The last voyage of Capt. Sir J. Ross, ... to the Arctic Regions in 1829-33. To which is prefixed an abridgment of the former voyages of Captns. Ross, Parry and other ... navigators to the northern latitudes: compiled from ... information and ... documents transmitted by an officer attached to...

Front matter

CAPTAIN, SIR. JOHN ROSS. KS R. N &c &c s 1L0I7 DON. r PUBLISHED FOR THE Pi_OPRIETO__S BY JOHN S,- "" . 2 5. NEWGATE. STREET. T____ L __._. T T_Ti_^ _F DAFT . :; DES. E OL :. .: I (.I; TH i: 1>V5. ..rnrrn nt -i Jlurtb i ' EK FORMED IN" THE 1829. 30. 3i./. BY __S , . . ... *>^ «*_.«<»__. ,,-uh <>U^-'r{X LONDON. .PuMishetl &r 4e Eropr__cars Ty J Saunters 44._a_r_o_wr Row THE LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. SIR JOHN ROSS, Knt- R. N. TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS; FOR THE DISCOVERY OF A NORTH WEST PASSAGE; PERFORMED IN THE YEARS 1829-30-31-32 and 33. TO WHICH IS PREFIXED Hit afcrt-ng.ment at the former Ft.iia_.ei. OF CAPTNS. ROSS, PARRY, & OTHER CELEBRATED NAVIGATORS TO THE NORTHERN LATITUDES. COMPILED From Authentic Information and Original Documents, TRANSMITTED BT AN OFFICER ATTACHED TO THE LAST EXPEDITION. ILLUSTRATED BY ENGRAVINGS FROM DRAWINGS TAKEN ON THE SPOT.

BY ROBERT HLTISH, Author of the " Memoir, of the Princess Charlotte," " Treatise on Bees." &c. &c. LONDON : Printed for the Proprietors, PUBLISHED BY JOHN SAUNDERS, 25, NEWGATE STREET; aud sold by all Booksellers in the United Kingdom. MDCCCXXXV. MUM TED BV W HILL, CI.EBKENK'EIL.

Introduction

. With a well-founded pride may an Englishman point to bis country, as the source from which the light of knowledge has beamed upon the inhabited world, — as the cradle, in which the sciences have been fostered until they have at tained a power and strength, which appear to bring all nature under their control, and to cast a wholly new character upon the history of the human race. Great and valuable as may have been the discoveries of our enterprising predecessors, the present century will ever stand distinguished for a most extraordinary display of the active spirit of discovery, which has explored the remotest regions of the earth, which has produced a rapid improvement in every branch of the sciences, and been the means of a more general diffusion of useful knowledge. Our discoveries have been grand and momentous; they have made important accessions to our acquaintance with the globe ; they have materially contri buted to the extension of our commerce, our riches, and our revenue, to the means of private accommodation and public security ; they have promoted our intimacy with ihe highest study of mankind ; they have increased cur conversation with countries and manners before little known, and they have finally presented to our view,, man in conditions in which he was never before seen.

A mutual intercourse has been also established, in many instances, on the solid basis of a reciprocity of benefits, and the productive labour of the civilized world has found new markets for the disposal of its manufactures. The attempt, however, to discover the North West Pas sage carries with it a character peculiarly its own, nor can it be measured by any of the standards, which have been applied to other voyages; its principal aim being the solu tion of a great geographical problem, without the expectation of its being attended by any of those advantages of a commercial character, for which other discoveries have been THE LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. JOHN ROSS,R.N., FOR THE DISCOVERY OF A NORTH WEST PASSAGE. PERFORMED IN THE YEARS 1826-30-31-33 and 33.

Chapter I. Historf Of The Early Voyages To The Arctic Regions

There is scarcely any species of History, which to the inquiring mind presents greater delight, or which is studied with greater assiduity, than that which treats of the adventures of the early Navigators, in their daring efforts to penetrate into distant transmarine Countries, the existence of which has been only guessed at, or which by the ignorant multitude has been treated as a wild and improbable fable. We follow these ad venturous men in their daring enterprise ; we view them at their top -mast head, straining their vision over the wide waste of water, hoping to discover some small speck, which might tell them ofthe realization of their hopes, and we follow them nightly to their cheerless hammocks, disappointed and despairing ; discomfiture and disgrace their future companions; themselves the objects of neglect and ridicule ; but then on a sudden, the restless fire of the noble Soul breaks forth — the inspirations of a mighty Genius support them in the contest — Onwards ! onwards ! is the cry — Hope once more fills the sails — Courage lakes the helm — and the God of the brave is the pilot.

