THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 567 



Parry, and the other under Capt. Buchan and Lieut. (Sir John) 

 Franklin, but they encountered so much ice in lat. 80 34' that 

 one of the vessels was badly shattered, forcing them to return. 

 In the following year Lieut. Parry started again rea'.ly to 

 determine whether Lancaster was a sound or a bay, a question of 

 so much dispute among geographers at the time. He approached 

 so near the magnetic pole that his compass became useless, but 

 he sailed on and passed the 110th meridian, thereby entitling him 

 toaieward of $25,000 which Parliament had offered for this 

 achievement. 



In 1819 Sir John Franklin set out on an overland journey to 

 explore the north coast of America, and was followed by Lieut. 

 Parry in 1821, with an understanding that the two expeditions 

 would co-operate, should the latter reach the north coast. Frank- 

 lin made a foot journey of 856 miles through such intense cold 

 that the mercury in their thermometer froze in the bulb. In 

 July, 1820, they traveled 500 miles further and went into winter 

 quarters at Fort Enterprise ; here they remained until the follow- 

 ing year and then started again, paddling along the shore in 

 canoes a distance of 550 miles, and ascended Hood River. Their 

 supplies were now completely exhausted, and to sustain life, they 

 were compelled to eat their old shoes and scraps of leather 

 straps ; two of them, however, died of starvation, but the others 

 managed by eating rock mosses, to reach York Factory, the 

 place of starting. Lieut. Parry was unable to find Franklin, nor 

 did he make any important discoveries, but returned home in 

 1823, only to reorganize another expedition. Franklin also 

 equipped another, while two others were fitted out, one by Capt. 

 Beechey and the other by Capt. Lyon. All of these were 

 despatched in different directions, but each was expected to re- 

 port at Point Turnagain, where they might co-operate or render 

 mutual assistance. Parry was most unfortunate, for his progress 

 was continually interrupted by vast fields of ice, by which one of 

 his two vessels was sunk. However, during this expedition Parry 

 devised a contrivance whereby the compass maybe made to work 

 perfectly under all circumstances, thus obviating a most serious 



