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 parties 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 reindeer--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.
The morning of the 26th was fine, with a fresh breeze from W.N.W. A
visit which I had intended paying to the ladies was anticipated by their
coming over to our side of the river, bag and baggage. They were
accompanied by a very old man named Shad-kow-doo-yak, who was extremely
infirm, being obliged to move about in an almost horizontal posture,
supported by a stick. There were six women, (three old, the other three
young,) the whole of them married. One of the latter appeared quite like
a girl of ten years, and was rather good-looking, having more regular
features, and being cleaner and more neat in her dress than the others.
They were all tatooed on the face, the form on each being nearly the
same, viz. a number of curved lines drawn from between the eyebrows up
over the forehead, two lines across the cheek from near the nose towards
the ear, and a number of diverging curved lines from the lower lip
towards the chin and lower jaw. Their hands and arms were much tatooed
from the tip of the finger to the shoulder. Their hair was collected in
two large bunches, one on each side of the head; and a piece of stick
about ten inches long and half-an-inch thick being placed among it, a
strip of different coloured deer-skin is wound round it in a spiral
form, producing far from an unpleasing effect. They all had ivory combs
of their own manufacture, and deer-skin clothes with the hair inwards;
the only difference between their dresses and those of the men being
that the coats of the former had much larger hoods, (which are used for
carrying children,) in having a flap before as well as behind, and also
in the greater capacity of their boots, which come high above the knee,
and are kept up by being fastened to the girdle. Some needles, beads,
and other trifles were given them, at which they manifested their joy
with loud shouts and yells, differing from the men in this respect, who
received what was given them in silence, although they were evidently
much pleased.
In the forenoon we were joined by two fine-looking young fellows who had
just returned from hunting deer, in which they had been successful,
having driven a large buck off one of the islands into the water and
speared it there.
One of the women had been on board the Fury and Hecla, both at Igloolik
and Winter Island, and still wore round her wrist some beads which she
had obtained from these vessels. This party consisted of twenty-six
individuals, there being four families.
All the cargo being placed in security and the Magnet well moored in our
little land-locked harbour, the party, assisted by four Esquimaux,
commenced dragging the North Pole up the stream.
The latitude of our landing place was found to be 66 deg. 32' 1" N.,
being about seven miles further south than it has been laid down on the
charts. The variation of the compass by an azimuth was 58 deg. 37' 30"
W. This I afterwards found to be erroneous, probably arising from local
attraction. The rate of the chronometer had become so irregular that it
could not be depended upon for finding the longitude, and during the
winter it stopped altogether.
When about to put on a pair of Esquimaux boots, one of our female
visitors, noticing that the leather of the foot was rather hard, took
them out of my hands and began chewing them with her strong teeth. This
is the mode in which they prepare and soften the seal skin for their
boots, and they are seldom without a piece of leather to gnaw when they
have no better occupation for their teeth. At half-past nine P.M. the
men returned from the boat, having been absent since half-past seven in
the morning. They had with much labour dragged her three miles through a
succession of rapids, the channel being so obstructed with large boulder
stones and rocks, that the most of the party were obliged to be almost
continually up to the waist in ice-cold water. The boat had received
some severe blows and rubs, but no material damage. The worst part of
the river had been passed, and it was only a mile and a-half farther to
the lake (named by the Esquimaux Chi-gi-uwik) from which it takes its
rise. The Esquimaux who had assisted us were paid with a large knife
each.
Two nets that had been set produced four salmon, but the best season for
catching these fish was over, as they had now returned to deep water.
The evening was cloudy with a strong and chilly breeze from N.N.W.
Temperature of the air at 10 P.M. 35 deg.
27th. As soon as the men had finished breakfast they carried each a load
over the rocks to where the boat lay.
I this morning tried some of our male friends with a little tea and
biscuit, which they did not relish nearly so well as the ladies had done
the previous evening. Indeed, one of the latter, whom I have already
mentioned, knew what biscuit was the moment she saw it, and said she had
eaten some when on board Captain Parry's ships. I remained at our
landing-place until the afternoon to obtain some observations. That for
latitude gave a result different only 4" from that of yesterday. Having
engaged three Esquimaux to carry up some things that were still to be
taken, at one o'clock I followed my men and came up with them some
distance up the lake. As we could not prevail on any of the Esquimaux to
accompany us as guides, they left us here, and I sent back John Folster
and Ouligbuck to take care of the property left behind.
