They Importuned Mr. Hunt, Therefore, To Leave
These Unfortunate Men To Their Fate, And Think Only Of The Safety
Of Himself And His Party.
Finding him not to be moved either by
entreaties or their clamors, they began to proceed without him,
singly and in parties.
Among those who thus went off was Pierre
Dorion, the interpreter. Pierre owned the only remaining horse;
which was now a mere skeleton. Mr. Hunt had suggested, in their
present extremity, that it should be killed for food; to which
the half-breed flatly refused his assent, and cudgeling the
miserable animal forward, pushed on sullenly, with the air of a
man doggedly determined to quarrel for his right. In this way Mr.
Hunt saw his men, one after another, break away, until but five
remained to bear him company.
On the following morning another raft was made, on which Mr.
Crooks and Le Clerc again attempted to ferry themselves across
the river, but after repeated trials had to give up in despair.
This caused additional delay; after which they continued to crawl
forward at a snail's pace. Some of the men who had remained with
Mr. Hunt now became impatient of these incumbrances, and urged
him clamorously to push forward, crying out that they should all
starve. The night which succeeded was intensely cold, so that one
of the men was severely frost-bitten. In the course of the night,
Mr. Crooks was taken ill, and in the morning was still more
incompetent to travel.
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