Chap. XIV. MISCELLANEOUS. 527 



altogether." In the evening, however, the rapid rush 

 of the tide and the position of Back's River " left no 

 longer any room to doubt the neighbourhood of 

 an open sea." But Mr. Simpson says, " I candidly 

 acknowledge that we were not prepared to find so 

 southerly a strati leading to the estuary of the 

 Great Fish River (Back's), but rather expected first 

 to double Cape Felix of Commander James Ross, 

 towards which the coast had been latterly trending." 

 Their object had been to proceed northerly as far 

 as Cape Felix, and they continued in a direction 

 along the coast, which would have led them to it ; 

 but on finding a separation by their newly-dis- 

 covered strait, leading to the eastward, they entered 

 by doubling the southern point of it, which they 

 call Geddes ; they proceeded along that coast, on a 

 point of which Simpson landed, and found that to 

 be Back's Point Ogle. They entered the estuary, 

 passed Point Pechell, and ascended southerly to 

 Montreal Island, on which they landed near the 

 spot where Back had encamped ; and under the 

 guidance of M'Kay (one of Back's men) they dis- 

 covered among the rocks a deposit of bags of 

 pemmican, chocolate, canisters of gunpowder, and 

 percussion-caps. The pemmican is said to have 

 been " literally alive," and the chocolate rotten. 

 Some minor articles were taken possession of by the 

 two leaders, " as memorials of our having break- 

 fasted on the identical spot where the tent of our 

 gallant, though less successful, precursor stood that 



