THE THE-LEW, OR TEH-LON. 133 



merous bays and islands, our Indian, from time 

 to time, ascended the elevated ground, with a 

 view of guessing at the best route ; and on this 

 occasion he considered that, to avoid making 

 detours, equally unprofitable and vexatious, we 

 ought to keep more to the northward. He be- 

 gan now also to remark that many winters had 

 glidedaway since he had visited the Thlew-ee- 

 choh, as a boy, with his old father ; but that he 

 remembered his saying that there were nu- 

 merous sand-hills in its vicinity; and he felt 

 some confidence now, that we should, sooner or 

 later, find it. What most comforted him, how- 

 ever, was a newly entertained idea that we 

 should not (as he had hitherto dreaded) be 

 caught by the setting in of winter, before the 

 object was accomplished. 



For a considerable time past, a dazzling white- 

 ness, which did not seem like the ordinary effect 

 of the sunlight, had been visible on the western 

 horizon ; and, as we nearedit, I had the mortifi- 

 cation to behold a well-defined stream of ice, 

 decayed, indeed, but compact enough to have 

 brought up the largest ship in his Majesty's navy. 

 There needed no stronger proof to convince me of 

 the tardy disruption of this wintry barrier, and, 

 by consequence, of the faint chance that existed 

 of my being able to prosecute the journey by open 

 water during the early part of summer. The 



K o 