The maritime power of England, founded on a spirit of discovery, began to manifest itself a? .ally as the reign of Alfred, 1 B EXPEDITION OF OTHO. who had no sooner ascended the throne, than he directed his attention to the commercial relations of the country. At that time the Venetians might be considered as the carriers of Europe, and in point of nautical skill, they bore the pre-eminence over every other maritime power. By their connexions with the eastern and. southern shores of the Mediterranean, the valuable pioduce of Turkey, and the manufactures of India were circulated over the entire continent of Europe, and a French or an English ship no sooner showed itself in the Mediterranean, than it was attacked by the armed vessels of the Venetians, or captured by the Moorish corsairs, and the crew carried into slavery.

The restricted com merce of England, was at that time greatly fettered by imposts and duties, which had been impolitic-ally laid on for the support ofthe Priesthood; the erection of monastic houses, and the purchase of indulgences from the see of Rome. These were wisely repealed by Alfred, who perceived the injury, which the com merce of the country sustained from their exaction, and although he clearly saw the impossibility of competing with the Venetians on their own Ocean, yet he resolved by fitting out different expe ditions of discovery, to open some new channels for English commerce, and which might act as a counterpoise to the ascen dancy of the Venetian trade. Amongst the chronicles of those days, we find a commission granted to one Simon Otho, to take under his command the " goode shippe" Adelgitha, and with her to sail across seas, to discover lands unknown, all " for the Gloryeof God — the honour of his Kinge, and publique goode of his Countrie."

The Geography of the northern countries of Europe was then wholly problematical ; the southern parts of Norway and Sweden were indeed known to the Danes, but no vessel had ever navigated to so high a latitude, as to determine their northern boundary, and it was accordingly surmised that a passage to the eastward existed, which might establish a route to those countries, from which the Venetians drew their valuable commodities. Otho was therefore instructed to survey tho coasts of Norway and Sweden, and following the instructions furnished by a Danish pilot, he was led to believe that a sea existed in about the latitude of 55°, by which the desired passage could be COLUMBUS. 3 effected. Otho accordingly sailed into the Baltic, but being wholly ignorant of the navigation of that dangerous sea, in rounding the southern-most point of Sweden, his ship struck on the ledge of rocks, now known by the name of Falsterborn Reef, and he and his whole crew were in the most imminent danger of perishing.

By great exertion, however, the ship was g-ot off, and after undergoing some repairs at a small town in the Danish territory, supposed to be the present Elsineur, he re entered the North Sea, and proceeded along the coast of Norway until he reached the latitude of 68° north. Here his ship received considerable damage amongst the small rocky Islands which abound in that quarter ; and not possessing the enterprising spirit of the mariners of the present day, he bent his course homewards, being satisfied that he had penetrated to a higher latitude than any former navigator, although he could not boast of any farther advantage, resulting from the expedition. This may be considered as the first voyage on record, un dertaken for the express purpose of Discovery. It was the infant manifestation of the future maritime greatness of England, but which for a time was prevented from extending and developing itself, by the political troubles which distinguished the after reigns, and by the ignorance and imbecility of the reigning monarchs.

Until this period, the fragile barks of the Europeans, had been principally confined to the coasting trade, but the daring genius of Columbus saw at a distance far beyond the ocean's visible verge, the mountains of a distant land, although the ignorance and superstition of the age in which he lived, threw the most disheartening obstacles in his way; the priests laughed at his deductions and his arguments; the soidisant Philosophers ridi culed his analogies founded on the Laws of Nature, and he was finally threatened with a prison, for presuming to entertain the heretical doctrine, that beyond " the furthest ken of Sea" there might exist a people, who had never heard of the name of Christ, and who lived like the beasts, in the gloom and darkness ot savage nature. That g-enius, however which will not be daunted by the blasting tyranny of Priestcraft, nor which quail under VASCO DE GAMA. the rack of the Inquisition, impelled him to adventure his little bark, on the hitherto unploughed Ocean ofthe Atlantic, and no nobler or grander object can the History of the human character present, than Columbus sitting at the helm of his vessel, his eye directed to the westward, as if it would penetrate into the very depths of an almost illimitable distance, and exclaiming in all the enthusiasm of a noble mind — " It must — It must be so, for God is my guide."

