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Les diagrammes suivants illustrsnt la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 .r JOURNAL ttF A SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC: PERFORMED IN THE YEARS isai— 23— a.j, IN HIS JIAJESTY S SHIPS FURY AND HECLA, LNDER THE ORDERS OF CAPTAIN WILLIAM EDWARD PARRY, R.N., I .U.S., ASV COMMAM)ER OF THE EXPEDITIUS. ILLUSTRATED BV NUMEROUS PLATES. IHJIiLISHElJ BY AUrHORlTY OF THE LORDS COMMISSIUSKIiS OF THE ADMIRALTY. LONDON : JOHN MURRAY, HL'BI.ISIIEII TO THE ADMIRALTY, ANO HOARn OF LONfllTUDF,. Aim (CXXIV. f> G^ (r^SO e:ll PZ LONDON : PKINTKn BV W. 1 I.OM ts NorthuBiliWlaiid-coiii t. i' TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LORD VISCOUNT MELVILLE, lIHSr I.ORI) COMMISSIONER FOR EXECUTING THE OFFICE OF LORIJ MICH ADMIRAL Or fIRKAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, Ac. .U. ^r. THIS VOLUME, CONTAINING IHK .K)l UNAL (,F A SKCOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY OF A NORTH-WEST P XSS A.;. FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC, *'\h>AM. I NBERTAKF.N AND EXECUTED UNDER THE AUSPICES OP HIS LORDSHIP, IS INSCRIBED WITH THE GREATEST RESPECT AND GRATITUDE, in HIS OBLIGED AND FAITHFUL SERVANl, WILLIAM EDWARD PARRY. I.ONDllN, V((IV7|. IS'2). :| CONTENTS. M Imiioijuction • • • • • Explanation of Technical Terms Official Instructions CHAPTER I. Pas',a(;e across the Atlantic— Removal of Stores from the Nautilus Transport, at the margin of (he Ice— Departure of the Nautilus for England - Enter the Ice in Hudso7i's Strait - Purilous Situation of the Hecla, and loss of her Anchor- Meet with the Hudson's-Bay ships— Passage up the Strait, and communication with the Natives inhabiting the Northern siiores— Pass the Trinity Islands of Fox— Arrival off Southampton Island, where the researches of the Expedition commence • . . . CHAPTER n. ileview of the geographical Information obtained by the Researches of former Navigators on the coast of the American Continent, in the neighbourhood of Wager River— Discover and enter The Duke of York's Bay, supposing it to be a Passage into the sea called The Welcome —Leave The Duke of York's Bay, and proceed to the North- Westward— Passage of The Frozen S/rail and arrival in Repulse Z^fjy- Continuity of Land there— Observations on Shore— Remarks concerning the Geography, Tides, and Natural History of this part of the Continental Coast PAGE i xix xxi CHAPTER ni. Return to the Eastward through the Frozen Strait— Discovery of //urd C/mn«e/- Examined in a Boat— Loss of the Fury's Anchor— Pro''-" ential Escape of the Fury from Shipwreck —Anchor in Dwkctl Cot c— Further Examin. :'.• of the Coast by Boats and Walking- Parties— Ships proceed through //t/rrf C/iannw- -Are drifted by the Ice back to South- ampton Island— Unobstructed Run to the Entrance of a large Inlet leading to the North- Wostward-Ships made fast by Hawsers to the Rocks— Further Examination of the Inlet coumienced in the Boats . . . , . . 16 CHAPTER IV. Hoppner's Inlet entered and Surveyed by the Boats— Continuity of Land there determined— Proceed to examine another opening leading to the Westward- Favourable Appearance of a continued Passage in that Direction— Meet with some Esquimaux— Arrival in Ross Bay, being the termination of Lyon /n/e<— Discovery and Examination of various Creeks —Return to tlie Ships, after finding the Land entirely continuous -Some account of the Natural History of this pwt of the Coast • ... 83 CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. PAGE Ftirlhe;- Examination in the Boats for the purpose of connecting the Shores of Lyon Inlet with tliat of Gore Bay — Detained by the Ice — Reach Gore Bay — Continuity of the Land deter- mined — Fresh detention by the Ice — Boats carried over-land — Return to the Ships — Progress out of the Inlet prevented by the Ice — The Fury grounds upon a Rock — Anchor in Safi'ty Cove — Heavy Easterly Gales — Proceed out of the Inlet — Arrival in a Bay on the South side of Winter Island — Ships secured in Winter-Quarters lO.'J CHAPTER VI. Precautions for the security of the Ships and their Stores— And for the Health and Comfort of tlie Crews — Establishment of Theatrical Entertainments and Schools — Erection of an Ob- s('rvalory and House on Shore — State of Health at this period — Partial Disruption of the Ira in the Bay — Anchors and Cables taken to the Shore — Gradual Increase of Cold, ai)poarance of the Aurora Borealis on several occasions, and various other Meteorological Phenomena to the close of the Year 1821 . • . im CHAPTER VII. Many Foxes caught — Continued Open Water in the Offing— Partial disruption of the Ice in the Bay — Meteorological Phenomena and Temperature of Animals — Arrival of a Tribe of l:lsquimaux — First Meeting and subsequent Intercourse with them — Esquimaux in want of Provisions — Supplied with Bread-dust — Some account of a Sealing Excursion with Uieni — Fresh disruption of the Ice in the Bay — Closing of the Winter Theatre— Meteorological Phenomena till the end of February 1822 .... I5i) CHAPTER \ IIJ. Clmrls drawn by the Esquimaux — Illness among them — A Journey performed across Winter Island — Sufferings of the Party by Frost — Further notice of the Esquimaux Charts — De- parture of some of these People, and a separate Village established on the Ice — \'arious Meteorological Phenomena — Okotook and his Wife brought on board — Anecdotes relating to them — Ships released from the Ice by sawing . . . . IS.'J CHAPTER IX. Increased extent of open Water in the Offing — A Travelling Party despatched to the North- ward — Unsuccessful attempt to raise Vegetables on Shore — Decease of James Pringle — A party of Esquimaux build Huts near the Ships — Return of the Travellers, and account of their Journey— First appearance of the Plants — Birds become numerous — Commence cutting a Canal through the Ice for liberating the Ships — Illness and decease of John lleid and William Souter — Breaking-up of the Ice in the Bay — Account of Winter Island — Abstract of Observations made there .... 22'd CHAPTER X, Departure from Winter Island — Meet with some Esquimaux travelling to the Northward — Obstructions and danger from the Ice and Tides — Discovery of the Barrow River, and its CONTENTS. ".E y.i m rA<.i Fall — Favourable Passage to the Northward — Arrival off the Strait of the Fury (imi Hcr.la — Progress opposed by a fixed barrier of Ice — Communicate with the Natives ol' Igloolik — Unsuccessful attempts to get between the Ice and the Land — Land upon the Calthorpc Islands — The Fury drifted by the Ice between two Islands — Account of a Jour- ney performed in Sledges up an Inlet to the Westward .... Jl!! CHArTER XI. Remarkable instance of local Attraction on the Magnetic Needles — Occasional separation of a portion of the fixed Ice — A Wliale killed — Other Charts drawn by the Esquimaux — Account of a Journey to the Narrows of the Strait — Discovery of the Sea to the West- ward — Total disruption of the Ice at the Eastern entrance of the Strait — A second instance of local Attraction on the Compasses — Sail through the Narrows, and again stopped by fixed Ice — Account of several land Journeys and boat Excursions — Observa- tions ou the Tides — Continued obstacles from fixed Ice . . . . 2!»H CHAPTER XII. A Journey performed along the South Shore of Cocklnirn Island — Confirmation of an Outlet to the Polar Sea — Partial disruption of the old Ice, and formation of new — Return through the Narrows to the Eastward — Proceed to examine the Coast to the North-east- ward — Fury's Anchor broken — Stand over to Igloolik to look for Winter-quarters — Excursion to the Head of Quilliam Creek — Ships forced to the Westward by gales of Wind — A Canal sawed through the Ice, and the Ships secured in their Winter Station — Continued visits to the Esquimaux, and arrival of some of the Winter-Island Tribe — Pro- posed plan of operations in the ensuing Spring .... '.W i CHAPTER XIII. Preparations for the Winter — Various Meteorological Phenomena to the close of the year 1822 —Sickness among the Esquimaux — A Hospital built near the Ships for their accommoda- tion — Meteorological Phenomena to the end of March— Abstract of the comparative mean Winter temperature at Melville Island, Winter Island, and Igloolik . . oTti CHAPTER XIV. X'arious Journeys to the Esquimaux Stations — Illness and decease of Mr. Alexander Elder — Preparations for the Hecla's return to England — Remarkable Halos, ^c. — Shooting Parties stationed at Arlagnuk— Journeys to Quilliam Creek — Arrival of Esquimaux from the Northward — Account of a Journey to the Westward for the purpose of reaching the Polar Sea — ^The Esquimaux report two Fishing Ships having been wrecked — A Journey per- formed to Cockburn Island — Discovery of Murray Maxivetl Inlet . . .423 CHAPTER XV. Extraordinary disruption of Ice in Quilliam Creek — Some appearance of Scurvy among the Seamen and Marines— Account of a Journey with Sledges to Cockburn Island— Dis- covery of Gifford River— Commence cutting the Ice outside the Ships to release them from their Winter-Quarters— Considerations respecting the return of the Expedition to h ! CONTENTS. PACE England — Unfavourable state of the Ice at the Eastern entrance of the Strait — Proceed to the Southward— Ships beset and drifted up Lyon Inlet — Decease of Mr. George Fife — Final release from the Ice, and arrival in England — Remarks upon the practicability of a North-West Passage . . . , . . . 459 Some further Account of the Esquimaux of Melville Peninsula and the adjoining Islands ; more particularly Winter Island and Igloolik ...... 492 Vocabulary of Esquimaux Words, (§y,. . 561 DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER FOR INSERTING THE PLATES. li! Situation of His Majesty's Ships Fury and Hecia at Igloolik, IS32-33 . . Frontispiece Canoe of the Savage Islands, Hudson's Strait, to face pttge ...... 14 Plan ofDuke of York Bay .... 48 Plan of Kurd Channel 74 Cutting into Winter Island, October, 1821 . 118 Interior of an Esquimaux Snuw-hut, Winter Island, 1822 160 Grcupc of Esquimaux, 1833 .... 1G3 An Esquimaux watching a Seal . . . 171 Manner of holding the line when a Walrus is struck 178 Esquimaux listening at a Seal-hole, &c. . 173 An Esquimaux watching a Seal-hole . . 172 An Esquimaux creeping into the Passage of a Snow-hut 187 Esquimaux Chart, No. T. .... 197 Ditto ditto, No. II. . ... 198 Amaneelia, a native of Winter Island, 1822 . 207 Esquimaux Chart, No. Ill 253 Fall of the Barrow 266 Summer Tents of the Esquimaux. Igloolik, 1S22, 271 An Esquimaux of Igloolik, in a bird's-skin jac- ket, 4-e. ... ... 274 Sledges of the Esquimaux . . . 290 Western outlet of the Strait of the Fury and Hccla 351 Esquimaux House built of ice . . . 358 Takkcelikkeeta, an Esquimaux of Igloolik, 1833 391 Groupc of Esquimaux at Igloolik . . . 403 Groupe of Esquimaux at Igloolik, 1823 . . 41S Nakahu and his Wife Oomna . . 43^; Esquimaux building a Snow-hut . . . 499 Esquimaux killing Deer in a Lake . . .^OS Esquimaux Children Dancing, Igloolik, 1823 530 Esquimaux Implements, Weapons, &c.(Fig. 1 to 12.) .I^S Ditto ditto (Fig. 13 to 27.) . 550 The Charts, S^c., at the end of the book to he placed in the following order : General Chart, shewing the track of the Fury and HecIa, &c. &c. Chart of the Northern Shore of Hudson's Strait, kc.Sic Chai t of the North-eastern Coast of America, &c. from Lat.64f to67°40'. Ditto from Latitude 67° 40" to TQo 15'. Appearances of Lands, No. 1. " ' ■ , Ditto, . . No. 2. Ditto, . . No. 3. Ditto, . No. 4. i, ' I? r. i INTRODIK Tl()>i. 1 UK liiscovcfies muiU' l/v iho I'ixjK-dition lo the jSortli-west in tlio u .'U'.'' lS]9-i^ being sui'li a> t\) a.^foid .i ";iri.in<> juesuui[)lion m tavoviroj.' ■f;u' *^\';-.ten(.'<*or a fKissayi- ironi llu- .vvlanlic \o llu- Pacific in that tlirec- I'MK^vh^c vhi y •icrvi.'d also ti> poiiit oiH the mo-\ j>vo))i!b!c means of its ia('oni)>U>}i;,'!(!ni, if^^ Majestj, on the rcprcscniatit'n of Loid \ i-.;uunt Melville, crnnnuincled another attenij>t !o Ik- made to effecl tiiat ol)ject ; u\n\ i)\v i.onls C'onuius!si(>n<»rs oi' tlie Adinindty ^cre pleased once .!»; re toliononr nie \sith the coninumd ot'iin l'l\})edition. to he e(pji[)ped a! l)ij)lford for tluit purpose. Tlie Ueela having l>e;'n found \\v\l ada}>ted to this service, a s(H'ond >hip vi' precisely the same class was now selected, and T re(eivcd i>)y c(trniiiisj,ion tor His Majesty's slnp t)ic iMiry. of ihiee huhdre l.yon. on the 4lh oi' Jannars following. liie ofHcers \^h> a'conipaujni tlu' I'ornu'r Expeditions having volun- teorctl their ^^t'r\ ices, tlieir i-ords|!)p<« were pleased to re -appoint >ncii av the present eslahlishinent \voidd .ulniL. I he same prell're/ue was likewise given to such of the foriiu-r er(?v\s as were considered lit f(.r thix hervico: and n great nui'dnrof other seamen also coming forv\ar;l to enter, th«' .slu|>'. were s|H.efiite . , , (':irppntfr'»-Matc . . .\nm>urer"»-.Mate . , , • ■ * • * I Sailinakcr .... . , , .Mile Seamen . . • 324 %\ MAnivM. Scr;;pnnt . John Spiirkman 1 Charles Wise . . ('i(ri)iral .... I'rivHteit .... ...... Astronomer's Sen-nnt . . Total . 00 .W INTRODUCTION. m The mode of doubling and fortifying the ships differed in no material circumstance from th t before employed, wliich was found to have afforded the greatest degree of strength, consistently with the requisite attention to the stowage and sailing qualitiea, of which perhaps any ship is capable. In the exterior equipment of the hulls, the only alte- rations worthy of notice consisted in increasing the thickness of the doubhng to six inches, to give the ships some additional stability ; and in making the rudder-cases much larger, in order to allow the rudders more room for shipping and unshipping, whereby that operation is much facilitated. The ships Mere barque-rigged as before; but in order to increase our resources in stores of every kind, it was suggested by my friend, Captain George Cheyne, that it would be advantageous to adopt the plan of " equalized" fore-masts and main-masts, which had of late been partially introduced into our naval service, at the recom- mendation of Vice-Adrairal Sir Thomas Byam Martin, Comptroller of His Majesty's Navy. An advantage somewhat less obvious than that just mentioned, was the appointment of two ships of exactly the same size in every respect. The idea usually entertained of the necessity of having one of the two vessels thus employed, a small one for the purpose of going into shoaler water, is in my opinion an erroneous one. The examination of shoal and uncertain passages is best conducted in boats, which may be equipped ^nd des})atchcd at five minutes' warning, while a small vessel intendeil more expressly for this purpose will, afler all, draw as much water as the larger one within two or three feet, which difference is in reality but a trifling one. Allowing, however, that some benefit may be derived in this way from the services of a smaller vessel, it is by no means to be put into competition with the inevitable disadvantages hr INTRODUCTION. arisinjif from her confined stowage, and her incapacity to receive the crew of the other vessel in case of serious and irreparable injury hap- pening to the latter. Any vessel unable to carry every item of her own resources, nuist at some period or other of the voyage l)ecome a burthen, .and, in case of separation, helpless and inefficient; a contin- gency which there is no necessity for risking. If to what has just been stated Ix? addetl the advantages, which every seaman will readily appreciate, of each ship being enabled to furnish her consort, on any (Hrasior. of loss or damage, with stores of a size and nature exaetlv suited to her wants, no doubt can, I think, exist of the expediency of having the two ships precisely similar. So rigidly was this principle adhered to in the equipment of the present Expedition, that, taking into consideration the improbability of lx>th ships sustaining losses in the same articles, our supply of stores might almost be considered as doubled by this arrangement. Thus, for instance, the fore-masts and main-masts were not only " equalized " in each ship, but the dimensions of these, and of every thing Iwlonging to them, were precisely alike in both, so that any article belonging to either of these four masts might be transferred from ship to ship, and at once applied to its proper use, without selection, trial, or alteration of any kind. In the course of the following Narrative, it will l)e seen what essential service was derived from this plan in the indispensable article of anchors, on which the safety of a ship so often and so entirely depends. I have been thus explicit in stating some of the advantages of this arrangement, from a conviction of the absolute necessity of resorting to it in the equipment of two ships that must necessarily be dei)endent solely on their own resources, for a long and uncertain period of time. INTRODUCTION. Some inatcri.il alterations were made in the interior arrangements, which experience suggested as necessary to the accommodation, health, and comfort of the officers and men. One of the principal of these consisted in applying a thick close lining of cork all round the ships' sides, and on the under part of the upper decks, fore and aft. Shut- ters and plugs of the same material were also fitted to every window, sky-light, and illuminator, so as completely to surround the inhabited parts of the ships, during the winter months, with this substance. Care being thus taken to prevent the raj>id escape of the warmth, recourse was also htid to the most effectual means of producing and distributing it. With this view, an apparatus was fixed on the orlop deck of each ship, Iwtween the sail-room and the main hatchway, on a plan proposed and executed by Mr. Sylvester, for conveying a current of heated air into the several inhabited apartments. It is described by Mr. Sylvester to " consist of a wrought--iron vessel, about twenty- two inches square, placed upon pillars resting on a cast-iron frame upon the beams of the orlop deck. This vessel, or cockle, was four feet high, close at the top, having an opening in front for the ash- pit and feeding-door, and another behind for the discharge of the smoke into a perpendicular iron tube. The fire-place is within this vessel, and the heat is given to its interior surface. On the outside is an iron covering containing tubes, which approach, nearly at right angles, to the surface of the cockle ; these arc divided into two jwr- tions, one below to receive the cold air, which impinges upon the cockle; the other above, for the discharge of the warm air. These two cavities are separated from each other by a second casing about four feet S(iuare below, for the cold air, and terminating in two feet square at the upper-deck, where a part of the warm air is dis- p m. INTRODUCTION. charged ; the rest is conveyed by flues on each side the ship to the cabins of the commander and other officers. The velocity of the warm air current through an aperture two feet square is about five or six feet per second." This stove was intended by the inventor to con- sume only five pecks, or a bushel and a quarter of coals, by a constant fire throughout the twenty-four hours; but even this quantity was found more than sufficient, except during the most severe part of the second winter. The galley-fire was turned with its face aft, wliich served to impart much more warmth, as well as a more cheerful appearance, to the lower deck. This plan had not been before adopted because it was understood that the fire would not draw so well ; but the reverse of this was, on trial, found to be the case. I must not here omit to notice a simple, ingenious, and effi^ctual contrivance, now first adopted, for melting snow for our consumption as water, during the winter months, without any additional expense of fuel. The smoke issuing from the galley-fire, and indeed its heat generally, does little or no service beyond the ordinary purposes of cooking to which it is appUed. It occurred to Messrs. Lambe and Nicholson to occupy a portion of the aperture through which the smoke ascends, by a metalUc vessel or tank of considerable capacity, allowing the smoke to pass freely up on each side of it, and thus to communicate a constant heat to the vessel. In the top of the tank is a large circular hole for supplying it with snow from the upper deck, and in the lower part is inserted a cock for drawing off the water. This apparatus, which was so little in the way that it could not even be seen, produced without any increase of fuel, and with the tempera- ture of the external atmosphere nearly at zeroy sixty-five gallons of pure water from morning till night ; a quantity, of course, more than INTRODUCTION. vii sufficient for our whole constimption, had there been any occasion to limit the expense of an article so conducive to health and comfort. In the account of the preceding voyage, it has been stated that a serious annoyance arose, during the vi^inter, from the accumulation of moisture and ice producetl by the condensation of the breath and other vapours in the ships' companies' bed-places. It was determined, there- fore, on the present occasion, to do away with these both for the officers and men, substituting for the former cots, and hammocks for the latter. This change proved extremely beneficial, by increasing the ventilation, and promoting the more uniform circulation of warm air, which had before been materially impeded by the number and close- ness of the bulkheads. In the victualling of the ships several alterations were likewise made, which the experience of the last voyage suggested. The principal object being to stow as much as possible, a considerably larger supply than before of the meat preserved in tin cases by Messrs. Gamble and Co., was now furnished, amounting to two pounds per week a man, together with a quart of vegetable or concentrated-meat soups, for a period of three years. For the same reasois the spirits were supplied at thirty-five per cent, above proof, to be reduced, when issued, by means of a hydrometer, to the strength of that usually fur- nished to the navy ; by which expedient the stowage was economized in the proportion of an increase of forty gallons on every hundred. For one-half of the proposed supply of biscuit, kiln-dried flour of the best quality was substituted, to be baked into bread during the winters ; three hundred-weight of flour occupying only the same space as one hundred-weight of biscuit. A considerable portion of the fore-hold was also partitioned off into two large binns or bread-rooms, for vm INTRODUCTION. i f ! r < the stowage of biscuit in bulk, which method would have been more extensively adopted, but from the fear of thus incurring loss by damage. The rest of the provisions were stowed in new water-tight casks. : • ■• • • •• ' ' ■■• ■ •.'■-- .^...... •..■■.-.. The whole of the vinegar was concentrated to one-seventh of the ordinary bulk, as well for economy in stowage, as to avoid loss by freezing. In this last respect, we had also before experienced a serious loss in the still more important article of lemon-juice, in consequence of the bottles bursting in the hold. To obviate this, it was now stowed in small iive-gallon kegs charred within, not. quite filled, and sufficiently strong to resist the expansion of the acid in freezing. The whole of the juice was squeezed from fresh lemons for our use, and a small quantity of rum added to each keg to assist in keeping it fluid at a low temperature. In addition to lemon- juice and sugar, which form a part of the ordinary diet in His Majesty's Navy, a number of other valuable anti-scorbutics were liberally sup- plied, consisting of carrots preserved in tin cases by Messrs. Gamble and Co., crystallized lemon acid, cranberries, lemon marmelade, tama- rinds, pickled walnuts and cabbage, essence of malt and hops, essence of spruce with molasses, dried herbs for tea, and a quantity of the seed of mustard and cress to be grown as circumstances required. A large supply of potatoes and beet-root was also furnished, which kept tolera- bly well for the first two or three months after leaving England. As we had found, after living on salt provisions for some time, that beef became less palatable, and was also less digestible than pork, we now dispensed with carrying any salt beef, except a few casks corned ex- pressly for our use as soon as the fresh meat should be expended. When these arrangements had been completed, for which I am very J i1 'i INTEODUCTION. i^ materially indebted to the suggestions of my friend Mr. Hooper, purser of the Fury, the ships were effectually victualled and stored for a period of three years. During the progress of their equipment they were occasionally visited by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty and the Comptroller of the Navy, and subsequently by Lord Viscount Melville, who was pleased to express his approbation of the various arrangements. As however the ships, when completely stowed, were found to be very deep in the water, it was deemed advisable, to prevent the possibility of risk, that the Expedition should be accompanied by a transport as far as the margin of the ice, in order to relieve them of a part of their lading in crossing the Atlantic ; and the Nautilus, of four hundred and five tons. Lieutenant William Scrymgour agent, was appointed by the Navy-Board for this purpose. A portion of the weight was accordingly removed on board the Nautilus till the ships were considered to be in safe trim ; and some extra stores were also put into the transport, to enable us to complete the Expedition to the time of her leaving us. Of these perhaps, twenty live bidlocks and a quan> tity of coals (making our whole supply in each ship one hundred and eighteen chaldrons) were not the least important. A number of valuable chronometers and instruments, of which a list is here subjoined, were embarked on board each ship ; and a variety of useful experiments, for which the requisite materials were provided, were suggested by the Council of the Royal Society, to be conducted by Mr. Fisher as circumstances might permit in the course of the voyage: — • .. < . ; ;.. .i. .. .7.' I II M I X INTHODUCTION. •- -■ •^:<-. •'^'' > - - ^ i^?j Jilt" .i'i i- 'itwi.^r-.ijviits j>iij {V:.^ }»;;j3tini:-';---" ; ' List of Instruments, Sk., embarked on hodrd each Ship. • ■ " \. Pnry. Astronomical Clock, by Barrett, the property of Mr. Fislier . . 1 Chronometers 13 Of which, three of those on board the Fury were the property of Mr, Fisher, one belon^ng to Captain Parry, and four sent on trial by their respective makers. (See Account of Chronometers in the Appendix.) Portable Observatory . 1 Transit Instrument 1 Forty-inch, triple-object glass, achromatic Telescope, by Dollond . . 1 Repeating-circle 1 Circular Transit, the property of Mr. Fisher 1 Dipping-Needle, by Dollond ........ 1 Do. do. by Trougliton 1 Do. do. by Jones 1 Variation Transit . . . ^ 1 Variation Needle 1 Instrument for determining the Magnetic Force, (Captain Kater's) . 1 Azimuth Compasses . .... do. . . 4 Do. do. (Walker's) . 1 Magnets 2 Spirit-levels for Kater's compasses 6 Dip-Sectors, (Dr. Wollaston's) 2 Macrometer . do. . ....... 1 Altitude-Instruments (Captain Kater's) 2 Quadrant with level ......... 1 Theodolite, large 1 Do. small 2 Anglometers . . . . . . . , . . . . 2 Circular Protractors . . , 2 Station-Pointer 1 Beam-compasses .•••,...... 1 Together with every other requisite material for surveying and drawing. '' ' Artificial Horizons, with mercury 4 Thermometers 24 Self-registering do. (Six's) with iron cases ...... 6 Pyrometer, by Carey ......... 1 Hygrometers, (De Luc's) 1 Do. (Mr. Leslie's) 1 '■ '»" f*r • ;•! '4 J I ■>. ■/•« ■t\ Hetla. ■■■5 ■ 'it 4 A i ■ t^ ■« -■; : / ^1^ =;i ^•v ItJ ■ ■.'!; 2 1 2 3 o 2 1 16 i .!^-' INTRODUCTION. Fnry. Photometers (Mr. Leslie's,) ....;... 2 Hydrometers 3 Hydrostatic Balances, one }>einp the property of Mr. Fisher . . S Water-bottles, (Dr. Marcet's) S Two-feet teli'Hropes /........ 2 Electrometers, with copper-chains ....... 2 sets Air-Pump 1 A cose of chemical materials for Mr. Fisher's Experiments . ■ •■ :,•■< . ,^'; <•■»■.• ■ "■>■.;■"' '■ ''■; ■ ' ''■■'- ,.'•'• : . . .; Heelii. 2 2 t. 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 ^ ' .; I cannot conclude this account of our preparations without expressing my sincere thanks to Sir Thomas Byam Martin, Comptroller of the Navy, Commissioner Cunningham, and Captain Hill, Comptroller of the Vic- tualling Dep6t at Deptford, for the readiness with which they acceded to and even anticipated my wishes in every thing relating to our com- plete equipment. To the Navy and Victualling-Boards generally I also feel most highly indebted for the very obliging manner in which they were pleased, on various occasions, to refer to me with a view at once most effectually to execute the commands of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, and at the same time to consult, whenever it lay in their power, the wishes of the Officer commanding the Expedition. Nor can I omit to offer, on my own part, as well as that of the Officers under my command, our best acknowledgments, once more so justly due, to the Officers of Deptford Dock- Yard for the kind assistance received from them in those numberless minor points belonging to their seve- ral departments, on which the comfort and accommodation of persons employed on this service so materially depend. On the return of the Expedition to England the journals, charts, and drawings fiimished by every individual in the course of the voyage were ba I I, I ! xn INTRODUCTION. !■ ' I ,J ' I 1 put into my hands, with directions to pubhsh, under the authority of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, an official narrative of our late proceedings. To prevent the delay before occasioned by waiting for the publication of the details relating to geography and natural history, I determined on reserving the whole of these for an Appendix, to form a separate volume. The following account is principally taken from my own journal; but I am indebted to the other officers, and especially to Captain Lyon, for numerous interesting extracts which are distinguished by inverted commas. The charts accompanying this Narrative were carefully constructed under my inspection on board the Fury by Mr. Bushnan, assistant- surveyor. The original charts, which are on a much larger scale, and on which the angles used in their construction are laid down, have been deposited in the Hydrographical Office at the Admiralty, together with the surveying-books and other documents of that kind containing more in detail the materials used in the survey. The survey of the coast was entirely carried on as before by astro- nomical bearings, the geographical position of the various stations being fixed by the mean of the observations of several individuals. From the number and excellence of the chronometers embarked on board the Fury, and the variety of observations used in the occasional correction of their rates, it is hoped that the geography of that portion of the North- Eastern Coast of America, which has been discovered and surveyed by this Expedition, will be found to be fixed with considerable accu- racy. For a more detailed statement of the methods employed, in the performance of this essential part of my duty, as well as for some notices respecting the geography of this hitherto unknown comer of the globe, I must refer to the account of the going of the chronometers, INTRODUCTION. xui the tables of fhe several observations, and the memorandum relating to the charts in the Appendix. With the hope of making the charts in some degree interesting to the geologist, as well as to the sea- man and geographer, I have inserted in them a brief notice of the geological character of the lands we had an opportunity of examining ; and some pains have been taken to deduce and dehneate, from the numerous Esquimaux sketches, such parts of the coast as those people are acquainted with, but to which our own efforts have not hitherto enabled u*^ to obtain access. It having been suggested that the deUne- ation of ice upon a chart gives it a conAised appearance, while it con- veys the idea of a fixed rather than of a constantly moving body, it has now been altogether omitted, except in one or two instances, where the description given of its position in the Narrative may by this means be illustrated and explained. . , ^ The sketches of lands were principally made by Mr. Bushnan, such views being selected by myself as appeared most striking, or best cal- culated to elucidate the descriptions given of the coast. Some were, however, taken by Captain Lyon, to whom the Public is indebted for all the other drawings of every description. Of the merit of these interesting performances it would be presumptuous in me to offer an opinion ; but I cannot deny myself the pleasure of bearing testimony to the obhging readiness with which Captain Lyon has always attended to my suggestions on this subject, as well as to the eagerness and assi- duity with which he seised on every opportunity of exercising his pencil, which so monotonous and unpicturesque a voyage presented. The drawings were soon after our arrival put into the hands of Mr. Edward Finden, with whose abiUties as an artist the Public is already well acquainted ; it is hoped tliat the manner in which they XIV INTRODUCTION. have been engraved will sufHciently shew the care which has been taken in their execution. r ♦«*;., -o ./i.i* ..k; . .: ^'^ . j sw >.. No opportunity has been omitted of procuring and preserving spe- cimens in the several departments of Natural History, of which a con- siderable collection has been made in each ship, and which will be described in their proper places in the Appendix. The necessary smallness of our establishment rendering it expedient to dispense with the appointment of a professional NaturaUst, who has usually formed a part of expeditions of this nature, the sole responsibiUty in this de- partment of science naturally devolved upon myself. As however I can lay no claim to any of the qualifications requisite in a naturalist, and yet have hojies that our collections will not be altogether wanting in interest, I consider it incumbent upon me, with a view to do justice to the individuals who have assisted me in this way, to give some account of the manner in which that part of my instructions has been executed. The collections made on board each ship were purposely kept sepa- rate, with the intention of providing against accidents happening to either ; except on one or two occasions, where only a single specimen of any animal was obtained, in which case it was transferred to the Fury. The collection of the animal kingdom formed by Captain Lyon has afforded additional interest from the drawings that accompanied them, wherein the colours most liable to fade were faithfully delineated from specimens just killed. For the specimens obtained on board the Fury I am necessarily indebted to tlie zeal and industry of the several Officers of that ship, who have at all times rendered me their best assistance in promoting this object. I must however particularly ex- press the acknowledgments which I consider due to Mr. Ross who, from the commencement of the vryage, undertook in addition to his other INTRODUCTION. XV duties, to superintend the preservation of stuffed specimens of birds and other animals ; a task requiring a degree of taste as well as of skill and attention, which perhaps persons accustomed to these matters can alone didy appreciate. The public collection of plants and minerals on board the Fury has been in great part made and entirely arranged by Mr. Halse, to whose industry and attention in these departments for several years past I am particularly desirous to do justice. So general however have the taste for collecting and the skill in pre- serving become, among the individuals employed on these Expedition Sj that much additional interest has been derived from an examination of the distinct collections of plants and minerals made by several of the officers, and particularly from that of Mr. Edwards, whose notes on the Natural History of these regions have added much valuable infor- mation on this subject. Some skeletons of animals have been prepared for the Museum of the College of Surgeons by ]Mr. Skeoch, among which those of a wolf antl an Esquimaux dog will perhaps not be considered the least interesting, as shewing the comparative anatomy of those two animals. Soon after the arrival of the sliips in the river Thames, the public Collections of Subjects of Natural History were put into the hands of three gentlemen well qualified to describe them. I need only mention the names of Professor Jameson, Professor Hooker, and Dr. Richardson, to assure the public how much justice will be done to their description ; but I cannot omit this opportunity of offer- ing my warmest thanks to these gentlemen for the kind and handsome manner in which they did me the favour to undertiike this task. ^V monthly Abstract of the Meteorological Register is inserted in its proper order in the course of the narrative, that method having been considered most convenient for reference, on a subject ncccf-surily a I.; V I . J " xn INTRODUCTION. forming so large and constant a portion of the interest of a polar voyage. In the journal from which these abstracts were made, the temperature of the air and of the sea-water was noted every two hours, and the height of the mercury in the barometer every four hours, throughout the voyage ; and the abstracts were carefully and separately arranged by Lieutenant Nias and Mr. Ross*. The whole of the tem- peratures were registered by Fahrenheit's thermometer, and the signs + and — signify above or below zero of that scale. When neither of these signs is attached, the temperature is to be understood as positive, or above zero, except in those columns of the abstracts where a continued series of low temperatures occurs. To avoid needless repetition also in the course of the Narrative, it may here be added that the whole of the bearings are the true ones, the Dips of the Magnetic Needle North, the Latitudes North, and the Longitudes West of the meridian of Greenwich, unless otherwise expressly noticed at the time. The temperature of the sea below the surface was sometimes ob- tained by Six's self-registering thermometer attached to the deep-sea lead ; but more commonly (in consequence of the frequent failure of that instrument when exposed to sudden changes) by bringing up some water in the bottle contrived by Dr. Marcet, and already de- scribed in the Introduction to the Narrative of the former Voyage. This simple and useful apparatus was now somewhat improved by a strong spring enclosed within the box, and obliging the l)olt, in what- ever position it might be placed, to dose the apertures as soon as the catch was released, instead of trusting to its own wdi^t as before. -■-■■. " , ." ' ' ' ' ■ . •--,»'• f » . * I omitted to mention, in my account of the Voyi^ of 1819-^, that the Meteorolo- gical Register was then ke]it in a similar manner. INTRODUCTION. xvn In describing the Esquimaux inhabiting the sequestered and hitherto unknown corner of the American Continent, which we have recently visited, I have aimed rather at faithfuhiess of delineation than at height of colouring, studiously avoiding the mention of any fact of whose accuracy the slightest doubt remained upon my mind. Of the latter class are numerous pieces of information obtained in a cursory way from the Esquimaux, which, however, our imperfect knowledge of their language t^id not enable us thoroughly to understand, and which almost daily experience of our former misapprehensions subse- quently taught us to receive with greater caution and distrust. In attempting a description of the manners, disposition, and general cha- racter of these people, it has been my anxious desire " nothing to extenuate, nor set down aught in malice," but to present, as far as it goes, a faithful and impartial sketch ; divested on the one hand of the too flattering impression at first received from the extreme quietness of their demeanour, and on the other, of the feelings of annoyance occasioned by our subsequent acquaintance with the less favourable features in their character. In the more important, though less diffi- cult task of relating the proceedings of the Expedition, with reference to its primary objects, my endeavours have been exclusively directed to the attainment of accuracy and plainness, omitting nothing, however, which appeared to me Ukely to afford interest or information, and avoiding every minute detail but what seemed absolutely necessary for explaining my views, or otherwise elucidating the subjects under con- sideration. That our efforts have not hitherto been crowned with greater suc- cess, cannot fail to be a matter of extreme disappointment, as well as of sincere though unavailing regret ; but I feel it a duty to state, that XMII INTRODUCTION. had our progress been in any degree proportionate to the exertions of those under my command, there would ere this have been nothing left to regret, and but little to accomplish; and I am happy therefore thus publicly to express the high sense I entertain of the laudable zeal and strenuous exertions uniformly displayed by Captain Lyon, the officers, seamen, and marines, of both the ships engaged in this service. Of the exemplary conduct of the men it has been my good fortune to command on this occasion, I cannot indeed speak too highly; it has been a happiness to their officers and a credit to them- selves. It was highly gratifying to observe the eager assiduity with which, during two successive winters of long and tedious confinement, they followed up the more sedentary occupations of learning to read and write, with which they were furnished ; and it is, I confess, with no ordinary feelings of pleasure that I record the fact, that on the return of the Expedition to England, there was not an individual belonging to it who could not read his Bible. Of the value of Mr. Fisher's labours in those departments of science to which his attention was particularly directed, I cannot pretend to form a competent opinion, and his account of them now preparing in the Appendix will, I doubt not, speak for itself ; but I have the most sincere pleasure in offering my testimony to the unabated zeal and perseverance with which, under circumstances of no ordinary diffi- culty from climate, and in spite of frequent ill health, he continued to pursue every object which could tend to the improvement of Astro- nomy and Navigation, and to the interests of Science in general. EXPLANATION OF TECHNICAL TERMS PECULIAR TO THE NAVIGATION AMONG ICE; And occasionally made use of in the course of the following Narrative, where they are distinguished by inverted commas. Ba r-JCE. — Ice newly-fornied upon the surface of the sea. Beset.— Tha situation of the ship when closely surrounded by ice. Bight. — An indentation in a floe of ice, like a bay, by which name it is sometimes called. Blink. — A peculiar brightness in die atmosphere, often assuming an arch-like form, which is generally perceptible over ice or land covered with snow. The blink of land, as well as that over large quantities of ice, is usually of a yellowish cast. Bore. — The operation of " boring" through loose ice consists in entering it under a press of sail, and forcing the ship through by separating the masses. Calf. — A mass of ice lying under a floe near its margin, and when disengaged from that . position, rising with violence to the surface of the water. See ToNGUE. Vlear Water. — Any part of the sea unincumbered with ice. Crow''s-Nest. — A small circular house like a cask, fixed at the mast-head, in which the look-out man sits, either to guide the ship through the ice, or to give notice of whales. Dock, — In a floe may be natural or artificial ; the former being simply a small "bight, in which a ship is placed to secure her from the danger of external pressure, and the latter, a square space cut out with saws for a similar purpose. ViELD. — A sheet of ice generally of great thickness, and of too great extent to be seen over from a ship''s mast-head. Flinching. — The o}x>ration of stripping a sca-aniniul of its skin and blubber. Floe. — The same as a field, except that its extent can be distinguislied from a siiip's mast- head. A " bay-floe'" is a floe of ice newly formed. A Hole or Pool of water. — A small space of " clear water,"' when tiie rest of the sea is covered wth ice. LanD'ICE.—Uc attached to the land, either in floes or in heavy grounded mosses lying near tile shore. C 8 XX EXPLANATION OF TECHNICAL TERMS. LSAB.—A. channel through the ic3. A ship is said to " take the right lead" when she fol- lows a channel conducting her into a more navigable sea, and vice versC. Makisg-OFF blubber.— The operation of putting it into casks. Nipped. — The situation of a ship when forcibly pressed by ice. Pack. — A large body of ice consisting of separate masses lying close together, and whose extent cannot be seen. Pancake-ice. — Newly formed ice, assuming the peculiar conformation of numberless patches of "sludge," and giving the surface of the sea the appearance of a hand- some pavement. Patch of Ice. — The same as a pack, but of small dimensions. Sailing-ice.'— Ice of which the masses arc so much separated as to allow a ship to sml among them. Sallying a ship. — The operation of causing her to roll, by the men running in a body from side to side, so as to relieve her from the adhesion and friction of the young ice around her. Sludge. — lee of the conKistence of thick honey, offering little impediment to a ship while in this state, but greatly favouring the formation of a "bay-floe." Stream. — A long and narrow, but generally continuous collection of loose ice. Tongue. — A mass of ice projecting under water, from an iceberg or floe, and generally dis- tinguishable at a considerable (lejith in smooth water. It differs from a " calf in being fixed to, or a part of, the larger body. Water-SKV. — A dark appearance iu the sky, indicating " clear water" in that direction, and forming a striking contrast with the " blink'" over land or ice. Young-ice. — Nearly the same as " bay-ice," but generally ap}ilied to ice more recently formed than the latter. \\ f i iy ol- ose less nd- OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS. ong rom hile dis- and ntly if By the Commissioners for executing the Office of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, ^-c. ^-c. LiORD Viscount Melville having communicated to the King the proceedings of the late Expedition into the Arctic Seas, and His Majesty having been graciously pleased to express his commands that a further Expedition should be fitted out, for the purpose of renewing the attempt to discover a passage by sea between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and of ascertaining the geography of the Northern boundaries of the American Continent, we have thought proper to appoint you to the command of the Expedition ; and you are hereby required and directed to put to sea in His Majesty's ship Fury under your command, together mth His Majesty's ship Heila, whose commander has been placed under your orders, and taking also with you the Nautilus Transport, which we have directed the Navy Board to place at your disposal (for the purpose of carrying a proportion of your provisions and stores across the Atlantic and Davis' Strait,) you are to proceed as quickly as may be consistent with every precaution to avoid any risk of your parting company from either the one ship or the other, towards, or into, Hudson's Strait, until you shall meet with the hi xxn OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS. i f: I' i ^i I f ice, when you are to take the first favourable opportunity of clearing the Nautilus Transport of the provisions and stores she is charged with for the Fury and Hecla ; and having so done you are to send the said transport back to England, so as to prevent her incurring any risk of receiving injury amongst the ice, reporting by that opportunity your proceedings to our Secretary for our information. After having so cleared and despatched the Transport you are, with the two ships of His Majesty under your orders, to penetrate to the westward through Hudson's Strait, until you reach, either in Bepulse Bay or on other part of the shores of Hudson's Bay, to the north of Wager River, some part of the coast which you may feel convinced to be a portion of the Continent of America. You are then to keep along the Lue of this coast to the northward, always examining every bend or inlet which may appear to you likely to afford a practicable passage to the westward, in which direction it is the principal object of your voyage to endea- vour to find your way from the Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean. In the event of your having consumed the open weather in the exa^ mination of the northern boundaries of Hudson's or Cumberland's Straits, and of your having, at the close of the season, returned into Davis' Strait or Baffin's Bay; or if you should have made no consider- able progress to the westward or northward in any inlet you may have found, it wiU be for you to consider, under all the circumstances of the case, whether it may not be expedient that you should return to England to replenish, refit, and refresh, rather than winter on a part of the coast wliich you might reach again next season as early as would Ivj necessary for prosecuting your further inquiries. The judg- m*nit which you have she^n in the conduct of the late Expedition and the experience which you have acquired, induce us to trust this OFFICIAL INSTRU TIONS. xxiil :; point to your own discretion, on a view of all the difforpi circup stances which may exist at the time when your determinai .n is to jt formed. Should you be so successful as to find a practicable passage from the one sea to the other, you are to make the best of your way in accom- plishing that object without stopping to examine the north coast of America, or for any other object not of imperious importance ; but when the ships are checked in their progress by ice, or other una- voidable circumstances, you will take every opportunity of examining the coasts you may be near, and making all useful observations relating thereto. Should you happily reach the Pacific you are to proceed to Eams- chatka, (if you think you can do so without risk of being shut up by the ice on that coast,) for the purpose of delivering to the Russian Governor duplicates of the journals and other documents which the passage may have supplied, with a request that they may be forwarded over land to St. Petersburgh, to be conveyed from thence to London. From Kamschatka you will proceed to the Sandwich Islands or Canton, or such other place as you may think proper, to refit the ships and refresh the crews ; and if during your stay at such place a safe opportunity should occur of sending papers to England, you should send duplicates by such conveyance. And after having refitted and refreshed, you are to lose no time in returning to England by such route as you may deem most convenient. It may happen that your progress along the north coast of the American Continent may be so slow as to render it desirable that, if you should not be able to accomplish your passage into the Pacific earlier than the autumn of 1824, you should be assured of finding a ■ )■■ • pi; I R ! #1' XXIV OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS. fil ^P III I l\ dep5t of provisions at that period in the most advanced situation to which they can safely be conveyed. In the event then of our not receiving from you such intelligence as may render the measure unne- cessary, we shall, about the close of the year 1823, direct the Com- mander-in-Chief on the South American station to despatch a vessel with a supply of provisions and stores, so as to be at Behring's Strait about August or September, 1824. The commander of this vessel will be directed to make the best of his way round Cape Prince of Wales, wliere he may expect, as we are informed, to find an inlet in latitude 68° 30', in which Captain Kotzebue is stated to have found anchorage a few years since. He will be directed to lie in that ancho- rage, or in the nearest good anchorage he may find to that latitude ; and he will be ordered to erect, in the most prominent and visible situation, a flagstaff for your direction. As it is possible that you may touch at the Sandwich Islands, this Officer will be directed to call at Owhyhee, in order that if you should have passed to the southward, he may not be put to the inconvenience of going on to Cape Prince of Wales. Whenever the season shall be so far advanced as to make it unsafe to navigate the ships, on account of the long nights having set in, and the sea being impassable on account of ice, you are, if you should not return to England, to use your best endeavours to discover a sheltered and safe harbour, where the ships may be placed in security for the winter, taking such measures for the health and comfort of the people under your command, as the materials with which you are suppHed for housing in the ships, or hutting the men on shore, may enable you to do. And when you find it expedient to resort to this measure, if you should meet with any inhabitants, either Esquimaux or Indians, near m OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS XXV the place where you winter, you are to endeavour, by every means in your power, to cultivate a friendship with them, by making them pre- sents of such articles as you may be supplied with, and which may be useful or agreeable to them. You will, however, take care not to suffer yourself to be surprised by them, but use every precaution, and be constantly on your guard against any hostility. You will endeavour to prevail on them by such reward, and to be paid in such manner as you may think best to answer the purpose, to carry to any of the settlements of the Hudson's Bay or North- West Companies, an account of your situation and proceedings, with an urgent request that it may be forwarded to England with the utmost possible despatch. We deem it right to caution you against suffering the two vessels placed under your orders to separate, except in the event of accident or unavoidable necessity; and we desire you to keep up the most unreserved communications with the Commander of the Hecla, placing in him every proj)er confidence, and acquainting him with the general tenor of your orders, and with your views and intentions, from time to time, in the execution of them ; that the service may have the full benefit of your united efforts in the prosecution of such a service, and that, in the event of unavoidable separation, or of any accident to yourself. Captain Lyon may have the advantage of knowing, up to the latest practicable period, all your ideas and intentions relative to a satisfactory completion of the undertaking. , , We also recommend that as frequent an exchange take place as con- veniently may be, of the observations made in the two ships ; that any scientific discovery made by the one be as quickly as possible communi- cated for the advantage and guidance of the other, in making their XXVI OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS. Ii futui'e observations, and to increase the chance of the observations of both being preserved. We have caused a great variety of valuable instruments to be put on board the ships under your oi-ders, of which you will be furnished with a list, and for the return of which you will be held responsible ; and we have also, at the recommendation of the President and Council of the Royal Society, ordered to be received on board the Fury the Rev. Mr. Fisher, who is represented to us as a gentleman well skilled in Astronomy, Mathematics, and various branches of knowledge, to assist you in making such observations as may tend to the improvement of Geography and Navigation, and the advancement of science in general. Amongst other subjects of scientific inquiry, you will particularly direct your attention to the variation and inclination of the magnetic needle, and the intensity of the magnetic force; you will endeavour to ascertain how far the needle may be affected by the atmospherical electricity, and what effect may be produced on the electrometic and magnetic needles on the appearance of the Aurora Borealis. You will keep a correct register of the temperature of the air, and of the sea at the surface, and at different depths. You will cause frequent observa- tions to be made for ascertaining the refraction, and what effect may be produced by observing an object, either celestial or terrestrial, over a field of ice, as compared with objects observed over a surface of water : together with such other meteorological remarks as you may have opportunities of making. You are also to attend particu- larly to the height, direction, and strength of the tides, and to the set and velocity of the currents ; the deptli and soundings of the sea, and the nature of the bottom, for which purpose you are supplied with an OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS. XX vu instrument better calculated to bring up substances than the lead usually employed for this purpose. And you are to imderstand, that although the finding a passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific is the main object of this Expedition, and that the ascertaining the Northern boundary of the American Continent is the next, yet that the different observations you may be enabled to make, with regard to the magnetic influence, as well as such other observations as you may have opportunities of making in Natu- ral History, Geography, cl^c. in parts of the globe so little known, must prove most valuable and interesting to science ; and we therefore desire you to give your unremitting attention, and to call that of all the Officers under your command, to these points, as being objects of the highest importance. And you are to direct Mr. Fisher to be particu- larly careful to keep an accurate register of all the observations that shall be made, precisely in the same forms, and according to the same arrangement, that were followed by Captain Sabine on the late voyage ; — into whose charge arc also to be given the several chronometers with which you have been supplied. And although, as already specified, you are not to be drawn aside from the main object of the service on which you are employed, as long as you may be enabled to make any progress, yet, whenever you may be impeded by the ice, or find it necessary to approach the coasts of the continent or islands, you are to cause views of bays, harbours, head- lands, (^c. to be carefully taken, the better to ilhistrate the charts you may make, and the places you may discover, on which duty you will lie more particulsirly assisted by Captain Lyon and Mr. Bushnan, Assistant Surveyor. > . You are to make use of all the means in your power to collect and XXVUl OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS. h I preserve such specimens oi the Animal, Mineral, and Vegetable King- doms, as you can conveniently stow on board the ships ; salting in casks the skins of the larger animals, as well as causing accurate draw- ings to be made to accompany and elucidate the descriptions of them ; in this, as well as in every other part of your scientific duty. We trust that you will receive material assistance from Mr. Fisher, and the other Officers under your command. > ' In the event of any irreparable accident happening to either of the two ships, yo are to cause the Officers and Crew of the disabled ship to be re- moved into the other, and with her singly to proceed in prosecution of the voyage, or return to England, according as circumstances shall appear to require ; inulerstanding that the Officers and Crews of both ships are hereby authorized and required to continue to perform their duties according to their respective ranks and stations, on board either ship to which they may be so removed, in the event of an occurrence of this na- ture. Should unfortunately your own ship be the one disabled, you are in that case to take the command of the Hecla ; and in the event of any fatal accident happening to yourself. Captain Lyon is hereby authorized to take the command of the Expedition, either on board the Fury or Hecla, as he may prefer, placing the Officer who may then be next in seniority to him, in command of the second ship ; also in the event of your inability, by sickness or otherwise, to continue to carry these In- structions into execution, you are to transfer them to Captain Lyon, or to the surviving Officer then next in command to you, employed on the Expedition, who is hereby required to execute them in the best manner he can for the attainment of the several objects in view. His Majesty's (iovcrnment having appointed Captain Franklin to the command of an Expedition to explore the northern coast of North I ii OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS. XXIX America, from the mouth of the Coppermine River of Hearne, east- ward, it would be desirable, if you should reach that coast, that you should mark your progress by erecting a flagstaff in a few of the most convenient and distinguishable points which you may successively visit, and you are to bury at the foot of each staff a bottle, containing such information as may be useful to Captain Franklin, and such further particulars respecting your own proceedings as you may think proper to add ; corresponding instructions having been given to Captain Frank- lin to leave a similar notice at any convenient part of the coast which he may discover between the mouth of the said river and the eastern part of North America. And in the event of your getting to the westward of Hearne's river, you should occasionally do the same with a view to multiply the chances of our hearing of your progress. In the event of your finding Captain Franklin and his party on any part of the coasts of America, (which being possible, you should look out for and attend to any signals that may be displayed on the shores,) you are, if he should wish it, to receive him and his party into His Majesty's ships under your command, bearing them as supernumeraries for vic- tuals until your return, or you have other n.eans of forwarding them to England. You are, whilst executing the service pointed out in these instruc- tions, to take every opportunity that may offoi* of acquainting our Secretary, for our information, with your progress : and on your arrival in England, you are immctliately to repair to this office, in order to lay Iwfore us a full account of your j)rocecdings in the whole course of your voyage ; taking care, before you leave the ship, to demand from the Officers, Petty Officers, and all other persons on board, the logs and journals they may have kept, together with any drawings or charts XXX OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS. i they may have made, which are all to be sealed up ; and you will issue similar orders to Captain Lyon and his Officers, t^c. ,• the said logs, journals, or other documents to be thereafter disposed of as we may think proper. / Given under our hands this 27th of April, 1821. (Signed) G. COCKBURN, H. HOTHAM, G. Clerk. fi jBy Command of their Lordships, (Signed) J. W. Croker. To William Edward Pant/, Esq., Com- mander of His Majestj^'s Vessel the Fury, at Depiford. ' , ^ SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. Iff ill I ftri 'i- f i ff! SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 1 CHAPTER I PASSAGE ACnOSS THE ATLANTIC REMOVAL OF STOUES FROM THE NAUTILUS TRANSPORT, AT THE MARGIN OF THE ICE — DEPARTURE OF THE NAUTILI S FOR ENGLAND — ENTER THE ICE IN HLDSOXS STRAIT — PERILOUS 5iITi;ATI0N OF THE HECLA, AND LOSS OF IIER ANCHOR — MEET WITH THE HUDSON's-DAY SHIPS — PASSAGE UP THE STRAIT, AND COM- MUNICATION WITH THE NATIVES INHABITING THE NORTHERN SHORES — PASS THE TIUMTY ISLANDS OF FOX — ARRIVAL OFF SOUTHAMPTON ISLAND, WHERE THE RE- SEARCHES OF THE EXPEDITION COMMENCE. 1 HE FuRV, Hecla, and Nautilus Transport, were completed for sea towards the latter part of the month of April, and, on the 29th, at 10 A.M., the wind beinsj from the eastward, with every appearance of its continuinf^, the Fury WHH taken in tow by the Eclipse steam-boat, which vessel had before taken u^ down the river on a similar occasion. At two P.M., the Fnry was moored to the bnoy at Northfleet, and the Eclipse returned to Deptford for the other ships. The Hecla reached the moorings on the following day, ar .1 the Nau- tilus on the Istof May. The guns and ordnance-stores were here received on board, after which the ships immediately proceeded to the Little Nore where they anchored on the 3d. I received my final instructions from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty on the 4th, and set out for Shcerncss on the following day. On the 7tli, the shi|)s were visited by Rear-Admiral Sir John Gore, from whom we had, on this, as on the former occasion, re- ceived every attention and assistance, which the greatest personal kindness, 1S21. April. Sun. 29. Mon. 30. May. Tues. 1. Moil. 7. f I SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1821. May. \^y^j Tues. 8. and the most lively interest in our success, could suggest. On the same day, the ships' companies received their arrears of river-pay, and three months' wages in advance ; after which they provided themselves Avith a large stock of warm clothing, according to a list previously given out. The crews were, however, so well acquainted with the nature of the service on which they were ahout to be employed, that they took good care to provide an abundant supply of every thing of that kind. Previously to leaving the Nore, I furnished Captain Lyon with a complete copy of my Instructions from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, accompanied by an order containing some general regulations ; and I also appointed certain places of rendezvous, to ensure the meeting of the three ships at the margin of the ice, in case of unavoidable separation in crossing tlie Atlantic. On the 8th, at half-past three A.M., we weighed from the Little Nore, and, being favoured with a fresh breeze from the southward and westward, passed through Hoselcy Bay at noon, when, the weather becoming thick, I was induced to run out at the back of the sands, lest we should not be able to distinguish the lights clearly a', night. The wind soon after backing more to the westward, prevented our getting in with the land, for the pur- Wed. 16. pose of sending away our pilots, till the 16th when, being off Buchaness, they were put into a sloop bound to Leith, and our despatches and let- ters forwarded by the same opportunity. Fiid. 18. On the morning of the 18th, being off Copinsha, one of the Orkney Islands, and the wind continuing fresh from the northward, which prevented our getting round them in that direction, pilot^s were taken on board to run the ships through the Pentland Firtli. In the course of the afternoon, however, while standing through, the wind backed to the westward of north, with heavy squalls, which would not have allowed ua to clear the land with the ebb-tide. I determined, therefore, on anchoring in Widewall harbour, which we did at four P.M., in six fathoms, and immediately set Sat. 19. about completing our water. On the following day, I addressed a letter to the Secretary of the A ! ,?| 8 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1821. i i after, began to drift back in an E.N.E. direction at the same rate as before. We remained beset the whole of this day, driving very near some bergs which lay in oin* way, bnt unable to move the ships in any direction. We were, at noon, in lat. 01° 13' 05", longitude by chronometers 64° 05' 10'. The wea- ther being foggy, no land was in sight. Besides the above observations, some were also obtained for the dip of the magnetic needle, which was 83° 58' 51", and for the irregularities occasioned by local attraction ; these are inserted in the Appendix. Abundance of fine fresh water was found upon the large pieces of Hoe-ice to which the ships were fast, and this opportunity was, as usual, taken to fill as much as we required, as well as to wash the ships' com- panies clothes. Tluis. 5. A fresh breeze from the W.S.W. springing up on the morning of the 5th, accompanied by cleanM' wpatlipr. wc rast off to try what could be done, and succeeded in jmshing the ships in-shore, where we found a " lane" of tolerably open water, owing to the ebb-tide having set the ice off in a body. As this tide was now a lee one, however, we could with difficulty keep the ships to windward under a press of sail ; and, as soon as we had come to the end of the lane, were under the necessity of driving back to the eastward, the little distance we had gained. We had now only advanced within five or six miles of the south point of Resolution Island, which, by our observations, lies in lat. 01° '20' 40', long. 04° 55' 15". The former of these, which is the result of several meridian altitudes, is eight miles to the southward of the position usually assigned to this headland in the charts. A league or two to the eastward of this, we observed two openings having the appear- ance of harbours, which I should have been glad to examine, but that I had found tiie Hood-tide always set directly in towards the land for the first or secoiul quarter. As this was now about to make, it became necessary to the safety of the ships to gain an ofiing, in order to interpose some ice be- tween the... »..;''. tl.e shore. We accordingly stood off for a few miles, and then made fast to a lloe-|)iece, just as the ice came crowding back from the eastward with the lh)od-tide. The stream of the ebb ran, in the offing, till seven o'clock this eveniiig, and we could perceive that it remained slack for a very short time. The wind shifted to the .sonth-ea.stward in the course of the night, with a strong breeze and heavy rain ; and, on the following morning, when the ebb-tide opened the ice a little, a considerable swell was admitted from the sea, causing the ships to strike violently and almost constantly on the Fiid. 0. it OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 9 masses of ice alongside of them. In this situation they continued for scve- ^^^'• ral hours so completely beset as to render it inipossible to extricate them, v-^v^' and drifting about at random with the tides. The Hecia was, by a difterent set of the stream, separated live or six miles from the Fury, wliile both ships were equally hampered. The effects to be apprehended from exposure to the swell of (he main ocean constitute the peculiar danger of iirst entering the ice about the moiith of Hudson's Strait, which is completely open to the influence of t; o whole Atlantic. A very inconsidpiable quantity of loose ice is surticient to shelter a ship from the sea, provided it be closrly puckod ; but when the nuisses are separated by wind or tide, so as to admit the swell, the concus- sions soon become too violent for a sliip, sfrengtliened in the «)rdinary way. to vv'ithstand for any length of time. On tills account, it is prudent not t(> enter the ice without a fair prospect of getting seven «)r eight leagues within the margin. For the same reason, also, when likely to be besot near the sea, it Is better to make a ship fast to small than to large pieces, in order to avoid the heavier concussions occaslonelow it. The bergs which thus drive about are, however, less dangerous to approach than those aground, ag.-.inst which a ship is liable to be carried with the whole force of the tide. The fog suddenly clearing away, at ft P.M., we found ourselves chwc under Resolution Island, though \\o could obtain no soundings with one hundred an, in the course of the day, from one hundred and ninety fathoms, was at the temperature of 32°, that of the surface being 31°, and of the air 33^°. Early on the morning of the 8th, an opportunity offered of getting into a lane of clear water, which here, from the rapidity of the tides, often forms and disappears again with astonishing quickness. On standing towards the Hecla, which was still beset, I was informed by telegraph that she had suffered no material injury, except in the loss of a bower anchor, which was broken off in the shank by a heavy blow from a mass of ice. In the course of this day, however, she narrowly escaped a much more serious disaster, being carried by the ice within two hundred yards of the shore, and close to several rocks lying oft' it, and nearly swept into a dangerous inlet. In this situation, all that could be done was to endeavour to warp round the large floe piece to which she was attached ; but this attempt was completely frustrated by the floe always turning as soon as any strain was tlius put upon it. In this perilous situation she remained for several hours, after which, by great exertions, she succeeded in getting out of the ice, and rejoined us in the evening. The weather was beautifully clear during the whole of this day, though the wind was from the southward, and sometimes a point or two to the eastward of south. For the first time, also, since we came off Hudnon's Strait, for we had scarcely yet entered it, a large space of water remained open during the whole of the flood-tide, so that we were rnablessible to describe the horribly disgusting manner in which they sat down, as soon as they felt hungry, to eat their raw blubber, and to suck the oil remaining on the skins ti- 'I! ■'; i i • ; 1 \i\ I CiK A N0RTa-5^^*S'S f-'^ -' -fX' - ■^'^^ 15 w«» hf ;«*. i-*»e very smell < w/. r '-r*|l|«.-sJirf«, 'Hiei iimr 1*. . n^ H^ 536- -W.Ui -ti^i *!si:...'/ v'«-.- «B • "titUfi.H ?v*."'.. • ■i^. ....... .^;'-'r 'i*t' MS . iii»*..ft ■ -. ^'.th «)> tt»«i t^*^i« t tO0. t»>' . ,'t!..U^i-stoo ■ vi..e>i wiiicti " '« - ■! n .jiiioui havifli: >. . ^ -^RiohaU' • i ;:(U{ rcU'icrit h.ippy. ,.* » .t!.\l>tT of <'*ino8« rt»|ii^oto'*^- ^huy camt^ f^ma rtwj aho«.', und as no In- .. • '5 .'jfter f'ivinc wrm<*, thw f»«*cuwr vpf, ii'K •^. tm«J H«ikml on tli<» liw* r*i».r{»^*t» h* fi.. -jiT. i,,-^,- imi,^eiv'«?« tpirt^A- >w'vrtc nior*' oil »l lii.n h. Tb. Hudson'*; Hij -hip* roovaimd w Rnrhor !*«>nii' th**' n: ■ . -i**. a^\.. »( Mijfht *>! \h^M r'VtJf* du« ciii:Ua4»Luue\ . it^ well a.- fVoui tht >.,:iu. -■:. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 15 we had just emptied, the very smell of which, as well as the appearance, 1821. was to us almost insufferable. The disgust which our seamen could not w*w help expressing at this sight seemed to create in the Esquimaux the most malicious amusement ; and when our people turned away literally unable to bear the sight without being sick, they would, as a good joke among themselves, run after them holding out a piece of blubber or raw seal's flesh, dripping with oil and filth, as if inviting them to partake of it. Both the men and women were guilty of still more disgusting indecencies, which seemed to afford them amazing diversion. A worse trait even than all these was displayed by two women alongside the Hecla, who, in a manner too unequivocal to be misunderstood, offered to barter their children for some article of trifling value, beginning very deliberately to strip them of their clothes, which they did not choose to consider as included in the in- tended bargain. Upon the whole, it was impossible for us not to receive a very unfavourable impression of the general behaviour, and moral character, of the natives of this part of Hudson's Strait, who seem to have acquired, by an annual inter- course with our ships for nearly a hundred years, many of the vices which unhappily attend a first intercourse with the civilized world, without having imbibed any of the virtues or refinements which adorn and render it happy. Early on the morning of the 22d, a number of canoes repeated their visit Sund.22. to us, the Esquimaux having hauled them upon a piece of ice to lodge for the night. In the forenoon, an oomiak also came from the shore, and as no in- tercourse with them was permitted till after divine service, they became very impatient to barter their commodities, and walked on the ice alongside the ship, with a number of trifling things in their hands, vociferating " pilletay" to such a degree that we could hardly hear ourselves speak. Some more oil was obtained in exchange for pieces of iron hoop, and, at a quarter before noon, the wind coming more to the southward and the ice being somewhat less close than before, we cast off and made sail up the strait. The wind and ice combined to favour us more and more as we proceeded, the former both in strength and direction, and the latter by opening into loose streams ; so that, for the first time since we entered Hudson's Strait, we were now enabled to set all the studding-sails, with some prospect of deriving advantage from them. The Hudson's Bay ships remained at anchor some time after we made sail, and in the course of the evening we finally lost sight of them. From this circumstance, as well as from the 11^ li I 4 16 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1821. July. (i i^ ii,'4 unimpeded progress we had just began to make to the westward, it was now only that we considered our voyage as having fairly commenced. At five P.M., we were abreast of Saddleback, which we make in lat. 62° 11', long. 67° 43' ; but, having no observations when in its immediate neighbour- hood, it is thus laid down by onr dead-reckoning only. The small cluster of islands to which this belongs is called in the charts the middle Savage Islands ; a name by which Mr. Davidson did not know them, nor can I find any authority for it, but which may serve to distinguish them as well as any otlier. Though there appeared to be several small openings as if between islands along this coast, yet we saw none of any magnitude like that marked " Jackman's Sound," in Mr. Arrowsmith's chart, which we must have plainly noticed had it existed as there laid down. The fact is, that the inlet, so called by Sir Martin Frobisher in the year 1576, has its only known entrance on the .south shore of the strait bearing the name of that navigator, its com- munication with Hudson's Strait being a matter of very doubtful conjecture. I believe, indeed, we may safely consider the land, by whatever name it may be designated, as continuous the whole way from the East Bluff, as far west- Avard as North Bay. When abreast of Saddleback, at the distance of five or six miles, we had from fifty to sixty fathoms' water. At half-past four P.M., the tide mark upon the grounded ice-bergs was about ten feet, and the stream, being that of ebb, was setting strong to the eastward. On the morning of the 24th, we found, on standing in-shore, that we were off the great opening called North Bay, the largest and highest of the Upper Savage Islands*, forming the western point of its entrance. The North Bluff, a remarkable promontory, being the eastern point of the large portion of nameless land lying immediately above the Savage Islands, appears very conspicuous when standing in from the S.S.E. From this headland the Hudson's Bay ships not unfrequently take their departure, and strike off more to the westward towards the entrance of the bay ; though this depends, in some measure, on the situation of the ice, which is somewhat different at the same period of different seasons. It is, however, a general rule with them to keep close along the northern shores of the strait, till the openness * Under these Islands (" the easternmost saving one") Baffin anchored A. D. 1615, and named them the Savage Islands. He describes them as " having a great sound or indraught between the north shore and them," and lays down his anchorage in latitude 62° 30', long., " near 72°." Our observations place it 2J miles to the northward, and 1° Cyi' to the eastward of that position. 1615, ind or Ititude I, and '1 ■:i. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 17 of the sea offers a prospect of making a fair run to the westward. Mr. Da- vidson informed me that, after leaving this shore, they seldom meet with any very serious obstruction, except from a body of ice which they usually have to penetrate near Charles's Island, and which, from the frequency of its oc- currence in that situation, has obtained the name of " Charles's Patch." Long experience has brought those who frequent this navigation to the con- clusion that, in most seasons, no advantage is to be gained by attempting to enter Hudson's Strait earlier than the fust week in July, the annual disruption of the ice which occupies the upper and middle parts of the strait being sup- posed not to take place till about this time. In the course of our single year's experience in these parts, we have seen nothing to recommend a practice dif- ferent from that at present pursued by the ships of the Hudson's Bay Company. In the afternoon, having a contrary wind, agaiivst which little progress could be made, I lauded, at half-past four, upon the easternmost of the Savage Islands, accompanied by several of the officer^, and was shi dy after joined by Captain Lyon. The lower parts of this island are cniposed of gneiss and granite, and the upper part of mica slate in thin lai'i i «, and containing gar- nets in some specimens. At the foot of the cliffs which rise f* m four to five hundred feet above the level of the sea, man v hirre separate masses of granite occurred, in which the red feldspar, white (juartz, and plates of dark-cv'otired mica were large and distinct. Veins also of white quartz, eight or ten inches wide, and nearly in a vertical position, traverse fhe rocks in some parts of the island. After making the usual observations for the longitude and variation, we ascended to the highest part of the island, which is from six to eight hun- dred feet above the sea, in order to take an eye-sketch and angles of the surrounding lands. We here counted eleven islands, which may properly be considered as belonging to the group called the Upper Savage Islands, occupying nearly the whole space between that on which we stood, the largest and highest of the whole, smd the western shore. The south point of this island is comparatively lo«s, and appeared to have shoal Avater oft' it to the distance of half a mile. Captain Lyon here noticed the remains of some Esquimaux habitation-, consisting, as usual, of small rude circles of rough stones* ; and one ai\man skull was also found there. We met with a * These circles are, in the Narrative of the former Voyage, erroneously called " huts," as we then took ;iiem to be the remains of the winter habitations of the Esquimaujc ; whereas, they are exclusively used for extending the skins composing their summer tents. 1821. July. II I I ' I If ,1 18 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY V^V^i' 1821. f(.^y pieces of drift fir-wood, some of which havinn^ been sawed and others cliipped, shewed that these people were not in want of wood, since tliey conUl thns aHord to leave it behind them in no inconsiderable qnantity. The only animals seen were one hare, which was very dark on the back, a single gronse, a bird like a snipe, and some Hocks of snow bnntings ; bntthe dnng of hares was abinidant. There was in some places a good ;if oppositifoliaj, dwarf willow, an2° 37' 04" westerly. When we lat'ded, at forty minntes after fonr, P.M., the tide had ebbed abonttwo feet and a half; and at twenty minntes after seven when wc left the ishuni, it had fallen thirteen feet more ; from which the whole fall of this tide, though at the dead of the neaps, may be considered as above twenty- nine ^{.'i^i. We had hanled onr boats up on a smooth inclined rock, but, on onr return from the hil'.s, had to lower them down ten or twelve feetperpen- y the patent \o^, we considered oiirselves eij^ht or nine miles from the north shore ; so that the distaiue across the strait in this j)art, Avhich is the nar- rowest, aipj)ears to be very correctly laid roach to a larger body of it. On the 27th, we continiUMl to gain a great th of eighty to one hundred and lifJy fathoms, the bottom being r.orenn'y irregular. It rained hard for several hours, after which the wea- tl:er cleared u|), and the wind came frcmi the northward. The ice being now Urn close to sail through with any but a leading wind, the ships were made fast to a Hoe-piece. For two 31, frtHiucntly and particularly alludps to it. His account is confirmed in a highly valuable manuscript journal kept by n person of the name of Yourin, who served, it seems, as *• one of tin- licers on lioard the Charles, Captain Luke Fox," on that voyage. This journal, which is no less remarkable for its perspicuity and accuracy than for the neatnesN with which it is i)enn( d, is in the possession of Lord Mountnorris. By bis Lordship's permission a copy of this journal was obtaincveather might have prevented onr seeing any continuous line of coast at tlie back of tliem. Being at noon in lat. 64°07 , and longitude, by account, 75° 11', we hauled more to the westward, along the land, as soon as the ice would allow. In passing the westernmost of the islands, all of which are quite low, we carried a depth of from forty-nine to thirty- nine fathoms, at the distance of six or seven miles. In standing out to tlie southward, the Avater deepened, though very irregularly, to eighty-four fatlioms, at the distance of four leagues from the land, where it was necessary for us to heave to, the fog coming on again thicker than before, and continirtig throughout the night. 4 numbor of seals and one sea-horse were seen in the course of the day, as well as some lish jumping out of the water, which the look-out man in the crow's-nest took t.) be salmon. Tues. 31. The weather gradually clearing, on the morning of the 31st, we again saw the land to the northward, which still appeared to consist principally of islands, along which our course was now directed. At noon, being in latitude, by account, G4° 01' 30", and long. 75° 48' 50", we had a near and distinct view of several of these, at the back of which there still ran a continuous line of coast. The islands seemed to form several line inlets, and the tide in the offing was extremely strong, as appeared by the numerous ripplings on the surface of the water, and by our making very little progress for some hours with a favourable breeze. As the fog cleared away from the south-western horizon, we obtained the first glimpse of Salisbury Island in that quarter. In the afternoon, Caj)tain Lyon vas so irregular, that the shii)s were frequently hampered, and received several heavy blows from the ice in consequence. After standing several miles to the northward, along the edge of die ice, without meeting with an opening, it began to lead us so much to the eastward that we tacked and stood back to the W.S.W., to try what could be done by patience and perseverance in that quarter. The Expedition being now about to enter upon ground not hitherto ex- plored, it became necessary for me to decide upon the route it would be most advantageous to pursue, for the accomplishment of the principal ob- jects pointed out in my instructions. This route being, in a certain de- gree, left to my own discretion, I must here interrupt, for a moment, the narrative of our proceedings, as well to explain the grovuids on which my determination rested, as to establish and elucidate the connexion between the researches of the present Expedition, and those of former navigators. '"'. 1; r'l 1 ; ri'i * " * ;, *i \k^. !!t) 1 ill- f I 26 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF THE GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION OBTAINED BY THE RESEARCHES OP FORMER NAVIGATORS ON THE COAST OF THE AMERICAN CONTINENT, IN THE NEIGH- BOURHOOD OF WAGER RIVER DISCOVER AND ENTER THE DUKE OF YORK'S BAY, SUPPOSING IT TO BE A PASSAGE INTO THE SEA CALLED THE WELCOME — LEAVE THE DUKE OF YORK'S BAY, AND PROCEED TO THE NORTH-WESTWARD PASSAGE OP THE FROZEN STRAIT AND ARRIVAL IN REPULSE BAY CONTINUITY OP LAND THERE OBSERVATIONS ON SHORE REMARKS CONCERNING THE GEOGRAPHY, TIDES, AND NATURAL HISTORY OF THIS PART OF THE CONTINENT.VL COAST. 1821. My instructions directed me to " penetrate to the westward, through ,^J1^*- Hudson's Strait, until I reached, either in Repulse Bay, or on some other part of the shores of Hudson's Bay, to the north of Wager River, a part of the coast which I should feel convinced to be a portion of the continent of North America." " Then to keep along the line of this coast to the northward, always examining every bend, or inlet," &c*. It became, therefore, my first business to inquire to what ])oint the examination of the eastern coast of North America had already been carried, and its continuity satisfactorily determined. The proceedings of the Expedition under the command of Captain Middlcton, in his Majesty's ship the Furnace in the year 1742, together with the inquiry instituted by the Admiralty on his return, in consequence of the representation of Mr. Uobbs, furnish the principal materials for judging of this question. The disj)utes between Mr. Dobbs and Captain Middlcton, which, like most other contests of a similar nature, gave rise to much personal animosity and virulent invective, have at least served the useful purpose of pointing out, with all the minuteness which the most determined hostility iticular parts of Captain Middlcton's conduct, which his iggest, part * OiTicial lustructions. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 27 accusers considered as lying open to censure or animadversion. It appears, from the documents laid before the public at the time by the respective parties*, that Captain Middleton was chargeable with neglect, in having quitted certain parts of the coast traversed by him, and which seemed likely to afibrd some outlet to the westward, without determining the continuity of the land by actual examination. The first and principal of these was Wager Inlet, to which Captain Middleton gave the appellation of a river, as subsequent examination has, in fact, proved it to be, and Mr. Dobbs that of a strait, leading, as he believed, in tlitj desired direction, towards the Pacific Ocean. Wherever the strict and entire examination of a coast has been neglected, so as still to leave a doubt respecting its conti- nuity, the mind naturally has recourse to all the indications that can be collected to supply the place of facts. In the present instance, the direction of the tides, the degree of saltness in the sea-water, the presence of whales, and other circumstances of minor importance, constituted the chief grounds upon which the disputants rested their respective arguments. The direction of the flood-tide has, indeed, constantly, and to a certain extent, justly been considered as affording an indication of some weight in forming a judgment on the spot, respecting the existence or non-existence of a westerly passage. To this the attention of Captain Middleton was strongly directed in his official instructions, which, in two different places, |)oint out to him the propriety of *' meeting the flood-tide," in order to accomplish the proposed object. And in his subsequent endeavour to vindicate his conduct " from the aspersion!) of Arthur Dobbs, Esq.," it is ujjon arguments deduced from this phenomenon that he has principally laboured to convince the public of the absurdity of expecting to find a passage to the westward, through Wager Inlet. In some parts of the channel which separates Southampton Island from the coast of America, and to which, though erroneously, the name of the Welcome has, of late years, been applied, it was understood that the flood-tide set from the northward; and it became, therefore, a matter of real interest to ascertain, by " meeting" it, from what sea it flowed. Now, here it was that Captain Middleton and Mr. Dobbs were most at issue ; the former asserting that, in his discovery of the " Frozen Strait," through which he actually saw the tide of flood coming into the Welcome, the question was solved in a manner 1821. August, ♦ A Vindication of thf Conduct of Captain MiddU'ton, &c., London, 17-13. Abstract of Captain Middleton's Jotirnal, Sec, Loudon, 17-tl. E 2 DOBDS'S i I i 1 1 :; ^ .11 1 til 1 : 1 1 I".'. • 1 ' ' 11^ ! ': ill 1821. Aug-ust. 28 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY II highly conclusive to every unprejudiced mind ; while the latter, fully im- pressed with a conviction that the story of the " Frozen Strait was all a chimera, as well as every thing that" Captain Middleton had said " con- cerning that part of the voyage," confidently insisted on the probability of the tide linding its way in through Wager River, or, at least, through some arm of the sea communicating with that inlet from the westAvard. The fallacy of this latter opinion was amply proved by the researches of the next Expedition under Captains Moor and Smith, who, being sent out for the avowed purpose of contradicting or confirming the report of Middleton, traced ^Vager Inlet in their boats, till it was found to terminate in two incon- siderable and unnavigablc rivers. On leaving the Wager, Captain Middleton proceeded to the northward, keeping both the American coast and that of Southampton Island in sight, and noting their bearings and distance frequently and minutely in his log, as far as Cape Hope, in which space no doubt has ever been entertained, either by Mr. Dobbs or by any r)ther person, of the complete continuity of the land on the American side. I felt perfectly satislicd, therefore, that Cape Hope formed a portion of the continent, and that the examination of the coast to the south- ward of it would be a needless and unprolitablc occupation of our time. To the northward of Cape Hope, the land is described by Captain Middle- ton as having been observed to turn short round to the westward ; but the joy and encouragement aftbrded by this circumstance are said to liave been soon clouded by lindlMg they had reached a close bay, Avhicli prevented their further progress in that direction, and which, in consequence, obtained the appropriate name of Repulse Bay. It is worthy of particular remark, that even this part of the coast has not drawn from Captain Middleton's accusers, who, as well as their commander, had the advantage of beinsr eye-witnesses of the whole transaction, a single expression implying a doubt of the continuity of the land in Repidsc Ray. But the imputation of negli- gence or IVaud, to which, in particular instances, he appears to have laid himself open, has, by a construction not uncommon, been extended to his general conduct, throwing an luimerited de<,^ree of doubt and uncertainty on every part of his labours. On this account, as well as from its geographical position, which seemed so iavoiuable for the termination of the American continent to the north-eastward, has an importance been attached to Repulse Bay, even by those who are not the most sanguine on the subject of the '., -t OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 29 re hiid North-West Passage, which subsequent investigation has proved it not to jgoj, deserve, - J^^- Having, on the considerations detailed above, decided on taking up the examination of the continental coast, from Cape Hope northwards, it became a question of scarcely less importance to determine, in the next place, by what route the Expedition would most quickly be enabled to reach that point, so as to occupy as much as possible of the present summer, upon ground not hitherto explored; and, if practicable, to get fairly on our way to the westward, along the northern coast of America, before the close of the navigable season. Here it Avas necessary for me still more carefully to balance in my own mind the ocular evidence of Captain Middleton against the speculative reasoning of Mr. Dobbs, the former having asserted that he had actually seen a strait intervening between Southampton Island and the shore to the northward of it, though apparently impracticable on account of ice; while the latter had writfpn half si volume to prove the strait in (fuestion a fabrication, invented by the Captain for the purpose of deceiving Govern- ment, and of favouring the supposed views of the Hudson's Bay Company, his former employers. If Mr. Dobbs's suspicions were well founded, it would be necessary for us, by pursuing the known but circuitous route round the south end of Southampton Island, to sail a distance of one hundred and seventy leagues from our present station, and above two hun- dred, in case of failure at the Frozen Strait, in order to reach the point where our operations were to commence ; whereas, on the supposition of the existence, and, of course, the practicability, of that passage, the distance would scarcely exceed fifty leagues; a difference of no small moment in the icy seas. After the most anxious consideration of all this contradictory evidence, I came to the resolution of attempting the direct passage of the Frozen Strait; though, I confess, not without some apprehension of the risk 1 was incurring, and of the serious loss of time which, in case of failure either from the non-existence of the strait or from the insuperable obstacles which its name implies, would thus be inevitably occasioned to the Ex- pedition. On standing back to the west south-west the ice was fo\md as impenetrable as before, and the ships were therefore made fast in the best manner we could, to await some aheration in our favour. On the morning of the 3d, Frid. 3. we had some heavy rain, although the wind was westerly; but, on its veering to the northward, the weather cleared up, and continued beautifully • fl I' I 1 ■/ Aj Sat. 4. 30 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1821. August. fine for the rest of the day. With the hope of gaining -».r flround we cast off, but found it impossible to make any progress throi;.; fhe ice, which, though its general body continued closely packed, was, in some par^s, run- ning about in various and even opposite directions, at the rate of two or three miles an hour, so as frequently to come in forcible contact with the ships, without the possibility of our avoiding it by sailing out of its way. The rapidity and irregularity of the tides in this neighbourhood were parti- cularly remarked by our early navigators, and, indeed, gave the name to Mill Islands, " by reason of grinding the ice." There can be little doubt that this irregularity is principally occasioned by a meeting of the tides hereabouts, for there is tolerable evidence of the flood coming from the northwart'; down the great opening leading to Fox's Farthest, and which I have called Fox's Channel*. This tide, meeting the rapid stream which sets from the eastward through Hudson's Strait, must, of necessity, produce such a disturbance as has here been noticed. The current was tried at noon, this day, and found to set north by west, three quarters of a mile an hour, and at thirty minutes past nine, P.M., it was running to the south-east one mile per hour, but which of these was the flood tide we had no means of determining. At ten A.M., on the 4th, we saw an appearance of land, much raised and distorted by refraction, though the weather was fine, and the atmosphere apparently clear, from N. 82° E. to S. 53' E., being part of the coast dis- covered by Bafiin, in the year 1615, and more minutely traced by Fox, in 1631. At noon we observed in lat. 65° 00' 17", the longitude, by chro- nometers, being 79° 56' 55". At this time, the prospect to the westward appeared from the croAv's-nest as unpromising, on account of the closeness and extent of the ice, as I ever remember to have seen it. Shortly after- wards, however, the sea gradually, or rather suddenly, became navigable in that direction, the ice separating and, in fact, disappearing in so rapid and extraordinary a manner as to astonish even those among us who had been the longest accustomed to this navigation, and afibrding a striking example of those sudden changes which, in icy seas, almost teach us never to tlespair of making progress, even under circumstances apparently the * Baffin particularly insists on this being tlie case, iKrtli near Trinity Islands, and off Southampton Island ; and, I think, notwithstanduiji; a contrary opinion held by Fox and Yourin, our observations on the tides in this neighbourhood, and subsequently at Winter Island, serve to confirm those of Baffin. i OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 31 most unfavourable. We did not fail to take advantage of this alteration, ^fj]' and, standing under all sail to the westward, soon made Southampton Island. At midnight we had deepened the water to one hundred and five fathoms. After an unobstructed run of between thirty and forty miles, we were Sur again stopped, and obliged to make fast, on the morning of the 5th, the ice becoming gradually closer, and occurring in heavy and extensive floes. After divine service had been performed, we again made sail, being in lat. 65" 20! 50", and longitude, by chronometers, 81° 24'. By dint of a good deal of " boring," and after receiving a number of very violent blows, we succeeded in forcing our way about ten miles nearer the land, which appearing not to be continuous in one part, 1 concluded wc were near the eastern entrance of the Frozen Strait. But the haze or fog-bunk which, in these regions, even on days apparently the clearest, often gives a distorted appearance to objects at tlie distance of four or five leagues, prevented our making it out distinctly. As it was now impracticable to make any further progress, we were under the necessity of submitting to tliat suspense which the increasing interest of our situation naturally excited. Some of the floes in this neighbourhood measured at least half a mile each way, being the largest, except one or two, that we had yet met with. They were all covered with innumerable " hummocks," between whicli were pools of water, some fresh, and others communicating with the sea below. Though we subsequently witnessed the formation of one kind of " hummocky" floes, by means of the doubling occasioned by pressure, these were evidently produced in a ditt'erent way. From their appearance it Avould seem that they are formed of numerous detached masses of ice, left floating on the sea at the setting in of the winter's frost; which, facilitating the production of a new sheet, are enclosed and, as it were, soldered to- gether by it ; thus, increasing to several fee^ in thickness in the course of the winter, and receiving a covering of c-aow upon its upper surface, it becomes one firm and compact body. The height of the hummocks, which were here five or six feet above the general level of the floe, depends, of course, on the size of the masses remaining undissolved at the close of the summer; and, in most parts of Bafiin's Bay, where, 1 believe, little or none of the former year's ice would be found at the setting in <»f the frost, the floes arc level and regular, like those which we know to be produced In 5 "•1 ^^ Hi 32 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 18'Jl. annually in almost all umlisturbod situations. When the thawinj* commences, the water lodnjes in the cavities formed on tloesby the luunmocks, making the numerous pools we see in the summer, gradiudly tinding its way com- I letely through the ice, an«l thus, at length, ser\ing again to separate the original masses, or hinnmocks. This is one, among the many instances, in which Nature may be observed wojulerfully to adapt her means of dissolving the ice to those she cm|)loys in its production, thereby preventing any inidue accumulation of it in the polar regions of the earth. While on this subject, 1 may otter a few renuirks respecting the stones, sand, shells, aiul weed)stances into the situation in which they are found, in the same manner as they »>ro dep(»sited on bergs formed on the shore. IJut to those who have been eye-witness««s of the fact, to the extent in which it here occurred, this ujode of explaining it, however plausible at lirst sight, is by no means satis- factory ; for masses of rock, n(»t less than a hundred pounds in weight, are somciimes observed in the miVW/t of a floe, measuring half a mile, or more, each way, and of which the whole surface is more or less covered with smaller stxines, sand, and shells. To suppose the wind strong enough to hlow these substances such a distance would be absurd ; nor is the supjiosi- tioi) of their having been washed there .scarcely more |)robable, for jjs a ttoe of ice must lloiit considerably above the surface of the sea, it is not ea.sy to ct>nceive how it can be overllowed, aiul nuich less how heavy st >nes can be carritd half a mile along it. It has been suggested that the Hoe may be hehl «lown by its firm ccinentiUion to the shore, while the Mater from the hind above it rushes in a torrent along its u|)per surface. Tliis, however, is contrary to experience, which shews that, huig before the streams on the land a'C sutticient to eflect this, the ice next the shore is ccnnpletely thawed, and detached from the beach, and thurefurc at liberty to Huat in (he natural way. The only explanation of this fact that I can suggest is, (hat as it is generally found to be the case to the grea(est extent u|M>n the •' hunnnocky" Hoes, the Hubstances may have been deposited u])oii each muss of ice when scpurate. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 33 and evcntiins!/ brousfht into tlio middle of a laiijo floe by flic process detailed 1821. .... . .... ... August, above. Tliis exj)lanatloii, bowever, jjocs but a little way towards eleariiii]f up tbe difficulty ; for, besides ibe necessity of supposillJ,^ in tliis ease, tbat oaeli mass of ice has in its turn been brous^bt into close contact witli tbe sliore, Ave have never seen an iu'^tance, in any bay or barbour, where ice so l)r. we observed in lat. 05° "2S' l.V. b»'ing tw«) miles Mon. (>. and a (piarter to the norm ward of (hat in which Hylol, with whom niiHin suiled as pilot, left off his search of a passage (o (he w.'s(ward in 1()1.">. The rt*as(His which indiu'cd him to reliiupiish (he enterprise at (bis place were, the increased (piantity of ice, 'he water becoming less deep, an.'>', buig. HO" ti<>'. Our angles and observations plact it in iW 51', and S-i".'}?'. H< iween Uallin Island and the high lanUuf ISuullnunptun Isluud, from whicli points the di^icuvcries uf the 34 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1 ■■! 1 I ''I jrlfci 1821. present Expedition commence, there was a considerable interval to the north- N^-rw ward and Avestward, where no land had as yet appeared. We could not, there- fore, 'jut entertain very sanguine hopes that this opening would be found to communicate with, and even to be a continuation of, the Frozen Strait, as Middleton himself had suggested. In the evening, the sky became overcast, the wind being southerly ; and between eleven P.M. and midnight, several vivid Hashes of lightning were seen to the westward, and succeeded by hard rain for some hours. Our progress was now so slow, owing to constant interruption by ice, that Tliurs. 9. on the Utli, at noon, we had only reached the lat. of G.j° 34' 28", and long. 82" 24' 12", our soundings being one hundred and (il'ty fadioms muddy bottom. The northern land in sight, which now first seemed to consist of islands, appeared low in comparison with the coast of Southampton Island, the latter rising to a considerable height above the sea, and having two hills very conspicuous from the eastward, forming a sort of saddle, .lot unlike that of the Monnond Hills over IJuchaness. In the atternoon wo once more entered the ice, which favoured us by opening more and more m we advanced; so tliat we sneeeeded in making several miles to the westward, and were enabled to keep the ships under way and in open water ;i Island, leaving an opening o' a league or two in wi'v\v in search of. Upon the whole, however, I thought it most probable that this was the strait in (pu^stlon ; and as, at all events, the opening between Southampton Island and the land to the northward of it, in whatever latitude it might be found and whether wide or narrow, was the passage through which it wjis our present object to pene- trate into Repulse Hay, 1 decided on using our utmost exertions to piish through the narrow strait now before us. The wind moderating in the <>vi'ning, and the ice after sunset once more <»|)ening, enabled us to make another mile or two to the westward, after which we lay to fo» the night. A great number of narwhals were playing about the ship during the night, but they were, as usual, so wary that our boats cf Aiipiist tin- Htli, f'npiaiii Middloton j^ivts tho liititutli- of Ills sliip h\ observation, (55'^ JW toti.'}" 4T, wlu-n close off tlu- wt'stcTiu-nlnuu'C «if I lie Frozen Strait, wliieli, from its soutli-eiisterlv trendinjj, is. also, the unrtlicrnmnst part of it. In liis k'tter to Mr. l)ol)hs, however, he sjiys it is in ()(i° W, and, just Infore. that it is near the Bixly-nevontli tleprce of latitude. Neither tlie «me nor the «»ther has provwl correct ; Imt I have here (|uoted thoni, to expluin tiic duubls whicii thvst contriuhctory stutenu-nt^ led me to cutertiiin ut ihiftjmictnre. -i OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 37 should have immediate access to the northern part of the Welcome. We j.^^^^' observed something very like smoke rising from about Cape Welsford, wlw.h, being confined to one spot, was thought likely to be occasioned by the (ires of natives. Nothing could exceed the fineness of the weather about this time ; the climate was indeed, altogether so different from that to which we had before been accustomed in the icy seas, as to be a matter of constant remark. The days were temperate and clear, and the nights not cold, though a very thin plate of ice was usually formed upon the surface of the sea in sheltered places, and in the pools of water upon the Hoes. After sunset we descried land, appearing very distant, through the middle of the strait, which we considered to be that on the American side of tiie Welcome. At this time, also, we observed some ice in the centre of the strait, heavier than that which covered tl?e rest of the sea, and apparently aground in siioal water, as afterwards proved to be the case. On the morning of the 14th, the ice continued almost as close as before Tucs. 14. about the ships, but the wind being easterly and some clear water beginning to appear in the direction of the strait, we were encouraged to make an attempt id 1 lOve. The signal was, therefore, made to warp witli lines and hawsers, but we met with no success to repay our eiuleavours, the Ileela having nuher !o^ltlliingaiue across, our souiulings being one hundred and ninety-two fathoms, at the ^hi'r place. TIh' wind shifted to i!ie westward and increased to a strong breeze in tin* night, in consequence of whicli we had, on the morning of the I5th, nn- Wed. 15 avoidably drifted baek five or six miles to the eastward. This temporary loss of gro lUn' was, Iniwever, as usual, more than tom|)ensated by a large space of clear v'i,*-^r now seen in-shore, into which, after several hours' exertion, wo Hucteed* •\ in getting (he Fury, at three '\M. We were here within a leagiu; of a remarkable headlaiul on Southampton Island, v hieh I named Cai'u RvuiT, vi being oiolmbly the westernmost land seen by that navigator in Uil.v. In (he mftfntiine, the llecla. still continuing very closely beset, had, in spite of every exertion, dril'tcU buck with the ice sc.crul miles to the northward -'^ 38 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY il I'. ! 1821. and eastward, so tliat, in the course of the evening, we lost sight of her August. . . altoejether. This latter circinnstance was, however, ownig in great measure to the extraordinary refraction upon the horizon, making terrestrial objects at the distance of six or seven miles appear Hattencd down or depressed, as well as otherwise much deformed. At six P.M., having beat «ij) within five or six miles of the entrance of the strait, ard being anxious to sound the channel, which appeared narrow but without any ice in it to otter us obstruction, I left the ship in the gig, accomi)anied by Mr. Ross, for this purpose. The current appeared to be setting to windward, or to the westward, but the fresh breeze was unfavourable for ascertaining its exact direction or velocity. Besides the high i'^land before mentioned, are two smaller ones to the southward of it, wiiich contract the channel still more between it and the south shore. Tlicse ishinds 1 named after Lieutenant Nias. The heavy ice which had before been observed from the masthead, now formed a very conspicuous oliject, the rest having drifted out of the strait ; we therefore rowed directly f > vards thi**, as it seemed to form the northern boundary of the navigable J uf of the channel. Reaching it at thirty minutes alter nine, we found it a ri"'>ui^>l as we had conjectured, tw of the black rocks on which it rested being n()W just above water, and a tide of a knot and a iialf setting jjust them to the eastward. These dangerous rocks lie nearly midway between the smallest island and Cape Welsford, being rather to the westward of the narrowest j)art. Within fifty yards of the dry part of them was a depiu of ten to twelve fathoms, and from five to seven at half that distance. As it was not possible to r()\nplete die examination of the channel in time to beat the ship through till tlie morning, I made the appointed signal for the Fury to stand off and on diring the lew hours of dusk, and determined on taking up our (piarters on shore at Cape Welsford, in order to re-commence our exa- minaiion as cirly as possible in the morning In standing across to the Cape, we could ^iiid no bottom with thirty-five fathoms of line, and, indeed, in the whole of ihi * part the water was subsecpuMitly found to be very deep. The ;»art of .Southampt i Ish>(id on which Ave landed is about a thousand feet high, and composed oi" gneiss. Ew ry here and there, along the shore, between the projecting j)o'nts of n)cks, is a small cove or bay, having a beach C()m|M)S('d of small pieces ni limestone, which make the water almost as white as milk. Landiiig in one of lii^se coves, we carrietl the lK)at above high-water mark ; and, making u tent of her m\\, lay very comfortably ■■3 ^K OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 39 during the night. When the boat first touched the beach, \vc observed an j^oi innumerable quantity of the little fish called sillocks, swimming about, se- August. veral of wliich were killed by the boat-hooks or takei in the hand, A great number of white whales, seals, and narwhals, were also playing about near the beach during the night. The white whales were the most numerous ; the noise these animals made resembled a hoarse low-toned barking more than any other to which I can compare it; and we remarked that their colour was whiter than any we had before seen. The weather continued clear and fine, enabling us to obtain good observa- tions by the moon and stars. The latitude by two meridian altituilcs was 65° 28' 13"; the longitude, by chronometers 84° 40' 07"; and die variation of the magnetic needle 50° IS' 20" westerly. The aurora boroalis was visible during the whole of the night, consisting of many lumiiunis patches, or ncbid(c, having, when viewed together, a tendency to form an arch, and ex- tending from south by east to south west and sometimes to west, its height in the centre being 15°. From this arch pencils of rays shot upwards towards the zenith. It differed from any other phenomenon of this kind, that I have seen, in being at tiim*s of a beautiful orange colour. As soon aa It was daylight, Mr. Ross and myself ascended the hill above Thur. 10. our sleeping-place, from whence we could jjerceive laiul stretching round to the westward and northward, so as apparently to leave no opening in tliat t|uarter. Wo were nuieh surprised at the low and yellowish appearance of this land, both of which circumstances we were at a loss to reconcile with Captain Mlddletou's description of the bold shore of the American couti- iient, on the western side of the Welconu' about this latitude. It was j)leasing, however, to observe a large expanse of sea wholly unencund)ere^- OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 48 her, we cr way, cven- )ur late furnish mid our . Our ination beyond as that c Dun- clcome. without suspecting its disjunction, in any part, from the high land of South- ^^^^^^^ ampton Island at the back, which, indeed, he could not have discovered without travelling several leagues inland from that side, until he had reached the shore of the bay we had lately entered. In approaching a low point, which forms one side of the apparent opening to the N.N.E,, before alluded to, and which I subsequently named after Mr. Henderson, we gradually shoaled the water from eighteen fathoms, which we had soon after leaving our anchorage, to eight. After rounding the point, it seemed doubtful whether there was any passage to the north' ward, the interval between the two lands being now contracted to two miles, and becoming more and more narrow as we advanced. After passing the point, where, at two P.M., we found the flood-tide setting to the northward, at the rate < uile and a half an hour, we again deepened the water to ten and twelvv fathoms; but, in continuing our course half an hour longer, again shoaled it gradually to five and four fathoms, and tacked in eighteen feet. The ship was unusually slack in stays, owing, perhaps, to her hanging in the long tangle-weed, of which great quan- tities were always floating about here. At this time the two lands seemed to approach within a mile of each other, with a number of little low stony islands occupying a great part of that space, and shelving points on each side, so that there seemed little chance of finding a passage for ships in that direction. Having sent a boat to sound, we tacked, and again ran in till we had shoaled the water to four fathoms, and then once more stood to the southward. Finding, by the signals made from the boat, that nothing could be done till the channel, if there were any, had been regularly examined and buoyed off", I directed the ships to be anchored as soon as we had got into twelve fathoms ; and at four P.M., left the Fury, accompanied by Mr. Henderson, and by Lieutenant Hoppncr in a second boat from the Hecla, in order to conduct the intended examination. This did not, however, occupy so much time as we expected, for in less than two hours we had ascertained, beyond a doubt, that no practicable passage for ships existed in this direction. The tide was here so strong, that, with sails and oars, we could scarcely stem it; and as we approached the nar- rowest part, it was mnning more than six knots, obliging us to pull in-shorc, into the eddy of the point, before we could make the smallest progress. Wc then with difficulty rowed to an islet, about which fresh rocks and shoals were almost every minute shewing themselves, as the tide fell ; so that, at a 2 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 1.0 I.I Ui|2£ 12.5 |50 ■^" ■■■ 1^ 12.0 12.2 J& = 1= 1^ ^ 6" ► <^ /J / v^ y Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 13 WIST MAIN STRUT WIISTIR, N.Y. MSM (71*) •79-4S03 ir= I < i ''Is is ^H .. < U SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY }^^^' half-past six, when it was very little more than half ejb by the shore, there smps/^ were, in every direction, numberless shoals and islets, past which the tide was rushing with all the violence and irregularity of a race, except in a small channel, which, in the only part where a ship could have floated, did not exceed three hundred yards in width. In such a channel, rendered, as it was, doubly dangerous, by the rapid tide which rushed through it, and which would render a ship perfectly unmanageable, it would have been highly imprudent to risk a passage ; and as, under these circumstances, it would have been a mere loss of time to continue the examination of this place, whatever curiosity we might feel to ascertain its communications, I determined to return on board, in order to take advantage of the remaining part of the ebb-tide, it being our next object to endeavour to find a passage into the Welcome, round the south side of the low land to the westward of us. I cannot, therefore, decidedly say, whether there exists a passage of any kind through to the northward in that place or not, but it is possible enough that there may be one, though very narrow and shoal. The whole of the bottom here consists of a flat gneiss-rock, over which, as well as on the shoals and islets, lie innumerable fragments of limestone, of a white colour. A mark, consisting of stones piled up, had been set on each side of the narrow channel, as if for the purpose of pointing out the safest part for canoes, when the ])oints are covered by high spring tides. By deep wading, for the nature of the bottom and the rapid fall of tide did not allow us to risk the grounding of the boats, we got to the islet, where we found two jaw-bones of a whale placed erect on a pile of stones, together with a quantity of whalebone ; the whole structure being so con- trived, when viewed at a little distance, that it bore a striking resem- blance to the iigurc of a man holding the blades of bone in his hands. Among the numerous marks of the kind which we afterwards met with in various parts of the sea-coast, it was not uncommon to observe some which evidently appeared to have reference to the same whimsical in- tention, and which, till habit had rendered them familiar, we often mis- took for men. Hcing in want of whalebone for making brooms, we took a few of the blades, leaving as an equivalent a boarding-pike stuck upright in the pile ; we then returned to the ships, which we reached at eight P.M. The wind having now become very light and variable, and the navigation of this place requiring the utmost command of the ships, I was reluctantly compelled to defer moving till the morning tide. It was low water at a m ■ ''3' I OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 45 .M. of 1821. Augiist. quarter past nine this evening, after which time the tide began almost im- mediately to run to the northward. Several rein-deer were seen on the western or low shore in the course of the day. The weather was cloudy and nearly calm during the night, and a thick fog came on the following morning. We weighed, however, at high water and Sat. 18. beat to the southward with a light air from that quarter, regulating our course by the lead which is here a faithful guide. At nine A.M., the wind shifted to the N.W., and the fog was succeeded by rain for an hour or two, after which the weather became dry, clear, and pleasant. As soon as the favourable breeze sprung up we stood under all sail for what at first appeared to be the south-eastern extreme of the low land, more of which, however, came in sight as we advanced and as the weather became clearer; till at length, at one P.M., it was but too evident tliat we were once more embayed, tlie low beach running quite round to Southampton Island, about nine or ten miles to the southward of us. I therefore ordered the ships to be anchored, being in thirteen fathoms, on a bottom of mud and shells, at the distance of two miles and a quarter from the high or eastern land, and about four from the other : and in order to leave no doubt of the continuity of land, as it appeared from the ships, 1 despatched a boat from each luider the command of Lieutenant Reid, with directions to row close to the beach, completely round the bay, making such hydrographical and other remarks as circumstances would permit. In the mean time Captain Lyon and myself went on shore to the east- ward, in order to obtain from the hills a view of the surrounding lands. It may here be observed that, on this eastern side of the bay, there is a stri|> of low and lightish-coloured land a mile or two in breadth, extending from the foot of the hills to the sea. On landing we found this low shore to consist of whitish limestone in schistose fragments, alternating with narrow strips of verdure, and some ponds of water; while the rocks at the back, which rise eight or nine hundred feot above the level of the sea, are composed of gneiss, with here and there a quantity of limestone in hea[)s, and in many places large masses of quartz, mica, and red feldspar, lying detached upon the surface. Near the top .)f the hill we also met with a considerable quantity of magnetic ironstone. We saw no living animal but three small birds. Stones placed erect in different fmrts, and oven at the very top of the hill, shewed that the Esquimaux had visited these shores, but we observed no recent traces of them. i4 I 1^ jl : '■ 1 u ! t 1 ! 'Vl t . If. i ■■ r 1 ■ I ill |: I .J :I1, 48 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY A^igMt. Lieutenant Reid returned on board at eleven P.M., having determined the continuity of land all round the bay, by rowing close in-shore the whole way. With a view to ascertain, if possible, the breadth of the low land, by which the geographical position of the eastern boundaiy of the Welcome in this latitude might have been laid down. Lieutenant Reid went on shore near the head of the bay ; but it proved so level, extensive, and low, that he was unable to obtain any view to the westward. He considered the southern boundary of the bay to be ten miles from the station of the ships« The soundings are regular, and the anchorage good in every part which our boats visited, making this, perhaps, one of the most secure and extensive harbours in the known world. Scarcely a piece of ice was seen in any part of it, and the appearance of the beach, on which were no heavy grounded masses, shewed that here, as in all other well-sheltered harbours or inlets in the polar seas, little or none had ever found access, except that which is formed in it, and which the annual process of dissolution has usually destroyed before this period. In the examination of any inlet in these regions there is, indeed, no indication more unpromising, and which, if any thing short of absolute examination could be admitted, might be considered so conclusive against the existence of a passage, as the absence of " old " ice* or, at least, of those traces of it, v/hich are evident upon every shore to which it has occasionally a ready access. Of this fact, the remaining part of the present season's navigation will afford a striking proof. This magnificent bay, possessing so many advantages that would render it invaluable in a more temperate climate, the officers honoured with the name of the Duke ov York's Bay, in consequence of the Expedition having, first entered it on the birth-day of His Royal Highness. . ■ i i ; n n . It being now evident that the inlet into which, in the course of our en- deavours to penetrate to the westward, we had unavoidably been led^ would afford us no passage in that direction, I gave orders for weiring at the turn of tide ; being determined at once to run back through the narrow channel by which we had entered, and to push to the northward without delay, ia search of some more favourable opening. The tide, in our present anchor* age, flowed to the southward and ebbed to the uorthward ; and it now be- came apparent that, notwithstanding the care taken to ascertain the direc* tion of the flood-tide in the entrance to this bay, wc had been mistaken in Mup|)08ing it to come fh>m the westward; For, as the tide of ebb unquestion- ably ran to the southward about Point Henderson, and no opening occurs V M^ OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 47 any where else, it follows that the flood must of necessity come in from the J^^'- ■',_, ., -. ,..111 August. eastward. The comparative slowness of its rate ot running through the v^v>^ narrow passage is easily accounted for by the depth of the channel through which it flows, (exceeding one hundred fathoms,) compared with the bay it has to fill, and which is shallow in many parts. The error into which I had fallen on this occasion has been here particularly noticed, as furnishing another instance of the difficulty of ascertaining the true direction of the flood-tide, without any knowledge of those local circumstances which pro- duce, on many coasts, what seamen call a " tide and half-tide," or " tide and quarter-tide," and which one or two cursory and unconnected ob- servations cannot always detect. In the present instance it appeared that the stream of ebb was still running past the Ulack Rocks, one hour and three quarters after the time of low water by the shore ; how much longer than this it continued to run we had not an opportunity of ascertaining. The weather was overcast during the night, and a calm prevailed till half- past six on the morning of the 19th, at which time we weighed with a light Sun. 19. air from the N.W. , and stood towards the passage. At half past eight, we discovered a shoal, dry at half-tide, which lay almost directly in our way, and soundings were found by a boat, from twelve to fourteen fathoms, at the distance of » mile on its eastern and south-eastern sides ; but the wind again falling just as we got between the shoal and the land, and the ebb-tide having just done, we anchored at ten A.M. in twelve fathoms and a half, being about the middle of the channel, which is here between three and four miles in breadth, Mr. Fisher and myself then landed on the slioal, of which the position wns fnvourable for making observations, and for the inter- section of the other angles obtained for the survey of the bay. We found it to be thirty or forty yards in length at low water, and composed of rounded lumps of lime, (many of which contained fossil remains,) a specimen or two of black marble, and some pieces of granite and gneiss. The latitude ob- served was 65" 20' 56" ; the longitude, by chronometers, 84° 57 04".5 ; and the variation of the magnetic needle, by the sun's azimuth at noon, 46° 25', westerly. While we wore waiting for the meridian altitude. Captain Lyon, who had joined us in his own boat, employed his people in sounding round the shoal which is in most parts bold. We built a pile of stones on the middle of it, but this was altogether covered about one P.M., or at hulf-flood. In the mean time, a number of our gentlemen hud landed on Southampton 'M m ^'^^' |ffiii UP \ rM Ki •1*8 ^■■. 4m i' % 1 .h{ •:| ■■■■]! 1 . i! "1 ]a ■'1 u m I'"! I I JIM ■ li fcl;t I Ills'* m ;1 ti, f> ' ' IM .1 ') si il I I: if! ii rf ,1 1 i l[ f 1 i , M 4t ! 1 ^ ■ 1 *- . 1 U^l' ! L ^ J' J ill L 48 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1821. August. Island, bringing off specimens of the plants and minerals, which were much the same as those collected the preceding evening. Some of the party con- fidently reported that they had heard the shouting of natives, though they could not meet with them. From this circumstance, as well as from the smoke which had before been observed near this place, we thought it likely that some Esquimaux were not far oft', but that, never having before communicated with Europeans, they had perhaps been scared at our approach. 4.4.ijfe,fi,-.w j.fc.i.iw. - '"■ A breeze from the S.W., which sprung up at two P.M., enabled us to weigh before high water ; when, having picked up our boats, we made all sail for the channel, through which we passed at half past four with a strong breeze. The Black Rocks were at this time totally concealed, and the ice quite washed away from them by the last spring-tides, so that, had we not before known their situation, lying, as they do, almost in mid-channel, we might perhaps have run directly upon them. The mark for being abreast of them is shewn in the accompanying plan, and to any ship visiting this bay will be useful with a turning wind. When the breeze is free, the only direction necessary is to keep about three-foiuths over from the small islet to the high southern shore, which is bold quite close to the rocks. On hauling to the northward we found tYin position of the ice very unfavourable to our pro- gress in that direction, and the wind increasing to a strong breeze, with every appearance of bad weather, we reefed our sails, for the purpose of standing oft' and on during the night, with the hope that this wind would in a few hours clear the shore along which it was now our object to sail. After dark it began to blow stronger with rain and some sea out of the bay, obliging us to carry a press of canvass, and to keep all hands on deck, to enable us to weather the ice under our lee. Mon. 20. After midnight the weather moderated a little, and the wind drew more to the southward, giving us some shelter under the lee of the land till daylight, when we found that the breeze had done us all the senice we had anticipated, by opening a wide passage between the land and the ice to the northward. Not a moment was lost in availing oui'sclves of this opportunity, and we ran ra* pidly and almost without obstruction along the land, passing numerous islands and bays with which this shore abounds. Piles of stones were seen, as usual, in various places along the coast. The eastern shore of this new strait still ap- peared continuous, and both lands began to trend more to the westward. In tho course of the afternoon we passed several streams of ice, much of which was .'U >H!| 1 /' m ii'i.ii ■ I 'I ^t^luKml f^ Me .4t^ AnvA/.^ttnT afl»4 ^,A>AH^thtrnii .•n/'.fmtrA Snr<.r Kt^-f^, n ^A.i.;. f^ .'rv.y i ! 1 1 i J' ■ 1^1- n i IH ' 1 H !'-■ Hi': 1 ■„ ■■ 1 u.. , •1, '4' Jr lil }1; f , ||- .' I '► OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 49 'liiil covered with sand, but the late south-west breeze having drifted the main '821. body of it over to the opposite coast, we met with no material impediment, n.*^^* At a quarter before five, P.M., in passing within an island, to which from subsequent occurrences the name of Passage Island was afterwards given, a violent rippling was observed a-head. The boats were instantly lowered to sound the channel, and the ships put about till it was ascertained that there was no shoal water ; when we again tacked, keeping the boats a-head» and continuing under easy sail till past the rippling, but having no less than twenty-five fathoms in any part. Passage Island, which is blackish in its appearance, has a small rocky islet of a yellow colour on its eastern side, with which we afterwards as unex- pectedly as unwillingly became better acquainted. There are also two or three small islands lying nearly abreast of it, off the Southampton Island shore, and as we proceeded several others were brought in sight, lying in a bay near tlie west extreme, which we passed in the evening, having before us a sea entirely clear of ice and, we were willing to hope, of land also. Hazy weather, however, such as had prevailed during the greater part of the day, with occa- sional rain, is very favourable to such hopes, and often, therefore, brings much disappointment. At seven o'clock we plainly distinguished land, with a fog-bank hanging over it, to the westward, and, as far as the thickness of the weather would permit us to see, leaving no opening before us except for about two points in the north-western quarter. As the nights became dark for several hours at this season, and we were wholly unacquainted with the land beyond us, the boats were despatched to look for anchorage under the southern shore, where, however, the ground proved so irregular, and the bottom so rocky, that I determined to keep under wa) i' ring the night. As soon as the boats were hoisted up, we stood to the westward under easy sail, and deepened the water gradually to one hundred and five fathoms, on a hard bottom. Our uncertainty respecting the true situation of the Frozen Strait, together with the want of observations during the day, left us, at this time, in doubt whether we had already penetrated through that passage, or had still to encounter the difficulties which the former accounts of it had led us to an- ticipate. The wind was squally, with dark cloudy weather, during the night, and a calm succeeded on the morning of the 21st, with fog and rain. At fortyTues.21. minutes after eight, A.M., the tide was found to be setting W.S.W., half a mile per hour, and there was, during the forenoon, some swell from the H I I! k SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY .!;i i! !j 1^ ill !!!■ It'- ■:!! ;» a MM 1821. August. southward, which seemed to intimate, as was in fact the case, that we had passed the Frozen Strait, and had the Welcome open to us in that direction. A northerly breeze at length springing up gave us hopes of speedily clearing up all our doubts on this subject, and a press of sail was carried to the westward. The northern land, which now again came in sight, appeared to be continuous, and we shortly after distinguished the opening between this and the western shore seen the preceding evening, and for which our course was now directed. In the afternoon, however, the wind increased consider- ably, and the weather became so extremely thick with snow, which fell in unusually large tiakes, that for five or six hours we ran almost entirely by the lead, which indicated deep water. Now and then, indeed, we caught an in- distinct glimpse of the land on each side of us, which was sufficient to shew _ the extreme caution necesstury in running under such circumstances. The land to the southward seemed high in its western part, and low to the east- ward, and that to the northward still appeared continuous and unbroken ex- cept by islands. At thirty minutes after five, P.M., the weather being still very thick, the land was suddenly discovered a-head, and we tacked in seventy fathoms, on a rocky bottom. During the whole of this run, we scarcely saw a piece of ice, except one stream through which we passed at three P.M» At seven o'clock, there was still every {^pearance of a dirty and therefore of an anxious night, if we should be obliged to keep the ships under way ; and it was on that account my intention to stand in towards the northern shore, and endeavour to get sight of it, so as to secure an anchorage for the night; but at a quarter before eight the weather suddenly cleared up, when we found ourselves completely surrounded by land from E.N.E. round by north to S.b.E., having unconsciously entered Repulse Bay, in which not a piece of ice was to be seen that could obstruct us in its thorough examination. I made the signal to stand off and on during the night, which proved extremely clear and fine, and directed the boats of each ship to be in readiness for landing in the morning. The latitude, by the meridian altitude of a cygni, was 66° 27\ which confirmed me in the belief of our being in Repulse Bay, though it afforded some ground for suspecting the accuracy of Captain Mid- dleton's latitude. Wed. 22. We stood up the bay towards daylight, and at seven A.M., I leftthe Fury, accompanied by a large party of officers, having by signal requested Captain Lyon to join us. At the same time I directed another boat to be despatched from the Hecla, under the command of Lieutenant Palmer, to row round a OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 8! small bight which appeared in the north-west comer of the bay, where alone, }^^^' from one or two points overlapping each other, the slightest doubt of the con- w^-w tinuity of land could exist. We landed upon a point just to the eastward of this bight, in which neighbourhood are several little islands and coves pro- bably affording good anchorage, but which the more immediate objects we had in view did not permit us to examine. Upon the point we found the re- mains of no .\ess than sixty Esquimaux habitations, consisting of stones laid one over the other in very regular circles, eight or nine feet in diameter, be- sides nearly a hundred other rude though certainly artificial structures, some of which had been fire-places, others store-houses, and the rest tolerably built walls four or five feet high, placed two and two, and generally eight or nine feet {^rt, which these people use for their canoes, as well as to keep the dogs from gnawing them. A great many circles of stones were also seen more inland. About three miles to the N.N.W. of our landing-place our people reported having seen fifteen others of the same kind, and what they took to be a burying-ground, consisting of nine or ten heaps of large stones, three feet in diameter and as many in height. Under these were found a variety of little implements, such as arrow or spear-heads tipped with stone or iron, arrows, small models of canoes and paddles, some rough pieces of bone and wood, and one or two strips of asbestos which, as Crantz informs us, is used by the natives of Greenland for the wick of their lamps, and for applying hot, in certain diseases, to the afflicted parf*^. Under these articles were found smaller stones, placed as a pavement, six or seven feet in length, which, in the part not concealed by the larger stones, was covered with earth. Our men had not the curiosity or incli- nation to dig any deeper, but a human skull was found near the spot. Our people also reported that, several miles inland of this, they observed stones set up as marks, many of which we also met with in the neighbourhood of the point. Of these marks, which occur so abundantly in every part of the American coast that we visited, we could not then conjecture the probable use, but we afterwards learned that the Esquimaux set them up to guide them in travelling from place to place, when a covering of snow renders it difficult to distinguish one spot from another. We found among the stones some seals' bones^ with the flesh still upon them, which seemed to indicate * Crantz, I. 986. The Esquimau k on this part of the coast use it only as sticks for trim* ming their lamps. • '•* •' • ^ H 8 .« !'*' ii":l M- i WVt !i'' l':'^ ,, iiiil i,;,4'iH -'' 1 , ' i I 1 M i ;" !: i| ?■*■' ■ ■ : . 1 "V. ' ;'1 ; i" 1 1:'! 'M I I 1821. August. 62 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY that the natives had occupied this station during a part of the same season ; and judging from the number of circles collected in this place, and still more from our subsequent knowledge of these people, it is probable that not less than one hundred and twenty persons had taken up their residence here at the same time. The land on the northern and western sides of Repulse Bay does not exceed six or seven hundred feet in height, while that on the south rises, perhaps, full a thousand feet above the level of the sea. The shore on which we landed is composed of gneiss rock, traversed by broad veins of red feldspar running in almost every direction. Quartz and mica also occurred in separate masses, as well as white limestone lying in loose fragments on the surface. Before we landed in the morning the snow which fell the preceding day had quite disappeared from the north shore, and by noon the land all round the bay had resumed its dark appearance. We saw several rein-deer and hares, some ducks, dovekies, knots, (tringa cinerea,) snow buntings, and a white owl. An ermine, (erminea mustela,) a few ptarmigans, and a hare, were killed. Mice, (mus hudsonius,) were very abundant, particularly among the stones of the Esquimaux tents. I do not know whether the seals* flesh remaining on some of the bones was any attraction to them, but it is certain that two of them being put to- gether into a cage, the larger killed the other and eat a part of it. Several black whales were seen in the bay in the course of the day. There was here no want of vegetation, which indeed was in many parts extremely luxu- riant ; and specimens of every plant were carefully preserved by our nume- rous collectors. ■■ .,-;:^,-r I't.^ : > ■. •:..•, ■' t . ■■ ■ ,,- -V*^":> ' -'! IM'M .>'»(HfJ.t The latitude observed on shore was 66° 30' 58", being the first observation we had yet obtained so near the Arctic Circle, but far to the southward of that given by Captain Middleton *. The longitude, by chronometers, was 86° 30' 20" ; the dip of the magnetic needle, 88° 07' 28" ; and the variation 48° 32' 57" westerly ; being only a degree and a half less than that observed by Middleton in 1742. In observations formerly made upon the variation of * The difference amounts to about twenty miles. It is but justice, however, to the me- mory of Captain Middleton to add, that several miles of this error may have been occasioned by the iir perfection of nautical instruments in his day, combined with the unavoidable inac- curacy ^i observations made by the horizon of the sea, when encumbered with much ice. On this latter account, as well as from the extraordinary terrestrial refmction, no observation can be here depended upon, unless made with an artificial horizon. