Page:Life with the Esquimaux - 1864 - Volume 2.djvu/104

Rh land—he sat before me actually laying down most correctly upon paper the coast-line along which we sailed, and with which he, as well as Sushi and Tunukderlien, was perfectly familiar. There was not a channel, cape, island, or bay, which he did not know perfectly, having visited them again and again. One unacquainted with a new country would often make great mistakes by charting nearly everything as main land, where portions of it might be islands, failing also to give proper depths of inlet coast, unless he had time to visit every locality. On my present trip up the bay I had not that time, and therefore I reserved—to be made, if possible, on my return—a closer examination of places now draughted down under my eyes. During all this voyage, however, I kept up a constant record of distances run and courses steered, and made as frequent landings for taking observations for latitude, longitude, variation of the compass, &c. as the circumstances would admit. Between Oo-mer-nung Island and Iron Island—the former in Wiswell Inlet and the latter near Peter Force Sound —a heavy sea prevailed, rolling in from the northwest, and it was astonishing to see my heavily-laden boat ride so well over the dashing, heaving, irregular waters that came upon us. Iron Island is an interesting place, and I gave it the name because of the resemblance of its rocks to oxydized iron. Innuit monumental marks, made of the huge bones of the whale, were upon the island. Here also, on our landing, was found an excellent piece of timber—live oak—which probably belonged to the wrecked Traveller, already alluded to. It was dry, and so large and heavy that one of the Innuits could only just carry it. We took it away in the boat to use