If however we look into the motives which, in the majority of cases, swayed the mind of the earliest navigators, we shall find but little to admire or to applaud, with the exception of an occasional display of high personal courage, which appeared to brave all obstacles, and to look down with disdain on common difficulties. On such occasions, however, the priesthood inter-* fered and gave to some favourite Saint the merit of the act, as without his most special interposition, it would not have been possible to accomplish the deed, and thus in every undertaking of importance or difficulty, it became necessary by largesses, or benefactions, to enlist the priesthood in the cause, as by their all powerful influence, men could be found at all times to embark in an undertaking, although distinguished by the greatest diffi culty and danger.

This was peculiarly the case with Columbus, previously to the undertaking of his perilous voyage across the Atlantic ; and it was subsequently exempUfied with greater force, in the expeditions of Vasco deGama. The latter of these enter prising men, foreseeing the dangers which awaited him in his daring projects, and the effects which they would naturally have upon his crew, unseasoned to hardships, and in their natures weak and effeminate, enlisted in his cause, the two most power ful engines, which then ruled the human mind, lucre and religion and by their concentrated force, he succeeded in infusing courage into the hearts of his dispirited mariners in the midst of the most appalling dangers, and finally led them to triumph over difficulties, at which, but for the seasonable influence of the priest, they would have shrunk abashed.

If fear and irresolution came upon them, the priest, with the crucifix in his hand, was immediately in their presence, proudly exclaiming to them that DISCOVERIES OF THE SPANIARDS. 5 they were the chosen agents of the Saints of Heaven, appointed to carry their names and miracles, to the most distant quarters of the world, and to fix the standard of the holy cross in the benighted country of the heathen. If the sailors at any time, burning under a tropical sun, and seeing no immediate termination to the privations and hardships, which they were undergoing, began to murmur, and to hazard an opinion, that if they really were, as was alleged by the priest, in the service of the Saints, it would become them to pay a little more attention to the satis faction of their wants, and necessities ; then their wily commander very opportunely stepped in, and inflamed their imagination, with the prospect of the inexhaustible riches that awaited them , of the high and dignified station, which they would occupy on their return to their native land, laden with the wealth of dis tant countries, and thereby be enabled to spend the remainder of their lives in affluence and luxury, under the shades of their native olive groves, and vineyards.

History records three instances in the first voyage of Columbus, when, had it not been for some pious frauds, practised on the sailors by the priests, the helm would have been seized by the despairing crew, and the ship made to retrace its course to Spain. Thus it appears that although superstition has been, and in some degree is still, one of the greatest enemies of the human race, yet that it was by the active power of superstition, that Columbus succeeded in becoming the discoverer of the western continent. If superstition had not impressed the belief on the minds of his dissatisfied and rebellious crew, that the priests on board had frequent visitations from their patron saints, urging them to pursue their course, and promising them ultimate success; if Las Casas had not politically stepped forward, with the relation of a miracu lous vision, in which appeared to him St. Augustine, who exposed to him the view of the country, to which they were fast approach ing ; the rivers of which flowed over beds of gold, and the mountains of which were studded with precious stones, Colum bus would have been cast into the hold of his ship, and carried back to Spain in irons, as a visionary and a traitor.

Spain indeed considered the new world as treasure-trove, of VOYAGE OF TYSON. which she was lawfully and exclusively the mistress. A bull of the Roman church, granted by Pope Adrian VI., gave what was then esteemed as a sacred recognition of these exclusive rights, and the government of Spain determined, that none but Spaniards should trade with, or land upon the American continent, and islands. Such folly must now appear unaccountable, but it is an historical fact, that the Spaniards at first fancied, that they could keep their discoveries in the West Indies a secret from the rest of the world, and prevent the ships of other nations from finding their way thither. Not all the power of Spain however, comparatively great as it then was, nor all the horrid cruelty practised in support of her extravagant pretensions, could deter the enterprising mariners of England, from attempting to share in the greatly exaggerated wealth of the new world.

