BOURGEOIS - Toronto Public Library

1.42 W. F. WEN'11ZEL'S
Dear Sir,
LETTER No. 12.
Fort Chipewean, June 3rd, 1822.
Franklin's I continued travelling with the expedition from the 15th of
expedition. June to the 19th of July, when we reached the hyperborean sea.
The Commander immediately proceeded to take observations
and found a considerable error in the geographical calculations
of Mr. Hearne, who had placed the mouth of the Coppermine
river in latitude 69.30, whereas, by the more correct observations
of Capt. John Franklin it was ascertained to be in latitude
67 0 40 degrees north and 115.00 west longitude.
On our way down Coppermine river, we' fell in with three
parties of Esquimaux Indians, who, on seing us, made all possible
haste to fly from us and thus avoid an interview, altho'
they could not possibly have escaped us, if the measures proposed
to obtain intelligence with them had been adopted by the
Commander; however, as good fortune would have it, one old
man and his wife, from their infirm state, could not make good
their retreat, therefore an opportunity offered and was accordingly
not lost, of confering with them, but no solid information
could be derived from them respecting the sea coast or the
distance we had to travel before reaching Churchill; they
were igrrorant of such an establishment being in existence.
The sea was open two .months of the year; they lived in
snow houses during winter, warmed their dwellings with
lamps, cooked their victuals in stone pots, made fire with moss,
killed no other kind of whales but the black whale, were