we deposited a letter and a bag of pemmican, in case he should come at a
later period, and that his party should be in want of provision. In the
vicinity of the Red River, we met Barbue, the Chief of the Loucheux, and
two or three families, who seemed in a sorry condition from want of
food, the water being too low for fishing. The chief appeared very
anxious to communicate some intelligence, which he evidently considered
important, but we could not understand him. We learned afterwards at the
fort, that it related to the death of a chief by violence on the sea
coast; this had given rise to a rumour of the death of myself, and
afterwards of Dr. Richardson, which occasioned us, for a time, much
anxiety. The weather, on this and several days, was remarkably fine;
berries of various kinds were very abundant on the banks, and quite
ripe. [Sidenote: Thursday, 7th.] By the aid of the tracking line, with
the occasional use of the oars and sails, we proceeded up the river at a
quick rate, and reached Fort Good Hope, at half-past four on the 7th. In
consequence of the above-mentioned rumour, I requested Mr. Bell, the
gentleman in charge of the fort, to despatch two of the Loucheux as
quickly as possible to the eastern mouth of the river, in order to gain
any information the Esquimaux could give regarding Dr. Richardson's
party; and, that the messengers might not be delayed by hunting on the
way, I left a bag of pemmican for their use. We were sorry to learn that
there was some apprehension of a serious quarrel arising between the
upper and lower Loucheux, in consequence of one of Barbue's sons having
killed his wife, a woman of the latter tribe.

[Sidenote: Friday, 8th.] We quitted Fort Good Hope at noon on the 8th,
arrived at the entrance of Bear Lake River on the 16th, and on the 21st
reached Fort Franklin, where we had the happiness of meeting our friends
in safety. [Sidenote: Thursday, 21st.] The eastern detachment had
arrived on the 1st of September, after a most successful voyage; and Dr.
Richardson being anxious to extend his geological researches, as far as
the season would permit, had gone in a canoe to the Great Slave Lake,
having previously sent a report of his proceedings, to meet me at Fort
Good Hope, in case of our being obliged to return by the Mackenzie; but
the bearer of them passed us without being seen. Having read Mr.
Kendall's journal, I drew up a brief account of the proceedings of both
parties for the information of His Majesty's Government, and transmitted
it by canoe, to Slave Lake on the following morning.

The distance travelled in the three months of our absence from Fort
Franklin, amounted to two thousand and forty-eight statute miles, of
which six hundred and ten were through parts not previously discovered.

I cannot close this account of our sea voyage without expressing the
deep obligation I feel to Lieutenant Back for his cordial co-operation,
and for his zealous and unwearied assiduity during its progress. Beside
the daily delineation of the coast in the field book, the service is
indebted to him for numerous drawings of scenery, as well as of the
natives; and for an interesting collection of plants. My warmest thanks
are likewise due to the men of my party, who met every obstacle with an
ardent desire to surmount it, and cheerfully exerted themselves to the
utmost of their power. Their cool, steady conduct is the more
commendable, as the sea navigation was entirely novel to the whole,
except the seamen Duncan and Spinks, and Hallom, the corporal of
Marines. The Canadian voyagers, Felix and Vivier, first saw the ocean on
this occasion.

The following Chapters contain the narrative of the proceedings of Dr.
Richardson in his own words; and I embrace this opportunity of conveying
my sincere thanks to him, to Mr. Kendall, and to their respective crews.
I may be allowed to bear my testimony to the union of caution, talent,
and enterprise in the former, which enabled him to conduct, with
singular success, an arduous service of a kind so foreign from his
profession and ordinary pursuits; and to the science and skill, combined
with activity, of Mr. (now Lieutenant) Kendall, which must heighten the
character he has already obtained for general ability and energy in his
profession. I must not omit to state, that these officers describe the
conduct of their crews to have been excellent.

_ABSTRACT of the Mean Temperature for each Day during the Voyage along
the Sea Coast west of the Mackenzie, and on the return to Bear Lake._

  1826. Daily
  Date.  Mean  Wind and Weather.                Situation.
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  July.  degs.
     1   52.8  NNW, WNW, moderate, gloomy       Fort Good Hope
     2   58.3  West, fresh, clear               } Mackenzie River,
     3   50.3  WNW, fresh, clear                } betwn lat. 67 deg.
     4   55.8  West, SSW, N, light, gloomy      } 28 min., & 60 deg.
     5   53.7  SW, NE, moderate, gloomy, foggy  } 53 min. N., longitude
     6   45.1  NNW, ENE, fresh, moderate, rain  } 130-1/2 deg. &
     7   41.6  SE, moderate, clear              } 136-1/2 deg. W.
     8 } Not                                    Mouth of the
       } regist'd.                              Mackenzie.
     9 } Thermom.    ENE, strong, fog and rain
    10 } stolen by                              } Between the
    11 } Esquimaux.                             } Mackenzie &
    12   51.6  EbyN. fresh, gloomy              } Herschel Isld.
    13   53.3  Variable, fog and rain           } lat 68 deg. 53 min. &
    14   50.5  Calm, rain, ENE, moderate, clear } 60 deg. 34 min. N.,
    15   48.6  Calm, clear, NW, moderate, foggy } long. 136 deg. 19. min
    16   47.3  SSE, moderate, snow, fog         } & 139 deg. 5 min. W.
    17   44.8  NW, North, moderate, hazy        Herschel Island.
    18   43.6  NW, moderate, clear              }
    19   43.4  NW, moderate, heavy rain and fog }
    20   39.3  NW, fresh, fog                   }
    21   51.3  East, SE, clear                  }
    22   58.5  SE, light, clear                 } Between Icy Reef &
    23   51.6  West, calm, East, clear          } Herschel Island,
    24   45.6  Calm, variable, clear            } latitude 69 deg. 34
    25   42.0  West, light, calm, foggy         } min. & 69 deg. 44
    26   44.3  Calm, NW, fog                    } min. N., longitude 139
    27   41.4  West, NW, moderate, fog          } deg. 5 min. and 141
    28   43.2  ENE, light, gloomy               } deg. 30 min. W.
    29   41.6  ENE, strong, misty               }
    30   40.3  ENE, fresh, moderate, clear      }
    31   42.7  NE, moderate, clear, fresh and   }
         -----                           foggy  }
  Mean   47.61
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
   Aug.
     1   42.0  NE, gale, foggy                  } Between Icy Reef &
     2   44.6  ENE, strong, moderate, clear     } Flaxman's Island, lat.
     3   44.1  ENE, moderate, clear             } 69 deg. 44 min. & 70
     4   40.7  East, moderate, clear            } deg. 11 min. N., long.
     5   42.6  Calm, WbyN, moderate             } 141 deg. 30 min. & 145
     6   43.2  Calm, ESE, light, clear          } deg. 50 min. W.
     7   42.8  ENE, fresh, clear               _}
     8   42.9  ENE, strong, fog                 }
     9   41.6  NE, strong, fog                  }
    10   39.5  ENE, strong, fog                 } Foggy Island, lat.
    11   41.1  NE, moderate, fog                } 70 deg. 16 min. N.
    12   41.1  East, moderate, very foggy       } longitude 147 deg.
    13   41.6  NE, strong, foggy                } 38 min. W.
    14   41.3  ENE, NE, moderate, foggy         }
    15   38.1  NE, fresh, hazy                  }

_ABSTRACT the Mean Temperature for each Day during the Voyage along the
Sea Coast west of the Mackenzie, and on the return to Bear Lake._

  1826. Daily
  Date.  Mean  Wind and Weather.                Situation.
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
   Aug.  degs.
    16   35.0  ENE, fresh, foggy                } Return Reef, lat.
    17   37.4  NE, gale, very foggy             } 70 deg. 26 min. N. lg.
    18   36.2  NE, strong, clear               _} 148 deg. 52 min. W.
    19   36.4  NE, strong, foggy                } Foggy
    20   36.4  NE, fresh, foggy                _} Island.
    21   35.7  NNE, North, moderate, clear      }
    22   37.6  North, NE, light, clear          } Between Foggy Island &
    23   41.0  Calm, clear                      } the Mouth of the
    24   39.4  Calm, clear, foggy in the night  } Mackenzie, lat. 70
    25   41.2  Calm, fog, NE, light, ESE, strong} deg. 16 min. and 68
    26   39.6  WNW, NW, heavy gale, snow, sleet } deg. 53 min. N. lon.
    27   39.8  Calm, ESE, light, clear          } 147 deg. 38 min. and
    28   43.0  SW, strong, clear                } 136 deg. 19 min. W.
    29   52.5  SSW, heavy gale                 _}
    30   45.6  NW, Heavy gale, rain             } Mackenzie
    31   42.4  Calm, SW, gloomy                 } River.
         -----
  Mean   40.85
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Sept.
     1   38.3  NW, gale, snow                   }
     2   38.6  NW, strong, clear                }
     3   41.1  Calm, moderate, SE, clear        }
     4   41.3  SE, NW, moderate, clear          }
     5   45.9  SE, light, clear                 }
     6   51.0  Variable, light, clear           }
     7   44.8  SE, light, NW, strong            }
     8   41.0  NW, strong, snow                 }
     9   39.3  East, moderate, clear            }
    10   45.8  SE, light, clear                 } Mackenzie
    11   45.8  NW, moderate rain                } River.
    12   37.3  NW, moderate, gloomy             }
    13   37.2  Calm, SE, light, clear           }
    14   37.9  ESE, moderate, clear             }
    15   42.7  Calm, moderate, fresh, gloomy    }
    16   44.5  Variable, light, gloomy          }
    17   36.9  Variable, moderate, rain         }
    18   29.4  NW, fresh, gloomy                }
    19   24.6  NW, moderate, gloomy             }
    20   29.2  ESE, fresh, clear                }
    21   31.1  ENE, fresh, clear                Fort Franklin.
         -----
  Mean   39.22
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  NOTE.--The thermometer used in this register, was compared with those
  in use at Fort Franklin during ten days after our return, and found to
  coincide with them.

FOOTNOTES:

[3] I have recently learned, by letter from Captain Beechey, that the
barge turned back on the 25th of August, having been several days beset
by the ice. He likewise informs me, that the summer of 1827 was so
unfavourable for the navigation of the northern coast of America, that
the Blossom did not reach so high a latitude as in the preceding year;
nor could his boat get so far to the east of Icy Cape, by one hundred
miles. The natives, he says, were numerous, and, in some instances,
ill-disposed.

DR. RICHARDSON'S NARRATIVE OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE EASTERN DETACHMENT
OF THE EXPEDITION.

CHAPTER I.

Leave Point Separation and descend the Eastern Channel of the
Mackenzie--Arrive at Sacred Island--Esquimaux Graves--Interview with the
Natives; their thievish disposition--Attempt to gain possession of the
Union--Heavy Gale--Find Shelter in Refuge Cove--Low
Coast--Mirage--Stopped by Ice at Point Toker--Reach the Sea.

[Sidenote: July 4th.] The two parties of which the Expedition was
composed, having spent the evening of the 3rd of July in cheerful
conversation about their future prospects, prepared to separate on the
morning of the 4th. By six o'clock all the boats were stowed; and
Captain Franklin, Lieutenant Back, and their party, had committed
themselves to the stream in the Lion and Reliance; while the Eastern
Detachment, drawn up on the beach, cheered them on their departure with
three hearty huzzas. The voices of our friends were heard in reply until
the current had carried their boats round a projecting point of land,
when we also embarked to proceed on our voyage. Our detachment was
composed of twelve individuals, distributed in two boats, named the
Dolphin and Union.

        IN THE DOLPHIN.                      IN THE UNION.

  Dr. Richardson.                    Mr. Kendall.
  Thomas Gillet, _Coxswain_.         John M'Leay, _Coxswain_.
  John M'Lellan, _Bowman_.           George Munroe, _Bowman_.
  Shadrach Tysoe, _Marine_.          William Money, _Marine_.
  Thomas Fuller, _Carpenter_.        John M'Duffey.
  Ooligbuck, _Esquimaux_.            George Harkness.

The instructions we received were, to trace the coast between the
Mackenzie and Coppermine Rivers, and to return from the latter overland
to Great Bear Lake. Ice was the only impediment we dreaded as likely to
prove an obstacle to the execution of these orders. We knew that the
direct distance between the two rivers did not amount to five hundred
miles; and, having provisions for upwards of eighty days stowed in the
boats, we were determined not to abandon the enterprize on light
grounds, especially after we had seen the friends that had just parted
from us embark with so much cheerfulness in their more arduous
undertaking.

On leaving Point Separation we pulled, for two hours, against the
current, to regain the entrance of the "Middle Channel," which was first
explored by Mackenzie, on his way to the sea, in 1798, and more
perfectly surveyed by Captain Franklin, on his voyage to Garry's Island,
last autumn. It has a breadth of nearly a mile, and a depth of from
three to five fathoms; though in one place, where there was a ripple,
the sounding lead struck against a flat bed of stone in nine feet water.
Having proceeded about ten miles in this channel, we entered a branch
flowing to the eastward, with the view of tracing the course of the main
land. Mackenzie, on his return from the sea by this route, observed many
trees having their upper branches lopped off by the Esquimaux, and we
saw several such trees in the course of the day. The lands are low and
marshy, and inclose small lakes which are skirted by willows. The
summits of the banks are loaded with drift-timber, showing that they are
all inundated by the spring floods, except a few sandy ridges which
bound the principal channels, and which are clothed with well-grown
white spruce trees. Our voyage amongst these uninteresting flats was
greatly enlivened by the busy flight and cheerful twittering of the
sand-martins, which had scooped out thousands of nests in the banks of
the river, and we witnessed with pleasure their activity in thinning the
ranks of our most tormenting foes the musquitoes. When our precursor,
Sir Alexander Mackenzie, passed through these channels on the 10th of
July, 1789, they were bounded by walls of ice veined with black earth,
but the present season was so much milder, that the surface of the banks
was every where thawed.

