The Sun.
London, England, 1838-04-19 00:00:00

IMPORTANT FROM CIRCASSIA.

The following letter from an English gentlemen 'on the
ccast of Circassia is copied from the columns of a 'Morning
Contemporary :

" SENIEZ, MARCH 3.—An express has this de.-
y arrived here
from the south, bringing intelligence of a gr',:at and decisive
victory won by the Circassians at Shush'en. The Russians
having suddenly appeared in the harbo:,:cr with 20 ships of war,
effected a lauding without any
sistance on the part of the
i
Circassians, and having nvited'ene latter to a conference, they
t.)ld them it was their intention to erect a fort there, and re-
commended them to submit with a good grace. The Circassians
promised them an answer irk a few days. In the meanwhile
the gathering cry spread sreiftly through the adjacent country.
At Vardan, Ouwyn, and Rhissa, the Koran was suspended
in the usual manner, and a solemn oath was taken by every
warrior that he would neva- revisit his horne' and family
till they had expelled the invader from thei,.. shores. The
united 'force of the Circassians, when asserabled under their
loaders, Übish Hadji, Bersek Islam, and Z-efkar Bey, amounted
to 7,000. The scene of action, consist.'wg of an amphitheatre
of wooded hills encircling the Bay of Shushen, was most fa-
vourable to the operationa of the -defenders, who poured from
their covert a murderous fire into the Russian ranks. Thu
latter, after a futile attempt to dislodge them, fell in confu-
sion, and were then charged and ,routed by the Cireassi4a
horse. The reserve then advanced to cover their retreat and
embarkation ; but the Circassians, in the full tide of success,
were not easily to be checked, and before these ohj2etee could
he completed, the sea, covered with floating carcases, ap-
peared no less blood-st Lined than the shore. The'n events
occurred about nine days ago, and have greath) encouraged
the people of Natiikoitch, who will probably exert themselves
more than they did the last campaign, and e.adeavour, in the
reception they give to the Russians, not to 'tie outdone by the
people of the south.

The last day of the annual promenade of Long-
champs, so celebrated in the annals of Parisian fashion, was
yesterday brightened by a brilliant sun, with a clear blue sky,.
and consequently, the display of the beau monde in the
Champs Elysees presented a scene of animation and opulence
only to be rivalled in one city in the world, that city (need we
name it ?) being London. The gay and well-dressed crowd be-
gan to congregate about 2, but it was not until near 4 that the
elite of the fashionable circles made their tardy appearance in
the glittering throng. At this hour th,..0 splendour and variety
of the equapages, with the elegance of the costumes sported
by their fair denizens for the first ti'.nu on they day, according
to the hnmutoble pandects of the. Goddess of Fashion, gave
the Champs Elysees and its approaches an air of enchant-
ing animation and gaiety. Among the equipages were
several belonging to his Royal Highness the Duke of
Orleans, whose carriage stud, we are glad to -p,:reeive, is
highly improved, and is now consonant with the. rank of the
royal owner. Several English nobility sported carriages and
horses of finished beauty, and the inner drive, reserved for the
privileged, exhibited a number of four-in-hands which our
friend " Nimrod" himself would have pronounced unexcep.
tionable. The aristocracy of the diplomatic, legislative, and
monied worlds. were duly represented by the elegant car-
ri'ges of the British Ambassador with his family, a majority
of the Peers and Deputies, the Rothchilds. the Aguados, &e.
and the number of Italian, S•panish, American, and other
foreign equipages, were imnymge. The appearance of the
Envoy of Abd-el-Rader and his suite in an open ealeche,
dressed in their rich and striking Arabian costume, heigh-
tened the scene, and attracted no little attention. The eques.
irians were also numerous, many being beautifully mounted ;
but every picture has its dark side, and truth obliges us to
state that the very sight of some of the quadrupeds which
ligurnd in this portion oh the day's exhibition, would have
thrown the famous Tattersall into a cold. perspiration; some
of their riders, too, had evidently essayed the art of equita-
tion for the first time in their lives, rand looked painfully alive
to the dangers of their rash experiment. Haekney-coaches,
and particularly queer-looking cabriolets, were iikr..wise to be
found among the carriages; and we think we saw something
greatly resembling a superannuated omnibus in the line.
These, however, only gave variety to the passing scene,
which, we repeat, was one that, for richness, beauty. and
g,:iety, has scarcely a parallel in Europe l—Galignani's Mes-
senger.

