LEAVE FORT SIMPSON. 339 



feet Oil the keel, forty " over all," and was nine feet 

 broad. She was christened " Try Again," in reference 

 to our new attempt, in preparations for which we were 

 busy enough for several days. On the 11th we 

 quitted Fort Simpson, and halting for a night at 

 Fort Norman, where my old friend and fisherman, 

 Taylor, was in charge, reached Fort Good Hope on 

 the 16th, and were kindly welcomed by Mr. M'Beath, 

 who was greatly surprised at our appearance. We 

 resumed our descent of the river next day, re-crossed 

 the Arctic circle during the night, and halted on the 

 morrow at Point Separation for observations, and to 

 take up the pemmican left here by Sir John Richardson 

 m 1848. On the previous day we had met a party of 

 Loucheux who informed us with much boasting that 

 they had met Esquimaux near Point Separation a 

 short time since, and had a battle with them : the 

 true particulars of this dastardly affair were only 

 made known to us on our return, and will be 

 mentioned by and by. Mosquitos and "bull-dogs" 

 (i. e., gad-flies,) had long been troublesome, but 

 here they were particularly harassing; the latter 

 were in such numbers that they literally blackened 

 the mainsail of the " Try Again," hoisted to shelter 

 us from the blazing noon-day sun which raised the 

 thermometer to nearly 100°, the temperature being 



z 2 



