638 
LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 
westward, and drove the ice off to the southward, from which, 
to all appearances there was clear w ater for a boat to proceed 
to Fury Beach, for a fresh supply of provisions. It was agreed 
that the most able-bodied men should be picked out, for the 
purpose of making a good boat’s crew, and attempt to reach 
Fury Beach. Accordingly seven of the ablest men set off in a 
boat, and, having a fair wind, they got to the Beach in less than 
three hours. On their return, however, they were detained very 
much by the ice, nor with the utmost exertion could they reach 
the place where the other boats were, by two miles : they were, 
therefore, obliged to get the boat on shore under shelter, as the 
ice pressed in w ith such an overpowering force, as to render all 
navigation wholly impossible. From this place a messenger 
(J. Park) was despatched to Capt. Ross, informing him of the 
arrival of the boat, and requiring his orders as to their future 
proceedings, which were, that all hands w T ere to hasten to the 
place where the boat was, and bring the provisions to Cascade 
Beach. It was not until the spring tides set in, that any pro¬ 
spect presented itself of getting the boat, that had been to Fury 
Beach, up to Cascade Beach, and then it was obliged to be 
tracked inside the heavy bergs, which were lying aground. 
During the time, that they remained at Cascade Beach, which 
was nearly a month, the crew were, in general, on the look out 
for an addition to their allowance of provisions, in the shape of 
a hare or a duck, or, by way of novelty, even of a fox ; but even 
the very animals appeared to shun a place, which seemed to be 
usurped by desolation alone, and where she reigned in all her 
horrors in undisturbed sovereignty. Seldom did the sportsman 
penetrate into the country where the Victory was abandoned, 
without being rewarded for his exertions, by an abundance of 
game and other indigenous birds; but a whole day might be 
spent in the vicinity of Cascade Beach, without bagging a single 
bird. The chief motive of the men, in traversing the hills, was 
to look out for clear water, and they frequently amused them¬ 
selves with building up monuments of stones, which, until cor¬ 
roded by time, will stand as the only and last memorial of the 
country having been visited by human beings, who first broke 
