CAPTAIN M'cLURE's DESPATCHES. 21 



extreme gratification of pitcliing our tent upon the shores of Barrow's 

 Strait, in lat. 73° 31' N., long. 114° 39' W. (chronometer), (long. 

 114° 14' W. lunar), nearly on the line, as represented on the charts, 

 where Sir Edward Parry has very correctly marked the loom of the 

 land. Upon the following morning, before sunrise, Mr. Court and 

 myself ascended a small hill, about 600 feet in height, so that w-e could 

 command an extensive view of 40 or 50 miles. The extreme point of 

 Prince Albert's Land bore long. 78° E. true, about 35 miles, the 

 furthest land N.N.E., 8 miles. The Melville Island shore could not 

 be discovered, but in that direction the ice appeared to be very heavy, 

 and the flees exceedingly large. While we were making these observa- 

 tions the crew were busily engaged erecting a cairn about 15 feet above 

 the water (which had been named Prince of Wales's Strait, in honour of 

 his Royal Highness), in which a copper cylinder was deposited. The 

 spot is so conspicuous that any person passing along the shore must 

 remark it. All being completed by 10 a.m. of the 27th, we turned for 

 the ship, arriving upon the morning of the 31st, having in nine days 

 made in a direct line 156 miles by observation, with a temperature of 

 between-f7 and— 15 degrees. Upon the afternoon of the 30th tbe 

 weather, which had been overcast, suddenly brightened, showing the 

 Princess Royal Islands, distant about 12 miles. At 3 p.m. I left the 

 sledge, with the intention of getting early on board, to have everything 

 in readiness for tlie comfort of the party, anticipating their arrival at 

 9 p.m. Unfortunately, the weather became again foggy about 5 p.m., fol- 

 lowed soon by darkness ; consequently my way was speedily lost, com- 

 pelling me to wander about the floe during the night, with a temperature 

 of from 5 to 15 degrees mitivs, when at 7 the next morning I had the 

 mortification to find that I had passed the vessel 4 miles, which I 

 reached by 8.30 a.m., and immediately dispatched a party to assist 

 Mr. Court, who was at 5 miles distance, having most judiciously en- 

 camped about 7 miles from the ship when the fog became too dense to 

 travel. 



I was agreeably surprised to learn from Lieutenant Haswell that on 

 the 29th a party, consisting of Messrs. Sainsbury, Paine, Miertsching, 

 and Newton, while sporting upon Prince Albert's Land, had encountered 

 a herd of musk cattle, two bulls, a cow, a heifer, and a calf, and most 

 adroitly shot the whole, which yielded l,296lbs. of excellent nutritious 

 meat. A supply thus opportune and unexpected may be regarded as a 

 most favourable termination to our season's operations, in which we 

 have been nearly enabled to carry out verbatim their Lordships' in- 

 structions, in reaching the ice by the 1st of x^ugust, and establishing a 

 position near Banks's Land, which service has been performed under 

 circumstances over which we could exercise but little control, our only 

 credit consisting in seizing the advantages that an Invisible Power scat- 

 tered along our road through fields of ice, where all human exertion 

 would have been as unavailing as the feebleness of a child to advance 

 us one yard. 



The winter — that dreary period of the voyage which I had looked 

 forward to with much apprehension, — passed mildly away, there being 

 very little snow or wind, without our sanitary state being in the slightest 

 degree impaired ; for which happiness I assign these reasons — viz., 



1 . The unflagging spirits and cheerfulness of the men. 



2. The excellence of every species of provisions. 



