PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 459 



commencing their preparations for winter. About c ^ p ' 

 this time we had sharp frosts at night ; some snow ^-~,~"~ 

 fell ; and on the 5th all the lakes on shore were ^6. 

 frozen. The hares and ptarmigan were quite white, 

 and all the birds had quitted their abodes in the 

 rocks to seek a milder atmosphere. These unequi- 

 vocal symptoms of the approach of winter excited 

 great anxiety for the safety of the land expedition. 



On the 7th, Mr. Elson went up Escholtz Bay with 

 two boats for the purpose of sounding and obtaining 

 further information of Buckland River, but returned 

 on the 10th, without having been able to effect it, 

 on account of the hostile disposition of the natives, 

 whom he met in the bay. When the small boat was 

 detached from the barge, three baidars approached 

 her ; and their crews, consisting of between thirty 

 and forty men, drew their knives and attempted to 

 board her, and, on the whole, behaved in so daring 

 and threatening a manner, that Mr. Elson fearing 

 he should be compelled to resort to severe measures, 

 if he proceeded with the examination of the river, 

 desisted, and returned to the ship. This was the 

 first instance of any decidedly hostile conduct of the 

 natives in the sound, whose behaviour in general 

 had left with us a favourable impression of the dis- 

 position of their tribe. The barge brought us 

 down a valuable addition to our collection of fossils, 

 the cliff having broken away considerably since the 

 first specimens were obtained. 



On the 8th, we had the misfortune to lose one of 

 the marines, by dysentery and general inflammation 

 of the abdomen. On the 10th, having selected a 

 convenient spot for a grave, on the low point of 

 Chamisso Island, his body was interred in the pre- 



