250 SECOND JOURNEY TO THE 



The distance of the coast, traced west- 

 ward from the mouth of the Mackenzie, 

 was three hundred and seventy-four miles, 

 without discovering in all that space one 

 harbour in which a ship could find shelter. 

 It is, in fact, one of the most dreary, miser- 

 able, and uninteresting portions of sea- 

 coast to be found in any part of the world. 



On their return the party had to en- 

 counter a more severe gale than any which 

 occurred in their advance. 



" As the afternoon wore away, gloomy 

 clouds gathered in the northwest ; and at 

 six a violent squall came on from that quar- 

 ter, attended with snow and sleet. The 

 gale increased with rapidity : in less than 

 ten minutes the sea was white with foam, 

 and such waves were raised as I had never 

 before been exposed to in a boat. The 

 spray and sea broke over us incessantly, 

 and it was with difficulty that we could ke^p 

 free by baling. Our little vessels went 

 through the water with great velocity under 



The natives, he says, were numerous, and, in some 

 instances, ill-disposed." 



