, Esq., late governor of Prince Rupert's land. We observed here
an unusually large spruce tree, considering the high latitude in which
it grew; it measured seven feet in circumference, at the height of four
feet from the ground. A hole was dug at the foot of the hill, in sandy
soil, to the depth of three feet without reaching frozen ground.

[Sidenote: Thursday, 6th.] On the 6th, heavy and continued rain delayed
our embarkation until ten o'clock in the forenoon, and the weather,
during the rest of the day, was hazy, with occasional showers of small
rain. Before leaving the encampment, we lopped the branches from a tree,
and suspended to it a small kettle, a hatchet, an ice-chisel, and a few
strings of beads, together with a letter written in hieroglyphics, by
Mr. Kendall, denoting that a party of white people presented these
articles to the Esquimaux as a token of friendship.[4] As we advanced,
we came to the union of several ramifications of the middle channel with
the eastern branch of the river, and the breadth of the latter increased
to two miles; its depth of water being rarely less than three fathoms.
In latitude 69 degrees, the eastern channel of the Mackenzie makes a
turn round the end of the Rein-deer-hills which terminate there, having
previously diminished in height to about two hundred feet. At the
commencement of this turn, there is a small island nearly equal to the
main land in height, and appearing when viewed from the southward, to be
a continuation of it. Its position pointing it out to be the one
described by Mackenzie as possessing "a sacred character," and being
still a burial place of the Esquimaux, I named it Sacred Island. We saw
here two recent, and several more ancient graves. The bodies were
wrapped in skins closely covered with drift-wood, and laid with their
heads to the west; so that the rule mentioned by Captain Lyon in his
account of Melville peninsula, does not obtain on this part of the
coast; for there none but the bodies of infants are placed in that
direction. Various articles, such as canoes, sledges, and fishing nets,
were deposited near the graves.

Sacred Island is formed entirely of layers of fine sand of different
colours, covered by a little vegetable mould. One of its sides being
steeply escarped by the waves, showed its structure completely. Amongst
the vegetable productions of this spot, we noticed the perennial lupine,
the narrow-leaved epilobium, and some currant bushes i