Our course was nearly N.N.W., but a gale of head wind impeded our
progress greatly. The temperature of the air was 52 deg.; water of lake
40 deg. A few hours' poling, pulling, and tracking brought us to the end
of the lake, which is about six miles long, from two hundred yards to half
a mile broad, and in some places thirty fathoms deep. The lake, as well as
the stream up which we had come, was named after our boat. We now turned
to the westward and entered a narrow passage one-and-a-half miles long,
which connects the lake we had passed through with the next one; the
current was strong, but between poling and tracking we soon got into
still water. Our course now turned again to the N.N.W., and after
proceeding a mile in this direction, we put on shore for the night in a
small bay, where we found a good supply of a plant (_andromeda
tetragona_), which answers very well for fuel.
28th. We did not get under weigh this morning until 6 A.M. as the men
had a hard day's work yesterday, and did not get to rest until a late
hour. The lake continues to trend in the same direction as before, but
the banks are neither so high nor so rocky, being covered with short
grass in many places instead of moss. The wind still kept ahead, so that
it was past ten in the morning before we arrived at a portage, and while
two of the men were preparing breakfast, the others were employed
carrying over some of the baggage. This portage, which I named after
Flett, one of the steersmen, was half a mile long; and being in some
places soft and in others stony, it was half-past four before we were
afloat in the lake on the other side of it. It being calm, great numbers
of fish were seen in this small body of water, which was narrow and only
two-and-a-half miles long, with a deep bay on each side, which gave it
the form of a T. It received the name of Corrigal, after one of my men.
We lost our way here for a short time, having entered a wrong arm of
the lake. At 8 P.M. we arrived at another portage, which being a short
one was soon got over. We pulled in a N.W. direction across this lake
for about three miles to a shallow streamlet that flows from it; here we
were to make our third and I hoped our last portage. We left this for
our next morning's work, as it was now half-past 10 P.M. There was a
great number of stones set up here for the purpose of frightening the
deer into the water. A large white wolf was seen.
The morning of the 29th was raw and cold, with a gale of wind from N.W.
by N. We got over the portage (which, although short, was covered with
rough granite stones that stuck to our boat's iron-shod keel like glue)
at 20 minutes after 6, and embarked on what I then supposed was another
lake, but which afterwards turned out to be a portion of the second lake
we had entered, and the largest body of fresh water we had yet seen. I
named it after my much-respected and kind friend, Alexander Christie,
Esq., Governor of Red River Colony, whose name has been so often
favourably mentioned by Arctic travellers.
After pulling W.N.W. for eight miles, we were again in doubt about the
route, and whilst on my way to some high ground in order to ascertain
it, I shot a fine buck with an inch and a half of fat on his haunches.
We advanced two miles to the head of a small inlet, whence I set out
with one of the men to a neighbouring rising ground to endeavour to
obtain a view of our future route, and, if possible, to get a sight of
the sea. After a fatiguing walk over hill and dale, our eyes were
gladdened with a sight of what we so anxiously looked for, but the view
was far from flattering to our hopes. The sea, or rather the ice on its
surface, was seen apparently not more than twelve miles distant, bearing
north; but there was not a pool of open water visible. It was evident
that our detention in the lakes had as yet lost us nothing. Returning at
8 P.M., I sent four men in two parties to endeavour to discover the best
route, one party being ordered to trace a considerable lake in a N.N.W.
direction, and, if possible, discover its outlet.
30th.--The men sent off last night returned between 1 and 2 this
morning: those who went to the N.W. reported that there was a small
stream flowing towards the Arctic Sea from the farthest extremity of the
lake they had traced.
As this account agreed with what we had heard from the Esquimaux, there
was no doubt that we were now in the right track. We had to cross two
portages, each a quarter of a mile, and traverse a lakelet one mile in
extent, before we reached the body of water which the men had traced to
its outlet. It was half-past 2 before we accomplished this work, there
being many obstructions in the form of large granite stones, among and
over which we had to drag the boat.
The lake in which we now found ourselves is upwards of 27 fathoms deep,
about 6-1/2 miles long, and not more than half a mile broad; it lies
nearly N. by W., and is bounded by banks much more steep and rugged than
any we had yet passed, being in some places two or three hundred feet
high. It is situated in latitude 66 deg. 55' N., and longitude 87 deg.
35' W. We found that the longest and most difficult portage was now
before us. By the time we had the baggage carried half way over it was
getting late, and we did not take dinner until 9 P.M.
