NORTH POLAR EXPEDITIONS. 



\v :is instructed to attempt a passage between Spitz- 

 bergen and Nova Zembla, over the pole, into the 

 Pacific, and captain Ross, commanding the Isabella 

 and the Alexander, to attempt the north-western 

 passage from Davis's straits and Baffin's bay into 

 the Frozen ocean, and thence into the Pacific. The 

 commanders and crew were carefully selected, 

 and provided with every thing necessary. Captain 

 Buchan, however (July 29, 1818), reached only 80 

 32*, north of Spitzbergen, where he remained three 

 weeks, frozen in, and arrived on the English coast 

 October 10. 



Captain Ross, who was directed particularly to 

 examine the western coast of Baffin's bay, had pene- 

 trated (August 9, 1818) only to lat. 75 55' in 65 

 32' W. Ion. He examined a part of the western 

 coast of Greenland, which he called the Arctic 

 Highlands, in the north-east corner of Baffin's bay, 

 between 76 and 77 lat., and 60 to 72 W. Ion., 

 120 miles in extent, and containing many mountains 

 covered with ice. He found there moss, heath, and 

 coarse grass, game and hares, and a large mass of 

 native iron. The only domestic animal of the inha- 

 bitants, who resemble Greenlanders, is the dog, 

 which they use to drag their sledges, made of seals' 

 bones. Their language is a dialect of the Esqui- 

 maux. They are of a dirty copper colour, five feet 

 high, and besmeared with train-oil and dirt. They 

 eat meat raw or cooked. They appear not to have 

 any idea of a God, but believe in charms. Women 

 who have borne children are treated with much 

 respect. Their dances and songs are accompanied 

 by convulsive distortions. They had not the slightest 

 idea of other parts of the world, or other men. Ross 

 found most of the statements of Baffin correct. His 

 own discoveries, properly speaking, did not begin 

 before 74 30* lat. He reached 77 40' lat., and the 

 chief geographical result of his voyage was the more 

 accurate determination of the situation of Baffin's 

 bay, which, until then, was believed to extend 10 

 farther to the east than it actually does. Ross was 

 convinced that there is no passage from Baffin's bay 

 or Davis's straits into the Frozen ocean. Although 

 he sailed up Lancaster sound (74 30'), he did not 

 continue his progress far enough to discover that it 

 was open, and a space of 200 miles, particularly 

 Cumberland strait (63 lat.), where a current ap- 

 peared, and Repulse bay in the north-west of Baf- 

 fin's bay, was not accurately examined, as he did not 

 arrive there till October 1, and was obliged to leave 

 the coast on account of the danger from the ice. See 

 Ross's Voyage of Discovery for the Purpose of ex- 

 ploring Baffin's Bay (London, 1819, 4to). 



