200 ROSS'S SECOND VOYAGE. 



shores ; but the only opening found was clearly ascer- 

 tained to be the mouth of a river, named by them Garry. 

 On ascending a high hill, they perceived several large 

 lakes extending to the north-east, and forming, in fact, 

 an almost continuous chain to Thorn's Bay, near the 

 Victory's station ; with interruptions enough, however, 

 to prevent a ship passing through. Next day they pro- 

 ceeded north-west along the coast; but, resolving to 

 reach the opposite land some miles distant, they crossed 

 the frozen surface of the strait, and came to a large 

 island, which was named Matty. They pursued their 

 fatiguing journey along its northern shore, over rough 

 ice ; and, passing another narrow strait, which they 

 called Wellington, found themselves on the mainland of 

 America. 



The coast now stretched due west, and, the surface 

 being level, they proceeded with comparative ease and 

 rapidity. The direction changing to the north-west, 

 they soon arrived at a spacious bay, which was named 

 Parry. They then travelled onwards two days, but with 

 difficulties continually increasing, and experiencing 

 great embarrassment, as regarded both their advance and 

 return, in distinguishing between land and sea. " When 

 all is ice, and all one dazzling mass of white when 

 the surface of the sea itself is tossed up and fixed into 

 rocks, while the land is, on the contrary, very often flat 

 it is not always so easy a problem as it might seem, 

 on a superficial view, to determine a fact which appears 

 in words to be extremely simple. 73 



After experiencing great hardships from the exhausted 

 state of their dogs, and the necessity of abandoning a 

 great part of their provisions, their return was attended 

 with a considerable increase of suffering. The dogs fell 

 victims to successive calamities, till, of eight, only two 

 remained alive. It was proposed to vary the scene by 



