268 CAPTAIN CARTWRIGHT'S 



the harle ^ on the sides of a peacock's tail-feather, 

 which are from eight tenths of an inch to an inch 

 and two tenths in length. I counted the number 

 of harles on two of these stems, and fomid one to 

 have ninety-six, the other fifty-two; but not hav- 

 ing a microscope, I could not tell if either of them 

 was entire or not. 



Weather as yesterday, till seven in the eve- 

 ning, the sky then cleared, and we were blessed 

 with the smiles of the enlivening sun once more. 



Friday, June 18, 1779. This afternoon William 

 Phippard and his crew arrived from Ivucktoke 

 Bay,^ on their way to Sandhill Cove. He in- 

 formed me, that they had killed but twenty-six 

 beavers, twenty-two martens, six white-foxes, 

 and three wolverings: that he had seen but two 

 families of Mountaineer Indians, from whom he 

 had gotten twelve martens and an otter. I got 

 eight beaver-skins and three wolverings from him, 

 in balance of a debt, which his late partner John 

 Wrixon had contracted. He had been three weeks 

 from his winter-house. He also told me, that 

 they met with white-geese,^ and another sort of 

 spruce-game, much larger than the common ones, 

 the cock having a long tail; * that they were a 

 scarce bird, and so very tame, they would almost 



' Harl, the little plumelets growing on each side of the tail feathers 

 of the peacock. Used in making flies. 



2 Eskimo Bay, The month of Hamilton Inlet. 



^ Greater snow goose or " wavy," Cken hyperhorea nivalis. 



* Sharp-tailed grouse, Pedioecetes phasianellus. It is probable that this 

 bird occasionally strays to the shores of Hamilton Inlet, but it occurs 

 regularly on the Hudson Bay coast. 



