Page:Narrative of the Discoveries on the North Coast of America.djvu/200

 land. We were at this time "spelling it," as Voyageurs say, under the lee of an iceberg close to the great body of the ice. The depth here was three fathoms, on sand; being the greatest met with in the whole range of our western discoveries. To avoid the risk of being blown too far out, we shaped our course more into the bay, and had scarcely got sight of the land, whose continuity I was now fully able to trace, when a westerly gale sprang up, before which we ran all night under close-reefed sails. The boats shipped a great deal of water, particularly in crossing the flats off Colvile River, but proved themselves worthy of our good opinion; and, drenched and shivering though we were, all hands were overjoyed in the prospect of a rapid return. I must not omit to mention, that, during this stormy run, we fell in with a small island, about a league from the main shore, and not seen on the outward voyage. On landing upon it, we found numerous vestiges of Esquimaux, and a quantity of drift wood brought down by the Colvile, from which it is twelve miles distant. The water between Esquimaux Island, as it was called, and the mainland, was fresh. The actual mouth of the Colvile appeared fully two miles wide; and with such force does its powerful stream issue, that Mr. Dease's boat, in crossing it, four miles