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 2Parry, William Edward, Sir
History
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
Parry, William Edward, Sir
Arctic regions; Northwest Passage; Parry, William Edward, Sir, 1790-1855
own, and Lieutenant Ross, accompanied by Mr. Bird, in the other. Besides
these, I took Lieutenant Crozier in one of the ship's cutters, for the
purpose of carrying some of our weight as far as Walden Island, and also
a third store of provisions to be deposited on Low Island, as an
intermediate station between Walden Island and the ship. As it was still
necessary not to delay our return beyond the end of August, the time
originally intended, I took, with me only seventy-one days provisions;
which, including the boats and every other article, made up a weight of
268 lbs. per man; and as it appeared highly improbable, from what we had
seen of the very rugged nature of the ice we should first have to
encounter, that either the reindeer, the snow-shoes, or the wheels would
prove of any service for some time to come, I gave up the idea of taking
them. We, however, constructed out of the snow-shoes four excellent
sledges for dragging a part of our baggage over the ice; and these
proved of invaluable service to us, while the rest of the things just
mentioned would only have been an encumbrance.
Having received the usual salutation of three cheers from those we left
behind, we paddled through a quantity of loose ice at the entrance of
the bay, and then steered, in a perfectly open sea, and with calm and
beautiful weather, for the western part of Low Island, which we reached
at half past two on the morning of the 22d.
Having deposited the provisions, we set off at four A.M., paddling watch
and watch, to give the people a little rest. It was still quite calm;
but there being much ice about the island, and a thick fog coming on, we
were several hours groping our way clear of it. The walruses were here
very numerous, lying in herds upon the ice, and plunging into the water
to follow us as we passed. The sound they utter is something between
bellowing and very loud snorting, which, together with their grim,
bearded countenances and long tusks, makes them appear, as indeed they
are, rather formidable enemies to contend with. Under our present
circumstances, we were very well satisfied not to molest them, for they
would soon have destroyed our boats if one had been wounded; but I
believe they are never the first to make the attack. We landed upon the
ice still attached to Walden Island at 3.30 A.M. on the 23d. Our
flat-bottomed boats rowed heavily with their loads, but proved perfectly
safe, and very comfortable. The men being much fatigued, we rested here
some hours, and, after making our final arrangements with Lieutenant
Crozier, parted with him at three in the afternoon, and set off for
Little Table Island. Finding there was likely to be so much open water
in this neighbourhood in the autumn, I sent directions to Lieutenant
Foster to have a spare boat deposited at Walden Island in time for our
return, in case of any accident happening to ours.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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