INTRODUCTION 47 



seven, before we had positive proofs that poor Mr. Knight 

 and Captain Barlow had been lost in Hudson's Bay, 



The Company were now carrying on a black whale fishery, 

 and Marble Island was made the place of rendezvous, not only 

 on account of the commodiousness of the harbour, but because 

 it had been observed that the whales were more plentiful about 

 that island than on any other part of the coast. This being 

 the case, the boats, when on the look-out for fish, had frequent 

 occasion to row close to the island, by which means they 

 discovered a new harbour near the East end of it, at the head 

 [xxix] of which they found guns, anchors, cables, bricks, a 

 smith's anvil, and many other articles, which the hand of time 

 had not defaced, and which being of no use to the natives, or 

 too heavy to be removed by them, had not been taken from the 

 place in which they were originally laid. The remains of the 

 house, though pulled to pieces by the Esquimaux for the wood 

 and iron, are yet very plain to be seen, as also the hulls, or 

 more properly speaking, the bottoms of the ship and sloop, 

 which lie sunk in about five fathoms water, toward the head 

 of the harbour. The figure-head of the ship, and also the 

 guns, 6fc. were sent home to the Company, and are certain 

 proofs that Messrs. Knight and Barlow had been lost on that 

 inhospitable island, where neither stick nor stump was to be 

 seen, and which lies near sixteen miles from the main land. 

 Indeed the main is little better, being a jumble of barren hills 

 and rocks, destitute of every kind of herbage except moss and 

 grass ; and at that part, the woods are several hundreds of 

 miles from the sea-side. 



In the Summer of one thousand seven hundred and sixty- 

 nine, while we were prosecuting the fishery, we saw several 

 Esquimaux at this new harbour ; and perceiving that one or 

 two of them were greatly advanced in years, our curiosity was 

 excited to ask them some questions concerning the above ship 

 and sloop, which we were the better enabled to do by the 

 assistance of an Esquimaux, who was then in the Company's 



