Caljt. Parry's Voyage of Discovery. 3S3 



attraction of tLe ship ; so that the needle might now be properly 

 said to point to the north pole of the ship. It was only, however, 

 in those compasses in which the lightness of the cards, and great 

 delicacy in the snspension, had been particularly attended to, 

 that even this degree of uniformity prevailed ; for, in the heavier 

 cards, the friction upon tJie j)oints of suspension was much too 

 great to be overcome even by the ship's attraction, and they con- 

 sequently remained indifferently in any position in which they 

 happened to be placed. For the purposes of navigation, therefore, 

 the compasses were from this time no longer consulted ; and in 

 a few days afterwards the binnacles were removed, as useless 

 lumber, from the deck to the carpenter's store-room, where they 

 remained during the rest of the season, the azimuth compass alone 

 being kept on deck, for the purpose of watching any changes 

 which might take place in the directive power of the needle : and 

 the true courses and direction of the wind were in future noted in 

 the log-book, as obtained to the nearest quarter-point, when the 

 sun was visible, by the azimuth of that object and the apparent 

 time.' 



On the following day (the Sth of August) the directive power 

 of the magnet seemed to be weaker than ever ; for tlie north pole 

 of the needle, in Captain Kater's steering compass, in which the 

 friction is almost entirely removed by a thread suspension, was 

 observed to point steadily towards the ship's head, in whatever 

 direction the latter was placed. An accidental circumstance con- 

 vinced Captain Parry that there was no current seating constantly 

 in one direction. A small piece of wood was picked up, which 

 appeared to have been the end of a boat's yard, and which caused 

 sundry amusing speculations among the gentlemen on board, 

 who felt rather mortified to think that a ship had been there be- 

 fore them, and that, therefore, they were not entitled to the 

 honour of the first discovery. A stop was suddenly put to this 

 and other ingenious inductions, by the information of one of the 

 seamen that he had dropped it out of his boat a fortnight before. 



The vessels continued their progress, and several bays, capes, 

 and headlands were discovered, and received names by the voy- 

 agers. On the 22nd they had a clear and extensive view to the 

 northward, free from ice ; and they now felt that they had actu- 

 ally entered the Polar Sea. The magnificent opening, through 

 which their passage had been cfTccted, from Baffin's Bay to a 

 channel dignified with the name of Wellington, was called Bar- 

 row's Straits, after the Secretary of the Admiralty. 



In latitude 73 ' 03' 12", long. 10o° 44' 37", an island was dis- 

 covered, and Captain Sabine, with two other oOicors, landed on 

 it near the east point, which was called (Jape (iiilnian. The 

 gentlemen reported, on their return, that 



' The 



