832 
LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 
Thus was it comparatively situated with the occupants of the 
cabin of the Victory, they had fancied that the fore-quarter of 
the musk ox would have some resemblance to the same joint, 
as it appears from a common ox when dissected by an English 
butcher; greatly however did they find that their fancy had 
been running riot, for on the appearance of the joint, it resembled 
a huge clod, as devoid of any fixed shape or form, as the world 
itself is represented to have been whilst in a state of chaos. It 
is the enviable fate of man, to have two of his senses generally 
satisfied at the same time, namely, his smell and his taste, and 
pleasing was the effluvium which regaled the olfactory nerves of 
Capt. Ross, as he seated himself, in anticipation of the gratifica¬ 
tion of the other sense before the reeking joint, with the sharp¬ 
ened instrument of carving in readiness, and his eye intently 
fixed upon the part, where the first incision was to be made. It 
is to be supposed that a joint that has been hung up in a larder, 
or buried under the snow for the period of eight months, must, 
even if the animal from which it was cut had been the companion 
of Noah in his ark, have attained a sufficient degree of tender¬ 
ness, to enable even a toothless octagenarian to masticate it. 
Great however was the surprise;—keen was the disappointment 
of Capt. Ross, when instead of finding that the flesh yielded to 
his trenchant instrument, he found that the impression which he 
made, was just as deep as if he had been attempting to penetrate 
into a block of mahogany ; some obstacle, some bone must surely 
be in the way ; he turned the joint on the other side, the same 
hardened mass threatened to obtund the edge of his instrument, 
when it was facetiously remarked by one of the company, that 
the better way would be to call in the carpenter with his hatchet, 
or his saw. Again the captain tried another part; here a slight 
incision was effected, and hopes were entertained, that as a 
breach had been accomplished, the interior of the citadel would 
soon be gained. Capt. Ross remembered the round hand copy, 
of which respectful mention has been already made, and by dint 
of hard cutting, carving, and delving, with a spirit of persever¬ 
ance becoming so good a cause, he succeeded in amputating a 
