Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea, in the Years 1819-20-21-22, Volume 1 | Page 7

the
outward projecting points of Hoy and Pomona, we entered at once into
the Atlantic, and commenced our voyage to Hudson's Bay--having the
Eddystone, Wear, and Harmony, Missionary brig, in company.

The comparisons of the chronometers this day indicated that Arnold's
Nos. 2148 and 2147, had slightly changed their rates since they had
been brought on board; fortunately the rate of the former seems to have
increased nearly in the same ratio as the other has lost, and the mean
longitude will not be materially affected.
Being now fairly launched into the Atlantic, I issued a general
memorandum for the guidance of the officers during the prosecution of
the service on which we were engaged, and communicated to them the
several points of information that were expected from us by my
instructions. I also furnished them with copies of the signals which had
been agreed upon between Lieutenant Parry and myself, to be used in
the event of our reaching the northern coast of America, and falling in
with each other.
At the end of the month of June, our progress was found to have been
extremely slow, owing to a determined N.W. wind and much sea. We
had numerous birds hovering round the ship; principally fulmars
(procellaria glacialis,) and shearwaters, (procellaria puffinus,) and not
unfrequently saw shoals of grampusses sporting about, which the
Greenland seamen term finners from their large dorsal fin. Some
porpoises occasionally appeared, and whenever they did, the crew were
sanguine in their expectation of having a speedy change in the wind,
which had been so vexatiously contrary, but they were disappointed in
every instance.
Thursday, July 1.--The month of July set in more favourably; and,
aided by fresh breezes, we advanced rapidly to the westward, attended
daily by numerous fulmars and shearwaters. The Missionary brig had
parted company on the 22d of June. We passed directly over that part
of the ocean where the "Sunken Land of Buss" is laid down in the old,
and continued in the Admiralty charts. Mr. Bell, the commander of the
Eddystone, informed me, that the pilot who brought his ship down the
Thames told him that he had gained soundings in twelve feet
somewhere hereabout; and I am rather inclined to attribute the very
unusual and cross sea we had in this neighbourhood to the existence of
a bank, than to the effect of a gale of wind which we had just before

experienced; and I cannot but regret that the commander of the ship did
not try for soundings at frequent intervals.
By the 25th July we had opened the entrance of Davis' Straits, and in
the afternoon spoke the Andrew Marvell, bound to England with a
cargo of fourteen fish. The master informed us that the ice had been
heavier this season in Davis' Straits than he had ever recollected, and
that it lay particularly close to the westward, being connected with the
shore to the northward of Resolution Island, and extending from thence
within a short distance of the Greenland coast; that whales had been
abundant, but the ice so extremely cross, that few could be killed. His
ship, as well as several others, had suffered material injury, and two
vessels had been entirely crushed between vast masses of ice in latitude
74° 40' N., but the crews were saved. We inquired anxiously, but in
vain, for intelligence respecting Lieutenant Parry, and the ships under
his command; but as he mentioned that the wind had been blowing
strong from the northward for some time, which would, probably, have
cleared Baffin's Bay of ice, we were disposed to hope favourably of his
progress.
The clouds assumed so much the appearance of icebergs this evening,
as to deceive most of the passengers and crew; but their imaginations
had been excited by the intelligence we had received from the Andrew
Marvell, that she had only parted from a cluster of them two days
previous to our meetings.
On the 27th, being in latitude 57° 44' 21" N., longitude 47° 31' 14" W.,
and the weather calm we tried for soundings, but did not reach the
bottom. The register thermometer was attached to the line just above
the lead, and is supposed to have descended six hundred and fifty
fathoms. A well-corked bottle was also fastened to the line, two
hundred fathoms above the lead, and went down four hundred and fifty
fathoms. The change in temperature, shewn by the register thermometer
during the descent, was from 52° to 40.5; and it stood at the latter point,
when taken out of the tin case. The temperature of the water brought up
in the bottle was 41°, being half a degree higher at four hundred and
fifty than at six hundred and fifty fathoms, and four degrees colder than

the water at the surface,