And Ross passed on, apparently quite pleased with himself. But the Fates had again been against him, for this was the very North-West Passage he had come specially to find; the bay, as Kennedy was to show, being the entrance to Bellot Strait in which the _Fox_ was to winter when on the Franklin search. He had blundered along from the island of North Somerset to the mainland of America, and passed unheeded its northernmost point, which M'Clintock was to name Cape Murchison. Working down the coast of the newly-named Boothia, the _Victory_ reached Felix Harbour, and there she wintered. No Eskimos were seen until the 9th of January, when thirty-one came to the ship and were invited on board, a return visit being paid next day to their village, which Ross named North Hendon. As this was a typical Eskimo snow camp we may as well copy his picture and quote his description. "The village soon appeared, consisting of twelve snow huts, erected at the bottom of a little bight on the shore, about two miles and a half from the ship. They had the appearance of inverted basins, and were placed without any order; each of them having a long crooked appendage, in which was the passage, at the entrance of which were the women, with the female children and the infants. We were soon invited to visit these, for whom we had prepared presents of glass beads and needles; a distribution of which soon drove away the timidity which they had displayed at our first appearance. The passage, always long, and generally crooked, led to the principal apartment, which was a circular dome, being ten feet in diameter when intended for one family, and an oval of fifteen by ten where it lodged two. Opposite the doorway there was a bank of snow, occupying nearly a third of the breadth of the area, about two feet and a half high, level at the top, and covered by various skins, forming the general bed or sleeping place for the whole. At the end of this sat the mistress of the house, opposite to the lamp, which, being of moss and oil, as is the universal custom in these regions, gave a sufficient flame to supply both light and heat; so that the apartment was perfectly comfortable. Over the lamp was the cooking dish of stone, containing the flesh of deer and of seals, with oil; and of such provision there seemed no want. Everything else, dresses, implements, as well as provisions, lay about in unspeakable confusion, showing that order, at least, was not in the class of their virtues. It was much more interesting to us to find, that among this disorder there were some fresh salmon; since, when they could find this fish, we were sure that it would also furnish us with supplies which we could not too much multiply. On inquiry, we were informed that they were abundant; and we had, therefore, the prospect of a new amusement, as well as of a valuable market at the mere price of our labour." [Illustration: ESKIMO LISTENING AT A SEAL-HOLE]