v^, V^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 m u m II II HiotDgraidiic Sciences CorpoHHan 33 V«' or tna baok aovar wnan appropriata* All otnar original aopwa ara fflHnad baglnning on tna ffirat paga wMi a printad or Nliiatratad impraa* alont and anding on tha laat paga whh a printad or Wyatratad Impraaalan. Laa axamplalraa origlnaux dont la oouvartura an paplar aat imprlmte aont fllmia an commandant par la pramiar plat at an tarmlnant aoit par la damMra paga qui comporta una ampralnta dimpraaaion ou dlNuatratlon. aoit par la aacond plat, aalon la caa. Toua laa autraa axamplalraa origlnaux aont fUmte an commandant par la pramMra paga qui comporta una ampralnta dimpraaaion ou dlHuatration at an tarmlnant par la damMra paga qui comporta una taila ampralnta^ Tha laat ra c ardad frama on aach mieroflcho ahaN contain tha aymbal -^ Imaaning "CON- TINUED"). or tha aymbol ▼ (moaning "END"I. Un daa aymbolaa suivants apparattra aur la damMra imaga da chaqua microflcha. aalon la caa: la aymbola -*> aignifia "A SUIVRE". ia aymbola ▼ aignifia "FIN". Mapa. plataa. charta, ate., may ba ffHmad at dIfNran t raducthm ratloa. Thaaa too larga to ba antlraly inahidad In ana axpaaura ara Wmad baglnning in tha uppar lafft hand comar. laft to right and tap to bottom, aa many fframaa aa raquirad. Tha following diagrama Hluatrata tha Laa cartaa, planchaa, taMaavx. ate, pauvant Atra fllmia i daa taux da reduction diffAranta. Loraqua la document aat trap grand pour Atra raproduit an un caul clichA, 11 aat fllniA A partir da I'angla aupAriaur gaucha, da gaucha A droita. at da haut an baa, an pranant la nombra d'bnagaa nAcaaaaira. Laa diagrammaa auivanta muatrant la mAthoda. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 8 6 \: Lv^ i. *6. XVII. — An Account of the Recent Arctic Discoveries by Messrs. Deask and T. Simpson. Communicated by J. H. Pelly, Esq., Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. [Just half a century has elapsed since Alexander Mackenzie, in 1189, first descended the j^reat river which so justly hears his name, and reached the waters of the Polar Sea. Thirty- seven years later, in 1826, Franklin and Buck followed Mackenzie's course to the mouth of the •ame river, and coasted 370 miles to the westward, tracing the northern •horc of America till within 160 miles of P«)int Barrow, which was reached from the westward by Mr. Elsoii, Master of H.M.S. Blossom, only four days after Franklin wus obliged tu return. The intermediate portion has remained a blank ou*our maps till the lust few days have brought us the gratifying intelligence of an expedition headed by Messrs. Deasc and Simpson, two enterprising officers in the Hudson's Bay Company's service, having successfully traced the unexplored country between Point Barrow and Franklin's farthest ; and thus a continuous line of 60 degrees in extent, of the northern coast of America, from Point 7// 214 Messrs. Dease and Simpson's Account Turnagain on the east toBehring's Strait on they/ est, has been explored by British hardihood and perseverance. The only account of it yet received is contained in the simple narrative of the gentlemen who con- ducted this expedition, which was with much kindness immediately communicated to the Geographical Society by the Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company.] Fort Norman, 5th September, 1837. Honourable Sirs, — We have now the honour to report the complete success of the expedition this summer to the westward of Mackenzie's River. Our arrangements up to the departure of the expedition from Fort Chipew}an were stated in full to. Governor Simpson and the Northern Council, who, no doubt, communicated them to your Honours ; we shall, therefore, present a brief detail of our subse- quent operations. On the 1st June we quitted Fort Chipewyan, with two small sea-boats, accompanied by a luggage-boat and a party of hunters, for Great Bear Lake ; visited the salt plains, and arrived at Great Slave Lake on the 10th, where we were detained by ice until the 21st. The same cause prolonged our passage across that inland sea, and, having been for two days stopped by a strong contrary wind at the head of Mackenzie's River, it was the 1st .luly whvith othei i ^^^ same evemng (H ^ ^^^J^^^^,, numerous along this ^a .