An hour before noon we put ashore to cook our breakfast, near a clump of
spruce trees, where several fires had recently been made by a party
which had left many foot-prints on the sand; probably a horde of
Esquimaux, on their return from trading with the Indians at the Narrows.
A thunder storm that obscured the sky, prevented Mr. Kendall from
ascertaining the latitude at noon, which was the hour we chose for
breakfast throughout the voyage, in order to economize time, as it was
necessary to land to obtain the meridian observation of the sun. In the
afternoon we continued to descend the same channel, which has a smooth
and moderately rapid current, and a general depth of two or three
fathoms. At four P.M. we obtained a view of a ridge of land to the
eastward, which we have since learned is named by the natives the
Rein-Deer Hills, and at seven encamped near two conical hills of
limestone, about two hundred feet high, and clothed with trees to their
tops. The length of the day's voyage was forty-two miles. We selected a
sandy bank, covered with willows sixteen feet high, for our encamping
place; and here again we found that a party of Esquimaux had lately
occupied the same spot, the ashes of their fires being still fresh, and
the leaves of the willow poles to which they had attached their nets,
unwithered. Before we retired to bed, the arms were examined, and a
watch was set; a practice which we kept up for the remainder of the
voyage. Much rain fell in the night.

[Sidenote: Wednesday, 5th.] On the 5th we embarked at four in the
morning, and soon afterwards, the channel conducting us to the base of
the Rein-Deer Hills, Mr. Kendall and I ascended an eminence, which was
about four hundred feet high. Its summit was thinly coated with gravel,
and its sides were formed of sand and clay, inclosing some beds of
brownish-red sandstone, and of gray-coloured slate-clay. Clumps of trees
grew about half way up, but the top produced only a thin wiry grass. At
eleven A.M. we landed to breakfast, and remained on shore until noon, in
the hope of obtaining an observation for latitude, but the sun was
obscured by clouds. In the afternoon I had an extensive view from the
summit of a hill of flat alluvial lands, divided into islands by
inosculations of the channels of the river, and bounded, at the distance
of about forty miles to the westward, by the Rocky Mountains. As we
advanced to the northward, we perceived the trees to diminish in size,
becoming more scattered, and ascend a shorter way up the sides of the
hills, and they altogether terminated in latitude 68 degrees 40 minutes,
in an even line running across the islands; though one solitary spruce
fir was seen in 68 degrees 53 minutes. Perhaps the lands to the
northward of this abrupt line were too low and wet for the growth of the
white spruce, the tree which attains the highest latitude on this
continent.

We pitched our tents for the night on the site of another Esquimaux
encampment, where a small bit of moose deer's meat was still attached to
a piece of wood at the fire-place; and we saw, from the tracks of the
people and dogs in the sand, that a party had left the river here to
cross the Rein-Deer Hills. From information obtained through the
Sharp-eyed, or Quarreller tribe of Indians, this appears to be one of
the Esquimaux routes to a large piece of brackish water named Esquimaux
Lake, and alluded to by Mackenzie in several parts of his narrative. The
length of our voyage this day was forty-four miles, and our encampment
was opposite to an island named by Captain Franklin after William
Williams, Esq., late governor of Prince Rupert's land. We observed here
an unusually large spruce tree, considering the high latitude in which
it grew; it measured seven feet in circumference, at the height of four
feet from the ground. A hole was dug at the foot of the hill, in sandy
soil, to the depth of three feet without reaching frozen ground.

[Sidenote: Thursday, 6th.] On the 6th, heavy and continued rain delayed
our embarkation until ten o'clock in the forenoon, and the weather,
during the rest of the day, was hazy, with occasional showers of small
rain. Before leaving the encampment, we lopped the branches from a tree,
and suspended to it a small kettle, a hatchet, an ice-chisel, and a few
strings of beads, together with a letter written in hieroglyphics, by
Mr. Kendall, denoting that a party of white people presented these
articles to the Esquimaux as a token of friendship.[4] As we advanced,
we came to the union of several ramifications of the middle channel with
the eastern branch of the river, and the breadth of the latter increased
to two miles; its depth of water being rarely less than three fathoms.
In latitude 69 degrees, the eastern channel of the Mackenzie makes a
turn round the end of the Rein-deer-hills which terminate there, having
previously diminished in height to about two hundred feet. At the
commencement of this turn, there is a small island nearly equal to the
main land in height, and appearing when viewed from the southward, to be
a continuation of it. Its position pointing it out to be the one
described by Mackenzie as possessing "a sacred character," and being
still a burial place of the Esquimaux, I named it Sacred Island. We saw
here two recent, and several more ancient graves. The bodies were
wrapped in skins closely covered with drift-wood, and laid with their
heads to the west; so that the rule mentioned by Captain Lyon in his
account of Melville peninsula, does not obtain on this part of the
coast; for there none but the bodies of infants are placed in that
direction. Various articles, such as canoes, sledges, and fishing nets,
were deposited near the graves.

Sacred Island is formed entirely of layers of fine sand of different
colours, covered by a little vegetable mould. One of its sides being
steeply escarped by the waves, showed its structure completely. Amongst
the vegetable productions of this spot, we noticed the perennial lupine,
the narrow-leaved epilobium, and some currant bushes in full flower, and
growing with great luxuriance. From its summit we had a view of the
river flowing in many channels, both to the eastward and westward. The
islands lying in sight to the westward are low, and apparently inundated
when the river is flooded; but to the eastward, there are many islands
having hummocks as high as Sacred Island, and judging from those that
were near, they are, like it, composed of sand. The channels surrounding
the island appear to be shallow.

After leaving that island, we steered along the main shore to a sandy
point about four miles distant, and encamped near a very recent resting
place of a large party of Esquimaux, not fewer than ten fires having
been made since the heavy rain of the morning. There was also vestiges
of five or six winter-houses on this point. Richards' Island, which was
named in honour of the Governor of the Bank of England, forms the
opposite bank of the channel here, and exhibits, like the neighbouring
islands, some sandy hummocks and cliffs. The length of the day's voyage
was twenty-five miles, and our encampment was situated in lat. 69
degrees 4 minutes N., long. 134 degrees 10 minutes W.

[Sidenote: Friday, 7th.] We embarked on the morning on the 7th at four
o'clock, in cold, hazy weather, and soon came to a point of Richards'
Island, on which there were four or five Esquimaux tents, with several
skin canoes, and boats lying on the beach. I had previously arranged
that on our first interview with the Esquimaux, I was to land with
Ooligbuck, whilst Mr. Kendall kept the boats afloat ready to lend us
such aid as might be required; conceiving that this was the best way of
inspiring the natives with confidence, should they be distrustful, or of
securing freedom of action to our crews should they prove unfriendly.
The muskets were kept in the arm-chest out of sight, but ready for
instant use. As we drew near the point, two women, who were walking
along the shore, looked at us with amazement for some minutes, and then
ran into the tents and alarmed their inmates. Several men instantly
rushed out, nearly naked, with their bows and quivers in their hands,
making furious gestures and apparently much frightened. I desired
Ooligbuck to speak to them, and called to them myself in their own
language that we were friends; but their terror and confusion was so
great, that they did not appear to comprehend us. I then took a few
beads, files, and knives, in my hand, and landing with Ooligbuck, made
some presents to the men, and told them I was come to trade. The moment
I mentioned the word "trade" (_noowoerlook_), their fears subsided, and
they sent away their bows, but retained their long knives; those that
were clothed thrusting them into their pockets or up their sleeves. An
old woman who seemed to have greater self-possession than the rest, and
to understand my meaning more readily, ran and fetched some dried fish,
for which I gave her beads; and the others then began to manifest an
eager desire of exchanging their fish for any thing that I offered. More
people coming from the tents, a crowd was formed, who obtained all the
trading articles I had brought on shore. As their surprise subsided,
their boldness and clamour increased, and some few of them began again
to use threatening expressions and gestures, either from a dislike to
strangers coming into their country, or for the purpose of intimidation
and extortion. When the interview assumed this disagreeable character,
Ooligbuck said that they were very bad people, and entreating me to
embark, took me on his back and carried me on board. At the same time,
several of the natives ran into the water and attempted to drag the boat
ashore, but on my calling to them they desisted. One fellow, whose
countenance, naturally disagreeable, had been rendered hideous by the
insertion of a large brass thimble into a perforation in the under lip,
seized upon our tea-kettle, and endeavoured to conceal it under water,
but being seen from the Union, he was made to return it.

When we left the shore, all the males, twenty-one in number, embarked in
their small canoes or kaiyacks and accompanied us; and in less than a
quarter of an hour, the women had struck the tents and embarked them,
together with their children, dogs, and luggage, in their row boats or
oomiaks, and were in close pursuit. For a time we proceeded down the
river together in an amicable manner, bartering beads, steels, flints,
files, knives, hatchets, and kettles, for fish, adzes, spears, and
arrows. The natives seemed to have a correct idea of property, and
showed much tact in their commerce with us; circumstances which have
been held by an eminent historian to be evidences of a considerable
progress towards civilization[5]. They were particularly cautious not to
glut the market by too great a display of their stock in trade;
producing only one article at a time, and not attempting to out-bid each
other; nor did I ever observe them endeavour to deprive one another of
any thing obtained in barter or as a present. As is usual with other
tribes of Esquimaux, they asked our names and told us theirs, a practice
diametrically opposite to that of the Indians, who conceive it to be
improper to mention a man's name in his presence, and will not, on any
account, designate their near relatives, except by some indirect phrase.
They showed much more curiosity respecting the construction of our boats
than any of the tribes of Indians we had seen, and expressed great
admiration of the rudder, soon comprehending its mode of action,
although it is a contrivance of which they were previously ignorant.
They were incessant in their inquiries as to the use of every thing they
saw in our possession, but were sometimes content with an answer too
brief to afford much explanation; as in the following instance.
Ooligbuck had lighted his pipe and was puffing the smoke from his mouth,
when they shouted "_ookah, ookah_," (fire, fire,) and demanded to be
told what he was doing. He replied with the greatest gravity,
"_poo-yoo-al-letchee-rawmah_" (I smoke); and this answer sufficed. On my
referring to an Esquimaux vocabulary, Ooligbuck, in answer to their
questions, told them that the book spoke to me, when they entreated me
to put it away. I afterwards detected the rogue with the brass thimble
endeavouring to steal this book, and placed it, as I thought, out of his
reach; it was missing in the evening, but I never ascertained whether it
had been purloined by the Esquimaux or had fallen overboard in moving
some of the stores. Seeing me use my pocket telescope, they speedily
comprehended its use, and called it "_eetee-yawgah_" (far eyes) the name
that they give to the wooden shade which is used to protect their eyes
from the glare of the snow; and which, from the smallness of its
aperture, enables them to see distant objects more clearly. Of our
trading articles, light copper kettles were in the greatest request, and
we were often asked for the long knives which are used for flinching
whales. It is creditable to the Esquimaux habits of cleanliness, that
combs were in great demand, and we saw wooden ones of their own
manufacture, not dissimilar to ours in form. I distributed
looking-glasses to some of the young men, but they were mostly returned
again, although I do not know on what account.

This party of Esquimaux, being similar in features and dress to the
tribe seen by Captain Franklin, and not differing materially from the
Esquimaux inhabiting Melville peninsula which have been so fully
described by Captains Parry and Lyon, it is not necessary to enter into
any detail here on those points. Ooligbuck's dialect and theirs differed
a little, but they mutually understood one another. I observed that they
invariably sounded the letter _m_ instead of _g_, when in the middle of
a word, calling Ooligbuck, Oolimbauk. Ooligbuck's attempts to pronounce
"Doctor" were sufficiently imperfect, but to our visitors, the word
seemed utterly unattainable, and they could designate me only by the
term _Eheumattak_ or chief. They succeeded better with the names of some
of the men, readily naming Tysoe, and calling Gillet "_Hillet_." The
females, as they passed in their oomiaks, bestowed on us some glances
that could scarcely be misconstrued,--their manners, in this respect,
differed widely from those of the Indian women, who have a modest and
even shy demeanour. Some of the young girls had a considerable share of
beauty, and seemed to have spared no pains in ornamenting their persons.
Their hair was turned up in a neat knot, on the crown of the head, and a
lock or queue, tied by a fillet of beads, hung down by the ears, on each
side. Mr. Nuttall, in his account of the Quapaws or Arkansas, mentions
that the unmarried women wear their hair braided into two parts, brought
round to either ear in a cylindrical form and ornamented with beads; and
a similar attention to head-dress is paid by some of the Indian women
inhabiting the borders of the great Canada lakes, and also by the
Tawcullies or Carriers of New Caledonia;[6] but the females of all the
tribes of Indians that we saw in our route through the northern parts of
the fur countries, suffer their hair to hang loose about their ears,
and, in general, adorn their persons less than the men of the same
tribes. The Esquimaux women dressing better, and being required to
labour less, than the Indian females, may be considered as a proof that
the former nation has made the greater progress towards civilization;
and I am of opinion that the Esquimaux would adopt European habits and
customs much more readily than the Indians.