The spirit of discovery, roused by the successful enterprises of Columbus, and Vasco de Gama, spread through all the maritime states of Europe, and as early as 1526, being only 31 years from the discovery of America, one Thomas Tyson, was sent by some English merchants to the West Indies, and from this expedition arose that formidable body of men, styled the Buccaneers, who setting at defiance the authority of the church of Rome, and the consequent sovereignty of the Spaniards in the West Indies, became the champions of the maritime states of Europe, and ultimately led to the expulsion of the Spaniards from a great portion of their newly acquired territory. It is therefore at once apparent, that the love of science, or the solution of any geographical problem, by which the art of naviga tion could be improved, had little or no share in the expeditions in which the early navigators embarked.

A voyage, like that of Capt. ■Cook, for the mere purpose of observing the astronomical phenomenon of the transit of Venus over the sun, would in these early ages have been met with ridicule and contempt ; it would have appeared as a project from which no especial benefit was to be ■derived, and not a shilling would have been advanced, by any of the maritime powers of Europe, insupport of an undertaking so appa rently useless and preposterous ; for a conquest of territory, which was to be accompanied by an accumulation of riches, was the prcdo- EXPEDITION OF THE PORTUGUESE. 7 minant principle, which actuated the early navigators, in their attempts to penetrate beyond those latitudes, to which their commercial enterprises had been hitherto confined. By the maritime skill of the Venetians, who were the sovereigns of the Mediterranean, the beautiful and splendid productions of India, natural and artificial, were brought from the shores of Egypt and the adjacent coasts, and found a ready, and highly lucrative market in the European states.

It was in vain for the Portuguese, to attempt to compete with the Venetians, and therefore it was resolved to seek a new, and perhaps a less circuitous and hazardous route, by which an immediate communication might be obtained with India, and thereby become not only the rivals of the Venetians, but their participators in all the lucrative advantages ofthe Indian commerce. For this purpose, two ships were fitted out by the Portuguese, at the expence of private individuals; but the command was entrusted to men, fitted neither by nautical skill, nor mental energy for so important an enterprise, and who preferred their own immediate aggrandizement, to the prosecution of the object in which they were engaged. The ships reached the Azores in safety, and the Sovereignty of an Island, rich in all the productions of nature, appeared in the eyes of the commanders, to be a far more preferable situation than sailing in quest of an unknown country, which only existed perhaps, in the fertile brains ofthe projectors ofthe expedition, and thereby continually exposing themselves to all the perils, attendant on the navigation of an ocean, of the Geography of which they were utterly ignorant.

The ships were dismantled, and the projectors of the expedition came to the conclusion, that the vessels had either foundered at sea, or that they had fallen into the power of some of those savage tribes, which were known to in habit the western coasts of Africa. This disastrous circumstance tended for a time, to diminish the ardour of the Portuguese, in the prosecution of their nautical enterprises, until a man of a commanding genius, on a sudden appeared amongst them, and who surmounting all the obstacles which jealousy, and private interests threw in his way, sailed ;n discovery of the route, by which the treasures of India were to flow to his native country. The success which attended Vasco DISCOVERY OF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. de Gama in this expedition, may be considered as the foundation of the high rank, which the Portuguese once held amongst the maritime and commercial nations of Europe.

The track round the Cape of Good Hope, was discovered in 1498, and the flag of Portu gal was planted on the shores of India. These extraordinary dis coveries of the Portuguese, and the flourishing commerce which they had established in the Indian seas, engrossed for a long time the spirit and jealousy of the other maritime powers of Europe, and particularly stimulated the English nation, to obtain a par ticipation in the apparently inexhaustible fountain of wealth, which flowed to the Portuguese from their Indian possessions. The Portuguese at that time were in regard to the Indian trade, what the English now are: they had firmly established them selves in their new dependencies; they considered themselves, as being the discoverers of the route round the Cape of Good Hope, to possess an exclusive and sovereign right, to all the benefits and privileges of the commerce, belonging to all the countries within a given latitude, as had been previously the case with the Spaniards.