MELANCHOLY AND FATAL ACCIDENT.—It is ,
our painful task to relate a most afflicting event, which oc-
curred yesterday, and by which two of the most highly-
,esteemed families in the county of Lincoln have been thrown
into the direst grief. Mr. Girdlestone, jun., of Stibbington
Hall, being tempted by the beauty of the day, took Mrs. and
hiss Helen Wing ( to the latter of whom, a beautiful ycung:
lady of nineteen, he was about to be united), in a pleasure-
boat on the rive,: Nene, near Wansford, having only a boy
to assist him is the, nianageno nt of the boat. !is they reached
that part of the stream beyond Wausford ',Launch a sudden
gust of wind upset the boat on its tacl-; , precipitating the
whole party into the water. Messrs. 'k2.ompton, Clapham,
and two other gentlemen, seeing the accident from the bridge,
immediately ran to the assistance of the sufferers, and on ar-
riving at the spot they found that Mr, Girdlestone had
reached the shore. On looking around hint he could not
di,cern the slightest &ipso': tr.e bodies of the lathes, and ima-
t6iiing there to be ender ..he boat, which had drifted down
for about a hundred yards., he seized a rope, with which tie
plunged into the water; be reached the boat, and tying the
cord to the mast, he righted it. Not finding the bodies there,
the unfortunate gentleman uttered a shriek of the most pier
ing :agony, and again reached the shore. By this time nearly
twenty minutes had elapsed, when the body of Miss Wing
momentarily rose to the surface, and was brought to shore.
Mr. Clapham ran with it to the nearest hout,e, where every
means were used for more than two hours to restore anima-
ti n, but without avail. In a few minutes aite-wards the body
of Mrs. Wing was brought cut by those dragging' the river,
and all efforts t. 4. save her proved equally as abortlve as those
used to restore animation to the young lady. Mr. Girdlestone,
who was in a state bordering upon madness, was with difficulty,
tiraE,Te•ed from the fatal spot and ceirried home to his afflicted
family, and the bodies of tl:e mother and daughter were con-
veyed in a postchaise to Thorr,naugh-heuse, where the Rev.
Mr. Wing was made acquainvid with his loss.
.
Chronicle. loss..—.ll;ncolnshirs

HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY'S ARC-
TIC DISCOVERY EXPEDITION.

The lively interest which the British public have for such a
length of time manifested in the further discovery of the
Arctic regions induced the Hudson's Bay Company to deter-
mine on equipping an expedition, solely at their own expence,
and composed of their own officers and servants, with the view
of endeavouring to complete the survey of the northern shores
of the American continent,
The formation and equipment of the expedition were en-
trusted to Mr. Simpson, the resident Governor in the spring
of 1836. That gentleman on his arrival from England at Nor-
way-house, Lake Winnipeg, in the month of June of the same
year, beat up for volunteers for this arduous service, two active
and enterprising leaders, Messrs. P. W. Dease and Thomas
Simpson, and twelve men were immediately selected and for-
warded with the necessary supplies to Fort Chipewayan, Atha-
basca Lake, where they passed the winter of 1836-7. Imme-
diately after the opening of the navigation on the Ist June,
1837, the party started from Fort Chipewayan in two small
boats which they had constructed in the course of the
winter, descended the Slave River, passed the western end of
Great Slave Lake, where they were detained several days by
ice, and descended Mackenzie's River to Fort Norman, where
they arrived on the Ist of July. From Fort Norman they
dispatched two of their party, with two other men belonging
to Fort Norman, to the eastern end of Great Bear's Lake, for
the purpose of erecting a small establishment at which they
might take up their quarters for the following winter, and of
laying up a stock of provisions preparatory to an extension of
their survey in the summer of 1838. These arrangements
being made, Messrs. Dease and Simpson, with the remainder
of their people, forming a party of twelve in all, continued
their route down the Mackenzie, and reached Fort Good
Hope, the most northern establishment belonging to the
Company on the 40., where they found an assemblage of Hare
and I,aucheoux Indians, from they learned that the Esquimaux
had killed three of their party a short time previous, which
prevented the discoverers taking an interpreter from that