The British government, therefore, in 1819, sent 

 out lieutenant Parry, who had accompanied captain 

 Ross, on a second voyage into Baffin's bay. He 

 penetrated, with his vessels, the Hecla and Griper 

 (the latter commanded by lieutenant Liddon), through 

 Lancaster sound into Barrow's strait, in which he 

 examined Prince Regent's inlet, running in a south- 

 ern direction, and the Polar sea, and wintered in the 

 harbour of an uninhabited island, which he called 

 Melville island (74 45' lat.). As he had passed 

 (September 10), 110 W. Ion. of Greenwich, he was 

 entitled to the first prize ottered by parliament. Ac- 

 cording to his discoveries, the land stretches along the 

 northern side of Lancaster sound and Barrow's strait, 

 to 93 W. Ion. Beyond this, towards Melville island, 

 there are merely separate islands ; whilst, on the 

 southern side, an unbroken tract of land extends in 

 a western direction, which stretches on the other side 

 of Prince regent's inlet, far to the west, and borders 

 on a plain of ice, which extends to the highlands, 

 visible in a south-westerly direction from Melville 

 island. The land, seen to the north of Barrow's strait 



! and Melville island, appeared to be a group of islands 



' which Parry called the North Georgian islands. With 

 eleven companions, he. explored Melville island, and 

 reached,on June 6, the northern coast (75 34' 47 ' Jat, 

 and 110 36' 52" Ion.). They found no inhabitants, but 

 there were some remains of Esquimaux huts, a musk- 

 ox, and reindeer. August 1, Parry left the winter 

 harbour, where he had remained ten months. ll 

 now steered towards the west, discovered, towards 

 the south, the coast of Bank's land, but was obliged, 

 by immense fields of ice, August 16, 1820, in 113 

 46' 33" Ion. (the most western point ever reached in 

 the Polar seas) and 74 27' 50'' lat., to return through 

 Davis's straits to Britain, where both vessels entered 

 the harbour of Leith, October 29, 1820. 



These discoveries gave some hope of final success, 

 and captain Parry sailed with the Hecla and Fury, 

 May 8, 1821, with provisions for several years. He 

 was instructed to examine the north coast of Amerir;i. 

 Parry commanded the Hecla ; captain Lyon, who had 

 just returned from a journey through the hot deserls 

 of Africa, the Fury. They entered, between 62 P and 

 68 lat., into Hudson's bay, in order to examine the 

 northern inlets. The first, Repulse bay (68 lat.), 

 permitted (August 22) no passage. The chief object, 

 therefore, was not obtained. Parry now sailed to the 

 north, with the intention of penetrating to the west, 

 but was obliged, after having examined 200 miles of 

 coast, half of which, and particularly the east side of 

 Repulse bay, belonged to the continent, to return, on 

 account of the ice ; and, October 8, he went into 

 Winter harbour. Here he passed the long winter, as 

 he had previously done on Melville island, occupied 

 with astronomical and scientific observations. The 

 tedium of the delay was somewhat relieved by play- 

 ing comedies. A magnificent northern light WHS 

 seen, and a splendid mock moon. Visits were paid 



' by the kind-hearted and mild Esquimaux, who were 

 docile, honest, peaceable, ad fond of music. Whilst 



' the thermometer stood at 24, journeys were made 

 into the interior. The ice was found not to be more 

 than five feet thick, though a severe frost lasted five 

 months. Walls of snow round the vessels, and over 

 the deck, were a protection against the cold. The 



1 Esquimaux lived in huts of snow, with windows of 

 ice. The vessels were not freed from the ice before 

 June 30, 1822. They then sailed to the north, dis- 

 covered on July 13, the Barrow river, with a beauti- 

 ful cascade, on a picturesque coast, covered with 

 plants ; made journeys on land, observations of the 

 disturbances of the needle, first discovered by cap- 

 tain Flinders, and different from the variation (the 

 disturbance is the greatest near the north pole, and 

 is different as observed in or out of the vessel), and 

 examined Fury and Hecla's strait, between Melville 

 peninsula (not to be confounded with Melville island) 

 to the south, and Cockburn island to the north, to the 

 northern point of the peninsula, which was called 

 North-East cape. Towards the west no land was 

 seen ; but, as fields of ice made it impossible to get 

 from these straits into the Polar sea, they were obliged 

 to rest satisfied with the examination of Amherst 

 island, 69 45' lat., 84 Ion. Towards the end of 

 September, Parry sailed out of the strait back to Ig- 

 loolik (69 20' lat.), where he wintered among the 

 Esquimaux. August 7, 1823, he again entered this 

 strait in search of the Polar sea ; but the opening 

 was closed, and, as Parry was unwilling to attempt 

 the passage with the Fury alone, both ships returned 

 the last of August, got free from ice September 21, 

 and reached the Shetland isles, October 10, 1823. 

 Excepting some important nautical, geographical, 

 and scientific observations, the chief object of the 

 expedition, a complete description of this icy waste 

 was not effected. Walruses, seals, bears, reindeer, 



