On the 3d of May, 1818, the two expeditions parted company in Brassa Sound, Shetland, and sailed for their respective destinations. The Isabella and Alexander, under the command of Ross and Parry, reached Wygat Sound on the 17th of June, where they were detained by the ice in company with forty-five whalers, until the 20th. They made observations from the shore of Wygat Island, which they found to be misplaced on the maps by no less than five degrees.
By warping and towing they made slow progress, narrowly missing destruction by the pressure of huge ice-floes, but finally making the open water. High mountains were descried on the north side of this bay called by Ross, Melville Bay, the precipices varying in height from one thousand to two thousand feet.
An Eskimo, John Sacheuse, who acted as interpreter to the expedition, went ashore and brought back with him a dozen or more natives, who were much entertained by the hospitality provided for them by the ship’s company. After partaking of tea and biscuits, a dance was held on the deck, and of this Captain Ross gives an amusing description:—
“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 ceremonies. An Eskimo 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 an Eskimo 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 Eskimo’s mind that he had made an impression on her heart.”
Near Cape Dudley Digges a curious condition of the ice was noted by Captain Ross as follows:—
“We have discovered 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.”
Passing Smith and Jones Sound, Ross reached the entrance of Lancaster Sound by the last of August. “On the 31st,” he writes, “we discovered, for the first time, that the land extended from the south two-thirds across this apparent Strait, obscured its real figure. During the day much interest was excited on board by the appearance of the Strait. The general opinion, however, was that it was only an inlet. The land was partially seen extending across; the yellow sky was perceptible. At a little before four o’clock A.M., the land was seen at the bottom of the inlet by the officers of the watch, but before I got on deck a space of about seven degrees of the compass was obscured by the fog. The land which I then saw was a high ridge of mountains extending directly across the bottom of the inlet. This chain appeared extremely high in the centre. Although a passage in this direction appeared hopeless, I determined to explore it completely. I therefore continued all sail. Mr. Beverly, the surgeon, who was the most sanguine, went up to the crow’s nest, and at twelve reported to me that before it became thick he had seen the land across the bay, except for a very short space. At three, I went on deck; it completely cleared for ten minutes, when I distinctly saw land around the bottom of the bay, forming a chain of mountains connected with those which extended along the north and south side. This land appeared to be at the distance of eight leagues, and Mr. Lewis, the master, and James Haig, leading man, being sent for, they took its bearings, which were inserted in the log. At this moment I also saw a continuity of ice at the distance of seven miles, extending from one side of the bay to the other, between the nearest cape to the north, which I named after Sir George Warrenden, and that to the south, which was named after Viscount Castlereagh. The mountains, which occupied the centre, in a north and south direction, were named Crocker’s Mountains, after the Secretary to the Admiralty.”
The much-disputed “Crocker Mountains” brought the navigator ridicule and discredit upon his return to England. The return was decided upon on October 1, that date being the limit to which his instructions permitted Captain Ross to remain in northern latitudes.
Captain John Ross, R.N.