A bull of the pope, a most powerful instrument in those days, and which was, doubtless, purchased by some portion of the wealth acquired in their commercial enterprises, invested the Portuguese with the sovereignty of their new possessions, and there was not a maritime power in Europe, then strong or bold enough, to dispute their dominion, or to wrest it from them by the usual mode of warfare. It is curious to observe how intimately connected the principal discoveries are to each other ; although apparently dissimilar in their object ; the majority of them, springing from the rival spirit of commerce, and, finally leading to the annexation of some of the richest portions of the globe, to the European governments. The flourishing state of the Venetian commerce, led to the discovery by the Portuguese, of the route round the Cape of Good Hope, and the latter discovery first suggested to the Eng lish, the idea of attempting to reach China and India, by at least one half of the distance, and this was to be achieved by sailing round the north coast of America, into the great Pacific ; and so confident were the English navigators of the existence DISCOVERY OF THE PACIFIC of such a passage, that it was only thought requisite, to equip a ship, in every respect able to weather the storms and dangers of the northern latitudes, in order to wrest from the Portuguese the sovereignty of the Indian Commerce.

The spirit of the English merchants was aroused, they had long looked upon the commercial greatness of Portugal arising from her Indian possessions, with an eye of the bitterest jealousy, and therefore with the utmost zeal and alacrity, they fell into any scheme, however wild and preposterous it might be in its general outline; however difficult it might be in its execution, and improbable in its final accomplishment. The greater part of North America was as yet undiscovered, but the existence of the Pacific had been established by the daring spirit of Balboa, who with a chosen band of hardy adventurers had crossed the Isthmus of Daricn, and the English navigators thence drew the conclusion, that the Atlantic and the Pacific communicated with each other, at some point to the northward; consequently the only problem to be solved, was. at what degree of latitude, that communication was to be found.

In the discovery of the Pacific, the English saw a most important point was gained, in the accomplishment of their grand object; which by the discovery of the north west passage, was to strike an irrecoverable blow, at the Indian commerce of the Portuguese. The fountains of wealth were about to be opened, and many plans were suggested, one after the other of which was relin quished, to make way for a successor equally absurd, and which in respect to a successful issue, was at open variance with all probability. It must however be admitted, in exculpation of our early navigators, that they had difficulties to contend against, and obstacles to surmount, which foretold a positive failure, and which in themselves were sufficient to discourage, and daunt the most enterprising spirit, for they could not be overcome by nautical skill, nor the most determined courage and perseverance.

A very small portion of America was as yet known, and it was not until the reign of Henry VII., that Newfoundland was discovered, then considered to bp the most northern part of America, thereby proving that all the expeditions which had 1 c COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES OF THE NORTH WEST PASSAGE. been fitted out, from the time of Alfred to that period, had been, as far as the north west passage was concerned, fruitlessly em ployed, for so ignorant were the navigators at that time, of the true geographical position of America, or of its uttermost northern latitude, that it was in the attempt to discover a north west passage, that the Floridas were discovered, thereby showing how far distant they were from the real object of their search. As however, the English were the first to undertake the perilous enterprise, so may it be said, that if the north west passage be ultimately discovered, the honor will belong to Britain only; for this country appears from the beginning, to have stood alone in the great and arduous undertaking, whilst other maritime nations have sluggishly looked on, yielding to Britain all the danger and the expence, but always ready to seize upon any advantage, which might accrue from the discovery.

It must however be confessed, that from the present aspect of things, no very strong temptation is held forth to any maritime power to co-operate in the undertaking. It is not attended by any particular com mercial advantages, nor accession of territory, unless a desire be manifested to compete with Russia, in the empty sovereignty of a few hundred miles of snow and ice; it possesses no mines of wealth, nu allurements for emigration, no natural produce worthy of importation, in fine there is scarcely any benefit or advantage attached to it, either nationally or individually. Its object is decidedly scientific, and as such it has been pursued with a perseverance andaspirit, worthy of the enlightened nation, by which ithas been projected. Navigation may reap considerable advantages from it, but even supposing that the passage were effected, it is most probable that a century might elapse, before it could be agaiii accomplished, on account of the unsettled state of the ice, forming at one time an insurmountable barrier, and at another, leaving the ocean perfectly navigable.

