LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS, 
559 
must be admitted, that he had a most disheartening* prospect 
before him, and sufficient almost to barrow up the energies of 
any man, who is not cast in the mould of a Napoleon, or a Marco 
Polo. It was evident to all the crew, and consequently it is not 
to be supposed, that Capt. Ross was the only person on board, 
who was ill-informed on the subject, that they never should be 
able to get the ship out of the harbour, in which she then lay; 
and consequently, that on abandoning the vessel, a great part of 
the provisions, which were of a bulky nature, must of necessity 
he left behind. So convinced were the crew of this fact, that 
in regard to themselves, they knew that they should have to leave 
all their apparel behind them, and, therefore, in anticipation of 
that event, they employed themselves in cutting up their clothes, 
to make out of them the best suit they could for travelling; and 
so busy were the sailors in this occupation, that their berths 
might be compared to a tailor’s shop, although they had just 
reason to complain, that a goose was seldom to be found in them. 
Consistently with this principle, Capt. Ross must also have 
known, that in the manner, in which they would be obliged to 
travel, he must necessarily leave a great part of his provisions in 
the ship, and this turned out eventually to he the case. Then, as 
the abandonment of the ship was reduced almost to a certainty, 
the niggardly manner, in which the provisions were doled out, 
w hich formed a part, that would have to be left behind, appeared 
to the crew, as an act of perverseness, which they attributed 
to a characteristic infirmity of the individual, of which unfortu¬ 
nately they were destined to be the victims. 
We speak it advisedly, that on the return of the crew to their 
native country, one of the chief causes of their complaints, w^as, 
the treatment which they received, in regard to their food. The 
country itself, in which they wintered, particularly in the year 
1834, was by no means destitute of those birds and animals, 
from which the sailors, had they been permitted, could have 
procured for themselves, an ample supply of good and whole¬ 
some provisions: grouse and hares, if not in actual abundance, 
were still so plentiful, that a tolerable sportsman was able to 
bring home two or three brace of the former, and a couple of 