Though there are many circumstances which widely distinguish the
Esquimaux from their Indian neighbours, they might all, possibly, be
traced to the necessity of associating in numbers for the capture of the
whale, and of laying up large hoards of blubber for winter consumption.
Thus have they been induced to build villages for their common
residence, and from thence have originated those social habits which are
incompatible with the wandering and precarious life of an Indian hunter.
It would lead, however, to too long a digression, were I to enter into
details on this subject, and I resume, therefore, the narrative of the
voyage.[7]

In the course of the morning we came to several other encampments, one
of them consisting of nine tents; and each party no sooner learnt who we
were, than they embarked bag and baggage and followed us. Some of the
new comers were shy, and kept aloof, but in general they were too
forward. Emboldened by their increase of numbers, they gradually became
more daring, and running their kaiyacks alongside, laid hold of the
boat's gunwale, and attempted to steal any thing within their reach. To
lessen their opportunities of annoying us, I was obliged to keep the
crews constantly rowing, for when we attempted to rest, three or four
fellows would instantly seize the opportunity of lifting the blades of
the oars and pushing their kaiyacks alongside, whilst others would cling
on by the bows and quarters, nor could they be dislodged without much
trouble. They manifested great cunning and dexterity in their pilfering
attempts, and frequently acted in concert. Thus, one fellow would lay
hold of the boat with both his hands; and while the coxswain and I were
disengaging them, his comrade on the other side would make the best use
of his time in transferring some of our property into his canoe, with
all the coolness of a practised thief. The smaller things being,
however, put as well out of the way as possible, and a strict look-out
kept, they were, in almost every instance, detected; and they restored,
with the most perfect good humour, every article they had taken, as soon
as it was demanded, often laughing heartily at their own want of
address. They succeeded only in purloining a bag of ball, and a
powder-horn, as the theft was not perceived at the time. I was
unwilling to check this conduct by a display of arms, because I was
desirous of gaining the natives by kindness and forbearance, the more
especially, as our ignorance of the state of the ice rendered it
doubtful, whether we might not be under the necessity of encamping, for
some time, in their neighbourhood. Had we resented their pilfering
attempts too hastily, we should have appeared the aggressors, for they
expressed great good-will towards us, readily answered such questions as
we were able to put to them about the course of the river, pointed out
to us the deepest channels, invited us to go ashore to cook our
breakfast, and even offered to provide us with wives, if we would pass
the night at their tents. For very obvious reasons we declined all their
invitations; but our crews being fatigued with continual rowing, and
faint from want of food, we halted at one P.M., by the side of a steep
bank, and breakfasted in the boats, insisting on the Esquimaux keeping
aloof whilst we were so engaged.

In the afternoon we had to search for a passage amongst islands, there
being no longer water enough near the main shore to float our boats. The
Esquimaux undertook to guide us, but whether through accident or design,
they led us, on one occasion, into a shallow channel, where we grounded
on a sand-bank, over which there was a strong current setting; and we
had not only much difficulty in getting afloat, but had to pull, for an
hour, against the stream, to regain the passage we had left. Soon after
this, one of the natives made a forcible attempt to come into the
Dolphin, under the pretext of bartering two large knives which he held
in his hand; and the dexterity with which he leaped from his kaiyack was
remarkable. There were three other kaiyacks betwixt him and our boats,
which, on his giving the signal, were, by their owners laying their
broad paddles across, instantly converted into a platform, over which he
ran with velocity and sprang upon the stern seat of the Dolphin, but he
was immediately tumbled out again. Judging from the boldness of this
fellow's behaviour, and the general tenour of the conduct of the
natives, that sooner or later they might be tempted to make an attack
upon us, I adopted, as a measure of precaution, the plan of purchasing
their bows, which are their most powerful weapons. They were at first
unwilling to part with them; but finding that we would take nothing else
in exchange for the articles we had to dispose of, they ultimately let
us have a good number. The Esquimaux bows are formed of spruce-fir,
strengthened on the back by cords made of the sinews of the rein-deer,
and would have been prized, even beyond their favourite yew, by the
archers of Sherwood. They are far superior to the bows of the Indians,
and are fully capable of burying "the goose-wing of a cloth-yard shaft"
in the heart of a deer.

Several of the young men tried the speed of their kaiyacks against our
boats, and seemed to delight in showing us how much their little vessels
excelled ours in velocity. Towards evening the women's oomiaks had all
gone ahead, and we were given to understand that they were about to
encamp for the night. Thinking that they would choose the best route, we
followed them into a channel, which proved too shallow; and when we put
about to try another, the natives became more urgent than ever that we
should land and encamp along with them. Just as we were about to enter a
passage which the Esquimaux, doubtless, knew was deep enough, and led by
the shortest route to the sea, the Union grounded upon a bank, about
half a bow-shot from the shore. Seven or eight of the natives instantly
jumped out of their kaiyacks, and laying hold of the boat's bow and
steering-sweep, attempted to drag her ashore. They were speedily joined
by others, who hurried from the beach with knives in their hands; and
Mr. Kendall seeing that he would almost immediately be surrounded by a
force too great to permit his men to act, called to me that he should be
obliged to fire. Fully aware of the necessity of prompt measures, I
answered that he was at liberty to fire if necessary. Upon which,
snatching up his fowling-piece, he presented it at three of the most
daring who had hold of the sweep-oar, and his crew who were now in the
water endeavouring to shove the boat off, and struggling with the
natives, jumped on board and seized their muskets. The crew of the
Dolphin likewise displayed their arms and stood ready, but I ordered
that no individual should fire until called upon by name. They were,
however, the instant that a shot was fired from the Union, to lay the
Dolphin aground alongside of her, that thus we might present only two
assailable sides to the enemy. Happily there was no occasion to fire at
all; the contests of the Esquimaux with the Indians had taught them to
dread fire-arms, and on the sudden sight of every man armed with a
musket, they fled to the shore. Until that moment we had kept our guns
carefully concealed in the arm-chest, to prevent any of the natives from
snatching them away and disarming us, and also that they might not deem
our intentions to be other than pacific.

I do not believe that the natives had matured a plan of attack, but the
stranding of a boat on their own shore was too great a temptation to be
resisted. Some individuals had previously shown unequivocal signs of
good feeling towards us, such as bringing back the Union's sweep-oar,
which had slipped from the coxswain's hands; and also in pointing out
the channel we afterwards pursued to the sea, as preferable to the one
which the oomiaks had taken. Even the better-disposed, however, would,
doubtless, have joined the others, had they began to plunder with
success; for they told us in the forenoon that there was no one of their
horde acknowledged as a chief. It is probable that the Esquimaux were
doubtful as to the sex of some of our party, until they saw them prepare
for battle. None but women row in their oomiaks, and they had asked
Ooligbuck if all the white women had beards.

The crews on this occasion behaved with a coolness and resolution worthy
of the utmost praise, executing without the slightest confusion the
orders they received. Mr. Kendall acted with his usual judgment; and his
prudence and humanity, in refraining from firing, merit the highest
encomiums. The Union being speedily set afloat by her crew, we pulled
together through a wide channel, three feet deep. The spot where this
transaction took place has been named Point Encounter, and is in
latitude 69 degrees 16 minutes N., and longitude 136 degrees 20 minutes W.

The Esquimaux seemed to hold a consultation on the beach after we left
them; but, as none attempted to follow us immediately, we enjoyed the
respite from their forwardness and clamour, which had become very
harrassing, particularly to Mr. Kendall and myself, who had other duties
to attend to. He had full occupation in surveying and delineating the
route; and as the Dolphin led the way through a shoal and intricate
navigation, it was requisite that I should keep the sounding-lead
constantly going, and be on the watch for any change in the appearance
of the current which might indicate shoal water, the smallness of our
crews preventing me from appointing any man to that service. In about an
hour after leaving Point Encounter, we observed ten kaiyacks coming
towards us from a cluster of islands; they soon overtook us, but kept at
a reasonable distance, and no longer gave us any trouble by coming
alongside. We wished to show that we had no desire to hurt them,
notwithstanding their past conduct, and, therefore, began again to trade
with them; yet we were naturally anxious that they should leave us
before we encamped, because, from the fleetness of their kaiyacks, they
could soon collect a great number of their countrymen, and give us much
annoyance in the night. Our wishes were seconded by a fresh breeze of
wind springing up and enabling us to set the sails, by which the crews
enjoyed a rest, after fourteen hours' labour at the oars; and the
Esquimaux had greater difficulty in keeping up with the increased
velocity of our boats. Thinking that they would quit us as soon as they
lost the hope of getting more goods, I desired Ooligbuck to tell them I
would trade no more, and they accordingly, one by one, dropped behind
and left us. Three followed us longer than the others, and as they were
not of the party which attacked the Union, and had hitherto received
nothing from us, I made each of them a small present of beads and
fire-steels, when they also took leave, calling out "_teymah,
peechaw-ooloo_," "friendship is good."

We learned in the course of the day, from the natives, that they call
themselves _Kitte-garroe-oot_, (inhabitants of the land near the
mountains,) and that they were now on their way to a place favourable
for the capture of white whales, as in the sea, which they said was many
days' march distant, there was too much ice to take the black whales at
this season. It also appeared that they annually ascend to the Narrows
of Mackenzie River, for the purpose of trading with the Quarrellers, and
were accustomed to spend their summers in a large lake of brackish
water, (Esquimaux Lake,) lying to the eastward, where they occasionally
meet parties of Loucheux. They informed us that the land to the eastward
of Encounter Point is a collection of islands, and that there were many
of their countrymen fishing in the rivers which separate them. They had
heard of the Esquimaux at the mouth of the Coppermine River, and knew
them by their name of _Naggoe-ook-tor-moe-oot_, (or Deer-horns,) but
said they were very far off, and that they had no intercourse with them;
adding, that all the inhabitants of the coast to the eastward were bad
people. They knew white people by the name of _Kabloonacht_, and Indians
by that of _Eitkallig_, the same appellations that are used by the
Esquimaux of Hudson's Bay; but their name for the black whale was
different from that given to it by Ooligbuck; and they also gave names
to some of their utensils which he had never heard before. Ooligbuck was
not of much use as an interpreter, in our intercourse with these people,
for he spoke no English; but his presence answered the important purpose
of showing that the white people were on terms of friendship with the
distant tribes of Esquimaux. As a boatman he was of the greatest
service, being strongly attached to us, possessing an excellent temper,
and labouring cheerfully at his oar.

We could not ascertain the numbers of Esquimaux we saw in the course of
the day, because they were always coming and going, but we passed at
least thirty tents, and had reason to believe that on some of the
islands there were tents which we did not see. Four grown people is,
perhaps the average number of the inhabitants of each tent. A short time
before the attack on the Union, I counted forty kaiyacks round the two
boats.

The wind freshened, and the night began to look stormy, as we stood
across a wide sound which was open from the N.W. to the N.E., and had a
depth of water varying from three to seven feet. White whales were seen;
and some of the crew thought the water tasted brackish. About nine P.M.
a drizzling rain came on, attended with very dark weather, which induced
us to make for a round islet, with a view of encamping, and securing the
boats for the night; it was skirted by shoals that prevented us from
landing, and we therefore anchored the boats by poles stuck in the mud,
raised the coverings of the cargo on masts and oars, so as to turn off
the rain; and after eating our supper and setting a watch, we
endeavoured to get some repose by lying down in our clothes, wet as they
were. We had scarcely laid down, however, before the wind changed and
began to blow with violence directly on the shore, so as to render it
necessary for us to shift our situation without delay. An attempt was
made to row the boats round to the other side of the islet, but they
drifted upon the shoals in spite of the exertions of the crew, and began
to strike violently. [Sidenote: Saturday, 8th.] In this perilous
situation we perceived some smooth water to leeward, upon which setting
the foresails, the boats were pushed over a sandy bar into two fathoms
water. We then stood towards the eastern shore, and keeping in deep
water, entered a small inlet, which received the name of Refuge Cove;
where having made fast the boats to the beach, pitched a tent on the
shore, and set a watch, we attempted a second time to obtain some rest.

We were not, however, destined to enjoy much repose that night, for we
had scarcely overcome the chilliness occasioned by lying down in wet
clothes, when the Union broke from her moorings in a violent gust of
wind, and began to drive across the inlet towards the lee-shore, on
which there was a considerable surf. Mr. Kendall and one of the crew,
who were sleeping on board, to be ready in case of accident, lowered the
covering with the utmost expedition, and taking the oars, kept her from
driving far, until the rest of the party arrived to their assistance in
the Dolphin. The boats were brought to the beach and secured, and we had
again retired to rest, when the tent-pegs, although loaded with drift
timber, were drawn up by the force of the wind, and the tent, drenched
with rain, fell upon us. It was in vain to attempt to sleep after this,
benumbed as we were by the coldness of the weather; but the rain ceasing
about four in the morning of the 8th, we were enabled to make a good
fire, and dry our clothes. The cargo of the boats was then landed, the
wet packages spread out to dry, and the boats were drawn upon the beach
so as to form, with the baggage, a three-sided breast-work, to which we
could retreat, should the Esquimaux pay us a hostile visit. These
arrangements being made, the tent was removed to a more sheltered spot,
and we slept quietly until ten o'clock in the morning. In the night an
accident happened to Mr. Kendall, which might have had fatal
consequences, and alarmed us at the time exceedingly. The point of a
small two-edged knife which he wore in a sheath slung from his neck,
was, by his falling against one of the tent-poles, forced through the
sheath into his side, exactly in the region of the heart. Through the
mercy of Providence, its progress was arrested by one of the ribs, and
the wound healed in the course of a few days. At noon a meridian
observation was obtained, which placed the mouth of Refuge Cove in
latitude 69 degrees 29 minutes N.; and the sun's bearing showed the
variation of the magnetic needle to be 49-1/2 degrees easterly. The
length of our voyage the preceding day was fifty-seven miles. Refuge
Cove has an irregular form; its length is about two miles and a half,
and its greatest width one mile. It is upwards of two fathoms deep at
the entrance, and for some distance within; but a bar runs from Shoal
Islet to its north side. Its shores are flat and sandy, but here and
there hummocks rise abruptly to the height of one hundred feet,
resembling the downs on the Norfolk coast. The sandy hummocks are bound
together by the creeping fibrous roots of a species of grass, named
_Elymus mollis_; and many of them are covered by a coat of black
vegetable mould. Ruins of Esquimaux houses, that appeared to have been
deserted for many years, were scattered along the borders of the cove,
and much drift-timber lay on the low grounds. We saw some ducks and
geese, and two of the crew went to hunt round the harbour for deer, but
they had no success.

