'298 EXPEDITIONS OF PARRY AND ROSS-~l?>27-Z^. 



the northward, the boats — including the large decked barge of sixteen tons, to 

 which Ross had given the name of the "Krusenstern"— were hoisted on board, 

 and sail was made for Cape Garry. On the 15th, this cape, the farthest 

 extremity of the coast which had yet been discovered, was passed, and from 

 this point "our voyage," says Eoss, "began to acquire its peculiar interest, 

 since as yet we had seen nothing that was not more or less known." 

 Pursuing a south-west course from Cape Garry along the western shore 

 of Regent Inlet, Ross successively discovered and named Fearnall Bay, Lang 

 River, Mount Oliver, and Hazard Inlet. Rounding this inlet, he discovered 

 an island which he named Ditchburn, and beyond that he discovered a land 

 appearing to be continuous in a southward direction, to which, in honour 

 of Felix Booth, Esq., who had so generously borne the cost of fitting out the 

 expedition, he named Boothia. " It now fell nearly calm," says Ross, " but, 

 while the ice became thicker and heavier towards four in the afternoon, the 

 fog cleared away, and there broke on our view a range of mountains rising 

 beyond the land that we had been coasting, which we now saw clearly to be 

 a low and flat tract, continuous eastward with this elevated region, and 

 consisting, not of an uninterrupted plain, but of a series of low grounds and 

 islets, among which we could but ill decern what was a real island, and 

 what was connected by an isthmus with the shore." In fact Ross had now 

 reached the eastern entrance to Bellot Strait, a channel, however, which it 

 was left for Kennedy to discover in his voyage in the "Prince Albert," in 

 search, of Sir John Franklin, in 1851-62. 



The sky continued to brighten, and the mainland appeared quite blue ; 

 but it was impossible to reach the inviting shore, owing to a tract of closely- 

 packed ice, which extended in crescent shape along the land. This was the 

 first time that the progress of the " Victory " had been completely obstructed, 

 and it was only now that Ross discovered he had arrived too early in the 

 season to push on in the desired direction. A fresh north-west wind continued 

 to blow on the loth, but no opening in the ice was seen. At two o'clock on 

 the morning of the 16th the explorers got near the land, and made fast to an 

 iceberg, about musket-shot from the beach, in three and a half fathoms water 

 and at the entrance of " two beautiful little harbours." At noon, Ross went 

 on shore with all the officers, to take formal possession of Boothia Land, " and 

 at one o'clock, being a few minutes after seven in London, the colours were 

 displayed with the usual ceremony, and the health of the king drunk, together 

 with that of the founder of our expedition, after whom the land was named." 



Ross was in some respects an unlucky navigator. In his former voyage 

 he had all but opened up Lancaster Sound, and discovered Barrow Strait, with 

 the numerous inlets, islands, and channels, which formed such a rich harvest 

 of discoveries for Parry in the following year, and now he was actually 

 standing on a height overlooking the eastern entrance to a channel leading 



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