The following morning was cloudy, with a cold north breeze, which was
not at all unfavourable for the work we had to do. We went to work at an
early hour, but our advance was very slow, as the portage fully realised
the bad opinion that we had formed of it. Hitherto, by laying the anchor
out some distance ahead, and having a block attached to the bow of the
boat by a strop, or what sailors call a swifter, passing round her, we
could form a purchase sufficiently strong to move her with facility, but
here our utmost exertions were required, and the tracking line was
frequently broken. A piece of iron an eighth of an inch thick, which
lined the keel from stem to stern, was actually drawn out and doubled
up, so that it was necessary to remove the whole. At half-past 10, when
half-way across, we breakfasted, after which we met with a bank of snow,
over which we went at a great rate. The latitude, 66 deg. 59' 37" N., was
observed. Near the extremity of the portage there were some ponds of
water deep enough to float the boat, that helped us not a little. The
descent of a steep bank fully a hundred feet high brought us into
another fine lake eight miles long and one mile broad, lying nearly
north and south, with steep rocky shores on its west side: the place
where we came upon its waters was about three miles from its southern
extremity. This lake was named "Miles," after a friend. As it was quite
calm, we pulled up due north and entered a narrow inlet, out of which
there was no passage. We had passed at a mile and a half from this a
stream flowing from the lake, but it looked so insignificant that I
could not suppose it to be the same that the Esquimaux had reported as
having sufficient water for floating the boat. It was now too late,
however, to look for any other exit, and we all betook ourselves to rest
after a hearty supper, for which the fatigues of the day gave us an
excellent appetite. Some of the men had large pieces of the skin
stripped from their backs whilst lifting the boat over the various
obstructions on the portage.
1st August.--Finding that there was no likelihood of there being any
other outlet to the lake than the one we had seen, we took out the
cargo, and hauling our boat over a shallow part, we reloaded and soon
entered a narrow lake, the waters of which were very muddy. At half an
hour before noon we landed to have breakfast, and the latitude 67 deg.
4' 22" N., variation of the compass 66 deg. 38' W., were observed. The
shores of this lake, being covered with a rich pasturage and a great
variety of flowers, afforded a pleasing contrast to the country we had
hitherto travelled through. There were great numbers of marmots here,
with a well-beaten path leading from one burrow to another. After
dragging the boat over many shallows, we arrived a little after 5 P.M.
at high-water mark, in latitude 67 deg. 13' N., longitude 87 deg. 30'
W. The tide being out, and there not being sufficient water to float
the boat, I decided on remaining here until the flood made.
The recent foot-tracks of two Esquimaux were seen on the sand.
A short distance below where we stopped, the stream we had descended
empties its waters into a small river which flows from the westward.
2nd.--As the tide did not rise so high by two feet during the night as
it had done the previous day, the boat did not float; we were,
consequently, obliged to carry our baggage a mile further down the
stream, and afterwards, with much trouble, haul our boat over numerous
shoals. We were now afloat in a salt-water lake, and on passing a small
point two Esquimaux tents came in view. Not having got breakfast, I
landed with the interpreter, and, whilst the men were cooking, went to
ascertain if there were any inhabitants. All was quiet inside, but
after calling once or twice outside the door of one of the tents, an old
woman made her appearance, apparently just out of bed, as she was very
coolly drawing on her capacious boots, whilst she surveyed her visitors
without showing the slightest symptoms of alarm, although I afterwards
learned that I was the first European she had ever seen. An old man soon
after popped out his head alongside that of his better half, who
appeared to be endowed with a flow of language which set all his efforts
to say anything at defiance. A few trifling presents put us all, in a
few minutes, on a most friendly footing. Their report of the state of
the ice in the large bay before us was far from encouraging; they said
that there was seldom sufficient water for the passage of one of their
small canoes, and present appearances led me to suppose that they were
correct. The name of the man was I-il-lak, of the woman Rei-lu-ak. The
remainder of the party, consisting of their two sons and their wives,
had gone a day's journey inland to hunt the musk-ox. From a chart drawn
by the woman, who, as is usual, (at least among the Esquimaux) was much
the more intelligent of the two, I was led to infer that there was no
opening leading into the large bay but through the Strait of the Fury
and Hecla, and Prince Regent's Inlet.
