He Dreaded That I
Should Resolve Upon Joining It When Our Numbers Would Be So Great As To
Consume At Once Everything St. Germain Might Kill, If By Accident He
Should Be Successful In Hunting.
He even endeavoured to entice away our
other hunter, Adam, and proposed to him to carry off the only kettle we
had and without which we could not have subsisted two days.
Adam's
inability to move however precluded him from agreeing to the proposal but
he could assign no reason for not acquainting me with it previous to
Belanger's departure. I was at first inclined to consider the whole
matter as a fiction of Adam's, but he persisted in his story without
wavering, and Belanger when we met again confessed that every part of it
was true. It is painful to have to record a fact so derogatory to human
nature but I have deemed it proper to mention it to show the difficulties
we had to contend with, and the effect which distress had in warping the
feelings and understanding of the most diligent and obedient of our
party, for such Belanger had been always esteemed up to this time.
In making arrangements for our departure Adam disclosed to me for the
first time that he was affected with oedematous swellings in some parts
of the body to such a degree as to preclude the slightest attempt at
marching and, upon my expressing my surprise at his having hitherto
concealed from me the extent of his malady, among other explanations the
details of the preceding story came out. It now became necessary to
abandon the original intention of proceeding with the whole party towards
Fort Providence and, Peltier and Samandre having volunteered to remain
with Adam, I determined on setting out with Benoit and Augustus,
intending to send them relief by the first party of Indians we should
meet. My clothes were so much torn as to be quite inadequate to screen me
from the wind and Peltier and Samandre, fearing that I might suffer on
the journey in consequence, kindly exchanged with me parts of their
dress, desiring me to send them skins in return by the Indians. Having
patched up three pairs of snowshoes and singed a quantity of skin for the
journey we started on the morning of the 20th. Previous to my departure I
packed up the journals of the officers, the charts, and some other
documents, together with a letter addressed to the Under-Secretary of
State detailing the occurrences of the Expedition up to this period,
which package was given in charge to Peltier and Samandre with directions
that it should be brought away by the Indians who might come to them. I
also instructed them to send succour immediately on its arrival to our
companions in the rear, which they solemnly promised to do, and I left a
letter for my friends, Richardson and Hood, to be sent at the same time.
I thought it necessary to admonish Peltier, Samandre, and Adam to eat two
meals every day in order to keep up their strength, which they promised
me they would do.
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