^ the fostemngs of their sicug 2l6 Messrs. Dease and Simpson's Account an easterly wind, along and through the ice, with very little inter- ruption till two A M. of the 17th, when an unbroiien pack, ex- tending to seaward, made us seek the shore in Camden Bay, near a considerable camp of Esquimaux. As soon as the fears of the latter were removed, an amicable meeting took place, and, having made them the usual presents, we purchased a good many of their mouth ornaments, weapons, and other articles, which will be for- warded in due course to the Hudson Bay House. Three of the men were remarkable for their good looks, upright figures, and a stature of from five feet ten to six feet. They gave us a specimen of their dances, and one of them afterwards won the palm from all our people at leaping. They informed us that they have two sources of trade; tlie first and most regular with their countrymen, who come annually from the westward ; the other with the Moun- tain Indians, who use fire-arms, and travel a great way across land from the direction of the Russian settlements. They showed us the knives, iron kettles, beads, and other things thus procured, which we have no doubt are of Russian manufacture. Their means of repayment appeared to us very limited, consisting in seal skins, whalebone, ivory, and a fev/ inferior furs, viz., wol- vereens, foxes, and musk-rats. A pair of indiiferent beaver gloves was purchased from them, which they had probably procured from the Mountain Indians, for wc saw no other symptom of the existence of that valuable animal near the coast, though it doubt- less abounds at some distance up the large wooded rivers which wt subsequently discovered. In the afternoon there appeared a narrow lane of" water stretching outwards, and we immediately "mbarked. We had advanced about three miles from the land, when the ice suddenly closed upon us, before a strong north-east wind ; one of the boats got squeezed, and it wjis oidy by throwing out the cargo upon the floating masses that she was saved from destruction. By means of portages made from one piece to another — the oars serving as bridges — the cargo was all recovered, and both boats finally hauled up on a large lloe, where wc passed an inclement and nnxious ni;i;ht. Next morning tlie gale abated, the ice relaxed a Utile tiround us, and by ix long circuit we regained the shore, about a league to the eastward of our former position. There we were detained till midnight of the 19th, when a favour- able wind enabled us to round the body of ice at a distance of four mil js from the land, and, continuing, carried us on the 20th into Foggy Island Bay. There we were stopped by the ice and a violent nortli-east wind until the 23rd, having on the preceding day made an ineflc-ctual attempt to weather Point Anxiety, in which we narrowly escaped with a thorough drenching. The latitude ashore was 70° 10'. From this situation we had the satisfaction of discovering, durin<^ a clear afternoon, a range of oflhe Recent Arctic Discoveries, 217 |ier- lex- [lear [the png heir (for- Ihe Ida the rocky mountains to the westward of the RomanzufT chain, and not seen by Sir John Franklin, but, beina; within the limit of his survey, we called it the " Franklin Range," as a just tribute to his character and merits. On the 23rd we again set sail, rounded the pack of ice, which extended six miles to seaward from Yarborough Inlet, then, abruptly turning in, we supped near Return Reef, and the survey commenced. Return Reef is one of a chain of reefs and islets which runs for twenty miles parallel to the coast, at the distance of about half a league, affording water enough within .''or such light craft as ours. The mainland is very low. From " Point Kerens " to " Cape Halkett " (named after two members of your Honourable Board) it forms a great bay, fifty miles broad by a third of that depth, which in honour of the Deputy- Governor was named " Harrison's Bay." At the bottom of this bay another picturesque branch of the Rocky Mountain range — the last seen by us — rears its lofty peaks above these flat shores : we called them " Felly's Moun- tains," in honour of the Governor of the Company. At their base flows a large river, two miles broad at its mouth, which wc named after Andrew Colville, Esq. This river freshens the water for many miles, !