andelsewhere, the solid stratified rocks
were everywhere of secondary formation, and the principal rock
limestone. The specimens from that quarter exhibit the fol-
lowing characters :-—

1. Limestone of North Somerset.

Irs colours are ash, greyish-black, and yellowish-grey; lustre
glimmering; fracture splintery, or splintery combined with
minute foliated, and some varieties slaty ; opaque, or more or
less translucent on the edges; by friction yields the urinous smell
of stinkstone, but not so strongly as most of the limestones of
Port Bowen. It is distinctly stratified, and the strata are every-
where horizontal. It affords the same organic remains as the
limestone of Port Bowen, with addition of a species of modiola.
Of all the fossils the terebratule and encrini appear to be the
most abundant. Caves occur in it, as at Port Bowen; and fre-
quently it exhibits cliffs of considerable height.

2. Gypsum of North Somerset.

Tuts mineral was found in beds several feet thick, extending for
at least thirty miles through the country, and associated with a
limestone, which, when near the gypsum, abounded in terebra-
tule, also contained entrochi, and a species apparently of modi-
ola. All the varieties of this gypsum are of a snow-white co-
lour, and of these the granular foliated, the fibrous, and selenite,
were met with, but not the compact. The selenite was very
abundant, and its broad plates at a distance reflected the sun’s
rays like mirrors. It occurs more than a hundred feet above
the level of the sea, and, with its slaty limestone, rests on the
more common and compact kinds, which agree in every cha-
racter with those of Port Bowen.

pa EE ORT SAN
ot Ke

228 APPENDIX.

Goossen Situation of the Limestone of Port Bowen, North
Somerset, &c.

From the data before us, it isnot easy to refer all the Hee
of Prince Regent’s Inlet to their places in the geognostical Se-

ries. The limestone associated with gypsum in North So-
merset may safely be referred to the second secondary lime-
stone formation, the first or oldest flcetz limestone of Werner.

The lower limestones of North Somerset, and those of Port

Bowen, Neill’s Harbour, and of most of the country on the east
side of Prince Regent’s Inlet, may either form part of the se-

“cond secondary limestone,—a supposition countenanced by the

universal horizontality of its strata, its magnesian character,
its brown hematite, and certain organic remains it contains;
or it may belong to the first secondary limestone,—a conjecture
not destitute of plausibility, when we recollect its imbedded
chert, and the characters of some of its fossil organic remains.
As gypsum and limestone occur near to Possession Bay, we
must refer these to the second secondary limestone. The hori-
zontality of the limestone strata on the north side of Barrow’s
Strait seems to point it out as probably belonging to the se-
cond secondary formation.

II. Alluvial Rocks.

AtiuviaL marly deposites, from the snow water s passing through
and along the surface of the limestone strata in the summer
season, occur in the valleys, and on the shore; also fragments
of the limestone from the ‘same source. The limestone hills
around Port Bowen and Neill’s harbour, and the whole lime-

stone country extending as far north as Cape York, and to the:

southward as far as Cape Fitzgerald, were, as Dr. Neill informs
me, more or less covered with boulders of primitive rocks,
which were either rounded or angular. Similar boulders were
observed strewed over the limestone on the west side of Prince
Regent’s Inlet in North Somerset. The specimens from the
boulders around Port Bowen, in the collection, are of granite,
sienite, gneiss, indurated talc, hornblende-rock, actynolite-rock,

GEOLOGY. 229

a beautiful quartzy iron-glance, and brown hematite. The
boulders of granite, gneiss, and sienite, were the most numerous
and largest; those of talc, actynolite, and ores, less numerous
and smaller. Some of the boulders near to Port Bowen, Dr.
Neill informs me, were upwards of 5@ tons in weight, and lay
fully 400 feet above the level of the sea; and he saw a boulder of
\ granite, two or three tons weight, resting on the summit of the
highest limestone hill in the vicinity of Port Bowen. On in-
quiring as to the mode of distribution of these boulders, Dr.
Neill informed me that they were numerous along the acclivi-
ties of the hills on both sides of Prince Regent’s Inlet, every-.
where resting upon the secondary limestone; but on leaving the
coast, they gradually diminished in number and also in size,
and, at a distance of from fourteen to sixteen miles from the.
sea, they were comparatively rare, and in general not larger
‘than a closed fist. These remarkable masses, Dr. Neill further
mentioned, more nearly resembled the primitive rocks of the
Whale-fish Islands than of any other quarter visited by the Ex-
pedition; and even the nearest known fixed primitive rocks
were those of Cane Warrenton. opecteds: of ene bordeed ated

distant.

230 APPENDIX.

‘CONCLUDING REMARKS.

Tue observations made during the four Arctic Expeditions,
viz., that under Captain Ross, and the three under Captain
Parry, afford the following general facts and inferences :—

1, That the regions explored abound in primitive and transi-
tion rocks, and that, although the secondary rocks occupy con-
siderable tracts, still their extent is more limited than that of
the older formations; that the alluvial deposites are not exten-
sive; that true or modern volcanic rocks were nowhere met
with ; and that the only traces of the tertiary strata were found
in the sandstones and clays connected with the secondary traps
of Baffin’s Bay.

