Three Voyages for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and Narrative of an Attempt to Reach the North Pole, Volume 1

by Sir William Edward Parry

The latitude observed here was 75° 22' 43", and the longitude, by the chronometer, 111° 14' 26"; in which situation a cylinder of tin, containing an account of our visit, was deposited under a pile of stones eight feet high and seven feet broad at the base.

The wind increased to a fresh breeze from the S.S.E. on the 6th, with a sharp frost, making it very cold in the tents, which we therefore struck at four A.M., and at the distance of half a mile came to the summit of a hill overlooking what appeared to be a frozen sea before us. We then descended the hill, with the intention of pushing forward to determine whether the white and level space before us was the sea or not. We had not proceeded far, however, when the clouds began to gather heavily in the southeast, and shortly after snow and sleet began to fall. Being unwilling, therefore, to allow the men's clothes to be wet when there was no absolute occasion for it, we halted on a piece of dry ground, and, having built a wall six feet high to shelter us from the weather, pitched the tents very comfortably under the lee of it till the weather should allow us to proceed.

At six P.M., the wind having gradually got round to the N.N.E., and the weather being more clear and cold, I set out, accompanied by Messrs. Nias and Reid, and a quartermaster of the Griper, with the intention of examining the situation and appearance of the sea to the northward; leaving the rest of the party, several of whom were suffering from snow-blindness, though otherwise in good health, to remain quietly in the tents till our return. Having travelled N.N.W. a mile and a half through much deep snow, of which a good deal had fallen during the day, we came to some ice thrown up on the beach, having cracks in it parallel to the line of the shore, which we immediately recognised to be of the same kind as those to which we had so long been accustomed in Winter Harbour, and which are occasioned by the rise and fall of the tide. We turned to the westward along the beach, and at the distance of two miles ascended a point of land in that direction, from whence we had a commanding view of the objects around us. As soon as we had gained the summit of this point, which is about eighty feet above the sea, we had an additional confirmation that it was the sea which we had now reached, the ice being thrown upon the beach under the point, and as far as we could see to the westward, in large, high, irregular masses, exactly similar to those which had so often afforded us anchorage and shelter upon the southern shores of the island. Being desirous, however, of leaving nothing uncertain respecting it, we walked out a few hundred yards upon the ice, and began with a boarding-pike and our knives, which were all the tools we had, to dig a hole in it, in order to taste the water beneath. After nearly two hours' labour, we could only get down as many feet, the ice being very hard, brittle, and transparent; more so, as we imagined, than salt-water ice usually is, which made us the more desirous to get through it. I therefore determined to return to our people, and to remove our encampment hither, for the purpose of completing the hole through the ice with all our hands, while we were obtaining the necessary observations on shore.

On our return to the tents, we dined, and rested till one o'clock on the morning of the 7th, when we set out for the point, at which we did not arrive till half past four, the snow being here so deep as to make the cart an improper, and, indeed, almost impracticable mode of conveying our baggage. It froze all day in the shade, with a fresh breeze from the north; and, though the tents were pitched under the lee of the grounded ice upon the beach, we found it extremely cold; all the pools of water were frozen hard during the night, and, some of our canteens burst from the same cause. The people were allowed to rest after their supper till four P.M., and were then set to work upon the ice and in building a monument on the top of the Point.

We dined at midnight; and at half past one A.M. on the 8th struck the tents, and drew the cart to the higher part of the Point, where we occupied two hours in completing our monument, which is of a conical form, twelve feet broad at the base, and as many in height. Within it were deposited a tin cylinder, containing an account of the party who had left it, and one or two silver and copper English coins. This monument may be seen at several miles' distance from the sea or land side; and, as great pains were taken by Mr. Fisher in constructing it, it may probably last for a long period of years.

