198 



SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 



1822. continental coast short round to the westward, and afterwards to the S.S.W., 

 ^v^J so as to come within three or four days' journey of Repulse Bay. The coun- 

 try thus situated upon the shores of the Western or Polar Sea is called 

 Akkoolee, and is inhabited by numerous Esquimaux ; and half-way between 

 that coast and Repulse Bay Iligliuk drew a lake of considerable size, having 

 small streams running from it to the sea on each side. To this lake her 

 countrymen are annually in the habit of resorting during the summer, and 

 catch there large fish of the salmon kind, while on the banks are found 

 abundance of rein-deer. To the westward of Akkoolee, as far as they can 

 see from the hills, which she described as high ones, nothing can be distin- 

 guished but one wide-extended sea. Being desirous of seeing whether 

 Iligliuk would interfere with Wager River, as we know it to exist, I re- 

 quested her to continue the coast-line to the southward of Akkoolee, when 

 she immediately dropped the pencil, and said she knew no more about it. 

 A few days after this, Ewerat drew a chart exactly corresponding with Ilig- 

 liuk's in all material points, and every subsequent conversation with these 

 people served to confirm this interesting information. A copy of Iligliuk 's 

 second chart, being about half the size of the original, 'is here annexed, the 

 unshaded parts of the coast being those previously laid down for her, and 

 the rest her own performance. 



The new and satisfactory prospect thus unexpectedly opened to us, of our 

 soon rounding the north-eastern point of America, recalled to my mind two 

 circumstances that had occurred during the examination of Lyon Inlet, in the 

 preceding autumn. The first was that, on the 9th of September, when on 

 the summit of the high hill which I ascended, I noticed a brightness in the 

 western sky so much resembling ice-blink, that I remarked it to the men 

 who were with me, and afterwards to Mr. Ross on my return to the tents. 

 The second circumstance now alluded to is, that, from a still higher hill, to 

 which I despatched Messrs. Ross and Bushnan on the 13th, they saw a great 

 deal of water to the W.N.W., with islands and capes ; but, as the sun had 

 just set, they could make out nothing more. As we had already determined 

 by the closest examination, that there was here no communication with it, 

 and as no idea could be entertained of the sea being only at the distance of 

 ten or twelve leagues in that direction, I came to the conclusion that it could 

 only be a lake of larger dimensions than the numberless others with which 

 this country is covered. I had now, however, not the smallest doubt that it 



