﻿1847. SURVEY OF REGENT's INLET. 25 



lecting provisions and fuel for a ten months' winter. 

 To one less experienced and hardy, the desolate 

 shores of Repulse Bay would have forbidden such 

 an attempt. They yielded neither drift-wood nor 

 shrubby plants of any kind ; but Mr. Rae employed 

 part of his men to gather the withered stems of 

 the And7vmeda tetragona, a small herbaceous plant 

 which grew in abundance on the rocks, and to pile 

 it in cocks like hay : others he set to build a 

 house of stone and earth, large enough to shelter 

 his party, amounting in all to sixteen ; whilst he 

 himself and his Eskimo interpreter were occupied 

 in killing deer for winter consumption. He suc- 

 ceeded in laying up a suf&cient stock of venison, 

 and kept his peojDle in health and strength for 

 next year's operations, though not in comfort, for 

 the chimney was so badly constructed for venti- 

 lation, that when the fire was lighted it was neces- 

 sary to open the door, and thus to reduce the 

 temperature of the apartment, nearly to that of the 

 external air. The fire was, therefore, used as seldom 

 as possible, and only for cooking or melting snow 

 to drink. In the spring he completed the survey 

 of Prince Regent's Inlet on foot, thereby proving 

 that no passage existed through it, and confirming 

 the Eskimo report, first made to Sir Edward Parry 

 and afterwards to Sir John Ross. A party of 

 Eskimo, who resided near Mr. Rae in the winter. 



