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Transcriber's note:
A single character following a carat is superscripted
(example: ESQ^R). When multiple characters are
superscripted they are enclosed by curly brackets
(example: Hon^{ble}).
NARRATIVE OF AN EXPEDITION TO THE SHORES OF THE ARCTIC SEA
IN 1846 AND 1847.
by
JOHN RAE,
Hudson Bay Company's Service, Commander of the Expedition.
With Maps.
London:
T. & W. Boone, 29, New Bond Street.
1850.
Marchant Singer and Co., Printers, Ingram-Court,
Fenchurch-Street.
TO
SIR GEORGE SIMPSON,
_Governor-in-Chief of Rupert's Land_,
THE ZEALOUS PROMOTER OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY,
THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED
AS A TRIBUTE OF RESPECT AND REGARD
BY THE AUTHOR.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER I.
Object and plan of the Expedition--Equipment at York
Factory--Boats--Crews--Articles useful in an Arctic
Voyage--Breaking up of the ice in Hayes and Nelson
Rivers--Departure from York Factory--Progress retarded by the
ice--First night at sea--Reflections--Rupert's Creek--Unbroken
fields of ice--Broad River--Description of the Coast--Double
Cape Churchill--Open sea to the north and north-west--Arrive at
Churchill--White whales--Mode of catching them--Sir George
Simpson's instructions--Stock of provisions 1
CHAPTER II.
Depart from Churchill--A gale--Anchor in Knap's Bay--Land on an
island--Esquimaux graves--Visited by Esquimaux--A large river
running into Knap's Bay--Nevill's Bay--Corbet's Inlet--Rankin's
Inlet--Cape Jalabert--Greenland whales seen--Chesterfield
Inlet--Walruses--Cape Fullerton--Visited by an
Esquimaux--Reefs--Cape Kendall seen--Ice packed against the
shore--Take shelter in an excellent harbour--River
traced--Seals--Gale--Ice driven off--Direction of the tides
reversed--Whale Point--Many whales seen--Again stopped by the
pack--Wager River estuary--Ice drifts--Eddy currents--No second
opening into Wager River seen--Enter Repulse Bay--Interview with
Esquimaux--No intelligence of Sir John Franklin 19
CHAPTER III.
Receive a visit from a female party--Their persons and dress
described--Crossing the Isthmus--Drag one of the boats up a
stream--Succession of rapids--North Pole Lake--Find a plant fit
for fuel--Christie Lake--Flett Portage--Corrigal
Lake--Fish--Deer-scaring stones--White wolf--Stony
Portage--View of the sea--Exploring party sent in advance--Their
report--Long Portage--Difficult tracking--Miles Lake--Muddy
Lake--Rich pasturage and great variety of flowers on its
banks--Marmot burrows--Salt Lake--Visit Esquimaux
tents--Discouraging report of the state of the ice--Esquimaux
chart--Reach the sea--Ross inlet--Point Hargrave--Cape Lady
Pelly--Stopped by the ice--Put ashore--Find a sledge made of
ship-timber--Thick fog--Wolves--Walk along the shore--Remains of
musk-cattle and rein-deer--Nature of the coast--Danger from the
ice--Irregular rise of the tide--Deer on the ice--Fruitless
efforts to proceed northward--Cross over to Melville
Peninsula--Gale--Again stopped by the ice--Dangerous position of
the boat--Return to starting point--Meeting with our Esquimaux
friends at Salt Lake--Deer begun to migrate southward--Walk
across the isthmus to Repulse Bay 38
CHAPTER IV.
State of things at Repulse Bay--Determine to discontinue the
survey till the spring--Reasons--Party sent to bring over the
boat--Fix on a site for winter residence--Ptarmigan--Laughing
geese--Eider and king ducks--Visits of natives too
frequent--Return of the party sent for the boat--Report the bay
more closely packed than before--Preparations for
wintering--Fort Hope built--Proceed to North Pole and Christie
Lakes to look out for fishing stations--Purchase dogs--Wariness
of the deer--Flocks of geese pass southward--Blue-winged and
snow-geese--Their habits--Snow-storm--Its effects--Return to
Fort Hope--Daily routine--Signs of winter--Deer
numerous--Quantity of game killed--Provision-store built of
snow--Great fall of snow--Effects of the cold--Adventure with a
deer--Visited by a party of natives--Their report of the ice
westward of Melville Peninsula--An island said to be
wooded--Produce of the chase in October--Temperature--Two
observatories built of snow--Band of wolves--A party caught in a
snow-storm--Esquimaux theory of the heavenly bodies--Temperature
of November--Diminished supply of provisions 61
CHAPTER V.
