wolves. A single ermine and a few mice
(_Mus Hudsonius_) complete, I believe, our scanty list of quadrupeds at
this desolate and unproductive place.

Towards the end of June, the dovekies (_Colymbus Grylle_) were extremely
numerous in the cracks of the ice at the entrance of Port Bowen; and as
these were the only fresh supply of any consequence that we were able to
procure at this unproductive place, we were glad to permit the men to go
out occasionally with guns, after the ships were ready for sea, to
obtain for their messes this wholesome change of diet; while such
excursions also contributed essentially to their general health and
cheerfulness. Many hundreds of these birds were thus obtained in the
course of a few days. On the evening of the 6th of July, however, I was
greatly shocked at being informed by Captain Hoppner that John
Cotterell,[007] a seaman of the Fury, had been found drowned in one of
the cracks of the ice by two other men belonging to the same party, who
had been with him but a few minutes before. We could never ascertain
precisely in what manner this accident happened, but it was supposed
that he must have overreached himself in stooping for a bird that he
had killed. His remains were committed to the earth on Sunday the 10th,
with every solemnity which the occasion demanded, and our situation
would allow; and a tomb of stones, with a suitable inscription, was
afterward erected over the grave.

In order to obtain oil for another winter's consumption, before the
ships could be released from the ice, and our travelling parties having
seen a number of black whales in the open water to the northward, two
boats from each ship were, with considerable labour, transported four
miles along shore in that direction, to be in readiness for killing a
whale and boiling the oil on the beach, whenever the open water should
approach sufficiently near. Notwithstanding these preparations, however,
it was vexatious to find that on the 9th of July the water was still
three miles distant from the boats, and at least seven from Port Bowen.
On the 12th, the ice in our neighbourhood began to detach itself, and
the boats, under the command of Lieutenants Sherer and Ross, being
launched on the following day, succeeded almost immediately in killing a
small whale of "five feet bone," exactly answering our purpose. Almost
at the same time, and, as it turned out, very opportunely, the ice at
the mouth of our harbour detached it