As soon as breakfast was over, in which our new friends joined us, we
crossed the lake, which is 6 miles long by 1-1/2 broad, and put on shore
three of the men (W. Adamson, H. Mineau, and Nibitabo) who had assisted
us across, and were now to walk back to Repulse Bay, a distance of
forty-three miles. By them I sent orders to John Folster (the man left
in charge) to make every possible preparation for wintering, and to keep
up a friendly intercourse with the natives. My crew now consisted of
George Flett, John Corrigal, Richard Turner, Edward Hutchison, Peter
Mathieson, Jacques St. Germain, and William Ouligbuck. We now passed for
two miles through a narrow channel--not more than 40 yards wide--among
pieces of ice which were carried along with great rapidity by the ebb
tide that had just commenced; this led us into the deep inlet which we
had seen on the 29th ult. This inlet I named after Donald Ross, Esq.,
Chief-Factor. We found but little open water; by keeping near the rocks,
however, we made some progress northward by using our ice-poles, and
after advancing a mile or two I went upon a piece of ice and obtained
the latitude 67 deg. 15' N. by a meridian observation of the sun in
quicksilver. About eight miles to the north of this we passed a rocky
point, which was named after Chief-Factor Hargrave, the gentleman in
charge of York Factory when the expedition was fitted out, and who
afforded every possible assistance towards its proper equipment. This
point is formed of granite and gneiss, and has a very rugged appearance,
there being neither moss nor grass on the rocks to soften their
asperities.
At 7 A.M. on the 3rd, when a few miles past Point Hargrave, being
completely stopped by ice, we put ashore and found a large wooden
sledge, which we cut up for fuel. The wood was evidently the planks of
some vessel (probably of the Fury or Sir John Ross's steamer the
Victory) as there were holes in it bored with an auger. After working
our way a mile or two further, we arrived at a high rocky cape having
three elevations upon it lying east and west from each other. This
headland, which was honoured with the name of the lady of Sir John H.
Pelly, Bart., Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, is situated in
latitude 67 deg. 28' N.; longitude by account 87 deg. 40' W.; variation
of the compass 82 deg. 36' W.
It was low water to-day at 11 A.M., the fall of the tide being 8-1/2
feet, and the depth of water within a hundred yards of the beach from
3 to 5 fathoms, on a bottom of mud or sand.
Shortly after noon a fog came on so thick that we could only see a few
yards round us; we, however, pushed our way for 2-1/2 miles beyond Cape
Lady Pelly, along a flat coast lined with mud banks from eight to ten
feet high, frozen solid within a foot of the surface. At 4 P.M. the ice
was too closely packed to allow us to proceed; we therefore turned
towards the shore, and after some trouble effected a landing. The fog
still continued so thick, that, after wandering about for a few miles, I
had much difficulty in finding the boat again, hid as it was by the
surrounding masses of ice. We were much at a loss for drinkable water,
there not being a drop in the neighbourhood but what resembled chocolate
in appearance.
In the forenoon some wolves, part of a band that had serenaded us last
night with their dismal howlings, were seen prowling about; and a
white-winged silvery gull (_L. leucopterus_), a diminutive sandpiper
(_tringa minuta_), and a marmot were shot.
4th.--There was a drizzling rain with thick fog all night, but not a
breath of wind. As the tide flowed the ice moved slowly and silently
round us, so that in the morning we had not more than a yard or two of
open water near us, being blocked in on all sides by pieces from 15 to
20 feet thick. The rise of the tide was not less than nine feet. In the
forenoon I walked upwards of five miles along the shore to the
north-westward, passing a few low sandy points about a mile and a half
from each other, which formed a succession of small bays, into each of
which a ravine with high and steep mud banks opened, down which a
streamlet of pea-soup-coloured water flowed. We fell in with the heads
and horns of several musk cattle and reindeer, and saw recent footmarks
of some of the latter, but they had probably been driven some distance
away by the wolves we saw yesterday. Marmots were numerous in every
direction, chattering to each other, and rising on their hind legs to
obtain a better view of the strangers. Many golden plovers and
different kinds of sandpipers were flying about, and a jager (_L.
parasiticus_) was shot: some plants were also collected. The travelling
along this coast was extremely fatiguing, being very often nearly
knee-deep in a very adhesive mud.
The thermometer rose as high as 70 deg. in the forenoon; in the afternoon
it fell to 48 deg.; and in the evening the weather was cold and
unpleasant, with heavy rain.
