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 wind continuing fresh from the northward on the morning of the 1st of September, we bore up and ran along the land, taking our departure from the flagstaff in Possession Bay, bearing W.S.W. five miles, at half past four A.M.

The ice led us off very much to the eastward after leaving Pond's Bay; and the weather became calm, with small snow towards midnight. In this day's run, the compass-courses were occasionally inserted in the logbook, being the first time that the magnetic needle had been made use of on board the Hecla, for the purposes of navigation, for more than twelve months.

On the morning of the 3d we passed some of the highest icebergs I have ever seen, one of them being not less than one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet above the sea, judging from the height of the Griper's masts when near it.

The vegetation was tolerably luxuriant in some places upon the low land which borders the sea, consisting principally of the dwarf-willow, sorrel, saxifrage, and poppy, with a few roots of scurvy-grass. There was still a great deal of snow remaining even on the lower parts of the land, on which were numerous ponds of water; on one of these, a pair of young red-throated divers, which could not rise, were killed; and two flocks of geese, one of them consisting of not less than sixty or seventy, were seen by Mr. Hooper, who described them as being very tame, running along the beach before our people, without rising, for a considerable distance. Some glaucous gulls and plovers were killed, and we met with several tracks of bears, deers, wolves, foxes, and mice. The coxswain of the boat found upon the beach part of the bone of a whale, which had been cut at one end by a sharp instrument like an axe, with a quantity of chips lying about it, affording undoubted proof of this part of the coast having been visited at no distant period by Esquimaux; it is more than probable, indeed, that they may inhabit the shores of this inlet, which time would not now permit us to examine. More than sixty icebergs of very large dimensions were in sight from the top of the hill, together with a number of extensive floes to the northeast and southeast, at the distance of four or five leagues from the land.

While occupied in attending to the soundings, soon after noon, our astonishment may readily be conceived on seeing from the masthead a ship, and soon after two others, in the offing, which were soon ascertained to be whalers, standing in towards the land. They afterward bore up to the northward along the edge of the ice which intervened between us, and we lost sight of them at night. It was now evident that this coast, which had hitherto been considered by the whalers as wholly inaccessible in so high a latitude, had become a fishing station, like that on the opposite or Greenland shore; and the circumstance of our meeting so few whales in Sir James Lancaster's Sound this season was at once accounted for by supposing, what, indeed, we afterward found to be the case, that the fishing-ships had been there before us, and had, for a time, scared them from that ground.

It was so squally on the morning of the 5th that we could scarcely carry our double-reefed topsails, while, as we afterward learned from the fishing-ships, which were in sight at daylight, there was scarcely a breath of wind at a few leagues' distance from the land. We coasted this low shore, as we had done in the preceding voyage, at the distance of two or three miles, having from twenty-three to twenty-nine fathoms water. We here met with another of our fishing-ships, which proved to be the Lee, of Hull, Mr. Williamson, master; from whom we learned, among other events of a public nature which were altogether new to us, the public calamity which England had sustained in the death of our late venerable and beloved sovereign, and also the death of his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent. Mr. Williamson, among others, had succeeded in getting across the ice to this coast as high as the latitude of 73°, and had come down to this part in pursuit of the fish. One or two of the ships had endeavoured to return home by running down this coast, but had found the ice so close about the latitude of 69½° as to induce most of the others to sail back to the northward, in order to get back in the same way that they came. Mr. Williamson also reported his having, a day or two before, met with some Esquimaux in the inlet named the River Clyde in 1818, which was just to the southward of us. Considering it a matter of some interest to communicate with these people, who had, probably, not been before visited by Europeans, and that it might, at the same time, be useful to examine the inlet, I bore up, as soon as I had sent our despatches and letters on board the Lee, and stood in towards the rocky islet, called Agnes's Monument, passing between it and the low point which forms the entrance to the inlet on the northern side.

At six in the evening of the 6th, being near the outermost of the islands with which we afterward found this inlet to be studded, we observed four canoes paddling towards the ships; they approached with great confidence, and came alongside without the least appearance of fear or suspicion. While paddling towards us, and, indeed, before we could plainly perceive their canoes, they continued to vociferate loudly; but nothing like a song, nor even any articulate sound, which can be expressed by words, could be distinguished. Their canoes were taken on board by their own desire, plainly intimated by signs, and with their assistance, and they at once came up the side without hesitation. These people consisted of an old man, apparently much above sixty, and three younger, from nineteen to thirty years of age. As soon as they came on deck, their vociferations seemed to increase with their astonishment, and, I may add, their pleasure; for the reception they met with seemed to create no less joy than surprise. Whenever they received a present or were shown anything which excited fresh admiration, they expressed their delight by loud and repeated ejaculations, which they sometimes continued till they were quite hoarse and out of breath with the exertion. This noisy mode of expressing their satisfaction was accompanied by a jumping, which continued for a minute or more, according to the degree of the passion which excited it, and the bodily powers of the person who exercised it; the old man being rather too infirm, but still doing his utmost to go through the performance.