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 53 the needle in this neighbourhood, a considerable error may have been occa- '^^'• sioned by the effects of local attraction, produced by the iron in the ship, a y^XS phenomenon of which navigators were not then aware. If the magnetic pole were at that time situated near its present position, a difference of no less than four or Jive points of the compass may have arisen in consequence of a change in the direction of the ship's head from east to west, as was now the case with us. No accurate deduction therefore can possibly be made, respecting the change which the variation has undergone, from observations made on board a ship at an early period, especially in the neighbourhood of either of the magnetic poles of the earth *. The phenomena we had, for some time past, observed in the traversing of the compasses on board the ships, were similar to those noticed on the pre- ceding voyage, though they had not as yet occurred to so great an extent. In proceeding to the westward, up Hudson's Strait, where, by a gradual approach to the magnetic pole, the dip of the needle regularly increases, a proportional increment in the effects of local attraction was also found to take place, displaying itself as well in the amount of what has been termed the deviation, as by the sluggishness with which the compasses tra- versed. About the time of our making Southampton Island, the card of Walker's azimuth compass which, on account of its graduated metal rim, is more heavy than the others, became too sluggish to depend upon. Those of Alexander, which were the lightest and best of our steering compasses on the common construction, began also to require constant tapping or shaking. Cap- tain Kater's excellent azimuth conqmsses, which unite lightness, sensibility, and accuracy, required, though in an infinitely smaller degree, the same precautions to assist them in traversing. These phenomena, the observa- tions on which are given in detail in the Appendix, had for the present sea- son attained their maximum. Repulse Bay being the nearest approach that can be made to the magnetic pole, by sea, in this direction. Accord- * Middleton has, in his published log, set down the variation in Repulse Bay as 60° west, and at Cape Frigid 4<5°, making a difference of five degrees in a distance of eleven or twelve leagues. Rapid as the changes in the variation are here, this difference appears to me too great to attribute to any thing but a change in the Furnace's course ; and I cannot but con- sider it as extremely creditable to Middleton to have faithfully recorded a fact, of which, at that time, no probable explanation could be given, and which might, therefore, have sub- jected him to a charge of inaccuracy or misrepresentation. I! 4! = I :l'' 'it 54 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1821. August. ■■ , ' I,' '1 h ingly we here found a more than ordinary degree of sluggishness in the compasses, both on board the ships and on shore. The Fury's head was to- day constantly north-west on one tack and north-east on the other, the wind remaining steadily fixed in the northern quarter ; and in making obser- vations for t>e dip on shore, it was with considerable difficulty that the true direction of the magnetic meridian could be determined, the small horizon- tal needle attached to the instrument for that purpose having become alto- gether useless, and one of Kater's differing several degrees in two or three succeeding observations. , ' .. ,• ^ , i ,,,; :,!■. , ;«f: , <- ^^ From our place of observation on shore we had a distinct view of Ci^ Hope, which is high and bluff, as well as of the land to the eastward of it, running towards Beach Point, which becomes lower, as described by Cap- tain Middleton. Indeed the whole account he has given of this hay, with tlic exception of its geographical position, is in general very accurate, par- ticularly in the appearance of the lands, their relative situation, and in the nature and depth of the soundings. With respect to the Frozen Strait, through which we passed with less difficulty than tisual in the navigation of those seas, — thus, for the first time, determining by actual examination the insularity of that portion of land which by anticipation has long been called Southampton Island, — there can be little doubt that the account Middleton has given of its appearance, as seen from Cape Frigid, is in the main a faithful one. In that view it would seem to be " almost full of long small islands ;" nor is there any improbability of its having been, at the time of his visit, covered with ice, which might appear to be " fast to both shores," presenting to a person so situated a hopeless prospect of penetrating through it to the northward. Above all, the accuracy of Captain Middleton is manifest upon the point most strenuously argued against him by Mr. Dobbs; for our subsequent experience has not left the smallest doubt of Repulse Bay and the northern part of the Welcome being filled by a rapid tide flowing into it from the eastward through the Frozen Strait. From twenty-two minutes «fter seven A.M. till twelve minutes past one P.M., when we left the shore, the tide was constantly ebbing, and fell seven feet three indhes in that time, from which I concluded the time of high water this morning to have been about ten minutes past seven, and a quarter after eleven on full and change days. The tide was tried on board every hour during the forenoon, and found to set as follows : r ' t ri,.;. OP A NORTH WEST PASSAGE. 55 At 9 A.M. no perceptible tide (qu. high water by the stream ?) „ 10 „ the tide set S.E.b.S., ^ a mile per hour. - ,, 11 „ „ • S.E.b.E., J mile „ Noon „ S.E.^mile. „ Soon after we got on board, Lieutenant Palmer returned from the exa- mination of the north-western bight, which he named Gibson's Cove, and of which he delivered to me, together with his report, a sketch shewing its soundings and general outline and, what alone was very important, the continuity of land all round it. Lieutenant Palmer's report stated that he had rowed close in-shore all round the bay, and had found it " terminate in a small cove, having a deep ravine running into it on the western side." Thus was the question settled as to the continuity of land round Repulse Bay, and the doubts and conjectures, which had so long been entertained respecting it, set at rest for ever. )8'21. August. m ysf! t\\l r.ii. ',:•■• '■ - . . (•• l\i l.l'i ». I ..■..-. : ■.. • .si- 11,1 ■ • \ i. . . , '" ■ I.I" • ' I ','' ■!.;' ^kui^ihl I 'n'l'i 'kri < ih^ " '''^s ^iMf. • ,;<■ ■'- ; ■ ■. ■ "■1/ -I ftj *^i'f^ «T|l i ^*"*in « ^/ u 'i'ti; .'.i|(U' •" . • ii' >lt I Ml' ■^ ^6 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY i; -'i. i\ ,1 I ■ . CHAPTER III. RETURN TO THE EASTWARD TlffiOUGH THE FROZEN STRAIT — DISCOVERY OF HURD CHA^NEL EXAMINED IN A BOAT — LOSS OP THE FUUY's ANCHOR PROVIDENTIAL ESCAPE OF THE FURY FROM SHIPWRECK ANCHOR IN DUCKETT COVE — FURTHER EXAMINATION OP THE COAST BY BOATS AND WALKING-PARTIES — SHIPS PROCEED THROUGH HURD CHANNEL — ARE DRIFTED BY THE ICE BACK TO SOUTHAMPTON ISLAND UNOBSTRUCTED RUN TO THE ENTRANCE OF A LARGE INLET LEADING TO THE NORTH- WESTWARD — SHIPS MADE PAST BY HAWSERS TO THE ROCKS — FURTHER EXAMINATION OF THE INLET COMMENCED IN THE BOATS. Having now satisfactorily determined the non-existence of a passage to the westward through Repulse Bay, to which point I was particularly directed in my Instructions, and which, for the reasons detailed in the commence- ment of the preceding Chapter, 1 had conlidentiy considered as part of the American continent, it now remained foi me, in compliance with my orders, to " keep along the line of this coast to the northward, always ex- amining every bend or inlet which might appear likely to afford a practicable passage to the westward." It was here, indeed, that our voyage, as regarded its main object, may be said to have commenced, and we could not but con- gratulate ourselves on having reached this point so early, and especially at having passed almost without impediment the strait to which, on nearly the same day * seventy-nine years before, so forbidding a name had been applied. As soon as the boats were hoisted up, all sail was made along shore to the eastward, the wind being light off the northern land ; and we could plainly perceive the low shore which runs to the southward and eastward of Cape Hope, as far as the latitude of 66° 14', from whence the researches of the present Expedition on the coast of the American continent are, therefore, to be considered as commencing. We also saw the land on the eastern side of the Welcome, about Cape Frigid, but as we had no opportunity of closely • Middlcton discovered the Frozen Strait on the SOth of August, 1742, accordiiig to the New St^le. ■fi OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 57 ■M -111 examining those parts, the breadth of this passage into the Welcome, as well '^2'- as the general outline of both coasts to the southward of this, are laid down in the chart, from Captain Middleton's account of their relative position, but with their latitudes and longitudes corrected by our observations. Of the exact situation of Cape Frigid there will perhaps always remain some doubt ; but from an attentive examination of Captain Middleton's account, I believe that we cannot be far from the truth in considering it as the northern extreme of Southampton Island, near which we tried for anchorage on the evening of the 20th. After clearing Repulse Bay we came to some ice that the wind was now drifting oft* the northern shore, which had before been loaded with it by a breeze from the opposite quarter, so that we were once more fortunate in finding a tolerably clear sea. At the back of this is a bay of considerable size, which I named after the Reverend James Haviland, of Bath. The wind continued moderate at night, but with dark cloudy weather, obliging us to heave-to for several hours, lest any small islands wiUi which we were unacquainted should lie in our way. All sail was made at daylight on the 23d along the northern shore of the Thur. 23. Frozen Strait, which here continues about the same height as that of Repulse Bay, and was at this time quite free from snow. At nine A.M. the weather became i^^qually with thick snow, which rendered great caiiiion necessary in running. Soon after noon we perceived, during the intervals of clearer weather which occasionally took place, that the land we were approaching was some- what broken, and in one place appeared to consist only of islands, between which no land was visible at the back. There was something in the appear- ance of this part of the coast which held out so favourable a prospect of a direct passage to the northward, that I determined more closely to examine it. Having beat up to the mouth of an opening which, the nearer we approached, assumed a more and more favourable appearance, we found that a body of ice occupied the greater part of the channel, rendering it impracticable then to enter it either with the shi[)s or the boats. The only mode left, therefore, of examin- ing it without loss of time, was to despatch a party equipped for travelling by land, to ascertain enough of its extent and communications to enable me to decide as to our farther progress. As, however, in their present situation, I did not feel myself justified in leaving the ships, I requested Captain Lyon to undertake this service. He was accompanied by Mr. Bushnan and two seamen from each ship, and was furnished with a tent, blankets, and four days' provisions. In the mean time, as there was very little ice near us '^4 «; **;' m ■A ^ "I 58 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY '; I 1821. August. t : except what was in the mouth of the inlet, and that appeared to be coming quickly out with the wind, I thought the safest way for the ships, as well as to secure the quick return of Captain Lyon and his party, would be to anchor, which we did in thirteen fathoms, upon a hard bottom, at the distance of one mile from the shore. As soon as the anchors were dropped, we found that the tide came out of the inlet, and then set to the westward, at the rate of a mile an hour ; and as we had reason to believe, as indeed it afterwards proved, that this was the flood-tide, our hopes of here finding a passage to the northward, so as at least to save us the necessity of pursuing the more circuitous route round the lands we had left to the southward and eastward, received great encouragement. Shortly after Captain Lyon left us, the loose though heavy ice, which had at first blocked up the mouth of the inlet, began to drive towards the Fury, coming at times with considerable force against the bows and across the chain-cable. By attending to the helm and watching the ice carefully, we contrived at first to avoid the heavier masses, and I was in hopes that it would in a short time have drifted past us, while the northerly breeze would prevent its return with the ensuing tide. In this hope I was, however, disap- pointed, for after three hours that the inlet had thus been pouring out its ice, it became more abundant as well as heavier than at first, and at seven o'clock we could no longer avoid frequent and violent shocks. At half past seven when, by the time of high water in Repulse Bay, we had reason to expect the tide ■would begin to slacken, it had on the contrary increased its velocity to two miles an hour ; and some large pieces of ice coming athwart-hawse brought the anchor home, causing it to drag along the ground with a harsh grinding sound. The Hecla having anchored a little to the westward of us happened to be just out of the stream of this tide, so that the greater part of the ice passed without touching her. As however there was reason to apprehend that some turn or eddy might also endanger her, I made Lieutenant Hoppner's sigiml to weigh, having already begun to do so on board the Fury. This was iu)t easily accomplished, for on heaving at the cable it was found to have cut its way into a heavy mass of ice which hung across it, and which it required more than half an hour's labour to clear, and when we had done so another piece inunediately fixed itself in the same manner, dragging the anchor with renewed violence along the rocky ground. As soon as this had been disengaged the anchor wits hove up with the utmost alacrity, and would have been saved if the most strenuous exertions of the officers and men could I u hi OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 59 have effected it, but I was iruch mortified to find on its coming to the bows 4'®^'* that both flukes were broken off, the iron stock being polished quite bright by 1 k rubbing against the rocks. The Hecla succeeded in purchasing her anchor without its sustaining any injury, after which we made fast to two floe- pieces during the night, and the Hecla kept company by means of our light, the weather being dark and cold with much sleet and rain. I expected to have been unavoidably driven fai' to the southward and east- Frid. 24. ward by the fresh north-west wind which was now blowing, and was therefore not a little surprised to find at daylight that we had scarcely lost any ground, being still ofl' the inlet which Captain Lyon was examining. This circum- stance I particularly notice, because it was the first of several instances that occurred of our observing the flood-tide to set stronger to the north-west than the ebb to the south-east in the Frozen Strait, which on this occasion must have been the case, to balance the effects of a fresh north-westerly wind. Soon after daylight we made sail and stood in towards the inlet, but the wind failing us we were before noon driven seven or eight miles to the west- ward. The day proved extremely thick and wet, being as uncomfortable for our shore party, as unfavourable for the prosecution of their object. At thirty minutes after three P.M., we were ofl'a small rocky islet, lying at the distance of two miles and a half from the land, and near the mouth of a second inlet, six or seven miles to the westward of the other, and which as we afterwards found makes an island of the intervening land. We here found the tide of ebb setting us between the islet and the main land, and towards the inlet withal. The wind being very light we were obliged to let the shi|i8 drive through within the islet, having from thirteen to twenty- five fathoms, at the distance of one-third of a mile from it. By keeping all the boats a-head for several hours! wc then towed the ships ofl-shore before dark. • •" <• ; The wind was too light to enable us to keep our station during the night, and Sat. «5. at daylight on the 25th wc found ourselves as usual several miles to the west- ward. A breeze springing up soon afterwards from the northward enabled us to stand along the land, but such was the strength of the flood-tide against us, though almost at the dead of the neaps, that when sailing three knots and a half through the water, we did not advance to the eastward above a mile an hour and at times much less than this. In the course of the forenoon the quantity of ice in sight increased so much that the strait was almost covered with it, and the wind afterwards becoming scant we were gradually led off the I 8 ' ■ 'I'H r '..il 60 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY i ii 11 1821. August. 'and, in spite of every endeavour to regain the mouth of the inlet. In the after- noon the ice became so close, though the masses were constantly and rapidly in motion among themselves, that it was impracticable any longer to keep under way, and we were just about to make the Fury fast to a large floe- piece when I was informed that our boat was coming off from the shore, from which we were then distant eight or nine miles. At four P.M. Captain Lyon and his party disembarked on the opposite side of a broad stream of ice which intervened betwixt us, and some fresh hands being despatched to assist in dragging the boat over the ice, they soon arrived safely on board. The account of Captain T^yon's excursion and of his discoveries within the inlet, on which the future operations of the Expedition principally depended, I need offer no apology for giving in his own words. n J: !. Thur. 23. " On leaving the Fury, we pulled to the eastern point of the high land which formed the western boundary of the inlet, and in half an hour landed on a steep rocky point, near which much heavy ice lay aground. We then with our tent and baggage proceeded to a high barren hill to the northward, from whence we clearly perceived that we were on an island of about five miles in length, and two or three in breadth. To the northward and east- ward lay a broad strait, (which, at the part nearest us, was above a mile across,) running cast and west. Previous to descending the hill, Mr. Bushnau and myself took such bearings as the weather would permit, and as it was dark by the time we arrived at the boat, I determined on remaining where we were for the night; we therefore pitched our tent on the rocks, and lay down until the morning. During the night, the ice set out past the point we lay on, at the rate of at least four knots, and the pressure occa- sioned it to break with loud and sharp reports, as it passed the low rocks and grounded pieces, over which it became piled in many places to a great height. Fiid. 24. " Much rain fell during the night, which was dark and cold with a light wind. At two A.M., before the day began to break, we found that it was slack water, but the eastern entrance was literally packed with ice, through which a passage was impossible. The grounded pieces, however, being very heavy, afforded us an occasional channel of clear water between them and the rocks. We therefore launched our boat, and by tracking and rowing, succeeded, after nearly two hours' labour, in reaching the northern hi OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 61 ^if 1 point of the island, (which I named after Mr. Bushnan,) and finding tole- rably open water, we then crossed the strait in the direction of a high bluff, which we had seen from Bushnan's Island. " About half way across the strait we passed a rocky island, of about three quarters of a mile in extent. On rounding a small bluff, on which were great numbers of the lams argentatus and their young, we saw some deer feeding ; and a little farther on, a she-bear and her cub ran close to the water, appa- rently watching us. I named the place, Bear Island. Crossing the inlet, (whose breadth at this part may be estimated at three miles,) we landed on a steep point, up which we immediately hauled the boat. From this point, which I called Cape Montagu, I observed the strait still to trend to the eastward, and the north side appeared bounded by land at about seven miles. We left the boat and proceeded to a high and remarkable hill called Brooks's Bluff, which was but indistinctly seen, owing to the continued and heavy rain. We had scarcely arrived on the summit, when a very heavy snow storm set in and in a short time covered the mountain, and limited our sight to a few yards. We therefore took a hasty breakfast, and after some difficulty and no little danger again descended. • "At nine A.M., the weather cleared up a little and the snow ceased, but rain continued to fall. From Brooks's Bluff a valley runs to the eastward, and is nearly occupied by a lake of about three miles in circumference. Along the bank of this lake we pursued our route and, on leaving it, passed many smaller ones and crossed several valleys. At about an hour before noon, after having passed several rocky and barren hills of granite which bounded and intersected the valleys, we arrived unexpectedly on a high cliff, which looked down to a small strait at its foot, trending N.b.W. and S.b.E., and at this part about a good mile in breadth. Our farther pro- gress eastward being now stopped, I decided on following the strait to the northward as far as the day would permit. Mr. Bushnan and one man accom- panied me, and the other three remained behind to pitch the tent and endea- vour to light a fire of moss. " In our walk we passed the remains of many Esquimaux habitations, but none of them appeared to have been inhabited for many years. We also pro- cured a mountain marmot, (arctomi/s alpim,) which we chased under a large stone, but were unable to take alive. After having walked about six miles from our first setting out, we arrived at the end of this little strait, which tcrmi- 1821. August. ft m SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY til -:i 1821. natcd in a large space of open water, having land, apparently an island or s^-v-^ islands, at about four miles to the northward, beyond which the continued, thick weather permitted us to see no horizon. In the evening the rain ceased for the first time since our leaving the ships, and we contrived to make a fire. As the rocks were covered with wet spongy moss, we paved, our tent with rough stones, and by means of our fire were enabled to dry some of the andromcda tetmgoiw, which, with the addition of ashes, made a most comfortable bed. Sat. 25. " During the night much snow fell, and in the morning we found the rocks covered with it. At five A.M., we proceeded over the hills to the southward. In an hour's walk in that direction, we arrived at a small bay about a mile in extent, in which some very heavy ice was lying aground. A bluff point on the south side terminated the small inlet, which here opens into the larger strait. We coasted the large strait westerly, as nearly as the nature of the shore would permit, in a strait line, and arrived at Cape Montagu a little before nine A.M. On the shore and the rocks which overhang it were several remains of Esquimaux settlements, many of which had soot still on their fire-places. We also saw several very perfect little store-rooms for their provisions, con- structed of rough stones, and about six feet by three in extent. Some of the ground-plans of the huts differed from those seen in Repulse Bay, and one in particular was remarkable, being thus formed : ...... ' , ' .fii. I, ■:^;- , ,.» ; j ■ -,(;'. -' ■■■ .fi'-j i :> n " The extent was about twenty-five feet by fifteen, and at either end the ground was a little raised as if for sleeping-places. We also passed a singular assemblage of flat stones, set up edgeways, each about three yards apart, and extending at least for five hundred yards, down to a small lake situated in a grassy valley. '' ' ^^ t- ■■■^ « .-, > ... .an . /t^y .*4' 1^5 OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. (13 "We observed from Cape Montagu that the eastern entrance was quite blocked up with ice. Bear Island was also surrounded by immense masses, and others were carried past it at the rate of about four miles per hour by the tide. At a little past ten A.M., the ice having slackened so as to allow of our going over to Bear Island, wc soon reached it, from whence we could observe and take advantage of any open water. We found that although at half tide this was an island, three distinct isles are formed at high water. At twenty minutes past ten A.M. it was high water, which was an extremely interesting fact to have ascertained, as it removed any doubt respecting the direction of the tide. " Finding the ice was at this time tolerably tranquil, wc picked our way through it, and in about two hours and a half reached a small islet half a mile to the southward of Bushnan's Island. On this we landed and saw one ship eight or ten miles to the S.S.W. We remained here one hour to dine ; and by a pole, which we had set up on landing, found the tide to have ebbed three feet. We then proceeded towards the ship, having fitted a blanket as a sail for our boat, and most fortunately arrived at night-fall near the Fury. The ice which lay in the Frozen Strait being in very rapid motion, wc could not approach the ship ; but after making what way we could amongst the loose pieces, we at length came to a large floe, near which the Fury had made fast in a thick fog which then came on. Captain Parry sent his peo- ple to haul our boat over the ice to the ship, which was close beset, and I remained on board her for the night, my own ship being sepa"ated from her by the ice. Unsatisfactory as our short journey had been, on account of the badness of the weather, there was still sufficient to cause the most lively interest, and give strong hopes of the existence of some passage to the north- east of the small inlet I had examined." 1821. August. +1'. i >r m A thick fog coming on immediately after Captain Lyon's arrival, we could not but consider ourselves fortunate in having picked our party up so opportunely. The Hecla having in the course of the day been separated from us seven or eight miles, in consequence of the ice carrying her to the westward, Captain Lyon remained on board the Fury during the night, when the plan of our future operations was determined on. The result of tlie late examination, imjjerfect as it necessarily was on account of the extremely unfavourable state of the weather, was sufficient to excite the 64 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1821, August. li" 'a ■ ! i.l strongest belief that some communication, not very indirect, must exist between the Frozen Strait and a sea to the northward and eastward of it ; and it was determined, therefore, to leave nothing undone to ascertain and follow up this communication. As, however, the narrowness of the chan- nels, together with our present ignorance of their depth, the strength of the tides, and the quantity of ice with which the sea was loaded, rendered the attempt extremely hazardous without further examination, the first and most important object appeared to be, to find near one of the entrances, (of which Captain Lyon recommended the western,) a secure anchorage for the ships during the time necessary for prosecuting this examination. I, there- fore, proposed to Captain Lyon that whenever the situation of the ice would permit, he should proceed in a boat to the western entrance, to endeavour to find such an anchorage, directing his attention solely to this object and reserving all further examination till the ships should be there secured. This service Captain Lyon gladly undertook to perform, and Mr. Bushnan was again appointed to accompany him. An event was, how- ever, about to occur which threatened very seriously as well as unex- pectedly to interfere with these arrangements. At eight P.M. having shoaled the water from sixty to forty, and then to thirty-two fathoms, and the weather still continuing extremely thick, I sus- pected that the tide was taking us too close to Passage Island, which was the nearest land when the fog came on. As the water seemed tolerably clear for a few hundred yards, which was the extent of our view, 1 ordered the ship to be got under sail in order to be in greater readiness for acting as circum- stances might require. The ice, however, once more became so thick about us that, with the light wind then blowing, it was found impracticable to force the ship through it. While we were thus employed the fog suddenly cleared away, and we found ourselves within three-quarters of a mile of the east end of the island. A large space of open water was at this time not more than a quarter of a mile distant from us in the opposite direction, but before the ship could be moved by warps or by any other means within our power, the tide was observed to be setting her directly between the island and the little yellow-looking rock I have before mentioned as lying on its eastern side. Seeing that every exertion of ours was fruitless to prevent driving with the tide, which was setting at about the rate of a mile and a half an hour, it be- came expedient to relinquish that attempt, and to endeavour only to keep the ship as nearly as possible in mid-channel. The anchors were kept ready to ^^'J destruction of the ship was to be apprehended. The natural direction of the stream, however, effected for us that which, hampered as we were, our own exertions must have failed in accomplishing; the ship drove through, at. the distance of one hundred yards from the rock and about one hundred and forty from Passage Island, having no less than twelve fathoms ; and soon after deepened the water to thirty-five and forty, and then to no bottom with ninety. After this providential escape, we lay-to within the island, in order to drift to the northward and westward of it with the flood-tide, which runs stronger here than in any other part of the Frozen Strait. The night was fine but extremely dark, so that after ten o'clock we could not distinguish where the land lay, and the compasses could not be depended on. After an incftectual attempt to push through the ice towards the middle of the Strait, in order to avoid the danger of being entangled among the numerous islands lying off this shore, we were literally obliged to let the ship take her chance, keeping the lead going and the anchors in readiness. I have never yet been able to conjecture on which side of the island the Fury was afterwards drifted out. The soundings, however, continued deep and, at day-light on the 26th, after a most anxious night, we found ourselves Sat. 26. about the middle of the Strait, and as usual drifted by the tide some distance to the northward and westward. A breeze which at this time sprung up from that quarter enabled us nearly to fetch the western inlet, where we now pro- posed to search for an anchorage. The Hecla having got clear of the ice the preceding evening, and narrowly escaped an adventure similar to that which we had experienced, rejoined us early in the morning, when Captain Lyon returned to her to prepare a boat for his intended excursion. . We then stood in under all sail for the land, and at eleven A.M. Captain Lyon left the Hecla, while the ships tacked off and on to await his return. The day was fine and clear; and as the ice occasioned us no disturbance we were enabled to give the people several hours' rest, of which, from the exertions of the preceding . night, they stood much in need. At nine P.M. Captain Lyon returned, acquainting me that he had met with a small bay having no stream of tide, and being at present clear of ice, he thought it might answer our purpose, but he wished me to see it before the ships were taken in. K y.l4 '/ k 66 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY i H * . :l i^ iir I82I. August. Mon. 27. We continued lying to, therefore, for the rest of the night; and at five A.M. on the 27th, I left the Fury, taking with me Mr. Bushnan to point out the place in question. On reaching the bay, we found that the ice had during the night almost entirely filled it ; but on ascending a hill we observed another and apparently a secure cove, on the opposite or north shore, to which we immediately proceeded. Having placed a flag on a mass of grounded ice, near a shoal point at the entrance, and sounded every part of the cove, which was found to afford good anchorage, we rowed out to the ships. Returning on board at eleven A.M., I found that the state of the weather had prevented any observation of the eclipse of the sun which took place this morning; and Mr. Fisher could only just perceive the penumbra passing over it. Having despatched Mr. Bushnan to the Hecla as a pilot, all sail was immediately made for the inlet, as I was anxious to save the flood-tide in case of the ships grounding. A strong breeze was now blowing from the north-west, which carried the Fury through the water at the rate of seven knots, notwithstanding which she did not advance above three miles an hour over the ground when in the strength of the tide, and in mid-channel. On rounding the shoal point on which the flag had been placed, I was sur- prised to find the water shoal to four, three, and two and three quarter fathoms ; but a press of canvass giving the ship a considerable heel, she for- tunately did not touch the ground. As soon as we had anchored, I found that this circumstance had arisen from the mass of grounded ice having shifted its position by floating with the rise of tide. A boat was therefore despatched to lie off^ the reef, as a guide to the Hecla ; and Captain Lyon reached the anchorage in safety at one P.M. We lay here in twelve to fifteen fathoms at low water, on a bottom of tough mud, affording excellent holding-ground. Indeed on almost every part of this coast we found the ground equally good, at the distance of two or three cables' lengths from the shore, whereas it is almost invariably rocky in the deeper water of the offing. A boat from each ship being immediately prepared, Captain Lyon and my-^ self left the cove at three P.M. to proceed on the proposed examination. We separated at Point Cheyne, Captain Lyon having pointed out to me the broad eastern channel from which the tide appeared to come, and which it was my intention to examine, while he directed his attention to the smaller passage he had described as leading to the northward. It was agreed that we should OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 6T ,8 M return to the ships with as little delay as was consistent with the object we ^^^^^ had in view, namely, to ascertain through which of the two channels it was n^-w expedient or practicable to bring the ships. I found that tlie northern siiore near which there was no ice, and which is here separated from the other to the distance of two or three leagues, was that to which our course should be directed, in order to obtain a distinct view of the neighbouring lands. We therefore steered for the highest hill, which rises perhaps from twelve to fourteen hundred feet above the level of the sea. The wind freshening up to a gale from the westward, we reached the beach at seven P.M., having obtained no soundings with fourteen to twenty fathoms of line in the course of our run. We found a good deal of surf upon the beach, which is a rough and stony one, requiring some caution to prevent swamping or staving the boat. While the men were carrying up the things and pitching the tents, Mr. Ross and myself were occupied in taking the angles for the survey, it being too late to set out on our intended excursion to the hills. We found our tents, drenched as they were by the sea, extremely comfortable. They were of the kind called horsemen's tents and made of canvass instead of blanketing. The shelter they afford when aided by the warmth of a blanket made into a bag, and a dry suit of clothes for sleeping in, give no bad accommodation, so long as the temperature of the atmosphere does not fall more than two or three degrees below the freezing point. The breeae moderated soon after our landing and a fine clear night suc- ceeded. At four in the morning, Mr. Ross and myself ascended theTue3.28. nearest hill, in the hope of being able to satisfy ourselves respecting the existence of a passage for the ships, in at least one direction. I therefore directed the tents to be struck and every thing to be in readiness for moving on our return. On reaching the summit of the first hill, however, we found, as is not unfrequently the case, that our view was but little improved,' and that no prospect could be obtained to the northward, without ascending the higher hill seen the preceding evening, and which we now found still several miles beyond us. As therefore no satisfactory information could be gained without giving up the day to this object, we immediately returned to the tents to breakfast, with the intention of then setting out, accompanied by two of the men. While preparing for this, I felt so much indisposed with a sick-head ach that, ]mng apprehensive of laying myself up at a time when I could least afford to do so, I determined to intrust the proposed service to Mr. Ross, iu whose zeal and ability to accomplish it I felt the utmost confidence. Mr. Ross ;l: I Ill ■ ,'i 111 >■ VI 68 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY mi n ^1 i^'i.i fi 1821. anj i^jg party accordingly set out for the hill at six A.M. During their absence I employed myself in obtaining the usual observations and in notic- ing the height, direction, and time of the tides. By observing the motion of the fragments of ice I found that, although there was on this shore a considerable rise of the water, there was little or no perceptible current on cither tide, except within a mile or two of the high southern land where it ran very strong, the flood to the westward, and the ebb in the opposite direction. This belt of tide, as it were, rau between a considerable opening to the south-east, and that through which we hail come from the ships, and it was only in this space that any ice was at present to be seen. These circum- stances tended to strengthen the opinion I had at first formed, that the main outlet into the sea from whence this ice came would be found by following the ebb-tide, which unquestionably ran to the eastward. I was still in hopes, however, that notwithstiinding the absence of ice, and of any perceptible stream of tide, in the more northerly channel which Captain Lyon was ex- amining, some more direct, though perhaps narrower, communication might be found, that \von\d save us much time and trouble. The appearance of the land, wliich seemed to consist of a large assemblage of islands, greatly favoured this hope ; nor was it discouraged by the accounts received in the evening on the return of our party from the hills. Mr. Ross reported that having reached a commanding hill, he found himself overlooking a sea of considerable extent to the eastward, and wushing the foot of the hill on which he stood. This sea appeared to have some islands scattered about it, and was much encumbered with ice. To (he south-eastward there seemed to be several openings between islands, of which the land we stood then upon appeared to form one, the sea sweeping round to the northward aiul westward, as if to join the strait dis- covered by Captain Lyon. Mr. Ross tlescribcd the country over which he passed as much intei-sected by lakes, some of them not less than two or three miles in length, and having in their neighbourhood abundance of grass, moss, and other fine feeding fi»r the deer. The report of Mr. Ross accompanied by nn eye-sketch made upon the spot left no doubt of the existence of an outlet to the eastward, and eiuibled me to decide without hesitation ujwn attempting the passage (»f the narrows with the ships, leaving our subsequent route to be determined on according to the report of Captain Lyon. The rocks np(ui this coast, as well as those in the interior, are com|>osed of gneiss, traversee that we should lind some outlet to the northward. The depth of water was here thirteen fathoms. " In consequence of our inability to round the extreme point, we landedjust within it, and from the unaccommodating form of the rocks, were under the necessity of carrying the boat on our Itacks above three hundred yartls be- fore we could place her in safety. On the north side of the point we found a regularly shelving bench, covered with rounded shingle, on which a heavy surf mm breaking, the wind being strong from die northward. We now saw the land all round us, forming an 'inmense bay, and took the requisite bear- ings of remarkable points. Wt observed that, notwithstanding the swell I have mentioned, there was no perceptible stream of tide. The night was Ijust br the U bc- mda |ieavy saw I bear- lawcll It was OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 71 Vi#V>/ fine and we pitched our tent on some smooth gravel, evidently so levelled by ^^^^^^ the Esquimaux. At midnight two large black whales came from the south- - - - ward and passed into the bay. As the wind continued fresh from the north- ward and the surf was heavy, we did not take advantage of the morning tide on the 28th, but decided on waiting until afternoon. In the mean time Mr. Bushnan and myself took fresh bearings and obtained good sights for longitude, which we found to be 84° 30' 05". " The tide had fallen to its lowest ebb at six A.M., sixteen feet. As the land appeared continuous to the westward, we ascended some mountains at about three miles in that direction, in order to look out for a course for our boat, when we should be able to float her. From hence we saw the northern land assume the appearance of a noble bay, having in it a few low islands. To the eastward we saw a large opening to the sea, which was distant a'jout five leagues, and was the direction in which Captain Parry had proceeded. It was also evident that the land bounding the small strait, in that direction, was insular, and I therefore named it Georgin.\ Island. We took new bear- ings and, having erected a conspicuous pile of stones to serve as the termi- nation of a base for our survey, we again descended to the point. At noon we obtained a good meridian altitude, Avhich gave the latitude 60° 12' 23". We caught a large bee, apis olpina, and two small but beautifid butterflies. The people took two mice, and some deer were seen grazing at a distance. The rocks were chiefly of gray granite, but we also obtained interesting spe- cimens of other stones. At thirty minutes past twelve, the tide having risen so as to float our boat, we made sail to the westward to examine the only jioint which we supposed could bound any inlet, but finding the huul conti- nuous we again returned to the eastward. At the distance of one mile from the shore we could get no soundings with our boat's lead at twenty-five fa- thoms, but nearer the beach it shoaled gradually, and I have no doubt that good anchorage would be found. Leaving the bay, which as a small token of gratitude I named after Rear-Admiral Sir Joun Gore, I decided on going to the eastward of Gcorgina Island, and at half past three we passed it.s extreme point, where we found a snug bay about a mile in circumference having a small islet in its centre Soon after four P.M. we met, on entering the large strait, two of our boats, which had been sent to sound. Waiting %ith them on a low rocky point until the strength of the tide abated, wc then returned on board by ten P.M." f 'I ( it 1 1 ■ ; In i f 'HtH . i ' , 1 i^HIl ■ I ^ 1 ; 1 ' ■ ' i J : '1; : t V ii , 'i .<' !'■< ' "II 72 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1821. August. That no time might be lost in running the ships through the narrows, 1 directed three boats from each to be prepared, for the purpose of sounding every part of this intricate, and as yet unknown, passage, which I named after Captain Thomas Hurd of the Royal Navy, Hydrographer to the Admi- ralty. Giving to the officer commanding each boat a certain portion to ac- comi)lish, I reserved foi' my own examination the narrowest part of the chan- nel; and at thirty minutes past one P.M., as soon as the flood-tide began to slacken, we left the ships and continued our work till late at night, when having received the reports of the officers and made out a plan of the channel for each ship, I directed every thing to be in readiness for weighing at the last quarter of the ebb on the following morning. Much as I lamented this delay, at a period of the season when every moment was precious, it will not appear to have been unnecessary, when it is considered that the channel through which the ships were to be carried did not in some places exceed a mile in breadth, with half of that space encumbered with heavy masses of ice, and with an cii-tide of six knots running through it. The lines and kcdges were j)repiircd at daylight on the morning of the TImr.30. 30th, but when the proper time of tide arrived there was not a breath of wind for working the ships, so that I was reluctantly obliged to remain at anchor till the next ebb. I therefore directed a large jiarty of officers and men to be sent on shore in quest of game, three deer having been killed the preceding day. We had now however no success ; a number of deer were seen in herds of from four to ten, but the neighbourhood of the shijxs had rendered them too wild to be approached. A dog of mine, of the breed called by game-keepers buck-dogs, that had for one or two years past been ac- customed to run down deer in England, had now two fair chases, but without the smallest chance of coming up even with three young fawns. The dog returned with his feet mucli cut by the rocks, and so completely exhausted that he could scarcely move a limb for a day or two afterwards. The little anchorage we were now about to leave, and which was named by Captain Lyon, Dlxkett's Cove, lies in lat. ()()° 12'36"; and in longitude, by our chronometers, 80° 44' 0\".\). The dip of the magnetic needle was here 87° 31' 06" and the variation 52° 19' 48' westerly. We found the holding ground so tough that we could with difficulty purchase the anchors ; the shel- ter from wind and sea is perfect in every direction, and there being scarcely any stream of tide, no ice enters but what is drifted in with a south-easterly » wind, which coming with little force is not likely to do a ship any injury. 11 '^ OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 73 m ml m i«' ,ij HHt *i i M Ik'- '•im Wa 1 ii At fifteen minutes past three P.M. a light air of wind springing up from the eastward we weighed, and having warped out by kedges till we had cleared the shoal point of the cove, made sail for the channel and, with the assistance of the boats, got the Fury into the fair set of the tide, before it made very strong to the eastward. At a quarter before seven, when in the narrowest part, which is abreast of a bold headland on the south shore, named, by desire of Mr. Bushnan, Cape Shackleton, and where the tide was now driving the ice along at the rate of five or six knots, the wind came in a sudden gust from the south-west, scarcely allowing us to reduce and trim our sails in time to keep the ship off the north shore, which is not so safe as the other. It was now that the advantage appeared of having tho- roughly sounded the channel previously to attempting the passage of it ; for had the ships taken the ground with so rapid and considerable a fall of tide, and with so much heavy ice hurried along by it, I do not know what hu- man effort could have saved them from almost immediate wreck. By carry- ing a heavy press of canvass, liowcver, we succeeded in forcing through the ice, but the Fury was twice turned completely round by eddies and her sails brought aback against the helm ; in consequence of which she gathered such fresh stcrnway against several heavy floe-pieces, that I apprehended some serious injury to the stern-post and rudder, if not to the whole frame of the ship. The Hecla got through the narrows soon after us, but Captain Lyon, wishing to bring away the flags and staves set up as marks, had sent his little boat away for that purpose, during the continuance of the calm weather. When the breeze suddenly came on she was still absent, and being obliged to wait for some time to pick her up, the Hecla was about dusk separated several miles from us. It was my intention, after getting through the narrows, to haul round to the northward and eastward, either to find an anchorage or to keep under way during the night, in the large space to the northward and eastward of Rouse Island, which I had before found clear of ice, and free from any perceptible stream -of tide. My mortification may therefore be conceived at now finding the whole of this space so covered with ice as not to be na- vigable, while the only clear water in sight was along the south shore, where the whole strength of tide was known to set, and which therefore, unac- quainted as we were with the soundings, would be a dangerous station for the ships to occupy during the night. There appeared however no alterua* 1821. August. ■l'^ nV i y 74 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY ":■■ ' ; ■■' •#■ 't *fi 1821. tive, and it being now dusk, we had every prospect of passing an anxious and unpleasant night. ' -i *"*" ' -• "' ' .;♦ ;;ir. v( .y;? i On hauling up for the south shore, we perceived from the crow's nest a point of land that seemed to open into a bay ; and as thtre was a chance, not- withstanding the general boldness of the coast, of our there finding ground for anchorage, we stood in for it under all sail. In this hope we were not disappointed for, on rounding the point, we opened a snug litde bay, at the head of which we anchored soon after nine P.M., in fourteen fathoms on a bottom of tough clay. We here lay at the distance of two cables' length from the land, which is high all round the bay ; and, the strong south-west wind preventing any ice from coming in, we passed a quiet night and our people enjoyed the rest which they much required. Lights were hoisted and rockets occasionally sent up as guides to the Hecla ; but as we saw no * answer, and she did not arrive in the bay, we apprehended she had been obliged to keep under way during this inclement night. Frid. 31. At daylight on the 31st we perceived the Hecla under the land to the eastward standing towards us. I found from Captain Lyon that he had, with the same good fortune which we experienced, found a secure shelter during the night, by anchoring close under the land to the eastward, in seventeen fathoms muddy bottom. In order to have a more com- manding view of the situation of the ice, on which depended our next movements whenever the wind should moderate, I proposed to Captain Lyon to land and ascend the hill for that purpose. At thirty mi^ nutes past eight A.M., however, just as we were setting off, the wind suddenly fell, and the ice began immediately to approach the shore. We therefore weighed just in time to avoid a large floe-piece that drifted into the bay ; and, standing over to the main body of ice to the northward, sud- denly got soundings in sixteen to twelve fathoms, and then dropped into twenty and twenty-five fathoms, no bottom. The Hecla a little to the west- ward of us had several casts from seven to five and three quarter fathoms, and, from the rippling occasioned by the tide, it is probable that there is shoaler water in this neighbourhood. Our distance from the south shore was about two miles and a half, and about four from Georgina Island, on an E.b.S. bearing. After standing a quarter of a mile beyond the shoal, Uie ice obliged us to tack ; and as there was not at present the smallest prospect ^f our ^tting U the northward, so as to approach Gore Bay, in order to attcertain i ^ L- .-« > , (i'f )tain mi'- We I into Isud- linto ireat- )in9, is jwas ib.S. |iged our lin *: I .'11 vis' m '^'M ;J.i •1 ; II' 1 ij : % i 1 i 1 - i 1^ 1): (1 ' *' jiH si 11 !M l»i. Mi .f? OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 75 its continuity with the shore on which I landed on the 28th, I determined to 1821. run along the edge of the ice to the eastward, and to look for any opening JJyv* that might there be found practicable, rather than wait inactively in our pre- sent situation. Our course was, therefore, directed towards the openings before observed to the eastward, where the land appeared to be broken into several islands. As we approached these, which 1 named after The Right Honourable William Sturges Bourne, we found that they presented at least four openings, all of which appeared navigable but for the ice which now choked the three northern ones. The other channel, which is the widest, was however quite clear ; we therefore hauled up for it, and discovered soon after to the southward an opening into the Frozen Strait, thus determin- ing the insularity of a large portion of its north-eastern shore, which I named after the Right Honourable Nicholas Vansittart, Chancellor of the Exche- quer. The opening now discovered was between Baffin and Vansittart Islands. The Hecla, in rounding a point of ice which the tide had set in motion, was beset by the loose masses rapidly closing round her, and drifted by the ebb along the island lying on the north side of this channel. She remained in this situation above two hours ; when, all our boats having been sent to her assistance, she was towed out into clear water, and joined us at dusk in the evening. The ice having, in the mean time, remained too close to allow us to proceed to the northward, no time was lost by this accident, and we lay -to in open water during the night in the hope of perceiving some favour- able change the following day. The night was nearly calm, notwithstanding which the ships appeared to be so little influenced by tide, that they retained their station till daylight without any difficulty or disturbance from ice. I was sorry to perceive, on the morning of the 1st of September, that the appearance of the ice was by no means favourable to our object of sailing to the northward, along the Sturges Bourne Islands ; but at ten A.M., the edge being rather more slack, we made all sail with a very light air of southerly wind, and the weather clear, warm, and pleasant. We were at noon in lat. 66° 03' 35", and in long. 83° 33' 15', in which situation a great deal of land was in sight to the northward, though apparently much broken in some places. From N.E. round to S.S.E., there was still nothing to be seen but one ¥rid.e sea, uninterruptedly covered with ice as far as the eye could reach. A prospect like this would naturally convey to the mind of a person little ac- quainted with this navigation, an idea of utter hopelessness. &o apt indeed, - -^:^.„ - _. ^; „ . I. • Sept. ^ Sat. 1. ,5 m I W ti. * •i:j \-i l*i .^■! ) Ir >'■ II ■*. Ii I I, ABSTRACT of the METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL kept on board His Majesty's Ship fi, ^ " , 1 , 1 ti 1 FuRT, at Sea, during the Month of August, 1821. •■■■; ■: ,:.-. i. : Temperature of Air n Shade. S-S Barometer. Prevailing Winds. Prevailing Day Place. Mi«>- mum. Mhil. luuni* Mean. MmI. mum* Mini- Mnn. Ditection. Valucilf. Weather. 1 _ O +37 O +33 O ■f35.17 31.07 iacbo 20.00 inikn 20.67 iDcktl 29.023 a.m.NWbW p.m. SW ^modt. fine 2 Upper part of 30 35 36.25 81.79 29.71 29.58 29.666 S8W light fine and clear 3 t Hudson's Strait. 36 33 34.76 31.00 29.98 29.67 29.817 WNW 1 a.m. fresh i.m. light cloudy and rain clear 4 Jf 38 32 34.67 31.87 30.12 29.91 30.007 H.m. NW p.m. SSW light fine S -1 41 35 37.58 33.04 80.14 30.09 30.112 SSW Ught fine 6 47 34 38.25 32.83 80.06 29.74 20.033 SbW modt. fine and clear 7 43 3. 38.50 33.0^ 29.70 29.42 29.668 SE light hazy and rain, some thnuder and lightning 8 Off the 37 34 35.68 32.79 29.49 29.32 29.362 a.m. SSE p.m. KNE I Ught thick fog and rain 9 10 U 12 North- Eastern ■ Coast of South- ampton Islund. 40 48 43 41 35 35 33 31 36.50 38.42 38.60 35.04 32.67 32.75 32.12 30.68 20.04 29.76 29.74 29.88 29.32 29.5S 29.69 29.65 29.493 29.683 29.635 29.787 NNW WNW WSW WNW light modt. modt. fresh cloud] fine cloudy fine 13 41 20 31.60 30.71 29.9U 29.88 29.888 a.m.NWbW p.m. Easily ( light fine 14 41 30 35.07 30.42 29.90 29.89 29.922 a.m. NE p.m. Southly I light fine IS - 47 35 40.60 32.08 29.95 29.91 29.927 WbS modt. fine'and clear IG "» 47 37 41.42 33.92 29.93 20.60 29.815 a.m. WbS p.m. Southly fresh fine 17 18 In Duke ■ of York Bay. 43 42 37 36 41.75 37. S7 33.70 .^6.17 20.61 29.52 29.4S £9.42 29.602 29.472 SW a.m. Southly p.m. NNW a.m. NNAVl pm.SWbWi mod , modt. a.m. light p.m. fresh cloudy foggy 19 ■J 43 34 39.04 30.12 29.68 29.35 29.484 fine cloudy 20 / Frozen ^ Strait. 43 35i 38.12 31.87 29.36 29.34 29.352 SW modt. cloudy] 21 37 Ci» 33.67 32.58 29.80 29.36 29.492 NW modt. hacy and rain 22 Repulse Bay 41 28 33.75 33.04 30.00 29.86 29.943 NbE light cloudy 23 •y 35 30 32.20 31.04 30.06 29.51 29.723 NbE modt. haey and snow 24 In the > Frozen 34 31 82.42 30.68 39.45 29.37 29.398 a.m. NbE p.m. Southly } light thick han and snow 25 Strait. 36 SO 32.40 80.26 20.73 29.46 29.607 NE light hazy and snow 26 J SS 31 32.09 30.02 20.74 29.00 29.670 WNW light cloudy 27 1 SO 30 34.17 81.25 20.73 29.67 ;:9.633 WbN modt. fine 28 In \ lliirkott 80 32 36.08 31.68 20.80 20.72 20.765 WNW light fine 20 Cove. 30 • 85 37.83 31.29 29.80 20.80 29. est' WNW light fine to ■ 47 37 41.37 32.33 29.85 29.70 29.815 a.m. F.astly 1 p m. WbS a.m. SSW ( p.m. West \ light fine 31 $ GIT Van- 1 <>lltu( 111, 1 43 30 39. 68 32.42 29.75 29.70 29.72! fresh light cloudy fine " 28 3G.C0 82.22 30.14 29.32 29.701 'I *1 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. 77 > • ^.i^HiltiJI are we to be influenced by present impressions rather than by thost how- ever strong or often repeated, that past events have left upon the miiu), that I believe even those who have been the longest habituated to the surprising changes, which an hour or two will frequently bring about in these seas, can- not altogether divest themselves of similar sensations. At twenty minutes after noon, having advanced only a mile or two through very close " sailing ice," the Fury was beset in trying to force through a narrow though heavy stream, round the end of which the Hecla more pru- dently sailed. Having hove to on the opposite side of it. Captain Lyon im- mediately sent his boats with lines to endeavour to tow us out by making sail on the Hecla, a method which cannot be too strongly recommended, and which serves as an example of the mutual assistance that may be rendered by two ships employed on this service. The line proved rather too weak for the weight of the masses of ice, but the impulse communicated by it before it broke, aided by our own exertions, enabled us shortly after to escape, and we again made sail to the northward. At forty-five minutes p it one P.M. , we had come to the end of the clear water, and prepared to shorten sail, to await some alteration in our favour. At this time the weather was so warm, that we had just exposed a thermometer to the sun, to ascertain the temperature of its rays, which could not have been less than 70" or 80°, when a thick fog, which had for some hours been curling over the hills of Vansittart Island, suddenly came on, creating so immediate and extreme a change that I never remem- ber to have experienced a more chilling sensation. As we could no longer see a hundred yards around us in any direction, nothing was to be done but to make the ships fast to the largest piece of ice we could find, which we accordingly did at two P.M., in one hundred and fifty-eight fathoms, at the distance of three or four miles to the eastward of Sturges Bourne Islands. Just before dark the fog cleared away for a few minutes, when, perceiving that the wind which was now increasing was likely to drift us too near the islands, we took advantage of the clear interval to run a mile further from the land for the night, where we again made fast to a large floe-piece in two hundred fathoms. The ice in this neighbourhood was the heaviest, though not in the largest floes, of any we had yet seen on this voyage. It was for the most part covered with hummocks, and appeared yellow from the quan- tity of sand that lay upon it, and from which it generally receives the name of " dirty ice." After dark the fog was succeeded by heavy rain for several hours. S*pt. n; Sat. 1. 78 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY ',■: \ n ii I ' • iU U ''\H\ '! .- I I' J 1' I :.' J^21. The wind drawing round to the northward and westward on the morning of r «lrY«J the 2d, increased to a fresh gale, which continued to blow during the night ; "''' ' notwithstanding which, I was in hopes that the immense size of the floe to which the ships were attached would have enabled us to retain our station tolerably. It was mortifying therefore to find, on the morning of the 3d, that we had drifted more than I ever remember to have done before, in the'same time, under any circumstances. It was remarkable also that we had not been set exactly to leeward, but past Baffin Island towards the two remarkable hills on Southamp- ton Island, from which we were at noon not more than seven or eight leagues distant. Thus, after a laborious investigation which occupied one month, we had, by a concurrence of unavoidable circumstances, returned to nearly the same spot as that on which we bad been on the 6th of August. To consider what might have been effected in this interval, which included the very best part of the navigable season, had we been previously aware of the position and extent of the American continent about this meridian, is in itself certainly un- availing ; but it may serve to shew the value of even the smallest geographical information in seas where not an hour must be thrown away, or unprofitably employed. Nor could we help fancying at this period of the voyage that, had Bylot, Fox, and Middleton, by their joint exertions, succeeded in satisfactorily determining thus far the extent of the continental land, the time which we had lately occupied in this manner might have been more advantageously employed in rounding, by a more direct route, the north-eastern point oC America, and even in pursuing our way along its northern shores. In the afternoon an attempt was made to move, for the mere sake, it must be confessed, of moving and keeping the people on the alert, rather than with the slightest prospect of gaining any ground ; but by the time that we had laid out the hawsers, the small hole of water that had appeared again closed and we Were obliged to remain as before. Tues. 4. On the morning of the 4th the ice remained close about us, but we found at daylight that we had still approached Southampton Island, and were now within five or six miles of a very small rocky islet, not distinctly seen for ice when we first made this coast, but which now appeared black, though very low. This rock, which I named after Mr. Fife, who first discovered it on our formes arrival on this coast, lies N.Kb.E. from the two high hills of Southampton Island ; its distance from the land is between five and six leagues, and being quite by itself it might, if covered with snow, be eaaUy mistaken for heavy ice* At thirty minutes past eight A.M. the ice slackened for about a mile te the ;lt U' 1 oC ice« the s -4 I \: -'1 OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 79 1821. Sept v*W» N.N.W., when we cast off with a light air of westerly wind, and got all the boats ahead, but having gained that distance were again obliged to make fast. In the afternoon the breeze freshened from the southward, with rain, and the ice soon after slackening a little about us we once more made sail, in the hope only of bein'" drifted a short distance among the ice, but without the least apparent chance of forcing even a hundred yards through it in the regular way. It is, however, impossible to judge when circumstances arc about to improve among the ice, which now opened so much immediately aftejr we moved, that we advanced eight or nine miles almost without difficulty ; and could still have continued to run had not night come on, when, being within a few miles of the small islands to the southward and eastward of Baffin Island, we shortened sail and made the ships fast to a floe-piece, with the intention of pushing in-shore at break of day. It was now my wish to sail through the opening Itist disco- vered between Baffin and Vansittart Islands, in order to save as much time as possible in recommencing the examination of the continental coast at the point to which it had already been traced. Our soundings varied during the night from one hundred and three to sixty-one fathoms. At four A.M. on the 5th we cast off and made sail for the land, with a fresh Wed. 5, breeze from the south-east. The ice was closely packed ag-ainst the land near the passage I had intended to try and, as it appeared slack more to the east- ward, I determined to run between the south-east point of Baffin Island and the smaller islands lying off it. The wind drawing more to the eastward as we approached the channel, we had several tacks to make in getting through, but carried a good depth of water on each side though its breadth does not exceed three quarters of a mile. As we now advanced to the northward, we found less and less obstruction, the main body of the ice having been carried to the southward and eastward by the late gale which had in so extraordinary a manner drifted us in the same direction. This was one of the opportunities I have before described as the most favourable that ever occur for making progress in these seas. We had therefore a fine run during the day along the east side of Stur^^es Bourne Islands ; for, having found the passages between them still choked with ice, we were obliged to run to the northward with the hope of attaining our present object. A large opening in the land now came in eight in the N.N.W., being that discovered by Mr. Ross on the 28th of August, and which had led us to suppose th^ land we then stood on would prove in- sular, and that some commuaication would be found to the northward of it with Gore Bay. For this opeoing therefore our course was directed, and in the A ! %4 ''.I 80 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1821. evening wc arrived off a point of tlie eastern land, which I named Cape \^^!nJ Edwards, after Mr. John Edwards, Surgeon of the Fury. V»^e had here twelve fathoms at the distance of a mile from the shore, and found the water deepen gradually as we hauled out. A small stream of ice lay off the point, besides which there was not a piece in sight, and we ran along the shore without obstruction till it was time to look out for an anchorage. Having first sent the boats to sound, we hauled into a small bay where we anchored at dusk, in seventeen fathoms, good holding-ground, though the bottom was so irregular that wc had from five to thirteen close upon our quarter. The wind freshened up strong from the eastward and continued to blow during the night, but wc lay quite sheltered and secure. A great number of stones set up by the Esquimaux were here observed, placed as usual on every spot most con- spicuous from the sea. Thuis. G. We began to weigh at break of day on the 6th, but found the ground so tough that we had some difficulty in purchasing the anchors. In effecting this, James Richardson one of the leading-men of the Fury received a severe contusion on his shoulder by the purchase-block falling upon him from aloft *. After running four or five leagues to the northward and westward, we came at thirty minutes after nine A.M. to a small group of islands lying in the channel, and directed our course to the eastward of them. The wind how- ever failing us just in the middle, we hauled out and sent the boats to tow; but whichever way we put the ships' heads, a "cats-paw" every now and then took the sails aback, keeping us for an hour in a very awkward situation, being only two hundred yards from cither shore, and in seventy fathoms' water. The boats being sent to sound, several shoals were ,' ■: ■iron Iting I , ■i[l . ' //'.*. .. ■ ■ . i .1 rlilr;*; i.i '" 1 . 1 N'' ■i' I I >i^ 82 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY CHAPTER IV. ' ' HOPPNEIVS ISLET ENTERED AND SURVEYED BY THE BOATS — CONTINUITY OP LAND THERE DETERMINED PROCEED TO EXAMINE ANOTHER OPENING LEADING TO THE WESTWARD FAVOURABLE APPEARANCE OK A CONTINUED PASSAGE IN THAT DI- RECTION MEET WITH SOME ESQUIMAUX ARRIVAL IN ROSS BAY, BEING THE TERMINATION OF Ll'O.V INLET DISCOVERY AND EXAMINATION OF VARIOUS CREEKS RETURN TO THE SHIPS, AFTER FINDING THE LAND ENTIRELY CONTINUOUS SOME ACCOUNT OF THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THIS PART OP THE COAST. A THICK fog unfortunately coming on just before wc left the ships, prevented us from iTinking choice of any part of the land, which might be the most likely to afford a passage to the northward and westward. We could only therefore direct our course northerly with tolerable certainty, by a compass- bearing previously taken on board, and by occasionally obtaining an indis- tinct glimpse of the land through the fog. Having rowed four miles we came to a high point, round which we turned rather lo the westward, and then landed a little beyond it. The fog becoming somewhat less thick, Mr. Shcrer and myself ascended the hill in hopes of obtaining a view of the surrounding shores, in order to form a better judgment of the route we should pursue on the following morning. Though the weather still continued very unfavourable for this purpose, we could at times see far enough around us to determine me to follow up the small inlet, which, as wc now found, we had lately entered in the boat. It wa.s here one mile across, and seemed to lead first to the N.N.W., and afterwards more to the westward. Contracted as our view was, in consequence of the fog, it was still sufticiently extensive to embrace a number of detached sheets of water which, being magnified by the fog, served to perplex us not a little in conjecturing whether they might be lakes or arms of the sea. Most of them aftenvards proved to be the former, and some of them were of considerable size. Having taken all the comjMiss- bcarings that the weather would permit wc descended to the beach, where n HI -1 7 ;''*rj OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 83 we found that Mr. Ross had hauled the boats up and pitched the tents for ^^1. the night. A number of deer were seen but they were very wild ; a hare v-*vw» or two however and some ptarmigan were procured for our suppers. It was high water by the shore at thirty minutes past six P.M., but no stream of tide was perceptible. The tents were struck at thirty minutes past three A.M., on the 7th, and Frid. 7. our course directed up the inlet, the weather being calm and tolerably dear. At three miles and a quarter we passed on our starboanl hand a point of land which, from the bright colour of the rocks, composed chiefly of feldspar, obtained the name of Red Point. ' > At a quarter past four, when we knew the flood-tide must be running, the current was found to set half a knot to the northward, and at seven it was going rather more slowly in the same direction. As far as indications went, this seemed but little encouragement; but as our business was to explore and not to speculate, wc continued our progress. After passing Red Point we arrived at a wider part of the inlet, near which is an islet of this remark- able form. ■(1 .. . t.'-i %' i exactly resembling, at a little distance, the roof of a house just shewing itself above the water, some large stones set upright on the top, (probably by the Esquimaux,) appearing like so muiiy chimneys. It consists entirely of small Btoncs and sand intermixed, and has more the appearance of having been placed there by art than by nature. Just beyond this islet, and after rounding a low sandy point on the left, the inlet turns much more to the wcstwartl and becomes narrower, with frequent shoals occupying in some places the greater part of the channel. Mr. Ross and I ascended the nearest hill, and saw the inlet stiU extending to the N.W., though it became narrower than before and af>parently much more shoal. The rein-deer were here very numerous on the higher parts of the land ; we saw above forty in a walk of two or three miles, and our people met with several more. The vegetation was abundant, consisting chiefly of short thick grass, moss, the andromeda tetragona and ledum paluittre, a sweet smelling plant which here grew very luxuriantly. Much of the ground was wet and swampy, small lakes occurring in almost every Mt i i 4 k If *l j il , '1' !> '' k ^1: f i ^' J ' ] ■ 1 • h; 1 ruj 1821. Sept. 84 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY hollow, and numerous streams of water running from the hills. There was no snow upon the land, nor the smallest vestige of ice on any part of the sea that we overlooked. The rocks, like all that we had lately met with, consisted chiefly of gneiss, traversed by some veins of white quartz and red feldspar from three to twelve inches thick. . ■«■>. The water was falling by the shore during our stay at this place, and at nine A.M. we found the stream setting slowly to the southward, confirming our former observations as to the direction of the flood-tide. At half-past ten we had arrived at the head of the inlet, having rowed thirteen miles from the entrance. This arm of the sea is three hundred yards wide at the top, having three rivulets running into it over a rough stony beach. The land on each side is from six to eight hundred feet high ; and at the distance of a mile below the head of the inlet there is, on the eastern shore, a remarkable perpendicular bluff overlooking the sea, composed of red feldsjiar overgrown in some parts widi herbage of various tints, which give to it a striking and picturesque appearance. The soundings are here irregular, varying from one fathom to twelve, but the eastern side, as the bold character of its shore indi- cates, is much the deepest. After rowing down a quarter of a mile, we took up a bottle of the sea-water which was fresh enough to drink, being in fact, as Mr. Fisher afterwards found by experiment, of nearly the same specific gra- vity as spring-water. We saw a great many deer on the hills and some flocks of ducks in the water: the latter being mostly too young to fly were so quick in diving tlmt it was not easy to kill them; but Mr. Ross shot a speci- men or two, which proved to be the young and the females of the long- tailed duck (anas glacialis. ) This part of our examination being concluded, we landed (on our return) at Red Point, in the hope of obtaining observations for the longitude, but the sun remained obscured throughout the day. On this point were the remains of several Esquimaux habitations, two of which were larger than usual, and differing in form from any we had before noticed. They were oval, about fifteen feet in lengfh, and each had three i^eparate bed-places parted oft* with stones, and composed of the amhomeda tetragom. There were also in each a similar number of lire-placcs, so that it had apparently been occupied by three distinct families. 0[)posite to Red Point was a small opening, which we next proposed to examine. We had not, however, advanced a mile within the entrance when the boats grounded, the water becoming more and more shoal within. ;iU Ice In. I OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 85 1821. Sept. We therefore landed to obtain the best view we could, and observed the water to extend about a mile beyond us, and then to turn to the south- ward, in which direction the land obstructed our further view. As it was plain that no passage could here be found for the ships, which alone it was my present object to discover, I did no' choose to wait for the flowing of the tide to enable us further to explore this place, but determined to prosecute our examination of the other parts of the coast without delay. Lieutenant Hoppner subsequently determined the insularity of the land on the south side of this opening by rowing through the passage at high water. There were here a great number of stones placed in an upright position in every conspi- cuous spot, many of them looking like men at a distance. These marks are generally placed without regard to regularity, but there were here several lines of them about fifty yards in length, the stones being four or five yards apart, and each having a smaller one placed on its top. Having rowed out of the inlet, we landed at six P.M. in a little bay just outside of the last night's sleeping-place, pitching the tents on a fine shingly beach, which was the kind of ground we usually looked out for towards the conclusion of the day, as affording the softest bed, consistently with dryness, that nature supplies in this country. Of such a convenience the men were not sorry to avail themselves, having rowed above thirty miles since the morning. Some old Esquimaux habitations were here completely grown over with long rich grass, a number of bones were scattered about near them, and I found a piece of asbestos and part of a pot of lapis ollaris. Near one of the circles of stones were also two walls for resting a canoe upon. The boats were launched at daylight on the 8th, and we soon came to a Sat. 8. much more promising opening on the same shore, about a mile wide at the entrance and leading directly to the westward. After rowing four miles in that direction, we arrived at the mouth of a bay from three to five miles wide, out of which there did not api)ear the lejist chance of discovering an outlet. As nothing however but rowing round the bay would satisfactorily determine this, we were proceeding to do so, when we observed, in the northern corner, some- thing like a low point overlapping the high land at the back. Towards this spot we steered, as the readiest way of completing the circuit of the bay, and half a mile short of it landed to breakfast. .» ; ' . ;• ..?«■'>'; ■ In the mean time I sent Mr. Ross to one hill, and ascended another myself, expecting to save the time and (rouble of rowing into the nook. I was not a little astoniahcd to find from my own and Mr. Ross's observations, that m ' ^«:! )r I*''H 88 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY ^: lS:i; ii ■!■ ^^^- there was on the other side of the point a broad and apparently navigable ury-w channel, through which the tide was setting to the northward, at the rate of three or four miles an hour. I am thus minute in the discovery of this chan- nel, which afterwards promised to be of vo small importance, to shew how nearly such a place may be approached without the slightest suspicion being entertained of its existence, and the consequent necessity of close examina- tion, wherever a passage is to be sought for. An inspection of the chart, together with the narrative of our proceedings for the four or five following days, will afford a striking and perhaps a useful lesson in this respect. On proceeding in the boats, we found a part of the channel occupied by a small rocky islet nearest to the eastern shore, having a bed of sunken rocks about it, over which the tide was setting with great rapidity and with a loud noise like that of a mill-stream. The passage to the westward of the islet is half a mile wide, and we could find no bottom in it with twelve fathoms of line ; on the other side the water is very shoal, scarcely affording a passage for boats at low tide. Beyond this channel, which we distinguished by the name of the Rapids, the inlet again widens out considerably, turning to the westward and afterwards to the northward, a circumstance which could not fail to excite in us the most lively hopes and expectations. At noon we had reached a place where it branched off in so many different directions, that our present stock of provisions appeared insufficient to enable us to accomplish its complete examination. 1 therefore determined to send Mr. Shercr back to the ships for a fresh supply, as soon as the tide should turn in his favour. That we might lose none of the favourable tide now running, we dined in the boats, and being in the mean time carried onward a considerable distance, at half-past one we landed on an island, in order to make the neces- sary arrangements for despatching Mr. Sherer, as well as to obtain a view of the surrounding lands. The latter object was, however, defeated by hard rain, which came on soon after, rendering the atmosphere extremely thick. The next island to the northward was chosen as our rendezvous, and a particular l>oint of it agreed on as the spot at which, in passing, we should leave in- structions for Mr. Sherer's guidance in following us. He left us at half-past two and the tide being strong in his favour, he succeeded in reaching the Hecla the same night. , In the mean time, we made sail for Rendezvous Island with a strong breeze from the eastward, accompanied by torrents of rain ; and having fetched a little bay on its south-west side, pitched our tents on tlie beach, on which were •I ■3 s OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 87 fable teof ihan> how leing nina- ihart, wing by a rocks loud islet ms of ssage y the to the d not n we tions, us to Mr. turn ? i several Esquimaux circles of stones. On ascending the higher part of the island the land about us appeared to consist of islands in almost every di- rection. The main branch of the inlet ran nearly due north, and afterwards seemed to turn westward, which was enough to determine our course on the following morning. We saw here several hares, ptarmigans and ducks, and one or two ravens. The island is composed of gneiss rock traversed in several places by rich veins of pale rose quartz, of which substance large lumps were here and there lying on the surface. I also noticed many round- ish masses of quartz in a granular and decomposed state, easily falling to pieces on being handled. The tents were struck at daylight on the 9th'; and after leaving a ncite under a pile of stones at thf* appointed place, to apprize Mr. Sherer in what direction we should be found, we rowed to the northward. The wind having however got round to that quarter in the course of the night, and continuing to blow fresh, we did not reach the first point of land till nine A.M., by which time the people's clothes were so thoroughly drenched by the sea that I de- termined to remain here till noon to dry them, and to obtain the requisite obseiTations. The comfort of a dry atmosphere, bright sunshine, and a warm breakfast, under these circumstances and in this climate, can perhaps scarcely be imagined by those who have not experienced it. The latitude of this point, which stands on a small island, is 66° 57' 04", and its longitude, by chronometers, 84° 52' 17". The tide was ebbing by the shore from nine A.M. till noon, when we left the point, and on trying the current soon after it was found to be setting E.S.E. half a mile an hour. Our progress now became more and more interesting as we advanced to the north-westward, there being every appearance of broken land in that direction. The inlet was here from two to four miles in breadth, and in most parts sufficiently deep for the passage of ships ; so that notwithstanding the direction of the flood-tide which evidently came from the southward, we could not but entertain very sanguine hopes of here finding a continued passage to the westward. This hope received additional encouragement by our perceiving something white upon the water ahead, which we at first took to be a piece of ice. It is not easy to imagine the eager impatience with which we rowed towanls this sup- posed indication of our approach to the sea on this side, nor our disapjioint- menton coming up to it in finding it only a rock of a yellowish-white colotir, just peeping above the water's edge. Proceeding along the south-western shore, we left in several places fresh 1821. Stp>. Sun. 9 if« 88 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1821. Sept. i V <]k Mon. directions for Mr. Sherer, and at three P.M. being doubtful of the best route to pursue, landed to obtain a better view. There was here an inlet near a mile wide within, but having an entrance not more than forty yards across and very shoal, out of which the water was rushing with great rapidity. Ima- gining this to be a river, Mr. Ross and myself hastened to the bank to taste the water, which proved so intolerably salt as to set aside any further conjec- tures of this nature. We found here as usual many deserted habitations of Esquimaux, and numberless upright stones, especially on the banks of the stream just mentioned. - , • .ui' ;. •;.>», i.i vi .-• . f On the northern shore, directly opposite to us, was some of the highest land we had yet seen next the sea hereabouts ; and as our present sta- tion did not afford a satisfactory view we rowed over to the other side, for the purpose of ascending the hills, by which means much time and lalmur may often be saved in exploring places of this nature. This plan now also seemed the more eligible as, in case of the inlet still extending to the westward, it would be necessary to wait somewhere for Mr. Sherer to over- take us, so that both these objects might thus be advantageously combined. The night was cold, but beautifully cleaj and serene, and while the last rays of the sun still tinged the western horizon, the moon appearing upon tlie cloudless sky exacUy opposite the door of our tent, with her beams reflected from the unruffled surface of the water, created one of those tranquil scenes where all nature seems hushed into repose, and of which, without knowing precisely why, the mind very long retains the remembrance. 10. Early on the morning of the 10th I ascended the hill, accompanied by two of the men, leaving Mr. Ross at the tents to obtain the usual observations. From the top of this hill, which is not less than seven hundred feet above the level of the sea, I had an extensive and commanding view of the lands around us, and found that we might still proceed to the westward, in which direction there seemed more than one opening between islands. The water that ap- peared at the back of the isthmus on whicli the tents stood proved to be a shoal and narrow branch of the sea, of which we could now trace the extent. Having obtained angles for every object in sight 1 returned to the tents about noon, and was soon gratified by the arrival of Mr. Sherer, accompanied by Mr. Bushnan, whose knowledge of Gore Bay was likely to prove of service, should this inlet, as now seemed not unlikely, be found to communi- cate with the land in that neighbourhood. The latitude of the tents was 66' 59' 06", and the longitude, by chronometers, 84° 59' 35". It was low water . . OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 89 by the shore at eight P.M. on the 9th, and at twenty minutes past eight A.M. on the 10th, the rise and fall being only six or seven feet. We saw a number of deer, and killed a few ptarmigan during our stay at this place ; the former were in general very wild, being probably at this season a good deal hunted by the Esquimaux. The surface of the land presented one uniform mass of grey gneiss, except in the valleys and smaller hollows, where the vegetation, as well as moisture, was abundant. •:!"', ' The boats being re-loaded immediately after Mr. Sherer's arrival we pro- ceeded to the westward. Having passed several islands on our left we kept close along the northern shore, which here began to trend considerably to the southward of west. In running along the coast with a fresh and favourable breeze, we observed three persons standing on a hill and, as we continued our course, they followed us at full speed along the rocks. Having sailed into a small sheltered bay 1 went up, accompanied by Mr. Bushnan, to meet them on the hills above us. In sailing along the shore we had heard them eall out loudly to us, and observed them frequently lift something which they held in their hands ; but on coming up to them they remained so perfectly mute and motionless that, accustomed as we had been to the noisy importuni- ties of their more sophisticated brethren, we could scarcely believe them to be Esquimaux. There was besides a degree of lankness in the faces of the two men, the very reverse of the plump round oily cheeks of those we had before seen. Their countenances at the time impressed me with the idea of Indian rather than of Esquimaux features ; but this variety of physiognomy we afterwards found not to be uncommon among these people. The men appeared about forty and twenty -two years of age, and were accompanied by a good-looking and good-humoured boy of nine or ten. They each held in their hand a seal-skin case or quiver, containing a bow and three or four arrows, with a set of which they willingly parted, on being presented with a knife in exchange. The first looks with which they received us betrayed a mixture of stupidity and apprehension, but both wore oft' in a few minutes, on our making them understand that we wished to go to their habitations. With this request they complied without hesitation, tripping along before us for above two miles over very rough ground, and crossing one or two considerable streams running from a lake into the sea. This they performed with so much quickness that we could with difficulty keep up with them, though they good-naturedly stopped now and then till we overtook them. We were met on our way by two women, from twenty to twenty-five years of age, having each a child at N 1821. Sept. w 'I ■If II *■* Wi '«■ m ■ i " 11 - 1 90 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY mti. Sept \t'\i -lau'i ifll|^ '111 lilt] her back ; they too accompanied us to their tent, which was situated on a high part of the coast overlooking the sea. It consisted of a rude circular wall of loose stones, from six to eight feet in diameter and three in height, in the centre of which stood an upright pole made of several pieces of fir- wood lashed together by thongs, and serving as a support to the deer-skins that formed the top covering. Soon after our arrival we were joined by a good- looking modest girl of about eight, and a boy five years old. Of these nine persons, which were all we now saw, only the elder man and two of the children belonged to this tent, the habitations of the others being a little more inland. The faces of the women were round, plump, tattocd, and in short completely Esquimaux. During the cursory examination of these people's dresses which we had now an opportunity of making, I observed nothing beyond the peculiarities which have been repeatedly described, except that the tails of the women's jackets were of unusual length as well as breadth. The Jmi/ak or canoe belonging to this establishment was carefully laid on the rocks close to the sea-side, with the paddle and the man's mittens in readiness beside it. The timbers were entirely of wood, and covered as usual with seal-skin. Its length was nineteen feet seven inches, and its extreme breadtii two feet ; it was raised a little at each end, and the rim or gunwale of the circular hole in the middle was high, and made of whale- bone, A handsome seal-skin was smoothly laid within as a seat, and the whole was sewn and put together widi great neatness. The paddle was double, made of fir, and the ends of the blades tipped with bone, to pre- vent splitting. ^ . . , ■ . • ■ ,.vr\sa. The fire-place in the tent consisted of three rough stones carelessly placed on end against one side, and they had several pots of lapis ollaris, for culi- nary purposes. These people seemed to us altogether more cleanly than any Esquimaux we had before seen, both in their persons and in the interior of their tent, in neither of which could wj discover much of that rancid and pungent smell, which is in general so offensive to Europeans. One instance of their cleanliness which now occctrrcd, deserves perhaps to be noticed, both because this is justly considered rather a rare quality among Esquimaux, as well as to shew in what way they do sometimes exercise it. When leaving the tent, to return to our boats, I desired one of the seamen to tie the articles we had purchased into a single bundle, for the convenience of carrying them ; but the elder of the two male Esquimaux, who watched the man thus employed, would not permit it to be done without excluding a pot, which, as OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 91 Am m he explained by wiping the lamp-black off with one of his fingers, would soil a clean seal-skin jacket that formed part of the bundle. ■' • ' Among the few domestic utensils we saw in the tent was the woman's knife of the Greenlanders described by Crantz, and resembling, in its semi- circular shape, that used by shoe-makers in England. The most interesting article, however, was a kind of bowl exactly similar to that obtained by Captain Lyon from the natives of Hudson's Strait, being hollowed out of the root of the musk-ox's horn. As soon as I took the cup in my hand, the boy who was our first companion, and had since been our constant attendant, pronounced the word oomingnml,-, thus affording an additional confirmation to that obtained on the former voyage, of the musk-ox being the animal de- scribed by the natives of the west coast of Greenland, as having occasionally, tliough rarely, been seen in that country. As soon as the Esquimaux became a little more familiar with us, they re- peatedly asked for soxdk (iron), in answer to which wc gave them to under- stand that they must accompany us to our boats, if they wished to obtain any of this precious article. Accordingly, the whole group set off with us on our return, the males keeping up with us, and the women a short distance behind. The whole of the children carried bundles of the branches of ground willow, which we had just before seen them bring in for their own use, and which they seemed to consider an article of barter that might be acceptable to us. As we returned, I noticed a quantity of the ledum palustre, and having plucked some of it, gave it to the boy to carry ; after which, though he very much disliked its smell, he gathered every root of it that we came to, and deposited it at our tents. This lad was uncommonly quick and clever in comprehending our meaning, and seemed to possess a degree of good- humour and docility, which, on our short acquaintance, made him a great favourite among us. We had hitherto been much pleased with our new acquaintance, who were certainly a good-humoured decent sort of people. We therefore loaded them with presents, and endeavoured to amuse them by shewing them the manner of rowing our boats, which were hauled up on the beach. While the men and chiUh-en were occupied in observing this, the women were no less busily employed, near the tents, in pilfering and conveying into their boots, some of our cups, spoons, and other small articles, such as they could conveniently secrete. This they accomplished with so much dexterity, that no suspicion would have been excited of their dishonesty, had not Mr. Sherer fortunately N 2 1821. Sept. 1i ' K' ^rn I, , bjj m 't ■i, vm „r'M . ■• 92 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY .1 m i'l ui |i1*;| 1821. missed a cup which was required for supper. A general search being insti- w, ^ tuted in consequence, and the cargo of the women's boots brought back to our tents, 1 directed all our presents to be likewise taken from the two offenders ; and, dismissing the whole party with great appearance of indig- nation, thus put an end for the present to our communication with these people. Tues 11. We moved before broad daylight on the llth, and, after two hours' pro- gress, began to perceive every appearance of our having once more got into a close bay, round the shores of which we now proceeded to row, A deer was here chased into the water, but being on the side of the island opposite to our boats, escaped our pursuit. These animals seem to consider the sea as a great security to them, and they swim fast and to a considerable distance. The nearest island, for which the deer struck out this morning, >vith a strong breeze and a breaking sea not altogether in his favour, was above two miles distant. , , »i -> - We landed just before noon, in the hope of obtaining the meridian altitude, but the sun being obscured we continued our circuit of the bay, and at two P.M. put on shore near the mouth of a small creek. The wind had now increased to a stiff gale from the eastward, which being right down the creek, we were above two hours in reaching the head of it, though it is not more than three miles in length. Its breadth varies from one and a half to half a mile, and the shores on both sides are high. One mile from the entrance is an island nearest to the south shore, from which a herd of seven fine deer swam to the main land on our approach, and in consequence of the wind and sea obstructing us landed, before we could get up witli them. We now com- menced our return aloiig the starboard shore, having no longer any hope of finding an outlet to the westward in this direction. To the bay that thus terminated the inlet, which had fill now excited such encouraging hopes, I gave the name of Ross Bay, in compliment to the gentleman who had accompanied me during the whole of this examination. We landed at sunset at the mouth of another creek, wliich was reserved for examination on the following morning ; and were not sorry to pitch our tents on a fine shingly beach, after a cold and wet day's work. We here saw as usual several deer, but nothing except a marmot and a covy of nine ptarmigan were killed in the course of the day. Wed. 12, After an hour's rowing on the morning of the 12th, we found the creek terminate at the distance of two miles and a half in a south-east direction rl OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 93 1621. Sept. V-^VXi/ from ifa entrance, being from a mile to a mile and a quarter in breadth, with good depth of water, and having several small islands near its mouth. Pro- ceeding without delay on our return, we landed at nine o'clock at the sup- pos'<;d river discovered on the 9th, where it was low water by the shore at thirty minutes past nine A.M. The wind was moderate from the eastward, with small drizzling rain. At two P.M. we once more landed on Rendezvous Island, as well for the purpose of picking up some provisions which I had directed Mr. Sherer to leave here in case of accidents, as to ascertain from the hill what parts of the inlet in this neighbourhood yet remained to be examined. The weather being now more clear than when we had last reached this central point of the inlet, we found that an opening to the eastward and two to the westward still presented themselves. I, therefore, chose the most northerly of the latter for our next examination, and that this might be pursued with confidence to the requisite extent, I once more despatched Mr. Sherer back for a fresh supply of provisions, and having, from the hill, fixed on a remarkable islet for his first rendezvous, directed him to follow us as before. These arrangements being completed and Mr. Sherer despatched, we left the island and rowed over to the creek which 1 named, after that gentleman, Sherer's Creek. We found this arm of the sea to have more than one en- trance, there being some islands on the northern side ; but the passage to the southward of them is much the broadest. Having reached the first appointed rendezvous, we found it to be a small insulated rock of gneiss thickly stud- ded with garnets. We here fixed a pike with the necessary directions to Mr. Sherer, and then put on shore for the night in a small snug cove, where we found the usual traces of Esquimaux visitors. ' ' • ' The weather was calm with rain during the night; and a thick fog on the morning of the 13th, prevented our moving till thirty minutes past six, whenTlua. IX we proceeded up the creek, and in less than two hours had reached the head of it. Near this spot we raised a conspicuous pile of stones, with a memoran- dum deposited under it for Mr. Sherer ; and then crossed over to the south shore, which it was now our object to trace closely along till we came to the second of the westerly openings before noticed. Soon after noon we arrived at a low point, off which we perceived a very strong rippling of tide setting from the southward between the main land and an island lying off" it. As we approached this point, where the passage is not more than one-third of a mile across, another appeared a little beyond it, round which the tide was running with still greater rapidity ; it now became doubtful whether we could f ^■S 1 % TA m " i • 1 ;® V I' n 14 94 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY v^w^ ft » 1821. proceed much further. After hanging on for ten mhiutcs, the utmost exertion ^^P^ of the men at die oars enabled us to pass the first point ; but the attempt to pass the second must not only have been useless but dangerous, the tide running full six knots over some shoal ground, with an overfall like that under bridges, making the level of the water about eighteen inches higher oa one side of the point than on the other. We landed therefore at a smooth place under a sheltered part of the rocks, till the tide should enable us to proceed ; and we were not a little pleased to find, by walking across the point, that the direction of this rapid Hood-tide was from the south-west, and to all appearance proceeded out of the opening we were next about to explore. While employed here in drying our cloUies and tents, we fortunately observed two boats rowing up the inlet, and were soon joined by Messrs. Henderson and Slierer in a boat from each ship, bringing a fresh supply of provisions and fuel. I now learned from Captain Lyon that, as the ice had come in near the ships, he proj)osed as soon as practicable to move them higher up, and, if possible, neaior tlie entrance of the inlet in the examination of which we were at present engaged. ,,< As I now entertained the most sanguine hopes of at lengdi finding a pas* sage to tlie westward, without the necessity of going round all the land we had seen in an opposite direction, I could not but consider the present supply a nu)st opportune one. We therefore loaded the boats as deeply as was consistent with safety, concealing the renuiinder under a heap of stones, as a resource on our return ; and lves on the m'van- tage we should lierive from the strong and favourable ebb-tide just about to make, and which wt- trusted would enable us to end all our doubts and ap- jirehensious before the close of this day. Our di.-uppointment nuiy tiiereforo in some mciusuic be couceivcil on finding that the rapid llood-tide, ou which OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 96 m our expectations had been built, did not come from this opening as appear- 1821. ances had led us to suppose, but from the eastward, passing to the southward \^J^ of the island, and then receiving a check from some shoals and islets, which caused it to sweep round almost at a right angle, assuming the appearance of a south-western tide by which we had lately been deceived. This was made apparent by our now meeting the ebb setting against ua at the rate of a mile an hour, which unfavourable indication was shortly after confirmed by our Teaching the head of this little branch of the sea, which is six miles in length and three-quarters of a mile in its general breadth, and was named by Mr. Ross's desire Culgbuff Creek. We landed just before sunset, and knowing that we could not repass the point below tis long as tlie ebb was running, I sent Messrs. Ross and Bushnan to a high hill in the neighbourhood, with the hope of their obtaining a good view to the south-westward before dark ; but it being already dusk before they reached the summit, and (he prospect being somewhat obstructed by intervening land, no information that then seemed of much im|K)rtimcc was thus gained. Near the entrance to this creek, on the north shore, is a hill of a remarkable shape, seen at a consider- able distance to the eastward. We left the beach at (ive A.M. on the Htli, and arrived at the point at half- Frid. 14. past six, when we found the stream of ebb setting so strongly against us as to render it impracticable lo stem it with the oars and sails. Finding therefore after breakfast that much time must be lost if we waited for low water, we attempted the expedient of " (racking" the boats round the point which, after one or two narrow escapes on account of the breaking sea occasioned by the tide, was safely eifected in half an hour; and at nine o'clock, having re-loaded the boats, we once more embarked on the opposite side of the point. There now remained to be examined only a small portion of the opposite or eastern shore, which from Rendezvous Island hati appeared to present an opening. The direction of this cv i I learned from Captain Lyon that the Mecla had just anchored at her prc- Rent station, the Fury stiU remaining at the former place, into which the ice had lately come so thick as to require the assistance of all hands from both ships to warp and tow the liccla out. Proceeding with a fresh boat's crew OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. <97 towards the Fury, which we found close beset by thick and heavy ice, we '^21. succeeded after much difficulty in hauling the boat through it, and arrived s<^-r*l on board at 10 P.M. The next object to which my attention was directed was the connecting of the coast last examined, with that of Gore Bay — an object that might perhaps have been effected during my absence; but I did not consider it prudent, in the insecure situation in which I had been obliged to leave the ships, to take more than one boat's crew from each, wliich number out of our small complements of working men bore a large proportion to the whole strength that might be required on any emergency. The absence of two boats from either ship, indeed, scarcely left hands enough to purchase the anchor, much less to handle them with the alacrity necessary among ice, and in a confined and rocky navigation. It remained therefore to complete this examination in the boats, as soon as the Fury could be extricated from the ice by which she was at present beset. This ice consisted of heavy and large floe-pieces, which pressed with . 'onsiderable force upon the cable ; but the strain being steady, the ground ; (1 and little or no stream of tide running, the anchor did not come J',-" It may here be of service to remark that, in smooth water and in situations whert Ihert is no perceptible stream of tide, a ship's safety is not so much endangered by the approach of a large body of loose ice as might be supposed. The smaller pieces are pushed astern by poles, the larger masses* not coming with any violence, rest across the cable or bows without doing any damage, and the space between the ship and the land is generally soon filled up with ice, so as to preclude the |>ossil)ility of her being driven on shore, even should the anchor afterwards come home. As soon as the tide would serve in the offing, on the morning of the loth sm, 15. we weighed, and by means of warping and towing, in which we were as- sisted by Captain Lyon's boats, succeeded in joining the llecla at her an- chorage at three P.M. About flic same time Lieutenant Iloppner arrived, having re-examined thatann of the sea which I hud at first explored; being the only one near, Ca|)tain Lyon had in pursuance of my directions instructed him to trace it, not knowing that I had already done so. From Lieuteimnt Huppner's report and observations however niuch useful information was de- rived in laying down the coast. Among other things the extent and conunu- nicution of the opening I had entered but could not |)ass on the 7th, had now o * ''.I j.^ Hi I 'I ; ii 'i' is Jill \H J i-% (. i V'l :!.{ I8SI. Sept. 98 SECOND VOYA GE FOR THE DISCOVERY been determined by rowing through at high water, and returning to the ships by that route. To this arm of the sea I gave the name of Hoppner's Inlet ; and the more extensive one which I had lately returned from ex- ploring, was distinguished by the name of my brother-officer. Captain George Francis Lvon. While a boat from each ship was preparing for our next excursion, I com- municated to Captain Lyon my wishes respecting the movement of the ships, directing him to follow me down the south-western land as soon as it might be practicable, that no time might be lost in prosecuting the voyage either in the direction I was now about to pursue, should I there discover an outlet to the westward, or failing to do so, to the eastward of the land now in sight, which in that case would prove to be a part of the continent. With a view also to save time on my return, I requested Captain Lyon to endeavour to ascertain whether a portion of land to the south-eastward of the inlet, on which it was our lot afterwards to .viuter, was insular or connected with the main land. These and other necessary arrangements being shortly made, I left the ships at thirty minutes after four, P.M., accompanied by Messrs. Ross, Sherer, and Mac Larcn, the two latter gentlemen in the Hecla's boat, the whole party being victualled for nine days. Previously however to my commencing the account of our next boat-ex- cursion, I gladly avail myself of some extracts from Captain Lyon's Journal during the time of my late absence, to complete the narrative of proceed- ings up to this period. •• The ships having been principally stationary during the time of Captain Parry's absence, the remarks which I am enabled to offer must be chiefly confined to such observations on this part of the coast as I had then an opportunity of making. I must first, however, briefly notice the proceedings of the ships during that interval. " Previous to Captain Parry's leaving us, he had expressed to me his wish that the shij)s should, as soon as convenient, be removed to some 4nore commodious anchorage than that in which we lay, provided I suc- ceeded in finding one on the eastern shores of the inlet. I therefore occupied two days in examining the coast to the north-eastward, but did not succeed in finding any spot so well sheltered as the one in which wc ft ill OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 99 were. I therefore decided on not moving the ships unless circumstances should render it necessary, v ' " On the 11th I was convinced that our present situation was by no means secure, by observing that the opening between the Fury's anchorage and the high islands off it was quite filled up with a large and heavy floe, which had been brought into the inlet by the recent southerly winds. Dur- ing the whole day other heavy masses of ice were forced on it from the same direction, and the entrance of the inlet appeared to be rapidly filling. The tides at this time were at their highest (fourteen feet), and I feared they would ultimately cause the disruption of our protecting floe, and thus allow the whole body of ice to set on the ships. On the 12th therefore I sent to order the Fury to proceed to an open bay about three miles to the northward, through a passage amongst some low islets lying off our anchor- age, and which had been already sounded by our boats. On learning that the Fury was secured, we weighed and stood through the same channel, but the tide was then at its lowest ebb, and in the centre we clearly saw the bottom at the depth of four fathoms ; our lead at one cast fell on a sharp pointed rock which had escaped the notice of the sounding boats in eight feet water. We fortunately met with no others, and anchored at sunset near the Fury. Mr. Shcrer having returned from Captain Parry, brought me an instruction, that any inlet or opening in the land near us, which the fog had obscured at his departure, should be examined before his return, if it could be done consistently with the safety of the ships. I now therefore despatched Lieutenant Hoppner, with directions to explore the only opening of that kind which presented itself. " As the ice had accumulated considerably in the centre of the islet, I employed myself successfully in seeking an anchorage to the northward, and on my return in the evening found the ships so closely beset as to render it very difficult to reach them with the boat. On the 14th I v , of many of ' the larger ponds was still unfrozen, except close round the margin. The ice remained closely packed on the 21st, ts far as we co.:M see Frid. 21. along shore, so that we were still detained in thj saiue place. A party sent out to procure game, killed a deer and a hare the former after being wounded took a deep lake, into which the people had to swim to get him out. Except these animals, which were here tolerably abundant, the game was scarce, though there was no want of feeding f i them. The giounu- willow was very plentiful, and so dry at this season that we easily pro- cured enough for keeping up a good fire all day. Some snow which fell in the course of the preceding night, lightly powdering the land, had entirely disappeared before the evening, except in places having a northern aspect, where it now permanently rcms! od for the winter. On the morning of the 22d the ice wt .; iot only as close as ever, but had Sat. 22. forced its way much higher up towards Gore Bay. A party was therefore sent out to endeavour to procure rf:a.mc further inland ; and another em- ployed in gathering ground-willr ■•■.; which was here abundant and in good condition for fuel. Two bears, a female and her cub, being probably at- tracted by the smell of our cooking, came towards the tents upon the ice, but on hearing our voices set off in the opposite direction. A good deal of snow fell in partial showers in the course of the day ; it was nearly P 2 ■ ;V| m jM .1 ■]%. W "iv 11 ■p ■f in! 108 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY [ ■ I'i Sun. 2.3, ii,i uj'^Hii '821. of that fine kind whicli usually falls during the winter of these regions, but we had flake snow and even light rain some days after this. The snow however now remained undissolved upon the land in all situations. Our hunting party returned late in the evening without success, having merely seen a number of rein-deer, which the want of cover prevented their ap- proaching. Seven days out of tlie nine for which we were victualled having now elapsed, a party was selected for walking over to the ships on the fol- lowing day, should the ice still continue in its present state. The tents were struck and the boats launched at day-break on the 23d, when we nuide tolerable way along-shore for two hours, landing occasionally to distinguish the best road among the ice. At eight we put on shore to breakfast, and tiicn again set forward, leaving .Mr. Ross to walk along the rocks and by appointed signals to shew us the right " leads." After one P.M., however, when we had arrived within a mile of Cape M'Laren, we could make no further progress. The wind was at this time fresiiening up from the south-west which, while it served to pack the ice more and more closely in the bay, was rapidly clearing the coast on the opposite or eastern side of the land about Cape Martineau. We had therefore the mortilication of observing from the hills that, could we have eft'ected our passage for three or four miles further along the shore, we should at once have gained an open sen, and should probably have met with no further obstruction the whole way to the sliips. Being thus unavoidably detained, our people went out with th(>ir guns and chased a fine deer into a creek at the back of our landing-i)lace. The animal being here surrounded by (he men who stationed themselves on the beach on each side, remained swimming more than an hour, when he be- ciune fatigued ; and, after two attempts to land, was killed by persons con- cealed behind hummocks of ice, lie pn>vet. The ground was here covered with snow two inches terii lant the wrong way, and wonUI once more have driven ujMin the rocks but for the tinu'ly assistance ol' tli' llecla's boats, which Lieute- naiil ll(»j»pii. M proi:\i)tly tiesputched to tow her clear of the duiigrr. Leaving *r i OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. Ill (I n- ky a te- ns buoys at the proposed anchorage, we returned on board at noon ; and finding ^^-^^ the ice had ad valued nearly a mile since the morning, I determined to lose v^,-*l/ no time in secuiiug the sliips from its approach, and accordingly boro up for the cove, in which, after passing over a shoal with five fathoms, and discover- ing another dry at low water, we anchored at two P.M. in Hiirtepn fathoms, muddy bottom. An officer wai immediately despatched along the hills to ascertain before dark the exact position of the ice, which he rejjorfed to be quite close to the southward, filling up the entrance of the inlet. The long- tailed ducks were here so numerous, that 1 believe we disturbed some thou- sands of them in the boats in the course of the morning. On the 28th the ice still continued to occupy the whole mouth of the Fritl. 28. inlet; and on the following day, the wind increa'^ing to a strong gale from Sat. 29. the E.N.E., and there being no room to drive, we were obliged to drop our second anchors under foot. A goofi deal of snow fell and the land was now entirely covered with it, except a horizontal strip of black along the shores which, being washed by the sea and varying in breadth according to the time of tide, presented, excej)t at high water, a striking contrast with the uniform wir'enessof the rest of the land. Notwithstanding the reflected light occa-sioned by the snow, the nights were at this period so dark, that we could scarcely distinguish the shores of (he cove at the distance of only a cable's length. The gale still blew hard on the 30th, and indeed increased so much atSuiid.30. night as to render it expedient to strike the lower yards, and send the top- gallant masts on deck. This continued with little intermission 'on 3» 29 29.04 33.00 30.10 30.37 30.378 NE light fine 20 Inlet. SI 24 27.17 32.42 30.37 30.20 30.330 .South modt. cloudy 21 28 24 20.08 31.04 30.30 30.13 30.208 a.m. SbW» p.m. NE j light > & calms J cloudy 22 32 27 20.12 32.00 30.08 30.02 .to. 043 NWbN modt. cloudy and snonr 23 20 211 20.00 32.00 :«t.ia 30.11 30.128 NbW modt. cloudy and snow 21 29 20 24.20 29.75 80.07 20.58 29.835 a.m. NbW p.m.SWbS modt. cloudy and squalls •25 31 28 20.42 31.04 29.50 20.47 29.507 ssw modt. cloudy and snow 20 32 27 29.37 31.07 29 70 29.50 20.508 South modt. cloudy and snow 27 20 2} 27.12 30.83 29.82 20.70 29.700 SbW light fine 2n 27 20 23.80 20.04 30.03 29.80 20.900 NEbE modi. cloudy 20 37 21 21.17 j 28.02 30.00 20.70 20.802 I'.bN fresh snow in sq>:alU W 2«i 20 20.02 30.33 1 29.03 20.48 20.988 Eait strung suow in squalls 48 SO 31.00 31. IN) 1 30.11 20.10 29.K70 -■: ; •I " SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. 113 Km favour the absorption of heat, the frifforific process seems to be carried on '^^l. . . in. Ill 1 n October. with increased vigour, denning very clearly the change from summer to ^^^-*-' winter, with little or no intermediate interval to which the name of autumn can be distinctly assigned. The gale continuing the same both in direction and force on the 2d, I Tuei. 2. ordered the topmasts to be struck in the evening, being apprehensive of starting the anchors during the night in some of the violent squalls that blew off the land ; and it was not till two P.M. on the 3d that the gale began to Wed. ;j. moderate. The evening was therefore employed in fidding the topmasts and top-gallant-masts, and in other preparations for moving ; and on the fol- lowing morning, having cast by hawsers fastened to the rocks, we left the Thur. 4. cove at eight A.M. A boat being kept ahead to sound, discovered and enabled us to avoid another rocky shoal with twelve feet water upon it, and only a yard or two in breadth, lying a little to the northward of our former track into the cove. The anchorage we had now left, and which from the security it had afforded us obtained the name of Safety Cove, lies in lat. 66° 31' 59", and in longitude, by chronometers, 83" 48' 54", being in the north-eastern corner of a considerable bend in the coast, which seems to be full of dangerous rocks and shoals, mostly covered by the tide, and is therefore distinguiished on the chart as the Bav of Shoals. There were considerable flocks of the long-tailed duck f( 'ding on the innumerable shrimps (cancer nugax, of Phipps's Voy.) with which the sea swarmed in all this neighbourhood. The ground being almost wholly covered with snow, our examination of the natu- ral productions was necessarily much limited: the rocks were however prin- cipally of gneiss, and a fine specimen of asbestous actynolitc was brought on board from a large mass of that substance. As soon as we had cleared the shoals, all sail was made along-shore to the south-cast. We found the ice closely packed against the high western land, and as wc advanced it gradually led us in towards the eastern shore till, at half-past eleven A.M., when we had sailed about ten miles from the cove, no passage could be seen from the crow's neat between the land and the ice. Soon after noon, therefore, Captain Lyon and myself, accompanied by a second boat from each ship, went in-shorc to look for a place in which we might remain till the ice had drifted farther down the inlet. Wc soon succeeded in discovering a roadstead secure enough from wind and sea, but open to the ice in the event of its taking a turn that way. As however it was necessary )»,v.l v:^4 114 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 'ill iMi! '' If! ' \^ if October ^^^^^^ ^ ^^ ^^i^ "^'sk or to return a part of the distance sailed in the morning, ^^v^^ we anchored at three P.M. in seven fathoms, on a muddy bottom, being sheltered by a point of land to the southward, and by an island to the north. Prid. 5. The ice at the time of our anchoring was a mile and a half distant, and seemed to be fast driving out of the inlet. About midnight however the whole body was observed to be coming in upon the ships. The cables being immediately veered to prevent the anchors starting, the holding- ground proved so good that they did not move. The Hecla rode a very great strain, the floe-pieces being heavy and too large to find their way past us. Fortunately however the pressure of the ice relaxed soon after, and it then moved out again ; so that not the smallest damage was sustained by either ship. The wind freshening up from the northward, the ice again acquired good way out of the inlet in the course of the day ; and I was glad to find, in the afternoon, that the prospect from the hills was somewhat more promising than before. We endeavoured to get fresh water on shore here, but found all the ponds, which were indeed shallow, hard frozen to the bottom. The ground was mostly covered with snow ; but in some places on the rocks it had been in part dissolved, and then frozen again into a cake of smooth transparent ice, which made tlie >\alking very slippery. On every smaller stone also, and round the decayed stalk of each plant that protruded through the snow, a knob of the same substance was formed, and these reflect- ing the rays of an unclouded sun had a very brilliant effect. This appearance seemed to us worth noticing, as it shewed the difference between this climate and that of a more northern latitude whore, after the snow has once fallen, the sun's rays have not power to produce the slightest appearance of glazing on the surface till late in the spring. A flock of five ptarmigans and the track of a bear were seen. Captain Lyon and myself also distinctly saw a hawk, whose plumage appeared (juite white, being the only instance in which such a bird was met with. The thermometer being at 15° at six in the morning, and rising only to 17° at two P.M., much young ice was formed in-shore. Every attention was paid to the clothing of tlie ships' companies at this period when, from the suddenness of the change of temperature, and the necessity of frequent exposure, there is perhaps as much to apprehend in this respect as at almost any other time of the year. The ships were under way at a quarter past six on the morning of the Gth, the wind being fresh from the N.b.W. and llie thermometer as low as 11°. The ships' bends were now so coated with ice about the water-line, that we Sat. 6. !t^ m^^ OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 115 had to beat and cut it off to prevent its impeding their way. We then ran Qctobir along without obstruction till we had passed Cape Edwards when, in hauling up for the south point of the island we were desirous of round- ing, we found the sea covered with " pancake ice," which however being thin and easily moved among its several component parts, does not offer any considerable impediment. As we advanced along the south side of the island, the young ice began to occur more in continuous sheets, and as these had in many parts been broken, and overlaid each other in the manner already described *, the obstruction soon became greater. To- wards noon we had approached the south-east point of the island, where we found the packed ice stretching close in with the shore. As the management of the ships could no longer be depended on, hampered as they were by the young ice, it was needless at present to attempt passing the point: we therefore hauled up towards a bay which here very oppor- tunely presented itself, and in which I determined to await some change i f anchorage could be met with. As soon as we had opened the bay, and a passage could be found for the boats through the young ice, I went in to sound it, accompanied by Captain Lyon, and finding the depth regular and the ground good, anchored the ships at three P.M. in six to seven fathoms. The water was here so clear that the man in the chains was somewhat alarmed by seeing the bottom when in nine fathoms and a half, and at our anchorage a shilling might have been easily seen upon the ground . The soundings on the south side of this island we found remarkably regular, presenting a striking contrast with the coast we had lately left. We had above thirty fathoms at two miles' distance, and the water shoaled very gradually as we approached the western point of the bay, where we had ten fathoms within two ships' lengths of the grounded ice, which here as well as all round the shores of the bay occurred in unusually heavy masses. Mr. Ross being sent on shore to examine the state of the ice on the other side of the point, reported on his return that there was a narrow channel between the floes and the land, but no anchoring-place in case of our being stopped. There being now only an hour's daylight remaining, the young ice fast increasing, and a strong tide running in the offing, I was obliged to relinquish the idea of moving till the morning. At daylight on the 7th I despatched Mr. Crozier to the point, beyond S""- 7 a *m Narrative of the Voyage of 1819-80, p. 90. «• 11^ 116 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY hi I ■' III ; ■ . ?! ■*■■;• #i ."I ill m,i Ocfober ^'*'^^» ** *^^ distance of one mile, he found the whole body of ice close in ^^v^^ with the land, appearing very thick and heavy an far as could be seen to the north-eastward. After divine service I sent Lieutenant Reid for the same purpose, when I was glad to find that our passage was now only obstructed by a body of ice a mile and a half in breadth, beyond which a great deal of clear water appeared ; and as this ice was in rapid motion to the southward, there seemed every chance of our being enabled to push on in the morning. The bay ice round the ships was just thick enough to bear a man's weight, but that in the offing was much thinner, and in many places the surface of the sea was still clear of it. The thermometer gradually fell to 10° after midnight, and to zero at six Mon. 8. A.M. on the 8th. An hour before day-break Lieutenant Reid again left the ship, to give us information of the state of the ice round the point, with- out which it would have been imprudent to quit our present anchorage. In the mean time the sails were set and the cables hove short in readi- ness for moving, the instant he should make the appointed signal from the hill. To our great disappointment however no signal appeared ; and Lieu- tenant Reid acquainted me on his return, that the ice in one solid and unbroken " pack," to which he could see no end, closed completely in with the beach, at a shoal and open bay on the east side of the island. The ice now beginning also to approach the ships, I directed the anchors to be weighed and lines to be run out towards the eastern side of the bay, ' which appeared to offer rather the best security against its approach. In this the boats at length succeeded, and the ships were accordingly removed, while Captain Lyon and myself landed and walked to the northward, in order to obtain a more distinct and extensive view of the position of the ice in that quarter. Having reached a hill about three miles to the northward of the ships, we could perceive that there was scarcely a pool of clear water among the ice, which filled the space between us and the main land. The only part of the sea in sight unoccupied by " old" ice was along the south shore of the island, and this was almost entirely covered with bay-floes, through which a ship could not possibly have made her way. The formation of young ice upon the surface of the water is the circum- stance which most decidedly begins to put a stop to the navigation of these seas, and warns the seaman that his season of active operations is nearly at an end. It is indeed scarcely possible to conceive the degree of hinderance occasioned by this impediment, trifling as it always appears before it is .M m OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. U7 encountered. Wlien the sheet has acquired a thickness of about half an inch, qJ^JJ^J,; and is of considerable extent, a ship is liable to be stopped by it unless fa- voured by a strong and free wind ; and even when still retaining her way through the water, at the rate of a mile an hour, her course is not always under the control of the helmsman, though assisted by the nicest attention to the action of the sails, but depends on some ftecident.nl increase or decrease in the thickness of the sheet of iee, with which one bow or tlie other comes in contact. Nor is it possible in this situation for the boats to render their usual '"atsS-u.nce, by running out lines or otherwise ; for having once entered the young ice, they can only be propelled slowly through it by digging the oars and boat-hooks into it, at the same time breaking it across the bows, and by rolling the boat from side to side. After continuing this laborious work for some time with little good effect, and considerable damage to the planks and oars, a boat is often obliged to return the same way that she came, backing out in the canal thus formed to no purpose, A ship in this helpless state, her sails in vain expanded to a favourable breeze, her ordinary resources failing, and suddenly arrested in her course upon the element through which she has been accustomed to move without re- straint, has often reminded me of Gulliver tied down by the feeble hands of Lilliputians ; nor are the struggles she makes to effect a releaoC, and the apparent insignificance of the means by which her efforts are opposed, the least just or the least vexatious part of the resemblance. When to the ordinary difficulties which the navigation of the Polar Seas presents were superadded the disadvantages of a temperature at or near zero, its necessary concoir'tant the young ice, and twelve hours of darkness daily, it was impossible any longer to entertain a doubt of the expediency of immediately placing the ships in the best security that could be found for them during the winter, rather than run the risk of being permanently detached from the land, by an endeavour to regain the continent. Captain Lyon being of the same opinion with myself, we proceeded on our return to the beach to sound the north-eastern part of the bay, by making holes in the ice which was now strong enough to bear us. We were in hopes of receiving effectual shelter from the numerous grounded masses, but could only find births within one of them in five to six fathoms water. We now for the first time walked on board the ships ; and before night had them moved into their places, by sawing a canal for two or three hundred yards through the ice. The average thickness of the new floe was already * %^ »: tie fi .m riH 1 f> t Ml i; :.i ! I tj' It US SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1821. October. three inches and a quarter ; but being in Home places much less, several officers and men fell in and, from the difficulty of getting a firm place to rest on, narrowly escaped a more serious inconvenience than a thorough wetting. The whole sheet of ice, even in those parti* which easily bore a man's weight, had a waving motion under the feet, like that of leather or any other tough flexible eubstaace set afloat ; a property which is I believe peculiar to salt-water ice. In reviewing the events of this our first season of navigation, and consi- dering what progress we had made towards the attainment of our main object, it was imp issible, however triffing that progress might appear upon the chart, not to experience considerable satisfaction. Small as our actual advance had been towards Behring's Strait, the extent of coast newly dis- covered and minutely explored in pursuit of our object, in the course of the last eight weeks, amounted to more than two hundred leagues, nearly half of which belonged to the continent of North America. This service, not- withstanding our constant exposure to the risks which intricate, shoal, and unknown channels, a sea loaded with ice, and a rapid tide concurred in pre- senting, had providertially been effected without injury to the ships, or suffering to the officers and men ; and we had now once more met with tole- rable security for the ensuing winter, when obliged to relinquish further operations for the season. Above all, however, I derived the most sincere satisfaction from a conviction of having left no part of the coast from Repulse Bay eastward in a state of doubt as to its connexion with the continent. And as the mainland now in sight from the hills extended no farther to the east- ward than about a N.N.E. bearing, we ventured to indulge a sanguine hope of our being-very near the north-eastern boundary of America, and that the early part of the next season would find us employing our best efforts in pushing along its northern shores. 1 > * : • ' 4.1 /.' 1.''' 1 .'■ ' 1-rfi.i. ,» , ,. ' 1 ' 1; ■:■;,- : i J- ':-H t-'j''. ' r-;..,. i>.{ *^^ ;,♦> • i^i,^ " \ ,■ ! "-..'. i ii v.* 1 -:..-. •,.* - '■>r. U. J. t ^;, ' ? J '- I' i in u^ .J «4l^*vM^; !1i in tti ft '^■» i« i*; v"i*«.r * (if " ; ••<■.< • ,:'u»'ll lc'',rti. J r:U..(">ug1i wottini(. • • *:t.v'-h ciotf , ^K'Tv a uuiu's > :i>l .j^* Ir^itiir-r f any other ■ f'J.. i ■ J^ '?s HtJainmt'jit of out maitj * -'rtfr »-:*,* mitiht appear ivpon .. ii?-*' ^t-v^*(t.'r.!»».'U! j«;i'ii-;"ti"-',i,f|. ?jSss6»1! as '.nir actual .'v m>^-^iiti.-- Sit!\'\t fht'tKJont of coast atwiy cUs- 'ifwrrtl and iTiiiitiuiy t^xpiofcfl »u p5«r^;u» f i.nn jmjijcw^ in fhc wwrse oi'ihp 'a>i. •jiicl't w. .'Iv.>, o.iiomiUjd to more than two hun.'ired leagwea, noarlj half ,r -hirh !)oioiij,'Pci ti> the coiUinem ot" NorUi Ann-rica, Thi« service, not- n»jr r<(ftst^i,t es^»«»»v. f^i fk, t k» «rhich intrirau;. 6?ho;il, aiui .-)'.. ^ >'v, ■!•»■> wwtey rfmctrreti fo pre- V ^^Kjt mjury to die ships, or ft: 4'?;-; : ^«ii Mitw once more met wiih tole- . i : .! fo relinquish further "" 4 111- rivt!(.nf\c nuj^t sincere ' of tho coast from Hepulse ' ;s >vith the i.'omjijf-rit. And •« <* »!,cv .-sv? •»<• Wiii-j i■ • '^i.'i ¥. '* \ t- I CHAPTER VI. PRECAUTIONS FOn THE SECURITY OK THE SHIPS AND THEIR STORES AND FOR THIi HEALTH AND COMFORT OF THE CREWS ESTABLISHMENT OF THEATRICAL ENTER- TAINMENTS AND SCHOOLS ERECTION OP AN OBSERVATORY AND HOUSE ON SHORE STATE OF HEALTH AT THIS PivRIOD PARTIAL DISRUPTION OF THE ICE IN THE HAY ANCHORS AND CABLES TAKEN TO THE SHORE GRADUAL INCREASE OF COLD, AP- PEARANCE OP THE AURORA BOHEALIS ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, AND VARIOUS OTHER METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA TO THE CLOSE OF THE YEAR 1821 . Our operations at sea being now at an end for the season, my tliiol' utU'iilion uji was directed to the security of tlic shi|w, and to the various internal arrantfc- *!^'!^ ments which experience siiiift^ested as necessary for tht^ preservation of clean- liness, health, and comfort during the winter, as well as for tiie economical expenditure of the provisions, fuel, and other stores. The situation which circumstances obliged us to put up wilh for our winter-quarters, was by no means as secure as could have been wished. The bay, though a» fine a roadstead as coidd have been di'sired if situated in a temperate climate, was still on . a roadstead ; and, being entirely open to the south, was cxiJosed to u pressure from ice in that direction, unles- the solid Hoe now about to be formed round the ships should shortly become sutficient to guard them from external injury. There was some reason, however, to n ; for, an tin; s|)ring-tides approached, the numerous grounded masses aroun these circumstances was added our uncertainty whe her very high titles, during the winter, might not crack the ice. thereby ex(M)sing the ships to the double danger of being f a.1 f! . *i\ •. mn 5 W.lll' • f #1 H. If 'I vi 1 . lao SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY ' : ; li- ft i i 1 1821. .« nipped " about their water-line, and of being drifted out of the bay by north- erly gales. That which was, however, perhaps the most to be apprehended was the possibility of the shipe being forced into shoal water, without de- taching themselves from the mass of ice cemented to their bends, the weight of which, hanging upon the sides of a ship ieft aground by the tide, could not but produce very serious injury. Such were the principal contingencies to which we were liable, and which, though we happily escaped them all, rendered our present situation an ex- periment I would willingly have dispensed with trying. As a measure of precaution we began by removing the ships into rather deeper water, by cutting the ice astern, so that they now lay in full six fathoms at low water. Several hawsers were also secured to the grounded masses ahead of the ships, and the chain-cables kept bent till some idea could be formed of the dependence to be placed on the ice,under the various circumstances of wind and tide that might occur. The disposition of the masts, yards, and sails was next determined on. The fore and main-lop masts were kept fidded, the top-gallant-masts (except the Fury's main one, which was kept up for the electrometer-chain,) were struck, the lower yards got down to the housing, the topsail-yards, gall', jib-boom, and spritsail-yard remaining in their proper places. The topsails and courses were ke|»t bent lo llio yards, the sheets being unrove, and Ihe clues tucked in. Tlie i\-M of the bending-sails were stowed on cleck to prevent their thawing during the winter; and the spare spars were lashed over the ships' sides, to leave a clear space for taking ex- ercise in baur U(>on the beams of the lower deck, n OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 121 and in the cabins near the hatchways, commcncf d just as it had done at a '*^"^'- m II- •! • • 1- 1 . October similar temperature bciore. To remedy this evil, no time was lost in lighting ,.^^-v* a fire in the warming-stove upon the orlop-deck, every thing being previously moved from its neighbourhood that was likely to create danger. The iron tanks in the main hatchway were laid bare on the top, and the intewtices between them filled with sand, to form a secure platform in front of the fire ; and the sail-room bulk-heads and stancheons covered with sheet copper. Four steady men, of whom one was a petty officer, were appointed to attend the fire in regular watches, being made responsible for the due expenditure of the fuel, and for the safety of c, ory thing about the stove. They had likewise particular charge of the fire-engine, buckets, and two tanks of water, all of which were kept in the hatchway in constant readiness in ease of accidents. In addition to these precautions, some general regulations were established for stationing the officers and men in the event of fire ; and a hole was directed to be ke[)t open in the ice alongside each ship, ii» ensure at all times a sufficient supj)ly of water. In twelve hours after lighting the stove not » drop of moisture rem lined The stream of air in the vessel on the lower deck was rapid, eonstaiii, and above 120^ of Kalirenlieit ; that in the cabins n«'ar the apparatus about 100", and at the end of the ilue in my cabin, at the «listance (»f forty-six feet IVoin the air-vessel, it rose to 0;5° on the first evening, and (»n the two following days to 70° and 72^. The mean temj)crature of the atmosj)licre at this tiim was a few degrees above zero. To prevent the Hues which were ol" sheet iron from parting too readily with tlicir heat, the most exp«>sed parts, e«pe- ciidly about the opening of the hatchway-door, were coatiMl with fearnought, a kiiul of woollen stuff which, 'Voin its slowly-comlucling projierly, was eon- sidered well calculated to retain the warmth, aiul thus to convey some por- tion of it to the after-cabins*. The (piantity of coals for which this stove was purposely ccmstnute*! was live pecks, or a bushel and a (juarler. per day ; • This nppnrnt\i!i ('onij>li'ti'ly nnnwiTinl tlip pnrpiist' nf ki'tpinfj up n iinifonn mid conifori- ablf t('in|)c-rntiirt> on the lowtr-iUrk tliroii^lioiit the winter, as Mill iip|H-iir l>y tin- roliiinn inMirtcd tor tliat pur|M)M' in llio Mitcorologiiul Al^triK'ts. Tin- niiiiii ti'in|H'ratinv nIh'wii in diiit column, vicwi^l in coniKAion with tliut nt-xl to it, i-ontnr.iing tlir tfni|iit inmli' of wnrmin)^ tlif dcfk. For tlio wimiiing of tlu ship being thus materially promoted, and the bedding removed iliiring the whole day from the possibility of imbibing nu»ist\ire from the victuals, breath, mid other sources. While care wjus thus taken to adopt all the physical means within our reach, for the maintenance of health and comfort among the crews, recoure>e was also hur! to some of a moral nature, which experience hiw shewn to be useful OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 123 .\> \ auxiliaries in the promotion of these desirable objects. It would perhaps, -^^^^'; indeed, be difficult to imagine a situation in which cheerfulness is moie to be desired, or less likely to be maintained, than among a set of persons (and those persons seamen too,) secluded for an uncertain and indefinite period from the rest of the world ; havi.g little or no employment but that which is in a manner created to prevent idleness, and subject to a degree of tedious monotony ill according with their usual habits. It was not, however, simply as a general principle, applicable in a greater or less degree to all situations and societies, that the preservation of cheerfulness and good-humour was in our case particularly desirable, but as immediately connected with the pre- vention of that disease to which our crews were most liable, and which in- deed, in all human probability, we had alone any cause to dread. The astonishing effects produced by the j)assiroposed to Ca|)tain Lyon and the officers of both shi(?s ouvi- mow to set on foot a series of theatrical enter- tainments, from which so nvwh benefit in this way had, on a former occasion, been derived. This proposal was immediately and uiuuiimously acijuiesced in ; Captain Lyon obligingly mulertook to be our maniiger and, some pre- paration having been made Ibr this |)urpose previous to leaving England, every thing was soon arranged for jxTfonning a play on board the Fury once a fortnight. Ii\ this, its in more inijsortimt matters, our former ex|»(iience gave many useful hints. Our theatre wa.- now laid out (Uj a larger and nu)re commo^iiiius scale, its decorati<»ns tnurli iinj»r,)V( d and, what was no less es- sential both to actors an(\antasninjjori!i or iniigii lanli-rn Imtl lurn ]>ri'xinU'(l to nif for tlu' use of tlio K\|H'()ition, i>}' a lady who persisti'd in kivpinji; lur n- i" a Httrcl to t hone whom she wtt« thus serving. Tiiis iijipuratiw, which wmt excellent of its kind, wu.i freijuentiy R a i ii i-i'i m SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY .1 i 11 ^ vi. i I 'i vim , \' 1821. a school was also established under the voluntary superintendence of Mr, ^^'^' Halsc, for the instruction of such of the men as were willing to take advan- tage of this opportunity of learning to read and write, or of improving in those acquirements. The same plan was adopted on board the Hecla, Ben- jamin White, one of the seamen who had been educated at Christ Church school, volunteering to officiate as school-master. Tables were setup for the purpose in the midship part of the lower deck ; some of the men already thus qualified undertook the task of assisting in the instruction of their shipmates, and thus were about twmly individuals belonging to each ship occupied every evening from six till eight o'clock. I made a point of visiting the school occasionally during the winter, by way of encouraging the men in this praise-worthy occupation, and I can safely say that I have seldom experienced ferljngs of higher gratification than in this rare and interesting sight. A ir "r.jking magnetic observations ; and af soon as the car- penters could 1)0 spared from the necessary duties of the ships, a house wjis l)uilt r(U'th»' reception of the instruments requisite in conducting the other observations an*''^' * . October. sea. These insects were found to be still as numerous as ever in any v-^r«w hole we made in the ice ; and such was the extreme avidity with which they immediately seized upon any meat put overboard, to thaw or soak for the sake of freshness, that Captain Lyon to-day sent me a goose to look at, belonging to the officers of the Hecla, that had been thus deposited within their reach only eight and forty hours, and from which they had eaten every ounce of moat, leaving only a skeleton most deli- cately cleaned. Our men had before remarked that their meat suffered unusual loss of substance by soaking, but did not know to what cause to attribute the deficiency. We took advantage however of the hunger of these depredators to procure complete skeletons of small animals, for pre- servation as anatomical specimens, enclosing them in a net or bag with holes, to which the shrimps could have access, but which prevented the loss of any of the limbs, should the cartilage of the joints be eaten. For want of this latter precaution some specimens were at first rendered im- perfect. A thermometer placed in the sun at noon to-day stood at 32°, that in the shade being at 5°. In the course of the afternoon I witnessed, for the third time in my life, that peculiar and delicate colouring of the clouds which I have endeavoured to describe in my narrative of the last voyage, on the loth and 29th of April, 1820. The red tint was, as on both those occa- sions, nearest to the sun, and the clouds on which the colours were exhi- bited were passing within four or five degrees of that object. We were occupied about this time in getting to hand in the holds thew.d it supply of provisions that would be required for the next six months, in order to prevent the necessity of opening the hatches oftener than onc<* a week ; an urrangement which was found extremely conducive to the clean- liness of the lower-deck, as well as to that of the men personally. While (Ir)ingthis, the oi)portuiuty was taken to place all the lemon-juice, pickles, cranberries, and any inher articles liable to damage by frost, as nearly amidships as ])ossible. A single cask of lemon-juice was however left in contact with the ships side as an experiment, of which some accoiuit will be given in another place. Mr. Hooper having exposed a portion of this fluid to a low temperature on deck, observed it to congeal, when a ther- mometer innnersed in it stood at 25°, into a thick but .soft consistence not sufiiciently solid to break a glass bottle. ■■■ ^ 5F (■: (I * «::«! ■■«,:■; r 'S m li'i i 1 1 : <■' I:'; 'j !