fessing to be so, that the wolves or wolverines would find their "cache" of meat and destroy it. Having paid them liberally for their aid and information, and having bade them a most friendly farewell, they set out for home as we were preparing for bed.

Next morning provisions for six days were secured under a heap of ponderous stones, and we resumed our march along the lake. Thick weather, snow-storms, and heavy walking, sadly retarded our advance. The Esquimaux had recommended me, after reaching the end of the chain of lakes (which ran in a north-westerly direction for nearly 20 miles, and then turned sharply to the southward), to follow the windings of a brook that flowed from them. This I attempted to do, until finding that we would be led thereby far to the south, we struck across land to the west, among a series of hills and valleys. Tracks of deer now became numerous, and a few traces of musk cattle were observed.

At 2 A.M., on the 26th, we fell upon a river, with banks of mud and gravel 20 to 40 feet high, and about 4 mile in width. After a most laborious walk of more than 18 miles we found an old snow-hut, which, after a few repairs, was made habitable, and we were snugly housed at 6h. 40 m. A.M. position was in lat. 68° 25' 27" N., long. 93° 4' 14" W.

Our

One of my men, who, from carelessness some weeks before, had severely frozen two of his toes, was now scarcely able to walk; and as, by Esquimaux report, we could not be very far from the sea, I prepared to start in the evening, with two men and four days' provisions, for the Castor and Pollux River, leaving the lame man and another to follow at their leisure a few miles on our track to some rock that lay in our route, where they were more likely to find both fuel and game than on the bare, flat ground where we then were.

The evening of the 26th was very fine as we commenced tracing the course of the river seaward, sometimes following its course, at others travelling on its left or right bank to cut off points. At 4 A.M., on the 27th, we reached the mouth of the river, which, by subsequent observation, I found to be situate in lat. 68° 32′ N., and long. 93° 32′ W. It was rather difficult to discover when we had reached the sea, until a mass of rough ice settled the question beyond a doubt. After leaving the river we walked rapidly due west for 6 miles, then built our usual snug habitation on the ice 3 miles from shore, and had some partridges (tetrao mutus) for supper at the unseasonable hour of 8 A.M. We had seen great numbers of these birds during the night. Our lat. was 68° 32′ 1′′ N., long. 93° 44′ 48" W., being 3′ 38" N., and about 13' E. of Simpson's position of the mouth of the Castor and Pollux River.

The weather was overcast with snow when we resumed our journey at 8 h. 30 m. P.M. On the 27th we directed our course directly for the shore, which we reached after a sharp walk of 14 h., in doing which we crossed a long stony island of some miles in extent. As by this time it was snowing heavily, I made my men travel on the ice, the walking being better there, whilst I followed the windings of the shore, closely examining every object along the beach.

After passing several heaps of stones which had evidently formed Esquimaux caches, I came to a collection larger than any I had yet seen, and clearly not intended for the protection of property of any kind. The stones, generally speaking, were small, and had been built in the form of a pillar, but the top had fallen down, as the Esquimaux had previously given me to understand was the case.

Calling my men to land, I sent one to trace what looked like a bed of a small river immediately W. of us, whilst I and the other man cleared away the pile of stones in search of a document. Although no document was found, there could be no doubt in my own mind, and in that of my companion, that its

construction was not that of the natives. My belief that we had arrived at the Castor and Pollux River was confirmed, when the person who had been sent to trace the apparent stream bed, returned with the information that it was clearly a river.

My latitude of the Castor and Pollux is 68° 28′ 37′′ N., agreeing within mile with that of Simpson, but our longitudes differ considerably, his being 94° 14′ W., whilst mine was 93° 58′ W. My longitude is nearly intermediate between that of Simpson and Sir George Back, supposing the latter to have carried on his survey eastward from Montreal Island.*

Having spent upwards of an hour in fruitless search for a memorandum of some kind, we began to retrace our steps, and after a most fatiguing march of fifteen hours, during which we walked at least 30 miles, we arrived at the snow-hut of the men left behind. They had shot nothing, and had not collected sufficient andromeda for cooking, but had been compelled to use some grease. The frost-bitten man could scarcely move.

Early on the morning of the 29th, during a heavy fall of snow, we set out for the mouth of the river, which was named in honour of Sir Roderick Murchison, the late President of the Royal Geographical Society, and, after losing our way occasionally in attempting to make short cuts, we arrived at Cache Island (so named from an Esquimaux cache that was on it), within 2 miles of the sea, at 8 A.M., and stopped there, as it blew a gale with drift.

As soon as we got under shelter and had supped, preparations were made for starting in the evening for Bellot Strait. An ample stock of provisions and fuel for twenty-two days were placed on two of our best sledges, and I hauled on my own small sledge my instruments, books, bedding, &c., as usual.

On the evening of the 29th the weather was so stormy that, although we were prepared to start at 8 o'clock, we could not get away until past 2 on the following morning, when, after travelling little more than 5 miles, a heavy fall of snow and strong wind caused us again to take shelter.

