I was sorry to perceive, on the morning of the 1st of September, that the appearance of the ice was by no means favourable to our object of sailing to the northward, along the Sturges Bourne Islands; but at ten A.M., the edge being rather more slack, we made all sail, with a very light air of southerly wind, and the weather clear, warm, and pleasant. We were at noon in lat. 66° 03' 35", and in long. 83° 33' 15", in which situation a great deal of land was in sight to the northward, though apparently much broken in some places. From N.E. round to S.S.E. there was still nothing to be seen but one wide sea uninterruptedly covered with ice as far as the eye could reach.
At forty-five minutes past one P.M. we had come to the end of the clear water, and prepared to shorten sail, to await some alteration in our favour. At this time the weather was so warm that we had just exposed a thermometer to the sun to ascertain the temperature of its rays, which could not have been less than 70° or 80°, when a thick fog, which had for some hours been curling over the hills of Vansittart Island, suddenly came on, creating so immediate and extreme a change, that I do not remember to have ever experienced a more chilling sensation. As we could no longer see a hundred yards around us in any direction, nothing was to be done but to make the ships fast to the largest piece of ice we could find, which we accordingly did at two P.M., in one hundred and fifty-eight fathoms. Just before dark the fog cleared away for a few minutes, when, perceiving that the wind, which was now increasing, was likely to drift us too near the islands, we took advantage of the clear interval to run a mile farther from the land for the night, where we again made fast to a large floe-piece in two hundred fathoms.
The wind, drawing round to the northward and westward, on the morning of the 2d, increased to a fresh gale, which continued to blow during the night, notwithstanding which, I was in hopes that the immense size of the floe to which the ships were attached would enable us to retain our station tolerably. It was mortifying, therefore, to find, on the morning of the 2d, that we had drifted more than I remember ever to have done before in the same time under any circumstances. It was remarkable, also, that we had not been set exactly to leeward, but past Baffin Island towards two remarkable hills on Southampton Island, from which we were at noon not more than seven or eight leagues distant. Thus, after a laborious investigation which occupied one month, we had, by a concurrence of unavoidable circumstances, returned to nearly the same spot on which we had been on the 6th of August. To consider what might have been effected in this interval, which included the very best part of the navigable season, had we been previously aware of the position and extent of the American Continent about this meridian, is in itself certainly unavailing; but it may serve to show the value of even the smallest geographical information in seas where not an hour must be thrown away or unprofitably employed.
In the afternoon an attempt was made to move, for the mere sake, it must be confessed, of moving and keeping the people on the alert, rather than with the slightest prospect of gaining any ground; but, by the time that we had laid out the hawsers, the small hole of water that had appeared again closed, and we were obliged to remain as before.
At four A.M. on the 5th, we cast off and made sail for the land, with a fresh breeze from the southeast. The ice was closely packed, against the land near the passage I had intended to try, and as it appeared slack to the eastward, I determined to run between the southeast point of Baffin Island and the smaller islands lying off it. The wind drawing more to the eastward as we approached the channel, we had several tacks to make in getting through, but carried a good depth of water on each side, though its breadth does not exceed three quarters of a mile. As we now advanced to the northward, we found less and less obstruction, the main body of the ice having been carried to the southward and eastward by the late gale, which had in so extraordinary a manner drifted us in the same direction. This was one of the opportunities I have before described as the most favourable that ever occur for making progress in these seas. We had, therefore, a fine run during the day along the east side of Sturges Bourne Islands; for, having found the passages between them still choked with ice, we were obliged to run to the northward with the hope of attaining our present object, till it was time to look out for an anchorage. Having first sent the boats to sound, we hauled into a small bay, where we anchored at dusk in seventeen fathoms, good holding-ground, though the bottom was so irregular that we had from five to thirteen close upon our quarter.
We had now once more approached a part of the coast, of which the thorough and satisfactory examination could not possibly be carried on in the ships, without incurring constant and, perhaps, useless risk, and a certain and serious loss of time. I determined, therefore, to proceed at once upon this service in two boats, one from each ship. Having communicated my intentions to Captain Lyon, and requested him to move the ships, when practicable, into some more secure situation, I left the Fury, accompanied by Mr. Ross and Mr. Sherer, taking with us our tents, blankets, and stove, together with four days' provisions and fuel.
CHAPTER IV.
Hoppner's Inlet entered and surveyed by the Boats.—Continuity of Land there determined.—Proceed to examine another Opening leading to the Westward.—Favourable Appearance of a continued Passage in that direction.—Meet with some Esquimaux.—Arrival in Ross Bay, being the Termination of Lyon Inlet.—Discovery and Examination of various Creeks.—Return to the Ships, after finding the Land entirely continuous.—Some Account of the Natural History of this Part of the Coast.
A thick fog unfortunately coming on just before we left the ships, prevented us from making choice of any part of the land which might be the most likely to afford a passage to the northward and westward. We could only, therefore, direct our course northerly, with tolerable certainty, by a compass bearing previously taken on board, and by occasionally obtaining an indistinct glimpse of the land through the fog. Having rowed four miles, we came to a high point, round which we turned rather to the westward, and then landed a little beyond it.
The tents were struck at thirty minutes past three A.M. on the 7th and our course directed, up the inlet, the weather being calm and tolerably clear. At three miles and a quarter we passed on our starboard hand a point of land, which, from the bright colour of the rocks, composed chiefly of feldspar, obtained the name of Red Point.