The Observations On The Magnetic Needle, The Temperature Of The Atmosphere, The Aurora Borealis, And Other Meteorological Phenomena, Together With The Mineralogical And Botanical Notices, Being Less Interesting To The General Reader, Are Omitted In This Edition.

(*Footnote. Voyage to Hudson's Bay in the Dobbs and California.)

The men continued to work diligently at the house and by the 30th of September had nearly completed it for our reception when a heavy fall of rain washed the greater part of the mud off the roof. This rain was remarked by the Indians as unusual after what they had deemed so decided a commencement of winter in the early part of the month. The mean temperature for the month was 33 3/4 degrees, but the thermometer had sunk as low as 16 degrees and on one occasion rose to 53 degrees.

Besides the party constantly employed at the house two men were appointed to fish and others were occasionally sent for meat as the hunters procured it. This latter employment, although extremely laborious, was always relished by the Canadians as they never failed to use a prescriptive right of helping themselves to the fattest and most delicate parts of the deer. Towards the end of the month the reindeer began to quit the barren grounds and came into the vicinity of the house on their way to the woods and, the success of the hunters being consequently great, the necessity of sending for the meat considerably retarded the building of the house. In the meantime we resided in our canvas tents which proved very cold habitations although we maintained a fire in front of them and also endeavoured to protect ourselves from the piercing winds by a barricade of pine branches.

On the 6th of October, the house being completed, we struck our tents and removed into it. It was merely a log building, fifty feet long and twenty-four wide, divided into a hall, three bedrooms and a kitchen. The walls and roof were plastered with clay, the floors laid with planks rudely squared with the hatchet, and the windows closed with parchment of deer-skin. The clay which, from the coldness of the weather, required to be tempered before the fire with hot water, froze as it was daubed on and afterwards cracked in such a manner as to admit the wind from every quarter yet, compared with the tents, our new habitation appeared comfortable and, having filled our capacious clay-built chimney with fagots, we spent a cheerful evening before the invigorating blaze. The change was peculiarly beneficial to Dr. Richardson who, having in one of his excursions incautiously laid down on the frozen side of a hill when heated with walking, had caught a severe inflammatory sore throat which became daily worse whilst we remained in the tents but began to mend soon after he was enabled to confine himself to the more equable warmth of the house. We took up our abode at first on the floor but our working party, who had shown such skill as house carpenters, soon proved themselves to be, with the same tools (the hatchet and crooked knife) excellent cabinetmakers and daily added a table, chair, or bedstead to the comforts of our establishment.

Enter page number Go  Previous Next
Page 166 of 339
Words from 85724 to 86267 of 176017