The wind having moderated in the evening, we prepared to resume the
voyage, and had begun to load the boats, when I thought I saw a
_kaiyack_ paddle across the mouth of the cove. It was followed by many
others, that were in succession lost behind the point, with the
exception of one which seemed to return and look into the inlet. I
concluded that the natives were in search of us; and, as it was
desirable to have all the cargo on board when they arrived, the utmost
despatch was used in loading the boats. Before this operation was
completed, Mr. Kendall, on attentively examining one of the objects with
his telescope, suggested that it was not a kaiyack; and accompanying me
to a sandy eminence nearer the entrance of the cove, we ascertained that
the whole was an optical deception, caused by the haze of an easterly
wind magnifying the stumps of drift wood, over which the surf was
rolling. The imagination, no doubt, assisted in completing the
resemblance, but the deception, for a few minutes, was perfect.

We quitted Refuge Cove at nine o'clock in the evening, and rounding
Shoal Islet, steered to the northward along the coast. The circuit of
Shoal Islet was made because there was too little water to float our
boats over the bar, which we had crossed the preceding evening. The
temperature of the air on leaving the cove, was 36 degrees, but it fell
at midnight to 32 degrees; and the night proved fine. When resting on
our oars, the boats were drifted to the westward, by a current which we
ascertained, by subsequent observations, to be the flood tide.

[Sidenote: Sunday, 9th.] After pulling along the coast for some time,
the ice-blink appeared in the horizon, and about one o'clock in the
morning on the 9th, we could perceive a stream of ice lying at the
distance of eight or nine miles from the shore, and inclosing several
small icebergs. At four o'clock, a northerly breeze springing up,
brought a quantity of loose ice down upon us, and we made for the shore.
This part of the coast is skirted to the distance of two miles by flat
sands, on which there is not more than a foot or eighteen inches of
water. The depth of water gradually increases to four fathoms, which it
attains at the distance of six or seven miles from the shore, and the
heavy ice we saw outside, showed that the depth there was considerable.
Esquimaux winter-huts occur frequently on the coast, and the rows of
drift-trees planted in the sand with the roots uppermost, in their
vicinity, assume very curious forms, when seen through a hazy
atmosphere. They frequently resembled a crowd of people, and sometimes
we fancied they were not unlike the spires of a town just appearing
above the horizon. We learnt by experience that the shore was more
approachable at the points on which the Esquimaux had built, and we
effected a landing at one of those places, when, having discharged the
cargoes, we hauled the boats up, and pitched the tents. The water at our
landing-place was fresh, but too hard to make tea; and at four or five
miles from the shore, it was disagreeable to drink. Out of respect to
Captain Toker of the Royal Navy, under whom I had once the honour to
serve, his name was given to this Point. Mr. Kendall ascertained its
latitude to be 69 degrees 38 minutes N.; its longitude by reckoning, 132
degrees 18 minutes W.; and the variation of the magnetic needle 50-1/2
degrees easterly. The distance rowed from Refuge Cove was about twelve
miles. A tide pole was erected, by which it appeared that the ebb ran
from four o'clock, the time at which we landed, until ten in the
morning, producing a fall of eighteen inches; but the afternoon tide did
not rise so high, and at 10h. 50 minutes P.M. it was low water again,
the wind blowing fresh from the northward all the time.

The vicinity of Point Toker, like the rest of the lands to the eastward
of Point Encounter, consists of level sands, inclosing pieces of water
which communicate with the estuary of the river, and interspersed with
detached conical hills rising from one to two hundred feet above the
general level. These hills are sometimes escarped by the action of the
water, and are then seen to consist of sand of various colours, in which
very large logs of drift-timber are imbedded. They are covered by a coat
of black vegetable earth, from six inches to a foot in thickness, which
shows that they cannot be of very recent formation, though at some
distant period they may have been formed by the drifting of moveable
sands. At present, the highest floods reach only to the foot of the
hills, where they deposit a thick layer of drift-timber. One straight
log of spruce fir, thirty feet long, was seven feet in circumference at
the small end, and twelve a short distance above the root. The branches
and bark are almost always rubbed off from the drift-timber which
reaches the sea, but a few of the main divisions of the root are
generally left. Various instruments tied up in bundles were suspended to
poles near some of the Esquimaux houses, such as spear-heads and ice
chisels made from the tooth of the narwhal, and spoons of musk-ox horn.
The marine animals that frequent this part of the coast, according to
the information we obtained from the Esquimaux, are, the white whale,
the narwhal, large and small seals, (_oggoe-ook_ and _nat-choe-ook_,)
and a species of black whale, named _aggee-woerk_. There are also many
sea-fish, of which the capeline (_ang-mag-goe-ook_,) that abound on the
shoals at this season, are most easily caught. The natives are
unacquainted with sea-horses. Swans, Canada and white geese, and Arctic
ducks, are numerous, and we killed several. Ooligbuck likewise killed a
rein-deer, which afforded us an agreeable change of diet.

In the evening, having assembled in one of the tents, prayers were read,
a practice to which we adhered on every Sunday evening during the
voyage. At 10h. 45m. P.M., I lighted a piece of touchwood with a convex
lens, an inch in diameter, the altitude of the sun being then 3 degrees
6 minutes. It is seldom that the sun in warmer climates affords so much
heat at so low an altitude.

[Sidenote: Monday, 10th.] The ice opening a little, we resumed the
voyage at five o'clock in the morning of the 10th, but had not rowed
above five miles, when our further progress was impeded by a ridge of
grounded-ice, extending apparently far out to sea. We landed to obtain a
view from a height, and took advantage of the opportunity to prepare
breakfast. Whilst thus engaged, we discovered, on the opposite side of a
bay which we had just crossed, two of the natives couched upon the sand,
and evidently watching us; but before we had concluded our meal, they
went off. On re-embarking, we went round the ice which was aground on
extensive sandy spits, and then pulled in for the shore; but a fresh
breeze of wind created such a swell, that we did not advance above three
miles in two hours. Deeming it unadvisable to fatigue the crews, while
the progress was so small, we pulled into a sandy bay, and made the
boats fast to one of many large pieces of ice which were stranded on the
beach, having gained since setting out in the morning, eight miles.

Just as we made for the shore, we observed three Esquimaux regarding us
from an eminence, and two others soon afterwards joined them: the latter
being, as we discovered from the direction of their path over the sands,
the two we had seen at breakfast-time. They retired as we drew near the
beach, and on reconnoitring the neighbourhood, we discovered three
skin-tents, whose owners were running off with their effects in great
alarm. As we had experienced how troublesome the natives were, when
relieved from their fears, we did not seek an interview at this time;
and to guard against accidents from parties of them way-laying our men,
I determined that, while we remained in this anchorage, the crews should
land only to cook their provisions and then be accompanied either by Mr.
Kendall or myself. The water at our anchorage was decidedly brackish,
the beach was strewed with _sertulariæ_ and other marine productions,
and several white whales were seen in the offing; all which
circumstances being considered as decided evidences of our having
reached the mouth of the river, that event was celebrated by issuing to
each of the men a glass of grog, which had been reserved for the
occasion.

FOOTNOTES:

[4] As the reader may desire to know what hieroglyphics were used to
express our intentions, a copy of the letter is annexed.

[5] Robertson's _History of America_.

[6] _Harmon's Journal_, p. 288.

[7] The Esquimaux method of settling disputes, which we learned from
Augustus, deserves to be mentioned, not only as being very different
from the sullen conduct of an affronted Indian, but from its coincidence
with the practice of a people widely separated from them--the native
inhabitants of Sydney, in New South Wales. Mr. Cunningham, in his
entertaining work on New South Wales, says, "The common practice of
fighting amongst the natives is still with the _waddie_, each
alternately stooping the head to receive the other's blows, until one
tumbles down, it being considered cowardly to evade a stroke." The
Esquimaux use the fist instead of the waddie, in these singular duels,
but there is no other difference betwixt their practice and that of the
New South Wales' people. Another coincidence betwixt the Esquimaux and
the inhabitants of Australasia, is the use of the throwing stick for
discharging their spears.

CONTINUATION OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE EASTERN DETACHMENT.

CHAPTER II.

Detention by wind--Visited by Esquimaux--Cross a large Stream of fresh
Water--Winter Houses on Atkinson Island--Gale of Wind, and Fog--Run into
Browell Cove--Double Cape Dalhousie--Liverpool Bay and Esquimaux
Lake--Icy Cliffs--Meet another Party of Esquimaux--Cape Bathurst.

[Sidenote: Tuesday, 11th.] The wind blew so strongly during the 11th,
that we remained in our mooring-place, landing occasionally to take a
little exercise on the beach; and as it continued to freshen from the
north-east in the evening, most of the ice in the offing had drifted out
of sight, while a great reduction took place at the same time in the
number and size of the pieces of stranded ice. One of them which had
grounded about a mile outside of us, and rose fifteen feet above the
water, fell over and floated away with the ebb tide. Mr. Kendall
obtained a meridian observation for latitude, and afterwards took
several sets of lunar distances, whose results placed our anchorage in
latitude 69 degrees 42-1/2 minutes N., and longitude 131 degrees 58
minutes W. In the afternoon two Esquimaux were seen walking fast over a
hill, and often stopping and looking anxiously around them. About
midnight two black foxes carried off the scraps of meat that had been
left at our cooking-place, and buried them carefully in the sand above
high-water mark. We observed that they dug separate hiding-places for
each piece, and that they were careful to carry the largest bits
farthest from the sea. The time spent inactively at the anchorage was so
irksome, that even the movements of these animals were a subject of much
interest to us, and we felt great regret when they were scared away by
the talking of the men in the boats.

[Sidenote: Wednesday, 12th.] No material alteration took place in the
weather on the 12th. The temperature was 45 degrees; but from the force
of the wind, and our confinement in the boats, we felt cold. In the
evening two elderly Esquimaux came to us in their kaiyacks, shouting as
they approached the boats, and paddling boldly alongside. They told us
that they were the same two whom we had seen in the morning of the 10th
watching us while at breakfast, though they had first discovered us on
the 9th, and had seen Ooligbuck kill the deer, which had alarmed them
greatly; they had since been to inquire about us from the party at
Point Encounter, and having learnt that we were well-disposed, they had
come to open a communication. In allusion, I suppose, to the attempt on
the Union, they often said that the Esquimaux at the river's mouth were
bad people, but that they themselves were good-hearted men; and they
struck their breasts forcibly with their hands, to give energy to their
assurances. They told us that a large party of their countrymen, who
were at present fishing at the mouth of a river to the eastward, would
soon move in this direction to kill white whales. Eetkoo-yak, the
principal spokesman, invited us to go to his tents, where he said, the
women would be glad to receive us; and added, that next day he would
bring four of his countrymen to visit us. We made them a handsome
present of iron-work; and having paid, with beads, for some dried fish,
sent them away highly contented.

[Sidenote: Thursday, 13th.] At seven o'clock in the morning of the 13th,
nine Esquimaux came to us, amongst whom were our two acquaintances of
yesterday. Some of the young men inquired when we were going away, and
seemed to be anxious that we should depart; but our friend Eetkoo-yak
gave us a pressing invitation to his tents, and wished to embark in the
boats to conduct us thither. We declined his proposal, and the wind
having moderated, we unmoored the boats, and rowed along the coast. The
natives followed us, and soon afterwards four women and two boys came
off in an oomiak, and exchanged some boots, pieces of leather, deer's
meat, and fish for beads. The point on which their tents were pitched
was named Point Warren after my friend Captain Samuel Warren, R.N. As we
continued our course the oomiak returned to the shore, and the men also
left us soon afterwards, apparently pleased with our departure; for the
knowledge of the effect of our muskets seemed to have impressed them
with some dread. They were tattooed across the cheeks. The tribes to the
westward of the Mackenzie are described by Captain Franklin, (p. 111,)
as following a different fashion in the application of this ornament.