Winter arrangements completed--Learn to build
snow-houses--Christmas-day--North Pole River frozen to the
bottom--1st January--Cheerfulness of the men--Furious
snow-storm--Observatories blown down--Boat buried under the
snow--Ouligbuck caught in the storm--Dog attacked by a
wolf--Party of natives take up their residence near Fort
Hope--Esquimaux mentioned by Sir John Ross known to them--Boat
dug out of the snow--A runaway wife--Deer begin to migrate
northward--A wolf-chase--First deer of the season
shot--Difficulty of deer-hunting in spring--Dimensions of an
Esquimaux canoe--Serious accident to Ouligbuck--A
conjuror--Preparations for the journey
northward--Temperature--Aurora Borealis 81
CHAPTER VI.
Set out for the north--Equipment of the
party--Snow-blindness--Musk-ox--Mode of killing it--Reach the
coast near Point Hargrave--Ice rough along shore--Pass Cape Lady
Pelly--Unfavourable weather--Slow progress--Put on short
allowance--River Ki-ting-nu-yak--Pemmican placed _en
cache_--Cape Weynton--Colvile Bay--High hill--Dogs giving
way--Work increased--Snow-house-building--Point Beaufort--Point
Siveright--Keith Bay--Cape Barclay--Another _cache_--Leave the
coast and proceed across the land--River A-ma-took--Dogs knocked
up--Lake Ballenden--Harrison islands--Party left to procure
provisions--Proceed with two of the men--Cape Berens--Relative
effects of an eastern and western aspect--Halkett Inlet--Reach
Lord Mayor's Bay--Take formal possession of the
country--Commence our return to winter quarters--Friendly
interview with the natives--Obtain supplies of provisions from
them--View of Pelly Bay--Trace the shore to the eastward--Travel
by night--Explore the coast of Simpson's Peninsula--Arrive at
Fort Hope--Occurrences during the absence of the exploring
party--Character of the Esquimaux Ivitchuk 97
CHAPTER VII.
Preparations for exploring the coast of Melville
Peninsula--Outfit--Leave Fort Hope--Pass over numerous
lakes--Guide at fault--Dease Peninsula--Arrive at the
sea--Fatigue party sent back to Fort Hope--Barrier of
ice--Lefroy Bay--Large island named after the Prince of
Wales--Detained by stormy weather--Short allowance--Cape Lady
Simpson--Selkirk Bay--Snow knee-deep--Capes Finlayson and
Sibbald--Deer shot--A cooking scene--Favourite native
relish--Again stopped by stormy weather--Cape M'Loughlin--Two
men left to hunt and fish--Cape Richardson--Chain of
islands--Garry Bay--Prince Albert range of hills--Cape
Arrowsmith--Coast much indented--Baker Bay--Provisions
fail--Proceed with one man--Cape Crozier--Parry Bay--Cape
Ellice, the farthest point seen--Take possession--Commence our
return--No provisions procured by the men left behind--Short
commons--Flock of cranes--Snow-blindness--Arrive at Repulse Bay 137
CHAPTER VIII.
Occurrences at Fort Hope during the absence of the exploring
party--Remove from winter quarters to tents--Sun seen at
midnight--Build an oven and bake bread--Esquimaux method of
catching seals--A concert--Lateness of the summer--A native
salmon-wear--Salmon spear--Boulders on the surface of the
ice--Visited by a native from the Ooglit Islands--His report of
occurrences at Igloolik--Indolence of the natives--Ice breaking
up--Halkett's air-boat--A storm--The ice dispersed--Prepare for
sea 165
CHAPTER IX.
Voyage from Repulse Bay to York Factory 178
APPENDIX.
