Page:Across the sub-Arctics of Canada (1897).djvu/192

 flats and long points of sand and boulders separated the hills from the water.

During the afternoon of the 6th, the northerly of the two rivers discharging the waters of Baker Lake was discovered. The approach to it is well marked on the north bank by a round bluff some two hundred feet in height. At first no current could be observed in the river, which, in reality, was a deep narrow fiord, but when we had advanced a distance of about two miles a stiff current, almost approaching a rapid, was met; but instead of moving with us, as would naturally be expected, it was flowing to the westward. At first sight it caused some doubts as to whether we were on the right road. The canoemen were all persuaded that we were ascending some big river and would have at once turned back, but concluding that we had already reached tide water, though sooner than we had expected, we pulled on, and before long witnessed the seemingly strange phenomenon of a river changing its direction of flow.

So smooth and bare were its glaciated shores that we had some difficulty in effecting a landing. One night was spent on this rocky bank, and the day following being fair and bright, saw us on the waters of Chesterfield Inlet. The magnetic compasses were now found to work very unsatisfactorily, but for one day the sunlight enabled me to make liberal use of my solar instrument. During the next and several succeeding days the weather was dark and gloomy, and we encountered such tide rips in the Inlet that my survey was much interfered with.

On the 10th of September, as we were pulling down