DOWLTXO. 
COAST OF JAMES BAY, EKWAX RIVER XORTHWARD 
31 F 
They arc situated inside the tide line and at low tide are not reached 
by the sea. Opposite, on the mainland, a narrow fringe of trees forms 
a puint behind which the treodino bears off toward the northwest. 
This may be the “ I’oint Mourning ” reftTreil to by Capt. Coats, as 
being so named from the burying of one of Capt. lUea there. 
•Jaine.s’ account does not mention this occurrence, and he appears to 
have landed on this coast only at Ctipe Henrietta Maria. 
Sailing .along in a canoe, the shore line .seeru.s very far away, but gulls, 
yellow legs and other small birds were perched along on the edge 
of the mud and were the principal gui<ie to the direction of the shore- 
line, ns the mud Hats look like smooth water, since there is always so 
much water draining down the slope. 
Several large boulders appear at low tide at this ]v>int, and there are 
also two high gravel bars opposite the end of the trees. From Point 
Mourning northw.'ird, the shore turns iil)Out northwest a.s far as the 
Opinn.agow river, and tlie l)p;iche.s seen at high tide disappear and the 
slope of the shore become.s much Hatter. I.ong shallow ridges of clay 
run out to the northeast, ju.st after parsing Point Mourning, and on 
these are scattered many boulders. The larger ones are frecjuently 
near the shore, but they do ii<it seem to indicate h:i\ itig been .shoved in 
any direction by the ire, as is .so often shown on the shores of .such 
shallow lakes as l.ake Winnipegosis, The .shore slopes upward very 
gradu.ally. and i.s of mud to the highest point. 
.At the margin <»f the ordinary tide.s a thick wiry gr.ass covers the 
surface, and is succeeded by a small scrubby willow which e.vtends 
back to the. timbered country. Se.verul biook.s ami .small rivers enter the 
bay just to llio northwest of I’oint Alourning. A stre.am called 
Nowasho river, at eight miles from the point, cuts a wid<? but shallow 
channel through the mud, but it is not deep enough to enter o.xcept at 
high tide and is probably an overflow clianncl frum the Patcliipawapoko, 
tlio next stream which comes in at about eleven miles from the point. 
The mouth at low tide is wide hut very shallow and dotted with boul- 
ders. The sand bars which have, formed the beach, end before 
rea(diing this .stream, and are succeeded by mud shores. These extend 
along for six niih'.s between the last .stream aiul the Opinnagow river, 
which is the largest along this part of the coast. The channel lead- 
ing to this river is deeper at low tide than any of the others. Instead 
of a broatl sludlow bar at the mouth, the river is divided into two 
channels by a griasy island near the .sea. That to the south is pro- 
bably the larger, but is impeded by boulders. At low tide there is a 
shallow part near tlie line of high tide where the greatest accumu- 
Miid flats 
umk'- sliore 
lim- (liHiciilt 
U) dctcnmiK 
Oiiinnagi>\v 
river. 
