138 
M c G A R Y ISLAND. 
glacier which checked their further march along the 
coast. 
Before adopting this site, they had perseveringly 
skirted the base of the glacier, in a fruitless effort to 
cross it to the north. In spite of distressing cold, and 
the nearly constant winds from the ice-clothed shore, 
they carried out all my instructions for securing this 
important depot. The stores were carefully buried in 
a natural excavation among the cliffs; and heavy 
rocks, brought with great labor, were piled above 
them. Smaller stones were placed over these, and 
incorporated into one solid mass by a mixture of sand 
and water. The power of the bear in breaking 
up a provision cache is extraordinary; but the Es¬ 
quimaux to the south had assured me that frozen 
sand and water, which would wear away the ani¬ 
mal’s claws, were more effective against him than 
the largest rocks. Still, knowing how much trouble 
the officers of Commodore Austin’s Expedition ex¬ 
perienced from the destruction of their caches, I had 
ordered the party to resort to a combination of these 
cxpedients. (33) 
They buried here six hundred and seventy pounds 
of pemmican, forty of Borden’s meat biscuit, and some 
articles of general diet; making a total of about eight 
hundred pounds. They indicated the site by a large 
cairn, bearing E. i S. from the cache, and at the dis¬ 
tance of thirty paces. The landmarks of the cairn 
itself were sufficiently evident, but were afterwards 
fixed by bearings, for additional certainty. 
