38 
VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 
1819. come by the attraction of the ship ; so that the needle might now be properly 
said to point to the north pole of the ship. It was only, however, in those 
compasses in which the lightness of the cards, and great delicacy in the 
suspension, had been particularly attended to, that even this degree of 
uniformity prevailed ; for, in the heavier cards, the friction upon the points 
of suspension was much too great to be overcome even by the ship’s at- 
traction, and they consequently remained indifferently in any position in 
which they happened to be placed. For the purposes of navigation, therefore, 
the compasses were from this time no longer consulted ; and in a few days 
afterwards, the binnacles were removed as useless lumber, from the deck to 
the carpenter’s store-room, where they remained during the rest of the season, 
the azimuth compass alone being kept on deck, for the purpose of watching 
any changes which might take place in the directive power of the needle : 
and the true courses and direction of the wind were in future noted in the 
log-book, as obtained to the nearest quarter point, when the sun was visible, 
by the azimuth of that object and the apparent time. 
Being desirous of obtaining all the magnetic observations we were able, on a 
spot which appeared to be replete with interest in this department of science, 
and the outer margin of the ice consisting entirely of small loose pieces, 
which were not sufficiently steady for using the dipping-needle, we hauled up 
for the nearest part of the eastern shore, for the purpose of landing there with 
the instruments. We got in with it about noon, having very regularly decreased 
our soundings from forty to fifteen and a half fathoms ; in which depth, having 
tacked, at the distance of two miles and a half from the shore, two boats were 
despatched from each ship, under the command of Lieutenants Beechey and 
Hoppner, who, together with Captain Sabine, were directed to make the ne- 
cessary observations, and to collect whatever specimens of natural history the 
place might afford. They landed on a beach of sand and stones, having passed, 
at the distance of one mile from it, several large masses of ice aground in six to 
eight fathoms’ water, which shoaled from thence gradually in to the shore. The 
officers describe this spot as more barren and dreary than any on which they 
had yet landed in the arctic regions ; there being scarcely any appearance of ve- 
getation, except here and there a small tuft of stunted grass, and one or two 
species of saxifrage and poppy, although the ground was so swampy in many 
places that they could scarcely walk about. This part of the coast is rather 
low, the highest hill near the landing-place being found, by geometrical mea- 
surement, to be only three hundred and eighty-eight feet above the level of the 
