Northern Expedition. 383 



commander of the new circumnavigating expedition, containing 

 an account of the recent discovery of a great river in New 

 Holland ; and stating the encouragement given to all useful 

 researches by General Brisbane, correspondent of the Aca- 

 demy. — M. Arago presented, in the name of M. Zamboni, 

 an electromotive apparatus founded on the properties of dry 

 electric piles, and which imparts a continual rotatory ^motion 

 lo a horizontal lever. 



LXIX. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



NORTHERN EXPEDITION. 



/™\N Wednesday morning, Nov. 10, H. M. discovery-ship the 

 ^S Griper, Capt. G. F. Lyon, most unexpectedly arrived at 

 Portsmouth, and ran into the harbour direct from Davis's 

 Straits, with the signal of distress flying, having lost all her 

 anchors and cables in fruitless endeavours to get into Repulse 

 Bay, whither she was under orders to proceed, for the purpose 

 of co-operating with Captain Parry in search of a north-west 

 passage. The circumstances which have led to the failure of 

 this branch of the north-west expedition are attributable to 

 stormy and severe weather, which prevailed in a more intense 

 degree than the oldest northern navigator remembers, and to 

 the extraordinary bad qualities of the ship for the purposes 

 required. It appears that the Griper left Stromness on the 

 1st of July, and made Cape Chudleigh (on the Labrador coast) 

 on the 2d of August, having fallen in with icebergs three days 

 previously, and from which time she was beset with drift ice. 

 In this passage she was found to make so little progress, that 

 the Snap (her provision tender) was frequently obliged to take 

 her in tow. From Cape Chudleigh the Griper was obliged 

 to stretch to the northward, to Resolution Island, as the field 

 ice prevented progress up Hudson Strait, they were, how- 

 ever, enabled to make slow advances to the westward, close to 

 the Savage Islands, until they made Salisbury or Nottingham 

 Island, but which place could not be ascertained, from the im- 

 possibility of making observations off the Upper Savage Islands. 

 Some canoes of natives came off to them, who appeared to be 

 of the same description of Esquimaux with which our naviga- 

 tors were before acquainted. They were dismissed with li- 

 beral presents, and appeared much gratified. From Salisbury 

 [gland, the Griper proceeded to the south point of Southamp- 

 ton Island, in which they were assisted by a strong current 

 setting down Fox's Channel; but on their rounding South- 

 ampton Island, this current, which then came down SirThomas 



Rowe's 



