Next day a family of the natives came near to the place where we were taking off wood. I know not how many there were at first; but I saw only the husband, the wife, and their child; and a fourth person, who bore the human shape, and that was all, for he was the most deformed cripple I had ever seen or heard of. The other man was almost blind; and neither he nor his wife were such good-looking people as we had sometimes seen amongst the natives of this coast. The under-lips of both were bored; and they had in their possession some such glass beads as I had met with before amongst their neighbours. But iron was their beloved article; for four knives, which we had made out of an old iron hoop, I got from them near four hundred pounds’ weight of fish, which they had caught on this or the preceding day. Some were trout, and the rest were, in size and taste, somewhat between a mullet and a herring. I gave the child, who was a girl, a few beads; on which the mother burst into tears, then the father, then the cripple, and at last, to complete the concert, the girl herself. But this music continued not long.[[84]] Before night we had got the ships amply supplied with wood, and had carried on board about twelve tons of water to each.

On the 14th, a party of men were sent on shore to cut brooms, which we were in want of, and the branches of spruce trees for brewing beer. Toward noon every body was taken on board; for the wind freshening, had raised such a surf on the beach, that the boats could not continue to land without great difficulty. Some doubts being still entertained whether the coast we were now upon belonged to an island, or the American continent; and the shallowness of the water putting it out of our power to determine this with our ships, I sent Lieutenant King, with two boats under his command, to make such searches as might leave no room for a variety of opinions on the subject[[85]]. Next day the ships removed over to the bay, which is on the south-east side of Cape Denbigh, where we anchored in the afternoon. Soon after, a few of the natives came off in their small canoes, and bartered some dried salmon for such trifles as our people had to give them.

At day-break, on the 16th, nine men, each in his canoe, paid us a visit. They approached the ship with some caution; and evidently came with no other view than to gratify their curiosity. They drew up abreast of each other, under our stern, and gave us a song; while one of their number beat upon a kind of drum, and another made a thousand antic motions with his hands and body. There was, however, nothing savage, either in the song or in the gestures, that accompanied it. None of us could perceive any difference between these people, either as to their size or features, and those whom we had met with on every other part of the coast, King George’s Sound excepted. Their clothing, which consisted principally of deer skins, was made after the same fashion; and they observed the custom of boring their under lips, and fixing ornaments to them.

The dwellings of these people were seated close to the beach. They consist simply of a sloping roof, without any side-walls, composed of logs, and covered with grass and earth. The floor is also laid with logs; the entrance is at one end; the fire-place just within it; and a small hole is made near the door to let out the smoke.

After breakfast a party of men were sent to the peninsula for brooms and spruce. At the same time half the remainder of the people in each ship had leave to go and pick berries. These returned on board at noon, when the other half went on the same errand. The berries to be got here were wild currant-berries, hurtle-berries, partridge-berries, and heath-berries. I also went ashore myself, and walked over part of the peninsula. In several places there was very good grass; and I hardly saw a spot on which some vegetable was not growing. The low land which connects this peninsula with the continent, is full of narrow creeks, and abounds with ponds of water, some of which were already frozen over. There were a great many geese and bustards, but so shy that it was not possible to get within musket-shot of them. We also met with some snipes; and on the high ground were partridges of two sorts. Where there was any wood, musquitoes were in plenty. Some of the officers, who travelled farther than I did, met with a few of the natives of both sexes, who treated them with civility.

It appeared to me that this peninsula must have been an island in remote times; for there were marks of the sea having flowed over the isthmus. And, even now, it appeared to be kept out by a bank of sand, stones, and wood, thrown up by the waves. By this bank it was evident that the land was here encroaching upon the sea, and it was easy to trace its gradual formation.

About seven in the evening, Mr. King returned from his expedition, and reported that he proceeded with the boats about three or four leagues farther than the ships had been able to go; that he then landed on the west side; that, from the heights, he could see the two coasts join, and the inlet to terminate in a small river or creek, before which were banks of sand or mud, and every where shoal water. The land too was low and swampy for some distance to the northward; then it swelled into hills, and the complete junction of those on each side of the inlet was easily traced.

From the elevated spot on which Mr. King surveyed the sound, he could distinguish many extensive valleys, with rivers running through them, well wooded, and bounded by hills of a gentle ascent and moderate height. One of these rivers to the north-west appeared to be considerable; and, from its direction, he was inclined to think that it emptied itself into the sea at the head of the bay. Some of his people, who penetrated beyond this into the country, found the trees larger, the farther they advanced.

In honour of Sir Fletcher Norton[[86]], Speaker of the House of Commons, and Mr. King’s near relation, I named this inlet Norton’s Sound. It extends to the northward as far as latitude of 64° 55ʹ. The bay, in which we were now at anchor, lies on the south-east side of it, and is called by the natives Chacktoole. It is but an indifferent station, being exposed to the south and south-west winds. Nor is there a harbour in all this sound. But we were so fortunate as to have the wind from the north and north-east all the time, with remarkable fine weather. This gave us an opportunity to make no less than seventy-seven sets of lunar observations, between the 6th and 17th inclusive. The mean result of these made the longitude of the anchoring-place, on the west side of the sound, to be

197°13ʹ
Latitude6431
Variation of the compass2545 east.
Dip of the needle7625