The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1821-07-19 00:00:00

CAPTAIN PARRY'S EXPEDITION.

EXTRACT IRON cart. r♦RRT'a sotrww♦t. 07 ♦ YOT•011
10111 THE DISCOVIIIT 05 ♦ 1101111%.41 rassaos.
Mem " Tie New Moen?, Magazlee.l
(tlilwelesded front a former Paper.)
. .
On the 44th, the house on shore was discovered
to be on fire : it was got out without much siajuly
but Captain Sabine's servant, in hits eagerness to
save the dipping-needle, which was close to the
stove, ran out with it, without waiting to put on
his gloves, in consequence of which his hands were
so benumbed, that' when they were plunged into
cold water, the ►urftce of it was immediately
frozen by the intense cold thus coimottilicated,
and the tenor fellow was afterwards obliged to ►ub-
wit to the partial amputation of four Rogers on
one hand, and three on the other,

The months of -March and April seem to have
passed tediously on,. in watching the state of the
weather. The crew of the Griper became some-
what more sickly, in consequence of the extreme
moisture, which it was found-impossible to exclude
from their bed-places; and. Lieutenant Lirldon,
iu particular, who had suffered, much front illness
at different times during the voyage, became so
aowell, that Captain Parry entertained serious app
prehension. for his recovery. In May, Captain
Parry laid out a small garden, planting it with;
radishes, onions, mustard, and cress; but the ex.
perimeut failed, though some common ship-pews,
planted by two of the men, throve extremely well.,
The state of the sick list becoming more favour:.
able toward, the latter end of Mar, Captain Parry
and Captain Sabiue, accompanied by ten other.„.
bfficers mid men, set off, on the Ist of June, to.
make the tour of the island; though a more un-
promising subject foe the excursion of is party oP
pleasure cannot well lie imagined. They took.
tents and fuel with them, ao well as provisions :
and carried their luggage in a small light cart,
to which the sailors occasionally appended their
blankets, by way of sails. They travelled by night,
as well to have the benefit of any warmth the sun
might give for their hours of rest, as to avoid the
glare of its light upon the snow. The dwarf
willow, sorrel, poppy, and saxifrage, were the vege-
table productions which they met with; and. it
a place they called Baldwin Cove, which ap-
peared to be one of the pleasantest and most habit-
able spots-they bud seen in the Arctic Circle, Capt.
Sabine found a ranonculus in full sower, literally
wasting " its sweetness on the desert air." The
animals they saw were mice, deer, a musk ox, n lair'
of swallows, ducks, geese, plover, and ptarmigans,
with some of 'which they occasionally varied their fare.
Along the beach on the west wardythey found a point
of land eighty feet above the sea. which they named
Point Nias, after one of the officers of the patty,
and had the patience to raise on it, a• a memo-
rial of their exertions, a monument of ice, of a
conical form, twelve fret broad at the base, and
as many in height. The enclosed in it, in a tin
c)linder, an account of the party who had erected
it, with a few silver and copper English coins ; amid
Mr. Fisher, the assistatit-surgeon, took care to con-
struct it with a solidity which may make it last for
years us a laud-mark, as it can be seen at seaml
miles distance, either by sea or lands On a. point
of land within 100cyards of the sea, the remains of
six Esquimau* hut' were di.covered, the owners of
which might probably he iii the habit of visiting the
island in the months of July and August, when it
should appear that they would meet with a plenti-
ful supply of game.

After absence, the party returned to
the ships. Summer now began to make itself visible.
A great quantity of sorrel was daily gathered; hunt.
nig-parties procured fresh animal food ; and what '
had perhaps more effect on the health and spirits of
the men than any thing else could have protineed,
on the 2--241 of June the ice was observed to be in
motion.

" On the 16th of July," says Captain Par►y,
" the streams of water in the ravines were once
more passable with great ease, and the snow had
eotirely disappeared, except on the sides of those
rarities, and in other hollows where it had formed.
considerable drills; so that the appearance of the
land was much the some now as when we first
made the island in the hitter part of August the
preceding year. The walks which our people were
ettub:ed to take at this period, when the wea-
ther was really mild and pleasant, end to our feel-
ings quite us warm as the summer of any other cli-
mate, together %Oh the luxurious living afforded
by our hoofing parties, and by the abundant
supply of sorrel which was always at command,
were the eneuns of completely eradicating any
seeds of the scurvy which might have been lurk-
ing in the constitutions of the officers and men,
who were now, i believe, ill as good health, and
certainly in as good spirit., as when the expedition
left England. Gratifying os this fact could not
but be to me, it was impossible to contemplate
without pain the probability, now too evident, that
the shortness of the approaching season of opera-
tions would not admit of that degree of toreros in
the prosecutioss of the main object of our enterprise,
which might otherwise have been reasonably antici-
pated in setting out from our present advanced
station with two shim iu such perfect condition,
and with crews so zealous in the cause in which we
were engaged."

Oil the brut of A meust, 1920, the vessels weighed,
siul 1..111 out of Winter Harbour, in which they
had then during ten whole months, and a part of
the other two, September and August. Could
Captain Parry, or any of those with him, have
foreseen, during their stay osi Melville Island, that
all their waiting would only enable them to get a
law leagues further westward, on the very skirts of
the island, where they had already been detained
for such a dream• length of time, how insupportably
tedious would the interval have appeared ! Fortu-
nately, they did not contract the faculty of second
sight ►n these northern latitudes; however, occa-
sionally, that of lung sight might seem to be Im-
parted to them ; they, therefore, once more set off
on their inquiries, cheered by hope, and supported
by the most pra•eworthy zeal, to acquit 'ffiemselves
to the utmost of the duty required of them.
They entered on their new discoveries on the
anniversary of the day when they had commenced
their former ones from the entrance of Sir James
Lancaster's Sound ; but the bad sailing of the
Griper was a great obstacle to that speedy advance.