"There Is," He Observes, In This Part Of His
Journal, "No More Striking Proof Of The Infinite Value Of Chronometers
At
sea, than the certainty with which a ship may sail directly for a single
rock, like this, rising like
A speck out of the ocean, and at the distance
of forty-seven leagues from any other land."
About the middle of July he reached the latitude of 73 deg., after having made
many fruitless attempts to cross the ice that fills the central portion of
Davis's Strait and Baffin's Bay. the instructions of Captain Parry
particularly pointed out the sound which Captain Ross had left unexplored,
and which there could be no doubt was the Sir James Lancaster's Sound of
Baffin, to be most carefully and minutely examined, as the one by which it
was most probable a north-west passage might be effected, or which, at
least, even if not navigable, on account of the ice, would connect the
Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. On the seventh day after entering this sound,
he succeeded in reaching open water; but this was not reached without
infinite difficulty and labour, as the breadth of the barrier of ice was
found to be eighty miles; through this they penetrated by the aid of
sailing, tracking, heaving by the capstan, and sawing, being able to
advance, even with the assistance of all the methods, only at the rate of
half a mile an hour, or twelve miles a day.
For some days after this, their patience was tried, and nearly exhausted,
by contrary winds, but on the 3d of August a favourable and fresh breeze
arose from the eastward. Advantage was immediately taken of it. "We all
felt," says Captain Parry, "it was that point of the voyage which was to
determine the success or failure of the expedition, according as one or
other of the opposite opinions respecting the termination of the sound
should be corroborated. It is more easy to imagine than to describe (he
continues) the almost breathless anxiety which was now visible in every
countenance, while, as the breeze increased to a fresh gale, we ran quickly
up the sound. The masts' heads were crowded by the officers and men during
the whole afternoon; and an unconcerned observer (if any could have been
unconcerned on such an occasion) would have been amused by the eagerness
with which the various reports from the crow's-nest were received, all,
however, hitherto favourable to our most sanguine hopes."
The weather, most fortunately at this interesting and important period,
continued remarkably clear; and the ships having reached the longitude of
83 deg. 12', the two shores of the sound were ascertained to be still at least
fifty miles asunder, and what was still more encouraging, no land was
discerned to the westward. In fact, there seemed no obstacle; none of those
mountains with which, according to Captain Ross, the passage of the sound
was eternally blocked up, nor even any ice, an object of a less serious and
permanent nature. Other circumstances were also encouraging; the whole
surface of the sea was completely free from ice, no land was seen in the
direction of their course, and no bottom could be reached with one hundred
and seventy fathoms of line, so that "we began," observes Captain Parry,
"to flatter ourselves that we had fairly entered the Polar Sea, and some of
the most sanguine among us had even calculated the bearing and distance of
Icy Cape, as a matter of no very difficult or improbable accomplishment.
This pleasing prospect was rendered the more flattering, by the sea having,
as we thought, regained the usual oceanic colour, and by a long swell which
was rolling in from the southward and eastward." The first circumstance
that threw a damp over their sanguine expectations, was the discovery of
land a-head; they were however renewed by ascertaining that this was only a
small island: but though the insurmountable obstacle of a land termination
of the sound was thus removed, another appeared in its place; as they
perceived that a floe of ice was stretched from the island to the northern
shore. On the southern shore, however, a large inlet was discovered, ten
leagues broad at its entrance, and as no land could be seen in the line of
its direction, hopes were excited that it might lead to a passage into the
Polar Sea, freer from ice than the one above described. At this period of
the voyage a singular circumstance was remarked: during their passage down
Sir James Lancaster's Sound, the compass would scarcely traverse, and the
ship's iron evidently had great influence over it: both these phaenomena
became more apparent and powerful, in proportion as their westerly course
encreased. When they were arrived in the latitude of 73 deg., the directive
power of the needle became so weak, that it was completely overcome by the
attraction of the iron in the ship, so that the needle might now be said
to point to the north pole of the ship. And by an experiment it was found,
that a needle suspended by a thread, the movements of which were of course
scarcely affected by any friction, always pointed to the head of the ship,
in whatever direction it might be.
To this inlet, which Captain Parry was now sailing down, he gave the name
of the Prince Regent. The prospect was still very flattering: the width
increased as they proceeded, and the land inclined more and more to the
south-westward. But their expectations were again destroyed: a floe of ice
stretched to the southward, beyond which no sea was to be descried. Captain
Parry therefore resolved to return to the wide westerly passage which he
had quitted. On the 22d of August, being in longitude 92-1/4 deg., they opened
two fine channels, the one named after the Duke of Wellington; this was
eight leagues in width, and neither land nor ice could be seen from the
mast head though the weather was extremely clear; this channel tended to
the N.N.W. The other stretched nearly west:
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