On the 9th of July they reached the ocean by the most
westerly mouth of the Mackenzie, making its situation in lat.
68 deg. 49 min. 23 sec. N., long. 136 deg. 36 min. 45 sec.
W. They had proceeded but a short distance to seaward
when a party of nineteen Esquimaux went off to them from
Tent Island, who showed a disposition to be troublesome, but
:returned to their encampment when they found the party pre-
par dto defend themselves if necessary. The progress of the
party along the coast was very slow, owing to frequent ob-
structions from ice, cold, dense fogs, and strong head-winds.
Oa the afternoon of the 11th they reached Point Kay. where
the: found another encampment of Esquimaux, and where
th-v were detained by a compact body of ice, occupying
P ,dips Bay until the 14th. They continued their route till
the 17th, when an unbroken pack of ice extending to seaward
'nee :0 them seek the shore in Camden Bay, near a large camp of
Esquimaux, who received them kindly. In the afternoon there
apyeared a narrow passage of water through the ice stretch-
ing outwards, and they immediately embarked, but had not
proceeded above three miles from the land when the ice sud-
denly closed upon them, squeezing one of their boats, which,
'pith their provisions and baggage, they had much difficulty in
ming; and by means of portag: a from one piece of ice to
another, the oars serving as bridges, they finally got on a large
fie-, where they passed an inclement and anxious night. On
the 20th they reached Foggy Islands Bay, when they were
stopped by ice and a violent north-east wind until the 233,
*laving on the preceding day made an ineffectual attempt to
w, stlier Point Anxiety, in which they narrowly escaped with
a thorough drenching. The latitude ashore was 70 deg. 9
sii;ti. 48 sec. Feon this situation they had the satisfaction of
ei.2scovering a range of the Rocky Mount ins to the west-
u -rd of the Remanzeff chain, and not seen by Sir
J 'en Franklin, but being within the limit of his
se., vey. called it the Franklin Range, as a just tribute
to Li. on, -enter and merits. That evening- they reached
S r John F. anklin's Return Reef. where their survey com-
menced, that isi.ceer having got no farther. Re:urn Reef is
on, of „hai„f Beefs which run for twenty miles pareilel to
the coast, at the dist:anee of about half a league, affording
suilicient water within for their small craft. The mainland is
very low. From Point Berens • to Cape Halkett it forms
Harrison's Bay, fifty miles beoad, by about a third of that dis-
tance in depth. At the bottom of this bay ancther picturesque
br ,nch of the Rocky Mountains Range rears its lofty peak
above these flat shores, which they named Pelly's Mountains-
in'iloeour of the Governor of the Company. At their bas
;flews Colvile's River, two miles broad at its mouth, to th
Spa btli-west of which stands Cape Halkett, where they wcr
eese.;ned by a north-cast gale the whole of the following day.
71, c,sentry extending to the felt of the mountains appeared
to canals,` of plains covered with short grass and mess, a fa-
%revise resee't of reindeer, of which they sew numerous herds.
Ohservetiees were obteined determining Cape Halkett to be
in. lat. 70 deg. il mire N., long. 152 deg. 14 min. IV. ; the
vas i Lion of the cons;eass 43 deg. 8 min. 33 sec. E.
Next morning, 26th July, they passed the Gany, a r:ver
about one mile broad.
From Cape thlkett the coast turned suddenly off to the
:V.N. W. It presented to the eye nothing but a succession
of .'ow banks of frozen mud. In the evening they passed the
teout,tia of a large stream, which they named Smith's River.
From thence for about nine miles the coast line is formed of
gravel reefs, near the extremity of which, at Point Pitt, the
r,,
ice until t.
:ri trenrta more to the westward. Here they were detained
Iby
he following afternoon (27th), when an opening
tr sented itselt, they resumed their route. It blew a cutting
ast from the .north-east, and the salt water froze upon
:the oars and the rigging. Point Drew, seven miles
di 'ant from their last encampment, is the com-
ity neement of a bay' .of considerable size, but ex-
tremely shallow, and much encumbered with ice. To sea-
ward the ice was still smooth and solid, as in the depth of
a sunless winter. At midnight trey reached a narrow project-
jese point, across which the peaks of some high icebergs ap-
peeeed. This point they named Cape George Simpson, as a
mark of respect for the Governor of the Company's territories,
to whcette excellent arrangements the success of the expedition
is in a great measure indebted.
This pennet was destined to he the limit of their boat naviga-
tion, for dori,ng the four following days they were only able to
advance as mar; v miler. The weather was foggy and dismally
cold, the wild foes' passed in long flights to the westward, and
there seemed little prospect of their being able to reach Bee-
chey's Point Barros' by water. Boat Extreme is situated in
lat. 71 deg. 3 min. 24 sec. N., long. 154 deg. 26 min. 30 sec.
NV., variation of compas 42 deg. 36 rnin. 18 sec. E.
Under these circumstances Mr. Thomas Simpson under-
took to complete the journey on foot, and accordingly started
On the Ist of August with five men, Mr. Deese and the other
five men remaining in eharge of the boats.
The pedestrians carried with them their arms, some ammu-
nition, peruican, a small oiled canvass canoe for crossing the
rivers, the necessary astronomical instruments, and a few
trinkets for the natives.
It was one of the worst days of the whole season, and the
fog was so denso that the party were under the necessity of
rigidly following the tortnous outline of the coast, which for
20 miles formed a sort of irregular inland lay (being guarded
Without by a series of grave! reefs), the shore of which was
almost on a level with the water, and intersected by
innumerable salt creeks, through which they waded,
besides three considerable rivers which they traversed in their
porteble canoe. Next day the weather improved, and at noon
Mr. Simpson had an observation for lat. in 71 deg. 9 min. 43
sec. The land now inclined to the south-west, and continued
very low and muddy, and, as on the preceding day, abounding
in salt creeks, whose waters were at the freezing temperature. ,
The party had proceeded about ten miles, when to their dismay
the coast suddenly turned off to the southward, forming an :
inlet a; far as the eye could reach.
At the same moment they descried at no great distance a
smal camp of Esquirsaaux, to which they immediately directed
their steps. The men were absent hunting, and the women
and children took to their boat in the greatest alarm, leaving
behind them an infirm man, who wen; in an agony of fear. A
few words of friendship removed his avorehensions, and brought
back the fugitives, who were equally sus prised and delighted to
behold white men. They sat before the party fresh reindeer
meat and seal oil.

