172 



THE SEA. 



sun, as, at the same time, we are told that the thermometer stood at - 22 u to - 25 in the shade 

 (the latter 57 below the freezing- point of water). In May the ships were again afloat, the 

 men having cut the ice around them. But the sea, as far as the eye could reach, was still 

 "one unbroken and continuous surface of solid and impenetrable ice/' not less than six or 

 seven feet in thickness. It was not till the very last day of July that the ice broke up, 

 and on August 1st the ships stood out to sea. Many a " nip " and " heavy rub," as Parry 

 describes it, did the ships sustain after this ; but in spite of perils from the ice, which would 

 become monotonous in the telling, the expedition reached England safely in the latter part of 

 October; and, in spite of all casualties, but one man out of ninety-four had died during their 

 eighteen months' absence a fact which certainly speaks volumes for Parry's unremitting care 

 and attention to the health of his crews. 



In 1821 3 we again find the indefatigable Parry in the field, this, the second voyage 



ESQUIMAUX OF WEST GREENLAND. 



under his direct command, being undertaken for the discovery of a north-west passage. The 

 vessels employed were the Fury and the Hecla, and the expedition left the Nore on May 8th, 

 1821. Most of the experiences recorded in his work were similar to those already mentioned; 

 and only a few general facts and extracts from his journal are therefore presented. Two 

 winters were passed by him among the frozen realms on this voyage, and several geographical 

 examinations of importance made. The Frozen Strait, Repulse Bay, and many islands of the 

 same neighbourhood, were carefully explored. Parry, in his journal of October 8th, gives the 

 following interesting description of the formation of ' ' young " ice upon the surface of the sea, 

 and the obstacle which it forms to navigation. 



~ 



"The formation of young ice upon the surface of the water is the circumstance 

 which most decidedly begins to put a stop to the navigation of these seas, and warns 

 the seaman that his season of active operations is nearly at an end. It is indeed 

 scarcely possible to conceive the degree of hindrance occasioned by this impediment, trifling 

 as it always appears before it is encountered. When the sheet has acquired the 

 thickness of about half an inch, and is of considerable extent, a ship is liable to be 

 stopped by it, unless favoured by a strong and free wind ; and even when retaining her 



