“Arctic Expeditions—Return of Captain Ross” (p. 665-75)
WHERE’S Captain Ross? Off Cape Farewell, said one party:— In the middle of an iceberg, said another:—At the bottom of Baffin’s Bay, said a third:—or, Food for the Polar bear, said a fourth: while some, who probably knew more about the matter than the rest, indulged, with good reason, the hope that he and his followers had yet withstood the severe effects of the arctic winters to which they had been exposed, and were safe in their dreary solitude. Such has been the general question, and such, among others, the various conjectures on the probable fate of this adventurous officer and his companions, in their long absence; until at length a party, under the direction of Captain Back, was despatched, to rescue them, if possible, from their forlorn situation. In the midst of our anxiety as to the ultimate success of Captain Back, and when he has just reached the ground from whence his interesting search is to commence, behold Captain Ross himself, and his little band of hardy fellows, the objects of all our solicitude, appear among us! The first account of their safety was received in a letter from the agent to Lloyd’s at Peterhead, dated the 12th of October, the intelligence having been brought home by the Clarendon whaler from Davis Straits; and we had scarcely time to recover from our surprise, or to doubt the welcome news, when Captain Ross landed at Hull from the Isabella, and on the 20th reported himself at the Admiralty, receiving every where the sincere and hearty congratulations of his countrymen. No satisfaction was ever more general than that occasioned by the safe return of the travellers; every heart was gladdened by feelings of humanity, and, whether discoveries of a scientific kind had been achieved or not, all rejoiced that he was come home.
We do not anticipate that the geographer will add much to his store of knowledge from the result of this voyage, as the course of the Victory, the vessel in which Captain Ross sailed, was impeded to the westward by the western shores of Prince Regent Inlet. Our readers, however, will be better able to judge for themselves hereafter, when Captain Ross’s narrative is published by Mr. Murray, and in the mean time we shall endeavour to convey to them some idea of the track which he appears to have followed. For this purpose we shall avail ourselves of the little map accompanying our present number, on which we have inserted a green and a red track, the former being nearly that of Captain Ross, and the latter that of Captain Back in search of him.

It will be remembered that Captain Ross left England in the summer of 1829, in order to discover, if possible, a passage to the westward through Prince Regent Inlet, towards Bhering’s Strait, and thus to achieve an exploit which has been the aim of many celebrated navigators. This appears also to have been Sir Edward Parry’s favourite theory in the voyage after returning from Melville Island, when the Fury was lost on the western shore of the inlet, the extremity of the red line on the map. The last accounts of Captain Ross (that have reached England, for we believe he has written every Christmas, during his absence, to his friend Sir Byam Martin,) were dated in July, 1829, from Disco Island, in Davis Strait. From thence the passage to Prince Regent Inlet, the navigation being entirely open, only occupied till the 13th of August following. All remains of the Fury’s wreck, it appears, had been drifted away by the ice; but her provisions, which had been deposited on shore, and her boats, were found in good condition. Having availed themselves of the former, our voyagers continued to the southward, along the west shore of the inlet, as far as Cape Garry, from whence they still continued to the S.W. and west, until they reached the latitude of 72° N. in long. 94° W. Here their progress was first stopped by the ice, which appears to have accumulated at the entrance of a small inlet leading to the west. This inlet was not left unexamined, two days being employed in exploring it without success. No passage through it being found, Captain Ross continued his voyage to the southward, keeping as close to the western shore of Prince Regent Inlet as the shallowness of the water would allow him. We are told, that he frequently landed for the purpose of taking possession of it, with the usual ceremony on such occasions.
From the above inlet much difficulty was experienced in getting to the southward, owing to the rapidity of the currents, the quantity of ice drifting about, and the rocky nature of the coast. At length, in lat. 70° N. from the longitude of 92° W. the land took an easterly direction as far as 90° west, where, on the 1st of October, 1829, the further progress of the Victory in her dangerous voyage was finally arrested. A harbour was found in the above position, in which the Victory was safely placed, and afforded, as Captain Ross observes, an excellent wintering port. Our readers are probably aware, that the Victory was purchased and fitted out for Captain Ross by his liberal friend and patron, Felix Booth, Esq., and the name of Felix was appropriately given to this harbour.
