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 2

by Sir William Edward Parry

The Hecla rejoining us on the morning of the 12th, we stood out to the eastward, and finally took our departure from Igloolik. In the course of the night the favourable breeze failed us, and on the morning of the 14th was succeeded by a southerly wind, the ships being close to another island called Ooglit, about twelve leagues to the S.S.W. of the others. We were here immediately visited by our old acquaintance the Esquimaux, several of whom came off in their canoes in the course of the morning, as if determined to loose no opportunity of profiting by us. Among these was our worthy old friend Nannow, to whom everybody was glad to give something; and, indeed, they all received as many presents as their canoes could safely carry or tow on shore. Their tents, nine in number were pitched on the main land, a little to the northward of Ooglit, at a station they call Ag-wis-se-=o-wik, of which we had often heard them speak at Igloolik. They now also pointed out to us Amitioke, at the distance of four or five leagues to the southward and westward, which proved to be the same piece of low land that we had taken for it in first coming up this coast. The Esquimaux told us that a number of their younger men were inland in pursuit of deer, and that the rest had abundant supplies of walrus, which animals we saw in considerable numbers about this place.

We were now for some days all but beset in this neighbourhood, calms or light southerly and easterly breezes constantly prevailing. During this time the main body of ice remained, in most parts, close to the shore, leaving us only a "hole" of water to work about in, and much nearer to the land than on this shoal and shelving coast was altogether safe for the ships. Notwithstanding this, however, we had soon occasion to observe that they not only kept their ground, but even drew to the southward, owing, no doubt, to the current before found to set in that direction along the coast.

The ice remained close the whole of the 26th; but we continued, as usual, to drift generally to the southward, and the next morning, being off Owlitteeweek, were enabled to cast off and make sail, the ice being rather more open than before. Being favoured by a commanding northerly breeze, we ran a considerable distance to the southward, having, however, only just room to sail between the points of the closely packed ice and a flat, dangerous shore. Without escaping for a moment, from our confined situation, and almost without perceiving any motion of the masses of ice among themselves, we had, at noon on the 30th, drifted down within a mile of a small island lying near the northeast point of Winter Island. On the 31st the tide took us through between these, the breadth of the passage being three quarters of a mile, in no less than sixteen fathoms water. We then passed within a dangerous reef of rocks, lying a full mile from the shore, and having numerous heavy masses of grounded ice upon it. After clearing this in a good depth of water, we were, by the evening, carried along shore within a mile of Cape Fisher.

Thus had we, in a most singular manner, once more arrived at our old winter-quarters, with scarcely a single successful exertion on our parts towards effecting that object. The distance from Ooglit to our present station was about one hundred and sixty miles along the coast. Of this we had never sailed above forty, the rest of the distance having been accomplished, while we were immoveably beset, by mere drifting. The interval thus employed having been barely eight days, gives an average drift to the southward of above fifteen miles per day.

In the afternoon of the 6th I was much pained at being informed by telegraph from the Hecla, that Mr. Fife, Greenland master of that ship, had just expired, an event which for some days past there had been but too much reason to apprehend; the scurvy having within the last three weeks continued to increase considerably upon him. It is proper for me, however, both in justice to the medical officers under whose skilful and humane care he was placed, and to the means with which we were in this way so liberally supplied, to state, that during a part of that time Mr. Fife had taken so great a dislike to the various antiscorbutics which were administered to him, that he could seldom be induced to use any of them. The disease, in consequence, reduced him to a state of extreme debility, which at length carried him off almost without pain. The Hecla being at the time closely beset, and in a situation of great danger among the shoals off Winter Island, Captain Lyon caused the remains of the deceased to be committed to the sea with all the solemnity which circumstances would permit.

In the night of the 6th, the ships, which had before nearly closed each other, were again separated to the distance of several miles, though no motion was perceptible in the masses of ice about them. On the evening of the 11th, however, the wind at length began to freshen from the northwest, when the ice immediately commenced driving down the inlet at the rate of a mile an hour, carrying the Fury with it, and within half a mile of the rocks, the whole way down to Cape Martineau, but keeping her in deep water. In the mean time the Hecla had been swept into much more dangerous situations, passing along the east and south sides of Winter Island; and, after driving nearly up to Five-hawser Bay, being carried near some dangerous shoals about Cape Edwards, where Captain Lyon expected every other tide that she would take the ground.

On the 15th, when the ships had closed each other within a mile, we could see the clear water from the masthead, and the Hecla could now have been easily extricated. Such, however, are the sudden changes that take place in this precarious navigation, that not long afterward the Fury was quite at liberty to sail out of the ice, while the Hecla was now, in her turn, so immoveably fast set, and even cemented between several very heavy masses, that no power that could be applied was sufficient to move her an inch. In this situation she remained all the 16th, without our being able to render her any assistance; and the frost being now rather severe at night, we began to consider it not improbable that we might yet be detained for another winter. We were perhaps, indeed, indebted for our escape to a strong westerly breeze, which blew for several hours on the 17th, when, the ice being sufficiently close to allow our men to walk to the assistance of the Hecla, we succeeded, after seven hours' hard labour, in forcing her into clear water, when all sail was made to the eastward, and our course shaped for the Trinity Islands in a perfectly open sea.

We thus finally made our escape from the ice after having been almost immoveably beset in it for twenty-four days out of the last twenty-six, in the course of which time the ships had been taken over no less than one hundred and forty leagues of ground, generally very close to the shore, and always unable to do anything towards effecting their escape from danger.

We made the Trinity Islands on the 18th, and ran down Hudson's Strait with a favourable breeze, reaching the Orkneys on the morning of Oct. 9th. It can scarcely, perhaps, be imagined by those who have not been similarly situated, with what eager interest one or two vessels were this day descried by us, being the first trace of civilized man that we had seen for the space of seven-and-twenty months. The breeze increasing to a fresh gale from the southward in the course of the night, with a heavy sea from the same quarter, rendering it impossible for us to make any progress in that direction, I determined to put into Lerwick in the Shetland Islands, to procure refreshments, and await a change in our favour. We accordingly bore up for that harbour early on the morning of the 10th, and at thirty minutes past ten A.M. anchored there, where we were immediately visited by a great number of the inhabitants, anxious to greet us on our return to our native country.

I feel it utterly impossible adequately to express, the kindness and attention we received for the three or four days that we were detained in Bressay Sound by a continuance of unfavourable winds. On the first information of our arrival the bells of Lerwick were set ringing, the inhabitants flocked from every part of the country to express their joy at our unexpected return, and the town was at night illuminated, as if each individual had a brother or a son among us.