■■■ i i 1 i '' ' 1,! , 1) H II ''J, *:U' M ! 'i 1 n 128 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 18-21. October Fiid. 19. Several white foxes had about this period been caught in traps set on sliore, and were kept on board by the officers, with the hope of taming them. Some account of these beautiful little animals is given in another part of this winter's narrative. The thermometer rose as high as 21° on the riiiir 18. morning of the 18th, and thick snow continued falling incessantly for many hours ; this remained in a very soft state upon the ice, and clung quite fast to the rigging, in both these respects diifering essentially from what we had experienced during any part of our stay at Melville Island. A pair of snow- boots were now issued gratis to each individual in the Expedition, being part of a stock of extra warm clothing liberally furnished by Government, to be supplied to the officers and men, at my discretion, as occasion should ror;uirc. These boots Avere made of strong drab cloth with thick soles of cork, the slowly conducting property of which substance, together with their large size, allowing a free circulation to the blood, afforded the ut- most comfort that could be desired. Roots or shoes of leather never retain the warmth long, under circumstances of very severe exposure. On the 19th we began to put on the housing-cloths for covering in the upper decks, and thus ensuring a comfortable and sheltered place for walking in any weather during the winter. These cloths were composed of the same stout and serviceable material as before, but were now painted of a light colour instead of black, under the idea, suggested by some scientific gentlemen in London, of preventing in a certain degree the radiation of heat. As it was a great cohveniencc, as well as saving of candles, to admit daylight l)y the cibid and giui room skylights, during the tliree hours which, even at tlic darkest period, we should have in this latitude, the liousing was not carried the whole way aft, but finished by a screen a little abaft the mainmast, which >\ilh a door at the gangway was found quite sufficient for every useful jMirposc : a door with a pulley was also fixed at the head and foot of each of the ladders communicating with the upper deck. Instead of the planks used on the former voyage for resting the housing-cloths upon, and which took up a great deal of room in the stowage, we now substituted ropes, set up to the midsliij) spars, and to otiiers over the ships' sides, after the manner of what seamen call " jack-stays," which answered quite as well if not better than the other plan. On the 20th, the thermometer again fell to zero at ten A.M., and by mid- night as low as — 10°, the temperature gradually decreasing as the wind backed to the W.N.W. during the two last days. A spirit thermometer was ^jit. -JO. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 129 noM' substituted for the mercurial one, for registering tlie temperature of the '821, atmosphere ; and that of the sea, wliich always remained nearly the same in the winter, was only taken occasionally in future. On the 21st there was a considerable sj)ace of open water in the offing to Sun. 21. the soutliward and eastward, from which a cloud of frost-smoke constantly issued, driving like a fog with the wind. The ships' companies amused themselves, in the course of their afternoon walk, with sliding upon the ice in a pond, from which we were still able to procure water a couple of feet below the surfiice, though the pond was not a deep one: this advantage we enjoyed as late as the 'iOth of November, after wliich we had recourse entirely to snow melted by artificial means. The thermometer falling to — 13° in the course of the niglit, the ship'^' timbers began to crack a little, in consequence of tiie freezing of the ju' of the wood. I expected this to have occurred in a greater degree wilw lUe Fury than with the Ilecla, the latter having been already seasoned to a cold climate ; but on iiupiiry I understood the reverse to be the case, both during the present and the succeeding winter. On the :23d there was a considerable siu)W-drift, the 'lues. 22. wind blowing strong from the westward ; but the snow being less fine, and not so easily raised by the wind, nuule the atmosphere much less thick than in a higher northern latitude. The wind veering to the S.E. on the 24tli and •2.5th, the thermometer gra-Tliur.25. aiit to oxpruss a gcin-riU obscurity of t' > ojturu colour of ilie aky, but without uiiy si-purutc clouds, which indeed wv huil never luthertu Hcen during the ABSTRACT of the METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL kept on board His Majesty's Ship | ( ■ ■ ., •.:. t Ji». ■.,:.. Fury, during the Month of October , 182L Day 1 Place. Tenpentnre of Air ia shade. if Barometer. Prevailing Winds. Prevailing Weather. M»xi. mum. Mini- muB. Mean. Mui. mum. Mini. UUIll* Mean. Direction. Vt'locit; 1 ^2 +m +3S.SO 31.12 iiichefl. 29.44 iiiclion. 20.36 frK'heit. 29.403 East. Strong 'squally and rain 2 ■< 31 28 20.71 31.08 29.03 29.48 29.502 East fresh squally and snow 3 1 ■1 38 19 25.00 30.08 29.83 20.59 29.720 NK fresh ditto and ditto 4 : 23 17 19.2J 28.08 29.82 29.80 29.807 NbE modt. fine 6 3 18 14 16.12 28.00 29.87 29.72 29.788 NbW fresh fine « ao 11 15.37 27.92 29.93 29.80 29.895 N\W light fine and clear 7' 16 10' 13.12 27.75 29.09 29.90 2!;.93J NNE modt. hazy and snow 1 8 , 15 8.04 30.07 20.02 30.018 N\F. liRht fine and clear 9' 23 7 18.12 29.83 29.50 29.677 SW fresh cloudy 10 22 11.17 29. M 29.51 29.050 NbE modt. cloudy and snow 11 6 - 2 2.07 29 89 29. SO 20.848 NbE modt. fine and clear 12 ' 12 9 0.02 29. »l 29.74 20.797 NbW light hazy and snow 13 IS + 3 10.33 20.91 20.77 20.835 NbE modt. cloudy 14 11 - a 8.71 20.84 20.77 20.707 NbW modt. fine and clear 15 10 a 6.42 29.03 29.77 20.808 Nurth fresh cloudy 10 ! e^ 11 1 a. 17 SO. 14 80.05 30.110 NNW modt. cloudy " 1 ai + 5 18.07 20.04 20.40 29.700 SE modt. cloudy ; snow at times 18 23 14 18.03 29.40 29.20 20.272 SW light I'llin Jit liini'i ; cluud) 10 •1 14 5 0.S8 29.53 29.31 20.40S WNW frish fine. 20 ■1 taM -10 - 1.08 20.70 20.50 29.G30 NbW mudt. fine 21 ST 1 12 0.33 20.70 29.70 20.732 NW moUt. clll'J'Jj 22 1 _ 8 13 10.17 29. 9i) 29.70 29.893 NW modt. fine and clear 23 I + 5 S 0.25 30.01 29.99 30.010 NNW fresh cloudy and snow 24 6 8 + 0.48 30.13 29.00 30.073 AM. NhW"! I'M. JOSEj light clouily sri 23 4-5 10.42 2!). 73 29.. 15 29.r.22 SE strong; cloudy with drift 20 23} 22 22.00 29. 3H 20.:tO 29.333 ESE modt. cloudy 27 24 22 23.13 29.00 20. JO 29.18-.' rsE light cloudy 28 29 121 17.50 29.71 20.01 29.092 N.NE lishi cloudy 29 21} Iff 18.37 29.05 29.55 29.fl.no NbE Btronff cloudy 30 87 80 21.70 29.00 29.50 29. .WS Nbi: fresh cloudy with drift 31 27 2()i +22.07 29. W) 29,00 29.7(12 North light calms ; clouily and snow +321 -13 +12.51 29.15 .10. li 2*).20 29.723 N '4 132 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY II >: 1821. weather and considerable snow-drift. For several days about this period No vein. >^v^^ the weather continued remarkably mild, the thermometer generally rising as high as from 4-20° to +28° in the course of the day, from the 6th to the 16th, Most of our necessary arrangements for the security of the ships and stores during the winter being now completed, the people were employed in what they called " rigging the theatre," and on the evening of the 9th the officers performed the play of the " Rivals," to the infinite amusement of both ships' companies. Sun. 11. At two P.M. on the 11th, it now being the time of spring-tides, we ob- served a large crack in the ice near each of the ships, which on examination was found to extend a considerable distance outside of them. As it appeared very probable that a complete separation might take place, in which case the ships would have been drifted out of the bay, several fresh hawsers were run Mon. 12. out a-head and attached to the grounded masses. On the following day, in order to obtain all the security in our power, some anchors and a bower- cable were run out and fixed on the beach. This precaution soon appeared no more than necessary, as half an hour before midnight the ice astern set outwards, leaving a little canal eight inches wide at the crack made the preceding day. By this disruption the ships were disengaged in part from the ice to which their sides were attached, and came a little astern ; but for- tunately nothing occurred to cause farther apprehension. Tues. 13. On the 13th the Hccla was secured to the shore in the same manner as the Fury. Although the wind was from the south-east the day was beautifully clear, which was the more striking as we had lately experienced a great deal of overcast weather with northerly winds. About the time of sunset this evening the sky presented a most brilliant appearance, the part next the horizon for one or two degrees being tinged of a bright red, above which Wits a soft light blue, passing by an imperceptible gradation into a delicate greenish hue. Wed. 14. It being desirable occasionally to register a thermometer at a distance from the influence of the ships, in order to compare it with the indications of that in common use on board, a post was set up on the ice, and two correspond- ing spirit-thennometers * selected for that purpose. The difference observed between them will be noticed hereafter. winter in tlieso regions. Tlu> kind of weather here alluded to is usually expressed in the Loga and Meti-orologicttl .ToiirnalM by the general term " hazy." * In nmking this ^«election, we found, on coniimring ten tlierniometer^, (of whieh three OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 133 I On the 17th several broad lanes of water were open in the offing, and the jjjjg^,, ice as usual in rapid motion on the eastern and south-eastern sides of the ,y'v;y 1 Sat 17 islrnd. A number of dovekies were swimming about off the point, and three of them were killed by the Hcela's people, but the tide floated them away. On the 23d there were again several miles of clear water in the offing. This Frid. 23. always occurred to the greatest extent with a westerly breeze ; while the wind from the opposite quarter, or with any southing, invariably forced the ice close in with the shore. The frost smoke was to-day extremely dense, rising about a degree above the horizon, so as completely to obscure objects at that height, and at the distance of three or four miles. As the winter advanced this occurred to a greater extent, the cloud being more dense, and also rising higher whenever there was any open water in the offing. It proved a considerable inconvenience to Mr. Fisher in the course of his ob- servations in the winter, utterly precluding on most clear nights, which seldom happened but with a westerly wind, his obtaining a sight of low stars for the purpose of ascertiiining the refraction at small altitudes. This evening the officers performed the two farces of " Raising the Wind," and the " Mock Doctor," for the amusement of the ships' companies. The following meteorological phenomena are all that occurred worthy of notice during the month of November, in addition to those already men- tioned : At nine A.M. on the 5th a parhelion appeared on each side of the sxi^^, but very faint, and tinged only in a slight degree with the [)rismatic colours. At thirty minutes past nine A.M. on the 15tli, the weather being rather cloudy, and a light breeze blowing from the southward, the electro- meter wi\s tried, and again at nine P.M. on the lOth, at which time the Aurora Borealis, consisting of a stationary white light near the horizon, wa* visible in the S.b.E. quarter of the heavens, but in neither case was the gold- leaf in the slightest degree affiicted. From ten A.M. till two P.M. on the 17th a halo appeared round the sun, its radius being 22° 40'. At eight in the evening the Aurora Borealis was seen, consisting of a stationary light occupying a very small portion of the heavens in the S.E.b.E. quarter, and close to the horizon, from which at times vivid flashes shot across the zenith nearly to the opposite horizon. were mercurial, and seven of alcohol) n difference of no less than 7^° between them, their indications ranging between —22.5° and — iJO". Two which indicated the mean of the whole were taken for use. At higher temperatures tlie difl'crcuce ^^ as found to bo very inconsiderahlc. ' ,1' •^! i I h !( ' rr i'\ ABSTRACT of the METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL kept on board His Majesty's Ship 'li ^ ,,, -, , Fury , at Winter Island, during the Month of November, 1821. ... Day 1 Fahrenheit's Ther- mometer. Mean Tempe- rature uf Lower Deck. Barometer. Prevailing Winds. Prevailing Weather. Maxl- iiiiiiii. Milll- niuu. Menn. Maxi- mum. Mini- mum. Mean, Dircctlcn. Velocity ^ii +f9 o ■1-20.25 o 64.7 inclip* 29.81 illCllCH illClll'8 29.6029.757 North light cloudy and snow 2 21 - S 13.08 60.0 29.54 29.3120.446 North strong cloudy and snow 3 - 8 14J -11.96 62.6 29.60 29.2829.442 NNW fresh squally and drift 4 + 2 8 1.71 66.6 30.12 29.7329.932 WNW modt. fine 5 13 1 -H.33 65.0 30.18 30.09J80.152 N\V light cloudy C 22 +13 18.33 66.0 30.01 29.90 29.942 EbN fresh cloudy 7 22 19 20.07 69.5 29.90 20.70 29.830 NEbE modt. cloudy 8 20 10 18.00 63.0 29.91 29.81 29.837 NbE modt. cloudy 9 IG 15 15.08 Gl.2 29.95 29.8129.803 NbE modt. cloudy 10 20 14 10.04 65.2 30.12 29.9030.017 NNE ,modt. cloudy U 28 15 21.90 70.3 30.01 29.88 29.930 NE strong hazy and considerable drift 12 28 201 27.!50 64.2 i 29.88 29.86 29.8C8 East modt. hazy 13 25 10 21.79 67.2 29.95 29.88 29.912 SE modt. cloudy 14 21 18 20.71 70.2 SO. 10 29.93 30.087 SW modt. cloudy IS 2G 22 24.60 70.0 30.19 30.17 30.182 South light cloudy 16 21 2J 9.12 70.6 30.16 30.13 30.143 North modt. cloudy 17 2 - 1 0.71 67.0 30.25 30.10 30.185 North light line 18 S + 1 3.8S 67.7 30.23 30.19 30.215 NNE light fine 19 S 6. SO 65.0 30.10 30.06 30.087 NNE modt. cloudy 20 IS 10.17 6:. 3 30.25 30.10 30.135 North light cloudy and snow 21 13 6 0.00 66.5 30.40 30.27 30.337 NNE light& calm cloudy - 22 13 4 7.37 67.0 30.40 30.32 30.343 West modt. cloudy 23 H -1^ -3.25 65.7 30.30 30.20 30.287 NW light cloudy 24 - 3 13 7.48 67.0 30.27 29.98 30.087 NW light cloudy 25 + a§ 3 -1-0.08 67.5 29.98 29.85 29.92C SW light cloudy 2C 3 17 -5.04 67.0 29. SC 29.82 29.835 NNW modt. cloudy 27 -10 10 17.42 64.5 30.00 29.87 29.933 NW strong fine and clear 2s 7 20 15. OH 07.0 30.15 30.00"10.078 NW fresh fine .tnd clear 29 + 5 5 -f-0.33 61.7 30.08 29.7029.960 West strong cloudy 30 11 8 4.92 64.0 29.74 29.03 29.078 A\e8t strong , cloudy -1-28 20 +7.75 00.1 :to. in 29.28 29.!W:i ' % '4 1 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. 135 After ten P.M. the stationary light shifted more to the soutliward, and then ^}^'^^\ Nov6niD» gradually disappeared. At ten P.M. on the 18th this phenomenon assumed a similar appearance in the S.b.W. quarter. On the evening of the 23d the Aurora Borealis made its appearance in the N.W., vivid coruscations shoot- ing at times across the zenith to the opposite horizon. The gold leaf of the electrometer was not perceptibly affected by it. On the morning of the "24th it was again faintly seen in irregular streams of white light, extending from the western horizon to the zenith: for several hours the same night also this extraordinary phenomenon was visible from the south-east round by south to west, being principally confined to a space about five degrees above the horizon. The magnetic needle, which was attentively watched, was not at all attccted by any of these phenomena. On the 26th, both in the morning and evening, the Aurora again appeared from south-east to south- west, the brightest part being about ten degrees above the horizon, and with pencils of rays shooting upwards towards the zenith. In almost every instance it is observable that the light, however irregularly disposed in other respects, has a tendency to assume an arch-like form ; but I think a plane bisecting the arch would more generally have coincided with the true than the magnetic meridian, in the phenomena we had here an opportu- nity of observing. 'J'his was particularly the case on the morning of the 27th, when at six A.M. the Aurora formed one broad continuous and well-defined arch, its centre passing rather to the southward of the zenith, and its legs appearing to rest upon the horizon at east and west. For several hours on the evening of the 28th it was boen in the south-eiist, with rays darting ra- pidly up nearly as high as the zenith. There is almost always one stationary patch of light near the horizon, appearing, as it were, the source whence the shifting or variable part of the phenomenon proceeds. It will be seen from about this period how much more frequently the Aurora seemed to issue from the south-eastern quarter than from any other during the rest of the winter. On the 1st of December there was a space of many miles in which none of Decemb. the " old" ice was visible. The sea was here for the most part covered with ^"'" ^* a very thin sheet of " young" ice, probably the formation of a single day, since the westerly wind had driven the Hoes off the land. The whole of this wa.s in motion with the tide, which breaking the thin iloes left several spaces of clear water. It was observable that though a considerable frost-smoke arose from the young ice, it was not so dense as that from the clear water. iV 4: ;;l!«P m 'ii ! : Sun. 2. 136 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1821. Decemb. immediately over every pool of which a little thick cloud floated, correspond- ing as well in size as in situation with the pool from whence it issued. A number of dovckics were swimming about the point ; and it being desirable if possible to obtain some of them for the sake of ascertaining their plumage at this season, we hauled the small boat over and launched her. Mr. Ross succeeded in killing one of the birds which was preserved as a specimen, but it was with great difficulty that the boat avoided being carried away from the shore by tlie young ice. I was on this account afraid of repeating the attempt during the rest of the winter. One grouse was seen on shore ; it appeared entirely white, except having its tail black near the tip. I wiis this day under the necessity of closing in my stern dead-lights, and fixing the cork-shutters between the double window-frames of my cabin, the temperature having lately fallen rather low at night ; in consequence of which one of the chronometers (No. 369 of Arnold) had stopped on tlie 20th of November. We had before this time banked the snow up against the ships' sides ; but it was now thrown higher, and its thickness at the bottom increased to about four feet. Besides this a bed of snow, three feet deep, was subse- quently laid on the deck, over my cabin, and also on the forecastle over the sick- bay, to assist in retaining the warmth in those parts of the ship, an office which it seemed to perform very effectually. It was impossible, however, as the cold increased, to keep up a tolerably comfortable temperature in the cabin, if the fire was .suftered to go out for several hours : for instance, the night after the above arrangements had been made, the fire was out for only six hours; and the consequence was, that the thermometer foil to 27°, and covdd be got no higher the following day, in the after part of the cabin, though only nine feet from the stove, than 33°. This was indeed a most inclement day, the temperature of the atmosphere having for the first time fallen to — ■ 27°, accompanied by a fresh wind from the northward and westward. At six in the evening of the .5th there was a halo round the moon, with a confused appearance of a paraselcr\a on the lower part of it. This halo, as I have often observed with others, had the appearance of being oval, the vertical diameter seeming to be the longest; but on measuring them with a sextant the deception became evident. From six till ten P.M. on the 11th, a halo appeared about the moon, with three paraselen», two at the sides and one above it. This halo varied in its degree of clearness as the haziness of the atmosphere became greater or less, and was spmetimes a little tinged with colour. A more rare phenomenon OF A NORTHWEST PASSAGE. J 37 1821. than this was noticed at seven A.M. on the 20th, by the officer of the watch, Oecemb. namely, that the moon in rising had assumed the appearance of two. On hearing this I went on deck, and saw an inverted image of the moon below and nearly touching that luminary, which was about half a degree high at- the time, thus : i :V \ .is; Mr. Scallon told me that the image had at first been as distinct as the moon itself, and it was nearly so when I saw it. This phenomenon continued about five minutes, the barometer being 29.48, and the thermometer 20°, with very clear weather at the time. A white hare was seen on shore on the 5th, as were two or three others in tlie course of the winter. It is difficult to conceive how these animals find subsistence while the snow lies deep on the ground, unless indeed they become in a certain degree torpid during the winter. At Melville Island, where in the summer they were found in considerable numbers, we never saw one, nor even the track of one, before the month of June. The wind freshened from the S.E. at night, and blew a gale from thatThur. 6. quarter all the following day, the thermometer keeping up to about zero as usual, with the wind in that direction. At the time of sunset, this afteiaori, and for half an hour afterwards, Mon. 10. tlie sky exhibited a beautiful red colour near the southern horizon, and a soft rich purple to the northward. A great deal of clear water was observed in the offing, and at night, a dark water sky hung over it. This appearance was darker, and served better to define the exact ex- tent of the open water during the winter nights than I ever saw it under any other circumstances, probably in consequence of the uninterrupted whiteness of every other object. The cold increased to— 27° once more at midnight on the 10th, as indicated by the thermometer on the ice, but the ships continued warm and comfortable. A register-thermometer kept near the chronometers in the book-cases of the cabin indicated in general a T M 138 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY ■1 (■ I it:; Mf !, ffl ■,! i;i Tues. 11. 5' I 1821. jf^nii^i^ffi temperature of 50° to 53°, and frequently during the day was as high as 60°. The temperature of the lower deck at midnight was usually about 50°, without any other fire than that in the warming apparatus. On the 11th, the wind being northerly and the weather tolerably clear, stars of tlic third magnitude were visible to the naked eye, as late as forty minutes past eight apparent time, those of the second magnitude till a quarter past nine, and of the first till ten o'clock ; after which the sky became rather overcast. This may serve to give some idea of the degree of light at this period. The twilight was of course of long duration, and the redness pro- duced by the sun's rays was sometimes very plainly visible for more than three hours after his setting. The temperature of the sea-water in the fire-hole was 29° and, by the same thermometer, that at the bottom in six fathoms and a half was 30°, The de- position of small snow, which I have remarked as almost always going on in these regions in the winter, took place this evening in occasional showers, so thick as to oblige us to cover the instruments with which we were observing, though the stars were plainly visible all the time, and the night was in every other respect what would generally be called clear. A great squeezing of the young floes took place at the S.E. point of the Wed. 12. island on the 12th. The noise it makes when heard at a distance very much resembles that of a heavy waggon labouring over a deep gravelly road ; but when a nearer approach is made, it is more like the growling of wild ani- mals, for which it was in one or two instances mistaken. It was however rather useful than otherwise to encourage the belief that bears were abroad, as, without some such idea, people are apt to become careless about going armed. On the 13th, the thermometer fell to —31° on the ice, being the greatest degree of cold we had as yet experienced. There was, notwithstanding this, a great deal of open water in the offing, covered only by a very slight sheet of young ice. A favourite walk with the officers during the winter was round the S.E. point, where there was in consequence a hard and beaten path uj)on the snow. The rapid tide which ran here, always kept the point clear of ice, whenever there was any open water at all ; and accustomed as we had before been in the winter to a sea perfectly frozen up, it can scarcely be conceived Avhat a relief it Avas to the tedious monotony of our situation, to see water naturally in a fluid state and in motion, with birds swimming about in it, even at this inclement season of the year. Thur.13, i # "/ l^i: OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 139 The thermometer rising to — 5° in the course of the 17th, the weather ap- j,^^^^; peared warm to our feelings. It proved favourable also for another play v,*%"%^ which had been fixed for this night, and the " Poor Gentleman" was per- ^ formed by the officers in so admirable and feeling a manner as to excite un- common interest among the men, and to convince me more than ever of the utility of our theatrical amusements. The 18th was a remarkably clear day Tues. 18. without any of that cloudiness which usually hung about the southern hori- zon. The sun was therefore clearly visible at noon, when such was its oval shape that its horizontal diameter exceeded the vertical by 4'.07". We had light in the cabin for reading and writing for three hours and a quarter with- out candles, and about five hours for convenient walking. We had about this time occasion to notice, that ever since our arrival in the bay, a gradual, though sloAV, alteration had been taking place in the size of the numerous grounded masses of ice in-shore, occasioned by every tide leaving a thin additional coat all round the surface of each ; so that by this time, only a narrow passage could be found between some of them, where at first there had been a large space. In the course of the winter, also, a number of them were split and upset by the great rise of tide, which, to- gether with the cracking of the floe, and the occasional overflowing of the water upon it near tlie beach, made the landing extremely bad. This in- convenience was particularly felt by Mr. Fisher, whose various avocations led him most on shore during the hours of darkness. On the 21st, it blew strong from the N.W., with clear weather overhead, Frid. 21. and some snow-drift below. We remarked, however, that the snow was still much less minute than at Melville Island, and therefore less easily raised by the wind into drift. The peculiarity before remarked of its adhering to the masts and rigging still continued also. I had three hours' daylight for writing in the cabin this day, the light being admitted only by the sky-light, and the weather unfavourable on account of the snow-drift. The shortest day had now passed, and all that could be remarked upon it was, that nobody seemed to consider it a matter of much interest one way or the other. On the former occasion, when novelty combined with the peculia- rity of our situation to give it more imiDortance, it seemed to constitute a sort of era in our winter's calendar and excited a more than ordinary sensation in our minds. The case was now very different ; our wintering was no longer an experiment, our comforts were greatly increased, and the prospect of an early release from the ice as favourable as could be desired. Under these t u :'!' I { 140 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1821. Decemb. circumstances, it may easily be imagined how light the winter sat upon us, and with what comparative indifference we now regarded the passing of the shortest day. Mon. 24. On the evening of the :^4th, being Christmas-eve, the ship's companies were amused by the officers performing the two farces of " A Roland for an Tues. 25. Oliver," and the " Mayor of Garratt." On Christmas-day, divine service on board the Fury was attended by the officers and crews of both ships. A certain increase was also made in the allowance of provisions, to enable tlie people to partake of Christmas festivities to the utmost extent which our situation and means would allow ; and the day was marked by the most cheerful hilarity, accompanied by the utmost regularity and good order. Among the luxuries which our Christmas dinner afforded was that of a joint of English roast beef, of which a few quarters had been preserved for such occasions, by rubbing the outside with salt, and hanging it on deck covered with canvass. The low latitude in which our last summer's navigation was performed would have rendered its preservation doubtful without the salt. Considering it interesting to try whether any difference could be detected in the rate at which sound travels at low temperatures, as compared with that usually assigned to it, we commenced a series of experiments for that purpose, by measuring a base completely across the ice in the bay, and noting by a chronometer the interval between the flash and report of a six-pounder gun fired several times at the extremity of it. An account of these experiments will be given in its proper place. Sun. 30. For the last two days with the thermometer on the ice indicating a tem- perature of — 27" to — 30°, that of the Fury's lower deck continued from 61 to 64°, affording a convincing proof of the efficacy of our warming apparatus. To assist in preventing the escape of warm air, and the consequent conden- sation of the vapour near the ladder-hatchways, which must unavoidably be frequently opened during the day, screens had been in the early part of the winter fixed round the lower part of them, and this plan will I believe be always found necessary under similar circumstances. In spite of every pre- caution however, the immediate neighbourhood of the ladders must always be colder than the rest of the deck, owing to the rush of cold air which in- variabiy takes place on the opening of the doors. I may here take the op- portunity of remarking, that the construction of a ship appears in one respect unfavourable for preventing the escape of the v/arm air generated by the fires, and the admission of cold from the external atmosphere. I allude to all the i ■i OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 141 openings of a ship's inhabited deck into the open air, occurring/rom above, ^^^l. so that besides the tendency to restore an equilibrium occasioned by the rarefaction of the air below, that operation must be much assisted by the comparative specific gravities of the two atmospheres ; the warm by its lightness, constantly struggling to ascend through every open crevice, and the cold by its weight, as incessantly forcing itself downwards. A considera- tion of this circumstance will perhaps set in a still stronger light the value of placing cork or some other slow conductor of heat, as a lining for the deck above, while it also points out the necessity of stopping up as far as practi- cable every hole and cranny communicating with the cold superincumbent atmosphere. On the same account there can be little doubt that, at every opening of our hatchway-doors during the winter, a larger volume of warm air rushed out than would have escaped by a door of equal size, placed below, or on a level with the inhabited deck *, The sea presented to-day a large open space to the south-eastward, but the temperature of the atmosphere being low it was almost entirely coated with a sheet of young ice. In some clear pools near the point a single flock of more than fifty dovekies were swimming about, besides other smaller ones. While continuing the experiments on sound this evening, Mr. Fisher and myself remarked that Sirius, which was nearly on the meridian at the time, exhibited the most beautiful violet and blue colours that can be imagined. The violet was to the westward, which was the direction in which the moon was, and the Aurora was playing about at the time. 1 thought I had never before seen any thing ho brilliant ; the play of prismatic colours in a cut diamond comes the nearest to it. The concluding month of this year presented more frequent as well as more brilliant displays of the Aurora Uorealis than we had noticed at an earlier period of the winter. On the evening of the 2d, we observed it constantly appearing, from five till ten o'clock, in one quarter of the heavens or another, but entirely confined to the southern side of the zenith. It consisted sometimes of luminous blotches or small clouds, at others of coruscations shooting upwards, and a stationary light always perceptible near the horizon from S.S.E. to S.W. The light was white or yellowish white, and the compass was not affected. On the evening of the 3d, it ♦ The passage to an Esquimaux hut is in this respect better placed than our doors ; for, being rather below the level of the apartment, the warm air constantly floats above it in the dome of the hut, having no outlet but through the materials of which it is constructed. \U.: )> ill 142 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY I ^'it^V' II ■; "i !i 1 tj. 18.1. j^igjj appeared m little white spots, rcscmblint; the nebula: m the heavens, Decemb. ^ '^ , , .,i i • i ^ t as viewed by a telescope, or the milky-way on a very clear night. 1 may here remark by the way, that this last beautiful feature of the heavens very seldom appeared here, for, notwithstanding the notion generally entertained of the extreme clearness of the atmosphere under a polar sky, we have always found the very reverse to be the fact. It is true, indeed, that with a nor- therly or westerly wind, the sky was generally what would be called clear ; but there is scarcely one night in twenty when the heavenly Iwdies, if viewed through a telescope, do not appear surrounded with more or less haze. In- deed, it very seldom happens that a considerable dei)osition of minute snow may not be observed to take place, even in the clearest nights in these regions. While making lunar observations on the evening of the 4th, Mr. Ross and myself remarked a meteor falling from tue S.E. to N.VV^., being about 40" high when it disapi eared. It fell so slowly as to be visible for four or five seconds, but was in every other respect like the falling stars, as they are called, seen in other parts of the world. At eleven P.M. the Aurora was seen forming an arch, about 5° high in the centre, and ex- tending from S.S.W. to S,E. The magnetic needle cf Alexander's coinpasa was not perceptibly allected during its continuance. At half-past two P.M., on the 5th, the wind being light from the E.S.E., and the atmosphere not very clear, though free from clouds, the electrometer was tried, but without cflect, the gold leaf not being in the least degree excited. On the al'teruoon of the 14th, the Aurora began to shew itself as soon as it was dark, consisting principally of rays shooting up from the horizon in the E.b.N. towards the zenith, and sometimes passing through but very little beyond it, towards the opposite side of the heavens. Just before ten o'clock, however, a much finer display of this phenomenon presented itself than we had ye( seen this season. There still remained a place near the horizon at E.b.N., whence a bright light seemed constantly to issue, and if any part of the phenomenon could be said to continue uniformly the same, it was the leg of a broadish arch in that point, which scarcely ever changed its place, or the intensity of its light. The arch was at times completed, or thrown over to the W.S.W., being 15" high in the centre, and generally about '2° broad, though in this respect it was irregular and somewhat vari- able. The lower jmrt of the arch was always well defined, the space under it appearing dark, as if a black cloud had been there, which, however, was not the case, as we saw the stars in it uuobs.cured except by the light of the i'i* OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 143 Aurora. The upper side of the arch was never well defined; but itslij^ht '^^i. was gradually softened off, so as to mingle witli the azure of the sky, and often sent up coruscations towards the zenith. Thus far description may give some faint idea of this brilliant and extra- ordinary phenomenon, because its figure here maintained some degree of regularity ; but during the most splendid part of its continuance, it is, I believe, almost impossible to convey to the minds of others an adccjuate con- ception of the truth. It is with much diflcrence, therefore, that I offer the following description, the only recommendation of which perhaps is, that it was written immediately after witnessing this magniliccnt display. Innumerable s( reams or bands of white and yellowish light appeared to occupy the greater part of the heavens to the southward of the zonitli, being much the brightest in the S.E. and E.S.E., from whence it had indeed often the appearance of emanating. Some of these streams of light were in right lines like rays, others crooked and waving !n all sorts of irregular figures, and moving with inconceivable rapidity in various directions. Among these might freciuently be observed those shorter collections or bundles of rays, which, moving with even greater veh>city than the rest, have acquired tlie name of the "merry dancers," which, if I understand aright the descriptions given of them by others, I do not think I ever saw before. In a short time the Aurora extended itself over the zenith, about half-way down to the northern horizon but no farther, as if there was something in that (piarter of the heavens which it did not dare to approach. About this time, how- ever, some long streamers shot up from the horizon in the N.W. Avhicli soon disappeared. While the light extended over part of the northern heavens, there were a niunbcr of rays assuming a circular or radiated form near the zenith, and appearing to have a common centre near that i)oint, from which they all diverged. The light of which these were composed appeared to have inconceivably rapid motion in itself, though the form it assumed and the station it occupied irt' the heavtns underwent little or no change for perhaps u minute or more. Suppose, for instance, a stream of light to have occupied a 8|)ace between any two of the stars, by which its i)osition rould \ui accurately noticed, the light appeared to pass constantly and instanta- neously from one to tlio other, as if, when a iK»rtion of the subtle fluid of which it is composed had made its escmpc and vanished at the end next oju? of the BWirs, a fresh supply Was uninterruptedly furnishe«l at thy other. This effect is n common one with the Aurora, and puts one in mind, iw far I \ 144 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1321. Decemb. l! I as its motion alone is concerned, of a person holding a long ribbon by one end, and giving it an undulatory motion through its whole length, though its general position remains the same. One of the most striking of the various locomotive properties of the Aurora is that which it often has laterally, by which I mean in the direction perpendicular to its length. This motion, compared with the other, is usually slow, though still very rapid in the " merry dancers," which seem to observe no law with regard to the rest of the pheno- menon. When the streams or bands were crooked, the convolutions took place indifferently in all directions. The Aurora did not continue long to the north of the zenith, but remained as high as that point for more than an hour ; after which on the moon rising, it became more and more faint, and at half- past eleven was no longer visible. The colour of the light was most frequently yellowish-white, sometimes greenish, and once or twice a lilac tinge was remarked, when several strata, as it were, appeared to overlay each other, by very rapidly meeting, in which case the light was always increased in intensity. The electrometer was tried several times, and two of Katcr's compasses exposed upon the the ice, during the continuance of this Aurora, but neither was percep- tibly affected by it. We listened attentively for any noise which might accompany it, but could hear none, but it was too cold to keep the cars uncovered very long at one time The intensity of the light was some- thing greater than that of the moon in her quarters. Of its dimming the stars there cannot, I think, be a doubt. We remarked it to be, in this respect, like drawing a gauze veil over the heavens in that part, the veil being most thick, when two of the luminous sheets met and overlapped. The phenomenon had all the appearance of being full as near as many of the clouds commonly seen, but tlicre were none of the latter to compare them with at the time. 1 may in conclusion remark that, notwithstanding the variety and changeablcncss displayed by this Aurora, there was throughout a perceptible inclination in the various parts of it to form an irregular arch from E.b.N. over to S.V/.b.W. From seven till ten P.M., on the 20th, while engaged in making observa- tions upon the ice, we observed the Aurora almost constantly appear- ing, though varying in its form and situation. It commenced with a number of vertical coruscations from the S.E., south, and N.W. horizons, darting nearly as high as the zenith. This being discontinued after half an hour, the leg of an arch apjicarcd at E.S.E., inclining towards the south, OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 145 which remained nearly unaltered for three quarters of an hour, its light being 1821. of a yellow cast and remarkably brilliant. After this an arch was gradually formed by the light extending over to W.N.W., the brightest portion of it being still that in the eastern quarter. The arch was irregular and some- times not continuous, but divided into a number of luminous patches like nhula. We also noticed, and now remembered to have done so once before, that there were in some places narrow but long horizontal separations of the light, appearing like so many dark parallel streaks lying over it, which, how- ever, they were not, as the stars were here most plainly visible. The mag- netic needle was not affected. This night was one of the clearest we had during the winter, the milky -way appearing unusually bright and well-defined. On the 22d, the electrometer was tried, the wind being light from the N. W,, with overcast weather, and some very small snow falling; but no perceptible effect was produced upon the gold leaf. In the evening, the Aurora appeared, like a white cloud in the E.S.E. At half-past nine, an irregular arch extended from that point of the horizon to the S.W., the breadth being from one to two degrees, though constantly varying, and its height in the middle ten degrees. When this kind of arch aj)pears most perfect, it is less frequently than any other kind attended with coruscations, or very rapid motion in the light. When these do accompany it, they are almost invariably observed to proceed from the upper side of the arch only. In the evening of the 23d, though the wind was from the N.W., a number of small roundish clouds, very unusual here at this season, rose from the S.E., and the sky was very prettily illuminated in the intervals by the Aurora. These clouds remaining quite dark in their appearance, ex- cept about their edges, even during the most brilliant display of the Aurora, seemed to indicate that the latter phenomenon was the most distant of the two. The light of the Aurora was, as usual, iniicli the brightest in the S.E. quarter. This phenomenon again made its appearance very beautifully, on the 24th, resembling, in most particulars, that described on the 14th. It was principally confined to the southern half of the heavens, and the different streamers and coruscations, though almost infinitely varied, had an evident tendency to arch from E.b.S. over to the opposite horizon. The " merry dancers " were also playing about with indescrihable rapidity, and many of the sheets of light, when they overlapped in meeting, had a very perceptible lilac tinge. ' On the morning of the 28th, the Aurora Borealis appeared faintly to the ..■ IP] !i '«»'•,: i:l'': m 146 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1821. westward, from 4 to 6 o'clock. Early on the following morning, it was ob- ^^^^- served to form an areli of very bright light from S.E. to S.S.W., its centre being 30° high. In its general form it was quite stationary, as indeed the more perfect arches usually are, but varied occasionally in the intensity of the light, and also in its continuity. From the time that the daylight began to leave the heavens in the afternoon, the Aurora again appeared, commencing in the S. E. b. E. with very long coruscations or streamers, which afterwards shot past the zenith over to the N.W. At 9 o'clock, the light had become concentrated into a low arch, 4° high in the centre, well defined at the lower edge, but not so at the upper. The legs were at first situated in the E.S.E. and S.W.b.W. quarters, but the former gradually shifted about two points more to the south. At one time in the evening, and before the phenomenon had assumed the more regular arch-like form above-mentioned, we observed for the space of a few minutes together the same radiated appearance about the zenith as that described on the I4th. \ \ This changed pretty suddenly into an irregularly circular band of light, like a ribbon, thus : or and then again returned to the radiated form, but neither of these appear- ances continued very long. There was a great deal of the lilac tint observ- able this evening, and the effect of the sheets of light in obscuring the stars was again too evident to admit a doubt. The frequency and ill success with which we had tried the electrometer made us almost despair of ever detecting any electricity in the atmosphere, but on the evening of the 13lii the chain being observed to tremble very much, we thought the motion might have been occasioned by this cause. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 147 On applying the electrometer, however, the gold leaf was not in the slightest Decemb degree affected. We aiierwards found it to have arisen from the wind acting upon the plank at the mast-head in a certain angle, the same effect being once or twice afterwards produced with a breeze in the same direction. On the arrival of the last day of the year, it was impossible not to expe- rience very high gratification in observing the excellent health and spirits enjoyed by almost every officer and man in both ships. The only invalid in. the Expedition was Reid, our carpenter's mate, and even he was at this period so much improved, that very sanguine hopes were entertained of his continued amendment. In consequence of the effectual manner in which the men were clothed, particularly about the feet, not a single frost-bite had occurred that required medical assistance even for a day, and, what was more important to us, not a scorbutic symptom had appeared. To increase our ordinary issue of anti-scorbutics, liberal as it already was, we had from the commencement of the winter adopted a regular system of growing mustard and cress, which the superior warmth of the ships now enabled us to do on a larger scale than before. Each mess, both of the offi- cers and ships' company, was for this purpose furnished with a shallow box filled with mould, in which a crop could generally be raised in from eight or ten days. The quantity thus procured on board the Fury now amounted to above fifty pounds' weight, and before the arrival of spring to nearly one hundred pounds ; and, trifling as such a supply may appear to those who are in the habit of being more abundantly furnished, it will not be considered to have been without its use, when it is remembered how complete a specific for the scurvy /rc«/i vegetable substance has invariably proved. In consideration of the salads thus raised, Mr. Edwards recommended our re- serving the cranberries intended to have been issued during a part of this winter, until circumstances might render them more essentially requisite to the health of the ships' companies. This arrangement was accordingly adopted and the event fully justified its propriety. With respect to the occupations which engaged our time during this season of unavoidable inactivity, I can add little or nothing to my former account of the manner in which we passed the winter at Melville Island ; for the two situations were so nearly similar, and our resources necessarily so limited in this way, that it was not easy to produce much variety in the employment of them. It may be imagined, and was indeed anticipated by ourselves, that want of novelty was on the present occasion a disadvantage u s I '■•:) i i! I •^. f f il \\ i 148 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. 1821. lil^ely to render our confinement more tedious than before ; but this by no * means appeared to be the case : for the men sufficient employment may always be found to" prevent the possibility of their being idle ; and I have already noticed the auxiliaries, to which we had recourse to assist in pro- moting this end ; while most officers have resources within themselves, of which scarcely any situation or circumstances can divest them. What with reading, writing, making and calculating observations, observing the various natural phenomena, and taking the exercise necessary to preserve our health, nobody I believe ever felt any symptoms of ennui during our conti- nuance in winter quarters. Among the recreations which affi)rded the highest gratification to several among us, I may mention the musical parties we were enabled to muster, and which assembled on stated evenings throughout the winter, alternately in Captain Lyon's cabin and my own. More skilful amateurs in music might well have smiled at these our humble concerts ;- but it will not incline them to think less of the science they admire to be assured that, in these remote and desolate regions of the globe, it has often furnished us with the most pleasurable sensations which our situation was capable of affijrding: for independently of the mere gratification afforded to the ear by music, there is perhaps scarcely a person in the world really fond of it, in whose mind its sound is not more or less connected with " his far-distant home." There are always some remembrances which render them inseparable, and those associations are not to be despised which, while we are engaged in the per- formance of our duty, can still occasionally transport us into the social circle of our friends at home, in spite of the oceans that roll between us. With our time thus occupied, our comforts so abundant, and the prospect to sea-ward so enlivening, it would indeed have been our own faults, had we felt any thing but enjoyment in our present state, and the most lively hopes and expectations for the future. .« i -4 ♦ ABSTRACT of the METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL kept on board His Majesty's Ship Fury, at Winter Island, during the Month of December, 1821. . — J Fahrenheit's Ther- uometer. L Tempe- ure ot T Deck. Barometer. Prevailing Winds. Prevailing Weather. Day 1 M»i- ■nun. Mmh. M»i. mum. Mini- mum. Mem. Direction. Velwilr. -& O -10 -17.64 o 61.7 iacfae* 29.81 inclui 29.71 29.773 NNW Ught fine and clear 2 19 27 23.67 61.6 29.02 29.80 20.863 NNW modt. fine and clear 3 24 20 26.83 60.6 30.00 20.90 20.046 NW modt. fine and clear 4 14 22 17.67 59.2 30.01 29.96 20.090 NW modt. fine and clear 6 1 17 6.76 62.0 20.00 29.74 20.843 SE light fine + 1 I + 0.33 62.6 20.82 29.74 29.777 S£ fresh cloudy 7 2 1 0.33 Gl.O 2!). SO 29.83 20.876 ES£ light cloudy 8 2 10 -4.25 61.0 29.82 29.70 20.775 North light fin* -10 20 16.33 60.2 20.70 29.66 20.683 NW light fine 10 14 24 17.50 68.6 20.66 29.60 20.610 NW modt. cloudy U 18 22 20.60 55.5 20.77 29.62 20.708 NNW light fine 12 18 21 t0.2l 63.4 20.82 29.02 20.745 North light floe 13 18 25 22.26 64.6 30.03 20.86 20.953 NW light fine 14 24 27 25.60 55.1 30.12 30.05 30.092 NW light fine 15 13 24 18.33 63.7 30.11 29.80 29.953 WNW fresh cloudy 16 13 11.12 63.3 20.70 20.60 29.637 WNW modt. cloudy and drill IT S 16 8.42 65.4 20.50 29.10 29.285 SE fresh cloudy 18 5 18 10.68 68.7 20.6S 20.34 29.525 North light AM 10 7 18 13.00 68.2 29.62 ■J0.45 20.403 NW From SIroDg lu Liglil. cloudy 80 2 16} 9.00 60.3 29.90 20.60 29.728 North light fine 21 6 14 11.33 60.1 29.91 29.76 20.853 NNW fresh cloudy 22 9 10 4.67 60.6 29.68 20.40 20.487 NW light , cloudy and snow 23 1 8 4.00 63.5 29.72 20.4U 20.587 NW light cloudy 24 6 3.67 66.4 29.80 20.70 29.702 NW modt. cloudy 26 + a 3 +1.00 61.8 29.61 20.37 29.470 ssw fresh cloudy with drift 26 2 3 -1.08 (12.6 29.46 20.27 29.338 SE fresh cloudy with drift 27 -2 11 6.00 03.4 20.72 29.40 29.678 NNE light fioa. 28 8 21 16.79 65.26 30.06 20.72 29.912 North modt. (> ''■'pp i ',' 1 p ' 4 • • II Iff? n =1; I' I Mi '■■ 111 it If .T r m \m WO SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY CHAPTER VII. • ■. .. -. , * • 'i i.. , MANY FOXES CAUGHT — CONTINUED OPEN WATER IN THE OFFING — ^PARTIAL DISRUP- TION OF THE ICE IN THE BAY — METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA AND TEMPERATURE OF ANIMALS ARRIVAL OF A TRIBE OP ESQUIMAUX FIRST MEETING AND SUBSE- QUENT INTERCOURSE WITH THEM ESQUIMAUX IN WANT OF PROVISIONS — SUPPLIED WITH BREAD-DUST — SOME ACCOUNT OP A SEALING EXCURSION WITH THEM— FRESH DISRUPTION OF THE ICE IN THE BAY CLOSING OP THE WINTER THEATRE — ME- TEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA TILL THE END OF FEBRUARY 1822. " 1822. The first day of the new year was a very severe one in the open air, the w#-y-iZ> thermometer being clown to — 22°, and the wind blowing strong from the ""' ■ north-west. The effect of a breeze upon the feelings is well known to every person, even in comparatively temperate climates, but at low temperatures it becomes painful and almost insupportable. Thus, with the thermometer at — 55°, and no wind stirring, the hands may remain uncovered for ten minutes or a quarter of an hour without inconvenience ; while with a fresh breeze and the thermometer nearly as high as zero, few people can keep them exposed so long without considerable pain. A high wind iilso had great effect in occasioning a general decrease of temperature in most parts of the ships, not by its gaining admission into the inhabited apartments, but by favouring the rapid abstraction of heat from without. Wed. 2. About noon on the 2d, Captain Lyon observed a considerable body of snow taken up by the wind and whirled round in a spiral form like that of a water-spout, though with us the breeze was quite light at the time. It increased gradually in size till lost behind the south-east point. As a proof of the difficulty which the hares must find in obtaining subsistence during the winter, these animals were at this time in the habit of coming alongside the ships upon the ice to jjick up what they could from our rubbish heaps. A fox or two still entered the traps occasionally, and our gentlemen in- formed mc that they had always been most successful in catching them after ? I OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 151 a southerly wind, which they attributed with great probability to the smell ^^22. of the ships being thus more extensively communicated over the island. »,#v>i" One or two of these poor creatures had been found in the traps with their tongues almost bitten in two. The traps made use of for catching these beau- tiful little animals were formed of a small cask, having a sliding door like that of a common mouse-trap, and were baited with oiled meat or blubber. The whole number caught during the Avinter was between eighty and ninety, of which more than seventy were taken before the end of December, In a single trap of Captain Lyon's, no less than fifteen were caught in the course of four hours, on the night of the 25th of November ; and the people en- gaged in watching the trap remarked that no sooner had one of these ani- mals been taken out, and they themselves retired a few yards, than ano- ther entered it. So stupid indeed are they in this respect that, in seve- ral instances, those which had escaped from the ships entered, and were re-caught in the same traps as before. Of a great number of foxes weighed by Captain Lyon during the winter, the average weight was eight pounds, but they varied from nine and a half to seven, and he observed that the males, though larger than the females, were not so fat. The fur of the whole of them when first caught was of the purest white, except in two or three individuals of a bluish colour, which appeared to be of a different species. The great variety of dis- positions displayed by those which were kept for taming was very re- markable, some being gentle and quiet from the time of their first coming on board, and others remaining wild and intractable in spite of every kindness and good treatment. Our dogs became familiar enough even to play with them ; but the foxes were, on their part, never entirely free from apprehension on this account. The noise they make when irritated is a weak half-stifled sort of bark, but they have also a more shrill and piercing cry when much frightened. Wlien placed with their houses upon the ice, they were constantly endeavouring to burrow in the snow within the circle of their chains, and one of them, where the snow lay deeper than usual, soon formed for himself a secure and sheltered apartment under it. When deprived of the means of doing this, they are far from being proof against the severity of the season, for two or three died on board the Fury entirely from this cause, though furnished with good kenncL. Of those Avhich were taken better care of, not one remained on board alive when we went to sea, the greater part having gradually wasted away, though well fed and ■ -'m )£'.; yit ii 152 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY hH 'i^ ;i- 1 f 1822. housed ; and the rest which were thrivine better made their escape to the January. ° * ««•^.^/ shore. We had hitherto found the thermometer on board stand from two to five degrees higher than that on the ice, owing to the warm atmosphere created Sat. 5. by the fires. On the 5th at noon, however, the difference amounted to 9°, that on board standing at — 22°, when the other indicated a temperature of — 31°. We did not know to what cause to attribute this, but two or three degrees may fairly be deducted on this account from the mean temperatures given in the Meteorological Abstract throughout the winter. Some port-wine, which was stowed in bins in the slop-room, having a week or two before been found partially frozen, a further examination took Sat. 12. place on the 12th, when two or three bottles were found broken, and the wine entirely frozen in thin lamina: not unlike the plates of white mica, and from one-eighth to two-eighths of an inch in thickness. White wine was frozen into one mass, retaining its colour and translucency, and assuming the appearance of very clear amber. The circumstance of our never having met with so much loss in this way, in the course of a much more severe winter at Melville Island, induced us to examine into the cause ; when we found it arose from a different stowage of the wine, which in the present instance had been allowed to come in contact with the ship's side, but had before been a foot or two removed from it. On the 13th we were no less surprised than gratified to see almost as much open water to the south-east and north-east of the island, as we had ever yet observed. It was covered indeed with a very thin coating of young ice, but a cloud of frost-smoke rose freely from it, which is never the case many hours after its formation. A floe of young ice, on which some of the officers had walked a day or two before to a considerable dis- tance from the shore, having now disappeared, I considered it prudent to direct, in addition to the general precautionary orders, that no person should in future venture outside of the grounded masses in the bay. An ermine, of which the tracks had been traced the preceding day up the Hecla's stern, and even on board her, Captain Lyon to-day succeeded in catching in a trap. This beautiful creature was entirely white, ex- cept a black brush to its tail, and a slight tinge of the usual sulphur or straw colour on the root of the tail, and also on the fore part of the fore- legs. The little animal being put into a convenient cage seemed soon to feel himself perfectly at home, eating, drinking, and sleeping without any Sun. 13. Mod. 14, OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 153 m ' '- i ' Hi ''ji^fl ifm ,y ■ ^j i'lili :'ffitfM apparent apprehension, but evincing a very decided determination to resent ****• a too near approach to the wires of his new habitation. .*— v--* There was to-day a very thick deposit of snow ahnost constantly occur- ring, though the weather might very well be called clear. The winter at- mosphere of these regions is indeed seldom or never free from it, as may readily be seen by placing an instrument in the open air for an hour or two ; that of to-day only differed from the usual deposit in the degree in which it took place. At one P.M. a thermometer on the north side of the post on the ice stood at — 32°, and the other, exposed to the sun's rays on the south side, only indicated a temperature one degree higher. There was to-day a great deal of terrestrial refraction, the ice and land to the westward being thrown up by it into a thousand fantastic and ever varying shapes. The thermometer was —31°, and the barometer at 29.73 inches, under which conditions of the atmosphere the smoke was observed to ascend quite freely from the stove-pipes. At one P.M. the snow upon . the black paint-work of the stern, which was exposed directly to the sun's rays, was falling off in little pieces and leaving a wet mark behind it. This circumstance recalled to our recollection the anxious impatience with which, at Melville Island, we were wateliiug for this symptom of returning warmth, four or five months later than this. At thirty minutes past one on the 18tli, the thermometer on the north Frid. 18. side of the post stood at —37°, while another with its bulb coated with black rose to —26°, when exposed to the sun's rays on the south side. At a late hour this evening the stove-pipe of my cabin caught fire, which gave us cause for a momentary alarm, but buckets and water being at hand it was soon extinguished. This accident was occasioned by a quantity of soot collected in the stove-pipe, and yet Avas not altogether to be attributed to neglect in the persons appointed to sweep the whole of them twice a week. As the cause of it is such as is not likely to be anticipated by per- sons living in temperate climates, and as the knowledge of it may be ser- viceable to somebody destined for a cold one, I shall here explain it. The smoke of coals contains a certain quantity of water in the state of vapour. This in temperate climates, and indeed till the thermometer falls to about 10° degrees below sero, is carried up the chimney and principally dif- fused in the atmosphere. When the cold becomes more intense however, this is no longer the case ; for the vapour is then condensed into water before it can escape from the stove-pipes, within which a mass of ice is, in 154 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY ii. . 1822. consequence, very speedily formed *. The vapour thus arrested must ne- v^vxj cessarily also detain a quantity of soot, which being subsequently en- closed in the ice as the latter accumulates, the brush generally used to clean the pipes cannot bring it away. By any occasional increase of tem- perature, cither in the external air or in the fire below, the ice sometimes thaws, pouring down a stream of water into the fire and bringing with it a most pungent and oppressive smell of soot. For these reasons, as well as to avoid accidents of the nature above alluded to, it is necessary to sweep the pipes much more frequently than in warmer climates, and even occasionally to thaw the ice out of them by a fire made expressly for the purpose. The thermometer, Avhich had fallen to — 38° the preceding night, stood at Sun. 20. — 40° at nine A.M. on the 20th, being, as it afterwards proved, the lowest temperature we were destined to experience for this winter. The thermo- meter rose to — 36° at noon, and was ten degrees higher when exposed to the sun's rays, the weather being fine and clear and the wind very liglit. The 22d was a very severe day in the open air, in consequence of a fresh wind blowing, which also occasioned the temperature of the Fury's lower deck to fall for the first time, though only for an hour, to 48°. The incon- venience of a cold night was felt in a greater degree, however, by the officers who, notwithstanding a most uncomfortable and even painful tem- perature for stage-dresses, persevered in amusing the men by the theatrical performances that had been fixed for this evening, and accordingly produced the two farces of " Raising the Wind " and " The Sleep-walker," to the infinite gratification of their audience. About this time we were surprised to find that one of the Hecla's anchors on shore had come home, in consequence of the cable becoming more tight from the ship. This was perhaps occasioned by the ice, which was detached from the shore every tide, receiving, in the manner before described with the grounded masses, a certain daily though small addition, by which means it had imperceptibly receded, taking the ships with it. It was necessary therefore in future, to keep the cables more slack, to avoid disturbing or Frid. 25. injuring the anchors. On the 25th, being about the time of the highest Tues. 22. ♦ When the weather was not very severely cold, and a part of the vapour escaped from the pipe of the galley-fire, tlie fore-rigging was always coated with ice, from the smoke passing by it. OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 155 spring-tide, we began to think that the ice might one day remove us rather ^^^2. more forcibly than by the slow process just related, for we found at day- v-.^v-^ light, to our great surprise , that a portion of the floe belonging to the bay, and Avhich we had connidered as quite fixed for the winter, had now been broken off and removed, leaving the clear water within four or five hundred yards of our sterns. A cloud of frost-smoke was issuing from it, and a flock of dovekies swimming about in it. On the 2Gth, we flew a kite to the height of three hundred and seventy- Sat. 26. nine feet, (as obtained by geometrical measurement,) with a Six's register- thermometer attached to it. This after it had been up a quarter of an hour indicated a minimum of — 23f °, the temperature upon the ice, by the same thermometer tried before and after being — 24|°. Mr. Pulfer the carpenter of the Hecla in taking a walk round the S.E. point, on the 27th, was somewhat startled at suddenly observing a large Sun. 27. bear at no great distance from him, and prudently retreated to the ships before Bruin saw him. It is commonly believed by the Greenland sailors* who have certainly the best opportunities of judging, that these animals are not generally disposed to retreat from one man, though they invariably fly from a party. On the 29th there was a fresh breeze from the N.W., which on the fol-Tues. 29. lowing day increased to a gale more to the westward. In this instance the \Ved.30. thermometer seemed to rise with the wind, namely, from — 26° in the morn- ing to — 18° at midnight. The thermometer fell again on the 31st, at therhur.si. same time with the wind ; but these two phenomena did not often appear to have the same connexion as at Melville Island. The month of January closed with cold though rather overcast weather, and we thought we had escaped very favourably with a mean temperature of — 22° 96'. The appearances of the Aurora Borealis during January were generally more distinguished for their frequency than their brilliancy, or for any ex- traordinary forms which this phenomenon presented. Towards mi .night, on vhe 13th, the weather being clear, it appeared in a very bright arch from south to N.E., being 10° to 15° higher in the centre. It afterwards assumed a wavy or serpentine form, which constantly varied, and smaller streams of light seemed to be continually meeting the larger, from near the zenith. From midnight till two A.M. on the 24th, it continued very brigh''. and generally extended from east, where it was most brilliant, to W.N.W. The following evening, an arch of the Aurora assumed the most perfect X 2 IIIB ii 41, m i '!;; 1 fflffl '*^:|fill« li'-i k- ■ mm ii!! "vm H 5'1 '^, % v^\ lilii 156 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY |i ! i -Ui If U V^VK^ ^T Jamf r ^"^S*'-^''*^ form I ever saw. It extended from S.E. to N.W., on the south- ern side of the heavens, both its edges being well defined, which is very rarely the case. At seven A.M. on the following morning, it appeared again in a form still more novel, three complete arches being now visible^; the middle one, which was the brightest, passing through the zenith and the others, which were in the centre about 20° distant from it on each side, gra- dually closing till they joined it at the east and west points of the horizon. It was impossible not to be struck with the general resemblance in the form of this phenomenon to that I have frequently mentioned, as assumed by the clouds in the polar regions at particular seasons * : this coincidence may possibly serve to throw some light on the nature and peculiarities of the Aurora. For several hours on the same night, this meteor formed a tole- rably well-defined arch from E.S.R. to W.N.W., being 6° high in the centre, reaching from one horizon to the other, and confined entirely to the southern side of the heavens. Early on the morning of the 16th, it was seen for an hour and a quarter much in the same situation, and on the following evening it appeared faintly in almost every part of the heavens. From eleven P.M. till jwst midnight, on the 18th, it once more appeared very bright from W. to S.E., having at times a very rapid and irregular motion. Whenever the light Mas most concentrated it was also the brightest, and almost always, in that case, we observed it assume an arch-like form in the southern part of the heavens. This was particularly the case on the evening of the 19th, when there appeared two concentric though r,ot altogether con- tinuous arches, extending from S.E.b.E. to W.S.W., the highest being 8° to 10° above the horizon, but in this respect at tintes slowly varying. At eleven P.M., after thus remaining without any very remarkable alteration for above two hours, it suddenly became extremely variable, shifting its place lateralli/ witli a prodigiously rapid motion, but still keeping within the general limits above mentioned, both in bearing and altitude. In this lateral motion, which was somewhat of the kind I have endeavoured to » >» >» Ditto 100 - 3 M l'» » Ditto lOlJ . -21 >» 15» »» Ditto 99^ . -m »» !''» )» Ditto 9S -10 « l"i H Ditto 99 J — 14 Jan. 3, 1828. Ditto 104^ . -83 M *» )» , A white hare 101 —81 M 10. ). . An Arctic I'ox , 100 — 15 »> J''t ») Ditto lOfl -38 »» **» n Ditto 103 — 87 II 1> II Ditto . 103 — 87 II t> l> Ditto . 108 -85 •1 87, „ Ditto 101 -38 Feb. «, „ . A Wolf IDA -8T 1,1 »i: in H m I th (if I ) ■'■'' , ill i i ABSTRACT of the METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL kept on board His Majesty's Ship Fury, at Winter Island, duri ig the Month of January, 1822. j Fahrenheit's Thermometer. 1 , Barometer. Prevailing Wiiids. Prevailing Day Maxi- .tliii!- muni. inum. Mein. Mean rat Low( Mnxi- mum. Mini. Ill tun. illran. Direction. Vtlocity. Weather. 1 -10 -2"2 -19.70 o?.oo iiirhos 29.02 Inches 29.55 iiK'hri 20.503 NW fresh fine 2 18 27 22.08 57.33 29.09 29.57 29.017 NNW modt. clear 3 17 20 21.5!- .59.22 ia.75 29.00 •JO. 723 Ni: light cloudy 4 11 21 15.75 CO. 5 29.(;!) 29.15 29.517 NW modt. hazy and snow 6 lU 20 22.50 59.00 29.72 29.70 20.710 NW light fine f) 17 22 19.04 55. 5 29.84 2!).70 20.80.) M'est modt. hazy 7 13 21 18.t(i 59.75 29.70 29.59 20.027 WNW modt. cloudy 8 17 20 19.33 5S. 5 29.99 20.00 29.800 WNW strong cloudy 18 22 20.04 54.00 30.01 29.78 29.952 NNW light fine 10 7 13 0.42 00.33 29,70 20.47 29.505 East light cloudy 11 G 10 11.29 00.00 29.70 JJ0.47 29.582 East modt. hazy 12 IG 21 19.90 GO. 5 29.88 29.80 29.H17 NW fresh cloudy 13 20i 20 82.07 59. 5 29.80 29.72 29.767 North light clear 14 19 20 23.75 57.33 29.85 29.80 29.827 North light clear 15 19 25 22.23 53.25 29.81 20.70 29.753 NW liglit fine and clear IG 18 23 20. 29 00.25 29.70 20.04 29.083 WNW light fine and clear 17 15 27 18.02 58.75 20.09 20.03 29.052 Nortli light cloudy IH 25 31 28.1(i 1 00.00 29.74 20.70 29 713 NNW . light fine and clear 1!) 28 33 30.00 58.25 29.95 20.75 29.855 Mcst light fine and dear 20 27 37 33.00 58.25 30.12 20.91 30.035 NW light fine and clear 21 31 371 33.29 51.00 30.17 30.12 30.137 Nlf modt. clear 22 25 32 2H.33 53.25 30,13 30.09 30.110 NW fresh hazy 2:1 29 32 30.71 61.25 30.20 30.13 30.205 NNW modt. clear 21 15 31 21 .02 sn.oo 30.20 29.N7 ',10.118 NNW light cloudy 23 11 27 19.64 67.00 29.70 20.48 20.577 E. to N. fresh cloudy and .snow 2r. 22 30 2(;.4(< 51.00 29.51 29.42 20.100 NNW fresh clear 27 31 31 82.79 .52. 5 2'.».7:! 20.52 29.O20I NW modt. fine 2s :«) 37 SI. 00 52.00 29.K7 29.73 29.N>V NNW light fine 20 27 37 S0.S8 S2.00 29.9s 20.69 29.<.t22 MNW fresh clear ao u 20 1H.07 52.00 30.03 30 011 30.022! 1 West from light to {\'vA\ fine 31 11 21 1H.2J 55.00 : 3r.02 20.01 29.9^0 WNW Kirciiig to light hacy fine — (i -37i -22.«i! nii.hi 30.20 29.42 20.794j [lip SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY, m On the morning of the 1st of February it was reported to me that a num- 1822. ber of strange people were seen to the westward, coming towards the ships over the ice. On directing a glass towards them we found them to be Esqui- maux, and also discovered some appearance of huts on shore, at the dis- tance of two miles from the ships, in the same direction. I immediately set out, accompanied by Captain Lyon, an oflRccr from each ship, and two of the men, to meet the natives who, to the number of five-and-twenty, were drawn up in a line abreast and still advanced slowly towards us. As we ap- proached nearer they stood still, remaining as before in a compact line, from which they did not move for some time after we reached them. Nothing could exceed their quiet and orderly behaviour on this occasion, which presented a very striking contrast with the noisy demeanour of the natives of Hudson's Strait. They appeared at a distance to have arms in their hands, but what we had taken for bows or spears proved to be only a few blades of whalebone which they had brought, either as a peace-offering, or for barter, and which we immediately purchased for a few small nails and beads. Some of the women, of whom there were three or four, as well as two children, in this party, having handsome clothes on which attracted our attention, they began to our utter astonishment and consternation to strip, though the ther- mometer stood at 23° below zero. We soon found however that there was nothing so dreadful in this as we at fust Imagined, every individual among them having on a complete double suit. The whole were of deer-skiii and looked both clean and comfortable. However quietly the Esquimaux had awaited our approach and still con- tinued to conduct themselves, there was as litUe apprehension or distrust visible in their countenances or manner as it was possible for one strange set of persons to evince on meeting another. As soon, therefore, as we had bought all that they had to sell, and made them a lunnber of valuable pre- sents, we expressed by signs our wish to accomi);uiy them to their huts, with which they willingly complied, and we imme«liately set out together. On our way the Esquimaux were much amused by «iur dogs, especially i»y a large one of the Newfoundland breed, that had been tmight to fetch and carry — a qualification which seemed to excite unbounded astonishment; and the chil- dren could scarce contain themselves for joy, when Captain Lyon gave thein a stick to throw for the dog to bring back to them. A child of five or six years old, thus amusing itself on such a day aiul in such a climate, formed by no means the least characteristic figure of our motley group. An old and infirm '*il 160 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY FebniMT '^*'"' supported by a stick which indeed he much needed, was soon left behind ' us, his companions seeming to take no notice of his infirmities, and leaving him without reluctance or apology to find his way home at his own pace. When we liad approached the huts within a few hundred yards, three of the Es- quimaux went on before us, having previously explained that they were going to confine their dogs, lest being frightened at our coming they should run away. When it is remembered that these habitations were fully within sight of the ships, and how many eyes were continually on the look out among us for any thing that could afford variety or interest in our present situation, our sur- prise may in some degree be imagined at finding an establishment of five huts, with canoes, sledges, dogs, and above sixty men, women, and chil- dren, as regularly and, to all appearance as permanently fixed, as if they had occupied the same spot for the whole winter. If the first view of the exterior of this little village was such as to create astonishment, that feeling was in no small degree heightened, on accepting the invitation soon given us, to enter these extraordinary houses, in the construction of which we observed that not a single material was used but snow and ice. After creeping through two low passages, having each its arched door-way, we came to a small cir- cular apartment of which the roof was a perfect arched dome. From this three door-ways, also arched and of larger dimensions than the outer ones, led into as many inhabited apartments, one on each side, and the other facing us as we entered. The interior of these presented a scene no less novel than interesting. The women were seated on the beds at the sides of the huts, each having her little fire-place or lamp, with all her domestic utensils about her ; the children crept behind their mothers, and the dogs, except the female ones, which were indulged with a part of the beds, slunk out past us in dismay. The construction of this inhabited part of the huts was similar to that of the outer apartment, being a dome formed by separate blocks of snow, laid with great regularity and no small art, each being cut into the shape requisite to form a substantial arch, from seven to eight feet high in the centre, and having no support whatever but what this principle of build- ing supplied. I shall not here further describe the peculiarities of these curious edifices, remarking only that a cheerful and sufficient light was admitted to them by a circular window of ice neatly fitted into the roof of each apartment. We found our new acquaintance as desirous of pleasing us, as we were ready to be pleased ; so that we were soon on good terms with them all. H ^^' il 1 m I t T n were [m all. i-.\... B!l»i>fliW 1''i«»i.^.'4.tr».v.tli.la'i«rTf. U>»Vn'. . R THE d!:sco\T;:ev 1822 u- . ttiefct . "t th^ t^xteriw of this little vill:vti »ti P'roui this lacing (\OvCl n'«:- ii»(f the viiestie nteiwils . . ditgn, except the {V-v,n1(» ones, which Were indulged with a part «a itec befi^, slinik oiit past.us Thp fon.-itniction of tl^n inh«i>iteil part of the hutis was similar annrtrr!.* ■ t*'- ^ . parale hh>i : " ' titted into Uie roof of \'htr H» liie V- lua*^, < u.> iui : *ir her lit , 5ibout1ier ; the ( hildren Itt' OT- new tt' really to b« {lUaftcd , mo Ut«t ««e wt.^ ; |4ea.siug uk, as wt) were 1 ^ with them all. 1 %^-*- - ■^ 4' t f * ^ "r,-Ma»?5 ■^rJ*^i^ - T=4 .1 .«t..^i..«, l..» c lif^mT**'; pj n'—T." j ?• 'l"i n;v..» xv OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 161 While we were engaged in examining every part of their huts, their whole behaviour was in the highest degree orderly, respectful and good-humoured. They eagerly received the various articles that were given them, either in ex- change for their own commodities, or as presents, but on no occasion impor- tuned us for any thing, nor did the well-known sound of " pilletay " once escape from them. We had also great reason to believe that these people possessed, in no ordinary degree, the quality of honesty, a quality the more desirable to us, as we had on shore, besides the house and observatory, all our boats and other articles, which, had they been disposed to pilfer, it would have required all our vigilance to guard. If we dropped a glove or a handkerchief without knowing it, they would immediately direct our at- tention to it by pointing, and if the owner had left the hut before they disco- vered it, would run out after him to return it. Numberless instances of a similar kind occurred in the course of our subsequent communication with them, some of which I shall hereafter have an opportunity of relating, os v; After remaining witli them a couple of hours, and proposing to spend the following day amongst them, we set out on our return to the ships. Being desirous of trying their disposition to part with their children, I proposed to buy a finelad, named Toolooak, for the very valuable consideration of a handsome butcher's knife. His father, apparently understanding our meaning, joyfully accepted the knife, and the boy ran into the hut to fetch his mittens, which seemed to be all that he cared for in leaving his home. He then set off with us in high spirits, and at first assisted in drawing a sledge we had purchased to carry our things ; but as he began, by our additional signs, more clearly to comprehend our true meaning, he gradually relaxed in his zeal to accompany our party, and being afterwards overtaken by a number of his companions, he took an opportunity to slink off among some hummocks of ice, so that when we arrived on board Toolooak was missing. On our reaching the ships, these people expressed much less surprise and curiosity than might naturally have been expected on their first visit, which may, perhaps, in some measure be attributed to their being in reality a less noisy kind of people than most of the Esquimaux to whom we had before been accustomed. Quiet and orderly, however, as they were disposed to be, this first visit shewed them to be as fond of merriment as their countrymen are usually considered ; for, on Captain Lyon's ordering his fiddler up on the Hecla's deck, they danced with the men for an hour, and then returned iu high glee and good humour to their huts. rf!' 1822. 'Hi February v*v^ ''■ IP ■ 1 i 4 i ( I > 1 11 ;; ( ')■■ li 162 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. February .:* . '• Sat. On our return on board we were informed that, during our absence in the morning, a flock of thirteen wolves, the first yet seen, crossed the ice in the bay, from the direction of the huts and passed near the ships. These animals, as we afterwards learned, had accompanied or closely followed the Esquimaux on their journey to the island the preceding day ; and they proved to us the most troublesome part of their suite. They so much resemble the Esquimaux dogs that, had it not been for some doubt among the officers who had seen them whether they were so or not, and the consequent fear of doing these poor people an irreparable injury, we might have killed most of them the same evening, for they came boldly to look for food within a few yards of the Fury, and remained there for some time. , - v 5 r : »- • . . - I>i order to prevent our people from occasioning the Esquimaux any dis- turbance or apprehension, I directed that only six from each ship should be allowed to visit the huts at one time, and that they should then be always accompanied by an officer. A strict prohibition was, at the same time, issued against the smallest article of the ships' stores being given to the people without permission, on pain of severe punishment. At an early hour on the 2d, we set out with a large party on our proposed excursion to the huts. The natives received us with great cordiality though with somewhat more noisy expressions of pleasure than before ; and we soon began a more minute examination of their habitations and furniture in which they readily assisted us, except that they al -ays sat very closely on the deer- skins which composed their beds, under which were stowed such articles as they were least willing or able to dispose of. They sold however a great number of their things without reluctance ; and it was indeed astonishing to see with what eagerness they would, for the mere sake of change and variety, barter some of their most indispensable articles for the veriest trifles in our possession. For instance, a single sewing-needle, of which they possessed abundance not much inferior to our own, procured from them a large well- sharpened pinna*, or man's knife made of stout iron, for which in point of absolute utility a hundred needles would not have been a fair equivalent. Various other instances of the same kind occurred by which indeed they were not ultimately losers, though they certainly would have been so had our inter- course ended here, a . M ..I i„rf*i ,« t ni ..'». is J •►»>•..!« h ^m Iw.W ,^il- t I 3 * For an explanation of the motle of accenting the Esquimaux words used in the course of this Journal, I must refer to the remarks immediately preceding the vocabulary at the end of the last chapter. )on ich :er- as reat to 3ty, )ur [ell- It of ;nt. lere ter- i i of Id of -It ;>:{i .'r ,*• i t\ \m i-'^ '^;-^ ■jff.flrnvWEST PA^SlGE. l^n. i»i «^ ■;t^' whirh howevt*- the,y did not voUr:!i \\t- ■ ;fififd with thic isik'rcstiug day \\\- ifeua of thai pteirxit conlidoiuf :uu\ u,» 5Utorni()f.k)jn ajdtervvsirds subsisted ftvur pmjjci'. . r he R««* aftc* . diyiuue 9«ir» »•* • uM^ and ha».! 4fHCi'<'<»)(tl)«M*r/f?il to set » '»-.(> ir^onjectiU'cdj, citUer soim- juoie -r*^ p!flt;c of alwfle. On utilk- «»' found they ba.*f t^'V. . ik&^y exertions ; ^:Hi tmJ^? ■<''U- Mi.i . -• ,i. - i_i .V lit ih^i^, "X f"Ji.«i»' ii> tlu- ship-- ;4i>u; \ve iook (he op- : ' ■ ' Mw^^fh »)«* procesjs «>( buikUhg a snow-hut - ; i.«ft^<^»tt, ^mm the quicknef^s with which they • ;/'*. aiUH'Stidden a; >fKMM'»JU'e of their siUagt' teased . V *'.-8(esK mm: «li«fc.rt|^ «r tfef«e ht^urs tr.oi^d b>> »w>«; Ovust ■juflf^i'ient u> -vaV;: #»«ipiet««| j|y*. .wiioic '.v-tabli*hiin:'«t just as wf >n fevi :fo'j«4 if Titoy • - ^is«t» f»k«'« * ;^ WaiiJ and deri^Mf ^wit amu<<;m'^nt Vrojn vivu ( rp-^n. ui'J -■'•^ -aj*^ thing ifi* ih*:^ ^Ivsqid of huisIc. tiHii|h;i^ vit -vi- .:;:t^. »>;' *s' »ii^v^'^v?» 5H4'y - .drably* Nor cjuil hcrr twyt » ii;);i^*> «i";ftf iiu honesty • '; xv'SH <• occur red to-daty, ^.j*&' .•>;■ V-r .. '«+-mi'nortl!ellrc1n ku of their dog.^. whu-h haij ihi- j.'***',^1mj»cvoiiiog' made their ;-■>'>«■' ro the htttw, Afif»r the do|>tJi.rtur'j' of th*; Ksquinuiux l(»- 4''^*s? ;»♦ .«» find that tUey bad left two dogs carefully tied n}» on '•>g^>0 l^r ^%f^. ^^feauili *'■{>: inn^m'}' proved to hv the auimuls m <)Ut:*»;tjon, ufid sMy few*ti.ri"dlo thctT rij^htful tiwr^>r«^ (in ik<' ^^w- :&»w^ fffi'. the natives canic on hoivrd &kt<' of iec into ■-n" jwof** « »•...;,,♦»*•< t;iiiu:h tiu'v «!id with grt;ai qutcl*:> :•-• a** M-<'li as cuvo. V : X'': ,'i <',id4 :;i .: 'fi 'Kl^ I hn U' f^ I !«,t If ,1 tf. ii $ t t ^f lift--. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 163 We dined in the huts, and the Esquimaux gladly partook of our biscuit and p^,^^-- meat, and even of a little wine which however they did not relish. We v^v>^ returned on board about sunset, much gratified with the interesting day we had passed; having laid the foundation of that perfect confidence and good understanding which, with little or no interruption, afterwards subsisted between us and our new acquaintance. On the morning of the 3d, a number of these people were observed to set Sun- 3. offover the ice to the south-west to bring, as we conjectured, either some more of their people or of their property from their last place of abode. On walk- ing out to the huts after divine service, however, we found they had been seal-catching and had succeeded in taking four. The very small quantity of food which they had in their huts at first coming, consisting of a little veni- son and the flesh and blubber of the whale and seal, induced us to suppose they had left some of their provision behind, and that they would return for it as occasion demanded. But we now found that, even at this rigorous sea- son, they were entirely dependent in this way on their daily exertions ; and that they had only removed into their present quarters on account of the failure of their summer's store, and of the greater facility of obtaining seals at Winter Island than where the sea was more closely and continually frozen. On the 4th a number of Esquimaux came to the ships and we took the op- Mon. 4, portunity of getting them to go tlirough the process of building a snow-hut for our amusement and information. From the quickness with which they completed this, our surprise at the sudden appearance of their village ceased ; as we now saw that two or three hours would be more than sufficient to have completed the whole establishment just as we at first found it. They were then taken on lM)ard and derived great amusement from our organ, and from any thing in the shape of music, singing, or dancing, of all which they are remarkably fond. Nor can I here omit a striking instance of the honesty of these |x;ople which occurred to-day. Some of the gentlemen of the llecia had purchased two of their dogs, which had the preceding evening nmde their cscaj)e and returned to the huts. After the departure of flic Esquimaux to- day, we were surprised to find that they had left two dogs carefully tied up on board the Fury, which on inquiry proved to be the animals in question, and which had been thus faithfully restored to their rightful owners. On the oth a number of the natives came on board according to promise uc». 5. to rebuild the hut in a more substantial manner, and to |)ut a plate of ice into the roof as a window, wliich they did with great (|uickness as well a«. euro, Y i ■'- \ t't f ' it :,jk] ''\ if H in» %:.] lU SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY ; (•■ ' i'i: ': til-Mil,;, 1 1 '■<'t'.tf .(. .. \ ' J T.aH ,*• ,i 170 SECOJ^D VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. Februfuy Sat. 16. On thk? 1 5th it blew a strong gale firom S.W. to W.N.W., and the thermos- meter, eithei; on account of the strength of the wind or its having occa- Fnd. I5.gj^jjjj^|iy gojne southing in it, rose to — 4", being the highest temperature registered in our journals since the 27th of December preceding. I had agreed with Qkotook to accompany him on a sealing-excursion, but the day proved too inclement, the Esquimaux not going out themselves, though it was not very ofjiien that the weather could prevent them. Considering it desirable to increase by all the means in our power the chances of these people giving information of us, we distributed among several of the men large round medallions of sheet copper, having these words punched through them : — " H. B. M. S. Fury and Hecla, All well, A.D. 1822." These we suspended by a piece of white line round their Qccks, giving them to understand that they were to shew them to any Kabloona people they might ever meet with in future. Similar ornaments, but of a smaller size, were subsequently pre- sented to many of the women, having on them the words, " Fury and Hecla, 1822." Early on the morning of tlie 16th, observing a party of the Esquimaux equipped with spears passing near the ships, I joined them, accompanied by Mr. Bushnan and one or two others. Having crossed the point of the island they walked over the ice to the eastward, whe;. : we did not overtake them till they had got above a mile and a quarter from the shore. This party consisted of eight persons, among whom we were glad to find Arnaneelia, Okotook, Toolooak, Pootooalook his elder, brother, and one or two others whom we knew. They had by this time, however, separated into two or three different parties, stationed at the distance of half a mile from each other along the edge of the floe, beyond which to the eastward there was clear water as far as we could, see for frost-smoke. The party we at first joined were seated on a high hummock of ice, with their spears in their hands, looking out for seals. After we had talked to them for a few minutes, Okotook suddenly started up and set off along the edge of the ice, without giving us or his own companions the least warning. The latter seemed so much accustomed to this, that they took no further notice than by immediately following him, and we did the same ; the whole party walking at a very quick rate, and the natives keeping their heads constantly turned towards the sea to look out for seals. After being thus en- gaged for an hour and a half, we judged, from the motions of a party at some distance beyond us, that they had game in view. As we approached them, ^^1^ IH i ■11 M^ m 'k.Mw *((..;* ;U' 0¥ A NORTH-WEST PAS:^AGE. 17 i V' -Vi'j rr>;,i'»iily l«',!^«t tu bt' appfchensivc that v\t', who aid not uii(l< istand >fa ¥v>*i!?i ^^-ottiH !!»j)(iil fhrir sSport. *Tb pj'-'Vt'ni ii-."<. I'.o di mo:-! civil •^ 4- ;>nW well liavo btcu LleviscU, wUii'h vv»j. to ^fniltiis vcuipanion^ '<) tho '^jiot. uikI to rcnmtn vifh 'V-; liiiv.-- (j'. kt-tpint; n-< at suth h » allow U3 to fttje their pmcpe.ili'.!;s- \\ff as Vo mmke r>- siuiUi imi npju'ar- *>»ibk' tft tile livooiHuv in whirii 'hi y wen* ;<<)m|r, ;ind »•'. »hir*n\ntincr I ■ emit irnwb Ut*'!»H-. tit p (tiar^in '<: thf Hov. On a ssj'ttleu thoy all ' . f^^nst* ?^*n <|?;iie Jow, fe<» hi'i'^ f.h>*vn«'lv''<. '^.lui cootinuod thus a quajtcr ol" %>jii?^ wUi\^h tir*>c they pr«|M?r'i Ui. n •;••.-* »ii! spcan-i: an'. iii(f'i"nH¥ «»f ^««»iH^ .4^« ..-(•<•. •!>•!> hi^'i Sii l?i<- 'jwijii' «i^.>'. .- »J- ^- .;Mi^<•? ^Sf '■ v.rfe. W]it*.tt th*.*y h*ul l*»^v'^< .!>■ :• ,.>?* * :.•■.* :i),;i ri-.-iir, 'tUvrswn/t) t:rt^*jf ' 4ll«i Kfooping down, th*? ^-^^ *- a -. A >■ ' ► • .• i'- -r, ♦h !•''• i'*^- i*'>>^ 'i*^' *>--;u't,_ af»d th«^y the;! ?;iivo an {hcti )(»' , < iV-jVj<4, f>4ud >{■--.■ '-I'l^y r^*J,j *'.n hi^ litiiMttirfictV U( hv noar.-r th" ..•<';! i.f •.Hiid-' . «isv', vvi>pij vri ;iiuvi«»«'':«i. A* ^itH'ii «i*i rli(f»y hiwi gtvvt) up ti'vo •J*-'ai ihcv ifiui l.i-. ii Nv.nrhiii;^, di.- vliolf ithfH- wi actom- (;anyiltr«8i. We wore now lf«^twt''cn tliroc aru? four milt's noi-dit'aa of thr -'hij^,' mM fiUl a tJiUe and a hii!f troinar y par* <>( the «h<,ff la .<>?'• t)j,(>n «v&tt!> d the !lw>,^U4' f*ik Wi»» nuin!jii{ two knr.tA to the i««..nhvv8Vit. and K-- die ice <*..} whteh *♦ *>• - .' ' -.-r- -^ ■<'■>• v ^v''h>f*^ ft-, im-o, i^f.^r.^hi. and asVic'-* a-J subsrt»oi>'- ' ■ r-- '■—>■ ,./-. fr'-; >>r,*ic frv i'.-n- «-<.'i';\r!). it. iA^ln iiho . 'Av;Uli' (Hit t" it - ;; ti' *i-«^v. *j !?«<; WTt v^,,n,',t», ltjU;> !»<■ *•<■»! known to happ<'ji to Esqni- (HSHi>. itid U'w prolwbly inos-i- irt^qucmly liofallen tbera, wh<"u non- irvivv»d to tx>J| (iie tale. A- timed toM'ards the land, we canic to a small rising ou tbc Icvi'l RUdW; t^t- ^i<' ikne not la)ijcr iliflw » tomnjoo inoit'-hill. e.od of iouch the ti, 1820. Ap>>■ '-'(i P'pji w: In / !i; !/i K ' .* . \l OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 171 Okotook evidently began to be apprehensive that vfe, who did not understand *822. the matter, would spoil their sport. To prevent this, he did the most civil thing that could well have been devised, which was, to send his companions one by one to the spot, and to remain with us himself, keeping us at such a distance as to allow us to see their proceedings, without alarming the animal they were in pursuit of. The other seven Esquimaux, now forming one party, disposed themselves into a single line, so as to make as small an appear- ance as possible in the direction in which they were going, and in this manner crept very cautiously towards the margin of the floe. On a sudden they all stooped down quite low, to hide themselves, and continued thus a quarter of an hour, during which time they prepared their lines and spears ; and then, when the animal appeared to be intercepted from their view, again took the opportunity of gaining a few paces upon him in the same cautious manner as before. When they had been thus occupied for a full hour, alternately creep- ing and stooping down, the seal which had been lying on the ice took the water, and they then gave up their chase. During this time, Okotook could scarcely restrain his impatience to be nearer tho scene of action ; and when we produced a spy-glass, which appeared to bring his companions close to us, he had not words to express his surprise and satisfaction. In a short time he held it as steadily as we did, and explained by signs every motion he observed. As soon as they had given up the seal they had been watching, the whole party seemed with one accord to turn their steps homeward, in which direc- tion, being that of the ships also, we were by this time not sorry to accom- pany them. We were now between three and four miles north-east of the ships, and full a mile and a half from any part of the shore. In the open water beyond the floe, the tide was running two knots to the northward, and as the ice on which we stood had been formed only within the last fortnight, and a sheet as substantial as this had before been carried away by the stream, it was impossible not to feel some apprehension lest we might thus be de- tached from the shore, an accident that has been known to happen to Esqui- maux ere now*, and has probably more frequently befallen them, when none have survived to tell the tale. As we returned towards the land, we came to a small rising on the level surface of the floe not larger than a common mole-hill, and of much the same shape, at which one of the Esquimaux immediately stopped. His com- panions, still walking on, called us away, explaining that what we saw was the "^ """'"'• » Crantz. London Edition, 1820, Appendix, p. 310. ' / ^ Z 8 ■1 !■ I: Mi '■ i i '■' li • -. ^'f 'ii. !r m t '* - H 'i '■ \'^ !■■ ii i 1 : ■ U'.]-^T- 172 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY K*. 1822. ^Qfk of a geal, and that it was probable the animal was about to complete his '-^v^*-' hole and to come up on the ice, in which case the man would endeavour to kill him. We watched the man at the hole, however, with a glass, for more than half an hour, observing him constantly putting his head down towards the ice, as if in the act of listening for the seal, but without otherwise changing his position ; after which, he followed us on board without success. If, however, a man has any reason to suppose that a seal is at work beneath, he immediately attaches himself to the place, and seldom leaves it till he has succeeded in killing the animal. For this purpose, he first builds a snow- wall about four feet in height, to shelter him from the wind, and, seating him- self under the lee of it, deposits his spear, lines, and other implements upon several little forked sticks inserted into the snow, in older to prevent the smallest noise being made in moving them when wanted. But the most curious precaution to the same effect consists in tying his own knees together, with a thong, so securely as to prevent any rustling of his clothes which might otherwise alarm the animal. In this situation, a man will sit quietly sometimes for hours together, attentively listening to any uuise made by the seal, and sometimes using the keip-kuttuk, an instrument hereafter described, in order to ascertain whether the animal is still at work below. When he supposes the hole to be nearly completed, he cautiously lifts his spear, to which the line has been previously attached, and as soon as the blowing of the seal is distinctly heard, and the ice consequently very thin, he drives it into him with the force of both arms, and then cuts away with his panna the remaining crust of ice, to enable him to repeat the wounds and get him out. The ntitiek is the only seal killed in this manner and, being the smallest, is held, while struggling, either simply by hand, or by putting the line round a spear with the point stuck into the ice. For the ogide, the line is passed round the man's leg or arm ; and for a walrus, round his body, his feet being at the same time firmly set against a hummock of ice, in which position these people can from habit hold against a very heavy strain. Boys of fourteen or fifteen years of age consider themselves equal to the killing of a neitiek, but it requires a full-grown person to master either of the larger animals. Sun. 17. On the 17th, a number of the Esquimaux coming before the church service, we gave them to understand, by the sun, that none could be admitted before noon, when tliey quietly remained outside the 8hi])s till divine service had been performed. We then endeavourec. to explain to Uigluik that every seventh day they must not come to the ships, for, without any intention of offending, i- 1 *2?B®t. ' ^ ,(« ti :»' I. It m w\ I 1 I ! JU^^mU ta i ki WMm \ k *■ SamM W' k KHIi N 1822. 172, work i^MiiJii^ .1 BM THE DISCOVERY hm. y, A fi^nfjijable ih€ animal was atwut to complete hh: holf J v-M y*x. H^x in which case the man ^ >mi entleavour U> k«i .. , .,^; '.<^^ ^ . 11} a( the hole, however, w«.t|v ^ glass, for more • .. * %.ih coMstanlly putting liis h^sui iuwn iowar 4teiti»t htm troai *i '.t seating him Af wi-ai littfp iork<:'«l 'rtWkn ii«».* rv-.j ^ n**^ v.>. mf^t in order to provtid thi- srntOk'st iMm: bt^^ng ituiiif lo inovfMs| thvfti whe« wanteil. But tiie iooki curious precaution to the sauu; etti.t't consists in tying hid own knees togothor, with *# thoa^, so securely a»! to prevent any rustling of hiis dothca wbicli might otb(?rwi*ic ahirm Um nnut>Hl 1» this »kM*u»>n. a tjmui will sit (juictly sflUMjtfflineft fur houfM (ogi tUcr, bm- wi»s «> »»} uoisi; jnadj- by th*' :i&^, and someiimeH us.ii«j.i[ «Jh 4'*p-*i.liaA, tu )iX''fiM^r l>0 a»ej.-.rt*tiii kifa^'hbrr "';;" »<■■•■■ '■'' n-: ■ ■ T ■ he^y wliiie a "■ ■ ■ ■' ft-!. *• ■ h:»W !»i "■-j .mm ■■;3t».';- ^•fc • I (M^ f «#4 *» 'cvibed. Vvhoii he .* b»»* spear, to tiife Wowiug of u ha ^tiven it hiM ftanm ihv K'ik ai»4 ft^ him out ;'».i«g tite suiallest, if^ ^« *jjr*j^iy Uy ^yu;K», iii »v juiiimg the line round jxmujs.uiK int«» the ice. Por th«i ogiikc, the line k jjassed ' 'r or arm ; antl for a waUus, round hi*? body, hi* feet being '. »!.'/ .>/,M!!"t a huBionidi. of ice t in whi«*h p«>!»itiao tho'H !#••►♦• ! niH I ' 1 I^H 1 lilH ym -m^ Hvl /. i^ \^- "I ! i" an ftiinoyance in this way. They now brought with thi-46 1* ^5fVt^ broken ofi' aufi dtd'ied away. Mr. C'n.'xier, who visited ihe huts,' utiii^il ;,hAt ?,hi^ E>(|uiiiiaux, a-! well as our.sclve.s, Had bi^cn iinhiced lo attempt ll{i& tii\^*n'uii(rk«» ol" their I'oiUtwcis, the vvolvcs, by setting a trap lor ihetn not ualifet' oiirs, except in th<' materials, which consisted only of their staple eom- «»f]wli€y. ire. They had indeed Efroat occasion to emnioy some siieh njeans^ i«> desJroy rhose rapaeious aniHrnls*, which hsid iihtudy tarried olF one or two of tl»eir dog**, and threatcMC-d nu^iitiy t\i tt'P'Mt ihi*- ej>.r»;>^*«;». TtMslfctWifc, who now <:05wid(;re(l hiiow !f nn qu^i, jtf,*n« %i.:*i «» f «'» •«»' '^h^ int» &>*• k:^hii\ <«uhovt4 « <'pfMHi!i"i».5<'. Had «^>* tmt twi-K <*«;>.! ui ynu - )^>!-\i-mm'f his new5y'»H,>:^*«i'.--'' *" --f ij^as^j-^ )i;«wi * *Wxili l*»? t"«t»k .4 fre«t' i?*ai-y , mvi we often »tri- reit\mfJed, hy tids* ciroMn!H*fen-f-«^. «« h i*i»Hikir {^ropeusity th-splayt d by !».iy amiable «,'ouiitiyojaii, <»nr {tim«^'ui:e4 tWwd duha 8ackhouse. We sOon iV.iuud iha?, Ttxilonnk jh.>v. s(?8««da es^Hicity e.vefl Irom hit^ mm- pauion iind hi? aftentiou directed to the acqnircincnt of hiijljer branches of k?!ow!t'd^' than tim» yC c^tt'ina^ seals, ho wo'dd amply have repaid any pains* l)e«tow<*d ufK»n hi* edm»tn>«, I H**d aJ^'av"! end-mdncd «r<-ia objectifwi to tahmji^any »«<:h individiml Irtno tu* h<»m«'*. an thv; doubtfai chanc of benefit ing h»nix*>lf. or of hi«* douvj; any »»?fvke to tfet; putilie as an interpnuer. My .scniplr«i on this head luui hkherto b^mn eo^ftnr-tl |£» ch« ^^iju^iKl^^fatiijtj tine f(» the indtYiduui liimHcIf, and fco t.h<^ i< lativ<» Ik? i^«v«« beht^-K In our present case, however, not Ihe ijmrdhvt pubite «Miit"iutf.a2;€' epuld be derived fron; it; for it htKl bincf aefo bifent that we shonld soon know more of the KaqniinsTov li«ngtuvg< than ..ny (if thersi were likeb, to learn of Englisli in any reiiKonablc (XTJod of time ; I wa'^ therefore far i'runi desiroi;? to receive from Tooiooak an ttn-swer in the Mirtrmative. when T to-dfly plainly put the (pica- tioa to him, whether be wonld go viih me xokahktotvi novna (Run>pc(in country). Never was a more decisive negative given tlutn Toolmjuk f^ave \jq thi*.; propo-^iU. Hi^ eaj^erly r'-peated die wonl iVtvo (Nu hsvlf a dozen tunes, \^2 f'ei'f'uir* y-. U ■ *us l';in >J!pi e.'jhl: l^P}:, .'hi! ■■'^^^ •k- ■ . V«i. .1(1 1' * ^.1 OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 173 they had become rather an annoyance in this way. They now brought with '^'^2' them a great many little canoes and paddles, sledges, figures of men and ^.^r^ women, and other toys, most of them already bespoke by the officers and men, and the rest for sale, '1 ' i ' '. There was to-day a great deal of open water to the southward, and it had once more approached us within half a mile, the ice at the mouth of the bay having broken off and drifted away. Mr, Crozier, who visited the huts, found that the Esquimaux, as well as ourselves, had been induced to attempt the destruction of their followers, the wolves, by setting a trap for them not unlike ours, except in the materials, which consisted only of their staple com- modity, ice. They had indeed great occasion to employ some such means to destroy these rapacious animals, whicis had already carried off one or two of their dogs, and threrttened night y to repeat this outrage, Toolooak, who now considered bims< If as quite privileged to find his way Mon. is. into the cabin without a conductor, a i was n-t bad; ward in thus practising his newly-acquired art of opening and shutti - ;• the door, sat with me for a couple of hours on the I8th, quietly drawii <^ /aces and animals, an occupa- tion to which he took a great fane, ; ? nd we often v. ere reminded, by this circumstance, of a similar propens'ty c "splayed by his amiable countryman, our lamented friend John Sackhouse. We soon found that 1' jolooak pos- sessed a capacity equal to any thing tic chose to take an interest in learning ; and could he at his present age have been voluntarily removed from his com- panions, and his attention directed to the acquirement of higher branches of knowledge than that of catching seals, he would amply have repaid any pains bestowed upon his education. I had always entertained great objection to taking any such individual from his home, on the doubtful chance of benefit- ing himself, or of his doing any service to the public as an interpreter. My scruples on this head had hitherto been confined to the consideration due to the individual himself, av^ his eyes, and increased the violence of his grimaces till every feature was hideously distorted ; at the same time, he moved his head rapidly from side to side, uttering sometimes a snuffling sound, and at others a raving sort of cry. Having worked himself into tliis ridiculous kind of frenzy, which lasted perhaps from twenty to thirty seconds, he suddenly discontinued it, and suffered his features to relax into their natural form ; but the motion of his head seemed to have so stupified him, as indeed it well might, that there remained an unusual vacancy and a drowsy stare upon his countenance for some time afterwards. Being pressed to repeat this piece of buffoonery, he did so two or three times ; and onone occasion Togolat asked him in a serious tone some questions respecting mc, which he as seriously answered. In general however the women paid litlie attention to his grimaces, and the whole ended with a hearty laugh from all parties. I had to-day some conversation with a woman named Appokiuk, whom Iligliuk had mentioned as having seen Kabloona people before us. This woman was gifted, however, with such a volubility of tongue, that speak- ing as she did in a language very imperfectly known to us, she gave no time for questions, and therefore afforded little information. All we could make out for certain was, that she had within a year past seen tW(» Kabloona Oomiak, (whether ships or boats was still doubtful*) and that hor husband was now far away. From all this we concluded that she had been far enough to the southward to see the Hudson's Bay ships in the courne of their annual voyage ; and this account gave us very sanguine hopes of being thus able to communicate with them by means of some of the Esquimaux. On the 20th a number of our new friends having been allowed upon the Wtd. upper deck, an old woman, named Ayxig-gd-lo6k, stole our cooper's punch, which she was shewing to her companions alongside tlie Hocla just after- wards, when Lieutenant Hoppner observed it and sent her back with an escort. It was impossible not to admit that the fault was chiefly on our side, in pemiittin/? these poor people to roam about too freely amidst temptations, which scarcely any thing human ould have withstood ; but as it was necessary to take some notice of it, I went through nearly the same process as with Kaoongut, and dismissed her with great appearance of i ' 'c > •JO These jK'ople nppl} the word oomiak to any vossel liirgcr tlian u cancK'. 176 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY m 1822. indignation to the huts. We were glad to find that their wants had there rebruary ,,,,.,,, , mi • • v^-y-^ been well supplied to-day, three seals having been caught. They had lately indeed been tolerably successful in general, and had required but little of our assistance. Mr. Elder observing one of their dogs at- tacked by several wolves, and hastening to the spot with his gun, found that these animals had made such quick work in the partition of their prey, that though he reached the scene of action in a few minutes, and the dog had at first made considerable resistance, only one of its hind legs re- mained, each wolf having run ofl' with his share. It is remarkable that these creatures had never entered our traps since the moon had declined to the southward, whereas not a night elapsed before that without their going to them. The Esquimaux had in theirs caught only a fox. j , . Tliiii. 21. During the eclipse of the sun, which took place to-day, the diminution of light was very considerable, but the weather was unfavourable for ob- serving it for any useful purpose. Captain Lyon remarked that some of the Esquimaux, who were on board the Hecla at the time, were a good deal alarmed at this phenomenon, which indeed made a general bustle among them. Two of them were found on the ice lying on their faces, but it was not ascertained whether their superstitions on this subject were the same as those of their brethren in Greenland. ' Mr. Henderson being desirous of seeing something of the customs of tiiosc people during the hours of darkness, obtained my permission to priss the night at the huts, accompanied by Mr. Griffiths, Soon after they left the ships in the evening it came on to blow strong from the north-west, with much snow-drift, so that losing the tracks they with difficulty found the village. The wind quickly increased to a hard gale, and the thermo- meter rose from —25° at six P.M., to —16° at four the following morning. Our gentlemon returning on board in the course of the forenoon, wc were pleased to hear that they had met with every attention, and especially from Okotook, with whom they lodged. As they had slept in Kaoongut's hut, one Hi(U> of which was occupied by Okotook and his family, the Id fellow thought it a good opportunity to make up the quarrel occasioned by his dishonesty - axid he accordingly made his appear- ance on board to-day for the first time since that event. Tolooak was de- puted to bring his father down into the cabin, where a formal reconcilia- tion took place, to the great s.Kisfaction of the latter, who had found out that to be out of favour with us was attended with the serious consequence Krid.i2. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 177 of being also out of pocket. It was laughable to observe the pains he now „^^~"^- , 1 • I f '. II- I February took to impress on the mino ot every person he saw, that he was no longer a tigli/itoke, by which name he had lately been distinguished ; for he seemed to think that my receiving him again into favour was a perfect absolution from his offence. The gale continued to blow from the north-wost throughout the day, though the barometer gradually rose from 29.73 to 29.93 inches. Two ravens were seen: these birds, which were observed frequently in the course of the winter, were almost always seen in a single pa r at a time, and their plumage remained perfectly black as in the summer. On the 23d I paid another visit to the huts, and foiuid the greater part Sat. 2;j. of the men absent on their scaling excursions. We thought however that, except on pressing occasions, one man was left in each hut to keep an eye on the conduct of the women, and this was the case to-day. The hiits had in the interior assumed a somewhat different appearance since I had last seen them ; the roofs were much blackened by the smoke of the lamps, and the warmth had in most parJs given them a glazed and honey- combed surface: indeed the whole of the walls had become much thinner by thawing, so that the light was more plainly visible through them. The snow also on which the lamps stood was considerably worn away, so as to destroy in great measure the regularity of the original plan of construction. To these changes might be added that of a vast quantity of blood and oil tlmt now del'aced the purity of tiie snowy floor, and emitted effluvia not \ery agreeable to Euro))ean noses; so that, upon the whole, it may be ima- gined that our first impressions of the comfort and cleanliiu'ss of these ha- bitations were more favourable than their present state was calculated to excite. • To the original apartments they had now also added various snmller places for stores, conununicating wilh the huts from within, and looking something like our ovens, though without any door to them. In some of ilicse iiiey deposited their upper jackets, which they usually take off in coming into their huts, as we as()u ; but, on this particular part of the coast, the latter are not very abundant and they chiefly catch the nritiek. The animal we had now seen dissected was of that kind, and with yotmg at the time. A small one taken out of it ha«l a beautiful skin which, both in softness and colour, very much resembled raw silk : but no inducement could make Pootooalook part with it, he having destined it for that night's supper. I-.;: 'm OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 179 After quitting this scene of filth, I found, on returning to Kaoongut's hut, p'^'^' that Toolooak had been no less successful than his brother, and that the ■* » same operation was also performing here. Having, therefore, explained to Iligliuk that none of them were to come to the ships the following day, I had no inclination to see the process repeated, and was glad to take my leave. We observed a great deal of open water to the southward, about three miles from the land, with the usual cloud of frost-smoke hovering over it. The ice on which we had accompanied the Esquimaux a few days before had now entirely disappeared, and on that side of the island the clear water again washed the shore. On the •24th no natives visited the ships, in consequence of my injuncti(m Sun. 24. to that effect. This, however, was the only Sunday on which they complied with it, partly, I believe, from their not rightly understanding what we wished, but perhaps more from their not much piquing themselves on sacrificing any convenience of their own to that of others. A great number of dovckics, whose plumage appeared still whiter than before, were swimming about off the |K>int, but the risk of sending a boat among the young ice in the tide- way was too great to attempt it. The weather was remarkably fine and plea- sant, the wind being light from the north-west ; but the thermometer was low during the day, and fell to — 32° at midnight. At noon, on the SOtli, it was Mon. 25. at — 26° in the shade, and at — IG° in the sun. The temperature of the sea at the surface, and that at the bottom in the seven fathoms were both 2»' by the same thermometer. . The 26th was a clear and moderate day, and the thermometer gradually Tucs. 26. rose to — 9" at midnight. The wind became easterly for a few hours, and then suddenly veered again to the northward. Our theatre closed this night for the season with the two farces of" The Citizen," and " High Life below Stairs." Tlie ships' companies testified the gratification which they hud ilerived from these performances in their own way, namely, by three hearty cheers at the fall <»f the curtain ; and the officers, I am confident, considered their trouble more than repaid by this expression of the men's feelings. The veering of the wind to the nortiiward soon produced its usual effect of Wed. 27. reducing the temperature of the atmosphere, and die diermometer rapidly fell till it had reached —37''. On the 28th, Okotook and iligliuk f<»i"ii«g nuir.28. on board, an occurrence ((n»k phice. which. iu< it shews the disposition of the Esquimaux, and especially of one of the most intelligent and interesting 8 A 8 w 1 '■ 4 4!f ■ V. ■ ■' !. r ■ 180 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY I li I) ^ y^' among them, I may here relate. Some time before, Iligliuk, who, from the superior neatness and cleanliness with which she performed her work, was by this time in great request as a sempstress, had promised to cover for me a little model of a canoe, and had in fact sent it to me by the serjeant of ma- rines, though I had not rightly understood from the latter from which of the women it came. Believing that she had failed in her promise, I now taxed her with it, when she immediately defended herself with considerable warmth and seriousness, but without making mc comprehend her meaning. Finding that she was wasting her words upon me, she said no more till an hour afterwards, when the serjeant accidentally coming into the cabin, she, with the utmost composure, but with a decision of manner peculiar to herself, took hold of his arm to engage his attention, and then looking him steadfastly in the face, accused him of not having faithfully executed her commission to me. The mistake was thus instantly explained, and I thanked Iligliuk for her canoe ; but it is impossible for me to describe the (juiet, yet proud, satis- faction displayed in her countenance, at having thus cleared herself from the imputation of a breach of promise. There being among the presents with which we were supplied a number of pikes, we presented two or three of these from each ship to the most de- serving of the Esquimaux, to serve as staves for their spears ; and valuable ones they proved to them. Upon each pike were marked by small nails driven into the wood the words " Fury and Hccla, 1822." Almost the whole of these people were now affected with violent colds and coughs, occasioned by a considerable thawing that had lately taken place in their huts, so as to wet their clothes and bedding ; though, as will be seen by the Meteorological Register, we had as yet experienced no great increase of temperature. From the nature of their habitations, however, their comfort was greater, and their chance of health better when the cold was more severe. On this account they began to make fresh alte- rations in these curious dwelling-places, cither by building the former apart- ments two or three feet higli r, or adding others that they might be less crowded. In building a higher hut they construct it over, and, as it were, concentric with the old one, which is then removed from within. It is curious to consider that, in all these alterations, the object kept in view was cooZ/te^^, and this in houses faniM'd of snow! , , , '. ; ; «s Some of them had caught a wolf in their trap ; but we found that nothing less than extreme want could have induced them to cat the Hesh of that OF A North-west passage. 181 which we had given them, as now that they had other food, they would not ,,'^''' touch it. Only four wolves at this time remained alive of the original pack, and these were constantly prowling about near the ships or the village. The month of February closed with the thermometer at — 32°, and though the sun had now attained a meridian altitude of nearly sixteen degrees, and enlivened us with his presence above the horizon for ten hours in the day, no sensible effect had yet been produced on the average temperature cf the atmosphere. The uniformly white surface of snow on which at this season the sun's rays have to act, or rather leaving them nothing to act upon, is much against the first efforts to produce a thaw ; but our former experience of the astonishing rapidity with which this operation is carried on, when once the ground begins to be laid bare, served in some measure to reconcile us to what appeared a protraction of the cold of winter not to have been expected in our present latitude. 1' r- 1*' . '"'11 '^ '.•I 1; 'i4''^, ■ 1 ABSTRACT of the METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL kept on board His Majesty's Sh P Fuat , at Winter Island, duric g the Month of February, 1822. t Day Fahrenheit's Ther- mometer. Mean Tempe- rature of Lower Deck. 1 1 Baromeier. 1 Prevailing Winds. Prevailing Weather. .M»l- 1 1). Miiii- niunw IMcaii. Maxi. niiMii. Mini- iiiiinir Mean. Dinclicil. Velocity 1 o -19 o -24 o -20.92 o 55.5 inr)ii's 30.01 iiiflu'H 1 iiiclim 29.9!) 30.000 NW light fine 2 19 28 23.42 64.7 30.03 29.99 30.008 NW light dM 3 27 32 28.C2 58.0 30.04 29.90.29.U68 NNW light An 4 SO 31 32. C7 54.3 29.90 29.7929.840 NNW. light . Am S 30 34 31.54 64.3 29.79 29.7620.780 NNW light fine c 23 32 27.33 53.5 29.83 29.72,29.763 NW modt. cloudy- 7 13 87 21.42 54.0 29.05 20.4929.550 NNW light hazy 8 19i 30 25.29 57.1 29.57 29.4829.525 WNW light cloudy 9 15 31 20.25 55.0 29.37 2H. 80,29.011 NW light cloudy 10 20 32 20.40 54.7 28.93 28.7828.801 NbW light hazy and snow 11 21 30 26.08 65.6 29.31 28.91 2!>.117 North modt. cloudy 12 22 32 24.92 54.0 29.34 29.2029.290 NNW modt. cloudy 13 15 28 22.33 56.0 29.32 28.90 29.110 NW light cloudy 14 13 31 25.29 64.7 29.52 29.41 20.472 NNW modt. cloudy 15 4 19 9.92 58.0 29.37 29.28 29.315 sw strung hazy and Jdft IG 14 28 23.42 58.7 29.35 29.29 29.318 NWbN light clear 17 17 30 22.92 68.2 29.20 29.14 29.193 NNW light fine 18 27 . 37 31.17 56.2 29.?7 :29.15 29.250 NW modt. uaz}' 19 31 37 33.-33 51.2 29.74 29.43 29.582 NW modt. fine 20 25 36 30.42 54.2 a9.92 29.78 29.872 NW modt. Cm tl 20 30 25.17 52.2 2U.85 29.72 29.793 NW fresh clear and driA 22 10 25 19.07 62.2 29.93 29.75 20.842 NNW strong hazy 23 19 25 21.33 62.0 29.99 29.93 29.9.'>2 NW strong hazy and drift 24 ii 31 27.4'-' 61.5 .10.01 20.93 29.967 NW ttrolift A.M. drift P.M. fine 25 20 31 28.71 51.7 30.03 30.01 30.020 N to W. light clear 20 9 32 17.7.'-. 62.2 29.<'« 29.80 29,898 1 NbE light hazy 27 104 35 18.54 52.5 29.78 29.5129.593 Nortli light fine 2H 30 30 32.42 53.0 29.80 29.63 29.733 North ( light fine - 4 -37 -21.97 i 54.0 30 01 28.7829.593 i'! i SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. 183 CHAPTER VIII. CHARTS DRAWN BY THE ESQUIMAUX — ILLNESS AMONG THEM — A JOmNEY PERFORMED ACROSS WINTER ISLAND SUFFERINGS OF THE PARTY BY FROST FURTHER NOTICE OP THE ESQUIMAUX CHARTS DEPARTURE OF SOME OF THESE PEOPLE, AND A SEPARATE VILLAGE ESTABLISHED ON THE ICE VARIOUS METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA OKOTOOK AND HiLi WIFE BROUGHT ON BOARD ANECDOTES RELATING TO THEM SHIPS RELEASKIJ FROM THE ICE BY SAWING. 18-22. March. Frid. 1. Little as we considered ourselves to stand in need of any auxiliary re- sources for the complete occupation of our time during; the winter, it must be confessed that the arrival of the Esquimaux served in no small degree to enliven us at this season; and, from the quickness with which the last month had appeared to pass by, we were not sorry to have dispensed with the necessity of putting to the test with what degree of patience we might other- wise have borne the remaining period of our confinement. Our invalid, Reid, continued about this time much the same as before, being sometimes better and sometimes worse, but without any permanent or material alteration in either way, except that which a long and tedious confinement must necessarily produce. We had now also an addition to our sick-list in the ship's cook, who complained of a severe pain in the upper part of his thigh, the bone of which had been shattered several years before by a musket-ball. It was for a few days uncertain whether this pain was rheumatic, or v?hether any matter was forming in the wound. The latter, however, proved to be the case, and an incision having been made, tlie cook was able to return to his duty in a short time. The thermometer rose gradually from — 35° on the morning of the 1st of March to — 11° at night, and on the following day it had reached + 2°, being Sat. 2. the first time we had seen it above zero since Christmas. This increase of temperature had been accompanied, or perhaps caused, by a change of wind III n 1 I U 184 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY M 1822. ffQ,^ ^]^g north-west by south to south-east; from which quarter it soon v-*-v-*i. freshened to a gale, with much snow-drift. On the 3d it again drew round Sun. 3. to the northward, but continued to blow as strong as before. During this time the mercury in the barometer did not fall below 29.94 inches, and that durinjj; a short intermission of the gale on the 2d. In the miitet of this inclement Aveather a number of the Esquimaux were out upon the ice to the southward, some of them at the distance of a mile and a half from the land, with large spaces of clear water intervening between it and them ; the very ice on which they trod being in rapid motion with the tide, and themselves enveloped alternately in a cloud of frost-smoke or a tremendous snow-drift, which often obscured them from our sight. They seemed, how- ever, to think nothing of this, or at least to consider themselves amply repaid for their risk and labour, by procuring abundance of seals or sea-horses on most of these excursions. They were indeed so well furnished at this time, that even our biscuit was occasionally refused. I to-day procured from little Toonck a string of bones, which on inquiry we found to belong to a land animal called by the Esquimaux Kablee-arioo, and which we certainly had never met with. From the description given us by these people on this and several other occasions, we considered it likely to be the wolverene ; but it must be extremely rare in those parts of America. On the 4th we had a long visit from Okotook and Iligliuk, who both looked MoH. 4. very ill and were labouring under severe coughs. In the course of our con- versation I found from Okotook, that the man whose tent I had visited in the summer up Lyon Inlet, was named Arnalooa, and that he was uncle to Oko- took, being the brother of his mother Ilhtmta, now at Winter Island. We found indeed that they knew the whole history of our visit ; for they not on'y described and named the persons we saw, but related the exact manner in which Mr. Sherer's drinking-cup had been stolen, its being secreted in the boot of Arnalooa's wife, and their expulsion from our tents in consequence. We subsecjuently discovered that Appokiuk, the woman already mentioned as having somewhere seen Kabloona oomiak, was one of Arnalooa's wives, though now separated from him, and that she was one of the party in question who had visited our tents in the summer, though our short intercourse did not allow us immediately to recognise her features. It turned out therefore that the only oomiuks she had ever seen were our own boats on that occasion ; and this was a striking instance out of many in which we at tirst totally misappre- OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 185 .'•,^•4 hended these people's meaning, in consequence of our ignorance of their language. Being extremely desirous of ascertaining what the Esquimaux knew of the coast to the northward of our present station, we to-day drew out roughly on a large sheet of paper the conformation of the land in this neighbourhood, and as far to the westward as Repulse Bay, and then requested Iligliulc to continue it to the northward. She readily understood our meaning, and with a pencil soon traced various indentations in the coast, together with several islands, on one of which called Amitioke, at the distance of sixteen days' journey, she informed us she was born. As it would afford no interest to re- late the various surmises, hopes, and fears, which this and several other Esqui- maux charts subsequently gave rise to in our minds, it will only be necessary in this place further to remark, that our first inquiries did not produce any very satisfactory information as to the relative position or trending of the coast beyond Winter Island, and that it was not till long after this time that we were enabled duly to appreciate the geographical knowledge which they possessed. Whatever uncertainty existed however on this subject, or whatever might be the information we could hope to obtain from the Esquimaux in the course of our further communication with them, our business was to see and not to speculate. If, as might reasonably be expected from the nature of the coast lately examined, that upon which we hoped soon to recommence our discove- ries was also indented by inlets and fringed with numerous islands, it had long before occurred to Captain Lyon and myself in the course of our con- versations on this subject, that considerable time might be saved to the ships, during the short season of navigation about to commence, by sending a party by land to complete as much as possible of that examination before the ships were released from the ice. As it was requisite that this should be accom- plished before the commencement of a general thaw, by which the return of the party might have been altogether prevented, preparations were now made for a journey of this nature ; and Captain Lyon offering his services to com- mand the Expedition, the proper number of individuals were selected to com- mence their arrangements under his orders. As one of the Esquimaux with whom we were well acquainted might prove of service on such a journey. Captain Lyon's friend Ayoket, who was in every respect the most eligible for the purpose, was informed of our intentions and a proposal made to him to accompany the party to " Iligliuk's country." • 8 » 1822. March. m \ t Y * ^: m ! S" ^n » ' nH ^ in ■ . ' ' \ 'iHral % t 1' ' ; iffl 1 ■ ; III 4J4'- * 1?il:^!:if I >■■, ' ' '*^ 'I'm \\^^, ' t ; ■T'M ,1 . ■ ":'^i . i )■ . w ■i>r ■ ■ W-J- -t r f ;fr i Af^' Hi SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DlSCO^n^: :Y I. . 1822. y^Q had nQ^ succeeded in taking the last wolf in • • n^ < the Esquimaux s^'^vw having caught two, and the other eleven having been t;ntrapped o? shot near the ships. The natives were greatly relieved by the extirpation of these ravenous animals which were constantly alarming them at the huts ; and we were ourselves not sorry to have got rid of them so soon. Thur. 7. On the 7th the wind got round from north to south-west and increased to a strong gale from that quarter, which continued without intermission and with almost constant snow the whole of the 8th. It was remarkable that the mer- cury in the barometer was stationary at 30.31 inches for eight hours on the night of the 7th and the morning of the 8th, though the wind had then been blowing strong for more than half 9 day. The thermometer again rose to +2° this morning. To ascertain the thickness of the ice formed in the bay since the close of the last autumn, a hole was dug in a part where no separation had taken place since the commencement of the winter's frost, and where in fact we had seen it commence. The thickness of the floe was here four feet seven inches, being the produce of exactly five calendar months. The ice was hard, brittle, and transparent till within six or eight inches of the lower surface, where it became soft and porous, allowing the water to filter slowly through it. The Esquimaux were fortunate in killing another walrus which we met them dragging in high spirits towards the village. They usually divide these huge animals on the spot into four or five parts, each of which with its proportion of the intestines is sewn up so as to resemble a seal at a little distance. Four or five dogs, if they have them at hand, are fastened to each of these, and the man who attends them frequently rides home upon it as on a sledge. The wind moderated on the 9th, but continued from the south-west, and a great deal of snow fell. The mildness of the weather (the thermometer having got as high as 4 13°) continued to incommode the natives in their huts more and more, and severe coughs and catarrhs were still epidemic among them. Some of the women had quite lost their voices, and almost every indi- vidual was more or less a sufferer from the constant dripping of water from the roofs of their apartments. On the evening of the 10th, while I was sitting in my cabin, the door opened gently and in walked Toolooak, who very unceremoniously seated himself on the opposite side of the table, and soon began to display not only his usual good humour, but a degree of archniess for which we had before scarcely given him credit. As a specimen of this, though by no means the only one with Sat. 9, ."jun. 10. y %. TV ■- U~:fiai*\im -i- >^'F"''11i or 4 SORTH-W'EST PASs'AGK. IK ■•■t w«il!tf* Im tifrated m. f ha*o<)ner gone inM tlu tj»ir!-room to iM>joofik. ivho was noW->jlone iil th«^ talMii. took H into hisheafi to play i.\f <««»*^5%atfc trick ; for nhich purjHtRe hi* boUtly rana^ th** heU,'an Hi?r#4jm a<^e\- f»r H t^th U* S** fe«t* Hr Sjonfkuk Who, with ©uiw^'Ursi. »w»<*#> i»fk »^* ^Jat ^n^pd^^^ li'A.iuds Jipon the sledge. Aft* l« ittj» v»pw< twirw s»f# fis>p(trA); «i l*^**"* ♦♦h timt-* tnjtf^ft^uitMin*- the itti;;«fc^;»nJ l-tiUvnif^ of <>kAf«H»|k. vtv\ us. >f «if»r,ieil • > inr BiM>t '^'^t!! Jvf>>,y. *i((« '-♦• ;r>»:n i* tt-ij-" .j-s , ♦» Jt»'r-i ft. C«; ', |» , a- ■ ' ' ptaj.-f I ftiiM « r^rvr »e¥er».! fresh altoTatlon.i had been irii.d. in tlte hiit.i siu<-«' m^ iu^* v». it. ")} h«wevpr of the •Jairi'' kijul, and having in \iiMV the »i.-unr ..lii-wi iw tho- *♦.» iW-^erUnd h> th. •-( nl(eratit'n« »h> \ ^♦•e'«i »i na'«i» • '»< du- »n<»iv.e*»i. aiw< .o do i( hII by s.jeh ui'. nii.ious eonseu* that m< aui»ulli»-«i.*i; difR'tPfW* •<♦' ■ ■ •• in. ':> -^» . •. »'• ■ !' .... ui»*< a>, iMtwh tlf«-refl as tha* «>! »Hi «««<* t, ,r tt.'vJ »t * * ..^iv ir v:»i.vv wan now « hiffh a** thi- f "<«('• •»'T' <«h'. ■ ^ , ;.';*« .»lk ef-fu- i>l ft^y overthfin and. Inu f.r •;,«- r.»fmH |rtt»,lrf« of nr i^'ir»'i»fMtrij.f the winduwx. v.fhmr wtwpi'utng thr |iti»< 'n^.' of htnnan (»^ln^'« f?wt wu^ i i^itorubty «>«a -M^hrd liein?' This ht'ift*n?«r w4M notalway** dene with inipi .I'v, when M«e tbtwint; wi'tdn hsd loo iptjch w, iikened the roofn. in which ea. - u h»K »^'H4. •irtn*- rvi»*. Uh way l^r♦««^h. and discovered m what prnifi r-(*!rN were f«cit««. < m'Of sunty THf i»tiv»'s wen^ ai thi*. Vmr exfiCine y v.-.,): tnrt^ished Mith -**U He«l for feod, Jiml «d f..r their «anipt», and ad ♦h.^ would areepl >:r.>,m ,f,> 'Tit-pt meat nhich we couhl noi affotd to fjiV* * > ivaier, i'f.l (hl^ •I I' .. Murtt. T"U' r Mi Liii ■ffl '>>' 1 IB Cf iH ■} M wH 'J ' 1 ' n wIB h '1 H ^^1 i. 1 ai 'i?l OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 187 which he treated us, I had no sooner gone into the gun-room to drink tea, Jji^^\ than Toolooak, who was now alone in the cabin, took it into his head to play '-^^'^ my servant a trick ; for which purpose he boldly rang the bell, and when the servant came, laughed at him very heartily for his pains. After levying con- tributions by way of supper on all the officers' messes, he wrapped himself up in all the skins we could muster, and slept soundly on my lockers till the morning, when after a hearty breakfast he took his departure, well pleased with his entertainment, but still more with the various presents he took with him. On the 12th, Okotook came, according to an appointment previously made, Tues. 12 with a sledge and six dogs to give me a ride to the huts, bringing with him his son Sioutkuk who, with ourselves, made up a weight of near four hundred pounds upon the sledge. After being upset twice and stopping at least ten times, notwithstanding the incessant bullying of Okotook, and as it seemed to me, more bodily labour on his part to steer us clear of accidents, than if he had walked the whole way, we at length arrived at the huts, a distance of two miles, in five-and-twenty minutes. Of this equipment, and their usual modes of travelling, 1 shall have occasion to speak more fully in bnother place. I found that several fresh alterations had been made in the huis since my last visit, all however of the same kind, and having in view the same ol)jec( as those last described. In these alterations they seem to consult the con- venience of the moment, and to do it all by such unanimous consent that no considtation or difference of opinion ever appears to exist about it. So much snow-drift had now collected about the huts, that their external appearance was as much altered as that of the interior, and it was difficult io trace any re- semblance to the original village, or even to perceive its present limits. The siKiw was now as high as the roofs on every side, so that one might walk eom- ph'tely over them, and, but for the round plates of ice com|M)sing the witidows, without suspecting the little hive of human beings that was romfortably esta- blished below. This however was not always done with imp mily, when the thawing within had too much weakened the roofs, in which case a log Mome- times made its way through, and discovered in what parts repairs were becoming necessary. The natives were at this time extremely well furnished with seals' i esh for food, and oil for their lamps, and all they would accept from »is (except meat which we could not afford to give) wan wai.^r, and this 8 D >; . •!: J 11: ill ..ill II 188 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY n\ *( Itr 1822. March. they swallowed in such quantities whenever they came to the ships, that it was impossible to furnish them with half as much as they desired. We had before this time communicated to Ayokct and his countrymen our intention of sending a party of our people to the northward in the spring ; and Captain Lyon had displayed to him all the charms of a brightly polished brass kettle, of greater magnitude than had perhaps ever entered into an Esquimaux imagination, as an inducement among various others for him to ac- company the Kabloonas in their excursion. The prospect of such riches was a temptation almost irresistible ; but enterprise is not the genius of an Esqui- maux, and Ayokct, we soon began to perceive, had no fancy for the proposed trip, which all his friends persisted in saying could never be accomplished. This was evidently to be attributed, in no small degree, to jealousy of any one individual among them being thus selected ; and the braas kettle was speedily the means of increasing the distance to " Iligliuk's country " from sixteen to twenty-four days' journey. We had long, indeed, observed that this feel- ing of jealousy was easily excited among these people; but what is extraordi- nary, it never displayed itself (as is most usual) among themselves, but was entirely vented upon us, who were, though innocently, the authors of it. As an instance of this, a man of the name of Karrctok refused to take from me a strong and useful pair of scissors as a present, because, as he did not hesi- tate to assure me, I had given Okotook a pike which was more valuable. To shew him that this temper was not likely to produce any thing to his advan- tt\gc, I took back the scissors, and having sent him away went to my dinner. Going accidentally on deck an hour afterwards, I found Karretok still on board, who having had time to reflect on his folly now came n\t to me with a smiling face, and begged hard for the scissors, which of course he did not get. Many similar instances occurred, both to Captain Lyon and myself. To this discouragement on the part of his friends was added on that oi Ayokct the same wavering aaut for this purpose on the following day, taking with him a tent, blankets and provisions for three days in case of accidents. At seven A.M. on the lath, Captain Lyon and his party left the ships ; Ind. i'> tiie thermometer being as high as zero, and a moderate breeze blowing from the northward though accompanied by considerable snow-drift ; an annoyance which it now required much less strength of wind to create ti u al the commencement of the winter, owing to the snow having become more minute. Prom the very hour of Captain Lyon's departure the ther- mometer bc;<:!:an to full rapidly, and the wind to increase ; till at midnight the former had reached —32° and a hard gale blew from the north-west ; upon the whole it proved one of the most inclement nights for people to be exposed to, that we had experienced in our present quarters, and tlierefore ereateosure to all the horrors of such tremendous inclemency, i\f\:\ die fireside amiforts wc on board were enjoying. In this climate more frequently than in any other does the mind turn to the Poor iiukc-d wiotclies, wlu'ru^K-'er tliey be. That bide the pelting of the piliU^ss sturni. But now that some of our own companions were thus exjwsed, tlic idea came '■■ .11 1, ! ^il nni i^ i is f m: I'l ' 190 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 18-2-2. Marcli. more forcibly home to our recollections, together with the utter helpless- ness, not to say hopelessness, of their situation. Sat. Ki. The wind and drift continued incessantly on the 16th ; and as the ther- mometer rose no higher than —20° during the day, our apprehensions for Captain Lyon's party were by no means diminished. To send in quest of them, would have been only to incur the certainty of other men being equally exposed. Indeed this is one of the cases in which no assistance can be otFercd ; for any persons sent out with that hope must inevitably become helpless in a short time, while the snow-drift would render it impossible to trace those whom they v.'ere intended to assist. We had however prepared a party under Lieutenant Reid to be despatched the instant it moderated, when to our infinite surprise and joy, at one P.M. Captain Lyon arrived on board, having with great difficulty succeeded in conducting his party safely to tiie ships. If I have succeeded in imparting to the reader any idea of that api)rehen- sion for the safety of our absentees, which we ourselves experienced, he V 111 not be sorry at once to be presented with Captain Lyon's account of this perilous though short excursion : • At seven A.M., on the 1.3th, we proceeded towards the hills to the north- ward of our winter-quarters. A strong wind arose soon after our starting, and blew directlj in our faces, bringing thick clouds of drift snow with it. On ascending the sloping grou,id we found the sledge too much for us, and it was with great diflicuUy dragged through the soft snow in which we waded kne . deep. The wind had now increased to a heavy gale, our utmosf view was l)oun steer a direct northerly course, f(»r we < \pecte(l in that direction to arrive at a small bay, which had been observed by Captain Parry and myielf on our first arrival. At ten we were con- tinned in our conjecaire by descending suddenly and arriving at a (juantity of grounded ice, ', ^,,'%^ 192 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. March. *';i'«l severe as ever. The tent was half buried in the snow, and I set all hands to work at digging out the sledge, but it was so deeply sunk that our efforts were unsuccessful, and in the attempt our faces and extremities were most painfully frost-bitten. With all these difficulties before us, Mr. Palmer and myself consulted together as to whether it would be most prudent to endeavour to pass another night in our present precarious situation, or while wc were yet able to walk make an attempt to reach the ships, which we suppose.