Page:Narrative of the Discoveries on the North Coast of America.djvu/160

 which a very large river falls; for the water, even at the distance of three leagues to seaward, was perfectly fresh. We called it Colvile River, as a mark of our respect for Andrew Colvile, Esquire, of the Hudson's Bay Company. The wind now freshened, and with it came a dense cold fog that immediately concealed the land We had great difficulty in extricating ourselves from the shallows formed by the alluvial deposits of the Colvile; and, after steering fourteen miles north and north-west, till we approached the edge of the ice, found only seven feet water. We then tacked, and steered south-west; in which direction a stretch of sixteen miles brought us near to, but not within view of, the shore. We followed along it for four miles, keeping close in among the shoals; the water still quite fresh. Tired of such tedious progress, and being utterly unable to distinguish the beach, though we reckoned it to be no more than half a mile distant, we again stood out, for seventeen miles, to the north and north-west; the greatest depth during this run being one and a half fathoms, and the water salt. The wind had now veered to the northward, driving the ice down upon us; we had not seen land since the morning, and were quite uncertain what direction it might take. We steered westward at a venture, and, after