th these people,
for he spoke no English; but his presence answered the important purpose
of showing that the white people were on terms of friendship with the
distant tribes of Esquimaux. As a boatman he was of the greatest
service, being strongly attached to us, possessing an excellent temper,
and labouring cheerfully at his oar.

We could not ascertain the numbers of Esquimaux we saw in the course of
the day, because they were always coming and going, but we passed at
least thirty tents, and had reason to believe that on some of the
islands there were tents which we did not see. Four grown people is,
perhaps the average number of the inhabitants of each tent. A short time
before the attack on the Union, I counted forty kaiyacks round the two
boats.

The wind freshened, and the night began to look stormy, as we stood
across a wide sound which was open from the N.W. to the N.E., and had a
depth of water varying from three to seven feet. White whales were seen;
and some of the crew thought the water tasted brackish. About nine P.M.
a drizzling rain came on, attended with very dark weather, which induced
us to make for a round islet, with a view of encamping, and securing the
boats for the night; it was skirted by shoals that prevented us from
landing, and we therefore anchored the boats by poles stuck in the mud,
raised the coverings of the cargo on masts and oars, so as to turn off
the rain; and after eating our supper and setting a watch, we
endeavoured to get some repose by lying down in our clothes, wet as they
were. We had scarcely laid down, however, before the wind changed and
began to blow with violence directly on the shore, so as to render it
necessary for us to shift our situation without delay. An attempt was
made to row the boats round to the other side of the islet, but they
drifted upon the shoals in spite of the exertions of the crew, and began
to strike violently. [Sidenote: Saturday, 8th.] In this perilous
situation we perceived some smooth water to leeward, upon which setting
the foresails, the boats were pushed over a sandy bar into two fathoms
water. We then stood towards the eastern shore, and keeping in deep
water, entered a small inlet, which received the name of Refuge Cove;
where having made fast the boats to the beach, pitched a tent on the
shore, and set a watch, we attempted a second time to obtain some rest.

We were not, however, destined to enjoy much repose that night, for we
had scar