We coasted this day a flat shore, with dry sands running off to the
distance of two or three miles, and we passed within several shoals, on
which some heavy ice had grounded. Only a few small streams of ice were
seen, although the ice-blink was visible the whole day. Soon after
rounding Point Warren, we crossed the mouth of a large river, the water
being muddy and fresh for a breadth of three miles, and the sounding
lead was let down to the depth of five fathoms, without striking the
bottom. This river is, perhaps, a branch of the Mackenzie, and falls
into a bay, on which I have bestowed the name of my esteemed friend
Copland Hutchinson, Esq. Surgeon Extraordinary to His Royal Highness
the Duke of Clarence. On its east side there is an island, which was
named after Captain Charles Phillips, R.N. to whom the nautical world is
indebted for the double-capstan, and many other important inventions.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, rainy weather setting in, we made for
a small island, and mooring the boats as near the beach as we could,
covered them up, and landed to prepare supper. The length of the day's
voyage was twenty-eight miles and a half. Mr. Kendall named the island
in honour of Mr. Atkinson, of Berry-House; it is situated in latitude 69
degrees 55 minutes N., longitude 130 degrees 43 minutes W., and is
separated from a flat, and occasionally inundated shore, by a narrow
creek. It is bounded towards the sea by a bulwark of sand-hills, drifted
by the wind to the height of 30 feet. Under their shelter 17
winter-houses have been erected by the natives besides a large building
which from its structure, seemed to be intended for a place of assembly
for the tribe. Ooligbuck thought it was a general eating-room, but he
was not certain, as his tribe erect no such buildings.

I annex a section and ground plan of one of the largest of the
dwelling-houses. The centre (A) is a square of ten feet, having a level
flooring, with a post at each corner (D,D) to support the
ridge-poles,[8] on which the roof rests. The recesses (B) are intended
for sleeping-places. Their floors have a gentle inclination inwards, and
are raised a foot above the central flooring. Their back walls are a
foot high, and incline outwards like the back of a chair. The
ridge-poles are six feet above the floor, the roof being flat in the
centre, and sloping over the recesses. The inside of the building is
lined with split-wood, and the outside is strongly but roughly built of
logs, the whole being covered with earth. An inclined platform (C) forms
the ascent to the door, which is in the middle of one of the recesses,
and is four feet high; and the threshold, being on a level with the
central flooring, is raised three feet above the surrounding ground, to
guard against inundations. There is a square hole in the roof, near the
door, intended for ventilation, or for an occasional entrance. As we
observed no fire-places in these dwellings, it is probable that they are
heated, and the cookery performed in the winter, with lamps. Some of the
houses were built front to front, with a very narrow passage between
them leading to the doors, which were opposite to each other. This
passage must form a snug porch in the winter when it is covered with
slabs of frozen snow, and one end stopped up. Some of the larger houses
which stood single, had log-porches to shelter their doors; and near
each house there was a square or oblong pit, four feet beneath the
surface of the ground, lined and covered with drift timber, which was
evidently intended for a store-house.

The large building for an assembly-room was, in the interior, a square
of 27 feet, having the log-roof supported on two strong ridge poles, two
feet apart, and resting on four upright posts. The floor in the centre,
formed of split logs, dressed and laid with great care, was surrounded
by a raised border about three feet wide, which was, no doubt, meant for
seats. The walls, three feet high, were inclined outwards, for the
convenience of leaning the back against them, and the ascent to the
door, which was on the south side was formed of logs. The outside,
covered with earth, had nearly a hemispherical form, and round its base
there were ranged the skulls of 21 whales. There was a square hole in
the roof, and the central log of the floor had a basin-shaped cavity,
one foot in diameter, which was, perhaps, intended for a lamp. The
general attention to comfort in the construction of the village, and the
erection of a building of such magnitude, requiring a union of purpose
in a considerable number of people, are evidences of no small progress
towards civilization. Whale skulls were confined to the large building,
and to one of the dwelling-houses, which had 3 or 4 placed round it.
Many wooden trays, and hand-barrows for carrying whale blubber, were
lying on the ground, most of them in a state of decay.

Myriads of musquitoes, which reposed among the grass, rose in clouds
when disturbed, and gave us much annoyance. Many snow birds were
hatching on the Point, and we saw swans, Canada geese, eider, king,
arctic, and surf ducks; several glaucous, silvery, black-headed, and
ivory gulls, together with terns and northern divers. Some laughing
geese passed to the northward in the evening, which may be considered as
a sure indication of land in that direction. The sea-water at Atkinson
Island being quite salt, and the ponds on the shore brackish, we had
recourse to the ice that lay aground for a supply of fresh water. Strong
gales of wind, with heavy rain, continued all night.

[Sidenote: Friday, 14th.] The rain ceasing at four o'clock in the
morning of the 14th, we embarked, and pulled along a sandy bar which
projected five or six miles from Atkinson Island, and was covered by
masses of ice. We had not left the beach above an hour, when a thick fog
hid the land from our view, and a noise of breakers being at the same
time heard, we deemed it prudent to moor the boats to a piece of
grounded ice, and wait for clear weather. After a time, the fog
dispersing partially, we made sail before a fresh breeze towards the
most easterly point of land in sight, but we had not advanced above five
or six miles before the looming of the shore on the larboard bow made it
necessary to haul to the wind; and the fog becoming as dense as ever, we
ran aground on some flats, where the surf nearly filled the boats. On
lowering the sails, deeper water was attained, but the wind began to
blow hard directly upon the shore, and we could not discover a
landing-place, nor did we even know our distance from the beach. In this
dilemma we saw a long line of floating sea-weed, and Ooligbuck
suggesting that it came from the mouth of a river, we followed its
direction, and, with the aid of the sounding lead, groped our way
betwixt two shoals into a well sheltered inlet. Here there was a good
landing-place, and we deemed ourselves peculiarly fortunate in reaching
so snug a harbour, for the fog continued all day, and the wind increased
to a heavy gale.

The inlet was named Browell Cove, in honour of the Lieutenant-Governor
of the Royal Hospital at Greenwich, and the bay to the westward of it,
M'Kinley Bay, out of respect to Captain George M'Kinley, of the Naval
Asylum. The latitude of the mouth of Browell Cove is 70 degrees N., and
the longitude 130 degrees 19 minutes W. We did not ascertain its extent,
but as its water is brackish, it probably communicates with Esquimaux
Lake, which, according to Indian report, lies behind the islands that
form this part of the coast. Several large basins of salt water
communicate with the cove. Some herds of deer were seen, but too many
hunters going in pursuit of them they were frightened away. The
temperature throughout the day was 42 degrees.

I observed forty species of plants in flower here, of which nearly
one-third were grasses and carices. The Thrift common on the sandy parts
of the British coast is a frequent ornament of Browell Cove; and seven
or eight of the other plants seen there, are natives of the Scottish
hills. Two dwarf species of willows were the only shrubs.

[Sidenote: Saturday, 15th.] The fog clearing away, and the wind
moderating, we embarked about three in the morning of the 15th; and
steering along the coast, came to a group of low sandy islands, that
were separated by wide but very shallow channels, and skirted, to the
distance of five or six miles, by sand-banks, which were nearly dry at
low water. In rounding these banks our soundings varied from two feet to
two fathoms, and we were occasionally led almost out of sight of the
land. During the whole day we saw much ice to seaward, and in some
places it was so closely packed as to render it doubtful whether a ship
would have been able to make way through it. The line of deep water was
marked by large masses of ice lying aground, and was about ten miles
from the shore. As we could not reach the beach, we disembarked upon a
piece of ice at noon, and cutting up a spare seat for fire-wood,
proceeded to cook our breakfast, and make observations for latitude and
magnetic variation.

After rounding the shoals, we made a traverse of ten miles across an
inlet, where the water ran out with a strong current; and, though five
fathoms deep, it was nearly fresh. This I supposed to be another
communication betwixt Esquimaux Lake and the sea, and named it Russel
Inlet, after the distinguished Professor of Clinical Surgery in the
University of Edinburgh. The land on its western side was called Cape
Brown, out of respect to the eminent botanist, whose scientific
researches reflect so much credit on British talent; and that to the
eastward of the inlet received the name of Dalhousie, in honour of His
Excellency the Governor-in-Chief of the Canadas. Cape Dalhousie consists
of a number of high, sandy islands, resembling those seen from Sacred
Island, in the mouth of the Mackenzie. We entered some deep inlets
amongst them, in search of a landing-place, but the beach was every
where too flat. At length, after dragging the boats through the mud for
a considerable way, and carrying the cargoes for a quarter of a mile
over a flat sand, we reached the shore, and pitched the tents. The
island on which we encamped was similar to the others, being from one
hundred to one hundred and fifty feet high above the water, and bounded
on all sides by steep, sandy cliffs, which were skirted by flat sands.
From the summit of the island we had the unpleasant view of a sea
covered with floating ice, as far as the eye could reach to the
eastward. Temperature during the greater part of the day 55 degrees; at
nine P.M. 52 degrees. Wind easterly. The length of this day's voyage was
thirty miles and a half; the latitude of the encampment 70 degrees 12
minutes, and longitude 129 degrees 21 minutes W.

[Sidenote: Sunday, 16th.] On the 16th the boats were afloat, and loaded
by seven in the morning, when we pulled round Cape Dalhousie, and found
the land trending as we wished to the south-east. Since reaching the
sea, the coast had gradually inclined to the northward, which with the
increased quantity of ice seen on the two or three last days, led us to
fear that a cape might exist, extending so far to the northward, as to
prevent us from reaching the Coppermine River within the period to which
our voyage was limited. It was, therefore, with peculiar satisfaction,
that, on putting ashore to cook breakfast, we saw distant land to the
S.E., apparently of greater height than that which we had recently
coasted; and we now flattered ourselves that we were about to leave
behind us the low coasts and shoals, which render the boat navigation
across the mouths of the Mackenzie and Esquimaux Lake so perplexing and
hazardous. Many deer were seen at our breakfasting-place, and the
musquitoes annoyed them so much that there would have been no difficulty
in approaching them, if we could have spared time to send out the
hunters.

Having obtained an observation for latitude, we directed our course to a
projecting point across an inlet, with no land visible towards its
bottom. The soundings in the middle of the opening exceeded nine
fathoms; the water became less salt as we advanced, and at last could
only be termed brackish. The point proved to be an Island sixteen miles
distant from our breakfasting-place; and as we approached it, we had the
mortification to perceive a coast seven or eight miles beyond it,
apparently continuous, and trending away to the north-north-west. The
island was named Nicholson Island, as a mark of my esteem for William
Nicholson, Esq., of Rochester. It is bounded by high cliffs of sand and
mud, and rises in the interior to the height of four hundred feet above
the sea. The cliffs were thawed to the depth of three feet, but frozen
underneath, and the water issuing from the thawing ground caused the mud
to boil out and flow down the banks. There were many small lakes on the
island, and a tolerably good vegetation. Amongst other plants I gathered
here a very beautiful American cowslip, (_dodecatheon_,) which grew in
the moist valleys. From the summit of the island a piece of water,
resembling a large river, and bearing south, was seen winding through a
country pleasantly varied by gently swelling hills and dales, and
differing so much in character from the alluvial islands we had just
left, that I thought myself justified in considering it to be part of
the main land. From S.W. to W.N.W. open water was seen, broken only by a
few islands, that were named after Major-General Campbell, of the Royal
Marines. This large sheet of water is undoubtedly the Esquimaux Lake,
which, according to the natives, not only communicates with the eastern
branch of the Mackenzie, but receives, besides, two large rivers; and,
consequently, the whole of the land which we coasted from Point
Encounter, is a collection of islands. The temperature varied this day
from 38 degrees to 55 degrees. The length of the day's voyage was
thirty-three miles, the latitude of our encampment 69 degrees 57
minutes, and longitude 128 degrees 18 minutes W.

[Sidenote: Monday, 17th.] On the 17th a thick fog detained us until nine
o'clock in the morning, when it dispersed, and we left our encampment.
About two miles from Nicholson's Island the water was nine fathoms deep,
and had a brackish taste; but as we continued our course to the
northward, it became shoaler and salter. This added to the probability
of the winding channel, which bore south, being a large river; and that
opinion was further strengthened by our observing, when we landed to
breakfast, the shore to be strewed with tide-wrack, resembling that
which is generally found on the banks of rivers in this country, such as
pieces of willows, fragments of fresh-water plants, and lumps of peat
earth. We were delighted to find here a beach of sand and fine gravel,
bold enough to admit of our running the boats upon it. The fresh
footsteps of a party of Esquimaux were seen on the sand.

After obtaining an observation for latitude, we embarked, and continued
our course along the coast until we came to the extremity of a cape,
which was formed by an island separated from the main by a shallow
channel. The cliffs of this island were about forty feet high, and the
snow which had accumulated under them in the winter, was not yet
dissolved, but, owing to the infiltration and freezing of water, now
formed an inclined bank of ice, nearly two-thirds of the height of the
cliff. This bank, or iceberg, being undermined by the action of the
waves, maintained its position only by its adhesion to the frozen cliffs
behind it. In some places large masses had broken off and floated away,
whilst in others the currents of melting snow floating from the flat
land above, had covered the ice with a thick coating of earth; so that
at first sight it appeared as if the bank had broken down; the real
structure of the iceberg being perceptible only where rents existed. In
a similar manner the frozen banks, or icebergs, covered with earth,
mentioned by Lieutenant Kotzebue, in his voyage to Behring Straits,
might have been formed. Had the whole mass of frozen snow broken off
from this bank, an iceberg would have been produced thirty feet wide at
its base, and covered on one side to the depth of a foot, or more, with
black earth. The island was composed of sand and slaty clay, into which
the thaw had not penetrated above a foot. The ravines were lined with
fragments of compact white limestone, and a few dwarf-birches and
willows grew on their sides. The sun's rays were very powerful this day,
and the heat was oppressive, even while sitting at rest in the boat; the
temperature of the air at noon being, in the shade, 62 degrees, and that
of the surface water, where the soundings were three fathoms, 55
degrees.

