ABSTRACT
CAPTAIN Sm Enw.A.RD PARRY remarks :1 "In revisiting many of the spots discovered by our early British navigators in the Polar regions, and in traversing the same tracks which they
originallypursued,Ihavenowandthen,inthecourseofmy Narratives,ftadoccasiontospeakofthefaithfulnessoftheir accounts,andtheaccuracyoftheirhydrographicalinformation.Ishould,however,hedoingbutimperfectjusticeto thememoryoftheseextraordinarymen,aswellastomyown senseoftheirmerits,ifIpermittedthepresentopportunity topasswithoutofferingastillmoreexplicitanddecidedtestimonytothevalueoftheirlabours.TheaccountsofHudson, Baffin,andDavisaretheproductionsofmenofnocommon stamp.Theyevidentlyrelatethingsjustastheysawthem, dwellingonsuchnauticalandhydrographicalnoticesas, evenatthisday,arevaluabletoanyseamangoingoverthe sameground;anddescribingeveryappearanceofnature, whetherontheland,thesea,ortheice,withadegreeof faithfulnesswhichcanaloneperhapsbedulyappreciatedby thosewhosucceedtheminthesameregions,andundersimilarcircumstances........Itis,indeed,impossibleforanyone, personallyacquaintedwiththephenomenaoftheicyseas,to perusetheplainandunpretendingnarrativesofthesenavigators,withoutrecognizing,inalmosteveryeventtheyrelate, somecircumstancefamiliartohisownrecollectionandexperience,andmeetingwithnumberlessremarl{swhichbear mostunequivocallyaboutthemtheimpressoftruth.