Our advance was so much impeded by thick weather and soft snow that we` did not arrive within a few miles of Cape Porter of Sir John Ross until the 6th of May. In doing this we had traversed a bay, the head of which was afterwards found to extend as far N. as lat. 68° 54′ N. Point Sir H. Dryden, its western boundary, is in lat. 68° 44′ N., long. 94° 11' W. To this bay the name of Shepherd was given, in honour of the Deputy-Governor of the Honourable Hudson's Bay Company, and an island near its head was called Bence Jones, after the distinguished medical man and analytical chemist of that name, to whose kindness I and my party were much indebted for having proposed the use of, and prepared, some extract of tea for the expedition. This article we found extremely portable, and as the tea could be made without boiling water, we often enjoyed a cup of that refreshing beverage, when otherwise from want of fuel we must have been satisfied with cold water.

From Point Dryden the coast, which is low and stoby, runs in a succession of small points and bays about 10 miles nearly due W., then turns sharply up to the N. in lat. 68° 45′ N., long. 94° 38' 50' W., which was ascertained by observations obtained on an island near the shore. The point was called Cape Colvile, after the governor of the Company, and the island, Stanley. To the W., at the distance of 7 or 8 miles, land was seen, which received the appellation of Matheson Island, as a mark of respect to one of the directors of the Company.

Our snow hut, on the 6th of May, situate on Point de la Guiche, was, by good observations, found to be in lat. 68° 57′ 52" N., long. 94° 32′ 58′′ W. One of my men, Mistegan, an Indian of great intelligence and activity, was

A number of rocky elevations to the north of the river were mistaken by Simpson for islands, and named by him "the Committee."

sent 6 miles farther along the coast northwards. By ascending some rough ice at its extreme point he could see about 5 miles farther. The land was still trending northward, whilst to the N.W., at a considerable distance, perhaps 12 or 14 miles, there was an appearance of land, the channel between which and the point where he stood being full of rough ice. This land, if it was such, is probably part of Matty Island, or King William Land, which latter is also clearly an island.

I am happy to say that on the present, as on a former occasion, where my survey met that of Sir James C. Ross, a very singular agreement exists, considering the circumstances under which our surveys have been taken.

The foggy and snowy weather, which continued for upwards of four days, had occasioned the loss of so much time, that although I could easily have completed a part (perhaps the half) of the survey of the coast between the Magnetic Pole and Bellot Strait, or Brentford Bay, I could not do the whole without great risk to my party, and I therefore decided upon returning.

Having taken possession of our discoveries in the usual form, and built a cairn, we commenced our return on the night of the 6th. Having fine clear weather we made long marches, and at Shepherd Bay, having got rid of the sledge which I had hitherto hauled, I detached myself from the party, and examined the bay within a mile or two of the shore, whilst my men took a straighter route.

Thick weather again came on as we entered the bay (named in honour of Sir Robert H. Inglis) into which the Murchison falls, and we had much trouble in finding the mouth of the river. Here the services of my Cree hunter were of much value, as custom had caused him to notice indications and marks which would have escaped the observation of a person less acute and experienced.

On the 11th of May, at 3 A.M., we reached the place where our two men had been left. Both were as well as I could hope for; the one whose great toe had been frozen, and which was about to slough off at the first joint (thereby rendering the foot very tender and painful when walking in deep snow), had too much spirit to allow himself to be hauled. One deer and eighteen partridges had been shot, but, notwithstanding, I found a greater reduction in our stock of provisions than I had anticipated, and I felt confirmed in the course I had taken.

The day became very fine, and observations were taken which gave the position of "Cache" Island, where our snow-hut was, lat. 68° 32′ 2′′ N., long. 93° 24′ 18" W.

Having completed my observations, and filled in rough tracings of the coast line, which I generally did from day to day, we started for home at 8:30 P.M. The weather being now fine, and the snow harder than when outward-bound, we advanced more rapidly, and in a straight direction, until we came to the lakes, about midway in the isthmus, after which, as far as Pelly Bay, our outward and homeward routes were exactly alike. We reached Pelly Bay at 1 A.M. on the 17th, and built a snow-house about 24 miles S., and the same distance W., of my observations of the 20th of April.

Observing traces of Esquimaux, two men were sent after supper to look for them. After eight hours' absence they returned with ten or twelve native men, women, and children. From these people I bought a silver spoon and fork. The initials F. R. M. C., not engraved, but scratched with a sharp instrument on the spoon, puzzled me much, as I knew not at the time the Christian names of the officers of Sir John Franklin's expedition, and thought possibly that the letters above-named might be the initials of Captain M'Clure, the small "c" between the M. C. being omitted.

Two of the Esquimaux (one of them I had seen in 1847) offered for a consideration to accompany us a day or two's march with a sledge and dogs. We

were detained some time by the slow preparation of our new allies, but we soon made up for lost time, and after a journey of 16 geographical, or about 18 statute miles, we arrived at the E. side of the bay in latitude by reduction to the meridian 68° 23′ 10' N., long. 90° 9′ 39′′ W.

