3875 CARY ISLANDS. 45 



4 Discovery ' was observed fast approaching us from the 

 direction of Cape York. At midnight we were along- 

 side of the most south-eastern island, and immediately 

 commenced landing a depot of 3,600 rations. These 

 would have been more convenient if placed on North- 

 umberland Island or on the mainland, but I was 

 much afraid of the Eskimo finding and plundering the 

 depot. Before leaving Disco I left a notice for Captain 

 Allen Young, or anyone likely to follow our foot- 

 steps, stating that it was my intention to form this 

 station on the western island of the Cary group, where 

 a party from Admiral Austin's expedition in 1857 

 landed and erected a cairn. But on considering the 

 probably exhausted condition of a party of men re- 

 treating southward from perhaps the northern part of 

 Smith Sound, I decided to alter its destination, and to 

 place it as near as possible to the line of retreat. Ac- 

 cordingly having selected a convenient position on the 

 east end of the south-east island, the provisions and a 

 boat were placed in a crevice of the rocks above the 

 wash of the sea or pressure of ice. Another paper and 

 a few letters were placed in a cairn on the summit of 

 this island, which attains an altitude of about 600 feet. 

 Numerous rounded fragments and pebbles of red sand- 

 stone are strewed over the top of the island, which is 

 composed of a red-coloured gneiss dipping at a very high 

 angle to the west. Eider ducks, with their broods of 

 downy ducklings some four or five days old, were swim- 

 ming about in the salt water. A large colony of bur- 

 gomasters (Larus glaueus) were nesting on some bright 

 green ledges of a steep cliff ; one of our party, having 

 taken off his coat and shoes, climbed up to the topmost 