\nd its alluvial deposits have rendered Harrison's Bay so shallow, that it was not till after a run of twenty-five hours, during whicli we had repeatedly to stand well out to seaward, that we could effect a landing on a grounded ice- berg, nine miles to the south-west of Cape Halkett. A north- east gale kept us there the whole of the following day. The country extending to the foot of the mountains appeared to con- sist of plains covered with short grass and moss, the favourite pasture of the reindeer, of which we saw numerous herds. Ob- servations were obtained, determining our position to be in lat. 70* 43' N., long. 152° 14' W. ; variation of the compass 43=* E. Next morning (2()th July) the tide rose nearly two feet at six A.M., and enabled us safely to cross the shoals. At no great dis- tance from our encampment we passed the mouth of another large river, one mile broad, whose banks were thickly lined with drift timber. We named it the " Garry," in honour of Nicholas Garry, Esq. Cape Halkett forms the extreme point of a small island, separated from the main shores by a narrow channel too shallow for boats. Its situation was likewise found by observation to be in lat. 70° 48' N., long. 151° 55' W. It appears to be a place of resort to the Esquimaux, for we found a spot where they had been building their baidars last spring. We suppose them to have been part of a very large camp, which we saw in the bay of Staines River, as we sailed past the east end of Flaxman Island on the 20th July ; that this camp consisted of the western traders of that tribe on their animal journey to meet tlieir eastern VOL. VIII. ations to be in lat. 70° 25' N., lon^. 148° 25' W. The gale having moderated we re-embarked the following after- noon, and, running without intermission before a fresh breeze, we of the Recent Arctic Discoveries. 223 ryin- cative I some jySir Jdissi- |n the was lifTer- |pt an con- i\y to M to- rously them reached Demarcation Point to breakfast on the 11th. Several showers of snow fell during this run, and it was piercingly cold. The RomanzofT and British mountains had assumed the early livery of another winter. The ice in Camden Bay was still very heavy, but it protected us from the dangerous swell to which we became exposed after passing Barter Island. Soon after leaving Demarcation Point the ice became so closely wedged that we could no longer pursue our way through it. The following day (August 12) it opened a little, and the weather becoming fine we put out and advanced for a few hours, when the mountainous^ swell and heavy ice obliged us to seek the shore, which we reached with some difficulty between Backhouse River and Mount Cony- beare. There we were detained until the 15th. The icebergs which begirt the coast were of great size, and of every imaginable shape, but fro.m the summit of a hill, six miles in-land, we had an unbounded prospect of the blue ocean stretching to the north. The pasture in the deep valleys among the mountains was luxuriant ; herds of reindeer were browsing there, and we procured some venison. In the night of the 14th the stars and aurora borealis were first visible. The following morning we resumed our route, and the weather continuing nearly calm we reached the western mouth of the Mackenzie on the 17th, and there encamped. The first Eskimaux seen during our return from Boat Extreme were at Beaufort Bay, but from thence to the vicinity of the Mackenzie we were continually falling in with small parties, many of whom we had seen on the outward voyage. We maintained a friendly intercourse with them all, and they were very anxious to know whether we were soun to visit them again, 'riic habitations on Tent Island were abandoned in consequence, we understood, of an alarm that the Loucheux meditated a descent to revenge the murder of their friends. We have but few general remarks to add to the foregoing nar- rative. The tides all along the coast were semi-diurnal ; the flood coming from the westward. The rise, however, was strongly affected by the winds and ice ; and our opportunities of observing were but few. At Boat Extreme the average rise was fifteen inches ; high water from one and to two o'clock, a.m. and p.m. The rise generally decreased to the eastward, and at Point Kny it was only eight or nine inclies. That the main sea is clear and navi- gable by ships during the summer months the long rolling swell we encountered on our return, and the view obtained from the mountains, furnish toierable proof. We likewise saw some whales on our return. The prevalence of east and north-east winds during the early part of the summer is a remarkable fact. We were indeed favoured by a westerly wind for five days on our . • • 224 Messrs. Deask and Simpson's Account return, but this was almost the only exception. At a more ad- vanced period of the season, however, the winds blew more from the west and north-west. It is now certain that from Kotzebue*s Sound to Cape Parry there is not a harbour into which a ship can safely enter, but it must be a very unpropitious season that would not ndmit of achieving that portion of the