Demoine courier., 1854-11-16
DIR. REA sLETTER TO SIR GEO. SIMPSON.
NpRK FscToRy. Aug. 4 1854

Ny Dear Sir George: our several
letters. public and private, of dates 10Th
June and LIST December, 1853, and l3h
and l6,k OF June, 1854. were handed
me on the 2Sth ult. on 10Y reaching
Churchill, and rejoiced to learn that
your heaI,h had benefited SO much b,
your visit to The north.
Let me now allude to the expedition
affairs. arrived here on the 3lst nit.
with my small party in excellent health,
but am sorry to say without having eft
iectet our object. At the sau e time. in
formation had been obtained and articles
purchased from the natives which place
the fate OF a portion, II not all, of the
survivors of Sir John Frauklin's miser
able party beyond d0ubi-a fate mos,
depiorable-death from starvation after
eanni6alisn as a means of proIOnging
life. r-.. ... ... .-.- -
reached my old quarters at Repulse
Bay on The i6 h of August. ard pre- par.
atoms were i'm medIateiy commenced for
wintenng. On the LIST of September !
explained to the men our position. the
stock OF provisions we had on hand, mot
more than three months ratioGs.) and
the prospects we had of getting more.
&c, &c, pointing out all the danger and
difficulty of oui position. All readily
volunteered 10 remain, and our oxertions
10 collect food and fuel went on wIlh IN.
abated energy. BY the end Of Seplem
Der, sl09 deer, Il musk OK, ID brace OF
PtarmIgan, and | seal had been shot, and
The neIs produced 1870 salmon.
vi the larger animals above enumera.
ted. 40 Geer and the musk OK were shot
by myself, 81 deer BIZ Mistegan. tthc
deer aunter,) Ii by one of the men. 0
by OultbucA. and i6 by the other four
mtn. The migration of The deer ter.
minated ABOUT the middle of October, and
% more animals were added 10 our
stock. s,-.-... .....-.ss. - ...
lob GA the 9Th OF October, the snow being
sufficiently hard for building. we were
happy 10 exchange our cold tents Tor The
more comfortable shelter of the. snow,
house. he winter was very severe, but
The temperature in our snow huls was
never SO low asgin the winter quarters OF
1867. Up to the l2,h of January We
had nets set under The ice in the lakes
The nets were taken up on that dale, as
they produced nothing. sr-.a sH .raoH
On the 2ist OF March my spring iour
ney commenced. bur in consequence OF
gales Of wind, deep and soft snow and
ioggy weather, we made but very lull-
progress. We did not enter Pelly Bay
until the l7.h. AT this place we me.
with Esquimaux, one OF whom, on be.
ing asked if he ever saw white people,
replied in The negative, bat said that a
large party, lat least 40 persons.) had
persisted from want of food some 10 or
IL days journey 10 the westward. The
substance of the information, obtained
at various times from various sources vas
as follows: taa Z a,-..
In the-s spring four winters past, (rhe
spring of .l650,) party of white men,
amounting 10 about 40, were seen travel
ing southwark over the ice, and draggiug
a boat with them, by some Esqulnaux
VIZ WIZ hiiiuS oCdlS VII we uoTlu size
of King Williams Land. hich is large
Island named Ke,ik-tsk by the Esqui
maux. None of the parry could speak
the native language inrelligibly, bu, by
signs were made to understand that their
ships or ship had been crushed by ice,
and that the .whites" were now going
to where they expected to find deer 10
shoo'. From the appearance of The men,
all OF whom. except one officer. (chief,)
looked Thin, they were then supposed to
be getting short Of provisions. and they
purchased small seal from the natives
A. Ia late dale the same season, but pre-.
yions to the disruption of the ice, The
bodies OF abou, thirty white men were
discovered on the continent, and five on
an island near it, abou, long days jour.
ney (thirly five or forty miles) to the
northwest of large stream, which can
be no other than Backs Great Fish riv-
,er, (namsd by the Esquimaux, Out.cosl
kLca-Ik,) as lis description and tina. OF
the low shore in the neighborhood Of
Point Ogle ard Montreal Island, agree
exactly with that of Sir George Back.
same nj tho hoi,.c b,i haa,, l,.:J