Our travellers were not long by themselves in their new quarters, for in January, 1830, a party of Esquimaux became their companions, and with these natives of the soil a friendly intercourse was established. In the course of the winter it was ascertained from them, that there was no channel by which a vessel might pass to the westward, but that a narrow neck of land separated the eastern from the western sea. The utmost solicitude seems to have been entertained by Captain Ross on this point, and consequently the whole summer of 1830 was employed in verifying their report. The neck of land was crossed by Commander James Ross, who then continued along the shore to the westward, and reached the meridian of 100° W. in the latitude of 70° N., from whence he considers that the land takes a south-westerly direction to Cape Turnagain, the eastern point of Coronation Gulf. The shore of the isthmus was also traced to the north-west, by which, with the shore to the southward, a gulf is formed. By the survey of Commander Ross it is ascertained, that the Great Fish River does not fall into the arctic sea where it was supposed, and we must therefore conclude, for the present, that it terminates in Coronation Gulf.
All hopes of getting to the westward being at an end, attempts were made to get to the eastward. But in consequence of the unfavourable state of the ice, the Victory was moved only a few miles from Felix harbour, in the middle of November, and again secured in a harbour called Sherriff’s harbour. This second winter (of 1831-2) is alluded to by Captain Ross as being one of uncommon severity. The thermometer is stated to have fallen to 92° below zero, and the average temperature of the year was 10° lower than the preceding. The summer of 1831 appears to have been employed in examining the northern shore of the above gulf, and we have no doubt that much valuable information connected with magnetism and natural history has been collected by Commander Ross in these excursions. In October, 1831, the Victory was again moored fourteen miles to the northward of her last position, and placed in a harbour, to which, with her name, she has bequeathed her remains. Another dreary winter was passed by the voyagers on board their vessel, when their stock of provision became so much lessened, that notwithstanding the supplies of foxes, bears, blubber, and sea-birds, that were occasionally added to it, the resolution was formed to abandon the Victory, and proceed to Fury beach early in the following summer, for the purpose of obtaining the provisions left there.
It may here be observed, as this seems the furthest point attained by Captain Ross, that from the longitude of 90° west, in lat. 70° N. the land took a decidedly east and west direction, after turning, we presume, to the southward, and that further land was seen to the southward distant 40 miles, considered by Captain Ross to be the continent of America, and which was connected with that forming the south shore of Prince Regent Inlet. The land seen to the southward appeared to trend towards Repulse Bay, (marked green in the map,) to the northward of Wager river. The whole of this land, with the isthmus and peninsula, forming the western side of Prince Regent Inlet, was named Boothea, and the sea to the southward was called the Gulf of Boothea.
Early in the spring of 1832, small supplies of provisions and fuel were deposited on the way the party had to pass to Fury Beach: a precaution which lightened their burdens, and enabled them to reach it on the 1st of July following. The journey is described as being perilous and fatiguing in the extreme; the whole party being now on foot, and therefore frequently obliged to adopt circuitous paths to avoid danger from the ice, thus materially increasing their distance. The Victory had been abandoned in her own harbour, being immoveably fixed in the ice, and of no further use to the voyagers. It is well known that she was ill adapted for the service; and we understand that her steam machinery had been displaced, and that she was converted into a sailing vessel long before she reached her first harbour. She now lies in Victory Harbour.
Having with much difficulty regained Fury Beach, the party immediately proceeded to repair the boats of this vessel, and to construct a temporary hut, as they had no longer their vessel to afford them shelter; and hopes seem to have been entertained, that by means of the boats they might reach Lancaster Sound before the whaling ships had left for the season. It must therefore have been painfully distressing to them to be locked up by the stubborn ice till the 1st of August, before they could move with the boats. On that day, however, they left Fury Beach, and, passing along the western shore of Prince Regent Inlet, arrived at Leopold Islands (the northern extremity of Cape Clarence in the map) on the first of September. If their situation on Fury Beach had been distressing to them, how much more so must have been their present! To recognize their way home; to see the strait through which they had passed, formed by continuous headlands on either side, gradually lessening in perspective; to find the channel which had before been open and navigable, now covered with one impenetrable mass of ice, defying their puny efforts to pass it, must have been galling indeed to their feelings. Such anxiety and suspense, as Captain Ross says, may be easier to imagine than describe, when experienced by persons with whom it might be matter of life and death.
