OF THE POLAR SEA. 



177 



other improper conduct. These poor people entertained such dread of 

 a ship of war, that they stipulated not to be embarked in Lieutenant 

 Parry's vessels, if we should find them on the coast ; a condition 

 with which they would gladly have dispensed, had that desirable 

 event taken place. As we required a Canadian foreman and steers- 

 man for the other canoe, we were compelled to wait for the appear- 

 ance of the Isle a la Crosse canoes under Mr. Clark. 



On the 8th Mr. Williams embarked for York Fort. He gave us a 

 circular letter addressed to the Chiefs of the Hudson's Bay Com- 

 pany's posts, directing them to afford us all possible assistance on our 

 route, and he promised to exert every endeavour to forward the 

 Esquimaux interpreter, upon whom the success of our journey so 

 much depended. He was accompanied by eight boats. With him 

 we sent our collections of plants, minerals, charts, and drawings, to 

 be transmitted to England by the Hudson's Bay ships. After this 

 period, our detention, though short, cost us more vexation than the 

 whole time we had passed at Cumberland House, because every hour 

 of the short summer was invaluable to us. On the 1 1 th Mr. Clark 

 arrived, and completed our crews. He brought letters from Mr. 

 Franklin, dated March 28th, at Fort Chipewyan, where he was 

 engaged procuring hunters and interpreters. A heavy storm of wind 

 and rain from the north-east again delayed us till the morning of the 

 13th. The account we had received at York Factory of the nume- 

 rous stores at Cumberland House proved to be very erroneous. The 

 most material stores we received did not amount, in addition to our 

 own, to more than two barrels of powder, a keg of spirits, and two 

 pieces of tobacco, with pemmican for sixteen days. 



The crew of Dr. Richardson's canoe consisted of three English- 

 men and three Canadians, and the other carried five Canadians; 

 both were deeply laden, and the waves ran high on the lake, No 

 person in our party being well acquainted with the rivers to the 

 northward, Mr. Conolly gave us a pilot, on condition that we should 



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