Mr. Simpson now determined to adopt a 121 ore expeditious
mode of travelling, by obtaining the loan of thcir "oomiaks,"
or family akin canoes, to convey the party to Point Barrow,
with which, from a chart drawn by one of the women, it ap-
peared that these people were well acquainted.
Four oars were fitted with lashings to this strange eraft.
Before starting the hunters arrived, and presents of tobacco,
Awls, buttons, &c., were made to all the inmates of the en-
campment, with which they were highly gratified.
Dease's Inlet is five miles broad at this place, yet so low is
the land that the one shore is just visible from the other in
the clearest weather. It now again blew strongly from the
north-east, bringing back the cold dense fog ; but the traverse
was effected by the aid of the compass. The waves ran high,
and the skin-boat surmounted them with great buoyancy; the
party encamped on the west side of the inlet. The banks
there were of frozen mud, ten or twelve feet high ; the
-country within was perfectly flat, abounded in small lakes,
.and produced a very short grass; but nowhere had the
:thaw penetrated more than two inches beneath the surface,
ta,'-dle under water along the shore the bottom was still
impenetrably frozen. Not a log of wood was to be found in
this land of desolation ; but our party followed the example of
the natives, and made their fire of the roots of the dwarf wil-
low in a little chimney of turf. Next morning, August 3, the
fog cleared for awhile, but it was still bitterly cold, and the
swell beat violently on Oe outside of a heavy line of ice which
lay packed upon the short-
To weather this was a wo.-k of danger, but the good quali-
ties of their boat, after a severe trial, carried them safely
through. The land ran out for five smiles to the northward,
then turned off to the N. W. heyotal which, at Point Christie,
the lat. 71 deg. 12 min. 36 sec. was observed. Front thence
the coast trended more westerly for ten miles, formin,g two
p, >nits and a bay, which Mr. Simpson named after chief fac-
t' a Charles and Rowand, and chief trader Ross. The party
the > came up to what appeared a large bay, where they
halts ‘d for two or three hours to await the dispersion of the fog
not Knowing which way to steer. In the evening their wish
was gratified, and the weather from that time was sensibly ame-
liorator!. The bay was now ascertained to be only four miles
in width : the depth half-way across, was 13- fathom.
on a bottom of land ; that of Dease's Inlet was afterwards
found to be two fathoms, muddy bottom, being the greatest
411 d‘ - 'nt Barrow, except at ten
'here three fathoms were
.ossing Mackenzie's Bay,
nine miles to the
' other remarkable objects
Beeehey's Cape Barrow,
Simpson after the Gover-
Bay Company, and other
'ad,. •

