have any meaning attached to them, but to be the muttering and whining of strange syllables. He also practised a kind of ventriloquism; and modulated his voice so as to give it the effect of nearness and greater distance, in the depths to which he wished it to be believed he had descended. This farce lasted about twenty minutes; and on the re-admission of light, the actor gave an account of his adventures, and of what the spirits had told him. As a proof of the truth of his facts and the reality of his colloquies, he produced several stripes of fur which one of the spirits had fastened on the back of his skin-coat since he went down-which, indeed, his wife had been busily stitching on during the dark performance. An immense value is set upon the testimonies of supernatural intimacy; thus the Angekok declared that he would not exchange the spirits gifts, one of the stripes of fur, for any thing that could be offered to him; and it was with much difficulty, that captain Parry did prevail upon him to barter one for some highly-coveted article; nor would he part with any more. Their knowledge of figures is very limited-five and ten being their most obvious enumerations. When they wish to express the former, one hand is held up; the latter of course, requires both; but when the sum exceeds that number, the Esquimaux calls on a neighbour to help him out by holding up one or two hands as the occasion requires. The wives of two of the natives, one with a baby suckling (which nutriment they supply for several years), were taken on board the vessels for medical treatment, both being in the last stages of disease, and they died. The husband of

the mother evinced some distress, and howled a little when she expired; but very soon seemed to forget his loss. Yet he attended very sedulously to the proceedings of the Cablunæ. They enveloped the body decently, as is done with sailors, in a hammock, and dug a grave for its reception. To this it was borne, accompanied by the husband, who manifested much uneasiness. At last he made himself understood that he was afflicted by the confinement of the corpse. Having obtained a knife, he was permitted to gratify his own feelings, and he cut all the stitches which held the hammock together down the front, so as to give a kind of liberty to the dead form. The covering in of the grave with earth and stones seemed also to give him pain; but he asked leave to bury the living child with its dead mother. The reason assigned for this horrid proposal was, that, being a female, no woman would take the trouble to nurse it, as that was never done among them. The infant, without sustenance, died on the ensuing day, and was placed at the disposal of its parent, who drew it away in his sledge to a short distance, and raised a small mound of snow over its lifeless corpse.

In the management of the canoe, the Esquimaux are very expert. They are amazingly light, and formed of skin over whalebone. The largest which captain Parry obtained is twenty-six feet in length. In these, the native pursues his marine chase, and spears the fish and fowl. spear is double-pointed with bone, about six or seven inches in length, and barbed. The shaft is of very light wood, five or six feet long; and below the handle, or part by

The

which it is thrown, are three other barbed bones, standing out a few inches from the wood, and calcu lated to strike the prey, should the bi-forked point miss. A method of catching seals through a hole in the ice, is one of the most dexterous of Esquimaux contrivances: A line is let down, at the end of which is fastened a small piece of white bone or tooth, above an inch long, cut into a rude fish-form, and having two morsels of pyrites stuck into it to resemble eyes. This bait is drawn through the water, and when seals or other prey approach to examine it, the watchful native spears them from above. The knives used by the women are curiously constructed, and as cleverly employed in skinning animals, and carving victuals, as the instruments of hunting are by the men. Spectacles are another of their articles. They consist of a piece of wood scraped thin, like a bandage, and perforated with two narrow horizontal slits, something like pig's eyes, where we should have glasses; a rim about an inch broad projects in the same direction as that of a hat would; and this simple mechanical process, tied about the head, protects the eyes from the drifting snow and spicule.

The absence of the sun was experienced for about a month. In June (the 9th) the first flower was seen: a small but richly-coloured blue of the Saxifrage genus. To beguile the tedious time, our countrymen occasionally lived in tents on shore, and hunted, shot, and fished, for the general consumption. Rein-deer were sometimes killed; the carcase of the largest weighed (without offal) 150lbs. These were very acceptable to the ships' companies; but their fresh

