The distance we had made was only six miles on a
north-east by east course. The shore on which we encamped is formed of
the debris of red sandstone and is destitute of vegetation. The beach
furnished no driftwood and we dispensed with our usual meal rather than
expend our pemmican. Several deer were seen but the hunters could not
approach them; they killed two swans. We observed the latitude 68 degrees
1 minute 20 seconds where we had halted to breakfast this morning.
August 13.
Though the wind was not much diminished we were urged by the want of
firewood to venture upon proceeding. We paddled close to the shore for
some miles and then ran before the breeze with reefed sails scarcely two
feet in depth. Both the canoes received much water and one of them struck
twice on sunken rocks. At the end of eighteen miles we halted to
breakfast in a bay which I have named after Vice-Admiral Sir William
Johnstone Hope, one of the Lords of the Admiralty.
We found here a considerable quantity of small willows such as are
brought down by the rivers we had hitherto seen, and hence we judged that
a river discharges itself into the bottom of this bay. A paddle was also
found which Augustus on examination declared to be made after the fashion
of the White Goose Esquimaux, a tribe with whom his countrymen had had
some trading communication as has been mentioned in a former part of the
narrative.
This morning we passed the embouchure of a pretty large stream and saw
the vestiges of an Esquimaux encampment not above a month old. Having
obtained the latitude 68 degrees 6 minutes 40 seconds North we
recommenced our voyage under sail, taking the precaution to embark all
the pieces of willow we could collect, as we had found the driftwood
become more scarce as we advanced. Our course was directed to a distant
point which we supposed to be a cape, and the land stretching to the
westward of it to be islands, but we soon found ourselves in an extensive
bay from which no outlet could be perceived but the one by which we had
entered. On examination however from the top of a hill we perceived a
winding shallow passage running to the north-west which we followed for a
short time and then encamped, having come twenty-three miles north by
east half east.
Some articles left by the Esquimaux attracted our attention; we found a
winter sledge raised upon four stones, with some snow-shovels and a small
piece of whalebone.