rt

A compact body of ice extended all along, and beyond the '
reach of vision to seaward ; but the party carried their light
vessel within that formidable harrier, and made their way
through the narrow channels close to the shore.
At midnight they passed the mouth of a fine deep river, a
quarter of a mile wide, to which Mr. Simpson gave the name
of the Bellevue, and in less than an hour afterwards the rising
sun gratified him with the view of Point Barrow, stretching
out to the N.N. W. They soon crossed Elson Bay, which,
in the perfect calm, had acquired a tough coating of young
ice, but had much difficulty in making their way through a
broad and heavy pack that rested upon the shore. On reach-
ing it, and seeing the ocean extending away to the southward,
they hoisted their flag, and with three cheers took possession
of their discoveries in his Majesty's name.
Point Barrow is a long low spit, composed of gravel and
coarse sand, which the pressure of the ice has forced up into
numerous mounds, that, viewed from a distance, assume the
appearanee of huge boulder rocks. At the spot where the
party landed, it is only a quarter of a mile across, but is
broader towards its termination. The first object that pre-
sented itself on looking round the landing-place, was an im-
mense cemetery. The bodies lay exposed in the most horrible
and disgusting manner, and many of them appeared so fresh
that the men became alarmed that the cholera, or some other
dreadful disease, was raging among the natives. Two consi-
derable camps of the latter stood at no great distance on the
point, but none of the inmates ventured to approach till our
party first visited them, and, with the customary expressions
of friendship, dissipated their apprehensions.
A brisk traffic then began, after which the women formed a
circle, and danced to a variety of airs, some of which were
pleasing to the ear. The whole conduct of these people was
friendly in the extreme ; they seemed to be well acquainted
with the character, if not the persons, of white men, and were
passionately fond of tobacco.
To the northward enormous icebergs covered the ocean ;
but on the western side there was a fine open channel, which
the Esquimaux assured the party extended all along to the
southward, and so inviting was the prospect in that direction,
that had such been his object Mr. Simpson would not have
hesitated a moment to prosecute the voyage to Cook's Inlet in
his skin canoe. The natives informed him that whales were
numerous to the northward of the point, and seals were every-
where sporting among the ice.
It was high water between one and two o'clock A. M. and
P M. ; the rise of the tide was fourteen inches, and the flow
came from the westward. Observations were obtained which
determine the position of the landing-place to be in let 71
deg. 23 min. 33 sec. N., long. 156 deg. 20 min 0 sec. W.,
agreeing closely with the observations of Mr. Elson. Then
bidding adieu to their good-humoured and admiring enter-
tainers, the party set out on their return.
They reached the western mouth of the M'Kenzie on the
th of August, and Fort Norman on the 4th of September,
fr( m whence their report is dated on the following day.
From Fort Norman they were about to proceed to the east-
ern end of Great Bear's Lake, there to pass the winter, from
thence haul their boats across to the Coppermine River, and
resume their survey to the eastward at the opening of the na-
vigation in July next, with the view of connecting the dis-
coveries of Sir John Franklin and Captain Back from Point
Turnagain to Great Fish River, in which, from the activity
and perseverance of the leaders, it is confidently hoped they
will be successful.

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