The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1827-12-19
CAPTAIN PARRY's EXPEDITION.

expedition, are stated on inc "ue"0tJ ba
the London Literary Gazette, the editor Oh ra
which paper has taken some pans 10 COZ ia
lect them. -. 1r,,l, w
coached was 81 deg. 6 min. which IS be- =, =,
lieved 10 be the farthest north that ever ~
shin made her way so that all that was q
made in the boats was | deg. 80 mih.- =
Lord Mulgraye got to so deg. and some I,
m;nutes 1--WE do not remember exactly, but =
think about 20) At the farthest point h
north. no barrier of ice was seen, as III the h
case Of that noble lord, and elder voyagers :
90 that the idea of such barrier always :
av;st;no NAV now be dismissed. The ice
fnnnd Inv the present expedition was OF :
verv chaotic form. For about mile, per- :
hans. it might be tolerable smooth bui at
every interval huge ridges were crusheuu |
bv the action of tides and currents, anu
presented the most formidable obtacles TO !
/ The progress of the enterprise. NO sooner
was one of these rugged ana preclpNous
masses overcome than another appeared ,
and difficulty after difficulty seemed length
eninq as the party advanced. There was
nIenfy of fresh water on the surface, but
towards the end OF the attempt when the
separated, and Between item the salt sea
flowed in divisions like SO many channels.
ttkNInU
; which thew had to travel, it was found I'M
nossible TO make any use of the reindeerin
draoginu the boats; and as there was no
, means Of feeding dogs las one proposed,)
, the whole work was performed by personal
labor Officers and men, 20 in number,
, we're nike harnessed to the tackle, and
! wrought in common at the eXhaustlng toni.
Their time for starting in the morning
their morning being the beginning OF the
( niCbN was chosen when the light was less
: INJURIOUS to the eyes for though the sun
f shone upon them during the whole PERIOD
and there was no darkness, yet when that
: lnminarv was lowest in the horizon, the re-
: Election from the bright white surface of
il snow was more endurable. On setting out,
q q mint of cocoa, with some biscuit powder
e to mix with it, was served to every lndivid-
|, ual for breakfast, which beng finished, the
It whole number yoked to the boats. About
e seven hours of constant eXertlon brought
e them to the hour of their spare dinner meal;
IN which consisted of pemecdn" about the size
IS of an orange, and few ounces OF biscuit
le powder. These ingredients, scraped INTO
S cold water, made cold soup, ana mlser-
ID able sustenance for men whose strengths
a. were so severely tasked. In fact they
er could not bear up under the fatigue. Dur
sh inc the whole march they were soaklng
r wet to the knees, and benumbed by tenn
ne perature always at or near the freezing
n noint. At the close of twelve or fourteen
sh hours thus occupied, when they came to
re seek rest by lying down the change otthen
,et wet for their dry stockings and fur boots
III, caused such a reaction, that the tingllne
"a and smart were insufferable, and the ccm-
ct, parative comfort was more difficult to be
en- endured than the preceding cold.
ID, When Captain Parry found that the mel
on could not support their tolls on the allow
saa e 98 81 pnetsen ounces per twenty pa
lp- dersl he added by way of luxury pint o
ay hot water at night This was found to b'
IN very restorative, warming the system; ant
is fla little the dinner food had been saved
re- it made broth of great relish and value
M Spirits were not drank; and the reaso
81 why even hot water was scarce, was. tina
en- it took so large a stock of their spirits c
ost wine to boil it and the cocoa, that the guam
his tity consumed could not safely be increas
er, ed
in The consequences of the hard life W
ent have just family pictured were soon obvi
he Gus. The men became weakened, thel
me limbs swelled, and disease began to thi
ion the number of active workers. Their
to- needed no other obstacle to stop their prog
that all their strenuous efforts were vair
on The ice itself was drifting faster to tn
Tho south than they could make their wa
ent over it to the north; thus during the las
urn three days of their struggle, instead c
EN- gaining a higher latitude, they were actu
we ally two miles farther south than Whe
The they set out. This put an end to an expe
ilr- dition where every thing which human en-
led ergy and perseverance could do, was don
he so fruitless; but the nature of the ice, S
M different from what had been anticipated
md rendered the accomplishment of the oblec
ian utterly impracticable.
of While the boats were away, the Heel
ons was not exempt from dangers. She ha
the been wrought into snug birth near tn
md shore, III one of the few places which al
to forded this shelter. Ahead there wa
about three miles of ice; and heavy gal
coming on, detached this prodigious mass
and drove it with great violence agains
sR the ship. The cables were cut asundel
Ied the anchors lost, and poor Iiecla forced hig
ing and dry upon the coast by the irresstabl
IN pressure. TO get her again to the waite
W. occupied considerable time, which was
or of course, lost to the surveying party
70 Having effected this they proceeded t
ose Weygatt Straits and, considering tn
lth short period they had to employ, made, W
lge are informed, many valuable observations
'hd We do not hear of any intercourse wit
ing natives. Seventy deer were shot by til
to hunters.
yo- 1t is vexatious to be forced to the convic
dly ton that any attempt to reach the Mort
md Pole is but too likely to end in disappoin
se. ment; but every fresh enterprise seems t
ian lead to this conclusion. Incur opinion, tn
'ad Southern hemisphere presents far NOR
oy- tempting field for speculation and mos
mi heartily do we wish that an expedition wer
zen fitted out for that purpose. The sea