468 
LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 
On the 17th, two men were sent over the ice to cut a hole, for 
the purpose of measuring* the thickness of the ice, that is, since 
it had been examined on the commencement of the winter; when 
it was found, that the ice had increased 7J inches in thickness, 
which, to the commander of the expedition, was rather a dis¬ 
couraging circumstance, as it was indicative of the labor and 
delay, that awaited him, before he could be emancipated from 
his present situation. 
On the same day, Commander Ross and Blankey went to ex¬ 
plore the North Bay, and to find the huts of the Esquimaux ; 
the former was a matter of complete disappointment, for, so far 
from the result presenting any favorable circumstances, it tended 
to convince Commander Ross, that the Victory was in one of 
the many bays, with which that part of the country was inter¬ 
sected, and which did not appear to have any communication 
with a westward sea. 
On the 18th, being Sunday, the service of the day had scarcelv 
finished, when an Esquimaux brought back the door of a glutton’s 
trap, which his brother had stolen ; and it was ascertained, that 
in this instance, the homely phrase, of the biter being bitten, 
was completely verified. It was not the value nor the utility of 
the trap door, which had induced the Esquimaux to steal it; 
but as he was not known to be the thief, by those to whom it 
belonged, it was his intention to take upon himself the character 
of an honest man, and to restore the stolen property, with the 
expectation of receiving something as a reward for his honesty, 
which might be of more use to him than the trap door. He 
communicated this plan in confidence to his brother, who gave 
it his entire approbation; but at the same time he pondered 
within himself, whether it would not be the act of a brother, to 
relieve him from the trouble of taking back the stolen property; 
and, as the case was decided in the affirmative, he obtained 
possession of the trap door, and hurried off with it to the ship. 
Here he found, however, to his great mortification, that he had 
been reckoning without his host; for the parties, to whom the 
stolen property was restored, expressed themselves satisfied at 
its restoration ; but as to any reward, it was directly opposite to 
