The Sun.
London, England, 1840-04-20 00:00:00

EVENING EDITION.

which we lay became solid enough to bear up a man. A
more moderate interval succeeded this fierce outbreak.
Quitting the Continent again, at the large river already
mentioned, we struck N. N. W. for an extensive island, 22
miles oil, which we coasted (N. W.) for twenty miles;
and shortly before sunset on the 6th of September, stood
out from thence due north, for the nearest point of Vie..
toria iand, which proved equally distant.
We have never seen any thing more brilliant than the
Phosphoric gleaming of the waves when darkness set in.
The boats seemed to cleave a flood of molten silver, and
the spray dashed from their bows, before the fresh breeze
fell back, like showers of diamonds, into the deep. It was
a cold night, and when we at last made the land, cliffs,
faced with eternal ice, obliged us to run on for a couple of
leagues before we could take the shore with safety. The
coast of Victoria Land, which we explored for upwards of
one hundred and fifty 'Liles, is incomparably the boldest
we have met with in these seas. Often near the shore
no bottom could be found with thirty.five fathoms of line,
and the Corr.elian blue colour of the water everywhere in-
dicated its profound depth. There are several noble bays,
the largest of which north-west of Cape Alexander, is
twenty miles wide, and equally deep, backed by snow-clad
mountains. It attains to 69 deg. 40 min. north, the
highest latitude of this voyage. At length we reached
the extrewe point seen by Mr. Simpson from Cape Franklin
in 1838, w here the coast of this large country begins again
to bend northward of west, Cape Berron Wing, by com-
putation S. S. W., distant fifty miles. On the 10th of
September we crossed this magnificent strait, with nstrong
E. S. E. or side-wind, and a rough sea, in which our gal-
lant boats, old and worn out as they were, acquitted them-
selves beyond our niost sanguine hopes.
Our return from Cape Barron was miserably retarded
! by furious north-west winds and severe stress of weather.
Winter permanently set in on the 15th of September, and
next day, to the undisguised joy of the whole party, we re-
entered the Copperminc River, after by far the longest
voyage ever performed in boatsori the Polar Sea. Leaving
one of cur little craft, together with the remains of
the pemican (whic'a, through age and long exposure, was
become quite mouldy), and various other articles, as a
prize fur the first Esquimaux who may visit the Bloody
Fall, we ascended the river with our double crew in four
da.s, abandoned our tents, and everything but absolute
necessaries ; crossed the barren ground, up to to the knees
in snow, having unluckily left our snow-shoes on the
coast, and safely reached St Confidence at dusk on the
24th. The fisheries had failed worse than ever, and we
had good reason to congratulate ourselves on not being
doomed to pass a third winter within the arctic circle.
After settling with the Indians, liberally rewarding the
most deserviug, and supplying all with ammunition gra-
tuitously, we took. our departure on the evening of the
26th, to go into inland batteaus—one belonging to the cape.
dition, the other came from Fort Simpson sixteen days
before our arrival.

Our passage of Great Bear Lake was most boisterous
and inc!ement. In crossing the body of the lake, and
otlr..r considerable traverses, our boats, with everything
in them, and even the very clothes on our backs, became
converted into shapeless masses and concretions of ice. It
was high time for us to escape from Great Bear Lake. f'or
the temperature, which was at four degrees below Zero
when we landed at the head of the river, on the everting
of the 4th October, fell ten degrees below it in the' course
of the night ; end next day wedescended the rapid stream
in the very midst of the driving ice, On filtering Ore
Mackenze, we experienced A temporary rnitigatioa
of this excessive cold ; but we should most as-
suredly have stuck fast above Fort Norman, had not
the northern gales again arose in their strength, and while
they shattered and dispersed the rapidly-forming ice,
enabled us to stem the eurrePt under close reefed sails.
At noon, on the 14th of October, after forting our way
ith no small risk through the torreut et ice poured out by
the river of the mountains, we ranched this place, and were
cordially welcomed by our valuable friend, Chief Trader
NlTherson, vcho hat for come time given up all hopes of
our areival.

Most of bur people are still elided witli acute pains
and swdlinge in the limbs, caused by the cold and expo•
sure; and are assured by Mr. M.Phersan that he has never
known or heard of so early and rigorous a commencement
of wir.ter in Mackenzie's River. On the other hand. so
fine a Spring as 1839 seldom visits these frozen regions;
and to this favouring eircumstanc:.,, under Providence,
ought cur signal success to be partially ascribed.
Oct. -3tY.-I—The state of the ice it length enables us to
despatob carriers to Great Slave Lake. In the meantime,
Governor Simpson's highly tvalued letter of 17th June,
which unfortunately missed us on our way hither, has cut
up overland.

We rejoice in having anticipated the Russian expedition,
and secured to our country and the Company the indispu-
table honour of discovering the North West Passage, which
bas been an object of search to all maritime nations for three
centuries.

When our expedition was planned at Norway House in
1836, it was confidently expected that Sir George Bach
would have achieved the survey of the Gulf of Boc.thia
with the Terror's boats, end that our meeting at the mouth
of the Great Fish River would have left no blank in the
geography of Northern America. That officer's failure,
the eximust!on of our men and means, aid the necessity
of a new wintering ground, render a fresh expedition in-
dispensable for the examination of the Gulf of Boothia,
the circuit of lwhich, to the strait of the Fury and Heels,
according to the Esquimau' accounts, cannot be less than
400 or S3O miles.

It only remains fur us to recommend to your Honours'
approbation the plan proposed by Mr. Simpson to perfect
this interesting service, which, as he has no wish to avail
hiroscit of the ',cave of absence granted by Governor Simp.
son, he is prepared to follow up whenever the limited
mesas rerntired are placed at his disposal.
We have the honour to be,
Honourable Sirs,
Your most obedient humble servants,
PETER W. DEASE.
THOMAS SIMPSON.