The Fury then made sail and stood to
the eastward, encountering the usual strength of tide off the southwest
point of Tangle Island, and soon after a great quantity of heavy
drift-ice, apparently not long detached from some land.
I determined to avoid, if possible, the entanglement of the Fury among
the ice, which now surrounded her on every side, and to stand back to
Igloolik, to hear what information Captain Lyon's journey might have
procured for us.
At the distance of one third of a mile from Tangle Island, where we
immediately gained the open sea beyond, we observed the Hecla standing
towards us, and rejoined her at a quarter before eleven, when Captain
Lyon came on board to communicate the result of his late journey, of
which he furnished me with the following account, accompanied by a
sketch of the lands he had seen, as far as the extremely unfavourable
state of the weather would permit.
"Accompanied by George Dunn, I found Toolemak on landing, who
welcomed us to his tent, in which for two hours it was scarcely
possible to move, in consequence of the crowd who came to gaze at
us. A new deerskin was spread for me, and Dunn having found a corner
for himself, we all lay down to sleep, not, however, until our host,
his wife, their little son, and a dog, had turned in beside me,
under cover of a fine warm skin, all naked except the lady, who,
with the decorum natural to her sex, kept on a part of her clothes.
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