farthest distance from the point of departure at which any of these
papers were found, as far as I know, appears to have been within fifty
miles. The "Assistance" despatched some from near Barlow Inlet, which
were picked up on the opposite side of Wellington Channel north of Port
Innis. Neither this, however, nor our non-discovery of any papers
during our travelling in 1851, can be adduced as a proof against their
possible utility and success; and the balloons may still be considered
a most useful auxiliary.

Next--indeed we should say before the balloons--as a means of
communication, came carrier-pigeons. When first proposed, in 1850, many
laughed at the idea of a bird doing any service in such a cause; and,
maybe, might have laughed yet, had not a carrier-pigeon, despatched by
Capt. Sir John Ross, from his winter quarters in 1850, actually reached
its home, near Ayr, in Scotland, in five days. In our expedition none
of these birds had been taken; but on board the "Felix" Sir John Ross
had a couple of brace. I plead guilty, myself, to having joined in the
laugh at the poor creatures, when, with feathers in a half-moulted
state, I heard it proposed to despatch them from Beechey Island, in 74
degrees N. and 92 degrees W., to the meridian of Greenwich and 56
degrees N. latitude, even though they were slung to a balloon for a
part of the journey. At any rate it was done, I think, on the 6th
October, 1850, from Assistance Harbour. Two birds, duly freighted with
intelligence, and notes from the married men, were put in a basket,
which was attached to a balloon in such a manner, that, after
combustion of a certain quantity of match, the carrier-pigeons would be
launched into the air to commence their flight. The idea being that
they would fetch some of the whaling vessels about the mouth of
Hudson's Straits; at least so I heard. The wind was then blowing fresh
from the north-west, and the temperature below zero.

When we in the squadron off Griffith's Island heard of the departure of
the mail, the opinion prevalent was, the birds would be frozen to
death. We were mistaken; for, in about one hundred and twenty hours,
one of these birds, as verified by the lady to whom it had originally
belonged, reached her house, and flew to the nest in which it had been
hatched in the pigeon-house. It had, however, by some means or other,
shaken itself clear of the packet entrusted to its charge. This
marvellous flight of three thousand mil