us, and daily collected all the tripe de roche that was used in the
officers’ mess. Mr. Hood could not partake of this miserable fare,
and a partridge which had been reserved for him was, I lament to
say, this day stolen by one of the men.
October 4.—The canoe being finished, it was brought to the
encampment, and the whole party being assembled in anxious
expectation on the beach, St. Germain embarked, and amidst our
prayers for his success, succeeded in reaching the opposite shore.
The canoe was then drawn back again, and another person transported,
and in this manner by drawing it backwards and forwards,
we were all conveyed over without any serious accident. By these
frequent traverses the canoe was materially injured; and latterly it
filled each time with water before reaching the shore, so that all
our garments and bedding were wet, and there was not a sufficiency
of willows upon the side on which we now were, to make a fire to
dry them.
That no time might be lost in procuring relief, I immediately
despatched Mr. Back with St. Germain, Solomon Belanger, and
Beauparlant, to search for the Indians, directing him to go to Fort
Enterprise, where we expected they would be, or where, at least, a
note from Mr. Wentzel would be found to direct us in our search
for them. If St. Germain should kill any animals on his way, a
portion of the meat was to be put up securely for us, and conspicuous
marks placed over it.
It is impossible to imagine a more gratifying change than was
produced in our voyagers after we were all safely landed on the
southern banks of the river. Their spirits immediately revived, each
of them shook the officers cordially by the hand, and declared they
now considered the worst of their difficulties over, as they did not
doubt of reaching Fort Enterprise in a few days, even in their
feeble condition. We had, indeed, every reason to be grateful, and
our joy would have been complete had it not been mingled with
sincere regret at the separation of our poor Esquimaux, the faithful
Junius.
The want of tripe de roche caused us to go supperless to bed.
Showers of snow fell frequently during the night. The breeze was
light next morning, the weathèr cold and clear. We were all on
foot by day-break, but from the frozen state of our tents and bedclothes,
it was long before the bundles could be made, and as usual,
the men lingered ovér a small fire they had kindled, so that it was
eight o’clock before we started. Our advance, from the depth of the
snow, was slow, and about noon, coming to a spot where there was
some tripe dé roche, we stopped to collect it, and breakfasted.
Mr. Hood, who was now very feeble, and Dr. Richardson, who
attached himself to him, walked together at a gentle pace in the
rear of the party. I kept with the foremost men, to cause them to
halt occasionally, until the stragglers came up. Resuming our
march after breakfast, we followed the track of Mr. Back’s party, and
encamped early, as all of us were much fatigued, particularly Crédit,
who having to-day carried the men’s tent, it being his turn so to do,
was so exhausted, that when he reached the encampment he was
unable to stand. The tripe de roche disagreed with this man and
with Vaillant, in consequence of which they were the first whose
strength totally failed. We had a small quantity of this weed in the
evening, and the rest of our supper was made up of scraps of roasted
leather. The distance walked to-day was six miles. As Crédit was
very weak in the morning, his load was reduced to little more than
his personal luggage, consisting of his blanket, shoes, and gun.
Previous to setting out, the whole party ate the remains of their old
shoes, and whatever scraps of leather they had, to strengthen their
stomachs for the fatigue of the day’s journey. We left the encampment
at nine, and pursued our route over a range of black hills.
The wind having increased to a strong gale in the course of the