I was unwilling to incur the loss of a day which that route was certain to occasion, and perhaps even of two days. We did not land on Sacred Island, but observed in passing that it still continued to be a buryingplace of the Eskimos; two graves covered by the sledges of the deceased, and not of many years' construction, being visible from the boats. This is the most northerly locality in which the common red currant grows on this continent, as far as I have been able to ascertain. Five miles beyond the island, we landed on the main shore, to obtain a meridional observation, by which the latitude was ascertained to be 69° 4' 14" N., and the sun's bearing at noon, south 51° east. About three miles further on, we had a distant view of an eminence lying to the east ward, which resembled an artificial barrow, having a conical form, with very steep sides and a truncated summit. This summit, in some points of view, presented three small points, in others, only two, divided from one another by an acute notch. In the afternoon I landed on Richard's Island, which rises about one hundred and fifty or two hundred feet above the water, has an undulated grassy surface, and is bordered by clayey or sandy cliffs and shelving beaches. The main shore has a similar character. The channel varies in depth from two to six fathoms, but is full of sand-banks, on which the boats frequently grounded. At ten in the evening we encamped on Point Encounter, in latitude 69° 16' N., and set a watch at the boats, and also on the top of the bank, which is here nearly two hundred feet high. The tide ebbed at the encampment, from seven in the evening till half an hour after midnight. The ensign was planted on the summit of the cliff all the evening, and was no doubt seen by the Eskimos, who were in our neighbourhood, and most probably reconnoitred our encampment, but we saw nothing of them. The readers of the narrative of Sir John Franklin's Second Overland Journey will recollect that off this point the Eskimos made a fruitless attempt to drag the boats of the eastern detachment on shore, for the purpose of plundering them. CHAP. VIII. ENTER THE ESTUARY OF THE MACKENZIE. INTERVIEW WITH THE ESKIMOS. REMARKS ON THAT PEOPLE.-WINTER-HOUSES NEAR POINT WARREN. COPLAND HUTCHISON BAY. FLAT COAST WITH HUMMOCKS. -LEVEL BOGGY LAND. -MIRAGE. A PARTY OF ESKIMOS VISIT US.-POINT ATKINSON. -KASHIM. -OLD WOMAN. OLD MAN.-YOUNG MEN. CAPE BROWN. ESKIMOS.-RUSSELL INLET.-CAPE DALHOUSIE.-SABINE XEMA. ·LIVERPOOL BAY.-NICHOLSON ISLAND. FROZEN CLIFFS OF CAPE MAITLAND.-ROCK PTARMIGAN.-ESKIMO TENTS.-HARROWBY BAY.- - BAILLIE'S ISLANDS.-RIVER OF THE TOOTHLESS FISH OR BEGHULA TESSÈ. ESKIMO OF CAPE BATHURST. THEIR SUMMER AND ITS OCCUPATIONS. - SHALE FORMATION August 3rd, 1848.-HAVING given some verbal instructions to the crews of the boats, respecting their conduct in the presence of the Eskimos, we embarked at four in the morning, and, crossing a shallow bar at the east end of a sand-bank, stood through the estuary between Richard's Island and the main, with a moderate easterly breeze, which carried us gradually away from the main shore. About an hour after starting, we perceived about two hundred Eskimos coming off in their kaiyaks, carrying one man each, and three umiaks filled with women and old men, eight or ten in each. The kaiyaks are so easily overbalanced, that the sitter requires to steady it before he can use his bow or throw his spear with advantage, unless when three lie alongside each other, and lay their paddles across, by which the central man is left at liberty to use both hands. By taking the precaution, therefore, of not allowing the Eskimos to hamper us, by clinging to the boats, and continuing to make some way through the water with the oars, we were pretty sure that they could not take us altogether by surprise; and I felt confident that as long as they saw that we were on our guard, and prepared to resist any aggression, none would be attempted. I had, moreover, especially directed Duncan Clark, who was cockswain of the third boat, in which there was no other officer, to keep close to mine, which he could easily do as his was the swifter of the two; but the novelty of the scene caused him to neglect this command, fortunately with no serious bad consequence, though a conflict might have been the result of his inattention to orders. Mr. Rae and I carried on a barter with the men in the kaiyaks, paying them very liberally for anything they had to offer in exchange, such as arrows, bows, knives of copper or of bone, &c., and thereby furnishing them with much iron-work, in the shape of knives, files, hatchets, awls, needles, &c. The articles we received were of no value to us; but a gift is generally considered by the American nations as an acknowledgment of inferiority, and it is better to exact something in exchange for any article that you may wish to bestow. The men were very persevering in their attempts to hold on by the boats, and we were obliged to strike them severely on the hands to make them desist. Previous experience had taught me the absolute necessity of firmness in repressing this practice, and I was pleased as well as surprised to see the patience with which they generally endured this treatment, -a few only of the bolder spirits showing a momentary anger, but all acquiescing at length in the rule we had laid down. The freshness of the breeze which blew during our intercourse rendered it easier to deal with them, as they dropped behind directly they had ceased to ply their paddles; but they had no difficulty in out-stripping our boats whenever they exerted themselves; and I have little doubt but that they are able to propel their light kaiyaks at the rate of seven miles an hour. While we were thus engaged, we heard the report of two muskets from the third boat, which had dropped two or three hundred yards astern. It appeared that the kaiyaks had not been so rigidly kept off by Clark, but had been allowed to hamper the oars so as to retard the boat's way. Some of the Eskimos, paddling close up to the stern, had tried to drag the cockswain overboard by the |