six or seven miles off; the shore on their side seemingly tended more to
the east so that it is probable Point Turnagain, for so this spot was
named, forms the pitch of a low flat cape.

Augustus killed a deer in the afternoon but the men were not able to find
it. The hunters found the burrows of a number of white foxes and Hepburn
killed one of these animals, which proved excellent eating, equal to the
young geese with which it was boiled and far superior to the lean deer we
had upon the coast. Large flocks of geese passed over the tents flying to
the southward. The lowest temperature today was 38 degrees.

Though it will appear from the chart that the position of Point Turnagain
is only six degrees and a half to the east of the mouth of the
Copper-Mine River, we sailed, in tracing the deeply-indented coast, five
hundred and fifty-five geographical miles, which is little less than the
direct distance between the Copper-Mine River and Repulse Bay, supposing
the latter to be in the longitude assigned to it by Middleton.

When the many perplexing incidents which occurred during the survey of
the coast are considered in connection with the shortness of the period
during which operations of the kind can be carried on, and the distance
we had to travel before we could gain a place of shelter for the winter,
I trust it will be judged that we prosecuted the enterprise as far as was
prudent and abandoned it only under a well-founded conviction that a
farther advance would endanger the lives of the whole party and prevent
the knowledge of what had been done from reaching England. The active
assistance I received from the officers in contending with the fears of
the men demands my warmest gratitude.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE PROBABILITY OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

Our researches, as far as they have gone, favour the opinion of those who
contend for the practicability of a North-West Passage. The general line
of coast probably runs east and west, nearly in the latitude assigned to
Mackenzie's River, the Sound into which Kotzebue entered, and Repulse
Bay, and I think there is little doubt of a continued sea in or about
that line of direction. The existence of whales too on this part of the
coast, evidenced by the whalebone we found in Esquimaux Cove, may be
considered as an argument for an open sea; and a connection with Hudson's
Bay is rendered more probable from the same kind of fish abounding on the
coasts we visited, and on those t