202 
VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 
1820. specimens of the different animals which frequent this island, that I deter- 
mined to remain here one day for the purpose of sporting and examining 
its natural productions. The latitude observed at the tent was 75° 02' 37", 
the longitude, by the chronometer, 111° 37' 10", and the variation 126° OF 48" 
easterly ; from this station astronomical bearings were obtained for the survey 
of the gulf. 
Tues. 13. The sportsmen went out early in the morning, and soon after met with a 
musk-ox feeding on a spot of luxuriant pasture-ground, covered with the dung 
of these animals, as well as of deer. They fired at him from a considerable 
distance, without wounding him, and he set off at a very quick pace over 
the hills. The musk-ox has the appearance of a very ill-proportioned little 
animal, its hair being so long as to make its feet appear only two or three 
inches in length; they seem, indeed, to be treading upon it at every step, and 
the individual in question actually did so in some instances, as the hair was 
found in several of the foot-tracts. When disturbed and hunted, they frequently 
tore up the ground with their horns, and turned round occasionally to look at 
their pursuers, but they never attempted to attack any of them. Our 
gentlemen also met with a herd of twelve deer, three only of which had 
horns, and they were much the largest of the herd, and constantly drove 
the others away when they attempted to stop. The birds seen by our people 
were many brent-geese and ptarmigans, several golden plovers, one or two 
“ boatswains” (L estris Parasiticus ), and abundance of snow-buntings. One 
or two mice ( Mus Hudsonius) were caught ; like several others we had seen, 
these were turning brown about the belly and head, and the back was of a 
dark grey colour. In every part of the island over which we travelled, the 
holes and tracts of these lirtle animals were occasionally seen ; one of them 
which Serjeant Martin ran after, finding no hole near, and that he could not 
escape, set himself against a stone, as if endeavouring to defend himself, 
and bit the serjeant’s finger when he took hold of him. 
On a point of land at the distance of three-quarters of a mile to the W.b.S. 
of the tents, and within a hundred yards of the sea, the remains of six 
Esquimaux huts were discovered ; they consisted of rude circles, about six 
feet in diameter, constructed irregularly of stones of all sizes and shapes, 
and raised to the height of two feet from the ground ; they were paved with 
large slabs of white schistose sandstone, which is here abundant ; the moss 
had spread over this floor, and appeared to be the growth of three or 
four years. In each of the huts, on one side, was a small separate com- 
