A
T lM ' P“''Pose of sounding and obtaining further information of Buckland
7 / —' ^•''0'’’ liol returned on the 10th, without having been able to effect it,
account of the hostile disposition of the natives, whom he met in the
bay. When the small boat was detached from the barge, three baidars approached
h e r ; and their crews, consisting of between thirty and forty
men, drew their knives and attempted to board her, and, on the whole,
behaved in so daring and threatening a manner, that Mr. Elson fearing
he should be compelled to resort to severe measures, if he proceeded
with the examination of the river, desisted, and returned to the ship.
This was the first instance of any decidedly hostile conduct of the
natives in the sound, whose behaviour in general had left with us a
favourable impression of the disposition of their tribe. The barge
brought us down a valuable addition to our collection of fossils, the
cliff having broken away considerably since the first specimens were
obtained.
On the Sth, we had the misfortune to lose one of the marines,
by dysentery and general inflammation of the abdomen. On the
10th, having selected a convenient spot for a grave, on the low point
of Chamisso Island, his body was interred in the presence of almost all
his shipmates, and a stone properly inscribed put up to mark the spot;
but the earth was replaced over the grave as evenly as possible, in
order that no appearance of excavation might remain to attract the
attention of the natives.
We had hitherto remained in the sound, in the expectation of being
able to wait till the end of October, the date named in my instructions ;
but the great change that had recently occurred in the atmosphere,
the departure of all the Esquimaux for their winter habitations, the
migration of the birds, the frozen state of the lakes, and the gradual
cooling down of the sea, were symptoms of approaching winter too apparent
to be disregarded, and made it evident that the time was not far
distant when it would be necessary to quit the anchorage, to avoid being
stopped by the young ice. On every account I was anxious to remain
until the above-mentioned period; but as my instructions were peremptory
in desiring me not to incur the risk of wintering, it was incumbent
upon me seriously to consider how late the ship could remain without
I Oct.
incurring that risk. By quitting the rendezvous earlier than had been CHAP.
agreed upon, the lives of Captain Franklin’s party might be involved;
by remaining too long, those of ray own ship’s company would be placed
1 8 26.
in imminent hazard, as but five weeks’ provision at full allowance
remained in the ship, and the nearest place where we could replenish
them was upwards of 2000 miles distant. Thus circumstanced, I was
desirous of having the advice of the officers of the ship before I made up
my own mind, and accordingly addressed an official letter to them,
requesting they would take every circumstance into their consideration,
and furnish me with their opinion on the propriety of remaining longer
in these seas.
Their answer, which I received the next day, conveyed an unanimous
opinion that the ship could not continue longer at her present
anchorage without incurring the risk of wintering, and suggested
her removal to the entrance of the sound, where the majority of the
officers thought she might remain a few days longer ; but previous
to our taking up our station there, it was considered advisable that the
strait should be ascertained to be navigable, lest the ice should have
been drifted down from the northward, and the retreat of the ship
be cut off. I fully concurred in opinion with them, that if the
frost continued the ship could not remain at her anchorage ; but as
there was a possibility of its yielding, I resolved to wait a day or two
longer upon the chance, determined, if it did not give way, to quit the
sound; and in the event of Beering’s Strait being found clear, to return,
as had been proposed, and to wait a few days off Cape Krusenstern,
in the hope of meeting the party. Considering, however, the
lateness of the season and the long nights, there did not appear to be
much ciiance of the ship being able to maintain an advantageous position
at the mouth of the sound; still, as 1 was unwilling to relinquish
the smallest chance offiilling in with the party, I purposed making
the attempt. Iu so doing, however, it was necessary to insure our departure
by the 23d instant, which, considering our distance from any
new supplies, and that at that period there would be but nine weeks’
provision remaining at half allowance, was as late as 1 thought it
prudent to continue.