19 
The party remained at Koukjuak river until September 5. The 
morning of September 1 was calm and cloudless. The temperature during 
the night dropped much below freezing point; the ground was frozen hard, 
the tundra pools were solidly frozen over, and along the edge of the river 
were wide reaches of thin ice. September 2 continued calm. The land 
is low as far as can be seen westward. A great deal of the country along 
the river is only a few inches above stream-level. On September 3, the 
sky w r as thickly overcast and there were spells of rain and snow. More 
ice had formed the night before. This day the ascent of the river was 
commenced and the entrance was reached at noon, September 5. The 
return journey southward along the west coast was continued in the after- 
noon. On September 9, the base camp at the east end of the lake was 
reached. 
The collections made during the summer were cached near the base 
camp. The surf boat was taken to the southeast end of Amittok lake and 
there hauled out for the winter. Nettilling fiord was reached on September 
13. The police patrol with their launch arrived on September 20 and 
Pangnirtung post was reached in the evening of September 21. 
The remainder of 1925 was spent at Pangnirtung post, the period 
being one during which any extensive travelling is impracticable. 
On January 9 Pangnirtung post was left and a sledge-trip to the west 
coast of Baffin island commenced. At the start the party consisted of 
the writer and four Eskimo with three dog teams and sledges. It was 
proposed that two of the Eskimo and one dog team should go only as far 
as Nettilling lake and should bring back the collections made in 1925 and 
cached there. 
The night of January 9 was spent at the Eskimo village Ushuatuk, 
north of Quickstep harbour. On January 10 Bon Accord was reached in 
spite of poor travelling conditions because of rough ice in the open part 
of Cumberland sound. On January 11 the Eskimo hunted for seals for 
dog food. On January 12, camp was made 30 miles up Kaggilartung fiord 
on the east coast opposite the mountain valley which gives access to 
Tarionnittuk lake. This lake is not indicated on maps, though it is of 
considerable area. The natives say it discharges through a narrow gorge 
not far north of Tornait bay. It is impossible to reach the lake by follow- 
ing the river because the tidal currents keep the gorge open from wall to 
wall. The lake is very little above sea-level, but is said to be salty only 
near the outlet. The ringed seal ( Phoca hispida ) inhabits the lake the year 
round. Boats can be taken to Tarionnittuk in summer through the river 
gorge. 
On January 13 the valley leading to Tarionnittuk lake was traversed. 
After a quick rise of 275 feet at the valley mouth, the valley floor rises 
gently inland for 1§ miles between walls 300 feet high. Two miles inland 
the valley floor is 350 feet above the sea, and a little farther, the divide is 
crossed at an altitude of 400 feet. From the divide a steep slope leads 
down to the north part of Tarionnittuk lake. On reaching the lake, the 
northern shore was followed. The bordering country is rugged, the hills 
are about 500 feet high. The lake, from where it was entered upon, reached 
far southeast. 
The temperature on January 9 and succeeding days ranged between 
30 and 36 degrees below zero, but on January 13 it sank below 42 degrees. 