Disappointed in their hopes of escape, the party were compelled, by the departure of summer, and the want of provisions, to return to Fury Beach, where another dreary winter, that of 1832-3, was passed still more wretchedly than the preceding. Their dwelling consisted of a frame of spars covered with canvass, and, being covered besides by the snow that fell, we have no doubt was as warm as such a one could be in polar regions; but the want of clothes, of bedding, and animal food, served to render Somerset House, as we find this shanty was called, a very different abode from the present second Admiralty![1] But after a long and tedious winter, last summer released the travellers from their wearisome captivity, and strenuous exertions were made by all to avail themselves of a channel through the ice in the month of August. The former position at the entrance of Prince Regent Inlet was gained in two days, and on the 17th the party crossed over the inlet to its eastern point. On the following day they gained Admiralty Inlet, in Barrow Straits. (See the map.) On the 25th of August, the travellers crossed Navy Board Inlet, the next to the eastward; and on the 20th, their long-looked-for deliverance was at hand. Captain James Ross discovered a sail in the offing, but, mindful of not disappointing the rest on a matter of such importance, he carefully scrutinized her with his glass until he assured himself of the fact, and then gave the joyful intelligence to the party. The weather befriended the travellers; the ship approached them; and as she drew nearer, the party made for her in their boats. She proved to be the Isabella of Hull; and, with feelings of joy and gratitude for their deliverance, they were received on board of her, by Captain Humphrey and his crew, with as hearty a welcome as British sailors can give. There may at first sight appear something strange in the coincidence of this ship being the same Isabella that Captain Ross had commanded in 1818; but we are inclined to believe that no small share of praise is due to Captain Humphrey for penetrating so far up the strait as to give the Captain a chance of seeing his old ship. Their number had been lessened by three, which Captain Ross is of opinion was not to be attributed to the effects of the climate; but there can be no doubt that their sufferings were increased by the privations which they had undergone.
Let us now turn our attention to Captain Back, who, (although it may be said of him, that he is in search of a shadow, with regard to Captain Ross,) if we are not mistaken, will return to us with substance in the shape of much useful information of another kind. We may first premise, that tidings have been sent out to him of the return of Captain Ross, with directions to follow up the secondary objects of his expedition. Whether the messenger can reach him before he departs from his winter-quarters next spring, we are rather doubtful, as winter travelling is not so expeditious as that of summer. We shall, however, give our readers a brief outline of the route he adopted.
On the 17th February, Captain Back sailed from Liverpool in the Packet Hibernia, for New York, where he arrived after a short voyage. His reception there was gratifying to bis feelings, and honourable to the citizens of New York. The interest which they felt in the success of his undertaking was evinced by their attentions to him during the very short time he remained among them. We hear that “so much did the feeling in his favour pervade all classes, that the steam-boat company to which the vessel belonged, and in which he proceeded from New York to Albany, refused to accept payment for his passage or provisions.” From New York he immediately proceeded by the Hudson and Lake Champlain to Montreal, where, as might be expected, he was cordially received, and his mission enthusiastically encouraged. Hitherto he had been accompanied only by Mr. King, a gentleman who had left England with him as surgeon to the expedition. A short interval was passed at Montreal in providing a canoe with men; and, after the necessary arrangements being concluded, he left that place on the 25th of April. From Montreal he ascended the Ottawa River, and proceeded by Lake Huron to the rapids of St. Mary, at the outlet of Lake Superior. These rapids are called in the country “Sault St. Marie.” They are sometimes called the “Falls of St. Mary.”
