C H A P . I could not in justice remove him; more especially at a moment when
the service to he performed was inseparable from risk. Mr. Smyth, the
senior mate of the ship, who executed the greater part of the drawings
which illustrate this work, was placed with Mr. Elson, who had besides
under his command a crew of six seamen, and two mai-ines.
My instructions to Mr. Elson were to trace the shore to the northeastward
as far as it was possible for a boat to navigate, with a view to
render the earliest possible assistance to Captain Erankhn ; and to obtain
what information he could of the trending of the coast, and of the
position of the ice. He was also directed to possess himself of facts
which, in the event of the failure of the other expedition, would enable
us to form a judgment of the probable success which might attend an
attempt to effect a north-eastern passage in this quarter; and further,
he was to avoid being beset in the ice, by returning immediately the
wind should get to the north-west or westward, and not to prolong his
absence from the ship beyond the first week in September. He was at
the same time ordered to place landmarks and directions in conspicuous
places for Captain Franklin’s guidance; and if possible, on his return, to
examine the shoals off Icy Cape.
We steered together to the northward with foggy weather until
midnight on the lyth, when I made Mr. Elson’s signal to part company,
and he commenced his interesting expedition with the good wishes of all
on board. We continued our course to the northward until four o’clock
in the morning of the 18th, when the fog, as is usual in the neighbour,
hood of the ice, cleared away, and we saw the main body in latitude
71” 07' N . nearly in the same position we had left it some days before.
It was loose at the edge, but close within, and consisted of heavy floes.
We tacked near it, and found it trending from E. to S. W. (mag.) There
were no living things near it, except a few tern and kittiwakes; which
was rather remarkable, as the edge of the ice is usually frequented by
herds of amphibious animals. As we receded from the ice, the fog again
thickened, and latterly turned to small snow. The temperature was
about the freezing point. At noon the sun broke through, and we
found ourselves in latitude 70” 18' N ., and by the soundings about twelve
miles from the land, which was not seen. By this we discovered that
ii
PACIFIC AND B E ERING’S STRAIT.
instead of gaining twenty miles to the eastward, we had lost four; by cHAP.
which it was evident that a current had been running S. 58° YV. a mile ,
an hour; off this place, however, it was found upon trial to run S. 60“ YV. August,
only half a mile per hour. The fog afterwards came on very thick, and
remained so during the day.
Finding this inconvenience from the current off Icy Cape, I steered
to the westward to ascertain how near the ice approached the coast in
that direction, and on the SOth, I stood in for the land about midway
between Cape Beaufort and Icy Cape, to verify some points of the
survey. About this time immense flocks of ducks, consisting entirely
of young ones and females, were seen migrating to the southward.
The young birds could not fly; and not having the instinct to avoid
the ship in time, one immense flock was run completely over by her.
They, however, were more wary when the boats were lowered, and successfully
avoided our aim to shoot them by diving. At the place where
we landed, there was a long lake between us and the main land; and
our walk was confined to a strip of shingle and sand, about 150 yards
wide, and about six feet above the level of the sea. In the sheltered
parts of it there were a few flowers, but no new species. The lake was
connected with the sea at high tide, and was consequently salt; but
we obtained some w'ater sufficiently fresh to drink by digging at a
distance of less than a yard from its margin, a resource of which the
natives appeared to be w'ell aware.
All abundance of driftwood was heaped upon the upper part of
the shingle. The trees were torn up by the roots, and some were
worm-eaten; but the greater part appeared to have been only a short
time at sea, and all of it, that I examined, was pine.
From the desolate appearance of the coast where we landed, I
scarcely expected to find a human being, but we had no sooner put our
foot ashore than a baidar full of people landed a short distance from us.
Her crew consisted of three grown-up males and four females, besides
two infants. They were as ready as their neighbours to part w'ith
W'hat they had in exchange for trifles; esteeming our old brass buttons
above all other articles, excepting knives. There was a blear-eyed old
hag of the party, who separated from her companions, and seated her