12 PASSAGE ACROSS 



1824. which was^ that the clouds near the horizon 

 July, were constantly rising in clearly defined and 

 widely-extended arches^, being within their 

 bounds far more luminous, and of different 

 colours from any other parts of the heavens ; 

 and as we sometimes saw three or four of 

 these remarkable bows at the same instant in 

 different quarters^ it is evident that locality has 

 no influence in their formation. 



The 13th was a fine dry day, and we exa- 

 mined our bags of pemmican, when to my 

 great mortification I found that the fat which 

 formed a part of this provision, had melted, 

 or decomposed the caoutchouc which was 

 used as a water-proof composition in the fa- 

 brication of the bags ; and in a clammy state 

 it had oozed through the canvass, and rendered 

 it pervious to water. I now issued an entire 

 suit of warm clothing (a gratuity from Go- 

 vernment) to each officer and man. 



Early on the 14th, the wind having again 

 come fair, the Snap took us in tow, but it 

 freshened to a gale by evening, when we 

 cast off. 



At day light of the loth, the wind veered 

 round and blew a strong north-wester, with a 

 short-breaking sea. It moderated by the 

 evening:. 



