JAMES BAY TO RIVER ABBITIBBE 151 



canoe will do a great deal even in a sea-way, and in my 

 opinion there is less danger in a coasting voyage on the 

 sea-coast than on that of the great lakes. In the latter 

 case the storms and wind tornadoes come down with such 

 fearful suddenness that escape is hopeless, even sometimes 

 when the canoe is close inshore. 



However, I was compelled to give in to the older 

 heads, and compromised the matter by making a halt 

 of a week's duration to enable me to explore a little of 

 the coast in a small canoe, either alone or with one com- 

 panion only. This companion was, on one or two occasions, 

 a young gentleman from the Factory a Scot, of course 

 who had a liking for natural science ; though it seems to 

 me that Scotchmen seldom devote much of their time to 

 natural history, however devoted to other branches they 

 may be. If I mistake not, Scotland has produced but few 

 good naturalists, though in all other branches of science 

 her sons are greatly distinguished. My Yankee friends 

 will think to have me here, and remind me that Wilson 

 was a Scotchman. Wilson may have been a great lover 

 of Nature : he is not very reliable as a naturalist. 



Our journeys scarcely repaid the time devoted to 

 them. Conchology attracted my friend more than any 

 other branch of natural history; but the few and small 

 shells he succeeded in collecting made but a sorry show, 

 and contained nothing worth describing here. I had 

 hopes of meeting with some of the larger marine mam- 

 mals. In this I was disappointed, and had to rely on 

 second-hand information, which was of the meagrest. I 

 was told at the Factory that several species of whales had 

 been seen and captured in James Bay, as well as other 

 parts of Hudson Bay ; but the only species that I suc- 

 ceeded in establishing was the common Greenland whale, 

 which at this period (thirty-five years ago) was often seen 

 in James Bay, and had been known to enter the river. I 

 gained but a very indifferent account of the size of speci- 

 mens captured here, but it may be of some interest to 



