LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 
451 
Der of fish were obtained for a seal knife; but Capt. Ross was 
obliged to leave a still greater number behind him, which a 
party were to be sent from the ship, on the following day, to fetch 
away. Capt. Ross saw two bears, and salmon innumerable, of 
which he was resolved to take the advantage, by sending a party 
with a net to catch them. Commander James could have almost 
expended his ammunition in firing at the different animals, par¬ 
ticularly deer and bears; but, not being possessed of the means 
of conveying them to the ship, from the inability of the crew to 
drag the sledges, he forbore firing at them, although, in some in¬ 
stances, he found it necessary to check the audacity of the bears, 
by a visitation from one of his rifle balls, and to show them, that 
he was perfectly prepared for them, if they should presume to 
make an attack. 
On Sunday the 4th of July, a ratio of three pounds of salmon, 
and four ounces of rice, was served to each man, in lieu of pre¬ 
served meats, and from its being a complete change of diet, 
with the prospect of its continuance, the crew exhibited some 
specimens of the prevalent vice of their new acquaintance, the 
Esquimaux, in gluttony; from which, however, no ill effects 
presented themselves on the following day, although it was in 
some measure to be feared, from the peculiar state in which the 
fish were dressed. 
Late in the evening the party returned, which had been de¬ 
spatched for the fish, which Capt. Ross had left behind him, and 
the number, which they now brought, was considerably greater 
than that, which had been brought by Capt. Ross. These fish 
were, however, not all of them the produce of the last year’s 
fishery, for the greater part of them were fresh caught. The 
men were immediately set to work to clean out a tank, that had 
been obtained from the stores of the Fury, for the purpose of 
preserving the fish, as a supply for the ensuing winter. The 
method of stowing away the fish, was performed by first laying 
a thick layer of snow at the bottom of the tank, then a layer of 
fish, and so on until the tank was filled. The Esquimaux, in 
stowing away their fish, never adopted the plan of gutting them, 
by which an unpleasant flavor was imparted to the flesh, 
