142 Extracts from Capt. Ross's Letter 



ward, the examination of which occupied two days ; at this 

 place \re were first seriously obstructed by ice, which was now 

 seen to extend from the south cape of the inlet, in a solid mass, 

 round by S. and E. to E.N.E. ; owing to this circumstance, 

 the shallowness of the water, the rapidity of the tides, the 

 tempestuous weather, the irregularity of the coast, and the 

 numerous inlets and rocks for which it is remarkable, our pro- 

 gress was no less dangerous than tedious, yet we succeeded in 

 penetrating below the latitude of 70 north, in longitude 92 west, 

 where the laud, after having carried us as far east as 90, took 

 a decidedly westerly direction, while land at the distance of 

 forty miles to southward was seen extending east and west. At 

 this extreme point our progress was arrested on the 1st October 

 by an impenetrable barrier of ice. "VVe, however, found an 

 excellent wintering port, which we named Felix Harbour. 



" Early in January 1830, we had the good fortune to 

 establish a friendly intercourse with a most interesting con- 

 sociation of natives, who, being insulated by natute, had never 

 before communicated with strangers : from them we gradually 

 obtained the important information that we had already seen 

 the continent of America, that about forty miles to the S.W. 

 there were two great seas, one to the west, which was divided 

 from that to the east by a narrow strait or neck of land. Thei 

 verification of this intelligence either way, on which our future 

 operations so materially depended, devolved on Commander Ross 

 who volunteered this service early in April, and accompanied by 

 one of the mates and guided by two of the natives, proceeded 

 to the spot, and found that the north land was connected to the 

 south by two ridges of high land, 15 miles in breadth; but, 

 taking into account a chain of fresh water lakes which occupied 

 the valleys between, the dry land which actually separates the 

 two oceans is only five miles. This extraordinary isthmus wa^ 

 Subsequently visited by myself, when Commander Ross pro- 

 ceeded minutely to survey the sea coast to the southward of ihe 

 isthmus leading to the westward, which he succeeded in tracing 

 to the 99th degree, or to 150 miles off Cape Turnagain of 

 Franklin, to which point the land, after leading him into the 

 70tli degree of north latitude, tended directly : during the same 

 journey he also surveyed thirty miles of the adjacent coast, or 

 that to the north of the isthmus, which, by also taking a wester- 

 ly direction, formed the termination of the western sea into a 

 gulf. The rest of this season was employed in tracing the sea 

 coast south of the isthmus leading to the eastward, which was 

 done so as to leave no doubt that it joined, as the natives had 

 previously informed us, to Ockullce, and the laud forming 

 Repulse Bay. It was also determined that there was no pas- 

 sage to the westward for thirty miles to the northward of our 

 position. 



