engaged, seized the opportunity of descending into the state-room, and of purloining Captain Ross's best telescope, a case of razors, and a pair of scissors, which he artfully concealed in his tunic, rejoining the party and the amusements, as if nothing had happened. He did not, however, escape detection, for the ship's steward had witnessed the theft, and, now charging him with it, made him return all the articles he had stolen.

Captain Ross gave the name of Arctic Highlands to the country inhabited by these Indians, and that of Prince Regent's Bay, to the place where the vessels had anchored. It is situated in the north-east corner of Baffin's Bay, between the latitudes of 76 and 79 degrees north; and is bounded, towards the south, by an immense barrier of mountains covered with ice. The interior of the country presents an irregular group of mountainous land, declining gradually towards the sea, which it reaches in an irregular manner, the cliffs ranging from five hundred to one thousand feet in height. This tract was almost covered with ice, and appeared to be impassable.

On the surface of the land, above the cliffs, a scanty appearance of vegetation, of a yellowish green colour, and, in some places, of a heathy brown, was to be seen; and, at the foot of the cliffs, similar traces of a wretched verdure were also apparent. Among the cliffs were seen deep ravines filled with snow, through which the marks of torrents were perceptible. These cliffs run out, in many places, into capes, and are skirted by islands, which, at this time, were clear of ice, and consequently were washed by the waves. Many species of wild-fowl were seen.

The vegetable productions of this country may be said to consist of heath, moss, and coarse grass. There is nothing like cultivation, nor did it appear that the natives used any kind of vegetable food. The moss is in great abundance: it is six or eight inches in length, and, when dried and immersed in oil or blubber, it

serves for a wick, and produces a comfortable fire for cooking and warmth, as well as for light.

The whale-fishery might, undoubtedly, be pursued with great success, in this bay and its vicinity. The whales are here not only large and numerous, but, probably from their having been undisturbed, they are tame, and easy to be approached.

The dress of the Arctic Highlanders, as Captain Ross has denominated the people of this country, consists of three pieces, which are all comprised in the name of tunic. The upper piece is made of seal-skin, with the hair outside; and is open near the top, so as to admit the wearer's face. The hood part is neatly trimmed with fox's-skin, and is made to fall back on the shoulders, or to cover the head, as may be required. The next piece of dress, which scarcely reaches to the knee, is made of bear's or dog's skin. The boots are of sealskin, with the hair inward. In the winter this people have a garment of bear-skin, which they put on as a cloak.

The Arctic Highlanders are of a dirty copper colour. Their stature is about five feet: their bodies are corpulent, and their features much resemble those of the Esquimaux. Their cheeks are full and round. Their lips are thick, their eyes are small, and their hair is black, coarse, long, and lank. These people appear to be filthy in the extreme. The faces, hands, and bodies of such as were seen by the voyagers, were covered with oil and dirt; and they seemed never to have washed themselves since they were born: even their hair was matted with filth.

Some attempts were made to ascertain the religious notions of the Arctic Highlanders, but these seem to have proved unsatisfactory; and, perhaps, from the inability of Sacheuse to question them on such a subject. They had a king, whom they represented to be a strong man, very good, and greatly beloved. His house was described to be of stone, and nearly as large as the ship; and they said that every man paid to him a portion of

all which they caught or found. They could not be made to understand what was meant by war, nor did the voyagers see, among them, any warlike weapons. It is peculiarly deserving of remark, that these Indians, who derive much of their subsistence from the water, have no canoes or vessels of any description, in which they can go afloat; nor do they appear to have any names by which boats or canoes are designated. It is true that they have no wood for the construction of floating vessels; but such might, without difficulty, be constructed of bone covered with skins.

On the 16th of August, the ice had become sufficiently open, to permit the passage of the vessels to the northward; and they consequently proceeded on their voyage.

In these high latitudes, a kind of marine birds, called Little Awks (alca alle) were observed in countless multitudes, and afforded to the sailors, a grateful supply of fresh food. With three muskets, no fewer than one thousand two hundred and sixty-three of them were killed in one day; and, of this number, ninety-three were brought down by one discharge of the muskets.

When the ships were in latitude 75 degrees 54 minutes, the snow on the face of the cliffs was observed to be stained of a deep crimson colour. Some of this snow being collected in buckets, it was found to resemble, in appearance, raspberry ice-cream: when dissolved, the liquor seemed not unlike muddy port-wine; and the sediment appeared, through a microscope, to be composed of dark-red globules. Some of this sediment was brought to England, and it is generally supposed to have been a vegetable substance, the seed, probably, of some species of fungus; or, perhaps, to have been itself a minute kind of fungus.

On the 18th of August, the ships passed Cape Dudley Digges, six miles northward of which a majestic glacier, or mass of ice, was remarked to occupy a space of four miles square, extending one mile into the sea, and rising to the height of at least a hundred feet.

On the same day the vessels passed Wolstenholme and Whale Sounds.

About midnight of the 19th, Sir Thomas Smith's Sound was distinctly seen. Captain Ross considered the bottom of this sound to have been eighteen leagues distant; but its entrance, he says, was completely blocked up by ice. On the 21st, the ships stood over to explore an opening, supposed to have been that called Alderman Jones's Sound; but Captain Ross says that the ice and fog prevented a near approach.

The night of the 24th of August was remarkable for having been the first on which the sun had been observed to set, since the 7th of June. The land was now seen to take a southerly direction; and the ships proceeded along it, as near as they could conveniently approach for the floating masses of ice.

On the 30th they entered a wide opening in the land, the Sir James Lancaster's Sound of Baffin. On each side of this opening was a chain of high mountains. The sea was perfectly free from ice, and the vessels proceeded on a westward course for several leagues. The weather had, for some time, been hazy; but, on its clearing up, Captain Ross states that a range of mountains about twenty-four miles distant, were seen to occupy the centre of the inlet. To these he gave the name of Croker Mountains, and, imagining that no passage existed through them, he returned into the open sea, and, not long afterwards, sailed for England.

Twenty-sixth Day's Instruction.

DAVIS'S STRAIT AND BAFFIN'S BAY
CONCLUDED.

THE accounts that had been given by Captain Ross, particularly respecting the apparent mountains, named by him Croker Mountains, across Sir James Lancaster's Sound, not proving either conclusive or satisfactory, the Lords of the Admiralty ordered two ships, the Hecla and Griper, to be prepared for a further voyage of discovery in Baffin's Bay. The command of these vessels, as already stated, was given to Captain Parry, who, in the previous expedition, had been second in command under Captain Ross. It was one important part of his instructions, that he should advance to the northward, as far as the opening into Lancaster's Sound; that he should explore the bottom of that Sound, and, if possible, pass through it to Behring's Strait. The number of men in both the vessels was ninety-four; and many of them were those who had accompanied Captain Ross.

Narrative of CAPTAIN PARRY'S Voyage for the Discovery of a North-West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.

CAPTAIN PARRY arrived at the entrance into Lancaster's Sound, on the 30th of July, 1819; and, this day, saw no fewer than eighty-two whales. Some of the officers and men landed at Possession Bay, and recognized many objects which they had seen there, when with Captain Ross. The tracks of human feet were observed upon the banks of a stream. These at first excited much surprise; but, on examination, they were discovered to have been made by the shoes of some of the same party, eleven months before.