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year 1817, Sir John Barrow relates that the eastern coast of Greenland, which had been shut up with ice for four centuries, was found to be accessible from the 70th to the 80th degree of latitude, and the intermediate sea between it and Spitzbergen was so entirely open in the latter parallel, that a Hamburgh ship had actually sailed along this track.

On the 15th of January, 1818, the four ships were put in commission the Isabella, 385 tons, and the Alexander, 252 tons-under Captain Ross, to proceed up the middle of Davis' Strait, to a high northern latitude, and then to stretch across to the westward, in the hope of being able to pass the northern extremity of America, and reach Behring's Strait by that route. Those destined for the Polar sea were, the Dorothea, 382 tons, and the Trent, 249 tons, which were ordered to proceed between Greenland and Spitzbergen, and seek a passage through an open Polar sea, if such should be found in that direction.

I shall take these voyages in the order of their publication, Ross having given to the world the account of his voyage shortly after his return in 1819: while the narrative of the voyage of the Dorothea and Trent was only published in 1843, by Captain Beechey, who served as Lieutenant of the Trent, during the voyage. The following were the officers, &c., of the ships under Captain Ross:

Isabella.

Captain John Ross.

Lieutenant-W. Robertson.

Purser W. Thom.

Surgeon John Edwards.

Assistant Surgeon-C. J. Beverley.

Admiralty Midshipmen-A. M. Skene and James Clark Ross.

Midshipman and Clerk-J. Bushnan.

Greenland Pilots-B. Lewis, master; T. Wilcox,

mate.

Captain (now Colonel) Sabine, R. A.

45 petty officers, seamen, and marines. Whole complement, 57.

Alexander.

Lieutenant and Commander — William Edward Parry, (now Captain Sir Edward.)

Lieutenant-H. H. Hoopner, (a first rate artist.) Purser W. H. Hooper.

Greenland Pilots -J. Allison, master; J. Philips,

mate.

Admiralty Midshipmen-P. Bisson and J. Nius. Assistant Surgeon A. Fisher.

Clerk-J. Halse.

28 petty officers, seamen, &c.

Whole complement, 37.

On the 2d of May, the four vessels being reported fit for sea, rendezvoused in Brassa Sound, Shetland, and the two expeditions parted company on the following day for their respective destinations.

On the 26th, the Isabella fell in with the first iceberg, which appeared to be about forty feet high and a thousand feet long. It is hardly possible to imagine any thing more exquisite than the variety of tints which these icebergs display; by night as well as by day they glitter with a vividness of color beyond the power of art to represent. While the white portions have the brilliancy of silver, their colors are as various and splendid as those of the rainbow; their ever-changing disposition producing effects as singular as they are new and interesting to those who have not seen them before.

On the 17th of June, they reached Waygatt Sound, beyond Disco Island, where they found forty-five whalers detained by the ice. Waygatt Island, from observations taken on shore, was found to be 5° longitude and 30 miles of latitude from the situation as laid down in the Admiralty Charts.

They were not able to get away from here till the 20th, when the ice began to break. By cutting passages

through the ice, and by dint of towing and warping, a slow progress was made with the ships until the 17th of July, when two ice-floes closing in upon them, threatened inevitable destruction, and it was only by the greatest exertions that they hove through into open water. The labors of warping, towing, and tracking were subsequently very severe. This tracking, although hard work, afforded great amusement to the men, giving frequent occasion for the exercise of their wit, when some of the men occasionally fell in through holes covered with snow or weak parts of the ice.

Very high mountains of land and ice were seen to the north side of the bay, which he named Melville's Bay, forming an impassable barrier, the precipices next the sea being from 1000 to 2000 feet high.

On the 29th of June, the Esquimaux, John Sacheuse, who had accompanied the expedition from England as interpreter, was sent on shore to communicate with the natives. About a dozen came off to visit the ship, and, after being treated with coffee and biscuit in the cabin, and having their portraits taken, they set to dancing Scotch reels on the deck of the Isabella with

the sailors.

