AN OLD MYSTERY

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 699, 27 November 1933, Page 2

AN OLD MYSTERY

NORTH-WEST PASSAGpCENTENARY OF JOHN ROSS' * ATTEM PT AT DISCOYERY. ___ SATISFIED LINK A MYTH. The cen'tenary was celehrated oh lOctober 18 last of John Ross' epic attempt to discover the North-West Passage. Instead of discovering the elusive liiik between the North Atlantic and the Pacific, the search for which had previously caused the death -of many of our bravest navigators, S-ir John arrived back in England in the autumn of i833, after sniferirig undescrihaJhle hardships and privations in the Arctic for over four years, with definite proof that the idea of the existence of such a link between the two great oceans was & myth. OBut he did something much more important than that, remarks the London Ohserver. He brought information of great scientific importance. He was able to tell the world that he had located the North Magnetic Pole, and that h'e had discovered two important stretches of land — j afterwards named I^ing WliifB^irm^ Land in honour of' the reigning mohach, and Boothia Felix after Sir Felix Booth, the scientist-distiller, who financed the .expedition — and that he had planted the British' flag there. Ross, who was the son of the Rev. Andrew Ross, of Inch (Wligtonshire), entered the Royal Navy in 1786, when he was only ten years old. Later he became a captain in the Danish fleet, and in 1812 was promoted commander. He was in every way ideally suited for the role of an Arctic explorer, for h'e combined splendid physique with great hravery and scientific knowledge, and he was a born leader of men. First Attempt. He made his first serious attempt to solve the mystery of the NorthWest Passage in 1818. On that oecasion he commanded an expedition fitted out by the Admiralty, but failed to bring back any information of scientific or geographical importance. The Admiralty was disappointed in him, so disappointed, in fact, that when, later, he asked to take another expedition to the Arctic, the officials would not accede to the request. But Ross had made up his mind. If the North-West Passage existed he was determined to find it. As the Admiralty would not help him, he sought the aid of Sir Felix (then Mr.) Booth, who at that tinie was Sheriff of London. .Sir Felix, although deeply interested, at first refused to finance the expedition. This was chiefly because a reward of £20,000 had been offered to .anyone who established the existence of a North-Wfest Passage, and he was afraid that people might regard his aid as "speculation." Later, however, the reward was withdrawn, and Mr. Booth attached himself wholeheartedly to the task of fitting out the expedition. He equipped two ships, the John and the Victory, at a cost of nearly £20,000. Later, however, the crew of the John mutinied, and the ship was sold for £1800. The Victory. Captain Ross was nominated commander of the expedition, and in 1829 the Victory set sail from Woolwich on one of the greatest and most hazardous adventures in history, taking her into uncharted regions, and in the course of the next four years leading to the death of three members of her gallant crew. The steam power of the Victory emibodied a wholly new principle. It combined every advantage of steam power with the perfect capabilities of a sailing vessel. Proceeding up Baffin's B,ay, the gallant little band of adventurers headed for Prince Regent's Inlet. Frequent halts were called in oi'der to enable Ross to land and take possession of various tracts in the name of Great Britain. Penetrating as far ,as 70 degrees north' and 90 degrees west lon'gitude, they at last, in January, 1830, discovered a tribe of natives who had never before seen a white man. From these people Captain Ross learned that the Atlantic and the Pacific were definitely sep.arated by a oiarrow stretch of land. Pressing on with their search, the expedition at last reached a. spot wh'ere the compass refused to behave in a rational manner. Whiehever way the party sailed round the spot the compass turned horizontally towards it. At first Ross was puzzled ' until, eventually, he realised that he must have reached the North Mag- ' netic Pole. The search' continued, but it soon became apparent that a northern connecting' link between the two great oceans did not, in fact, exist. Two more years passed. In May, 1832, after having wintered in Felix Harhour, Ross Was convineed thiat there was, indeed no passage, and accordingly he wrote to the Admiralty stating that he had discovered a "vast number of inland rivers and lakes, and the undeniable establishment of th'e fact that the North-East ' Poiht of Amefica extended to the 74th degree of latitude." In October, 1833, after four years' absence, the expedition returned •'home. It had cost the lives of three ' members of the crew, and had involved Ross In considerable financial Hoss, but its results were of utmost scientific importance. The proof that the North-Wlest ' Passage was a myth — '"We found land I wbere we expected water," said Ross ' — isolved a mystery that had baffied the scientific and geographical world 'for over 200 years. The other discoveries of the voyajge, too, although ' less momentous, have nevdrtheless since proved to be of great imporjt- ' ance. For his achievement, Captain Ross later received a knighth'ood, and for 'his generosity in finaneing- the ex- ' peditioaii Mr. Booth was created a baronet.