106 THE PARTY REJOINS. 



mit and on tlie slopes, particularly in the now frozen 

 watercourses, which here form numerous radii from the 

 mountain, and where antlers and skulls were frequently 

 found imbedded in the loose sand. Geese, ducks, ptar- 

 migan, and hares must have prevailed in great numbers ; 

 but we only noticed about twenty brent-geese, which 

 alighted near us, and were too wary to afford us a meal. 

 The formation is red sandstone, capped about twenty 

 feet on the summit by fossiliferous limestone, in which 

 some large bivalves (pectens, etc.) and some bones were 

 found, unfortunately broken before they were brought 

 to me. Beneath this limestone, the rock is swinestone 

 to about three-quarters from the base, the entire height 

 being 567 feet. In the sandy bed of one of the large 

 gullies a large ball of iron pyrites was found, at first 

 mistaken by one of my crew for a six-pound shot, and 

 brought to me as belonging to one of the missing ships. 

 Some very slight traces of coal were noticed at the wash 

 of the sea, but none in situ on the island. No marks of 

 natives were noticed, notwithstanding all these signs of 

 game abounding at some seasons. Vegetation, on the 

 great belt of this island, appeared to be more luxuriant 

 than we have elsewhere witnessed in this region. 



August 29. This being Sunday, I had made up my 

 mind to remain at all events for the day, and eventually 

 even until the rejoining of the absentees. Our scouts 

 soon reported the boats in sight, and before noon, fog 

 still prevailing, Commander Richards and his party re- 

 joined. They had encamped, the night previous, on a low 

 island near us, but it was so beset with grounded and 

 piled ice that even the island had entirely escaped our 