5th.--During the greater part of last night the rain continued, but it
was perfectly calm, although by the lead of the clouds we were in hopes
of a breeze of wind off shore. Our boat being in danger of injury from
some heavy masses of ice that were turning over near us, we moved a
dozen yards nearer the land. Our new situation, however, was little
better than the one we had left, for as soon as the tide began to ebb
large pieces of our "enemy" broke away and fell with a loud crash close
alongside of us. It was high-water this morning at 3 o'clock, the rise
of the tide being 11 feet 6 inches, whilst that of yesterday evening was
only 5-1/2 feet, an irregularity resembling that which was observed by
Captain Sir J. Ross on the shores of Boothia. The temperature of the air
in the morning was 46 deg., but rose to 65 deg. during the day, which was
very hazy, with occasional showers and a fresh breeze off shore; but this
had not the slightest effect upon the ice, and led me to believe that the
Esquimaux report as to the navigation being always obstructed here is
correct.
Seeing that there was no probability of our getting along shore towards
Dease and Simpson's farthest, I determined to retrace our route, and if
possible cross over to Melville Peninsula for the purpose of surveying
its western shore, towards the Strait of the Fury and Hecla.
In the evening, when the tide, which on the present occasion rose only
4-1/2 feet, was in, we endeavoured to extricate ourselves; and after some
hours of hard labour in chopping off some points of ice, and pushing
aside such pieces as were not aground, we got a few hundred yards from
the beach, and into water a little more open.
About half-past ten a young buck was observed on a piece of ice
half-a-mile to seaward, having been forced to take the water to avoid
some wolves, one or two of which were seen skulking along shore watching
for the return of the animal. The state of our larder did not permit us
to be merciful, so the poor deer had little chance of escape from his
biped and quadruped enemies when acting in concert. After a long chase
he was shot whilst swimming from one floe to another. Having pulled and
poled along shore all night, we landed for breakfast at 8 h. 30 m. A.M.,
on the 6th, about three miles to the south of Point Hargrave. The
continued rain and fog had so completely saturated everything with damp
that we had not a dry stitch of clothes to put on, and our bedding and
fuel were in the same state; fortunately the weather was mild, so that
we did not feel much inconvenience from this.
Finding that the ice was clearing away a little--the effect of a
south-east wind,--we directed our course towards the nearest point of
Melville Peninsula, which bore east (true) of us, distant ten miles, and
after threading our way among much heavy and close-packed floes, which
obliged us to make frequent and long detours, after five hours' hard
work we reached the land during a thunder-storm accompanied by torrents
of rain.
Our landing place was a long rocky point having a deep ice-filled inlet
on its south side. To this point I gave the name of Cape Thomas Simpson,
after the late enterprising traveller of that name.
As we could not proceed on account of the thick fog and the state of the
ice, we secured the boat to the rocks, and the men although drenched to
the skin went immediately to sleep, eighteen hours of hard work at the
oars and ice-poles having thoroughly tired them all.
During the night of the 6th the weather was thick with occasional rain,
but about 6 in the morning of the 7th a fresh breeze from the south-east
dispersed the fog. As soon as it was cleared up we renewed our voyage,
but our progress was very slow, having our old opponent to contend with;
in four hours we gained as many miles and were again stopped. Seeing
some deer near the beach, we landed, and whilst two of us had a
fruitless chase after them the remainder of the party were busy cooking
and drying our clothes, blankets, &c. The temperature of the air was
52 deg., that of the water 35 deg.
The breeze gradually increased as the day advanced, and went round to
the east, which drove the ice a short distance from the shore. We
embarked again between 9 and 10 A.M., and ran to the eastward for a
league or more, when the breeze having changed into a heavy gale, our
boat ran great risk of being injured by the ice, of which we found it
impossible to keep altogether clear. We therefore pulled up to a number
of grounded pieces (a line of which completely barred us from the
shore), and made fast to the largest of them. In getting this far we
were in much danger from the falling, or breaking off, of overhanging
masses (some of them 20 feet in height), which were crashing all around
us, and under which we had frequently to pass. At 5 A.M. our floe got
afloat, and began driving to leeward at a great rate. We just got the
boat clear in time to prevent its being crushed against a berg that
still remained fast. Some of the smaller pieces lying between us and the
land having now floated, we managed to clear a passage for ourselves;
yet although we had only a quarter of a mile to go, so strong was the
gale that it required the utmost exertions of six men at the oars to
reach the shore, when, having secured the boat and raised an oilcloth to
keep off the rain, which had again commenced, we had our supper of
pemmican and water, and retired to bed for the night.
