568 



HISTORY OF THE SEA. 



topmast in a gale ; two of the sailors who were reefing the top- 

 *ails had barely time to escape with their lives. Proceeding 



THE VICTORY IN A GALE. 



through Lancaster Sound, and then descending to the south 

 into Prince Regent's Inlet, Ross arrived, after coasting three 

 hundred miles of undiscovered shore, at a spot which he thought 

 would furnish commodious winter quarters. The whole terri- 

 tory received the name of Boothia, in honor of the patron of the 

 expedition. Here they remained eleven months, beset by ice; 

 not even during the months of July and August, 1830, did the 

 ship stir from the position in which she was held fast. At last, 

 on the 17th of September, she was found to be free, and the 

 delighted crew prepared for a speedy deliverance. The unfor- 

 tunate vessel sailed only three miles, however, when she was 

 again firmly frozen in. The engine, which had proved a 

 wretched and most inefficient contrivance, was taken out and 

 carried ashore, — an event which was hailed with pleasure by 

 all. "I believe," says Ross, "that there was not a man who 

 ever again wished to see its minutest fragment." Another 

 year of monotony and silence now stared the weather-bound 

 navigators in the face. Six months elapsed before even a land- 

 excursion could be attempted ; but in May, 1831, occurred the 

 great discovery to which we have referred. 



Commander James Clarke Ross was the second officer of the 

 ship. He started in April, with a party, to make explorations 

 inland. The dipping-needle had long varied from 88° to 89° r 



