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one called the Isabella, of 385 tons, of which he was
appointed commander, and the other the Alexander,
of 252 tons, commanded by Lieutenant W. E. Parry.
These two ships commenced their expedition in
April 25, 1818. The directions given to Captain
Ross were, to explore Baffin's Bay, and search for a
north-west passage from it into the Frozen Ocean,
and thence into the Pacific; and to stimulate the
spirit of enterprise, parliament offered a reward of
£20,000 to the first vessel which should reach the
north pole and pass it.
In this voyage Ross and Parry sailed up the
eastern side of Davis' Strait and Baffin's Bay, and
returned by the western side. They entered Lan-
caster Sound, up which they proceeded a consider-
able way, until Ross and the officer of the watch
thought they saw "land round the bottom of the
bay, forming a chain of mountains connected with
those which extended along the north and south
sides; and under this impression, conceiving it use-
less to proceed further, the Isabella's course was
turned eastwards, and a signal made for her consort
to follow. But the Alexander, which was a slow-
sailing vessel, was considerably behind the Isabella;
Parry could see no mountains, or tokens of their ex-
istence ; and it was with wonder and disappointment
that he beheld the signal of his superior officer, and
was obliged to return. So fully, however, was Cap-
tain Ross impressed with the idea that Lancaster
Sound was in this way closed, that he laid down the
fancied high land, which he called the Croker Moun-
tains, in a chart. He returned to England in No-
vember, 1818, and in the following month he was
advanced to the rank of post-captain. In 1819 he
published "A Voyage of Discovery, made under the
orders of the Admiralty, in his Majesty's Ships Isa-
bella and Alexander, for the Purpose of Exploring
Baffin's Bay, and Inquiring into the Probability of a
North-west Passage, 4to.
It will thus be seen that the enterprise was a failure,
but Lieutenant Parry was of opinion that the failure
had been occasioned by a mistake. Although this
opinion was privately expressed, it soon reached the
ears of the admiralty; and as the lieutenant's know-
ledge of nautical science was deservedly high, his re-
marks compelled attention. The result was a second
attempt for the discovery of a north-west passage,
under the command of Parry himself, and two ships,
the Hecla and Griper, were repaired and strengthened
at Deptford for this especial service. The expedi-
tion set sail on the nth of May, 1819, and on reach-
ing the entrance to Lancaster Sound, the ships were
boldly pushed through the masses of ice that nearly
blocked it up, forced into the sound, and even
through the place of the Croker Mountains, which
were found to have no existence; and on the 4th of
September, 1819, having crossed the meridian of
110° W. long, in 74° 44' 20" N. lat., the bold enter-
prisers were entitled to the reward of £5000 offered
by our government to any of his majesty's subjects
who should go thus far to the westward within the
Arctic circle. Lieutenant Parry gave the name of
Barrow's Strait to the continuation of Lancaster
Sound, and discovered the north side of Melville
Island, the north side of Baring Island, Prince
Regent's Inlet, and the Wellington Channel; and
after many hardships, dangers, and delays, returned
to England in November, 1820. His success was
distinguished by honours and rewards, and his ac-
count, entitled the Journal of a Voyage for the Dis-
covery of a North-west Passage, 4to, 1821, with maps
and engravings, was published by authority of the
lords-commissioners of the admiralty.
This success of another in an enterprise for which
he had prepared the way only strengthened the
emulation of Captain Ross, and after three subse-
quent voyages of discovery by Captain Parry—the
last of which, an attempt in 1827 to reach the
north pole, proved a failure—our navigator of the
frozen seas presented to the admiralty the plan of
another voyage of Arctic discovery. But the recent
failures of such attempts had cooled the enthusiasm
of their lordships, and his proposal was not accepted.
But what government refused, a friend of Captain
Ross was willing to undertake in supplying the
means of such an adventure: this was Mr. (after-
wards Sir) Felix Booth, at that time Sheriff of
London. This munificent citizen procured and
fitted up a steamship, the Victory; and to make
success more assured, it was provided with a newly
invented and patented engine, which could waft a
ship with double ease and speed, and carry her any-
where. But when this "execrable machinery," as
Ross justly called it, was put to the test, the sailors
wished it at the bottom of the Thames, and an
ordinary steam-engine in its place. Captain Ross
had for his lieutenant Commander Clark Ross, his
nephew, who had accompanied his uncle in his first
expedition, and afterwards sailed with Sir Edward
Parry in all his voyages to the Polar Seas. The
particular attempt of the present undertaking was to
decide the practicability of a new passage which had
been confidently said to exist by Prince Regent
Inlet. To the Victory was joined an attendant
vessel of sixteen tons supplied by government, and
named the Krusenstern. On the 24th of May,
1829, the Victory, and its little attendant the
Krusenstern, left the Thames to proceed upon their
voyage.
And truly this was one of the most hazardous
voyages ever undertaken since the ship Argo was
launched with its crew of demigods. Captain Ross
had calculated that it would occupy at least two
years, and had fixed upon 1832 as the year of his
return; but when that time had elapsed he did not
reappear, no tidings had been heard of him, and it
was mournfully concluded that he and all his brave
company had fallen victims to the inclemency of the
Arctic region. But they were alive the while, and
struggling against nature itself to effect the desired
discovery, and return home that they might make it
known to the world. Of this long and dismal four
years' exploration our limits can only afford a very
few notices; but this is the less to be regretted, as
Captain Ross published in 1835 a full account of the
whole, under the title of a "Narrative of a Second
Voyage in Search of a North-west Passage, and of a
Residence in the Arctic Regions during the Years
1829, 1830, 1831, 1832, 1833; by Sir John Ross,
C.B., &c., Captain in the Royal Navy; including
the Reports of Commander (now Captain) James
Clark Ross, R.N., F.R.S., F.L.S., &c., and the
Discovery of the Northern Magnetic Pole," 4to, with
maps and plates.
Using partly her sails, and partly her all but use-
less machinery, the Victory, accompanied by the
Krusenstern, entered Davis' Straits on July 5, 1829,
after a voyage of six weeks. Expecting to find a
north-west passage through Prince Regent Inlet,
Captain Ross entered the inlet on the 12th of
August, and discovered the wreck of the Fury, one
of Captain Parry's vessels that had been abandoned
in his Arctic voyage of 1824. Taking from the
wreck such stores as were necessary, Captain Ross
proceeded further down the inlet, until, on the 8th
of October, his ships were frozen up in Felix Har-
bour, on the west side of the Gulf of Boothia. Here
they remained ice-bound until the 17th of Septem-