Whilst engaged in these operations, an adjacent island--Washington Irving Island--was visited, and a large cairn erected on its summit. Our surprise may be imagined when, on reaching the top, the remains of an old cairn were discovered. At first its origin was attributed to Hayes, who visited the island in 1860, but on closer inspection evidences of a construction at a much earlier date were palpable, the stones of which it was composed being covered with lichen, denoting great age. Hayes, in the published account of his voyage, makes no mention either of having seen this cairn or of having built one on the island. It was, undoubtedly, the work of white men's hands; the object and necessity for building cairns is unknown, and therefore not practised, by the Eskimos. How then came this structure in such a remote and desolate part of the world? Can it be the work of some obscure navigator of years gone by, who erected this monument as a memento of his visit, but who never returned to relate the results of his adventurous voyage? This must for ever remain a mystery! Of course it was quickly demolished and its site subjected to a very careful search, in the hopes of discovering some record or clue by which its history might be ascertained; but nothing was found, and we were forced to content ourselves with reconstructing it on a larger scale, and depositing a record at its base detailing the movements of the expedition. The depôt having been landed, the ships were moved a little farther up the bay, although, to effect this, we were compelled to have recourse to powder, in order to "blast" a passage through the ice. The recent tracks of a bear were observed on the floe, being the only indications of the presence of these animals that we had observed since leaving Melville Bay. It naturally caused a little excitement amongst our sportsmen and would-be bear slayers. The formation of the land around Dobbin Bay appeared curiously contorted; the stratifications dipping, in some places, to the westward at an angle of about 18°, whilst at others they assumed a perfectly horizontal direction. This irregularity of the strata may probably be accounted for by the trap, or other primary rock, forcing its way upwards through the limestone formation. Where these contortions appear the colour changes from the sombre grey of the surrounding limestone to a bright red and brownish hue. In the afternoon, it being deemed expedient for the safety of the ships that they should be docked, the requisite instructions were given, and in four hours they were securely placed in two large commodious docks, cut out of the solid floe.