ed. Captain Lyon was to be accompanied by two men, and
a complete supply of every kind for a month's travelling was to be drawn
on a sledge by ten excellent dogs, which he had taken great pains to
procure and train for such occasions. As I was desirous of ascertaining,
beyond any doubt, the identity of the _Khemig_, to which I had sailed in
the autumn, with that seen by Captain Lyon on his journey with the
Esquimaux, I determined to accompany the travellers on my sledge as far
as the head of Quilliam Creek, and by victualling them thus far on their
journey, enable them to gain a day or two's resources in advance.
Another object which I had in view was to endeavour to find a lake
mentioned by Toolemak; who assured me that, if I could dig holes in the
ice, which was five feet thick, plenty of large salmon might be caught
with hooks, an experiment which seemed at least well worth the trying.

On the 7th, the weather being more favourable than before, Captain Lyon
and myself set out to the westward at half past eleven A.M., and the ice
proving level, reached Khemig at half past five; when it was
satisfactory to find that the route followed by Captain Lyon on his
journey with Toolemak was precisely that which I had supposed, every
feature of the land, of which the fog had before scarcely allowed him a
glimpse, being now easily recognised, and every difficulty cleared up.
Proceeding at eight A.M. on the 8th, we soon met with numerous tracks of
deer upon the ice, which, together with the seals that lay in great
numbers near their holes, expedited our journey very considerably, the
dogs frequently setting off at full gallop on sniffing one of them.
Landing at the head of Quilliam Creek at half past one, we took up an
advantageous position for looking about us, in order to determine on the
direction of Captain Lyon's route over land, which all the Esquimaux
concurred in representing as a laborious one. We met with several
reindeer immediately on our landing; and, while in pursuit of them,
Captain Lyon discovered a lake two or three miles long and a quarter of
a mile broad, a short distance from the tents, which we concluded to be
that of which I was in search. As some of our party were suffering from
snow-blindness, and, what is scarcely less painful, severe inflammation
of the whole face, occasioned by the heat of the sun, we remained here
for the rest of this day to make our final arrangements.

At nine A.M. on: the 9th we str