ifling things in their hands, vociferating "pilletay"
to such a degree that we could hardly hear ourselves speak. Some
more oil was obtained in exchange for pieces of iron hoop, and, at
a quarter before noon, the wind coming more to the southward, and
the ice being somewhat less close than before, we cast off and
made sail up the strait.

The wind and ice combined to favour us more and more as we
proceeded, the former both in strength and direction, and the
latter by opening into loose streams, so that, for the first time
since we entered Hudson's Strait, we were now enabled to set all
the studding-sails, with some prospect of deriving advantage from
them. The Hudson's Bay ships remained at anchor some time after we
made sail, and in the course of the evening we finally lost sight
of them. From this circumstance, as well as from the unimpeded
progress we had just begun to make to the westward, it was now
only that we considered our voyage as having fairly commenced.

We continued, on the first of August, to beat to the westward,
between Nottingham Island and the North Shore, the distance
between which is about four leagues, and the latter fringed with
numerous islands. In the course of the morning, several canoes and
one _oomiak_ came off from the mainland, containing about twenty
persons, more than half of whom were women and children. They
brought a little oil, some skin dresses, and tusks of the walrus,
which they were willing to exchange for any trifle we chose to
give them. They had also a number of toys of various kinds, such
as canoes with their paddles, spears, and bows and arrows, all on
a very large scale. Many of the jackets of these people, and
particularly those of the females, were lined with the skins of
birds, having the feathers inside; and they had also in the boat
several other skins in a prepared state, taken from the throat of
the _colymbus glacialis_, which splendid bird, though we had twice
found its skin in possession of the Esquimaux, we had yet not met
with ourselves.

The expedition being now about to enter upon ground not hitherto
explored, it became necessary for me to decide upon the route it
would be most advantageous to pursue for the accomplishment of the
principal objects pointed out in my instructions.

CHAPTER II.

Review of the Geographical Information obtained by the Researches
of former Navigators on the Coast of the American Continent, in
the Neighbourhood of Wager R