Three Voyages for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and Narrative of an Attempt to Reach the North Pole, Volume 2

In Short

This volume completes the record of Sir William Edward Parry’s second and fourth polar expeditions, tracking his Royal Navy crews as they search for a Northwest Passage and attempt a record-breaking push to the North Pole. Through grueling sledge journeys, icebound blockades, and prolonged wintering alongside native Inuit communities, the narrative captures the sheer physical strain of Arctic exploration. It endures as a cornerstone of polar literature because of its rigorous scientific detail, candid descriptions of survival tactics, and respectful observation of the Indigenous peoples whose survival strategies proved essential to Northern survival.

The Story

The narrative opens with Captain Parry’s second expedition attempting to push westward through the Arctic archipelago. Stopped by an impenetrable barrier of fixed ice near the Strait of the Fury and Hecla, the crews of the HMS Fury and HMS Hecla find themselves forced into prolonged winter quarters at Igloolik. Rather than enduring a passive retreat, Parry directs multiple overland and boat excursions to survey the surrounding landmasses, survey inlets, and determine whether any ice-free channel communicates with the Polar Sea.

During the long months in the ice, the British sailors establish steady contact with local Esquimaux (Inuit) tribes. These daily interactions become a cornerstone of winter life, offering both mutual aid and constant social variety. Parry and his officers document indigenous hunting techniques, geography, and customs, while organizing literacy schools and structured entertainments on board the ships to preserve crew morale and prevent scurvy.

As spring arrives, the officers renew efforts to break through the frozen straits, but relentless ice conditions and structural damage to the vessels thwart their goals. Realizing that remaining another season risks catastrophic supplies shortages and declining crew health, Parry orders the ships to return to England. The vessels endure harrowing open-sea gales before reaching home, where the officers undergo standard naval inquiry for the loss of gear and stores, receiving complete acquittals.

The latter portion of the volume transitions to Parry’s bold 1827 attempt to reach the North Pole from Spitzbergen. Utilizing specially constructed boat-sledges designed to be hauled across ice floes and rowed through open lanes of water, Parry’s team leaves the Hecla anchored in a secure harbor and heads north over the polar pack.

This phase becomes an exhausting battle against nature. The expedition encounters heavy rain, thick fog, treacherous hummocks, and melt-water lakes covering the floes. Making progress requires immense physical labor—hauling heavy boats over jagged ice ridges only to find the southerly drift of the ice mass counteracting their northward gains. Realizing the impossibility of reaching the Pole under such conditions, Parry turns the expedition around. After forty-eight days living continuously on the shifting ice, the party successfully navigates back to open water, reaches their land caches, and rejoins their ship to return to England.

How It Unfolds

Stalled at the strait The expedition reaches the eastern entrance of the Strait of the Fury and Hecla, only to find further progress blocked by a massive, unbroken barrier of fixed ice.

Dispatching the overland parties To verify local geography, Parry sends out several land and boat detachments—including parties under Captain Lyon and Lieutenants Palmer and Reid—to map the surrounding coastlines and search for open water.

Wintering at Igloolik Forced into winter quarters, the crew establishes regular contact with local Inuit communities, setting up shipboard evening schools for the sailors and holding monthly themed masquerades to maintain morale through the polar darkness.

Abandonment of the passage effort Sustained ice pressure, changing weather, and structural strain on the Fury convince Parry that remaining in the region is no longer safe, prompting the decision to lighten the ships and sail back to Great Britain.

Trekking across the polar ice Years later, during his North Pole expedition, Parry launches two specialized boat-sledges across the floating ice pack north of Spitzbergen, forcing the crew to haul heavy equipment over ridges and paddle through freezing open lanes.

Return to dry land After nearly seven weeks on the ice floe, facing heavy rains, melting ice, and adverse southward drift, the party safely navigates back to Little Table Island and secures passage home.

The People

Captain Sir William Edward Parry The commander of the expedition, Parry is driven by a absolute sense of naval duty, scientific curiosity, and responsibility for his men. Facing impenetrable ice fields and severe weather, he remains pragmatic, choosing the safety and health of his crew over reckless perseverance when a passage proves impossible.

Captain George Francis Lyon Parry’s second-in-command, Lyon leads crucial, exhausting overland sledge journeys across rocky terrain and frozen creeks to cross-reference native maps with physical observations. He acts as an active liaison with the local Inuit tribes, frequently observing and recording their customs.

Toolemak and Iligliuk Prominent Inuit guides and informants whose detailed geographic knowledge and charts prove vital to the expedition's mapping attempts. Their community provides the British crews with essential insights into polar survival, seal hunting, and local geography.

Mr. Hooper The ship’s purser on the Hecla, Hooper voluntarily establishes and runs the shipboard school during the long winter nights, cultivating literacy and high moral discipline among the lower-deck seamen.

In Its Own Voice

"The daily visits of the Esquimaux to the ships throughout the winter afforded, both to officers and men, a fund of constant variety and never-failing amusement, which no resources of our own could possibly have furnished."

Parry notes how vital community interaction was during the dark, motionless months in the ice.

"The sound is made to proceed from the throat in a way much resembling ventriloquism, to which art it is indeed an approach."

Parry describes a traditional Inuit vocal performance demonstrated by Iligliuk inside a snow hut.

"A light air springing up from the N.W., we again launched the boats, and at eight A.M. finally quitted the ice, after having taken up our abode upon it for forty-eight days."

Parry reflects on the conclusion of their harrowing, multi-week trek across the open polar ice pack.

What It's Really About

Beneath the practical logbook entries of wind headings, ice thickness, and barometric pressure lies a meditation on the limits of human endurance against an indifferent environment. The text contrasts the rigid organizational structures of the Royal Navy with the dynamic adaptability of the native Arctic inhabitants.

Parry's writings highlight how survival in extreme environments relies less on military force than on meticulous planning, technical improvisation, high crew morale, and cross-cultural learning. The journal ultimately questions the feasibility of navigating the high Arctic using 19th-century technology, presenting a realistic picture of exploration where survival and scientific record-keeping themselves constitute success.

Why Read It Today

Readers drawn to real-world survival narratives, maritime history, and polar exploration will find this account absorbing. It offers an unvarnished look at the realities of early Arctic voyages, stripped of romanticized heroism. Parry writes with clear, disciplined precision, detailing everything from the mechanics of snow-blindness and ice-anchoring to the precise design of toggle-harpoons and insulated boots.

The book does present challenges typical of 19th-century naval journals, including dense meteorological logs, archaic geographic spellings, and period-typical terminology when describing Indigenous populations. However, Parry’s genuine admiration for Inuit ingenuity and his commitment to his crew’s well-being bring warmth to the prose. What remains with the reader is the vivid atmosphere of the far North: the sound of ice grinding against wooden hulls, the eerie quiet of polar nights broken by shipboard masquerades, and the sheer grit of men hauling heavy wooden boats across a shifting wilderness of ice and fog.