176 ACROSS THE SUB-ARCTICS.OF CANAD S 
flats and long points of sand and boulders separated the 
hills from the water. 
During the afternoon of the 6th, the northerly of the 
two rivers discharging the waters of Baker Lake was 
discovered. The approach to it is well marked on the 
north bank by a round bluff some two hundred feet in 
height. At first no current could be observed in the 
river, which, in reality, was a deep narrow fiord, but 
when we had advanced a distance of about two miles a 
stiff current, almost approaching a rapid, was met; but 
instead of moving with us, as would naturally be ex- 
pected, it was flowing to the westward. At first sight 
it caused some doubts as to whether we were on the 
right road. ‘he canoemen were all persuaded that we 
were ascending some big river and would have at once 
turned back, but concluding that we had already reached 
tide water, though sooner than we had expected, we 
pulled on, and before long witnessed the seemingly 
strange phenomenon of a river changing its direction 
of flow. 
So smooth and bare were its glaciated shores that we 
had some difficulty in effecting a landing. One night 
was spent on this rocky bank, and the day following 
being fair and bright, saw us on the waters of Chester- 
field Inlet. The magnetic compasses were now found to 
work very unsatisfactorily, but for one day the sunlight 
enabled me to make liberal use of my solar instrument. 
During the next and several succeeding days the 
weather was dark and gloomy, and we encountered 
such tide rips in the Inlet that my survey was much 
interfered with. 
On the 10th of September, as we were pulling down 
