time at this season of the year, I shall mention briefly, that a considerable
portion of it was occupied in writing up our journals.
Some newspapers and magazines, that we had received from England
with our letters were read again and again, and commented upon, at
our meals; and we often exercised ourselves with conjecturing the
changes that might take place in the world before we could hear
from it again. The probability of our receiving letters, and the
period of their arrival, were calculated to a nicety. We occasionally
paid the woodman a visit, or took a walk for a mile or two on the
river.
In the evenings we joined the men in the hall, and took a part in
their games, which generally continued to a late hour; in short, we
never found the time to hang heavy upon our hands; and the
peculiar occupations of each of the officers afforded them more
employment than might at first be supposed. I re-calculated the
observations made on our route; Mr. Hood protracted the charts,
and made those drawings of birds, plants, and fishes, which cannot
appear in this work, but which have been the admiration of every one
who has seen them. Each of the party sedulously and separately
recorded their observation's on the aurora; and Dr. Richardson contrived
to obtain from under the snow, specimens of most of the lichens
in the neighbourhood, and to make himself acquainted with the
mineralogy of the surrounding country.
The Sabbath was always a day of rest with us; the woodmen were
required to provide for the exigencies of that day on Saturday, and
the party were dressed in their best attire. Divine service was
regularly performed, and the Canadians attended, and behaved with
great decorum, although they were all Roman Catholics, and but
little acquainted with the language in which the prayers were read.
I regretted much that we had not a French Prayer-Book, but the
Lord’s Prayer and Creed were always read to them in their own
language.
Our diet consisted almost entirely of rein-deer meat, varied twice
a week by fish, and occasionally by a little flour, but we had no
vegetables of any description. On the Sunday mornings we drank
a cup of chocolate, but our greatest luxury was tea (without sugar,)
of which we regularly partook twice a-day. With rein-deer’s fat,
and strips of cotton shirts, we formed candles; and Hepburn acquired
considerable skill in the manufacture of soap, from the wood-ashes,
fat, and salt. The formation of soap was considered as rather a
mysterious operation by our Canadians, and, in their hands, was
always supposed to fail if a woman approached the kettle in which
the ley was boiling. Such are our simple domestic details.
On the 30th, two hunters came from the leader, to convey ammunition
to him, as soon as our men should bring it from Fort Providence.
The men, at this time, coated the walls of the house on the outside,
with a thin mixture of clay and water, which formed a crust of ice,
that, for some days, proved impervious to the air; the dryness of the
atmosphere, however, was such, that the ice in a short time evaporated,
and gave admission to the wind as before, It is a general
custom at the forts to give this sort of coating to the walls at Christmas
time. When it was gone, we attempted to remedy its defect, by
heaping up snow against the walls.
i82i, This morning our men assembled, and greeted us with the
anuary i. customary salutation on the commencement of the new year.
That they might enjoy a holyday, they had yesterday collected double
the usual quantity of fire-wood, and we anxiously expected the return
of the men from Fort Providence, with some additions to their comforts.
We had stronger hope of their arrival before the evening, as
we knew that every voyager uses his utmost endeavour to reach a
post upon, or previous to, the jour de Van, that he may partake of
the wonted festivities. It forms, as Christmas is said to have done
among our forefathers, the theme of their conversation for months
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