List of Mammalia 199
---- Birds 201
---- Fishes 204
---- Plants 205
Specimens of Rocks 215
Dip of the needle and force of magnetic attraction at various
stations along the west shore of Hudson's Bay, and at Fort Hope,
Repulse Bay 218
Abstract of Meteorological Journal from September, 1846, to
August, 1847 224
Figures and Letters used for denoting the state of the weather,
&c. 248
[Illustration: _The Discoveries made by The Hon^{ble}. Hudson's Bay
C^{os}. Arctic Expeditions, between the Years 1837 & 1847. are Coloured
Red_
NORTHERN AMERICA
DISCOVERIES
of the
HON^{BLE}. HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY'S
ARCTIC EXPEDITION
in
1838 & 1839.
_John Arrowsmith_]
NARRATIVE,
ETC. ETC.
CHAPTER I.
Object and plan of the Expedition--Equipment at York
Factory--Boats--Crews--Articles useful in an Arctic
Voyage--Breaking up of the ice in Hayes and Nelson
Rivers--Departure from York Factory--Progress retarded by the
ice--First night at sea--Reflections--Rupert's Creek--Unbroken
fields of ice--Broad River--Description of the coast--Double
Cape Churchill--Open sea to the north and north west--Arrive at
Churchill--White whales--Mode of catching them--Sir George
Simpson's instructions--Stock of provisions.
It is already well known to those who take an interest in Arctic
discovery, that the Hudson's Bay Company intended fitting out an
expedition in 1840, which was to have proceeded to the northern shores
of America by Back's Great Fish River, for the purpose of tracing the
coast between the river Castor and Pollux of Dease and Simpson, and the
Strait of the Fury and Hecla, as it was then very generally supposed
that Boothia was an island.
The party was to have been commanded by that able and enterprising
traveller, Mr. Thomas Simpson, whose indefatigable exertions, in
conjunction with those of Mr. Dease, had during the three preceding
years effected so much; but his untimely and melancholy fate prevented
that intention from being carried into effect, and the survey of the
Arctic coast was discontinued for a few years.
When it was determined that the survey should be resumed, Sir George
Simpson, Governor-in-Chief of the Company's territories, informed me
that a boat expedition to the Arctic Sea was again contemplated, at the
same time doing me the honour of proposing that I should take command of
it,--a charge which I most joyfully accepted.
The plan of the expedition was different from any that had hitherto been
adopted, and was entirely of Sir George Simpson's forming. Its leading
features were as follows:--A party of thirteen persons, including two
Esquimaux interpreters, was to leave Churchill in two boats at the
disruption of the ice, and coast along the western shore of Hudson's Bay
to the northward as far as Repulse Bay; or, if thought necessary, to the
Strait of the Fury and Hecla. From this latter point the shore of the
Arctic Sea was to be traced to Dease and Simpson's farthest discoveries
eastward; or, if Boothia Felix should be found to form part of the
American continent, up to some place surveyed by Captain or Commander
(now Sir John and Sir James C.) Ross.
I started from the Sault de S^{te.} Marie in the latter part of July,
1845, in a canoe which I took on with me as far as Red River, where this
frail vessel was changed for a boat, which is better adapted for
traversing large sheets of water. We had rather a stormy passage to
Norway House, at which place five men were engaged for the expedition;
and having brought two with me from the southern department, I required
only three more, who I knew could easily be procured at York Factory.
At first there was some difficulty in getting volunteers, as a report
had got abroad (set on foot, I believe, by either M'Kay or Sinclair,
guides and steersmen with the expeditions under Sir G. Back and Dease
and Simpson), that the whole party, if not starved for want of food,
would run the risk of being frozen to death for want of fuel.
After leaving Norway House our progress was slow, the water being very
shallow, and our boat rather a heavy drag, for a single crew, over the
portages. Two Indians who were engaged, the one to go as far as Oxford
House, and the other all the way to York Factory, stipulated that they
should do no work on Sunday; to which I readily agreed, thinking that
they acted conscientiously; and this I really believe to have been the
case with one; but I had some doubts about the sincerity of the other,
when I learned that, before leaving us, he had stolen a shirt and
blanket from one of the boat's crew.
We arrived at York Factory on the 8th October, during a strong gale of
north-east wind with heavy rain and sleet, which had thoroughly drenched
us all; in addition to which the men were so bedaubed with mud whilst
dragging the boats along shore, that scarcely a feature of their faces
could be distinguished.
On landing I was most kindly welcomed by Chief-Factor Hargrave and the
other gentlemen of the Factory.