By letters received from him, it appears that he arrived there on the 12th of May, only eleven days later than had been anticipated on his leaving England.
The rapids of St. Mary were formerly the resort of numerous families of Indians at a certain season of the year, a great number of fish being taken there. It was there, also, that “councils” were held by the fir-traders with the Indian chiefs; but, of late years the number of these people has been much reduced, owing, probably, to a part of this trade finding its way home by Hudson’s Bay. The distance from Montreal to the St. Mary rapids is considered about a thousand miles, which journey was performed by Captain Back in twenty-one days.
Pursuing his course from thence, Captain Back continued the usual route along the north coast of Lake Superior; and, by accounts received of him, he passed the great bay of Michipicoten on the 15th of May. This is one of the points on Lake Superior from whence the communication is carried on with Hudson Bay. A trading-post is established there, on the shore of a deep bay, and the canoes, on their way up the lake, endeavour to cross the mouth of it, by which means they materially shorten their distance. This method, called by the Canadians, making a “traverse,” is frequently attended with danger, arising from the wind and sea, which their canoes are ill calculated to withstand. The traverse from Cape Gargantua to Michipicoten Island, in the mouth of the bay, is about twenty-five miles, and is one of the most dangerous on the lake.
The northern shore of Lake Superior presents some of the wildest and finest scenery imaginable. It is a bold rocky coast, formed of granite, porphyry, and greenstone, rising in many parts to the height of a thousand feet above the level of the lake, and indented by deep bays. The Thunder Mountain, near the mouth of the Kaminitiquoia River, formed of green stone, rises to the height of 1350 feet above the lake, according to the survey of Captain Bayfield, R.N. And the water of Lake Superior, as if to coincide with the general superiority of this lake over the rest, in point of magnitude and beauty of scenery, is even purer than that of the others. This is accounted for by the bed of Lake Superior being principally of rock, and the waters of the lower lakes, Erie and Ontario, being impregnated with decayed vegetation, and the deposit brought from the adjacent country by the rivers which fall into them. The difference in the purity of the water is easily perceptible, as they are all connected with each other; and, commencing with Lake Superior, which is the purest imaginable, a shade of difference may be observed gradually increasing in each.
The southern shore of this lake is principally resorted to by Indians, for the purpose of fishing. It is of a totally different character from the northern, being formed of sandy beaches and low cliffs. The northern shore is little frequented by them, unless it be for the purpose of visiting the trading posts. We remember once, when making the passage along this shore, between Fort William and St. Mary’s, our attention was suddenly attracted by something of a reddish appearance waving in the wind among the stunted fir-trees, on a bold projecting point of granite. The point was not very high, but the water was deep enough to let a line-of-battle ship rub her sides against it. Our Canadian voyagers quickly perceived what it was, and pulled for the shore, while we were speculating on what it might be. As we approached the point, we found it was the paddle of a canoe, with some red garters, suspended over a pile of stones. Our curiosity was still unsatisfied respecting the eagerness of the Canadians to land for a paddle; and it was not until we had gained the point, that we found the pile of stones was the grave of an Indian chief. Immediately, several of the canoe-men jumped on shore, and, making their way up the point, commenced opening the pile, which was about twelve feet high. It was not long before they reached the corpse of the chief, deposited at the bottom, wrapped in birch-bark, with his gun, a little tobacco, some beads, and stained porcupine’s quills, placed by its side, in separate pieces of bark. According to its appearance, the corpse had lain there some months: it was placed on its side, with the legs doubled, and was an unsightly object. We now found out that it was for the sake of the gun that our men had been so anxious to land, and, accordingly, the one here found was taken possession of by our steersman, who had been the foremost to obtain the plunder. It appears to be a common custom of the Canadian voyagers, knowing the habits of the Indians, to search their graves on all occasions, for the purpose of carrying off whatever may be worth the trouble; but they are careful to do so unobserved by them, and to leave the outward signs of a grave, until some less scrupulous take them away as they pass by.