Arctic naviga- tion ; and another year ought certainly to suffice for the remainder, whether the voyage wert commenced from Barrow's or from Behring's Strait. On this subject, however, we shall be better able to offer an opinion if successful in our next summer's opera- tions. The natural history of the coast from Return Reef to Point Barrow is meagre in the extreme. In the botanical kingdom scarcely a flower or moss was obtained in addition to the collection ' made on other parts of the coast. In zoology, reindeer, arctic foxes, one or two limmings, seals, white owls, snow buntings, grouse (Lagopus salicite et rupestres), and various well-known species of water-fowl, were the only objects met with ; while in the mineralogical department there was not a rock in situ or boulder-stone found along an extent of more than two hundred miles of coast. The variation of the compass was found to have increased from one to three degrees at the corresponding points where observaiions had been made by Sir John Franklin. At Boat Extreme, on the other hand, it was only twenty-one minutes greater than that stated by Mr. Elson at Point Barrow, where, by continuing the proportion, the quantities would coincide. The moon was never once visible during the whole outward and homeward voyage, till our return to the w'estern mouth of Mackenzie, where a set of distances was obtained, and the longi- tudes of the other points reduced back from thence by means of a very valuable watch generously lent to the expedition by Chief Factor Smith. The map of our discoveries will be prepared and transmitted to your Honours in the spring. Our ascent of the Mackenzie has not been characterised by any circumstance of particular interest. The weather continued calm and beautiful ; and the journey was performed entirely by towing, in which manner we advanced at the rate of from thirty to forty miles a-day. The river has fallen very low, and the fisheries have, in consequence, been unproductive, causing a scarcity of provisions both at Fort Good Hope and among the natives. We saw a good many of the Louchcux, but the Hare Indians were all dispersed in the interior, searching for subsistence. From the coast up to Point Separation moose-deer were numerous — being quite undisturbed, but from our first falling in with the of the Recent Arctic Discoveries. iSi5 Loucheux no vestiges of either moose or reindeer have been seen. VVe reached this place yesterday with half of our summer's stock of provisions still forthcoming, and are now awaiting with impa- tience the arrival of our outfit and despatches. Some Indians from Great Bear Lake have brought us intel- ligence of the party sent to establish our winter-quarters. They were stopped in Bear Lake river by ice during the whole month of July, lost one of their canoes, and it was not till about the fith ultimo that they passed Fort Franklin, after which they had the prospect of an unimpeded passage across the lake. The continued easterly winds were the cause of this vexatious deten- tion, during which the Dogribs kindly supported our people with the produce of their nets. iScpt. 8. — We have this morning received Governor Simpson's letter, dated London, 1 llh November last, and have to offer our lively acknowledgments to your Honours for the interest you have been pleased to express in the success of the expedition, and in, the welfare of ourselves and party. We have duly received the journals of Captain Back's last ex- pedition, and are glad to find that his nev undertaking is in no way to interfere with our original instructions. Your Honours may rest assured that our efforts in the cause of discovery and science next summer, to tlie eastward of the Copper- mine river, will not be less zealous than they have this season been in another field, and we are sanguine in the hope that they vill be crowned with equal success. Our supplies for next season have come to hand. They were delivered in very indifferent order at Portage la Loche, and there was a considerable deficiency in the weights of the pemmican ; but with the quantity saved of this year's stock there will be provision enough for next summer's operations, and we have no further demands to make upon the Depot for goods. We send two men express to Great Slave Lake with this de- spatch, and to meet the spring packet, the non-arrival of which causes us some anxiety ; and to-morrow we take our departure for winter-quarters. We are, &c. Peter W. Dease. Thomas Simpson. The Oovemor, Deputy Governor, and Committee of the Honourable the Hudson s Bay Company, London.