LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT ROSS 393 
of the great benefits of the engine took place. Capt. Ross found 
himself in the situation of the bankrupt, who has been racking 
his brain for some time to invent a few items for the fabrication 
of his balance sheet, and cannot discover one, with which he can 
hope successfully to impose upon his creditors. He certainly 
recollected that the starboard and larboard paddles could scarcely 
ever be brought to work together at the same time ; therefore, by 
dividing the operations of the two paddles under respective heads, 
something like a favorable account might have been manufac¬ 
tured. But then, when he began to consider the debit side of 
the business, what an array there presented itself before him! 
for, from the time of their departure from Limehouse, to their 
arrival in Felix Harbour, there was scarcely a day, with the ex¬ 
ception of the 81 st June, and the 81 st September, that some 
mishap or accident to the engine was not recorded in the log book. 
Notwithstanding, however, the complete failure of the engine, 
and its total inaptitude to the navigation of the Polar seas, when 
exposed to heavy ice, Capt. Ross perseveres, in his examination 
before the committee of the House of Commons, to deliver his 
opinion, that steam navigation is perfectly applicable in those 
seas, although his own experience, and that of every one of the 
crew completely contradicted it. The I 92 d question runs thus :—. 
How long were you enabled to make use of the paddle wheels 
of your steamer, after you reached the heavy ice?— The steam- 
engine gave way before we reached the ice. We never were 
much among the ice with it, but as far as I could judge, they 
would answer uncommonly well. They answered quite beyond 
my expectation. 
From your experience in navigating the Polar seas, do you 
think it possible to navigate those seas with a steam boat, with 
the paddles projecting from her side ?— Far better than in any 
other mode. 
Are not the paddles peculiarly subject tb damage?— They 
were peculiarly constructed for the purpose, so that 1 could raise 
them out of the water at pleasure; one man was sufficient to 
disengage the paddles entirely from the engine, and raise it out 
of the water, and out of the way of pressure 
ir. 8 e 