Immediately after rounding the cape, which was named after His
Excellency Sir Peregrine Maitland, Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada,
we entered a channel ten miles wide, running to the eastward, with an
open horizon in that direction; and a doubt arose as to whether it was a
strait, or merely a bay. Many large masses of ice were floating in it,
which proved to us that it had considerable depth; but the water being
only brackish, excited a suspicion that there was no passage through it.
While we were hesitating whether to hazard a loss of time by exploring
the opening, or to cross over at once to the northern land, several deer
were seen, and the hope of procuring a supply of fresh meat, induced us
to put ashore and encamp for the night, that the hunters might go in
chase. The beach here was strewed with fragments of dark-red sandstone,
white sandstone, white compact limestone, and a few pieces of syenite.
There were many large trunks of spruce-firs lying on the sand,
completely denuded of their bark and branches; and numerous exuviæ of a
marine crustaceous animal (_gammarus borealis_) lay at high water mark.
Our hunters were successful, Ooligbuck and M'Leay each killing a deer.
Many of these animals had fled to the cool moist sands on the coast, but
even there the musquitoes tormented them so much as to render them
regardless of the approach of the hunters. The latitude of our
encampment was 70 degrees 7 minutes, longitude 127 degrees 45 minutes;
and the length of the day's voyage twenty-three miles. The temperature
varied from 52 degrees to 63 degrees. By watching the motion of the tide
for the greater part of the night, I fully satisfied myself that the ebb
set out of the opening, and that the flood came round the land on the
north side; hence I concluded that there could be no passage to the
eastward in this direction, and that the opening led into a bay, to
which the name of Harrowby was given, in honour of the Right Honourable
the Earl of Harrowby.

[Sidenote: Tuesday, 18th.] Embarking on the 18th at three in the
morning, we set the sails to a favourable though light breeze, and using
the oars at the same time, crossed Harrowby Bay, at its mouth. During
the traverse, land was seen round the bottom of the bay. On nearing the
shore we distinguished twelve Esquimaux tents on an eminence; and a
woman who was walking on the beach gave the alarm, but not until we were
near enough to speak to her, her surprise having fixed her to the spot
for a time. The men then rushed out, brandishing their knives, and,
using the most threatening expressions, forbade us to land, and desired
us to return by the way we came. Ooligbuck endeavoured to calm their
fears, by telling them that we were friends, but they replied only by
repeating their threats, and by hideous grimaces and gestures, which
displayed great agility; frequently standing on one foot and throwing
the other nearly as high as the head. At length on my bawling
"_noowoerlawgo_," (I wish to barter,) they became quiet at once, and one
of them running to his kaiyack, and paddling off to us, was followed by
many of the others, even before they could witness the reception we gave
him. They came boldly alongside, and exchanged their spears, arrows,
bows, and some pieces of well-dressed seal-skin, for bits of old
iron-hoop, files and beads. They were not so well furnished with
iron-work as the Esquimaux we had seen further to the westward, and very
eagerly received a supply from us. In our intercourse with them we
experienced much advantage from a simple contrivance suggested by Mr.
Kendall, and constructed during our halt in Refuge Cove: it was a
barricade formed by raising the masts and spare oars eighteen inches
above the gunwale on two crutches or davits, which not only prevented
our Esquimaux visitors from stealing out of the boats, but, in the event
of a quarrel, could have been rendered arrow proof by throwing the
blankets or sails over it. On a light breeze springing up we set the
sails, and continuing to ply the oars, advanced at the rate of four
miles an hour, attended by eleven kaiyacks. Three oomiaks with the
women followed us, and we found that, when rowed by two women, and
steered by a third, they surpassed our boats in speed.

The females, unlike those of the Indian tribes, had much handsomer
features than the men; and one young woman of the party would have been
deemed pretty even in Europe. Our presents seemed to render them
perfectly happy, and they danced with such ecstasy in their slender
boats as to incur, more than once, great hazard of being overset. A
bundle of strings of beads being thrown into an oomiak, it was caught by
an old woman, who hugged the treasure to her breast with the strongest
expression of rapture, while another elderly dame, who had stretched out
her arms in vain, became the very picture of despair. On my explaining,
however that the present was for the whole, an amicable division
instantly took place; and to show their gratitude, they sang a song to a
pleasing air, keeping time with their oars. They gave us many pressing
invitations to pass the night at their tents, in which they were joined
by the men; and to excite our liberality the mothers drew their children
out of their wide hoods, where they are accustomed to carry them naked,
and holding them up begged beads for them. Their entreaties were, for a
time, successful; but being desirous of getting clear of our visitors
before breakfast-time, we at length told them that our stock was
exhausted, and they took leave.

These Esquimaux were as inquisitive as the others we had seen respecting
our names, and were very desirous of teaching us the true pronunciation
of theirs. They informed us that they had seen Indians, and had heard of
white people, but had never seen any before. My giving a little deer's
meat to one of them in exchange for fish, led to an inquiry as to how we
killed the animal. On which Ooligbuck showed them his gun, and obtaining
permission, fired it off after cautioning them not to be alarmed. The
report astonished them much, and an echo from some neighbouring pieces
of ice made them think that the ball had struck the shore, then upwards
of a mile distant. The women had left us previously; several of the men
departed the instant they heard the report; and the rest, in a short
time, followed their example. They applied to the gun the same name
they give to their harpoons for killing whales.

We learned from these people that the shore we were now coasting was
part of the main land, and that some land to the northward, which
appeared soon after we had passed their tents, consisted of two islands;
between which and the main shore, there was a passage leading to the
open sea. On landing to cook breakfast and obtain a meridian observation
for latitude, we observed the interior of the country to be similar to
that seen from Nicholson's Island. The soil was in some spots sandy,
but, generally, it consisted of a tenacious clay which cracks in the
sun. The air was perfumed by numerous tufts of a beautiful phlox, and of
a still handsomer and very fragrant cruciform flower, of a genus
hitherto undescribed.

On re-embarking we pulled about eight miles farther betwixt the islands
and the main, and found a narrow opening to the sea nearly barred up.
The bottom was so soft and muddy that the poles sunk deep into it, and
we could not carry the cargo ashore to lighten the boats. We succeeded,
however, in getting through, after much labour, and the moment we
crossed the bar, the water was greenish, and perfectly salt. The cape
forming the eastern point of this entrance lies in latitude 70 degrees
36 minutes N., longitude 127 degrees 35 minutes W. and proved to be the
most northerly part of the main shore which we saw during the voyage. It
is a few miles farther north than Return Reef of Captain Franklin, and
is most probably, with the exception of the land near Icy Cape, since
discovered by Captain Beechey, in the Blossom, the most northern point
of the American Continent. It was called Cape Bathurst, in honour of the
Right Honourable the Earl of Bathurst, and the islands lying off it were
named after George Baillie, Esq., of the Colonial Office. I could not
account in any other way for the comparative freshness of the sheet of
water we had left, than by supposing that a sand-bank extended from Cape
Dalhousie to Baillie's Islands, impeding the communication with the sea,
and this notion was supported by a line of heavy ice which was seen both
from Cape Bathurst and Cape Dalhousie, in the direction of the supposed
bar, and apparently aground.

Taking for granted that the accounts we received from the natives were
(as our own observations led us to believe) correct, Esquimaux Lake is a
very extensive and curious piece of water. The Indians say that it
reaches to within four days' march of Fort Good Hope; and the Esquimaux
informed us that it extends from Point Encounter to Cape Bathurst, thus
ascribing to it an extent from north to south of more than one hundred
and forty miles, and from east to west of one hundred and fifty. It is
reported to be full of islands, to be every where brackish; and, besides
its communication with the eastern branch of the Mackenzie, to receive
two other large rivers. If a conjecture may be hazarded about the
original formation of a lake which we had so few opportunities of
examining, it seems probable that the alluvial matters brought down by
the Mackenzie, and other rivers, have gradually formed a barrier of
islands and shoals, which, by preventing the free access of the tide,
enables the fresh water to maintain the predominance behind it. The
action of the waves of the sea has a tendency to increase the height of
the barrier, while the currents of the rivers and ebb-tide preserve the
depth of the lake. A great formation of wood-coal will, I doubt not, be
ultimately formed by the immense quantities of drift-timber annually
deposited on the borders of Esquimaux Lake.

FOOTNOTES:

[8] The ridge-poles were omitted in the section by mistake.

CONTINUATION OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE EASTERN DETACHMENT.

CHAPTER III.

Double Cape Bathurst--Whales--Bituminous-shale Cliffs on Fire--Enter
Franklin Bay--Heavy Gale--Peninsula of Cape Parry--Perforated
Rock--Detention at Cape Lyon by Wind--Force of an Esquimaux Arrow--Meet
with heavy Ice--Pass Union and Dolphin Straits--Double Cape Krusenstern,
and enter George the Fourth's Coronation Gulph--Reach the Coppermine
River--Remarks--Meteorological Table.

As soon as we entered the clear green water off Cape Bathurst, we
perceived a strong flood tide setting against us, and saw several white
whales, and some black ones of a large size, but of a species unknown to
Ooligbuck.[9] The natives term them _aggeewoerk_, which is the name
given, by the Esquimaux of Hudson's Bay, to the black whales that
frequent the Welcome. Many large masses of ice were floating about, but
they were no impediment to the boats. The beach, from the time we left
Esquimaux Lake, was bold, there being two or three fathoms water close
to the shore. We hailed this change of circumstances with pleasure, for
the shoals and islands skirting Esquimaux Lake had embarrassed us much,
and the brackishness of the water, combined with the trending of the
coast to the northward, and even westward, had excited in our minds an
apprehension, that we might possibly be obliged to make a great circuit
in search of a passage, out of that extraordinary piece of water, and
that the opening, when found, might lie so far to the northward as to be
obstructed by an icy sea. Fortunately our fears were groundless; and, to
increase our joy, the coast-line from Cape Bathurst appeared to run in a
straight direction for Coppermine River. There were many winter-houses
built by the Esquimaux on Cape Bathurst. The cliffs facing the sea were
still frozen, but the water trickling down their sides showed that they
were thawing rapidly. We encamped on the beach in latitude 70 degrees
32-1/2 minutes N., longitude 127 degrees 21 minutes W., having sailed
that day thirty-seven miles. A plentiful supply of very fine sorrel
(_oxyria reniformis_) being obtained from the banks, proved an agreeable
addition to our supper.

[Sidenote: Wednesday, 19th.] Embarking at four o'clock in the morning of
the 19th, we rowed along the coast close to the beach, in from two to
three fathoms water. We landed at noon to observe the latitude; and at
four P.M. a thunder-storm coming on, induced us to encamp for the night.
The day's voyage was thirty-two miles, and our encampment was situated
in latitude 70 degrees 11 minutes N., longitude 126 degrees 15 minutes
W., on a point which was named after Dr. Fitton, the distinguished
President of the Geological Society. No land was visible to seaward, nor
were any fields of ice or large floes seen, but we passed many smaller
pieces and some masses, that, having stranded on the beach, were
dissolving with great rapidity. A regular tide of six hours affecting
the rate of our progress, an allowance was made for it in the reckoning.

The coast consists of precipitous banks, similar in structure to the
bituminous-shale cliffs at Whitby, in Yorkshire. They gradually increase
in altitude from Cape Bathurst, and near our encampment their height
exceeded two hundred and fifty feet. The shale was in a state of
ignition in many places, and the hot sulphureous airs from the land were
strongly contrasted with cold sea-breezes with which, in the morning,
they alternated. The combustion had proceeded to a considerable extent
on the point where we landed at noon. Much alum had formed, and the
baked clays of yellow, brown, white, and red colours, caused the place
to resemble a brick-field or a pottery. This point, which was named
after Dr. Traill, of Liverpool, lies in latitude 70 degrees 19 minutes
N. The interior of the country, as seen from the top of the cliffs,
appeared to be nearly level, and to abound in small lakes. The soil was
clayey, and from the recent thaw wet and soft. Tufts of the beautiful
phlox, before mentioned, were scattered over these, otherwise unsightly
wastes; and, notwithstanding the scanty vegetation, rein-deer were
numerous. Some of the young ones, to whom man was doubtless a novel
object, came trotting up to gratify their curiosity, and were suffered
to depart unmolested. The sea here abounds in molluscæ, and many black
whales were seen; also king-ducks, eiders, snow-birds, hawks, and a
large moth.

[Sidenote: Thursday, 20th.] We embarked at half-past two on the morning
of the 20th, and ran alongshore for two hours with a strong and
favourable breeze, when shoals lying off the mouth of a pretty large
river, led us six or seven miles from the coast. The breeze, which was
off the land, freshened considerably, and raised a short breaking sea,
through which we attempted to pull towards the shore, but the boats
shipped much water, and made little head-way. We, therefore, set the
sails again, and, fortunately fetched under a headland, and effected a
landing. The whole of the pemmican in the Union, and some of that in the
Dolphin, was wet on this occasion. In the morning we had passed two
Esquimaux tents, pitched on the beach, but the inmates seeming to be
asleep, we did not disturb them, being unwilling to lose the fair wind
by any delay.

Soon after landing the weather became very foggy, and the wind increased
to a heavy gale. The cliffs at our encampment consisted of slate-clay,
and bituminous alum-slate, and were six hundred feet high. The river,
whose mouth we passed, ran close behind them, having a course parallel
to the coast for some miles before it makes its way to the sea. It was
named Wilmot Horton River, in honour of the Under Secretary of State for
the Colonial Department. Its breadth is about three hundred yards, and
it seems, from the quantity of drift-timber that was piled on the shoals
at its mouth, to flow through a wooded country. The length of this day's
voyage was twenty-four miles, and the position of our encampment was in
latitude 69 degrees 50 minutes N., longitude 125 degrees 55 minutes W.
At high-water, which took place at a quarter past four in the afternoon,
the small slip of beach on which we had encamped was almost covered, and
we had to pile the baggage on the shelving cliff. A very showy species
of gromwell grew near our encampment, in company with the common
sea-gromwell, (_lithospermum maritimum_.)