^ were about six miles from us. We could not see a yard of our way, yet to remain appeared worse than to go forward, which last plan was decided on. At thirty minutes past nine, having placed all our lug- gage in the tent, and erected a small flag over it, wc set out, carrying a few pounds of bread, a little rum, and a spade. The wind being now in our backs, we walked very briskly, and having an occasional glimpse of a very faint sun through the drift, managed to steer a tolerable course. James Carr having loitered a little behind us was suddenly missed, and by the most for- tunate chance we saw him running across our path in search of us ; for had he been ten yards farther off he might have been lost. After walking several miles we came to grounded ice, and saw the tracks of Esquimaux men and dogs, but these were so confused that we knew not which marks to follow. " Not knowing on which side of the ships we had arrived, we feared to go to the southward or eastward, and accordingly went as nearly west as possible, ill which direction we again crossed tracks. We now wandered amongst the heavy hummocks of ice without knowing which track to pursue, and, suffer- ing from cold, fatigue, and anxiety, were soon completely bewildered. Se- veral of our party began to exhibit symptoms of that horrid kind of insensi- bility which is the prelude to sleep. They all professed extreme willingness to do what they were told in order to keep in exercise, but none obeyed ; on the contrary they reeled about like drunken men. The faces of several were severely frost-bitten, and some had for a considerable time lost sensa- tion in their lingers and toes ; yet they made not the slightest exertion to rub llie parts affected, and discontinued their geneval custom of warming each other on observing a discoloration of the skin. We continued for some time to employ them in building a snow-wall, ostensibly as a shelter from the wind, but in reality to give them exercise, for standing still must have proved fatal to men in our circumstances. My attention was particularly directed • OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 193 to Serjeaiit Spackman, who having been repeatedly warned that his nose was frozen had paid no attention to it, owing to the state of stupefaction into which he had fallen. The frost-bite had now extended over one side of his face, which was frozen as hard as a mask, the eye-lids were stiff, and one comer of the upper lip so drawn up as to expose the teeth and gums. My hands being still warm, I was enabled to restore the circulation, after whicli I used all my endeavours to keep him in motion, but he complained sadly of giddiness and dimness of sight, and was so weak as to be unable to walk of himself. His case was indeed so alarming, that I expected every moment he would lie down never to rise again. Our prospect now became every moment more gloomy, and it was but too evident that four of our party could not survive another hour. Mr. Palmer, however, endeavoured with myself to cheer the people, but it was a faint attempt as we had not a single hope to give them. We had less reason to fear immediate danger to ourselves, in consequence of having fur coats instead of woollen ones. Every piece of ice, or even small rock or stone, was now taken for the ships ; and we had great difficulty in preventing the men from running to the different objects which attracted them, and losing themselves in the drift. In this state, while Mr. Palmer was running round us to warm himself, he suddenly pitched on a new beaten track; and as exercise was indispensable, we determined on following it wherever it might lead us. Having taken the Serjeant under my coat, he recovered a little and we moved onwards, when, only those who have been in a similar state of distress can imagine our joy at finding the path led to the ships, at which we arrived in about ten minutes. " John Lee had two of his fingers so badly frost-bitten as to lose a good deal of the flesh of the upper ends, and we were for many days in fear he would be obliged to have them amputated. Carr, who had been the most hardy while in the air, fainted twice on coming below; and all had severe frost-bites in different parts of the body, which recovered after the loss of skin usual in those cases." 1822. Marcli. ill ' V- '^ . f'::;l 1 ' ■■'1 lii ■ , 'j ': ' ',*. ■if'i',': il- 1 Notwithstanding the inclemency of tho weather, some of the Esquimaux had, by the foot and sledge marks, found their way to the ships on the morn- ing of the 16th, assuring us, as we found to be too true, that in consequence Sat. ifj of the gale which prevented their going out for seals they had not any food, nor a single lamp a-light at the village. In the course of the following day, 8 c !■■ i 1 :!'■ > .' Ifiki m'> J'il ^ 194 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY F'k March ^® ^^^ further proofs of the wretchedness which these poor people were en- v.#-v-v^ during at the huts ; for, though the weather was very little better than before, above forty men and women besides some children came down to the ships, and begged with more than their usual earnestness iov atjmething to eat. It now once more became an act of humanity, and consequently of duty, to supply them as well as we were able ; and all were admitted to partake of as much bread-dust as they cx)uld eat, besides a quantity which they took away with them. It had been long since Okotook and Iligliuk cared to accept this kind of food from us, partly because our respect for the latter generally ensured them something better, and partly because of late they had procured plenty of seals ; to-day, however, they devoured it eagerly, and seemed very well satisfied to take their share with the others. When the usual time of departure came, they all discovered a wish to remain on board ; but as we could not find lodging for tlie whole tribe, they were obliged very reluctantly to return. Nanmvo, a fine quiet young man whrise native country is near Chesterfield Inlet, and who, having only a sister here, used to live with Okotook, begged very hard to remain on board, but as I did not like to give the preference to one in particular, he also took his leave. The wind abated towards night, after a gale which, both for duration and strength, might well be called equinoctial. The indications of the barometer on this occasion deserve to be noticed. The mercury had fallen with un- usual rapidiiy from 29.46 inches at four P.M. on the 14th, to 28.80 at eight A.M. on tile loth, at which time the gale may be said to have commenced. What was remarkable, however, is that this was its minimum, and that from this time the mercury almost constantly, though very slowly, rose to 29.19 on the evening of the 17th, when the wind moderated. On tlie following day, the 18th, when the weather was quite fine, the barometer rose very quickly to 29.84 at midnight, and continued to rise till it had reached its )mximum, 30 inches, on the evening of the 19th. It may be interesting to notice that, during ihi i three days' gale, which was certainly well calculated to try the merits of our warming stove, the mean temperature of the Fury's lower deck had been from 58° to 02°, and that the thermometer had never stood lower than 56°. The temperature of the sick-bay was always above 60°. Moil. 18. On the I8th, almost every man from the hut'^ was out seal-hunting, and three or four, as the women informed us, had ffonc to a considerable distance for walruses, and with the intention of remaining out for the night in a snow hut. While tlie men were thus employed, their wives did not fail to use OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 195 ;1'. lB'2-2. March. their endeavours also to procure food ; and I believe that every female be- longing to the village, without a single exception, made her appearance at the ships to-day, and was supplied with a proportion of bread-dust for her family. It was pleasing to observe, that they were always punctual in re- turning the buckets and bags which we lent them for carrying out their provisions. The fact of our ships not having required pumping out, either here or at Melville Island, for several months together during the winter, naturally led me to consider what was likely to be the reason of this extraordinary tightness. It is true indeed, that after the first winter a certain quantity of ice was subsequently found mixed with the coals which composed our bal- last, but this quantit- c a trifling proportion to the ten or twelve inches of water which fouii> is way into the pump- well dailt/ throughout the sum- mer. It appears probable, therefore, that any small leak through which the water only slowly filters may become altogether stopped by its freezing, whenever the temperature of the hold has fallen a few degrees below the freezing-point of sea-water. For the latter being already cooled down as low as in its fluid state it can be, will very readily freeze when, by its entrance into the ship, it meets with a greater degree of cold, especially if (as is very frequently the case) the leak should be about a metal bolt which, by its conducting property, would very much favour the process of con- gelation. We had clear and very moderate weather on the 20th, and yet the ther- Wed momcter fairly exposed to the sun's rays rose only to — 5°, or about 12° higher than in the shade, and this with the sun twelve hours above the horizon, and 24° high at noon. At night it blew a strong breeze from the W.N.W., with considerable drift, notwithstanding which it is remarkable that the mercury in the barometer remained at 29.80 inches, without the alteration of a single hundredth part from ten P.M. on the 20th till four A.M. on the 22d, being an interval of thirty hours. Except the breeze above mentioned, which continued strong for four or five hours, the weather was fine during this interval, and remained so for several days afterwards. A deeper drift of snow had collected round the ships during the last week, and particularly at the time of the gales, than in the whole of the preceding j)art of the winter. On one side of the Hecla was a bank seven or eight feet deep, in which the men amused themselves by excavating houses, with large 2 c « 10. ■f i $^ )■■.'■; kv ' :: %: 1 rt' ' » 1 * ■■ .■■'.4f i ■ -.^ \ 2% k ill 1 ;!. "^ -■ I'ftf V 1 V-' i Mj& IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 11.25 •^ Ki 12.2 HO Eiji ■ lit IM I 2.0 Hiotographic ^Sciences Corporation 93 WIST MAIN ITMIT WnSTH.N.Y. 14SI0 |71«) •r9-4S03 ■^V* ^ i/.i \ s <> ^ 196 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY nt m V i<'f-« '^^- vaulted apartments like catacombs. The quantity of snow, however, around ^.*-y->^ the ships was never so great here as at Melville Island, in consequence of the less frequent drifts, though its depth on shore and therefore the whole quan- tity that fell was greater. The weather continued very fine for several days about this period, the wrnd being from the north-west, and the thermometer from — 8° to — 24°. Moil. 25. On the 25th some clear water opening now and then off the south-east point, I sent Ml'. Ross in the small boat to endeavour to kill some dovekies, of which he procured one or two specimens. These birds and the ravens were the only ones that kept us company occasionally throughout the winter. . The endeavours we had lately been making to gain from the Esquimaux some knowledge of the geographical features of the land to the northward, had at length been crowned with even greater success than we had antici- pated, and some information of a very gratifying and interesting nature thus obtained. I shall here, therefore, give some account of that information, and of the progressive steps by which it was communicated, which may, at the same time, serve to shew the kind and degree of dependence that is to be placed in geographical notices thus obtained. Thp fust attempt made in this way, was by placing several sheets of paper before Iligliuk, and roughly drawing on a large scale an outline of the land about Repulse Bay and Lyon Inlet, and terminating at our present winter- quarters. If information and not mere curiosity be the object, this in my opinion is an indispensable precaution ; for that object can hardly be so well obtained by leaving a savage to puzzle his way over fifty leagues of coast already known, when by delineating it with tolerable accuracy, his concep- tions, instead of being confused, may be assisted. Iligliuk was not long in comprehending what we desired, and with a pencil continued the outline, making the land trend as we supposed to the north-eastward, and giving the names of the principal places as she proceeded. The scale being large, it was necessary when she came to the end of one piece of paper to tack on another, till at length she had filled ten or twelve sheets, and had completely lost sight of Winter Island (called Nei/ming-EU-dmJ at the other end of the table. The i• •Mi,: 1 * . 1 Vl ■ i-i .•K»' i f 4' 198 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. March continental coast short round to the westward, and afterwards to the S.S.W., so as to come within three or four days' journey of Repulse Bay. The coun- try thus situated upon the shores of the Western or Polar Sea is called Akkoolee, and is inhabited by numerous Esquimaux ; and half-way between that coast and Repulse Bay Iligliuk drew a lake of considerable size, having small streams running from it to the sea on each side. To this lake her countrymen are annually in the habit of resorting during the summer, and catch there large fish of the salmon kind, while on the banks are found abundance of rein-deer. To the westward of Akkoolee, as far as they can see from the hills, which she described as high ones, nothing can be distin- guished but one wide-extended sea. Being desirous of seeing whether Iligliuk would interfere with Wager River, as we know it to exist, I re- quested her to continue the coast-line to the southward of Akkoolee, when she immediately dropped the pencil, and said she knew no more about it. A few days after this, Ewerat drew a chart exactly corresponding with Ilig- liuk's in all material points, and every subsequent conversation with these people served to confirm this interesting information. A copy of Iligliuk's second chart, being^aboiit half the size of the original, is here annexed, the unshaded parts of the coast being those previously laid down for her, and the rest her own performance, r . ■ . . u »: ■"^a^i.v ojh: itimoisu ;. The new and satisfactory prospect thus unexpectedly opened to us, of our soon rounding the north-eastern point of America, recalled to my mind two circumstances that had occurred during the examination of Lyon Inlet, in the preceding autumn. The first was that, on the 9th of September, when on the summit of the high hill which I ascended, I noticed a brightness in the western sky so much resembling ice-blink, that I remarked it to the men who were with me, and afterwards to Mr. Ross on my return to the tents. The second circumstance now alluded to is, that, from a still higher hill, to which I despatched Messrs. Ross and Bushnan on the 13th, they saw a great (leal of water to the W.N.W., with islands and capes ; but, as the sun had just set, they could make out nothing more. As we had already determined by the closest examination, that there was here no communication with it, and as no idea could be entertained of the sea being only at the distance of ten or twelve leagues in that direction, I camj to the conclusion that it could only be a lake of larger dimensions than the numberless others with which this country is covered. I had now, however, not the smallest doubt that it S RIMATJX C HART Mtitttrf J^lmS Cap *" Parry. M,4J.I,VJejSttirOA'l! §.,' ]i »■ ll'i'lltfr A'l'itutt' •«, ,:i M, 1 ',' f^/mmmJn'.T ZtM.t*^!^)^ / (• '.! 'i OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 199 ;k' J was the sea which our gentlemen had then seen, and that both this, and the blink observed by myself, might be considered as confirming very satisfac- torily the accounts given by the Esquimaux. The barometer rose to 30.41 inches in the night, being the maximum indica- tion registered since the 18th of Septemoer preceding. It was so far, however, from being the precursor of any thing unusually fine in the weather, that it blew a fresh breeze from the W.N. W. on the26th,which was followed by over- cast weather and small snow. To this succeeded a gale from the northward, which came on with considerable violence on the 27th, and continued to blow incessantly during the two following days, accompanied by a high snow-drift. The inclemency of the weather preventing the Esquimaux from going out to fish, they were once more badly off for food and fuel. A ge- neral supply of bread-dust was therefore furnished them from the ships, which they now had learned to consider so much a thing of course, that few of them thought it necessary even to go through the forms of their accus- tomed Cqyennd (thanks). Siokobeut, alias the Commodore, was detected in stealing a piece of beef from the Hecla's quarter, placing his little boy Toonek to look out for any person coming. I do not know whether hunger may not be considered some excuse for this act of petty larceny, but at the time we thought it aggravated, in some degree, by their having just before been fed with bread-dust on board. When the weather moderated, which was not till the night of the 29th, we found that the ice had once more separated in the offing, and had even made some encroachments into the bay, the open water being now within two hundred paces of the ships' sterns. It is certain indeed that, but for tlie numerous grounded masses which had fixed themselve s *^und the shores of the bay, and which like so many piles held fast the flo'^ into which we were frozen, we should long ere this time have been drifted out to sea by the total disruption of the ice from this part of the land. This observation is only meant to apply to a bay which, like our present one, is in the imme- diate neighbourhood of a part of the sea that, from some local cause, is frequently open during the winter, and where very high and rapid tides greatly favour the separation of ice from the shores. Wliere on the con- trary the tides are small, there is reason to believe that a ship once frozen Into a bay in these regions, however exposed it may be, may be just as se- cure during the winter as in the most sheltered harbour. As a method, and the only one that occurred to me, of trying the average 1822. March. Tucs. 26. Wed. CT Sun 31. H '., .' ,■' I, 1822. .March. N 200 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY depth of snow that had fallen at this period, I caused it to be accurately mea- sured as it lay on the level surface of the ice in the bay in twenty-two dif- ferent places, where there was no obstacle to create a drift. The mean depth thus obtained was four inches and a half, which, however, when com- pared with that on shore, even in parts the least likely to collect a drift, appeared too small by half to be taken as a measure of the actual quantity that had fallen. The fact seems to be that, while the irregularities of the surface on shore prevent the possibility of judging of this with any great accuracy, the smoothness and uniformity of the surface of the ice present an equal difficulty, though in a contrary way ; a very moderate breeze being sufficient during some months of the winter to carry it from the place where it has fallen, unless it has time to consolidate itself before the coming on of a breeze strong enough to disturb it. The appearance of the Aurora Borealis was less frequent during March than in the preceding winter months, in consequence of the increased dura- tion of daylight at this period. Whatever slight variations might exist in these appearances, it still continued a matter of constant remark to us, that the phenomenon almost invariably commenced in the south-eastern quarter of the heavens ; and it is perhaps worthy of notice that the same thing was observed by Crantz in Greenland*. The arch-like form assumed by the Aurora was also one of its almost invariable peculiarities ; the legs of the arch being usually situated somewhere between the east and west points of the horizon, and almost always occupying the southern side of the heavens. The only instance of this phenomenon during the month of March, deserving particular description, occurred on the evening of the 30th, when it made its appearance as usual in the south-eastern horizon, from whence it soon difiUsed itself in a low but tolerably regular arch extending to the W.S.W. Again at times it altogether vanished, and then as suddenly re-appeared much in the same situation as before. We often fancied that this phenomenon exhic bited a light of greater actual intensity when the moon was above the hori- zon than at other times, though its appearance was of course less splendid on that account. Whether this was in reality the case or not, we had no means of correctly judging ; but some idea of its brightness may be formed from the circumstance of its being often very distinctly visible when the * See Crantz, i. 48, whose very words would truly describe what we so frequently noticed during this winter. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 201 18'22. April. moon was between her quarters and the full. The electrometer was tried during the continuance of this evening's Aurora, but no effect was perceptible either on that or a Rater's compass. On the 2d of April a thin sheet of bay-ice several miles square had formed Tucs. 2 on the sea to the eastward and southward, where for two or three days past there had been a space of open water. This was occasioned more by the wind remaining very moderate, and the neap-tides occurring about this time, than from any great degree of cold, the thermometer seldom falling below — 6° or — 7°. The wind, however, settling in the south-east to-day, the main body of ice, which had been scarcely visible in the offing, soon began to move in-shore, forcing before it the young floe and squeezing it up into innumer- able hummocks, which presently being cemented together by a fresh forma- tion in their interstices, constituted an example of one of the ways in which these "hummocky floes" are produced, of which I have before so oi'ten had occasion to speak. We were always glad to see this squeezing process take place while the ice was still thin enough to admit of it ; as it thus became compressed perhaps into one-til'tieth part of the compass that it would other- wise have occupied, and of course left so much the more open space upon the surface of the sea. The temperature of the water at the bottom in eight fathoms was to-day 28°, being the same as that of the surface. Early in the morning the Esquimaux had been observed in motion at the huts ; and several sledges drawn by dogs and heavily laden went off to the westward. On going out to the village, we found one-half of the people had quitted their late habitations, taking with them every article of their property, and had gone over the ice, we knew not where, in quest of more abundant food. The wretched appearance which the interior of the huts now presented baffles all description. In each of the larger ones some of the apartments were either wholly or in part deserted, the very snow which composed the beds and lire-places having been turned up, that no article might be left behind. Even the bare walls, whose original colour was scarcely perceptible for lamp-black, blood, and other filtli, were not left perfect, large holes having been made in the sides and roofs for the convenience of handing out the goods and chattels. The sight of a deserted habitation is at all times calculated to excite in the mind a sensation of dreariness and desolation, especially when we have lately seen it filled with cheerful inhabitants ; but the feeling is even heightened rather than diminished when a small portion of these inhabitants remain behind to "'•i ■ ' i ^'1 ', 1 : .),i-, '• 'mm 'I! 's' •trii ABSTRACT of the METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL kept on board His Majesty's Ship ■ FuRT,atWinter Island, during the Month of MarcA, 1822. * ■ -J,, r -, Day Fahrenheit's I'hermometer. lii Barometer, PrevaUintr Winds. Prevailing Weather. ' M». byWtoNWJ fresh hazy and snow 10 - 8 13 -10.62 60.0 29.92 29.50 29.768 NW fresh clondy 11 8 22 13.71 68.0 30.00 29.94 80.978 NNW Ught clondy 12 13 14 8 + 8 9 24 11 9} 15.67 0.17 1.37 60.0 61.2 62.7 30.07 29.90 29.47 29.94 29.26 S9.14 80.017 89.576 29.348 NW WbN i North modt tqaalls at times light clear cloudy fine 15 2 32 12.12 62 2 28.97 28.80 28.850 NNW strong hazy and drift 16 17 IS -20 10 U 29 SO 8S 28.75 17.75 16.00 00.5 58.0 66.5 29.15 29.27 29.84 28.83 29.16 20.3? 28.960 29.206 29.598 NW WNW I NW strong squalls at times modt. hazy and mnch drift cloudy clear 19 13 27 21.85 57.0 80.00 29.80 29.028 NW light fine 20 21 22 15 6 12 26 18 24 19.42 12.42 18.00 69.5 57.5 69.2 29.90 29.80 29.94 29.80 20.80 20.80 29.853 29.800 29.872 WNW WNW WNW light fresh and •qiull* light fine hazy fine 23 11 23 16.96 60.0 30.06 29.95 29.998 NW light fine 24 8 21 14.17 67.3 30.22 80.07 30.144 North light cloudy and small snow 25 12 25 18.64 58.0 30 .a 30.22 30.307 WNW light fine 26 I 20 9.62 66.5 30.41 30.24 30.333 WNW modt. fine 27 4 9 6.12 68.7 80.20 29.64 20.957 North Ught bazrand small snow 28 6 10 7.92 57.5 29.57 20.05 29.233 NNE strong hazy and drift 29 + 8 2 + 2.75 59.7 29.10 29.02 29.048 NNE strong much drift 30 7 13 - 0.38 60.2 29.33 29.12 29.230 NbE modt. hazy and drift 31 7 14 2.00 63.5 29.36 20.26 29.307 NW light clondy +13 -35 -11.64 58.2 80.41 26.80 29.688 f SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. 203 endure the iprretchedness which such a scene exhibits. This was now the case at the village where, though the remaining tenants of each hut had com- bined to occupy one of the apartments, a great part of the bed-places were still bare and the wind and drift blowing in through the holes which they had not yet taken the trouble to stop up. The old man Hikkeiera and his wife occupied a hut by themselves, without any lamp or a single ounce of meat belonging to them ; while three small skins on which the former was lying, were all that they possessed in the way of blankets. Upon the whole, 1 never beheld a more miserable spectacle, and it seemed a charity to hope that a violent and constant cough with which the old man was afflicted would speedily combine with his age and infirmities to release him from his present sufferings. Yet in the midst of all this he was even cheerful, nor was there a gloomy countenance to be seen at the village. Almost all the men were out ; and some of them had been led so far to sea upon the' floating and detached masses of ice in pursuit of walruses, that Captain Lyon, who observed their situation from the ships, had it in contemplation,' in the course of the evening, to launch one of the small boats to go to their assistance. They seemed however to entertain no apprehensions themselves, from a confidence perhaps that the south-east wind might be depended upon for keeping the ice close home upon the shore. It is certain, notwith> standing, that no degree of precaution, nor any knowledge of the winds and tides, can render this otherwise than a most perilous mode of obtaining sub- sistence ; and it was impossible therefore not to admire the fearlessness aa well as dexterity with which the Esquimaux invturiably pursued it. Having distributed some bread-dust among the women, we told old lUumea and her daughter Togolat that we proposed taking up our lodging in their hut for the night. It is a remarkable trait in the character of these people, that they always thank you heartily for this, as well as for eating any of their meat; but both board and lodging may be given to them without receiving the slightest acknowledgment either in word or deed. As it was late before the men returned, I asked Togolat to get the rest of the women to perform some of their games, with the hope of seeing something that was new. I had scarcely time to make the proposal when she darted out of the hut, and quickly brought every female that was left at the village, not excepting even the oldest of them, who joined in the performance with the same alacrity as the rest. I could however only persuade them to go through a tedious song we had often before heard, which was now indeed somewhat 2 D 2 1822. April. ?;■ M. I i ' I' :#P' slill 204 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. April. modified by their insisting on our taking our turns in the performance, all which did not fail to create among them never-ceasing merriment and laughter. Neither their want of food and fuel, nor the uncertain prospect of obtaining any that night, were sufficient to deprive these poor creatures of that cheer- fulness and good-humou." which it seems at all times their peculiar happiness to enjoy. The night proved very thick with small snow, and as disagreeable and dangerous for people adrift upon floating ice as can well be imagined. If the women however gave their husbands a thought or spoke of them to us, it was only to express a very sincere hope that some good news might shortly arrive of their success. Our singing-party had not long been broken up when it was suddenly announced by one of the children, the usual heralds on such occasions, that the men had killed something on the ice. The only two men who were at home instandy scrambled on their outer jackets, harnessed their dogs, and set off to assist their companions in bringing home the game, while the women remained for an hour in anxious suspense as to the extent of their husbands' success. At length one of the men arrived with the positive intel- ligence of two walruses having been taken, and brought with him a portion of these huge animals as large as he could drag over the snow. If the women were only cheerful before, they were now absolutely frantic. A general shout of joy instantly re-echoed through the village ; they ran into each other's huts to communicate the welcome intelligence, and actually hugged one another in an ecstticy of delight by way of congratulation. One of fhein ArmihTod, a pretty young woman of nineteen or twenty, knowing that a dog belonging to her liusband was still at the huts, and that there was no man to take him down on the ice, ran out instantly to perform that ottice ; and with a hardiness not to be surpassed by any of the men returned, after two hours' absence, Avith her load of walrus-flesh, and without even the hood thrown over her head to shelter her from the inclemency of the weather. When the first burst of joy had at length subsided, the women crept one by one into the apartment where the first portion of the sea-horses had been ctmveyed, and which is always that of one of the men immediately concerned in the killing of them. Here they obtained blubber enough to set all ilieir lanijw alighi, besides a few scraps of n\eat for their chihiren and themselves. From this time, which was nine o'clock, till jMist midnight, fresh cargoes were continually arriving ; the principal part being brought in by the dogs, and '.''■■ OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 205 the rest by the men, who, tying the thong which held it round their waist, ^^M. dragged in each his separate portion. Before the whole was brought in how- ^•^y^ ever, some of them went out three times to the scene of action though the distance was a mile and a half. Every lamp now swimming with oil, the huts exhibited a blaze of light, Wed. 3(1. and never was there a scene of more joyous festivity than while the opera- tion of cutting up the walruses continued. 1 took the opportunity which their present good humour afforded, to obtain a perfect head and tusks of one of these animals, which we had not been able to do before ; and indeed, so much were their hearts opened by the scene of abundance before them, that I believe they would have given us any thing we asked for. This dis- position was Considerably inrr<^ased also by their taking it into their heads, that their success was in some way or other connected with, or even owing to, our having taken up our night's lodging at the huts. After viewing all this festivity for some time, I felt disposed to rest ; and wrapping myself up in my fur coat, lay down on one of the beds which lllunioa had given up for our accommodation, as well as her keiink, or large deer-skin blanket, which she rolled up for my pillow. The poor old woman herself sat up by her lamp, and in that posture seemed perfectly well satisliod to doze away the night. The singularity of my night's lodging made me awake several times, when I always found some of the Esquimaux eating, though after we lay down they kept quite quiet for fear of >*'" OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGK. ■^)1 ll^lllii^ ':-^v. c'M-iif Stretch of the imaginatio*^. have almost funcioff. U n road ^^^^• le-m-. "■ rt ievel tmd csterwive heath tm civilized uud riub- v^.-*-' «tlwri 1^1^ than that which wft were now appioachinjif . 11 idink walked 1^ f»«y4!i=ir ' « the hui>» nWJ u half brWh travtiiling-, fre ajtrw* *^i At thn huts, and wcr*.* recetiT*! by t^Vfr \^onten 'fcr nil thf inon ftrt??*' i.h«?'-P 'vith cTcry expTcvsifm <^ %tadm-*9« and wekninc. F„%ch \V!xs d&imm* Gt !tlg"-diu£r us lodf^injr. and we liiiif s[H'<'dfly arran^e^! iti«tte»^ so as t<> |9a[" fl^i^ff! f« tfet^ least poselbfe inconvenience. ' . T*fi'*i5 H»»t«, fwr tttflttinber, were lii the mode oT tht ir constnidion cTact di^irdt-rcd anr*lt^v ;d"''" on i^ inp «!»N Tiovr ♦- AfttHU iMid tafii:ji!f» from . j lu". '^r an tiiyqiuinniW but rapabtFOl" < vcitiii^f. (>t> ^H'^ tirrvval V«f the \wn, who c/une ii fuwards ovmuig, ^vitft tw«> • "hLs a* thff ^-*»t»nf of ''i*wi lakmr, wc tferr ^ii« c mure gTrecK-d and wob'omod. Anv<»»^>^f:.:a 10 par^'TMlRr. -nhn vfit^ n ^«i(^.."brrgh»g, and even otniubb- m;: in, o fH' m hw ft|'artm»» '*r « l-'^'<»' f>"''^'''' MOV- fc*.-. J.-V *^ ^«''* ■ ''^' Mf!h their the t.wiKjtiiir fu'stnrti fff th(**ie pr..p!i> WH.« 'J'l^t^'Tff'd to ' Jf*ir.?*i.>. hl*i wtte fnnjSf*'^ every «>>. r <%>r my urc^ tiedxntli! <»nchm* ments fv*' ^le same ftt- re^rpftcti'*'*' wivi"* att4 t^isict"- ■ . •jcm^ tint* ti> nnffe m famdy i,'ri>uj»H, »vhenovi r die n«tnve ot their hahiuiti-ms will Klb?w it. Mr Bu>buao bein^' established \\i«b OKoiook. and the two ra<^n with K«r»»)usfiit, wc were thus all comfortably ledjjcd imder the njune tool. ToobMmk hBTuing been ron< erued in kiUinir one of The .seid* jii^t bnni^hi l*U ti fell tf? hiJi mother'* l. We fuid thvpcforr an opportit- oity of iifein^ thin filthy opeTf.tt'Mi orcp mori' p» rfom»*"t and entirely by the ■ 'I'll 1' M if f ■"'• ; it, ■♦■J' )::' 'if',: .14 'I, tiki's''. -i: OF A North-west passage. 207 without any great stretch of the imagination, have almost fancied it a road leading over a level and extensive heath towards a more civilized and sub- stantial village than that which we were now approaching. Iligliuk walked as nimbly as the best of us ; and after two hours and a half brisk travelling, we arrived at the huts, and were received by the women (for all the men were absent) with every expression of kindness and welcome. Each was desirous of affording us lodging, and we had speedily arranged matters so as to put them to the least possible inconvenience. ' These huts, four in number, were in the mode of their construction exact counterparts of those at Winter Island on our first visit, but being now new and clean, presented a striking contrast with the latter, in their present disordered and filthy state. What gave a peculiarity as well as beauty also to the interior appearance of these habitations, was their being situated on the ice, which being cleared of the snow, presented a flooring of that splendid blue which is, perhaps, one of the richest colours that nature afibrds. A seal or two having been lately procured, every lamp was now blazing, and every ootkooseek smoking with a hot mess which, together with the friendly reception we experienced and a little warmth and fatigue from travelling, combined in conveying to our minds an idea of comfort which we could scarcely believe an Esquimaux hut capable of exciting. On the arrival of the men, who came in towards evening, with two seals as the reward of their labour, we were once more greeted and welcomed. Arnaneelia in particular, who was a quiet, obliging, and even amiable man, was delighted to find that my quarters were to be in his apartment, where Aneetka, his wife, a young woman of about twenty-three, had already ar- ranged every thing for my accommodation ; and both these poor people now vied with each other in their attention to my comfort. The other two apart- ments of the same hut were occupied by Kaoongut and Okotook, with their respective wives and families ; it being the constant custom of these people thus to unite in family groups, whenever the nature of their habitations will allow it. Mr. Bushnan being established with Okotook, and the two men with Kaoongut, we were thus all comfortably lodged under the same roof. '""• ;-'^" ' '■■■'■- . ■' ' Toolooak hefving been concerned in killing one of the seals just brought in, it fell to his mother's lot to dissect it, the 7i£itkk being the only animal which the women are permitted to cut up. We had therefore an opportu- nity of seeing this filthy operation once more performed, and entirely by the 1822. April. t.v I .'C iWj 'Ml' ij- , ,| '. i;.. t j ' !|l l^ 208 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY .1822. April. Sat, 6. old lady herself, who was soon i»p to her elbows in blood and oil. Qefore a .knife is put into the animal, as it lies on its back, they pour a little water into its mouth, and touch each flipper and the middle of the belly with a little lamp- black and oil taken from the under part of the lamp. VThat benefit was ex- pected from this preparatory ceremony we could not learn, but it was done with a degree of superstitious care and seriousness that bespoke its indis- pensable importance. The boys came eagerly into the hut as usual, and held out their foreheads for the old woman to stick the charms upon them ; and it was not till now that we learned from lligliuk the efficacy of this very useful custom. As soon as this dirty operation was at an end, during which the nu- merous by-standers amused themselves in chewing the intestines of the seal, the strangers retired to their own huts, each bearing a small portion of the flesh and blubber, while our hosts enjoyed a hearty meal of boiled meat and hot gravy soup. Young Sioutkuk ate at least three pounds of solid meat in the first three hours after our arrival at the huts, besides a tolerable proportion of soup, all which his mother gave him whenever he asked it without the smallest remark of any kind. We now found thattney depended on catching seals alone for their subsistence, there being no walruses in this neighbourhood. As they were several miles from any open water, their mode of killing them was entirely confined to watching for the animals coming up in the holes they make through the ice. .,, . .,* , In the course of the evening, our conversation happened to turn on the Indians, a people whom none of these Esquimaux had ever seen ; but with whose ferocity and decided hostility to their own nation they seemed to be well acquainted. They described also their peculiar manner of paddling their canoes, and were aware that they made use of the kind of snow- shoes which we shewed them. When I related to them as well as I was able the massacre of the Esquimaux recorded by Hearne, and gave them to understand that the Indians spared neither sex nor age, it seemed to chill them with horror, and I was almost sorry that I had told them the story. The weather proved very thick on the 6th, with a heavy fall of snow, the wind still blowing however from the N.N.W., and increasing almost to a gale in the course of the day ; so that when we set out on our return we could scarcely distinguish an object an hundred yards before us. Toolooak was deputed to accompany us with a sledge for carrying our baggage ; and after some difficulty we contrived to get sight of the island, and arrived on board OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 209 1822. April. V.^V^.' before noon. I found from Captain Lyon that nothing worthy of notice had occurred during my absence. The temperature of the atmosphere seemed now to have taken a favourable turn, the thermometer keeping up to zero, or above it, even with a northerly or north-west wind : we were therefore enabled for the first time permanently to reduce the consumption of coals in each ship, the lower-decks being now much too hot when the winter's propor- tion was expended. On the 7th, which was Easter-Sunday, a dinner of English beef was directed Sun. 7. to be served, being part of that which was killed when the Nautilus left us. As we were apprehensive that this meat might be injured as the warmer weather advanced, we issued what remained in the course of the spring, except enough for one more Christmas dinner. On the morning of the 8th, the thermometer was observed to fall from 6° Mon. 8. to 2° immediately on a partial clearing of the atmosphere, and again to rise, on its becoming overcast, to 10°, the wind continuing the same both in direc- tion and strength. It shifted in the evening to the eastward, accompanied by a fall of small snow, which continued the whole of the two following days. On the 11th a difference was observed in the indications of the two thermo- Thur. ii. meters on the ice, the reverse of that which generally took place. North Thcrmomtter. South Thermometer. At noon o 80 o 11 „ 1 P.M. 83 13 „ S P.M. 13.5 . 13 The wind was light from the W.S.W. during this time, and though it blew rather on the south than on the north side of the post, this seemed by no means sufficient to account for the difference, as even a strong breeze does not usually produce such an effect on a thermometer in the shade, though very sensible to the feelings. There was no snow on either of the bulbs, except a little which continued to fall, and the sun was peeping out at times during the interval. A similar difference was again noticed a day or two after. , ,^ ^ . -■■ - ' J M. '" 1 h. in. , : North Theriiiomeler. Sooth Thermometer ■■: ,' , - At 15 P.M. • o SO • o 18 ill /''4t ' 1 ' » so „ . S4 • 81 ! ij.; U !i-. . 1, a „ • 88 • 14 10 The wind was very light from the east and south-east, with small snow, and 2 E :i m ^ *:;'■''! % • 1 Pi':,.,, :, liill :^;ltr (■'r ■ ■ ■■ ;,; m' < Mr.!.' jm 4 '!:# -4;. 'v' ■,i;i'^-l 210 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. April. the weather quite overcast, except towards six P.M. For two hours in the forenoon, when the sun made an effort to appear, a parhelion, tinged with the prismatic colours, appeared on each side of it ; and nearer to that object by 30' was a halo of 22° 35' radius, also coloured, the red tint being as usual next the sun. An instance or two of the parhelion being situated without the circle have been mentioned * as occurring at Melville Island, but the phenomenon appears to be a rare one. We were now glad to begin making some shew of re-equipping the ships for sea ; for though tliis was a business that might if necessary have been very well accomplished in two or three weeks, it was better to employ the men in occupations having an evident and determinate object, than in those less obviously useful ones to which it was necessary to resort during the winter. We therefore brought down some of the boats to the shijjs to repair, put up the forge on the ice, and built a snow-house over it, and set about various other jobs, which made the neighbourhood of the ships assume a busy and bustling appearance. I had to-day a visit from Okotook and Iligliuk, who, with their son, came in upon their sledge from the distant huts. Being desirous ofentertainingthera well, in return for their late hospitality, we provided 'abundance to eat, and shewed them every thing about the ship that we thought likely to amuse them. Of all the wonders they had ever witnessed on board, there was no- thing which seemed to impress them so strongly with a sense of our supe- riority as the forge, and the work which the armourer performed with it. The welding of two pieces of iron especially excited their admiration, and I never saw Iligliuk express so much astonishment at any thing before. Even in this her superior good sense was observable, for it was evident that the utility of what she saw going on was what forced itself upon her mind ; and she watched every stroke of the hammer and each blast of the bellows with extreme eagerness, while numbers of the other Esquimaux looked stupidly on, without expressing the smallest curiosity or interest in the operation, except by desiring to have some spear-heads fashioned out by this means. Iligliuk was always very much entertained also by pictures having any relation to the Esquimaux in other parts, and de- rived great entertainment from a description of any difference in their clothes, utensils, or weapons. Of these the sail in an Esquimaux boat * Journal of the Voyage of 1819-20, p. 172. ■' ' ^ OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 211 Hj seemed particularly to attract lier notice ; but in general she had no inclina- ^^^?' tion to admit the inferiority of her own tribe to any other. She was always v-^-v-O extremely inquisitive about her own sex, whether Immees * or Kabloonas, lis- tening with eager attention to any account of their dress or occupations, and in common, I believe, with all the rest of the Esquimaux, wondered how we came to travel to their country without our wives. The assurance that many among us were not married, they received with evident incredulity. We to-day cleared away the snow that had been banked against the ships' sides, the use of which was proved a day or two after by the frost making a large rent in the Fury's rudder and another in her stem. This covering therefore should not have been removed so early. Mr, Fisher having now concluded most of the observations and experiments for which the house was built, it was taken down and the materials brought on board , the transit-instrument and meridian-mark remaining as before, to enable him to commence a series of observations for the pendulum, whenever the weather should become warm enough for the clock to be set up in a tent. The con- tinuance of comparatively temperate weather, though it was much colder than we had expected at this season, induced us also to begin clearing and turning up a small piece of ground as a garden for each ship, in which we hoped to produce something in the way of vegetable diet before our de- parture, especially as we were now supplied with several glazed frames for hot-beds. There was not at this time a bare spot of ground anywhere to be seen, so that we had to clear away the snow, in some places two or three feet deep, in order to find a space that would suit our purpose ; and it was then so full of stones and frozen ground that it required great labour even to prepare mould enough for the frames. These were however completed in a few days and sown with mustard, cress, and pease, the latter having been found to produce the greatest quantity of green substance at Melville Island. On the 13th a number of the natives from the Winter Island huts formed Sat. 13. a second detachment, and set off for the other village. They carried their goods on sledges as before, even to the exclusion of poor old Hik- keiera, whom some of our gentlemen overtook crawling after his com- panions with a stick, and who, but for their timely and humane remon- strances, might that day have finished his pilgrimage on earth. They insisted however on his being placed on one of the sledges, which was accordingly * Esquimaux. 3 E 8 1 ; I ! I ^^^ I Wm ,:rfi- \[^rf til*"!)-: !; 212 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. complied with ; but, on their arrival at the village, his companions left him J^r^ lying there till their huts were built. All the Esquimaux pressed our gen- tlemen very strongly to sleep at the village, but one of the women gave Mr. Bird an indifferent specimen of her hospitality by picking his pocket of a handkerchief, though not so dexterously as to escape detection. The few who visited the ships to-day told us, that they were all about to leave Winter Island on the morrow ; and Okotook and Iligliuk, who had not yet returned, came on board among the rest to pay a last visit. I gave the former a large piece of oak-wood for a bow and two arrows, a second iron spear-head, and various other useful articles, to add to the stock of wealth he had from time to time received from us. As these good folks found themselves perfectly at home in my cabin, I was usually in the habit of continuing my occupations when they were there, without being disturbed by them. Being now en- gaged in writing, my attention was unexpectedly directed towards them by Iligliuk's suddenly starting from her seat, moving quickly towards the door, and without saying a word, either to me or any of the officers present, hasten- ing directly on deck. Okotook indeed, as he followed her out of the cabin, turned round and said " Good-bye," of which expression he had learned the meaning, and then, without giving us time to return the compliment, they both hurried out of the ship, leaving us in some astonishment at this singular leave-taking which we then supposed to be the last. Mon. 15. A case or two of inflammation in the eyes, producing partial " snow- blindness," having lately occurred, I directed a quarter of a yard of crape, supplied for that purpose, to be furnished to each man, to be worn as a short veil over the eyes. At the same time were issued to each individual in the Expedition a pair of boots and warm stockings, being part of a supply of warm clothing with which we had been furnished, to be served gratis at my discretion. This liberal addition to the men's clothing was particularly acceptable at this time, as we were shortly about to commence cutting the ice round the ships, previous to making any alteration in the stowage of their holds. While preparations were making for this work, it was suggested to me that, strongly as the ice was now cemented to the ships* sides, we might, by cutting a trench round their bows to the depth of three or four feet, (taking care not to admit the water,) have an opportunity of examining the planks, and caulking the seams where they were most likely to require it. This plan was adopted, and was found completely to answer the purpose for M'hich it was intended OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 213 I '""Til '\l^M On the morning of the 16th, the weather being extremely fine, Captain ^p^^?,' Lyon left the ships, accompanied by Lieutenant Palmer and the rest of his r^^'^^Q travelling party, and equipped for remaining ihe night, with the intention of effecting the object which on liis former cMoursion the inclemency of the wea- ther had rendered impracticable. We were glad to find that a very moderate breeze from the north-west served once more to separate the ice, which had for some days past been attached to the land, and to send it oft' to a considerable distance. The thermometer being from 3° to 9° during the day, very little frost-smoke rose from the clear water. Some hard well-defined clouds, being nearly the first we had seen this season, appeared for a short time to-day, and were welcomed as the harbingers of returning moisture in the atmosphere. The Aurora Borealis was seen at night to the southward, and extending at times in a broad band of light across the heavens, but at a low altitude from east to west. Early on the morning of the 17th the thermometer fell to — 12°, being the ^'^^' ^^' lowest temperature we had now experienced for some time. At ten A.M. Captain Lyon and his party returned, having walked some distance beyond the spot where they had before been detained, and determined which must be the route to be pursued whenever they set out on their intended journey. They found the passage between the island and the continent to be from one to two miles in breadth ; and that the hummocky nature of the ice would not, as we had hoped, admit of their cutting off^ any of the distance to be travelled between the island and the north-eastern point of land. We could now begin to perceive, from day to day, that the snow on^'^"""'^®' shore was diminishing. How slow this process was may however be un- derstood by the fact, that it was necessary to make a mark on some stone to be assured that it was thus receding. Our snow-wall had indeed settled down nearly a foot by the gradual diminution of the blocks of which it was composed ; but the thawing had been artificially assisted by the black cloth hung against it. Five ravens were seen to-day all quite black ; four of them were flying in pairs. On the 19th the wind veered by north to east and south-east, and towards Ff"l- 19. evening a good deal of snow fell of a softer and larger kind than we had yet seen this year. In the afternoon, before the snow came on, the south thermometer, exposed to the faint rays of the sun, stood for a short time as high as 56°, that in the shade being at 14|°, but a light breeze springing up immediately brought the two thermometers to nearly the same low tempe- ■' ■' I li'l INill - flili nm m m '.I'j; *,-: lli) 1 r 'i>-v,' I ! I Mil' Ik' 214 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822, April. rature. This effect was invariably produced by the wind suddenly blow- ing on a thermometer, when the mercury had been considerably raised by Sat. 20. exposure to the sun's rays. On the 20th the wind blew fresh from the north- east, which only requires to be noticed because, for the last fortnight, we had scarcely experienced a breeze, which in the language of a sea-log had sufficient strength to be called " moderate." On the 2l8t Mr. Bird saw a flock of seven birds, which he took to be grouse. Mon. 22, ^" ^^^^ '^^^ ^ number of the Esquimaux came to the ships with a sledge, and among the rest my late host Arnaneelia and his wife, the latter having the front of her jacket adorned with numberless strings of beads that we had given her, aiTangcd with exact uniformity, to which, in the fashion of their dresses and the disposition of their ornaments, these people always rigidly adhere. Anectka had scarcely reached the cabin when she pro- duced a little ivory comb and a pair of handsome mittens, which she pre- sented to Mr. Edwards, at the same time thanking him for the attention he had shewn her on an occasion when she had been taken in a fit alongside the Fury, from which she was recovered by bleeding. This expression of gratitude, in which she was heartily joined by her husband, was extremely gratifying to us ; as it served, in some degree, to redeem these people in our estimation from the imputation of ingratitude, which is indeed one of their greatest failings. They stated h :.ing seen two rein-doer the pre* ceding 1 1 1 1 , i., |.; t * ■ r , ,"• r ^.ii,; ^t:: i- w 1 1. ,► 216 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822, April. t ii offered to go to the huts for the purpose of bringing him on board, where, by Mr. Edwards's kind attentions, and tlie .enjoyment of warmth and dryness, we hoped soon to recover him. Mr. Bushnan therefore without waiting for the return of the sledges set out for the village at an early hour in the forenoon, accompanied by the serjeant of marines. At eleven at night our party returned on board, bringing on a sledge Okotook, Iligliuk, and their son. That Iligliuk would accompany her husband I of course took for granted and wished ; but as the boy could do us no good, and was moreover a desperate eater, I had desired Mr. Bushnan to try whether a slight objec- tion to his being of the party would induce Okotook to leave him with his other relations. This he had cautiously done; but the instant the proposal « was made, Okotook, without any remark, began to take off the clothes he had himself just dressed in to set out. JNo further objection being made, however, he again prepared for the journey, Iligliuk assisting him with the most attentive solicitude. Before the invalid was suffered to leave his apartment, some of the by-standers sent for Ewerat, now better known to our people by the undignified appellation of "the Conjuror." Ewerat, on this occasion, maintained a degree of gravity and reserve calculated to inspire somewhat more respect than we had hitherto been disposed to entertain for him in that capacity. Placing himself at the door of the apartment o])positc Okotook, who was still seated on the bed, he held both his thumbs in his mouth, keeping up a silent but solemn converse with his toortigow*, the object of which was, as Mr. Bushnan. presently afterwtirds found, to inquire into the efficacy and propriety of the sick man's removal. Presently he began to utter a variety of confused and inarticulate sounds ; and it being at length understood that a favourable answer had been given, Okotook was ca'rried out and placed on the sledge, Ewerat still mumbling his thumbs and muttering his incantations as before. When the parly took their leave, there were a great many doleful faces among those that remained behind ; and Mr. Bushnan said that the whole scene more resembled the preparations for a funeral than the mere removal of a sick man. When the sledge moved on, Ewerat was the only one who had not a "Good-bye!" ready, he being as seriously engaged as at first, and continuing so as long as our people could observe him. Okotook was extremely ill on his arrival, having been three hours on the * Familiar Hpirit. :■ ... ■ itt''' OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 217 1822. sledge, and lligUuk, who, as Mr. Bushnan told me, had scarcely taken licr ^ j,' eyes off her husband's face the whole time, seemed almost worn out with '-^"*-' fatigue and anxiety. A bed of wolf-skins being prepared for him, Okotook was soon placed upon it, and such remedies applied as Mr. Edwards judged necessary for his complaint, which was inflammation of the lungs to a degree that, if left to itself, or even to Ewerat, wovdd soon have proved fatal, or at best have terminated in consumption. On the 26th, a south-east wind brought a heavy fall of snow in flakes Frid, 26. much larger than before. The thermometers on the ice at noon stood at 23° in both aspects. We heard from Illumea, who came to see her son Okotook, that a part of the natives had gone still farther to the westward upon the ice, one spot not affording sufficient subsistence for the whole of them. Our patient felt much the better for a comfortable night's lodging, and now submitted with great paticncL* to the application of a blister," thougli I believe his confidence in our mode of cure was afterwards shaken for a time by the pain which it occasioned. Both he and Iligliuk, however, seemed very sensi- bly to feel the comforts and advantages of their present (piarters ; and a "coyenna" (thanks) now and then fell from their lips. Nothing coidd exceed the attention which the latter paid to her husband ; she kept her eyes almost constantly fixed upon him, and seemed anxious to anticipate every want. One of Okotook's brothers had arrived from the huts, bringing with him some walrus-flesh to tempt the appetite of the invalid, whose stomach, how- ever, very fortunately for his complaint, was not disposed to this kind of deli- cacy. When his brother was about to reUirn, Okotook took it into his head fo send his son away with him, probably because he heard they had the day be- fore killed two seals, which atforded better feeding than we had to give him: be this I' i it may, we wore not sorry that he went, and the boy himself seemed no less pleased; for without playfellows or aniusement of any kiiul, his time hung very hcftvily on his hands while he remained oji board. It was amusing to see Okotook take a dose of [)hysic for the first time in his life to-day. He knew its taste was not pleasant, but this was certainly not all that he dreaded ; for before he put the cup to his lips with one hand, he hehl on by his wife with the other, and she by him with both hers, as though they ex- pected an explosion, or some such catastrophe, as the immediate effect of the |M)tion ; nor did he venture to relinquish his hold, till the taste began to leave his mouth. The quantity of water which he drank in the course of ^■' . 'Hffl 1 111 'iViH 111 -. '1 • ; l| ' i ■ i r ' \i ■\^ 218 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY r Sat. 27. ^^?' the four and twenty hours is beyond conception ; and the cabin fire could scarcely, by the melting of snow, furnish enough for their consumption. These people aro extremely particular as to the purity of the water they drink. Some that had been melted in our steamer, and which 1 thought very good, neither of them would touch, or at least always spat out again. If the water was much above the temperature of 32°, they also disliked it, and immediately put snow into it to cool it down, lligliuk, who came on boaid with one side of her hair loose, loosened the other also to-day, in conse- quence of her fancying Okotook worse, though it was only the annoyance of the blister that made him uneasy ; for even in this sequestered corner of the globe, dishevelled locks bespeak mourning. It was not however with her the mere semblance of grief, for she was really much distressed throughout tlic day, all our endeavours not availing to make her understand how one pain was to be removed by inflicting another. The wind still continuing to the southward and eastward, and the weather extremely mild, on the 27th, pools of water were, by the melting of the snow, formed on our upper deck. The northern thermometer stood as high as 32^° at two P.M., being the first instance this season of its rising above the freezing point in the shade. The first snow-bunting was also seen to-day. The mildness of the atmosphere did not long continue, for the wind backing Sun. 28. to the W.N.W. on the 28tli, the thcrniometer gradually fell till it had reached gero at midnight, and — 0° soon after. The westerly wind, as usual, caused a great deal of open water in the offing, within a few hours after its shifting to that quarter. Another snow-bunting or two Avere seen on the l29th, and these little birds increased almost daily in numbers from this time. Snow fell Mon, 29. very thick on the SUth, and it was generally remarked that we had more of it about this period than during the whole of the winter-months. Our garden- plots, from which two or three feet of snow had at first been removed, were now more deeply covered by the fall of a single day. I may here notice that our standing rigging (lid not slacken during any part of this winter af* at Mel- ville Island ; neither (m the other hand did it tighten so as in the slightest degree to injure the rope, the hounds of the masts, or any of the iron work of the dead-eyes. ,,„ ,. ^ , . . „ .. . j Captain Lyon being desirous of having some little clothes made as models of the Esquimaux costume, and thinking Iligliuk's present leisure afforded lier a good oppcutunity of making them, had yesterday obtained her promise that she would do no. Okotook being now very much better, and she having OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 219 herself resumed her usual gaiety in consequence, I pressed her to commence ^®^?' lier work and placed the skins before her, when she said that she could not do them here as she had no needles. These being supplied her, she now complained of having no tooktdo c-wdlloo (rein-deer sinew) their usual thread. This difficulty, unfortunately for Iligliuk's credit, was as easily overcome as the other ; and when scissors, pattern-clothes, and all the other requisites were laid before her, she was at length driven to the excuse that Okotook's illness would not permit her to do it. Seeing us half laughing at the absur- dity of these excuses, and half-angry at the selfish indolence which prompted them, she at last flatly asserted that Okotook desired her not to work, which, though we knew it to be a falsehood, the latter did not deny. We then supposed that some superstition might be at the bottom of this ; but having a little while after, by way of experiment, thrown Iligliuk some loose beads upon the table, she eagerly employed herself for half-an-hour in stringing them that not one might be lost; which proved that where her own gratifica- tion or interest were concerned, Okotook's illness was not suffered to inter- fere. This anecdote shews in a strong light that deep-rooted selfishness which, in numberless instances, notwithstanding the superiority of Iligliuk's understanding, detracted from the amiability of her dis|K)sition. The fact was that she did not feel inclined so far to exert herself as to comj)ly with Captain Lyon's request ; and the slight degree of gratitude and proper feeU ing which was requisite to overcome that disinclination, waa altogether wanting. I have related this anecdote just as it occurred with the hoj>e of shewing the true disi)osition of these people, and not with a view of unduly dej)re- ciating the character of our friend Iligliuk. I am however com|)elled to ac- knowledge that, in proportion as the superior understanding of this extraor- dinary woman became more and more developed, her head (for what female head is indifferent to praise !) began to be turned with the general attention and numberless presents she received. The superior decency and even modesty of her behaviour had combined, with her intellectual qualities, to raise her in our estimation far above her companions ; and I often heard others express what I could not but agree in, that for Iligliuk alone, of all tlm Esquimaux women, that kind of respect could be entertained which modesty in a female never fails to command in our sex. Thus regarded, she had always In-en freely admitted into the ships, the qtiartenuasters at the gang- way never thinking of refusing entrance to " the wise woman" as they called s r 2 11 *!:' u^ . 1 \ 1 V ■ '.. ki \ :i 1 ! ■I'., ' ,t ■ . V • i "i '■ ■ .■; ;J . ,1;: t If. • ,:*. • 1 i ^ ■ »■ 1 1 ll ^ T^ frfii' 1 ' * 220 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. April. her. Whenever any explanation was necessary between the Esquimaux and us, Iligliuk was sent for quite as an interpreter ; information was chiefly ob- tained through her, and she thus found herself rising into a degree of conse- quence to which, but for us, she could never have attained. Notwithstanding a more than ordinary share of good sense on her part, it will not therefore be wondered at if she became giddy with her exaltation, assuming certain airs which, though infinitely diversified in their operation according to circum- stances, perhaps universally attend a too sudden accession of good fortune in every child of Adam from the equator to the poles. The consequence was that Iligliuk was soon spoiled ; considered her admission into the ships and most of the cabins no longer as an indulgence but a right ; ceased to return the slightest acknowledgment for any kindness or presents ; became listless and inattentive in unravelling the meaning of our questions, and careless whether her answers conveyed the information we desired. In short, Iligliuk in February and Iligliuk in April were confessedly very different persons; and it was at last amusing to recollect, though not very easy to persuade one's self, that the woman who now sat demurely in a chair so confidently expect- ing the notice of those around her, and she who had at first with eager and wild delight assisted in cutting snow for the building of a hut, and with the hope of obtaining a single noedlc, were actually one and the same individual. Togolat came down to the ships to-day to see her brother Okotook ; she was accompanied by Arnalooa, and on their arrival they were both sent for into the cabin. We observed however that they required an unusual degree of solicitation to make them go near Okotook, or even to the side of the cabin where he lay concealed by a skrcen ; and after all, they remained in the op- posite corner next the door ; and having talked freely to the invalid for some time, took their leave without seeing him. In the evening, after they were gone, we found that this unfortunate though well-intended visit was occasion- ing great distress to Okotook, who talked for two hours almost incessantly about " Arnalooa's having seen him," which it seems ought not to have been the case. What misfortune was to be apprehended in consequence of this event we could not learn ; but he spoke of it in a kind of agony, and was evi- dently labouring under the influence of some powerful though absurd super- stition respecting it. Towards night he suffered a dreadful bleeding at the nose followed by much sickness at the stomach which, together with the phantom of Arnalooa which still haunted his imagination, combined to make .^.•. * OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 221 him extremely unwell for some hours. The next day however he was free j^22. from complaint of any kind, and began once more to put on a smiling coun- .^^-^ tenance. The caulking of our bows being now completed, the ships were released Tues. 30. from the ice by sawing round them ; an operation which caused them to rise in the water six inches and a half, in consequence of the increased buoyancy occasioned by the winter's expenditure. ' W t. .:;.,; -mni^ 'h> i);^ -.Js -.■^fi-*'',:: ufU sh'^,' ni: >.( t Sun. 12. It now became too evident that the climate with which our gardeners had to contend, would not allow them to furnish us with many ounces of vegetable substance, in any reasonable time to which our stay here might be prolonged. A register-thermometer left for four and twenty-hours under the glasses of the beds (they can scarcely be called hot-heda) ranged from 35" to 100°, the f iff ", '( !; '; ■ OF A NORTH. WEST PASSAGE. 227 frames being closely covered with Russia mats after sunset. The only water ^^^' we could procure for the seeds was by melting snow ; and it would have made «-*-v^> a horticulturist smile to see a fire of turf matle daily at our garden for this purpose. The snow-drift too had not yet ceased to be an additional an- noyance, half a day's labour being sometimes required after the snow had ceased, to admit lae sun's rays by removing it from the frames. On the 13th at noon the thermometer in the sun stood at 55°, that in the Mon. 13. shade being at 27°. At seven in the evening the electrometer was tried in the usual manner, without any effect being perceptible on the gold leaf. On Tues. 14. the following evening, when the wind had backed to the southward, and the sky was overcast with clouds, it was again tried with no greater success, and the chain was now removed from the mast-head, the ships being nearly ready for sea. In the course of the forenoon of the 15th, a message to our medical gen- Wed. 15. tlemen announced the fall of James Pringle, one of the seamen of the Hecla, from her mizen-top-mast head to the deck ; and in a few minutes after I was much shocked in receiving Lieutenant Hoppner's report of his death, no sign of life having indeed appeared in him from the first moment after his fall. On examination it was found that the base of the skull Avas fractured, and the neck also dislocated. A grave was directed to be dug near tb • observa- tory, and arrangements were made for the funeral taking place on the follow- ing Sunday. On the 16th, Ewerat, with his wife and family, arrived at the ships, bring- Thur.16. ing with them all their goods and chattels, and with the intention of taking up their abode upon the ice near us. They accordingly built their hut about a hundred yards from the Fury's stern, but whether with the view of living upon us, or the seals that frequent the bay, we were at first at a loss to con- jecture. Ewerat's household consisted not only of his own family, but also of Appokiuk and Itkamuk, the former of whom having no husband, and the latter no relative, they both seemed to be fairly " on the parish." Besides this establishment, a second, on a smaller scale, also made its appeamnce in our neighbourhood, consisting of a very little man named Koo-il-li-ti-iik, nick-named by the sailors " John Bull," and his pretty little wife Anialooa, whose zeal in bringing up her husband's share of the sea-horses, I have before described. These persons, being eight in number, had, deter- mined on travelling to Amitioke for the ensuing summer, influenced, pro- bably in some degree, by the hope of falling in with us again, as they 2 G 3 :! ^ivtl* 1 i. M . ', ?!>r ■if- ^^^bI •n • O'ii i! ■ 228 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY h .ft h*' Sat. 18. '^^2- knew that wc were going in that direction. Be this, however, as it may, it v^-Y^ was soon evident that they intended making the most of us while we re- Frid. 17. mained neighbours ; for on the 1 7th, though the weather was favourable and they had no food of their own, they made no effort to procure any, except from the ships, to which the women brought their ootkooseeks for bread-dust. Though 1 objected to encouraging this, and told them we should give them nothing if they did not also labour for themselves, they were all such favourites with our people, that 1 believe they found it answer very well ; contriving not only to get plenty of food, but also a number of useful presents. They made, indeed, some return for this, by the usual barter of mittens, of which our people were now furnished with an abundant supply. A great deal of snow fell in the course of the last two days, and our un- fortunate gardens were once more buried beneath it. On the evening of the 16th, something like small rain was falling for a few minutes, being the first we had seen this season ; but it soon assumed the less equivocal form of sleet, the thermometer being at 31°. . . , The observations on the rise and fall of the tide had been constantly made and registered throughout the winter, and were continued till the ships were ready for sea *. This part of the phenomenon we were, therefore, well ac- quainted with, and had found it very regular. In the set of the tides, how- ever, (the most perplexing question, in my opinion, which the navigator in an unknown sea has to solve,) we found much greater difficulty to obtain the desired information. The sea having been occasionally open for days to- gether, it could not be said that, even during the winter, opimrtunities did not occur of settling this point — at least of making observations on the di- rection of the current, with reference roduce a superlicial current in the water, and eonseiptently to set in motion any tloating body, by which a mark may be tttkeu, in order to observe the direction of the stream. Even this, how- * Si'u the Tidc-tublu iu the Appendix. i'l'l 11,. . i m OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 0>Q ever, did not seem sufficient to account for the singular fact that frequently, l^^-- for twenty hours out of the four-and-twenty, the stream set to the soutliward, v^^ even against a breeze from that quarter, though of course more decidedly so when the wind was northerly. The only way, therefore, in which we could venture upon any conclusion as to the true direction of the flood-tidc,was from the circumstance of the stream generally setting to the southward at a rate somewhat less rapid upon the ebb than on the flood, by which it appeared that the latter came from the northward. On the 19th, after an impressive sermon delivered by Mr. Fisher, the Sun. 19. last mournful duties were performed over the remains of our deceased shipmate. The procession consisted of all the seamen, marines, and ofii- cers of both ships, and the ensigns and pendants remained lowered during the rest of a day distinguished to us by this sad event. Nothing wortliy of notice occurred till the evening of the 21st when, soon after eight o'clock. Tuts. 21. Captain Lyon and his party were seen on their return over the hills and, being met by a number of the officers and men from the ships, arrived on board before ten, when I was happy to find our travellers in good health, excepting a little snow-blindness and " foot-foundering," of which they soon recovered. I will not further anticipate Captain Lyon's Account, which is here annexed, than to remark that this journey served to excite very reasonable hopes that he had seen the north-eastern extreme of the great peninsula, round M'hich we entertained the most sanguine expectations of shortly finding (he desired passage into the Polar Sea. !mI[;, " Leaving the ships on the evening of the 8th of May, the fatigue-party drew our sledges for three hours, which brought us to the most level part of the island. I should have taken them a short distance farther had 1 not ob- served that James Pringle stopped behind and lay on the snow, apparently suffering from sickness or fatigue ; they were in consequence ordered to re- turn to his assistance. Again advancing for two hours, we pitched our tent for the night at the head of a snuill bay, the wind continuing fresh from the northward. >, , , • *' At six A.M. on the 9th wc again set out and proceedcut 232 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. May. 14. 15. " At six P.M., proceeding in an E.N.E. direction, farther inland we came at about seven miles' distance to a gradual ascent, and soon arrived on a high hill, iVom which the sea was distant about three miles. The land was at first tolerably regular, but as we proceeded the rocks became bold and abrupt, and the snow was nearly all thawed from their eastern face. From the bare stale of the bluff we found it was a favourite resort of the deer, of which we saw several, as affording them some withered grasses and moss which the the thaw had left exposed, or which were buried so small a depth beneath the snow as to be easily procured by scraping with the feet. At half-past ten we stopped for the night, the thermometer being at 14°. " The morning of the 14th was calm but cloudy, and at six A.M. the ther- mometer 11°. At half-past seven we descended the rocks, which I named AoDEHLEy's Blukf, and found them precipitous near the sea. Passing amongst the heavy grounded ice which lay at their foot, our road became very difficult and fatiguing, the snow lying in such deep ridges as to oblige us to take a very circuitous route. Having walked four hours, and crossed tvvo small bays, we stopped before noon on a low point. At noon, thermo- meter 20°, latitude by meridian altitude, 00° 37' 50", and longitude, by chro- nometer, 0°3r 45" east of the ships. " At six P.M. we again moved forward and, crossing a bay of smooth Hoe ice for two miles, came to a small rocky isle, due north of the jilace of ob- servation. This island lay across the mouth of a very snug little cove, wliich from its appearance we supposed likely to afford safe anchorage for ships. Off the isle, on an E.b.S. bearing, is a small rocky shoal. Leaving this we crossed asecond bay of a mile in breadth, the ice of which gave the same indications of deep water. After four hours' walk we rested for the night. At ten P.M. thermometer 8°, weather cloudy, and much scud flying from the south-east. " Small snow began to fall on the 15th, and the wind came from the east- ward. Ai six A.M., thermometer 28°. At half-past eight we started and crossed the ice about half a mile to a small island, whence we observed the sea to run up W.N.W. Mr. Palmer and myself walked to its head, a dis- tance of about two miles and a half, when we found it shallow, and full of low gravelly isles. The breadth was about four miles. We here took bear- ings, and then crossed the flat sea ice N.b.E., four miles, to the foot of a high hill. The most distant eastern land bore N.E. Before we had crossed over the mouth of the bay, which 1 named after Lieutenant Palmer, the IK" OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 233 weather became so very unsettled as at times to hide the land a-head of us. At eleven A.M. we stopped, thermometer 30°, Heavy snow and drift were now falling, and the weather continued unchanged for sixty-eight hours, during which we were confined to a tent shaped like the roof of a house, and eleven feet by six in breadth, in a sitting posture, and all our clothes became thoroughly wet from the thawing of the snow on the canvass. On the forenoon of the 18th the weather improved, and the wind came round to N.N.E. Mr. Palmer and myself ascended the highest hill, two miles east of the tent, and thence took bearings of the distant lantl as laid down in the charts. The hills appeared to cease at the range on which we stood, and the land as far as the first point, which was named Point Elizabeth, was a dead flat. The high distant land to the N.E. a]>peared as if detached from the plain, and as I was afterwards enabled to observe, proved to be a cai)e, which I named Cape Wilson. We had from this place seen jibovc two days' journey to the eastward ; and as our provisions were half and our wood nearly all expended, 1 thought it prudent to return, as there was every probability that the weather might prove equally precarious in our journey homewards, or that snow blindness might again detain us. We therefore made across Palmer Bay in our way back, and at the same time to avoid the various bays and turnings of the land, we struck more inland. By the even- ing of the 20th we had arrived witiiin three miles of Iloppner's Strait. From our resting-place I observed that on the low islands, (which I had set on the 10th, and now named Turton's Shoals,) much heavy ice was thrown up, in all probability by the open water, which was observed in that direction to extend as far as Winter Island. "On the 21st we resolved to make a forced march for the ships, as some of the people yet suft'ered from sore eyes, and our clothes and blankets had been wet for several days. We therefore started at seven A.M., and crossing to Winter Island, proceeded until past noon, when having rested for two hours, we again pushed on for the ships and reached them at nine P.M. •' It was a matter of regret, that the unfavourable state of the season and the abundance of snow, which every where covered the grouiul, had pre- cluded all imssibility of making any remarks on the state or productions of the country over which we had passed. Such rocks as were exposed were of gneiss, and we also observed a few detached masses of granite. From »ome pieces of decomposing felds|)ar which were found projecting through the snow, we picked a few lumps of iron pyrites of the size of a pea. Not a. S H 1822. May. 18. 20. 21. I. ! ^1 i'MlffiBfR^i '^ ( 5 ||r[f^i: ^: ^ y^\\''■f^■ ^r '"-; J-. f«t/', ,;' ! I 234 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. May. &'mg\e plant was found in a state of vegetation, which may perhaps account for the almost total absence of birds, as we only saw one raven and three snow buntings. The deer were all in a most wretched condition, and sub- sistence was barely afforded them from the withered plants of the last season ; yet it may be inferred that these animals are numerous in the summer, from the circumstance of our finding on almost every elevated ridge of hills the remains of Esquimaux dwellings, and the piles of stones behind which the hunters are used to conceal themselves. We only twice procured water at uoon, and many hours of painful thirst were in consequence experienced. I cannot conclude this account without particularly noticing the great assist- ance derived from our snow shoes, without which it would not have been possible to proceed even a fourth of the distance we passed over, the snow being, at this season, very deep and soft." Tues. 23. On the 23d, our neighbours the Esquimaux, who had long by their own account been setting off for Amitioko, at length began in earnest to pack up for their departure. As soon as their preparations were finished, 1 sent for them all on board, and gave them one of their own sledges, of which they were much in want for carrying their goods, a couple of boarding-pikes, some knives, and several tin canisters filled with bread-dust for their journey. These presents had scarcely been made t^em when we had reason to appre- hend so sudden an influx of wealth might produce serious effects, especially upon the women, whose joy threw t'icm into immoderate fits of laughter, almost amounting to hysterics, wiiich were succeeded by a flood of tears. The men seemed thankful, though less noisy in the expression of their acknowledgments. As soon as some degree of composure was restored, Ave accompanied them to their baggage, which they had stowed on two of the small travelling sledges given them by Captain Lyon, but which they now shifted to their own. When all was ready, and some other valuable presents havl been added to their stock by Captain Lyon, they proceeded to the northward, the women assisting to drag the sledge, for they had only one large dog and oiu^ P"Pl>y- On taking their departure, these good-humoured and ever-cheerful peo|)le greeted us with three cheers in the true Kabloona style, a mode of salutation they had witnessed once or twice among us, and Frid. 24. frcqtiently practised for thei"' amusement and ours. On the 24th we found they had only proceeded a few miles, as "John Bull" once more made his OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 235 1822. May. V-l^-X,* appearance on board, and returned to his companions in the evening. From this specimen of their travelling, of which we had as yet little experience, we had great reason to hope that their days' journeys would be found but short ones, and that therefore our distance round the north-eastern point of the American continent was not very considerable. The snow felt softer, and more melting was going on to-day than on any before observed, though only a few black tips of the rocks were yet visible on shore. The animals now began to appear in greater numbers ; for on the '2ot\\, a flock of nearly tw*) Sat. 25. hundred long-tailed ducks were swimming about in the open water to the south-east of the point. Some of the Esquimaux who came from the nearest western village, also reported having seen a great many rein-deer ; but they had not yet succeeded in killing any. On the 27th, at noon, the thermometer in the shade rose as high as 30", Mon. 27. the wind being from the S.W., but on its changing to the N.W. on the fol- lowing day, the temperature fell to 12° at midnight. The thermometer indeed, at this time, seemed as it wxre to struggle to rise above the freezing point in the course of the day, and not always with success. On the .30di, Thur. 30. the lirst five grouse were killed. These birds Avere entirely white in their plumage, except near the tip of the tail, where the feathers were of a glossy black. They were in very good condition and weighed from seventeen to eighteen ounces each. Several ducks and silvery gulls were also seen about the point, and Mr. Fife fired at a swan. At the close of the month of May it was a matter of general observation, Fnil.31.] and of course of general regret, how few symptoms of thawing had yet appeared cither on shore or on the ice. Naturally piusuing our usual com- parison with the circumstances of the former winter passed in these regions, it was impossible not to recollect that Melville Island had, on the same day two years before, advanced full as far as the country now before us, in throwing oft' its winter covering. The parts of the land which were now the most bare were the smooth round tops of the hills, on which here and there occurred a little pool of water, from which, taking all together within half u mile round the ships, we should at this time have had great difficulty in tilling half a tun. There were also on the lower lands a few dark un- covered patches, looking, when viewed from the hills, like islets in an ex- tensive sea. Vegetation seemed labouring to conunence, and a few tufts of the sajcifraga opposilifolia, when closely examined, discovered some signs of life. A botanist, in short, might have considered vegetation as begun, 8 H 8 if ''' i t- n'. '' 230 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. IS'22. Mi\y. .'line. Sut. I. but ill the p<))>tilur nccoptiition of tho word it certainly litul not. Such was the state of thiiifjs on shore at the conchision of the month of May, Upon the ice nppeaianees were not more promisinf^. Except in the im- mediate neiiifhhourhood of the .ships, where from the constant tramplinp^, and tlie hiyins? of various stores upon the ice, s<»me heat had artiliciully been absorbed, it wouUl have been ii. 1)1 reel tdti. Vrlinilr. -6 +7.07 Inrhri SO. 12 lurhrl 30.08 lurbri 80.008 NW niodt. clear 2 28 3 13.48 80.12 SO.OH 80.10,-. NW light flou and clear 3 83 +17 85.06 30.10 30.10 30.187 WbN light cloudy i 27 20 22.02 30,30 30.20 80.852 NK I'Kht cloudy S 43 20 2H.33 80.40 80.27 30,342 NW liKlil cloudy (i 24 IH 21.01 30.40 30.12 30.287 NE iiKidt. h»y 7 80 16 22. U2 80.10 20.70 29.070 NK fresh cloudy H 2H 30 21.75 20.72 20.70 29.71)1 NNE modt. flue 32 20 25.42 20.73 20.GH 20.703 NNE R.ni. inmlt. \ |i.ni. Ii^hl C tm 10 2H 10 21.42 20.H5 20.75 20. HIS NNW modt. line " 2S H 16.67 30.00 20.8H 20.932 NNW mdilt. cloudy la 23 6 15.75 30,02 :i0.oo 30.003 NNW modi. flm 13 30 S 17.25 2».9H 29.02 2O.90H NNW light fine 11 32 8 22.25 29.rnine[', when the ebb or north-easterly tide had made, and was assisted by a breeze from the southwartl, the whole body of sea- ice came forcibly in contact with the bay-floe ; which was now so weakened by onr cuttin";, as to split the whole way from the eos- sible on board, that the patient might suffer no disturbance. On the 2U\i, Mon. 24. Soutcr's alarming symptoms had so much subsided, that increasing hopes were entertained of his continuing to do well ; these flattering appearances, however, received a sudden check about noon on tbe 2ol\\, after which Tues. 25. time he began rapidly though gradually to droop, and between si.x. and seven in the evening breathed his last. The imiM>»ttibility of removing Souter from the sick bay, after the la»t 8 18 ■■ m \: H Vfi 244 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY f Mi : ill 18'22. JlllU'. alannintij clianDfc took place, ivndort'd liis death, or rather tlic conviilHivc striigi»les which for some hours preceded (hat event, a dreadful trial to poor Heid, whose state had for some time past been scarcely betler, the ditficulty in his breathin!? ha\ inj? increased to a most dislressinj? dejfree. Worn ont as he was hy bodily siiHerinn: and exUeme debility, it is probable that the de- pression of spirits occasioned by Soiiter's death served to hasten his own \\\(1.:(). dissolution, which took place aboni the same hour the following? evcninj;. The slow def!;re(>s, by which Ueid's death had been loiiji^ approaching, had served in s(nne measure to prepare his niinid(l not be loni( after him : and o\\ the 2()th, when Mr. Fisher had attended and prayed with liiin, he said that he sln)ulne of the men, who at his request wrote them down for him. .\fter foiiro'ch>ck he did mtt speak, and gradually sink- inuf expired at (he time he had mentioned. • • v- Fiid. JS. On (he ;:^Stli, the remains of our deceased shipnnites were committed to the earth, with every solonnity that so moiwnful an occasion ;round a few hundred yards from the sea to the north-eastward of the ships. A handsome tomb of stcnie and niorlar was built over the spot, haviiii^ at (me enfan to veer a little (o (he westward and (he weather ii^radimlly to clear U|> ; ami by six I*. iM. a fresh bree/.c blew from the V. .S.^\■.. so that we had now every reason to expect an ahuost immediate openinuf of the ice. ll is remarkable that previous (o (his ciiaufje (he wi i Is had been almost cons(antly between (ho S.E. and E.N.K. for (en days; a circumstance we had never before expe- rienced in the^e seas, and which certainly produced more melting (hnn a peri«»d (»f (wo mondis woidd have done wi(h the wind to the northward and westward. The alteration which the surface of the land had undergone in this interval is ind.'cd almost inconceivabh*, except to those who luivo OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 9.1'-. ■\5 m-^ ■ n ■m rx|>orlcnced tlio mpidity with wliioli kucIi cliaiif^os do lake place, Avheii once '^'--• tlicy fairly l)o^in in lliesc regions. The whole aspect of the island was so v^",^ thoi-oup;lily metamorphosed, in conseciiience of the disappearance ol' the snow, that the very spotH on which we ha<) heen in the frecjuent hahit of walking for the last nine; months, coidd now scarcely he recofijnised ; and I believe not one amon^ us, if removed from Winter Island in May and brought hack in July, would, from the mere aspect of the land, have very easily discovere*! the scene of our winter's rambles. Some other birds had now also arrived in our neighbourhoo ; and it was curious to observe that in the interval they had nearly re-as- sunu'il their summer plumage. 8(mu* brent-geese and black-throated divers were found to frequ(uit the ponds on shore, and a single specimen of the Jjtrtis Sahini was procured, being the only individual of that species seen oti the island. Iligliuk had recognised the bird, (which the Kstpiimaux call Erkvt! ., '.ngvc-dn-oo,) by the engraving of i(, aiul saiis nrctica, had been procured within the last three or IVnir days. The westerly wiiul 1 geographical position of Winter Island, and on such of its natural produc- tions as I have not had an pjiortunity of mentioning in the preceding part of this narrative. Winter Island is ten miles and a half in length from N.W.b.N. to S.E.b.S., and its average breadth from eight to ten miles. It is what seamen call rather low land ; the height of the S.E. point, which I named Cape Fisher, out of respect to our chaplain and astronomer, being seventy-six feet, and none of the hills above three times that height. The outline of the land is smooth, and in the summer, when free from snow, presents a brown appearance. Several miles of the north-west end of the island arc so low and level that, when the snow lay thick upon it, our travellers could only distinguish it from the sea by the absence of hummocks of ice. • The basis of the island is gneiss-rock, much of which is of a grey colour, but in many places also the feldspar is so predominant as to give a bright red apjjcarance to the rocks, especially about Cape Fisher, Avhere also some broad veins of quartz are seen intersecting the gneiss ; ^nd both this and the feldspar are very commonly accompanied by a green substance, which we took to be pistacite, and which usually occurs as a thin lamina adhering strongly to the others. In many specimens these three are united, the feldspar and quartz displaying tolerably perfect crystals. In some of the gneiss small red garnets arc abundant, as also in mica-slate. In lumps of granite, which are found detached upon the surface, the mica sometimes occurs in white plates, and in other specimens is of a dirty brown colour. There are several varieties of mica-slate, and some of these have a bril- liant metallic appearance like silver ; those which are most so, crumble very easily to pieces. The most common stone next to those already mentioned is lime, which is principally schistose and of a white colour. Many pieces of this substance on being broken present impressions of fossil-shells, and some have also brown waved lines running quite through them. Nodules of Hint occur in some masses of lime, but they aie not common. Iron pyrites is found in large lumps of black stone, tinged externally with the oxide of iron ; it is here and there met witli in small perfect cubes. To this list I shall only venture to tuld grey and red sand- stone ; and refer to the Appendix for a more detailed account of the mineral productions of the island. Of those of the animal and vegetable kingdoms i have already, in the course of the foregoing narrative, given all the information we could collect. . -, . ..u ■.,. i,,,, , ,i.,jff,,,,,; — - OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 247 Mean latitude of the ( By 218 meridian altitudes of© and ^ . 6f 11 26.8 North. tion, j Fury's Station, Mean longitude of the Furv's Station. 1822. .Tune. By Mr. Fisher's observations, reduced to the ship 00 11 24.. 5 „ By 12 obs. of Jupiter's Satellites, by Mr. Fisher S2 53 45.5 West. By 944 sets of observations, comprehendirg 9400 lunar distances from O and -X- 83 10 20.9 „ Used in the construction of the charts * . . . 83 09 49.0 „ Mean dip of the magnetic needle, by Mr. Fisher 87 49 33 North. Variation of the magnetic needle, being a mean between Mr. Fisher's ob- servations, and those by myself and the officers 56 18 30 West Mean time of high-water on full and change days IS""- 11"'- Riseof the liighest spring-ti , \ .•:. 11 .^niM i i^ ti^iiS r ^ i t t " i I i ■t'. 1 i _ - . . 1 1 ' V i|,i" *<•«•. J ! , 'f- % ;i lil If' r ■' ABSTRACT of the METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL kept on board His Majesty's Ship Fuiiy, at Winter Island, during the Month of June, 1822. 1 1 Fahrenheit's Ther- iiiimii;ter. Harometer. Prevailing WJniU. Prevailing Weather. Maxi. niMiii. Mini. lUllUl. Mt^aii. Mn\i. niutn. Mini- muni. Menu, Dil-ictioii. Vilocity + & +'Ii Sl^OS incIuM iiu'lM-si 1 ii.ciit'H 29.90 29.9429.950 sw light cloudy ^ :w 27 30.12 29.00, 29.81|29.aJ-2 Norlli light cloudy 3 4 40 40J 30 29 31.92' 3i .29 29.;)3 29.80 29.78 29.78 29. mo 29.793 Prom NW } ruiiiKl liv \V (t V 10 iionlll ) ..\V C Iresh cloudy 13 88 24 32.33 30.00 29.00 29.951-' NW modt. cloudy 14 42 2(i 31.25 29.95 29.80 29.905 roiintl the 1 ^ comiiNM 1* light cloudy 15 31 22 27.00 29.70 29.58 29.007 NNE fresh cloudy 10 40 24 37.00 29.00 29.. -.2 29.5 1; West light flue 17 45 31 37.02 29.70 29.0.J 29.703 NW light fine IN 60 S2 39.2.') 29. KO 29.70 29,777 KSli light fi>gBy 10 40 31 :I7.92 29.81) 29.75 29.7a) I'^i: light foggy 20 42 33 30.75 'iO.HI 29.75 20.808 rsi: light cloudy St 39 31 34. ai 29. UO 2'.). 81 29.80" ESE light hazy 22 40 30 35.33 29. M> 29.72 29.780 KNE modt. cloudy 33 40 20 35.40 29.71 29.08 29.092 lilast modt. cloudy 34 42 32 30.50 29.77 39.70 29.733 .SE fresh hazy and rain 29 45 30 3T.(i7 29.71 29.70 29.702 S.l'nslcrly li«hl {'nliu nt limi-a liHcy 20 44 33 37.00 29.07 29.0.129.0111 1 ENE light hazy and rnin 27 43 SI 30.07 29.. -.!i 29.5s29.5fi.s SE light hazy and rain 3s 40 SI 3H.50 29.00 39.1929.552 SW liglit hazy and rain 20 44 83 37.75 29.58 29.50 20.537 n.iii. MeM ,).in. South light cloudy :i() 32 30 31.00 29.41 29.10 29.220 NNE Ireah hoxy, suutv and sleet SO 20 33.07 30.0« 39.10 80.717 OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 249 .1 • .'; CHAPTER X. DEPARTURE FROM WINTER ISLAND MEET WITH SOME ESQUIMAUX TRAVELLING TO THE NORTHWARD OBSTRUCTIONS AND DANGER FROM THE ICE AND TIDES DIS- COVERY OF THE BARROW RIVER, AND ITS FALL FAVOURABLE PASSAi.H TO THE NORTHWARD — ARRIVAL OFF THE STRAIT OF THE FURY AND HECLA PROGRESS OP- POSED BV A FIXED BARRIER OF ICE COMMUNICATE WITH THE NATIVES OF IGLOOLIK UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS TO GET BETWEEN THE ICE AND THE LAND — LAND UPON THE CALTHORPE ISLANDS THE FURV DRIFTED BV THE ICE BETWEEN TWO ISLANDS ACCOUNT OF A JOURNEY PERFORiMED IN SLEDGES UP AN INLET TO THE WEST- WARD. k ■>:!i3 ; I !: if Mon. 1. The gale which had for some time been blowing from the northward veered to the N.W.b.W., and increased in strength on the 1st of July, which soon began to produce the effect of drifting the ice off* the land. In the course of the day, a wide lane of water was thus opened to the eastward of the island, but the weather was too inclement to think of moving the ships. The wind continued to blow very hard during the night, with snow and sleet, but began to moderate about four A.M. on the 2d. At six o'clock, the Tucs. 2. report from the hill being favourable, and the wind and weather now also sufficiently so, we moved out of our winter's dock, which was indeed in part broken to pieces by the swell that had lately set into the bay. At seven we made sail with afresh breeze from W.N.W., and having cleared the rocks at the entrance of the bay, ran quickly to the northward and eastward. At noon wc had Adderley's> Bluffs due north of us, distant eight miles, and from Captain Lyon's chart and description easily recognised Point Elizabeth beyond it. We now found that the land was completely lined with ice, extending in most places from two to live miles to sea-ward, and apparently attached to the shores as lirmly as any wc haHtw 01 ,w('Hjtii . .\u\'^3^»'. 10 •••^Hid i- After sailing two miles towards Cape Wilson, we found the ice a^in closing in with the land-floe and drifting to the south-west with this extraordinary flood-tide, which we here found to monopolize full three-fourths of the four- and-twenty hours, besides running in general much more rapidly than the other. After the Fury was secured, the ice swept the Hecla alongside of her, before Captain Lyon had time to secure his hawsers, the tide running full a knot and a half. Much havoc is usually to be apprehended in such cases ; after some grinding and squeezing, therefore, we considered ourselves to have escaped very well with the loss of one of the Hecla's boats torn to pieces by the Fury's anchor ; but were soon afterwards much mortified in disco- vering that the latter was rendered unserviceable also, by being badly cracked in the shank. Thur.4. At midnight the ice began drifting to the north-east with the ebb-tide, which seemed to set more in earnest than we had ever seen it do before, though for what reason was not apparent. In consequence of this movement, a number of heavy floe-pieces came with great violence against our sterns at fifteen minutes past one A.M. on the 4th, setting along the edge of the land-ice, and threatening to carry us away, with an equal strain on each of five stout hawsers. The uncertainty respecting the soundings oft Owlitteeweek, where « iiH'Hif fi,Urf4,\'i',f m II r lif »■ ■!:r I /Tu/tmn ii.if. .■^.\~u/At, "1\ OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 253 the numerous grounded masses indicated shoal water, alone prevented our casting off and suffering the ships to drive to the north-east ; but the danger of drifting, thus hampered, into shoal water and in a strong tide-way is evident. /u u i,- ■ Between three and four A.M. the tide slackcp.ed, having run less than four hours to the north-east ; and at five the ice opened, enabling us to cast off, but with so light an air of wind from the south-east as scarcely to allow us to stem the flood. At half-past six the ice again began to close, and the signal was made to secure the ships to the floe. The depth of water, however, which the heavy ice draws giving the tide a much greater hold of it than of the ships, the latter were unable with the present light breeze to get out of its way. In consequence of this the Hecla which, from her p-tuation, had taken the lead, was quickly beset at the distance of one-third o* a mile from thv land- ice, and drifted several miles back to the south-west, in spite oi every en- deavour to reach the floe. The Fury, having just succeeded In ru 'ining out a line and securing, her hawsers to it before the ice came upon hi, heldou in this situation, and was thus separated from her consort. Though we had succeeded in placing the Fury in a considerable i denta- tion of the floe, the ice during the forenoon drove violently 3r(o it, and se- veral heavy masses coming in contact with our quarter he( led '\e ship at times a couple of streaks, forcing some of the pieces also to turn over end and sink under her bilge, but without doing any injury. The firsi time that this occurred there was great reason to apprehend our being forced from the floe, with all the ship's company absent, they having just been sent to endeavour to save some whale-lines that had been carried away. I afterwards found tliat many of Captain Lyon's men had been also exposed to this risk for se- veral hours, in the course of their frequent but unavailing endeavours to secure their ship by a hawser to the floe. Our latitude observed at noon was 66° 54' 17", and the longitude, by chro- nometers, 81° 44' 50", our soundings being thirty r'i'^ a fathoms, on a bottom of sand and small stones. Neither on this nor on any other occasion during our continuance about this parallel of latitude, did we ever distinguish any appearance of land to the eastward, though. 'Ue weather was frequently very favourable. bijU iuhi •ujDu o-'i o! un..> ■...■ : ...a,t :• .,' • i i . . ^ ,;•...:« ■; ■ After eleven A.M. the ice had remained quite stationary during the whole period of the ebb-tide, which seemed not to have power to set it against a light air of north-easterly wind, and the same thing occurred at night. On ,■ !■ I. ■ Hi 1. : h, ;,. > ■ i >- . ..I lllk 254 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY su (ill b w H*fll .. ''^ i ill 1 k ,1 M j'f It.', I- P 1822. July. Frid, 5 the morning of the 5th it once more opened out, leaving a lane of water ' which appeared to reach within two miles of the island of Owlitteeweek. As wc could there discover a bight in the floe, in which better security could be found from the ice than in our present exposed situation, we made sail for it, after sending a boat a-head with signals to make known the sound- ings ; tlic depth of water proved regular, shoaling gradually from thirty- eight fathoms, as far as our boat could go. As we proceeded the ice conti- nued to open, allowing us to make fast in a very good situation only one mile and a quarter from the island, and in eleven fathoms water, from which wc afterwards warped into nine to endeavour to get out of the tide, which we here observed to run with unabated rapidity. We now for the first time secured the ship to the smooth and level land-Hoc, which continued to run along the shore at the distance before described. The Hecla still remained beset and had now drifted to the i>earanee of the island, the water is not deep at a considerable distance from the shore on the south, 8.E., and iS.W. Iw f\^im . OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 256 ;' » sides, where there was the largest collection of heavy masses of grounded ice ' ^^^• that I ever saw in one place. In sounding near these, however, oin* boats never found less than five fathoms, and that by a regular decrease towards the shore, -r J; '''^ - ;., ■ i ■ - , ^ ..■ ■ -i ■ , ■ " For the first time since we had come on this coast, we found the ebb-tide running full as strong as the flood, and setting more out from the land or to the eastward than before. This latter alteration was probably occasioned merely by a turn given it in running from the northward, between Cape Wilson and the island, though at the time we were willing to hope that it indicated some favourable turn in the land immediately beyond the Cupe_ As we here lay without disturbance from the ice, a good opjjortunity was afforded of observing the time of high and low water compared with that of the stream. The result of several observations all nearly agreeing is cer- tainly a curious and uncommon one ; for we found that the water continued to rise or fall from an hour and a half to an hour and three-quarters (iftcr the succeeding stream had comnieneed. Various other instances of similar ano- malies in the phenomena of the tides upon this part of the American coast were observed in the course of the following week's navigation. On the morning of the Gth, the Ilecla appeared to be drifting farther to the Sat. 6- S.W, than before ; but we did not know whether this might not be attrilnited to the deception occasioned by a very extraordinary degree of refraction oc- curring to-day in all objects near the horizon. For some hours her masts seemed thrown up into one peakeose of sounding along the shore in that direction, in readiness ft>r moving whenever the Ilecla should be enabled to rejoin us. I found the soundings regular in almost every part, and had just landed to obtain a view from un eminenee, when I was recalled 8 L 9 2G0 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY I: 1822. by a signal from the Fury, appointed to inform me of the approach of any ice. On my return, I found the external body once more in rapid motion to the southward witli tlie flood-tide, and assuming its usual threatening appearance. For an hour or two the Fury was continually grazed, and sometimes heeled over by a degree of pressure which, under any other circumstances, would not have been considered a moderate one, but which the last two or three days' navigation had taught us to vater trickling over it. We were not, however, under the necessity of going even thus far for a supply of this necessary article, abundance of the purest kind being fouml on every large piece of ice at this season. .At half an hour before midnight, when it was just low water by our mark on the ice, a violent rush of tide suddenly came from the northwanl, threat- ening to carry us adrift with three stout hawsers a-head. This kind of occurrence which, in a smallci degree, was a very common one, added much to the anxious nature of this navigation ; for as it happened indifferently at all times of tide, the most incessant attention and exertion were barely sufficient to enable us to obviate its effects. It was as easy to account for this irregularity, as it was difficult to resist its im|)etuosity. It frequently happened that some heavy floe-pieces, drifting down towards us, Avcdged themselves in between the grounded masses that lay a-head of the ships, where they produced the effect of turning the stream of tide by forming a temporary dam. By the continual pressure of the water these would often at length break, or otherwise disengage themselves, occasioning a violent rush of the tide through the now unol)structed passage, and frequently forcing themselves with extreme violence ;igainst the ships' bows. As the time of high water approached, on the morning of the I2th, the Frid. 12, land-ice began to float oft', scarcely driving us time to cast off' the hawsers from it, and leaving the whole line of the shore entirely bare. Having now nothing to steady us towards the shore, an e(i(ly of the tide carried the Fury Avith some violence against the largest berg, nearly destroying one -of our (piarter-boats. For a few nunutes her situation was a most disagreeable one, for the heavy floe-pieces now setting in from the offing caused the berg, alongside of which we were immoveably fixed, to take a roll outward, and a similar one in the opposite direction would inevitably have placed us in some very awkward predicament. As soon as the stream of ebb had cleared the shore a little, we cast off^ and shifted our birth one mile farther to the northward, being at noon, by observa- tion, in lat, 67° 12' 38". At four P.M., the prospect having very much im- proved, we again made sail with a light air of south-easterly wind ; and after running four or five miles in regular soundings, found the ice too close to proceed much farther, and at the same time observed an opening in the land, appearing like a river, a little beyond us. No land-ice being in sight, the 'i ■*[■;' i !*»•=. •; 264 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1 m ■ '^1 ^B ■ :'i ■ k n^^' ! B^^^hIi m I- >- I 1822. .lulv. Sat. 13. signal was made to prepare to anclior ; ami in the mean time I left the ship in a boat to examine the soundings of the coast. On approaching the open- ing we found so strong a current setting out of it, as to induce me to taste the water which proved scarcely brackish, and a little closer in perfectly IVesh, though the depth wtis from fourteen to lifteen fathoms. As this stream was a sufficient security against any ice coming in, 1 determined to anclior the ships somewhere in its neighbourhood ; and having laid down a buoy in twelve fathoms, ott" the norUi point of the entrance, returned on board, when I found all the boats a-head endeavouring to tow the ships in-shore. This could be effected, however, oidy by getting them across the stream of tlu* inlet to the northern shore ; and here tiuding some land-ice, the ships were secured late at night, after several hours of extreme labour to the peoi)le in the boats. On the morning of the 13th, the ice being still close in with the land just to the northward of us, I determined on examining the sujijiosed river in the boats, and at the same time to try our luck with the seines, as the place appeared a likely one for salmon. Accompanied by several of the officers, therefore, as well as by Captiiin Lyon in his own boat, I left the Fury at half- past eight A.M., and was soon followed by a second boat from each ship. Immediately on opening the inlet we encountered a rapid current setting outwards, and after rowing a mile and a half to the N.W.b.W., the breadtli of the stream varying from one-third of a mile to four or iive hundred yards, came to some shoal water extending quite across. Landing on the south shore and hauling the boats up above high-water mark, we rambled uj) the banks of the stream, which are low next the water, but rise almost immediately to the height of about two hundred feet. As we proceeded we gradually heard the noise of a fall of water; and being presently obliged to strike more inland, as the bank became more precipitous, soon obtained a fresh view of the siream running on a much higher level than before, and dashing with great impetuosity down two small cataracts. Just below this, liowever, where the river turns almost at a right angle, we perceived a much greater spray, as well as a louder sound ; and having walked a short distance down the bank, suddenly came upon the principal fall, of wliose magnificence I am at a loss to give any adequate description. At the head of the fall, or where it commences its principal descent, the river is contracted to about one hundred and lifty feet in breadth, the channel being hollowed out through a solid rock of gneiss. After falling about tifiecn feet at an angle of 30° with a r OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 265 vertical line, the width of tlio stream is still narrowed to about forty yards, and then, as if mustering its whole force previous to its final descent, is pre- cipitated in one vast continuous sheet of water almost perpendicular for ninety feet more. So nearly, indeed, is the rock perpendicular, that we were enabled to let down a sounding lead and line, for the purpose of measuring its actual height, while a man descended from crag to crag with a second line attached to him, to see when the lead touched the water below. The dashing of the water from such a height, produced the usual accompaniment of a cloud of spray, broad columns of which were constantly forced up, like the suc- cessive rushes of smoke from a vast furnace, and on this, near the toj), a vivid iris or rainbow was occasionally formed by the bright rays of an unclouded sun. " The roaring of the mountain-cataract," which constitutes a principal feature of the sublime in scenery of this magnificent nature, Wiis here almost deafening, and as we were able to approach the head of the fall, even as close as a single yard, the very rock seemed to suffer a concussion under our feet. The basin that receives the water at the foot of the fall is nearly of a circular form, and about four hundred yards in diameter, being rather wider titan the river immediately below it. The fall is'iabout three-quarters of a mile above our landing-place, or two miles and a quarter from the entrance of the river. After remaining nearly an hour, fixed as it were to the spot by the no- velty and magnificence of the scene before us, we continued our walk up- wards along the banks ; and after passing the two smaller cataracts, found the river again increased in width to above two hundred yards, winding in the most romantic manner imaginable among the hills, and preserving a smooth dnd un- ruffled surface for a distance of three or four miles that we traced it to the south-west above the fall. What added extremely to the beauty of this picturesque river, which Captain Lyon and myself named after our mutual friend, Mn. BAmiovv, Secretary to the Admiralty, was the richness of the vegetation on its banks, the enlivening brilliancy of a cloudless sky, and the animation given to the scene by several rein-deer that were grazing beside the stream. Our sportsmen were fortunate in obtaining four of these animals ; but we had no success with the seines, the ground proving alto- getlier too rocky to use them with advantage or safety. The eider-ducks were here tolerably numerous, and we also met with some black-throated divers, golden plovers, and suow-buntings. On first entering the river two s M ,ls'22. July. .M P lA >. }l f. 266 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY igl ^^^^' birds flcAV over our heads, appearing larger than eider-ducks, but with much N^Y-*L; less white on their backs and wings, and without the chick bill. On our return down the river Captain Lyon landed on the opposite side, for the pur- pose of making a drawing of the fall in the best point of view ; and we then returned on board at thirty minutes past two P.M., after the most gra- tifying visit we had ever paid to the shore in these regions. The entrance of this river lies in lat. 67° 18' 05", and in longitude, by chronometers, 81° 25' 20". We found at half tide from ten to twelve feet water in mid-channel, for a mile below the first shallows, and it then quickly deepens to as many fathoms. The banks of the river had still a good deal of snow cleaving to them in some places, and we narrowly escaped being swamped by a heavy mass falling off into the water, just after we had rowed away from the spot. The mineralogical character of the land in this neighbourhood continued the same as that last described. We found on our return that a fresh southerly breeze, which had been blow- ing for several hours, had driven the ice to some distance from the land ; so that at four P.M., as soon as the flood-tide had slackened, we cast off and made all possible sail to the northward, steering for a headland remarkable for hav- ing a patch of land towards the sea that appeared insular in sailing alongshore. As we approached this headland, w^hich I named after my friend Mr. Edward Levcester Penhhvn, the prospect became more and more enlivening; for the sea was found to be navigable in a degree very seldom experienced in these regions, and, the land trending two or three points to the westward of north, gave us reason to hope we should now be enabled to take a decided and final turn in that anxiously-desired direction. As we rounded Cape Penrhyn at seven P.M., we began gradually to lose sight of the external body of ice, sailing close along that which was still attached in very heavy floes to this part of the coast. A headland, four leagues to the northward of Cape Penrhyn, was named after Mr. Robert Brown, a gentleman with whose knowledge and labours in the department of botany every naturalist is acquainted. Both wind and tide being favourable, our progress was rapid aniU. 0»i out rMfcUM U. ^r *r'«f3fean Lyon laufit*<} on th** ojijxiite side, ioi ihr p»ir* ii,*'*»« **! f*i«s ir-iwinw of die Tall in tht* b<*«t |K)int of. view ■. aud we %■■.-* »i«is*r%<«> -^ ' trwt we TiA', »ad iu loni^tti^is, by • N -> ' ■ *ti >(■ oUiKJ flif H*. 1 -lU': Tram leri u» twclvt^ ft:et '.:.,, h'f A md«' Ik^o * ?Hf U*», and' it. then . V ♦ ; >■» .. V. >»* ■< v'>»l»»»'w i'V.c (KMik-* <»J xh'^ r.v^r hai.iw . ./»»s^ ^ 'li*"* w «i*\»PO pl'iffs. nnf\ we nntntwiy vtilu.d cov/i d away fr-jiii di»^ .■spoi. Tho mini'niloM-u'iii oh u.icum- a( dn* Uiid 'I'lbi.-^ f>"i7^'i»J!»oiiih>n»(l t'r.iiti.Mcd the Wime »$> that h*.*! d«»<«r rilx-d. Wt- t')Uiui iirtoiir n-tii'n ih-U a tVrsli 8(Htth*'rly hroow, wimli hud been Wow- iiiff I'l.r >^«vor»l hours, h^kd drivt'n the icr to sj.mf disi^.u i i>\uu tin" laitd • *n itirtt .'tir• •• n ^.. I ..«. ' . .' Jk « ii i -,.,.■■ ;'.\' t ■,: • (>'■ vi,.u;i> : • .*-•-'■♦. j'«'Vft'.«-» « '>.;<'*» .M,.-5- . ,f »■ .<,«H> ««•»»• >Hj»<-|irlf|^; for . 1*..^ . . ^»T «*»4.l ri'-iidMi* r ,w» ar Ikf*'' fn.o i - t^j • .., wcstKanl «.i . , - « #v , . -. » htn-^. *».. .Ill i! i ijaw be oiwhird to utkc ft drri<)j'd lid f !i,< v«.'>' ' /' ' ,:i.•'\.'^:^^'^ 'U- \T>>i 'ifvciton. .*s <%••' rounded ("»(*«• I' Mirhvu ul -vs'M I" t., \v«' in i(an jfradi«Uiv *<» h>.'«r siijh* of ihr «'\t<-ttti»i V «t{y oi »•'".', f»iidintr <"' f*^'' alontr tlint \vhi<:b. vi'i«9 *y>' *•* r^niwtj siW Mn Hcwiht li»riWN, a ^^nti< muu wtih .il^f kP4^w1«d uf ©f Ik-tuny t wry nntuntli<«l i» .«i'«^» f«**-4. iwogieiwi wa.s ntfud a'( HOAV^Mrw t^tf, I Uiv t*U'.*t itn '* r*' iflidiu^'ht thts WHid »«ir KBofA otf ih. ' ' »• . ..;.i dKer wKii:h u i|«. I« - > c sod Uii tand. -•I! 4 il i ii " i 'tei f IB| ;.'' 1 mii ' n M rp 1 IWi ^< 1 IHiie' 1 Biff lit B p , 1 1 I ■' ;1 ■'"' •1 1 ^ 1 1 1 iff OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. not less than nine miles in breadth, we were enabled to stand oft' and on by ^^p- the soundings, and even to make considerable progress to windward. The coast was here again nearly clear of land-ice, and wherever a patch did occur, the rest seemed to have been divided fron? it very lately, the margin being free from any appearance of rubbing or external pressure. The weather clearing up in the course of the forenoon, on the 14th, we perceived the land continued nearly its former trendirg, and that the navigable channel was from four to five leagues wide, the situation of the main body of the ice being clearly marked out by a bright " blink," in its usual arch-like form, over- spreading the whole eastern horizon. Our northern extreme now in siglit was a piece of low sandy-looking land, which had the appearance of being detached from the higher and darker land to the westward; and by comparing its situation with that of the island of Amitioke, laid down in the Esquimaux charts. It seemed probable that it was this station which we had now reached. A strip of the same kind of low land as that above mentioned was, also, observed to run along the continental shore, between the hills and the sea, for several leagues to the southward of our present station. It was here, indeed, that, in sailing to the northward, we began gradually to lose sight of the bold ])rimitive mountains of the main- land, the intervening strip of low and yellow-looking shore becoming more and more broad, and the soundings oft" the coast altering their character at the same time as might be expected, but still preserving their regularity ac- cording to the distance from the land. We observed at noon in lat. ()»" 02' 43", our longitude, by chronometers, beint,' S2° 13' 3'i", by which it ap|)cared that we had been favoured with an unobstructed run of fifty miles, an event of no trifling imiM)rtanee in this tedious and uncertain navigation. The sea- horses, of which we had occasionally seen a few for one or two days past, wore here much more numenms; whici". rather served to eontirm us in the be- lief that we were now oft" Amitioke, in the neighbourhood of which the Es- quimaux had represented them as abundant. From this part of the coast northwards, as far at least as igloolik, these animals are perhaps indeed as numerous as in any part(»f the world. We eontinued beating Ut the northward under all sail during the night, Mon. 15. Ihe wind remaining steadily from that quarter with smooth water and extremely fine weather. Our latit ide by observation at noon was iW 2'^ "21" , and the longitude by elironometers, HT ,W 5^'". The hind eontinued to bo of the same character as beli.re described, the hills at the back having now a hi u m I (f ^tii '11 s > m iMii :i !l 'ill * «'< hi«' li i!l 1822. July. 268 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY receded to a considerable distance from the coast, and tlie low shore, after makintj a larj^e IxmkI, apjain projecting a good deal to the eastward. In the course of this day the walruses became more and more numerous every hour, lying in large herds ujion the loose pieces of drift-ice ; and it having fallen cahn at one P.M., we despatched our boats to endeavour to kill some for the sake of the oil which they afford. On approaching the ice oar people found them huddled close to, and even lying upon, one another in separate droves of from twelve to thirty, the whole number near the borts being perhaps about two hundred. Most of them waited quietly to be iircd at; and even after one or two discharges did not seem to be greatly disturbed, but allowed the people to land on the ice near them, and, when approached, shewed an evident disposition to give battle. After they had got into the water, ihree were struck with harpoons and killed from the boats. >Vlu>n first wounded they heeame (piite furious, and one, which had been struck from Caplai;. Lyons boat, made a resolute attack upon her, and inpu'ed several of the planks with its enormous tusks. A number of the others came round them, also rep(>ate(lly striking the wounded animals with their tusks, with tlu; intention either of getting tliem away or else of joining in the altack upon them. Many of these animals had young ones which, when assaulted, they either took between their fore-llippcrs to carry off, or bore away on their backs. Both of those killed by the Fury's boats Avere females, and the weight of the largest was fifteen hundred-weight and two (piarters nearly ; but it was by no means remarkable for the largeness of its dimensions. The peculiar barking-noise made by the walrus, when irri- tated, nuiy be heard, rejudicc ariisiiig chiefly fium the dark cok>ur ol" Ihc lle!*li. In no uUier OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 269 respect that 1 could ever discover, is the meat of the walrus when fresh- ^^^^' killed in the slightest degree oft'ensive or unpalatable. The heart and liver \J^^ are indeed excellent. While our boats were thus engaged a light air, that had sprung up from the southward, gradually increased, and as oon as our game was hoisted in we bore up under all sail along the land, which still continued so extremely low that as the sun got round ahead we could scarcely distinguish its points, and ran along chiefly guided by the soundings. In the course of the night we passed thousands of walruses, large herds of which were lying with their young on almost every loose piece of ice we saw. At midnight we were abreast of three small islets, which I consider to be the northernmost of those called by the Esquimaux " Ooglit," and so marked in the chart. We saw something like huts or tents upon them, but no other signs of inhabitants : we know however that they are at tinjes a principal resort of many of the Esquimaux; and liigliuk first directed uur attention to them as the birth- place of her son. After an unobstructed siiHit's run, during which wo met with no ice ex-Tucs. IG. cept in some loose " streams, the water became so much shoaler as to make it necessary to proceed with gixater taution. Though the land along which we had been sailing had uH been nearly ecpially low, we now l)egan to de- crease our soundings to nine, eipisf, and seven fathoms, and the water ap- peared much discoloured in some places. Abmit this time also a great e laud to the other. It is im|)oitant here to noliee that our chief disappointment arose, not from the mere presence <>f ice blocking up the desired passage, to which our most anxioUH hopes lu; k iong by anticipation been directed, but from the nature of the ice whicD constituted our present inipeannent. Tliis con- si-sted of a floe so level t'nd contiiuious, that a single glarice was sullicient to ii 1 • Tills name Ix-imr uppliiil bv th«' Enqiiimnux to wvcrul ntluT )M)rli()!isVe found here two ('ivisioiis of tents, there being eleven where we landed, and live more about half a mile to the \iorthward. They were Hituate ack. ^1 gm^ . .tim^ \hm| -. I AH «veU, amf lo ificoi! murl! i)if>»«' i! .m" 'Mti * i.Miit' vtufn t'< ttj.'* -t ilWrr<'i>lH'3(.' v.-jth »li»M!!, hIwu ;(|»p<>»ii . l.i i.trri .mi a Sdlt of .' (iea of the fricMKiiy diMiMt-iu*!: • d.-' K •'/ -•lu*" mviyiI^ Jii'ni, »!ul • i«4iRH w^l OS rftetr iiiiiJity ''■ "<» '' '" ''^" -^<""i' ' tlaT' i- >. . t fliosne it\va>i rouBimiwi .l»y Uii!'l iwi i ..'• n'l's M'-hisi/tiii'- '.iim iIm'v '.* try what tlu»y am ffct (Vrxn ih«Mr ii -v ^(•|t(l.^, \'. »■ ui-i' '>' ,'' !x«' i-F^-; U»it Hicy •'.■•r'. 'Tj-t \f< '" -^' ''• •'• '1 • ■'• ' ' txH to allow <>l" Hi tvaij •*!'.» •'vuio oi ;-.;',« «».r'iu;'h ii. '[\> v'">" ..w? •"I u rliuri'^y iiiv;l irrfjfiilnr imtr)t.v'ij. ' •!'! II -, • t Hi il.t;; Ul il ^i*.l|.i I ,• ^ ,'■ { •'.. ' .'' oiIi iI \:yiM (li< i.nl«l!r ity u iil'^ tin. j)«-lv lyiltf iKe tipper f"»'5 <>i 'tn-- i • ririn*! iviiftSi-r !i'.ii (>I<'«.i' «;' h" ;■ a( ffj!;. '», for ib« ji)»-,'>^ ■ ■ " • ■" '. aOMl ll, i'ainf ariM.' > l.i. « •« U* •' ' ' ' ^'"ti^t tn»T»ler« o» -y*" hrlti diiWM b ^r>.:t,M I.uti «ifi tiir;,» .. ;?-.itjt . aa :i Ijitti:''"' <'nH' pl.ur-.i -.a soioi- ili'^tiincc. Th**- rt* ;o tw' lo o\iTiop our !«v!,Ui«r. awl fcrt' !n- n s(!i>u.- !:'■(' ujhui fh'-iH a* l»u- IxHImh). T^.v. • 'ranct^ f«C«"* th« **»♦**« «i iKJiuli t a'-t • ttivl A »»tr vviritrw:- oOfW !,i li. -;»«'('.•• •: - tot n*it impws': u« ,11 ncM, "v^'^u fith u vcrv ftnowjble i o.no'* • ^fid jM:oom«iov what a free gift is among themselves ; but they were not long in getting rid of all delicacy or hesita- tion on this score. The tents, which varied in size according to the number of occupants, consisted of several seal and walrus skins, the former dressed without the hair, and the latter with the thick outer coat taken oflT, and the rest shaved thin so as to allow of the transmission of light through it. These were put together in a clumsy and irregular patchwork, forming a sort of bag of a shape rather oval than round, and supported near the middle by a rude tent-pole composed of several deer's horns or the bones of other animals lashed toge- ther. At the upper end of this is attached another shoi-t piece of bone at right angles, for the purpose of extending the skins a little at the top, which is generally from six to seven feet from the ground. The lower part of the tent-pole rests on a large stone to keep it from sinking into the ground, and being no way secured, is frequently knocked down by persons accidentally coming against it, and again re-placed upon the stone. The lower borders of the skins are held down by stones laid on them outside ; and to keep the whole fabric in an erect position, a line of thong is extended from the top, on the side where the door is, to a larger stone placed at some distance. The door consists merely of two flaps, contrived so as to overlap one another, and to be secured by a stone laid upon them at the bottom. This entrance faces the south or south-east ; and as the wind was now blowing fresh from that quarter and thick snow beginning to fall, these habitations did not impress us at first sight with a very favourable idea of the comfort and accommodation 1822. July. I r IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 ■^ys |2.5 no "^^ ■■■ ^ 136 H 2.2 Ui u IM 2.0 i IJi& 1.25 |||.4 iii^ •• 6" - ► <^ '/a '/ 4 m Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 33 WIST MAIN STRKT WIMTIR.N.Y. MSM (71*) •73-4S03 ^^ <>\ ^r\\ 272 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY J ■ 1822, afforded by them. The interior of the tents may be described in few words. lJ^ZI/ On one side of the end next the door is the usual stone lamp resting on any other rough stones, with the ootkooseek or cooking-pot suspended over it ; and round this are huddled together in great confusion the rest of the women's utensils, together with gieat lumps of raw sea-horse flesh and blub- ber, which at this season they enjoyed in most disgusting abundance. At the inner end of the tent, which is also the broadest, and occupying about one-third of the whole apartment, their skins are laid as a bed, having under them some of the andromeda tetragona when the ground is hard, but in this case placed on the bare dry shingle. Comfortless as these simple habitations appeared to us in a snow-storm, they are in general not deficient in warmtli as summer residences ; and being easily removed from place to place, they are certainly well suited to the wants and habits of this wandering people. When a larger habitation than usual is required they contrive, by putting two of these together, to form a sort of double tent, somewhat resembling a marquee, and supported by two poles. The difference between these tents and the one I had seen in Lyon Inlet the preceding autumn, struck me as remarkable, these having no wall of stones around them, as is usual in many that we have before met with, nor do I know their reason for adopting this different mode of construction. Even if it were not the natural ai.d happy disposition of these people to be pleased, and to place implicit confidence wherever kind treatment is exj)cri- enced, that coniidence would soon have been ensured by our knowledge of their friends and relations to the southward, and the information which we were enabled to give respecting their late and intended movements. This, while it excited in them extreme surprise, served also at once to remove all distrust or apprehension, so that we soon found ourselves on the best terms imaginable. In return for all this interesting information, they gave us the names of the different portions of land in sight, many of which being recognised in their countrymen's charts, we no longer entertained a doubt of our being near the cixstern entrance of the strait to which all our hojx's were directed. We now found also that a point of land in sight, a few miles to the southward of the tcnt«, was near that marked Ping-'U-M-lik on Kwerat's Chart, and that therelbre the low shore along which we had been constantly sailing the pH'«x'st com- fortless habitations imaginable, now afforded us a suiticient and most accept- able shelter. The evening was passed in dealing out our information from the southward, and never did any arrival excite more anxious inquiries than those we were now obliged to answer. So intimate was the knowledge we possessed re- specting many of their relationships, that by the help of a memorandum book in Hhicli these had been inserted, I believe we almost at times excited u degree a N 1822. Julv. V ■ ii hi ;, 274 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. of superstitious alarm in their minds. This sort of gossip and incessant chat- tering and laughing continued till near midnight, when the numerous visitors i *t M in our tents began to retire to their own and to leave us to our repose. Wed. 17, Awaking at four A.M. on the 17th, I found that the weather had mode- rated and cleared up and the ships soon after appearing in sight ; we called our boat's crew up, and sent one of the Esquimaux round to the other tents to inform Captain Lyon of our setting out. Several of the natives ac- companied us to our boat Avhich they cheerfully helped us to launch, and then went round to another part of the beach for their own canoes, A thick fog had come on before this time, notwithstanding which however we ma- naged to find the ships, and got on board by seven o'clock. Five canoes ar- rived soon after, and the wind being now light and variable, we lay to for an hour to repay our kind friends for the hospitable reception they had given us. After supplying them abundantly with tin canisters, knives, and pieces of iron-hoop, we hauled to the north-eastward to continue our examination of the state of the ice, in hopes of finding that the late gale hud in this respect done us some service. Lieutenant Nias infonned me on my return that the ships had, as I appre- hended, experienced considerable difficulty in beating off the shore and the ice, upon which the gale had directly blown with a good deal of sea. The Hecla had indeed been once driven upon the margin of the floe, where she remained in a very awkward situation for half an hour, and then fortu- nately eft'cctcd her escape ; after which by carrying a press of canvass bofli ships sjucceeded in gaining an offing, though not without much fatigue from constant wet and exertion. ' • •>■ < The fog continued with a light and variable easterly wind during the rest » of the day, so that we could see but a short distance. As far as we could dis- tinguish at intervals, however, the land-ice appeared to stretch quite across the mouth of the strait as before. The soundings were regular in the offing, varying from thirty-six to fifty-five fathoms according to our distance from the Thur. 18. island. On the 18th the weather was at times sufficiently clear to allow us a glimpse of the eastern land, a part of which appeared to be composed of islamls lying ofi* the higher and continuous shore of Keiyuk-tarruoke, and as it wa.s {Kissible that this shore might be gained by sailing round these and getting within them, I determined on making the attempt; and acquainting Captain Lyon with my intentions, np|)ointed Igloolik as our rendezvous in case of separation. This latter contingency seemed now the more likely as Mf I U' I I ■^14. fr''' i'-ii .lilsirm iii thejr miicfs. Thix fjori of ^wsip ami {m*««*i^, - . . at-H bv'.ifnn to ieltn* f.« thuM »»*v. ■■ ■ - ■. rtJitt*- • ."V 'Viikinsj Jit ibur A.X5 u^i t'iv .'tv-'s .» . .. .,.. .i'ti^dn-v ., ratOvi ait4' uur ftiMdiysf out. Several of ifer coi!v." •^' V* IK •iif 'vt^i v»,hirh thcj choprfully helped iw i 4,jw ?,tt<>r ^t'^r, nf *lvJ'}M»ach for their own canf>- rn^'fl S(»oii .ilior, fui'i ihv mn<\ imus^ now ifljflH, and vfti'JHbUi, w<3 l.- . !).»ur to npay '^'.'.i kind friends for the haspitfible reception thev ' us. Afur sii|)rilyiii.'x tUi'm abun'drtntly with' tin cauistei^, kuivev of iron li.xij). Are huui'-'d to I lie /inrtli -cast ward to rontJnMe o«r ex i\tc statr '.r ih.' ict\ in hopes of hnding ihut the laU? ^«K' httti in done i;h t-oiim' ^fMvire. LioutoTUint Nifw int'ormi'd arc ois my wdnro that- the. shi|h» ha{« ofHnj^. {hoiigh no« witlinutniuch ♦';. '. «nd I'xt'rtion 'Vht' f'o!^ contimii'd with ft H»ht and TiiriaWo easterly viUid dvin 4.r rill* d.iv. -o tltat we couhL »Pe but o short,*}istance. Aa far «s w tJttaT'^^ ^ • ;.rpr\al«, however, ihc l»nd-ii:e appeared t<) stretch ^ ^Hfni^V, yii !?»#' rap-- .'i^ '? v>af U(Unii# lyi'fif *df ik*: f- it wa* jMMi-ibh; ihut J5»*tling *iahiu rheui, i oUk lis «wr rf I.. .t;<^Ui'y Neemed no.w Au- p.u . u :i'>) ^!;-.^+- !i.r we of ^ bei firs iiig tid bet hal dec we hei itt r hat oui aa( int an( coi tin tuc laii wa ex till wc ws frc ho br an th Tl th to «1 OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 275 1822. July. V.^VX.' well in consequence of the continuance of the foggy .yeather, as on account of the sea being entirely free from drift-ice in this neighbourhood. We continued to beat to the south-eastward during the night, the weather being less foggy, but the atmosphere still moist and uncomfortable. In the first watch we came to a 1 ne of tangle-weed floating on the surface, extend- ing many miles in length, and marking by its position the margin of a strong tide setting the ships towards the islands round which we were trying to beat. We frequently shoaled in a single cast from fifteen to eight and a half fathoms, and were several times obliged to keep before the wind to deepen the water. This tide appeared the more striking, as near Igloolik we could not perceive the ships to be influenced by any stream or current : here however it proved so strong that we could make little or no way against it till after midnight. The favourable tide continued till about six A.M. on the I9th, when we Frid had made considerable progress, but Avithout much hope of succeeding in our project of getting within the islands. This, as we advanced, proved more and more impracticable, as we found that the land-ice still occupied all the intervals between the islands as well as between them and Keiyuk-tarruoke, and in many places still projected also a mile or two to seaward. In the course of the forenoon the weather cleared up, and at noon, having still con- tinued to sail to the eastward, we observed in lat. 69° 25' 0.'5'^ the longi- tude, by chronometers, beinj? 79° 57' 10". In this situation a great deal of land chiefly low, and much of it apparently insular, was in sight to the east- ward ; but the distance at which we were kept by the ice prevented our fairly examining it. In the evening, however, having run as far to the eastward as the longitude of 79° 22' 16" by good observations, we found ourselves pretty well embayed, the land extending as far rou i as a S.b.E. bearing. The ice was here also for the first time loose and detacii ;d, occasionally streaming off from the land, but not open enough to allow of our working among it. In hopes therefore of its being entirely drifted from the land by the northerly breeze that had lately sprung up, we lay to during the night, watching for an opportunity to get within it, being determined to leave nothing undone that might eventually facilitate our progress alongshore to the westwaid. The soundings were here small, varying rapidly as the ships were swept over the ground by the tide, but seldom amounting to twenty fathoms. The bot- tom was covered with broken shells, of which great numbers always came up with the lead. Having a deep cast of thirty-five fathoms, Dr. Marcet'ii s N 8 19. m' -■■'''■'J k ^'-'i ^v ■';.* 276 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY Vi .!* 1822. bottle was sent down near the bottom, where the temperature of the water ^i^ was found to be 31 1°, that of the surface at the time being 34,f° by the same thermometer. A great number of walruses were lying on pieces of ice, and a few king-ducks and silvery gulls flying near the ships. Sat. 20. On the morning of the 20tli great quantities of ice continued to stream off from the land, but as it was much too close to allow us to work in-shore through it, we were under the necessity of standing back a little to the westward, to avoid hampering the ships, and in hopes of the ice thus drift- ing past us to the southward. We first, however, hove to for half an hour to obtain upon a floe of ice the true variation, which proved to be 79° 20' 52" westerly, and then pushed to the westward till we found the ships a little more at liberty. In the course of this day's navigation we met with many large floes, some of which appeared to have been recently detached from the land. * I cannot delay any longer to remark how valuable the geographical infor- mation received from the Esquimaux had now proved to us, especially at this particular crisis. On our arrival off Igloolik we had suddenly been arrested in our progress by an impenetrable barrier of ice, appearing to occupy the entrance of a large inlet or strait leading in the very direction in which it was our business to seek and to force a passage. On tracing the northern land as far as the ice Avould permit, we now had it in sight reaching over nearly the Avhole extent of the eastern horizon, and almost to a soutli bearing, rendering it at least as likely as not that it would be found to con- tinue as far as Fox's Farthest, or even to join the land in that neighbour- hood. It is true that, in any case, nothing short of actual examination was to be deemed conclusive or admissible by us, and that therefore it was our business to wait till such examination could be eftected : but who that can place himself for a moment in our situation will fail to appreciate the value of that infor- mation, which left no doubt of the geographical position of the lands before us, as respected the existence of the strait, and thus saved us the inconceiv- able suspense and anxiety which entire ignorance on this subject would not fail to have occasioned ? Sun. 21. Finding that a further examination of the eastern lands could not at present be carried on, widiout incurring the risk of hampering the ships at a time when, for aught that we knew, the ice might be breaking up at the entrance of the strait, we stood back to the westward, and, having fetched near the middle of Igloolik, were gratified in observing that a large ♦* patch " of the "V OF A North-west passage. 