There was little probability of our being able to get to Churchill by
water this autumn, nevertheless the boats that had been built for the
expedition were launched and put in order for sea. They were fine
looking and strong clinker-built craft, 22 feet long by 7 feet 6 inches
broad, each capable of carrying between fifty and sixty pieces of goods
of 90 lbs. per piece. They were each rigged with two lug sails, to which
a jib was afterwards added; under which, with a strong breeze of wind,
they were found to work admirably. They were named the "North Pole" and
the "Magnet."
We had a continuance of northerly winds until the ice began to form on
the river, when it would have been highly imprudent to attempt going
along the coast, and I did not wish to run the risk of having our boats
stranded, which would have been a very likely occurrence had we put to
sea. There was, therefore, nothing to be done but to haul our boats up
again; nor did this cause me much disappointment, as I felt pretty
certain that, in the following spring, we could advance as fast to the
northward as the season of the breaking up of the ice did; and this
supposition I afterwards found to be correct.
My attention was now turned to the proper equipment of my party, in
which I was most ably assisted by Chief-Factor Hargrave and my friend,
Mr. W. Mactavish, who was in charge of York during the temporary absence
of the former gentleman; so that, with keeping a meteorological
journal--in which the temperature of the air, height of the barometer,
force and direction of the winds, and state of the weather were
registered eight times a day--and taking observations for latitude,
longitude, variation of the compass, and dip of the needle, &c., I had
occupation enough on my hands.
Among other articles which I thought might be useful, were a small
sheet-iron stove for each boat, a set of sheet-iron lamps for burning
oil after the Esquimaux fashion, some small kettles (commonly called
conjurors) having a small basin and perforated tin stand for burning
alcohol, a seine net, and four small windows, each of two double panes
of glass. An oiled canvass canoe was made, and we also had one of
Halkett's air boats, large enough to carry three persons. This last
useful and light little vessel ought to form part of the equipment of
every expedition.
On the 30th April, 1846, that harbinger of spring, the Canada goose, was
seen; and so early as the 5th May the ice in Hayes' River commenced
breaking up; but it was more than a month after this date before the
Nelson or North River opened. At length, on the 12th June, it was
reported that a passage was practicable, and everything was got in
readiness for making a start on the following day.
The crews of the boats were divided as follows:--
NORTH POLE.
John Rae.
John Corrigal, Orkneyman, Steersman.
Richard Turner, half-breed, Middleman.
Edward Hutchison, Orkneyman, ditto.
Hilard Mineau, Canadian, ditto.
Nibitabo, Cree Indian, ditto and hunter.
MAGNET.
George Flett, Orkneyman, Steersman.
John Folster, ditto, Middleman.
William Adamson, Zetlander, ditto.
Jacques St. Germain, Canadian, ditto.
Peter Matheson, Highlander, ditto.
All these men had the same wages, namely, L40 per annum, with the
promise of a gratuity in the event of good conduct.
The lading of each of the boats, including the men's luggage, amounted
to about seventy pieces; and with this cargo they were quite deep enough
in the water and very much lumbered--so much so that, to allow room for
pulling, a quantity of the cargo had to be displaced.
On the 13th June, after bidding farewell to our kind friends at York,
and receiving a salute of seven guns and three hearty cheers, we set
sail with a light air of fair wind. We had not proceeded more than a
mile down the river, when the wind chopped round directly in our teeth,
and blew a gale. As I could not think of turning back, we were speedily
under close-reefed sails, turning to windward; the wind and tide were
going in opposite directions, and there was an ugly cross sea running,
which caused us to ship much water over both the lee and weather side.
After a couple hours of this work we gained sufficient offing to clear
the shallows, which lie for some miles out from the point of Marsh,
(this being the name of the N.E. extremity of York Island), and stood
across towards the north shore of the Nelson River. The men in the
Magnet, having erroneously carried on too great a press of canvass, were
left a mile or two astern. As we advanced the wind gradually abated, and
we soon fell in with quantities of ice driving along with the current,
through which we had much difficulty in finding a passage.
