452 THE FRANKLIN SEARCH— lS^%-b\. 



a respectful distance. The Eskimos were, of course, watching an oppor- 

 tunity for attack, and I fully believe they would have attempted it, if they 

 had seen us for a moment off our guard. 



" The men tugged hard at the oars for an hour without making any very 

 great progress, and as their efforts merely seemed to fatigue them, I gave it 

 up and bore away again, landing this time on the weather shores of the 

 island, on the long gravelly beach extending from its eastern part, about 9.30 

 on Sunday morning. My reason for thus landing (although it was through 

 a nasty surf) was, that the Eskimos might not have the slightest advan- 

 tage, in the event of an attack, for their arrows would have had a better 

 flight from a weatherly position — and they themselves before had tried to 

 gain the point. Directly the boats were hauled up, we built a breastwork of 

 drift timber, quantities of which were lying about, and got all ready to resist 

 any attack they might make. The two oomiaks landed nearly about the 

 same time, a quarter of a mile to the eastward of us ; but a larger number 

 of men had already done so at a point to the westward, placing our small 

 band completely between two parties, mustering together, I should say, not 

 less than one hundred strong. Two men from the eastern party, and one 

 from the western, were now seen approaching us, making sundry deceitful 

 demonstrations of friendship ; but as soon as they saw our formidable pre- 

 parations, and observed the armed sentinel on the rise, they sat quietly 

 down under the lee of a few logs to watch us, until the patience of all 

 seemed fairly tired out. At two p.m. they left, both bands going off to the 

 main, and we saw them no more that day. . . . 



" On the morning of the 13th, the wind had considerably abated, but was 

 still fresh, with a dense fog, of which I took advantage to get away from our 

 troublesome neighbours. At two a.m. we embarked and pulled directly up 

 for the pack, reaching it at four o'clock, and making fast to a large floe close 

 by. Here we had no firewood, spirits of wine were therefore brought into 

 requisition as fuel, and while breakfast was preparing, I lay down in one 

 of the boats to try and get a little sleep, and, in spite of the cold, was 

 just dozing off when I felt myself falling. I at first thought it only a delusion, 

 but, as the sensation continued, I roused up, and found that a large piece 

 of ice had broken off from the main body, and had risen directly under me, 

 and I was just in time to save myself and aU that was in the boat from 

 being turned out into the water. This misadventure completely upset my 

 sleep for that time at all events. . . . We got our breakfast shivering 

 with cold, and almost dripping wet with the spray and damp fog. . . . 



"We had finished dinner, and were getting the things into the boats 

 again, when we saw two oomiaks paddling up to the reef, and about forty 

 men (fully armed) landing a quarter of a mile to the westward of us. They 

 made towards us, discharging their arrows as they came within distance, but 



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