277 fixed ice * had broken off and drifted out of sight during our absence. At nine A.M. we saw eleven canoes coming off from the shore, our distance from the tents being about four miles, where our soundings were from eleven to twelve fathoms, having^ shoaled gradually in the last two or three miles from forty-two to that depth. As the new line of ice left us something to examine, we bore up along its edge for that purpose, as well as to avoid the disturb- ance of our friends, who were approaching us with loud shouts during the time of divine service. After this the wind backed more to the south- ward, and thick snow coming on so as to prevent our seeing ahead, we hove to for the canoes which had in the mean time communicated with the Hecla. We now hoisted two of them on board, their owners Kd-kee and Nu-j/dk-kd being very well pleased with the expedient to avoid damaging them along- side. Above an hour was occupied in endeavouring to gain additional infor- mation respecting the land to the westward, and the time when we might expect the ice to break up in the strait, after which we dismissed them with various useful presents, the atmosphere becoming extremely thick with snow, and threatening a repetition of the same inclement weather as we had lately experienced. The snow ceasing, however, in the course of the evening we found ourselves close to a small island called by the Esquimaux See-6-icaky and laid down by lligliuk in her chart with astonishing precision. This little island which, from its extreme lowness, and being situated just in the middle of the mouth of the strait, is somewhat dangerous, subsequently received the name of Tern Island, from the immense number of those birds found upon it. It is almost entirely surrounded with shoals, particularly on its southern and eastern sides, but attention to the leads is sufficient to pre- vent danger, and the grounded ice is in general a tolerably safe beacon. The wind having now veered to the northward and westward, with clear weather, I directed the ships to be made fast to the fixed ice between Tern Island and another to the northward of Igloolik, this being a favourable situ- ation for observing any alteration that might take place. I was desirous moreover of obtaining good observations for our position and angles for the survey, which the state of the weather had prevented our doing since our arrival off the strait. About this time we began to insert in the log the true courses only, and to conduct the ships by a kind of dial-plate purposely constructed, of which * The expression " fixed ice" appearing better suited to our present obstacle than that of " land ice," I shall in future adopt it in speaking of this barrier. 1822. July. M' \':.mk'.-. 278 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY !-i 1822. i\^Q sigiit-vanc was kept constantly directed towards the sun when that object ««»-Y-*.» was visible, and set according to its azimuth at the corresponding apparent time. This method was now resorted to, not so much on account of any in- creased sluggishness in the traversing of the compasses, though this indeed was at times considerable, as from the extreme practical inconvenience of ap- plying to compass-courses a large and ever-varying correction for the effect of local attraction on different directions of the ship's head. We were not at this time aware that the needles were, in this neighbourhood, subject to be influenced by other local attractions than those produced by the iron in the ships. We lay here in iifty-two fathoms, on a bottom of soft greenish mud. Some water brought up from a depth of lifty fathoms was at the temperature of 31 1°, that of the surface being 30.j° by the same thermometer, and of the air 32°. We had now the first opportunity of closely examining the thickness of the ice that opposed so complete a barrier to our progress to the westward, and were not a little pleased to lind that it scarcely exceeded a foot in any part, and was generally much .thinner than this, besides being full of pools of water that were rapidly dissolving it into holes. We now also remarked that the tides were extremely small in this place, compared with those to which we had lately been accustomed ; and it was evident that to this cir- cumstance might partly at least be attributed the late retention of the ice, which must have been immediately broken up by a stream of any considerable rapidity. The wind freshening up strong from the north-west, with a return of thick weather, we escaped, by making fast to the ice, a very inclement and disagreeable night. Mou. 22. The weather cleared up sufficiently on the 22d to allow us to obtain ob- servations, though the ice was found to be so much in motion that we could only use the instruments by removing them several hundied yards from the sea. The margin of the floe had a Avaving motion with the swell, which I have before mentioned as peculiar to thin salt-water ice. We were here in lat. 69° 33' 27', and in longitude, by chronometers, 81° 09' 13" ; the dip - of the magnetic needle being 87° 37' 09" ; and the variation 82° 21' 51" wes- terly. The weather clearing still more in the afternoon we had the Irst distinct, though still very distant, view of the land to the westward, in which a number of breaks and openings appeared, leaving us in doubt of the exact situation of the strait, which lay somewhere between a West and N.W.b.W., bearing from our present station. The wind becoming light «:s OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 279 1822. July. and variable in the evening we cast off from the ice, and soon after Mr. Ross was so fortunate as to obtain a whole flock of the Lants Sabini, thus confirming the accuracy of Iligliuk's information respecting this rare and elegant bird. They were in company with a number of tern and boat- swains, but still keeping in a separate flock. We did not see many wal- ruses in the ofling ; those animals appearing to prefer the shoaler water im- mediately off Igloolik, where they are found in such numbers as to aflbrd an easy, abundant, and luxurious subsistence to the Esquimaux. In the offing we more frequently met with seals, and generally of a large size, lying upon the ice ; but these creatures are so watchful, that it is difficult to ap- proach them within gun-shot before they tumble themselves into their holes. On the 23d we went on shore to pay another visit to the Esquimaux, who Tues. 23. came down on the ice in great numbers to receive us, repeatedly stroking down the front of their jackets with the palm of the hand as they advanced, a custom not before mentioned, as we had some doubt about it at Winter Island, and which they soon discontinued here. They also frequently called out timet, a word which, according to Hearne, signifies in the Esquimaux lan- guage, " What cheer!" and which Captrin Franklin heard frequently used on first accosting the natives at the mouth of the Copper-Mine River. It seems to be among these people a salutation equivalent to that understood by these travellers, or at least some equally civil and friendly one, for nothing could exceed the attention which they paid us on landing. Some individual al- ways attached himself to each of us immediately on our leaving the boat, pointing out the best road, and faking us by the hand or arm to help us over the streams of water or fissuires in the ice, and attending us wherever we went during our stay on shore. The day proving extremely fine and pleasant, every thing assumed a different appearance from that at our forn-er visit, and we passed some hours on shore very agreeably. About half a mile inland of the tents, and situated upon the rising ground beyond the swamps and ponds before mentioned, we found the ruins of several winter habitations, which upon land so low as Igloolik, formed very conspicuous objects at the distance of several miles to sea-ward. These were of the same circular and dome-like form as the snow-huts, but built with much more durable materials ; the lower part or foundation being of stones, and the rest of the various bones of the whale and walrus, gradually inclining inwards and meeting at the top. The crevices, as well as the whole of the outside, were then covered 280 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1322. July. laE;''> with turf which, with the additional coating of snow in the winter, serves to exclude the cold air very effectually. The entrance is towards the south, and consists of a passage ten feet long, and not more than two in height and breadth, built of fiat slabs of stone, having the same external covering as that of the huts. The beds are raised by stones two feet from the ground, and occupy about one-third of the apartment at the inner end, and the windows and a part of the roofs had been taken away for the con- venience of removing their furniture in the spring. It was a natural infe- rence from the nature of these habitations that these people, or at least a portion of them, were constant residents on this spot, which indeed seemed admirably calculated to aiibrd in luxurious profusion ail that constitutes Esquimaux felicity. This however did not afterwards prove to be absolutely the case ; for though Igloolik, (as perhaps the name luay imply,) is certainly one of their principal and favourite rendezvous, yet we subsequently found the island entirely deserted by them at the same season. In every direction around the huts were lying innumerable bones of wal- ruses and seals, together with skulls of dogs, bears, and foxes, on many of which a part of the putrid flesh still remaining sent forth the most H indeed moss cannot well be more luxuriant. As I shall have abundant opportunities of speaking more in detail of the natural productions of this island, with which we unfortunately became much better ; ; OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 281 1822. July. acquainted than we wished, I shall only add in this place, that the minera- logical character was essentially different from that last examined to the southward, consisting almost entirely of innumerable fragments of thin schistose limestone, on many of which are fossil impressions, and in others the cellular structure usually exhibited by madrejjorite. For the reasons just stated I shall also defer speaking of the geographical position of Igloo- lik, and of the observations now made here on the tides ; a cursory and unconnected notice or two on this subject being of little or no importance, where more ample information can be obtained. The account we gave of our visit to the shore naturally exciting the Wed. 24. curiosity and interest of those who had not yet landed, and the ice remain- ing unchanged on the 24th, a couple of boats were despatched from each ship with a large party of the officers and men, while the ships stood off and On the return of the boats in the evening, I found from Lieutenant on. lleid that a new family of the natives had arrived to-day from the main- land, bringing with them a quantity of fine salmon and venison, of which some very acceptable samples were procured for both ships. Being de- sirous of following up so agreeable a kind of barter, I went on shore the next morning for that purpose, but could only procure a very small Thur. 25. quantity of fish from the tent of the new-comer, a middle-aged, noisy, but remarkably intelligent and energetic man, named Tooltmak. After some conversation, we found from this man that in order to obtain a fresh supply of iish, three days would be required ; this prevented my putting in execu- tion a plan of going out to the place where the fish were caught, which we at first understood to be near at hand. We therefore employed all our elo- quence in endeavouring to procure a supply of this kind by means of the Equimaux themselves, in which we at length so far succeeded that Toole- mak promised, for certain valuable considerations of wood and iron, to set out on this errand the following day. • < The weather being remarkably fine and pleasant, we amused ourselves for an hour or two in paddling about in canoes in a small lake, and soon found that the art is not so diihcult to acquire us their unsteadiness at first inclines one to suppose. A great dual undoubtedly depends on the habit of keeping the body in a central and erect position, and care should also be taken to avoid touching the rim of the hole, because this, from its height, acts as a lever in oversetting the canoe. They are by no means, however, so " crank" us they appear, easily coming down to their " bearings," but then requiring • a » SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY ^,^v%^ ^ I' I July considerable force to press them farther. The greatest difficulty we expe- rienced in the management of them was to prevent " broaching to" when going before the wind, the rower sitting so near the centre as to exert his power to great disadvantage in turning their heads in any direction. Pad- dling head to wind is by far the most easy and pleasant. Nothing is more likely to overset a canoe than what we call " catching a crab" with the paddle, which is therefore to be carefully avoided ; but I believe that any seaman might, after a few months' practice, render himself as expert as the Esquimaux in the management of these fmil coracles, at least for every pur- jjose to which they are commonly applied, ski U; .?)/;. •,•.' i(ii".'>jti • i • Shortly after I returned on board Captain Lyon made the signal to " com- municate with me," for the purpose of offering his services to accompany our lishermaii on his proposed journey, attended by one of the Hecla's men ; to which, in the present unfavourable state of the ice, I gladly consented, as the most likely means of procuring information of interest during this our unavoidable detention. I therefore gave Captain Lyon an order to this effect, directing his attention to the acquirement of geographical and natural knowledge ; and to prevent the possibility of occasioning detention to the Expedition, limiting the time of his absence to the morning of tlie 30th. Being equipped with a small tent, blankets, and four days' provision, Captain Lyon left us at ten P.M., when I made sail to '.a-examine the margin of the ice, Frid. 26. We had a great deal of rain and sleet on the 26th, which we regretted on Captain Lyon's account, but considered favourable for the dissolution of the ice. On reaching the margin of the floe a slight difference was perceptible as to its extent sea-ward, which was to be attributed to its breaking off by piece-meal, an ojicration that was continually though slowly going on, while its general position and continuity from side to side «)f the strait remained as before. The sea was still entirely free from drift or moving ice as far as we could distinguish from the mast-head in clear weather ; and we now began to remark that, whenever a mass was separated from the fixed floe, it drifted away to the south-east and never returned. The consequence was that this portion of the sea was at all times unincumbered, and more constantly and completely navigable than any part of the polar regions in this latitude we had ever visited. Of the cause of this extraordinary fact we were as yet entirely ignorant, nii in«»il ,^itU 'i^inyml .'ihui 'nU ''.n mit -nit ^intlMiO I" '^. III the afternoon, the wind continuing to the north-eastward with moist and unpleasant weather, we stood towards Tern Island, and after sending a ,iji yv OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE, l^ 283 ill boat m to sound about the heavy ice near it, made fest in six fathoms, sA. ^^^^• the distance of one mile from the shore, to which a party was then de- v.#-y^ spatched to examine this little spot. They found it occupied by innumerable tern, and the eggs and young of that bird were met with at every step. On the foUowing day, a number of «lhcers and men landed from each ship to Sat. 27. procure some of these birds, which, after skinning and purging them in salt water, were considered a very acceptable addition to our sea-pies. Flying about in vast numbers, they became an easy prey to our sports- men by the boldness with which they came down in defence of their eggs and young. A little Scotch terrier belonging to Lieutenant Reid was the object of their particular attack, and they fearlessly pounced upon him two or three at a time, and pecked his back before he was aware of it. The nest in which the eggs were deposited, and each of which generally contained two, consisted merely of a small indentation in the ground without any down, feathers, or other materials. The coloiir of the eggs is a brownish- green, with dark brown irregular spots all over them, but in the same nest one is sometimes much more green than the other, so that it might be taken for the egg of a different bird. Three eggs were rarely met with in tlie same nest. Besides these we found a great many ducks' eggs, supposed to be those of the eider from the down which formed the nest, and which was usually laid between two stones. These eggs had been still more numerous than at present ; for the Esquimaux, knowing the season in which they would be in perfection, had already been before us on the island, and on one spot on the beach above a hundred of these egg-shells were lying, as a memorial of a recent feast. In some of the ducks' nests we found springes or snares for catching the old bird, consisting of thin flexible strips of whale-bone, with a running eye at one end and the other fastened to a stone. Some of these were double, the nooses being laid near each other in the middle of the nest. The- usual number of eggs in one duck's nest was two or three ; but four were found in a single instance. We had taken it into our heads that this island would be found the grand breeding-place of the harm Sabinit but though these were in consequence eagerly looked after, only a single ittilividual of that species was seen and killed by Mr. Elder ; it was flying in company with innumerable tern. Tern Island is about three quarters of a mile in length from N.W. to S.E. ; it is extremely narrow, and in no part more than twenty or live and twenty feet above the level of the sea. Through the middle of it runs a lagoon 8 o 8 i n i|- l> !■ i I I r 1822. July. 284 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY communicatine^ with the sea, and therefore admitting the tide, notwithstand- ing which we were forcibly struck with the fact, that an immense mass of consolidated drift-snow still remained undissolved in it. This circumstance may perhaps appear too trifling to have been noticed in so particular a manner; but to us who anxiously M'atched every operation connected with the annual process of dissolution, on which all our hopes depended, it could not fail to convey an impression of being a very unusual occurrence, and to imply either a very backward summer or an extraordinary accumulation of snow in the winter. To one or both of these I am still inclined very confidently to attribute it ; for in the locality of this island, low and open as it is to the sun's rays, and in the immediate neighbourhood of a more extensive open sea than any known in this latitude, there is certainly every thing that would, (I priori, have been considered calculated to accelerate rather than to retard the process of dissolution. The mineralogical character of this islet is similar to that of Igloolik ; but among the pieces of limestone of which it is principally composed, lumps of granite, gneiss, hornblende and mica-slate were also numerous, and I picked up a piece of common iron pyrites. There is a good deal of vegetation also in some parts, and our plant-collectors derived considerable amusement from their walk. We observed a number of roots of scurvy-grass C<^ochlearia fenestrataj growing on the beach where nothing else would, but the leaves were as yet scarcely developed, and therefore of no service to us. Some Esquimaux circles of stones were observed in two or three places on the island, which shewed that they occasionally resort to it; but it is not much frequented by them. *' I'i .,■<.■•• " • . Having seen all that this little spot produced, we sailed over to the eastern islands, three of which are conspicuous as forming one side of the entrance of the strait, and arc laid down with extraordinary precision in Ewerat's chart already inserted in this narrative, (No. 3.) These islands, which 1 named the CAr.TiionpE Islands, out of respect to Loan Caltiioupe, had attracted our attention by two of them appearing at a distance to be of the primitive formation, which had for some time forsaken us. Finding that a great deal of ice had been detached and drifted away since our last attempt in this neighbourhood, we were now enabled to approach the middle island of the three as near as the depth of water would admit; and in the evening made the ships fast to the lixcd ice in twelve fathoms, at the distance of a long mile from the shore. The depth was regular and the bottom good in every part. hi ^*in OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 268 On the 28th, after divine service, we landed on the middle island, which '822. was foiind to be composed of gr'Mss rock, and in every respect a counter- «-*v>L» part of Winter Island in its other mineral productions. To save Iligliuk's ^""" ^^' credit, who had described these islands as inhabited, we found the south end covered with winter huts, of precisely the same kind and materials as those described at Igloolik, but so overgrown with long rich grass as to indicate their having been two or three years deserted. Number- less skulls and bones were lying about them as usual, and some stone lamps and glass beads had also been left among the ruins. Leading from the huts towards the highest part of the island, was a curious path made by the natives, two feet in width, and formed by removing the stones in places where they were naturally abundant, and where the ground was bare, by placing two regular and parallel rows at that distance apart. The only conjecture we could form respecting the use of this artificial road was that it might be intended for a deer-path, (those animals preferring a regular or beaten track to any other,) by which means the Esquimaux might perhaps kill them from their usual ambush of stones. From the top of this island, which is not more than a mile in length, we obtained a commanding view and good angles of all the surrounding lands. Immediately to the eastward appeared a piece of low land that seemed insular, with a great extent of coast of the same kind at the back of it, which we could trace till lost in the distance. Only two islands of the four more immediately forming this group are of the high and rugged primitive formation, the outer one, which from the quantity of sea-weed floating near it, we distinguished by the name of Tangle Island, being low and of the same character as Igloolik, with much shoal water about it. Large flocks of long-tailed, king, and eider ducks were about these islands, but all too wild to be approached, and we procured no game by this visit to the shore. , . , It blew fresh from the eastward during the night, with continued rain, all Mon. 29. which we considered favourable for dissolving and dislodging the ice, though very comfortless for Captain Lyon on his excursion. The weather at length clearing up in the afternoon, I determined on beating to the eastward, to see jf more of the land in that direction could be made out than the unfavourable position of the ice would permit at our last visit. In the mean time, I directed Lieutenant Hoppner to stand over to Igloolik in the Hccla, to see if Captain Lyon had returned, and if not, to leave an ollicer with a small |)arty at the tents, with signals to announce his arrival. The Fury then made sail N1 11 286 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. July. and gtood to the eastward, encountering the usual strength of tide off the south-west point of Tangle Island, and soon after a great quantity of heavy drift ice apparently not long detached from some land. In endeavouring to beat between this and the island, which is very shoal on that side, we gradually decreased our soundings every tack, till we had only four fathoms and a lialf, at the distance of a full mile from the shore. To avoid the risk of grounding in this rapid tide-way, we were then obliged to bear away for a narrow " neck " to leeward, through which the ship was at length forced, and we soon got into clear water beyond. ' !»>)ii <:«>' .-^ ir^.i ir^t'-". ]u- -. Tues. 30. Advancing to the eastward during the night we again came to quantities of loose ice on the morning of the 30th, through which we sailed for several hours. This ice was of the heavy " hnmmocky" kind, but all in small de- tached masses, the natural effect of the strong current by which it was here hurried, to and fro. My object in endeavouring to examine as much as pos- sible of the land in this direction, was not coniined simply to a general desire ©f increasing our geographical knowledge by all the means within our reach, but extended also to a possibility of our being obliged after all to pursue the circuitous route i-ound Keiyuk-tarruoke, should unforeseen obstacles eventu- ally oppose our progress to the westward, through the more direct channel now before us. It was not without extreme mortitication therefore that we once more found the unfavourable state of the ice, combining with the uni- form lowness of the land in this neighbourhood, to baffle all our endeavours in pursuit of thin object. Having before eight A.M. been obliged to heave to on account of the closeness of the ice, we could distinguish what we considered the extreme point of land stretching as far as a N.^E. bear- ing, and to the eastward of this was an apparent opening occupying about four points of the compass. Next to the southward was a large smooth-topped portion of low land that appeared insular, but so choked on every side with ice that we could not get nearer to it than three or four leagues, being in lat. 69° 26' 40", longitude, by chronometers, 79° 19' 44", and having no soundings with thirty fathoms of line. The opening above mentioned appeared, from the strength and direction of the tide, to be that which must be pursued in any attempt to circumnavi- gate Keiyuk-tarruoke ; but the unpromising state of the ice in this direction, and the precarious nature of the navigation, on account of the stiting titles and the shelving character of the lands, did not oft'er any encouragement to make that attempt while a chance remained of eifectlng the more direct pas- i OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. as? 1822. July. sage. To the latter therefore our hopes and expectations were now re-di- rected, if indeed it could be said that they had ever been placed elsewhere ; and I determined to avoid, if possible, the entanglement of the Fury among the ice which now surrounded her on every side, and to stand back to Igloolik to hear what information Captain Lyon's journey might have pro- cured for us. Before we could get into tolerably clear water, however, we had to run several miles to the southward, and then hoping to sail without farther incumbrance shaped a direct course for Igloolik. The wind proved light and variable during the night, with continued fog; Wed. 31. so that on the morning of the 31st, when we were wholly ignorant in what direction the tides had been taking us, we suddenly found ourselves sur- rounded by a great body of heavy ice, which seemed to have been brought about us almost by the effect of magic, for the ship had long ceased to move through the water, though, by the rapid change of soundings, quickly altering her position over the ground. In a few minutes there was barely room for turning the ship round, and we therefore made her fast to a heavy floe, a mile or two in circumference, when the fog, partially clearing away for a short time, discovered to us Tangle Island four or five miles to the Avcstward, anc' the open sea one mile to the southward, or directly to windward of us. At half-past eight A.M. the ice slackening round the floo, we furled sails and began to warp towards the open water. While thus employed we continued to drift nearer and nearer to the island, and at the same time to drive be- tween this and the next one to the eastward, decreasing the soundings regularly from twenty-five to thirteen fathoms in the course of the day. We continued our work till eight P.M. when, after eleven hours of incessant exertion and the most inclement weather, and just as we had got within a hundred yards of the cleai' water, a body of loose ice came drifting down with the tide and enclosed us more effectually than at first. The wind was now increasing to a gale from the south-east, and the ship beginning to drive faster between the islands ; but having made every thing as snug as circum* stances would permit, and prepared to unship the rudder in case of her tak- ing the ground, we could do nothing but quietly await the result. The night, however, though a most inclement and anxious one, aftbrded our people all the rest they so much required ; for by a providential concurrence of circum- stances, wo had been brought into our present dilemma on the only side of Tangle Island which is not shoal and dangerous, and the ice becoming In 1 ? ■ - H '■^ ' \ ' -5 . ■ ,! m !»:| ■ f' I; ■•[■: •■ 1 r I: .l-l^^i i 288 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY ^i Si ■I '.'!iu. ] ml I in I * p 1822. somewhat choked in an hour or two, we had no less than ten fathoms durint; August. I • . 1. 1 v-»^irw tlie night, and altered our position very little, in * i t • i ..5>;>j!! n. •>.■■■ . ' Our situation, however, was still a very precarious one, as any movement of the ice to leeward must place us directly between the points of the islands, where the breadth did not exceed a mile, and from the nature of the land the passage was probably a shoal one. On the weather clearing up on the Thur. 1. morning of the 1st of August we found that such a movement was just about to take place, the passage being already nearly cleared, and the ice around the ship beginning to give us notice of some alteration. Soon after a favour- able slack took place, when, preferring the chance of sailing to that of driv- ing through the unknown channel, which there was no time to sound, we cast off and, being guided by the leads and the colour of the water, ran safely through in live fathoms and a quarter, at the distance of one-third of a mile from Tangle Island, and immediately gained the open sea beyond. Just at this time we observed the Hecla standing towards us and re-joined her at a quarter before eleven, when Captain Lyon came on board to communicate the result of his late journey, of which he furnished me with the following account, accompanied by a sketch of the lands he had seen, as far as the extremely unfavourable state of the weather would permit. - , . July 25. " Accompanied by George Dunn, 1 found Toolemak on landing, who welcomed us to his tent in which for two hours it was scarcely possible to move in consequence of the crowd who came to gaze at us. A new deer- skin was spread for me, and Dunn having found a corner for himself, we all lay down to sleep, not however until our host, his wife, their little son, and a dog, had turned in beside me under cover of a fine warm skin, all naked except the lady, who with the decorum natural to her sex had kept on a part of her clothes. It rained incessantly during the night and the morn- ing of the 26th was in consequence very unfavourable for our purposed ex- pedition. At ten A.M. wc started and found the sledge on a beach near the southern ice. Four men were to accompany us on this vehicle, and the good-natured fellows volunteered to carry our luggage. A second sledge was under the charge of three boys who had eight dogs, while our team consisted of eleven. The weather was so thick that at times we could not sec a quarter of a mile before us but yet went rapidly forward to the WNW., when, after about six hours, we came to high l)old land and a great num- ^\i OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 1289 ber of islands of reddish granite, wild and barren in the extreme. We here found the ice in a very decayed state and in many places the holes and fis- sures were difficult if not dangerous to pass. At the expiration of eight hours our impediments in this respect had increased to such a degree as to stop our farther progress. Dunn, the old man and myself therefore walked over a small island, beyond which we saw a sheet of water which precluded any farther advance otherwise than by boats. At about three miles west of this were two blufis separated by an apparent strait of half a mile in width, on the other side of which lay a flat field of ice over which was land in the distance. The old man gave the name of Khemig to the two bluffs. " In the hope that the morning would prove more favourable for our see- ing the land, the only advantage now to be derived from our visit since the fishing-place was not attainable, it was decided to pass the night on one of the rocky islands. The Esquimaux having brought no provision with them, I distributed our four days' allowance of meat in equal proportions to the whole party, who afterwards lay down to sleep on the rocks, having merely a piece of skin to keep the rain from their faces. In this comfortless state they remained very quietly for eight hours. Our little hunting-tent just held Dunn and myself, although not in a very convenient manner, but it answered the purpose of keeping us dry except from a stream of water that ran under us all night. " The morning of the 27th was rather fine for a short time, and we saw above thirty islands, which I named Coxe's Gnoup, varying in size from one hundred yards to a mile or more in length. Two deer were observed on the northern land which was called K head-lag hioo by the Esquimaux, and Toolemak accompanied Dunn in chase of them. One was killed by the latter as he informed me, in consequence of the old man's lying behind a stone and imitating the peculiar bellow of these animals, until it was led by its curiosity to come within a short gun-shot. On crossing to bring over our game we found the old Esquimaux had skinned and broken up the deer after his own manner, and my companions being without food I divided it into shares. The entrails and paunch I was about to leave on the plain, but was reminded by the anxious looks of the natives, that these offals are described by Crantz as delicacies, under the name of Nerobkd, or " the eat- able," an appellation which also distinguishes them at Iglorlik. I accord- ingly assigned these choice morsels to a young man of our party who bore them off in triumph. '-' ' • . ' - ,, 9 p 1822. July. ■!!■«.; ) I 27. ^HB-'i h 1 I^^m'' '' I . 1 1 1 mM\ ■8 1822. July. SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY " Arriving on the ice a skin was taken from the sledge as a seat, and we all squatted down to a repast which was quite new to me. In ten minutes the natives had picked the deer's bones so clean that even the hungry dogs dis- dained to gnaw them a second time. Dunn and myself made our breakfast on a choice slice cut from the spine, and found it so good, the wind-pipe in particular, that at dinner-time we preferred the same food to our share of the preserved meat which we had saved from the preceding night. Of the ne- rooka I also tasted a small portion on the principle that no man who wishes to conciliate or inquire into the manners of savages should refuse to fare as they do. I found this substance acid and rather pungent, resembling as near as 1 could judge a mixture of sorrel and radish leaves. I conceive that the acidity recommends it to these people. " As we sat I observed the musquitoes to be very numerous, but they were lying in a half torpid state on the ice and incapable of molesting us. I obtained the meridian altitude which gave the lat. 69° 26' 48" N. ; the western extreme of Igloolik bearing E.S.E. about fourteen miles. Soon after noon we set forward on our return and, without seeing any object but the flat and decaying ice, passed from land to land with our former celerity, dashing through large pools of water much oftener than was altogether agreeable to men who had not been dry for above thirty hours, or warm for a still longer period. Our eleven dogs were large fine-looking animals, and an old one of peculiar sagacity was placed at their head by having a longer trace, so as to lead them over the safest and driest places, for these animals have a great dread of water. The leader was instant in obeying the voice of the driver, who did not beat but repeatedly talked to and called it by name. It-was beautiful to observe the sledges racing to the same object, the dogs and men in full cry, and the vehicles splashing through the water with the velocity of rival stage coaches. " We were joyfully welcomed to the dwelling of Ooyarra whose guest I was now to become, and the place of honour, the deer-skin seat, was cleared for my reception. His two wives, Kdi-mob-khidk and Awa-rm-ni, occupied one end, for it was a double tent ; while at the opposite extremity the parents of the senior wife were established. The old mother Ndw-kit-yoo assisted the young women in pulling off our wet clothes and boots, which latter being of native manufacture, she new soled and mended without any request on our sid€, considering us as a part of the family. Our knapsacks and clothes being wet, we gladly turned, in presence of a dozen or more of visitors, into n % 'II n m^- ^^- '■ ■ i'!' ■■M| 'ml ;:« f^X-ii iM: fk- £• w ■ ■ ■«*!«. .■ % '.f \i^ 290 3i'(>tl triB DISCOVKR^ !t .iU July. ^-^•< r n *ikin wa.- KK" -;• -•: , -uid j(>u»d it. bit {^it&ti, tht' wjr. • - ;.r. ia ji«rtimj%r, (;: we pfefcrred. the eiAme iootlto our sih, u fw*- i saved fmi« the precediny^ night. mcyfcjt;^, ■>!>■. ^ icijpk! timt HO nma-wh: '' N-^jft'e shoald refjise H» *«*«• sus ' ■ • ' fouceiv** tis ' ' ■:...l'i., . j^t^i'fJ "Ay we Rut i olfiscjved the inu^quiu^es u» be ,;.;;, numerouti, but ? lying in u half, torpid state on the tct and incapable of moleati^ obtaiiiod the nion'diani iili.jlude which gave the iat. 09* 26' 4ii' weHtern extreme of Igloolik ijeai'intf K.8.E. a^tmt fattitcen wnk;.s, noon we set for uvurd on our return a«d. Avitibtt'. It^ a»») objeci Hw.^ i]at awl dccayiui? ice, pjwsed £rom • ImmI * da«h!us dvrtmgh hirgti jjoais of ^«^M<»r !<■■. ^ ■ .".' • !v, T:.-i> >v!v. !,■>'-! '»••> ?'-0^|i ^ry J«V >5t.":< of tJie ■ .elu; iiiA DtH trvwt »*» >f»js»*ai!U5t*\j 'talked ui and ov naiuf. it was beautiful ta ob^servo Uie sledg^fes mcing to the son the iU».»:s and men in full cry, and the vehicles splashing through '■. 4i «ur former r than wjis » . ih-i-Ey hours, oi- • ^■'■! ■■ jookin^ at!i:» . by havuiH!- ,- t,*ci'3, lor th^K*- i ■»t«,iit ia obeyio^ ■> ««m .. . • thf. fe>w»i:>r V. ;..,■■ riutiv'!' Bimmfncture, ^ bt>'tv/ 'Acf =v '^ladlv tiuaed, ■» !'• ^r«fkin s+eat. was <-.u- ' died-rwi-int oeeth. ^>t>iiite exir«mity i'; ><• aid mother iV«H-->(«<-^^^«B«i«. '.|»*.« ami lKM>ts, which Idltt;-;, mended withi«ut fi«y i'mnily. <^nr knup)itt((i.- ; <.\f 1} dozen or uu^Ff: of **«- Vi ii ^11 '1 ' ' ^K a !■ ■'. . p ■ il j OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 291 our blanket-bags, which had been better preserved. Dunn slept in the little tent to watch our goods, and I had a small portion of Ooyarra's screened off for me by a seal's skin. Tired as I was, sleep was denied me ; for I was obliged on the arrival of each new set of people to answer their questions as to how I possibly could have got into the bag, the manner in which I had wrapped it round me for warmth leading them to suppose I was sewed up in it. My host and his wives having retired to another tent and my visitors taking compassion on me, I went comfortably to sleep ; but at midnight was awakened by a feeling of great warmth, and to my surprise found myself covered by a large deer-skin, under which lay my friend, his two wives, and their favourite puppy, all fast asleep and stark naked. Supposing this was all according to rule, I left them to repose in peace and resigned myself to sleep. " On rising, Dunn and I washed with soap in a pond, which caused great speculations amongst the by-standers, on some of whom we afterwards per- formed miracles in the cleansing way. A large assemblage being collected to hear me talk of Neyuning-Eit.ua, or Winter Island, and to see us eat, the women volunteered to cook for us ; and as we preferred a fire in the open air to their lamps, the good-natured creatures sat an hour in the rain to stew some veni- son which we had saved from our shares of the deer. The tires in summer when in the open air, arc generally made of bones previously well rubbed with blubber, and the female who attends the cooking chews a large piece, from which, as she extracts the oil, she spurts it on the Hame. At our meals I found every person much pleased with biscuit, which was supposed to be the dried flesh of the musk ox by those who had never seen that animal, and it was with great difficulty I explained that it was made from the seeds of a little tree and pounded to its present state. " After noon, as I lay half-asleep, a man came and, taking me by the hand, desired Dunn to follow. He led to a tent which from the stillness within I conjectured was untenanted. Several men stood near the door ; and on entering I found eighteen women assembled and seated in regular order, with the seniors in front. In tlie centre near the tent-pole stood two men who, when I was seated on a large stone, walked slowly round and one began dancing in the usual manner to the favourite tunc of ' Amna aya.' The second person, as I soon found, was the dancer's assistant, and when the principal had pretty well exhausted himself, he walked gravely up to him and, taking his head between his hands, performed a ceremony called 8 P 8 ■■Hi|:]Tr *li| if III 1822. July. ; I > 28. 292 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 3822. July. ^ 29. Kob-nik, which is rubbing noses, to the great amazement and amidst the plaudits of the whole company. After this, as if much refreshed, he re- sumed his performance, occasionally however taking a koonik to enliven himself and the spectators. The ruhbee, if I may be excused the expression, was at length brought forward and put in the place of the first dancer, who rushed out of the tent to cool himself. In this manner five or six couples exhibited alternately, obtaining more or less applause according to the oddity of their grimaces. At length a witty fellow, in consequence of some whis- pering and tittering amongst the ladies, advanced and gave me the koonik, which challenge I was obliged to answer by standing up to dance, and my nose was in its turn most severely rubbed, to the great delight of all present. " Having been as patient as cojild be wished for above an hour, and being quite overpowered by the heat of the crowded tent, I made a hasty retreat, after having distributed needles to all the females, and exacting kooniks from all the prettiest in return. A general outcry was now made for Dunn, a most quiet north countryman, to exhibit also ; but be, having seen the liberties which had been taken with my nose, very prudently made his retreat, anti- cipating what would be his fate if he remained. " During a short interval of tine weather we hung out our clothes to dry, and the contents of our knapsacks, instruments, knives, and beads, were strewed on the ground while we wont inland to shoot a few ducks. We cau- tioned no one against thieving, and were so much at their mercy that every thing might have been taken Avithout a possibility of detection, yet not a single article was found to have been removed from its place at our return. At night I was attended by the same bedfellows as before ; the young puppy however, being now better acquainted, took up his quarters in my blanket- bag, a.s from thence he could the more easily reach a ({uantity of walrus- flesh which lay near my head, and I was awakened more than once by find- ing him gnawing a lump by my side. " On the morning of the 29th 1 was really glad to find that the ships were not yet in sight, as I shouUl be enabled to pass another day amongst the hosjjitable natives. Wiille nmking my rounds I met several others who wei;c also visiting, and who each invited me to call at his tent in its turn. Wherc- ever I eniered the nmster rose and resigned his seat next his wife or wives, and stood before me or squatt* d (m a stone near the door. I was then told to • speak !' or in fact to give u history of all I knew of the distant ,jy '"1 Jt ^ml OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 293 tribe, which from constant repetition I could now manage pretty well. In one tent I found a man mending his paddle, which was ingeniously made of various little scraps of wood, ivory, and bone, lashed together. He put it into my hands to repair, taking it for granted that a kabloona would succeed much better than himself. An hour afterwards the poor fellow came and took me by the hand to his tent, where I found a large pot of walrus flesh evi- dently cooked for me. His wife licked a piece and offered it, but on his saying something to her took out another, and having pared off the outside gave me the clean part, which, had it been carrion, I would not have hurt these poor creatures by refusing. The men shewed me some curious puz- zles with knots on their fingers, and I did what I could in return. The little girls were very expert in a singular l^yt dirty amusement, which con- sisted in drawing a piece of sinew up their nostrils, and producing the end out of their mouths. The elder people were for the most part in chase of the tormentors which swarmed in their head and clothes ; and I saw foi- the first time an ingenious contrivance for detaching them from the back, or such parts of the body as the hands could not reach. This was the rib of a seal, having a bunch of the whitest of a deer's hair attached to one end of it, and on this rubbing the places which require it the little animals stick to it: from their colour they are easily detected, and of course consigned to the mouths of the hunters. " The weather clearing in the afternoon one ship was seen in the distance, which diffused a general joy amongst the people, who ran about screaming and dancing with delight. While lounging along the beach and waiting the arrival of the ship, I proposed a game at ' leap-frog,' which was quite new to the natives, and in learning which some terrible falls were made. Even the women with the children at their backs would not be outdone by the men, and they formed a grotesque party of opposition jumpers. Tired with a long exhibition 1 retreated to the tent, but was aUowcd a very short re- pose, as I was soon informed that the peoi)lc froni the farthest tents were come to sec my performance, and on going out I found live men stationed at proper distances with their heads down for me to go over them, which I did amidst loud cries of koi/enm (thanks). " As the ship drew near in the evening I perceived her to bo the Ilecla, but not expecting a boat so late lay down to sleep. I soon found my mis- take, for a large party came drumming on tlie side of the tent, and crying out that tt " little ship" was coming, and in fact I found the boat nearly on 1822. July. r1'. ;■ ■ ill ". 11 fil'i 1822, July. 294 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. shore. Ooyarra's senior wife now anxiously begged to tattoo a little figure on my arm, which she had no sooner done than the youngest insisted on making the same mark ; and while all around were running about and screaming in the greatest confusion, these two poor creatures sat quietly down to embellish me. When the boat landed a general rush was made for the privilege of carrying our things down to it. Awarunni, who owned the little dog which slept with me, ran and threw him as a present into the boat ; when after a general koonik wc pushed off, fully sensible of the kind hos- pitality we had received. Toolemak and Ooyarra came on board in my boat, in order to pass the night and receive presents, and we left the beach under three hearty cheers. " Having given so long an accrunt of my adventures, it is high time to turn to objects of more importance to the Expedition. I had found the ice over which we passed flat, unbroken, but much decayed into holes. The ge- neral thickness was still from one to three feet, and amongst the islands much greater, owing to the packing incidental to the rise and fall of the tides. Astronomical or other observations for fixing the position of the land could not be obtained in consequence of the state of the weather, which, with the kind of fatality that had attended all my excui'sions, had been more than usually severe and foggy. I had seen enough to awaken curiosity but nothing to satisfy it; therefore it would be requisite for other visits to be made to a spot to which the Esquimaux attached some importance." ti ABSTRACT of the METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL kept oq board His Majesty's Ship Fury, during the Month oi July, 1822. Day I 2 3 4 S 6 7 8, 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 10 SO 21 22 23 24 2S 80 27 28 20 SO SI Place. Winter Island. Eastern Coast of Melville Peninsula Off the Eastern Entrance of the Str«it of the Faryand Hecla. Fahrenheit's Thermometer. Maxi- mum. +37 30 40 48 SI 62 S4 47 46 40 47 45 47 SO 42 B5 86 34 40 44 86 44 44 44 44 85 S7 S7i 40 SO S5 Mini- muDi. +30 31 31 31 33 33 83 88 35 33 81 33 SO 84 32 31 80 81 S3 88 80 80 30 SO 82 32 S3 8S 81 81 81 +•4 +80 +32.33 33.50 35.29 38.67 88.60 41.75 41.42 88.80 40.2.> 39.17 38.92 89.75 42.08 35.92 35.58 82.80 31.06 82.75 35.03 85.83 32.58 S5.08 36^,07 86.08 37.58 33.50 3J.07 85.37 84.06 85.71 83.02 +36.84 Mean Temp, of Sea Water. -3?.00 30.00 30.08 30.25 30.17 80.50 80.70 30.95 30.77 31.95 32.55 33.40 33.00 33.8:1 34.07 81.75 31.08 31.50 83.61 83.58 31.40 80.00 83.58 31.00 S3. S3 31.83 31.2;) 31.02 32.68 32,75 31.79 -81.85 liarometer. M.ixl- mum. iiichcfi. 2U.U9 29. 29.48 29.50 29.78 20.82 29.74 29.80 29.82 29.70 29.83 29.9G 29.92 29.03 29.64 20.60 29.35 20.53 20.47 29.12 80.17 90.40 30.58 29.78 39.87 39.86 39.96 30.02 29. C4 30.00 20.42 30.06 Mini, mutn. Mean. iiirlic*. !41t.0li 29.05 29.32 29.80 29.58 29.7.i 29.70 29.09 29.64 29.52 29,09 29.83 29.01 29.60 29.54 20.06 29.12 80.30 20.20 89.00 29.10 20.10 29.44 29.63 29.80 29.80 29.70 29.40 29.47 29.46 29.38 39.05 iiirheii. 29.077 29.170 29.377 29.390 29.r.74 29.787 29.715 29.752 29.705 29.007 29.780 29.918 29.815 29.605 29.607 89.312 29.268 29.427 29.817 29.108 20.133 29.310 29.513 20.067 29.813 20.815 29.K«3 29.473 29.608 29.515 20.400 39.SS8 Prevailing' Winds. ■ NW NWbW NW NE NW N round by } W to WbS; NW NNE South NNE North South South NW South South A.M. SbE ) P.M.NNWJ ESE NNE NbW Rnunii the | Compass ) NWbW ■Westerly SE NbW NE Ea.stcrly North ESE Northerly SE strong fresh; modt. light modt. modt. modt. light light light light light modt. modt. modt modt. light fresh modt. nodt, mudt. light lights vuria, light light light light modt. mndt, light mudt Prevailing Woatlier cloudy and snow cloudy fine jhazy and snow cloudy, cloudy cloudy cloudy fine cloudy cloudy cloudy fine cloudy fine cloudy and snow hajcy and snor' foRgy cloudy cloudy cloudy cloudy cloudy and rain fin* cloudy hazy and rain hazy and rain hazy und rain hazy and rain hazy and rain hacy and snow M Iff I If.' * 296 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY CHAPTER XI. REMARKABLE INSTANCE OF LOCAL ATTRACTION ON THE MAGNETIC NEEDLES OCCA- SIONAL SEPARATION OF A PORTION OF THE FIXED ICE A WHALE KILLED — OTHER CHARTS DRAWN BY THE ESQUIMAUX ACCOUNT OP A JOURNEY TO THE NARROWS OF THE STRAIT DISCOVERY OP THE SEA TO THE WESTWARD— TOTAL DISRUPTION OP THE ICE AT THE EASTERN ENTRANCE OF THE STRAIT A SECOND INSTANCE OP LOCAL ATTRACTION ON THE COMPASSES SAIL THROUGH THE NAR- ROWS, AND AGAIN STOPPED BY FIXED ICE ACCOUNT OF SEVERAL LAND JOURNEYS AND BOAT EXCURSIONS OBSERVATIONS ON THE TIDES CONTINUED OBSTACLES FROM FIXED ICE. 1822. The information obtained by Captain Lyon on his late journey with the y^r^' Esquimaux, served very strongly to confirm all that had before been undcr- '"*■ stood from those people, respecting the existence of the desired passage to the westward in this neighbourhood, though the impossibility of Captain Lyon's proceeding farther in that direction, combined with our imperfect knowledge of the language, still left us in some doubt as to the exact posi- tion of the strait in question. It was certain however that it lay somewhere in the direction to which we had already been so long and so anxiously looking, and that \U eastern entrance was still occupied by many miles of fixed and therefore impenetrable ice ; but the very impediment that had arrested Captain Lyon's progress, as well as our own daily observations on the state of the ice near its outer margin, appeared to offer a considerable hope that this obstacle must, in the common course of nature, very soon dis- appear, even by the gradual processof dissolution, if it were not more speedily removed by one grand and total disruption. While therefore Captain Lyon was acquainting me with his late proceedings, we shaped a course f r -gloolik in order to continue our look-out upon the ice, and made the tents very accu rately by the compass, after a run of five leagues, when the Hecla hauled ti 1. 11 f ■ -1 ^RlM OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 297 in-shore to pick up one of her men that had been left there to procure game, and the Fury stof d towards the margin of the ice. Just before we reached the cA^c of the floe the weather continuing ex- tremely thick with hard rain, I desired Mr. Crozier to set the extremes of the loom hanging over Igloolik, which was then on our lee quarter. He ac- cordingly did so, but presently afterwards remarked that the compasses, (both Walkers azimuth and Alexander's steering,) indicated the ship's head to be S.W., which was about the middle point on which, but a few minutes before, he had set the loom of the land two or three points abaft the beam. Knowing, by the true direction in which we were sailing, that the ship's course by the compass, if unaftectcd by any foreign local attraction, should have been about east, which in fact the needles had in- dicated previous to the change remarked by Mr. Crozier, I tried what tap- ping with the hand, the usual expedient in cases of mere sluggishness, would do, but without producing any ett'ect. Being now obliged to tack for the ice, we carefully watched the compasses in standing oft', and having sailed about a quarter of a mile observed them both gradually return to their correct position. Being thus satisfied that some extraordinary local at- traction was influencing the needles, we again tacked to repeat the experi- ment, and with a nearly similar result. The observations were then continued on one or two successive tacks, the ship being steadily steered upon a given point by some object a-hcad ; and an account of the whole is here subjoined in one connected view. The observations were made between six and nine P.M., the wind being moderate at east, (true,) the weather very rainy, the soundings fifty-two fathoms, and the nearest land distant from six to eight miles. The space sailed over during the time the changes were taking place did not exceed a quarter of a mile. Starboanl tack, composses first indicating the ship's head East, then changed to SW. Larboard , NWbN . . SW|W. Starboard ...... East . . SSE. Bore away to endeavour to cross our original track. T 1 1 . . 1 Alexander's compass Larboard tack >.,, „ , *^ J Walkers Starboard „ both compasses . . • - , , I Alexander's larboard .. j^^^^^.^ 18-22. Austist. NWbN WbS. NW wsw. East sw^s. NW^N SWbWjW- NW SWbWjW. S Q 299 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. Starboard tack, both compasses NEbE^lE If : I August. E^E. Frid. 2. Alexander's a mitmte or two after returned to NEbEfE, and Walker's to E^N. Alexander's compass was placed on the binnacle, the other stood about five feet higher, in its usual place. In order to follow up the observations on this phenomenon on some other day, I sent a boat to fix a flag upon the ice, by way of marking the spot, but the margin was so broken up , that it was impracticable to land upon it : a light buoy was therefore moored for the same purpose, though with little chance of retaining its station on account of the depth of the water. During the remainder of the night, when the wind and weather obliged us to keep more to the northward, the compasses were not thus influenced *. The weather clearing up on the morning of the 2d we found that a strip of ice about half a mile in width had been lately separated from the fixed ice, but ths to our impatience appeared like a drop of water in the ocean. Con- siderable "streams" and " patches" were also drifting along the margin during the day, and we were employed in beating through them in order to make fast to the floe, the weather being unfavourable for keeping under way. In the evening we secured the ships to the ice, being in twenty-three fa- thoms at the distance of two miles to the westward of Tern Island. For several hours in the course of this day, there was something in the atmo- sphere which distorted objects into very curious shapes. The principal fea- ture in this phenomenon was a constant waving tremulous motion near the horizon, causing the whole body of ice to appear at times as if turning round, and making one almost giddy to look steadfastly at it. The distant land was sometimes flattened down so as to appear like a single thick black line upon the horizon ; then again it would assume a shape of this kind, while its real outline, when not thus distorted, was this. m M ■ 1 * The spots near which this local attraction was found ore designated on the chart by this mark ©. ,.,'. ... .- )-■.,•• -» ; OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 299 The tremulous appearance is in a greater or less degree a very common phc- ^^22. nomenon in the Polar Seas. Such indeed is the frequent occurrence of ex" wr- - traordinary and variable terrestrial refraction, and the consequent uncertainty with respect to the dip of the horizon, that observations made by the horizon of the sea, even when wholly free from ice, cannot be depended on within two or three minutes. There is however practically little or nothing to re- gret on this account, from the almost constant opportunities that occur in these seas of resorting to the more accurate method of observation by artifi- cial horizons. The wind backing by the N.E. to N.N.W. during the night, we had on Sat. tlic 3d a clear and pleasant day which, as the ice remained in the same state as before, induced us to pay another visit to Tern Island. We here found the scurvy-grass so much improved in luxuriance that a number of men from each ship were employed all day in picking it for the purpose of boiling with our pea-soup. Every body seemed to agree that the taste of this plant somewhat resembled turnip-tops, but it possesses it in a very small degree, and whatever may be its anti-scorbutic qualities has little or nothing to recom- mend it to the palate. The leaves were in general numerous, but not exceed- ing two-eighths of an inch in diameter, and in many tufts there was nothing but the flower and stalks ; but these as well as the root were all committed to our coppers, being the only general supply of the kind obtained during this voyage. The tern had now almost entirely deserted the island, and we saw no other birds except a flock or two of phalaropes and a few silvery gulls. In the evening the wind having settled to the southward and eastward, which was directly upon the ice, I ordered the ships to be got under way, for the purpose of keeping them always at liberty for any change that might occur. The Fury being in an awkward lee bight, we had to send a kedge out for casting ; but being after all obliged to make sail on an unfavourable tack were again carried into the ice, which was now in so thin and " rotten" a state, that the ship forced her way several hundred yards into it before she stopped, and then lay during the night thus immoveably though quite safely beset. The Hecla having cleared the floe, I made Captain Lyon's signal to act as appeared best to him ; and he accordingly kept under sail as at first intended. The present state of the ice, at which I have just hinted, served no less to excite our surprise than to keep alive our hopes and expectations. The spaces occupied respectively by ice and holes were about eqiml ; and so 3 Q 2 I\ 300 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY Sun. 4. 1822. extensive and dangerous were the latter, that the men could with extreme usust. j|jjj|(,yi(y ^yj^ii- f^vcuty or tliirty yards from the ship to place the anchors, and that at no snuill risk of falling through. The shape of the ponds and holes being serpentine and various, and their blue colour forming a striking con- trast with the whiteness of the snow that lay on the ice, gave the tloe when viewed from the mast-head an appearance not unlike that of the fancy-patterns one sometimes sees on cloths or paper-hangings. We were astonished there- fore to find with what tenacity a field of ice, whose parts appeared thus loosely joined, still continued to hang together, notwithstanding the action of the swell that almost constantly set upon its margin. ' " ; The weather, Avhich had for several hours been rainy and thick, cleared up about noon on the 4th, in consequence of the wind shifting to the N.W., Avhen we nuide sail from the floe in order to look for our buoy, and to con- tinue our observations on the magnetic attraction in that neighbourhood. After making several tacks as near the place as the bearings of the land and the soundings could direct us, but without discovering the buoy, we were obliged for the present to give up the attempt ; having, to our great satisfac- tion, observed a floe at least three miles in length and two in breadth just detached from the fixed ice, and rendering it necessary for us to work out of its way, lest it should force us towards the shore. We only, therefore. Waited to put down some uets to ascertain the nature of the bottom, and then hauled round the floe. A quantity of shells, among »'l/ich were a few of the new species of anoinia discovered on the last voyage, with some shrimps and ccfiini, were all that we could thus fish up. Having cleared the end of the floe, which drifted rapidly away and, as usual here, never made its appear- ance afteiwards, we made the ships fast to the fixed ice at eight P.M., having by the late disruption made considerable progress in the direction of the strait. Mon. 5. At nine A.M., on the 5th, the temperature of some sea-water brought up from near the bottom in fifty-seven fathoms, was 3-2^°, that of the air being 34°, and of the surface 30.^°. The specific gravity of the former was found by Mr. Fisher to be 1.028G, at the temperature of 40°*. What made the temperature and specific gravity of the sea-water here a particular object of curiosity was the fact before conjectured, but now satisfactorily confirmed. * The specific gravity of the surface-water in this neighbom'hood will be found, for a few days about tliis time, in the IVIeteorological Abstract. OF A NORTH-WEST PAfcSAGE. 301 that the stream or current sometimes set out from under the ice, ann in a '^ south-easterly direction, though at a rate considerably varying for lay or ^ two together. The station now occupied by the ships, and the present clearness of the weather, enabled us to obtain a tolerably distinct view of the lands to the westward ; but the constant fogs and rain experienced by Cap- tain Lyon on his late excursion rendered it impossible for him, at this dis* tance, to recognise the place he had visited ; and the observation he had obtained, giving the latitude much to the southward of the only apparent opening now before us, threw a shade of mystery over the unknown passage, which redoubled our impatience to examine it. We had for several days past occasionally seen black whales about the ships, and our boats were kept in constant readiness to strike one, for the sake of the oil, in which endeavour they at length succeeded this morning. The usual signal being exhibited, all the boats were sent to their assistance, and in less than an hour and a half had killed and secured the fish, which proved a moderate-sized one of above " nine feet bone," exactly suiting our purpose. The operation of "flinching" this animal, which was thirty-nine feet and a half in length, occupied most of the afternoon, each ship taking half the blubber and hauling it on the ice, to " make off," or put into casks. We also made (ires on the ice, in order to boil a portion of the blubber into oil, for the convenience of stowage ; but this method being found a wasteful one until it is left several days to drain, we boiled only a hundred and twenty gallons each, and then put the rest into tanks and casks, being a supply sufficient for at least two years. The latitude of our present station was 69° 32' 10"; the longitude, by chro- nometers, 81° 23' 06"; the dip of the magnetic needle 88° 06' 26"; and the vari- ation 86°05" 43 "westerly ; the latter phenomenon having considerably increased since our last observations. In the course of the night Mr. Ross was again fortimate in procuring one or two specimens of the Larus Sabini, out of a flock of forty that flew past the ship from the westward. Mr. Ross remarked that they had no other birds in company, and flew high as if migrating, but afterwards alighted in the open water at some distance from the edge of the ice. The operation of "flinching" a whale, which in Davis's Strait and the Greenland Seas collects a large assemblage of birds about the ship^ had not the same effect here, five or six of the Larus Argentatiis being all that were thus attracted. Fulmar petrels, the usual visitants on such oc- casions, are never seen here, which seemed to us the more remarkable ist. ^2 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1^22. as they had generally been our companions in most other parts of the polar reffions that we had visited. We had to-day, for the first time this sum- ' ' i ■ tj v. ^1 mer, seen a number of white whales (dtlphimis albicans) near the ice ; but found them as usual so extremely wary as to elude every endeavour to strike them, though the boats frequently made the attempt, this being the only large sea-animal inhabiting these regions which we had never yet taken. Tues. 6. On the forenoon of the 6th a halo >vas observed round the sun, and on the eastern side of it a slightly-coloured parhelion, distant from the sun Wed. 7. 24M7. Some water, brought up on the 7th, from sixty fathoms or near the bottom, was at the temperature of 3r.G, that of the surface being 3r.3, and of the air 35°. As soon as we had completed the stowage of the blub- ber, and washed the ships and people's clothes, we cast off, taking in tow the carcass of the whale (technically called the " crang") for our friends at Igloolik, and with the intention also of looking for the buoy that had been laid down in that neighbourhood. In the latter attempt we again failed, the buoy having probably been swept away by the drift-ice ; nor could we afterwards hit upon the exact spot where the attraction on the needles had been observed. The wind dying away Avhen the ships were off the north- cast end of the island, the boats were despatched to tow the whale on shore, while Captain Lyon and myself went a-head to meet some of the canoes that were paddling towards us. We soon joined eleven of them, and on our informing the Esquimaux of the prize the boats were bringing them, they paddled off with great delight. When they arrived at the spot and had civilly asked permission to eat some of it, they dropped their canoes astern to the whale's tail, from which they cut off enormous lumps of flesh and ravenously devoured it ; after which they followed our boats in-shore, where the carcass was made fast to a mass of grounded ice for their future disposal. In the mean time Captain Lyon and myself had rowed up to the station formerly occupied by the tents, which hoAvever we now found wholly deserted by the natives, who had left only a sledge or two, and a quantity of blubber here and there under the stones before used for the tents. Thur. 8. A fresh breeze having sprung up from the southward, we stood off and on for the night, and on the 8th again made the ice, in which no change was perceptible. We hoped however that some service would be done us by the swell, though its effects would only be rendered apparent when the wind veered to the westward. This taking place on the following 'n, OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 303 clay, wc had the satisfaction of seeing another lars^e " patch" from one to two miles in width separated from the fixed ice, and soon drifted out of sight to the south-east. As we made several tacks off the island next to tlie northward of Igloolik, called by the Esquimaux Neerlo-Naktu, two canoes came <>ft' to us, in one of which was Toolemak. He and his companions came v»n board the Fury, when I employed him for a couple of hours in drawing a chart of the strait. Toolemak, though a sensible and intelligent man, we soon found to be no draftsman, so that his performance in this way, if taken alone, was not a very intelligible delineation of the coast. By dint however of a great deal of talking on his part, and some exercise of patience on ours, we at length obtained a copious verbal illustration of his sketch, which confirmed all our former accounts respecting the existence of a passage to the westward in this immediate neighbourhood, and the large extent of the land called Kciyuk-tarruoke on the northern side of the strait. The word Khemisi; he applied either to the strait or to some place about its shores, as he had before done to Captain Lyon ; but the weather was at this time unfortunately too thick to allow of his pointing out the exact di- rection in which this interesting spot lay. This piece of information was, just at the moment, desirable only as a matter of extreme curiosity and almost painful interest, as it was certain that the passage was at present inaccessible to ships on account of the ice. Toolemak also agreed with our other Esquimaux informants in stating, that from the coast of Akkoolee no land is visible to the westward ; nor was any ever heard of in that direction by the Esquimaux. This fact they uniformly assert Avih a whine of sorrow, meaning thereby to intimate that their knowledge and resources are there both at an end. Toolemak represented the coast of Keiyuk-tarruoke as abounding with whales and narwhals, and repeatedly mentioned that ice- bergs were seen on its northern side, as before described by Okotook. The only actual addition to our former information was respecting some Esqui- maux inhabiting an island of considerable size, at a great distance to the eastward or north-east. These people they call by the name of Sedd-ler- mc-oo, a general term by which they distinguish all Esquimaux not belong- ing to their own tribe, and of whom, with their accustomed self-conceit, they invariably speak with undisguised contempt. It is remarkable that even the natives of Southampton Island, notwithstanding their proximity to the continental coast, come under this denomination ; there being no inter- course whatever, as far as we could learn, between tJie two tribes. 1822. Aiinnst. Frid. 9. \ 304 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY M ill .1 If; 1 JH 18>7. rpj g| • )jgj„„ close to the edife of the floe in the cveninj?, I diicctod Al:-U3t. in ft "■"-r^ tliem to be made fast ; but the boat that went to make holes tor the ice- anchoiv, retmning with the infornuUion that the ice was in too " rotten" a state • to hold them, we ran the ships into the floe luider all sail, where they easily made a dock for themselves, and remained quietly for the nij^ht, which proved extremely line and clear. A number of shrimps, echini, and other marine insects were brought up in a net from the bottom. Sat. 10. Some water brought up on the 10th from a depth of forty fathoms Mas at the temperature of '32°, that of the surface being the same, and of the at- mosphere 40°. In the evening mc made sail and ran along the margin of the ice, and soon after had the satisfaction of observing that a\iother large floe was just on the point of being detached. On arriving at its northern end, we found that it still wanted a little to complete the separation, and with a view of ajjplying the requisite force, or at le.ast all that we had at our dis- posal, the ships were made fast to it by several hawsers, and all their suils set aback, the wind blowing fresh from the westward. This expedient soon produced the desired efl'ect ; the floe begiiming to disjoin in less than (en minutes, and the whole of it then drifting away at the rate of a mile and a half an hour, so that at midnight we were enabled to cast ott" and make sail to windward of it. This last disruption, while it gave us another short step to the westward, aUowed us also to approach Neerlo-Nakto as near as the soundings, which arc here quite shoal, would permit ; and at noon on the 11th we made the ships fast to the ice in (Mght fathoms, on a bottom of snudl lime-stinies, and went on shore to examine the productions of the island, and obtain a more exten- sive view of the neighbouring lands. We found it to resemble Igloolik in its general character, biit discovering an ap])roach to the primitive formation not perceptible at the latter island, numerous large nuisses of granite, gneisx, and quartz appearing on the surface intennixed with the fragments of lime of which it isprinci])ally coniposed. The island is extremely low, and its surface is covered with numberless snmll and (uie very large p«>n(l of fresh water, the resort of black and red-throated divers and of the long-tailed ducks. A large flock of brent-geese were seen, and two or tiiree procured from some of the Esq\iinuuix whom we foui\d on the island, and who had caught them with the snares of whalebone before «lescribed. Large flocks of eider and King-ducks were also flying about ; but the natives being in the habit of visiting the island for the sake of the birds and their eggs, luul \ fm OF A NORTH- WEST PASSAGE. 305 made them so wild that we jjiocured but lew. Captain Lyon's i):n ty wcMe fortunate iu killing two deer, giviiiir eachs]u|) one hundred and iilty pounds of line venison exclusive of the heads and hearts, which as a matter of jjood policy were considered the lawful perquisites of the sportsmen. Ineludiniif those and the entrails, the weight of each deer was estimated at two hundred and twenty pounds, which may be considered a favourable specimen of the rein-deer here at their best season. One of these aninuils t(H)k the water in a large pond, and was not obtained without much wading. Tiie Esquimaux we met on the island at lirst landing were four young men, of which two were brothers of o\n- little friend " Jolni IJull," and had just arrived from Amitioke. From them we learned that Ewerat and his party Iiad reached the j)laee of their destination, and would probably come on to Igloolik in the course of the summer. One of the young men who insisted on attending me about the island the whole afternoon, nuide himself useful in giving tlie Es(juiuuujx names of the diil'erent lands in sight. On being desired to inform us where K/uini; lay, he pointed in the exact direction in which we had from the ships always supposed the strait to be ; that is, about N.W.b.W. from Neerlo-nakto, upon which bearing was a high rocky hill of a remarkable form, and the most conspicuous object in sight in coming off the strait from the eastward. It is essential here to remark, that about tliis period two or three charts had been drawn on board the llecia by dillerent natives, of whom Toolemak was one, and they all pointetl, in the direction I have just mentioned to /\7/(m/g, which was now understooil to be an island lying in the strait, as in fact it afterwards proved. This information s«» repeatedly and explicitly obtained, while it satisfied me more and mine of our being iji the right track, could not fail also to add to my perplexity re- specting the place visited by Captain Lyon, — a place evidently bearing a similar name and frecpiented by the Escpiimaux on their way to Vkkoolee, but lying by observation at least iifteeu miles to the southwarvhich was here of the *' hummocky " kind. The swell having soon after broken up the edge, a press of head-sail enabled us to force the ships a short distance within the margin, and a few other loose masses drifting down from the eastward, we were at length secure from any disturbance. The rudders were however unshipped, in case of accidents, and in the after- noon the wind moderated, though the weather continued extremely incle- ment, with snow, which was afterwards succeeded by rain. On the 13th, Tues. 13. the weather remained too thick and unsettled for leaving the ships, though the wind was quite moderate, and in the ovening shifted to the westward. The loose ice was drifting away from the Hoe, against the wind, during the whole of the day, aftbrding another certain proof of a set to the south-east, independently of tide. Several black whales came up close to the shi|>s, ami three Sabine gulls, some ducks, dovekics, and silvery gulls, were also seen. Early on the morning of the 14th, the breeze having freshened from the Wed. 14. north-west, another floe broke away from the fixed ice, aUowing us to gain ai)out half a mile more to the westward ; such was ilie vexatious slowness with which we were perniilfed to advance towards the object of our most anxious wishes ! As, however, this disruption brought us so much nearer the islands towards which I was about to travel, we cast oft" and beat up into the bight left by the floe. My party consisted of IVfr. Richards, and two men from each ship, and we were furnished with ten days' provision. INIr. Crozier, with three additional men, was ap|)ointed to assist in carrying our baggage to the first islands, and then to rectum on board. Having given Ca|)tain Lyon the necessary in- structions for proceevhicli is a small one, we found it separated by a narrow channel of a hundred yards in width from a third and larger. After dining and resting an hour or two aboiit noon, near the niiddle of this island, we arrived on its western shore at six in the evening, when the weather becoiiiing misty we pitched the tent for the night. Hetween this and the next island was a large space en- tirely clear of ice, and here we observed a black whale sporting about : we also met with two large deer ai\d a fawn, but could not get near them. A long-tuiled vith much caution. At half-past five, how- ever, we had arrived at a peninsula wliich promised to prove of high interest, for it appeared to lead to the very spot where, from the set of the tide and the trending of the coast, the strait was most likely to be found ; and it presented at the same time a geological character differing from any we had before met with. The appearance of the southern or inner part of this peninsula is singular, being that of three or more nearly horizontal and equidistant ranges or strata, resembling at a distance so many tiers or galle- ries of a high and commanding fortilication, which seemed to defy approach. On reaching this place, where two long and deep ponds of fresh water serve to contract still more the narrow isthmus by which it is divided from the other land ; wc found the rocks composed of a brownish-red sandstone in numerous alternate strata of darker and lighter shades, though three or four only of these were conspicuous at a distance. We now turned nearly due north, the character of the rocks continuing much the same, except that some narrow veins of a compact white sandstone appeared here and there traversing the other. Some of this, as well as of the red kind, occurred now and then in a pulverized state ; the former on first taking it up, exactly resembled white sugar when moistened by water, but being subsequently dried proved remarkably minute and fine. After cross- ing a deep hollow, nearly intersecting the peninsula from east to west, we observed the rocks to consist of a beautiful variety of the reddi; .1 sand- stone, variegated with serpentine and nearly concentric delineations of a darker red, and having numerous oval hwtf of various sizes, like those of wood, giving the smoothly rounded surface of the bare rock in many places more the appearance of handsomely jiolished beef-wood than of stone. After passing over a mile and a half of this, we arrived at about ficvexy A.M. at the ultimate object of our journey, the extreme northern point of the peninsula overlooking the narrowest part of the desired strait m 312 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1S22. Aui'iist, t'f m '« ;• which hvy immediately bch)W lus in about an east and west direction, being two miles in width, apparently very deep, and with a tide or current oi" at least two knots settinj? the loose ice through to the eastward. Beyontl us to the west, the shores again se])arate I August. level solid ice, about ten inches thick, occupying the whole extent oi" them, v>y-w except for a space of fifteen or twenty feet all round the shores, where the ice had been dissolved by the warmth of the land. To us the fact was new at this season, and is still somewhat unaccountable. Whether so straui^e a circumstance is to be attributed to locality or to an vuifavourable season, the experience of a single year or two is not suflicient to determine. Three long-tailed ducks were killed out of a flock swinnning in a lake ; these birds being in moult could not rise from the water, but their quickness in diving makes it extremely difficult to shoot them. A hare of a very dark colour was seen near the tent, though one of these animals perfectly white had been noticed on the same spot only the day before. It was high water by tlio shore in Richards's Bay at a quarter before eight this evening. At thirty minutes past live A.M. on the 19th, tlic ice was observed to be Mon. 19. setting fast to the eastward in the Strait, as indeed it had always been whenever we had obtained a distinct view of it, which circumstance tended very strongly to confirm the impression we had before received of a per- manent easterly current. Having employed a couple of hours in re-packing our baggage for travelling, we set out on the ice at six o'clock and reached the small island at nine ; where we were saluted as before by swarms of troublesome mosquitoes. The tide having fallen a little by the marks on the rocks we judged it to have been high Avater at about half-past eight. Proceed. ing again at half an hour past noon, and being now aware that our easiest travelling was on the level ice, through the pools on which we had learned to pass with less delay than at first, we were enabled to reach Deer Island at a single journey, by taking care to avoid all the broken ice near the land. This latter precaution was indeed so necessary, that, when at length we wished to go on shore, it took us above an hour to eftectthe last two hundred yards, and that with more wet, cold, and fatigue than we had experienced in walking the whole preceding journey. We landed however at five P.M., and obtaining from the hills a distant view of the ships, observed that they were employed in warping among the ice. There was now^ a great deal of open water in the Strait, and the easternmost of the Bouverie Islands were entirely cleared of the ice on which we had travcUed upon our outward journey. We here found some more of the vcrdigris-grccn substance, though on the opposite side of the same island as before, occurring precisely under similar circumstances. A little animal ran up the rocks near our tent, which 2 S ti' ::i i' : 11 !■ 1 ! 5 - V 'si. ! , I' i ml i n it 314 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY ill 1822. at iYq i\yf^Q yyQ took to be an ermine ; but which on subsequent recollection v-*v>>i/ of its colour, furry coat, and brushy tail, I believe to have been a squirrel of some kind, though we have not on any other occasion met with this animal. Tues. 20. It rained hard on the morning of the 20th till seven A.M., when we re- ascended the hill to determine our best route to the ships according to the position of the ice, and also with the intention of lighting a large smoky fire to give intimation of our return, which signal I had agreed on with Captain Lyon. In the latter attempt we failed, the andromeda being too wet even to produce smoke cnougli for our purpose. We therefore set out upon the ice at half-past nine with the intention of making a hard push to get on board without halting. With this view we kept well into the bay, in order to avoid the detached ice near the islands, but Avcre once obliged to go on shore on account of a broad crack that had lately been made in the tloe. We could at this time scarcely discover the ships from the ice ; but having the island of Necrlo-natko as a guide, we continued to push on, hoping to reach them in two or three hours. At thirty minutes after three P.M. however, being sur- prised to find them still six or seven miles distant, Ave halted to dine, and to let one of our party, who was seized with a shiveriag in consequence of twice falling into the water, shift his clothes ; after which we again set forward. At half-past five v.c came to a quantity of " hummocky" ice that lay off the island, and finding here a broad lane of water obstructing our progress, the idea first occurred to us that the ships must be adrift, the Avhole of the ice outside of us having been lately broken up and detached from the floe on which we stood. By means of ferrying upon one piece as a boat to the other, we at length got across the lane of water and found the ice in sepa- rate masses, but more closely packed on the other side. The plank being now no longer serviceable, while it occasioned us much detention in carrying, we fixed it in an upright position on a large floe-piece, and in a few minutes after a gun from the Hecla, accompanied by the appointed signal that a boat was coming, assured us of our being discovered by the ships. At nine P.M. when some of our party were nearly exhausted with incessant jumping and wading. Lieutenant Hoppncr met us in one of the boats, and we arrived on board at ten o'clock, after twelve houre' laborious journey. - ^ i * >/■ On almost all the shores both of the main-land and islands that we visited, some traces of the Esquimaux were found ; but they were less numerous than in any other places on which we had hitherto landed. This circum- OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 315 stance rather seemed to intimate, as we afterwards found to be the case, that }^^^' the shores of the Strait and its immediate neighbourhood arc not a frequent \^y^ resort of the natives during the summer months. I learned from Captain Lyon that Mr. Crozicr and his party had scarcely got on board the ships when the weather became extremely thick and continued so all night, so that his return was very opportune, and the more so, as on the following morning the whole body of western ice, in- cluding that to which the ships were attached, was observed to have broken up. Fortunately however the latter, by pressing against the island of Neerlo- Nakto, enabled the ships for some time to retain their station and assisted in keeping them oif the shore ; but they were afterwards drifted about in the shoal water near the island, and continued in a very unpleasant and hazard- ous situation till the time of my return. Being immoveably beset by the other ice that had been detached, on the night of the 17th the Fury sus- tained one or *wo heavy «' nips" by the pressure, which lifted her abaft, but without any injury whatever. Great quantities of ice were observed to drift past from the westward, from which direction, whenever the wind was light, there appeared to be a constant current. If Mr. Crozier's return was opportune, mine was certainly no less so, for Wed. 21. 1 1 the very time of our crossing the lane of water as mentioned above, the ice was in the act of opening out, and continued to do so for the rest of the night ; so that on the morning of the 21st, the ships were nearly in clear water, while the weather became so thick in an hour after our arrival, that we could scarcely see a quarter of a mile for two days afterwards. At eight A.M. we got under way, with a view of endeavouring to find the margin of the fixed floe, by which alone we could hope to hold our ground against the ice which we knew to be drifting down from the westward. In this attempt we succeeded, and ran along it for a short distance, when the fog coming on more thick than ever, we made fast in thirty-two fathoms, being about four miles to the northward and westward of Neerlo-Natko. On the 22d we twice made a mile or two along the edge of the floe, when- Thur.22. ever the weather permitted us to see a short distance a-hcad ; but the sound- ings being now too deep to give us warning of our approach to the Bouveric Islands, we made fast in the evening in fifty-seven fathoms, the more de- cayed state of the ice appearing to indicate- our being near enough to the land. The wind was very light from the eastward, and the state of the weather rendered the ship so moist and unwholesome below that it was >> 2 S 2 iv n ^^ 1 I' ' ! fll !: ^i liMI ? i * ' ' > ' 1 .* - ■: ■ • 1 I Ill 310 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. August Sun. 25. necessary to lii?ht a Jire in the warmini? stove, by which an inconceivable degree of dryness, warmth, and healthy ventilation was produced in the course of two or three hours. Several white whales were playing about the ships, and a number of sillocks from four to eight inches in length, observed near the small pieces of drift-ice. It appeared to us a remarkable coinci- dence that the last time we had met with sillocks, which wiis in the entrance to the Duke of York's Bay, white whales seemed to be hemming them in upon the shores in shallow water. Frid. 23. The ice coming in upon us soon closed the open space through which we had been sailing; and at half-past two A.M. on the 23d, a partial clearing of the weatlicr discovered to us the islands at the distance of a mile and a half to the N.VV.b.W. The wind veering to the N.N.E. in the course of tiic afternoon, the weather became more clear ; but the breeze freshening at night brought the whole body of external drift-ice upon us with considerable pressure. On the 2oth the wind having at length backed to the W.N.W., the prospect began to brighten; the ice in the fair-way of the Strait soon acquiring motion to the eastward, and that near the ships shortly after beginning to drive, though more slowly, in the same direction. Half an hour after noon, as soon as there appeared the least chance of making any progress we made sail and prepared for moving the Fury. On heaving ujwn the hawsers, however, in order to cast the ship's head towards a lane of water net two hundred yards distant, we found her so compactly " soldered," as the sailors aptly call it, between the masses of ice by the late pressure from without, that all our power Avas insufficient to move her head a single degree of the compass. Captain Lyon having suggested the mode of pulling us out by making sail on the Hecla, which the ice had entirely left, it was tried without effect, the masses having so eftectually overlaid each other by the pressure as, with the assistance of a slight degree of frost, to form one body almost as compact as a solid floe. No better success attended an attempt to detach one piece after another, beginning from the outside, by the Hecla's dragging upon them under all sail, for the ship was brought up without the masses separating. One only method and that a slow and laborious one remained, Avhich was to employ all hands from both ships with handspikes, axes, and saws, to detach and force off one or two masses at a time. This plan at length effected our release ; and at nine P.M., after eight hours' incessuit labour bestowed upon an obstacle apparently so trifling, we got into clear water and stretched to -^ /^ OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 317 the northward, the main ice having in the meantime disappeared so efFcctually ^^22. that nothing was eventually lost by our late detention. After standing on J^^ for an hour or two we had scarcely any ice about us, and by midnight were entirely clear of it. The wind gradually falling was succeeded by a light north-easterly Mon. 26. breeze, with which at daylight on the 2Gth we steered under all possible sail up the Strait, The course being shaped and no ice in our way, I then went to bed ; but was immediately after informed by Mr. Crozier that the compasses had shifted from N.^E., which was the course I left them indicating, to E,|N,, being a change of seven points, in less than ten mi- nutes. After running half a mile in a true W.b.N. direction, the needles began to return to their trjie position ; in half a mile farther they had resumed their proper direction and agreed exactly at North, Having sent a boat to the Hecla immediately on our noticing the first alteration, I found from Captain Lyon that a similar phenomenon was observed to take place on board that ship, which was following in our wake. The breeze slowly in- creasing from the eastward, and the weather happily remaining unusually clear for that direction of the wind, we soon arrived off" the narrow part of the Strait, immediately on opening Avhich, we met a tide or current running above two knots to the eastward Avith numerous eddies and ripplings. By keeping on the south or continental shore, and passing along by Cape North- East, within two or three hundred yards of the rocks, we succeeded with the assistance of the boats a-head in getting through the channel soon after eleven o'clock. The length of this narrowest part of the Strait is three miles, in an E.b.S, and W.b,N, direction ; it is two miles across and nearly uniform in its Avidth the whole way through. The rocks of red sandstone on the south side shelve gradually down from a height of three or four hundred feet, so that in sail- ing through we had generally two fathoms more depth of water on the outer than on the inner side of the ship, the soundings continuing deep however almost close to the shore. The opposite or northern land of the narrows, Avherc on closer examination we found several islands, is also high, but less shelving than the other, and presenting when clear of snow a much darker aj)pearance. The eastern point of the entrance on this shore, which I named Cape Ossonv, has a small rocky islet lying close off it, upon which there Avas much heavy ice aground. In several other places also on both sides, but particularly on the south shore, large heaps of ice lay piled up upon the rocks w m ,. -'H 1 ri !( ; k ; 1 1 t: 1 1 1822. August. 318 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY in one or two spots to the height of forty or fifty feet. The current in mid- channel was running three or four knots to the eastward when we came througli, and nolliing but the boldness of the shore would have enabled us to cllect a passage, as the wind was too light to stem the stream in the middle. Steering to the southward of the island before seen from Cape North-East, in order still to keep along the continental shore, we passed between two dangerous shoals, one of which runs off from the island and the other lies quite by itself, about midway between this and the main-land. The latter was at this time pointed out by a great quantity of heavy ice lying aground upon it, as well as by a yellow sanilstone rock that made its appearance in one or two places just above the surface of the water. After clearing these, and again deepening our soundings, we had begun to indulge the most flatter- ing hopes of now making siirh a rapid progress as would in some degree com- pensate for all our delays and disappiuntments, when, at once to crush every expectation of this sort, it was suddenly announced from the crow's-nest that another barrier o( fixed ice stretched completely across the Strait, a little beyond us, in one continuous and impenetmble field, still occiq)ying its winter-station. In less than an hour we had reached its margin when, find- ing ihis report but too correct, and timt therefore all further progress was at present as inipracficable as if no Strait existed, we ran the ships under all sail for the Hoe, which proved so " rotten" and decayed that the ships forced themselves three or four hundred yards through it before they stoi)|)ed. Keeping all our canvass spread we then tried to break the tiiin edges about the niunerous holes, by dropping weights over the bows, as well as by vari- ous other equally inefi'ectual expedients ; but the ice was *' tough" enouj^h to resist every efi'ort of this kind, though its watery state was such as to increase if i)ossible our annoyance at being stopped by it. The passage to the northward of the island w;is not even so clear as this by above two miles of ice, so tluit in every respect our present route was to be preferred to the other ; and thus after a vexatious delay of six weeks at the eastern entrance of tlie Strait, and at a time when we luul every reason to hope that luiture, though hitherto tardy in her annual disruption of the ice, had at length nmde an eflbrt to complete it, » „ 2.0 J».M. Westward I " „ 4.0 „ Do. } .. Between seven and eight P. INI. the loose ice began to leave the floe edge, and to drift against a light wind to the eastward. By these and our subse- quent observations on the tides in this part of the Strait, it seems apparent that the phenomena, both of the stream and of the rise and fall of the water, are the joint eflfects of a tide and a current, the latter in general setting to the eastward at this season. The weather being warm, a sensible alteration was produced in the np- penrancc of the ice in the course of the day, and we could not now commu- nicate between the two .ships by walking over the floe, Avithont the assist- once of planks. This ciirumstance enconroge soundings, that the ice to which the ships were attached was adrift. Nf> time was therefore to be lost in getting the ships underway, to be at liberty to act as circumstances might require, for we did not know in what direction we were driving. The weather now became so much thicker, with snow in large flakes, that we could with difficulty see three hundred yards a-hca»l. We stood to the eastward, however, and after getting sight of the grounded ice on the shoals, tacked off and on till we should see how the floe we had left was driving. It was not long before we perceived it to be setting directly on the shoals, so that it was necessary for us to And our way between them, at all risks, to avoid the certain danger of being forced upon the rocks. In making a tack near the shoals, the Fury's helm was put down in eight fathoms, but before the sails filled, the ship was carried by the ciirrent into three, and the yellow rocks were plainly visible under her. She gathered way, however, just in time to avoid grounding, and the Ilecla, presently after, escaping a similar accident near the same spot, we cleared the shoals in another tack or two, and then stood to the eastward. Proceeding with all the caution which the state of the weather, and the extremely confined nature of the navigation, rendered reqiiisite, we soon made the northern land of the narrows, within a mile of which we remained for several hours, endeavouring to find some sheltered anchorage, the wind being fresh from the N.N.W. and the weather becoming still more inclement than before. So steep, however, was this shore, that we could obtain no soundings with eighty-eight fathoms of line at half a mile distance, and generally found from thirty to twenty-six within a cable's length of the rocks, in every little nook the boats entered. In the evening, finding the weather not likely to improve, and that the situation of the ships, if ke|)t under way during the night in this narrow and unknown channel, must be a very dangerous one, we btlrc up to make the island, in the hope of finding shelter under one of its numerous low points. In this last resource we were not disappointed ; for in an hour's run we made the island, which was now so covered with snow as to be easily mistaken for a floe of ice without great attention to the leads ; and with a degree of good fortune which has never OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 321 yet deserted us in such cases, we succeeded in picking out an excellent an- .'^^^• chorage in eleven fathoms, where we passed a thick, snowy, and dark night, v^-y^^/ without any disturbance from wind or ice. As soon as the anchors were dropped, my attention was once more turned to the main object of the Expedition, from which it had for a moment been diverted by the necessity of exerting every eftbrt for the immediate safety of the ships. This being now provided for, I had leisure to consider in what man- ner, hampered as the ships were by the present state of the ice, our means and exertions might during this unavoidable detention be employed to the greatest advantage, or at least with the best prospect of ultimate utility. Whatever doubts might at a distance have been entertained respecting the identity, or the contrary, of thc'place visited by Captain Lyon with that subsequently discovered by myself, there could be none on a nearer view ; as. independently of the observed latitude, Captain Lyon could not, on ap- proaching the narrows, recognise a single feature of the land ; our i)resent channel being evidently a much wider and more extensive one than that pointed out by Toolemak on the journey. It became, therefore, a matter of interest, now that this point was settled, and our progress again stopped by .1 insuperable obstacle, to ascertain the extent and communication of the southern inlet; and, should it prove a second strait, to watch the breaking up of die ice about its eastern entrance, thai no favourable opportunity might be missed of pushing through it to the westward. Hitherto, as 1 have belore remarked, the question respecting the existence of a second passage, had been wholly unimportant tis concerned the movfinents of the Expedi- tion, because we could see, at the time of our entering the present strait, that the only possible track to the other was bh)cked by solid and continuoJis ice. The mortifying prospect however of a siu'ond detention in this strait, added to the consideration of the sudden changes that often take place in the state of the ice, rendered it again necessary to revert to the southern inlet, to which, but a few days before, we had ceased to attach any iin|)ortance. 1 therefore determined to despatch three separate parties, to satisfy all doubts in that quarter, as well as to gain every possible information as to the length of the Strait, and the extent of the fixed ice, now more immediately before us. With this view, I requested Captain Lyon to take with him Mr. Ciriltiihs and four men, and proceed over land in a S.b.E. direction, till he sliouhl de- termine by the difl'erence of latitude, which amounted oidy to sixteen niilen, whelher there was or was not u struil leading to the westward, about tlie t T f3^ I'l 322 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY ? f' 1822. parallel of 69° 26', being nearly that in which the place called by the Esqiii- ^-*v>J maux Khc' ig had been fruind by observation to lie. This appeared a simple and efFectual method of deciding a question, on which the operations of the Expedition might ultimately depend. In the mean time, Lieutenant Palmer, was directed to proceed in a boat to Igloolik, or Neerlo-nakto, as miglit be necessary, to ascertain whether the passage leading towards Khemig was yet clear of ice ; and, should he find any one of the Esquimaux willing to accompany him to the ships with his canoe, to bring him on board as a pilot. The third party consisted of Mr. Bushnan, with three men, under the com- mand of Lieutenant Reid, who was instructed to proceed along the conti- nental coast to the westward, to gain as much information as possible ir- specting the termination of our present strait, the time of his return to the ships beifig limited to four days, at the expiration of which the other two parties might also be expected to reach us. By this arrangement, in which the connexion of each expedition Avitli the others, and that of the whole with our main object, will easily be perceived, I hoped to gain such information as would cither confirm my determination to continue our efforts in the present station of the ships, or jwint out, beyond any doubt, the expediency of transferring them to some other quarter. Having gone on board the Hecla to communicate my views and intentions to Captain Lyon, 1 directed every thing to be in readiness for despatching the parties at noon on the following day. Thur. 29. On the morning of the iliHh, the wind being light from the eastward hut the weather much more clear than before, we weighed and stood over to the main-land with the intention of putting our travellers on shore, but fonn OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 325 tion which might have afforded them subsistence, was now permanently covered with a coating of snow, from three to six inches in depth, and so hard as to allow us to walk on it without sinking. The view from tlie high part of the island, which was a favourable situation for opening the western entrance of the Strait, was extremely satisfactory as regarded land, but not a single break could be seen in the ice, to the utmost limits of the horizon. At half-past nine on the morning of the 1st of September, one of our parties was descried at the appointed rendezvous on shore, which on our sending a boat to bring them on board, proved to be Captain Lyon and his people. From their early arrival we were in hopes tb '* some decisive in- formation had at length been obtained ; and our disappointment may thcre- i'ore be imagined, in finding that, owing to insuperable obstacles on the road, of which Captain Lyon's annexed account will give the best idea, he had not been able to advance above live or six miles to the southward, and that witli excessive danger and fatigue, owing to the depth of the snow, and the numerous lakes and precipices. " On striking inland we found the mountains deeply covered with snow, yet made about three miles uninterrupted, but by the precipices. At this distance we found the mountains to increase considerably in height, and they were so completely intersected by deep lakes, as frequently to oblige us to retrace our steps and toil up the same cliffs which we had but a short time before descended with considerable difficulty and danger. The (lcj)t!i of the recently fallen snow was from one to three feet, and where clunms occurred amongst the crags it was of course in a greater body. We licre found it rc(piisite to feel our way with poles, for had any of our party fallen into a cleft of the rocks it would have been out of our power to extricate liim. The general acclivity of the mountains was so great that it became necessary to disperse in clim])ing or descending, least the loose fragments of a rock, or a false step, should have precipitated those beneath several hundred feet to the bottom. We were employed above eight hours to-day at this laborious work, and found in the evening that we hud not majle more than five miles direct from our first landing-place, for we could plainly see the oj>en water in which the sliips were lying, and with naked eye discern the grounded ice off Liddon Island. We pitdud our tents under a crag on the moiuitain toj) where we passed a very cold night. " Wc set out at six in the morning of the 31st, apparently with a better 1822. August. Sept. Sun. 1. m I .-i ^F I ABSTRACT of the METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL kept on board His Majesty's Ship FuRT, at Sea, during the Month of August, 18!J2. - < rahrenheit's Ther- luuineter. Sea Water at the surface. I Uaromcter. Prevailing Winds. Prevailing Day Place. iniiin. Miiii- nitiiii. Mrin. Menn Tfiiip. Sl>cciAc Univlly whi-it Mmi- mum. Mini- mum. Mran. nircction. VdlMily. Weather. 1 O 30 O 3a. 75 o 31.33 1.0205 o 1 53 29.58 ilirlu« 29. 3U iiuhr. 29.483 £SE modt. ^hazy and rain 2 39 3.60 29.48 29..5S3 NWbW light cloudy 18 40 30 34.08 31.8a sa.M 29.60 29.615 North modt. fine 19 1 3ii 33 35 .75 32.54 29.70 29.03 29.680 ( round the i compass light and variable cloudy 20 38 33 34. S8 32.00 29. H> 2'i.70 29.743 WNW modt. cloudy ^'l 34 31 32.67 31.50 29.64 29.51 29.C02 NE modt. foggy and rain 23 36 30 32.71 29.CC 29.51 29.33 29.438 East light foggy 33 to 29 33.08 29.67 29.33 29.21 -9 ; NE niudt. hazy and rain 34 J 36 32 33.92 30.50 29.40 29.38 ;:9.4.'»0 NWbW modt. cloudy 25 1 »» 37 30i 33.C2 30.25 29.01 29.48 29.503 NW modt. fine 20 38 30 .12.67 29. li 1 .0263 52 29.70 29.0o[29.650 East light cloudy 27 40 29 32.75 28.7!' 1 .0256 52 29.68 29.4129.572 1 ESR light cloudy 28 .2£ 31 30 30.71 28.21 29.37 29.09'29.18t- 1 NNW modt. ha/,y and snow 29 1-^ «5S S3 29 30.42 28.54 29.31) 29.0229.173 NWbN light hazy, snow at limes 30 1 35 20 82.42 28.58 29.62 29.41 29..534 (AM. North (i>ai.w.Bt light cloudy tl fl 31 27 29.02 28.2!) 29.82 29.(2 29. 72t- 1 NW modt. cloudy 50 ;7 33.08 1 80,69 30.83 1 29 0229. 500 1 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. 327 prospect befer&.us, but after scrambling about a mile found ourselves again obliged to retrace our steps in order to avoid a chain of lakes, and when after three hours' exertion we had, as we supposed, got nearly round these, another cluster of greater magnitude was discovered, and we found our- selves not five hundred yards from the spot on which we had slept. In descending a precipice one of the men lost his hold, but was fortunately arrested by a rock which lay beneath the snow, and escaped with only a se- vere contusion on the nose. We had been obliged to throw our knapsacks down this cliff and use the greatest caution in sliding down it, but had no sooner reached its foot than the discovery of the lake obliged us again to gain the height. Finding it impossible to accomplish the service at this rate of travelling, and having only five hours to complete the out-going time I determined on turning back, and arrived at the ships before noon on the 1st of September. " The mountains we passed were all of gneiss and granite, and I should suppose many of them a thousand feet above the level of the sea. One chain of lakes extended east and west about six or eight miles, and they were apparently of great depth, although their width did not exceed a quarter of a mile at any part. In these were several small falls or bars, over two of which we waded. The steepness of the ridge of mountains bounding the longest extent of lakes may be better understood by the outline I took on the spot. 1822. Sept. 'ffll tl 1 III :: ll 'M J 1, 'i ' ] t t S ; ■■^f' 1 . m N< Il 4^^ -5 328 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY " The upper or craggy part was of solid granite, and tlic slope of its debris, wliich however was in most cases deeply covered by snow. In all the lakes was a sheet of solid ice, detached from the banks and floating in the centre. Its thickness above water was from six to twelve inches. The little vegetation we saw was shrivelled and dry, which may account for the absence of deer. We saw numerous tracks of them near the lakes, but they were not recent, and may have been made while the animals were herding for their final departure ; a few small flocks of buntings were seen as if also assembled to migrate to the southward." Sun. 1. Being thus by a combination of untoward circumstances baffled in an endeavour which had appeared alnmst certain of success, we had only to await with patience the arrival of our other i)arties ; scarcely however ven- turing to hope that their information alone coultl prove of any great interest or importance in furthering our main object. The north-west wind fre.s'.ion- ing almost to a gale, which made me somewhat apprehensive for Mr. Crozier and his little establishment at the Narrows, 1 despatched Mr. Ross, at seven this evening, to carry him a fresh supply of provisions and to assist him on his return to the ship. At the same time I directed Mr. Ross to occupy the following day in examining the portion of land forming tijc northern shore of the Narrows, which we had some reason to supj)()se insular. Mon. 2. At nine A.M. on the 2d, Lieutenant Reid and liis party were descried at their landing-place, and a boat being sent for them arrived on board at hall- j)ast eleven. An account of this journey, which was accompanied by a sketch of the coast, is here subjoined. August. 30. " Landing at six A.M. on the 30th, we commenced our march about tliie west along the coast, though not in a direct line, the hills being in many parts perpendicular dowji to the water, and we had to cross one inlet in which the ice was broken up. At noon we arrived at an inlet, from a quarter of a mile to a mile and a quarter in width, with a rapid run of water, liaving in it two small islands, and in part covered with ice. Following the stream down to the sea, without finding a fording-placc, wc ascended the banks, and at length crossed upon the ice with much difficulty. Dining on ' •'« OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 329 the west side we continued our journey, and at half-past six pitched our tents for the night. This day's journey was from hill to hill, over ex- tremely rugged land, frequently interrupted by lakes, which made the course so circuitous that, though in a direct line wc could not have ad- vanced more than fifteen miles, wc had probably traversed twice that distance. ' " Setting out at four A.M. on the 31st, we now kept more inland than before, and descended into a deep valley, having at the bottom a rapid stream, which we were obliged to follow nearly to the sea before we could cross it, after which we got upon tolerably good ground leading gradually up to the hills. We then again began to ascend, hill after hill rising in succession, and the rugged ground being covered with large loose stones, having the space between them filled with snow, which made the walking heavy and dangerous. At noon we had gained a hill of con- siderable height, having walked sixteen miles, and now found ourselves due west of the ships, distant about six leagues. From this station, which was in some respects a commanding one, the bearings and an eye-sketch were taken by Mr. Bushnan, but the land still interrupted our view to the westward, so that in that direction very little more could be ascertained with respect to the extent of the Strait than might be seen from the ships. Notwithstanding this circumstance however, as our provisions were half ex- pended, I deemed it prudent to proceed no farther, especially as the road was now so rugged, that little or nothing more could be eftected in a few hours' travelling. At three P.M. therefore we set out on our return to the eastward and reached the Fury before noon on the '2d. " In the course of our journey only six rein-deer were seen ; but the tracks of these animals, as well as of bears and foxes, were numerous. From our farthest station on the western hills, which rise perhaps from eight to nine hundred feet above the sea, we observed another head-land beyond the extreme point seen from the ships, and distant from it about three or four leagues ; but the intervention of other land prevented our discovering the trending of the coast further to the westward. The northern land is extremely high, and its western point appeared about ten leagues distant, leaving an extensive opening in that direction. The ice seemed to extend from Amherst Island as far as we could see to the westward, presenting one unbroken surface from the north to the south shore of the Strait." 8 u 1822. Sept. 31. ^'l^l'' MM H<'i1 1 II Pi* 330 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY Mi 1822. Notwithstanding every exertion on the part of our travellers, tlicir labours v^yi^/ liad not thrown much light on the geography of this part of the coast, nor added any information that could be of practical use in directing the opera- tions of the ships. The important question respecting a second passage leading to the westwaiu still remained as much a matter of mere con- jecture as at first ; while the advanced period of the season, and the unpromising appearance of the ice now opposing our progress, rendered it more essential than ever that this point should, if jjossible, be fully decided. Under this impression, it occurred to me that the desired object might pos- sibly be accomplished, by pursuing the route along the head or western shore of Richards' Bay, part of which I had already traversed on my former journey, and found it much less laborious walking than that experienced by Captain Lyon on the higher and more rugged mountains inland. I deter- mined therefore to make this attempt, taking with me Mr. Richards and most of my former companions, and proceeding in a boat as far as the isthmus mentioned on the 17th of August, from whence our journey might at once be advantageously commenced. Tues. 3. This niglit proved the coldest we had experienced during the present sea- son, and the thermometer stood at 24° when I left the ships at four A.M. on the 3d, having previously directed Captain Lyon to remain as near their present station as might be consistent with safety, and carefully to watch for any alteration that might occur in the western ice. I also requested Captain Lyon to render Mr. Fisher every assistance in his power in the tri- gonometrical measurement of some high snow-capped hills to the north-west, which at my desire he had undertaken. To the land on which these moun- tains stand, and which the Esquimaux call Keii/uk-tamioke, I gave the name of CocKBURN Island, in honour of Vice- Admiral Sir George Cockburn, one of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, whose Avarm personal interest in every thing relating to Northern Discovery can only be surpassed by the public zeal with which he has always promoted it. Being favoured by a strong north-westerly breeze, we reached the nar- rows at half-past six A.M., and immediately encountered a race or ripple so heavy and dangerous, that it was only by carrying a press of canvass on the boat that wc succeeded in keeping the seas from constantly breaking into her. This rippling appeared to be occasioned by the sudden obstruction which the current meets at the western mouth of the narrows, aided in '■ M OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 331 the present instance, by the strong breeze that blew directly upon the corner forming the entrance on the south side. On clearing this, which we did after running about one-third of a mile and then getting into smooth water, though the current was running at least three knots to the eastward, the thoughts of all our party were, by one common impulse, directed to- wards Mr. Crozicr and his little boat, which could not possibly have lived in the sea we had just encountered. It was not, therefore, without the most serious apprehension on his account that T landed at Cape North-East, where I had directed the observations to be made on the tides ; and send-- ing Mr. Richards one way along the shore, proceeded myself along the other to look for him. On firing a musket, after a quarter of an hour's walk, I had the indescribable satisfaction of seeing, Mr. Crozier m."kc his appearance from behind a rock, where he was eii;:;aged in watchiog the tide-mark. I found him and his party quite safe and well, though they had encountered no small danger, while attempting to try the velocity of the stream in the narrows, being beset by a quantity of drift-ice from wl Lh th( y with diC- ficulty escaped to the shore. I found also that Mr. Ro««, i.rter towing them in when adrift, and leaving Mr. Crozicr his provisioiis, had pr?>ceedcd to accomplish his other object, appointing a placj i;. meet them cr his return to the ships. In half an hour after we saw ;he gig crossing to us under sail, and were soon joined by Mr. Ross, who informed me that he had de- termined the insularity of the northern land, which I therefore distinguished by the name of Ormond Island, out of respect to the Earl of Ormond and Ossonv. Having furnished our gentlemen Avith an additional supply of provisions, in case of their being utmvoidably detained by the continuance of the wind, I made sail for the isthmus at ten A.M., where we arrived after an hour's run, and hauling the boat up on the rocks and depositing the greater part of our stores near her, set off at oro P.M. along the shore of Richards' Bay, being equipped with only thjc. days' provision and as small a weight of clothing as possible. The coast, though not bad for travelling, led us so much more to the westv/nrd than 1 expected, in consequence of its numerous indentations that, after above five hours' hard walking, we had only made good a W.S.W. course, direct distance six miles. One of our men then complaining of giddiness and other unpleasant symptoms, we halted and pitched the tent amidst rugged and barren rocks of red granite, dreary and desolate beyond description. A single snow-bunting was literally 2 u a 1822. Sept. .1 ^'"T f . '' 'h i 111 il "^ if • i m '^§ h^ 333 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. g]| yyQ gaw of animal life during this afternoon's walk ; but the tracks of deer, Sept Wed. 4 all going to the southward, were everywhere seen upon the snow. We ob- tained on every eminence a distinct view of the ice the whole way down to Neerlo-nakto, in which space not a drop of clear water was discernible ; the whole of Richards' Ray was filled with ice as before. We moved at six P.M. on the 4th, and soon came to a number of lakes from half a mile to two miles in length, occurring in chains of three or four together, round which wc had to walk at the expense of much time and labour. All these terminated towards the sea in inlets, one of whicii that we came to at nine A.M., and which I named after Mr. Halse of the Fury, was three or four miles in length, and detained us two hours in walking rouiul the head of it. These inlets were still HUed with ice of the last winter's formation, except close round the shores, where a narrow space of open water had been formed by the warmth of the land. We halted at a quarter past eleven, having made good four miles and a half in a S.b.W. di- rection, and found ourselves by observation at noon in latitude 09° 32' 58'. Continuing our jni coast of the inlet, up which his journey with the Esquinuiux had been pursueve felt confident that a short walk directly to the south must bring us to any strait communicating M'itli that inlet, and we therefore pushed on in confident expectati<»n of being near our journey's end. At seven P.M., leaving the men to pitch the tent in a sheltered valley Mr. ]{ichards and myself ascended the hill that rose beyond it, and on reaeliiiii; OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 333 its summit found ourselves overlooking a long and narrow arm of the sea J^^*^- communicating with the inlet before seen to the eastward, and appearing to v.*-]^ extend several miles nearly in an east and west direction, or parallel to the table-land before described, from which it is distant three or four miles. The space between the creek and the table-land is quite low, forming a striking con- trast with the rugged shore on which we stood, and being covered with abun- dant vegetation, as well as intersected by numerous ponds of water. The breadth of the little creek at the place at which we had arrived, being half a mile above its junction with the wider inlet in which the Coxe Islands lie, is about half a mile, and continues nearly the same for three or four miles that we could trace it in a westerly direction. Heyond this it .seemed to turn more northerly, and our view being obstructed by the high and rugged hills of which, on the north side of the creek, the whole tract of country is com- posed, 1 determined to pursue our journey along its banks in the morning, to ascertain its further extent, or at least to trace it till it was no hmger navigable for ships. That the creek we now overlooked was a part of the same arm of the sea which Captain Lyon had visited, the latitude, the bear- ings of Igloolik which was now plainly visible, and the number and apiK'ar. ancp of the Coxe Islands, which were too remarkable to be mistaken, all con- curred in assuring us ; and it only therefore remained for us to determine whether it would furnish a passage for the ships. Having made all the re- marks which the lateness of the evening wonM permit, we descended to the tent at dusk, being directed by a cheerful blazing lire of the amlromcda tclra- prnna, which in its present dry state served as excellent fuel for warming our provisions. Setting foiwar proved, a mere inlet of the sea, similar to those we hud bel'ore passed, coni- ■iMi i {|-* M 334 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. Sept. "/• II ■*.■ municating with lakes and streams which annually pour their waters into it, affording excellent ka)iak navigation to the Esquimaux, and supplying them with the salmon with which they had lately provided us. The farther we went to the westward tlie higher the hills became ; and the commanding pros- pect thus afforded enabled us distinctly to perceive with a glass that, though the ice had been entirely dissolved in the creek, and for half a mile below it, the wliolc sea beyond this to the eastward, even as far as Igloolik, was co- vered with one continuous and unbroken floe. Having now completely satisfied myself that, as respected both ice and land, there was no navigable passage for ships about this latitude, no time was lost in setting out on our return. To avoid the numerous indentations of Richards' Bay, we kept rather more inland ; by which means, though we at lirst encountered some ol" the steep precipices and deeper snow described by our other travellers, we eventually saved ourselves much walking. On this high ridge the hills, which are generally steep on both sides, and with a quantity of the loose AtbrU lying up and down them, occur very close toge- ther ; so that no sooner has the sununit of one been gained, than another of equally forbidding aspect presents itself, the valleys between them being chietly occupied by lakes of various sines, all except the mere shallow ))onds having a Hoe of solid ice covering their surface. Some of the smaller streams that supply the lakes had now been arrested by the autumnal frost, and the smallest pools on the rocks were frozen to the bottom ; but the larger streams were still running in full force, and no " ycning " ice had as yet formed upon the lakes. The rocks are here entirely of red granite ; and we frequently noticed rounded and insulated hills of this shape, :;**eJ I 4 ' Fiid. 5. situated at the end of a valley, and appearing as it were to Hank it. Nothing of interest occurred during the rest of our journey to the boat, which we reached lielore dark on the evening of the tith. having suffered only a few trilling 1 ruises in the com .> of our scrambling over the rocks. The thermometer fell to 11)^ at night, but our dep6l at the boat furnishing vi OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 335 abundance of additional clothing, we found the tent as warm as could be *,*^- desircd ; which was by no means the case at this season when we were lightly equipped lor travelling. The night was beautifully clear, with a bright moon- light ; but a cloud of dense vapour hung over the land in most parts, which Avas not entirely dissipated until late on the folh.wing day. We launched the boat at day-break on the 7th, and on arriving at the nar- Sat. 7, rows, were glad to find that our other boats had left the place. The current was as usual setting to the eastward, and in one place about the middle of the narrows, where a large collection of squeezcd-up ice formed a small projecting point, it ran full four knots. Rowing over to the north shore, we landed there to dine at a quarter past eleven, which was just the time of high water, on an islet at the entrance of a bay. While rest- ing here we observed the small pieces of ice setting fast to the westward, and proceeding at two P.M., found the boat favoured by a considerable tide in the same direction. This we kept till about five P.M., when we had reached Liddon Island, and were there met by a tide from the westward, it being then about low water by the shore ; from which it seemed reasonable to conclude that the flood-tide came from the westward. At half-past eight we arrived on board, where I was happy to find that all our parties had re- turned without accident, exeej)t that Lieutenant Palmer had been wounded in his hand, and temporarily blinded by a gun accidentally going off, from which however he fortunately suftered no eventual injury. Lieutenant Pal- mer reported his having ascertained that the ice still renmined attached t<> the land from the western part of Igloolik across to the continent, jirecluding all i)ossibility of a passage to the westward in that direction. Lieutenant Palmer's report contained numerous observations for the geographical posi- tion of the parts of the land which he visited, and sonic notices respecting the Esquimaux mode of burial, which will be given in another |)lace. No alteration had taken place in the state of the ice during my absence, except what wa« occasioned by a few small pieces now and then breaking olF from the margin, which however searcely efFecfew Water. Rile of Tide. Pall of TWO. IIKMAnK$,&c. II.M. 1 A.M. »»r I'.M. H.M. A.M. or P.M. Aufc. 31. n.is A.M. P.M. 0.10 P.M. rt. in. 5.2 I'l. in. 5.10 The atronni in miil-chann«l wasK'ttinn to the eailwanl during tin- wtiolf day. From 1.30 A.M., till 1 1, an rddy wt along llir soiuli •horp to the westward. About 1 P.M. it beifun lo run to llir I'ant- ward.iind ninlinutHl to do tn> llu- rvst of (lie ijay. From fi.15 P.M. till 7.10, tli« watt-r neitlipr roM' nor loll by the iliuri-. S.>|)t. 1*. B.tO A.M. o.so P.M. 7.0 Tlip siroani ronalanlly running to the paMward in niid-rliiinncl. An pddy M-tting to tlip wpatwaid clotp to thp louth alion' till near noon. At 1 P.M. it aguin wt to llip rastwurd and continued to do *o till dark. ♦ It was full n.oon at fi.51 A.M. lliiiday. .. •'■ 7. SO P.M. 1.30 P.M. 8.U No pddy nor alack was nbaprvMl tliia day, tlip wind l)ping alning from thp wpilward. Thp curn it conatant'ly apll .ng faat lo tlip lusl- «ard ; nt about 8 A.M. not baa thnn four rnilpa ppr hour. „ !«. •boni N A.M. Thia lidp, by tliP mnrfc on llip roi.ka, roap two inc>M that of tlip pri) iMhng pvpning, bi-ing alao the highp^it of any wp obaiTvnJ. I' • Iwl' OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 337 " From these observations it would appear that the regular stream of flood- tide sets to the eastward, and that of the ebb to the westward, in this Strait; though, at this season, the latter is not always perceptible, on account of the rapid current permanently running against it in an easterly direction." After towing Mr, Crozier to the shore, under circumstances of consi- derable danger to that gentleman's party in their little boat, i\Ir. Ross imme- diately proceeded in execution of the service with which he was charged, aiul landing a little to the northward of Cape Ossory, observed the latitude to be G9° 43' 30". lie then rowed along the shore to the nortliward, passing one or two bays and several small islands, and landed in the evening upon a nigged islet, a quarter of a mile long, from whence he had the passage directly open between Ormond Island and tlie northern shore, anosite side. The rocks along this coast were found to be composed of greyish gneiss, and on some of the islands numerous masses of reddish granite also occurred, lying detaclied upon the surface. On the small islet adjoining Cape Ossory, Mr. Ross noticed a broad vein of dark-coloured hornblende, imbedded in the gneiss ; and a similar structure presented itself near a small bay just to the northward of it, the vein being here about thirty yards wide, forty or fifty feet high, and reaching as far under water as could be distinguished. The appearance of tlii^, at a short distance, was not unlike that of a high pib; of coal, and from the «lirection it took, it seemed to be a continuation of the vein before noticed. Mr. Ross's report, of which I have here given a brief abstract, contained also a variety of useful angles, observations, and other hydrographicai nui- tcMials, by which the whole of this part of the coast bus been laid down on the chart. , LIEUTENANT HOPPNER'S REPORT. •* Landing on Amherst Island at live A.M. on the (Uh, we hauled the boat on shore, and proceeded with three days' provisions towards the western end of the passage dividing the island fnun the main-land. The tide being ont, wo experienced ttomc dilBculty iu rcttching the firm ice in the centre of the !!it' t ■(! SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. Sept ,il y i .-f '^ \'V ' I i I f 7th. passage ; but having at length, by the assistance of a plank, crossed the loose pieces near the shore, we fount! the " young ice " connecting the rest sufficiently strong to enable us to pass over it with ease, and we arrived on the main-land about one P.M. At two we recommenced our walk along- shore to the westward ; and as the extreme point of land seen from the ships did not seem to be more than eight miles distant, and the ground was good for travelling, I determined to leave our knapsacks and other baggage be- hind, and was in hopes of being thus enabled to obtain a clear view round the point before sun-set, and of returning to our tent at night. In this ex- pectation, however, I was altogether disappointed ; for after three hours' hard walking, wc found the point was still at least five or six miles from us, which obliged me to give up the attempt, and to return to the tent for the night. " The distance to the western extreme being greater than I could now hope to travel in the time to which I Avas limited by my instructions, I ascended a high hill at five A.M. on the 7th to obtain a view of the Strait. The horizon, however, was so obscured by fog that we could only at inter- vals see the tops of the northern hills. Our prospect to the westward was also very limited, but as far as coiild be discerned, the ice appeared per- fectly close and composed of high hummocks with a few heavy floe-picces. Proceeding on our return at eight o'clock, we reached Amherst Island by noon, the young ice having every where become so firm that we might easily have returned to the ships upon it, without the assistance of a plank. The fog having now cleared away, gave us a good view from the west end of tlic island, where we could perceive that no land was visible for three or four points of the compass between the north and south shores of the Strait, In this space nothing was to be seen but compact heavy ice, with a white haze hanging over the horizon to the westward. Being anxious to examine also the state of the ice on the north side of the island, I left the party, when two miles short of the boat, and walked to u high ridge on that side, from which I perceived a remarkable hluft'* on the north shore of the Strait, appearing to be detached from the other land, but this my position did not enable me to determine. " I found the ice on the north side of the island perfectly close and much heavier than on the opposite shore, being generally comjwsed of large Hoc- • Afterwards callctl by Lieutenant Reitl, Cape HALtOTTEit. OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 339 pieces. This land, from abreast the west end of Amherst Island, changes ^^^^' its aspect very much, the hills becoming less rugged to the westward, and wvw having at their foot a sloping plain covered with line pasturage, extending in one place four or five miles towards the sea. On this plain we passed several circles of stones, placed by the Esquimaux, and others set up in a similar manner to those before observed in different parts of the coast. These did not bear the marks of having been recently visited ; but the tracks of deer were so numerous, and the aspect of the country so favourable for a summer residence, that it appeared a likely place for the Esquimaux to resort to occasionally during that season." The result of our late endeavours, necessarily cramped as they had been, was to confirm, in the most satisfactory manner, the conviction that wc were now in the only passage leading to the westward that existed in this neigh- bourhood. There was, and indeed still is, reason to believe, from the information of the Esquimaux, that Cockbum Island extends two degrees to the inorthward and very considerably to the eastward of this Strait. To have abandoned without further trial the most promising place, as respects the North-West Passage, that the most sanguine mind could hope to dis- cover, upon the chance of saving time by pursuing a circuitous route of perhaps three or four hundred miles of unknown coast, and of finding a more navigable passage two degrees farther north, I should have considered an unjustifiable departure from the plain tenor of my instructions, if not a direct abandonment of the cause in which we were engaged. Notwithstand- ini?, therefore, the present unpromising appearance of the ice, I had no alternative left me but patiently to await its disruption, and instantly to avail myself of any alteration that nature might yet effect in our favour. M 2X2 H% 340 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY !•« CHAPTER XII. A JOURNEY PERFORMED ALONG THE SOUTH SHORE OF COCfCmniN ISLAND CONFIR- MATION OF AN OUTLET TO THE POLAR SEA PARTIAL DISRUPTION OP THE OLD ICE, AND FORMATION OF NEW — RETURN THROUGH THE NARROWS TO THE EAST- WARD PROCEED TO EXAMINE THE COAST TO THE NORTH-EASTWARD FUUY's ANCHOR BROKEN STAND OVER TO IGLOOLIK TO LOOK FOR WINTER-QUARTERS — EXCURSION TO THE HEAD OF QVILLIAM CHEEK SHIPS FORCED TO THE WESTWARD BV GALES OF WIND — A CANAL SAWED THROUGH THE ICE, AND THE SHIPS SECURED IN THEIR WINTER STATION CONTINUED VISITS OF THE ESQUIMAUX, AND ARRIVAL OF SOME OF THE WINTER-ISLAND TRIBE PROPOSED PLAN OF OPERATIONS IN THE ENSUING SPRING. . i . . - Sun. 8. A LIGHT air spiiHginij up from the eastward on the morning of the 8th, we took advaiitasi^e of it to run up to tlie margin of the fixed ice, which was now perhaps half a mile farther to the westward, in consequence of small pieces being occasionally detached from it, than it iiad been when we tacked off it ten days before. We here made fast nearly in a line between Amherst and Liddon Islands, though much nearer to the former, and in fifty-eight fathoms, on a soft muddy bottom. Though the easterly wind continued, the weather, which had been foggy in the morning, cleared up after noon and a beautiful day succeeded. At seven P.M., fjome Avater brought up from thirty fathoms' ^° the wliole afternoon. The difi'erence was perhaps on this occasion to be attributed to the sun being more on the larboard side than on the other; OF A NORTH WEST PASSAGE. 341 but nearly the same thing occurred on the 11th, when the reverse was the ^^^'^''• case with respect to the sun. In every instance the water was drawn in the u*>^ same bucket, and from within a foot of the ship's bends ; and to whatever cause it was to be attributed, it shews in how great a degree the tempera- ture of the surface-water may be affected by some local and perhaps trivial circumstance, A great number of seals were lying on the ice during the day, and three swans were observed flying to the south-eastward. At daylight on thf> 9th, I sent Mr. Ross on shore to Amherst Island with Mon.9. two men, and fninished with a tent and provisions, for the purpose of regis- tering the rise and fall of the tides, while observations wcro. at the same time made upon the stream or current in the offing. At eight A.M. the tempera- ture of the sea-water at the surface was gr© At thirty fathoms' depth . • . . . 27-^ . • At fifty-five „ „ 27i Air in the shade 2S Another clear and uncommonly beautiful day, such as we had scarcely expe- rienced during the whole summer, gave us hopes of the season being some- what lengthened by a mild autumn. In the evening we thought we could perceive the sun glittering on a lane of water towards the western end of the Strait, which might perhaps have been opened by the eastern breeze now blowing. Every thing however remained unmoved on our side, and a great quantity of young ice formed on the sea outside of us, so that it was scarcely practicable to get a boat out for trying the current. The pools on the floes were now also so hardly frozen, that skating and sliding were going on upon them the whole day, thougli but a week before it had been dan- gerous to venture upon them. This latter circumstance, together with the fineness of the weather and the tempting appearance of the shore of Cockburn Island, which seemed better calculated for travelling than any that we had seen, combined to induce me to despatch another party to the westward, with the hope of increasing, by the only means within our reach, our knoAvlcdgc of the lands and sea in that direction. Lieutenant Reid and Mr. Bushnan were once more selected for that service to be accompanied by eight men, a large number being preferred, because by this means only is it practicable to accomplish a tolerably h>ng journey, especially on account of the additional weight of warm clothing which the present adviuicod state of the season 342 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY K,.' J i 1822. Sept. Tues. 10. rendered indispensable. Lieutenant Reid was furnished with six days' provisions, and directed to land where most practicable on the northern shore, and thence to pursue his journey to the westward as far as his re- sources would admit, gaining all possible information that might be useful or interesting. Every arrangement being made, the party was held in readiness to leave the ships at daylight the following morning. Our travellers were favoured by another summer's day on the 10th, not a breath of wind stirring, and the atmosphere being extremely clear and free from clouds. Mr. Henderson being sent to Amherst Island to examine the ice along its northern shore, where we first hoped to see some alteration, reported on his return, that he had observed a crack extending from the western end of the island across towards the northern shore of the Strait, which we hoped might form a new line of separation just about to take place. In the evening two of Lieutenant Rcid's party returned on board with a note, informing me that one of the men being taken ill, that officer had judged it prudent immediately to send him back with one of his shipmates to take care of him. At four P.M. the temperature of the sea-water at the surface was At 80 fathoms' depth »» 30 „ „ » '*0 >» II ., oil ,, •• Air in the shade 89° 28 88 32} the whole being taken by the same mercurial thermometer. The young ice increased very considerably in consequence of the calm weather and the unruffled smoothness of the sea, and several sheets of it drifting in towards the floe conjpletely froze the ships in for the time, our rudders being im- movcabl y set fast. This night was one of the clearest 1 ever saw, the hea- Wed. 11. venly bodies shining with uncommon brilliancy, and was succeeded on the 11th by another lovely day, similar to the three preceding ones. The tem- perature of the sea-water at the surface was «t 10 A.M. (I 7.30 PM 88} . o . . 8bi At 20 fathoms' depth 8Si . . . 88i II "" It II 88 . . 81 »i '*f' II II 88 . . . 8S H ''^ 11 l> 81 . . 88 Air in the shade . 88i . . 