To return to Captain Back: having arrived at Fort William, an establishment of the Hudson-Bay Company, on the left bank of the River Kaminitiquoia, at its junction with Lake Superior, it was his intention to exchange his canoe for two north canoes, and proceed up that river, through the celebrated Muddy Lake, and the Lake of the Woods, into Lake Winipic. The canoes generally used between Montreal and Fort William are called canots de maître, being large, and equal to the rough weather on the great lakes through which they have to pass; but, being also heavy, and therefore ill adapted to the river navigation, after leaving Lake Superior, are substituted by lighter ones, called “North” canoes. These are carried over the numerous portages (or breaks in the navigation, caused by rapids, or falls, occurring in the river, or from one river to another) by their crews with more facility, and are reserved purposely for the country north of Lake Superior.
The water of Muddy Lake, above mentioned, which is not more than a mile or two in breadth, has a remarkable quality of retaring the passage of a canoe through it. Sir Alexander M‘Kenzie observes, that “he found it very difficult to get away from this attractive power” of the water, great exertion being required to overcome it. According to our recollection, this lake has only a very trifling outlet, and, surrounded on all sides by dense woods, the water becomes nearly stagnant. It is full of a small weed, from which, and the muddy nature of its bottom, it assumes an unwholesome and slimy consistency, and hence arises the difficulty of crossing it in the birch canoe. In vain the Canadian boatmen apply their whole strength to the paddles, the slimy water clings to the round bottom of the canoe, while it stubbornly refuses to accelerate its pace, or even to stir more than a yard or two at a time. After the toil of getting across it is over, they gladly rest themselves on the opposite bank, and prepare for the portage. After all, there is something very remarkable in the water of Muddy Lake, and that it should alone possess this singular quality. The soil about it is of a soft alluvial nature.
Further accounts from Captain Back state, that he arrived with his party, in good health, at Fort Alexander, a trading post close near the southern part of Lake Winipic, on the 6th of June, and was found there by Mr. Simpson, the Governor of the Hudson Bay territories, on the 10th of that month. From Mr. Simpson, Capt. Back received a carte blanche on the Company’s establishment, along the whole line of communication to the Great Slave Lake, for such assistance and supplies as he might require for three years And it was Mr. Simpson’s opinion that Captain Back would be able to reach the coast, and to return to winter-quarters before the close of the navigation.
The following letter, the first received from Captain Back, informs us of his proceedings as far as the northern part of Lake Winipic, and it is remarkable, that this letter should have been received only two days before the intelligence of Captain Ross’s safety arrived.
“Norway-house, Jack River, June 19, 1833.
“My dear M.—I wrote to you last, I think, from Montreal; since which I am happy to inform you my progress has been unimpeded by accident, though attended with more expense than it was possible to foresee. On arriving at the Sault St. Marie, (I love the name,) which we effected ten days earlier than the light canoe of the last season, we were informed that there was such a deficiency of provisions in the Indian country, that it would be necessary to take a supply at once as far as Lake Winipic. This obliged me to purchase another canoe, to get across Lake Superior, and from that establishment I received the two north canoes prepared for the expedition by the Company.
“We arrived at Fort Alexander on the 6th of June, which, for heavy canoes, is considered as being remarkably quick, the despatch canoe from Montreal having only got there one day earlier. The letters that you and I saw at the Hudson’s Bay House, in December last, together with others of mine to Governor Simpson, were in that canoe, and consequently but a short time before me. I had thus to apprehend that the arrangements relating to the expedition could not have been completed, from the want of the necessary information; and, therefore, the importance of seeing the Governor myself was evident, and on the 10th of June I had that pleasure at Fort Alexander. I then heard that the supplies were nearly all at Cumberland-house; but, as we could not by any exertion procure the men required for the expedition at Montreal, it was necessary for me to come to this post to complete their number. And now, I am sorry to say, we are obliged to pay very high wages; besides which, I have lost full 300 miles by this delay, unavoidable in itself.
