In 1818, as we have seen, nothing was known of the northern coast of America but the mouths of the Mackenzie and Coppermine rivers. In 1848 the whole coast had been mapped, from the Icy Cape of Cook to the Fury and Hecla Strait of Parry, a distance of 1000 miles. Franklin, Richardson, Back, Dease, Simpson, and Rae were the discoverers, and their achievements entailed deeds of heroism such as have never been surpassed, and seldom equalled, in the whole history of discovery.
CHAPTER XXV
JOHN ROSS, JAMES ROSS, AND THE NORTH MAGNETIC POLE
After his return from the re-discovery of Baffin’s Bay, Captain Ross must have continually regretted his mistake about Lancaster Sound. He was discredited, and longed to have another opportunity given him. When Parry returned from his northern journey in 1827, Captain Ross offered his services to the Admiralty to lead another expedition for the discovery of a North West Passage. His idea was to take up the plan of Parry’s third voyage and seek for a passage at the south end of Prince Regent’s Inlet. The Admiralty declined, but he was fortunate enough to find an old friend who was willing to supply the funds. This was Sheriff Felix Booth, who gave him £18,000 towards the expenses of an expedition. Captain Ross bought an old packet that used to run from Liverpool to the Isle of Man. She was only 85 tons, but her stowage was increased by raising 5½ feet upon her, and she was fitted with an engine and paddle-wheels, but the engine was scamped and badly made, and proved useless. She was named the Victory. Captain Ross persuaded his nephew to go with him. James C. Ross, now 29 years of age, had been with his uncle in the Isabella and with Parry in all his voyages, and in his last northern journey. In all his Arctic service he had been a diligent observer, giving special attention to magnetism. He also studied natural history and was a careful collector: moreover his prowess had been shown in having killed and secured more than one payable whale. He was the life and soul of his uncle’s expedition, and such success as it obtained was mainly due to him.
Mr Thom, who had been with Captain Ross in the Isabella, was purser, and Dr M’Diarmid, surgeon. Blanky, the first mate, had been with Lyon in the Griper, and with Parry in the Hecla in 1827. The second mate, Thomas Abernethy, was a character who served in many expeditions, whom I knew well in after years. He was born at Peterhead in 1802 and went to sea at the early age of ten, serving in several voyages to Davis Strait. He had been ten years at sea when he was wrecked in the Fury in 1825. He was with Parry in 1827, and was afterwards gunner of the Blossom. Abernethy was a very handsome man with a well-knit frame, and was resourceful and thoroughly reliable. The crew consisted of nine good men, and seven weak or useless hands.
On July 5th, 1829, the little Victory was off Cape Farewell. After a short stay at Holsteinborg she was very fortunate in passing through the ice of the middle pack, and it must have been with strange feelings that Captain Ross entered Lancaster Sound, and sailed over his Croker Mountains. The ship entered Prince Regent’s Inlet, visited the beach where the Fury was wrecked, so well known in after years as “Fury Beach,” and sailed onwards to the south, hoping for an opening westward. Upwards of two hundred miles of previously unknown coast-line were thus revealed. Captain Ross gave to this new land the name of Boothia Felix, in honour of his generous friend who fitted out the expedition, and ultimately the Victory was established in winter quarters in “Felix Harbour” on the coast of Boothia in latitude 69° 59′ N.
It was not until January, 1830, that Eskimos were met with. Their dwellings, which they could build in 45 minutes, were circular domes of snow, 10 feet in diameter, entered by a long passage. Light was given to the interior by an oval piece of clear ice, half-way up the dome. The stone lamp was fed with oil and moss, and the cooking-dish was also of stone. They used canoes for fishing in the summer, and a very remarkable kind of sledge in the winter, drawn by dogs. To construct this a number of salmon are packed together into a cylinder 7 feet long and wrapped up in skins well corded with thongs. Two of these cylinders are pressed into the shape of runners, and left to freeze. Cross-bars made of the legs of deer or musk oxen are then fixed across, and the bottom of the runner is covered with a mixture of mossy earth and water, which freezes to the depth of two inches. The icy surface is then made smooth so as to run easily over the snow.
Captain Ross gave a very good character to this Eskimo tribe, whom he named Boothians. They are very affectionate to children, and treat their aged people kindly. They are also very kind to their dogs, never driving them for more than four days in succession, seldom so much, and then giving them a day or two’s rest. The tribe only numbered about 160 souls, and were quite uncontaminated by civilisation. Like the Eskimos of Igloolik the Boothians proved intelligent geographers. One of them drew a chart showing that Prince Regent’s Inlet ended with the Gulf of Akuli, and that there was no channel leading westward, a statement which was afterwards confirmed by Dr Rae. James Ross, who conducted all the travelling, received much assistance from these people. They lent him dogs, sometimes drove them for him, and gave him much useful information.
The young commander started on his first journey with a sledge and six dogs on March 11th, 1830. Several short journeys followed. At last he crossed the Isthmus of Boothia, 15 miles wide, with a large lake in the middle, and reached the western sea. On May 17th he commenced the great journey with Abernethy, first crossing the isthmus and turning northwards. He had 31 days’ provisions and eight dogs. He discovered a bay or channel with a large island in it, which was named Matty Island. Crossing the channel, Ross and Abernethy left everything they could spare, and pushed onwards to the northern point, named Cape Felix, which was 200 miles from the ship. The newly-discovered coast was named King William Land, and Ross appears to have thought that it was part of the mainland of North America. The coast then trended to the south, to a point which Ross named Point Victory (69° 37′ 49″ N). Here a cairn six feet high was built, and a canister deposited in it with an account of their proceedings. The furthest point visible to the S.W. received the name of Cape Franklin.
On May 30th, 1830, the return journey was commenced, and they reached their depôt the next day, ultimately arriving at the ship in safety. The dogs, which had been overworked, had been useless after the eighth day.
James Ross had been very diligent in taking magnetic observations, and had deduced from them the position of the magnetic pole. After the second winter he commenced his journey to the exact spot with Blanky and Abernethy, and accompanied by Captain Ross as far as the western sea. On the 31st May, 1831, the party arrived at their destination. They discovered some abandoned snow huts which they found very useful. The land was low near the coast, rising into ridges of 50 or 60 feet about a mile inland. The dip of the needle was 89° 59′ and there was total inaction of the horizontal needle. The British flag was fixed at the magnetic pole in 70° 5′ 17″ N. and 76° 16′ 4″ W. Leaving Blanky with the party, James Ross and Abernethy went on, and at their furthest point found the coast line still running north. Here they built a cairn of stones. In returning to the ship they were detained by a gale, and did not reach it until the 13th of June, an absence of 17 days. A large supply of fish had been secured during the summer.