8Gi OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 343 In the morning experiments, however, the temperature of the surface, as \^-'^- given above, was taken on the starboard side, on which a bright sun had -j-^tQ been shining for several hours ; whereas, on the larboard or shady side the water was at the temperature of 30°, or a degree and a quarter wanner. A party of the Hecla's people, sent by Captain Lyon to Amherst Island, were fortunate in killing a deer. An easterly breeze, though a very light one, served considerably to Thur. 12. widen the crack in the ice before seen to the westward ; and, as the floe had certainly not moved in our neighbourhood, a hope was excited that there must be some room to the westward to have allowed a separation to take place. We therefore anxiously looked for a strong easterly wind, as the most probable means of at length clearing a passage through the Strait. The weather continued remarkably mild and pleasant, and some thawing was going on during the day. Our hunting parties were again sent on shore to the island, but without success. Just before daylight on the 13th the floe suddenly broke between the two Ftid. 13. ships, and we were for some time in hopes that a general change was about to take place in our favour, as we could soon after perceive a good deal of open water immediately to the westward of the ice to which the ships were attached. We found, however, as the day broke, that no alteration had taken place near us but the separation of a considerable mass near the island, leaving no passage whatever into the open water seen beyond. The Ilccla, happening to be fast to the broken mass, was obliged to make all sail, to stem a current that carried her with it some dis- tance to the eastward. So far however was this current from being percep- tible on or near the surface that, on making several trials, a superficial set, occasioned by an easterly breeze, was uniformly found in an opposite direction. The latitude of our present station was 09° 48' 10" ; the longitude, by chro' nometcrs, 83° 29' 27"; the variation of the magnetic needle S9° 18' 19'; and the dip, as obtained by Mr. Fisher, 88° 21' 21 ". The view of the Strait from this position was calculated to impress us with the idea of its being a mag- nificent passage into the Polar Sea, especially on one of the clear and cloud- less days which we had lately enjoyed. One of the most striking feature* of this truly polar landscape is that which is presented by the snow-capped mountains of Cockburn Upland, to the north-west of the ships, the highest of which Mr. Fisher determined, by accurate trigonometrical measurement^ 344 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. Sept. to be one thousand four hundred and forty-seven feet abov^ • "'v^ 'rvol of t!»e sea. The tops of these mountains have a smoothly-rounded . .liJine ; and as tliey were covered with snow for about one-fourth downwards froir their summits as early as the 18th of August, when we first discovered them from the narrows, it is probable that they had been so during the whole summer. To the eastward of these the land becomes much more rugged though con- siderably lower ; and in every part there appeared to be a space of shelving ground next the sea, like that over which Lieutenant Reid was now pur- suing his journey. < The appearance of Amherst Island also is remarkable on account of the materials of which it is composed, which, unless covered with snow, pre- sent an aspect singidarly dark, and aftbrding a striking contrast with tlie surrounding lands. It was curious indeed to observe that, as if determined to preserve this singularity, the snow was always first dissolved upon tliis island, which, even on some very cold days, contrived to throw oft' its fleecy mantle when no other shore was uncovered, which circumstance may j)L'r- haps be in part attributed to the colour as well as to the other qualities of the rocks. The geological character of Amherst Island, which I had not myself an opportunity of visiting, differs from any we have hitherto met with. 1 am happy therefore in availing myself of the following extracts from the journals of Captain Lyon and IVIr. Edwards, who walked over various parts of the island, and have been kind enough to furnish me with these notices. i4u;>l Li Ml *;■ lit r'' " The beach on which we landed," says Captain Lyon, " was flat, and entirely covered with minute scales of black slate, and the whole of the northern side of the island that I visited consists of the same substance, lying in laminte which are loose and easily detached, those near the surface being for the most part curiously fluted, or having small rounded ridges of a finger's breadth running in parallel lines across them. From the appearance of the ground where some broad chasms lay open, one of the seamen who accompanied me, and had been brought up in a coal country, was led to observe that he had no doubt of that mineral existing here, a short distance below the surface ; but, after a narrow search, no pieces could be discovered. Towards the centre of the island we found it assume a different aspect, be- yond a line that may be supposed to intersect it from east to west. The south- ern half was covered in many places with small amorphous masses of clay and OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 3-15 limestone, and some low swampy places were thinly clothed with shrivelled grass and moss ; while on the northern or slaty side we could perceive no signs of vegetation. On coasting the beach to return to the boat, we passed the remains of two Esquimaux circles of stones apparently long forsaken, as no bones were found near them, and they were partly buried in the slaty beach. " Near the place at which Mr. Ross was stationed to observe the tides, I found a most fairy-like grotto in a small cliff of black and rugged slate, through which the water as it oozed had formed most brilliant icy stalactites, five or six feet in length. These hung across the front of the cave in a variety of fanciful forms over a small basin, which was frozen as smooth as the most polished mirror. The sun shone full but powerless on the silvery icicles, which formed a brilliant contrast to the deep ebon shade of the cave behind them. The whole appearance of this little spot was of the most delicate and novel description, and I felt that neither by pen nor pencil could I do it justice. • " The base of Amherst Island," Mr. Edwards observes, " is an argilla- ceous schist of various qualities, from a very fine and soft to a compact coarse variety, which answers to the greywacke schist of geologists. Tiie kinds alternate with each other, and those of intermediate quality are remarkable for having the surfaces of the lamina; divided into pa- rallel longitudinal beds, by narrow but deeply impressed lines, such as may be seen in very coarse pastry. In some specimens these lines are inter- sected by others at right angles, forming small quadrilateral and elliptic ele- vations. One side only of the laminae, in some varieties, is so impressed, while in others both sides are similar ; in this latter case the lines on one side coincide with those on the other. Flat circular depressions are also seen occasionally upon the surface, but I did not notice any organic remains. •' The more elevated ridges of the island are formed of the disintegrating remains of a super-incumbent stratum of compact limestone. It is hard and sonorous, internally of a dark greyish blue colour ; externally, where ex- posed to air or moisture, deeply ferruginous. It does not burn into quick lime, but contains minute veins of calc-spar, and corresponds with the calc of Kirwan. Worn blocks of sandstone, granite, gneiss, and other quartzose rocks, are scattered over the surface of the island." The observations made by Mr. Ross upon the tides, together with those upon the set of the stream in the offing, arc comprised in the following Table :— « y 1822. Sept. 1 ■ li< ! lit' I i •« S», Tide-Table at Amheust Island. Day. Ti 182- H. M. Sept. from 1 lo S.W 8.2.) to 10..i» 9tli, 1 1,)..M .1 5 t«i 5 . *) to • A.M. or I'.M. A.M. i ^■^•• 1...M. I P.M. P.M. i.M. loth, nth. 9 tn 2.1.1 2 . 1 :. tn 10 10 to Ilnol) nnnn to n.25 III .t.so to i;.."i r. I'M. .South sw. ilo. • lo. llo. S.li.W. Ill mi-, norir. lloll,'. \V,-sI. W.N.W. i:.s i:. W.li.N S.AV. W .li.\. WiiiU very Itnlo |)ii'l llecla'.i Ob. llUlc iH'rJ lit'il lliiiH. I fcrvalionj. Hour. I! f,,,,,, Mii.-;~ "■; Norili. ICual. Wi iwaril do I none. . , noiu'. .. none. none. N.W. 1 * N.W. 1 nono. nono. W b.N. 1 1 I Slnlion 0. Ill' (1.111 .;.ij 1.:. 1 A.M. 5 7 K 10 11 noon — I.IO P.M. 2 .. H ., •1.15 1. 5 .. n 7 •• M'.S.M. J S.W.b.W. J il... i •III. 1 S.W. 1 11 W.I..S. t ; t Ilniir. .. 1 .s.n. r M.M. 1 S.W. i Ho. 1 N.W. 1 . till. a W.N.W. 1 •1 N.F,. 1 ' niitrr atiii riiint;. O.li n.fl Cain niliii. Norlli. N.W. S.W. 1 i -I ^i ■ SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. 347 Sept. SiU. 1-1. On the 14th, while an rastcrly breeze continued, tlie water increased very much in breadth to the westward of tlie lixed iloe to which we were attached; several lanes openins? out, and leavina^ in some places a channel n(»t less than three miles in width. At Iwo P.M. the wind, suddenly shiCtini^ to the westward, closed up every open space in the course of a few hours, leaviufi; not a droj) of water in slight from the nuisthead in that direction. To this however we had no objection ; for bein^ now certain that the ice was at lihcrty to move in the western part of the Shalt, we felt conlident that if once our jiresent narrow barrier were also detached, the ordinary chaii|>t alive our sun. lo. h(»pes of soon pr«)eeediiiij^ on our way, nuule \is also at this moment some- whai apprehensive lest Lieutenant IJi'id and his party miii;ht, in their return to the ships be caus^ht upon it while it was adrift, and e>iea|)e our observa- tion th. we discovered our travellers upon the ice. A fresh part} 'ciuif des|mtched to nu'et and to relieve ihrm of their knapsacks, LieiUenant 1.. id arrived safely cm board at seven 1*.M., haviui; by a <|uick and most satisfactory Jotu'uey, ascertained the innuediate juuelion of the Strait of the Fury and llecla with the Polar Sea. LieutenaiU Ueid's accoiHjt, which is here sul>joiiied, was accompanied by an accurate |)lau of the Strait, drawn by Mr. ibishuan, and (onstrucled by a seric-i of triani,di's extendiiij? considerably Ut the eastward of the Narrows, and thence carried oil U) Igloolik. i: I, ' LIEUTENANT HEID'S A^COirNT. " At daylight on the KUh, the weather bein^' remarkably line, I hd't the lo. Fury with my party, uikd on uur journey towards the land found the walking S Y 9 348 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY Sept extremely jG;ood, the late frost having? filled up all the holes and pools upon ^■^^>^ the ice. After the first four miles the character of the ice changed from the rough and ' hummocky ' kind to a smooth level floe, and this continued the whole way to the land, except that in its immediate neighhourhood it was much hrokeu up and detached ; which occasioned us much difficulty and some wetting in getting to the beach. One of the Hecla's men having been taken ill about this time I determined to send him back to the ships without delay, and directed one of his shipmates to accompany and take care of him. This reduction ()f our munber considerably increasing the loads of the rest of the party, one day's provision was deposited at the landing-place, and with the remainder we set out to the westward. " From one till four P.M. we walked nine miles over excellent ground'for travelling, and then obtained sights for the chronometer, giving the longitude 83° .'JS' MO' ; after which we again moved forward, and having advanced six miles in a direction a little to the northward of west, halted and pitched the tent for the night. The land over which we had this day travelled is prin- cipally c(nnposed of sandstone, with here and there a piece of granite. In the course of the day we passed the stones of an Esquima\ix summer habitation, arranged as usual in a circular form, but it did not appear (»f recent date. The ice in the Strait still presented the same unbroken sur- face as that seen from the shi|»s, except (|uite close in-shore, where it was detached by the actitui of the tides. We also observed a few narrow lanes of wafer l\er»' and there running into the floe, but they extended only a short distance from the land. ]I^ •' At five A.M on the 11th, we re-commence detention, and stopped to breakfast one mile to the westward of it. Again proceeding at nine o'clock, we continued our walk till noon, when we halted to obtain the meridian altitude, which gave the latitude 70" 00' V')\ and soon after setting forward again, pitched (Uir tent for the night at half-past six P.M. ourdiiy's j«Miriu'y being estimated at thirteen miles ii: a W.JN. direction, ^\'e could here perceive that the opposite ' "i 1822. upon the ice, we set out for the ships, steering by a pocket-compass, as the weather was too thick to allow us to see tliem. Passins; several ' lanes ' of water, one of ihtMn of considerable breadth, and observing several places in which the ic? had been thrown up by pressure, we came, at half-past one P.M. to a broad lane, with the ice in motion on the opposite side. As the direction of the sliips was still uncertain, we halted here to dine, and obtaining a sig-lit of them soon after, in a clearer interval, again set out. At four, the Fury made the signal of having discovered us, and at seven o'clock, b'-'ing met by a fresh party, \\v arrived on board." Mr. Bushnan remarked, in the course ol this journey, that though in Some j)laces, and particularly at the head of Wliyte Inlet, the vegetation was remarkably abundant, yet tin* plants were singularly backwsird and dwariish, and llowcrs rare ; which renuuk was alsd made by most of our other tra- vellers. The Es(|uimaux huts at the head of Wiiytc Inlet, Mr. iiuslniaii describes as being one round, and the other rectangular ; the latter, which was the largest, being seven feet in lenglh, and live in breadth. They were made with large slabs of santlstone. and had every appearance of having been winter residences. ill .Sun. 15. The weather continuing very tiiick with small snow, and there being now every reascui to sitpposr a iinal di-.riipli(»ii of the hxed ice at hand, 1 (letcr- mined to jn'ovide against tiie danger to which, at night, this long-wishcd-i'or event woidd exjiose the ships, ijy ado]>ting a |)iau that hail «dten before oc- curred to me, as likely ti> prove benelieial in unknown and critical navigation such as this. This wjis nothing more than the esiablLshinent of a temj)orary light-house on shore during the night, which, in case of oiu' getting adrift, would, togelluT with ihe soundings, ntibrd us that security which the slug- gish traversing ol' the coni|)asses i)therwise rcndereil exuvmely douhltul. For this piu'pose, tw«» steady men, provided with a tent and blankets, were landetjni >!n»u than before. 'mvutvKr i ' u> 1 >'. \ VI . r •-<■ ■!•» lii:;'i-( ! thin 'iU iu t!»t? f»»'.ii.- v^. ».'e dliv, «t»if! ■. .:• *> u ; • ': uii:l I. M.I «l!ai ih'- \4iiinij; rrt* W|f«-i uaw lo H>nn ub«>ui c ■ •, ■ > •i. • 's.ii It' !uf' nif>:h', '•( iuir murh ,i!ifi'(*n>('dl h\ thifs nw ::■!'.>.'; ' 1 ' '■ 'ti>iv n'^r«"»>i:irv I'i ini»vO .s«.riat'\vh''ic f>i0 oi .h»» v '. i 1 , :ir- L' ■'•:!- M .tMtti, Hf la .mnri'l' if it ri:iMri .1; M rv •••■»"■ ,-^t ,,ij\ t,, ,J')!:1^'''»»>f tJi^j-t' WHS Jm' iiK, v.arli ». , , ti SIMM vtm 6li»«kiijf«t r. ■ ■'aim- »'n4 fwiw h c.mij ... .... ._ fltwi i-~- -•■ - ^,-1.*-. %^^bp W"P<>; I* 'ini >♦' rtttatu{«K'>MI ^-d'-. !;,-<-i>. «f . ' •,' V ii.i' ::-aii I . .' o%i moo, thai »* ' ;•-;• ''i^ O^M^M-f \mt\ 'V>-;.t s ' ii< •'!>■ . » d H» chtt #1? *■ ' ( . ', I.*- ( Va : . . ^1 ni ■ twrb*'* h»k*. f h: ' «!''' t ij^*' ■- >',k ■'^/^^ if^ am^ I'M tr^fP' I »ii^! !! I mm I^IIH^i ! flnfll ^ i ■ I } f. ' . f iN^i m »>-♦ OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 351 had partially cleared, A number of seals were seen upon the ice, and these '82?. were all the animals we noticed about this time. Our light-house was again ^.-^j established at sunset. On the 17th, the Avind freshened almost to a gale from the north-west, with Tiios.i . thicker and more constant snow than before. The thermometer fell to I0l° at six A.M., rose no higher than 20° in the course of the day, and got down to l'2° at night, so that the young ice began now to form about us in grout quantities. The danger of our being seriously hampered, should the ice come adrift in the night, being much increased by this new annoyance, wliich we well knew to be the certain symptom of a|)proacliing winter, it I)ecame absolutely necessary to move somewhere out of the way. We there- fore cast off and stood a little within the oast point of Amherst Island, where a good birth was found along-side another lloe of land-ice, and sheltered by Ihe island from any thing coming up the Strait from the westward. The Fury was set fast by the young ice in the course of the night, which proved clearer than was expected, with a faint appearance of the Aurora Borcalis in the N.N.W. (pmrter. Appearances had now become so much against our making any furlher progress this season, as to render it a matter of very serious consideration whether we ought to risk being shut up during the winter, in the middle of the Strait, where, from whatever cause it might proceed, the last year's ice was not yet wholly detached from the shores ; and where a fresh formation had already commenced, which there was but too much reason to believe wouhl prove a permanent one. It has been seen by what gradual steps oiu' infMinia- tioii was obtained respecting the Strait now before us, how frecpient were the delays, and how insurmountable the obstacles we had to encounter ; and, though no account, however detailed, can convey an adecpuite idea of the anxiety with which each scrap of information was sought after and received, or the daily and hourly niortifuation attendant on each fresh delay, the fore- going narrative is, perhaps, sufficient to show that it was not without consider- able mental solicitude, as well as physical exertion, that we had effected even thus far our passage to the westward. In proportion to the laboiu'and disap- pointments which the attainment of this object had cost us, was the relue- tance I felt in admitting even a thought of its abandonment ; and as long as the weather continued open, I always ventured to cherish a belief that some favourable alteration might yet occur. Now, however, that the frost was hourly at work in re-connecting, by numberless links, the " older " masses. }\ .,y,!f Pill f\itl'\ 'Dl'i 352 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY il' 111' jl' ! ^., •"»! 1822. Sept. wliosc partial separation had lately excited our hopes, it seemed scarcely reasonable any longer to entertain an expectation of such a change as could essentially promote our ultimate object. Had we, indeed, succeeded in getting fairly through the Strait, and then found no more than the ordinan/ obstacles of these seas to contend with, I could not have had a moment's hesitation in continuing to push on to the last hour of the navigable season ; taking our chance, as usual, of then tinding a place of security for our wiii- ler-quarters. Hut the prospect now before us ottering no such encourage- ment, it appeared more prudent to regulate our proceedings accordiiii,' to existing circumstances, and rather to moderate our views for the present, than by an ill-timed perseverance to interfere with our hopes for the futur(\ It would undoubtedly have been interesting at this period of the voyage, to have known whether the unfavourable state of the ice during the late sum- mer was merely the result of an umisually bad season, or the effect of sonic more permanent and local cause, rendering the navigation of this pussugo -equally impracticable in the general average of years. Without however at present entering into that question, which it would require the experience of several seasons to determine, and to which I shall have some future occasion to reverl, it is now only necessary to remark that in whatsoever state the ice might here be found in the ensuing summer, there appeared no reason ior supposing our object woidd be furthered by wintering in the middle of the Strait ; because its eastern entrance being certainly the fust to be cleared, it would be an easy matter to regain our present advanced position in a few hours after t!mt clearance should take place. On the other hand, supposiiig the ice to remain unbroken till the same period next season, (and it was not easy to get over the impression that what had happened one year would in all probability hapi)en the next,) our wintering in the Strait involved the cer- tainty of being frozen up for eleven months, — a sickening prospect under any circumstances, but in the present instance probably fatal to our best hopes and expectations. With the conviction of these unpleasant truths reluctantly forced upon my mind, I considered it my duty to assist my own judgment at this crisis by calling for the opinions of the senior officers of the Expedition. With this view therefore I addressed a letter to Captain Lyon and Lieutenants lloppner and Nias respectively, directing their attention to the principal circumstances of our present situation, and requesting their advicii as to the measures most jjroper to be pursued for the successful prosecution of our enterprise. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 353 The officers agrecini^ with me in opinion as to the expediency of our not J^'^^* risking a detention in the Strait during the winter, I determined, on the grounds before detailed, no longer to postpone our departure, if indeed, as ^^"■^- ^^• there was some reason to think, it had not already been delayed too h)ng. I therefore directed a memorandum to be read on board each ship, acquainting theorticcrs and men with my views as above stated, ami also expressing my intention to employ whatever time might yet remain of the present season, in the examiimtion of the coast of Cockburn Island to the northward and eastward. In the event of making little progress in that direction, I proposed looking out for some situation in the neighbourhood of Igloolik that might afford se- curity to the ships during the winter, and by ensuring an early release in the spring, allow us at least the liberty of choosing to what part of the coast our efforts should then be directed :^ladly availed myself of this opportunity to offer my best thanks so justly ^ \ «v <^ ^. O^ 2) WIST MAIN STRUT WHSTM, N.Y. 14SI0 (714) •73-4S03 ^ 354 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. Sept. account, though the freezing process is consta itly going on, a weather shore is frequently the clearest, when no other part of the sea is free from young ice. The latter part of this fact became evident soon after our getting under way, the whole of the night's formation of ice having been drifted down and stopped at the narrows ; producing so impenetrable a barrier that, at seven A.M., the Fury was altogether stopped by it, and the Hecla coming up astern, in half an hour afterwards. Boats were immediately got under the bows, and every other means resorted to that we could devise, to break the young ice ahead of the ships, but sometimes to no purpose for two hours together. The ice was just in that state in which there is no such thing as operating upon it ; too thick to allow a ship to be forced through it, too tough for regu- lar sawing, and yet dangerous for men to walk upon. To get a boat her own length through it would occupy a dozen men a quarter of an hour, and that by standing in the water tlie whole time, and after all without being able to make a channel for the ship. When a vessel is thus stopped, provided the ob- stacle does not exceed a certain strength, and thn wind is favourable at the time, there is nothing so effectual in forcing her a!ieadas what is technically called " sallying," which consists in the men suddenly running from side to side of the deck, thus causing the ship to roll and relieve herself from the friction and adhesion of the young ice against her bends. It is astonishing indeed to see how immediately a progressive motion is sometimes thus im- parted to a ship, when all other and more laborious means have failed in ad- vancing her a single inch. While thus employed during the forenoon, we began to perceive about half-past ten that the ships were driving back with a tide setting from the eastward, which gradually increased in strength, and occasioned us to lose one or two miles of ground while struggling to extricate the ships from the ice. At three P.M. we at length got clear, and in passing Cape Ossory at five found the tide slack, it being now low water by the shore. From this concluding observation on the tides in this part of the Strait of the Fury and Hecla, as well as from all our preceding remarks, and especially the more regular ones of Mr. Crozier already given, I believe there can be little doubt that the flood-tide here comes from the westward. That there is besides this, ^ Tern Island, where alone we knew of any shelter during the approaching bad weather. A fresh gale almost immediately coming on, with a considerable sea and very thick snow, it was for some time doubtful whether we should be able to find the little spot we were in search of. Discovering it at length under our lee appearing like a long white cloud upon the horizon, we bore up to run round the reefs by which it is encompassed, and which may be perceived at a considerable distance by the whiteness of the water. Every seaman will be aware of the difficulty of choosing an anchorage in a gale of wind, and upon a coast so little known as to render extreme caution neces- sary in approaching it. To these difficulties however must be added, in the present instance, the extreme smallness of the island , which afforded so little lee that, to use an expression of the seamen, it was like " anchoring under the point of a needle." On the other hand it was requisite for the leading ship to keep sufficient sail set to the last moment, to ensure gaining anchor- age, which once lost would have placed us in a situation of extreme danger during the ensuing dark and tempestuous night. The consequence was timt though the Fury's sails were clewed up and furled with the utmost alacrity, the strain proved too heavy for the anchor, which after bringing the sliip nearly head to wind, began again to drag along the ground. The chain cable being then veered to seventy fathoms, she was at length brought up, being in five fathoms and a half and close to some grounded masses of ice lying upon the reefs ; but we had every reason, notwithstanding this, to sup- pose that all was not right with the anchor. The Hecla having the Fury as a guide came to in a good birth a little outside of us. Mon. 23. The gale now continued to increase, and a good deal of swell setting into our roadstead incommoded us less by the additional strain thus put upon the anchors, than by the numerous heavy masses of ice that it served to lift off the ground, and which driving past the ships occasioned them some heavy shocks during this inclement night. We rode the gale out however quite securely, and on the morning of the 23d had once more a moderate breeze, though with continued snow. Advantage was taken of this change to shift our births n little further out, in case of the wind coming upon the shore, when our conjectures respecting the Fury's anchor were disagreeably verified by its coming to the bows with only one fluke. Having now but a single serviceable anchor on deck, the laiuich was hoisted out and one re- ceived from the Ileda. The wind shifted to the westward soon after we had OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 357. :i 1822, Sept. moved ; and the island now affording us no shelter and the night being toler- ably clear and fine, we weighed after dark, to avoid incurring further damage to our ground tackle, in which our losses had already been serious ones. The time had now arrived when I could no longer consider it prudent to Tues. 24. venture the ships at sea; for with ten hours of darkness in the four-and- twenty, a low temperature, and at times a considerable sea, it may readily be supposed that our situation was one of almost constant and unavoidable danger. Besides, on an unknown coast such as that I had purposed to ex- amine, it occupies nearly one-half of a short day in looking out for ancho- rage for the ensuing night, and that perhaps after all affording no security to the ships, with much risk to the ground-tackle. These considerations appeared to me so important, and the probability so small of effecting any thing that could eventually promote our main object, that I determined on running the ships over to Igloolik, before the strong autumnal equinoctial j^alcs usual in these regions should come on. INIaking sail therefore for the island, we discovered it at halt-past ten A.M., though such was the dif- ficulty of distinguishing this from Neerlo-nakto, or either from the main-land, on account of the snow that covered them that, had it not been for the Es- quimaux huts, we should not easily have recognised the place. At noon we arrived off the point where the tents had first been pitched, and were imme- diately greeted by a number of the Esquimaux, who came running down to the beach, shouting and jumping with all their might. The soundings, though regularly decreasing, are shoal off this point ; and the Fury in standing in shoaled the water to four fathoms and a half, at the distance of half a mile ; but by keeping out a little, and proceeding with caution along the south shore of the island, we deepened to twenty, and being then led more off the land, found no bottom with the hand-leads. Making a tack towards the island we again came into regular soundings ; and at half-past two P.M. an- chored in ten fathoms on a muddy bottom at the distance of two-thirds of a mile from the shore. As soon as we had anchored I went on shore, accompanied by several of the officers, to j)ay the Esquimaux a visit, a crowd t)f them meeting us as usual on the beach and greeting us with every demonstration of joy. They seemed disappointed that we had not reached Akkoolee, for they always re- ceive with eagerness any intelligence of their distant country-people. Many of (hem, and Toolemak among the number, fre(iuently repeated the expres- sions, " Oin/ak Na-o ! " (no summer,) •' Took-ioo Na-o ! " (no rein-deer,) which 358 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. Sept. p:^ "'^ we considered at the time as some contirmation of our own surmises respecting the badness of the past summer. When we told them we were come to win- ter among them, they expressed very great and doubtless very sincere de- light, and even a few coyennas (thanks) escaped them on the first communica- tion of this piece of intelligence. We found these people already established in their winter residences, which consisted principally of the huts before described, but modified in various ways both as to form and materials. The roofs, which were wholly wanting in the summer, were now formed by skins stretched tight across from side to side. This, however, as we soon afterwards found, was only a prepara- tion for the final winter covering of snow, and indeed many of the huts were subsequently lined in the same way within, the skins being attached to the sides and roof by slender threads of whalebone, disposed in large and re- gular stitches. Before the passages already described, others were now added from ten to fifteen feet in length, and from four to five feet high, neatly constructed of large flat slabs of ice cemented together by snow and water. Some huts also were entirely built of this material, of a rude circular or octangular form, and roofed with skins like the others. The light and transparent effect within these singular habitations gave one the idea of be- ing in a house of ground-glass, and their newness made them look clean, comfortable, and wholesome. Not so the more substantial bone huts, which, from their extreme closeness and accumulated filth, emitted an almost insup- portable stench, to which an abundant supply of raw and half-putrid Aval rus flesh in no small degree contributed. The passages to these are so low as to make it necessary to crawl on the hands and knees to enter them ; and the floors of the apartments were in some so steep and slippery, that we could with difliculty pass and repass, without the risk of continually falling among the filth with which they were covered. These were the dirtiest because the most durable of any Esquimaux habitations wc had yet seen, and it may be supposed they did not much improve during the winter. Some bitches with young were very carefully and conveniently lodged in small square kennels, made of four upright slabs of ice covered with a fifth, and having a small liole as a door in one of the sides. The canoes were also laid upon two slabs of this kind, like tall tomb-stones standing erect; and a quantity of Hpare slabs lying in different places gave the ground an appearance somewhat resembling that of a statuary's yard. Large stores of walrus' and seals' flesh, principally the former, were deposited under heaps of stones all about 'm% ^«a.. fm,, M- ts.. f- Ml. A ill 1- ■'■ "'i «ii if '3V 1 iMi^ Sf/S s^ri»!tCB ¥C»f «;tt*^ji®^:'«M«.*«««?^v^ ■ rf Hi the time as soRic cnw-fm^i^ba a^m^fr^n mmnini'.n respectinij ► : . ^ the pa^t .summer. W>ien wtt iotd tiirrt*. we #rcfe come to avui- i« . jr^-'.lijfy cxprca-ied vtMv tTWit wjikI dcjitbt'o^ VRTf itinoerc "tli'- ; > »iii"evt:ii a few t^nfoawfi (thnukfi) e«i,5«.|>«'fl Uiem «m tlic lit>t comuiUnica- • wij«if-jS's> |»iec\^ -»)» intoHkgfuce.- , ■v':i&k ■■'■■. '^ i!ouml i\\^m peopUj wircady estAldiishtjd in tlieir wimiNr »>8idenc('s, «f till' httt« befoixi described, fettt mcH^Ji«?\ hic^ wiS>re wholly . »v m.'^i ife, sfei^ii hy A^i«*'. ^Toichcd X\i^\x\. nviiii.m tVot» : ...... . . itf» wt. i»iQt4i a:^mani.>. found, wtis only f' prx'jiara ..II- the linal Wiiitor awemisr ot'«nov»i5 uiid iiKleed. uiany of t!w Itufa were subsequently lined in the J!>aine way wliliinit tho skiitej beAw^ ait5(k.'db(ft(j lo th« wUes and roof by slcmder tliroael#»r wltaSeboriC, disp^Ksod in lai*now hnd Vi'Kter. • borne liuis also wtie eiiiix^'ly built (^'thii' sj'*tm«i.of a ruas. i.'vi'cuiar -oroetjingulsir form, imd rooiVd with vkit?;. Ht^ sri*!" stivers. T}»f ii^^.d «nil ■ttHi'.MiKireHt f'ff^Tt M4t"hi*i tif*». *»ve ftne the 'vt^* ut' Iw-- «a>\m to !ie. -lid ii»w Jftvjd half -p¥' i . , i iu' pa5?-^;i.i;'Ps to these luro tttJiikiJ i jiCi,* ' '•' ■ ■; ! ..; iHrtd« aj'ul- ^Jiees to (inter th< . {itiors of the ajjar...; . were in some so steep lui.' slippery, thai with diUicidty jiaSfti and .'•epas.s,' withowt the ri&k oJ' continuuiiy •.. ■ jAift Uitii wit^ whidvtlu'y ^ve^e cove^-ed. Thejie were the dirties* h. ■ iifablo of aay li*quinu«tK haJltfeitians we had yet seen, aa«-i - ' d not much ti^provr i«ik " tIMltk' (W A liole as a- • - !r.'l«h-; «»r ttt ,1, S));., 1 • ! . uat of a Hij^tu 11- '..; 'My the iurmc; '50 ><.til iii, *%» ^»t' ":*t 4t Ki rs ad ■-i- hi \ri m . f , , r- . the whic with one. Th them tainii the s shore near tranc age. hone wind fresh to ta west stopi clear culati Le fresh havin W.N C0X€ beim wind A.M the t posei Khia< shore quen Capt to th the £ and OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 369 the beach and, as we afterwards found, in various other parts of the island, 1822. which s'lewed that they had made some provision for the winter though, v^rL with their enormous consumption of food, it proved a very inadequate one. The breeze continuing fresh from the Avestward, with clear weather, the Wed. 15. thermometer fell to 12° on the morning of the 25th. Being desirous of ascer- taining, as soon as possible, in what situation it would be expedient to place the ships for the winter, several boats were despatched to sound along the shore ; when I found that the only spot likely to afford shelter, or even any near approach to the land, waa within a point called Oung-dlooi/dt, at the en- trance of a fine bay about two miles to the westward of our present anchor- age. The young ice now covered the whole surface of the sea like floating honey, the breeze not allowing it to become solid ; and, towards night, the wind shifting to the eastward, soon raised the temperature too high for any fresh formation of that kind. I determined, therefore, without loss of time, to take advantage of the opportunity afforded by this change, to run to the westward in a boat as far as the fixed ice would permit ; and, if soon stopped by that obstacle, to cross upon it to the main-land, and endeavour to clear up the mystery respecting Khemig, which had cost us so many spe- culations and conjectures. • Leaving the Fury at seven A.M. on the 26th, and being favoured by aThur.Co. fresh easterly breeze, we soon cleared the south-west point of Igloolik ; and having passed the little island of Ooglidghioo, immediately perceived to the W.N.W, of us a group of islands, so exactly answering the description of Coxe's Group, both in character and situation, as to leave no doubt of our being exactly in Captain Lyon's former track. Being still favoured by the wind, and by the total absence of fixed ice, we reached the islands at eleven A.M., and after sailing a mile or two among them, came at once in sight of the tAvo bluffs forming the passage pointed out by Toolemak and then sup- posed to be called Khemig. The land to the north called by the Esquimaux Khiadlaghioo we now found to be, as we had before conjectured, the southern shore of Richards' Bay ; and its extreme point to the cfastward I subse- quently named, by Lieutenant Nias's request, Cape Matthew Smith, after Captain Matthew Smith, of the Royal Navy. The land on our left, or to the southward, proved an island, five miles and a quarter in length, of the same bold and rugged character as the rest of this numerous group, and by far the largest of them all. To prevent the necessity of reverting m 360 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY ^^-^- to this subject I may at once add, that two or three months after this, ^-*-l-*-' on laying before Ewerat our own chart of the whole coast, in order to obtain the Esquimaux names, we discovered that the island just mentioned Avas called Khemig, by which name Ormond Island was also distinguished ; the word expressing in the Esquimaux language any thing stopping up the mouth of a place or narrowing its entrance, and applied also more familiarly to the cork of a bottle or a plug of any kind. And thus were reconciled all the apparent inconsistencies respecting this hitherto mysterious and incom- prehensible word, which had occasioned us so much perplexity. After landing to dine upon one of the islands of which, from first to last, we counted nearly one hundred, we again made sail and, running between the bluffs, which are half a mile apart, continued our course in rather a wider channel than before though still among islands. At half-past three Ave Avere stopped by a floe of fixed ice stretching entirely across the passage, and the Aveather noAv becouing thick Avith small snoAv, Ave landed and pitched the tent for the night ; not, hoAvever, till 1 had recognised on the left hand or main-land the remarkable cliff described in my former journey, by Avhich circumstance avc Avere assured of being near the little inlet then discovered. Fiid.27. At daylight on the 27th, Ave crossed to a small island at the margin of the ice ; and leaving the boat there in charge of the coxsAvain and tAvo of the crcAV, Mr. Ross and myself, accompanied by the other two, set out across the ice at seven A.M. to gain the main-land, Avith the intention of determining the extent of the inlet by Avalking up its southern bank. After an hour's good travelling Ave landed at eight A.M., and had scarcely done so Avhen Ave found ourselves at the very entrance, being exactly opposite the place from Avhich Mr. Richards and myself had obtained the first view of the inlet. The patch of ice on Avhich we had been Avalking, and Avhich Avas about three miles long, proved the only remains of last year's formation; so forcibly had nature struggled to get rid of this before the commencement of a fresh AA'inter. We found this land similar to Jgloolik in its geological character, being composed of limestone in schistose fragments ; but in some parts, even for a mile or tAvo together, covered Avith herbage the most extensive and luxuriant I have ever seen near this latitude. Here and there occurred a little pile as it Avere of the fragments of limestone, lying horizontally as if arranged by .art, and projecting a fcAv feet above the surface of the ground. The sides of OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 361 several small rising banks presented a similar disposition, but I did not notice J^"^- any boulders of harder substances resting upon any oi'them, nor indeed could s.^r/>L we find a single specimen of any other mineral than limestone. Walking quickly to the westward along this shore, which afforded excellent tra- velling, we soon perceived that our business was almost at an end, the inlet terminating a very short distance beyond where I had first traced it, the apparent turn to the northward being only that of a shallow bay. To make quite sure, however, I sent Mr. Ross on with one of the men, to walk to the head of it, while I with the other turned ofl' to examine the cliff-land to the southward. We found the slope of this to be composed as was conjectured, of the debris falling from the perpendicular ridge above, the whole being limestone without a single exception that we could discover. The slope making an angle of about 60° with a horizontal line, and being in some parts covered with snow, we with difficulty ascended it ; but found the upper ridge wholly impracticable on account of the snow overhanging the summit. The height of the perpendicular rock, Avhich lies in broad hori- zontal strata, is from twenty to thirty feet, the whole cliff being about one hundred and eighty above the level of the other ground. At the bottom of the slope lay numerous heavy square blocks of the limestone ; and upon these, as well as on some of the smaller fragments, I observed impressions of fossil-shells. Having finished my examination of this remarkable piece of land, which extends between four and five miles in an east and west direction, I went to meet Mr. Ross ; who reported that, having walked three or four miles to the westward, he found the inlet terminate about two miles further in that direc- tion. Having thus completed our object, we set out on our return, and reached the boat at three P.M. after a walk of twenty miles. The weather fortunately remaining extremely mild, no young ice was formed to obstruct our way, and we arrived on board at noon the following day, after an Sat. 28. examination peculiarly satisfactory, inasmuch as it proved the non-exist- ence of an^ water communication with the Polar Sea, however small and unfit for the navigation of ships, to the southward of the Strait of the Fury and Hecla. The creek whose extent to the westward we had lately deter- mined, I named after Captain John Quilliam of the Royal Navy ; and the Inlet, of which this is a continuation, was distinguished by the name of Hooper Inlet, after my friend Mr. Hooper, purser of the Fury. I found from Captain Lyon on my return that, in consequence of some ice 3 A f- !. m 362 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. Sept. coming in near the ships, (most probably that which had lately been dis- lodged from Richards' Bay,) he had shifted them round the point into tlic births where it was my intention to place them during the winter ; where they now lay in from eleven to fourteen fathoms at the distance of three cables' 'cngths from the shore. The point of Oonga-looi/at is rendered conspicuous at some distance by fifteen walls of loose stones, disposed in a tolerably regular oval form, about live feet high, from forty-one to twenty-seven feet in length, and from thirty-three to eighteen in breadth, the longest diameter being from north to south. The greater part of these had at their south ends a kind of recess, and some of them two, as in the annexed figures 1 and 2, the entrance being tlirough a gap in the wa'l, at e. A smaller oval North. of Stones was placed in the middle of the principal one, and had boon used simply for coniining the tent-skins of the Esquimaux, who had left behind tiicm the usual traces of recent habitation, such as oil, bones and putrid flesh in abundance. The small central wpace at s was sunk about a foot below the level of the ground, and the parts marked b had served as beds, being raised with flat stones about a foot, and covered with shingle. The use of the principal or outer circles, which diftcred from any thing we had observed else^vhere, was not at first very obvious to us, but Ewerat and Togolat one day explained that they were only used at the killing of a whale, on which rare and grand occasion they indulge, it seems, in more than ordinary festivity and merriment. As far as we could understand their description of this f6tc, it appears that the wliolc onimal or a principal part ■'ti OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 363 of it is dragged into the enclosure, where some of the men are employed in 1822. cutting it up and throwing the pieces over the wall to the rest, who stand vj^^ ready to receive them outside ; while the women range themselves in a circle around the whale within, and continue singing during the operation. One of these walls, which was built with more neatness and regularity than the others, had the inner oval larger in proportion than usual, and consisting of heavy stones evidently laid as seats. Each of these structures, (which were placed at the distance of thirty or forty yards apart,) was the distinct property of a particular individual ; and had probably, in its turn, been the seat of feasting and merriment either to the present owner, or those from whom he had inherited it. The inner circles, however, appeared to be made use of as common summer habitations, cither from the convenience and superior shelter they afford, or possibly from some superstitious rever- ence entertained for this particular site. On a rising ground above, were several large stones set upright in a line three or four huadrcd yards in length ; with what intention we did not learn. Most of these people had now returned to their winter station at the south-east end of the island. A sick man with his family took up his quarters in our neighbourhood, for the benefit of medical assistance ; and building a snow-hut near the ships, con- tinued Mr. Skeoch's patient for a short time, and then joined the rest of the natives at the village. The snow continued to fall during most of the 29th, on the evening of Sun. 29. which day the weather cleared up and the thermometer fell to 1.0° at mid- night. Some young ice now formed near us, but for this and the two fol- lowing days, when the temperature oscillated between 1G° and 19°, it was only of the " pancake " kind, being the softest of any that assumes an ap- pearance of continuity. From the M to the 4th of October, however, when October, the thermometer fell to 10° during the nights, the ice formed into a more ^ "^' "*• solid sheet ; but being kept too constantly in motion by the wind to attach itself to the land, still drove rapidly past the ships, which easily cut for themselves a passage, as it Avere, through it, to the discomllture only of the buoys on the anchors, which were frequently pressed imder the ice, but would occasionally, by their buoyancy, force themselves up through some thin part. The rai)idity with which ice will form upon the surface of the seu, even at no very low teujperature of the atmosphere, was renden^d particularly apparent by what occurred for several days about this period, when tt coutiuuous sheet, from three jjuartcrs of un inch to an inch and 3 A 8 " k\ ABSTRACT of the METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL kept on beard His Majesty's Ship Fury, at Sea, during- the Month of Se^ tember, 1822. Day 3 4 6 C 7 8 9 10 II 12 1» 14 13 10 IT 18 10 20 ■i\ 22 23 24 ir> 20 27 2K 20 ao Place. S •a c s >. a U. • u ■3 g Fahrenheit's Thermunieter. 1 ■^ I 1 34 36 30 28 28 28 30 31 33 31 37 31 33 28 .toi 20 10 18 20 20 20 28 88 25 u;) 20 27 10 I'J Mini'- mum. 27 2S 24 25 26 10 10 20 10 10 20 23 27 24 215 22 12 11 II II 20 26 20 It 12 27 27 lil 15 10 Mevn. E as .<^ OK SiSS 3y.oo 31.83 27.58 27.58 27.17 21.71 22.02 2J.58 2S.08 25.3: 20.33 30.20 30. 4J 27. K3 24.2.5 2-i.i;'.i 17.33 13.21 II.'JU 18,00 2J .8 27.00 20.0:1 22.25 Is.OO] 28.4:i 27.00 21.7.'. 17.20 17.75 1+37 +11 iiai.lJ 27.07 o 28.04 2S.I2 27.08 27.17 27.21 27.25 27.00 28.10 27.8^ 28.33 28.00 20.83 20.58 2S.40 28.05 2«.0S 27.12 27.. 50 27.22 27.01 28.21 28.18 28.17 27.75 'i7.45 28.25 28.70 28.08 : 27.79 ' 27.03 Uarometer. iilchc* 20.01 20.82 20.82 29.04 30.09 20.08 29.80 20.82 29.85 20.87 20.70 20 58 20.51 20.50 20.53 20.00 20.73 20,78 20.;-3 29.88 .10.02 30,02 29.72 20.80 20.81 20.61 20.02 20.73 20.72 20.(iO Alini. Ill 11 III. iiicljei 20.80 20.60 29.78 29.83 20.05 20.84 20.72 20.70 29.83 29.75 20.00 20.51 20.50 20.48 20.45 20.52 20.00 20.70 2070 20.83 20.8.-. 20.72 20.03 20.72 20.01 >0.(i2 20.CU 20.(i0 20.05 iiirbrs I 20.808 29.722! 29.810 20.883 20.080 29.92.5 29.765 29.773 29.840: 29.8201 20.050 20.547 29.502 29.405 20. '07 29.502 29.042 20.770 2<).7C5 20.830 20.030 2ll.8t)3 29, 070" 2<.) 818 i0.730 20.027 20.613 20. (u5 20.0«f* Prevailing Winds. 2!».57 •;0.,5Wt 30.02 20.45 20.730 NW NW West M'bN N\V West M'NW ESE ENE NWbW SE ESE SE ENE NNW NW WNW A\eRt NW NW SEI)E SSE HSE NW WNW r.NE ENE Northerly NW NW Velocity. fresh stron squal modt. .?.?! iiiodt, modt, modt, modt. light light light It.&oHlm) at times J Iigl>t fresh modt, light modt. fresh light light light modt. strong modt, modt, modt, modt, modt. modt. modt. modt. FrevailiDg Weather. cloudy cloudy cloudy cloudy cloudy cloudy— snow at times clear fine fine fine fine hazy hazy hazy and sm-ill snow hazy— snow at times cloudy cloudy— snow at times snow at times cloudy cloudy cloudy hazy — snow at times hazy— snow at times cloudy cloudy hazy liacy and snow hazy and mow cloudy— snow at limes cloudy 3- '1. ■■?■-■. ii SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. 365 18'22. October, Sat. 5 a half in thickness, incessantly drove past the ships. The distance of the land a-head, under which this formation must have commenced, and which appeared as though it were itself furnishing an inexhaustible store, was not more than two miles and a quarter, and the rate at which the ice came past u-- varied from a mile to a mile and a half an hour ; so that the sheet must have been formed of this thickness in the course of two hours and a half at farthest. This continued without intermission for two days, the only annoyance it occasioned being that of preventing our communication with the shore, where some parties had previously been occupied in cutting turf for the sides of the house intended to be built as an observatory. On the night of the 4th, however, it began to shew its strength by causing the Hecla to drive directly in our hawse, but she fortunately brought up just in time to secure both ships from damage. It therefore became absolutely necessary to move farther into the bay ; that we might have to encounter " younger " ice, and tlius avoid the risk, which now threatened us, of being driven out to sea for the winter. On the 5th, therefore, we commenced this attempt, it being my intention whenever the ice became attached to the land, to cut our way back to the present station. By dint of great exertion in all the boats, our people suc- ceeded in rowing out a stream anchor, and laying it down a-head of the Hecla, which was tlie weathermost ship ; and by this she was enabled before dark to warp about one-third of a mile farther into the Imy. On the follow- Sun.G. :ng (lay she advanced a little farther by the same means, and th^n by hawsers run down from her the Fury was moved uj) to the same station. The ice had now become much stronger, and the wind falling in the evening, it was broken off near us and arrested in its drift, partly |)crhaps by fhe ships themselves which now lay at tl:c edge of the newly-formed floe. Near the time of sunset this afternoon a splendid parhelion appeared on oacii side at the distance of 22° 17' from the sun, dis|)laying very rich pris- matic colours and quite daz/.Iing the eye to look steadfastly at thrm. A pa- ruMolena was also seen, at night, on each side the moon, their aMgular distance from that object measuring 23°. The thermometer fell to zero nt midnight and the temperature still farther decreased to —2° on the morning of the 7th, wliich kept every thing quiet during the day, and gave us ho])es Mon. 7 that no disruption would again disturb us. The fall of the thermometer to zero occasioned as usual a considerable condensation of vajM)ur into water, i ' : ~T- ■^ % ■ 1^' Im 366 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. upon the beams of the lower deck ; but directions being given for corn- October. '^ . , ,» .1 . 1 1-1 w^v-%^ mencing our winter system or ventilation, dryness was restored in less than three hours after the lighting of the main-hatchway stove. Tues. 8. The wind changing to the south-east on the 8th, and soon increasing to a fresh breeze which shortly raised the thermometer to +25° the ice was once more set in motion, breaking in all directions, and one sheet doubling under another wherever a separation had been effected. The wind increasing and with it the pressure also, the ships were turned round with their sterns towards the north-west shore of the bay, upon Avhich, but for the anchors, we must have been immediately driven. Even these however could not long sustain the ships against the ice, which from being at first only an inch or two in thickness became in a few houi^ more than as many feet, by the long-continued process of one sheet overlaying the other. The Fury soon drove past the Hecla, the latter happening to rest against a stouter part of the ice, which for some time held her to windward. The breeze still in- creasing, the lower yards and top-gallant-masts were struck, and the rudders kept ready for unshipping, if it should be found necessary : we lay however tolerably quiet, driving but a little in the course of the night. Notwithstand- ing the constant motion and dangerous state of the ice during the day, several of the Esquimaux walked fearlessly, though cautiously, off to the ships. Their method is to go in a line a-head, or by single liles, the leader and perhaps one or two of the others carrying a spear, with which they constantly try the ice before them, keeping their legs as far asunder as possible so as to bear upon a large surface, and carefully avoiding the parts that look black. In this manner, during this and the succeeding day, when I would not on any con- sideration have ventured a man of ours in a similar situation, did these people continue to visit us, some women and even children being among the number. >\cd. 0. On the morning of the 9tli, the wind began to freshen to a gale, by which the ice was again set in motion, and the squeezing and doubling re-com- menced with fresh violence. In the afternoon the Fury drove rapidly to the westward but, occasionally holding on, allowed a great deal of ice to go past her and interpose itself between the ship and the land. As soon as this had taken place, and the ships were thus secured from tlic danger of driving on the beach, we should have been glad to purchase our anchors, which then became the objects of our greatest solicitude. The Fury was so closely and constantly hemmed in thai, with her, this was ■:; * OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 367 impracticable; but an opportunity unexpectedly offering for the Hccla to do ^822. so. Captain Lyon instantly toe': advantage of it ; when, to our inexpressible »-*-r>!»* mortification, her anchor was found to have lost both the flukes. There was scarcely any loss which we could not better have afforded ; and I had every reason to apprehend that the Fury would incur a similar one ; for the gale still increasing, her anchor was dragged over the ground nearly a mile with- out stopping, and at times continued to be so during the night, which proved a most tempestuous and inclement one. In the course of the evening, while the ice was driving past the Fury and fresh separations were almost every moment taking place in it, a little Esquimaux boy, named Agloo/ca, about ten years of age, a son of our patient at the point, found his way along-side, and was very quietly stepping from one piece of ice to another in order to keep his ground abreast our gangway. Observing him in this situation, we threw him the bight of a rope into which he put himself, and was hauled on board. With this indul- gence he was pleased, not from the idea of having escaped any danger, for he had certainly never felt apprehension, but because he might see the ship and pick up something from the Kabloonas. Towards daylight on the 10th, the ice ceased moving, a great quantity Thur. 10. being now jjacked between the ships and the land. The llecla had been driven to the westward of the Fury, but both were secure from going on shore, and our anchor was now once more the sole cause of apprehension. On its moderating and clearing up in the course of the forenoon, we found ' that we had drifted more than a mile and a half from the point of Oonga- looyat, the station originally selected for the winter-quarters of the ships, being now nearer to the western point of the bay. We could, however, do nothing but wait in patience to see if any fuitiier change would take place in the state of the ice and, whenever it appeared to be permanently fixed, commence the operation, which would now be no easy one, of cutting back to the point. In the mean time the ice not being likely to move without some alteration in the wind, we took the opportunity afforded by the Esqui- maux sledges, of which several came down to the ships, to obtain some water from the shore, our stock being nearly expended and the snow not yet sufficiently deep for collecting it to thaw. Mr. Crawford and one of our men, therefore, accompanied the Esquimaux with n sledge loaded with small casks, which they soon filled with water, though at the expense oC falling 368 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY l!'i= VI 1 1822, throuffh the ice more than once, in consequence of its irregular and deceit- October. ", ^ s^^ntw tul surlace. Frid. 11. On the 11th, the wind backed a little to the north-east, and the ice re- mained quiet; but the small snow that almost constantly fell keeping the thermometer nearly up to the freezing point, we felt assured that a westerly breeze would again set it in motion, and subject us to the risk of losing more anchors, or of being driven out to winter at sea. The Esquimaux, finding their sledges might be turned to some account in our service, brought six or seven of them down to us on the 12th, when each ship em- ployed two in procuring water. Being unwilling also to subject our own people to the risk of falling in, to which they were much more liable than the natives, we did not hesitate to intrust the latter with the sole charge of our casks and tools for breaking the ice in the ponds. They performed all that we desired with great faithfulness and punctuality, bringing several turns of water in the course of the day, and receiving some small though useful reward for their pains. . . Sun. 13. The wind remaining easterly during the greater part of the 13th, the ice gave us no disturbance; till a very moderate breeze springing up at nine P.M. from the opposite quarter at once set the whole in motion near die ships, and we soon began to drive with it to the eastward. The Hecla's an- chor was immediately and of necessity let go ; in less than an hour after- wards however the wind very opportunely backed to the southward, and no further alteration took place than the opening of a few small " holes" of water. This motion of the ice was so far favourable to us that, on the fol- Mon. 14. lowing day, Ave had an opportunity of purchasing our anchor on board the Fury, though not without heaving it by main force from under a floe. This labour however was amply repaid by our linding it perfectly uninjured, though jwlished quite bright on the lower side by dragging along the ground. It is perhaps proper for me here to notice, that the Fury had on this occasion a hempen cable bent, and the Ilecla an iron one, and that while the anchor of the former was dragged a full mile and a half without any injury, that of tlie Hecla was broken in driving about one-tenth of the same distance. I may add moreover, that our former losses in anchors had also occurred with iron cables, which were preferred for general use on this service, to obviate the danger of their being damaged either u|)on foul ground or by the chaling of ice. From the circumstances just noticed, however, it is by no means my OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 369 intention hastily to infer that our losses in this way were to be attributed to '^^-i. the unyielding nature, or any other supposed bad quality of the chain-cables, w»-N<«k^' (though this was the opinion expressed by our most experienced seamen at the time,) for a few insulated facts are of themselves of very little import- ance. But it is only by the collection of such facts under the various circum- stances of trial which may occur to seamen, that the comparative merits of the two kinds of cables can ultimately be determined. The wind was easterly with a mild atmosphere till the night of the 15th, Tues. \r,. when the thermometer began to fall immediately on the springing up of a north-west breeze. Some remarkable alterations took place however this evening, according to the clearness of the atmosphere or the contrary. Be- tween four and five o'clock the weather becoming clear overhead, the tempera- ture fell to 12^°; at thirty minutes after five a partial haze came on, when the thermometer immediately rose to 15^° ; and this soon after disappearing, the thermometer again fell to 13°, the wind continuing at N.W. the whole time. The breeze gradually increased in the course of the night, and on the following day blew a gale for some hours, with considerable snow-drift. Wed. 16. As soon as it moderated we felt assured that the ice was now permanently fixed for the winter, and arrangements were therefore made for commencing our sawing operations the next morning. Such however was the laborious nature of this task, in consequence of the repeated doubling and squeezing of the ice, that after nine hours' hard work for both crews on the 17th, we Thur. 17. could only succeed in getting in five and twenty fathoms of the Hecla's chain- cable before dark. It is scarcely possible indeed to describe the teasing na- ture of ice in this state, and the impossibility of cutting a passage through it in any reasonable time. So many strata had overlaid each other that the whole thickness in some places exceeded seven feet, which in others was in- creased still further by masses squeezed up and lying over-end. Ice even of this thickness, if it were only solid, would afford by its continuity some means of pulling it out ; but in the present instance, after the saws had de- tached it, each separate layer was to be fished out by hooks and ropes, and as soon as one was removed another rose to the surface, leaving after all so much •• sludge" or small powdered ice, as immediately to produce a fresh formation on the surface. On the 18th however the Hecla's anchor was got Frid. n. to the bows, and happily without injury to it ; our next object was to get that ship close to the Fury, and then to commence a canal for both to warp in to the eastward. ........ m 3 B 370 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. It happened that immediately beyond the Fury in that direction, there was) v.^v>^ a level undisturbed floe of some extent, which it would be comparatively easy to saw and sink ; while the whole of the ice between the two ships was of the impracticable nature I have endeavoured to describe above. As it was indispensible for Mr. Fisher's observations and experiments that the Fury should be near the shore, I determined on this account as well as another that suggested itself about this time, and of which I shall speak in another place, not to incur the risk of both ships wintering at a distance from the land, by persevering too long in our attempts upon the Hecla, especially as the frost was now hourly increasing the difficulty we should have in moving the Fury into a convenient birth. The result of two whole days' wet and Sun. 20. fatiguing labour on the 19th and 20th, being only to advance the Hecla about two-thirds of her own length each day, I directed that object to be aban- doned without further delay, and the canal to be commenced ahead of the Fury. • Mon. 21. On the 21st a large basin was cut in a level piece of ice for the reception of a quantity of squeezed-up masses that lay between us and the regular floe, and which it was much easier to float away into any space that would be found for them, than to haul out of the water by piece-meal. This being accomplished, the work went on more quickly ; but it was not till the aftcr- Wed. 30. noon of the 30th that the whole was completed, and the Fury placed in the best birth for the winter that circumstances would permit. This was how- ever by no means so far out towards Oongalooyat as was originally intended; but the ice had in this neighbourhood been thrown up into such high and numerous hummocks, that to get the ship any further that way was entirely beyond our means ; and we were therefore obliged to rest contented with the facilities our present situation afforded for Mr. Fisher's observations during the winter. An early release in the spring could here be scarcely expected, nor indeed did the nature of the ice about us independently of situation allow us to hope for it ; but both these unfavourable circumstances had been brought about by a contingency which no human power or judgment could have obviated, and at which therefore it would have been unreasonable as well as useless to repine. We lay here in rather less than five fathoms', on a muddy bottom at the distance of one cable's length from the eastern shore of the bay. The whole length of the canal was four thousand three hundred and forty- three feet ; the thickness of the ice in the level and regular parts being from OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 371 twelve to fourteen inches, but in many places, where a separation had oc- ^822. curred, amounting to several feet. I cannot sufficiently do justice to the cheerful alacrity with which the men continued this laborious work during thirteen days, the thermometer being frequently at zero, and once as low as — 9° in that interval. It was satisfactory, moreover, to find that, in the performance of this, not a single addition had been made to the sick-list of either ship, except by the accident of one man's falling into the canal, and who returned to his duty a day or two afterwards. While our people were thus employed, the Esquimaux had continued toThur, 31. make daily visits to the ships, driving down on sledges with their wives and children, and thronging on board in great numbers, as well to gratify their curiosity, of which they do not in general possess much, as to pick up what- ever trifles we could afford to bestow upon them. These people were at all times ready to assist in any work that was going on, pulling on the ropes, heaving at the windlass, and sawing the ice, sometimes for an hour together. They always accompanied their exertions by imitating the sailors in their peculiar manner of " singing out" when hauling, thus at least affording the latter constant amusement, if not any very material assistance, during their labour. Among the numerous young people at Igloolik, there were some whose activity, on this and other occasions, particularly struck us. Of these 1 shall at present only mention two ; — Nobgloo, an adopted son of Toolemak, and Kmgdlek, a brother of " John Bull." These two young men, who were from eighteen to twenty years of age, and stood five feet seven inches in height, displayed peculiar tact in acquiring our method of .heaving at the windlass, an exercise at which Kongolek became expert after an hour or two's practice. The countenances of both were handsome and prepossessing, and their limbs well-formed and muscular ; qualities which, combined with their activity and manliness, rendered them, (to speak like a naturalist,) perhaps as fine specimens of the human race as almost any country can produce. Some of our Winter Island friends had now arrived also, being the party who left us there towards the end of the preceding May, and whom we had afterwards overtaken on their journey to the northward. They were cer- tainly all very glad to see us again and, throwing off the Esquimaux for a time, shook us heartily by the hand with every demonstration of sincere delight. Ewerat in his quiet sensible way, which was always respectable, gave us a circumstantial account of every event of his journey. On his 3 B 8 m 'i> mmi *V ' ^^^HHbI ^^ ., HB MM %M 372 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY M, 11 1822. arrival at Owlitteeweek, near which island we overtook him, he had buried the greater part of his baggage under heaps of stones, the ice no longer being fit for dragging the sledge upon. Here also he was happily eased of a still greater burthen by the death of his idiot boy, who thus escaped the miseries to which a longer life must, among these people, have inevitably exposed him. As for that noisy little fellow " John Bull," (Kooillitiuk,) he employed almost the whole of his first visit in asking every one, by name, " How d' ye do, Mr. so and so ?" a question which had obtained him great credit among our people at W^inter Island. Being a very important little per- sonage, he also took great pride in pointing out various contrivances on board the ships, and explaining to the other Esquimaux their different uses^ to which the latter did not fail to listen with all the attention due to so knowing an oracle. We had for several days past seen no birds near the ships except one or two ravens ; but those who had visited the huts had met with a covey or two of grouse in that neighbourhood, of which a few were killed by the Esqui- maux with arrows. Mr. Edwards found, on examination, that these birds, and also one or two obtained in the summer on the south shore of the Strait, were not of the same species as those we had procured farther to the south- ward, the latter being the tetrao rupestris, and these the tetrao albus, (Pen- nant's Arct. Zool.) or the willow-partridge of Hearne. Two wolves had lately paid us some nocturnal visits, and the Esquimaux had killed several bears in the neighbourhood of the open water. Having now brought up the account of our proceedings to the time of the ships being once more established in their winter-quarters, it may not be im- proper to take a brief review of the result of our late efforts, and then to close this part of the narrative by stating the determination which I now formed with respect to the future movements of the Expedition. Flattering as our prospects appeared at the commencement of the past summer, our efforts had certainly not been attended with a proportionate de- gree of success ; and little satisfaction remained to us at the close of the sea- son, but the consciousness of having left no means within our reach untried, that could in any way promote our object. It required indeed but a single glance at the chart to perceive, that whatever the last summer's navigation had added to our geographical knowledge of the eastern coast of America, and its adjacent lands, very little had in reality been effected in furtherance of the North-West Passage. Even the actual discovery of the desired outlet OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 373 into the Polar Sea, had been of no practical benefit in the prosecution of our q^^^^^^^, enterprise ; for we had only discovered this channel to find it impassable, and v^^^ to see the barriers of nature impenetrably closed against us, to the utmost limit of the navigable season. Without reverting, however, to the past, or being at the pains to re-con- sider what we had or had not been able to effect, it was sufficient only to know our present geographical position to be aware, that the remaining re- sources of the Expedition were no longer adequate to the accomplishment of our principal object. Not to know this would have implied ignorance of the real nature of the attempt, and therefore not to admit it would have been little better than absurdity. Instead of disguising the difficulties where any existed, it seemed more prudent to search out and endeavour to obviate them ; and after fairly considering every circumstance of our situation, to de- cide on the adoption of such measures as, with our present resources, appeared still to hold out some reasonable hope of ultimate and complete success. Viewing the matter in this light, it appeared to resolve itself into the single question, by what means the resources of the Expedition could pos- sibly be extended beyond the period to which they were at present calculated to last, namely, the close of the year 1824. Only one expedient suggested itself by which that object could be attained ; and this I determined to adopt should no unforeseen occurrence arise to prevent it. — It was to send the Hecla to England in the following season, taking from her a twelvemonths' provisions and fuel to complete the Fury's resources to the end of the year 1825, and then continuing our efforts in that ship singly as long as a reason- able hope remained of our ultimate success. One or two collateral advan- tages occurred to me as likely to be derived from this plan ; the first of which was the opportunity thus afforded of transmitting to the Lords Com- missioners of the Admiralty a full account of our past proceedings and pre- sent situation and intentions, whereby perhaps much needless anxiety on our account might be prevented. It would also, as I hoped, allow their Lordships the option of making any alteration which they might now deem requisite in the arrangements pointed out in my Instructions, respecting the ship to be sent to meet us near Behring's Strait, for which the orders might not perhaps leave England before the arrival of the Hecla there, in the autumn of 1823. These were, however, minor and less important considerations ; my principal object and determination being to persevere, to the utmost extent of our re- sources, in the prosecution of the enterprise with which 1 had the honour to 4!'„ U H 374 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. 1822. ]yQ charged. Having suggested this expedient to Captain Lyon, I had much satisfaction in finding his opinion entirely coincide with my own ; and with- out at present mentioning it to the other individuals belonging to the Expe- dition, we continued to consult together from time to time during the winter, concerning the arrangements it would be requisite to make for commencing the execution of our plan in the course of the following spring. '! t ■1 I ABSTRACT of the METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL kept on board His Majesty's Ship FuRv, at Igloolik, during the Month of October, 1822. Day I Fahrenheit's mumeter Ther- Diiroinetcr. Prevailing Winds. Prevailing Weather. .M««l- Ultlin. Mini. mum. Mean. Maxi- mum. Mini- mum. Mean. Dirixtion. Velocity O +1U +& fl7.68 o incliri 29.57 fncliefl iuchcf 29.5220.543 NW fresh cloudy 2 IG 10 13.83 29.70 20.5029.615 NW fresh flue 3 18 10 14.67 29.70 29.6029.606 NE light cloudy— snow at times 4 ■ 15 10 12.42 29.59 2O.52I2O.545 NWesterly light cloudy 6 13 10 10.02 29.80 29.65 29.732 NW fresh cloudy 6 12 7 67 29.93 29.80 29.888 NW fresli clear 7 IC - 2 7.42 30.04 29.06 30.012 NNW hyW to j SE |- SE light clear 8 25 +18 22.12 63.0 29.96 89.80 29.8<«7 mudt. cloudy and snow 21 17 19.83 65.0 29.73 20.30 29.577 East fresh cloudy 10 28 21 24.17 67.0 29.26 29.10 29.225 ESE (nm. rr. 1 pm. It. snow cloudy 11 25 21 23.33 61.7 29.25 29.20 29.222 NE modt. hazy and snow 12 23 19 21.08 62.2 20 20 29.10 29.212 NE modt. hazy and snow 13 29 17J 23.64 61.0 29 07 28.68 28.855 NEbyN light cloudy and snow 14 19i 11 16.79 62.2 29.70 29.18 29.448 SSE modt. haay 15 22 "J 17.33 02.2 29.84 29.67 29.777 ESE modt. cloudy 16 25 lOJ 17.38 62.7 29.03 29.51 20,553 AM. NW) PM. SE } modt. cloudy, snow at times 17 17 4 12.25 02.2 30.00 29.66 29.915 SE modt. cloudy 18 13 3 8.33 01.7 30.22 30.13 30.170 NE light fine and clear 10 21 4 14.25 62.2 30.15 30.07 30.115 ENE modt. cloudy, snow at times 20 20 4 8.83 62.0 30.28 30.16 30.207 North k liltht and vu- riabtc fine and clear 21 10 4.67 00.2 30.30 30.28 30.290 NNW light fine 22 2 - 5 -1.71 61.0 30.20 30.00 30.172 NW modt. fine and clear 23 - 1 9 5.51 68.0 30.02 29.98 30.002 NNW modt. fine and clear 24 +1S + 2 +8.33 55.0 30.11 30.00 30.047 ENE light hazy and snow 25 11 4 7.25 .59.7 30.31 30.11 30.223 North light cloudy 26 8 5 5.88 01.2 30.49 30.33 30.402 EMt rounJ by \ South I0NVV.5 light hazy, snow at times 27 11 6 9.07 01.0 30.40 30.26 30.310 South modt. hazy, snow at times 28 IS 10 12.37 01.0 30.20 30.10 30. 157 South modt. cloudy, snow at times 29 15 11 13.07 61.7 30.10 30.00 30.082 Kant light cloudy 30 16 10 13.:)0 61.0 30.10 29.95 30.030 EbN light hazy 31 20 10 14.02 64.7 29.90 29.61 29.753 N Easterly light hazy, snow at times +29 - 9 +I2.7!l 61.5 30.49 28.68 29.827 i 5 376 SECOND VOYAGE FOR TllE DISCOVERY CHAPTER XIII. I" I I'nEPAHATIONS FOR THE WINTER VARIOUS METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA TO THE CLOSE OF THE YEAR 182'2 — SICKNESS AMONG THE ESQUIMAUX A HOSPITAL BUILT NEAR THE SHIPS FOR THEIR ACCOMMODATION — METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA TO THE END OF MARCH ABSTRACT OF THE COMPARATIVE MEAN WINTER TEMPEUATl HK AT MELVILLE ISLAND, WINTER ISLAND, AND lOLOOLIK. 1822. The measures now adopted for the seeurily of the ships and their stores, lor Ndvcnib. tiic maintenance of economy, cleanliness, and health, and for the prosecu- tion of the various observations and experiments, being principally the same iLs those already detailed in the preceding winter's narrative, it will only Im' necessary to mention those particulars in which, either from some slitjlif difference of situation, or from our additional experience, any deviation from the former plans was now considered necessary. It is worthy of notice that each succeeding winter passed in these regions had suggested to us the expediency of leaving our masts, yards, sails, and rigging more and more in their proper places than before : and all that we now did was to strike the top-gallant yards and masts, unrecve the nmning- rigging to prevent chafing by the wind, lay the small sails across the tops, and hang the spare spars over the side. It may, indeed, be safely affirmed that, in a high latitude, the less the masts and yards arc dismantled the better, for the frost does no injury to the gcer while it remains unmoved ; and none can possibly occur from thawing till the proper season for refitting arrives. The boats were placed on the ice, about fifty yards from the ships, and with their geer stowed in them closely covered with snow. In banking the snow against the ships' sides, pains were taken to make this a more effectual protection than before. For this purpose a wall of suf- ficient height, com|K)sed of cut slabs of snow, was first constructed at the dis- tance of four or five t'eet from the bends, and loose snow afterwards thrown Pl OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 377 in between, till it reached considerably aliove the chains, so as to cover i*^^'^- nearly the whole of the upper-works. We also laid over the upper-deck fore and aft, as well as upon the hatchways and companions, about eight inches depth of snow, and above that a coating of sand cemented by water, so as to form a firm and level covering of these materials. Though there can be litUe doubt of the efficacy of this plan in preventing the escape of a portion of the warmth from below, it is also to be recommended as of essential service In preventing the planks from rending, and the pitch in the seams from being cracked, effects which the frost is otherwise sure to produce. The facility which our people had acquired by our intercourse with the Esquimaux in the application of snow to the use of building, induced me also to surround the Fury with a wall of that plentiful material ; it was twelve feet high, and placed at the distance of twenty or twenty-five yards from the sliip, forming a large square like that of a farm-yard. It is probable that such a wall may be favourable, during high winds, for preventing in some degree the rapid abstraction of heat from a ship, while it also serves the purpose of keeping out snoAV drift, and of affording a comfortable slicltcr for walking with almost every wind that can blow. In housing-in the ships, the " pitch " of the roof was may turf and then by slabs of snow. It is only necessary to add that, in all these alterations, the ad- vantage was no less felt in the additional warmth, than in the reduction of labour and materials requisite in the construction. The distance between the two ships, though not such as to prevent con- ' 1 !|s »f 378 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY t ' i:*: 1822. gtant intercourse, was nevertheless too great to allow of our continuing the v^-v^ unj ^ftni— ,; .^r About this time, a number of the Esquimaux sent sledges and dogs I'or several of their relatives coming from Amitioke, among whom were many of our old acquaintance and some also who were strangers to us. Among others was our young friend Toolooak, who arrived in company with another remarkably fine young man named Oo-too-gu-ak. The former, as we now found, had come for the very important purpose of entering on the cares of the marriage-state, though his own age was only from seventeen to eighteen, and that of his wife, a very pretty girl named Eeritud, not more than sixteen. These youthful marriages are quite common among the Esquimaux of Igloo- lik, and in some instances take place even at a still earlier age than that just mentioned ; for a girl named Ang-oot, who had been the wife of Kongolek for several months, could not possibly have passed the age of thirteen at this 1 1 liKi OF A NORTHWEST PASSAGE. '.*) 379 time. The marriage ceremony appears to be very simple, consisting only in J^'^^, the husband coming, when desired, to the hut or tent of the bride's father, and taking her to his own by force. As the time of the marriage seems to depend wholly on the caprice or interest of the parents, the reluctance ex- pressed by the female, and which the women humourously enough described to us as forming an indispensable part of their conduct on this occasion, is probably not always a matter of mere form or pretended coyness. This event constitutes a most important era in the life of the young couple, who immediately set up a separate establishment, similar to that of the oldest married people, and the husband is thenceforth bound to labour for the support of his wife. There can be no doubt of the advantage of these early mar- riages to both parties ; nor is there any time of life at which an Esquimaux of either sex may be considered as better furnished both with food and clothing, than during the first five or six years after this event has taken place. Toolooak had scarcely arrived a couple of hours, when some of our gen- tlemen going out to the village found him seated beside his wife with all the gravity and sedateness of an old married man ; and on the following day they both came to the ships. Toolooak having grown considerably, had a much more manly appearance than before ; but neither he nor his wife had much to say for themselves at this their first visit. " The bride" was dressed out, while she remained on board, in all the finery we could muster, and both received numerous useful presents to assist in setting them up in the world. Toolooak's travelling companion Ootooguak particularly attracted our notice on account of his height, which was five feet nine inches and three quarters, or within a quarter of an inch of the tallest we had yet seen in the tribe. It is no less remarkable also that his father Nannow, and his brother Ooydrra- seoo, who arrived shortly after, were both uncommonly fine and tall men for Esquimaux, the first, notwithstanding a slight degree of decrepitude, stamiing five feet eight and a half and the latter five feet nine inches in height. I must here notice an occurrence which had lately taken place, and which created no inconsiderable sensation among the Esquimaux. Though the authority of the husbands is in most respects strictly maintained among these people, yet their conduct towards their wives is far from being unkind, and they seldom if ever proceed to the extremities too common with some savages. A few days ago, however, an elderly man named Sherddeoo, in consequence s c 8 r^'ji: . 380 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY I ' ■ t rl\ ii 1822. Novemb. of some altercation between his two wives, undertook to settle their dispute by means of his knife, with which he inflicted some very severe cuts on the forehead of one, and on the hand of the other. Some of our gentlemen found them sitting very contentedly in their hut, with one of the wounds sewn up, and both covered over with the hair of deer adhering by the coagu- lated blood. They were evidently very shy of shewing them, and Sheradeoo exhibited a good deal of uneasiness at having his domestic affairs thus inquired into ; so that, upon the whole, our gentlemen on their return con- fessed that here, as elsewhere, it seemed most prudent not to ii.terfere in the quarrels betwixt man and wife. The Esquimaux uniformly spoke of this occurrence as a matter of real reproach ; which circumstance, together with the fact of its being the only instance that has come to our knowledge during a long intercourse with these people, is a sufficient proof that it forms an exception to their ordinary conduct, and cannot therefore fairly be con- sidered an impeachment of their general character. The Esquimaux having occasionally at this season a quantity of venison at their huts which, as well as large loads of walrus-flesh, they continued for some time after the setting-in of the winter to bring from various distant stores, a general permission was given to purchase meat, to be paid for out of the presents. The article most in request, however, was wood, and for a piece of rough spar about seven feet long and from two to three inches thick, I purchased for the use of the ship more than seventy pounds of the finest venison we had ever seen, while smaller portions were occasionally obtained for less valuable articles. Captain Lyon and myself also bought some dogs and set up our own sledges, which proved of infinite convenience in various ways during the winter, there being an excellent hard and beaten road constantly kept between the ships and the huts, by the frequent walk- ing and driving of ourselves and the natives. These people parted with their dogs without much reluctance, and at first at a moderate price; and the dogs in a short time became so domesticated among us, that they would never leave the ships. It seems a curious piece of inconsistency in the disposition of these people that, harshly as in many respects they certainly treat their dogs, they were not satisfied to sell them to us till assured we did not mean to kill them ; and they thanked us more heartily, I believe, when they saw us building a house for their reception, than they would have done for a similar attention paid to themselves. The dogs on their part shewed that this H' OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 381 regard was reciprocal, for even after they became perfectly familiarized to '^'^2. the ships, they always fawned upon their old masters, and expressed great .^v^ delight at seeing them, . .» i Some wolves continued still to prowl about us, and three of these hungry animals were nearly on the point of attacking a Newfoundland dog of Mr. Richards's, which went playing about them, when he was called off in time to save him. On the 23d, the thermometer, for the first time, got down to ^at. iJ. — 38°, when our mercury in the artificial horizons, being probably adulte- rated by lead from the troughs, froze into the form of branches of trees, extremely beautiful, and retaining all its brilliancy of surface. For several days about this period the cold continued uniformly intense, but with every westerly wind there was open water at no great distance to the south-east- ward of the island, where the Esquimaux almost daily resorted for the pur- pose of killing walruses. On the 30th in the morning we remarked a simul- Sat. jo taneous increase of wind and in the temperature of the atmosphere, the thermometer rising from —26^° to —20° as the breeze freshened, without any other apparent cause affecting it. The mean tem|)erature of the month of November, which was — 19° 37' we considered a low one, being only li° above that of Melville Island in 18l9.t The appearances of the Aurora Borealis were neither frequent nor brilliant (luring this month. On the 7th near midnight this phenomenon appeared from E.8.E. to S.W., forming an irregular arch of white light, not continuous in every part, and about eight degrees high in the centre. From the upper margin of this arch, coruscations nowand then shotupwards towards the zenith. On the morning of the 2l8t, Mr. Ross remarked a bright arch of the Aurora pussing through the zenith from east to west, and meeting the horizon at each end : besides this, two smaller and apparently concentric arches were visible to the southward, the higher arch being in the centre about twenty degrees above the horizon and the other about ten degrees. An arch of the same kind appeared at night in the south-west quarter of the heavens. On the 3(1 a column of light tinged with prismatic colours appeared on each side of the 8un, at the angular distance of 22° 05', and a parhelion at the same dis- tance above it. The columns indeed were, properly speaking, |>art8 of an im[)erfect circle or halo ; beyond these, however, at the same height above the horizon, and distant from the sun forty-six degrees, was a second par- helion on each side, slightly coloured like the others ; so that five of these were visible at the same time, though none but the two first mentioned were ABSTRACT of the METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL kept on board His Majesty's Ship '■■' . ' Fury, at (gloolik, during the Month of November, 1822. .-.,. ... . Day Fahrenheit's Thermometer. Mean Temp. of lower deck. Barometer. Prevailing Winds. Prevailing Weather. Mtxl- mum. Mini- mum. Mnn. Max), mum. MinU mun. Mtan. DincUon. Velocity, 1 4^8 -§ +0.08 61?7 Inchei. 80.66 InchM. 29.57 Inchei. 89.692 WNW Ught cloudy -snow at times S -a 94 -14.S0 61.0 89.88 89.67 20.795 West ligjjt fine 8 8 34 17.67 58 .7 89.99 89.78 99.855 NW light fine and clear 4 10 aa 16.79 59.8 99.94 89.83 99.902 West light hazy S +1 ao 9.98 56.7 99.89 89.78 20.n2 Round the) Compass ) Ught& varla. cloudy 6 -7 as 18.08 56.0 90.75 89.78 20.732 South light hazy 7 15 aoi 21.75 56.0 to.io 99.88 29.980 NW light fine and clear 8 S to 18.50 61.0 80.17 89.68 30.007 SE light hazy 9 +8 4 +1.46 56.0 99.60 89.20 29.878 ESE fresh hazy, snow at times 10 -a 19 -8.17 55.7 99.74 89.61 29.707 NNW fresh cloudy 11 ao tl 86.04 54.9 99.70 89.53 29.608 NW fiwsh clear la 85 asi ar.as S8.7 89.48 89.80 29.489 West mudt. clear '■ 13 ao tl 88.87 59.0 10.10 89.69 99.867 Northerly light fine and clear 14 ai 89 84.00 SI .8 30.18 80.00 80.064 NNW modt. fine and clear IS m 84 80.81 50.8 80.00 80.68 80.618 NW fresh fine and clear 16 15 80 18.08 sa.o 80.60 80.50 89.699 NW light fine IT 11 18 15.85 St.7 29.80 89.50 99.688 WNW fresh clear 18 8 19 14.17 St.O 89.91 89.89 99.900 8W light fine and clear 10 +1 8 3.50 57.0 89.88 29.83 99.869 8W light haqr 90 -10 90 10.88 57.0 99.90 89.80 99.679 NW modt. too ai 19 as 81.67 57.7 29.77 89.60 99.679 NW modt. ftM aa 96 to 87.67 57 .7 99.70 89.57 99.623 WNW Ught clear at to ta 30 8t 54.7 99.84 89.78 29.810 NW light fine and clear 84 to 88 tl.85 55.7 99.84 29.80 20.826 West light fine and clear as to ta tl.58 5S.7 99.76 29.44 29.595 West light fine and clear ae at 30 85.83 54.0 29.96 29.28 29.319 NNW light cloudy 97 99 86 84.71 58.0 89.40 29.16 20.378 NW light fine as as to 96.06 5S.0 89.6t 89.48 20.587 NNW modt. ;>'r .'.llrt.. -. ao 94 tl 88.67 55 .8 80.78 80.66 99.708 NNW light .<.< fl^I'.ili , so 17 *H ao.st 66.7 80.78 80.74 90.748 West .1; ■ flwsh cloudy .1. . ■ ,. . +8 i -It -19.t7 55.8 80.17 80.90 90.71S SECOND VOYAGE OP DISCOVERY. 383 very distinct. On the 16th Mr, Ross and myself observed near the northern ,^*'^^- Novciub horizon, and exuctly opposite to the sun, a circular patch of faint white light ; >,^v^ its size was many times larger than that of the sun, though it was not at all defined about the edges, being indeed rather softened off into the purple sky on which it rested. On the 22d the sun rose with a bright spot of white light at the distance of twenty to thirty degrees on each side of it, and a ver- tical column of a red colour extended from the sun to about two degrees above it. This last phenomenon is very common in cold weather and when the sun's altitude is very small. A cross was observed about the moon on the 27th, consisting of vertical and horizontal rays of whitish light appearing to * pass through that object. .,/ - <■ At apparent noon, on the 2d of December, six days after the sun had in- Decemb. dependently of the effects of refraction set to us for a period of more than seven weeks, we caught a glimpse of its upper limb from the deck of the Fury, about one-sixteenth of its whole disk being visible above the low land to the southward. It is impossible not to acknowledge the benevolence as well as to admire the wisdom of the law which, among all its varied and wonderful effects displayed throughout the works of nature, contrives to shorten, by nearly a whole fortnight, the annual absence of this cheering luminary from the frozen regions of the earth, and thus contributes so essen- tially to the welfare and enjoyment of their numerous inhabitants. On the 4th I drove out to the huts, accompanied by Mr. Hooper, princi- Wed, 4 pally with the intention of bringing back one of my dogs that had strayed to the village, and which Toolemak, his former master, had been employing in his fishery for several days past, instead of bringing him honestly back ; a trick which evidently shewed a disposition to try how far they could safely go in this way, and of which therefore it was as well to take some notice in good time. Including the late addition of our Winter Island acquaintance, the number of separate huts now amounted to fifteen or sixteen, which, together with the usual appurtenances, such as canoes, sledges, and several smaller store- houses, occupying perhaps a quarter of an acre of ground, constituted a vil- lage of no mean nor uninteresting appearance. We found very few men at the huts, the greater part being absent in quest of walruses ; and after passing an hour or two in several of the apartments, and making a number of presents to the women, wc were under the necessity of coming away without perform- ing our principal errand, as neither Toolemak nor my dog made their ap- pearance. I took care, however, publicly to proclaim Toolemak as a tigliklokt i { M 384 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY ^f I8'22.^ (thief,) which declaration, as I expected, produced the greater effect from the -^v-^ notice we had hitherto taken of him, and the respect in which he was held by the Esquimaux in his capacity of Angetkook. As a more effectual pre- ventive, however, against a repetition of this kind of roguery in future, 1 took away from his hut a large piece of wood that I had given him for two dogs, till he should return the one in question, explaining to his wife my rea- son for doing so ; and then returned to the ships. A day or two afterwards the dog was returned in due form, and with every expression of sorrow and contrition that Toolemak could muster on such an occasion. It deserves to be noticed as a fact extremely creditable to these people, that though for above two hours we had left our sledge unguarded, and with numerous valuable presents upon it, we did not find a single article missing when we came away, and this was by no means the only instance of the same thing occurring. I found on my return to the ships that two of our English dogs, having in- cautiously set off in chase of a wolf near the Hecla, one of them, a Scotch terrier belonging to Lieutenant Reid and a great favourite with us, had been caught and devoured by the hungry and ferocious animal. The other had escaped by being a quicker runner ; though the resemblance of the wolf to the Esquimaux dogs was such as to have probably deceived them till they approached him very close. Sun 8 On the 8th, for several hours before and after noon, a vertical column ot pale red light appeared immediately over the sun's place, extending a degree or two above the horizon, and shifting its position only as the sun swept round to the westward. From the 9th to the 12th the thermometer frequently fell to — 43°, being a greater degree of cold than had at all been experienced during the preceding winter ; and the temperature now kept down with a degree of constancy that had not been experienced even at Melville Island at this season. Sim. IT). On the 14th and 15th the wind blew hard from the west and N.W. for seve- ral hours, with considerable snow-drift, notwithstanding which the mercury in the barometer kept up as high as 29.80 inches for more than four and twenty hours successively, and clear and moderate weather succeeded for Tiics. 17. two or three days. On the 17th Mr. Ross killed another grouse of the same species as before, and weighing one pound fourteen ounces ; it had in its maw the buds of the ground willow^, some seed vessels of the sadfraga op- posilifolia, and a small quantity of moss. Thv smoke issuing from the stove- Tlnii i!t, pipes kept remarkably low during the whole of the 19th, the thermometer OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 385 being frOin - 30° to 33°, and the mercury in the barometer at 30.07 inches. As '822. the reverse of this was frequently the case when these instruments afforded v^TN.' an indication nearly similar, it appeared to us to depend on some other con- dition, perhaps the moisture, of the atmosphere. On the 21st there being a Sat. 21. fresh wind, with the sky clear overhead, Arcturus was discernible to the naked eye till forty-seven minutes after eleven, A.M., apparent time ; at half an hour past noon it was again visible, and stars of the second magnitude could be distinguished at three-quarters past one o'clock. On Christmas-day I directed a small addition to be made to the allowance Wed. 25 of provisions, including a dinner of fresh beef that had been killed on board tlie Nautilus in the month of June, 1821, and preserved with a very small quantity of salt rubbed over it, on deck, since that period. Though I never saw a Christmas spent in so orderly a manner at sea, it did not pass without producing some injurious effects upon the health of the men, several serious cases of disordered bowels occurring immediately afterwards, in spite of every precaution. As more than usual care had been taken to avoid excess or exposure among them, Mr. Edwards considered this circumstance as tending to evince a greater susceptibility in this way than had been exhibited during our first winter. On the 26th Mr. Ross shot another grouse (tetraoT\n\v.26. alhys,) weighing one pound eight ounces, and having in its maw the same vegetable substances as the last. On the 28th the smoke from the funnels Sat. -is. was again observed to keep unusually low, skimming along the top of the iiousing as it escaped, and then descending to the ice. The thermometer was at this time at— 35°, and the mercury in the barometer at 29.65 inches, the wind being light at N.N.W. The year closed with the temperature of — 42°, the mean of the month of Tues. ;n. December having been 27° 8, which, taken in connexion with that of Novem- ber, led us to expect a severe winter. Observing a considerable difference in the indication of some of our spirit-thermometers, ten of these inotru- incnts were exposed to the atmosphere under exactly similar circumstances * : wiien they were found to range from —35° to — 48°, the two hitherto registered on board and on the ice, indicating from 2° to 3° higher than the mean of the whole number. The latter of these two was in future used for registering * Of this number five were of uncoloured spirits, with the scales graduated as low as - 200° ; the rest were uf alcohol coloured in the usual manner. By subsequent comparisons it appeared that at higher temperatures, especially above zero, the disagreement was niuch less between the same instruments. 3 D 386 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1822. tiic temperature, and that on board altogether dispensed with; so that the * > OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 387 I i'l wind, more than three miles distant from the land, and a dark v cr-sky o ^ tinned accurately to define its position and extent. From the time of our first arrival here in the autumn, the Esciuimaux had been in the habit of catching foxes upon the west point of the bay, called by tiicm Arngna-ko-tk-seat. The traps used for this purpose were extremely simple and ingenious, and to us quite new. They consisted of a small cir- cular arched hut of stones, having a square aperture at the top, but quite close and secure in every other part. This aperture is closed by some blades of whalebone which, though in reality only fixed to the stones at one end, appear to form a secure footing, especially when the deception is assisted by a little snow laid on them. The bait is so placed that the animal must come upon this platform to get at it, when the latter (unable to bear the weight) bends downwards, and after precipitating the fox into the trap, whicii is made too deep to allow of his escape, returns by its elasticity to the former posi- tion, so that several may thus be caught successively. The Hecla being near the point, Mr. Mogg was much in the habit of accompanying the Esquimaux to their traps, and remarked that the foxes were very numerous till about the end of November, when they began to fall off in number, and the traps were less regularly visited than before. A few were however taken in the month of December, towards the end of which many of the traps were neg- lected, and allowed to fill up with drift. In the early part of January the rest were dismantled, but Mr. Mogg caught two after this ; one on the 23d of January, being a male of a bluish cast, with the tips of its ears and tail black ; the other a female larger than the former and beautifully white, taken on the 13th of February. Their weight was eight and eight and a half pounds, and the temperatures of their bodies when just killed 100^° and 100°. The foregoing account of the time when these animals were most abundant, agrees with what we had before observed at Winter-Island, and Mr. Mogg considered their number to have been here fully as great. Some of the Esquimaux were thus furnished with outer jackets of fox-skins witli the fur outside, forming a remarkably clean, comfortable, and handsome-look- ing costume, though the material is by no means a durable one. The first week of the new year brought a continuance of cold weather : after which, for the succeeding fortnight, the temperature was remarkably high, the thermometer frequently rising above zero, and once to -»- 22°, which occurred with a fresh easterly breeze and some snow falling. An inspection of our Meteorological Abstracts will shew that in this as in every other part 3 D 2 1822. Dect-mh. Jaminiv. ABSTRACT of the METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL kept on board His Majesty's Ship Fury, at Igloolik, during the Month of December, 1822. Fahrenheit's Ther- mometer. il Barobieter. Prevailing Winds. ■r, ■ Il Day I Prevailing Weather. M .■■ \\w tiv,. (hr- ,< , .1 fii.u .t) havo hocn brought thorc by the currofit 'it .sf>ii,i' !i\vr «^iiiifi.; ii '•ivm lh<' interior of tlic contincsw. a-- on riu* noriLrni -liorc .it' \>i;\ .'»i.-j»o, riic rc^cardiRs of Captain Fiunkliii, liow. \( r. v,iiti >>,iii}on MMarquaintcd, bavf fnrnifshod a luiro -^iviisfartoir iiM> (li',.; ro^uH thi.s lact ; the ^vood bcinj* probabU '.i^i .,, 'ormed. ' ' -* iiUi T'lkkec tifektc-tu t'Ciifio !>> »h> }|f<>* m- -'^s .• .* ■ ■■> ,..f ,'« -nipplifd with various comforts for iiiii wifi^ ivud ib dd Ah ii»-H *» jiriiu'i[>.d unnf r>f vomforf »ro.-e from tho oobhiesH and motstiac ot •i(iH i|n;xrt<»rsj Captain hynv propo^ind to him t<> briiii? diru. lo tb • To ibiv the man j"yf'illv »i>;H'(U(:( ■^'>^y b.dj,'cd in (."aptuin liynr.'t* cabin, and attended witb .iM i Iffir Mituttiio'a rcquiri^d.and that humj^nity couid sugijr-i litsidos i) diat wa« iil. »»iolb'''r aUo nctonipwood thrm na^vf d S/tr;(f, .. V. .M-:)! anrweawwM -'i -. -1 ,=■. . j/.-*. jK k' iv.-.f) k .-.ti < I'i" iiiyr, <« '1.1 ■ •V" »»*•> M'unil :o fe«*t' >v '. ,MM .•• ^ii> .fhsthi'u'. I si»\v ill J.v ;' Irt' ; !siri»\(^ !•'■ >?'*nnnier of i'<-^i Iti dn^ I'vrp.n,.; \ hvdi |. »»'-..«' •• iii ! \ .,. dtr fiHiaad Pf. in f» rrrr « tilth of »h« )<««v. ''*« ft < / Hi !unU .' Ill Hl'i' vb'^l rt'iiirb' 'y f!' ivp»«to«i, on biri riMc-ii. i!int a Y0UM,if iri.in .* ?»>'at ravonnt*' witli our oJlu'crv oid sliip'is fOt/iiM-. , , u.vj ili »«{*•'••■ j K«r'»v »*Bi ti«* lf'4^>»vin(^ )M,(rr»MUj, theroforr, I «b'sj.;LObod Mr. (.'^(a'!..i»! 1.51 i\u shvljfi- ify hiin^ PifiOi?yt^ }./ ilio fibip : but nin- ! ii ■ ''«'f(i'. .. rr \vit<^ Hi Hn irtd, fnr h- bid brmwb- I iii* b»"»t on lb* j>rrr- .q; •. {ium^ witliin .m br»iir ftft^-r vrc h*iJ first tM-.-jt informed of i»i« ibs^.*' Ili- -.vifo Ku;^ti, h OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 391 personally known to us, assured me, as many others had done, that wood , l^"^^- was abundant at the place above alluded to. He explained, however, pretty v^v^/ intelligibly, that it did not grow there, as we had at first been given to understand ; and upon the whole it seems most probable that the wood of which the Esquimaux speak is drift-wood. That wood should occur in one spot only out of a large extent of coasv, suggested to us at the time the idea that it might have been brought there by the current of some river setting it down from the interior of the continent, as on the northern shores of Asia and Europe. The researches of Captain Franklin, however, with which we were then unacquainted, have furnished a more satisfactory mode of account- ing for this fact ; the wood being probably deposited at Seat-toke by the current observed to set from the westward along the northern coast of America, and bringing with it quantities of drift-wood seen by Captain Franklin on those shores along which his late extraordinary canoe-navigation was performed. On the 23d Takkee-likkee-ta came to the Hecla according to his promise, Thur. 2 ). and was supplied with various comforts for his wife and child. As how- ever their principal want of comfort arose from the coldness and moisture of their present quarters. Captain Lyon proposed to him to bring them to the Hccla. To this the man joyfully assented and, being furnished with a sledge and dogs, soon brought the invalids on board, where they were comfortably lodged in Captain Lyon's cabin, and attended with all the care that their situation required, and that humanity could suggest. Besides (he child that was ill, another also accompanied them named Shega, a ))1casing and uncommonly intelligent girl about eleven years of age, whom we now found to have been one of the individuals I saw in Lyon Inlet (luring the summer of 1821. In the evening I sent my servant to the vil- lage, for the purpose of going into all the huts (which from the lowncss and indescribable filth of the passages was no easy or pleasant task) to see what other sick there might be. He reported, on his return, that a young man named Piccooi/ak, a great favourite with our officers and ship's company, was in a very weak condition, and that his wife and another female were lying beside him to keep him warm, at the same time crying most piteously. Early on the following morning, therefore, I despatched Mr. Crawford on r'riAV<. il m Mist 1 ■ m 1 '.mm 1 li li 400 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1823. i\^Q travcllinff party to the ice. The road to this new village, to wHich be- fore the middle of February all the people from the bone huts had removed, was now worn as smooth as that between Igloolik and the ships, except where it passed over the heavy hummocks and large cracks in the ice near the shore. The habitations here were exact counterparts of those at Winter Island ; and it was quite a relief to enter them, new and clean as they were, after the filth of the more durable ones at Igloolik. The ice on which the huts stood was near the edge of the squeezed-up or hummocky kind, and, from the cracks close to them, was in all probability touching the ground in most parts ; while outside of the village there was a smooth level floe of considerable extent, over which they travelled to their fishery at its margin, where open water still remained at the distance of three miles from the shore. It seemed that they would for the sake of convenience have carried their abodes further out to sea, but that it was not considered sate to venture their whole establishment where the ice was liable to be broken off, and drifted away by the tide. There are few people however who care loss for a walk of considerable length, if they have any object in view in ac- complishing it, than the Esquimaux; in proof of which, in addition to the instances already adduced at Winter Island, it may be stated that, on some of the most inclement days in this winter, many of the women, and scvcrnl of the children from eight to eleven years of age were in the habit of walking to the ships and back again, a distance not less than fourteen milos, and sometimes when the road was so covered by snow-drift that it required constant attention to keep in the right track. On repassing the huts at Igloolik I went to see the parents and widow of Piccooyak, who lived together in a hut of snow in a state of very great wretchedness. The parents, both of them old and infirm, were sitting in one corner with scarcely any clothes upon them, while Kaga lay in another, moaning most lamentably, and almost entirely covered with some skins, of which neither the kind nor original colour could be distinguished for the dirt and grease with which they were besmeared. On my questioning her, hIic after some time looked up and gave me to understand what indeed appeared to be the case, that she was not ill but simply wretched ; and I could plainly perceive that her misery in great part proceeded from the robbery of most of her property, as described by Crintz to be the usual fate of widows in Greenland *. Indeed of numerous presents which she and her husband • Crttiitz, I. 19S. ifhlvVr. OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE, 401 had received on board the ships, not one now remained ; and a lamp and 1823. cooking pot seemed all that her inhuman countrymen had left her, at least *!!^'^^ of those things which could have been of any service to themselves. There was at this time no food in the hut ; and the mild weather produced so con- stant a dropping from the roof, that had I stayed much longer my own thick clothing must have been wet through. I therefore requested the old man to accompany me to his son's grave ; and when there proposed to him to pit the body out of the reach of dogs for the future, by burying it in the ground, to which with many tears and thanks he willingly consented ; and I promised to send out on the following day to make preparations for that purpose. When the old man lifted up his son's spear at the head of the grave, or rather of the mound of snow containing his mangled remains, he burst into a fresh flood of tears ; and frequently complaining of what the dogs had et l,en<;uui the surt'oiue white dust. A*) only one iuaT» t:o\dd havf* locin '.i> v.urk ?4§wi«Ti!C, aiHiibt^r foot in depth wouUi piolmbiy ha' c ofcupind J'-w cr t'ntf c *. 'i>^ WiW ai i:uiv;fde(!iri«', AM(1 It w««* liwH »*"b i« '-.aI'I ,#iyttf?ttjtl|t» of fi*V #*«*» '. . ^ ■ . . V , ■ f ,,,,*.> .ffjr>iKl H"? hifi;h »*! 'W./J';? inclKs to-day, a l»i»nt svjjHi bit<^H*t? .'.•.. •• *; S H , rtiui ive had iine weather for two «'r tb(.T»; suett<^»-!iv«i^ dviVK J* .^sTO somc^*df» uf the number of deer kil{e N*?! proeured by lid** youu^ man'« own exertioiiH i.n the coiii'.«>e w'" ii;e bt-:f t^v.. V Hm (Hvu game of this kind mu«t iherrVorc hue tuhuuntei! tu ui . .1 MV'ini deer, and his mother ahiiost constantly M'are the fjiriU- a- .« j>i«'utl vr.A* uf her sow'H exploits, Th*'re, are few mothers indeed whu inis^bi not i* ,i*ul of such a H"!^' ^»- 'TUio»fc vili,i mi IiU'iti r arnaHintttue*' tj'xlte .,^^,,'M*iM»d lii»>rfa%. . ■, r-^ ■ tjimlitwsbtitn ■ ■vr-it4 and lr*tf-'f' t*B tHt" W* R ,;:/ , v:«v*ie-*itia* i^a'r* di*«'ji«ifjfed fnci»tj tmf '.svli •'" ■ ' .;,#. «i*?«J MMU oji a ^iedgv to tlie hut«, whflre hf «.ij^M» m^r fi^^tne ! ihe ^fs-hh* i.yl loMi.and w^m sj*«"»44* m» ev«, H'" bad ^4-ttj^!> left us when •affv }«itirfj 4;Hi.>itkiicto,«rm^d With hi« * rip, iwfo vuim^i-Iiildren. »#«* Mt; !■», *,,,r|«t*»tr'«?d. Ik was brought to the -hit "»' t^«' »,h'dgt^ »t iN |(iWM»»w, ^ha aimt &r.immjmm*\ him. a!$d eotitvn}*t4 tferpngfeout his i^Sii«f«ft li» vMit biw occftcionatty , iM A« Wfe ft iriAiit^ aicuin^tafieo o^eurred vthtti^ .o«e»er, as it cxbtbits 'd V' -4 IS ,.■ i, S;< P^ " *w ^ -<<:. i m X,. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAQE. 403 'I '' We to-day placed a Six's self-registering thermometer in the ground near J^^a. the observatory, four feet beneath the surface, the indices being set at + 8°. \^y*^' It would undoubtedly have been interesting to have ascertained the tempera- ture of the earth during the winter, at a much greater depth than this ; but to give an idea of the difficulty of doing this, it will only be necessary to state that it occupied twenty-seven days to effect what we did, and that at the expense of ten pick-axes broken by digging. After the first twenty inches, where the soil was quite loose, the ground was literally frozen as hard as a rock, so that each blow of the pick-axe brought off only a few splinters ac- companied by some white dust. As only one man )uld have room to work at a time, another foot in depth would probably have occupied two or three weeks more in completing, and it was therefore considered advisable to take advantage of the present high temperature of the atmosphere to deposit the thermometer and close up the hole. The mercury in the barometer once more stood as high as 30.52 inches to-day, a light wind blowing from the N.N.E., and we had fine weather for two or three succeeding days. To give some idea of the number of deer killed by the Esquimaux at the proper season, I may here state that 1 to-day counted on a girdle worn round the waist by Toolooak's mother, twenty-nine ears of that animal, which had all been procured by this young inan's own exertions in the course of the last summer. His own game of this kind must therefore have amounted to at least fifteen deer, and his mother almost constantly wore the girdle as a proud trophy of her son's exploits. There are few mothers indeed who might not be proud of such a son as Toolooak, who on longer acquaintance quite maintained his former character, of possessing many excellent qualities both of head and heart. On the 6th Kooeetseek being convalescent was discharged from our sick- Thur, u, l)ay, and sent on a sledge to the huts, where he soon after regained the Hesh he had lost, and was as well as ever. He had scarcely left us when our expected patient, Innooksioo, arrived with his wife, two young children, and all the worldly property they possessed, and was comfortably established in the hospital. This man who, when in health, was one of the most lusty and vigorous in the tribe, was now so much reduced by illness that his face could scarcely be recognised. He was brought to the ship on the sledge of old Nannow, who also accompanied him, and continued throughout his illness to visit him occasionally. On the 8th a trifling circumstance occurred which, however, as it exhibits Sat. & 3 F 8 •■i,4 ,. i 404 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1823. February a trait of Esquimaux character, I may perhaps be excused for relating. A queer old woman, one of our Winter Island acquaintance, brought back unasked a silver thimble which Mr. Skeoch suspected her having stolen out of his cabin a day or two before. She now without reserve confessed that she had taken it, but laughingly told him that, finding it much too small for her finger, she had honesth/ returned it, and concluded with an earnest re- quest to be allowed some beads in exchange for it. Their pilferings had hitherto been so rare and so trifling, that wc could easily wink at this piece of petty larceny, which seemed to carry with it its own compensation, by the humours of the old lady's conceit in confessing it. . -fu ; Among the traits in these people's disposition, and the peculiarities in the history of their social dealings with one another, which our present inter- course served to discover to us, was the circumstance of their being divided into two or three parties, which, though never absolutely quarrelling, were still on no very cordial terms of intimacy. This party-feeling, and the jea- lousies excited by it, were conspicuous on various occasions, and once dis- played themselves on a subject the least likely of any to have given uneasi- ness to an Esquimaux. One day when Mr. Hooper had been at the trouble of going to the huts to cater for our Esquimaux patients, and had purchased a considerable quantity of meat, he happened in the evening to tell Innook- sioo, who was just then regaining an enormous appetite, of his good success in this way ; the latter anxiously asked of whom the meat had been pro- cured, and being told that it was Pootooalook, declared that he would never tat a bit of it. Vexatious as this sort of prejudice was likely to prove to us, Mr. Hooper fortunately [ jtended to assent to it ; and Innooksioo having thus satisfied his party-feeling, wisely permitted it to have no farther influence, and avoiding all further questions on the su Ject, had in a few days demo- lished his full share of Pootooalook's meat. K i;, «**/>.■}..' i- ":<«; ! ..>> 7/' .• > / , Toolemak, who came to the ships to-day, was extremely low and dejected on account of Noogloo's death, and it was often remarked afterwards that the tears stood in his eyes whenever he spoke of that young man. He went several times into the hospital, asked Innooksioo a number of questions re- specting his lodging and other accommodations, of which he had good sense enough to see the full value, and sufficient candour to thank us very heartily for our attentions. This man furnished the only instance that came under our notice, of any thing approaching to superiority acknowledged by the Es- quimaux. To Toolemak's opinion and wishes many of the others unques- tionably paid considerable deference, and he appeared in many instances to be so much better furnished with food than the rest, that he undoubtedly drew occasional supplies from several of the tribe. This distinction, which went no farther than I have related, and for which he was of course indebted to his professional merits, was after all confined to a certain party ; the rest of the Esquimaux always listening with extreme satisfaction to any thing that might be said to Toolemak's disadvantage, and evidently triumphing in his disgrace. -• ' ''" a. -'".-.'■ .- %,i :■.-■ --•;^ ' ,-j • ,t','-^' n The Esquimaux had about this time killed several sea-horses and meat was abundant at the village. They also killed several bears in the course of the winter, amounting in all to eight or ten, in the space of six or seven months ; but none of those animals had been seen near the ships on account of our distance from the open water. Tiies. II. A brother of Innooksioo's called Toolooak, a lad about the same age as our ■ young friend of that name, came to the ships to-day with a severe gash in his leg, accidentally inflicted by his own knife; and the wound proving a deep one and much inflamed, Mr. Edwards recommended his being received into the hospital. Here, however, we had to encounter a fresh series of perverseness ; for even his own brother objected to his coming into the same apartment, and it was not without some difficulty that we contrived to get him established there. Innooksioo, upon the whole, however, proved a good and tractable patient enough. Some of his tricks were laughable because quite inoflensive ; among which was a habit of endeavouring to ex- cite the compassion of every body that went into the hospital, by complain- 7:1; OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 4m ing of his stomach being empty, his cheeks fallen in, and in short, if his story p*^'^'*' could be told in plain English, that he was in a fair way to be starved. His v^v%^" daily established allowance of solid meat was at this time from four to Ave pounds, to which was generally added from one to two or three pounds more as presents from his friends ; but even this was not enough to satisfy the cravings of his appetite. Finding, however, that no plea of his could induce Mr. Hooper to depart from the regular system, and that the rest of the Ka- bloonas received his piteous tale with a laugh, in which by-the-by his wife invariably joined, he at length ceased his unjust and needless solicitations. Some of our people going out to the huts on the 12th, found that Nuyakka Wed. I2. had so ill performed his promise respecting Kaga, that he had already dis- missed- her from his own apartment and, either from decency's or conscience sake, had built her a small one communicating with the passage of his own. Whether the perverse humours of Kaga, or the caprice or inhumanity of Nuyakka had been the occasion of this change, we could not discover ; but perhaps each of these had some share in her removal. As, however, she was well clothed with the things she had received from the Hecla, and Nuyakka, as it appeared, still continued to feed her, we could only look on and see how she was to be disposed of. On the 15th, some remarkable clouds were hanging over the open water Sat. i.o. to the eastward, appearing like vast volumes of smoke, curling into rounded and almost circular forms. This peculiarity we never observed at any other time, though there was constantly a " water-sky " in that direction, consist- ing of a general and diffused darkness, varied occasionally by numerous vertical columns of "frost-smoke." On the 19th, Mr. Edwards, on paying a visit to the huts, found a young Wed. i;). man named Kooeetseearioo so ill, that he thought it better to risk bringing him in, than to incur, what now appeared almost certain, his dying if he remained at the village. Mr. Edwards afterwards inquired for Kaga, and was shewn into her hut, in which however there was so little light and so contaminated an atmosphere, that he could neither see any person nor breathe the air of the apartment. Having at length succeeded in getting the wretched inmate to look up, though without being able to draw from, her any answer to his questions, he found it impossible to continue longer in the hut, and could not therefore ascertain whether she laboured under any specific complaint, though her appearance seemed to indicate that she was now ill, if not utterly abandoned. On the following day, therefore, when I Thur. 20. s.i.^ , mi 1823. I'ebruarv SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY went out to bring Kooeetseearioo on board, I made another effort to ascer- tain this unfortunate creature's real situation ; and as soon as I had arranged about the young man's removal, went into Nuyakka's hut, to make inquiries respecting her. On asking his wife to shew me Kaga's apartment, she laughed rather sneeringly, but did not comply with my request ; and had it not been for little Shega, who was by at the time and immediately offered herself as my guide, I should not easily have accomplished my object. Being preceded, however, by this good-natured child, I crept 6n hands and knees through a narrow low passage about ten feet long, at the end of which she pointed still onwards, and producing a knife, brought expressly for the purpose, fell to work in removing a large slab of snow that covered the door- way. Shega then retired, and I with much difficulty pushed myself forward throvgh the low and narrow entrance. The misery which now presented itself to my view was such that, though it will not easily be effaced from my memory, I am at a loss to convey by description any adequate idea of it. The hut was constructed of snow, in the usual form, but without a window ; and the light of a miserable single-wicked lamp was just sufficient to inter- cept the daylight by blackening the roof, to fill the apartment with smoke, and to render the wretchedness as well as "the darkness visible." The diameter of this habitation was about six feet, and its height from four to five. At one end of the bed-place lay the wretched Kaga, with a stream of blood that seemed to have come from her mouth, frozen, together with part of her hair, along the front of the bank of snow that formed the bed-place. After several ineffectual attempts to gain her attention, in the course of which I began to doubt whether she still lived, she at length, with much apparent difficulty, turned her head and exhibited a face which it was scarcely possible to recognise. Her eyes were now much closed, and even the half-smothered flame of a single wick in the lamp near her head seemed oppressive to her sight. In hopes of obtaining some information respecting her bodily complaints, I asked her several ques- tions ; but her answers, when she made any, were uttered in so slow and indistinct a tone of voice, that I could not understand a syllable of them. Beginning now seriously to feel the effects of the offensive atmosphere of the hut, which, if the nature of it could be described, would be little less disgusting in the description than in the reality, I was under the necessity of quitting this scene of human wretchedness, which exceeded any thing my Imagination could possibly have pictured. On my returning to Neiseak, the : I OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 409 n wife of Nuyakka, and reproaching her with the diabolical inhumanity of February thus leaving her sister to perish, she made some excuse which I did not ^^n**^ understand, but treated the whole matter with a degree of levity and indif- ference, of which it is painful to think any human creature capable on such an occasion. Placing Kooeetseearioo on my sledge, I now set off for the ships, in no very good humour with the humane qualities of the Esquimaux. On my return on board, strongly impressed with the misery I had just witnessed, 1 naturally began to consider what could be done to relieve it, and I well knew that I should not want assistance in executing any plan that might with this view be adopted. The difficulties, however, were not a few ; for besides the indelicacy of a sick, helpless, and perverse woman being attended solely by men, it wo aid he absoluti iy necessary to build a separate apartment for her reception, as Innooksioo, we were well aware, would not have remained in the hospital iUi hoivs after her admission there. Indeed, it was not without some coaxing, p*\d more ■hreai'ming, that he would allow Kooeetseearioo to be lodged under the ame roof with him. Determined, however, to make an effort to save this jT.fortunate wretch, who was evidently doomed by her own country jv*^ pie to a linger rg but certain death, a separate hut was erected, commui icatj g with the passage of tlie hospital, and a volunteer found among the chip's company to attend ■>; Jii- sively to her ; while every other necessary arrangement was made for her reception by the officers I have before mentioned as so humanely taking upon themselves this trouble. • • On the following day Mr. Crozier went out to bring her on board, and on Fnd, 21. unroofing the hut to remove her to the sledge found, as we suspected, that she had been robbed of almost every thing. When lodged in her new apartment, where there was light and room to examine her condition, little hope appeared of poor Kaga's r«^covery ; her debilitated state being such as to imply the almost total exhr^,ii -^on of the vital powers, and her body reduced in the short space of a few days to a mere skeleton. To shorten a story which there is little inducement to prolong, Kaga breathed her last on the following day, wh':h event there would have been no charity in sat. 22. lamenting, determineu as her country people were to let her ultimately perish. Nor was her removal to the ships at all to be regretted ; for if it were only to give the body a decent and secure burial, something might be considered as thus gained. On examination after death, she was found to have lost every tooth in her upper jaw, and her gums and the roof of her s o 410 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. 1823. mouth were quite black with disease, so that whatever supplies might latterly have been aiforded her she could not eat, and her stomach being quite empty, starvation wiis probably the occasion of her death. Having publicly made known her death to the Esquimaux, and allowed the body to remain unburied the whole of the following day, to give them an opportunity of doing something towards her burial, we placed her remains in a grave near the observatory, together with her lamp, the only residue of her original property. Not an inquiry was afterwards made about her ; and Nuyakka now disclaimed any relationship to her, though he had before asserted that she was his wife's sister, and had at least lacidy admitted her claim u|K)n them, by offering to take her into his hut. Thus perished a young woman not more than three-and-twenty years of age, the victim of the barbarous policy or savage inhumanity of her own countrymen ! There is somctliing peculiarly unpleasant in relating facts which degrade and discredit hunuui nature ; but he who professes faithfully to delineate the character and (lis- |)osition of a people, must be careful not to mutilate facts, or to palliate errors, merely for the sake of making a pleasing picture. Nothing worthy of notice occurred during the rest of February, wliiih month it was gratifying to tind presented, as to temperature, a similar ano- maly with January, the mean being only — 20°.41, which is probably a hijjii one for this latitude. On the 3d of March, the Esquimaux were excluded from the Fury for some hours, on account of a shovel having been stolen from alongside the preceding day. Soon after this, Oo-ob-toot, a middle-aged man, who had seldom visited the ships, was in Mr. Skeoch's cabin when that gentleman explained to him the reason of his countrymen being refused admittance : U|K)n this he became much agitated, trembled exceedingly, and complained of being cold. There could be no doubt that he thought Mr. Skeoch had dived into his thoughts ; for hastening upon deck, he was a minute or two afterwards detected in bringing back the lost shovel from the place where he had buried it behind our wall. A day or two before this occurrence, Captain Lyon had in a manner somewhat similar recovered a knife thai had been stolen from him, for which, by way of punishment, the oftender was consigned to solitary confinement for some hours in the Hecla's coal- hole. As, however, the Esquimaux only laughed at this as a very goo.39 99.905 West fresh cloudy 10 3S 43 40.54 03.5 80.30 99.38 80.333 NW modt. fine IT 30 43 35.07 63.5 89.69 39.37 89.470 NW f^sh clear and drift 18 8S 40 31.00 69.5 90.76 80.61 89.608 NNW light clear IB 31 40 37 00 00 99.70 90.78 90.787 NbE light clear 10 18 36 89.00 68 99.74 30.53 30.048 NW light IM ai 17 93 90.58 67.5 99.51 30.60 89.503 NW modt. clear 22 18 84 80.40 67 90.60 90.45 80.615 NW modt. clear n 84 38 90.75 58 89.74 89.68 80.603 NNW light clear 34 84 38 30.88 56.5 30.83 80.75 80.790 1 NW light clear 85 87 SO 33.67 60.6 89.83 89.71 30.789 NW light fine and clear 80 19 90 91.69 S7.5 89.03 99.46 90.698 North modt. hasy and drift 37 87 48 34.33 68.5 30.08 99.79 99.915 N. Westerly II. «M. * (•lint OfMt 88 34 4S 38.81 65.5 30.01 89.84 99.060 NW light iM +81 -43 -90.41 01 30.6V M.U 90.840 I 4 8 G 8 412 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1823. March. Wed. present well-authenticated instance of theft, in trying the effect of some more serious penalty. The delinquent was therefore put down into the Fury's store-room passage, and closely confined there for several hours ; when having collected several of the natives on board the Fury, I ordered him to be stripped and seized up in their presence, and to receive a dozen lashes on the back with a cat-o'-nine-tails. The instant this was over, his countrymen called out very earnestly, " Timun, timunna," (That's right, that's right,) and seemed much relieved from the fright they had before been in while the fate of the thief seemed doubtful ; but in three minutes after not one of them was to be found near the ships, for they hur- ried off to the huts as fast as their legs and sledges could carry them. This example proved just what we desired ; in less than eight-and-forty hours, men, women, and children came to the ships with the same confidence as before, always abusing Oo-oo-took, pronouncing themselves and us uncommonly good people, but evidently more cautious than before of really incurring our displeasure. The occurrence just related, instead of being placed to the account of these people's bad propensities, rather served to remind us of the rareness of such occurrences, and therefore to furnish fresh proof of their general honesty. It can, indeed, be scarcely doubted, that few if any savages would have withstood so many temptations to dishonesty as these Esquimaux had for months together been exposed to, without a single instance of theft occurring. This incident explained in some degree the meaning of the custom before mentioned, of stroking down the front of their jackets with the palm of the hand, which we observed them practise here on our first acquaintance. Oo-oo-took did this so frequently at the times when he was most frightened, and also the other Esquimaux during his punishment, that little donbt re- mained of its being in part meant to imply submission. The Esquimaux were about this time rather badly ofl' for food, in conse- quenre of the winds having of late been unfavourable for their fishery ; but this had only occurred two or three times in the course of the winter, and never so nincli us t( ccasion any great distress. It is certain indeed, that the quantity of nu'at which they procured between the 1st of October and the 1st of April, was sufficient to have furnished about double the |)opulation <>f working people, who were njoderate eaters, and ha, •• I Bread and bread-dust 1 IS ° Total of s«)lids .... 10 4 The fluids were in fair proportion, viz., Rich gravy-soup lipint. « t.' Haw spirits i3 wine-glasses. Strong grog 1 tumbler. Water 1 gallon 1 ])int. N \m ifF 54* 1 rl' Ih. 414 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY Ib23, March. of occasionally explaining to them in some measure in what direction our country lay, and of giving them some idea of its distance, climate, popula- tion, and productions. It was with extreme difticulty that these people had imbibed any correct idea of the superiority of rank possessed by some indi- viduals among us ; and when at length they came into this idea they naturally measured our respective importance by the riches they supposed each to possess. The ships they considered as a matter of course to belong to Cap- tain Lyon and myself, and on this account distinguished them by the names of La/on-oomiak and Paree-oomiak ; but they believed that the boats and other parts of the furniture were the property of various other individuals among us ; they 'ere therefore not a little surprised to be seriously assured that neither the one nor the other belonged to any of us, but to a much richer and more powerful person, to whom we all paid respect and obedience, and at whose command we had come to visit and enrich the Imtuees. Ewerat, on account of his steadiness and intelligence, as well as the interest with which he lis- tened to any thing relating to Kabloonas, was particularly fit to receive infor- mation of this nature ; and a general chart of the Atlantic Ocean, and of tlic lands on each side, immediately conveyed to his mind an idea of the distance wc had come, and the direction in which our home lay. This and similar information was received by Ewerat and his wife with the most eager astonishment and interest, not merely displayed in the " hei-ya ! " which constitutes the usual extent of Esquimaux admiration, but evidently enlarg- ing their notions respecting the other parts of the world, and creating in them ideas which could never before have entered their minds. By way of tr^ ing their inclinations, I asked them if they would consent to leave their own country and, taking with them their children, go to live in ours, where they would sec no more Innuees, and never eat any more seal or walrus. To all this they willingly agreed, and with an earnestness that left no doubt of their sincerity ; Togolat adding in an emphatic manner, " Shagloo ooagoot mo" (we do not tell a falsehood,) an expression of peculiar force among them. The eagerness with which they assented to this proposal made me almost repent my curiosity, and I was glad to get out of the scrape by saying, that the great personage of whom I had s])oken, would not be pleased at my taking them home, without having tirst obtained his permission. Information of the kind alluded to was subsequently given to many of the other Esquimaux, some of whom could at length pronounce the name of '• King George," so as to be tolerably intelligible. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 415 18-23. March. !?at. 8. On the Sth Innooksio, who had quite recovered from his complaint, and had almost regained his former strength and looks, left us for the huts on Nan- now's sledge. The impatience of these people to be out in the open air the moment they are free from pain, is always extreme, and constitutes one of the many difficulties of completing their cure. Kooeetseearioo was just at this time suffering from a relapse occasioned by this impatience, to which was now added anew cause of disquietude, produced by the anticipation of Innooksioo's departure, and the fear of sleeping keseemee (alone) in the hos- pital. The apprehensions which he expressed on this subject were so great, that we determined to remove him into our sick-bay, as he was now our only patient ; but this was done on condition of his drinking as much lemon-juice as he was desired, some pretty unequivocal symptoms of scurvy having now appeared in him. Innooksioo behaved very well at his departure, thanked some of our gentlemen for their kindness to him with great appearance of cordiality, and in short left us exactly as we could have wished. A number of walruses and of the seals of both kinds caught by the Tucs. 1 1 Esquimaux about this time, were observed to be with young, which circum- stance we had also noticed at the same season the preceding year. Captain Lyon procured the head of a small walrus, remarkable on account of its hav- ing three tusks, all very short, but two of them close together on the right side of the jaw, and placed one behind the other. On the 12th two families VVeJ. I .' of Esquimaux 'eft Igloolik for Arlagnuk, a part of the land to the southward, and near Ping-it-kalik, where the walruses were said to be abundant. Other families soon after removed to this station, towards which the tide of emi- gration seemed now to be turned, and before the close of March about fifty individuals had fixed their abode there. In these movements necessity may during the winter have considerable share ; but in the summer it is pcr- lia|}s only the love of change, for which most savages are distinguished, that can induce them to leave Igloolik, the shores of which tiiere need be no liesilationin asserting would easily supply a {)opulation, even of Esquimaux, ten times greater than theirs with food in profuse abundance. The weather was now so pleasant, and the temperature in the sun so com- Thu i'ortable to the feelings when a shelter could bo found from the wind, that we jct up various games for the people, such as cricket, foot-ball, and quoits, which some of them played for many hours during the day. There is a tertain sallowncss in the looks of people living much by candle-lighf, which was always very perceptible in our officers and men during the winter, but ^v. ir. 1). m a*. I it ]> W\ 416 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1823. Marclu which wore off generally with the returning spring. The sun now indeed began to be somewhat glaring and oppressive to the eyes on first cominfj into daylight ; and before the end of March some crape was issued to be worn as veils, a protection of which most persons were already glad to avail them- selves. A thermometer exposed to the sun on the south side of the observa- Frid. 14. tory on the 14th, indicated +18°, while another suspended freely without any shelter' from the wind, stood at zero, that in the shade being at — 9° at the time. - ''!"• - ,.».^.,, v- _--..:»..- ^ - • „:• .> ,7 ,■..:•. ^ Moil. 17. The mercury in the barometer rose to 30.84 inches at ten P.M. this day, being nearly the highq^t indication of this instrument we had ever registered in the polar regions *. This occurred with light winds between the north and east and a clear sky, except about the western horizon, over wliioh a dense darkish cloud hung during the whole day. At night indeed, when the mercury stood the highest, we experienced for the first time this season a dense fog, which for several hours obscured objects at the distance of two or three hundred yards. The mercury fell very gradually from this tinio, but so slowly that it had not reached thirty inches till noon on the 2-2d, during the whole of which time we enjoyed delightful weather. Mr. Mogg having accompanied some of the Esquimaux on their fisiiins^ excursion to the margin of the land-ice, in hopes of shooting some dovekies which they reported to be nunienms there, found that a floe of young ice too weak to bear their weight, had lately formed so as "to prevent their getting to the water. A number of sea-horses being seen on the sea-ice beyond this, the Esquimaux in their anxiety to approach them, as a last re- source, tried the strength of the ice by putting a young dog upon it, by which they nearly drowned the little animal, without at length succeeding in tiieir endeavours. On the 21st a woman named Ootooguak, who had been brought to the hos- pital in a very weak state, and had been gradually sinking for some days past, died, without struggle or apparent pain of any kind. A short time be- fore her death, of the approach of which both she and her husband were well aware, she took Mr. Skeoch's hand, and grasping it between hers with all the strength she then possessed, pressed it to her lips as an evident ac. knowledgment of his attention to her. There is something peculiarly affect- ing in such an acknowledgment at a moment like this. Ootooguak had she • The mercury stood at 30.86 Inches at Melville Island, on the 27th of April, 1820. Wed. 19. ^^r ■ m '^•■ K-,!; M ■ 1 OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 417 1823. March. I'rid. 21. recovered would, it is to be feared, never have evinced her gratitude in so feeling and unequivocal a manner ; but when death drew near, and the things of the world began to lose their value, the better feelings of our com- mon nature at once gained the ascendancy, and the selfishness of the savage character was lost in the awfulncss of the approaching crisis. Her husband who observed her take Mr. Skeoch's hand, and had throughout her illness watched her with unremitting attention, was much affected by this last act of his wife, and with many tears earnestly repeated his own thanks. An hour or two before her death, he came over to the ships for his two boys, one of whom was their real, and the other their adopted, son, and taking them into the hospital told them that their mother was dying. The boys then joined their father in crying for a few minutes, after which they went out to play with their usual cheerfulness, and with equal indiflerencc. As soon as she was dead her husband put all her clothes on her, and then agreesited, he was thankful to have some staves placed, to prevent any weight resting immediately upon it. He next laid on large slabs of snow, after which he had no objection to our people throwing on stones and earth ; which shews that their principal care is to avoid loading the body with any weight. Nothing was deposited in or near the grave but a pair of her spare boots, which were laid upon the body near the head. He came fre- quently afterwards to visit the grave, at an interval of several days each time, and generally walked round it once, sometimes muttering a few words and at others in silence, but never ap|iearingto be much affected : this custom is at- tended to with scrupulous tare, and is evidently connected with some super- stitious notion that renders it indispensable in their eyes. This man also expressed great anxiety a'jouthis living three days at the ship after his wife's death and, within an hour aftei that time was accom|»lishcd, went away satisfied and in good spirits. The custom of not using sledges and du-^s for five days after such an event, which is certainly considered dctiiit s H n p I I 418 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY March ^^^ propcr, is not always strictly attended to ; for several went out to the m fishery the day following Ootooguak's death, and one or two came to the ships within three days. Some individuals, notwithstanding the serious inconvenience of this practice, adhered to it more scrupulously, and Toole- mak could by no means be prevailed on to part with a dog for which I had bargained, till the five days were completed. When however there are no relatives at hand to observe the practice, as in the case of the unfortunate Kaga, it is altogether neglected ; so that its non-observance is only perhaps considered to affect the dead, without having any influence over the living. Messrs. Crozier and Ross, having spent one or two days in accompanying some of the Esquimaux on their fishing excursions, found that the same floe of " young" and weak ice as before still opposed an insuperable obstacle to the catching of walruses. Mr. Ross succeeded in killing a single dovekey, which proved extremely curious from the whiteness of its plumage. It was probably on account of the present unfavourable state of the ice for the walrus-fishery, that several other families removed, before the end of March, to Pingitkalik, where these animals were equally abundant, and more easily procured ; for the Esquimaux do not acknowledge the truth of our English proverb, that " enough is as good as a feast." Previously to tlieir Wed. 26. departure, several of them, with their usual cunning, paid two or three " last visits" to the ships on as many successive days, having found by experience that some extra presents were made them on such occasions. We heard about this time of a child six or seven years of age having recently been drowned, by accidentally falling into a hole in the ice made for soaking their seal-skins. At the close of the month of March we were glad to find that its mean tem- perature, being — 19°.75, when taken in conjunction with those of January and February, appeared to constitute a mild winter for this latitude. There were besides, some other circumstances which served to distinguish this winter from any preceding one we had passed in the ice. One of the most remarkable of these was the frequent occurrence of hard well-de- Fiid. 28. fined clouds, a feature wc had hitherto considered as almost unknown in the winter-sky of the polar regions. It is not improbable, that these may have in part owed their origin to a large extent of sea keeping open to the south-eastward throughout the winter, though they not only occurred with Uon. 31. the wind from that quarter, but also with the colder weather usually accom- panying north-westerly breezes. About the time of the sun's re-appearance. -y-- *;"- .r^' *■■ m H i *t! k'i ^'i\ N 418 iiisf:)^^® vwt.'Msas tgaa, tis& siscoveey 1323. March. amJ j««»»#T. m^-itm always strictly attended to; «br «eTeruI wont (mtto^lit^ it*!'' ^t'Win^ t.)t>roog^uak s death* and oa4J or two catAC to the Kwve days. Home intuvitJu^li?, iM^twithstnmiisjs?; the seriou* Mo;i, 31 xit this pr:i/'ric.cs adhered (o it »iw>ro «,c*iip!