“Our ship, propelled by an increasing breeze, glided rapidly along a smooth sea, starting from her path flocks of aquatic birds, whose flight, in the deep silence of the scene, could be traced by the ear to a great distance.”

To the north of Cape Prince of Wales, they were visited by Eskimos with whom they bartered and had friendly intercourse. By the 22d of July, the ship reached Kotzebue Sound, and after exploring a deep inlet on its northern shore, which they named Hotham Inlet, they continued their course to Chamisso Island, where they hoped to fall in with Sir John Franklin’s expedition, then in the field. Skirting the coast by Cape Thomson, Point Hope, Cape Lisburn, Cape Beaufort, and Icy Cape, they began to see evidences of the approach of winter, and rather than risk being frozen in, they returned to Kotzebue Sound. From here Captain Beechey despatched the barge in charge of his lieutenants to survey the coast. This they successfully accomplished as far as Point Barrow, a distance of one hundred and twenty-six miles of new shore.

The last of August, 1827, found the Blossom again at Chamisso Island, where intercourse was renewed with the Eskimos. By October, no news having been received of Franklin, Captain Beechey reluctantly shaped his homeward course. Not until the following year, October 12, 1828, did he arrive in England, after an absence of three years and a half.

ROSS’ SECOND VOYAGE

We now return to Captain John Ross, whose professional reputation had suffered for ten years, under the cloud of his early failure. Ever anxious to retrieve his unfortunate mistakes, he had in vain implored the British Admiralty to send him once more to the Arctic. Undaunted by their refusal and indifference, he persevered in his determination, and at last found a liberal supporter in Felix Booth, a rich distiller, who contributed seventeen thousand pounds toward the proposed expedition, Captain Ross adding his own entire fortune, which was about three thousand pounds more.

A small Liverpool steamer called the Victory, one hundred and fifty tons, was purchased and provisioned for three years. Accompanying Captain Ross, as second in command, was his nephew, James Ross, who had sailed with him on the first voyage to the Arctic, and had also accompanied Parry on all his voyages. Setting sail in May, 1829, with the avowed object of making, if possible, the Northwest Passage by some opening leading out of Regent Inlet, they neared the Danish settlement of Holsteinborg, in Greenland, toward the last of July, where they received a most hospitable welcome from the governor. Their stores were replenished and certain other additions made, including six Eskimo dogs, a present from the governor. Sailing northward, they sighted the imposing mountains of Disco Island, partially covered with snow, and later, Hare Island, which they found clear, approaching latitude 74°, where the Hecla and Fury had been ice-bound in 1824. No ice whatever was encountered. Not without emotion, Captain Ross entered Lancaster Sound, the scene of his early blunder. Now he found scarcely any trace of ice, and he sailed through the middle of it, passing, on the 10th of August, Cape York, after which the land turns southward and, with the opposite coast of North Somerset (Boothia), forms the broad opening of Prince Regent Inlet. Some days later they passed the scene of the Fury’s wreck. They examined the spot, and found that though the hull had entirely disappeared, the tents and poles were still standing. The canisters of preserved provisions were in perfect condition, also the wine, sugar, bread, flour, and, cocoa, and, after replenishing their own stores, they left a large quantity behind.

By the middle of August they had crossed the mouth of Cresswell Bay and reached Cape Parry, the farthest point seen by Parry on his previous voyage, but here they found difficulty in navigating, owing to the compass being useless by proximity to the Magnetic Pole. Ice conditions also became alarming and obliged them to make fast to the drifting floes, which sometimes carried them forward, but more often backward, so that considerable time and distance was lost in this manner. In the few weeks remaining, before the winter cold held them ice-bound, Captain Ross explored some three hundred miles of coast land, going as far as Brentwell Bay, thirty miles beyond Cape Parry. Here Captain Ross went ashore and formally took possession in the king’s name, calling this land Boothia.

Wintering in Felix Harbor, the party had several occasions for intercourse with the Eskimos, from whom they gathered remarkable information regarding the geography of the country. This led Captain Ross to send out several expeditions, hoping to establish the possibility of a passage through to the west, when the summer should again free their ships, but after careful inspection it was concluded that their only hope was to the north. Though the observations were made from several distant points, and much valuable information collected, the months rolled by in hopeless succession, with no apparent prospect of leaving this desolate spot.

JAMES CLARK ROSS

Not until the 17th of September were the ships free, and even then they advanced only three miles to find themselves blocked once more, and a few days later hopelessly frozen in for another dreary winter. Not until April, 1830, were any excursions attempted, and in one of these Commander James Clark Ross had the good fortune to discover the North Magnetic Pole in latitude 70° 5´ 17´´, longitude 96° 46´ 45´´ W.