the rivers whose mouths we had seen* It probably discharges itself
in that part of the coast which was hid from our view by Goul-
bourn’s or Elliott’s Islands.
September 10.—We had a cold north wind, and the atmosphere
was foggy. The thermometer 18° at five A.M. In the course of
our march this morning, we passed many small lakes;,and the
ground becoming higher , and more hilly as we receded from the
river, was covered to a much greater depth with snow. This
rendered walking not only extremely laborious, but also hazardous in
the highest degree ; for the sides of the hills, as is usual throughout
the barren grounds, abounding in accumulations of large angular
stones, it often happened that the men fell into the interstices with
their loads on their backs, being deceived by the smooth appearance of
the drifted snow. If any one had broken a limb here* his fate would
have been melancholy indeed ; we could neither have remained with
him, nor carried him on. We halted at ten to gather tripe de roche,
but it was so frozen, that we were quite benumbed with cold before a
sufficiency could be collected even for a scanty meal. On proceeding
our men were somewhat cheered, by observing on a sandy summit of
a hill, from whence the snow had been blown, the summer track
of a man ; and afterwards by seeing several deer tracks on the snow.
About noon the weather cleared up a little, and to our great joy, we
saw a herd of musk-oxen grazing in a valley below us. The party
instantly halted, and the best hunters were sent out; who approached
the animals with the utmost caution, no less than two hours , being
consumed before they got within gun-shot. In the mean time
we beheld their proceedings with extreme anxiety, and many secret
prayers were, doubtless, offered up for their success. At length they
opened their.fire, and we had the satisfaction of seeing one of the
largest cows fall; another was wounded, but escaped. This success
infused spirit into our starving party. To skin and cut up the
animal was the work of a few minutes. The contents of its stomach
were devoured upon the spot, and the raw intestines, which were
next, attacked, were pronounced by the most delicate amongst
us to .be excellent. A few willows, whose tops were seen peeping
through the snow in the bottom of the valley, were quickly grubbed,
the tents pitched, and supper cooked, and devoured with avidity.
This was the sixth day since we had had a good meal; the tripe de
roche, even w'here we got enough, only serving to allay the pangs of
hunger for a short time. After supper, two of the hunters went
in pursuit of the herd, but could not get near them. I do not think
that we witnessed through the course of our journey a more striking
proof of the wise dispensation of the Almighty, and of the weakness
of our own judgment,;than on this day. We had considered the
dense fog which prevailed throughout the morning, as almost the
greatest inconvenience that could have befallen us, since it rendered
the air extremely cold, and prevented us from distinguishing any
distant object towards which our course could be directed. Yet
this very darkness enabled the party to get to the top of the hill
which bounded the valley wherein the musk-oxen were grazing,
without being perceived. Had the herd discovered us and taken
alarm, our hunters in their present state of debility would in all
probability have failed in approaching them.
We were detained all the .next day by a strong southerly wind,
and were much incommoded in the tents by the drift snow. The
temperature was 20°. The average, for the last ten days about 24°.
We restricted ourselves to one meal this day, as we were at rest, and
there was only meat, remaining sufficient for the morrow.
The gale had not diminished on the 12th, and, as we were fearful
of its continuance for some time, we determined on going forward;
our only doubt regarded the preservation of the canoe, but the men
promised to pay particular attention to it, and the most careful persons
were appointed to take it in charge. The snow was two feet
deep and the ground much broken, which rendered the march extremely
painful. The whole party complained more of faintness and
weakness than they had ever done before; their strength seemed to