CAPTAIN Ross's ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 443 
er of ice. We, however, found an excellent wintering port, 
which we named Felix Harbor. - 
Early in January, 1830, we had the good fortune to estab 
lish a friendly intercourse Avith a most interesting consocia- 
tion of natives, who, being insulated by nature, had never be- 
fore communicated with strangers ; from them we gradually 
obtained the important information that we had already seen 
the continent of America : that about 40 miles to the S. W. 
there were two great seas, one to the west, w^hich was divided 
from that to the east by a narrow strait or neck of land. The 
verification of this intelligence either way, on which our fu- 
ture operations so materially depended, devolved on Com- 
mander Ross, who volunteered his sendee early in April, and 
accompanied by one of the mates, and guided by two of the 
natives, proceeded to the spot, and found that the north land 
was connected to the south by two ridges of high land, 15 
miles in breadth, but, taking into account a chain of fresh wa- 
ter lakes which occupied the valleys between the dry land 
which actually separates the two oceans, is only five miles. 
This extraordinary isthmus was subsequently visited by my- 
self, when Commander Ross proceeded minutely to survey 
the sea-coast to the southward of the isthmus leading to the 
westward, which he succeeded in tracing to the 99th degree, 
or to 150 miles of Cape Turnagain of Franklin, to which 
point the land, after leading him into the 70th degree of north 
latitude, trended directly ; during the same journey he also 
surveyed 30 miles of the adjacent coast, or that to the north 
of the isthmus, which, by also taking a westerly direction, 
forming the termination of the western sea into a gulf The 
rest of this season was employed in tracing the sea-coast south 
of the isthmus leading to the eastward, which was done so as to 
leave no doubt that it joined, as the natives had previously in- 
formed us, to Ockullee, and the land forming Repulse Bay. 
It was also determined that there was no passage to the west- 
ward for 30 miles to the northward of our position. 
This summer, like that of 1818, was beautifully fine, but 
extremely unfavorable for navigation, and our object being 
now to try a more northern latitude, Ave waited with anxiety 
for the disruption of the ice, but in vain, and our utmost en- 
deavors did not succeed in retracing our steps more than four 
miles, and it was not until the middle of November that we 
succeedv^d in cutting the vessel into a place of security, 
which we named " Sheriff's Harbor." I may here mention 
that we named the newly discovered continent to the south- 
