196 



SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 



RfS* valutec * a P ar tments like catacombs. The quantity of snow, however, around 

 '^J-r^j the ships was never so great here as at Melville Island, in consequence of the 

 less frequent drifts, though its depth on shore and therefore the whole quan- 

 tity that fell was greater. 



The weather continued very fine for several days about this period, the 

 wind being from the north-west, and the thermometer from — 8° to — 24°. 

 Mon. 25, On the 25th some clear water opening now and then off the south-east point, 

 I sent Mr. Ross in the small boat to endeavour to kill some dovekies, of which 

 he procured one or two specimens. These birds and the ravens were the 

 only ones that kept us company occasionally throughout the winter. 



The endeavours we had lately been making to gain from the Esquimaux 

 some knowledge of the geographical features of the land to the northward, 

 had at length been crowned with even greater success than we had antici- 

 pated, and some information of a very gratifying and interesting nature thus 

 obtained. I shall here, therefore, give some account of that information, 

 and of the progressive steps by which it was communicated, which may, at 

 the same time, serve to shew the kind and degree of dependence that is to 

 be placed in geographical notices thus obtained. 



The first attempt made in this way, was by placing several sheets of paper 

 before Iligliuk, and roughly drawing on a large scale an outline of the land 

 about Repulse Bay and Lyon Inlet, and terminating at our present winter- 

 quarters. If information and not mere curiosity be the object, this in my 

 opinion is an indispensable precaution ; for that object can hardly be so well 

 obtained by leaving a savage to puzzle his way over fifty leagues of coast 

 already known, when by delineating it with tolerable accuracy, his concep- 

 tions, instead of being confused, may be assisted. Iligliuk was not long in 

 comprehending what we desired, and with a pencil continued the outline, 

 making the land trend as we supposed to the north-eastward, and giving 

 the names of the principal places as she proceeded. The scale being large, 

 it was necessary when she came to the end of one piece of paper to tack on 

 another, till at length she had filled ten or twelve sheets, and had completely 

 lost sight of Winter Island (called Neyuning-Eit-duaJ at the other end of the 

 table. The idea entertained from this first attempt was, that we should find 

 the coast indented by several inlets and in some parts much loaded with ice, 

 especially at one strait to the northward of her native island Amitioke, which 

 seemed to lead in a direction very much to the westward. 



Within a week after this, several other charts were drawn by the natives 



