270 



SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 



assure us of the disagreeable fact, that it was the ice formed in its present 

 situation during the winter, and still firmly attached to the land on every 

 side. It Avas certain, from its continuous appearance for some miles that we 

 ran along its edge, that it had suffered no disruption this season, which cir- 

 cumstance involved the necessity of our awaiting that operation which 

 nature seemed scarcely yet to have commenced in this neighbourhood, be- 

 fore we could hope to sail round the north-eastern point of the American 

 Continent. 



At thirty minutes past nine A.M. we observed several tents on the low 

 shore immediately abreast of us, and presently afterwards five canoes made 

 their appearance at the edge of the land-ice intervening between us and the 

 beach. As soon therefore as we had satisfactorily made out the position and 

 state of the ice, I left the Fury in a boat, accompanied by some of the 

 officers, and being joined by Captain Lyon went to meet the Esquimaux, 

 being extremely desirous of learning from them all the particulars of our 

 situation. We soon found by the cautious manner in which the canoes ap- 

 proached us, that our Winter Island friends had not yet reached this neigh- 

 bourhood. In a few minutes after we had joined them, however, a few 

 presents served to dissipate all their apprehensions, if indeed people could 

 be said to entertain any who thus fearlessly met us half way ; and we imme- 

 diately persuaded them to turn back with us to the shore. Being under sail 

 in the boat, with a fresh breeze, we took two of the canoes in tow and 

 dragged them along at a great rate, much to the satisfaction of the Esqui- 

 maux, who were very assiduous in piloting us to the best landing-place upon 

 the ice, where we were met by several of their companions and conducted 

 to the tents. Before we had reached the shore however we had obtained 

 one very interesting piece of information, namely, that it was Igloolik on 

 which we were now about to land, and that we must therefore have made 

 a very near approach to the strait which, as we hoped, was to conduct us 

 once more into the Polar Sea. 



We found here two divisions of tents, there being eleven where we 

 landed, and five more about half a mile to the northward. They were 

 situated on a low narrow bank, not more than twenty feet above the level of 

 the sea, and running along the island parallel to the beach, from which it is 

 distant only a few yards. Within this bank were numerous ponds of water 

 and much swampy ground, and beyond these, at the back the island gradu- 

 ally rises to a somewhat greater height. By the time we reached the tents 



