The Poor Man Was Much Affected At The Death Of Our Lamented Companion But His Appetite Prevailed Over Every Other Feeling And, Had I Permitted It, He Would Have Done Himself An Injury; For After Two Hours' Eating, Principally Skin And Sinews, He Complained Of Hunger.

The day was cloudy with snow and fresh breezes from the north-east by east.

The last evening as well as this morning the 19th I mentioned my wishes to the men that we should proceed towards Reindeer Lake, but this proposal met with a direct refusal. Belanger stated his inability to move and St. Germain used similar language, adding for the first time that he did not know the route, and that it was of no use to go in the direction I mentioned, which was the one agreed upon between the Commander and myself. I then insisted that we should go by the known route and join the Commander, but they would not hear of it; they would remain where they were until they had regained their strength; they said I wanted to expose them again to death (faire perir). In vain did I use every argument to the contrary for they were equally heedless to all. Thus situated I was compelled to remain, and from this time to the 25th we employed ourselves in looking about for the remnants of the deer and pieces of skin which even the wolves had left and, by pounding the bones, we were enabled to make a sort of soup which strengthened us greatly, though each still complained of weakness. It was not without the greatest difficulty that I could restrain the men from eating every scrap they found, though they were well aware of the necessity there was of being economical in our present situation and to save whatever they could for our journey; yet they could not resist the temptation and whenever my back was turned they seldom failed to snatch at the nearest piece to them, whether cooked or raw.

We had set fishing-lines but without any success, and we often saw large herds of deer crossing the lake at full speed and wolves pursuing them.

The night of the 25th was cold with hard frost. Early the next morning I sent the men to cover the body of our departed companion Beauparlant with the trunks and branches of trees which they did and, shortly after their return, I opened his bundle and found it contained two papers of vermilion, several strings of beads, some fire-steels, flints, awls, fish-hooks, rings, linen, and the glass of an artificial horizon. My two men began to recover a little as well as myself, though I was by far the weakest of the three; the soles of my feet were cracked all over and the other parts were as hard as horn from constant walking. I again urged the necessity of advancing to join the Commander's party but they said they were not sufficiently strong.

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