8th.--On getting up this morning I found that it had become quite calm,
and that the ice was coming in so thick and fast with the flood tide,
that we had to move from our position as fast as possible. On pushing
out to sea it soon became apparent that we could not proceed on our
course, and that there was but little open water in the direction from
whence we had come, and even that was fast filling up. As we could
neither advance nor remain in safety where we were, there was only one
course open to us, and that was to return towards the place from which
we had started.
It was now evident that this large bay was completely full of ice; for
had this not been the case, the gale of yesterday must have cleared the
coast for many miles. It was with a sad heart that I turned the head of
our boat towards our starting point, where I purposed to await some
favourable change in the state of the ice, and at the same time learn
how the people left at Repulse Bay were getting on with preparations for
wintering, which now appeared inevitable. The weather continued so much
overcast that no observations could be obtained. In the afternoon a
light breeze sprang up from W.N.W., which enabled us to reach in a short
time Ross Inlet, where we had some trouble in finding the entrance of
the river on account of the altered appearance of the rocks, it being
now nearly low water and the shore clear of ice, compared with what it
formerly was. We had much difficulty in towing up to the Salt Lake
before mentioned, as the narrow but deep channel which led to it was, at
this state of the tide, one continued rapid, and so strong was the
force of the stream that our tracking line broke. We were soon snug in
the Salt Lake, but had not been more than half an hour under shelter
before almost every spot of open water outside was filled with ice, so
rapidly had it followed in our wake.
When we arrived opposite the tents of our Esquimaux friends, they came
running down to the beach led on by the old lady whose fluency of speech
I have already remarked, and who appeared determined to sustain her
character on this occasion by making more noise than all the others put
together, and expressing her joy at our return by loud shouts. The old
people had during our absence been joined by the musk-ox hunters, two
fine young active-looking fellows (named Ark-shuk and I-vit-chuck) and
their wives. These women were the cleanest and best-looking I had yet
seen. They were tatooed much in the same way as those at Repulse Bay.
The hunters said they had been unsuccessful, but as each of the women
had the tail, or a portion of the shaggy hair of the neck, of a musk-ox
in her hand as a musquito flapper, their veracity was rather doubted.
There was only one child with them, a sickly-looking boy of six or seven
years, stepson to a man named Shi-shak, who arrived about an hour after
us in his kayak from an unprofitable walrus hunt.
I learnt from our Esquimaux acquaintances that the deer had commenced
migrating southward. This being the case, I prepared to walk across to
Repulse Bay to see what progress the party left there had made in their
work. The weather had been so cloudy for the last week that no
observations of any value could be obtained.
Leaving three men and Ouligbuck's son in charge of the boat, I started
at 6.30 A.M. on the 9th, in company with Corrigal, N. Germain, and
Matheson, to cross the isthmus, taking a S.S.E. direction; but it was
impossible to keep this course for any great distance, as we were forced
to make long circuits to avoid precipices and arms of lakes. After a
most fatiguing day's march over hill and dale, through swamp and stream,
we halted at half-past 6 P.M. close to the second portage crossed on our
outward route. To gain a distance of twenty miles we had travelled not
less than thirty. Our supper was soon finished, as it was neither
luxurious nor required much cooking, consisting of our staple
commodities pemmican "cold with water."
10th.--The morning was raw and cold with some hoar frost, and there not
being a blanket among the party and only two coats, our sleep was
neither long, sound, nor refreshing. In fact I had carried no coat with
me except a thin Macintosh, which, being damp from the rain of
yesterday, had become an excellent conductor of caloric, and added to
the chilly feeling instead of keeping it off.
There is one advantage in an uncomfortable bed; it induces early rising,
and it proved so in the present instance, for we had finished breakfast
and resumed our journey by half-past 2 A.M. The travelling was as
difficult as that of yesterday, but we had the advantage of a cool
morning and got on more easily. At 7 o'clock we arrived at the narrows
which separate Christie and North Pole Lakes, where we found the greater
number of the Esquimaux we had seen, encamped, waiting for deer crossing
over. Some of them immediately got into their kayaks and paddled across
to our side of the lake, but with so much caution that it was evident we
had not yet wholly gained their confidence.
At 2 P.M. we arrived at Repulse Bay with most enviable appetites, but
rather foot-sore, our shoes and socks having been entirely worn through
long before we reached our destination.