We made the land near Sam's Creek; and it being now calm, and flood tide
strong against us, we cast anchor close to the shore between 9 and 10
o'clock. The night was beautiful, and, as all my men had gone to sleep,
nothing interrupted the stillness around but the occasional blowing of a
white whale, the rather musical note of the "caca wee" (long-tailed
duck), or the harsh scream of the great northern diver. Yet I could not
close my eyes. Nor was this wakefulness caused by the want of comfort in
my bed, which I must own was none of the most inviting, as it consisted
of a number of hard-packed bags of flour, over which a blanket was
spread, so that I had to accommodate myself in the best way I could to
the inequalities of the surface. To a man who had slept soundly in all
sorts of places--on the top of a round log, in the middle of a swamp, as
well as on the wet shingle beach, such a bed was no hardship; but
thoughts now pressed upon me which during the bustle and occupation of
preparation had no time to intrude. I could not conceal from myself that
many of my brother officers, men of great experience in the Indian
country, were of opinion that we ran much risk of starving; little was
known of the resources of that part of the country to which we were
bound; and all agreed that there was little chance of procuring fuel,
unless some oil could be obtained from the natives. Yet the novelty of
our route, and of our intended mode of operations, had a strong charm
for me, and gave me an excitement which I could not otherwise have felt.
14th.--As there were great quantities of ice along the shore to the
northward of us, I let the boats take the ground, so that this morning
they were high and dry on the mud, the water being a mile or two outside
of us, and we as far from the high-water mark.
As the Goose Hunt House (a small hut where one of the Company's servants
and some Indians go every spring and autumn to shoot and salt geese,)
was at no great distance, I visited it, but found that the people had
taken their departure for the Factory--a certain sign that the geese and
ducks had gone farther north. Numbers of the Hudsonian godwit (_limosa
Hudsonica_) were flying about, apparently intending to breed in the
neighbourhood.
The boats floated at a quarter after 10 A.M., and we got under weigh
with a fine light breeze from the S.E. The temperature of the air was
62 deg. and the water 40 deg. There were many pieces of ice floating
about, and a great quantity close-packed about half a mile outside. At
mid-day we were in latitude 57 deg. 25' 93" N. After running by Massey's
patent log for 10-3/4 miles north, we were stopped by ice at a few
minutes after 1 P.M., when we made fast to a large grounded mass, which
protected us from the smaller floating pieces as long as the tide was
ebbing; but as soon as the flood made, it required all our exertions to
prevent the boats being damaged. We now found the great advantage of
some sheet copper that had been nailed on their bows, as it completely
protected them from being chafed. At 11 next forenoon, finding our
situation rather dangerous, as soon as the tide flowed far enough, we
pushed inshore, and beached the boats on a fine smooth surface of mud
and gravel. With the exception of a heavy shower of rain at 6 A.M., the
weather continued fine all day, but the sky was too cloudy to permit any
observations to be made.
On the 16th we advanced only 1-1/2 miles. The temperature of the air 42
deg. and the water 34 deg. By an azimuth of the sun the variation of the
compass, 10 deg. 54' east, was obtained.
As it was only at, or near, high-water that we could make any progress,
we crept along shore about four miles during the morning's tide, and in
the evening we put into Rupert's Creek, which afforded us good shelter,
and also fresh water, of which we were getting rather short. A fresh
breeze from the east brought in much ice, which completely blockaded our
harbour. The morning of the 18th was very fine, but the easterly wind
still continued, and such was the effect produced by it that not a spot
of open water was to be seen. The latitude 57 deg. 32' 18" was observed,
and an observation of the sun's azimuth yesterday gave the variation of
the compass 9 deg. 56' E. Some partridges (_tetrao saliceti_), ducks,
and a flat-billed phalarope (_P. fulicarius_) were shot.
19th.--The ice having become somewhat more open during the night, we
left the creek at 4 A.M., and ran 32-1/2 miles before a fine breeze of
S.E. wind, through lanes of open water, as nearly as possible in a N.N.E.
course. Large unbroken fields, on which numbers of seals were lying, now
opposed our further progress. At high-water next morning, we set forward
among ice so closely packed, that we were obliged to open a passage by
pushing aside the smaller pieces; we thus gained between two and three
miles and reached Broad River. We lay here during the remainder of the
day, which was too cloudy for a meridian observation; but in the evening
an amplitude of the sun gave variation 12 deg. 19' east. The dip of the
needle was 84 deg. 46' 4".
The morning's tide of the 21st advanced us nearly three miles. Our new
position was found to be in latitude 58 deg. 9' 51" N.; the latitude of
Broad River must therefore be 58 deg. 7' N. A strong breeze of S.S.W.
wind had driven out some of the ice, so that, with the aid of sails and
poles, we gained 12 miles more northing in the evening.
