204 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



with which the whole of this coast is girt. 

 Indeed, when we left the harbour we had 

 little hope of finding a passage ; and the 

 principal object in moving was, to employ 

 the men, in order to prevent their reflecting 

 upon and discussing the dangers of our situ- 

 ation, which we knew they were too apt to 

 do when leisure permitted. Our observa- 

 tions place the entrance of Detention Har- 

 bour in latitude 67° 53' 45", longitude 

 110° 41' 20" W., variation 40° 49' 34" E. 

 It is a secure anchorage, being sheltered 

 from the wind in every direction ; the bot- 

 tom is sandy. 



July 28. — As the ice continued in the 

 same state, several of the men were sent 

 out to hunt ; and one of them fired no less 

 than four times at deer, but unfortunately 

 without success. It was satisfactory, how- 

 ever, to ascertain that the country was not 

 destitute of animals. We had the mortifi-* 

 cation to discover that two of the bags of 

 pemmican, which was our principal reliance, 

 had become mouldy by wet. Our beef 

 too had been so badly cured, as to be 