Having now satisfactorily determined the extent of Melville Island to the northward upon this meridian, which corresponds very nearly with that of Winter Harbour, and finished all the requisite observations, I proposed pursuing our journey towards the Blue Hills, which were still in sight at the distance of several leagues to the westward; and, having advanced to the southwest as long as circumstances should appear to make it interesting or practicable, to return by a circuitous route to the ships. We travelled in a W.½S. direction, in order to keep on a ridge along the coast, which afforded the only tolerable walking, the snow being very deep on the lower parts of the land. We halted at half past seven A.M., on a fine sandy ground, which gave us the softest, as well as the driest bed which we had yet experienced on our journey, and which was situated close to a little hillock of earth and moss, so full of the burrows of hares as to resemble a warren. We tried to smoke them out by burning port-fire, but none appeared; and it is remarkable, that though we constantly met with the dung of these animals, especially in this place, where it occurred very abundantly, we never saw one of them during the journey. As soon as we had halted, we found that Mr. Reid's knapsack had dropped off the cart; he had therefore to go back to look for it, and did not return till eleven o'clock, being so much affected by snow-blindness as to be scarcely able to see his way to the tents. This circumstance was, sufficient to show the advantage, and even the necessity, of travelling entirely by night under these circumstances, the intense glare of light from the snow during the day inevitably producing this painful irritation in the eyes.

At a quarter past five P.M. we resumed our journey to the southwest, and soon after crossed a snowy plain a mile and a quarter in breadth, extending to the sea to the north, and as far as the eye could reach to the south. Having travelled S.W.b.W. seven miles, we halted, at half an hour before midnight, at the distance of three or four miles from the sea, the weather being very clear and fine, with a moderate breeze from the S.S.W.

Having rested after our dinner till half past two A.M., we set out again to the southwest, making, however, a very crooked course on account of the irregularity of the ground. In the first quarter of a mile we passed the first running stream which we had seen this season, and this was but a small one, from six to twelve inches deep. The ground, as well as the pools of water, was frozen hard during the last night, but thawed during the day, which made travelling worse and worse, as the sun acquired power. We passed a few horns of deer, killed three ptarmigans, and saw a pair of ducks. The plumage of the cock grouse was still quite white, except near the tip of the tail, where the feathers were of a fine glossy black; but in every hen which we had lately killed, a very perceptible alteration was apparent, even from day to day, and their plumage had now nearly assumed that speckled colour which, from its resemblance to that of the ground, is so admirably adapted to preserve them from being seen at the season of their incubation. We found it difficult, in general, to get near the hens, which were very wild; but the male birds were at all times stupidly tame.

At half past two A.M. on the 10th we struck the tents, and proceeded to the S.W., the wind having got round to the S.E., with continued snow. At the distance of two miles we entered upon a level plain three miles wide, which, with the exception of a patch here and there, was entirely covered with snow. The uncovered parts of this plain were so wet as to be almost impassable for the cart; and we were now as desirous of keeping on the snow as, at the beginning of our journey from Winter Harbour, we had been anxious to avoid it.

The weather continued hazy, with snow occasionally, but our clothes dried in the sun towards noon; soon after which, however, the snow became more thick and constant, so that we could scarcely see a hundred yards around the tents. We waited for some time in hope of the weather clearing, and then, at a quarter past five, continued our journey; as we were under the necessity, however, of directing our course entirely by compass, which is here a very uncertain and deceitful guide, we made but a slow and tedious progress. The wind freshened up to a gale from the S.E. soon after we had set out, which made it impossible for us any longer to pursue our journey, and we began to look out for a spot on which the tents could be pitched, so as to afford us a dry flooring, if not shelter, during the gale. Having crossed three ravines within a mile and a quarter, we at length came to a very deep one, which was nearly perpendicular on each side, with the snow overhanging in some parts, so as to make it dangerous to go near the edge of the bank. We were at length fortunate in finding a narrow, sloping ridge of snow, leading down to the bottom of the ravine; and having descended this with some difficulty, we found such good shelter as to determine me to halt here for the night, which now became more and more inclement.