102 A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY 
their source, viz. the snow, being entirely dissolved ; 
along the beach, however, there were numerous frag- 
ments of heavy floe-ice aground, and in one place 
there was an extensive ledge of it firmly attached 
to the beach, with its surface covered with sand, 
in such a manner, that a cursory observer might take 
it to be a part of the land. 
We saw no animals of any kind on this island; but 
we found evident proofs of its having been frequented, 
_ not only by different species of the brute creation, 
but that it had also, at some period or other, been 
inhabited by man; for, at the distance of about a 
quarter of a mile from the shore, we found the ruins 
of six huts close together on the side of ahill, From 
the dilapidated state of these ruins, it was impossible 
to draw any certain conclusions as to the period when 
they had been inhabited, but it must have certainly been 
along time ago, for nothing remained of them but the 
stones that marked their size and site; and, from the 
small number of stones of which the ruins were com- 
posed, it is probable that they were only temporary 
residences. ‘They had been all nearly about the same 
size, that is, about twelve feet long and from eight 
to ten feet broad, besides a space about three feet 
square formed by four flags set up on their edge, at 
the end of each hut. I understand from those that 
have been often amongst the Esquimaux huts in 
Greenland, that they have always a small apartment of 
this sort at one end of their habitation, in which they 
keep all their provisions; so that we may infer from 
this circumstance that the ruins we have seen to-day 
belonged to a small tribe or party of Esquimaux who 
were here probably on asummer excursion. Those in- 
clined to assign to these ruins greater antiquity, may 
