"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.
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