Page:Royal Naval Biography Marshall sp4.djvu/344

  unpromising appearance, the whole of the western horizon, from north round to S.b.E., being completely covered with ice, consisting of heavy and extensive does, beyond which no indication of water was visible. The western coast of the inlet, however, trended much more to the westward than before, and no land was visible to the S.W., though the horizon was so clear in that quarter, that, if any had existed of moderate height, it might have been easily seen at this time, at the distance of 40 or 12 leagues. From these circumstances, the impression received at the time was, that the land, both on the eastern and western side of this inlet, would be one day found to consist of islands. As a fresh northerly breeze was drifting the ice rapidly towards Cape Kater, and there appeared to be no passage open between it and that point, I did not consider it prudent, tinder present circumstances, to run the ships down to the cape, or to attempt to force a passage through the ice, and therefore hauled to the wind, with the intention of examining a bay which was abreast of us, and to which I gave the name of Fitzgerald Bay.

“A boat from each ship was prepared to conduct this examination; but we found, on approaching the shore, that the bay was so filled with ice, as to render it impracticable to land. I therefore determined, as the season was fast advancing to a close, to lose no time in returning to the north-ward, in the hope of finding the channel between Prince Leopold’s Isles and Maxwell Bay more clear of ice than when we left it, in which case there could be little doubt of our effecting a passage to the westward. The distance which we sailed to the southward in this inlet was about 120 miles. Cape Kater being, by our observations, in lat. 71° 53' 30", long. 90° 03' 45". As we returned to the northward, we found that the ice had approached the eastern shore, leaving a much narrower channel than that by which we had entered; and in some places it stretched completely across to the land on this side, while the opposite coast was still as inaccessible as before.

“On the 10th, the weather was very thick, with snow; which was succeeded by fog and rain. The sun being obscured, we had no means of knowing the direction in which we were going, except that we knew the wind had been to the southward before the fog came on, and had found by experience that it always blew directly up or down the inlet, which enabled us to form a tolerably correct judgment of our course.”

Aug. 12th. – This being the anniversary of the birth-day of H.R.H. the Prince Regent, it naturally suggested to Captain Parry the propriety of honoring the large inlet, which he had been exploring, and in which he still was sailing, with the name of Prince Regent’s Inlet; and, speculating on its 