Peel Sound proved impracticable, so M’Clintock determined to make for Bellot Strait, through which no ship had yet sailed, and the very existence of which was disputed by many. All doubts upon the latter point were soon set at rest, but the violent currents which raced through the strait, bearing with them vast masses of ice that threatened the ship with instant destruction whenever she attempted to force a passage through, made it impossible for M’Clintock to reach the western ocean, and, after several gallant attempts, he was obliged to resign himself to the inevitable, and to make preparations for spending the winter in an indentation on the north side of the strait, which he named Port Kennedy. The winter passed without misadventure, and on February 17 M’Clintock set out on a preliminary expedition, with a view to gleaning such information as he could from the Boothian natives. To his disappointment the coast seemed completely deserted, and he was thinking of turning back when he came upon four Eskimos, members of a tribe which was established in a snow village not far off. From these men he obtained some tidings of the fate of the missing explorers, though they could not add very much to what he already knew. A number of white men, they said, had been starved to death on an island near a river. None of them had seen the men, but both they and their friends had articles in their possession which had once belonged to the whites. Having engaged these natives to build him a snow-hut for the munificent remuneration of a needle apiece, he sent them back to tell their friends that he was willing to purchase any relics that they possessed at a good price. On the following day the whole community, from the oldest man to the youngest baby, put in an appearance, bringing with them numbers of spoons, forks, buttons, and knives, which M’Clintock immediately acquired. He then set out on the return journey to the ship, reaching Port Kennedy on March 14. During his absence of twenty-five days he had covered about four hundred and twenty miles, and had completed the discovery of the coast-line of continental America. Immediately after his return he despatched Young, who had been depositing a store of provisions on Prince of Wales’ Land, on a trip to Fury Beach, with instructions to bring back a supply of sugar from the stores left there by Parry. He found an immense stock of provisions of all kinds, most of them in a marvellous state of preservation. In addition to 1200 lbs. of sugar, he brought back a couple of tins of “carrots plain” and “carrots with gravy,” which had lain on the shore for thirty-four years and were still in excellent condition.