May, 1859. JOURNEY CONTINUED. - 263 



but discovered their bodies during tbe winter 

 following. 



We could not arrive at any approximation to 

 the numbers of the white men nor of the years 

 elapsed since they were lost. 



This was all the information we could obtain, 

 and it was with great difficulty so much could 

 be gleaned, the dialect being strange to Petersen, 

 and the natives far more inclined to ask ques- 

 tions than to answer them. They assured us 

 we should find natives upon the south shore of 

 King William's Island only three days' journey 

 from here, and also at Montreal Island ; more- 

 over they said we might find some at the wreck. 

 For these reasons I did not prolong my stay 

 with them beyond a couple of hours. They 

 seemed to have but little intercourse with other 

 communities, not having heard of our visit to 

 the Boothians two months before : one man 

 even asked Petersen if he had seen his brother, 

 who lived in Boothia, not having heard of him 

 since last summer. 



It was quite a relief to get away from these 

 good-humoured, noisy thieves, and rather diffi- 

 cult too, as" some of them accompanied us for 

 miles. They had abundance of food, were well 

 clothed, and are a finer race than those who 

 inhabit North Greenland, or Pond's Inlet : the 



