relieved. Mr. Banks with much difficulty, at length got
—j*— r* the Dodtor to the fire; and foon after Monday 16. , fent two of the rp eotp"l'ewno
had been refreffied, in hopes that, with the affiftance of
thofe who had been left behind, they would be able to bring
Richmond, even though it ffiould ftill be found impoffible to
wake him. In about half an hour, however, they had the
mortification to fee thefe two men return alone; they fa-id,
that they had been all round the place to which they had
been directed, but could neither find Richmond nor thofe
who had been left with him ; and that though they had
fhouted many times, no voice had replied. This was matter
of equal furprife and concern, particularly to Mr. Banks,
who, while he was wondering how it could happen, miffed
a bottle of rum, the company’s whole flock, which they now
concluded to be in the knapfack of one of the abfentees. It
was conjectured, that with this Richmond had been rouzed
by the two perfons who had been left with him, and that,
having perhaps drank too freely of it themfelves, they had
all rambled from the place where they had been left, in
fearch of the fire, inftead of waiting for thofe who ffiould
have been their affiftants and guides. Another fall of fnow
now came on, and continued inceffantly for two hours, fo
that all hope of feeing them again, at leaft alive, were given
u p ; but about twelve o’clock, to the great joy o f thofe at the
fire, a ffiouting was heard at fome diftance. Mr. Banks, with
four more, immediately went out, and found the feaman
with juft ftrength enough left to flagger along, and call out
for affiftance: Mr. Banks fent him immediately to the fire,
and, by his diredfion, proceeded in fearch of the other two,
whom he foon after found. Richmond was upon his legs,
but not able to put one before the other; his companion was
lying upon the ground, as infenfible as a ftone. All hands
2 were
were now called from the fire, and an attempt was made to 1769.
carry them to i t ; but this, notwithftanding the united ef- ■ Ja”“ary' ■
forts of the whole company, was found to be impoffible. Mo”da>' -
The night was extremely dark; the fnovsi was now very deep;
and, under thefe additional difadvantages, they found it very
difficult to make way through the buffies and the bog for
themfelves, all of them getting many falls in the attempt.
The only alternative was to make a fire upon the fpot; but
the fnow Which had fallen, and was ftill falling, befideS
what was every moment ffiaken in flakes from the trees,
rendered it equally impracticable, to kindle one there, and
to bring any part of that which had been kindled in the
wood thither: they were, therefore, reduced to the fad neceffiy
of leaving the unhappy wretches to their fate; having firft
made them a bed of boughs from the trees, and fpread a
covering of the fame kind over them to a confiderable
height.
Having now been expofed to the cold and the ffibw near
an hour and an half, fome of the reft began to lofe their fen-
fibility; and one Brifeoe, another of Mr. Banks’s fervants,
was fo ill; that it was thought he muft die before he could
be got to the fire.
At the fire, however, at length they arrived; and paffed the
night in a-fituation, which however dreadful in itfelf, was
rendered more afflicting by the remembrance of what was
paft, and the uncertainty of what was to come. Of twelve,
the number that fet out together in health and fpirits, two
were fuppofed to be already dead; a third was fo ill, that it
was very doubtful whether he would be able to go forward
in the morning ; and a fourth, Mr. Buchan, was in danger
of a return of his fits, by freffi fatigue after fo uncomfortable
a night: they were diftant from the ffiip a long day’s
V ° t . fl. H journey,