provisions were not always so dain ty as venison. The hearts, livers and kidneys of whales and wal russes (brought by the Esquimaux) were not irreconcileable to European palates; and many a hearty meal was made on these not very delicate dishes. According to the report of the natives, there were rein-deer on the large island to wards the north. No musk osen were seen in any part; and from the same authority it was gathered, that they only appeared to the westward of the longitude to which the expedition penetrated. Gardening was another expedient for occupying the time, and sup plying the table. Mustard and cress were grown as on the preceding voyage, and served out to the men in considerable quantities, to the great benefit of their health. Their loss amounted to five men in the two years and a half. The first two died in the Fury within twenty-four hours of each other, in 1822-the one, of internal in flammation, and the other of a consumption of long standing. They were consigned to one grave; and a tumulus of stones placed over their bones; their names, &c. being engraved on largest. Soon afterwards, a sailor of the Hecla fell from the mast, and dislocated his neck. He died on the spot. Last spring, another sailor died of dysentery in the same ship; and about six weeks ago, Mr. Fyffe, the master, fell a victim to the scurvy, while on the passage home. It does not appear, that any far excursions were at tempted from the ships overland. The chief journey was performed by lieutenant Hoppner, and a party under his command, in consequence of news brought by the Esqui maux that two ships had been

one of the

wrecked last year (1822) five days' journey to the north-east, where the wrecks still remained. Lieut. Hoppner and his party set out accompanied by the natives as guides; but, after travelling a few days, the latter declared they would proceed no farther.

On the voyage home, the ships touched at Winter Island, and

were surprised to find their garden vegetables thriving. Whether the plants had re-sown themselves or sprung again from the roots, could not be ascertained; but the singular fact of salads and peas growing spontaneously on the arctic circle was exhibited to the wonder of the visitors.

THE form of Niagara Falls is that of an irregular semicircle, about three quarters of a mile in extent. This is divided into two distinct cascades by the intervention of Goat Island, the extremity of which is perpendicular, and in a line with the precipice over which the water is projected. The cataract on the Canada side of the river is called the Horse-shoc, or Great Fall, from its peculiar form -and that next the United States the American Fall.

Three extensive views of the Falls may be obtained from three different places. In general, the first opportunity travellers have of seeing the cataract is from the highroad, which, at one point, lies near the bank of the river. This place, however, being considerably above the level of the Falls, and a good way beyond them, affords a view that is comparatively imperfect and unimposing.

The Table Rock, from which the Falls of Niagara may be contemplated in all their grandeur, lies on an exact level with the edge of the cataract on the Canada side, and indeed forms a part of the precipice over which the water gushes. It derives its name from the circumstance of its projecting beyond the cliffs that support it

like the leaf of a table. To gain this position, it is necessary to descend a steep bank, and to follow a path that winds among shrubbery and trees, which entirely conceal from the eye the scene that awaits him who traverses it. When near the termination of this road, a few steps carried me beyond all these obstructions, and a magnificent amphitheatre of cataracts burst upon my view with appalling suddenness and majesty. However, in a moment the scene was concealed from my eyes by a dense cloud of spray, which involved me so completely, that I did not dare to extricate myself. A mingled rushing and thundering filled my ears. I could see nothing except when the wind made a chasm in the spray, and then tremendous cataracts seemed to encompass me on every side, while below, a raging and foaming gulph of undiscoverable extent lashed the rocks with its hissing waves, and swallowed, under a horrible obscurity, the smoking floods that were precipita ted into its bosom.

*At first the sky was obscured by clouds, but after a few minutes the sun burst forth, and the breeze subsiding at the same time, permitted the spray to ascend perpendicularly. A host of pyramidal

clouds rose majestically, one after another, from the abyss at the bottom of the Fall; and each, when it had ascended a little above the edge of the cataract, displayed a beautiful rainbow, which in a few moments was gradually transferred into the bosom of the cloud that immediately succeeded. The spray of the Great Fall had extended itself through a wide space directly over me, and, receiving the full influence of the sun, exhibited a luminous and magnificent rainbow, which continued to over-arch and irradiate the spot on which I stood, while I enthusiastically contemplated the indescribable scene. Any person, who has nerve enough (as I had), may plunge his hand into the water of the Great Fall, after it is projected over the precipice, merely by lying down flat, with his face beyond the edge of the Table Rock, and stretching out his arm to its utmost extent. The experiment is truly a horrible one, and such as I would not wish to repeat; for, even to this day, I feel a shuddering and recoiling sensation, when I recollect having been in the posture above described.

