OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 



461 



many of the smaller kinds of birds. The sand-piper, (tringa cinerea), and j 8 ^ 3 * 

 the phalarope, (phalaropus plati/rinchus), lay each four eggs on a tuft of \^-rO 

 withered grass in SAvampy ground ; but no care is taken to form any nest. 

 The snow-buntings and Lapland finches construct their nests in much the 

 same manner as our English finches, and lirue them with white deer's hair in 

 a very beautiful manner. The outer part, is of dried grass and rather 

 bulky compared with the size of the inner nest. Each of the last men- 

 tioned birds lays seven eggs, but the bunting prefers building in the crevice 

 of a rock, or amongst loose stones, while the Lapland finch constructs its 

 nest on the ground amongst grass and moss. Mr. Crozier found the nest 

 of a snow-goose containing five eggs ; and I saw seventeen of these fine 

 birds walking on a hill side in a long line, as our domestic geese travel on 

 commons, one acting as leader and being rather in advance of the rest. 

 Near the lake in which these birds had been swimming I found an amazing 

 quantity of the quill feathers of brent-geese, but saw none of the birds 

 from which they had moulted. On the banks of the same piece of water, 

 which was above a mile in length, I observed long ridges formed entirely of 

 the dung of mice and in depth from four to five inches. I cannot conjec- 

 ture how this could have been brought here, nor how so vast a quantity 

 of mice could have assembled near the banks of the lake, for we saw none 

 of their holes, and the ground being very swampy was not such as they 

 generally frequent." 



Although the dissolution of the ice was hourly going on, yet no very sen- 

 sible alteration had taken place for some time past, such as might give us hopes 

 of a speady release from our confinement, The barrier of ice still remaining 

 fixed between the ships and the sea was above five miles in breadth, though 

 we lay at the very mouth of the bay, and the only chance of our soon 

 getting out rested on an accidental crack in the floe, extending from near the 

 point of Oongalooyat across to the main land, and which had lately become 

 somewhat wider. Being thus detained I determined on despatching Lieu- 

 tenant Hoppner once more to the northward, for the purpose of examining 

 a great bay or inlet of Cockburn Island, that we had never been able to 

 approach in the ships, and which we supposed to correspond with that 

 delineated by the Esquimaux in their charts, as forming the first day's journey 

 to Toonoonee-roochiuk. Lieutenant Hoppner accordingly left us on the 21st Mem. 21. 

 with that intention, being accompanied by two men and furnished with a 

 sledge and ten dogs. 



