Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Shores of the Polar Sea Part 9

18 36.2 NE, strong, clear _} 148 deg. 52 min. W.

19 36.4 NE, strong, foggy } Foggy 20 36.4 NE, fresh, foggy _} Island.

21 35.7 NNE, North, moderate, clear } 22 37.6 North, NE, light, clear } Between Foggy Island & 23 41.0 Calm, clear } the Mouth of the 24 39.4 Calm, clear, foggy in the night } Mackenzie, lat. 70 25 41.2 Calm, fog, NE, light, ESE, strong} deg. 16 min. and 68 26 39.6 WNW, NW, heavy gale, snow, sleet } deg. 53 min. N. lon.

27 39.8 Calm, ESE, light, clear } 147 deg. 38 min. and 28 43.0 SW, strong, clear } 136 deg. 19 min. W.

29 52.5 SSW, heavy gale _} 30 45.6 NW, Heavy gale, rain } Mackenzie 31 42.4 Calm, SW, gloomy } River.

----- Mean 40.85 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sept.

1 38.3 NW, gale, snow } 2 38.6 NW, strong, clear } 3 41.1 Calm, moderate, SE, clear } 4 41.3 SE, NW, moderate, clear } 5 45.9 SE, light, clear } 6 51.0 Variable, light, clear } 7 44.8 SE, light, NW, strong } 8 41.0 NW, strong, snow } 9 39.3 East, moderate, clear } 10 45.8 SE, light, clear } Mackenzie 11 45.8 NW, moderate rain } River.

12 37.3 NW, moderate, gloomy } 13 37.2 Calm, SE, light, clear } 14 37.9 ESE, moderate, clear } 15 42.7 Calm, moderate, fresh, gloomy } 16 44.5 Variable, light, gloomy } 17 36.9 Variable, moderate, rain } 18 29.4 NW, fresh, gloomy } 19 24.6 NW, moderate, gloomy } 20 29.2 ESE, fresh, clear } 21 31.1 ENE, fresh, clear Fort Franklin.

----- Mean 39.22 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE.--The thermometer used in this register, was compared with those in use at Fort Franklin during ten days after our return, and found to coincide with them.

FOOTNOTES:

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

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

CHAPTER I.

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

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

IN THE DOLPHIN. IN THE UNION.

Dr. Richardson. Mr. Kendall.

Thomas Gillet, _c.o.xswain_. John M'Leay, _c.o.xswain_.

John M'Lellan, _Bowman_. George Munroe, _Bowman_.

Shadrach Tysoe, _Marine_. William Money, _Marine_.

Thomas Fuller, _Carpenter_. John M'Duffey.

Ooligbuck, _Esquimaux_. George Harkness.

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

On leaving Point Separation we pulled, for two hours, against the current, to regain the entrance of the "Middle Channel," which was first explored by Mackenzie, on his way to the sea, in 1798, and more perfectly surveyed by Captain Franklin, on his voyage to Garry's Island, last autumn. It has a breadth of nearly a mile, and a depth of from three to five fathoms; though in one place, where there was a ripple, the sounding lead struck against a flat bed of stone in nine feet water.

Having proceeded about ten miles in this channel, we entered a branch flowing to the eastward, with the view of tracing the course of the main land. Mackenzie, on his return from the sea by this route, observed many trees having their upper branches lopped off by the Esquimaux, and we saw several such trees in the course of the day. The lands are low and marshy, and inclose small lakes which are skirted by willows. The summits of the banks are loaded with drift-timber, showing that they are all inundated by the spring floods, except a few sandy ridges which bound the princ.i.p.al channels, and which are clothed with well-grown white spruce trees. Our voyage amongst these uninteresting flats was greatly enlivened by the busy flight and cheerful twittering of the sand-martins, which had scooped out thousands of nests in the banks of the river, and we witnessed with pleasure their activity in thinning the ranks of our most tormenting foes the musquitoes. When our precursor, Sir Alexander Mackenzie, pa.s.sed through these channels on the 10th of July, 1789, they were bounded by walls of ice veined with black earth, but the present season was so much milder, that the surface of the banks was every where thawed.

