In
Fact, On This Occasion, As Well As Others Of More Consequence, To Which We
Shall Presently Advert, Captain Ross,
Unfortunately for the accomplishment
of the object on which he was sent, contented himself with conjecture where
proof was accessible;
For all he remarks respecting this sound is, that it
seemed to be eighteen or twenty leagues in depth, and the land on the east
side appeared to be habitable. When it is considered that in these high and
foggy latitudes much deception of sight takes place, it ought to be the
absolute and undeviating rule of the navigator to explore so far, and to
examine so carefully and closely, that he may be certain, at least, that
his sight does not deceive him. The same negligence attended the
examination of Whale Sound: all the notice of it is, that they could not
approach it in a direct line, on account of ice; it was, in fact, never
approached nearer than twenty leagues. Captain Ross does not seem to have
been fully sensible of the nature of the object on which he was sent out.
If there existed a passage at all, it must be in a strait, sound, or some
other opening of the sea: it could exist no where else. Every such opening,
which exhibited the least appearance, or the smallest symptoms of
stretching far, especially if it stretched in the proper direction, ought
to have been practically and closely examined, not merely viewed at a
distance in a foggy atmosphere. As for the impediments, they were what were
to be expected, what the ships were sent out to meet and overcome; and till
persevering and even highly hazardous efforts had proved that they could
not be overcome, they ought not to have been suffered to weigh the least
with the captain or his men, and especially not with the former.
But to proceed: about midnight on the 19th of August, the sound described
by Baffin to be the largest of all the sounds he discovered, and called by
him Sir Thomas Smith's Sound, was distinctly seen; and the two capes which
formed its entrance were called by Captain Ross after the two ships
Isabella and Alexander. "I considered," he informs us, "the bottom of this
sound to be about eighteen leagues distant, but its entrance was completely
blocked up by ice." Here again, a sound which seemed to promise fair to
lead them into the great Polar Sea was left undiscovered, and in fact
unapproached; for at the distance of eighteen leagues, in that deceptive
climate, nothing could be really known of its real state or practicability.
Had Captain Ross made the attempt; had he spent but a couple of days, and
actually encountered serious obstacles, even though he had not experienced
that those obstacles were insurmountable, he would have had some excuse;
but it is impossible not to censure him for approaching no nearer than
eighteen leagues to a sound such as this, and pronouncing at this distance
that the ice blocked it up completely. His reasoning to support his belief
that this sound afforded no passage, and to defend his not having explored
it, is weak and inconclusive; but we shall not examine it, because the
commander to whom such an expedition is entrusted, should never reason,
where he can prove by actual observation and experiment. It is unsafe in
him to reason, because he will most assuredly be tempted to make his line
of conduct bend to his hypothesis and reasoning.
Captain Ross returned down the western side of Baffin's Bay. On the 21st an
opening was seen, which answered to the description of Alderman Jones
Sound, given by Baffin; but here again the ice and fog prevented them from
approaching near; as if the fog might not have cleared up in a day or two,
and the ice might not either have been drifted off in as short a space, or,
if it could not, have been passed by the crew, so far, at least, as to have
gained a nearer and better view of this sound.
Baffin describes this sound as a large inlet, and adds, that the coast
tended to the southward, and had the appearance of a bay. This is confirmed
by Captain Ross; for he informs us that the land was observed to take a
southerly direction. On the 28th of August the sea became more clear of
ice, and no bottom was found with three hundred fathoms of line: in the
afternoon of that day they succeeded in getting completely clear of the
ice, and once more found themselves in the open sea. Baffin and Davis both
mention that the northern parts of Baffin's Bay were clear of ice when they
were there, so that it is probably generally the case. On the 29th a wide
opening was descried in the land; this they entered on the following day.
"On each side was a chain of high mountains; and in the space between, W.
S.W., there appeared a yellow sky, but no land was seen, nor was there any
ice on the water, except a few icebergs; the opening therefore took the
appearance of a channel, the entrance of which was judged to be forty-five
miles; the land on the north side lying in an E.N.E. and W.S.W.
direction, and the south side nearly east and west." "As the evening
closed, the wind died away, the weather became mild and warm, the water
much smoother, and the atmosphere clear and serene."
Even those who are little acquainted with the symptoms which in this high
latitude indicate an open sea, must be struck with the wide difference
between these circumstances and those which had met the navigators in
almost every other part of their voyage, since they had approached the
place where a passage might possibly exist and be found. Yet, even at this
time and place, when expectation must have been high, and not without good
reason, and when we are expressly informed by Captain Ross that much
interest was excited by the appearance of the sound, the attempt to
ascertain, by close and accurate investigation, whether this sound was
really closed at its extremity, or led into another sea, was given up,
after having sailed into it during the night, and till three o'clock the
following day.
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