}loujily. mifi Toolr lu; mean- In- |>r<»v»il^«l utx to part wi?b n do? tor which I had J lUc fivo «lay?j were compJoted. Whcii howcYtr there are no ,.«,' frv riJ^H-^ne the {iractice, a» in the case of t.he lUAfortunate ^.i^Wk m'iri#W thHt it* uum-observance is oniy ptMhaps ■ ,i^*>'*»-fWi ':>*€v-:i iW (kuA. ■»%»tijuui ii«vi*jjsf Jiity uir.uence Mvor tUt? \\v[v.g. ,il«a^«. t'mxier anfl H<*^s,baviiije «p(*^ one ^*r ^^^t^ days irvac'ioin|wi)yinif *if»-.»»cof the Esveak ice as IfeforestjH op^xised ,-tti insujXTahSe otwtacie to tlse catchinir of ^vulriHCs. Mr. Ross succeeded Jn liillinif a: single tfovtkey, \vUich prover! extrevmly curious from fttc wiiitene*s of its plumajijc. It v.Hr. probably f>i> account <"»f the pres;ej>ti un{':tvouraK.e .state of the ie^ I'or dif walnts-fKHerv. th»v. s.veral other families removed, Wt'ore the i^n>i of ■\larch, to Pina^iUui'uk, wliere thcnse animals wore cq»uill.v abmidunt, tUi'!w4»rf' eiisily proe.ired : Km- the Ej^quiihaux do not acknowledge the tnuh oi our Knj^Ush pnoverhy uuit '• enau^h »« m «<.tKJ t« a r«i«?.t ' Previ ^*W ' • " : < ■ - .«* «»f^Sp«t" hA'Pitig recenUy {^-^fu <|pOwn<*d, »n i»yA#»i- ' tfe<^ic« ina^'Cor soak«»if thti/ .*;*\d-skin?*. - - • .., At the clo«»e of the jnortth of M»ireh we were glad to find that its mmt\ teo?- peratnre. beinj? — W .1'), whoa taken in eonjunction witli those ef J^*'.^^.t^rv .lutl Ft hnjarv, appeared to eoiMititute n mdd winter tor thi-> latitude. X\wif> rtpre I 'Vid*'* so*^^ <«^»**Mt;e!« wljicii served lo distinjrtM** »'«# wintir H^tm *«* *»«■ ■•• * - '- ' pw^-sed in the ice. thv' »/, ^ mo^t rt-.A^rtiKhu'- ahie, th«»J Jt»nw' ;«> have ti parr owed their oitfi* »<» » ^^niT*^ eTiient of sen keepins< a^g^i^ ■^o\ifh'.t*-«ard throughout the ih.-uarU they not. only w;. the wirvi — o» ihm (juarter, Imt »»•-■ *iih the cx>hler weather u'ottho time of vlie sun'* wj'-ii^^'--'™' - 4 im w ! ,i^ Hiv m and admi of th for n and ] this or bi guisli into I nome sun's laitet to us so mi our V ncss also I and < and 1 now woul the e othei nevei Sh noon bytJ row i the li Pa angu rema tiou; parh at a little haps OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 419 and for a week or two after it, these clouds were not more a subject of ,1^*1' . »!• ii/>ii>«i March. admiration to us on account of their novelty, than from the glowing richness of the tints with which they were adorned. It is indeed scarcely possible for nature, in any climate, to produce a sky exhibiting greater splendour and richness of colouring than we at times experienced in the course of this spring. The edges of the clouds near the sun often presented a fiery or burnished appearance, while the opposite side of the heavens was distin- guished by a deep purple about the horizon, gradually softening upwards into a warm yet delicate rose-colour of inconceivable beauty. These phe- nomena have always impressed us the most forcibly about the time of the sun's permanent setting, and that of his re-appearance, especially the Initer, and have invariably furnished a particular subject of conversation to us at those periods ; but I do not know whether this is to be attributed so much to the colouring of the sky exactly at the times alluded to, as to our habit of setting on every enjoyment a value proportioned to its scarce- ness and novelty. Besides the colouring of the clouds just mentioned, I also observed five or six times, in the course of the spring, those more rare and delicate tints to which allusion has already been made in this Narrative, and twice in that of the preceding voyage. This peculiarity, in which I now observed no difference from those of the same kind before described, would probably have been oftener seen but for the glare of the sun upon the eyes in viewing an object so near it. Perhaps it has also been seen in other climates ; here it is, I believe, most frequent in the spring, and I have never noticed it after the summer temperature has commenced. Shortly after the sun's re-appearance, it not unfrequently happened about noon that a part of the low shore to the southward of the ships appeared, by the effect of refraction, to be raised and separated, forming a long nar- row streak of a dark colour, like a cloud, suspended a few minutes above the land, in a position nearly horizontal. Parhelia and imperfect halos very often occurred in the spring, their angular distance from the sun being from 22° to 23°, but having nothing remarkable either in form, situation or colours, to need a separate descrip- tion on each occasion. It was sometimes observable however, that though parhelia appear to an observer placed nearly on a level with the sea, to be at a considerable distance from the eye, they are found, on ascending a little eminence, to be produced on some medium comparatively close, per- haps only from one to two miles distant. In this case the land or other 3 li 2 If 11 ^M IH H'E m m m ('If--: tr -r-i 420 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY m<- March. distant objects may be seen over them, though there is near them always a mistiness to which they perhaps owe their origin. Although however the winter atmosphere of these regions is seldom free from numberless mi- nute particles of snow, which are abundantly deposited upon any thing left in the open air, yet it was not observable, except in some cases of snow-drift, that parhelia were more frequent or distinct when this deposit was the greatest, than when the atmosphere was comparatively clear, though in the latter case they are always to appearance most distant. Parhelia occur most frequently, and exhibit the greatest inten- sity of light, at low altitudes of the sun. This is often particularly ob- ser\'able in the short days, when these phenomena assume a very brilliant appearance soon after sunrise, decrease in splendour towards noon, and resume their brightness as the sun descends towards the horizon ; con- tinuing however distinctly visible the whole time, and being sometimes accompanied by a more or less perfect halo undergoing corresponding variations. Another peculiarity observed in this winter was the rare occurrence of the Aurora Borealis, and the extraordinary poorness of its display when- ever it did make its appearance. It was almost invariably seen to the southward, between an E.S.E. and a W.S.W, bearing, generally low, the stationary patches of it having a tendency to form an irregular arch, and not unfrequently with coruscations shooting towards the zenith. When more diifused it still kept, in general, on the southern side of the zenith ; but never exhibited any of those rapid and complicated movements observed in the course of the preceding winter, nor indeed any feature that renders it necessary to attempt a particular description. The electrometer was fre- quently tried by Mr. Fisher, at times when the state of the atmosptirre appeared the most favourable, but always without any sensible effect being produced on the gold leaf. The difference in the temperature of the day and night began to be sensible as early as the first week in March, and the daily range of the ther- mometer increased considerably from that time. The increase in the average temperature of the atmosphere, however, is extremely slow in these regions, long after the sun has attained a considerable meridian altitude ; but this is in some degree compensated by the inconceivable rapidity with which (he iht fine 17 14 30 18,38 50.5 30.81 30. CT 30.7CU North lig<>> t A.M. fin.' iP.M.foKgy 18 14 3<) 31 .SO 50.S 30.79 30.58 30.70U North liglit tine 19 S 25 15 17 CO.S 30.59 30.30 .10.377 Northerly light flno » 3 31 11.43 01 SO. IS 30. OC 30.107 NNW light flue « 8 13 0.08 59.5 30.10 30.05 a0.07.i NW light Ann « + 1 IS 8.71 CO. 5 30.09 29.90 39.990 NNW niudl. cleiir » - 7 10 10. S4 03 39.88 39.78 30.813 WNW f(»iii and M)uall) drift £4 + a IS S.C7 S-i.S 30.03 39.80 •:9.0S3 WNW light cle.ir M 4 IS 3.88 00.5 1 39.05 30.89 20.013 M'eil light cloudy iiO - 1 33 13.31 1 01 30 03 30.80 20.003 Weit light liaxy, tnow at times '/T 1 10 10. OK 03.5 30. 0!) 39.07 30.00. NE mod). Jiasy and inuw 2'4 11 30 18. «i 58 30.03 80.01 10. WiO j NW linht fl:.8 30 13 37 18.71 S3.S 30.07 29.91 30.955 1 NW liKht flUD .10 8S IS .03 00.5 30.13 30.05 30. 0^;^ 1 NW IIkIiI flne i\ 3 33 11. OS 01 30.30 30,I.V}0.a3u NNW liglil flae 1*' >4t -107.^ SOS •iil.H 1 30.<<3 30.03x 1 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. 480 CHAPTER XIV. VARIOUS JOURNEYS TO THE ESQUIMAUX STATIONS ILLNESS AND DECEASE OF MR. ALEXANDER ELDER PREPARATIONS FOR THE HECLAS RETURN TO ENGLAND REMARKABLE HALOS, ^'C. SHOOTING PARTIES STATIONED AT ARLAGNUK JOUR- NEYS TO QUILLIAM CREEK ARRIVAL OF ESQUIMAUX FROM THE NORTHWARD ACCOUNT OF A JOURNEY TO THE ".VESTWARD FOR THE PURPOSE OF REACHING THE POLAR SEA THE ESQUIMAUX Rt. ORT TWO FISHING-SHIPS HAVING BEEN WRECKED- V JOURNEY PERFORMED TO COCKBURN IsLAND DISCOVERY OF lUrRHAV MAXWELL lyLET. Whatever hopes of an unu>iually mild winter might have been excited by the mean temperature of some of tlie preceding months, the com|>ttrative view exhibited in the foregoing table, for a longer period of each winter that wc had passed in these regions, did not seem to hold out at present a pro- spect of any thing extraordinary. It c»)uld indeed have been scarcely anti- cipated that our journals would have registered so progressive a decrease of mean temperature, in projjortion to the height of our latitude as that here given ; and this circumstance may perhaps be considered as intimating tjiat though in small intervals of time, such as particular and corres|M>nding months, consiilerable differences may occur in this r.'spect, yet that in longer periods the averages will be found to coincide more nearly : — that nature, in s!u)rt, though ever varying in detail, still preserves her general uniformity ; and that when any considerable deviation from her usual course has taken place on one side, she struggles to mainlain the balance by some extraordi- nary compensation on the other. On the 1st of April Captain Lyon went out on his sledge to the distant station of the Escpiimaux, which he found to be situated eiglit or nine mile<» to the westward o'* Tern IslamI, and consisting of \]\r snow-huts built upon the ice ; the people, who were twenty-eight in number, living almost indepen dently of th' open water, by catching the m-i'lii/,- in il^ hole in the nanner already clescribecl. They were ut tWu time ubundaully furuiKhed with fuud, 1AC!3. April. lues. 1. m I' '? ¥1 ^ II, w. ■ i 424 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY k' 1823. and were chiefly clad in seal-skin dresses. Among them were two young v-rvx^ men who were invalids, one of whom was slowly recovering from an illness occasioned by excessive eating, and the other had just fallen sick from the same cause, but was relieved by bleeding. Wed. 2. Captain Lyon returning to the ships on the 2d, and old Nannow wiUi a party of other Esquimaux arriving from Pingitkalik at the same time, I lodged the latter in my cabin, and on the following day accompanied them on their return home ; one or two other families also setting ott* from Igloolik to join their companions to the southward. I found the Esquimaux situated about twenty-three miles to the southward and eastward of the ships ; tlie huts being built upon the ice in immediate contact with the beach, and the open water, in which they killed walruses for their subsistence, being distant from them about three miles. The quantity, of meat in the nuts at this time was so great, that 1 never remember to have seen it more abundant, (non in the su iimer ; and two more walruses were killed during my stay there. Nannow and all his household behaved to us with a degree of kindness and genuine hospitality which nothing could surpass. Indeed the old man seemed to be only apprehensive that he could not do enough for me, and fidgetted about the whole evening in preparing my bed and repairing my dogs' harness, while his wife was mending my boots. Every now and then tliis worthy creature kept calling his own " igloo" bad, and mine good ; and in the morning he offered me, I believe, in turn, every article belonging to him in return for the presents which I had ma' «»r Hmall seal which brings forth its young at this season, and probably retires into sheltered places for that purpose*. Besides the old seals which xuto • " Tho iielsek m thi- only spifios of scul which renminH in the wiiUor midor tlic ice. Thi-y fimii in it largo cnM-nis, in which thov hring forth thcli- yomj^-, two nl u time, in March. Mt)ri' than om riivcni lulong.-* toonosonl, that ho nmy if (liHtiirl)c more deeply than by myself. Most sincerely indeed do 1 lament the occasion which demands from me this tribute, due to tlic memory of an active and valuable seaman, as well as an honest ml n|)right i .an His remains were committed to the ground near the Observa- tory, M'JtIi all the solemnity that the occasion (leummled, and a tonib of Tluir. 17. stones, with a handsome tomb-stone, ruised over the grwe. The 'ir»t dui-Us noticed by the Es(|uimaux were mentioned to us on the llilli, and a few days afterwards immense flocks appeared, all ■>!' the king- 3 I mm m ■I B W- : U 11 426 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1823. April. Sun. 20. duck species, about the open water near the margin of the ice ; but our dis- tance from this was so great that we never saw any of them, and the "weather was yet too cold to station a shooting party in that neighbourhood. Dove- kics were now also numerous, and a gull or two of the silvery species had been seen. On the 20th after divine service, I took the opportunity of Captain Lyon and his people being on board the Fury, to communicate to the assembled officers and ship's companies my intentions respecting the future movements of the Exprdition ; at the same time requesting Captain Lyon to furnish mc with a list of any of the Hecla's men that might volunteer to remain out, as it would be necessary to fill up, or perhaps even to increase the complcnietit of the Fury. Our preparations were therefore immediately commenced, a twelve moiiMis' provision and other stores being received by the Fury, and various necessary exchanges made in anchors, cables, and boats ; and in the course of a single fortnight the whole of these were transported from ship to ship without any « xposure or labour to the men outside thefr respective ships, our invaluable d(tj4s having performed it for us with astonishing case and expedition. It was a curious sight to watch these useful animals walking off with a bower- anchor, a boat, or a topmast without any difficulty; and it may give some idea of what they are able to perform to state, that nine dogs of Captain Lyon's dragged sixteen hundred and eleven pounds a distance of seventeen hundred and fifty yards iti nine minutes, and that they worked in a similar way between the ships for seven or eight hours a day. The road was, however, very good at this time, .\nd the dogs the best that could be pro- cured. Mon. 21. On the 21st ''Loo-eet-see-arioo, who had for a fortnight past been in a sad fidget about t>oing away, and who had now no complaint but debility, at length to*'!; his departure. He was fortunate in leaving us at a time of the year wl».n cxjxisure to the air was of comparatively little importance, and he subse |Uently recovered his health sufficiently to resume all his occupations. I regret to add that tht» .ase was diiferent with our late patient Innooksioo, who, having suffered a r«;lapse when < a distance from u«, died about this lime, as we were afterwaids informed by the other Esquimaux. His widow, Amlo-tooinyak, was well taken care of, living in old Nannow's hut for some time, and shortly after becoming the second wife of Ootooguak.one of his sons. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 427 It is certain, however, that for some time she was nearly common to every 1323. body, and it was said to be in consequence of a suggestion made on board \.,^^^ the ships, that she became the acknowledged wife of Ootooguak. On the evening of the 24th, the thermometer being at +6°, some halos Thur. 24. and parhelia appeared about the sun, which the annexed figure will best describe. This was the only phenomenon of the kind particularly worthy of notice that occurred during the spring. 6', the sun, eight to ten degrees above the horizon. a, f, A horijwntal circle of wliite light, passing through the sun and parhelia ; upon this appea red at times a large white spot, exactly opposite to the sun in the heavens. /, g, Parhelia situated upon the inner halo/, i, ij, of which the radius was 28° 2o'. /(, i, /, Part ofan inverted circle, touching the upper part of the halo/, i, j, and sometimes assumiii;? llie fonn of a bow, b, c, d, \n outer halo, much more brightly tinged with the prismatic colours thau the inner one ; its radius 4ii°. . s The wind settling to ihe southward for a few days near tlic end of April, brought an increased and, to us. a comfortable degree of warmth ; and it was '"^' considered an event of some interest, that the snow which fell on the "iDtli dissolved as it lay on our decks, being the first time that it had done so this season. We now also ventured to take off some of the hatches for an hour or two in the day, and to admit some fresh air, a luxury which we had not known for six months. The Esijuimuux about this time began to separate more than before, according to their u^ual custom in the spring ; some of them, and 3 I 8 29. •V,*'^'^ 428 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. 1823. April. Mav. Frid. '2 especially our Winter Island acquaintance, setting off to the little islands called Ooglit and those in our neighbourhood removing to the north-east end of Igloolik, to a peninsula called Keiyuk-tarruoke, to which the open water was somewhat nearer. These people now became so much incom- moded by the melting of their snow huts, that they were obliged to substitute skins as the roofs, retaining however the sides and part of the passages of the original habitations. These demi-tents were miserable enough while in this state, some of the snow continually falling in, and the floor being constandy wet by its thawing. On the 2d of May several of our gentlemen accompanied the Esquimaux to the open water, to endeavour to procure some ducks, large flocks of which were flying about there ; but a quantity of " young" ice prevented their approaching them. In walking out with the wind blowing against them from the sea to the eastward, they found their faces covered with salt, the ther- mometer being from +11° to +17° during the day. Thur. 8. Accustomed as we had been to the rapidity of the changes produced by warmth when it does begin to operate in these climates, we still could not help being surprised at the alteration which a few days of temperate weather in the beginning of May eflected in the appearance of the land, many of the ridges being almost entirely clear of snow, and every hour discovering some fresh spots of dark ground. The deception occjisioned by one unvaried and extensive surface of white was now also once more perceptible, principally in making the neighbouring lands appear much nearer than before, and . discovering the hills and valleys ; whereas in the winter all was blended to- gether, so as to give no idea of the true distance of the land or of its various undulations. Another change which we have invariably remarked to take place in the spring, was now daily more and more observable ; this consisted in the distinctness with which distant lands might be seen, or rather in those parts of the coast coining in sight which we had never seen during the winter. It is most certain indeed that, notwithstanding all that has been said of the super'ur transparency of the winter atmosphere in these regions, there is none less clear for viewing cither celestial or terrestrial objects, which fact will I believe become apparent to any person putting it fairly Sat. 10. to the test. At eleven P.M. we had a thick fog, which lasted for a couple of hours, and another for a short time on the 10th. Upon the spots that were hare of snow on shore we now observed numerous caterpillars, of the same kind as those found in equal abundance, and at the same time of the ABSTRACT of the METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL kept on board His Majesty's Ship FuKT, at Igloolik, duri ng the Month of AprU, 1823. Fahrenheit's Ther- mometer. Mean Temp. oflower-deJIi. Barometer. Prevailing Winds. Day 1 Prevailing Weather. Mui- ■mn. Mini- Mran. mum. Mini- mum. Mtin. DiTCCtion. Velueilr. -°6 O —20 o -11.42 +6°.5 iiKbn iiU.2U inri,.- 30.18 iacliii 3U.^7 NNW liglit fine 2 + 5 15 O.frl 61.0 SO.Ki 29.94 30.033 A.M.N 1 H.M.NNWJ iiebt flne S a 16 ..i.| 60.5 29.97 29.70 :29.832 NNW fresh tM 4 ..« 61.5 20.66 29.54 29.S93 NW fresh cloudy and drift S - 2 13 '■" 61.0 29.0!) 29.50 29.562 j M'NW fresh hazy and drift G 8 21 13.02 1 62.0 20.80 29.70 29.750 NW modi. fine 7 C 25 15.38 61 .5 29.9K 29.85 29.S27 NW light flne 8 + 4 21 8.42 61.0 30.24 29.9T 30.112 NW light tm 11 13 +0.90 61.5 30.28 80.12 30.223 wsw light cloudy 10 12 15 3.00 63.5 30.16 SO.a'S 80.107 West fresh cloudy and drift 11 12 20 -3.92 62.0 30. IC 80.12 30.148 VSW light fine 12 IG 0.07 66.5 30.89 80.02 30.226 NNW light cloudy 13 17 22 8.12 64.0 30.40 30.87 30.360 West ligiit fine U 3 23 13.83 63.0 30.37 30.05 30.210 North light ftM 15 - 6 25 15.04 66.5 29.94 29.70 20.608 NNW fresh ftw 10 + 6 17 7.12 56.5 29.70 20.08 2g.C05 NW fresh clear and drift 17 II II 0.83 54.0 29.70 20.68 29.642 NW strong drift 18 15 2 +7.58 60.0 29.80 29.52 20.647 NW strung cloudy and drift 19 2 15 -5.42 58.5 30.03 'iO.Kfc 29.002 North light fine 20 IS 14 Zero. 68.0 20.95 20.74 ;i9.83G MSW light chindy 21 8 14 -S.SO 50.0 30.10 29.85 29.gco North light Urn 22 13 +3.17 67.5 80.20 30.15 30.188 West light fine 2S IS 4 4.42 07.5 30.17 30.05 30.104 North light cloudy ond smull snow 24 G 2.3.t 66.5 29.08 20.88 20.913 NNW modt. clear 26 13 2 G.OU C6.0 29.98 29.C0 20.938 1 NNW modt. hazy and (now 20 14 8 S.SO 66.0 30.08 80.00*30.057 80.1o's0.133 NW frosh.sqls. •Ittf 27 20 S 0.75 67.6 30.12 SE light nnd) turiiible f hazy and mow 28 20 + 8 17.42 68.6 30.13 21)83 29.957 1 South a.m. light) p.ui.rreshj clear 20 32 3 18.02 70.0 20.88 29.7829.817' 1 1 NNW light hnzy and snow SU 11 — 4.17 65.0 80.10 29.05 80.042' NW fresh clear +32 1 -2'. -1.68 62.2 30.4(1 1 29 5029.900 ' 1 il i I 430 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1823, May. Mod. 12. Wfid. 14. year at Winter Island. The late mild weather having become an inconve- nience to Mr. Fisher at the Observatory, owing to the thaw that was going on around it, we now pitched a tent for the reception of the instruments, and Mr. Fisher's clock was soon after set up in it. Among other useful purposes to which our dogs were put, they afforded an opportunity of trying, on a more extensive scale than had before been done at Winter Islam!, the experiment of laying sand upon the ice in order to assist its dissolution. The sledge was therefore employed daily for a fortnight in bringing sand from the shore, and lightly covering the ice with it in llie di- rection of the open sea. The space thus covered was twenty-four feet in width, a narrow line having been before found to cover itself very frequently with drift, and the extent accomplished was about two-thirds of a mile. The effect produced by this will be mentioned hereafter. Towards the middle of May, ten individuals of the Esquimaux who were strangers to U3, consisting of three men, four women, and three children, arrived from Pettig, a station represented by them to be from six to ten days' journey from Igloolik, but of whose situation we could never obtain any very satisfactory information. A man named Toolooak, being the fourth in- dividual of our acquaintance distinguished by that favourite appellation, came to the ships on the I4th, accompanied as usual by some of the others to introduce liim. It appeared from what these people said, that the Esquimaux at Pcetig had received no intimation of our being here ; so that none of ii'iQ others liad gone that way since our arrival : we gained no in- formation of interest from the newly-arrived party. The parts of the land which had been un^jovered were now once more hidden from us by a fresh coat of snow, and indeed the whole prospect had resumed, in every respect, its winter appearance, Mon. 19. Some of our gentlemen, on going out on the I9th to Arlagnuk, where a part of the Esquimau-.c still remained, found that that the open water had now approached the shore there within three-quarters of a mile, and that the ducks were more numerous than before. They succeeded in killing some of these, and Ooi/arraseo, Avho proved a most active, intelligent, and obliging young man, immediately carried down his canoe to try to pick them up, but without success, the swell being so considerable at the margin of the ice that, though he managed to launch her, he could not steady her suffi- ciently to get into the hole. He explained at <.he same time, that in sucli cases, and when very desirous of getting out, they sometimes lash two OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 431 canoes together, to give the requisite stability. Some long-tailed ducks were noticed by the Esquimaux on the 21st, at which time some silvery gulls were more frequently seen than before, but they were not numerous. On tlie 22d the Esquimaux observed, for the first time this season, the tracks of two deer ; and the snow-buntings, which are usually some of the earliest visitants to these reigions in the spring, began now to appear in flocks ; but it was seldom that a stray bird of any kind was to be seen in the neighbourhood of tlic ships. On the 26th, Captain Lyon went out on his sledge to Arlagnuk, and suc- ceeded in killing fourteen pair of king-ducks, a part of which only the Esquimaux, who picked them- up in their canoes, thought proper to return, secreting the rest for their own use. Finding that nothing but a boat was wanting to ensure us a suj >f ducks from time to time, we now sent a party with an officer, and our -.inall boats from each ship, these being carried on sledges to Arlagnuk, where our shooting-parties were established close to the open water, which extended from thence to the south-eastward, as far as the eye could reach. Favourable as the first part of the month of May had appeared with respect to temperature, its close was by no means equally promising, and on the 1st of June, at two A.M., the thermometer stood at +8°. This unusually low temperature, much exceeding in severity any thing we had experienced at Melville Island at the same season, rendered it necessary to defer for a time a journey which it was proposed that Captrin Lyon should undertake, across the land to the westward at the head of Quilliam Creek, and thence, by means of the ice, along the shores of the Polar Sea, in the direction to- wards Akkoolee. The object of this journey, like that of most of the others which had been performed in various directions, was to acquire all the infor- mation within our reach, of those parts of the continental coast to which the ships were denied access ; and it was hoped that at the coming season some judgment might be formed of the probable state of the ice along that shore in the summer, by which the future movements of the Fury might be influ- enced. Captain Lyon was to be accompanied by two men, and a complete supply of every kind for a month's travelling was to be drawn on a sledge by ten excellent dogs, which he had taken great jwins to procure and train for such occasions. As I was desirous of ascertaining beyond any doubt the identity of the Khemig, to which I had sailed in the autumn, with that seen by Captain Lyon on his journey with the Esquimaux, I determined Mon. 26. .June. Sun. 1. „Mr ''M^ m IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /.Q z 1.0 128 I.I 11.25 ■^ U^ |2.2 S lis |2^ m /\ %: > '^ '/ Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STMIT WnSTIR.N.Y. 14SI0 (7I«) •73-4S03 o *i\.^& .•V ^ W l/.j. ABSTRACr of the METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL kept oa board His Majesty's Ship FuuT, at Igloolik, during the Month of May, 1323. Falirenheit'g Tbermumeter. Bwometer. Prevailing Winils. Prevailing Day I M»xl- mum. Mini- uum. M<». Mui- mum. Miai- mum. Mun. Direction. Vilocity. Weather. +f7 -% + 5.33 iachn 30.08 incbet 29 99 inrhei 3U.022 West liRht cloudy 2 17 + s 11.33 30.0J 29,88 29.97.5 NE modt. cloudy 3 17 4 10.92 30.03 29.90 »0.000 NNE fresh cloudy 4 34 12 25.42 20.89 29.52 29.047 NE strong constant snow fi 371 11 23.90 30.07 29.74 20.905 South modi. clondy 40 20 32.00 20.07 29.91 29.925 NE light snow 7 30 31 34.75 30.17 29.03 30.038 ESE fresh cloudy aud snow 8 40 31 30. G2 30.45 30.24 30.362 ESE modt. cloudy 9 4S 30 38.12 30.47 30.43 30.448 SW light cloudy 10 32 26 30.00 30.43 30.40 30.412 SW by West toNW light cloudy and snow 11 37 22 29.96 30 37 30.27 30.323 NWesterly modt. cloudy 12 28 22 24.25 30.22 30.07 JO. 140 NW fresh cloudy 13 231 11 20.00 30.10 30.01 30.012 NW modt. fw 11 30 23.46 .W.OO 29.80 29.898 WSW light cloudy and snow 15 40 22 30.70 29.77 20.01 29.723 South light lazy and small mow 16 20 lOi 21.29 29.55 29.38 20.488 North strong doudy and snow 17 20) 17 23.12 29.79 29.54 20.687 Northerly modt. fine 18 2S 14 20.25 20.80 29.70 29.792 NNW fresh Cne and drift 10 27 m.42 20.77 29.72 20.735 NNW fresh clear 20 28 S 17.68 29.78 29.63 20.690 WbS modt. - -KM'. 21 21 14 18.00 29.01 39.58 29.598 NNW strong etoudy 22 32 14 22.12 20.57 20.54 39.550 SE light hazy and snow 2S 92 20 20.17 20.69 29.52 20.013 SE light •now 24 34 23 28.8S 20.82 29.03 29.005 8SE modt. hazy and snow 2& is 21 31.17 29.83 29.77 29.8D2 SE strung cloudy and snow 20 41)} 24 18.21 20.80 29.80 ■M.tai South light . tm 27 30 18 27.00 30.15 29.90 iO.WJT, Wetlerly light clear 2n 48 14 32.45 30.10 29.87 29.1180 Southerly light clouily 211 48 17 31.25 20.H0 29.81 29.Ha SW K.m.light p.m.l'resh An* cloudy 30 20 13 10.42 80.13 20.9J 30.003 NbW freah clear SI 27 11 18.25 80.08 29.9W 30.02A NW modt. elm +101 -8 +34.85 30.47 39.88 20.015 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. 433 to accompany the travellers on my sledge as far as the head of Quilliam '823. Creek, and by victualling them thus far on their journey, enable them to v>"v-v, gain a day or two's resources in advance. Another object which I had in view was to endeavour to find a lake mentioned by Toolemak ; who assured ine that if I could dig holes in the ice, which was five feet thick, plenty of large salmon might be caught with hooks, an experiment which seemed at least well worth the trying. Our first shooting-parties, being relieved on the 5th, brought with them aThur. o. huiKhed and twenty ducks which, as well as all other game that might be procured this season except venison, 1 directed to be served as an extra allowance to the officers and men. These proved the more acceptable in consequence of our usual supply of the hearts, livers, and kidneys of the walrus having lately failed us, the Esquimaux having little or none to spare. So accustomed had we been, indeed, to this supply, that the sudden failure of it was esteemed a greater loss than we could have sup})oscd possible a twelvemonth before. We were much shocked about this time to hear of the death of poor Togolul, at a station somewhat to the southward of Ooglit. About six weeks before this she had been vuiwell at Igloolik, when Mr. Ed- wards, having seen and prescribed for her, recommended that she should be brought to the ship. I proposed this to Evverat, and ofl'ered to send my sledge for her and to lodge them both in my cabin, to all which he seemed to agree ; but with a degree of caprice almost unaccountable, even in a savage, set off the very next morning to the southward. Here, as we heard from time to time, she continued constantly ailing ; but Ewerat still moved further and further out of our reach, and at length lost his wife to whom he was certainly very much attached. We regretted the death of this poor woman extremely, for she was one of our first and principal acquaintance, and we knew that our friend Ewerat would sadly feel her loss. On the 7th, the weather being more favourable than before, Captain Lyon Sat. 7. and myself set out to the westward at half-past eleven A.M., and the ice proving level, reached Khcmig at half-past five ; when it was satisfactory to find that the route followed by Cajjtain Lyon on his journey with Toolemak was precisely that which I had supposed, every feature of the land, of which the fog had before scarcely allowed him a glimpse, being now easily recog- nised and every difficulty cleared up. Continuing our journey among the Coxe Islands till seven o'clock, we landed upon one of them, and were not sorry to find abundance of water on every rock, though on the loose 3 K m ii m tm 434 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1823. June. soil of the land about the ships, none had yet appeared. Proceeding at eight A.M. on the 8th, we soon met with numerous tracks of deer upon the Sun. 8. ice, which, together with the seals that lay in great numbers near their holes, expedited our journey very considerably, the dogs frequently setting off at full gallop on sniffing one of them. Landing at the head of Quilliam Creek at half-past one, we took up an advantageous position for looking about us, in order to determine on the direction of Captain Lyon's route over land, which all the Esquimaux concurred in representing as a laborious one. The land is here almost entirely high, a range of lofty hills stretch- ing in a north-Avest and south-cas« direction at the back of the creek, and intercepting the view to the westward. Much of this rugged land had now lost its snow, and the only route that seemed practicable for a sledge was in about a S.b.E. direction at the foot of the hills, which appeared after- wards to take a more westerly turn. We met with several rein-deer imme- diately on our landing ; and while in pursuit of them Captain Lyon dis- covered a lake two or three miles long and a quarter of a mile broad, a short distance from the tents, which we concluded to be that of whicii I was in search. As some of our party were suffering from snow-blindness and, what is scarcely less painful, severe inflammation of the whole face occa- sioned by the heat of the sun, we remained here for the rest of this day to make our final arrangements. Mon. 9. At nine A.M. on the 9th we struck the tents, and Captain Lyon set off to the southward, while we drove over to the lake, which is one mile N.N.W. of the head of the creek, and after three or four hours' labour completed a hole through the ice, which was very dark-coloured, brittle, and transparent and, as Tooleraak had said, about five feet thick. The water which was eleven fathoms deep flowed up within a couple of inches of the surface, over which lay a covering of snow eighteen inches in depth. In confident hope of now obtaining some fish, wc proceeded exactly ac- cording to Toolemak's instructions ; but, after four-and-twenty hours' trial at all depths, not even a single nibble rewarded our labour ; so that after obtaining observations, which gave the latitude of the head of the creek 69° 32' 20", and its longitude P 33' 14' W. of the Fury, we set ofl' on our return down the creek on the 10th. Wed. 1 1 . Coasting the south shore, on which I wished to obtain observations and angles for tlic survey, we the next day entered a small bay where we pitched our tent ; our whole party being so snow-blind with endeavouring to distin- OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 435 1823. guish the land from the ice, (so entirely were both covered with snow,) that wc could literally no longer muster one eye among three of us to direct \.^vw the sledge. I found a handkerchief tied close, but not too tightly, round the eyes for a whole night, to be a more effectual remedy for this dis- agreeable complaint than any application of eye-water ; and my companions, being induced to try the same experiment, derived equal benefit from it. The 12th proved so inclement a day, with hard gales from the N.W. andThur. 12. N.E., and continued snow and drift, that no observations could be obtained, and wc were glad to keep within the shelter of the tent. On the following day, after waiting for observations, which gave the lat. 69° 18' 33", and the Frid, 13. long. 31' 36" W. of the Fury, we set off for Arlagnuk, where I wished to visit our shooting parties, A bay on the south shore, subsequently named after Mii. Mogg, of the Hecla, was reserved for future examination, it being impossible to distinguish the coast line till the snow was more cleared from the land ; this was in fact much less the case at this period than it had been during the second week in May. Reaching Arlagnuk towards evening, we found that our parties had each thirty or forty ducks ready for the ships ; and that the Esquimaux had lately altogether deserted this station, owing to the scarcity of walruses, and had removed to Ooglit, where these animals were said to be abundant at this season. Leaving our people on the morning of the 14th, I returned on board soon after noon, where I found that nothing Sat. 14. worthy of particular notice had occurred during my absence. The latitude of our tents at Arlagnuk, which was one mile to the southward of the point more properly so called, was, by the mean of several observations by Mr. Ross, 69° 11' 33', and I found it, by chronometer, 23' 09" East of the Fury's winter station. This shore, the whole way along the south coast of Hooper Inlet, from the head of Quilliam Creek, is composed nearly of the same loose limostone formation as that of Igloolik. The golden plovers and sand-pipers now appeared occasionally in flocks, and a few were sometimes brought in by our sj)ortsmen. Black and red- throated divers had also made their apiHjarance about the small ponds and lakes at Arlagnuk, as well as a few brent an>?.■,«.. m :| !H m m •m, 'V^X'MB VOVAGR FOR TflE DISCOVKKV JilUC. I ally *') }«rlwv,if^' t*u- if:* »» - Mfe HBt»feri,lK*j*e ciiC!.uu<7lanoi^*, is*di«:«*»l n't- on thm > >N*«4:yr; V -r*- >i s' /'J:nou» . . -.■ -.'■v.fj ^^K.^:;^^ t.tv^. If.,- .-,. ,tK5 the Fwrf. Tlie evcjit.wi^!* -.i.'. . "#er „ -^ ?>,r ihr ^tio^UtMt injurmiis *if«in haviog toeer; s»Sfert;w| >'*.. •> -iic :,':(».'.Ju.t!»v' ?iiK'mi»'( 'Aur h% aho»tt ?!. ''^ i^iniiiri'T <| by the uut^frs 'ij-iw /;,] irp Uj ;i ijrcai ihickiu-ss ia l\v' juv. .'rliuy, autuimi, was oh!i(;(>tl f<. '-^ .nu iiuti. aft'T sa\vuiff fhc rest, to [jiiUout ilic hlucks ii>f u^nal; hui '.•- . - = ,\»le \v':i.iri's innniitioii around a ijhip, stroticftheaeil tis ours were, l>i»:f->^- -lie inav HJifoly Sv k-Ci (d lilu'raU' horsi-ir, aii'l th:ii. she will usuaily Ot;fe»>v: • . •:.)" to inkc ad\iiiifoi^c ofthe other i< e hsojikinic nj*- On -/^7/r »f/-, a jtlacc >:• ■ ■ '*^-.'4jy ;U!t4U'd sutnt'«ht-r; ui! ::H x,:~M^!-' ■-■■ ■ ^'^-W- ■ tk»v , ,ir about -.."i^^sjWtht .; ,- ^:. ■r^t=;:-':;n<.::-T^ >»:tUi iJ,.r» ■ -iff • ■'^■ivvi'al iCf/ ■-;->..■■' «J\>'>- «i: •.--■/•>■■, iu.v'-'-rv , 'v,--, ,-:;;■ .' f^^w-Lj^vii-v .'urtunuoicaiiHl by the yii^4i<^.i,-i'^\ lhrmi|>h Mu vv»^^*»i: - v.:^:^- «(fe4iifi *;a^^iji, jhat th« {>Hit ol' the «<•« % » - i ruiuiffi !i<>vi ufcjui gn'tt f" >'-,-* .^'tivifi i*m»d» lUi\ , lu Utt. 7i2^'', whk ■ bcco'.nc a (•((vmuon piidc/.-.fnis tji' our Davis' !>trait {'ishrnnon. »> \vi' liad, in the courso of the wjutor, rcccivod rntiiufitiou IVori (>• •Vuiu tinu to fiino, »tul hnti evonsomc leasou to hcliovc that oui > g;<4^.iU?:m»x ol' It^K' li»vvr <'!v%' m LS:^.) wm known Jo (hem : b..! i^UiUti itw f«i<'i>«^i .44 «%*^ -*4«- s^d^<^ hrou«^ht by the jv • • Im fuun ..*-jff*^ y»mi:* iA' wood, c. I^aiutcd i' i ,vr v*'^^^'^' and the cro*«-<»j?« W'-ff <>f h«'ad.jig[.jrr-^ -!t vfmtur,'^i^ic. tHje tl«i I^Mmrfl with u hing. *<»« 'n^p'M- rnd ol ii skid oj tussfldsoatS ,, ■a4fA'ing.thaf tho cask hrt*!, ^.i«. ihc ».ij«'.o»^, ©f die wUaiers, c^ HtjMiuj'i h/i-iid on ilic outw.ud .^«».^,.s^v 4 ;w> """IF Iffl B I |l H iujSu HI »'Sr^ m 91 i m 11 1 h! natui cure( was < place like gone ends to rei W« new them be at habit essen To fish in tent, the c of on togetl and a amon to th< tense 51°, a any q or fiv the U a dist being Itis t feed whicl we a forme Hull, OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 437 nature of all these materials led us to suppose that it must have been pro- 1827. cured from some vessel wrecked or damaged on the coast ; and this suspicion v— v--* was on the following day confirmed by our obtaining information that, at a place called Akkoodneak,a. single day's journey beyond Toonoonek, two ships like ours had been driven on shore by the ice, and that the people had gone away in boats equipped for the purpose, leaving one ship on her beam ends and the other upright, in which situation the vessels were supposed still to remain*. We observed on this occasion, as on our first arrival at Igloolik, that the new Esquimaux were obliged to have recourse to the others to interpret to them our meaning, which circumstance, as it still appeared to me, was to be attributed as before to our speaking a kind of broken Esquimaux that habit had rendered familiar to our old acquaintance, rather than to any essential difference in the true languages of the two people. Toolemak, having some time before promised to accompany me to the Mon. 23. fishing-place, taking with him his wife, together with his sledge, dogs, and tent, made his appearance from Ooglit on the 23d, bringing however only the old lady and abundance of meat. Having lent him a tent and two of our dogs, and hired others to complete his establishment, we set out together at five A.M. on the 24th, my own party consisting of Mr. CrozierT«es.24. and a seaman from each ship. Arriving at Khemig towards noon, we found among the islands that the ice was quite covered with water, owing probably to the radiation of heat from the rocks. The weather indeed proved in- tensely hot this day, the thermometer in the shade at the ships being as high as 51°, and the land in this neighbourhood preventing the access of wind from any quarter. The travelling being good beyond this, we arrived within four or five miles of the head of Quilliam Creek at ten P.M., where we pitched the tents for theuight. In this day's journey ten dogs had drawn my sledge a distance of forty statute miles since the morning, the weight on the sledge being about twelve hundred pounds and half of the road very indifferent. It is the custom of the Esquimaux, even when meat is most abundant, to feed these invaluable animals only once a day, and that in the evening, which they consider to agree with them better than more frequent meals ; we always observed the same practice with ours, and found that they per- formed their journeys the better for it. * We have since heard that these ships were the Dexterity of Leith and the Aurora of Hull, which were wrecked on the 28th of August 1821, about the latitude of 72°. W>{\ 438 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1823. \y/^g gj^^ jji tijg course of the day a few deer, numerous kinff and Ions- June. . . Oh •■^^r^ tailed ducks, and red-throated divers ; also some geese then new to us, and which, on procuring a specimen a day or two after, proved to be the snow- goose {anas hyberborea). These last are fond of feeding on the wet grass and moss on the banks of the numerous streams and lakes in this country. They were seen at Arlagnuk, and by Captain Lyon on his journey, about the same time, so that the period of their arrival in this latitude seems to have been very well marked. Wed. 25. On the morning of the 2dth, while passing close to a point of land, Toolemak suddenly stopped his sledge, and he and his wife walked to the shore, whither I immediately followed them. The old woman, preceding her husband, went up to a circle of stones, of which there were two or three on the spot, and kneeling down within it cried most loudly and bitterly for the space of two or three minutes, while Toolemak also shed abundant tears, but without any loud lamentation. On inquiring presently after, I found that this was the spot on which their tent had been pitched in the summer, and that the bed-place on which the old woman knelt had been that of their adopted son Noogloo, whose premature death we had all so much regretted. The grief displayed on this occasion seemed to have much sincerity in it, and there was something extremely touching in this quiet but unaffected tribute of sorrow on the spot, which so forcibly reminded them of the object of their parental affection. I have much gratification in adding in this place another circumstance which, though trifling in itself, deserves to be no- ticed as doing honour to these people's hearts. They had always shewn j)ar- ticular attachment to a dog they had sold me, and which bore the same name as a young man, a son of their own, whom they had formerly lost. In the course of this journey, the old woman would constantly call the dog " Eerninga' (son), which the affectionate animal never failed to repay by jumping up and licking her face all over, whenever his trace would allow him ; and at night, after Toolemak had fed his own dogs, he frequently brought to our tent an extra piece of meat expressly for Annikctalik, to whom these poor people seemed to take a mournful pleasure in now transferring their affection. ^ ^ • ' • -^ • ■ -^ ^ ,,.:.. ...i Landing close to the head of the inlet on the south shore, we proceeded with difficulty a couple of miles over land till we came to a river, the limits ^ of which the warmth of the weather was just rendering discernible, and which our guides informed us was to be our fishing-place. It was interest- OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 439 ing to observe that, in every case of doubt as to the situation of a place, '^-3. the best route, or the most advisable method of overcoming any difficulty, v--v-l/ Toolemak invariably referred to his wife ; and a consultation of some minutes was held by these two before they would determine on what was to be done, or even return an answer to our questions respecting it. Pitching our tents upon the banks of the river, we went upon the ice, which was still quite solid except close to the shores, and soon made two or three holes for a hook and line, the thickness of the ice in the middle being from six to seven feet. The Esquimaux fish-hook is generally composed of a piece of ivory, having a hook of pointed iron, without a barb, let into it. The ivory they consider useful in attracting the salmon, but they also bait the hook with a piece of blubber well cleared of its oil by chewing, and securely tied on with a thread of sinew so as to cover nearly the whole of the hook. A small piece of bone, rein-deer's horn, or wood, serves as a rod, and with this they keep the bait constantly in motion up and down, the bait being from one to three feet below the lower surface of the ice. Previously however to commencing the fishery, the old lady, who took the principal part in this employment, muttered some words, to me altogether incomprehensible, over the hole, to which Toolemak in a formal manner, added something about fish and Kabloonas; and the whole of this preparatory ceremony seemed intended to propitiate the spirit, to whose department the salmon particularly belonged. The lady (for it seems she is a female) did not, however, appear to lend a very favourable ear to our wants or Toolemak's rhetoric, for after many hours' patient trial on this and the following day, only two fish were seen and one caught to repay r'uir. 2(j. our labour. On the 27th Toolemak and his wife went over to a small shallow lake Frid. 27. on tl;.e opposite side of the river, where they caught three or four fish of the salmon kind, but none more than one pound in weight. He then came back to the tent, and made a small spear according to their own fashion ; but with this, to his great disappointment, he could not strike a single fish. A sort o( fish-gig, which we made out of four large hooks lashed back to back at the end of a light staff, succeeded much better, the bait being played in the usual manner to attract the fish, which were then hooked up with great ease and certainty by this instrument. In this manner we soon caught a dozen of the same kind as before, and the rest of our party had in the mean time killed a deer. ^' ' ' . .•).,«' m S L I \ M 444 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 10. 1823. l\^Q snow to wait for better weather; thermometer 40°. Towards evening the snow ceased, and at six P.M. we again moved forward over a plain so flat that I fancied it was a lake, until by accidentally breaking through the deep crust of snow which covered it, we saw moss and grass. At thirty minutes after eight the weather again thickened, but before it did so we were enabled to observe that the low land ran for several miles in a southerly direction. The granite mountains at this part assumed a more rounded form and were entirely covered with snow. Having travelled in the course of this day above eight hours, S.S^E., we tented for the night on the snow. A heavy gale with thick snow and drift continued to render us very uncom- fortable at a temperature of 25°. " This severe weather continued until five P.M. on the 10th, when the snow ceased, but the sky was so cloudy, and the view so limited that we remained completely in the dark as to our road. Determining however to attempt to make some westing, we ascended some high and rounded hills in nearly a west direction. The recently fallen snow was so deep that the dogs were buried to their bellies, and even our snow-shoes were but of little assist- ance to us. A flock of seven ducks passed us flying to the south-west. After two hours' extreme exertion we reached the summit of the smooth hills, and thence saw a chain of mountains lying immediately across our path at about three miles' distance. " Heavy snow and calm weather obliged us to tent on the hills, which, on clearing away the snow for a sleeping-place, we found to be covered wifli shingle limestone on a bed of yellow marl. Thermometer, at ten P.M., 20°. Heavy snow all night ; and on the 11th it still continued to fall thickly until thirty minutes after three P.M., when clearing a little, 1 determined on attempting to pass through a small opening in the mountains about W.S.W. of us. The snow which had now fallen with but little intermission for two days and nights was so deep, that we proceeded very slowly and with great labour, and the mountains were as completely covered as in the middle of winter. After two hours' toil in ascending a steep hill we arrived on what we conceived was good table land, when we suddenly found ourselves on the brink of a precipice, and a chain of mountains extending from north to S.E. On stopping the sledge it sank so deep in a wreath of snow that all our cfl^orts to move it were in vain ; the dogs were quite overcome, and we were quite at a stand. We therefore unloaded it and threw away about one hun- dred weight of such things as could be spared, after which about half an 11. lile* f ; OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 445 1823. June. 14. hour's labour extricated it. When reloaded it overset and I was almost tempted to abandon it, for I saw how impossible it was for even an unloaded man to climb the snow-covered and steep mountains west of us. I hoAveve' resolved at last on returning to the Ioav land, and by tracking along the foot of the hills, look out for the first opening to the westward. Seven hours* travelling over the plain brought us to the foot of a mountain which I had observed to bear about S.E., and here we tented. " A heavy snow-gale confined us to the tent during the I2th and 13th, and 12. & 13. a part of the 14th, a few minutes' sun at noon on the 13th, (the first time we had seen it since leaving Captain Parry,) gave mc an opportunity of obtain- ing the meridian altitude, and on the 14th by sights for the chronometer, 1 obtained the longitude. Lat. 69° 15' 6" long., 1° 11' 30' W. of Ilecla. " At five P.M. on the 14th, we proceeded in a south-easterly direction along the foot of the rocky hills. On the snow which was very soft we saw a bear's track, and on a patch of shingle found several sea-shells. Five hours' travelling brought us to the end of the chain of hills, and from this point we saw the ship with a glass about N.E., twenty miles. I had for some time suspected that we had taken the wrong route, as no Es- quimaux could have passed with a sledge over the mountains at whose feet we had been travelling ; I had however better hopes at this place by seeing the hills become lower and trend to the south-westward, which an- swered in a great measure with the Esquimaux description of the land they passed over. At the foot of this point lay a narrow lake of about three miles in length, and near it was a small but deep craggy ravine. On the shingle ridges we saw several Esquimaux circles, and a golden plover passed us on the wing. Travelling hence about three miles southerly we tented on the snow, the wind being at N.W., and the night extremely cold. " The morning of the 1.5th was thick and cold and the N.W. wind was unabated. Soon after noon we proceeded in a westerly direction but with- out having any fixed object to guide us. In this manner we travelled for two hours, when the weather clearing we saw the hills turning to the southward, to which direction we altered our course ; and having gone forward for two hours more, tented on the snow for a short time as two of the dogs were so fatigued as to be scarcely able to walk. In fact, the whole of them were much distressed, for they were unaccustomed to land travelling, and the depth of the snow always caused the sledge to hang as a dead weight. At nine P.M., having rested, wc proceeded and travelled until one A.M.;Jj|U the 15. WW SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1823. June. 16. 17. 18. 16th, when we tented on some flat rocks on which we procured abundance of water, whiuh luxury we had hitherto enjoyed but sparingly. We here saw one small plant of saxifrage in blossom. " The mornJng of the 16th was mild and fine, but towards noon wind and sleet came strong from the westward : as our snow-shoes required repair and our feet were much blistered, I took advantage of our being on a good dry rock to refresh ourselves and dogs. We saw a fox, two plovers, and several buntings. Deer tracks were numerous and recent, but the howl- ing and fighting of our wild and restless dogs quite drove the animals away from us. " In the evening we advanced and, following the direction of the moun- tains on our right, made a south-easterly course over a large lake of about ten miles in length by from one to four in breadth, on the shores of which in some places the ice was pushed up in high transparent hummocks, we saw some wolf tracks, and a few plovers, knots, and sandlings. One deer passed at a distance. At this place there was not an eminence in any direc- tion which was without some piles of stones placed by the Esquimaux hunters. Turning the hills to the S.S.W. we passed over low but exceed- ingly rocky ground, amongst which the snow was continually knee-deep, and the poor dogs were so exhausted that we were obliged to stop on a little rock in a lake at the foot of the mountains. The whole day had been so cloudy and thick that we had no idea of what kind of country lay beyond us. The snow was literally covered by deer-tracks, and we saw three of these animals but the dogs frightened them from us. " A fresh easterly wind was blowing on the 17th, which was very cold. In order to obtain a view amongst the mountains, I walked out, accompanied by one of the men, for nine hours, and we got about eight miles south of the tent to the top of the highest place wc could find. From hence we saw about fifteen miles over other mountains extending from north to south-east, while on the left the appearance of low land was unaltered. On our return, we killed a doe, of which I gave the better half as a refreshment to the dogs. At half-past two P.M. on the 18th wc started south-east about eight miles over a lake to a low point, at which wc were obliged to tent for the night, in conse- quence of a heavy snow-storm which prevented our seeing half a mile in any direction. While tenting, a large buck walked slowly past us, and was killed ; of this animal wc gave two-thirds to the dogs. " The night was bleak and tempestuous, and we found on the morning 'V'- OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 44t of the 19th that the snow had fallen some inches in depth, and the whole country round us was covered. Towards noon it ceased snowing, but the piercing cold gale was unabated and drift flew in clouds. Soon after two P.M. we quitted the point for another, which still bore about south-east, at which we arrived, after passing over a very flat plain or lake for about seven miles. The snow was here firmer than we had found it of late, and the mountains formed a bight of about four miles in depth on our right. From this point a distant part of the range bore south, and promised to turn to the westward, as we could see nothing beyond it; we in consequence proceeded briskly for it, and had travelled six miles or half-way, when we saw it take a sAveep to very distant hills, south-east. All my hopes of making westing now ceased, and I was aware that nothing could be done in this direction, which certainly was not the route crossed by the natives in their passage to the Western Sea. I therefore struck from off' the plain to the foot of the high land about three miles on our right, where we tented, and I determined on waiting till the gale should moderate, Avhen I could retrace my steps to Quilliam Creek, and from thence proceed, if the season would permit, in some other direction. " The north-east gale continued during the fore part of the day, yet I should have set out had it not been for the severe pain it caused our faces, and its influence on our snow-shoes, which it sometimes turned quite aside and almost tripped us up. Four large white birds, with black-tipped wings, passed at some distance. In the afternoon we started, and travelling eight hours over the snow, which was somewhat hardened by the gale, reached the little rocky isle on which we had passed the 17th. •' The wind was unabated on the 21st, and at three P.M. we started, but were soon detained by one of the dogs slipping his harness and giving chase to a couple of deer, which he pursued with great spirit to the hills, where he soon disappeared, regardless of all our cries to stop him. At the expiration of a couple of hours, and when we had advanced two or three miles, giving him up for lost, we saw him tracking our footsteps, and he soon came up much fatigued. We travelled nine hours on this day, yet very slowly, for I had sprained my foot amongst the rocks some days before and it had now become very troublesome. Soon after midnight we arrived and tented at the place where we slept on thfe 16th ; deer were abundant, and a buck was shot near the tent. We this day saw four brent-gcesc and several large flocks of ducks. 1823. June. 19. 20. 21. J i ■ •' A' IH'liJ r^m I IM. 448 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1823. June. 22. 23. 24. 25, 26. " As my leg was swolii and painful, I determined on resting for the day, whicli was warm but gloomy, the thaw proceeding very rapidly. With the exception of saxifrage, I observed no plant in bloom, but the grasses and mosses were shooting luxuriantly, and promised abundant provision to the vast quantities of deer which we continually saw. In fact, such was their number, that had we been employed as a shooting, instead of a travelling party, we might have procured enough to supply both ships constantly, were they not too distant for the conveyance of the venison. " The 23d was fine and very warm, which softened the snow so much that the snow-shoes sank several inches at every step. Starting at tive P.M., we travelled for nine hours over the still deeply-covered plain, in order to reach tlie j)oint whence we had seen the ships ; we here found the valley quite flooded, and the ravine beginning to run. While we were tenting, we saw a fox prowling on a hill-side, and heard him for some hours after, in different j)laces, imitating the cry of the brent-goose. The night was cold, and we felt it very sensibly after the most sultry day I ever remember to have seen in this country ; our faces and hands smarted most severely and were much swollen by the scorching of the s\in. The 24th was also a very hot day, and I found the country so universally flooded that I gave up all idea of proceed- ing for Quilliam Creek, and determined during the night to make for the ships. When the evening cooled we proceeded over the plain, and wading, rather than Avalking, through deep snow and water for eight hours, arrived at four A.M. on the 25th at the sea-side, about eight miles to the south-west of the ships. Here we gladly tented and rested ; Dunn killed a brown and ash-coloured crane fardea canadiemis, Linn.) which pitched near us. " Starting at four A.M. on the 26th, we waded for eight hours to tjie ships, and when amongst the hummocks, about a mile from the Ilecla, were so completely buried in the wet snow, that we were obliged to make a signal for assistance, as we were too much fatigued to clear the sledge. A party was sent, and with their help we arrived on board at noon. " We had now obtained sufficient proof that no passage was practicable in a southerly direction to the sea, and had also learned by experience the extreme difficulty of carrying a sledge over land, even with so line a team of dogs as mine. That some other way might be found to obtain a view of the Western Sea, I was yet in hopes; but it was' not possible to pass overland at this time, from the state in which the thawing had left the snow. A more advanced period of the season might perliaps be more fiivourablc ; but even OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. m a walking party, laden with tent and provisions, would make but little pro- 1823 gress over the mountains." virvO ' Had it not been for our preceding year's experience in this neighbourhood, juiy. the present appearance of the ice, and the rapid progress which it seemed ^^''^*^'- ^• to be daily making towards dissolution, would have flattered us with hopes of an early release, which, as we now too well know, must have ended in dis- api)oiutment. The space we had covered with sand, and which was now called the canal, was from a foot to eighteen inches deep, with water throughout its whole extent ; and such was the benelit evidently to be de- rived from it, that could the same thing have been carried the whole way down to the open water, the lirst south-easterly gale would probably have caused a total disruption, and at once liberated the ships. As it was, there could be little doubt that it would still very considerably facilitate our escape, which, Avith this assistance, it was reasonable to hope might yet be effected before the conclusion of the month of July, though we had still six miles of ice interposed between us and the open water. Our shooting parties to the southward had of late been tolerably suc- cessful, not less than two hundred and thirty ducks having been sent in to the ships in the course of the last week. Mr. Ross had procured a specimen of a gull having a black ring round its neck, and which, in its present plu- mage, we could not find described. This bird was alone when it was killed, but ilying at no great distance from a flock of tern, which latter it somewhat resembles in size as well as in its red legs ; but is on closer inspection easily distinguished by its beak and tail, as well as by a beautiful tint of most delicate rose-colour on its breast. The first continued rain that we had seen this season fell for several hours on the morning of the 2d, though a few drops had before been observed on the 13th and 29th of June. For the remainder of the month of July we experienced a great deal of rain and fog, with long southerly and easterly winds, and a high mean daily temperature. On my arrival at the ships I found several new Esquimaux on board who, to the number of twenty, had lately arrived from Toonobiiee-rvbchiuk, a place situated to the westward and northward of Igloolik and somewhere upon the opposite coast of Cockburn Island. The distance to this place was stated by the Esquimaux to be from six to eight days' journey, of which one 3 M m. . "r H m SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY only was occupied in crossing to the great northern inlet we had seen on this side of Cockburn Island, and the rest in travelling overland to a corre- sponding inlet of the sea, on the other. This party confirmed the former account respecting the two ships that had been forced on shore ; and indeed, as an earnest of its truth, one man named Adloo, who was said to have actu- ally seen them in this state, was a day or two afterwards met by our people at Arlagnuk, while travelling to the southward, and having on his sledge a great deal of wood of the same kind as that before described. This information having excited considerable interest. Lieutenant Hopp- ner, who had taken great pains to ascertain the facts correctly, volunteered his services to accompany some of the Esquimaux, who were said to be going northwards very shortly, and to obtain every information on this and other subjects which might lie within the scope of such a journey. Although I was not sanguine as to his principal object of reaching one or more of the Esquimaux stations on the northern shores of Cockburn Island, with guides so uncertain and capricious, yet I could not but consider the attemi)t as likely to produce something of interest; more especially as we had never been able to approach in the ships those parts of the coast which would constitute their first or second day's journey. I therefore directed Lieutenant Hoppncr to proceed on this service, accompanied by three men, and four of the Ilecla's Fiid. 4. best dogs to assist in carrying their baggage. On the night of the 4th, having heard that a party of the Esquimaux intended setting out the follow- ing morning. Lieutenant Hoppner and his people Avent out to their tents to be in readiness to accompany them. We were surprised to find, the next day, that not only Lieutenant Hoppner's intended guide, but the whole of the rest of these people, had altogether left the island and, as it afterwards proved, permanently for the summer. We were now therefore, for the first time since our arrival here, entirely deserted by the natives, only two or three of whom again visited the ships during the remainder of our stay. It appears probable, indeed, that these wandering people are in the habit of residing at their various stations only at particular intervals of time, perhaps with the intention of not scaring the walruses and seals too much by a very long residence at one time upon the same spot. What made this appear still more likely was the present state of their winter habitations at Igloolik which, though offensive enough at about the same time the preceding year, were then wholesome and comfortable in comparison. Besides quantities of putrid walrus flesh, blubber, and oil, carcasses of dogs and even of human beings OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 451 recently deceased were now to be seen exposed in their neighbourhood. I^^^s. What remained of the corpse of Keimooseuk was of course wholly uncovered ; ^^^rif a second of a child on which the wolves had feasted, was also lying about ; and a third, of a newly-born infant, was discovered in the middle of a small lake by Mr. Richards, who caused them all to be buried under ground. All this seemed to indicate, that the Esquimaux had not occupied the bone huts for at least one winter previous to our arrival, though Igloolik cer- tainly appears to be one of their principal rendezvous, forming, as it were, a sort of central link in the very extensive chain of these people's peregri- nations. On the 6th we despatched a party of four men, under Messrs. Crozier Sun. 6. and Bird, to the fishing station at Quilliam Creek, equipping them with a trawl-net and every other requisite for obtaining a supply of salmon for the ships. Soon after Captain Lyon, who was desirous of occupying a few days in shooting in that neighbourhood, also set off in the same direction, taking with him a small skin-boat which he had constructed for the use of our fishermen, and Avhich proved of great service in shooting the net across the mouth of the stream. Our stock of meat for the dogs being nearly expended, and no sea-horses having yet been seen near the shore, I sent Mr. Ross with a sledge to Tern Island on the 13th, in expectation of being supplied by the Esquimaux. Sun. 13. Mr. Ross returned on the 14th without success, the whole of the natives Mon. 14. having left the island after plundering the birds' nests, as they had done the preceding year. The open water was at this time about a mile and a half short of the island, differing little, if any thing, from its position at the same season of the last year. The birds now the most abundant here, besides tern which were also numerous, were eider-ducks, of which im- mense flocks were flying about ; and it is their eggs for which the Esqui- maux principally visit the island. 'J ' 1 >- Finding that our valuable dogs must be now wholly dependent on ourTues. 15. own exertions in providing meat, a boat from each ship was carried down to the neighbourhood of the open water, and shortly afterwards two others, to endeavour to kill walruses for them. This was the more desirable from the probability of the Fury's passing her next winter where no natives wore resident, and the consequent necessity of laying in our stock for that long and dreary season, during the present summer. Our people therefore pitched their tents near the old Esquimaux habitations ; and thus were four 3 M 2 K ■ i ,;vi- m ' : !-:«K 452 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1823. boats constantly employed whenever the weather would permit, for the three July- ,. J tr J ... succeeding weeks. ■'■■■ to') ; ■■>.. /.t fi-.'i<):''.M-., • ■; ■; Wed. 16. On the 16th Lieutenant Hoppner and his party returned to the ships, having only been enabled to travel to the south shore of Cockburn Island, on account of their guides not yet proceeding any farther. Two of the Esquimaux accompanied our travellers back to Igloolik and, being loaded with various useful presents from the ships, returned home the following day. Lieutenant Hoppner's account of his journey, comprising several anecdotes tending to shew the disposition and habits of these people, is here given in his own words. " We left the ship at fifteen minutes past eleven P.M. on the 4th, and arrived at the Esquimaux tents about five in the morning. The Esquimaux were all asleep, but being disturbed by the noise of our arrival, they flocked round us to know the cause of so early a visit. Our intention of accompanying them seemed to aiford great amusement, and many jokes were passed apparently at our expense. Having rested about two hours, we were disturbed by the whispers and stifled laugh of the women and children ; and on going out found the tents all struck, the men already gone, and every appearance of the party, with whom we intended to travel, having fairly given us the slip. This unexpected departure somewhat embarrassed us ; but we im- mediately prepared to follow them, and were relieved from our anxiety by find- ing that they were still at the edge of the ice. Perceiving we were really in earnest, and that our dogs, of which they had only a few wretched animals, were likely to be of use to them, Erichiuk suffered us to place the loads upon his sledge. We left Keiyuk-tarruoke at thirty minutes past nine, in company with four other sledges ; and after clearing the grounded hummocks, travelled at a good pace in a nortli-e;^sterly direction. When we got about five miles from Igloolik, the water became knee deep on the ice, which rendered walking extremely fatiguing. The men and several of the women dispersed them- selves in all directions in pursuit of seals ; whilst the sledges were left entirely to the management of the females who remained by them. Our assistance soon became necessary, and before the end of the day we quite gained their favour. It was at first the intention of the men to go to Tern Island to collect eggs, but about seven P.M. the weather assuming a threatening appear- ance, they determined to encamp on the ice. The number of stoppages, and OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 453 die winding course which we made to pick up the seals left by the hunters, rendered the day's journey extremely fVitigning and unpleasant, particularly as we suffered a good deal from cold. After travelling about twenty miles, we at length halted at thirly minutes pfwt seven P.M. As we had nothing but our blanket-bags to place between us and the ice, Erichiuk kindly fur- nished us with staves procured from (alioii; but the lew living creatures which they saw were us wild as those in the vicinity of the tents. . • ii .■ ill' .i .. -.v ..i,h; .. " The weather being very iiiclenu'iit on the 0th, c«»nfiiied every body williin the tents. In llu' afti'rnoon there was a dance at the Angetkok's, where nearly the wiiole party was assembled. The old man opened the ball by a perfiuiuaiK c which sci'ined a inolley of conjuring and dancing ; several other men stood up after him, aud mostof the company retirely kicked her out of the tent, and struck her st'veral heavy blows with a walrus tusk. His other wife, fearing what was to folh»w, had placed her child in her hood, AS if to protect herself from the wrath of her husbund. Having satisfied his OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAOE. 455 vengeance on tlie younpf one, lie rushed in ti^ain, and, Hnutcliing the child 1^23. uway, beat the otiier poor woman in a most liarburons manner over the hemi ' " ''* with Home heavy weapon which he had siuitched up on his en< ranee. She never spoke and, although streaming with hl(tod, scarcH'ly attempted to defend her- Heiri'nnn his fury. Having ctnitiitued to use her lluis lor some miiuites, one ol' the men present held his hand, upon which he (piietly seated himsell' and remained Midky the rest of the evening. The wonmn relired soon after with her child some distance from the tent, where I found her giving vent to her feelings hy the most piercing cries. Two or three women stood round her who, having satisfied their curiosity, left her without shewing thesli;r|iu>4t symptom of pity. The only cause we could discover for this brutal transac- tion was, becaus(> they hanl. In the (>vening we found a small party assembled in (he same tent to hear the ditferent spirits whom (lu; Angetkok was going t(» send into their presence, lie cauu' iu soou after aud, taking his station behiud th(> screen, descended after previously putting a fewiptestions to the bystanders. The performance ditlered very little from Toolemak'H. Ten torngas rose in succession, some of whom did not conline themselves to spi'aking alone, but scratched and thumped against the skin behind the person addressed. The Angetkok's wife sung during the cere- numy, bul ap|ieare ajipeared a geiu'ral move anningst our l<]s(|uinuui)c friends. On incpiiry it appealed that four fiuiiilies were going to the eastward, whilst the parly to which we were uttaeheci intended to remain another day, and then continue tlieir jouriu^y towards ToonooiK^e-roochiuk. Having gone out with our guns tln^ Ksquimauv men of our party took advantage of our alisence and set off for Tern Island to collect eggs ; carefully concealing their intentions from us lest wt; should propose to accompany them. It was not until they wer(> nearly out of sight that they told the man, who remained to look after our tent, where they were going, the idea of having deceived us st'cmiiig to allord them nutcli amusement. "The early part of the llili was hai;y ; towards noun it cleared away and becumc fine. We had felt rather cold during the night, which was the lirst we hud lound at all uncomfortable. Our men went away to the west- lit II. ti^ 450 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1823. July. 1-2. 13. ward in pursuit of deer ; before they left the tent they informed me, that the women had mentioned their intention of continuing their journey nexi day towards a station where tliey procure fish. I made inquiries, hut could hear nothing ; and as it appeared from their previous conduct that they were unwilling to acquaint mc with their designs, I directed the men to gather all the information they could. It was now become evident that they did not intend going direct to Toonoonee-roochiuk ; but as I con- ceived a longer stay with them might furnish something interesting, I detcniiined on it ; more especially as the (li.>itancc to Igloolik Avas greater than we could conveniently travel without diminishing our loads. The Esquimaux returned in the evening with a few seals, some ducks, and a great many eggs. They had emptied the latter out of their shells into walrus bladders, containing each between two and three gallons. They gave us two ducks and half a dozen eggs, an act of generosity of which they seemed to think highly, but with Avhich wc were by no means satis- fied, after being disappointed of a trip to the island, where we might have collected some for ourselves. . ( c * ^ v i " We remained stationary on the 12d», the Esquimaux stating that their dogs were too lame to travel. They buried most of their tin pots and iron hoops, which looked as if they intended returning soon. One of the women excited our attention by the ingenuity she displayed in mending a tin kettle which she had procured from the ships, and which had become unsoldered. She paid little attention to our instructions, and at length com- pleted die task, in her own way, by suspending the kettle over the flame of the lainj), and dropping pieces of solder obtained from the rim of a meat canister, which M'hen melted she spread with a spike-nail over the joint. In the evening wc were diverted by Kooeetseearioo, who went through the wliole ceremony of raising Tornga. My men put up a screen, behind which he went after some persuasion, and performed the whole of his part with great skill, particularly the diving scene, where he managed his voice so well tiuit it really appeared to come some distance from under ground. It wuiihl 8( em from this that the art is not difficult and that, from the ridicule with which they seemed to treat it, they were not imposed on. The old people alone seemed to pay respect to the Angetkoks, while the young ones inva- riably treated du'ir mysteries with contc »pt. > niaux, to bring it in. Our provisions being nearly expended, I desired the men to endeavour to bargain with their companion for his sledge to carry us to Neerlonakto; whilst 1 also endeavoured to hire one in the event of their failure. In the evening Erichiuk and some others had a long conversa- tion J l)out the ships going to Toouoonee-roochiuk, un event they seemed very anxious to bring about. He persisted in saying it was practicable for thorn to go by a western route ; and as he still continued positive after I had explained to him that we found the Strait blocked up by ice last summer, 1 concluded that he alhided to some other opening which the formation of the land precluded us from seeing at present. " The man who had promitied us his sledge the preceding evening, now Mon. U. I fc: m * A part of the deer, before mentioned by Captain Lyon, as considered a great delicacy by these people. r S N 458 SECOND. VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1823. refused it, because we did not immediately comply with his demands for v^-Y-v/ the deer's sinews. In consequence of this I determined, if he persisted in his refusal next morning, to construct a light sledge with our boarding- pikes to carry Qur baggage, which by this time was become tolerably light. Tues. 15. " On the receipt of the sinews and some of the flesh however, he was again willing to lend his sledge the following day ; we therefore prepared to move immediately after breakfast. The latitude of this station by one meridian altitude was 69° 46' 1:2" N., the longitude, by mean of two sets of sights for the chronometer, was 00" 34' 42" east of the ships. The Esquimaux seemed sorry to part from us, a feeling rendered reciprocal by the kindness which they had uniformly shewn us. It is but justice to say that I never ex- perienced more attention in my life, and that their whole conduct towards us seemed expressive of a grateful feeling for the advantages which they had derived from their intercourse with the ships. Our party was increased to six by two of the natives joining us just as we were starting. The ice was tolerably smooth and had but little water on it, so that my men, who walked more than two-thirds of the way, did it without fatigue, and at half an hour past six P.M. we landed on Neerlonaktoo. Our companions, who had volunteered to carry us to the ships, were anxious to proceed, but compassion for our poor dogs would not suffer me to hear of it. Although these people were kind and attentive to us, they did not think it necessary to extend this feeling to our dogs, which were become very lame, nor would they even supply us with a piece of skin to make boots for them, without demanding an exorbitant price. Whilst on Neerlonaktoo we saw three deer and great numbers of geese and other water fowl, but they were so shy that all our attempts to get near them were ineffectual. Wed. 16. " Leaving the island at forty-five minutes past eleven, on the 16th, we arrived on Igloolik at twenty minutes pasit one. Having loaded our own dogs, the Esquimaux left theirs moored to a stone, where they were to remain without food until their return ; and walking across the island we reached the ships at four P.M." , ■ • ■ I ■•'"■- ,;► , •■ ' il _ •'». iV * -. i •-. .-j... \. ,\j }i.ii i^il», 'ii,,ri ',•.-> • I ■ly.iii.i .;.(.'iiv>I: , )/'- ' ' OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 459 T n\ -.x: :< ' • >, , . i - ) *' ■' ;■ * ' /,-, "i-vil •'• ,■ - ' ' * rl- ..'u. . •; ,-,-)«; i.;i. ?* i U: *-' ,.*(- 1 ' CHAPTER XV. EXTRAORDINARY DISRUPTION OP ICE IN QUILUAM CREEK — SOME APPEARANCE OP SCURVY AMONG THE SEAMEN AND MARINES ACCOUNT OP A JOURNEY WITH SLEDGES TO COCKBURN ISLAND DISCOVERY OP G/FFORD :/{/7£fi— COMMENCE CUTTING THE ICE OUTSIDE THE SHIPS TO RELEASE THEM FROM THEIR WINTER-QUARTERS CONSIDERATIONS RESPECTING THE RETURN OP THe' EXPEDITION TO ENGLAND UNFAVOURABLE STATE OP THE ICE AT THE EASTERN ENTRANCE OF THE STRAIT PROCEED TO THE SOUTHWARD SHIPS BESET AND DRIFTED UP LYON INLET DECEASE OP MR. GEORGE FIFE FINAL RELEASE FROM THE ICE, AND ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND REMARKS UPON THE PRACTICABILITY OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. Among the various changes which the warmth of the returning summer wa.s i823. now producing around us, none was more remarkable than that noticed by ^3>^ Captain Lyon on his present excursion to Quilliam Creek, and which, in aThur. 17. note received from him by the return of the sledges, on the l7th, he thus describes : " Between the two points forming the entrance of the creek, we saw a high wall of ice extending immediately across from land to land, and on arriving at it found that by some extraordinary convulsion the floe had burst upwards, and that immense masses of ice had been thrown in every direction. Several blocks eight or nine feet in thickness and many yards in diameter were lying on the level solid floe ; yet we were for some time at a loss to discover whence they had been ejected, till at length we found a hole or pool, which appeared so small as to be hardly capable of containing the immense fragments near it ; yet from this place alone must they have been thrown." Captain Lyon subsequently added, that " the water, which was found to be quite fresh was running rapidly to seaward in this opening; and it seemed probable that the vast accumulation from the streams at the head of the creek, although at about ten miles' distance, had burst a passage and thus ejected the ice. The force employed for this puri>ose may be conceived, 3 N 8 1823. July. 460 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY Frid.18, Sat. 19. when I mention that of several masses of ice one in particular was above eight feet thick, full forty yards in circumference, and lay more than five hundred yards from the pool. No traces could be found of the manner in which these bodies had been transported, as not a single small fragment was seen lying about, to warrant the supposition that they had fallen with a shock. Neither were there any marks observable on the smooth un- cracked floe to cause a suspicion that they had slidden over it, the general appearance of the floe at this place being the same as at all other parts of the inlet, and bearing no marks of having had any rush of water over it," The ducks having now nearly deserted the neighbourhood of Arlagnuk, and the travelling there becoming inconvenient for sledges, our shooting-party was removed to Igloolik and shortly after recalled on board. The number of ducks procured by both ships during this part of the season was about nine hundred, of which above two-thirds were king-ducks, and by far the greater part of the rest, of the long-tailed species. The weather was now, at times extremely sultry, bringing out swarms of mosquitoes that soon became very troublesome even on board the ship. A thermometer sus- pended in the middle of the observatory and exjiosed to the sun's rays, was observed by Mr. Fisher to stand at 92° at live P.M. on the 18th. On the 19th Captain Lyon returned from Quilliam Creek, bringing with him the whole of our party stationed there, the ice being now so broken up in that neighbourhood as to render the (ishing dangerous without proper boats. On this journey, which it took two days to perform, eleven dogs drew a weight of two thousand and fifty pounds, of which six hundred and forty were salmon, and ninety-five venison, procured by our people. The fish had all been caught in the trawl ; and treble the quantity might easily have been taken with a seine had we known how wide the mouth of the stream was to become. They varied in length from twenty to twenty-six inches, and one of the largest, when cleaned, weighed eight pounds and a half; but their average weight in this state did not exceed two pounds and a quarter. The distance of the fishing-place from the ships, the dangerous state of the ice, and the soreness of the dogs' feet from travelling on the rough honey- combed ice, prevented our taking any further advantage of this very accept- able change of diet. The following remarks made by Captain Lyon, during his late excurs»';ii, furnishes some information of considerable interest to naturalists. " I had in the coursi* of my walks several opportunities of observing the nests of OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 461 1823. July. many of the smaller kincls of birds. The sand-piper, (tringa cinerea), and the phalarope, {phalaropm plati/rinchus), lay each four eggs on a tuft of withered grass in swampy ground ; but no care is taken to form any nest. The snow-buntings and Lapland finches construct their nests in much the same manner as oiir English finches, and line them with white deer's hair in a very beautiful manner. The outer part is of dried grass and rather bulky compared with the size of the inner nest. Each of the last men- . tioned birds lays seven eggs, but the bunting prefers building in the crevice of a rock, or amongst loose stones, while the Lapland finch constructs its nest on the ground amongst grass and moss. Mr. Crozier found the nest of a snow-goose containing five eggs ; and I saw seventeen of these fine birds walking on a hill side in a long line, as our domestic geese travel on commons, one acting as leader and being rather in advance of the rest. Near the lake in which these birds had been swimming I found an amazing quantity of the quill feathers of brent-geese, but saw none of the birds from which they had moulted. On the banks of the same piece of water, which was above a mile in length, 1 observed long ridges formed entirely of the dung of mice and in depth from four to five inches. I cannot conjec- ture how this could have been brought here, nor how so vast a quantity of mice could have assembled near the banks of the lake, for we saw none of their holes, and the ground being very swampy was not such as they generally frequent." Although the dissolution of the ice was hourly going on, yet no very sen- sible alteration had taken place for some time past, such as might give us hopes of aspeady release from our confinement, The barrier of ice still remaining fixed between the ships and the sea was above five miles in breadth, though we lay at the very mouth of the bay, and the only chance of our soon getting out rested on an accidental crack in the floe, extending from near the |)oint of Oongalooyat across to the main land, and which had lately become somewhat wider. Being thus detained I determined on despatching Lieu- tenant Hoppner once more to the northward, for the purpose of examining a great bay or inlet of Cockburn Island, that we had never been able to a})proach in the ships, and which we supposed to correspond with that delineated by the Esquimaux in their charts, as forming the first day's journey to Toonoonee-roochiuk. Lieutenant Hoppner accordingly left us on the '21st :\ion. 21. with that intention, being accompanied by two men and furnished with a sledge and ten dogs. 5! 71 , ■ .■.=ij i.n ■ . . .^i. w» •' i SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1823. Nothing worthy of notice occurred till the 29th, when a patch of ice a ^-*~rO mile broad separated from the outer margin of our barrier and drifted "^^* " away. The canal formed by laying sand on the ice was now quite through in most places, shewing that the plan would, in this latitude at least, always ensure a ship's escape at an earlier season than by the regular course of nature, provided it could be carried the whole way down to the open water. Wed. 30. I am now under the disagreeable necessity of entering on a subject, which I had at one time ventured to hope need scarcely have occu- pied any part of this Narrative : I mean that of the scurvy, some sliglit, but unequivocal, symptoms of which disease were this day reported to me by Mr. Edwards, to have appeared among four or five of the Fury's men, rendering it necessary, for the first time during the voyage, to have recourse to anti-scorbutic treatment among the seamen or marines. During our first winter, the only instance in which any such symptoms had been discovered occurred in Mr. Jermain, the purser of the Hecla, who however recovered by the usual treatment, as the summer advanced. This short and dubious season being ended, the carpenter and boat- swain of the Hecla were also affected ; and in the course of the second winter Mr. Jermain's complaint returned with greater severity. In the months of February and March, Messrs. Henderson, Halse, and Scallon, of the Fury, were occasionally disposed to scurvy ; Mr. Edwards was for a week or two pretty severely attacked by it, and my own gums becoming some- what livid rendered a short course of additional lemon-juice necessary to restore them. These cases however shortly and permanency recovered ; but in the spring and even as late as the month of June, when there was reason to hope that every symptom of this kind would have been removed by the increased warmth and cheerfulness of the season, and the change of diet afforded by the game, the disease again made its appearance in the carpenter and boatswain of the Hecla, and soon after attacked the gunner and Mr. Fife, the Greenland master. These cases which were much more severe than any we had before experienced, had not now recovered, when the gums of four or five of the Fury's men betrayed this insidious disease lurking within them, and made it necessary to administer lemon-juice to them in more copious quantities than ordinary. It will perhaps be considered a curious and singular fact in the liistory of sea-scurvy, that during the whole of the preceding part of this voyage, none r : OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 463 amongst us but officers should have been in the slightest degree affected by it. a circumstance directly contrary to former experience. To whatever causes this might be attributed, it could not however but be highly gratify- ing to be thus assured, that the various means employed to preserve the health of the seamen and marines had proved even beyond expectation efficacious. That a ship's company should begin to evince symptoms of scurvy after twenty-seven months' entire dependence ujion the resources contained within their ship, (an experiment hitherto unknown, perhaps, in the annals of naviga- tion, even for one-fourth part of that period,) could scarcely indeed be a subject of wonder, though it was at this particular time a matter of very sincere regret. From the health enjoyed by our people during two successive winters, unas- sisted as we had been by any supply of frefih anti-scorbutic plants or other vegetables, I had begun to indulge a hope that with a continued attention to their comforts, cleanliness, and exercise, the same degree of vigour might, humanly speaking, be ensured at least as long as our present liberal resour- ces should last. Present appearances however seemed to indicate differently ; for though our sick-list had scarcely a name upon it, and almost every indi- vidual was performing his accustomed duty, yet we had at length been im- pressed with the unpleasant conviction that a strong predisposition to disease existed among us, and that no very powerful exciting cause was Avanting to render it more seriously apparent. Such a conviction at the present crisis was peculiarly disagreeable ; for I could not but lament any cir- cumstance tending to weaken the confidence in our strength and re- sources at a time when more than ordinary exertion was about to be required at our hands. In the afternoon of the 30th, Lieutenant Hoppner and his party returned on board, having discovered that the inlet in question communicated with a considerable river, which we jointly named after our mutual and highly- esteemed friend Mr. Giffoud. Lieutenant Hoppner's account of his journey is here subjoined. 1823. July. " At a quarter past four we left the Hecla, and having reached the head of the bay at half-past six, the party who were there in readiness carried the sledge across the isthmus ; after which service they returned to the ship. The fog was now so thick that it was impossible to proceed towards Nrerlo- nakto, we therefore kept along the land-ice of Igloolik, when supposing 21. ■Ki, m 464 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1823. July. 22. 23. 24. ourselves nearly abreast of the former island, we went on shore to wait for better weather. - ;■■ iy>c>' ---^ t- 't'-.'f^'i •■ '^.^^ :?<:•.':, • " Thick foggy weather continued until four P.M., on the 22d, when, It becoming clearer, we recommenced our journey, passing between Necrlo- naktoo and three small whitish islands off its south-west end, which at a distance are easily mistaken for hummocks of ' dirty' ice. The ice after- wards began to improve ; but we were obliged by several wide cracks extend- ing from Neerlo-naktoo to the west land and the islands in Richards's Bay, to go some distance round to find parts sufficiently narrow to cross. At eleven P.M. we pitched our tent on the north-east island in Richards's Hay ; the ice was so much broken up all round it that it was with difaciilty we landed. " It rained hard all night, with thick hazy weather which did not clear away vntil noon the following day. We immediately prepared to move ; but it was twenty-five minutes past one P.M. before we got away, owing to the time taken up in shoeing the dogs, which for two people was a tedious operation. Vic stood directly over towards the north land, finding the ice so bad for the firsi six or seven miles as to make it reasonable to expect that a very few days would render it impassable. Towards the centre of the strait it became very good, and continued so until we got near the north shore, where we found it in much the same state as on the opposite side. Several of the cracks ex- tended from land to land, and were so wide as to cause us mucl perplexity in crossing them. At a quarter past nine we landed on a low sandy beach which forms the south-east point of the opening wc saw to the north-west, when on our former journey with the Esquimaux. '/ . " The weather during the early part of the day was tolerably fine, but in the afternoon became foggy, with heavy showers of rain. The dogs being a good deal fagged, I determined to give them a day's rest, expecting we should be able to ascertain the extent of the inlet on foot. Having waited without success to get the meridian altitude, I walked up the inlet and, crossing the two first points of land, picked up a piece of fresh skin, which convinced me that our friends the Esquimaux had not much the start of us. A high mount on the south side, about twelve or fourteen miles distant, becoming a very pro- minent object, I made towards it, hoping from thence to see the termination of the inlet, which here varied from one to three miles in breadth. At five P.M., finding the hill above-mentioned still too distant for me to reach on foot, I landed on the right-hand shore, from whence the opening appeared to extend at \ OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 465 io. least a day's journey for the sledge, continuing about the same breadth and J^^ not appearing to terminate even at the furthest point seen. After resting vjr,^ a short time, I returned towards the tent, determining, if our people had killed any thing which would furnish a supply of food for the dogs, to run up with the sledge next day, and if possible reach its termination. Having walked about five miles back, I discovered an Esquimaux tent on the north side, which being pitched behind a point had escaped my notice on passing up, and which proved to belong to some of our old friends. As the want of food for the dogs had made me fearful we should be obliged to abandon our object before its accomplishment, I immediately bargained with them fov a supply, promising to visit them the next day. They had a few pieces of very line looking fish drying on the rocks. After stopping with them about ten minutes I took my leave, and, on reaching the point next above our tent, found that the rest of the Esquimaux had arrived during my absence. " At twenty minutes past twelve on the 25th we struck our tent and proceeded up the inlet, stopping a few minutes at the first point, where we purchased some meat for the dogs, and got the promise of a seal on our return. At three P.M. we arrived at the tent of Erichiuk, from whom Ave purchased some more meat and a very fine salmon. The Esquimaux told us we might reach the head of the inlet to-day ; we therefore left one of our dogs which was lame in Erichiuk's charge, and resumed our journey, with the intention of lightening the sledge at the first convenient place. At four P.M., having reached two small islets situated nearly in mid-channel, we buried whatever we could well spare, to ensure the ac- complishment of our object ; and having stopped half an hour to refresh ourselves, we set off at a quick pace. The weather was so thick that it was but very rarely we got a glimpse of the shores on each side of us ; when we did, they seemed rocky and steep ; but a short distance from the beach the land appeared well clothed with vegetation. As we advanced the ice became very thin and rotten, and gave indications of our approach to its termination : at length, about half past nine, we found ourselves within fifty yards of the water, and were obliged to pick our way to the shore over a very rotten surface. On landing we were gratified by the sight of a noble sheet of water, a mile and a half in breadth and perfectly fresh. The tide was out, but there was no current perceptible in the middle, nor > i .'"■' I 4m SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1823. July. 2G 27. did wc notice any during the whole time of our stay. Tlie Esquimaux liad informed us of a large fall, but as we neither saw nor heard any thing of it, it must be a good way higher up, our point of view extending full fifteen miles, when it terminated in two bluff points, between which the stream seemed to wind. To these points, to all appearance, it continued about the same breadth, and from the colour of the water it must be deep enough for ships of large burden. The land on each side was high, and where we stood was more closely covered with vegetation than any spot I had ever seen in these regions. The dwarf willow grew to a height and size almost entitling it to be called a shrub, and the Andromeda tetragona was in the greatest abundance. -■ " On the 26th I sent one of my men to the top of a high hill behind our tent, but his view from thence was not more extensive than what we had already procured. After stopping to get the meridional altitude, which gave the lat. 70° 06' 42" N., the longitude, by chronometer, being 0° 39' 48 " W. of the ships, we set out on our return. As the ice was broken up for two miles below us, wc endeavoured to get on the solid floe by a narrow neck about one hundred yards broad ; but having got half way it proved so thin and rotten that I considered it better to return, than to run the risk of crossing it. The dogs dragged the sledge along shore until we came to the firm ice, performing their task much better than we expected. We now returned down the river, and, having picked up the things left on the island, arrived at the Esquimaux tents at half-past eight. They received us very kindly, assisting to unload the sledge and cary the things to the top of the hill. We purchased of them some very fine salmon, which they caught in a small rivulet emptying itself into a bay about a quarter of a mile from the tents. . ';;i»»| - 'j--.' u ;/, " The 27th proving a fine day, the men all went out with their fishing- spears at high-water, but returned in a short time, saying there were no fish, from which it is probable that they only come here occasionally, resorting at other times to other places of the same description, with which the river abounds. The latitude of this station is 70° 0' 13" N. ; longitude, by chrono- meter, 0° 5' 40" W. of the ships. We left our friends abcit one P.M. ; they continued civil to the last, although the temptation to rob us was too great for them to resist. This, however, they did in a sly sort of way, removing things from where we had placed them with the idea, perhaps, that we should not miss OP A NORTH.VVEST PASSAGE. 467 them until we hud taken our departure. On tasting the water at this station, which is not more than seven or eight miles from the mouth of the opening, it proved nearly fresh. We kept close along the north shore, passing over very bad ice, with cracks extending across to the eastern part of the Strait. It appeared only to want a strong breeze from the westward to drive it out, as it was quite detached from the land. At nine P.M. we landed on a small rocky island, the easternmost of a group about fifteen miles from the spot where we left the Esquimaux on our former journey. From this point I could see both the places we visited during that trip, and could now clearly ascertain that the land was connected ; as the only part which had been doubtful was in a bay formed by the north-eastern point of the river, and another about five miles to the westward of our present station, where (the land being rather low) there was an appearance of an opening ; this day's journey, however, proved the continuity of the coast. Our time being limited, I did not think it worth while going any further to the eastward ; but as the dogs would require a day's rest previously to carrying us over to Igloolik, I determined to remain here until the 29th for that purpose. " The weather was so thick that it was not until past ten on the :29th that 29 we left the north land, and at seven arrived on the west end of Neerlo- naktoo, where we stopped for the night, our dogs being too im >ch tired to proceed. We found the ice in coming over far better than I expected. It was however separated from both lands by wide cracks, and did not average more than two feet in thickness as far as I could judge ; it appeared nearly in the same state as last year at this season. " Leaving Neerlo-naktoo at half-past eleven on the 30th, we reached 30, Igloolik at two P.M. The ice between the two islands was almost impassa- ble for a sledge in some places, but the pools were all frozen over, for the first time, during the last night. We found great difficulty in landing on Igloolik, the ice having broken up into detached pieces along its shores. In getting the sledge across from one end to the other, we were frequently near losing it, the dogs having to swim across several of the spaces between the broken pieces of ice. Having crossed the isthmus, we got sight of the ships and arrived on board about four P.M." 1823. July. f. pi Mi t I The first of August had now arrived ; and yet, incredible as it may appear, pJJ|"'j- the ships were as securely confined in the ice as in the middle of winter, ex- 8 o 8 ABSTRACT of llie METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL kept on board His Majesty's Sliip FuRV, at I>;loolik, during the Month of July, 182:). Kalirenlicit'ii iiiuiiietei Ther- lliinimrlpr. PrcvHiliiif; \S iiiiU. PrevailinB Weather. I)HJ M>\i. iiiiiiti. Mini- mil 111. .Mt'itii. 3!°. 08 Mii\i. niiim. Mini- lllillii. -Alfilii. Ulncilcii, »'vloci(> 1 o :t.> llll-llI'M ilM-tif* 1 iiU'llft 20. iO 20. JU iU..'iK.' MNW modi. cloudy 2 41 :«() 3ii.(;; 2'.».5.5 a!l.3U ,20. 3« Mf8t Ircsli tloudy :i ■10 31 30. Ml V!'.t. 10 20.30 !2<.».4l(l N\V I'rcili nilii 1 II 30 iir.iKi 20.50 2".). 10 ■I'j.n:, N\V liciih ( liiudy A 41 31 37.07 20. m •JO.. '10 29. :i;:, .WW iiiixlt. I'hmdy, mill iit tliiicH 12 34 37.07 20.31 20.21 29 3(Ni North iiliitlt. ihmdy, r.iiii at limes 7 15 33 30.17 20.40 29.20 29.20* sf: light tioiidy itnd rniii 8 41 33 37.00 20. 3S 29.00 29.2,52 N\E niddt. rldiicly 9 37 32 31. IJ 29.02 28.00 2H.0.57 NI)W iiiiiilt. cloudy nnd rain 10 4H 31 3'J.5h 29. SH 20.08 29.220 .S KaHterly liRlH hazy nnd rain II 41 33 3S.I7 29.77 20.. 57 lK».fi8.5 SK frrsh rloiidy 12 37 32 ri.ftH 20.07 20.78 20.802 si: inndt. cloudy 13 47 33 38. mi 29.08 29.00 29.942 SIC niudi. cloudy U 47 37 40.87 2U.UG 20. U3 20.'JI7 SB IlKht line l:> fiS SU 4.5. MU 21».05 20. (.7 20.01U Culiii ctilni lino Hi i'i 8H 4.1.7.5 20. Kl 2".t.KI) 2'.».823 Niitlh liKl'l lino 17 5H 40 10. 7 1 20.82 29. M) 20.H08 Culm I'idin fillU IH &S 4li ,-.l.Ki 20.70 20. ;o 20.727 si; liKl't cloudy 1!) SU 3!) M) n 29.08 20.IHI 29.00(1 SK liniit lino M 41 90 30.2.5 20.61 20.10 20.l.^i i:.si; IDiidt. cloudy nnd rain •i\ a-i 31 10. OH 1 2'.»..',2 20.30 20.10(1 si: light foKgy and ruin 'ii 10 31 37.; Ill -".1.31 20.30 20.;i(l7 Nnrlli liKht foggy "lid rain VS m 33 30.17 29. 12 20. 32 20.. 10- NW light liiggy and ruin liiggy HMd rain •11 4il :iti 30. '.I'.' 20., 57 2<.I.12 20.-.l,-| m: light 'a 47 31 30. AN 20., 50 2!l..5.5 2t» ,57 K SK light hHxy and rain 2(1 42 3.-) 3H.07 2<.).A3 20.11 29.180 NNr. n.uii.l 1.) ( Culm light cloudy •27 n.i 30 i:i.l7 29.01 20.00 29.012 I'iilni hazy •i-t 41 3.-1 3s.5b' 29.00 20.f.3 29.022 ssi; iDiidi. linfiy and rnin ■i>.) SO 32 10.12 29.00 20.10 29.. 50.5 NW iiiiidt. cloudy :w 42 31 :. 18 2U.,52«t ssi: mndt. hazy and ruin ftU 30 10.01 2U.D8 28. UO mi.fts.5 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY, 469 Sat. 2 copt tliat a pool of water about twice tlioir own lenf»tli in diameter was now *'^'^'^' open around them*. I determined, therefore, notwithstanding the apparent hopelessness of sawinpf our way throui^h f service, therefore, all hands were sent from both ships to bring back the tent and tools to the point of Oongalooyat, and the parties were recalled from the walrus-fishery, except a single IhkU's crew : these also retiuned on board a few days after, (he whole numl»er of sea-horses killed being eigh(, and one large seal. It is remarkable (liat all the walruses were males, of which a skeleton was nuule on board each ship as ainitomical specimens. The llecla'stwo b<»ats haiied aixl towed to the sIkm'c, from which they had been several miles distant. On the 1th our sawing work wax commenced, with the usual alacrity on Mmi. 4. the jMirt of the otlicers anti men, and three hundred and fifty yards of ice were got o\it before night, its thickness varying from one in four feet, but very irregular on account of the numerous |mioIs and holes. An e(pial length was accomplished on the following day, thinigh not without excessive fa- tigU(< and ciHistant wet to the men, several of whom fell into th(> water by the ice breaking under them. m * 'firm riixMinisliuifc iifl'DnltMl a vory fiivoiirnl)lt> opportunity of olitiiiiitiif; a roinplotf Hrt of .steady obwrviitioim oti tlit> ilcviatiuii of the inagiu-tic luiillf on iKwrd the Fury; IJivK* uru pvi-n in tliv A|)|K'iulix. , < < iJ ..■;'! 470 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1823. August. Wed. 6. On the 5th, the register-thermometer, which had been placed in the ground in the winter, was taken up, though, to our astonishment, the ground above and about it had become nearly as hard and compactly frozen as when we dug the hole to put it down. How this came about we were quite at a loss to determine ; for the earth had been thrown in quite loosely, whereas its present consoli- dated state implied its having been thoroughly thawed and frozen again. It occupied two men ten days to extricate it, which, as they approached the thermometer, was done by a chisel and mallet to avoid injury by jarring. This, however, was not sufficient to prevent mischief, the instrument being so identified with *he frozen earth, as to render it impossible to strike the ground near it without communicating the shock to the tubes, two of which were in consequence found to be broken. Thus ended our experiment for ascertaining the temperature of the earth during the winter ; an experiment which it would seem, from this attempt, scarcely practicable to make in any satisfactory manner without some apparatus constructed expressly for the purpose. On the 6tli, the work was continued as before, and about four hundred yards of ice were sawn through and floated out, leaving now a broad canal, cloven hundred yards in length, leading from the open water towards that fornud by the gravelled space. In the course of this day's work, one of the seamen of the Hecla fell into the water by the ice giving way, and very narrowly escaped drowning, as it was not easy for the other people to approach him. He was taken out scarcely sensible ; but being immediately conveyed on board the Fury was by care and attention recovered in a few hours. Thur. 7. When the lateness of the season to which the ships had now been detained in the ice is considered, with reference to the probability of the Fury's cflecting any thing of importance during the short remainder of the i)i'esent summer, it will not be wondered at that, coupling this consideration with tliat of the health of my officers and men, I began to entertain doubts whether it would still be prudent to adopt the intended measure of remaining out in the Fury as a single ship ; whether, in short, under existing circumstances, the probable evil did not far outweigh the possible good. In order to assist my own judgment on this occasion upon one of the most material points, I re- quested the medical officers of the Fury to furnish me with their opinions " as to the probable eftect that a third winter passed in these regions would produce on the health of tlie officers, seamen, and marines of that ship, tuk- itig into consideration every circumstance connected with our situation." OF A N( RTH-WEST PASSAGE. 471 Mr. Edwards's reply, ^vlth which m substance that of Mr. Skeoch coincided. ^823, is here given, as being at once more concise as to expression, and ot iniiniteiy greater weight as to opinion, than any remarks I could myself have offered on this subject. ' : .i- -'.i . i.. .i " During the last winter and subsequently, the aspect of the crew of the Fury in general, together with the increased number and character of their complaints, strongly indicated that the peculiarity of the climate and service ■^vas slowly effecting a serious decay of their constitutional powers. The recent appearance also of several cases of incipient scurvy in the most fa- vourable month of the year, and occurring after a more liberal and continued use of fresh animal food than we can calculate upon procuring hereafter, are confirmatory proofs of the progression of the evil. , " With a tolerable prospect of eventual success, other circumstances remaining unchanged, I should yet expect an increase of general debility, with a corresponding degree of sickness, though at the same time confident of our resources being equal to obviate serious consequences. But consi- dering the matter in the other point of view, namely, as a single ship, it assumes a much more important shape. It is not necessary that I should dwell on the altered circumstances in which the crew would then be placed, as they are such as you must long ago have foreseen and weighed. I allude to the increase of labour and exposure resulting from the separation of the vessels, the privation of many salutary occupations, mental and corporeal, attending their union, an*4'! 1 , 1 472 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1823. \iit\e with the rest at first, did not come out of the bay. In the course of the August, ,. . . afternoon, finding her still stationary, I determined to occupy the time in stretching over to the northward, for the purpose of examining the state of the fixed ice at the eastern mouth of the strait; and arriving at its margin by ten P.M. found it attached to both shores from the north- eastern part of Neerlo-naktoo across to Murray Maxwell Inlet. It was the general opinion that this ice was in a more solid state than at the same time and place the preceding year, but its situation did not I believe difler half a mile from what it had then been. As the sun went down nearly in the direction of the Strait, we obtained from the mast-head a distinct and exten- sive view in that quarter, and it is impossible to conceive a more hoi)elc.ss prospect than this now presented. One vast expanse of level solid ice occu- pied the whole extent of sea visible to the westward, and the eye wearied itself in vain to discover a single break upon its surface. Having finished this examination, which at once destroyed every hoj)c I had never ceased to indulge of a passage through the Strait, we rettuned towards Igloolik to rejoin the Hecla. It was not, however, till the morn- ing of the 9th that we observed her to be moving out of the bay ; MJien at length (for the first time perhaps that such an event ever occurred,) she drove to sea in the middle of the floe. Thus at the mercy of the ice, she was carried over the shoals off the south-east point off Igloolik in six and a half fathoms, but was then fortunately drifted into deeper water. The swell on the outside was all that was wanting to break up her icy prison, which separating at seven A.M. finally released her from confinement. Having soon afterwards received Captain Lyon's answer to my communi- cation, it was necessary for me to come to a final determination on the sub- ject therein alluded to. I shall first however insert Captain Lyon's rej>ly, both because it is proper that his opinion should be recorded, and because it is impossible for me either more clearly or more briefly to communicate the substance of my own. " As I consider the health of your crew as of most importance in every point of view, I shall in the first place state that, independently of the weiglity opinions of your medical oflicers, it has for some time been my opinion that the Fury's passing a third winter in this country would be extremely hazard- ous. I am induced thus to express myself from the great change I have observed in the constitution of the otficers and men of the Hecla, and by tiiC appearance of some very severe cases of scurvy since the summer has coin- OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 473 mcnced; I am also aware that the same scorbutic symptoms have been 1823. noticed, and do still exist, in the Fury. " Our long continuance on one particular diet, almost total deprivation of fresh animal and vegetable food for above two years, and the necessary and close conlinement for several months of each severe winter, are undoubtedly the causes of the general alteration of constitution which has for some time past been so evident. I therefore conceive that a continued exposure to the same deprivations and confinements, the solitude of a single ship, and the painful monotony of a third winter to men whose health is precarious, would ill all probability be attended with very serious consequences. " When at the commencement of the last winter I gave it as my opinion, that the service would be benefited by your remaining out in the Fury, as you proposed, and still attempting a further passage to the westward, I did not anticipate so long a confinement in the ice as we have unfortunately experienced, and formed my opinion on the supposition, and in the full expectation that we should be at liberty about the 1st of July of this year, and that the general good health which then prevailed would still continue. From our being detained until the present time, however, I am of opinion that the season in which it is possible to navigate has now so far passed, that nothing material can be effected either by one or both ships. We know from the experience of last year, that it is not before the end of August or the beginning (►f September that the ice breaks up in the Strait of the Fury and Hecla, and that it is not until that period that you will be enabled to re-examine its western entrance. Even when you should have clone so and, as there is every reason to expect, found it still closed, you would have barely sufficient time to return to Igloolik to pass another winter. Again, should the sea prove open to the south -eivstward, and should you deem it expedient to attempt, by rounding the very extensive laiul in that direction, to find some other passage to the westward, I conceive that the extreme lateness of the season would not admit of your making discoveries of any importance, or at all events of such importance as to warrant your passing a third winter, at the risk of the safety of your officers and crew. " Having now stated my reasons for changing my former opinion, I bog to advise that the Fury an 41 34 37.00 36.00 29.80 20.56 29.713 NEasterly light cloudy 19 *> 37 34 35.75 33.68 29.52 29.44 29.497 a.m. NE ) p.m. SE $ modt. hazy with sleet & rain •20 11 39 34 35.83 33.25 20.67 29.65 29.010 Southerly light cloudy 21 =3 IS 45 34 39.25 33.46 29.73 29.05 29.003 Easterly light cloudy 22 . s.s |t m. mudt* C heavy rain cloudy 24 38 30 34.46 30.02 29.49 20.20 29.393 Southerly modt. cloudy 25 5-1 41 34 36.00 31.17 29.80 29.49 29.638 East light cloudy 26 40 20 84.46 31.04 29.83 20.78 20.807 S Easterly light cloudy 27 4) C8 37 28 33.25 29.91 29.76 29.65 29.696 NNE modt. cloudy 2S (9 a 36 33 34.75 30.08 29.92 29.64 29.788 NNW modt. cloudy 29 0) 3 47 31 37.67 30.23 30.21 30.02 30.100 Northerly light fine 30 s 39 26 33.33 29.90 30.29 30.20 30.272 NWesterly light fine 31 38 24 31.60 30.08 30,29 30.27 30.280 SW light fine 65 24 37.77 S2.40 30.20 20.03 20.734 V SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. 431 he could seldom ]yj induced to use any of them, Tiic disease, in conse- quence, reduced him to a state of extreme debility, which at length carried liim otF almost without pain. The Hecla being at the time closely beset, and in a situation of great danger among the shoals oil' Winter Island, Cap- tain Lyon caused the remains of the deceased to be committed to the sea with all the solemnity which circumstances would permit. 1 cannot close this melancholy notice without expressing my most sincere regret, to which I may venture to add that of Captain Lyon and the other officers, for the loss of this very deserving individual, whose qualities as a seaman and navi- gator, had it pleased God to spare his life, would have rendered him an ornament to the naval service, into which he was to have been admitted as a I\Iaster on the return of the ships to England. Mr. Crawford, the mate of the Fury, was appointed, for the present, to act as Master of the Hecla in the room of Mr. Fife. In the night of the Gth, the ships, which had Iiefore nearly closed each other, were again separated to the distance of several miles, though no motion was perceptible in the masses of ice about them. The Hecla was now carried towards Winter Island, and the Fury up Lyon Inlet, so that on the 10th wc had reached the islands oft' Five-hawser Bay within three-quar- Wcd. ters of a mile, where the Ilccla was barely visible from the mast-head. On the evening of the llth, hqwcvci', the wind at length began to freshen fromThur.ii. the north-west, when the ice almost immediately commenced driving down the inlet at the rate of a mile an hour, carrying the Fury with it and within half a mile of the rocks, llie Avholft way down to Cape Martineau, but keep- ing her in deep water. In th'e mean time the Hecla had" been swept into much more dangerous situations, passing along the cast and south sides of Winter Island; and after driving nearly up to Five-hawser Bay, being carried • near some dangerous shoals about Cai)e Edwards, where Captain Lyon expected every othfir tide that uhe would take the ground. Indeed for the last ten or twelve days the situation of the Hecla had been one of imminent danger, and every exertion to remove her from it had proved unavailing. From this time, however, the ice continued to drive to the southward and, by some means or other, the ships once more closed each other. , It was now observable, as on a former occasion in this neighbourhood, that the ice did not carry the ships in the direction opposite to the wind, but much more towards Southampton Island; so that on the 14th Ave were once more off'Sun. 14. Fife Rock, and had, by great exertions in warping, nearly rejoined the 3 Q 482 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY l?^^- Hecla, We now also observed a dark water-sky to the eastward, which Sept. , , v^-y-^- assured us that a clear sea could be at no great distance in that direction. Mon. 15. On the following day, when the ships had closed each other within a mile, we could see the clear water from the mast-head, and the Hecla could now have been easily extricated. Such however are the sudden changes that take [»lace in this precarious navigation, that not long afterwards the Fury was quite at liberty to sail out of the ice, while the Hecla was now, in her turn, so immoveably set fast, and even cemented between several very heavy masses, that no power that could be applied was suflftcient to move her an inch. Tues. 16. In this situation she remained all the 16th, without our being able to afford her any assistance ; and the frost being now rather severe at night, we began to consider it not improbable that we might yet be detained for anotlior winter. We were perhaps indeed indebted for our escape to a strong Wed. 17. westerly breeze which blew for several hours on the 17th, when, the ice being sufficiently close to allow our men to walk to the assistance of the Hecla, we succeeded, after seven hours' hard labour, in forcing her into clear water, when all sail was made to the eastward, and our course shaped for the Trinity Islands in a perfectly open sea. • We thus finally made our escape from the ice after having been almost immoveably beset in it for twenty-four days out of the last twenty-six, in the course of which time the ships had been taken over no less than one hun- dred and forty leagues of ground, generally very close to the shore, nnd always unable to do any thing towards cft'ecting their escape from daui^er. When it is considere*! that, to have taken the ground in this situation, with strong and high tides keeping the ice in constant motion, must have almost involved the certain loss of the ships, and without the possibility of one offering assistance to the other, we cannot but consider this as one of the most providential escapes it has ever been our lot to experience. I cannot help here remarking how closely the band of packed ice, from which we had now just escaped, appears to keep to the shores both of the continent and of Southampton Island, unless driven off the land by strong north-westerly breezes. After now leaving this body of it wc saw no niore on our return to the eastward, which circumstance agrees with the accounts of Baffin in ItU.'i, and of Fox in 1631 ; the former having stretched over from Southampton Island to the Trinity Islands without obstruction, and the latter appearing not to liavc seen any ice tlie whole way up to his farthest north. I have no doubt that the same clear sea would be found to extend OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. %'~, some distance to the northward of where Fox turned back, and that the band of ice fmm which we had now extricated our ships continues down to the neighbourhood of Carey's Swan's Nest, producing the obstruction occa- sionally met with by the Hudson's Bay ships on their return homewards in the autumn. During the time we were beset in and near Lyon Inlet, advantage was taken ot the deep water to try its temperature at dift'erent depths, as shewn in the following Table : 1823. Sept. VVIuile Walir biuiiglii up . from a ileplli of Tt!liiper:itlirc of 1 Days, 1823. Time. drptli of Water. Water biou£lil up. Surfat-e Water. Air. September 3d, . 2 P.M. Fathoiiu, 190 FaltioinB. IW) 80 .30.5 40 >» j> 4 „ 176 150 SO 30 38 „ 4th, 9 A.M. 207 200 30.5 30.5 37 f} >t Noon. 175 170 30.5 30.5 39 )t >» 2 P.M. 181 110 31 31 12 >» »♦ 7 „ 108 100 30.5 SO 37 5li., 1 „ 175 IGO 31.4 31.7 S7 Ctli, 11. SO AM. 12r> 125 30. T 80.7 30 » >) 4 P.M. 139 1 ;ii) 30 30 5 31 »» >» 6 „ 150 135 30 no. 5 33 >> »i » ,, 124 IIS 29.5 SO SO Ttli, Noon. lOS 100 30.5 31 86 ft ft 2 P.M. 129 124 SO. 2 31 30 >» >» 5 ,. 120 115 29.5 30 . 2 33 J» >t 7 ,. 111) 105 29.5 29 . ', 32 „ eth, 7 A.M. 125 120 89.5 29.7 3.1 >» » 10 ,. IM 108 29. r> .30.5 39 » »» 3. 30 P.M. 119 111) 29.7 30 SO » »i 6 . 100 lOfi 29 no 31 „ eth, 11.80 A.M. 132 120 ,30 ,10.5 »S »> »i 7 P.M. 125 100 30 30 33 lOih, 11 A.M. US 110 SO 30 37 mil. 7.. 10 „ 1 IVH 1211 30 MO 3.1 Tlip wind still favouring u.s after our leaving the ice, we made the land near the Trinity Islands on the evening of the Ibtii. and passed ISalisbury Island the following day. Meeting with no obstruction whatever we ran with a favourable breeze down Hudson's Strait, and at noon on the 23d ImUTues. 23. a Q 8 tl ii I i> 'I 484 SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. 1823. passed Button's Isles, from which we took our final departure. Icebergs of " ^^ " large dimensions occurred from about the seventy-third degree of longitude downwards to the entrance of the Strait, and we remarked that below the sixty-third degree of latitude the land was still comparatively clear of snow. From the time of our quitting the ice wc began occasionally to notice flocks of dovekies, and soon afterwards kittiwakes and mallemucks witli their young became numerous, especially after leaving Hudson's Strait. In passing Cape Farewell we saw only one or two shearwaters, probably in consequence of onr being too far to the southward of that head-land. A very gradual increase took place in the temperature of the sea-water as well as in that of the atmosphere as wc advanced to the eastward, which changes will best be shown by reference to the Meteorological Abstract for the month of September. The Aurora Borealis was visible more oi less almost every night during our passage across the Atlantic ; it occurred generally in large; detached and irregular patches of yellowish light inditferently in all parts of the heavens, and frequcndy aftbrded as much light as the moon in lior quarters. In a single instance, when the light happened to be confined to one portion of the heavens, it was so vivid e.s to make the shadows of objects distinctly visible on the deck. On the same night, the phenomenon assumed the form of a brilliant arch extending across the heavens through the zenith from true east to west. It often happened also in cloiuly weather, that the Aurora produced the same kind of general light at night as the moon does under similar circumstances ; the compasses were never perceptibly aftectcd by this phenomenon. On the -24111 of September, in hit. GO" 30' and long. 61° 30', we picked up a piece of yellow pine-tree, ten feet long from the root and a foot in diameter; it was (juiie sound, not at all water-logged, and had no appear- ance of being worm-eaten. On the 30th, in hit. 57" ^5', long. 39° 30', we passed another tree of considerably larger size ; and on the -id of October, in lat. .W 10', long. 30° Oo', observed a spar from twenty to thirty feet ill length. We were now generally favoured by strong Avesterly winds, and nothing Tues. 7. worthy of notice occurred till the 7th, when being in lat. 50° 2()', and long. 10° 55', a Six's thermometer was sent down to a depth of three hundred and fd'ty fathoms, and indicated a temperature of 50^°, that of the surface being the snnie, and of the air 53°. -\ solan goose was seen on this and the precedin<4 day, and these birds became more numerous tis wc ap- October. Thur. 2. ABSTRACT of the METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL kept on board His Majesty's Ship | ' ■' . ' FuHY, during the Month of September, 1823. j 1 T(m,ieratareof Air ia Shade. s-5 Baromcler. Prevailing AVinds. ■>ny I Place. Prevailing Weather. Mnsi- Dium. Mini- mum. Mean. Musi- tuiim. Miiii- muni. Mi.n. Divfction. Velucit)-. +ft +2°S o 1 +33.2:1, +29.92 inchei 3U.-r2 ihi'hi'ii 30.01 iiichr* 3U.I23 E ligl't cloudy 2 37 31 34.00 29.88 30.00 29.8;l 29.920 Easterly light cloudy 3 40 31 .14.42 29.9.1 29.81 29,79 29.807 SK modt. hazy 4 Si 42 32 3G.42 33.40 29.91 29.83 29.8(,2 Northerly light small rain 5 a 37 28 33.92 30. GJ 29.99 29.91 29.9G0 N. Wostcrl) light clear G s 38 2(i 31.27 30.14 ao.io 29.98 30.043 NW liKht fine 7 SG 21 29.79 29.88 30.11 30. O*- 30.100 S. Easterly light fine 8 87 29 33.66 29.71 30.07 29.84 30.000 ElS light cloudy 9 a 40 33 3-). 17 30.01 29.72 29.49 29.027 r.sE light fog and rain. 10 sa 34 35. G7 30.00 29.38 29.10 29.233 KNE modt. cloudy n 30 30 34.17 29.79 2?). 10 29.11 29.245 North fresh cloudy 12 1 U.r, 27 30.71 29.01 29.80 29.. 52 29.073 \YSW fresh cloudy i 11 ;. 37 29 32.17 29.00 29.80 29.70 29.707 r..nl.S.\VMi,rly I p.iti.,s.r.i«t modt cloudy 17 SO 24 20 to 30.18 29.97 29.89 29.040 NW modt. cloudy IS 'J ^irt 34.3 £G 2H,b» 32.17 29.83 2'.».bO 29.80.-. West light cloudy— small snow "i "3 2!) 20 •.!7.;i8 32.83 29.8a 29.811 29.8:m .NNE modt. cloudy t 9 SO 2H 29.29 33. G.) 2<».90 29. K-. 29.873 NNE light (loudy ^1 :t3 2H 29.02 33.29 29. gf 29 79 29.h,)(.! NNE light cloudy 22 ^ 84 20 28.07 32.21 29.87 20.77 21'.812' NNW modt. fino 23 1 83 20 29. K< 32.00 30.0:' 29.92 •J9.972; ssw modt. clear 21 -, J, J, « « 40 r> 32 37.40 38.00 29.90 29.83 29.875I s\v fresh cloudy 2J t5«;3 41 8(1 41.38 41..'i0 29.18 20.82 29.838 .ssw mudl. ildiidy 2G 27 61 41 41 40 43.83 41 .92 42.. ^8 42.58 29.99 29.80 29.7829.908 i 29.50 29.CI7 1 WNW Southerly light freth fino haxy in aSe±S 51 43 40 80 43.12 41.75 43.37 4.1.17 30.0U 29.91 29.87 29.943 29.0029.830 Wcilerly Northerly modt. modt. fine fino to of ilM •ninnrt III l)»l>' MmII. 40 .0 42.7ft 44.33 29.00 29.70 20.828 1 WNW freih fine 1 i ' SI ai 33.70 33.15 30.22 29. 10 'JO 828 1 llh SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1823. preached the Orkneys, which we made on the morning of the 9th, the wind v.*v"^ being moderate from the southward. It can scarcely perhaps be imagined by those who have not been similarly situated, with what eager interest one or two vessels were this day descried by us, being the first trace of civi- lized man that wc had seen for the space of seven and twenty months. The breeze increasing to a fresh gale from the southward in the course of the night, with a heavy sea from the same quarter, rendering it impossible for us to make any progress in that direction, I determined to put into Lerwick in the Shetland Islands, to procure refreshments and await a change of wind in our favour. We accordingly bore up Tor that harbour early on die Fiid. 10. morning of the lOdi, and at thirty minutes past ten A.M. anchored there, where wc were immediately visited by a great number of the inhabitants, anxious to greet us on our return to our native country. I feel it utterly impossible adequately to express the kindness and atten- tion wc received for the three or four days that we were detained in Bressay Sound by a continuance of unfavourable winds. On the first infor- mation of our arrival the bells of Lerwick were set ringing, the inhabitants flocked from every part of the country to express their joy at our unex- pected return, and the town was at night illuminated as if each individual Sun. 12. had a brother or a son among us. On the 12th, being Sunday, the oflicers and men of both ships attended divine service on shore, when the worthy minister, the Reverend Mr. Menzies*, who was before well known to many among us, offered up in the most solemn and impressive manner ,7 thanksgiving for our safe return ; at the same time calling u|K)n us, uiili great earnestness, never to forget what we owed to Him who had bicn *' about our path, and about our bed, and who spieth out all our ways." The peculiarity of the circumstances under which we had joined the con- gregation, the warmth of feeling exhibited by every person assembled within the sacred walls, together with the affectionate energy of th.' preacher, combined to produce an eflect of which words can convey but little idea, but which will not easily be effaced from the minds of those who were present on this afl'ecting occasion. Moil. 13. On the 13th, a breeze springing up from the northward, wc to"k leave of our kind and hoHpitable friends, deeply sensible of the cordial and affec- • This faithful ministiT and most estimable niember of mmcty 1ms since gone to receive llio reward of his labours ; but liu will long live in our grateful reuittuibrttiicK. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 487 tionate reception we had experienced ; and being still favoured by the wind '^^3, were abreast of Buchaness the following evening. It was my intention to v^v>a' have put into Leith, in order to procure anchors and pilots previously to venturing upon the English coast, but the wind breaking us off on the morn- ing of the 15th, prevented our approaching that part of the coast, and wc Wed. 15. continued our course to the southward. On the 16th, being off Whitby, Iihur. 16, went on shore there, accompanied by Mr. Fisher the astronomer, and after receiving the cordial greetings of a great number of the worthy inhabitants of Whitby, who had assembled to meet us on landing, set off for Lon- don and arrived at the Admiralty on the morning of the 18th. The ships, after touching at the Hiimber for pilots, arrived in the River Thames shortly afterwards, and were paid off at Deptford on the 14th of November. Having thus conchulcd the Narrative of this our second attempt to disco- ver a North-West Passage, it may be proper for me to offer a few remarks on its probable existence and practicability. That such a passage exists, and that its outlet on the western side will be found at Bhering's Strait, the dis- coveries of the last six years, combined with the previous researches of Cook and Hearne and Mackenzie, have scarcely left a doubt ; indeed, the various points at which the northern coast of America has now been satis- factorily laid down, from Icy Cape on the west to the shores of Melville Peninsula on the east, afford a strong presumption in favour of the opinion that this Continent does not in any part extend far beyond the 70th or 71st parallel of latitude. While the probability of the existence of the Passage has been greatly strengthened by the efforts of our various Expeditions by land and sea, as Mcl! as by those of the Russians aboMt Icy Cape, the hope of its ultimate accomplishment has, notwithstanding our late failure, received no inconsi- derable encouragement. That the sea is sometimes navigable upon the northern shores of America is no longer a matter of speculation or con- jecture, but stands recorded upon the authority, and to the honour, of our distinguished countryman Captain Franklin and his brave companions. A single view of the drawings accompanying his description of their extraor- dinary canoe-navigation along these desolate shores, must at once convey to the minds of those who are interested in the accomplishment of this long- sought object, a degree of encouragement which the most sanguine could ■ !N4 1 £^BMJ ■7 #!! ^lir^imh '4 i|ft|JHA j P k -48S SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY scarcely have experienced before. And although there can be no doubt, that the various changes of wind and tide would occasionally block up with ice the shores surveyed by Captain Franklin, yet the open water he observed is a proof that the ice has a considerable space to move about in ; and I cannot, therefore, but entertain a very confident hope that if a ship could once be got upon that coast, she might, by patience and perseverance, ulti- mately complete the desired object. The report of the Russian ships that lately visited Icy Cape is, also, as respects the state of the ice, as favourable as the most sanguine mind could wish ; for their description is precisely that of a kind of navigation through which our ships have already held their course, uninjured, for hundreds of leagues, and through which, therefore, they may, under Providence, bo again conducted by similar exertions. When, indeed, a body of ice lias been once detached from the land, anvay into the Polar Sea, it would appear that the principal difficulty lies on this eastern or Atlantic side ; and it becomes, therefore, a matter of more interest than over to inquire by what route a ship is most likely to reach that part of the coast lately discovered and surveyed by Captain Franklin. The opinion 1 have before given as to the advantages of contimwin laud in the navigation of the Polar Seas, has been considerably strengthened by our subsequent experience for the last three seasons ; and I am more than ever impressed with the belief that the only way in which a ship can, with toler- able certainly, succeed in penetrating any considerable distance is by watch- ing the openings occasionally produced by winds and tides between a body of ice, when detached and moveable, and some land continuous in the de- sired direction. I have here adverted to this only for thepur]K)sc of further remarking that, however unsuccessful have been our late endeavours, they were unquestionably directed to the right place, and that, with the limited geographical information we then possessed, no other route than that pointed OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 489 out in my Instructions, could possibly have been pursued with any reasonable hope of success. '''' ^ '' )f ' , . . , Circumstances, however, beyond the reach of any previous speculation, have combined to oppose an insurmountable barrier to our entrance into the Polar Sea by the route lately pursued, and consequently preventing us from reaching the northern shore of the continent of America, along which it would have been our object to proceed. The state of the ice for two suc- cessive summers in the Strait of the Fury and Hecla seems to indicate, that the obstruction we there met with is dependent rather on locality than on season ; for the phenomenon of two consecutive winters of c -aordinary severity is one of extremely rare occurrence. It is more than probable, that the obstacles which finally arrested our progress in the Strait are to be mainly attributed to the current we found setting to the eastward through it ; and which coincides with that observed by Captain Franklin and by the Russians to the westward. This stream, in finding its way out through the Strait, would undoubtedly have the effect of keeping the ice close home upon its western mouth, so as to prevent the egress of a ship in that direction ; and I cannot help thinking that, on this account, the navigation of that Strait will seldom if ever be practicable. Being thus unavoidably shut out from the northern shores of the continent, it remains to inquire by what other opening there may be the best chance of approaching it the nearest ; for the principle of coasting it, whenever it can be reached, must still in my opinion be carefully kept in view. There is no known opening which seems to present itself so favourably for this pur- pose as Prince Regent's Inlet. This leads me to observe that, had we even succeeded in fairly entering the Polar Sea by the Strait of the Fury and Hecla, the geographical information obtained from the Esquimaux, and on which 1 conceive the greatest reliance may be placed, would probably have induced me so far to depart from the strict tenor of my instructions, as to attempt a passage across the mouth of the great bay lying on the south- western side of Melville Peninsula, instead of coasting its winding and pro- bably much-indented shores. Indeed I consider that the spirit of my In- structions was fulfilled, as far as they regarded my close examination of the coast of America, from the moment that I had discovered the Strait whicli terminated that coast to the northward ; and that had I been fortunate enough to succeed in entering the Polar Sea, that my business then was to get to the westward in the shortest way I was able. It being tlicrefore no longer necessary 3 R 'Ml" M 'f* "fc 490 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY to follow the continent on the western side of Melville Peninsula, it a[^ars to be of very little importance whether a future attempt be made from Cape Kater, which lies near the bottom of Prince Regent's Inlet, or from Cape Englefield at the western entrance of the Strait of the Fury and Hecla. Indeed the chance of success is rather in favour of the former of these two stations, both on account of the shorter distance to Point Turnagain of Captain Franklin, which from thence does not exceed four hundred and fifty miles, as well as from the probability to which I have before alluded, of the ice being almost constantly pressed by the westerly current against the western mouth of the Strait. The view which we obtained. from the southern part of Prince Regent's Inlet in 1819 was not, indeed, very encouraging as to the state of the ice at that particular time ; but our business at that time lying in a different direction, we remained only a few hours on the spot, and could not therefore judge what favourable changes might have been produced by the various alterations in wind and tide. The ice was, however, certainly detached from the shores, and in motion ; in which case a hope may always be cherished of occasional openings in our favour. ^ .. In estimating the probability of success in this attempt, it is proper for me here to remark that the difficulty of giving any very decided opinion upon it arises, not simply from the general uncertainty attending a naviga- tion of so precarious a nature as that to which we have lately been accus- tomed, as because there is nothing in our late experience which can pro- perly be considered analogous to it. To enter a body of heavy ice, of great and uncertain extent, Avithout any known land stretching in the desired direction, is an enterprise differing .ii character from almost any hitherto attempted with success. In 1819, indeed, the Hecla and Griper crossed the barrier of ice occupying the centre of Baffin's Bay for , distance of about ninety miles, and succeeded in reaching the open water off Sir James Lancaster's Sound ; and since that time numbers of whalers have done the same : but this distance is small in comparison with that which ships would have to traverse, from the bottom of Prince Regent's Inlet to any part of the navigable channel discovered by Captain Franklin, «nd which it would be their first object to reach. It is however by no means improbable, that some intervening land may be discovered in this interval to assist a ship's progress to the south-westward ; and that, by patience and pensevenuice, she might succeed in gaining the shores of the continent, where it may be expected that only the ordinary difficulties of this navigation would once more present OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. mi themselves. It is possible at the same time that, in so vast an expanse of sea, channels of open water may occur to assist a ship's progress to the westward. It appears, then, that the chief difficulty to be anticipated in the accomplish- ment of this passage, will consist in getting the ships upon that part of the continent, which, from the very best authority, we know to be navigable. I trust that the endeavours of the two Expeditions lately employed under my orders have at least served the useful purpose of shewing where the passage is not to be effected, and of thus bringing within very narrow limits the question as to where any future attempt should be made. In submitting^ which I do with considerable diffidence, the foregoing view of the subject, it has not been my intention to create or magnify difficulties, but to suggest as well as I am able the best mode of overcoming them. For my own part,, I never felt more sanguine of ultimate success in the enterprise in which 1: have lately been engaged, than at the present moment; and I cannot but) entertain a confident hope that England may yet be destined to succeed in an attempt which has for centuries past engaged her attention, and interested the whole civilized world. I- .