2. That the primitive and transition islands were, in all pro-
bability, at one time connected together, and formed a continu-
ous mass with the continental parts of America; and that, in
the plains and hollows of this land, were deposited the secon-
dary limestones, sandstones, gypsum, and coal, and upon these
again the tertiary rocks.

3. That, after the deposition of these secondary and tertiary
rocks, the land appears to have been broken up, and reduced
either suddenly or by degrees, or partly by sudden and violent
action and partly by the long-continued agency of the atmos-
phere and the ocean, into its present insular and peninsular
form; and that, consequently, the secondary and tertiary for-
mations were formerly, in those regions, more extensively dis-
tributed than they are at present.

4. That, previously to the deposition of the coal formation,
as that of Melville Island, the transition and primitive hills and
plains supported a rich and luxuriant vegetation, principally of
cryptogamous plants, especially tree ferns, the prototypes of
which are now met with only in the tropical regions of the
earth. The fossil corals of the secondary limestones also inti-
mate that, before, during, and after the deposition of the coal
formation, the waters of the ocean were so constituted as te

iy
:
i

4

F

‘

4
q

es ee

GEOLOGY. 231

support polyparia closely resembling those of the present equa-
torial seas,

5. That, previously to and during the deacaieue a the ter-
tiary strata, these now frozen regions supported forests of di-
cotyledonons trees, as is shown by the fossil dicotyledonous
woods met with in connexion with these strata in Baffin’s Bay,
and by the fossil wood of Melville Island, Cape York, and By-
am Martin Island.

6. That the boulders or rolled blocks met with in different
quarters, and in tracts distant from their original localities, af-
ford evidence of the passage of water across them, and at a pe-
riod subsequent to the deposition of the newest solid strata,
namely, those of the tertiary class.

7. That nowhere are there any discoverable traces of the
agency of modern volcanoes; and we may add, that in the Arc-
tic Regions the only known appearances of this kind are those
in Jan Mayen’s Island, described by Scoresby.

8. That the only intimations of older volcanic action, are those
afforded by the presence of secondary trap rocks, such as basalt,
greenstone, trap-tufa, and amygdaloid.

9. That the black bituminous coal, the coal of the oldest coal
formation, which some speculators maintain to be confined to
the more temperate and warmer regions of the earth, is now
proved, by its discovery in Melville Island, far to the west, and.
in Jameson’s land, far to the east, in Old Greenland, to form
an interesting and important feature in the geognostical consti-
tution of Arctic countries.

10. That the red sandstone of Paisdaainn Bay, &c., renders it
probable that rock-salt may occur in that quarter.

11. That, although no new metalliferous compounds have
occurred to gratify the curiosity of the mineralogist, yet the re-
’ gions explored by Captain Parry have afforded various interest-
ing and highly useful ores, such as octahedral or magnetic iron
ore, rhomboidal or red iron ore, prismatic or brown iron ore,
and prismatic chrome ore or chromate of iron; also the com-
mon ore of copper, or copper pyrites, molybdena glance, or
sulphuret of molybdzna; ore of titanium, and that interesting
and yaluable mineral, graphite, or black lead,

APP NDIX. |

KYO, coo the | gems, the most valued and most beautiful: of’
mineral. substances, are not wanting in the Arctic aie
visited by the Expeditions, is proved by the great abundance ¢

_! the precious garnet, which we doubt not will be found, on more y
particular examination of the primitive rocks, to present all the _
beautiful colours and elegant forms for which it is so much ad- —
mired. Rock-crystal, another of the gems, was met with, and
also beryl and zircon.

13. That these newly-discovered lands exhibit the same ge-
neral geognostical arrangements as occur in all other extensive
tracts of country hitherto examined by the naturalist; a fact which

_ strengthens that opinion which maintains that the grand fea-
tures of nature, in the mineral kingdom, are every where simi-
lar, and, consequently, that the same general agencies must have
prevailed generally during the formation of the solid mass of
the earth.

14, Lastly, that the apparent irregularities which at first
sight present themselves to our attention, in the grand ar-
rangements in the mineral kingdom, are the offspring of our —
own feeble powers of observation, ‘and disappear when the
phenomena are examined in all their relations. It is then in-

_ deed that the mind obtains those enduring and sublime views of
the power of the Deity, which, in geology, reward the patient
observer, raise one of the most beautiful and interesting de-
partments of natural science to its true rank, and prove that its

_ relations connect, as it were, in the scale of magnitude, the
phenomena of the earth with those more extensive arrange-
ments presented to our intelligence in the planetary system,
and in the grand framework of the universe itself.

Ropert JaMEsopy.

Royal Museum, College, Edinburgh,
April 24, 1826.

i : THE END.

CONGRESS

NNT
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