FATE OF FRANKLIN. 297 



that circumstance, to suppose coincided with the west- 

 ern limits of Parry's Archipelago. 



" The greater facility of navigating from the west haa 

 been powerfully advocated by others on former occa 

 sions ; and the chief, perhaps the only reason why the 

 attempt to penetrate the Polar Sea from that quarter 

 has not been resumed since the time of Cook is, that 

 the length of the previous voyage to Behring's Strait 

 would considerably diminish the store of provisions ; 

 but the facilities of obtaining supplies in the Pacific are 

 now so augmented, that this objection has no longer the 

 same force." 



It was urged that, though the crews of the Erebus 

 and the Terror had provisions with them for only three 

 years, they could make these serve, by reduced allow- 

 ance, for a somewhat longer period, and would in all 

 probability obtain large additions to them by means of 

 their guns. The Arctic regions, far from being so des- 

 titute of animal life as might be supposed from the bleak 

 and inhospitable character of the climate, are proverbial 

 for the boundless profusion of various species of the 

 animal kingdom, which are to be met with in different 

 localities during a great part of the year. 



The air is often darkened by innumerable flocks of 

 Arctic and blue gulls, the ivory gull, or snow-bird, the 

 kittiwake, the fulmar petrel, snow-geese, terns, coons, 

 dovekies, &c. The cetaceous animals comprise the 

 great Greenland whale, the sea-unicorn, or narwhal, 

 the white whale, or beluga, the morse, or walrus, and 

 the seal. There are also plenty of porpoises occasion- 

 ally to be met with ; and, although these animals may 

 not be the best of food, yet they can be eaten. Of the 

 land animals, we may instance the polar bear, the musk- 

 ox, the reindeer, the Arctic fox, and wolves. 



Parry obtained nearly four thousand pounds' weight 



