416 DR JOHN RAE'S EXPLORATIONS— 184QA7. 



were obliged to remain under shelter till eight p.m. on the 21st. " During our 

 detention," says Rae, " finding that our provisions would run short if the 

 walking contitiued as difificult as it had been, we took only one not over- 

 abundant meal during the twenty-four hours." Selkirk and Smith Bays were 

 discovered and named on the morning of the 22d, and as no fuel could be found 

 at the camping-groimd, the travellers could only procure drinking water by 

 taking a kettle or two of snow to bed with them. Starting again at eleven 

 at night on the 22d, after a scanty and comfortless meal, Eae again led out 

 his men. He had not advanced many miles beyond the headland, to which 

 he gave the name of Point Corcoran, when he descried a number of deer 

 feeding on the banks of a stream at no great distance. A vision of venison 

 stews at once presented itself to his mind, and he sent forward Corrigal, who 

 was a fair shot, in pursuit of the game. Corrigal had the luck to hit a fine 

 buck, but though severely wounded, the animal was still able to run too fast 

 to be overtaken ; and the sportsman had already given up the chase, when 

 Rae himself came up, and the two men recommenced the pursuit. " The 

 deer having got a considerable way in advance, had lain down," writes Eae, 

 " but rose up before we could get within good shooting distance, and was 

 trotting ofi" at a great pace when, by way of giving him a parting salute, I 

 fired, and very luckily sent a ball through his head, which dropped him. 

 . . . I immediately returned to the men, who had been busily employed 

 collecting fuel, of which great quantities grew along the borders of the creek, 

 and sent two of them to assist in skinning and cutting up the deer, whilst 

 I and the other men continued to gather heather, as we now anticipated 

 great doings in the kitchen ! We placed the greater part of the venison 

 en cache, but kept the head, blood, leg-bones, etc., for present use ; and being 

 determined to lose nothing, the stomach was partially cleaned by rubbing it 

 with snow, and then cut up and boiled, which thus made a very pleasant 

 soup, there being enough of the vegetable contents of the paunch to give it 

 a fine green colour, although I must confess that, to my taste, this did not 

 add much to the flavour. Having discussed this mess, a second kettle-fuU 

 was prepared, composed of the blood, brains, and some scraps of meat, which 

 completed our supper." 



On the 24th, Eae and his party had advanced northward along the east 

 shore of Boothia Gulf, as far as Cape M'Loughlin, lat. about 68° 47'. Bands 

 of deer and flocks of partridges were seen at this halting-place, and here 

 Eae resolved to leave two of his men to hunt and fish while he and the 

 other two went on toward Fiuy and Hecla Strait. At ten p.m. on the 25th, 

 the leader again started with Corrigal and Matheson, and still following up 

 the coast-line, successively discovered and named Finlayson Bay, Point 

 Eichardson, and Garry Bay. All the way along this coast from Lefroy Bay 

 to Garry Bay, and at a distance of about five miles from the shore, extends a 



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