An hour before noon we put ash.o.r.e to cook our breakfast, near a clump of spruce trees, where several fires had recently been made by a party which had left many foot-prints on the sand; probably a horde of Esquimaux, on their return from trading with the Indians at the Narrows.

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

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

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

[Sidenote: Thursday, 6th.] On the 6th, heavy and continued rain delayed our embarkation until ten o'clock in the forenoon, and the weather, during the rest of the day, was hazy, with occasional showers of small rain. Before leaving the encampment, we lopped the branches from a tree, and suspended to it a small kettle, a hatchet, an ice-chisel, and a few strings of beads, together with a letter written in hieroglyphics, by Mr. Kendall, denoting that a party of white people presented these articles to the Esquimaux as a token of friends.h.i.+p.[4] As we advanced, we came to the union of several ramifications of the middle channel with the eastern branch of the river, and the breadth of the latter increased to two miles; its depth of water being rarely less than three fathoms.

In lat.i.tude 69 degrees, the eastern channel of the Mackenzie makes a turn round the end of the Rein-deer-hills which terminate there, having previously diminished in height to about two hundred feet. At the commencement of this turn, there is a small island nearly equal to the main land in height, and appearing when viewed from the southward, to be a continuation of it. Its position pointing it out to be the one described by Mackenzie as possessing "a sacred character," and being still a burial place of the Esquimaux, I named it Sacred Island. We saw here two recent, and several more ancient graves. The bodies were wrapped in skins closely covered with drift-wood, and laid with their heads to the west; so that the rule mentioned by Captain Lyon in his account of Melville peninsula, does not obtain on this part of the coast; for there none but the bodies of infants are placed in that direction. Various articles, such as canoes, sledges, and fis.h.i.+ng nets, were deposited near the graves.

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

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

[Sidenote: Friday, 7th.] We embarked on the morning on the 7th at four o'clock, in cold, hazy weather, and soon came to a point of Richards'

Island, on which there were four or five Esquimaux tents, with several skin canoes, and boats lying on the beach. I had previously arranged that on our first interview with the Esquimaux, I was to land with Ooligbuck, whilst Mr. Kendall kept the boats afloat ready to lend us such aid as might be required; conceiving that this was the best way of inspiring the natives with confidence, should they be distrustful, or of securing freedom of action to our crews should they prove unfriendly.

The muskets were kept in the arm-chest out of sight, but ready for instant use. As we drew near the point, two women, who were walking along the sh.o.r.e, looked at us with amazement for some minutes, and then ran into the tents and alarmed their inmates. Several men instantly rushed out, nearly naked, with their bows and quivers in their hands, making furious gestures and apparently much frightened. I desired Ooligbuck to speak to them, and called to them myself in their own language that we were friends; but their terror and confusion was so great, that they did not appear to comprehend us. I then took a few beads, files, and knives, in my hand, and landing with Ooligbuck, made some presents to the men, and told them I was come to trade. The moment I mentioned the word "trade" (_noowoerlook_), their fears subsided, and they sent away their bows, but retained their long knives; those that were clothed thrusting them into their pockets or up their sleeves. An old woman who seemed to have greater self-possession than the rest, and to understand my meaning more readily, ran and fetched some dried fish, for which I gave her beads; and the others then began to manifest an eager desire of exchanging their fish for any thing that I offered. More people coming from the tents, a crowd was formed, who obtained all the trading articles I had brought on sh.o.r.e. As their surprise subsided, their boldness and clamour increased, and some few of them began again to use threatening expressions and gestures, either from a dislike to strangers coming into their country, or for the purpose of intimidation and extortion. When the interview a.s.sumed this disagreeable character, Ooligbuck said that they were very bad people, and entreating me to embark, took me on his back and carried me on board. At the same time, several of the natives ran into the water and attempted to drag the boat ash.o.r.e, but on my calling to them they desisted. One fellow, whose countenance, naturally disagreeable, had been rendered hideous by the insertion of a large bra.s.s thimble into a perforation in the under lip, seized upon our tea-kettle, and endeavoured to conceal it under water, but being seen from the Union, he was made to return it.

