150 Notic& of Captain Paiiry*’s Voyage (^Discovery, 
Inlet. Specimens of madrepores, slightly mineralized, were 
picked up, and these probably were derived from some neigh- 
bouring beds of limestone, or were connected with the stink- 
stone. 
On the 4th of September they were in Long. 110° W. ; and 
here they discovered an island, which appeared to be larger 
than any that had hitherto been seen, and which was named 
Melville Island, in honour of the First Lord of the Admiralty. 
This island extends from Long. 106° W. to 114° W. On the 
8th of September, the ships reached 11S° W., and were inclosed 
for several days in the ice. Winter was now fast approaching ; 
the ice was rapidly increasing, and violent north-westerly gales 
kept it in a constant and dangerous state of agitation. 
These circumstances, of course rendered the njavigation very 
difficult, and began to endanger the safety of the ships. Our 
brave countrymen, however, continued to contend with these diffi- 
(culties till the 22d of September, when it was evident to all that 
farther navigation was at an end for the season ; and therefore 
prudence dictated their retreat to a secure haven for the arctic 
winter. For this purpose, they returned eastward, and found 
a harbour in Melville Island. But the ice had already formed 
nearly a foot thick, and therefore the crews were forced to cut a 
passage for three miles through it. The S8th September, in 
short, had arrived before they were fixed in their winter quar? 
ters, in five fathoms water, and within about SOO yards from the 
shore. The latitude of this harbour, named Winter Harhovnr, 
is 74° N. and Long. 111° W. Flitherto, they had never lost 
sight of a continuous barrier of ice to the southward; that is, from 
West Long. 90° to the extreme point of Melville Island^. 
Every thing was soon made ready for the formidable winter of 
these regions. The decks were covered with a housing composed 
of boards and sail-cloth, and pipes were passed in various direc- 
tions around the vessel for conveying heated air. The thermometer 
was below the zero of Fahrenheit’s scale, when the expedition 
entered Winter Harhour, The sun entirely disappeared orp 
the Wth of November, In the month of November, the spirit 
* It would appear from the reports of the officers, that the expedition was 
within a short distance of one of the magnetic poles. 
