34 ARCTIC VOYAGES. Chap. II. 



A little farther on, the ships were visited by three 

 other Esquimaux, from whom information was re- 

 ceived that the iron part of their knives was found 

 on a mountain in great masses, and that it was a 

 part of the mountain ; that in other places it was 

 found in solid pieces on the surface, and that they 

 cut it off with hard stone. Ross, however, could 

 not succeed in obtaining any of the masses ; but a 

 small piece, being examined in England, was found 

 to contain the usual proportion of nickel met with 

 in meteoric stones. 



Having now passed Cape Dudley Digges, which 

 Ross found to be a few miles to the southward of 

 the situation in which Baffin has laid it down, 

 Wolstenholme Island came in sight to the north- 

 ward ; and, " as we were steering for it with a fine 

 breeze, and the sea almost clear of ice, we gave up 

 all idea of communicating with the King of the 

 Arctic Highlanders ; the hopes of attaining the 

 grand object of the enterprise were now raised to 

 such a height as to make that, which was consi- 

 dered so desirable but a few hours before, an object 

 of no moment whatever." It was, indeed, quite 

 time to think of the "grand cbject," and leave be- 

 hind that " so desirable one," — the king of a miser- 

 able tribe of Esquimaux, the year having advanced 

 to the 18th of August, and the " enterprise " being- 

 no further advanced than to the western coast of 

 Greenland, on which coast by no possibility could 



