The point at which the ships were now lying, and which is the westernmost to which Arctic navigation has ever been carried, is in latitude 74 deg. 26 min. 25 sec., and longitude 113 deg. 64 min. 43 sec. Cape Dundas seen yet farther west, is in longitude 113 deg. 57 min. 35 sec., by which the length of Melville island appears to be about a hundred and thirty-five miles, and its breadth, at the meridian of Winter Harbor, from forty to fifty miles.
At nine P. M., they were abreast of the place where they had landed on the 5th, and here perceived that the ice closed with the land a little to the eastward. There was no safety for the ships, unless they could get past one of the small points at the embouchure of a revine, against which a floe was setting the smaller pieces of ice and had blocked up the passage before they arrived. After heaving two hours at the halsers, they succeeded in getting through, and moored the ships to some very heavy grounded ice near the beach. Hares were observed here, feeding on the sides of the cliffs, and a few ptarmigans were seen. The place where the Hecla was now secured, being the only one of the kind which could be found, was a little harbor, formed, as usual, by the grounded ice, some of which was fixed to the bottom in ten or twelve fathoms. One side of the entrance to this harbor consisted of masses of floes, very regular in their shape, placed quite horizontally, and broken off so exactly perpendicular, as to resemble a handsome, well-built wharf. On the opposite side, however, the masses to which they looked for security were themselves rather terrific objects, as they leaned over so much towards the ship, as to give the appearance of their being in the act of falling upon her deck; and as a very trifling concussion often produces the fall of much heavier masses of ice, when in appearance very firmly fixed to the ground, Captain Parry gave orders that no guns should be fired near the ship during her continuance in this situation. The Griper was of necessity made fast near the beach, in rather an exposed situation, and her rudder unshipped, in readiness for the ice coming in; it remained quiet, however, though quite close, during the day, the weather being calm and fine.
In the evening of the 18th, some heavy pieces of grounded ice to which the bow halser of the Hecla was fastened, fell off into the water, snapping the rope without injuring the ship. Nevertheless, as every alteration of this kind must materially change the centre of gravity of the whole mass, it was thought prudent to move the Hecla out of her harbor to the place where the Griper was lying, lest some of the bergs should fall upon her deck and crush or sink her.
On the 20th and 21st, the young ice formed to such a degree, as to cement together all the loose ice about the ships; nor did it thaw on either of those days, though the sun shone clearly upon it for several hours. The main body remained close and firm in every direction. The same state of things obtained on the 22d, and in the morning of the 23d, the young ice was an inch and a half thick. A breeze springing up from the westward put it in motion, so that by noon the ships were able to warp out and proceed eastward. In a short time, however, the ice closed so firmly around them that they became wholly unmanageable, and received many blows, more severe than any they had received before. After having drifted with the ice six miles, they were made fast to some grounded ice.
The situation in which the ships were now placed, and the shortness of the navigable season, caused great anxiety. Judging from the experience of 1819, it was reasonable to conclude that about the 7th of September, was the limit beyond which the ships could not keep the sea with any degree of safety or prospect of success; but being thoroughly impressed with the idea that it was incumbent on him to make every possible effort, Captain Parry determined to extend this limit to the 14th of September, before which date the winter would have set in. The prospect was not very encouraging, even with this extension; they had only advanced sixty miles this season, and the distance to Icy Cape was yet between eight and nine hundred miles, supposing them to find a clear passage. The provisions, too, were so far reduced in quantity, that by no means could they be made to hold out longer than till April, 1822, and the deficiency of fuel was even more apparent. These and other minor considerations, induced Captain Parry to ask the advice and opinions of his officers relative to the expediency of returning to England. They all agreed that any attempt to penetrate farther westward in their present parallel, would be fruitless, and attended with loss of time that might be more profitably employed elswhere. They advised that the vessel should run back along the edge of the ice, in order to look for an opening that might lead toward the American continent, and after a reasonable time spent in the search, to return to England. This advice agreeing with his own opinions, Captain Parry resolved to comply with it.
On the twenty-fourth the ships moved again, and found less ice as they advanced, so that when, on the morning of the 27th, they cleared the east end of Melville Island, the navigable channel was not less than ten miles wide. A constant look-out was kept from the crow’s nest for an opening to the south, but none occurred. The weather was hazy, so much so that they were again obliged to steer the ships one by the other. As they proceeded, several islands hitherto unknown, were discovered, but no opening was seen in the ice, and when they had, on the 30th, reached longitude 90 degrees, they became satisfied that there was no possibility of effecting their object, and Captain Parry, therefore, conceived it to be his duty to return forthwith to England, in order that no time might be lost in following up his discoveries, if his government should deem fit to do so.
The Hecla arrived at the Orkney Islands on the 28th of October; and the Griper on the first of November. Thus did they return from a voyage of eighteen months duration, in good health and spirits, with the loss of only one man.
Second Voyage.—The discoveries made by the expedition under Captain Parry in 1819–20, being believed to afford a strong presumption of the existence of a Northwest Passage to the Pacific Ocean, the British government commanded that another attempt should be made to discover it. The Hecla having been found well adapted to this kind of service, the Fury, a ship of precisely the same class, was selected to accompany her. Captain George F. Lyon was appointed to command the Hecla, and Captain Parry, whose efforts had made him justly celebrated, was commissioned to command the expedition.
Some alterations in the interior arrangements of the vessels, such as were suggested by the experience of Captain Parry, were made. Among these was an apparatus for melting snow, which was found very useful, and was so little in the way that it could not even be seen. Cots and hammocks were substituted for the former bed places, and some improvements were made in the manner of victualing the ships.
In his official instructions, Captain Parry was directed to proceed into Hudson’s Strait, till he should meet the ice, when the Nautilus Transport, which was placed at his disposal, was to be cleared of its provisions and stores. He was then to penetrate westward, till he should reach some land which he should be convinced was a part of the American continent, at some point north of Wager River. If he reached the Pacific, he was to proceed to Kamschatka; thence to Canton or the Sandwich Islands, and thence to England, by whatever route he might deem most convenient.