From the 22nd to the 24th we continued to creep alongshore, but our
progress was very slow, 19 miles being, at the highest estimate, as much
as we gained. We were, however, killing ducks of various kinds, and
collecting eggs enough to keep us in food. A deer was also shot by
Nibitabo on the 22nd, and on the 24th I procured from a high mound of
ice, where it was feeding, what appeared to be a Canada nuthatch (_sitta
Canadensis_). The skin was preserved, and is with other specimens in the
Honourable Hudson's Bay Company's warehouse in London.
On the 25th we lay all day in a small creek, which afforded us a safe
harbour.
The wind, which had yesterday blown a strong gale from the N.E., shifted
round to W., which gave us some hopes of an opening to seaward. In the
evening much ice drove out with the ebb. The latitude of our position by
reduction to the meridian was 58 deg. 31' N.
26th.--This morning we were fortunate enough, after a great deal of
trouble, to get the boats into comparatively open water, and as the wind
was moderate from E.S.E. we threaded our way, through narrow channels
and openings, until opposite Cape Churchill. At 3 P.M. we doubled the
cape, and to our great joy found an open sea to the north and north west
of it.
The whole of the coast between Nelson River and Cape Churchill is low
and flat, with not a single rock in situ. There are, however, a number
of boulder stones of granite, and debris of limestone, to be seen.
There are numerous lakelets near the shore, the banks of which form the
favourite breeding places of the Canada goose, the mallard, pintail,
teal, scaup, and long-tailed ducks, great northern diver,[1] and the
Arctic tern. The phalaropus hyperboreus is also very numerous--so much
so that I could have shot twenty in half-an-hour. The female of this
phalarope and of the P. fulicarius is considerably larger, and has much
finer markings on its plumage, than the male, the colours being much
brighter.
As we sailed along shore to the westward, the land gradually became more
high and rocky, and there were many ridges of stones lying off several
miles from the beach, among which we had some trouble in threading our
way, the navigation being rendered still more difficult by a thick fog.
We arrived at the mouth of Churchill River at 3 A.M. on the 27th, but as
the tide was ebbing we could not stem the current, so that we did not
reach the Company's Fort, situated on the west bank of the river and
about five miles up, until half-past six, when I was most kindly
welcomed by my friend Mr. Sinclair, chief trader, the gentleman in
charge, who had not expected to see us so early.
My letter of instructions had not yet arrived, so that we took advantage
of the delay thus occasioned to have the boats unloaded, some slight
repairs effected, and the cargoes examined and dried. I determined on
leaving here some tobacco, salt, and one or two other articles that were
not absolutely essential, supplying their place with pemmican and flour.
Some observations for the dip of the needle gave mean dip 84 deg. 47' 3".
The variation of the compass 12 deg. 29' east, and the latitude of the
Establishment 58 deg. 44' 12" were found, and the mean time of 70
vertical vibrations of the needle in the magnetic meridian was 148".
The people of the fort were busy killing white whales, great numbers of
which come up the river with the flood tide. The mode of taking them is
very simple. A boat, having a harpooner both at bow and stern, sails out
among the shoal, and being painted white, it does not alarm them; they
approach quite close, and are thus easily struck. When harpooned they do
not run any great distance in one direction, but dart about much in the
way that a trout does when hooked.
On the evening of the 4th July the anxiously expected instructions
arrived from Red River, via York Factory. The following is a copy of
them:--
"_Red River Settlement_,
"15th June, 1846.
"SIR,
"You are aware that the grand object of the expedition which has
been placed under your direction is to complete the geography of
the northern shore of America, by surveying the only section of
the same that has not yet been traced, namely, the deep bay, as
it is supposed to be, stretching from the western extremity of
the Straits of the Fury and Hecla to the eastern limit of the
discoveries of Messrs. Dease and Simpson.
"2. For this purpose you will proceed from Churchill with the
two boats, and twelve men that have been selected for this
arduous and important service, losing not a moment, at least on
your outward voyage, in examining such part of the coast as has
already been visited and explored. In a word, you will reach,
with as little loss of time as possible, the interesting scene
of your exclusive labours.
