198 ARCTIC VOYAGES. Chap. VI. 



the south side of the strait, and he deemed it 

 expedient that something more of it should be 

 known, he took measures accordingly. In the 

 course of a week following, a light north-easterly 

 breeze allowed the ships to be steered under all 

 possible sail up the strait. By keeping on the 

 south or continental shore, and passing along by 

 Cape North-East, within two or three hundred 

 yards of the rocks, they succeeded, with the assist- 

 ance of the boats ahead, in getting through the 

 narrow channel. The length of this narrowest part 

 of the strait is said to extend about three miles in 

 the direction of west by north : it is here two miles 

 across, and keeps its width the whole way through 

 this narrow part. Two considerable islands almost 

 shut up the said part, named by Parry Orrnond 

 and Liddon Islands; the southern point on the 

 former of which, being directly opposite to Cape 

 North-East, forms the northern point of the narrow 

 entrance, to which Parry assigned the name of 

 Cape Ossory. The ships, however, were soon 

 stopped by apparently permanent ice clinging to 

 the shores of the above-mentioned islands and 

 of the continent ; "and thus," says Parry, "after 

 a vexatious delay of six weeks at the eastern en- 

 trance of the strait, and at a time when we had 

 every reason to hope that Nature, though hitherto 

 tardy in her annual disruption of the ice, had at 

 length made an effort to complete it, did we find 



