256 
VOYAGE TO THE 
CHAP, require, and the place where it was deposited was pointed out by writing 
upon the cliffs with white paint. It was further arranged, that a party 
.Fuiy, should proceed over land in a northerly direction, in the hope of falling 
in with Captain Franklin, as it was possible the shore of the Polar Sea 
might lie more to the southward than the general trending of that part 
of its coast which had been explored led us to expect. But as the ship 
was likely to be absent several weeks, and we were unacquainted with 
the disposition of the people or with the country, further than that 
the latter seemed to present almost insurmountable difficulties from its 
swampy nature, I deferred the departure of the party, and afterwards 
wholly abandoned the project, as the coast was found to extend so 
far to the northward as to render it quite useless. 
As I wished to avail myself of the latitude afforded by this me- 
moir, and examine as much of the coast as possible before Captain 
Franklin arrived, no time was lost in preparing the ship for sea, which 
it required only a little time to effect. 
On the 28th Mr. Elson returned from the examination of the 
opening we discovered on the north side of Kotzebue Sound, and re- 
ported the water at the entrance to be so shallow that the barge could 
not enter. The inlet was of considerable width, and extended thirty or 
forty miles in a broad sheet of water, which at some distance up was 
fresh. This was ascertained by landing in the sound to the eastward 
of the opening, at which place it was found that the inlet approached 
the sea within a mile and a half. The time to which it was necessary to 
limit Mr. Elson prevented his doing more than ascertaining that this 
opening was navigable only by small boats ; and by the water being 
quite fresh, that it could not lead to any sea beyond. 
The Esquimaux in the inlet w^ere more numerous than w^e sup- 
posed, but were very orderly and well behaved. When the barge 
anchored off a low sandy point, on which they had erected their suiu- 
mer habitations and fishing stakes, she was surrounded by fourteen 
baidars, containing 150 men ; which, considering the crew of the barge 
only amounted to eight men and two officers, was a superiority of 
strength that might well have entitled them to take liberties, had they 
been so disposed, armed as they usually are with bows and arrows? 
