OF THE POLAR SEA. 



85 



we did on the 7th. Some altitudes of the 

 Aurora were obtained. 



We had a fine view, at sun-rise, of the 

 Basquiau Hill, skirting half the horizon 

 with its white sides, chequered by forests 

 of pine. It is seen from Pine Island Lake, 

 at the distance of fifty miles ; and cannot, 

 therefore, be less than three-fourths of a 

 mile in perpendicular height; probably the 

 greatest elevation between the Atlantic 

 Ocean, and the Rocky Mountains. 



A small stream runs near the hunting 

 tent, strongly impregnated with salt. There 

 are several salt springs about it, which are 

 not frozen during the winter. 



The surface of the snow, thawing in the 

 sun, and freezing at night, had become a 

 strong crust, which sometimes gave way in 

 a circle round our feet, immersing us in the 

 soft snow beneath. The people were af- 

 flicted with snow blindness ; a kind of oph- 

 thalmia occasioned by the reflection of the 

 sun's rays in the spring. 



The miseries endured during the first 

 journey of this nature, are so great, that 



