OF THE POLAR SEA. 9 
great mortification, I found they were all so 
strongly possessed with the fearful apprehension, 
either that great danger would attend the service, 
or that we should carry them further than they 
would agree to go, that not a single man would 
engage with us; some of them, however, said 
they would consider the subject, and give me an 
answer on the following day. This indecisive 
conduct was extremely annoying to me, espe- 
cially as the next evening was fixed for the 
departure of the ships. 
At the appointed time on the following morn- 
ing, four men only presented themselves, and 
these, after much hesitation, engaged to accom- 
pany the Expedition to Fort Chipewyan, if they 
should be required so far. The bowmen and 
‘Steersmen were to receive forty pounds’ wages 
annually, and the middle men thirty-five pounds. 
They stipulated to be sent back to the Orkney 
Islands, free of expense, and to receive their pay 
until the time of arrival. Only these few men 
could be procured, although our requisition had 
been sent to almost every island, even as far as 
the northernmost point of Ronaldsha. I was 
much amused with the extreme caution these 
men used before they would sign the agreement ; 
they minutely scanned all our intentions, weighed 
every circumstance, looked narrowly into the 
