Imbedded in the rocks I also found some heavy black substances, larger and more numerous than any I had before seen. These I concluded might be the "stone like to sea-coal" described by Frobisher in the account of his voyages. I secured some specimens, which I brought home with me.
But I was not content with the hasty examination thus made. After returning to the boat and lunching on raw seal, I renewed my search, in company with Koojesse and Kooperneung. Soon, by digging under the snow, coal was found in considerable quantities, and also a little pile of flint-stones similar to those discovered in the coal at Niountelik, and in the cement of the stone-house ruins at Kodlunarn.
My feelings were so buoyant and excited at this discovery, and the proof it furnished to my mind that Frobisher had been there, that I could hardly contain myself. But my excitement was considerably increased when Miner, from the top of the highest part of the tongue of land, raised a shout and said he had found more. We rushed toward him, and lo! more and more was indeed found. There was a large space clear of snow, and covered with coal to the amount, I thought, of some five tons. I was perfectly astounded. But I could not lose time. I therefore at once commenced an inspection of the heap, and soon found a large chip imbedded in the coal. This chip, my companion declared, was never the work of an Innuit knife. It had the appearance of having been chopped out of a large piece of oak timber with an axe. I dug down fifteen inches into the coal before coming to any earth. The Innuits willingly assisted me, and, as at Niountelik and Kodlunarn, everything they found was apparently passed to me. I discovered, however, that they pocketed some of the best specimens of the flint-stones, and I had eventually to resort to diplomacy in order to recover them.
Leaving the main pile, I dug in other places through the snow, and found coal extending over a wide area. There could be no doubt that a large deposit was made here, and I could arrive at no other conclusion—from the evidences of
