OF A '"NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 



281 



acquainted than we wished, I shall only add in this place, that the minera- ^22. 

 logical character was essentially different from that last examined to the v-*-r^> 

 southward, consisting almost entirely of innumerable fragments of thin 

 schistose limestone, on many of which are fossil impressions, and in others 

 the cellular structure usually exhibited by madreporite. For the reasons 

 just stated I shall also defer speaking of the geographical position of Igloo- 

 lik, and of the observations now made here on the tides ; a cursory and 

 unconnected notice or two on this subject being of little or no importance, 

 where more ample information can be obtained. 



The account we gave of our visit to the shore naturally exciting the Wed. 24. 

 curiosity and interest of those who had not yet landed, and the ice remain- 

 ing unchanged on the 24th, a couple of boats were despatched from each 

 ship with a large party of the officers and men, while the ships stood off and 

 on. On the return of the boats in the evening, I found from Lieutenant 

 Reicl that a new family of the natives had arrived to-day from the main- 

 land, bringing with them a quantity of line salmon and venison, of which 

 some very acceptable samples were procured for both ships. Being de- 

 sirous of following up so agreeable a kind of barter, I went on shore 

 the next morning for that purpose, but could only procure a very small Thur. 25. 

 quantity of fish from the tent of the new-comer, a middle-aged, noisy, but 

 remarkably intelligent and energetic man, named Toolemalc. After some 

 conversation, we found from this man that in order to obtain a fresh supply 

 of fish, three days would be required ; this prevented my putting in execu- 

 tion a plan of going out to the place where the fish were caught, which we at 

 first understood to be near at hand. We therefore employed all our elo- 

 quence in endeavouring to procure a supply of this kind by means of the 

 Equimaux themselves, in which we at length so far succeeded that Toole- 

 mak promised, for certain valuable considerations of wood and iron, to set 

 out on this errand the following day. 



The weather being remarkably fine and pleasant, we amused ourselves for 

 an hour or two in paddling about in canoes in a small lake, and soon found 

 that the art is not so difficult to acquire as their unsteadiness at first inclines 

 one to suppose. A great deal undoubtedly depends on the habit of keeping 

 the body in a central and erect position, and care should also be taken to 

 avoid touching the rim of the hole, because this, from its height, acts as a 

 lever in oversetting the canoe. They are by no means, however, so " crank" 

 as they appear, easily coming down to their " bearings," but then requiring 



2 o 



