176 THE PARRY ISLANDS 



Sea, until she was stopped by the heavy pack. Trying 

 east, to join with Parry's farthest, and then west, she 

 arrived, on the 28th of August, at 73 23' in 164, and 

 here she turned south after having sailed over eleven 

 thousand miles without having to reef her topsails, an 

 unprecedented run of distance and fine weather com- 

 bined. Returning in 1851 from wintering at Hong 

 Kong, Collinson, with a southerly wind "too precious 

 to be wasted," made his way up Prince of Wales 

 Strait, knowing nothing of the visit of the Investigator, 

 to find ice blocking his way just at the northern outlet, 

 his furthest north, by ship, 73 30', forty miles beyond 

 M'Clure's winter quarters, as given in the record he 

 found in one of the cairns. 



Unable to round the corner into Banks Strait owing 

 to the ice block, Collinson returned down Prince of 

 Wales Strait and followed the track of the Investigator 

 half-way up the west coast of Banks Land, though he 

 had found nothing to indicate she had gone in that 

 direction. Finding the ice conditions dangerous, he 

 retraced his route along the coast and went into com- 

 fortable winter quarters in Walker Bay, at the entrance 

 of Prince of Wales Strait. By the end of November 

 the natives fishing for salmon-trout had cleared off, as 

 also had the reindeer, hares, and ptarmigan and other 

 birds, and on the 17th of March the ravens, which had 

 been the last to leave, were the first to return. In 

 April sledge parties went out, one of which under 

 Lieutenant Parkes crossed the route of the Hecla 

 along the strait and reached Melville Island at Cape 

 Providence on the way to Winter Harbour, short of 

 which, within sight of Point Hearne, Parkes began his 



