by John Marshall

“ The interest excited by the equipment of these vessels was of so general a nature, that there is scarcely an individual who is not fully in possession of its purport; but, as no official narrative of the voyage has hitherto been published, the following authentic outline may not prove uninteresting.
Captain Buchan sailed from Deptford early in May 1818, and, few obstacles presenting themselves, the island of Spitzbergen was approached on the 26th of that month. Its shores at first present a picture of dreariness and desolation: craggy mountains, with their summits towering above the clouds ”

“ Since the first establishment of the fishery on the banks of Newfoundland, very little communication has at any time been had with the natives of this large island, and for more than half a century past none at all; indeed, it was considered by many as doubtful whether there were on the island any permanent inhabitants, or whether the Indians, some-times seen on the western coast, did not come in their canoes across the straits of Belleisle, merely for the purpose of fishing and killing deer. ”

“ At noon, we arrived at the fire-place, and finding all well I experienced great relief, after four hours spent in unutterable anxiety for their fate. The two men who had been straggling were easily discovered by the sweat which still rolled down their faces. ”

“ A settler, however, reported that, in the autumn of 1810, he had discovered a storehouse on the banks of the River of Exploits. Upon this report, Sir John Duckworth sent Lieutenant Buchan, commander of the schooner Adonis, to the Bay of Exploits, for the purpose of undertaking an expedition into the interior, with a view of opening a communication with the native Indians, If any such were to be found. ”