It may be remembered that in the spring of 1847 I did not trace the shore of Pelly Bay, but saw it from the summit of one of the lofty islands in the bay. Desirous of being always within rather than of exceeding the limits of truth, I, that year, placed the head of the bay about 10 miles N. of what it ought to have been, a mistake which will be easily accounted for by those who know the difficulties of estimating distances in a snow-clad country, where the height of the land is unknown.

The width of the isthmus separating Pelly and Shepherd Bays is fully 60 geographical miles.

In the evening, before parting with our Esquimaux assistants, we bought a dog from them, and after a most friendly farewell resumed our journey eastward, and found on a long lake some old snow-houses, in which we took up our lodgings. Here a set of good observations placed us in lat. 68° 12′ 18′′ N., long. 89° 35' 51" W., variation 81° W.

On the morning of the 21st we arrived at Committee Bay: from thence our route to Repulse Bay was almost the same as before, and I shall not therefore advert to it farther than to mention that we arrived at our winter home at 5 A.M., on the 26th of May, having, from the better walking, travelled in twenty days the distance (less 40 or 50 miles) which had taken us thirty-six days to accomplish on our outward journey.

I found the three men who had been left in charge of the property quite well, living in abundance, and on the most friendly terms with a number of Esquimaux families who had pitched their tents near them.

The natives had behaved in the most exemplary manner, and many of them who were short of food, in compliance with my orders to that effect, had been supplied with venison from our stores.

It was from this time until August that I had opportunities of questioning the Esquimaux regarding the information which 1 had already obtained of the party of whites who had perished of starvation, and of eliciting the particulars connected with that sad event, the substance of which I have already stated.

In the early part of July the salmon came from the sea to the mouths of the rivers and brooks which were at that date open, and we caught numbers of them, so that occasionally we could afford to supply our native friends with fifty or one hundred in a night. As is the usual custom at the Hudson's Bay Company's inland trading posts, all provisions were given gratis, and they were much more gratefully received by the Esquimaux than by the more southerly and more favoured red man.

We had still on hand half of our three months' stock of pemican and a sufficiency of ammunition to provide for the wants of another winter. We were all in excellent health, and could get as many dogs as we required, so that (D.V.) there was little doubt that a second attempt to complete the survey would be successful; but I now thought that I had a higher duty to attend to, that duty being to communicate with as little loss of time as possible the melancholy tidings which I had heard, and thereby save the risk of more valuable lives being jeopardized in a fruitless search in a direction where there was not the slightest prospect of obtaining any information. I trust this will be deemed a sufficiently good reason for my return.

The summer was extremely cold and backward: we could not leave Repulse Bay until the 4th of August, and on the 6th had much difficulty in rounding Cape Hope. From thence, as far as Cape Fullarton, the strait between Southampton Island and the main shore was fully packed with ice,

which gave us great trouble. S. of Cape Fullarton we got into open water. On the evening of the 19th calms and head-winds much retarded us, so that we did not enter Churchill River until the morning of the 28th of August; there we were detained all day by a storm of wind. My good interpreter, William Ouligbuck, was landed, and before bidding him farewell I presented him with a very handsomely mounted hunting-knife, intrusted to me by Captain Sir George Back, for his former travelling companion Ouligbuck, but as the old man was dead I took the liberty of giving it to his son as an inducement to future good conduct, should his services be again required.

A three days' run brought us to York Factory, at which place we landed all well on the forenoon of the 31st of August. I am happy to say that the conduct of my men, under circumstances often very trying, was, generally speaking, extremely good and praiseworthy; and although their wages were higher than those of any party who have hitherto been employed on boat expeditions, I thought it advisable, after consulting with chief factor William Mactavish, to give each a small gratuity, varying the amount according to merit.

In conclusion, I have to express my regret that I was unable on this occasion to bring to a successful termination an expedition which I had myself planned and projected, but in extenuation of my failure I may mention that I was met by an accumulation of obstacles beyond the usual ones of storms and rough ice, which my former experience in Arctic travelling had not led me to anticipate.

XIX. Remarks on a series of three-hourly Meteorological and other Observations made during a Passage from London to Algoa Bay, from July to October, 1853.* By Dr. P. C. SUTHER

LAND, F.R G.S.

Read, March 12, 1855.

To the SECRETARY of the Royal Geographical Society.

SIR, I hope you will excuse the liberty I take in forwarding the accompanying "three-hourly" observations in meteorology, &c., made during the passage of the ship 'Ambassador' from London to Algoa Bay, South Africa. They extend over a period of nearly four months-July, August, September, and October of this year-and embrace the temperature of the air and of the surface of the sea, together with the density of the latter; the variations of the atmospherical pressure; the true directions of the winds and their force; the general features of the weather; and allusions, made as frequently as circumstances permitted, to the countless inhabitants of the parts of the ocean traversed. As the geographical distribution of animals has always, and more especially of late years, met with marked attention from your Society, I doubt

* The tables are preserved in the archives of the Society.-ED.