384 



SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 



Decemb. ( thief ?) wh ich declaration, as I expected, produced the greater effect from the 

 notice we had hitherto taken of him, and the respect in which he was held 

 by the Esquimaux in his capacity of Angetkook. As a more effectual pre- 

 ventive, however, against a repetition of this kind of roguery in future, I 

 took away from his hut a large piece of wood that I had given him for two 

 dogs, till he should return the one in question, explaining to his wife my rea- 

 son for doing so ; and then returned to the ships. A day or two afterwards 

 the dog was returned in due form, and with every expression of sorrow and 

 contrition that Toolemak could muster on such an occasion. It deserves to 

 be noticed as a fact extremely creditable to these people, that though for above 

 two hours we had left our sledge unguarded, and with numerous valuable 

 presents upon it, we did not find a single article missing when we came away, 

 and this was by no means the only instance of the same thing occurring. 



I found on my return to the ships that two of our English dogs, having in- 

 cautiously set off in chase of a wolf near the Hecla, one of them, a Scotch 

 terrier belonging to Lieutenant Reid and a great favourite with us, had been 

 caught and devoured by the hungry and ferocious animal. The other 

 had escaped by being a quicker runner ; though the resemblance of the wolf 

 to the Esquimaux dogs was such as to have probably deceived them till they 

 approached him very close. 



Sun. 8. On the 8th, for several hours before and after noon, a vertical column of 

 pale red light appeared immediately over the sun's place, extending a degree 

 or two above the horizon, and shifting its position only as the sun swept 

 round to the westward. From the 9th to the 12th the thermometer frequently 

 fell to — 43°, being a greater degree of cold than had at all been experienced 

 during the preceding winter ; and the temperature now kept down with a 

 degree of constancy that had not been experienced even at Melville Island 

 at this season. 



Sim. 15. On the 14th and 15th the wind blew hard from the west and N.W. for seve- 

 ral hours, with considerable snow-drift, notwithstanding which the mercury 

 in the barometer kept up as high as 29.80 inches for more than four and 

 twenty hours successively, and clear and moderate weather succeeded for 



Tues. 17. two or three days, On the 17th Mr. Ross killed another grouse of the same 

 species as before, and weighing one pound fourteen ounces ; it had in its 

 maw the buds of the ground willow, some seed vessels of the saxifraga op- 

 positifolia, and a small quantity of moss. The smoke issuing from the stove- 



Thur. 19. pipes kept remarkably low during the whole of the 19th, the thermometer 



