Intelligence and Miscellaneous Arties. 395 



weather, the irregularity of the coast, and the numerous inlets and 

 rocks for which it is remarkable, our progress was no less dangerous 

 than tedious, yet we succeeded in penetrating below the latitude of 

 70° north in longitude 92 c west, where the land, after having car- 

 ried us as far east as 90°, took a decided westerly direction, while 

 land at the distance of forty miles to southward was seen extending 

 east and west. At this extreme point our progress was arrested on 

 the 1st of October by an impenetrable barrier of ice. We, however, 

 found an excellent wintering port, which we named Felix Harbour. 



" Early in January 1830, we had the good fortune to establish a 

 friendly intercourse with a most interesting consociation of natives, 

 who, being insulated by nature, had never before communicated with 

 strangers j from them we gradually obtained the important informa- 

 tion that we had already seen the continent of America, that about 

 forty miles to the S.W. there were two great seas, one to the west, 

 which was divided from that to the east by a narrow strait or neck of 

 land. The verification of this intelligence either way, on which our 

 future operations so materially depended, devolved on Commander 

 Ross, who volunteered this service early in April, and, accompanied 

 by one of the mates, and guided by two of the natives, proceeded to 

 the spot, and found that the north land was connected to the south 

 by two ridges of high land, fifteen miles in breadth, but, taking into 

 account a chain of fresh-water lakes, which occupied the valleys be- 

 tween, the dry land which actually separates the two oceans is only 

 five miles. This extraordinary isthmus was subsequently visited by 

 myself, when Commander Ross proceeded minutely to survey the sea 

 coast to the southward of the isthmus leading to the westward, which 

 he succeeded in tracing to the 99th degree, or to 150 miles of Cape 

 Turnagain of Franklin, to which point the land, after leading him into 

 the 70th degree of north latitude, trended directly : during the same 

 journey he also surveyed thirty miles of the adjacent coast, or that to 

 the north of the isthmus, which, by also taking a westerly direction, 

 formed the termination of the western sea into a gulf. The rest of 

 this season was employed in tracing the sea-coast south of the isthmus 

 leading to the eastward, which was done so as to leave no doubt that 

 it joined, as the natives had previously informed us, to Ockullee, and 

 the land forming Repulse Bay. It was also determined that there 

 was no passage to the westward for thirty miles to the northward of 

 our position. 



"This summer, like that of 1818, was beautifully fine, but ex- 

 tremely unfavourable for navigation, and our object being now to try 

 a more northern latitude, we waited with anxiety for the disruption 

 of the ice, but in vain, and our utmost endeavours did not succeed 

 in retracing our steps more than four miles, and it was not until the 

 middle of November that we succeeded in cutting the vessel into a 

 place of security, which we named Sheriff's Harbour. I may here 

 mention that we named the newly-discovered continent, to the south- 

 ward, Boothia, as also the isthmus, the peninsula to the north, and 

 the eastern sea, after mv worthy friend Felix Booth, Esq., the trulv 



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