[Sidenote: Friday, 21st.] On the 21st strong winds and foggy weather,
with a considerable surf on the beach, detained us until after eight
o'clock in the morning, when many large masses of ice coming in, took
the ground near the shore, and smoothed the water sufficiently to enable
us to embark. The fog was dense to seaward and over the land, but the
height of the cliffs left a space of about a mile from the beach, over
which it was carried by the violence of the wind.

About two miles from our late encampment, the bituminous shale was again
noticed to be on fire, giving out much smoke; and as we advanced, the
cliffs became less precipitous, appearing as if they had fallen down
from the consumption of the combustible strata. They gradually
terminated in a green and sloping bank, whose summit, about two miles
from the sea, rose to the height of about six hundred feet. For the
information of the general reader, I may mention that the shale takes
fire in consequence of its containing a considerable quantity of sulphur
in a state of such minute division, that it very readily attracts oxygen
from the atmosphere, and inflames. The combustion is rendered more
lively by the presence of bitumen; and the sulphuric acid, which is one
of its products, unites with the alumina of the shale to form, with the
addition of a small quantity of potass, the triple salt, well known by
the name of alum. The moistening of the strata by the sea-spray
accelerates the process. In some alum-works, where nature has not been
so favourable as in the cliffs of Cape Bathurst, a deficiency of the
bituminous matter requisite to keep up the proper intensity of
combustion, is supplied by brush-wood, which is strewed in alternate
layers with shale that has been previously much divided by long exposure
to the weather, and the whole is then moistened with salt-water. A
further account of these cliffs is given in page xl. of the Appendix.

In the forenoon we passed the mouths of two small rivers, which were
designated after Sir Henry Jardine, Bart., King's Remembrancer in the
Court of Exchequer for Scotland; and Dr. Burnett, Commissioner of the
Victualling Board. A meridian observation was obtained in latitude 69
degrees 38 minutes N.

In the afternoon the wind blowing more on the shore, caused a tumbling
sea. We sailed amongst much stranded ice, and, following the line of
coast, were gradually led into a deep bay, whose east side, having a
northerly direction, was formed by low land, and so much broken by
numerous and extensive inlets, as to look more like a collection of
islands than a part of the main land. We were now, reckoning by degrees
of longitude, fully half way from Point Separation to the Coppermine
River, and the coast from Cape Bathurst had been so exactly in the
proper direction, as to excite high hopes of a short and prosperous
voyage: it was, therefore, no pleasant sight to us to behold land
running out at right angles to our course, and we were willing to
believe that a passage existed betwixt it and the main. This opinion was
supported by the direction of the high land, which had hitherto skirted
the shore, continuing to be south-easterly, until lost to the sight at
the distance of fifteen or twenty miles. We, therefore, endeavoured to
find a passage, but the first opening that we came to, led into a
circular basin of water, apparently land-locked, and about five miles in
diameter. We halted at its entrance to cook our supper, and, during our
stay, perceiving that the ebb-tide set out of it, we determined on
searching for a passage elsewhere. This inlet is six fathoms deep at its
entrance, and would prove an excellent harbour for a ship, only for the
sand-banks, which skirt this part of the coast, and which render the
passage into it too intricate for vessels having a greater draught of
water than our boats. It was named Langton Harbour, after the agent for
the Hudson's Bay Company at Liverpool.

Leaving this harbour, and steering to the northward, we passed several
inlets, into which the flood-tide set with a strong current. We could
not see land towards their bottoms, but their mouths were shoal, and we
felt convinced that there was no passage through them, because the
flood-tide entered them from the westward. [Sidenote: Saturday, 22nd.]
We, therefore, proceeded on our voyage without wasting time in examining
them; and at two o'clock, on the morning of the 22nd, having come
fifty-four miles, we encamped on a beach composed of small fragments of
limestone, and strewed with sea-weed. This beach, which received the
name of Point Stivens, separates an extensive sheet of salt-water from
the sea, and is similar in character to the Chesil Beach, that connects
the Isle of Portland to the shore. It varies in breadth from one hundred
yards to a quarter of a mile, is several miles long, has a northern
direction, and seems to have been formed by the sweep of the tide round
the bay, meeting the ebb from the basins that intersects the peninsular
promontory with which it is connected. There are several narrow breaches
in it through which the tide flows. Anxious to discover the termination
of this promontory which was leading us so much out of the direct course
to the Coppermine, I went to the summit of a rising ground, about five
miles distant, but the view was closed by some small hills, two or three
miles off. The soil was clayey, and vegetation scanty.

In taking wood to make a fire, from a large pile of drift-timber which
had been collected by the Esquimaux, the nest of a snow-bird, containing
four young, was discovered. The parent bird was at first scared away,
but affection for its offspring at length gave it courage to approach
them with food; and as it was not molested it soon became quite
fearless, and fed them with the larvæ of insects, whilst the party were
seated at breakfast close by the nest.

At nine o'clock, A.M., we embarked again, and running before a
favourable breeze, came to a point consisting of cliffs of limestone,
twenty feet high, with a small island of the same kind of rock at its
extremity. Many large boulders of greenstone were seen here. After
ascertaining the latitude by meridian observation to be 69 degrees 42
minutes N., we continued our voyage along a bold shore, consisting of
precipices of limestone, forty or fifty feet high, with three or four
fathoms of water at the base. In the evening, having reached a
projection which appeared to be the western pitch of the cape, we
encamped in a bay near a remarkable perforated rock, having come
twenty-six miles since leaving Point Stivens. In the course of the day's
voyage we had to make our way through some pretty extensive streams of
ice, composed of pieces which rose eight or ten feet above the water;
and we saw a considerable quantity of what is termed sailing ice to
seaward, being such as a ship could make her way through. I had now the
gratification of naming the extensive bay we had been coasting for three
days, after my friend and commanding officer; and to the several inlets
on its eastern side I assigned the names of Wright, Cracroft, and
Sellwood, in honour of his near relatives. A group of islands to the
northward was named Booth Islands on the same account.

In bestowing the name of Franklin on this remarkable bay, I paid an
appropriate compliment to the officer, under whose orders and by whose
arrangements the delineation of all that is known of the northern coast
of the American Continent has been effected; with the exception of the
parts in the vicinity of Icy Cape discovered by Captain Beechey. It
would not be proper, nor is it my intention, to descant on the
professional merits of my superior officer; but after having served
under Captain Franklin for nearly seven years, in two successive voyages
of discovery, I trust I may be allowed to say, that however high his
brother officers may rate his courage and talents, either in the
ordinary line of his professional duty, or in the field of discovery,
the hold he acquires upon the affections of those under his command, by
a continued series of the most conciliating attentions to their
feelings, and an uniform and unremitting regard to their best interests,
is not less conspicuous. I feel that the sentiments of my friends and
companions, Captain Back and Lieutenant Kendall, are in unison with my
own, when I affirm, that gratitude and attachment to our late commanding
officer will animate our breasts to the latest period of our lives.
After this feeble but sincere tribute of respect and regard, in which I
hope I have not overstepped the proper bounds of a narrative, I hasten
to resume the details of the voyage.

The country in the neighbourhood of the encampment consisted entirely of
limestone, mostly of the variety named dolomite, and, as is usual where
that stone prevails, it was extremely barren. The cliffs and points of
land present many caverns and perforated rocks, which have very strong
resemblances to the windows and crypts of Gothic buildings. The common
kittiwake breeds in great numbers on the rocky ledges in this quarter,
and their young were already fledged. The temperature during the day was
nearly stationary at 46 degrees, the wind south. The evening being very
fine, the pemmican was taken out of the bags, which were scraped and
dried; and our loss of provision, by the wetting it sustained in the
gale of the 20th, proved to be less than we had expected.

[Sidenote: Sunday, 23rd.] Embarking at four o'clock, A.M. of the 23d, we
sailed with a favourable breeze for nine miles, betwixt Booth Islands
and a shore presenting alternately projecting rocky shoals and narrow
inlets. We then landed, and ascended a hill, about seven hundred feet
high, to ascertain the direction of the coast, and had the satisfaction
of finding that we had now reached the northern extremity of this
remarkable promontory. It was named Cape Parry after the distinguished
navigator whose skill and perseverance have created an era in the
progress of northern discovery, and a letter addressed to him,
containing information of our proceedings and of Captain Franklin's as
far as was known to us, was deposited under a pile of stones which we
erected on the summit of the hill. From this elevated situation, land
was faintly seen bearing S.E. by S., about forty miles distant; and from
thence round to Booth Islands there appeared an open sea, merely studded
with a few streams of sailing ice, but no islands were seen in that
direction. There are many well sheltered coves in the vicinity of Cape
Parry and amongst Booth Islands, but the bottom is rocky, and numerous
reefs render the navigation unsafe for a ship. The eastern side of Cape
Parry exhibits a succession of limestone cliffs, similar to those which
form its western shores; and as we continued our voyage, we passed many
excavations ornamented by graceful slender pillars, and exhibiting so
perfect a similarity to the pure Gothic arch, that had Nature made many
such displays in the Old world, there would be but one opinion as to the
origin of that style of architecture. A small island, on which we landed
to cook breakfast, was named after the late Daniel Moore, Esq., of
Lincoln's Inn. It was composed of a cellular limestone, containing many
crystals of quartz. The whole party went in pursuit of a polar hare
which was seen here, but, although it had no other shelter than the
rocks, it contrived to escape from us all.

In the evening we encamped on an island, which was named by Mr. Kendall
after the Reverend Dr. Burrow of Epping. It is situated in latitude 69
degrees 49 minutes N., longitude 123 degrees 33 minutes W. The length of
the day's voyage was thirty-one miles. Fine weather, and a temperature
of 52 degrees, entailed upon us a visit from the musquitoes. The sea
water here is of a light blue colour and clear, the bottom being
distinctly visible in five fathoms. Pieces of ice still adhered to the
cliffs.

[Sidenote: Monday, 24th.] We were detained in the morning of the 24th by
a thick fog, which cleared up about eight o'clock; but the moon being
then in distance, we remained until noon, that Mr. Kendall might take
observations for lunars and latitude. These necessary operations being
completed, a short voyage of nine miles brought us to an island on which
we encamped, and which obtained from us the name of Clapperton, in
honour of the undaunted explorer of central Africa. In our way we passed
through several streams of ice, composed of pieces of considerable size,
but all evidently in a state of rapid dissolution, under a bright sun;
the water flowing from their surfaces in rivulets. Many black whales,
and various kinds of seals, were seen this day. We saw no black whales
farther to the eastward.

From Clapperton Island we had a view of a ridge of hills, which, from
their direction, appeared to be a continuation of those on the west side
on Franklin Bay. The island itself, like the neighbouring coast, is
composed of limestone, and many detached rocks skirt it, rising from
water that is beautifully clear. When we landed there was a strong
current setting to the eastward, round the end of the island, but it
ceased at four P.M., the time of low water, and was probably produced by
the ebb setting out of some of the inlets of Cape Parry. In the evening
the ice made a noise so like the regular firing of half-minute guns, as
to excite, at first, an idea that we heard the guns of a ship. The
temperature at six o'clock in the evening was as high as 74 degrees in
the shade.

Clapperton Island lies in latitude 69 degrees 41-1/2 minutes N., and
nearly in the longitude of Fort Franklin, from which it is distant
three hundred and thirteen miles in a straight line; but the distance
between the nearer part of the Great Bear Lake and the Arctic Sea here,
does not much exceed one hundred and ninety miles.

[Sidenote: Tuesday, 25th.] Taking advantage of a light breeze and very
fine weather, we embarked at midnight, and crossed over to the east side
of the bay, passing through some heavy streams of ice by rather
intricate channels. At half past five in the morning of the 25th, we
landed on a point of the main shore, and Mr. Kendall took observations
for three sets of lunars. On re-embarking we proceeded a few miles
further, when a heavy gale of wind suddenly springing up, we ran for
shelter into a small creek at the extremity of a cape, which I named
after the distinguished traveller Captain G.F. Lyon, R.N. The bay which
lies betwixt it and Cape Parry, was called Darnley, in honour of the
Earl of Darnley. The distance from Clapperton Island to Cape Lyon is
fourteen miles.

The country in the neighbourhood of Cape Lyon presents a surface varied
by gently swelling eminences, covered with a grassy sward, and
intersected by several narrow ridges of naked trap rocks, rising about
one hundred and fifty feet above the general level. The trap ridges,
when they reach the coast, form high cliffs, and the clay-slate and
limestone lie in nearly horizontal strata beneath them. The view inland
was terminated by the range of hills which we had seen at the bottom of
Darnley Bay, to which the name of Melville Range was now given, in
honour of the Right Honourable the Lord Viscount Melville.

From the top of the highest trap-hill, near the extremity of the cape,
we saw some heavy ice to seaward, but with enough of open water for the
passage of a ship; and, occasionally, during our stay, there was an
appearance of land to the north-westward, occupying two points of the
compass; but we were uncertain whether it might not be a fog-bank
hanging over a field of ice. If it was land, it could not be less than
twenty-five or thirty miles distant, and must, from the portion of the
horizon it occupied, be a large island. Upon the summit of the hill we
erected a pile of stones, and deposited another letter for Captain
Parry, containing a short account of our proceedings.