In former times however, the undertaking wore a very different aspect; its object was purely commercial ; the variation of the needle had not then even attracted the attention of nautical men ; the physical obstacles to the success of the undertaking were unknown, and its ultimate attainment scarcely a matter of doubt ; nor was it POLICY OF RUSSIA. until frequent failures had taken place, that the suspicion began to be entertained, that the destruction ofthe Portuguese commerce, if it depended upon the discovery ofthe passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, was an event not quite so near at hand, as was originally surmised. In the majority of the failures, however, the want of success was not attributed to the actually existing difficulties, but to the deficiency of skill and courage, in the individuals, who were engaged in the expedition.

Thus every nautical man, who had ventured beyond the sight of land, con sidered himself more competent than his predecessor, in whom he pretended to discover a great want of nautical skill, and an absence of all the other qualifications, which were necessary to fit him for so important an undertaking. It became, however, soon his own fate to return with the same tale, as his predecessor had done before him, and in his turn to become the subject of ridicule and disgrace. There is not perhaps any country, that would have derived greater advantages from the discovery of the north west passage, than Russia ; but her ambition is not to render her name great and glorious in the annals of fame, by the promotion of the interests of science, or the addition of a single iota to the stock of human knowledge.

Her ambition has indeed led her to establish her settlements, on the north-eastern coast of America, but did it ever promp her to co-oporate with Britain in the solution of the great geographical problem, by fitting out an expedition from one of her Kamschatka ports, and by penetrating up Behrings Straits, attempt to meet the English navigators? and even, if the flag of the two nations did not actually salute each other in a part of the globe, where no flag was ever unfurled before, still the question might have been set at rest, in what particular latitude, the impenetrable barrier, if any such exist, is to be found, and the discovery of the north west passage be relinquished for ever afterwards, as hopeless and unattainable. In the mean time the strong interest, with which the discovery of tho north west passage was regarded in England, had excited the alarm of the Portuguese, who clearly foresaw, that if the passage could be discovered, the most lucrative and valuable EXPEDITION OF MANSON. branch of their commerce, would be diverted into another chan nel, and into one, which of all others they the most feared, as from the energy, perseverance, talent, nautical skill, and com parative opulence of the English, they would have to contend with rivals of so formidable a character, that the result scarcely remained a matter of speculation or doubt.

In this dilemma, the Portuguese had recourse to diplomacy and intrigue, and the triple crowned bigot ofthe Vatican was applied to, to see that the bull, which he had issued, granting the sovereignty of the Indian commerce to the Portuguese, should be religiously attended to by all true catholics, under the threat of excomnmw nication, and the ban of the Holy Mother Church against all, and every one, who by any open or secret undertaking, or en terprise, should attempt to despoil the Portuguese of those exclusive privileges, which the legitimate successor of St. Peter had granted to them. In those days, the ban of the Holy Mother Church, was not looked upon as so great a torn foolery, as many are inclined to regard it at the present period, and considering the degrading thraldom, in which the European states were then held by the papal see, it might naturally have been expected, that the most implicit obedienee would have been paid to the mandate of his holiness; but the love of lucre, conquered even the threat of ex communication, and the ban ofthe church kicked the beam, when put into the opposite scale with the golden treasures of India.

A ship was privately fitted out in the port of Falmouth, avowedlv for prosecuting some commercial undertakings in the newly dis. covered country of America, but the real aim was to discover if any communication existed between the Atlantic and Pacific. The command of the vessel, was entrusted to a person of the name of Manson, who had distinguished himself as the captain of a Venetian trader in the Mediterranean, and from whose skill and intrepidity, the most favourable results were to be expected. In those days, a priest was as inseparable a part of the lading of a ship, as an anchor or a cable ; but Manson either from a secret conviction that a priest, under the peculiar circumstances MUTINY OF MANSONS CREW. 13 in which he was then placed, acting as he was in deSance of an express mandate, issued by the head of the church, might instead of being an advantage, turn out to be a decided incum brance, and ultimately prove the instrument of defeating the object of the expedition, from the well known influence, which "the holy father" always exercised over the crew of a ship, forebore to enlist one in his train, and it will soon appear that what he considered an act of caution and of prudence, proved the cause of his ruin and discomfiture.