254 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



From their assembling at this time in such 

 numbers on the islands nearest to the coast, 

 we conjectured that they were about to re- 

 tire to the main shore. Those we saw were 

 generally females with their young, and all 

 of them very lean. 



The wind continued in the same direction 

 until we had rounded Point Wollaston, and 

 then changed to a quarter which enabled 

 us to steer for Hood's River, which we 

 ascended as high as the first rapid and en- 

 camped. Here terminated our voyage on 

 the Arctic Sea, during which we had gone 

 over six hundred and fifty geographical 

 miles. Our Canadian voyagers could not 

 restrain their joy at having turned their 

 backs on the sea, and passed the evening in 

 talking over their past adventures with 

 much humour and no little exaggeration. 

 The consideration that the most painful, 

 and certainly the most hazardous part of 

 the journey was yet to come, did not de- 

 press their spirits at all. It is due to their 

 character to mention that they displayed 

 much courage in encountering the dangers 



