Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea, in the Years 1819-20-21-22, Volume 1 | Page 3

the late Sir Alexander Mackenzie, who was one of
the two persons who had visited the coast we were to explore. He
afforded me, in the most open and kind manner, much valuable
information and advice.
The provisions, instruments, and other articles, of which I had
furnished a list, by direction of the Lords Commissioners of the
Admiralty, were embarked on board the Hudson's Bay Company's ship
Prince of Wales, appointed by the committee to convey the Expedition
to York Factory, their principal establishment in Hudson's Bay.
It will be seen, in the course of the Narrative how much reason I had to
be satisfied with, and how great my obligations are to, all the
Gentlemen who were associated with me in the Expedition, whose
kindness, good conduct, and cordial co-operation, have made an
impression which can never be effaced from my mind. The unfortunate
death of Mr. Hood is the only drawback which I feel from the
otherwise unalloyed pleasure of reflecting on that cordial unanimity
which at all times prevailed among us in the days of sunshine, and in
those of "sickness and sorrow."
To Dr. Richardson, in particular, the exclusive merit is due of whatever
collections and observations have been made in the department of
Natural History; and I am indebted to him in no small degree for his
friendly advice and assistance in the preparation of the present
narrative.

The charts and drawings were made by Lieutenant Back, and the late
Lieutenant Hood. Both these gentlemen cheerfully and ably assisted me
in making the observations and in the daily conduct of the Expedition.
The observations made by Mr. Hood, on the various phenomena
presented by the Aurora Borealis[1], will, it is presumed, present to the
reader some new facts connected with this meteor. Mr. Back was
mostly prevented from turning his attention to objects of science by the
many severe duties which were required of him, and which obliged him
to travel almost constantly every winter that we passed in America; to
his personal exertions, indeed, our final safety is mainly to be attributed.
And here I must be permitted to pay the tribute, due to the fidelity,
exertion and uniform good conduct in the most trying situations, of
John Hepburn, an English seaman, and our only attendant, to whom in
the latter part of our journey we owe, under Divine Providence, the
preservation of the lives of some of the party.
[1] Given in the Appendix to the Quarto Edition.
I ought, perhaps, to crave the reader's indulgence towards the defective
style of this work, which I trust will not be refused when it is
considered that mine has been a life of constant employment in my
profession from a very early age. I have been prompted to venture upon
the task solely by an imperious sense of duty, when called upon to
undertake it.
In the ensuing Narrative the notices of the moral condition of the
Indians as influenced by the conduct of the traders towards them, refer
entirely to the state in which it existed during our progress through the
country; but lest I should have been mistaken respecting the views of
the Hudson's Bay Company on these points, I gladly embrace the
opportunity which a Second Edition affords me of stating that the
junction of the two Companies has enabled the Directors to put in
practice the improvements which I have reason to believe they had long
contemplated. They have provided for religious instruction by the
appointment of two Clergymen of the established church, under whose
direction school-masters and mistresses are to be placed at such stations
as afford the means of support for the establishment of schools. The

offspring of the voyagers and labourers are to be educated chiefly at the
expense of the Company; and such of the Indian children as their
parents may wish to send to these schools, are to be instructed, clothed,
and maintained at the expense of the Church Missionary Society, which
has already allotted a considerable sum for these purposes, and has also
sent out teachers who are to act under the superintendence of the Rev.
Mr. West, the principal chaplain of the Company.
We had the pleasure of meeting this gentleman at York Factory, and
witnessed with peculiar delight the great benefit which already marked
his zealous and judicious conduct. Many of the traders, and of the
servants of the Company, had been induced to marry the women with
whom they had cohabited; a material step towards the improvement of
the females in that country.
Mr. West, under the sanction of the Directors, has also promoted a
subscription for the distribution of the Bible in every part of the country
where the Company's Fur Trade has extended, and which has met with
very general support from