It Was Evident That Any Supply That Could Be Sent From Fort Providence Would Be Long In Reaching Us, Neither Could It Be Sufficient To Enable Us To Afford Any Assistance To Our Companions Behind, And That The Only Relief For Them Must Be Procured From The Indians.

I resolved therefore on going also in search of them, but my companions were absolutely incapable of proceeding and I thought by halting two or three days they might gather a little strength whilst the delay would afford us the chance of learning whether Mr. Back had seen the Indians.

DISTRESS SUFFERED AT THAT PLACE.

We now looked round for the means of subsistence and were gratified to find several deer-skins which had been thrown away during our former residence. The bones were gathered from the heap of ashes; these with the skins and the addition of tripe de roche we considered would support us tolerably well for a time. As to the house, the parchment being torn from the windows, the apartment we selected for our abode was exposed to all the rigour of the season. We endeavoured to exclude the wind as much as possible by placing loose boards against the apertures. The temperature was now between 15 and 20 degrees below zero. We procured fuel by pulling up the flooring of the other rooms, and water for cooking by melting the snow. Whilst we were seated round the fire, singeing the deer-skin for supper, we were rejoiced by the unexpected entrance of Augustus. He had followed quite a different course from ours and the circumstance of his having found his way through a part of the country he had never been in before must be considered a remarkable proof of sagacity. The unusual earliness of this winter became manifest to us from the state of things at this spot. Last year at the same season and still later there had been very little snow on the ground and we were surrounded by vast herds of reindeer; now there were but few recent tracks of these animals and the snow was upwards of two feet deep. Winter River was then open, now it was frozen two feet thick.

When I arose the following morning my body and limbs were so swollen that I was unable to walk more than a few yards. Adam was in a still worse condition, being absolutely incapable of rising without assistance. My other companions happily experienced this inconvenience in a less degree and went to collect bones and some tripe de roche which supplied us with two meals. The bones were quite acrid and the soup extracted from them excoriated the mouth if taken alone, but it was somewhat milder when boiled with tripe de roche and we even thought the mixture palatable with the addition of salt, of which a cask had been fortunately left here in the spring. Augustus today set two fishing-lines below the rapid. On his way thither he saw two deer but had not strength to follow them.

Enter page number Go  Previous Next
Page 301 of 339
Words from 156188 to 156698 of 176017