and Hecla, and Prince Regent's Inlet.
As soon as breakfast was over, in which our new friends joined us, we
crossed the lake, which is 6 miles long by 1½ broad, and put on shore
three of the men (W. Adamson, H. Mineau, and Nibitabo) who had assisted
us across, and were now to walk back to Repulse Bay, a distance of
forty-three miles. By them I sent orders to John Folster (the man left
in charge) to make every possible preparation for wintering, and to keep
up a friendly intercourse with the natives. My crew now consisted of
George Flett, John Corrigal, Richard Turner, Edward Hutchison, Peter
Mathieson, Jacques St. Germain, and William Ouligbuck. We now passed for
two miles through a narrow channel--not more than 40 yards wide--among
pieces of ice which were carried along with great rapidity by the ebb
tide that had just commenced; this led us into the deep inlet which we
had seen on the 29th ult. This inlet I named after Donald Ross, Esq.,
Chief-Factor. We found but little open water; by keeping near the rocks,
however, we made some progress northward by using our ice-poles, and
after advancing a mile or two I went upon a piece of ice and obtained
the latitude 67° 15' N. by a meridian observation of the sun in
quicksilver. About eight miles to the north of this we passed a rocky
point, which was named after Chief-Factor Hargrave, the gentleman in
charge of York Factory when the expedition was fitted out, and who
afforded every possible assistance towards its proper equipment. This
point is formed of granite and gneiss, and has a very rugged appearance,
there being neither moss nor grass on the rocks to soften their
asperities.
At 7 A.M. on the 3rd, when a few miles past Point Hargrave, being
completely stopped by ice, we put ashore and found a large wooden
sledge, which we cut up for fuel. The wood was evidently the planks of
some vessel (probably of the Fury or Sir John Ross's steamer the
Victory) as there were holes in it bored with an auger. After working
our way a mile or two further, we arrived at a high rocky cape having
three elevations upon it lying east and west from each other. This
headland, which was honoured with the name of the lady of Sir John H.
Pelly, Bart., Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, is situated in
latitude 67° 28' N.; longitude by account 87° 40' W.; variation of the
compass 82° 36' W.
It was low water to-day at 11 A.M., the fall of the tide being 8½ feet,
and the depth of water within a hundred yards of the beach from 3 to 5
fathoms, on a bottom of mud or sand.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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