After some time passed on deck, during which a few skins and ivory knives were bought from them, they were taken down into the cabin. The younger ones received the proposal to descend somewhat reluctantly, till they saw that their old companion was willing to show them the example, and they then followed without fear. Although we were much at a loss for an interpreter, we had no great difficulty in making the old man understand, by showing him an engraved portrait of an Esquimaux, that Lieutenant Beechey was desirous of making a similar drawing of him. He was accordingly placed on a stool near the fire, and sat for more than an hour with very tolerable composure and steadiness, considering that a barter for their clothes, spears, and whalebone was going on at the same time near him. He was, indeed, kept quiet by the presents which were given him from time to time; and when this failed, and he became impatient to move, I endeavoured to remind him that we wished him to keep his position, by placing my hands before me, holding up my head and assuming a grave and demure look. We now found that the old gentleman was a mimic, as well as a very good-natured and obliging man; for, whenever I did this he always imitated me in such a manner as to create considerable diversion among his own people as well as ours, and then very quietly kept his seat. While he was sitting for his picture, the other three stood behind him, bartering their commodities with great honesty, but in a manner which showed them to be no strangers to traffic. If, for instance, a knife was offered for any article, they would hesitate for a short time, till they saw we were determined to give no higher price, and then at once consented to the exchange. In this case, as well as when anything was presented to them, they immediately licked it twice with their tongues, after which they seemed to consider the bargain satisfactorily concluded. The youngest of the party very modestly kept behind the others, and, before he was observed to have done so, missed several presents, which his less diffident, though not importunate companions had received. As the night closed in they became desirous to depart, and they left us before dark, highly delighted with their visit. As I had purchased one of their canoes, a boat was sent to land its late owner, as only one person can sit in each. Mr. Palmer informed me, that, in going on shore, the canoes could beat our boat very much in rowing whenever the Esquimaux chose to exert themselves, but they kept close to her the whole way. During the time that they were on board, we had observed in them a great aptness for imitating certain of our words; and, while going on shore, they took a particular liking to the expression of "Hurra, give way!" which they heard Mr. Palmer use to the boat's crew, and which they frequently imitated, to the great amusement of all parties.

Soon after we had landed on the 7th, the old Esquimaux and one of his younger companions paddled over from the main land, and joined us upon the island. They brought with them, as before, some pieces of whalebone and sealskin dresses, which were soon disposed of, great care being taken by them not to produce more than one article at a time; returning to their canoes, which were at a little distance from our boat, after the purchase of each of their commodities, till their little stock was exhausted. Considering it desirable to keep up among them the ideas of fair and honest exchange, which they already seemed to possess in no ordinary degree, I did not permit them to receive anything as presents till all their commodities had been regularly bought. While we were waiting to obtain the sun's meridian altitude, they amused themselves in the most good-natured and cheerful manner with the boat's crew; and Lieutenant Hoppner, who, with Mr. Beverly, had joined us in the Griper's boat, took this opportunity of making a drawing of the young man. It required, however, some show of authority, as well as some occasional rewards, to keep him quietly seated on the rock for a time sufficient for this purpose; the inclination they have to jump about, when much pleased, rendering it a penalty of no trifling nature for them to sit still for half an hour together. To show their disposition to do us what little service was in their power, he afterward employed himself in sharpening the seamen's knives, which he did with great expertness on any flat smooth stone, returning each, as soon as finished, to its proper owner, and then making signs for another, which he sharpened and returned in the same way, without any attempt, and apparently without the smallest desire, to detain it. The old man was extremely inquisitive, and directed his attention to those things which appeared useful rather than to those which were merely amusing. An instance of this occurred on my ordering a tin canister of preserved meat to be opened for the boats' crews' dinner. The old man was sitting on the rock, attentively watching the operation, which was performed with an axe struck by a mallet, when one of the men came up to us with a looking-glass. I held it up to each of the Esquimaux, who had also seen one on the preceding evening, and then gave it into each of their hands successively. The younger one was quite in raptures, and literally jumped for joy for nearly a quarter of an hour: but the old man, having had one smile at his own queer face, immediately resumed his former gravity, and, returning me the glass, directed his whole attention to the opening of the canister, and, when this was effected, begged very hard for the mallet which had performed so useful an office, without expressing the least wish to partake of the meat, even when he saw us eating it with good appetites. Being prevailed on, however, to taste a little of it, with some biscuit, they did not seem at all to relish it, but ate a small quantity, from an evident desire not to offend us, and then deposited the rest safely in their canoes. They could not be persuaded to taste any rum after once smelling it, even when much diluted with water. I do not know whether it be a circumstance worthy of notice, that when a kaleidoscope or a telescope was given them to look into, they immediately shut one eye; and one of them used the right, and the other the left eye.

In getting out of their canoes, as well as into them, great care is required to preserve the balance of these frail and unsteady coracles, and in this they generally assist each other. As we were leaving the island, and they were about to follow us, we lay on our oars to observe how they would manage this; and it was gratifying to see that the young man launched the canoe of his aged companion, and, having carefully steadied it alongside the rock till he had safely embarked, carried his own down, and contrived, though with some difficulty, to get into it without assistance. They seem to take especial care, in launching their canoes, not to rub them against the rocks, by placing one end gently in the water, and holding the other up high, till it can be deposited without risk of injury. As soon as we commenced rowing, the Esquimaux began to vociferate their newly-acquired expression of "Hurra, give way!" which they continued at intervals, accompanied by the most good-humoured merriment, as we crossed over to the main land. There being now a little sea, occasioned by a weather tide, we found that our boats could easily beat their canoes in rowing, notwithstanding their utmost endeavours to keep up with us.