Sir John Ross

CAREER SUICIDE

In 1818 Ross was put in charge of two ships to sail to the north of Baffin Island to see if it were possible to find the elusive Northwest Passage.  This was the first of what was to be a long string of British naval expeditions in search of this northerly route around North America to reach the Orient.  Ross left England in April 1818 and reached the west coast of Greenland in the middle of June.  In his initial explorations along the west coast of Greenland, he made the European discovery of Melville Bay, where he encountered a theretofore unknown band of Eskimos, whom he dubbed the "Arctic Highlanders".  He also reported finding meteorites at Cape York.

There are three straits leading out of the northern part of Baffin Bay.  One, Smith Sound, goes to the north separating Ellesmere Island from Greenland.  Ross initially headed in this direction but was forced to turn back.  He missed the second exit, Jones Sound, and headed into the most southerly one, Lancaster Sound.  In fact, Ross had hit on the right way as Lancaster Sound is the only practical way west.

Ross sailed into Lancaster Sound for about 50 miles.  Then, he claimed to see mountains, which he named the "Croker Mountains" surrounding the strait and became convinced that it was a bay – that is, it did not lead anywhere.  The only problem was that there were no such mountains, and no one else on his ships saw them.  Ross insisted, however, and returned to England.

Ross's description of the Croker Mountains was disputed by his second-in-command, Sir Edward Parry, and they became involved in a public argument on their return to England.  As a result, Parry was sent out on an expedition to Lancaster Sound in 1819 and returned with the news that it led west in 1820.  Ross's professional reputation suffered after news of Parry's success reached England.

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