communicated my intention to the Governor, with a request that he would
furnish me with the means of conveyance for the party as speedily as
possible.

It was suggested in my instructions that we might probably procure a
schooner at this place, to proceed north as far as Wager Bay; but the
vessel alluded to was lying at Moose Factory, completely out of repair;
independently of which, the route directly to the northward was rendered
impracticable by the impossibility of procuring hunters and guides on
the coast.

I found that as the Esquimaux inhabitants had left Churchill a month
previous to our arrival, no interpreter from that quarter could be
procured before their return in the following spring. The Governor,
however, undertook to forward to us, next season, the only one amongst
them who understood English, if he could be induced to go.

The governor selected one of the largest of the Company's boats for our
use on the journey, and directed the carpenters to commence refitting it
immediately; but he was only able to furnish us with a steersman; and we
were obliged to make up the rest of the crew with the boatmen brought
from Stromness, and our two attendants.

York Factory, the principal depot of the Hudson's Bay Company, stands on
the west bank of Hayes' River, about five miles above its mouth, on the
marshy peninsula which separates the Hayes and Nelson Rivers. The
surrounding country is flat and swampy, and covered with willows,
poplars, larch, spruce, and birch-trees; but the requisition for fuel
has expended all the wood in the vicinity of the fort, and the residents
have now to send for it to a considerable distance. The soil is alluvial
clay, and contains imbedded rolled stones. Though the bank of the river
is elevated about twenty feet, it is frequently overflown by the
spring-floods, and large portions are annually carried away by the
disruption of the ice, which grounding in the stream, have formed
several muddy islands. These interruptions, together with the various
collection of stones that are hid at high water, render the navigation
of the river difficult; but vessels of two hundred tons burthen may be
brought through the proper channels as high as the Factory.

The principal buildings are placed in the form of a square, having an
octagonal court in the centre; they are two stories in height, and have
flat roofs covered with lead. The officers dwell in one portion of this
square, and in the other