ound that the north land was connected to the south by two ridges of
high land, 15 miles in breadth, but, taking into account a chain of
fresh water lakes, which occupied the valleys between, the dry land
which actually separates the two oceans is only five miles. This
extraordinary isthmus was subsequently visited by myself, when
Commander Ross proceeded minutely to survey the sea coast to the
southward of the isthmus leading to the westward, which he succeeded
in tracing to the 99th degree, or to 150 miles of Cape Turnagain of
Franklin, to which point the land, after leading him into the 70th
degree of north latitude, ended directly; during the same journey he
also surveyed 30 miles of the adjacent coast, or that to the north of
the isthmus, which, by also taking a westerly direction, forming the
termination of the western sea into a gulf. The rest of this season
was employed in tracing the sea coast south of the isthmus leading to
the eastward, which was done so as to leave no doubt that it joined,
as the natives had previously informed us, to Ockullee, and the land
forming Repulse Bay. It was also determined that there was no passage
to the westward for 30 miles to the northward of our position.

This summer, like that of 1818, was beautifully fine, but extremely
unfavorable for navigation, and our object being now to try a more
northern latitude, we waited with anxiety for the disruption of the
ice, but in vain, and our utmost endeavors did not succeed in
retracing our steps more than four miles, and it was not until the
middle of November that we succeeded in cutting the vessel into a
place of security, which we named "Sheriff's Harbor." I may here
mention that we named the newly discovered continent to the southward
"Boothia," as also the isthmus, the peninsula to the north, and the
eastern sea, after my worthy friend, Felix Booth, Esq., the truly
patriotic citizen of London, who, in the most disinterested manner,
enabled me to equip this expedition in superior style.

The last winter was in temperature nearly equal to the mean of what
had been experienced on the four preceding voyages, but the winters of
1830 and 1831 set in with a degree of violence hitherto beyond
record--the thermometer sunk to 92 degrees below the freezing point,
and the average of the year was 10 degrees below the preceding; but
notwithstanding the severity of the summer, we travelled across the
country to the west sea by a chain of lakes,