ipS DISCOVERIES OF l5l2. 



which was named by Button, Nelsons River, so 

 called from the master of his ship, whom he had the 

 misfortune to lose, and who was interred at this 

 place. 



The season being far advanced, and Button seeing 

 it would be expedient to winter here rather than in 

 a more northerly latitude, his first care was to 

 secure the two ships against the wind and tides 

 and tlie floating ice, which he learned from early 

 experience might be expected to be still more 

 troublesome in the course of the winter. Many of 

 the people died from the severe cold, though the 

 river was not frozen over till the l6th February. 

 The weather however was frequently mild, and 

 Button took advantage of it by employing his 

 people on shore m killing game. The quantity of 

 partridges w^as so abundant and so easily procured, 

 that they are said to have taken and consumed no 

 less than eighteen hundred dozen. He also con- 

 trived, like a wise commiander, to keep the crew 

 employed during their conlinement to the ship, 

 well knowing that the best way of preventing men 

 from murmuring, discontent, and secret conspira- 

 cies, was to divert their minds from dwelling on 

 their own unpleasant situation. To the inferior 

 officers he put questions concerning the route of 

 their late navigation, and engaged them in com- 

 paring each other's observations as to the courses 

 they had run, the set of the tides, the latitudes of 

 the places they had touched at ; and apparently 



