INTRODUCTION. xv 



of whatever collections and observations have been made in the 

 department of Natural History ; and I am indebted to him in no 

 small degree for his friendly advice and assistance in the prepa- 

 ration of the present Narrative. The Appendix is mostly his 

 own. 



The charts and drawings were made by Lieutenant Back, and 

 the late Lieutenant Hood. Both these gentlemen cheerfully and 

 ably assisted me in making the observations and in the daily 

 conduct of the Expedition. The paper in the Appendix by 

 Mr. Hood, on the various phenomena presented by the Aurora 

 Borealis, will, it is presumed, present to the reader some new facts 

 connected with this meteor. Mr. Back was mostly prevented from 

 turning his attention to objects of science by the many severe duties 

 which were required of him, and which obliged him to travel 

 almost constantly every winter that we passed in America ; to his 

 personal exertions indeed, is mainly to be attributed our final 

 safety. And here I must be permitted to pay the tribute, which 

 is due to the fidelity, exertion, and uniform good conduct in the 

 most trying situations, of John Hepburn, an English seaman, and 

 our only attendant, to whom in the latter part of our journey we 

 owe, under Divine Providence, the preservation of the lives of some 

 of the party. 



I ought, perhaps, to crave the reader's indulgence towards the 

 defective style of this work, which I trust will not be refused when 

 it is considered that mine has been a life of constant employment 

 in my profession from a very early age. I have been prompted 