When we left the sh.o.r.e, all the males, twenty-one in number, embarked in their small canoes or kaiyacks and accompanied us; and in less than a quarter of an hour, the women had struck the tents and embarked them, together with their children, dogs, and luggage, in their row boats or oomiaks, and were in close pursuit. For a time we proceeded down the river together in an amicable manner, bartering beads, steels, flints, files, knives, hatchets, and kettles, for fish, adzes, spears, and arrows. The natives seemed to have a correct idea of property, and showed much tact in their commerce with us; circ.u.mstances which have been held by an eminent historian to be evidences of a considerable progress towards civilization[5]. They were particularly cautious not to glut the market by too great a display of their stock in trade; producing only one article at a time, and not attempting to out-bid each other; nor did I ever observe them endeavour to deprive one another of any thing obtained in barter or as a present. As is usual with other tribes of Esquimaux, they asked our names and told us theirs, a practice diametrically opposite to that of the Indians, who conceive it to be improper to mention a man's name in his presence, and will not, on any account, designate their near relatives, except by some indirect phrase.

They showed much more curiosity respecting the construction of our boats than any of the tribes of Indians we had seen, and expressed great admiration of the rudder, soon comprehending its mode of action, although it is a contrivance of which they were previously ignorant.

They were incessant in their inquiries as to the use of every thing they saw in our possession, but were sometimes content with an answer too brief to afford much explanation; as in the following instance.

Ooligbuck had lighted his pipe and was puffing the smoke from his mouth, when they shouted "_ookah, ookah_," (fire, fire,) and demanded to be told what he was doing. He replied with the greatest gravity, "_poo-yoo-al-letchee-rawmah_" (I smoke); and this answer sufficed. On my referring to an Esquimaux vocabulary, Ooligbuck, in answer to their questions, told them that the book spoke to me, when they entreated me to put it away. I afterwards detected the rogue with the bra.s.s thimble endeavouring to steal this book, and placed it, as I thought, out of his reach; it was missing in the evening, but I never ascertained whether it had been purloined by the Esquimaux or had fallen overboard in moving some of the stores. Seeing me use my pocket telescope, they speedily comprehended its use, and called it "_eetee-yawgah_" (far eyes) the name that they give to the wooden shade which is used to protect their eyes from the glare of the snow; and which, from the smallness of its aperture, enables them to see distant objects more clearly. Of our trading articles, light copper kettles were in the greatest request, and we were often asked for the long knives which are used for flinching whales. It is creditable to the Esquimaux habits of cleanliness, that combs were in great demand, and we saw wooden ones of their own manufacture, not dissimilar to ours in form. I distributed looking-gla.s.ses to some of the young men, but they were mostly returned again, although I do not know on what account.

This party of Esquimaux, being similar in features and dress to the tribe seen by Captain Franklin, and not differing materially from the Esquimaux inhabiting Melville peninsula which have been so fully described by Captains Parry and Lyon, it is not necessary to enter into any detail here on those points. Ooligbuck's dialect and theirs differed a little, but they mutually understood one another. I observed that they invariably sounded the letter _m_ instead of _g_, when in the middle of a word, calling Ooligbuck, Oolimbauk. Ooligbuck's attempts to p.r.o.nounce "Doctor" were sufficiently imperfect, but to our visitors, the word seemed utterly unattainable, and they could designate me only by the term _Eheumattak_ or chief. They succeeded better with the names of some of the men, readily naming Tysoe, and calling Gillet "_Hillet_." The females, as they pa.s.sed in their oomiaks, bestowed on us some glances that could scarcely be misconstrued,--their manners, in this respect, differed widely from those of the Indian women, who have a modest and even shy demeanour. Some of the young girls had a considerable share of beauty, and seemed to have spared no pains in ornamenting their persons.

Their hair was turned up in a neat knot, on the crown of the head, and a lock or queue, tied by a fillet of beads, hung down by the ears, on each side. Mr. Nuttall, in his account of the Quapaws or Arkansas, mentions that the unmarried women wear their hair braided into two parts, brought round to either ear in a cylindrical form and ornamented with beads; and a similar attention to head-dress is paid by some of the Indian women inhabiting the borders of the great Canada lakes, and also by the Tawcullies or Carriers of New Caledonia;[6] but the females of all the tribes of Indians that we saw in our route through the northern parts of the fur countries, suffer their hair to hang loose about their ears, and, in general, adorn their persons less than the men of the same tribes. The Esquimaux women dressing better, and being required to labour less, than the Indian females, may be considered as a proof that the former nation has made the greater progress towards civilization; and I am of opinion that the Esquimaux would adopt European habits and customs much more readily than the Indians.

