38-2 A JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



to a distant point, which we supposed to be a cape, and the land 

 stretching to the westward of it to be islands ; but we soon found 

 ourselves in an extensive bay, from which no outlet could be per- 

 ceived but the one by which we had entered. After examining, 

 however, from the top of a hill, we found a winding shallow pas- 

 sage running to the north-west, which we followed for a short time, 



and then encamped, having come twenty-three miles, north by east 

 half east. 



Some articles left by the Esquimaux attracted our attention ; we 

 found a winter sledge raised upon four stones, with some snow- 

 shovels, and a small piece of whalebone. An ice-chisel, a knife, 

 and some beads, were left at this pile. The shores of this bay, 

 which I have named after Sir George Warrender, are low and clayey, 

 and the country for many miles is level, and much intersected with 

 water ; but we had not leisure to ascertain whether they were 

 branches of the bay or fresh-water lakes. Some white geese were 

 seen this evening, and some young gray ones were caught on the 

 beach, being unable to fly. We fired at two rein-deer, but without 

 success. 



* 



On August 14th we paddled the whole day along the northern 

 shores of the sound, returning towards its mouth. The land which 

 we were now tracing is generally so flat, that it could not be descried 

 from the canoes at the distance of four miles, and is invisible from 

 the opposite side of the sound, otherwise a short traverse might have 

 saved us some days. The few eminences that are on this side were 

 mistaken for islands when seen from the opposite shore; they are 

 for the most part cliffs of basalt, and are not above one hundred feet 

 high ; the subjacent strata are of white sand-stone. The rocks are 

 mostly confined to the capes and shores, the soil inland being flat, 

 clayey, and barren. Most of the headlands shewed traces of visits 

 from the Esquimaux, but none of them recent. Many ducks 

 were seen to-day, belonging to a species termed by the voyagers, 



