and on the
breaking up of the river, I set off for the lower posts, on the 23d
of May, accompanied by Mr. Lefroy, whose zeal for scientific discovery
neither cold, nor hunger, nor fatigue, seems to depress. We arrived
at Fort Norman on the 27th of May; and after a few hours' delay,
embarked, proceeding down stream, night and day.

We reached Fort Good Hope on the 29th, late in the evening; but
evening, morning, midnight, and noon-day, are much the same here: I
wrote at midnight by the clear light of heaven. The scientific reader
need not be informed, that within the arctic circle the sun is but a
very short time beneath the horizon, during the summer solstice. The
people of Fort Good Hope see him rising and setting behind the same
hill; and in clear weather his rays shed a light above the horizon
even after he is set; while during the winter solstice the same hill
nearly conceals him from view. Yet the gentleman in charge of this
post has passed two years without an inch of candle to light himself
to bed; and his predecessor did the same; so that he has no reason to
complain.

On our way down we observed a land-slip, or avalanche of earth, that
had just tumbled into the river. Mr. Lefroy examined the bank whence
it had been detached, and found, by measurement, that the frozen
ground was forty-six feet in depth!

Our short sojourn at Fort Good Hope was rendered very unpleasant by
the dismal weather; it continued snowing the whole time we remained.
The storm abating, we embarked at an early hour, on the 31st of May,
and had not proceeded above a few leagues, when a fair breeze sprang
up, greatly to the satisfaction of all, but especially of the poor
fellows whose toil it relieved. It continued increasing; reef after
reef was taken in, till our sheet was finally reduced to a few feet
in depth; yet so furious was the gale that we ascended the strongest
current with nearly the same velocity we had descended; while the
snow fell so thick, and the spray from the river was driven about
so violently by the wind, that we could scarce see our way, and only
escaped being dashed against the beach by keeping in the centre of the
stream. It was also extremely cold; so that our situation in an open
boat was not the most enviable.

We arrived at Fort Norman on the 2d of June, about five, A.M.,
and remained until eleven, A.M., when we embarked, the gale still
continuing with unabated violence. Immediately after leaving the Fort
the