Though there are many circ.u.mstances which widely distinguish the Esquimaux from their Indian neighbours, they might all, possibly, be traced to the necessity of a.s.sociating in numbers for the capture of the whale, and of laying up large h.o.a.rds of blubber for winter consumption.

Thus have they been induced to build villages for their common residence, and from thence have originated those social habits which are incompatible with the wandering and precarious life of an Indian hunter.

It would lead, however, to too long a digression, were I to enter into details on this subject, and I resume, therefore, the narrative of the voyage.[7]

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

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

in the heart of a deer.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The wind freshened, and the night began to look stormy, as we stood across a wide sound which was open from the N.W. to the N.E., and had a depth of water varying from three to seven feet. White whales were seen; and some of the crew thought the water tasted brackish. About nine P.M.

a drizzling rain came on, attended with very dark weather, which induced us to make for a round islet, with a view of encamping, and securing the boats for the night; it was skirted by shoals that prevented us from landing, and we therefore anch.o.r.ed the boats by poles stuck in the mud, raised the coverings of the cargo on masts and oars, so as to turn off the rain; and after eating our supper and setting a watch, we endeavoured to get some repose by lying down in our clothes, wet as they were. We had scarcely laid down, however, before the wind changed and began to blow with violence directly on the sh.o.r.e, so as to render it necessary for us to s.h.i.+ft our situation without delay. An attempt was made to row the boats round to the other side of the islet, but they drifted upon the shoals in spite of the exertions of the crew, and began to strike violently. [Sidenote: Sat.u.r.day, 8th.] In this perilous situation we perceived some smooth water to leeward, upon which setting the foresails, the boats were pushed over a sandy bar into two fathoms water. We then stood towards the eastern sh.o.r.e, and keeping in deep water, entered a small inlet, which received the name of Refuge Cove; where having made fast the boats to the beach, pitched a tent on the sh.o.r.e, and set a watch, we attempted a second time to obtain some rest.

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

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

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

[Sidenote: Sunday, 9th.] After pulling along the coast for some time, the ice-blink appeared in the horizon, and about one o'clock in the morning on the 9th, we could perceive a stream of ice lying at the distance of eight or nine miles from the sh.o.r.e, and inclosing several small icebergs. At four o'clock, a northerly breeze springing up, brought a quant.i.ty of loose ice down upon us, and we made for the sh.o.r.e.

This part of the coast is skirted to the distance of two miles by flat sands, on which there is not more than a foot or eighteen inches of water. The depth of water gradually increases to four fathoms, which it attains at the distance of six or seven miles from the sh.o.r.e, and the heavy ice we saw outside, showed that the depth there was considerable.

Esquimaux winter-huts occur frequently on the coast, and the rows of drift-trees planted in the sand with the roots uppermost, in their vicinity, a.s.sume very curious forms, when seen through a hazy atmosphere. They frequently resembled a crowd of people, and sometimes we fancied they were not unlike the spires of a town just appearing above the horizon. We learnt by experience that the sh.o.r.e was more approachable at the points on which the Esquimaux had built, and we effected a landing at one of those places, when, having discharged the cargoes, we hauled the boats up, and pitched the tents. The water at our landing-place was fresh, but too hard to make tea; and at four or five miles from the sh.o.r.e, it was disagreeable to drink. Out of respect to Captain Toker of the Royal Navy, under whom I had once the honour to serve, his name was given to this Point. Mr. Kendall ascertained its lat.i.tude to be 69 degrees 38 minutes N.; its longitude by reckoning, 132 degrees 18 minutes W.; and the variation of the magnetic needle 50-1/2 degrees easterly. The distance rowed from Refuge Cove was about twelve miles. A tide pole was erected, by which it appeared that the ebb ran from four o'clock, the time at which we landed, until ten in the morning, producing a fall of eighteen inches; but the afternoon tide did not rise so high, and at 10h. 50 minutes P.M. it was low water again, the wind blowing fresh from the northward all the time.