NARROW ESCAPE OF A SEAL. 345 



most of the huts were faUing to ruins, and apparently, 

 long desolate. Wandering about the settlement, we 

 observed the frames of one or two oomiaks and kiaks, 

 some harpoons having stone heads bound on with 

 sinews of the seal, paddles double and single bladed, 

 wooden scoops and ladles, pits for blubber, pieces of 

 wood drilled for producing fire, and the bones of 

 some small whales. There was also the carcase of a 

 wolf, which had, apparently, died from starvation. 

 A trifling circumstance occurred here which gave us 

 a hearty laugh; a young seal got entangled in the nets 

 which we had laid out, and the fisherman — a Canadian, 

 who had never visited the sea before — imagined he 

 saw some horrible monster, and let it go in affright. 

 We were detained for two days at this place : the ice 

 surrounded the point and entii'ely checked our ad- 

 vance. We had hoped to be at Cape Bathurst by 

 the end of July, the 1st of August only saw us de- 

 parting from this spot. 



The plan upon which the present trip to the sea 

 had been undertaken may be briefly sketched as 

 follows : — It was hoped that the season being favour- 

 able, the expedition, descending the Mackenzie, would 

 reach the sea about the 23rd of July, and gain Cape 

 Bathurst in a few days. Thence it was intended to 

 strike right across for Banks' Land, a distance of 



