518 ARCTIC VOYAGES. Chap. XIV. 



satisfied his mind ; but I doubt whether he can have made 

 observations that would satisfy the minds of those who may 

 investigate the matter." 



So much for Captain Ross's "demonstration" of 

 the water-built wall thirteen feet high, extending 

 from Boothia to the North Pole, and his joining 

 Boothia to North America; yet he satisfied the 

 Committee, as appears by their Report, that a pas- 

 sage south of Boothia does not exist. But the Com- 

 mittee and Ross also shall be satisfied, before this 

 chapter closes, that not only is there no such junc- 

 tion, but that they are completely divided by a na- 

 vigable strait, ten miles wide, and upwards, lead- 

 ing past Back's Estuary and into the Gulf, of which 

 the proper name is Akkolee, not Boothia; and, 

 moreover, that the two seas flow as freely into each 

 other as Lancaster Sound does into the Polar Sea, 

 and are of course on the same level. 



Next after this lucid demonstration it remains 

 to be explained by what process he utterly demo- 

 lishes the north-west passage. It has already been 

 noticed that Captain Ross conceived any further 

 attempts to discover the north-west passage would 

 be very dangerous, and, if successful, would be 

 utterly useless. 



Ross was asked — 



" The indications that were relied upon in the beginning 

 of these voyages of discovery, as to leading to the conclusion 

 that a passage might be found, have totally failed ? 



" They have been totally disproved." 



