!/-,§ A Proposed Survey iwarch, ises. 



watfliino- for them, Hall himself was at one time exposed to the most 

 imminent dan^^er of his life by the opening of the floes. He records 

 in his notes his thanks for preservation and his purpose to exercise 

 greater caution. 



For a number of reasons now forced upon him, he unwillingly came 

 to the conclusion that his anticipations of disappointment in obtaining 

 dogs and })ruvisions for a spring journey toward King William's Land, 

 would be more than contirmed. The season advancing while he was 

 still so far from Repulse Bay, it would be as much as he could accom- 

 }»lish while making his vo^^age there, to stand by his boat and stores, 

 his personal protection of which had become clearly an absolute ne- 

 cessity. The dispersion of the Innuii,s seemed to prove that perhaps 

 litth^ reliance could be placed on their help. He therefore began to 

 lay his })lans for an early move with his boat to the bay; yet, under 

 the delays even for this, which were plainly before him, he eontem- 

 ]jlated a useful work of which he thus speaks: 



I liiive beeu tliiukiug that perhaps I can do no better than to survey and 

 chart tlie west coast line of the Welcome, commencing a few miles to the south- 

 ward of this point, and thence up to Wager Bay; and then do the same with the 

 Bay. I regret I liave not a light theodolite, a very essential instrument for such 

 work as surveying in these parts, when the compass is of no use whatever. At 

 l»resent 1 sec no otlicr way than to do it all with sextant, determining latitudes of 

 the iiion- iiii|i()ri;iiit ]M»ints astronomically, and taking solar bearings from one 

 )»<»int tu another : tlic intermediate indentations of coast being examined and 

 cliarted as best 1 can. Altliough this work and very much more around Hudson's 

 15ay ncc.ls to l.c done, and done well, if at all, yet I have not the heart to do it, 

 loi it is old ground, an ancient discovery without survey. Give me the means 

 and i will not only diseo\ei- the North Pole, but survey all the land I might find 

 between Kane's farthest and it, and have my whole soul in the icorh. 



Hi- liialth at tiiis time was far from being strong. He had suffered 



much In. Ill the very severe exposures to which he had been subjected, 



and parti<'ularly (»ii the da\ when lie ha<l been in imminent dang-er of 



