I Determined Therefore To Make At Once For Arctic Sound Where We Had
Found The Animals More Numerous Than At
Any other place and, entering
Hood's River, to advance up that stream as far as it was navigable and
then
To construct small canoes out of the materials of the larger ones,
which could be carried in crossing the barren grounds to Fort Enterprise.
August 19.
We were almost beaten out of our comfortless abodes by rain during the
night and this morning the gale continued without diminution. The
thermometer fell to 33 degrees. Two men were sent with Junius to search
for the deer which Augustus had killed. Junius returned in the evening,
bringing part of the meat but, owing to the thickness of the weather, his
companions parted from him and did not make their appearance. Divine
service was read. On the 20th we were presented with the most chilling
prospect, the small pools of water being frozen over, the ground covered
with snow, and the thermometer at the freezing-point at midday. Flights
of geese were passing to the southward. The wind however was more
moderate, having changed to the eastward. Considerable anxiety prevailing
respecting Belanger and Michel, the two men who strayed from Junius
yesterday, the rest were sent out to look for them. The search was
successful and they all returned in the evening. The stragglers were much
fatigued and had suffered severely from the cold, one of them having his
thighs frozen and, what under our present circumstances was most
grievous, they had thrown away all the meat.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 513 of 649
Words from 138873 to 139136
of 176017
