Three Voyages for the Discovery of a North-West Passage From the Atlantic to the Pacific (Volume 1)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1835. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER X. Leave Winter Harbour--Flattering Appearance of the Sea to the Westward--Stopped by the Ice near Cape Hay Further Progress to the Longitude of 113 48'22.5", being the Westernmost Meridian hitherto reached in the Polar Sea, to the North of America--Banks's Land discovered--Increased Extent and Dimensions of the Ice--Return to the Eastward, to endeavour to penetrato the Ice to the Southward--Re-enter Barrow's Strait, and survey its South Coast--Pass through Sir James Lancaster's Sound, on our return to England. The wind still blowing fresh from the northward and westward, the ice continued to drift out slowly from the harbour, till, at eight A.m. August 1st, it had left the whole space between the ships and Cape Hearne completely clear, and at eleven o'clock there appeared to be water round the hummocks of ice which lie aground off that point. In the mean time, our boats were employed in embarking the clocks, tents, and observatory, while I sounded the entrance of the harbour, in order to complete the survey, which no opportunity had offered of doing before this time. At one P.m., having got every thing on board, and the ice appearing to be still leaving the shore we weighed, and ran out of Winter Harbour, in which we had actually, as had some time been predicted, passed ten whole months, and a part of the two remaining ones, September and August. The mind is always anxious, however, to find some ground of encouragement and hope for attaining the object of its pursuit, and we did not fail to remember, on this occasion, that short as our season of navigation must of necessity be, we were about to begin that season on the anniversary of the day on which we had commenced our discoveries from the entrance of Sir James Lancaster's Sound westward, in th...