460 
last voyage of capt. ross. 
the committee of the House of Commons, where he was asked, 
“ What were the scientific objects, which had been obtained by 
the expedition?” and he answered, “That when he was at the 
magnetic pole, he was in a position where the horizontal com¬ 
pass has no power of traversing to any particular point.” 
Every exertion was now used to make the vessel ready for 
sea; for it was expected every day, that the ice would he in 
motion, after which every moment would become of the utmost 
consequence, and the loss of a single day might be the means 
of frustrating the end of the voyage altogether. 
On the 26th, the launch, which had been drawn under the ice, 
was released from its entanglement, and hauled on shore above 
high water mark, when, on examination by the carpenter, it 
was found, that nine of her timbers were broken, and some 
of the butts started. This was regarded as rather an unfortunate 
circumstance, for the services of the carpenter were fully 
required on board the ship, and yet it would by no means have 
been an act of prudence or of common discretion, to have left 
the launch behind them. 
The weather had now become exceedingly tempestuous, ac¬ 
companied by heavy rains, but still not a night elapsed, that the 
officers and men did not repair to the lakes, both with the net 
and the angle. The success with the former, has been already 
stated, and with the latter it was almost equally great. In 
eleven days, the crew caught with the rod 369 fish, the weight 
of which was 2371bs. It was not, however, only with the net 
and rod, that they pursued the sport of fishing, but they had also 
recourse to the gun, and it was perhaps the most amusing of all 
the three methods ; for frequently they fired into a thick shoal 
at random, and the noise and bustle occasioned by the wounded 
in the water, were a source of great merriment to the sportsmen. 
On the 1st August, the main ice was seen in motion, which 
had been stationary ever since the 17th of October 1829; but 
still no immediate prospect presented itself of a speedy eman¬ 
cipation from their protracted imprisonment. Unfortunately, 
there were ten of the crew on the sick list, which, at this parti¬ 
cular juncture, was a matter of the most serious import. Even 
