214 



SECOND JOURNEY TO THE 



the first swans were seen ; on the 7th, the 

 geese appeared ; on the 8th, the ducks ; 

 and on the 9th the gulls arrived; — -on the 

 11th, the first shower fell; on the 16 th, the 

 mosses began to sprout; on the 17th, va- 

 rious singing birds and orioles made their 

 appearance, and some swifts and white 

 geese arrived ; on the 27th, the laughing- 

 geese were first seen; and on the 31st, the 

 goat-suckers brought up the rear; — on the 

 3d of June, the dwarf-birch, willows, and 

 shrubby-potentilla were in leaf— and the 

 anemonies, tussilagos, and the Lapland rose, 

 ( rhododendron lapponicum,) and several 

 f other plants, were in full flower ; and on 

 I the 26th July, ripe whortle-berries were 

 \^ brought to the Fort. The lowest tempera- 

 ture occurred on the 1st of January, when 

 Fahrenheit's thermometer descended to 

 —49°; the highest, between the 1st and 

 10th, was —8° 8'; and the mean, —29° 7. 



By the 15th of June the equipments of 

 the boats were completed. Fourteen men, 

 including Augustus, (the Esquimaux inter- 

 preter,) were appointed to accompany Cap- 