A gale of wind detained us two days at Cape Lyon, during which Ooligbuck
supplied us with rein-deer meat, and Mr. Kendall obtained several sets
of lunars. The latitude of our encampment, by the mean of three meridian
observations, was 69 degrees 46-1/2 minutes N.; and the longitude, by
lunar distances, 122 degrees 51 minutes W. The temperature of the air,
during the gale, was about 45 degrees, that of the water 35 degrees.
During our stay at Cape Lyon the tides were regular, but the rise and
fall were short of twenty inches. At midnight on the 26th of July, the
sun's lower limb was observed to touch the horizon for the first time
since our arrival on the coast. Some old winter houses were seen in our
walks, but we perceived no indications of the Esquimaux having recently
visited this quarter.

[Sidenote: Thursday, 27th.] The gale moderated on the 27th, and at eight
in the evening it was sufficiently abated to permit us to proceed on our
voyage. After rowing about two miles, the horns of a deer were seen over
a rock at the summit of a cliff, on which M'Leay, the coxswain of the
Union, landed and killed it. This poor animal had been previously
wounded by an Esquimaux arrow, which had broken its shoulder bone. The
jagged bone-head of the arrow was buried in the flesh, and its copper
point bent up where it had struck the bone. The wound was open, and
seemed to have been inflicted at least a fortnight before, but the
animal was still fat. The extremity of Cape Lyon lies about three miles
north-east of the encampment we had left, and in its neighbourhood the
cliffs form bold headlands and several small rocky islands. Soon after
rounding it we came to a projecting point, consisting of cliffs of
limestone, in which there was a remarkable cave, opening to the sea by
an archway, fifty feet high and twenty wide. The walls of the cavern
were two hundred feet high, and a large circular aperture in the roof
gave free admission to the daylight. Mr. Kendall named this point after
Mr. Pearce, a particular friend of his.

The night was fine but cold, the temperature having fallen to 35 degrees
soon after we started, and at midnight the sun sunk for nearly half an
hour beneath the horizon. [Sidenote: Friday, 28th.] We passed much heavy
stream-ice, and towards the morning a quantity of new, or, as the seamen
term it, "bay ice," having formed on the surface on the sea, the boats
were so much retarded that we put ashore at four o'clock of the 28th, to
wait until the increasing heat of the day dissolved it. The point on
which we landed was named after Admiral Sir Richard Godwin Keats,
G.C.B., Governor of Greenwich Hospital, and lies in latitude 69 degrees
49 minutes N. and longitude 122 degrees W., being about eighteen miles
distant from our encampment on Cape Lyon. The rocks at Point Keats
consist of flesh-coloured sandstone. The Melville range of hills
approaches there within eight or ten miles of the sea, and the
intervening country is traversed by ridges of greenstone. On the coast
from Cape Lyon to Point Keats there is a line of large drift timber,
evidently thrown up by the waves, about twelve feet perpendicular
height, above the ordinary spring tides: a sufficient proof of the sea
being nearly clear of ice at the time it was thrown up; for the presence
of any considerable quantity, even of stream-ice, prevents the waves
from rising high. After two hours halt, the bay-ice having dissolved we
re-embarked.

From Cape Lyon to Point Keats the coast runs nearly east; after quitting
the latter we found it trending a little to the southward, and from a
point, which was named in honour of John Deas Thompson, Esq.,
Commissioner of His Majesty's Navy, it has nearly a south-east
direction. We landed a little to the eastward of Point Deas Thompson, to
take a meridian observation for latitude, in a small bay, bounded by
cliffs of limestone, one hundred and forty feet high, in which the waves
had sculptured some beautiful Gothic arches. From the summit of the
cliffs we saw a dark appearance in the eastern horizon, but it was too
indistinct to permit us to decide whether it was land or merely a
fog-bank. To the eastward of these cliffs the coast decreased in height,
and, at the distance of five miles, we passed a small river, which was
named after Francis Palgrave, Esq. Near this river, on the summit of a
cliff, which was twenty-five feet high, we noticed several large logs of
drift timber, with some hummocks of gravel, that appeared to have been
thrown up by the waves. A portion of the Melville Range lies within
three miles of the shore there; and one of its most remarkable hills was
named after my esteemed friend, William Jackson Hooker, LL.D., Regius
Professor of Botany in the University of Glasgow; and another after
Colonel Colby, of the Royal Engineers, one of the Members of the Board
of Longitude. About four o'clock in the afternoon we came to a stream
flowing from a lake, and as it was an excellent boat harbour, we entered
it and encamped. It was named Roscoe, after the eloquent historian of
the Medici; and a conical hill of the Melville Range, visible from its
mouth, received the name of the venerable geographer Major Rennel.

We passed this day through heavier and more crowded streams of ice than
any we had previously seen on the voyage. The navigation amongst it was
tedious and difficult, and just before we put ashore much motion was
imparted to it by a fresh south-west wind. The temperature during the
day varied from 35 degrees to 50 degrees. The mouth of Roscoe River lies
in latitude 69 degrees 41 minutes N., longitude 121 degrees 2 minutes
W., and is forty-eight miles distant from Cape Lyon.

[Sidenote: Saturday, 29th.] We embarked on the 29th, with a fair wind;
but the ice lay so close, that we could not venture to set more than a
reefed foresail, and were ultimately obliged to lower the sail entirely,
and to find a passage through ice with oars and poles. The pieces of ice
were of sufficient magnitude to deserve the name of floes, and were
sometimes several fathoms thick. They were all moving before the breeze,
which caused them to arrange themselves in the form of streams parallel
to the coast, and, consequently, left lanes of open water in the
direction of our course. These lanes, however, were continually changing
their form; and, on several occasions, when we had been tempted by the
favourable appearance of a piece of open water to venture from the
coast, we had great difficulty in extricating ourselves from the ice
which closed around us. The thickness of the ice led me to conclude that
the sea had not been long open in this quarter; and I observed that the
vegetation was later on this part of the coast than on the western side
of Cape Parry.

For the first twelve miles after leaving our encampment, the coast was
low and sandy; the Melville Range still forming the back-ground, at the
distance of four or five miles from the sea. The low beaches were
terminated by a rocky headland, which obtained from us the name of De
Witt Clinton, as a testimony of our sense of the urbanity and love of
science which had prompted his Excellency the Governor of the state of
New York[10] to show so much attention to the members of the Expedition,
in their passage through his government. Some miles beyond Point De Witt
Clinton we came to a steep cliff, where the ice was so closely packed
that we could not force a passage. The cargoes were, therefore, carried
along the foot of the cliff, and the boats launched for a few yards over
a piece of ice. In this operation, the shelving base of an iceberg,
which had formed under the cliff, and still adhered to it, but which was
undermined by the waves, gave way whilst several of the men were
standing upon it; but, fortunately, it did not overset, and they
received no injury, as it was large enough to support them in the water.
At nine o'clock, A.M., we were stopped by the closeness of the ice, and
put ashore until the tide or wind should produce some change.

The tides, since leaving the Mackenzie, had never been observed to have
a greater rise than eighteen inches: but in the neighbourhood of our
encampment, the sea-wrack and lines of drift timber indicated a washing
of the sea to the perpendicular height of twenty feet. The country in
this vicinity consists of a bluish limestone, interstratified with
slate-clay: and naked and rugged ridges of trap rocks rise in various
places above the general level. The soil is composed of clay and
limestone gravel. The latitude of our encampment was ascertained, by
meridian observation, to be 69 degrees 29 minutes N.; its longitude was
120 degrees 20 minutes W.; and its distance from Roscoe River was
twenty-five miles.

[Sidenote: Sunday, 30th.] A breeze of wind from the land having opened a
passage two miles wide, we embarked at two o'clock in the morning of the
30th, and ran seven miles under sail; when, having overtaken the ice
which had passed in the night, we found it too closely packed to allow
us to proceed. In making for the beach, the Union narrowly escaped being
crushed by two large floes of ice, which came together with violence
just as she was about to run betwixt them. The Dolphin had sailed
through the same passage not two minutes before. From an eminence near
our encampment, we had the unpleasant view of a sea covered, as far as
the eye could reach, with ice, excepting a few lanes of open water far
to seaward. The tide fell here seven inches in the morning, and eleven
in the evening, although the north-west wind increased in the afternoon
to a pretty strong gale. The greater fall of the water with that wind,
showing that it found an exit to the eastward, relieved us from an
apprehension, which we had begun to entertain, that we were entering a
deep bay, which might be encumbered by the drift-ice for many days. Much
ice drove past us in the course of the day, before a west-north-west
wind, its progress being only slightly checked for a time by the flood
tide. Recent footsteps of a small party of Esquimaux were seen on the
beach. Our encampment was situated in latitude 69 degrees 24 minutes N.,
and longitude 120 degrees 03 minutes W.

[Sidenote: Monday, 31st.] Embarking on the 31st, at two o'clock in the
morning, we succeeded in getting about six miles through the ice: when
we were again obliged to put ashore at the mouth of a small river, which
was named after James Buchanan, Esq., his Majesty's Consul at New York,
whose friendly attention to the officers of the Expedition well entitled
him to their gratitude. After waiting for a while the tide loosened the
ice a little, and we made some progress by debarking upon the floes, and
pushing them apart with poles, until a sufficient opening was made. This
operation was tedious, and not devoid of hazard to the boats, arising
from the rotatory motion frequently given to the floes, by the pressure
of the body of the ice. At noon, an observation for latitude was
obtained on a projecting point, which was named after William Tinney,
Esq., of Lincoln's Inn. At three in the afternoon, our progress being
again arrested by the compactness of the ice, we hauled the boats upon
the beach, and M'Leay having killed a fat buck rein-deer, the party had
an excellent supper after the fatigues of the day. The length of the
day's voyage was twenty-two miles; the latitude of our encampment, 69
degrees 17-1/2 minutes N., and its longitude 119 degrees 27 minutes W.
The coast line in this quarter is lower, few of the cliffs exceeding
forty feet in height, and there is a greater proportion of flat beach
than occurs nearer Cape Lyon. The ground is strewed with gravel,
apparently arising from a limestone conglomerate which exists there in
considerable quantity. The Melville Range is within four or five miles
of the shore at this place, and does not rise more than five hundred
feet above the sea. Many small rivulets flow from the rising grounds
into the sea, through wide gravelly beds, indicating that at times they
swell into large torrents.

[Sidenote: August 1st.] A light westerly wind having opened a narrow
channel between the ice and the shore, we embarked early in the morning
of the 1st of August, and, three miles from our encampment, came to a
river, which discharged itself by various shallow mouths, separated by
sand banks. Its westernmost and easternmost mouths were five miles
apart; and the latter, which was the largest, was one hundred and fifty
yards wide. Although the outlet of this river is so much barred up, it
discharges a considerable volume of water, and probably has its sources
in the hills which are visible from the northern shores of Great Bear
Lake. It was named after John Wilson Croker, Esq., Secretary to the
Admiralty. Further on we had a view of a high island, lying ten or
twelve miles from the shore, which received the appellation of Sir
George Clerk's Island. M'Leay, who was now acknowledged to be our best
hunter, was sent in pursuit of a deer, which we saw from the boats, and
being successful, we landed to cook our breakfast, after having rowed
twenty miles in the course of the morning. An observation for latitude
was obtained a mile further at a point which was named after Waller
Clifton, Esq., Secretary to the Victualling Board, The coast here makes
a turn to the southward, and about six miles further on, where it
resumes its easterly direction, a river about one hundred yards wide
flows into the sea, betwixt two sand hills. To this river Mr. Kendall
gave the name of Inman, out of respect to the Reverend and Learned
Professor of the Royal Naval College at Portsmouth. A conical hill,
about ten miles distant, in a south-west direction, was named after the
late President of the Royal Society, the highly distinguished Sir
Humphry Davy, Baronet. This was the last part we saw of the Melville
Chain. We encamped at half past seven in the evening, under a high cliff
of limestone, having advanced during the day thirty-seven miles. The
point on which we encamped, received from Mr. Kendall, the name of Wise,
after Captain M.F. Wise, of the Royal Navy, under whose command he
sailed in His Majesty's ship Spartan. It is situated in latitude 69
degrees 03-1/2 minutes N., longitude 118 degrees W.

The coast from Cape Clifton to Point Wise consists of limestone in
horizontal layers, forming cliffs, which are separated from each other
by intervening shelving beaches, and it is skirted to the distance of a
quarter of a mile by rocky shoals, having sufficient water on them for
our boats, but not enough to admit the heavy ice. This was the cause of
our making greater progress than we had been led to expect from the
appearance of the ice in the morning. The cliffs at Point Wise are two
hundred feet high, and from their summits, the ice appeared closely
packed, as far as the eye could reach; no lanes of open water being
visible. It was, however, composed of pieces, and not a continuous
field, for we could distinctly perceive that several of the hummocks it
inclosed were in motion. This was the first time during the voyage that
we saw ice so closely packed, as to appear impenetrable to a ship when
impelled by a good breeze, but it is necessary to state that, even from
a considerable height, we could not tell with certainty the state of the
ice six miles off; scattered pieces at that distance assuming the
appearance of a close pack. The weather this day was fine, the
temperature varying from 43 degrees to 50 degrees.

[Sidenote: Wednesday, 2d.] Soon after setting out on the 2d, the
temperature, which had been about 40 degrees throughout the night, fell
to 34 degrees, and a fog came on. The wind also freshening and putting
the ice in motion, the boats received some heavy blows; but we continued
to advance, though slowly, and with much caution. About ten miles from
our encampment, we passed the mouth of a small river, which was named
after Captain Hoppner, of the Royal Navy, second in command to Captain