Captain Ross gives a pleasant description of this scene "Sacheuse's mirth and joy exceeded all bounds; and with a good-humored officiousness, justified by the important distinction which his superior knowledge now gave him, he performed the office of master of the ceremonies. An Esquimaux M. C. to a ball on the deck of one of H. M. ships in the icy seas of Greenland, was an office somewhat new, but Nash himself could not have performed his functions in a manner more appropriate. It did not belong even to Nash to combine in his own person, like Jack, the discordant qualifications of seaman, interpreter, draughtsman, and master of ceremonies to a ball, with those of an active fisher of seals and a hunter of white bears. A daughter of the Danish resident (by in Esquimaux woman,) about eighteen years of age, and by far the best looking of the half-caste group, was the object of

Jack's particular attentions; which being observed by one of our officers, he gave him a lady's shawl, ornamented with spangles, as an offering for her acceptance. He presented it in a most respectful, and not ungraceful manner to the damsel, who bashfully took a pewter ring from her finger and gave it to him in return, rewarding him, at the same time, with an eloquent smile, which could leave no doubt on our Esquimaux's mind that he had made an impression on her heart."* On the 5th of August the little auks (Mergulfus alle,) were exceedingly abundant, and many were shot for food, as was also a large gull, two feet five inches in length, which, when killed, disgorged one of these little birds entire.

A fortnight later, on two boats being sent from the Isabella to procure as many of these birds as possible, for the purpose of preserving them in ice, they returned at midnight with a boat-load of about 1500, having on an average, killed fifteen at each shot. The boats of the Alexander were nearly as successful. These birds were afterward served daily to each man, and, among other ways of dressing them, they were found to make excellent soup not inferior to hare soup. Not less than two hundred auks were shot on the 6th of August, and served out to the ships' companies, among whose victuals they proved an agreeable variety, not having the fishy flavor that might be expected from their food, which consists of crustacea, small fishes, mollusca, or marine vegetables.

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On the 7th of August the ships were placed in a most critical situation by a gale of wind. The Isabella was lifted by the pressure of ice floes on each side of her, and it was doubted whether the vessel could long withstand the grips and concussions she sustained; every support threatened to give way, the beams in the hold began to bend, and the iron water-tanks settled together. The two vessels were thrown with violent concussion against each other, the ice-anchors * Vol. I, p. 67, 68.

and cables broke one after the other, a boat at the stern was smashed in the collision, and the masts were hourly expected to go by the board; but at this juncture, when certain destruction was momentarily looked for, by the merciful interposition of Providence the fields of ice suddenly opened and formed a clear passage for the ships."

A singular physical feature was noticed on the part of the coast near Cape Dudley Digges:-"We have discovered, (says Ross,) that the snow on the face of the cliffs presents an appearance both novel and interesting, being apparently stained or covered by some substance which gave it a deep crimson color. This snow was penetrated in many places to a depth of ten or twelve feet by the coloring matter." There is nothing new, however, according to Barrow, in the discovery of red snow. Pliny, and other writers of his time mention it. Saussure found it in various parts of the Alps; Martin found it in Spitzbergen, and no doubt it is to be met with in most alpine regions.

In the course of this tedious, and often laborious progress through the ice, it became necessary to keep the whole of the crew at the most fatiguing work, sometimes for several days and nights without intermission. When this was the case, an extra meal was served to them at midnight, generally of preserved meat; and it was found that this nourishment, when the mind and body were both occupied, and the sun continually present, rendered them capable of remaining without sleep, so that they often passed three days in this manner without any visible inconvenience, returning after a meal to their labor on the ice or in the boats quite refreshed, and continuing at it without a murmur.

After making hasty and very cursory examinations of Smith's and Jones' Sounds, Ross arrived, on the 30th of August, off the extensive inlet, named by Baffin, Lancaster Sound. The entrance was perfectly clear, and the soundings ranged from 650 to 1000 fathoms. I shall now quote Ross's own observations on this subject, because from his unfortunate report of a

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