- f'.. *■ . li- , I END OF THE NARRATIVE. \. i ti 'V ,.'. •:. h-' ' 1 - 8 R 3 > I 492 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCX)VERY SOME FURTHER ACCOUNT OP THE ESQUIMAUX OF MELVILLE PENINSl/LA AND THE ADJOINING ISLANDS ; MORE PARTICULARLY WINTER • - ISLAND AND IGLOOLIK. The number of individuals composing the tribe of Esquimaux assembled at Winter Island and Igloolik was two hundred and nineteen, of whom sixty-nine were men, seventy-seven women, and seventy-three children. Two or three of the men, from their appearance and infirmities, as well as from the age of their children, must have been near seventy ; the rest were from twenty to about fifty. The majority of the women were comparatively young, or from twenty to five and thirty, and three or four only seemed to have reached sixty. Of the children, about one-third were under four years old, and the rest from that age upwards to sixteen or seventeen. Out of one hundred and fifty-five individuals who passed the winter at Igloolik, we knew of eighteen deaths and only of nine births. The stature of these people is much below that of Europeans in general. One man, who was unusually tall, measured five feet ten inches, and the shortest was only four feet eleven inches and a half. Of twenty individuals of each sex measured at Igloolik, the range was — MEN, From 5 ft, 10 in, to 4 ft. 11 in. . . . 5 ft. 5^ in, . . , WOMEBT. From 5 ft. 3} in. to 4 ft. 8^ in. . . . . 5 ft. 0| in. The average height .... The women, however, generally appear shorter than they really are, both from the unwieldy nature of their clothes, and from a habit which they early acquire, of stooping considerably forward in order to balance the weight the child they carry in their hood. In their figure they are rather well-formed than otherwise. Their knees are indeed rather large in proportion, but their legs are straight, and the hands and feet, in both sexes, remarkably small. The younger individuals were all plump, but none of them corpulent ; the women inclined the most to this last extreme, and their flesh was, even in the youngest individuals, quite loose and without firmness. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 493 Their faces are generally round and full, eyes small and black, nose also small and sunk far in between the cheek bones, but not much flattened. It is remarkable that one man, Te-d, his brother, his wife and two daughters had good Roman noses, and one of the latter was an extremely pretty young woman. Their teeth are short, thick, and close, generally regular, and in the young persons almost always white. The elderly women were still well furnished in this way, though their teeth were usually a good deal worn down, probably by the habit of chewing the seal-skins for making boots. In the young of both sexes the complexion is clear and transparent, and the skin smooth. The colour of the latter, when divested of oil and dirt, is scarcely a shade darker than that of a deep brunette, so that the blood is plainly perceptible when it mounts into the cheeks. In the old folks, whose faces were much wrinkled, the skin appears of a much more dingy hue, the dirt being less easily and therefore less frequently dislodged from them. Besides the smallness of their eyes, there are two peculiarities in this feature common to almost all of them. The first consists in the eye not being horizontal as with us, but coming much lower at the end next the nose than at the other. Of the second an account, by Mr. Edwards, will be given in another place. By whatever peculiarities, however, they may in general be distinguished, they are by no means ill-looking people ; and there were among them three or four grown-up persons of each sex who, when divested of their skin- dresses, their tattooing and, above all of their dirt, might have been consi- dered pleasing-looking if not handsome people in any town in Europe. This remark applies more generally to the children also, several of whom had complexions nearly as fair as that of Europeans, and whose little bright black eyes gave a fine expression to their countenances. The hair both of males and females is black, glossy, and straight. The men usually wear it rather long, and allow it to hang about their heads in a loose and slovenly manner. A few of the younger men, and especially those who had been about the shores of the Welcome, had it cut straight upon the forehead, and two or three had a circular patcii upon the crown of the head, where the hair was quite short and thin, somewhat after the manner of Capuchin friars. The women pride themselves extremely on the length and thickness of their hair ; and it was not without reluctance on their part, and the same on that of their husbands, that they were induced to dispose of any of it. When inclined to be neat they separate their locks into two «■: ttf ': mi 51! ■! *? I ife 494 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY equal parts, one of which hangs on each side of their heads and in front of their shoulders. To stiffen and bind these they use a narrow strap of deer- skin, attached at one end to a round piece of bone, fourteen inches long, tapered to a point, and covered over with leather. This looks like a little whip, the handle of which is placed up and down the hair, and the strap wound round it in a number of spiral turns, making the tail, thus equipped, very much resemble one of those formerly worn by our seamen. The strap of this article of dress, which is altogether called a tdgltega, is so made from the deer-skin as to shew, when bound round the hair, alternate turns of white and dark fur, which give it a very neat and ornamental appearance. On ordinary occasions it is considered slovenly not to have the hair thus dressed, and the neatest of the women never visited the ships without it. Those who are less nice dispose their hair into a loose plait on each side, or have one togleega and one plait ; and others again, wholly disregarding the business of the toilette, merely tucked their hair in under the breast of their jackets. Some of the women's hair was tolerably fine, but would not in this respect bear a comparison with that of an Englishwoman. In both sexes it is full of vermin, which they are in the constant habit of picking out and eating ; a man and his wife will sit for an hour together, performing for each other that friendly office. The women have a comb, (12.)* which, however, seems more intended for ornament than use, as we seldom or never observed them comb their hair. When a woman's husband is ill she wears her hair loose, and cuts it off as a sign of mourning if he dies ; a custom agreeing with that of the Greenlanders f . It is probable also, from what has been before said, that some opprobrium is attached to the loss of a woman's hair when no such occasion demands this sacrifice X- The men wear the hair on the upper lip and chin, from an inch to an inch and a half in length, and some were distinguished by a little tuft between the chin and lower lip. The dresses both of male and female are composed almost entirely of deer- skin, in which respect they differ from those of most Esquimaux before met * This and the other numbers dius occurring in the course of this chapter, refer to the corresponding numbers in the two Engravings of Implements, Sfc. f Crantz's History of Greenland, London ediUon, 1767, i. 138, 240. In the following account of the Esquimaux, references will occasionally be made to Crantz and Egede, as well to point out any dissimilarity, as any resemblance, between these people and the naUons of Greenland. J Id. ibid. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 495 with. In the form of the dress they vary very little from those so repeat- edly described. The jacket, which is close, but not tight, all round, comes as low as the hips and has sleeves reaching to the wrist. In that of the women, the tail or flap behind is very broad, and so long as almost to touch the ground ; while a shorter and narrower one before reaches half-way down the thigh. The men have also a tail in the hind part of their jacket, but of smaller dimensions ; but before, it is generally straight, or ornamented by a single scollop. The hood of the jacket, which forms the only covering for their head, is much the largest in that of the women, for the purpose of holding a child. The back of the jacket also bulges out in the middle to give the child a footing, and a strap or girdle below this, and secured round the waist by two large wooden buttons in front, prevents the infant from falling through when, the hood being in use, it i? accessary thus lo deposit it. The sleeves of the women's jackets are made more square and loose about the shoulders than those of the men, for the conveuienco, as we under- stood, of more readily depositing a child in the hood ; iad thcj have a habit of slipping their arms out of them, and keeping them in cor . ;t with their bodies, for the sake of warmth, just as we do with our fing :jrs in our gloves in very cold weather. In winter every individual, when in the open air, we irs iv.'o jackets, of which the outer one (Cdppe-teggd) has the hair outside, sind the inner one (Alteega) next the body. Immediately on entering the hut the men take off their outer jacket, beat the snow from it, and lay it by. The upper garment of the females, besides being cut according to a regula; and uniform p™*- tern, and sewed with exceeding neatness, which is the ease with all the dresses of these people, has also the flaps ornamented in a very becoming manner by a neat border of deer-skin, so arranged as to display alternate breadths of white and dark fur. This is, moreover, usually beautified by a handsome fringe, consisting of innumerable ''^ng narrow threads of leather hanging down from it. This ornament is n- < uncommon also in the outer jackets of the men. When seal-hunting, they fasten up the tails of their jackets with a button behind. Their breeches, of which in winter <'iey also wear two pair, and similarly disposed as to the fur, reach below the knee, and fasten with a string drawn tight round the waist. Though these have little or no waist-band, and do not come very high, the depth of the jackets, which eonsiderably overlap them, serves very effectually to complete the covering of the body. ■H!: 496 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY Their legs and feet are so well clothed that no degree of cold can well affect them. When a man goes on a sealing excursion, he first puts on a pair of deer-skin boots (Allekteega) with the hair inside and reaching to the knee, where they tie. Over these come a pair of shoes of the same mate- rial ; next a pair of dressed seal-skin boots perfectly water-tight ; and over all a corresponding pair of shoes, tying round the instep. These last are made just like the mocassin of a North- American Indian, being neatly crimped at the toes, and having several serpentine pieces of hide sewn across the sole to prevent wearing. The water-tight boots and shoes are made of the skin of the small seal, (mitiek) except the soles, which consist of the skin of the large seal (oguie) ; this last is also used for their fishing- lines. When the men are not prepared to encounter wet, they wear an outer boot of deer-skin with the hair outside. The inner boot of the women, unlike that of the men, is loose round tlic leg, coming as high as the knee-joint behind, and in front carried up, by a long pointed flap, nearly to the waist, and there fastened to the breeches. The upper boot, with the hair as usual outside, corresponds with the other in shape, except that it is much more full, especially on the outer side, where it bulges out so preposterously as to give the women the most awkward, bow-legged appearance imaginable. This superfluity of boot has probably originated in the custom, still common among the native women of Labrador, of carrying their children in them. We were told that these women soir.e- times put their children there to sleep ; but the custom must be rare anions; them, as we never saw it practised. These boots, however, form their prin- cipal pockets, and pretty capacious ones they are. Here, also, as in the jackets, considerable taste is displayed in the selection of different parts ol' the deer-skin, alternate strips of dark and white being placed up and down the sides and front by way of ornament. The women also wear a mocassin (ItteegegA) over all, in the winter-time. One or two persons used to wear a sort of ruff round the neck, composed of the longest white hair of the deer-skin, hanging down over the bosom in a manner very becoming to young people. It seemed to afford so little additional warmth to persons already well clothed, that I am inclined rather to attribute their wearing it to some supcr^^titious notion. The chil- dren between two and eight or nine years of age hau the Esquimaux several of the grinders and a (piantity of the hair and skin. The bones of the kdblee-urioo, supposed to bo the wolverene, constitute another of their or- naments ; and it is more than probable that all these iwssess some inmginary qualities, as specific charms for various purposes*. The most extraordinary amulet, if it bo one, of this kind, was a row of foxci*' noses attached to the • KgcJo'rt Descriptioimf Greenland, LoaJoii Edition, 17+5, p. lOt. 3 a frmm mm m . 1 U •Si Jv^^^^BI ' 498 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY fore-part of a woman's jacket like a tier of black buttons. I purchased from IligUuk a semicircular ornament of brass, serrated at the upper edge and brightly polished, which she wore over her hair in front and which was very becoming. The handsomest thing of this kind, however, was under- stood to be worn on the head by men, though we did not learn on what occasions. (7.) It consisted of a band two inches in breadth, composed of several strips of skin sewn together, alternately black and yellow ; near the upper edge, some hair was artfully interwoven, forming with the skin a very pretty checquer-work : along the lower edge were suspended more than a hundred small teeth, principally of the deer, neatly fastened by small double tags of sinew and forming a very appropriate fringe. , Among their personal ornaments must also be reckoned that mode of marking the body, called tattooing which, of the customs not essential to the comfort or happiness of mankind, is perhaps the most extensively prac- tised throughout the world. Among these people it seems to be an ornament of indispensable importance to the women, not one of them being without it. The operation is performed about the age of ten or sometimes earlier, and has nothing to do with marriage, except that, being considered in the light of a personal charm, it may serve to recommend them as wives. The parts of the body thus marked are their faces, arms, hands, thighs, and in some few women the breasts, but never the feet as in Greenland*. The operation, which by way of curiosity most of our gentlemen had prac- tised on their arms, is very expeditiously managed by passing a needle and thread, the latter covered with lamp-bluck and oilf, under the epidermis, according to a pattern previously marked out upon the skin. Several stitches being thus taken at once, the thumb is pressed upon the part, while the thread is drawn through, by which means the colouring matter is retained and a permanent dye of a blue tinge imparted to the skin. A woman ex- pert at this business will perform it very quickly and with great regularity, but seldom without drawing blood in many places, and occasioning some inflammation. Where so large a |)ortion of the surface of the boi by which our si'amon frt^quenily mark thoir handi» fi;i.5, Rrwis The pattern which tfcesc peopk adopt, an»l \i'hich is nearly tho same in »U, tv'ill best and can indeed beonly undrr^iiood by retVrenceto Cap- tam Lyon's dravflri^, in which it in faithfully <>eUucated. Sevi.'ial ol' ihc ,\vm had a Utile of this kind of mnrk on the back part of Ihcir hamis ; nt\>i *»ilh them wc understood it to be cui'^iderf ' ,»-■ ». 'r->i'r o" soujc dis- Umi or dcce»»ie(l p» vson who had ptrfoimed it, III their ^'inter-habitations, I have b^^fore mentioned that the onlf mate- r> 'ii« employed are anow and ice ; the latter being nuide use of for the win- i*'< alone. The work is cotmnenced by cutting from a drift of hard and «5«:iipact unow R number of oldonEj slabs, siv or seven inches thick and nhom iw\tft4't m b*«f*lj. and i«yia|^ thfin ed^ew«y* on a Icvffl H^tot, aim C'>' t n'*\ with snow, m a cneular form and of a 'liauifter froti ' ' ' ,n f»'«i, proj>oftii>fu ?' ki '■■■ ■ ■-'• • ' ■ - ' " ■ • • ■ ' .^*.-ir thn as a found attofi u. ' n.'''r to fni^i^h the materials to tf^4T;' ;n ly rntrlng A hole close .d in tliat j)«r< «ll«T«' H. >i*«H hirfe !» ft«*|r t!i7 *•'»! and ritrixvaii thi* t'ur «»f^" ' :' J ihey u-ks*' '<}(.' tl :,.,' ,1, • , k-.rVi; . .»ad thin I • ( )n.-i;u 1-. ,1- lit ni»-.nii^, 'u% «. n.y t-v .a»t block nx kei,h^ne- : miKecuM. dntpj.ini*- it into icK j^Ace from the oui.-»ide slioti^h i ru- by the nian widiin. The pt>fipK- otitaiiie are in Wu '"^<'an time 1 throwtntr up nnow with the pt'iMiUirnff^ or inn** ' and inN' . . ; 1 >' t< 4 r.r iift^>w where hole* liava Iwei luflL The buudei kt him^eH* o"^ .^ thi^ propo»erm of a tmnfne arch three fi** In i two feet nod n hail" wide at tiic iMttlom, comiauuicatins ^\^ »h»«& i.**;y c, i The next thing to be done is to raise a bank of snow two and a half feet high, all round the interior of each apartment, except on the side next the door. This bank, which is neatly squared off, forms their beds and tire-place, the former occupying the sides and the latter the end opposite the door. The passage left open up to the fire-place is between three and four feet wide. The beds are arranged by first covering the snow with a quantity of small stones, over which are laid their paddles, tent-poles, and some blades of whalebone : above these they place a number of little pieces of net-work, made of thin slips of whalebone, and lastly a quantity of twigs of bi.ch* and of the andrmneda tetragom. Their deer-skins, which are very ncTierous, can now be spread without risk of their touching the snow ; and such a bed is capable of afibrding not merely comfort but luxurious repose, in spite of the rigour of the climate. The skins thus used as blankets are made of a large size and bordered, like some of the jackets, with a fringe of long narrow slips of leather, in which state a blanket is called keq.tk. The fire belonging to each family consists of a single lamp, or shallow vessel of lapis ollaris, its form being the lesser segment of a circle. (2.) The wick, composed of dry moss rubbed between the hands till it is quite inflam- mable, is disposed along the edge of the lamp on the strait side, and a greater or smaller quantity lighted according to the heat required or the fuel that can be afforded. When the whole length of this, which is sometimes above eighteen inches, is kindled, it affords a most brilliant and beautiful light * This birch they said had been procured from the southward, by way of Nootcook. We never met with any of the same kind in those parts of the country which we visited, except that observed by Captain Lyon in the deserted habitations of the Esquimaux near Five Hawser-Bay. .>:>..■ . . , SOX SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY without any perceptible smoke or offensive smell. The lamp is made to supply itself with oil, by suspending a long thin slice of whale, seal, or sea- horse blubber near the flame, the warmth of which causes the oil to drip into the vessel until the whole is extracted. Immediately over the lamp is fixed a rude and ricketty frame vork of wood, from which their pots are suspended, and serving also to sustain a large hoop of bone, having a net stretched tight within it. This contrivance, called Iniietat, is intended for the reception of any wet things, and is usually loaded with boots, shoes, and mittens. The fire-place just d scribed as situated at the upper end of the apartment, has always two lamps facing different ways, one for each family occupying the coricesponding bed-place. There is frequently also a smaller and less- pretending establishment on the same model, lamp, pot, net and all, in one of the coiii.^rs next the door; for one apartment sometimes contains three families, which are always closely related, and no married woman or even a widow without children is without her separate fire-place. VAith all the lamps lighted and the hut full of people and dogs, a thermo- meter placed on the net ov3r the fire indicated a temperature of 38°; when removed two or three feet from this situation it. fell to 32°, and placed close to the wall stood at 23°, the temperature of the open air at the time being 25° below zero. A greater degree of warmth than this, produces extreme inconvenience by the dropping from the roofs. This they endeavour to obviate, by applying a little piece of snow to the place from which a drop proceeds, and this adhering is for a short time an effectual remedy ; but for several weeks in the spring, when the weather is too warm for these edifices, and still too cold for tents, they suffer much on this account. The most important perhaps of the domestic utensils, next to the lamp already described, are the ootkooseeks or stone pots for cooking. (I.) These are hollowed out of solid laph ollaris, of an oblong form, wider at the top than at the bottom, all made in similar proportion though of various sizes, correspond- ing with the dimensions of the lamp which burns under it. The pot is sus- pended by a line of sinew at each end to the frame-work over the fire, and thus becomes so black on every side that the original colour of the stone is in no part discernible. Many of them were cracked quite across in several places, and mended by sewing with sinew or rivets of copper, iron, or lead, so as with the assistance of a lashing and a due proportion of dirt to render them quite water-tight. I may here remark, that as these people distinguish the OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 503 Wager River by the name of OMdoseek-sdlik,* we were at first led to conjecture that they procured their pots, or the material for making them, in that neigh- Ibourhood : this, however, they assured us was not the case, the whole of them coming from Akkoolce, where the stone is found in very high situations. One of the women at Winter Island, who came from that country, said that her parents were much employed in making these pots, chiefly it seems as articles of barter. The asbestos which they use in the shape of a roundish pointed stick, called tatko, for trimming the lamj^s, is met with about Repulse Bay, and generally as they said on low land. Besides the ootkooseeks, they have circular and oval vessels of whalebone of various sizes which, as well as their ivory knives made out of a walrus' tusk, (16.) are precisely similar to those deseiibed on the western coast of Baf- fin's Bay in 1820-|-. They have also a number of smaller vessels of skin sewed neatly together ; and a large basket of the same material, resembling a com- mon sieve in shape, but with the bottom close and tight, is to be seen in every apartment. Under every lamp stands a sort of " save-all," consisting of a small skin basket for catching the oil that falls over. Almost every family was in possession of a wooden tray very much resembling those used to carry butchers' meat in England, and of nearly the same dimensions, which we understood them to have procured by way of Noowook. They had a number of the bowls or cups already once or twice alluded to as being made out of the thick root of the horn of the musk-ox. (26.) Of the smaller part of the same horn they also form a convenient drinking-cup, (9.) sometimes turning it up artificially about one-third from the point, so as to be almost parallel to the other part, and cutting it full of small notches as a convenience in grasping it. (8.) These or any other vessel for drinking they call Immoochiuk. Besides the ivory knives, the men were well supplied with a much more serviceable kind, made of iron, and called pmma. (14.) The form of this knife is very peculiar, being seven inches long, two and a quarter broad, quite straight and flat, pointed at the end, and ground equally sharp at both edges ; this is firmly secured into a handle of bone or wood, above a foot long, by two or three iron rivets. This formidable looking weapon, of which Cap- * It will be seen by the chart that the Esquimaux gave us information of an arm of the sea lying opposite to Wager River, on the Northern Coast of America, which tney also dis- tbguish by the same name, and which is only one or two days' journey distant from the other, t Journal of the Voyage of 1819-20, p. 286. . IP.M I ■! ' U'l m SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY tain Lyon's drawing renders any further description unnecessary, ha? '; the appearance of a most destructive spear head, but is nevertheles put to no other purpose than that of a very useful knife, which the men are scarcely ever without, especially on their sealing excursions. For these, and several knives of European form, they arc probably indebted to an indirect commu- nication with our factories in Hudson's Bay. The same may be observed of the best of their women's knives, (ooloo,) on one of which, of a larger size than usual, were the names of " Wild and Sorby." When of their own manufacture, the only iron part was a little narrow slip let into the bone and secured by rivets. (27.) It would be superfluous to offer any further verbal description of these knives, of which Crantz has put one into the hand of a Greenland woman in plate 3, p. 136, of liis fir«t volume. It is curious to ob- serve in this and in numerous other instances, how exactly, amidst all the di- versity of time and place, these people have preserved unaltered their manners and habits. That which an absurd dread of innovation does in China, tlie want of intercourse with other nations has effected among the Esquimaux. Of the horn of the musk-ox they make also very good spoons much like ours in shape ; and I must not omit to mention their marrow-spoons, Cpatlek- niuk, from pdttek, marrow,) made out of long narrow hollowed pieces of bone, of which every housewife has a bunch of half a dozen or more tied to- gether, and generally attached to her needle-case. (25.) ' ^ For the purpose of obtaining fire the Esquimaux use two lumps of com- mon iron pyrites, from which sparks are struck into a little leathern case, containing moss well dried and rubbed between the hands. If this tinder does not readily catch, a small quantity of the white floss of the seed of the ground willow is laid above the moss. As soon as a spark has caught, it is gently blown till the fire has spread an inch around, when, the pointed end of a piece of oiled wick being applied, it soon bursts into a flame, the whole process having occupied perhaps two or three minutes. ' -* ' Among the articles in their possession, which must have been obtained by communication along shore with Hudson's Bay, were two large copper kettles, several open knives with crooked wooden handles, and many frag- ments of copper, iron, and old files. On a small European axe was observed the name of " Foster*." . , * It raay perhaps be the means of saving useless conjectures at some future time to mention, that on sewral knives made by the armourer of the Hecla, the name of "James Wilkea" was marked, together with the Prince of Wales's feathers. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 505 In enumerating the articles of their food we might perhaps give a list of every animal inhabiting these regions, as they certainly will at times eat any one of them. Their principal dependence however is on the rein-deer, (tooktou ;) musk-ox, (oomingmuk,) in the parts where this animal is found ; M'hale, Cdggdwek;J walrus, (ei-u-tk ;) the large and small seal, (ugukt and neitiek;) and two sorts of salmon, the ewee-taroke, (salmo alpiims?) and ichlmwoke. The latter is taken by hooks in fresh-water lakes, and the former by spearing in the shoal water of certain inlets of the sea. Of all these animals, they can only procure in the winter the walrus and small seal upon this part of the coast ; and these at times, as we have seen, in scarcely sufficient quantity for their subsistence. They certainly in general prefer eating their meat cooked, and while they have fuel they usually boil it ; but this is a luxury and not a necessary to them. Oily as the nature of their principal food is, yet they commonly take an equal proportion of lean to their fat, and unless very hungry do not eat it otherwise. Oil they seldom or never use in any way as a part of their general diet ; and even our butter, of which they were fond, they would not eat without a due quantity of bread*. They do not like salt meat as well as fresh, and never use salt themselves ; but ship's pork or even a red herring did not come amiss to them. Of pea-soup they would eat as much as the sailors could afford to give them ; and that word was the only one, with the exception of our names, which many of them ever learned in English. Among their own luxuries must be mentioned a rich soup called kd^d, made of blood, gravy, and water, and eaten quite hot. In obtaining the names of several plants, which will be found in the vocabulary, we learned that they sometimes eat the leaves of sorrel, (kdngolek,) and those of the ground willow ; as also the red berries, (paoona-rootik,) of the vaccinum vliginosum, and the root of the potentilla jmlchella ; but these cannot be said to form a part of their regular diet ; scurvy grass they never eat. Their only drink is water ; and of this when they can procure it they swallow an inconceivable quantity ; so that one of the principal occupations of the women during the winter is the thawing of snow in the ootkooseks for this purpose. They cut it into thin slices, and are careful to have it clean, on ^ m * Toolooak, who was a frequent visitor at the young gentlemen's mess-table on board the Fury, once evinced this taste, and no small cunning at the same time, by asking alternately for a little more bread, and a little more butter, till he had made a hearty meal. S T 506 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY which account Ihcy will bring it from a distance of fifty yards from the huts. They have an extreme dislike to drinking water much ahove the temperature of "-2°. In eating their meals the mistress of the family, having previously cooked the meat, takes a large lump out of the pot with her lingers and hands it to her husband, who placing a part of it between his teeth cuts it off with a large knife in that position, and then passes (he knife and meat together to his next neighbour. In cutting off a mouthful of meat forc-aiidaft coiuiecting pieces, are of the sam*^* material, the former being an inch s(|uare, and sometimes so close together as to require between forty and fd'ty of them in on(^ canoe ; which when thus " in frame" is one of tlie prettiest things of the kind that can be imagined. The skin with whidi the canoe is covered is exclusively that of the mitiii-, pre|)ared by scraping off the hair and fat with an ooloo, and sfetching it tight on a frame over the lire ; after which and a good deal of chew ing, i' is sewn on by the women with an two small stonc-i raised fmir feet from the ground ; and in winter, on a similar structure of snow ; in one case t(» allow them to dry freely, anti in the other to prevent the OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 507 snow-drift from covering, and the dogs from eating them. The difficulty of procuring a canoe may be concluded from the circumstance of there being at Winter Island twenty men able to manage one, and only seven canoes among them. Of these indeed only three or four were in good repair; the rest being wholly or in part stripped of the skin, of which a good deal was occasionally cut off during the winter, to make boots, shoes, and mittens for our people. We found no oomiak, or women's boat, among them, and understood that they were not in the habit of using them, which may in part be accounted for by their passing so much of the summer in the interior ; they knew very well however what they were, and made some clumsy models of them for our people. In the weapons used for killing their game there is considerable variety, according to the animal of which they are in pursuit. The most simple of these is the oomk, which they use only for killing the small seal. It consists of a light staff of wood, four feet in length, having at one end the point of a narwhal's horn, from ten to eighteen inches long, firmly secured by rivets and wooldings : at the other end, i^ a smaller and less effective point of the same kind. To j)revent losing the ivory part, in case of the wood breaking, a stout thong runs along the whole length of the wood, each end passing through a hole in the ivory, and the bight secured in several places to the staff. In this weapon, as far as it has yet been described, there is little art or ingenuity displayed ; but a considerable degree of both in an appendage called sidtko (13), consisting of a piece of bone titree inches long, and having a point of iron at one end, and at the other end a small hole or socket to reci o the point of the oonak. Tlirough the middle of this instrLment is secured the dllek, or line of thong, of which every man has, when sealing, a couple of coils, each from four to six fathoms long, hanging at his back. These are made of the skin of the o^ukc as in Greenland ♦, and are admirably adaptf'd .o the purpose, both on account of their strength, and the property which they possess of preserving their plia- bility even in the most intense frost. When a seal is seen, the siaiko is taken from a little leathern case in which, when out of use, it is carefully enclosed, and attached by its socket to the point of the spear (18); in this situation it is retained by brinrf- ing Ihe allck tight down nnvas for killing seals. The third and largest weapon is that called kattcclik (20), with which the walrus and whale are attacked. The staff of this is not longer, but mucli stouter than that of the others, especially towards the middle, where there is a small shoulder of ivory securely lashed to it for the thumb to rest against, and thus to give additional force in throwing or tlirusting the spear. The ivory point of this weapon is made to lit into a socket at the end of the staff, where it is secured by double thongs ("21 ), in such a manner as steadily to retain its position when a strain is put upon it in the on them turning inwards ; they differ from the iiugiiituf (Jrreidand *^, and that of the Savage Islands, in having these prongs always of upe|ual h'ngths. To give additional velocity f(»the hinl- dart. (hey use a lhrowin,{-stick (nolie-sfiak) which is probably the same as the ** hai\d-board ligure1 t. I' ■>' I mi ♦ i i '!»'( ii! ffl ill "'■ ."■fflii ■ (•■ ^ I . '"4 il^ _Jfc tall iL ■ ' i V. ; ■ ■1 li'. , ^'^■' :;S| . ■ !1l. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 509 staff. This instrument is used for the bird-dart only. The spear for salmon or other fish, called kdkkte-wei, consists of a wooden staff with a spike of bone or ivory, three inches long, secured at one end. On each side of the spike is a curved prong, much like that of a pitch-fork, but made of flexible horn which gives them a spring, and having a barb on the inner part of the point turning downwards. Their fish-hooks (kaklidkia) consist only of a nail crooked and pointed at one end, the other being let into a piece of ivory to which the line is attached. A piece of deer's horn or curved bone, only a foot long, is used as a rod, and completes this very rude part of their fishing- gear (10). Of their mode of killing seals in the winter, I have already spoken in the course of the foregoing narrative, as far as we were enabled to make our- selves acquainted with it. In their summer exploits on the water, the killing of the whale is the most arduous undertaking which they have to perform ; and one cannot sufficiendy admire the courage and activity wliich, with gear apparently so inadequate, it must require to accomplish this business. Okotook, who was at the killing of two whales in the course of a single summer, and who described the whole of it quite con amove, mentioned the names of thirteen men who, each in his canoe, had assisted on one of these occasions. When a fish is seen lying on the water, they cautiously paddle up astern of him till a single canoe, preceding the rest, comes close to him on one quarter, so as to enable the man to drive the katkelik into the animal witli all the force of both arms. This having the siatko, a long ullek, and the inflated seal-skin attached to it, the whale immediately dives, taking the whole apparatus >»ith him except the katteeli v which, being disengaged in the manner before described, floats to the suiface and is picked up by its owner. The animal re-appearing after some time, all the canoes again paddle towards him, some warning being given by the seal-skin buoy float- ing on die surface. Each man being furnished like die first, they repeat the blows as often as they find opportunity, till perhaps every line has been thus employed. vVfter pursuing him in this manner, sometimes for half a day, he is at length so wearieil by the resistmue of die buoys, and exhausted by loss of blood, as to be obliged to rise more and more often to the surface when, by frequent wounds Avith dieir spears, they succeed in killing him, and tow their prize in triumpii to the shore. It is probable that wiUi the whale, a-< with the smaller sea-animals, some privilege or perquisite i- given to the first striker; and, like our own fishermen, they take a pride in having it known 1 4'^ li.#t':V'' IHltf »M m H'i*! ■^■m 510 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY that their spear has been the first to inflict a wound. They meet with the most whales on the coast of Eimllik. In attacking the wahus in the water, they use the same gear, but much more caution than with the whale, always throwing the katietlik from some distance, lest the animal should attack the canoe and demolish it with his tusks. The walras is in fact the only animal with which they use any cau- tion of this kind. They like the flesh better than that of the seal ; but venison is preferred by them to either of these, and indeed to any other kind of meat. At Winter Island they carefully preserved the heads of all the animals killed during the winter, except two or three of the walrus which we ob- tained with great difliculty. There is probably some superstition attached to this, but they told us that they were to be thrown into the sea in the summer, which a Grecnlander* studiously avoids doing; and indeed, at Igloolik, they had no objection to part with them before the summer arrived. As the blood of the animals which they kill is all used as food of the most luxurious kind, they arc careful to avoid losing any portion of it ; for this purpose they carry with them on their excursions a little instrument of ivory called tuopoota, in form and size exacdy resembling a " twenty- penny " nail (25), with which they stop up the orifice made by the spear, by thrusting it through the skin by the sides of the wound, and securing it with a twist. I must here also mention a simple little instrument called keipkutiuk, being a slender rod of bone nicely rounded, and having a point at one end and a knob or else a laniard at the other (17). The use of this is to thrust through the ice where they have reason to believe a seal is at work underneath. This little instrument is sometimes made as deHcate as a fine wire, that the seal may not see it ; and a part still remaining above the surface informs the fishermen by its motion whether the animal is employed in making his holo : if not, it remains undisturbed, and the attempt is given up in that place. One of the best of their bows was made of a single piece of fir, four feet eight inches in length, flat on the inner side and rounded on the outer, being five inches in girth about the middle where, liowever, it is strength- ened on the concave side, when strung, by a niece of bone ten inches long, firmly secured by tree-nails of the same material. At each cud of the bow • CrantJi, 1., 816. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 511 . iM is a knob of bone, or sometimes of wood covered with leather, with a deep notch for the reception of the string. The only wood wliieh they can procure, not possessing sufficient elasticity combined with strength, they ingeniously remedy the defect by securing to the back of the bow, and to tlie knobs at each end, a quantity of small lines, each composed of a plat or " sinnet" of three sinews. The number of lines thus reaching from end to end is gene- rally about thirty ; but besides these, several others are fastened with hitches round the bow, in pairs, commencing eight inches from one end, and again united at the same distance from the other, making the whole number of strings in the middle of the bow sometimes amount to sixty. These being put on with the bow somewhat bent the contrary way, produce a spring so strong as to require considerable force as well as knack in stringing it, and giving the requisite velocity to the arrow. The bow is completed by a woolding round the middle and a wedge or two, here and there, driven in to tighten it. A bow in one piece is however very rare ; they generally consist of from two to five pieces of bone of unequal lengths, secured toge- ther by rivets and tree-nails (-22). The arrows vary in length from twenty to thirty inches, according to the materials that can be commanded. About two-thirds of the whole length is of fir rounded, and the rest of bone let by a socket into the wood, and having a head of thin iron, or more commonly of slate, secured into a slit by two tree-nails. Towards the opposite end of the arrow are two feathers, generally of the spotted oval, not very neatly lashed on*. The bow-string consists of from twelve to eighteen small lines of three-sinew sinnet, having a loose twisj, and with a separate becket of the same size for going over the knobs at the end of the bow. We tried their skill in archery by getting them to shoot at a mark for a prize, though with bows in extremely bad order on account of the frost and tlieir hands very cold. The mark was two of their spears stuck upright in the snow, their breadth being three inches and a half. At twenty yards they struck this every time ; at thirty sent the arrows always within an inch or two of it ; and at forty or forty-five yards, I should think, would generally hit a fawn if the animal stood still. These weapons are porlmps sufficient to inflict a mortal wound at something more than that distance, for which. ;> M • An arrow-head of a more complicated form, but of which wc did not discover the par- ticular use, 18 figui'ed in the engraving (15). '»jj ■I y M * llluliak. S V IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 I^IM |2.5 Ui ^ |2.2 u 114 ilS Li U liO I 2.0 ^ Va w "-^ y Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 13 WIST MAIN STRUT WHSTM.N.Y. l4StO (716)I72-4S03 ..^-^ t 514 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY described uy Hearne, they crowded round us in the hut, listening with mute and almost breathless attention ; and the mothers drew their children closer to them, as if to guard them from the dreadful catastrophe. It is worthy of notice, that they call the Indians by a name (Eert-kei-lee) which appears evidently the same as that * applied by the Greenlanders to the man-eaters supposed to inhabit the eastern coast of their country, and to whom terror has assigned a face like that of a dog. The Esquimaux take some animals in traps, and by a very ingenious con- trivance of this kind they caught two Avolves at Winter Island. It consists of a small house built of ice, at one end of which a door, made of the same plentiful material, is fitted to slide up and down in a groove ; to the upper part of this a line is attached and, passing over the roof, is led down into the trap at the inner end, and there held by slipping an eye in the end of it over a peg of ice left for the purpose. Over the peg, however, is previously placed a loose grummet, to which the bait is fastened, and a false roof placed over all to hide the line. The moment the animal drags at the bait the grummet slips off the peg, bringing with it the line that held up the door, and this falling down closes the trap and secures him, A trap for birds is formed by building a house of snow just large enough to contain one per on, who closes himself up in it. On the top is left a small aperture, through which the man thrusts one of his hands to secure the bird the momcft^he alights to take away a bait of meat laid beside it. It is prin- cipally gulls that are taken thus ; and the boys sometimes amuse themselves in this manner. A trap in which they catch foxes has been mentioned in ano- ther place. The sledges belonging to these Esquimaux were in general large and heavily constructed, being more adapted to the carriage of considerable burdens Ihan to very quick travelling. They varied in size, being from six and a half to nine feet in length, and from eighteen inches to two feet in breadth. Some of those at Igloolik were of larger dimensions, one being eleven feet in length, and weighing two hundred and sixty-eight pounds, and two or three others above two hundred pounds. The runners are sometimes made of the right and left jaw-bones of a whale ; but more commonly of several pieces of wood or bone scarfed and lashed together, the interstices being filled to make all smooth and tirm with moss stufled ♦ ErkigUt, Cranta, I, 808, 2G9. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 515 in tight, and then cemented by throwing water to freeze upon it. The lower part of the runner is shod with a plate of harder bone, coated with fresh-water ice to make it run smoothly, and to avoid wear and tear, both which purposes are thus completely answered. This coating is performed with a mixture of snow and fresh-water about half an inch thick, rubbed over it till it is quite smooth and hard upon the surface, and this is usually done a few minutes before setting out on a journey. When the ice is only in part worn off, it is renewed by taking some water into the mouth, and spirting it over the former coating. Wc noticed a sledge which was extremely curious, on account of one of the runners and a part of the other being con- structed without the assistance of wood, iron, or bone of any kind. For this purpose, a number of seal-skins being rolled up and disposed into the requisite shape, an outer coat of the same kind was sewed tightly round them ; this formed the upper half of the runner, the lower part of which consisted entirely of moss moulded while wet into the proper form, and being left to freeze, adhering firmly together and to the skins. The usual shoeing of smooth ice beneath completed the runner, which for more than six months'out of twelve, in this climate, was nearly as hard as any wood ; and for winter use, no way inferior to those constructed of more durable mate- rials. The cross-pieces which form the bottom of the sledge are made of bone, wood, or any thing they can muster. Over these is generally laid a seal-skin as a flooring, and in the summer-time a pair of deer's horns are uttuched to the sledge as a back, which in the winter are removed, to enable them when stopping to turn the sledge up, so as to prevent tlie dogs running away with it. The whole is secured by lashings of thong, giving it a degree of strength combined with flexibility which perhaps no other mode of fasten- ing could effect. The dogs of the Esquimaux, of which these people possessed above a hun', with its bare paw laid on an ice-anchor, with the thermometer at — 30°, which with one of our dogs would have produced immediate and intense pain, if not subsecpient mortification. They never bark, but have a long melancholy howl like that of the wolf, and this they will sometimes perforin in concert for a minute or two together. They are besides always snarling and fighting among one another, by which several of them are generally lame. When much caressed and well-fed, they become quite familiar and domestic ; but this mode of treatment does not improve their qualities as animals of draught. Being desirous of ascertaining whether these dogs are wolves in a state of domestication, a question which we understood to have been the subject of some speculation, Mr. Skeoch at my request made a ske- leton of each, when the number of all the vertebrse Mas found to be the same in both*, and to correspond with the well-knoAvn anatomy of the wolf. When drawing a sledge, the (h)gs have a simple harness (aumo) of deer or * Cervical, 7; dorsal, 13; lumbar, 7; wicral, 3; caiidnl, 19. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 517 seal-skin, going round the neck by one bight, and another for each of the fore- legs, with a single thong leading over the back and attached to the sledge as a trace. Though they appear at first sight to be huddled together without regard to regularity, there is, in fact, considerable attention paid to their arrangement, particularly in the selection of a dog of peculiar spirit and sagacity, who is allowed, by a longer trace, to precede the rest as leader, and to whom, in turning to the right or left, the driver usually addresses himself. This choice is made without regard to age or sex, and the rest of the dogs take prece- dency according to their training or sagacity, the least effective being put nearest the sledge. The leader is usually from eighteen to twenty feet from the fore part of the sledge, and the hindmost dog about half that distance, so that when ten or twelve are running together, several are nearly abreast of each other. The driver sits quite low on the fore-part of the sledge, with his feet overhanging the snow on one side, and having in his hand a whip (6.) of which the handle, made either of Avood, bone, or whalebone, is eighteen inches, and the lash more than as many feet in length. The part of the thong next the handle is platted a little way down to stiffen it and give it a spring, on which much of its use depends ; and that which composes the lash is chewed by the women to make it flexible in frosty weather. The men acquire from their youth considerable expertness in the use of this whip, the lash of which is left to trail along the ground by the side of the sledge, and with which they can inflict a very severe blow on any dog at pleasure. Though the dogs are kept in training entirely by fear of the whip, and indeed without it would soon have their own way, its immediate effect is always detrimental to the draught of the sledge ; for not only does the individual that is struck draw back and slacken his trace, but generally turns upon his next neighbour, and this passing on to the next occasions a general diver- gency, accompanied by the usual yelping and shewing of teeth. Tlie dogs then come together again by degrees, and the draught of the sledge is acce- lornted ; but even at the best of times, by this rude mode of dratight the truces of one-third of the dogs form an angle of thirty or forty degrees on each side of the direction in which the sledge is advancing. Another great inconvenience attending the Esquimaux method of putting tlie dogs to, besides that of not employing their strength to the best advantage, is the constant entanglement of the traces by the dogs repeatedly doubling under from side to side to avoid the whip, so that, after running a few miles, the traces always require to be taken off and cleared. ^■v n .»;i*« '•■'''% fji4M' s \r t m m SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY In directing the sledge the whip acts no very essential part, the driver for this purpose using certain words, as the carters do with us. to make the dogs turn more to the right or left. To these a good leader attends with admira- ble precision, especially if his own name be repeated at the same time, look- ing behind over his shoulder with great earnestness, as if listening to the directions of the driver. On a beaten track, or even where a single foot or sledge-mark is occasionally discernible, there is not the slightest trouble in guiding the dogs ; for even in the darkest night and in the heaviest snow- drift, there is little or no danger of their losing the road, the leader keeping his nose near the ground, and directing the rest with wonderful sagacity. Where, however, there is no beaten track, tne best driver among them makes a terribly circuitous course, as all the Esquimaux roads plainly shew ; these generally occupying an extent of six miles, when with a hoise and sledge the journey would scarcely have amounted to five. On rough ground, iis among hummocks of ice, the sledge would be frequently overturned or altogether stopped if the driver did not repeatedly get oflF, and by lifting or drawing it to one side steer it clear of those accidents. At all times, indeed, except on a smooth and well-made road, he is pretty constantly em- ployed thus with his feet, which, together with his never-ceasing vocifera- tions and frequent use of the whip, renders the driving of one of these vehicles by no means n pleasant or easy task. When the driver wishes to stop the sledge, he calls out " Wo, woa," exactly as our carters do, but the attention paid to tliis command depends altogether on his ability to enforce it. If the weight is small and the journey homeward, the dogs are not to be thus delayed ; the driver is therefore obliged to dig his heels into the snow to obstruct their progress ; and having thus succeeded in stopping them, he stands up with one leg before the foremost cross-piece of the sledge till, by means of laying the whip gently over each dog's head, he has made them all lie down. He then takes care not to quit his position; so that should the dogs set ofl' he is thrown upon the sledge, instead of being left behind by them. With heavy loads the dogs draw best with one of their own people, esiw- cially a woman, walking a little way a-hcad ; and in this case they are some- times enticed to mend their pace by holding a mitten to the mouth, and then making the motion of cutting it with a knife, and throwing it on the snow, when the dogs mistaking it for meat, hasten forward to pick it up. The women also entice them from the huts in a similar mauuer. The rote at which they OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. m travel depends, of course, on the weight they have to draw and the road on which their journey is performed. When the latter is level and very hard and smooth, constituting what in other parts of North America is called " good sleighing," six or seven dogs will draw from eight to ten hundred weight, at the rate of seven or eight miles an hour for several hours to- gether, and will easily under those circumstances perform a journey of fifty or sixty miles a day ; on untrodden snow, five-and-twenty or thirty miles would be a good day's journey. The same number of well-fed dogs, with a weight of only five or six hundred pounds (that of the sledge included) are almost unmanageable, and will on a smooth road run any way they please at the rate often miles an hour. The work performed by a greater number of dogs is, however, by no means in proportion to this; owing to the imperfect mode already described of employing the strength of these sturdy creatures, aud to the more frequent snarling and fighting occasioned by an increase of numbers. In the summer, when the absence of snow precludes the use of sledges, the dogs are still made useful on journeys and hunting excursions, by being employed tt- carry burdens in a kind of saddle-bags laid across their shoulders. A stout dog thus accoutred will accompany his master, laden with a weight of about twenty to twenty-five pounds. When leading tlie dogs, the Esquimaux take a half hitch with the trace round their necks to prevent their pulling, and the same plan is followed when a sledge is left without a keeper. They are also in the habit of tethering them, when from home, by tying up one of the four legs ; but a still more effectual method is similar to that which we saw employed by the Grecnlanders of Prince Regent's Bay, and consists in digging with their spears two holes in the ice in an oblique direction and meeting each other, so as to leave an eye-bolt to which the dogs are fastened. The scent of the Esquimaux dogs is excellent : and this property is turned to account by their masters in finding the seal holes, which these invaluable animals will discover entirely by the smell at a very great distance. The track of a single deer upon the snow will in like manner set them ofl'at a lull gallop, when travelling, at least a quarter of a mile before they arrive at it, when tlvey are with dilUculty made to turn in any other direction ; and the Esquimaux are accustomed to set them after those animals to hunt them down when already wounded with an arrow. In killing bears the dogs act a very essential part, and two or three of them when led on by a man m ill eagerly if--. « ijif-i I m 520 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY attack one of those ferocious creatures. An Esquimaux seldom uses any other weapon than his spear and jKDma in this encounter, for which the readiness of tlie dogs may be implied from the circumstance of the word "nennook" (bear) being often used to encourage them when running in a sledge. In- deed the only animal which they are not eager to chase is the wolf, of Avhich the greater part of them seem to have an instinctive dread, giving notice at night of their approach to the huts by a loud and continued howl. There is not one dog in twenty among them that will voluntarily, or indeed without a great deal of beating, take the water if they think it is out of their depth, and the few that would do so were spoken of as extraordinary exceptions. The Esquimaux in general treat their dogs much as an unfeeling master does his slaves ; that is, they take just as much care of them as their own interest is supposed to require. The bitches with young are in the winter allowed to occupy apart of their own beds, where they are carefully attended and fed by the women, who will even supply the young ones with meat and water from their mouths as they do their own children, and not unfrc- qucntly also carry them in their hoods to take care of them. It is probably on this account that the dogs arc always so much attached to the women, who can at any time catch them or entice them from the huts, when the men fail. Two females that were with young on board the Fury in the month of Febmary brought forth six and seven at a litter, and the former number were all females. Their feeding which, both in summer and winter, principally consists of How, or the skin and part of the blubber of the walrns, is during the latter season very precarious, their masters having then but little to spare. They therefore become extremely thin at that time of the year, and would scarcely be recognised as the same animals as when regu- larly fed in the summer. No wonder therefore that they will eat almost any thing however tough or filthy, and that neither whipping nor shouting will prevent their turning out of the road, even when going at full speed, to pick up whatever they espy. When at the huts they are constantly creeping in to pilfer what they can, and half the time of the people sitting there is occupied in vociferating their names, and driving them by most unmerciful blows out of the apartments. The dogs have no water to drink during the winter, but lick up some clean snow occasionally as a substitute ; nor indeed if water be offered them do they care about it unless it happens to be oily. They take great pleasure in rolling in clean snow, especially after or during a journey, or when they have been confined in a house during the night. OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 521 Notwithstanding the rough treatment which they receive from their masters their attachment to them is very great, and this they display after a short absence by jumping up and licking their faces all over with extreme delight. The Esquimaux however never caress them, and indeed scarcely ever take any notice of them but when they offend, and they are then not sparing in their blows. The dogs have all names to which they attend with readiness, whether drawing in a sledge or otherwise. Their names are frequently the same as those of the people, and in some instances are given after the rela- tions of their masters, which seems to be considered an act of kindness among them. Upon the whole, notwithstanding the services performed by these valuable creatures, I am of opinion that art cannot well have done less towards making them useful, and that the same means in almost any other hands would be employed to greater advantage. 1 fwt. *"v''flfl vfi' » 1 In the disposition of these people, there was of course among so many individuals considerable variety as to the minute points ; but in the general features of their character, which with them are not subject to the changes produced by foreign intercourse, one description will nearly apply to all. The virtue which, as respected ourselves, we could most have wished them to possess is honesty, and the impression derived from the early part of our intercourse was certainly in this respect a favourable one. A great many instances occurred, some of which have been related, where they appeared even scrupulous in returning articles that did not belong to them ; and th';ii) too when detection of a theft, or at least of the offender, would have - • >m next to impossible. As they grew more familiar with us, and the temptai ans became stronger, they gradually relaxed in their honesty, and petty thefts were from time to time committed by several individuals both male and female among them. The bustle which any search for stolen goods occasioned at the huts was a sufficient proof of their understanding the estimation in which the crime was held by us. Until the affair was cleared up, they would affect great readiness to shew every article which they had got from the ships, repeating the name of the donor with great warmth as if offended at our suspicions, yet with a half-smile on their countenance at our supposed credulity in believing them. There was indeed at all times some degree of trick and 3 X 522 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY cunning in this shew of openness and candour; and they would at times bring back some very trifling article that had been given them tendering it as a sort of expiation for the theft of another much more valuable. When a search was making they would invent all sorts of lies to screen themselves, not caring on whom besides the imputation fell ; and more than Once, they directed our people to the apartments of others who were inno- cent of the offence in question. If they really knew the offendert hey were generally ready enough to inform against him, and this with an air of aflected secrecy and mysterious importance ; and as if the dishonesty of another constituted a virtue in themselves, they would repeat this informa- tion frequently, perhaps for a month afterwards, setting up their neigh- bour's offence as a foil to their own pretended honesty. In appreciating the character of these people for honesty, however, we must not fail to make due allowance for the degree of temptation to which they were daily exposed, amidst the boundless stores of wealth which Our ships appeared to them to furnish. To draw a parallel case, we must suppose an European of the lower class suffered to roam about amidst hoards of gold and silver ; for nothing less valuable can be justly compared with the wood and iron that every where presented themselves to their view on board the ships. The European and the Esquimaux, who in cases so similar, both resist the temptation of stealing, must be considered pretty nearly on a par in the scale of honesty ; and judging in this manner, the balance might possibly be found in favour of the latter, when compared with any similar number of Europeans taken at random from the lower class. .':■.'/:■ ... r-^- .; __ ^ _, In what has been hitherto said, regard has been had only to their deal- ings with us. In their transactions among themselves there is no doubt that, Except in one or two privileged cases, such as that of destitute widows, the strictest honesty prevails, and that as regards the good of their own commu- hity they are generally honest people. We have in numberless instances Sent presents by one to another, and invariably found that they had been faithfully delivered. The manner in which their various implements are frequently left outside their huts is a proof, indeed, that robbery is scarcely known among them. It is true that there is not an article in the possession 6f one of them, of which any of the rest will not readily name the owner, and the detection of a theft would therefore be certain and immediate. OP A NORTH- WEST PASSAGE. 523 ii "'). Geirtainty of detection however among a lawless and ferocious people, instead of preventing robbery, would more probably add violence and murder to the first crime, and the strongest would ultimately gain the upper hand. We cannot therefore but admire the undisturbed security in which these people hold their property, without having recourse to any restraint beyond that which is incurred by the tacitly-received law of mutual for- bearance. • In the barter of their various commodities their dealings witli us were fair and upright, though latterly they were by no means backward or inexpert in driving a bargain. The absurd and childish exchanges* which they at first made with our people, induced them subsequently to complain that the Kabloonas had stolen their things, though the profit had been eventually a hundred-fold in their favour. Many such complaints were made, when the only fault in the purchaser had been excessive liberality, and frequently also as a retort, by way of warding off the imputation of some dishonesty of their own. A trick not uncommon with the women was, to endeavour to excite the commiseration, and to tax the bounty of one person by relating some cruel theft of this kind, that had, as they said, been practised upon them by another. One day, after I had bought a knife of Togolat, she told Captain Lyon, in a most piteous tone, that Parree had stolen her last ooloo, that she did not know what to do without one, and at length coming to the point begged him to give her one. Presently after this, her husband coming in and asking for something to eat, she handed him some meat accompa- nied by a very fine ooloo. Her son being thus reminded of eating made the same request, upon which a second knife was produced and, imme- diately after, a third of the same kind for herself. Captain Lyon, having amused himself in watching these proceedings, which so well confirmed the truth of the proverb, that certain people ought to have good memories, now took the knives, one by one, out of their hands, and holding them up to Togolat, asked her if Parree had not stolen her last ooloo. A hearty laugh all round was the only notice taken by them of this direct detection of the deceit. The confidence which they really placed in us was daily and hourly evinced by their leaving their fishing gear stuck in the snow all round the ships ; and not a single instance occurred, to my knowledge, of any theft * Grant?!, L 173. 4 M1 .t/k 4), I* -f^ 41 3X2 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 1 1! committed on their property. The licking of the articles received from MS was not so common with them as with Esquimaux in general, and this practice was latterly almost entirely left off by them. Among the unfavourable traits in their character must be reckoned an extreme disposition to envy, which displayed itself on various occasions during our intercourse with them. If we had made any presents in one hut, the inmates of the next would not fail to tell us of it, accompanying their remarks with some satirical observation, too unequivocally expressed to be mistaken, and generally by some stroke of irony * directed against the favoured person. If any individual with whom we had been intimate hap- pened to be implicated in a theft, the circumstance became a subject of satisfaction too manifest to be repressed, and we were told of it with ex- pressions of the most triumphant exultation on every occasion. It was indeed curious, though ridiculous, to observe that, even among these simple people, and in this obscure corner of the globe, that little gossip and scandal so commonly practised in small societies among us were very frequently displayed. This was especially the case with the women, of whom it was not uncommon to see a group sitting in a hut for hours together, each relating her quota of information, now and then mimicking the persons of whom they spoke, and interlarding their stories with jokes evidently at the expense of their absent neighbours, though to their own infinite amusement. In extenuation, however, of these faults, it must be allowed that we were ourselves the exciting cause which called them into action, and without which they would be comparatively of rare occurrence among them. Like every other child of Adam, they undoubtedly possess their share of the seeds of these human frailties ; but even in this respect they need not shrink from a comjiarison with ourselves, for who among us can venture to assure himself that, if exposed to similar temptations, he would not be found wanting ? To another failing, to which they are addicted, the same excuse will not so forcibly apply ; as in this respect our acquaintance with them naturally fur- nished an opportunity for the practice of a virtue, rather than for the deve- lopment of its opposite vice. I have already, in the course of the fore- going Narrative, hinted at the want of gratitude evinced by these people in • Crantz, 1. 170. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 525 their transactions with us. Among themselves, almost the only case in which this sentiment can have any field for exertion, is in the conduct of chil- dren towards their parents, and in this respect, as 1 shall presently have occasion to notice, their gratitude is by no means conspicuous. Any thing like a free gift is very little if at all known among them. If A gives B a part of his seal to-day, the latter soon returns an equal quantity when he is the successful fisherman. Uncertain as their mode of living is, and dependant as they are upon each other's exertions, this custom is the evident and unquestionable interest of all. The regulation does credit to their Avis- dom, but has nothing to do with their generosity. This being the case, it might be supposed that our numerous presents, for which no return was asked, would have excited in them something like thankfulness combined with admiration ; but this was so little the case, that the coyenna (thanks) which did now and then escape them, expressed much less than even the most common-place " thank ye" of civilized society. Some exceptions, for they were only exceptions and rare ones to this rule, have been mentioned as they occurred ; but in general, however considerable the benefit conferred, it was forgotten in a day ; and this forgetfulness was not unfrequently aggra- vated by their giving out that their benefactor had been so shabby as to make them no present at all. Even those individuals who, either from good beha- viour or superior intelligence, had been most noticed by us, and particularly such as had slept on board the ships, and whether in health or sickness had received the most friendly treatment from every body, Avere in general just as indifferent as the rest ; and 1 do not believe that any one amongst them would have gone half a mile out of his road, or have sacrificed the most trivial self-gratification to have served us. Though the riches lay on our side, they possessed abundant means of making some nominal return which, for the sake of the principle that prompted it, would of course have been gratifying to us. Okotook and Iligliuk, whom I had most loaded with pre- sents, and who had never offered me a single free gift in return, put into my hand, at the time of their first removal from Winter-Island, a dirty crooked model of a spear, so shabbily constructed that it had probably been already refused as an article of barter by many of the ship's company. On my accepting this, from an unwillingness to affront, them, they were uneasy and dissatisfied till I had given them something in return, though their hands were full of the presents which I had just made them. Selfish- ness is in fact almost without exception their universal characteristic, and t.kw i^^i. « 11 r V I 526 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY the main-spring of all their actions, and that too of a kind the most direct and unamiable that can well be imagined. In the few opportunities we had of putting their hospitality to the test, v/e had every reason to be pleased with them. Both as to food and accom- modation the best they had were always at our service ; and their attention, both in kind and degree, was every thing that hospitality and even good breeding could dictate. The kindly offices of drying and mending our clothes, cooking our provision and thawing snow for our drink, were per- formed by the women with an obliging cheerfulness which we shall act easily forget, and which commanded its due share of our admiration and esteem. While thus their guest, I have passed an evening not only with comfort, but with extreme gratification ; for with the women working and singing, their liusbands quietly mending their lines, the children playing before the door, and the pot boiling over the blaze of a cheerful lamp, one might well forget for the time that an Esquimaux hut was the scene of this domestic comfort and tranquillity ; and I can safely affirm with Cartwright* that, while thus lodged beneath Iheir roof, I know no people whom I would more confidently trust as respects either my person or my property, than the Esquimaux. It is painful, and may perhaps be considered invidious after this, to inquire how far their hospitality would in all probability be extended if interest were wholly separated from its practice, and a stranger were destitute and unlikely soon to repay them. But truth obliges me to confess that, from the extreme sellishness of their general conduct, as well as from their behaviour in some instances to the destitute of their own tribe, I should be sorry to lie uadcr the necessity of thus drawing very largely on their bounty. The estimation in which women are held among these people is, 1 think, somewhat greater than is usual in savage life. In their general em- ployments tiiey are by no means the drudges that the wives of the Green- landers f are said to be ; being occupied only in those cares which may pro- perly be called domestic, and as such are considered the peculiar business of the women among the lower classes in civilized society. The wife of one of these people, for instance, makes and attends the fire, cooks the victuals, looks after the children, and is sempstress to her whole family ; while her husband is labouring abroad for their subsistence. In this resi)ect it is not Curtwright's La*ro£/£>r, III. 83«, t Cranu, I. 164, Hi5. OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAQE. 527 even necessary to except their task of cutting up the small seals, which is in truth one of the greatest luxuries and privileges they enjoy ; and even if it were esteemed a labour, it could scarcely be considered equivalent to that of the women in many of our own fishing-towns, where the men's business is at an end the moment the boat touches the beach. The most laborious of their tasks occurs perhaps in making their various journeys, when all their goods and chattels are to be removed at once, and when each individual must un- doubtedly perform a full share of the general labour. The women are however good walkers and not easily fatigued ; for we have several times known a young woman of two and twenty, with a child in her hood, walk twelve miles to the ships and back again the same day, for the sake of a little bread-dust and a tin canister. When stationary in the winter, they have really almost a sinecure of it, sitting quietly in their huts, and having little or no employment for the greater part of the day. In short, there are few, if any people, in this state of society among whom the women are so well off. They always sit upon the beds with their legs doubled under them*, and are uneasy in the posture usual with us. The men sometimes sit as we do, but more generally with their legs crossed before them. The women do not appear to be in general very prolific. lUumea indeed had borne seven children, but no second instance of an equal number in one family afterwards came to our knowledge ; three or four is about the usual number. They are, according to their own account, in the habit of suckling their children to the age of three years ; but we have seen a child of five occasionally at the breast, though they are dismissed from the mother's hood at about the former age. The time of weaning them must of course in some instances depend on the mother's again becoming pregnant, and if this suc- ceeds quickly it must, as Crantz relates of the Greenlandersf, go hard with one of the infants. Nature, however, seems to be kind to them in this re- spect, for we did not witness one instance, nor hear of any, in which a woman was put to this inconvenience and distress. It is not uncommon to see one woman suckling the child of another, while the latter happens to bo em- ployed in her other domestic occupations. They are in the habit also of feeding their younger children from their own mouths, softening the foo h ^ Crantz, I. 140. t Ibid. I. lOS. 3XS SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY hood may put its lips to theirs, The chill is taken from water for them in the same manner, and some fathers are very fond of taking their children on their knees and thus feeding them. The women are more desirous of hav- ing sons than daughters, as on the former must principally depend their support in old age. Twelve of the men had each two wives, and some of the younger ones had also two betrothed ; two instances occurred of the father and son being married to sisters. The custom of betrothing children in their infancy is commonly practised here, in which respect these people differ from the natives of Greenland, where it is comparatively rare*. A daughter of Arnaneelia, between two and three years old, had long been thus contracte.ri jest ^c«^-i9'' • ■■■ '^ 'm wr'n: -isi^ium age they *iit;, foe «• '«^.^ 8154 1 um-^r sawftsiftsfir !»;--..;uic.e «r m m m'im.hk'f- wlilch , mth am fomh- •^o :r- ■ •"■!' % |s*r*'?».' t'-i xTJiic*? over nm\ t« c^?/ j-'ct. ^'' ;.;...: ; ,;■. ..; .\:- , ■ .. :M, »wi ^ftv^&thnm fi&t etm\ fmm \t'(y . a*, wifjeh «i« Enrli^h chilcj wotihi * hmtf. H h irahn A ^m?»«bHHg to see tiie Iwliflfefenw with which, wen as H rider iwf«r,t.? ^-j, y lii'Rr the tiiMn«?ro«s blows tlmy aes<^W«mJiHy restive, VihH 'kltifl ; t>nty that wbiJe an EfigU^U c^Njld (irawi; n ..iut'ot" wwon, isn * '-^n:-. iff, the ?iifnc agt' :!i;i« i sU>dgc of whakbnn*) : s&td lov the »U{i*'.i'i- ,-..>.-j .- :-."»o wf tbo t'ormer, the latter liuUd*? a mmiiltiir<» hi4 ^li «h«W, unci '.f^t»{i» Hcu:jr |>ftn;nt#, Kntikc for theroi as droth«»r toys, mafly of ttH»!u h*j«tn«? .j|ai«ii,f!'-#^ •:"■-. ?*!iek- ^ 'ciMw«-'«. 8|«-»5*'>. • net! b%' P««t# '^ $•, ■■ . ...uJHtfen, iuit h- ^hr ..iM_t! i^...,'.,-'*, '. ■ii'y 8om clime.*' jw-mii* 'iv j'tij^i.. . . i«io ATuI \vliirl thfMH round (heir hii^vi* f^ 4 v boy^^o i^ Krsj|4:>"" **;»' tho ustefl torns it round Ukc tho arms ©f a wind-miU ; and so of ?«• - tf^ift. of the 8iMBw^ .siinplo ki utd. Thpse are the dihtint^t property of th«* *>%? ** » * i^i'tilhf. - ■*< U tlif m whi^* ^keir jiarent» look mi, witbnui ^ • > « » fjR^Tr at V with i.i'^ ■mm . -^ me ttikfil by Ih^^-iirfel^.-^'* i-^-' '.m their lutun^ Imj***!"** » .mwfeaid to hriij^ l-.- ,.,- -• v i' * ■■ OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 535 induced them, in coipmon with the rest of their nation, to call themselves, by way of distinction Inriuee, or mankind. One day for instance, in securing some of the geer of a sledge, Okotook broke a part of it composed of a piece of our white line, and I shall never forget the contemptuous sneer with which lie muttered in soliloquy the word " Kabloona!" in token of the inferiority of our materials to his own. It is happy, perhaps, when people possessing 80 few of the good things of this life can be thus contented with the little allotted them. The men, though low in stature, are not wanting in muscular strength in proportion to their size, or in activity and hardiness. They are good and even quick walkers, and occasionally bear much bodily fatigue, wet» and cold, without appearing to suffer by it, much less to complain of it. Whatever labour they have gone through and with whatever success in pro- curing game, no individual ever seems to arrogate to himself the credit of having done more than his neighbour for the general good. Nor do 1 con- ceive there is reason to doubt their personal courage, though they are too good-natured often to excite others to put that quality to the test. It is true they will recoil with horror at the tale of an Indian massacre, and probably cannot conceive what should induce one set of men deliberately and with- out provocation to murder another. War is not their trade ; ferocity forms no part of the disposition of the Esquimaux. Whatever manly qualities they possess are exercised in a different way, and put to a far more worthy pur- pose. They are fishermen and not warriors ; but I cannot call that man a coward who, at the age of one and twenty, will attack a polar bear single- handed, or fearlessly commit himself to floating masses of ice which the next puff of wind may drift for ever from the shore. If in short they are deficient in some of the higher virtues, as they are called, of savage life, they are certainly free also from some of its blackest vices ; and their want of brilliant q' alities is fully compensated by those which, while they dazzle less, do more service to society and more honour to human nature. If, for instance, they have not the magnanimity which would enable them to endure without a murmur the most excruciating tor- turie, neither have they the ferocious cruelty that incites a man to inflict that torture on a helpless fellow-creature. If their gratitude for favours be not lively nor lasting, neither is their resentment of injuries implacable nor their hatred deadly. I do not say there are not exceptions to this rule, though we have never witnessed any, but it is assuredly not their general character. .;!'*!" ■ .i 1 •1 ill j''s 536 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY When viewed more nearly in their domestic relations, the comparison will I believe, be still more in their favour. It is here as a social being, as a husband and the father of a family, promoting within his own little sphere the benefit of that community in which Providence has cast his lot, that the moral character of a savage is truly to be sought ; and who can turn without horror from the Esquimaux, peaceably seated after a day of honest labour with his wife and children in their snow-built hut, to the self-willed and vindictive Indian, wantonly plunging his dagger into the bosom of the help- less woman, whom nature bids him cherish and protect ! Of the few arts possessed by this simple people some account has already been given in the description of their various implements. As mechanics they have little to boast, when compared with other savages lying under equal disadvantages as to scantiness of tools and materials. As carpenters they can scarf two pieces of wood together, secure them with pins of whalebone or ivory, fashion the timbers of a canoe, shoe a paddle, and rivet a scrap of iron into a spear or arrow head. Their principal tool is the knife (panna,) and considering the excellence of a great number which they possessed previous to our intercourse with them, the work they do is remarkably coarse and clumsy. Their very manner of holding and handling a knife is the most awkward that can be imagined. For the purpose of boring holes they have a drill and bow so exactly like our own that they need no further description, except that the end of the drill-handle, which our artists place against tlieir breasts, is rested by these people against a piece of wood or bone held in their mouths, and having a cavity fitted to receive it. With the use of the saw they were well acquainted, but had nothing of this kind in their possession better than a notched piece of iron. One or two small European axes Averc lashed to handles in a contrary direction to ours, that is, to be used like an adze (3,) a form which, according to the observation of a traveller* well qualified to judge, savages in general prefer. It was said that these people steamed or boiled wood, in order to bend it for fashioning the timbers of their canoes. As fishermen or seamen they can put on a woolding or seizing with sufficient strength and security, and arc acquainted witli some of the most simple and serviccaiile knots in use among us. In all the arts, however, practised by the men it is observable that the ingenuity lies in the princi])le, not in the execution. The experience of ages haa led them to adopt the • Lcdyard. Proceedings of the African Association. Vol.i. p. SO, OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 537 most efficacious methods, but their practice as handicrafts has gone no further than absolute necessity requires ; they bestow little labour upon neatness or ornament. In some of the few arts practised by the women there is much more dex- terity displayed, particularly in that important branch of a housewife's busi- ness, sewing, which even with their own clumsy needles of bone (11.) they perform with extraordinary neatness. They had however several steel needles of a three-cornered shape, which they kept in a very convenient case (25.) consisting of a strip of leather passed through a hollow bone an n\ i "- '.;'» ■•; ■.> vv.t s-,= .- . The first and much the most common of these is that in which the well known Greenland chorus, *' Amna m/a," commences the performance, and is introduced between each verse, constituting about five-sixths of the whole song. When the words of the song are introduced, the notes rise a little for three or four bars, and then relapse again into the same hum-drum chorus as before, which to do it justice is well calculated to set the children to sleep. The words of the song seem to be as interminable as those of " Chevy Chace ;" for the women will go on singing them for nearly half an hour, and then leave off" one by one, not with their story but their breath ex- hausted. . » ^ ' Amna Aya Aya Amua ah - Ainna Aya Aya Amna ah, ah Sic. &c. - They have a second song, varying from the preceding one very slighdy in the tunc, and accompanied by the same chorus, but with ditt'crent words. The third and last is the most tuneful of any of their songs. The ter- mination, which is abrupt and fanciful, is usually accompanied by a peculiar motion of the head, and an expression of archness in the countenance which cannot be tlcscribed by words. 'il OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 543 There is only one verse to this song*, and that, from its commencing with the word " pilletay," we supposed to be a begging one. Of the words of their songs in general, I cannot, from my imperfect knowledge of their lan- guage, pretend to speak very accurately. From the occasional introduction of the words " sledge, canoe, spear," and others of that kind with which we were acquainted, it is probable that their own exploits by sea and land orm the principal subjects. The last song is not so often sung as the first, which these cheerful creatures unconsciously strike up every hour in the day, and which seems to beguile the time both to themselves and their children, under almost any circumstances in which they can be placed. The men seldom sing, and perhaps consider it unmanly; for we never heard them but at our request, and even then they soon left the women to finish the ditty. Their province rather seems to be to invoke the muse of the women at the games before described. During the season passed at Winter Island, which appears to have been a healthy one to the Esquimaux, we had little opportunity of becoming acquainted with the diseases to which they are subject. Our subsequent intercourse with a greater number of these people at Igloolik, having unfor- tunately afforded more frequent and fatal instances of sickness among them, I here insert Mr. Edwards's remarks on this subject. " Exempted as these people are from a host of diseases usually ascribed to the vitiated habits of more civilized life, as well as from those equally numer- ous and more destructive ones engendered by the pestilential effluvia that float in the atmosphere of more favoured climes, the diversity of their mala- dies is, as might ajrriorihc inferred, very limited. But, unfortunately, that improvidence which is so remarkable in their kindred tribes is also with them proof against the repeated lessons of bitter experience they are doomed to endure. Alternate excesses and privations mark their progress through life, and consequent misery in one or another shape is an active agent in effect- ing as much mischief amongst them as the diseases above alluded to pro- duce in other countries. The mortality arising from a few diseases and wretchedness combined seems sufficient to check any thing like a progressive increase of their numbers. The great proportion of deaths to births that occurred during the period of our intercourse with them has already been noticed. < . ; . . i^ *? * ■'s! ' IL I ^44 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY " It is doubtful in what proportion the mortality is directly occasioned by disease. Few perhaps die, in the strict sense of the term, a natural death. A married person of either sex rarely dies without leaving destitute a parent, a widow, or a helpless female infant. To be deprived of near relations is to be deprived of every thing ; such unfortunates are usually abandoned to their fate and too generally perish. A widow and two or three children left under these circumstances were known to have died of inanition, from the neglect and apathy of their neighbours, who jeered at the commanders of our ships on the failure of their humane endeavours to save what the Esqui> maux considered as worthless. ; , " Our first communication with these people at Winter Island gave us a more favourable impression of their general health than subsequent experi- ence confirmed. There however they were not free from sickness. A catarrhal affection in the month of February became generally prevalent, from which they readily recovered after the exciting causes, intemperance and exposure to wet, had ceased to operate. A solitary instance of pleurisy also occurred, which probably might have ended fatally but for timely assist- ance. Our intercourse with them in the summer was more interrupted ; but at our occasional meetings they were observed to be enjoying excellent health. It is probable that their certain supplies of food, and the nomade kind of life they lead in its pursuit during that season, arc favourable to health. Nutrition goes on actively, and an astonishing increase of strength and fulness is acquired. Active diseases might now be looked for, but that the powers of nature are providentially exerted with effect. " The unlimited use of stimulating animal food, on which they are from infancy fed, induces at an early age a highly plethoric state of the vascular system. The weaker over-distended vessels of the nose quickly yield to the increased impetus of the blood, and an active hermorrhage relieves the subject. As the same causes continue to be applied in exross at frequent intervals, and are followed by similar effects, a kind of vicarious hemorrhage at length becomes established by habit; superseding the intervention of art, and having no small share in maintaining a balance in the circulating system. The phenomenon is too constant to have escaped the observation of those who have visited the different Esquimaux people ; a party of them has indeed rarely been seen that did not exhibit two or three instances of the fact. !».. . . " About the month of September, the approach of winter induced the Es- OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 545 quimaux at Igloolik to abandon their tents, and to retire into their more established village. The majority were here crowded into huts of a perma- nent construction, the materials composing the sides being stones and the bones of whales, and the roofs being formed of skins, turf, and snow ; the rest of the people were lodged in snow-huts. For a while they continued very healthy ; in fact as long as the temperature of the interior did not exceed the freezing point, the vapours of the atmosphere congealed upon the walls, and the air remained dry and tolerably pure ; besides, their hard-frozen winter stock of walrus did not at this time tempt them to indulge their appetites immoderately. In January the temperature suffered an unseason- able rise, some successful captures of walrus also took place, and these circumstances, combined perhaps with some superstitious customs of which we were ignorant, seemed the signal for giving way to sensuality. The lamps were accumulated and the kettles more frequently replenished, and gluttony in its most disgusting form became for a while the order of the day. The Esquimaux were now seen wallowing in filth, while some surfeited lay stretched upon their skins enormously distended, and with their friends employed in rolling them about to assist the operations of oppressed nature. The roofs of their huts were no longer congealed, but dripping with wet and threatening speedy dissolution. The air was in the bone-huts damp, hot, and beyond sufferance offensive with putrid exhalations from the decomposing relics of offals, or other animal matter permitted to remain from year to year, undisturbed in these horrible sinks. " What the consequences might have been had this state of affairs long continued it is not difficult to imagine ; but fortunately for them an early and gradual dispersion took place, so that by the end of January few indi- viduals were left in the village. The rest in divided bodies established themselves in snow-huts upon the sea-ice at some distance from the land. Before this change had been completed disorders of an inflammatory charac- ter had appeared. A few went away sick, some were unable to remove, and others taken ill upon the ice, and we heard of the death of several about this period. ,'. ,. " The cold snow-huts into which they had moved, though infinitely prefer- able to those abandoned, were ill suited to the reception of people already sick or predisposed, from the above-named causes, to sickness ; many of them were also deficient in clothing to meet the rigorous weather that fol- lowed. Nevertheless after this violent excitement had passed away a com- 4 A lilt I h VJ "r. '1i i:" i^ It' 546 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY paratively good condition of health was enjoyed for the remainder of the winter and spring months. " Their distance from the ships at once [nrecluded any effectual assistance being rendered them at their huts, and their removal on board with safety ; the complaints of those who died at the huts therefore did not come under observation. It appears however to have been acute inflammation of some of the abdominal viscera, very rapid in its career. In the generality the disease assumed a more insidious and sub-acute form, under which the patient lingered for a while, and was then either carried off by a diarrhoea, or slowly recovered by the powers of nature. Three or four individuals who, with some risk and trouble, were brought to the ships, we were providentially instrumental in recovering ; but two others almost hopeless patients were so far exhausted before their arrival, that the endeavours used were unsuccess- flil, and death was probably hastened by their removal, " Abdominal and thoracic mflammations in fact seem to be the only active diseases they have to encounter. Where a spontaneous recovery does not take place these prove fatal in a short time. The only instance among them of chronic sequels to those complaints occurred in an old man almost in dotage, whose feeble remains of life were wasting away by an ulceration of the lungs. " No traces of the cxanthematous disorders met our observation. A soli- tary case of epilepsy was seen in a deaf and dumb boy, who eventually died. Chronic rheumatism occurs, but it is rare and not severe. I have some doubt in saying that scui-vy exists among them. A disease however having a close affinity to it was witnessed, but as in the only case that came fairly under our notice it was complicated with the symptoms of a previous debili- tating disease, the diagnosis was difficult. During the patient's recovery from one of the abdominal attacks above mentioned, the gums were observed to be spongy, separated from the teeth and reverted, bleeding, and in vari- ous parts presenting the livid appearance of scorbutic gums. At the same period arose pains of an anomalous description, and of considerable severity, about the shoulders and thorax. These gradually yielded as he recovered strength, but were succeeded by other pains and tenderness of the bones and muscles of the thighs and legs. The citric acid was given to him freely from the beginning until it interfered with his ap})etite and bowels, when it was omitted. Topical applications were at the same time used, and after- wards continued. Signs of amendment appeared before became necessary OF A ^^ORTH-WEST l-.k^ttAQE. 547 ^\ 'S to withhold tlie veg6table a^'^i, and it ' ;ts not recurred to while he remained on board. Urged by impati ice of cu.atrol he left us to join his countrymen before he had well regained his strength, but we saw him on board several times afterwards in a progressive state of improvement, and though yet weak free from scorbutic symptoms. Another instance offered in a woman, whom I saw but once. Her gums were spongy and reverted, bul not discoloured, her countenance sallow, lips pale, and she suffered under general debility, without local pain or rigidity of the limbs. She remained in this state for a long time, and eventually as the weather improved recovered without assist* ance. " That affection of the eyes, known by the name of snow-blindness, is ex- tremely frequent among these people. With them it scarcely ever goes beyond painful irritation, whilst among strangers inflammation is sometimes the con- sequence. I have not seen them use any other remedy besides the exclu- sion of light ; but, as a preventive, a wooden eye-screen is worn, very simple in its construction, consisting of a curved piece of wood six or seven inches long, and ten or twelve lines broad, (4.) It is tied over the eyes like a pair of spectacles, being adapted to the forehead and nose, and hollowed out to favour the motion of the cyc-lids. A few rays of light only are admitted through a narrow slit an inch long, cut opposite to each eye. This contrivance is more simple and quite as efficient as the more heavy one pos- sessed by some who have been fortunate enough to acquire wood for the purpose. This is merely the former instrument, complicated by the addition of a horizontal plate projecting three or four inches from its upper rim like the peak of a jockey's cap. In Hudson's Strait the latter is common, and the former in Greenland, where also we arc told they wear with advantage the simple horizontal peak alone. " There are upon the whole no people more destitute of curative means than these. With the exception of the hemorrhage already mentioned, which they duly appreciate, and have been observed to excite artificially to cure head-ach, they are ignorant of any rational method of procuring relief. It has not been ascertained that they use a single herb medicinally. As pro- phylactics they wear amulets, which arc usually the teeth, bones, or hair of some animal, the more rare apparenUy the more valuable. In absolute sick- ness they depend entirely upon their Angekoks, who, they persuade them- selves, have influence over some submarine deities who govern tiieir destiny. The mummeries of these impostors, consisting in pretended consultations 4 A 8 liKv' .■'ii!'''' ■M ^m 9 ' 's s3 :il ^lli ::w::: mm 548 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY t with their oracles, are looked upon with confidence, and their mandates, however absurd, superstitiously submitted to. These are constituted of unmeaning ceremonies and prohibitions generally affecting the diet, both in kind and mode, but never in quantity. Seal's flesh is forbidden, for instance, in one disease, that of the walrus in the other ; the heart is denied to some and the liver to others. A poor woman, on discovering that tht meat she had in her mouth was a piece of fried heart instead of the liver, appeared horror-struck ; and a man was in equal tribulation at having eaten, by mis- take, a piece of meat cooked in his wife's kettle. V , ' " This charlatanerie, although we may ridicule the imposition, is not, how- ever, with them, as it is with us, a positive evil. In the total absence of the medical art, it proves generally innoxious ; while in many instances it must be a source of real benefit and comfort, by buoying up the sick spirit with confident hopes of recovery, and eventually enabling the vital powers to rise superior to the malady, when, without such support, the sufferer might have sunk under its weight. It was attempted to ascertain whether climate effected any difference in animal heat between them and ourselves, by frequently marking the temperature of the mouth ; but the experiments were neces- sarily made, as occasion offered, under such various states of vascular excite- ment, as to afford nothing conclusive. As it was, their temperature varied from 97° to 102°, coinciding pretty nearly with our own under similar cir- cumstances. The pulse offered nothing singular. " I may here remark that there is in many individuals a peculiarity about the eye amounting, in some instances, to deformity, which I have not noticed elsewhere. It consists in the inner corner of the eye being entirely covered by a duplication of the adjacent loose skin of the eye-lids and nose. This fold is lightly stretched over the edges of the eye-lids, and forms as it were a third palpebra of a crescentic shape. The aperture is in consequence ren- dered somewhat pyriform, the inner curvature being very obtuse, and in some individuals distorted by an angle formed where the fold crosses the border of the lower palpebra. This singularity depends upon the variable form of the orbit during immature age, and is very remarkable in childhood, less so towards adult age, and then, it would seem, frequently disappearing altogether ; for the proportion in which it exists among grown-up persons bears but a small comparison with that observed among the young, " Personal deformity from mal-conformation is uncommon ; the only instance I remember being that of a young woman, whose utterance was •'•" h- C«i.,"l.y„„ H N .iPlfir3s«Mrs<: rjicsTu:ssCT2*':i',?,"!:" .;* ■••»"VC«I.l»I.y„„,i_N i.,r,v..| ',v i Wr.-, fl.A/i 7. rt'.. ' .',-. (I'-.J-....- ''« uni pal abo cer and by situ situ the site the in \ Adn mau canii prin( of S( haps have hood the live, othoi any i probt coast the w line c these Wh whatc certai trome years OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 549 unintelligibly nasal, in consequence of an imperfect development of the palatine bones leaving a gap in the roof of the mouth." The imperfect arithmetic of these people, which resolves every number above ten into one comprehensive word, prevented our obtaining any very certain information respecting the population of this part of North America and its adjacent islands. The principal stations of these people, not visited by us, are Akkoohe, Toonoonee-roochiuh, Peelig, and Toonoonek, of whose situation I have already spoken. The first of these, which is the only one situated on the continent, lies in an indentation of considerable depth, on the shores of the Polar Sea, running in towards Repulse Bay on the oppo- site coast, and forming with it the large peninsula situated like a bastion at the north-east angle of America, which I have named Melville Peninsula, in honour of Viscount Melville, the First Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty. From what wc know of the habits and disposition of the Esqui- maux, which incline them always to associate in considerable numbers, wc cannot well assign a smaller population than fifty souls to each of the four principal stations above-mentioned ; and including these, and the inhabitants of several minor ones that v ere occasionally named to us, there may per- haps be three or four hundred people belonging to this tribe, with whom we have never had communication. In all their charts of this neighbour- hood they also delineate a tract of land to the eastward, and somewhat to the northward, of Igloolik, where they say the Sectdlmneoo, or strangers, live, with whom, as with the Esquimaux of Southampton Island, and all others coming under the same denomination, they have seldom or never any intercourse, cither of a friendly or a hostile nature. It is more than probable that the natives of the inlet called the River Clyde, on the western coast of Baffin's Bay, are a part of the people thus designated ; and indeed the whole of the numerous bays and inlets on that extensive and productive line of coast may be the residence of great numbers of Esquimaux, of whom those people possess no accurate information. Whatever may be the abundance sometimes enjoyed by these people, and whatever the maladies occasioned by their too frequent abuse of it, it is certain that they occasionally suffer very severely from the opposite ex- treme. A remarkably intelligent woman informed Captain Lyon, that two years ago some Esquimaux arrived at Igloolik from a place near Akkooke ^+;.i ,1-1 I. '\'\ J> >. 650 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY bringing information that, during a very grievous famine, one party of men had fallen upon another and killed them ; and that they afterwards subsisted on their flesh, while in a frozen state, but never cooked nor even thawed it. This horrible account was soon after confirmed by Toolemak, on board the Fury ; and though he was evidently uneasy at our having heard the story, and conversed upon it with reluctance, yet by means of our questional he was brought to name, upon his fingers, five in-^'ividuals who had been killed on this occasion. Of the fact therefore there can be doubt; but it is certain also that we ourselves scarcely regarded it with greater horror than those who related it ; and the occurrence may be considered similar to those dreadful instances on record, even among civilized nations, of men devour- ing one another, in wrecks or boats, when rendered desperate by the suf- ferings of actual starvation. The ceremony of crying, which has before been mentioned as practised after a person's death, is not however altogether confined to those melan- choly occasions, but is occasionally adopted in cases of illness, and tliat of no very dangerous kind. The father of a sick person enters the apartment, and after looking at him for a few seconds without speaking, announces by a kind of low sob his preparation for the coming ceremony. At this signal every other individual present composes his features for crying, and the leader of the chorus then setting up a loud and piteous howl, which lasts about a minute, is joined by all the rest, who shed abundant tears Huring the process. 80 decidedly is this a matter of form, unaccompanied by any feeling of sorrow, that those who are not relatives shed just as nmiiy tears as those that are ; to which may be added, that in the instances wliicli we witnessed there was no real occasion for crying at all. It must therefore be considered in the light of a ceremony of condolence, which it would be either indecorous or unlucky to omit. , . • <*i mu' M'(«w i 1 4i::':j'^ ■■[♦, ,. 1* l^t'lAiw I »v r^tw^FSii.tri. OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 551 by Lieutenant Palmer, he describes as " being laid in a regular but shallow grave, with its head to the north-east. It was decently dressed in a good deer-skin jacket, and a seal-skin prepared without the hair was carefully placed as a cover to the whole figure, and tucked in on all sides. The body was covered with flat pieces of limestone, which however were so light that a fox might easily have removed them. Near the grave were four little separate piles of stones, not more than a foot in height, in one of which we noticed a piece of rod cloth and a black silk handkerchief, in a second a pair of child's boots and mittens, and in each of the others a whalebone |jot. The face of the child looked unusually clean and fresh, and a few days only could have elapsed since its decease," These Esquimaux do not appear to have any idea of the existence of One Supreme Being, nor indeed can they be said to entertain any notions on this subject, which may be dignified with the name of Religion. Their super- stitions, which are numerous, have all si»me reference to the preternatural agency of a number of todnigow, or spirits, with whom, on certain occasions, the Angetkooks pretend to hold mysterious intercourse, and who in various and distinct ways are supposed to preside over the destinies of the Esqui- maux. On particular occasions of sickness or want of food the Angeikooks contrive, by means of a darkened hut, a peculiar modulation of the voice, and the uttering of a variety of unintelligible sounds, to persuade their countrymen that they are descending to the lower regions for this purpose, where they force the spirits to communicate the desired information. The superstitious reverence in which these wizards are held, and a considerable degree of ingenuity in their mode of performing their mummery, prevent the detection of the imposture, and secure im])licit confidence in these absurd oracles. My friend Captain Lyon having particularly directed his attention to this part of their history during the whole of our intercourse with these people, and intending to publish his Journal which contains much interest- ing information of this nature, I shall not here enter more at large on the subject. Some account of their ideas respecting death, and of their belief in a future state of existence, have already been introduced in the course of the foregoing pages, in the order of those occurrences which furnished us with opportunities of observing them. The language of the Esquimaux h so full of words, and so varied and peculiar in the formation of its sentences, that it would require a much longer acquaintance with these people, m well as far greater ability than ill, - ' '^^t.-;f.|ji! '*■ ■ '"'.Imii In fi;'i'" M ' I 1} ',►'11 >mf m *ni SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY mine, to give a satisfactory account of its grammatical construction. In the few remarks which follow, I have taken as my guide Crantz s Account of the language of Greenland, and have endeavoured to trace a resemblance or to discover a difterence between the two, as far as our knowledge enables us to ascertain. They are in fact, however, so nearly allied to each other, that it canno' but excite surprise to observe how slight a change time and distance have been able to effect in the language, as well as in the habits, of this widely-scattered nation. One of the principal difficulties experienced by an European in acquiring a knowledge of this language, arises from the constant blending of the several words of a sentence into one, not simply by joining them loosely together, but by a regular combination of the whole, according to fixed yet infinitely varied rules. Of this peculiarity Crantz * has given an instance or two, whicli, though extreme cases, serve to shew the kind of difficulty which occurs in distinguishing the separate Avords of which such a sentence is com- pounded. . • • Several of our letters, taken according to the English mode of pronuncia- tion, are not in use among these people. The letter c may at all times be very well represcned by k ; and /, j, q, v, x; and z never, I believe, occur at all. Of about eight hundred words contained in the annexed Vocabulary, 1 can find none beginning with the letters b, d, g, I, r, or wf. D occurs very seldom in the middle of a word, and b still more rarely ; and in most cases these letters immediately precede the liquids / or r. It is worthy of remark, that the only exception to this that I have m?t with occurs in three of the words used in the games already described, where the b is followed by a vowel, as if, in the formation of these probably unmeaning words, as well as in the mode of uttering them, something out of the common way had been intended by the inventor. The letter / being quite unknown to them, the first attempt at the word " fife" produced " pipe," and it was not till after much practice that they could pronounce even one of the /'s with distinctness. I have remarked above that / is not used at the beginning of a word ; for tliough it thus occurs in the conjunction loo, yet as this is invariably placed at • II. 224, 225. ' ■}• The words so spelt by Crantz are, according to the English pronunciation, more accu- rately expressed by Oo, as in 6(vang-a. Nearly the same remark applies to the r of tlic Missionaries, for which, in English, w must be substitutCv ^v*a -11 f OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 553 the end of the noun or pronoun, it can hardly be considered an exception to the rule. The Esquimaux had great difficulty in pronouncing Captain Lyon's name, which it was more convenient to them to change into Nm/on. The letter / occurs perhaps more frequently than any other in the middle of Esquimaux words. The letters r and s are never pronounced as with us, but in a thick guttural manner, the former approximating to the Northumbrian dialect, and the latter to the Scotch ch, (as in the word "loch.") The mark ^ over either of those letters in the Vocabulary is intended to express that sound. The /• at the beginning of a word is perhaps the least adapted of any to their organs or habits of speech, and the combination of letters in the word " spring" produced from them nothing nearer than " sh-pudding." When the letter g is preceded by n, and followed by a vowel, as in anga and jmigaliit/cc, the g is sounded as in the English word " hanger," and not as in " anger." It is common for the Esquimaux to vary the pronunciation of their words at different times without altering the sense. The women, in particular, seem frequently to make such alterations as conduce to the softness of the words, as, for instance, by dropping the harsh final k which occurs so com- monly, s\s Innialoo ior Innialook ; by changing it into a vowel, as Ne-ako-a for Neakoke, or by altering Oo-cii-ga into Oo-hig-u or Oo-7e-ma, and Hee-ii- ta-git into Ucc-u-ting-a. Other examples of the same kind occur in the Vocabulary. The nouns substantive have three numbers, singular, dual, and plural. The dual generally terminates with a k, and the plural with a « or an n ; to the-ic, however, there are some exceptions among the following words, obtained by repeatedly using the words Altoivseiik (one), Madleroke (two), and Oonooktoot (a great many) respectively. Dual. Plural. Kei-nia Keinian Iglook Igloot Angootik Angootit Pan-nak Pannan In-nuke Innueet Kabloonak Kabloonan . Took-took Tooktoot Oomlngmak Oomingmei. In the construction of a sentence the nominative case usually precedes the verb, except it be a personal pronoun, which appears always to follow the 4 D fr 4m Sing;iilar. Keiyak Igloo Ang-oot Pan-na Innuke Ka-bloo-na Took-too Oo-ming-muk B-^K i \ a! UmUm ^, k ;i; !'■ i" 1 mH Ji 1 '?".r 554 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY verb, as " tamooa ooanga" (I eat), and indeed, in some instances, is so con- nected with it as to form a single word. The accusative case often precedes the verb, as " Omut tamooa ooanga" (I am eating heart). The adjectives which 1 have been able to discover are so few that they are probably in this lauguage, as in that of Greenland, of rare occurrence. Articles, I believe, they have none. The personal pronouns are as follow, nor could we distin- guish any difference of pronunciation between these and the possessive pro- nouns. The latter always follow the substantive to which they belong. /, Oo-ang-a He, Oma Ye, lUipsee ,, fig-weet We, Oo-a-goot They, Okkoa. You\, lll-weet The language of the Esquimaux abounds in verbs, there being a different one for each of several expressions which, in other languages, arc cither comprehended under one general term, or require a number of words to con- vey the meaning. To the instance quoted by Crantz (II, 218.) of those used to express what we call " to fish," I may add two others ; namely, the variety of words they use for throwing a spear, or for putting on their clothes, the verb being formed of the noun denoting the particular kind of spear thrown, or the article of dress put on. This copiousness ren- ders it the more difficult to acquire a knowledge of the moods and tenses, especially when the words of a sentence are so closely blended as in this lan- guage. The following arc the six persons of the present tense of the verb " to be well." Nappa-woong-a Nappa-wootik Nappa-woke Nappa-woot Nappa-wootit Nappa-wook I am Thou art He is We are Ye are They are • welly or in health. The third person singular generally terminates in oke, and most of the verbs in the Vocabulary are inserted in this person, which the Esquimaux more commonly gave than any other. There appear to be, as in Greenland, two imperative moods, one expressing a desire and the other a summary and positive command. This last ends in it, as " Eiliarit igloomoot" (Go away to the huts), and, when spoken with seriousness by a man to his wife or child, ensures immediate attention. The only prepositions that I have noticed (if indeed parts of speech can OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 656 be so called which always follow the noun) are three ; namely, mik (at), as *' Igloomikpoke," he is at the huts ; mee (in, upon, or, sometimes, at), as " Oomia-mee," in the ship ; " Sikkoomee," upon the ice ; " Amitio-mee," at Amitioke; and moot (to), as " Ooagna-moot," to the westward. These ai.e always tacked on at the end of the noun, like que in Latin ; and so is the conjunction loo (and), being pronounced with it, as if one word. A com- mon interjection, expressing surprise and admiration, is Hci! or Hei-i/d! but a superlative degree of astonishment, mixed with pleasure, is expressed by the words A-tdmna-trdnee ! The Esquimaux make much use of winks and nods in conversing. The former, which are always intended to convey a negative meaning, are fre- quently the only reply made to a question, which a bystander might therefore suppose to be still unanswered, A nod, as with us, implies the affirmative. A peculiarity in the idiom of this language which may here be noticed, is the affirmation of a question put in the negative, in order to convey a nega- tive reply, as " Have you not been out fishing to-day ?" to which if a nega- tive answer be intended the person says *' Yes," or returns a nod, implying *' I have not." I may also mention as another peculiarity in their mode of expressing themselves, a common custom of speaking of a third person, not by his own name but as " the father, husband, brother, ^-c, of such a one," and this even when the individual so spoken of is brother to the person speaking. Thus Iligliuk would often call her brotlier Toolooak " the son of Ka-oong-ut," In mentioning names it is not uncommon for them to adopt a mode of pronunciation diftering from the correct one, and which (if the term ■can at all be applied to an unwritten language,) may be called colloquial : tliis consists in a change of the termination, as " Toolooaghioo" for Toolooak, " Oongalaghioo" for Oong-a-luk, ^c, and appears equivalent to the familiar diminutives of Christian names common among us. The proper names in common use among these people are borrowed from the most familiar objects in nature, and have no reference to the qualities of the possessor, as among other savages of the North American continent. The names arc common to both sexes (so at least we found them in various instances) and are usually given after some of the relatives of the parents, but only on one occasion that we knew of, after the child's own parent. That they consider the sun as feminine and the moon masculine (as, indeed, do the Green- landers,) may be implied from the words " nciya" and " anninga," by which those objects are respectively called, but which literally mean " sister" 4 D 2 I? f '4 f^ ' '€^ . !;, ;, •w 4 h'M I '1 I :m ' *^li 'It ■jl']!| 556 SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY and " brother." But the name of " tatkuk," by which the moon is likewise distinguished, belonged to a fenia'e in the only instance we knew of its being in use. These Esquimaux are no great proficients in the science of arithmetic, their numerals extending in general only to five, and then commencing again thus: Attuw-seuk Madleroke, or Ardlek , Pingahuke . Sittamat Ted-lFc-ma One, or Six. Two ,, Seven. Three „ Eight. Four ,, Nine. Five ,, Ten. Six and seven are however sometimes expressed by Argwciirak and Jrgi(c/»Y//i- toiv-a, respectively ; and some of the more knowing individuals go so far as ten, thus : Kittuk!ee-moot . . Eight. Mikkeelukka-moot . Nine. EeTkit-koke . . Ten. But with these last, which have an evident reference to the fingers held up to represent them, very few were acquainted. In counMng even as far as three they must use their fingers as auxiliaries, and before they arrive at seven generally make some mistake. Beyond nine they hold up both hands, and if fifteen or twenty be required they make another person do the same, but never use their toes in this way as in Greenland*. It distresses the most intelligent j)erson among them to exceed ten in numeration, and they arc always glad to get off by calling it oonobktoot, which may therefore imply any number from a dozen to a million. For this reason their account of a number beyond ten, unless it be of men or dogs, whose names they remem- ber, and which amy thus be set dov/n as they repeat them, is never to be depended on. They reckon their days by " sleeps" {seemk), and their years by summers or winters, according as the event of which they speak occurred about either of those seasons. The spring they call opl^i-rak, but like ourselves cannot very exactly define the limits of that welcome season. They began however about the latter end of March, to talk of what had happened " in the win- ter." They have probably some corresponding term to express the autumn, * Crantz, II. 225, ^ ■ OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. m but we had no opportunity of learning it. In one instance I heard a time described by the number of moons that had since elapsed, and with tolerable precision ; but this mode of computation is not in common use, and was only resorted to from the question being put in that way. We were not aware of their making use of any other epochs, or large divisions of time, with one of which, however, our own arrival among them is not unlikely to furnish them. It is perhaps owing to their deficiency in numeration that their mode of expressing any short interval of time beyond a single day is extremely dubious and indefinite. For instance ikpokkee-dnce is used indif- ferently to express yesterday, and several days, or even weeks ago, and al-rd-nee any past period beyond a sipgle year. If several years be spoken of they cither express it by repeating " alranee, alranee, alranee," or more simply by the usual resource of " oonooktoot" (a great many,) and always seem teazed and perplexed by more minute inquiry. In expressing colours the same kind of uncertainty exists, except with red, white, black, and grey. For blue and yellow the terms given by dificr- ent persons, or by the same person at difFercnt times, are seldom twice alike ; and the confession of " nelloo-ooanga" (I don't know) generally follows a closer inquiry. Dark blue they at once call black, and light blue or yellow, white ; as to green they scarcely ever pretend to give it a name, which, little as they arc accustomed to sec that colour, is perhaps not much to be won- dered at. The foregoing remarks on the language of these people comprise all the certain information I have been enabled to collect on this subject, during the time of our residence with them, both at Winter Island and Igloolik, I shall close this brief sketch by the annexed vocabulary of words and sen- tences *, in which great care has been taken not to insert any of wliich the meaning is doubtful. That considerable caution is requisite in this respect repeated experience has taught us, as well on account of the uncertainty which must always attend a first communication >vith any people whose language is imperfectly known, as from the habit which the Esquimaux, have of repeating any word you say, as if for the purpose of affirming it. IS ; ■'*' " v! * In acquiring information of this nature, at the time of our first communication with the Esquimaux, we were much assisted by a list of words and sentences in the Greenland lan- guage, for which I am indebted to the unsolicited kindness of the Reverend C.I. Latrobe, a gentleman well known and deservedly esteemed in the Christian and literary world. »'■''*« f0d SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. whereas their intention perhaps is only to get rid of the inquiry. It is very common also for them when asked what a thing is, to give the name of the material of which it is composed, or of the animal that furnl&hed it, instead of the name of the article in its present state. If for instance, a stranger should shew a pair of seal-skin mittens, and desire to know their name, an Esquimaux would in all probability answer " neitiek," (seal,) or •' amiji," (skin,) and not mention " poo-a-look," till more closely questioned. In the following collection of words, the mode of spelling adopted has been such as to render the pronunciation intelligible to an English person, by attending to the following examples of particular combinations of letters : — a to be pronounced as in father, a terminal . . China. e or ee • impede, t ei . . . • eider, eye oke . • smoke. oo . . . • root. ow or ou . • cow, foul. uk . . . ■ luck. uke • duke. ut . . . • cut. It is of some Importance that the stress should be laid on the right syllable, to ensure which the marks used in Latia prosody have been adopted ; namely - long, and ^ short, the latter being usually understood where no mark is applied ; the mark + as already obsarvcd, denotes a guttural pronunciation. !) Mil VOCABULARY 0» ESQUIMAUX WORDS AND SENTENCES. Air, or weather. Also or heaven . In the open air Afraid . . . . „ he is . . Alive, lie is . Alone, or by one's self And, or also . Andromeda tetragona (plant) Angry, lie is . , . Arm, below the elbow „ above the elbow Arrived, or come he is Arrow Asbestos . . Auk, little Aunt Aurora Borealis . Awaken, he does . Away, or far off . „ „ he is /VX6 • • • • _ " / Back of a man sky, . . S6e-!a, . Seela-mee. . Eerk-see. . Eerk-see-woke. . ■ Innuo-Woke. . Ke-see-mee. . Loo. [■ Ikke-u-tik, or . L Ik-see-oo-tit- . Erk-sissee-yak-poke . Tei-yak-a-nak. . Akkei-atkoa. . Tikkeet-poke. . Kakleoke. . Mitk(36-shii. . Ak-palli-aiioo. . Atta. . Ark^ak. . Toopak-poke. . Ow-a-nee. . Ow-a-n~et-poke. . Oolee-niow. . Kee-a*teeka» „ of a whale or seal Back-bone Bad, it is . . Bag, or pocket Bald, he is . Band for women's hair Bark, he does Bear, a . . '. Beads .... Beard, or mustachios . Beat, he does Bend, it does Belly of a man » • „ of a whale, or seal Berry, a . • • • Big with young, she is . Bird .... Birch .... Bite, he does . . . . Arree-arg-a. Kool-leeng-a. Keimeg-lob-a. Ma-ma-it-poke. Ma-ma-in-mut. Ik-periuk. Mit-ku-ee-i'eeniik. Nuya-i'oiJ-te-woke. . To-glee-ga. . Killo-mc-Jik-poke.. r Nennoo\. 1. Naiinoke. . Hu-now-yak. . 06-mitkee. . Tiglik-pakma. , Ning-ob-oke. r Neiyi'k. (. Neid'.ek. . Tcima. Pa-66na-iootik. Sing-ei-w6ke. . Ting-mee-ya. Oke-pee-yak. {Ka-o-16ke-iK.ke^ Mikkeek-j/oke ' f ' •• I,- W tea ('•'■■' :,! >-f J ii--iiB 4 if\ 'V !■, ■IK 560 VOCABULARY OF ESQUIMAUX Black, or dark-coloured, it is Kei-niuk-toke. C A-6i)-iiak-poke. i A-ook-poke. Bleed it does Blood .... Blow, he does . „ it does (as a whale) Blue, it is . . Boatswain (Ijird) . Boil, it does Bone Book .... Boot .... „ he puts on hi^ . „ ankle boots Bore, or drill, he does Bow, for shooting „ he shoots witli a . . „ for drilling . Bow-case .... Bowl of wood, like a but- cher's tray .... Poo-oo-tuk. Box IllCi-we-ak. Brat-es for children's clothes Hwee-te-u-tu. Bracelet . . . . S A-6o-nak. Su-bloo-iik-tokepoke Pdo-i?e-w6ke. Kinv- louk-poke. Is-su-uak. Kal-lak-iioke. Ikko-a-ltik-poke. HeoTv-nik. Titterow-yak. AUek-teega. Mitko-leega. (^ Kaniee-ga. Ka-met'g-poke. rinnee-ia-ia. Ikkoo-tok-poke. Pit-tee-kee. Pitteek-seak-poke. Kci-woot. Pitteek-siek-tiik. ! Br.iin-t Brass Broak . . . Bread Br»'ad-dust Broaitt of tt woma.: Broast-bone . fireecheii ■*oap-paiig-a. he puts on his . Kflrietak. . Ka-ko-l.!ek. r Now-lk-poke. L KcT-k-tu-ak-pokp. . Shf-gii-lak. . Ka-iilb-ioiit. . Oo-W-ag-nig. . ToonOk-u-ci. {Kuklco-ga. Kukleck. . Kaklei'k-jKjke. Brother Brent-goose, or barnacle . Nur-gluk. Bristles Oomia. r Kattangobtee aneega I (or anniiiga.) Brown, it is . . . . Kei-yoke-toke. Buoy (made of an inflated seal-skin) . . . How-wQt-tak. Burn, it does . . . O-6-nak-poke. Button Iche-ree-yuk. Butterfly, a . . . . "IJakkee-likkee-fa. Calcareous spar . Calm, it is Canoe „ he paddles a Cap, or hood . . Oku-ree-yuk. lUee-ung-nak-pokL' Kei-yak. Kei-yak-tu-poke. Nei-seak. Cliann, a skin strap worn as a, Oo-ya-mee-ga. r Oolniak. I Oo-loo-ii-ga. Clieek Ang-oo-la-woke. Kahlooga. Ow-wee-wiuk. Eer-keet-poke. Ma-yii-ak-poke. Chew, he does Chin .... Clay-slate Clench his fist, he does Climb, he does Cloud Noo-woo-e-a. Coal Aggli-t-a. Cold Ik-kee. Comb Ilia-u-tiJc. Come here .... Kei-lee. Kariee. „ (more commanding) Keiiiarit. „ he does . . . Kii-wa. " down . . . Ka-noong-a. „ or go in . . , htiek. " fl>«ll n . . , Ittiek-laiig-a ? „ out,it(loe.<>(as an arrow) Kat-tak-iwke. Ang-et-kook. Conjuror, or Sorcerer. . •! Annat-ko-a. Anndtko. WORDS AND SENTENCES. 561 Copper Cougli, he does Crane (bird) . Crv, he does . Ka-noo-yak. Ko-akto-poke. Tattee-l^-aiuok. Kei-a-woke. Cup, or bowl of musk-ox horn Kei-yu-tuk. + r SOwe-ak-poke. Cut, he does . . • • \ Sowe-roke-poke. • L Pilliuk-toke-poke. Momt'k-poke. Tak. Tak-poke. N6o-gi!&-S'. Panneeya. Pannee. T6kc5&-woke. Ippuk. Ippiik-puke. Dance, he does Dark „ it is Dart for birds Daughter De:\d, he is . Dirt . . Dirtv, he is Dive, he does . {Ippuk-puk Oo-lu-ya. r Atka-juoke. 1 At-kak-poke. it does, ns a seal into a hole ... Ihg .... Draba alpina (plant) . Drenni, he does Dress \ ictuals, he does AglcJ6k-poke. r Mlkkee. I Kei-meg. Nap-jMlo-yat. St'iMiik-toomowoko. K(M)-li])-muk-poke. An-no-ak-i)«>ke. r An-no-ak-jxike Dress (with clothes) he does < _ L Kap-ptet-iwke. Drill, a . i „ Iww of . „ he does . Drink, he does Drinkiiijf-cup Drop, it does, as water Drown, he doen . . Drum, or tanilxjurine . Ik-koo-tak. Kii-woot. Ik-koo-tok-poke. Inuniek-moke. Fin-indo-ihiuk. K(m-t(ir>-iik-i>oke. IppW-woke. Keiiia-Ow-tik. Dmnk, he is Dry, it is Duck, king . Duck, eider . Duck, long-tailed Dust TokdS-yakpoke. Pan-nek-poke. Mit-tiek. Am-mow-liguok. Al-diggee-aiioo. Oke-oke. f Hee-u-tee-ga. Ear \ ^ [ Hee-u-tlng-a. East Nee-yuk. „ to the .... Nee-yuk-m5e. Eat, he does . . . Tamoo-ii-woke. Egg Mannig. P/.Mannian. r Ping-a-huke. Eight } * I Kit-tflk-lee-moot. Eighth . • . . . Ping-a-hu-at. Esquimaux .... Iimu^t (plur.) „ (when strangers) Sead-ler-me-S&. Elbow Ikko-see-gii. Enniue Ter-ree-ya. Euro|)ean (sub.) . . KabloOna. „ (adj.). . . . Ki"ii)l(5o-nrik-ta. Eye Ei-ee-ga. „ he has an inflamed . Ill^-u-jwke. Eye-lash Kei-ma-rei-yak. Eve-brow .... Ku-blout-kee. Face Fall, It does .... „ the tide does . . Far off . . . . „ he is • . . Fat, he is . . . Father .... Father (or mother) in-law Ke-nal'-rii. f Ke-nai'-ni [ Ke-niak. f E-il-ka- I E-il-kiil E-il-ka-iK)ke. -kiik-iKjke. Ting-lng-%-oke. 0\v-a-ne6. Ow-4-neet-poke. Oo-t n- in k- t(x»- woke Atti\ta. m .;!« m »ukke Ky i 4 C 562 VOCABULARY OF ESQUliVIAUX Fawn, a . . . Feather . . . Female, of any animal Fern File, a . . . . Finger, a „ the first „ middle „ third little Fire Fi.«h ■{ Fish-hook Five Flesh of any animal Flipptr of a seal, fore ., „ hind . Foetus of a seal, or walrus Foggy, it is . • . Food Toot w (ut;ed for past and future, also for " wait") . . . Just so Atteega. Attee-ge-ga. Attee-ge-woke. + Sik.ioo. Sikkuo-mee. Picca-ldi)-yak. EOrt-kei-lfie. Kang-ek-loo. Keip-kut-tuk. Ee-il-le-il. Innia-look. Innia-loo. Nab-gijo-iing-a. + Sow-ik. Kal-loog-nuk. Tou-wa. Oo-it-tia. A-meel-ya. It-ku-nief. Kidney Tik-to Kill, he does .... To-kcTj-poke. Knee Sit-kii-ii. Knife, iaa. Lajjland finch . Kerniuk-tarioo. Laugh, he does . Igla-puke. Lay a thing down, he does E-lee-wa. Lead (metal) . . Ak-kil-le-rook. Leather, dressed . . Kee-uk-tok. Leg of a man, below the knee . . Kan-na-ra. „ „ above ditto or thigh . KOke-to-kak. Leg of a quadruped, i jelow the knee Net— yoOng-a. Lend, he does . Atoke-poke. Lie . . . . . Shag-loo. „ you tell a . . Shag-loo-ik-pnitik. Lick, he does . AUook-toke. Lick it (iniper.) . . AlloTj-pa. KO-it-yow-tit. . . . Tee-row-yat. Oka-yute. Lichen, of three kinds Light (not dark) it iM . r Ka-o-mo-woke. I Ka-o-niak-poke. Liglit (not lieavy) it is Okit-tu-iiak. Lightning . Kadloome-Ikkouma Lights of an onimal Akki'ia-goii. Like thi!<, or in this mii f Immun-uft. nner < [ Im-miln-iiay. „ it is . . Immun-ittioke. Lime-stone . Kakotc-tfing-o-ii. Line of thong j AUek. lAkliuiak. Line platted, of ninew . Pelleii\. Lip, ujij)cr . KAkkft-wc-a-ga. Lip, lower Listen, he does Little „ he or it is Liver of an animal Long time ago Look, he does Looking-glass Louse Make faces, he does Male of any animal Mark, a . . . MaiTOot, a Marrow . Marrow-spoon Melt, it does . Mica Milk . . . Mitten Moon, tlie „ her name . ,1 in full . „ is in her (|uarter „ shhies . . Morning . Moss ... Mother . „ (as spoken by in Mountain Mouse Moutli Musk-ox • . Nail of finger, or toe { fants) Ka-kloo-8[a. Ka-kldo-ak. Na-luk-poke. Mikkee. Mikkeet-poke. Ting-ii-a. Al-iu-nee. Kei-niuk-poke. Tak-hak-toot Koo-muk. Ikko-yuk-poke. Arig-oot. In-nik. Ikkiek. Sik-sik. Pattek. Pattek-neiJk. Koo^siuk-poke. Kei-blia-ke-ii. Im-mook. P66-a-l(J&k. An-niugii. Tat-kuk. Nak-koke-poke. Kood-le-roke-iH)ke. Kow-mol-luk-poke Oo-blak. Man-nek. A-nid-mn. A-iia-nu. King-nak. ()\*'-ln-yiik. Kan-nee-ra. Oftniingmuk. Kookee. WORDS AND SENTENCES. 565 Nail of ivory, for stopping t)ie wounds in seals, ^r. . Too-poo-ta. Name Atka. Dual, Attik. „ what is your 1 . . Kee-wit ? „ what is his 1 ... Kee-wow-na ? Narwhal .... Keina-Ioo-a. Neck, or Throat . . Toke-loo-ga. Needle Mitkote. Needle-case .... Atteruk. Nephew, or Niece . . Oyu-Oga. Nest, a bird's . . . Oo-bloo-it. Net over the lamp . . Innetat. Night ..... Oo-iii!6-uk. r Sitta-mat. Nine No Negative, used with verbs No more Nud, he does ... Nortli . , . I Mikkee-luk-ku-uiotit. f Nak-ka. i Na-ii. Ilia. r Tug-wa. 1 Tt-i-wah. { Poo I ig- ilk -poke. Aiig-ek-poke. Kau-iiuiig-nak. Kan-nung-na-mt't'. Nose ,. to the . . „ the wind blowsfrom the Kan-nuiig-nSk-jwko. North-east .... Akkood-lojiitiwujk. fKei-nak. I King-ai'ii. Nostril Piiiig-a. Now Mang-a. Oil, or blubber . . . O-ku-a. Old, he is . , . . It-toTit-koo-rtk-poke. One At-tou-seuk. 0\w\\ tilt' door, he docs Mak-pck-poke. OrnHiuciital band for the head of Es!. '• r Ti-mfln-nS. i LTi-miln. . Ikkut-komeo-taria. ■ Hu-a-m'ik-j)ii-took- poke. Oo-ling-(5o-oke. . Koo. . Aksea-ka-ii-woke. . Manneeliiit. . Aug-ma-lo-^ik-poke. . Al-lar-tuk-poke. . Nak-see-angn. . Akpa-yuke-iwke. . Koo-uok-poke. + . Sukii-woke. . Su-keit-poke. . OkiJiJk-poke. Salt, or Salt-water, also the Sea .... Tarreoke. Sand Seokat. Sand-piper . . . Slggee-aree-arioo. „ Swiss . . . ToOlee-firioo. Saw, a .... . . Kibloo. ,. he does .... Oo-ljo-ak-poke. SaxitVaga Opix)sitifolia (plant) . . . Kakeed-laiig-nut. Silssar^, a pair of . . Kiblee-ow-tik. Scraper, for cleaning skuis Seak-koot. Scratch, he does . . . Koo-mlk-jioke. Seal, largo (Phoca Barliata) Oguke. „ small ( „ Hispida) Neitiek. ,, middle-sized . Kairolik. „ young of the . . ll)156o\v. Sealing excursion, he is gone r Neitiek-iwke. on I Ma-ote-pokc. Seal-hole Seven Sew, she does . Sliade for the eyes Shave, he doen Shell of a snail Agloo. (■ Argwenrak-towa. < Madleroke. . Tikkeemoot. r Mik-tiek-]K)ke. L Merk-Siek-poke. Ittee-yaga. Oo-mi-ak-poke. + Seu-te-rStJk. Shine, it does (as the moon) Kow-mal-lflk-poke Ship, or Boat . . . Oomiak. „ at, or on board the . OomiftmW. Shoe Ittee-ge-ga. r Too-ee-ga. I Ne-ga-blo-a. . Pamee-uo-lei'. + does Shoulder Shrimp . Shtit the door, J»e Sick, he is S'gh lie does . Silver, or Tin Sinew Sit down Sister . „ in-law . Six . . . Sing, he does Skin Sikkee-woke. Annee-ak-pokc. Annek-Seak-poke. Im-root. E-wal-loo. Ingit-poot. Kattang-ootecNelya, Okub-arra. ArgM-enrak. Imniek-poke. r Ameg. 1 Ami a. Ka-6w. Kei-seek. Mak-tuk. ,, of walru'* „ of oguke „ of whale Skin-vessel, placed mider n lamp Ai-nag-we-ii. Skin-vessels, small bucket- r Kei-ning-lak. shaped . . '« . . .1 Knt-tak. Skills of deer, made into a blanket .... Kefpik. i ! WORDS AND SENTENCES. 567 Skip a rope, he does Sky . . . Sledge, a „ he draws a Sleep, lie does Slide down, it does Sling for stones Small Smell, he does Smoke. Also Fog „ it does . Smooth . Snari! for birds Sneeze, you do Snore, he does Snow M it doeH . Snow-drift „ there is some Snow-goose . Snow-bunting Son . „ she bears a Sore, it is Sorrel Soup South . „ to the South-west Spade for Anew Spear for small seal KftU^-wiik-tak-toke Arnow-yfik-toke. Keiluk. See-la. Ka-niou-tik. Kamook.seeOrrii poke Seenlk-poke. Sitto()-woke. Illew. Mikkee. Nei-wokc. Nei-wa. Issiek. f iBsiek-jwke. 1 Pe-u-oke-poke. Manneefa. Nee-yak. Tageo-pootik. Kamoci-e-woke. Appoo. ' Kan-ne-uk-poke. Natt^-roo-ik. Nattee-roo-ik-fjoke. Kang-ook. Kopenno-acca-n. f Eeining-a. I Eei-nee-ra. Eernt?e-wokt'. r A-ang-mut. i A-u-jKjke. K()Tig-6-lek, Kayo. Ping-ung-nak. Ping-uiig-nii-mt??. Oo-agnartt. Poo-alle-ray. 06-nak. Sjjcar for large seal . Aklet— iik,orAkleega „ „ walrus and whale Kattwlik. „ „ deer . . . IpjKJO. „ „ salmon . . KukkSe-wi-i. Sj)it, he does . . . Kei-se-uk-poke. Spittle . . Noo-ii-ga. Spoon . r Ilia-oot. IAUoo. Spirit r Tobrngow. 1 Toorng-S. Spring , . . . Open-ia. Square, it is . . Kik-pairik-jwke. Squint, he does . Nak-koo-woke. Stab, he does . Kappee-woke. Star .... . Oo-bl6o-iiak. Star-fisli . f Add^-yugg56-yu-e- 1 yet. Stand nil . Nekko-lgliee. Steal, he does . Tiglik-poke. Stone . . . . Oo-yar-ia. ! f /;,■ „ for sharpening a knife Ar-iee-yuk. Straps used by women for carrying their children . Kakeo-mowtik. Strike, he does . . . Toke-pa. String of a bow . . . No-ak-tii. (■ AniaHia-lak-p6-liguok; Na-guke-to. Ow-litt^-week Ittee-re-(55k; Noo-6od-u-6k, Malluke-Se-ta. Tal-ldfit; Neeb-wa-wik, King-mlduok. Karicak, Ne-yu-ning Eit-du-a Too-nood-luk. Ow-littS-w56k. Seag-galse-o-wik Khe-mig. Khe-mig. ESQUIMAUX NAMES OP PLACES. Quilliam Creek The Land about Cape Matthew Smith Bouverie Islands Tern Island Amherst Island . . Liddon Island Cockbum Island. Also some others Whyte Inlet Islands off Autridge Bay Kftngek-ldC. Khiad-lflgbioo. OolookSiamen. * w w Se-ij-Avuk- both called . §eag-glQr-ru-ok Keiyuk-tarruoke. Ewe^-ta-oke-toke. Api)ee-tier-lCg-leek. TUB END. 671 'i* 'M 0^ . ,;r it .WE KV- J :*'' f. ;3 4 D 2 ERRATA. Page Hoc 14S 8 for " difference," read " dilTulencp." 157 14 for "bay but; the," read "bay; bul the." 177 9 for " pa r," read " pair." 832 8 omit " the." 402 8 for " this her," read " her and." 430 9 from bottom, omit one " tiiat." 431 3 do. after " on whicli," insert " we." 488 20 for " late," read " lately." 492 7 from bottom, before " tin?," add " ofl." 498 note f, for " nations," read " natives." 543 7 for " orm," rend " form." 544 ID from botloni, for " hermorrage," read "hemorrhage." 340 last line, between " before," and " because," insert, " it.' tONDON: PRINTED BV W. CLOWES, NoTthumbcrlanl.tourt. .■isfcj>:. li ill. ) \.tf A^ .'"J ..J \ v-<^^ "V^-rt, \ t lit Ah'""- \/^ ■ritmr/ftftnrtZonitvn . 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UtttliH M>.5 > _ /of c >> (^ 11(1 ttEl^A,C^) ^ rmrJbofa X^^ ^i \ I 8 '^ 1 t/f/i.tf,:- /.♦«• U\tfA; or tJu j-hif}.i ifomj out G3 ,6 yw^jmrnr. hihhA,*! .u tlir ,i,t dhrttr »i*'htn^ i8t.f f>yJohnMMmi.iUtini,irlfSHrrtl.aiHlon. "T-" vx 'UfKf/,..' .,s I/,. .„t ,f,nf/.r fi*. 7„»^' i8x.f f>y.r„hi,Mi,mriAtl>etMHi-St,rftL«ndon. ")Mur/i.<' .ts Hu .irt ////vrttr h*J„n^' i8t.t f>y John Mum,:, AlbetMHfS'fret I.0nJon. .WallserSoulp! IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I iS 1^ 12.0 25 2.2 1^1 ■IWU i" PhotDgrafiiic Sdences CorporaliQn ^ S ^. m \ \ as WIIT MAIN STRHT WIUTU.N.V. 14SM (71*)I73-4S03 \ M ^ i t \ !• f$;m .m i w Um^ H rtr^-f^^iffmk » 4 i • - r.--»»**»r%« ?. \% H # ! Ik:. !^,J |!J M :m'.m . i|* w; ''«lll<'(l»'«»«'»V.', "^ r^lSSIlWBTSa*? *•*?«* «»««• *'■>««? «ii *»»■ • fl^fttia./JMs-.W.^r? - ••4 l»>T. V. 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( C H ofaJ*art tauj CC H ' ~^V^ Q^ OF - 6 tfe^ tt6tttMt ^K^^fttttSjt ili ttS 4i Jo jj &2° 4i Jo jS 811 /.» ..-.. CmbHi^ a^imt\ ^ S ■fi shewinc TRACK^B BIS CV//P C^/y of ; /jq: / (f^^ ^-w? search llof tl) WksX Drift wood found here iy iheEsk' imdtrtJbe Conummd o/' €"A]PT^ 1822 - and drawn under his immediate impection b)Ji Track of thr ships in ,^oity out ^ boats „ wa/JkHuf or sintfle pan Zand seen t^ the £xpfdition Mttl down from thr informal^ rtttctj hAot He- (bmpa/ies wen a/>i Xrar tie sounding Irldeitotes roei;^ fskjsie/ts, fstt stones, ^crt I ronU , Thtoi: of the ships in. reiurninf J^fitioM of like fLxfd Joe Jititf j9si-n Se'pt-'' SSI'S L (^ ^T^hewintf the 'K^jTB lilSCOVERIES ( ^yy of ; "^ ( '/.J (^~0) in search (fa z^^'^^-T^ \ 1822 -^ii. imniediateimpection/>\J.JUsiisix. 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Island »/'Owlitterweek ^: _ • -^ '>^ ^W~W"»«"^^' v^': C«pe Pnulrvn distant lo rni/nt. Afire. North Cape I'/'i/if nilratirr /<> Ban«w River ^. 3 :'W.i/istaiU I i mjif iiS8i?^9^fei!»^^^^ H,:>i/-V»»J^>^X- .»tr' -•"•ri^*! f^,-/i'*i'>^e^ •r'. ^^■mil^'jSt .. ' .«.?.' M- "Wi '. ' .-,.! '^'e "I -"WlLHIlrf . jI****! » fUc^lii ) ^" .sv.\A\\vi ^^■^ \\> V*>W^\'f^^%\iiv8s7^ ■e*!«8Bt»««iy?;^, -r?<9» te' .'W.' "' • — va'\ V\ vif vA.w s'U':- V til'i'ijO "N 1 Hf>nhf.» i >*«X :->^'t -•■^««t '."n-'iTT- •■"'iv: -"75r'K?- ^ -*•- y-i:*«**^-.\ ■ V'^'- .r • / 5#/t \ < .llir lltlllowrll S../,)". II' /.///////■.' m im JM'ollrr .si'uJp. //V'<"V "(■' nl'lhi Ml'Hlt Kl'llu- I'lll'V '/./// Ill" ■HuUMnlUrunuauia ■AsMasi^ /'//•ii iit't/ir Naniiii-i '■/'//(, Striiil .''//« \\\r\ riMh^^ki .'jf!'ll.tr m iito . . .____. linf iif'f/ir Wi'Ulrni riilitiiin 'RlKklldl M' .Iflininiiur ,>l',i I'lirt i'l' Siiiillia .-M? ^ ? 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