"3. In prosecuting the survey in question, you will, as a matter
of course, endeavour to ascertain as accurately as circumstances
may permit, without occasioning any serious delay, the latitudes
and longitudes of all the most remarkable points within the
range of your operations, and also the general bearing and
extent of all the intermediate portions of coast, embodying the
whole at the same time in the form of a chart, or rather of the
draft of a chart, from day to day.
"4. But in addition to this, your principal and essential task,
you will devote as much of your attention as possible to various
subordinate and incidental duties. You will do your utmost,
consistently with the success of your main object, to attend to
botany and geology; to zoology in all its departments; to the
temperature both of the air and of the water; to the conditions
of the atmosphere and the state of the ice; to winds and
currents; to the soundings as well with respect to bottom as
with respect to depth; to the magnetic dip and the variation of
the compass; to the aurora borealis and the refraction of light.
You will also, to the best of your opportunities, observe the
ethnographical peculiarities of the Esquimaux of the country;
and in the event of your wintering within the Arctic Circle, you
will be careful to notice any characteristic features or
influences of the long night of the high latitudes in question.
These particulars, and such others as may suggest themselves to
you on the spot, you will record fully and precisely in a
journal, to be kept, as far as practicable, from day to day,
collecting at the same time any new, curious, or interesting
specimens, in illustration of any of the foregoing heads.
"5. In order to provide against the probable necessity of
requiring two seasons for your operations, you will take with
you all the provisions that your boats can carry, with such
shooting, hunting, and fishing tackle as may enable you to
husband your supplies. I need hardly mention medicines and warm
clothing among the necessaries of your voyage, for, in full
reliance on your professional zeal and ability, I place the
health of your people, under Providence, entirely in your hands.
"6. In the event of wintering in the country, you will cultivate
the most friendly relations with the natives, taking care,
however, to guard against surprise. For this purpose you will
repeatedly and constantly inculcate on your men, collectively
and individually, the absolute necessity of mildness and
firmness, of frankness and circumspection.
"7. If, in the event of your being unable to accomplish the
whole of your task in one season, you see ground for doubting
whether the resources of the country are competent to maintain
the whole of your people, you will in that case send back a part
of them to Churchill with one of the boats. For the remaining
part of your men you cannot fail to find subsistence, animated
as you and they are by a determination to fulfil your mission at
the cost of danger, fatigue, and privation. Wherever the natives
can live, I can have no fears with respect to you, more
particularly as you will have the advantage of the Esquimaux,
not merely in your actual supplies, but also in the means of
recruiting and renewing them.
"8. During the winter you will pursue the various objects of the
expedition by making excursions with a due regard, of course, to
safety, on the snow or on the ice; and at the close of your
second season, after having accomplished the whole of your task,
you will return according to your own discretion, either by your
original course or by Back's Great Fish River, keeping
constantly in view, till you reach Churchill or Great Slave
Lake, the general spirit of these your instructions.
"9. In conclusion, let me assure you that we look confidently to
you for the solution of what may be deemed the final problem in
the geography of the northern hemisphere. The eyes of all who
take an interest in the subject are fixed on the Hudson's Bay
Company; from us the world expects the final settlement of the
question that has occupied the attention of our country for two
hundred years; and your safe and triumphant return, which may
God in His mercy grant, will, I trust, speedily compensate the
Hudson's Bay Company for its repeated sacrifices and its
protracted anxieties.
"I remain,
"Sir, &c.
(Signed) "G. SIMPSON."
"John Rae, Esq.
"Churchill,
"Hudson's Bay."
The boats were loaded during the night, and at 6 A.M. were sent down to
the old stone fort at the mouth of the river, where they were to wait
for me a few hours. Besides an abundant supply of ammunition, guns,
nets, twines, &c. for our own use, and various articles for presents and
to barter with the Esquimaux, we had on board
20 bags pemmican, about 90 lbs. each,
2 ditto grease, " 90 lbs. "
25 ditto flour, each 1 cwt.
4 gallons of alcohol for fuel;
with a good stock of tea, sugar, and chocolate, but only four gallons of
brandy and two gallons of port wine, as I was well aware of the bad
effects of spirits in a cold climate. Considering that we were to be
absent fifteen or perhaps twenty-seven months, our quantity of
provisions (amounting in all to little more than four months'
consumption at full allowance) was not very great.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] The male and female of the northern diver (_colymbus glacialis_)
resemble one another so much that it is very difficult to distinguish
the one from the other. The immature bird has often been described by
ornithologists as the female.