Embarking at four on the morning of the 12th we proceeded against a fresh piercing north-east wind which raised the waves to a height that quite terrified our people, accustomed only to the navigation of rivers and lakes.  We were obliged however to persevere in our advance, feeling as we did that the short season for our operations was hastening away, but after rounding Cape Croker the wind became so strong that we could proceed no farther.  The distance we had made was only six miles on a north-east by east course.  The shore on which we encamped is formed of the debris of red sandstone and is destitute of vegetation.  The beach furnished no driftwood and we dispensed with our usual meal rather than expend our pemmican.  Several deer were seen but the hunters could not approach them; they killed two swans.  We observed the latitude 68 degrees 1 minute 20 seconds where we had halted to breakfast this morning.

August 13.

Though the wind was not much diminished we were urged by the want of firewood to venture upon proceeding.  We paddled close to the shore for some miles and then ran before the breeze with reefed sails scarcely two feet in depth.  Both the canoes received much water and one of them struck twice on sunken rocks.  At the end of eighteen miles we halted to breakfast in a bay which I have named after Vice-Admiral Sir William Johnstone Hope, one of the Lords of the Admiralty.

We found here a considerable quantity of small willows such as are brought down by the rivers we had hitherto seen, and hence we judged that a river discharges itself into the bottom of this bay.  A paddle was also found which Augustus on examination declared to be made after the fashion of the White Goose Esquimaux, a tribe with whom his countrymen had had some trading communication as has been mentioned in a former part of the narrative.

This morning we passed the embouchure of a pretty large stream and saw the vestiges of an Esquimaux encampment not above a month old.  Having obtained the latitude 68 degrees 6 minutes 40 seconds North we recommenced our voyage under sail, taking the precaution to embark all the pieces of willow we could collect, as we had found the driftwood become more scarce as we advanced.  Our course was directed to a distant point which we supposed to be a cape, and the land stretching to the westward of it to be islands, but we soon found ourselves in an extensive bay from which no outlet could be perceived but the one by which we had entered.  On examination however from the top of a hill we perceived a winding shallow passage running to the north-west which we followed for a short time and then encamped, having come twenty-three miles north by east half east.

Some articles left by the Esquimaux attracted our attention; we found a winter sledge raised upon four stones, with some snow-shovels and a small piece of whalebone.  An ice-chisel, a knife and some beads were left at this pile.  The shores of this bay, which I have named after Sir George Warrender, are low and clayey and the country for many miles is level and much intersected with water, but we had not leisure to ascertain whether they were branches of the bay or freshwater lakes.  Some white geese were seen this evening and some young gray ones were caught on the beach being unable to fly.  We fired at two reindeer but without success.