“It is the opinion of the senior gentlemen here, then, that the only method we can adopt to get my two large heavy boats to a wintering ground, is for me to go on in a light canoe myself, and find out the exact situation and the best route to the Thloo-ee-cho, which I hope to do by the time the boats arrive at the Athabasca, where there shall be a guide to conduct them to me. Now, my dear friend, though I must do this to insure my operations next year, yet it will swell our expenses to more than I contemplated; and you cannot conceive how feverish I am at the thought of getting beyond the 7000l., for it is certain this sum will scarcely carry us to the three years, whereas an additional 1000l. would be amply sufficient. Pray see, then, what can be done, and make me quiet about this.
“I am now in the midst of bustle and annoyance—hiring and persuading men to go. I shall write again by the ship. On this occasion, you are the only person in England to whom I purpose writing, therefore make my kind regards to all my friends, and especially to those who have been active and are interested in our good cause.
“Yours ever,
“George Back.”
“King is very amiable, and will make a good voyageur.”
From Jack River, which falls from the east into Lake Winipic at its northern extremity, Captain Back would proceed to Cumberland House on the river Saskatchewan, where a supply of pemmican would be obtained, and the canoes exchanged for two boats. At this place, various articles would be supplied him, as presents for the Indians. Pemmican is made from the best flesh of the buffalo, cut into thin strips, and dried by the sun. It is then mashed into a sort of powder, and, being mixed with some fat of the animal, is packed as closely as possible into bags made of deerskin. By this means it is secured from the action of the atmosphere, and will keep good for more than a year. It is a nutritious, but not a very palatable kind of food, except where no other is at hand. The plan which Captain Back appears inclined to adopt, will then be, to proceed on alone in a light canoe through a series of small lakes and rivers, which will give him much trouble to pass over, until he reaches the Elk river, by which he will descend into Lake Athabasca—erroneously written “Athapescow” in the map. He will there arrive at Fort Chipewyan, another establishment of the Hudson Bay Company at its western extremity, where it was intended that he should receive a further supply of pemmican. It is this fort to which Captain Back alludes in his letter, where he says, that he will leave a guide to conduct the boats to his winter-quarters. Leaving the Athabasca lake, Captain Back would pass by the Slave river into the Slave lake, the furthest extent to which he would follow the former routes of Sir John Franklin.
We may now consider this enterprising officer and his party, as having reached the most interesting portion of their long and tedious journey; and we trust that the intelligence of Captain Ross’s safety may reach them in their present winter-quarters, somewhere near the Slave Lake, before they start on this the most arduous part of their journey, and thus timely prevent a waste of their resources in endeavouring to reach Fury beach. The safety of Captain Back and his party would now become a source of some uneasiness, were we not satisfied that he will take those precautions which his experience in that country will suggest. What his course may be in the ensuing summer, it is impossible to foresee. Were we to venture an opinion it would be, that he will find his way down the Great Fish River to Coronation Gulf, and from thence to Point Turn again. From thence he will continue along the shore of the arctic sea to the extreme point reached by Commander J. Ross,[2] and thus connect the parts now discovered with that which has been already completed to the westward as far as Point Beechey.
The adventures of Captain Ross and his party during their tedious and eventful absence, we have no doubt will form a most interesting narrative. The work, as well as the maps belonging to it, are in course of preparation, to take their place among those records of daring intrepidity displayed in the polar regions, that have now been more than equalled; and we hope that those rewards which were bestowed on some of the more fortunate of Captain Ross’s predecessors, may still be awaiting him, whose very existence but a few short days since was considered by some as doubtful, and by others as improbable. But it should not be forgotten in reference to former expeditions of this kind, that the present one has cost nothing to Government, and that the gallant leader not only ventured his life, but his property, in the cause he had espoused. Some more substantial reward than mere rank is therefore in justice due to one who has thus sacrificed all he possessed in his exertions to maintain that high name for enterprise and discovery, that signalizes his own among surrounding nations—a name that has been well earned in the arctic regions by the spirited perseverance of her bold and adventurous seamen.
[1] The land forming the western shore of Prince Regent Inlet was named North Somerset by Sir Edward Parry.
[2] We understand that this officer has been promoted since,his return.