The body of water which composes the middle part of the Great Fall is so immense, that it descends nearly two-thirds of the space without being ruffled or broken, and the solemn calmness with which it rolls over the edge of the precipice is finely contrasted with the perturbed appearance it assumes after having reached the gulf below. But the water towards each side of the Fall is shattered the moment it drops over the rock, and loses as it descends, in a great measure, the character of a fluid, being divided into

pyramidal-shaped fragments, the bases of which are turned upwards. The surface of the gulf below the cataract presents a very singular aspect; seeming, as it were, filled with an immense quantity of hoar frost, which is agitated by small and rapid undulations. The particles of water are dazzlingly white, and do not apparently unite together, as might be supposed, but seem to continue for a time in a state of distinct comminution, and to repel each other with a thrilling and shivering motion which cannot easily be described.

The noise made by the Horse shoe Fall, though very great, is infinitely less than might be ex pected, and varies in loudness according to the state of the atmos phere. When the weather is clear and frosty, it may be distinctly heard at the distance of ten or twelve miles; but much further when there is a steady breeze: however, I have frequently stood upon the declivity of the high bank that overlooks the Table Rock, and distinguished a low thundering only, which at times was altogether drowned amidst the roaring of the rapids above the cataract. In my opinion, the concave shape of the Great Fall explains this circumstance. noise vibrates from one side of the rocky recess to the other, and a little only escapes from its confinement; and even this is less distinctly heard than it would otherwise be, as the profusion of spray renders the air near the cataract a very indifferent conductor of sound.

The

The road to the bottom of the Fall presents many more difficul ties than that which leads to the Table Rock. After leaving the Table Rock, the traveller must

proceed down the river nearly half a mile, where he will come to a small chasm in the bank, in which there is a spiral staircase enclosed in a wooden building. By descending this stair, which is seventy or eighty feet perpendicular height, he will find himself under the precipice on the top of which he formerly walked. A high but sloping bank extends from its base to the edge of the river; and on the summit of this there is a narrow slippery path, covered with angular fragments of rock, which leads to the Great Fall. The impending cliffs, hung with a profusion of trees and brushwood, overarch this road, and seem to vibrate with the thunders of the cataract. In some places they rise abruptly to the height of one hundred feet, and display upon their surfaces, fossil shells, and the organic remains of a former world; thus sublimely leading the mind to contemplate the convulsions which nature has undergone since the creation. As the traveller advances, he is frightfully stunned by the appalling noise; clouds of spray sometimes envelope him, and suddenly check his faltering steps,-rattlesnakes start from the cavities of the rocks, and the scream of eagles soaring among the whirlwinds of eddying vapour which obscure the gulf of the cataract, at intervals announce that the raging waters have hurled some bewildered animal over the precipice. After scrambling among piles of huge rocks that obstruct his way, the traveller gains the bottom of the Fall, where the soul can be susceptible only of one emotion, that of uncontrollable terror.

It was not until I had, by frequent excursions to the Falls, in some measure familiarized my

mind with their sublimities, that I ventured to explore the penetralia of the Great Cataract. The precipice over which it rolls is very much arched underneath, while the impetus which the water receives in its descent projects it far beyond the cliff, and thus an immense Gothic arch is formed by the rock and the torrent. Twice I entered this cavern, and twice I was obliged to retrace my steps, lest I should be suffocated by the blast of dense spray that whirled around me; however, the third time, I succeeded in advancing about twenty-five yards. Here darkness began to encircle me; on one side, the black cliff stretched itself into a gigantic arch far above my head, and on the other, the dense and hissing- torrent formed an impenetrable sheet of foam, with which I was drenched in a moment. The rocks were so slippery, that I could hardly keep my feet, or hold securely by them; while the horrid din made me think the precipices above were tumbling down in colossal fragments upon my head.

It is not easy to determine how far an individual might advance between the sheet of water and the rock; but were it even possible to explore the recess to its utmost extremity, scarcely any one, I believe, would have courage to attempt an expedition of the kind.

A little way below the Great Fall, the river is, comparatively speaking, so tranquil, that a ferryboat plies between the Canada and American shores, for the convenience of travellers. When I first crossed, the heaving flood tossed about the skiff with a violence that seemed very alarming; but as soon as we gained the middle of the river, my attention was altogether engaged by the surpassing grandeur