This Was A
Scanty Meal After Three Days' Fasting But It Served To Allay The Pangs Of
Hunger And Enabled Us To Proceed At A Quicker Pace Than Before.
The depth
of the snow caused us to march in Indian file, that is in each other's
steps, the voyagers taking it in turn to lead the party.
A distant object
was pointed out to this man in the direction we wished to take and Mr.
Hood followed immediately behind him to renew the bearings and keep him
from deviating more than could be helped from the mark. It may be here
observed that we proceeded in this manner throughout our route across the
barren grounds.
In the afternoon we got into a more hilly country where the ground was
strewed with large stones. The surface of these was covered with lichens
of the genus gyrophora which the Canadians term tripe de roche. A
considerable quantity was gathered and with half a partridge each (which
we shot in the course of the day) furnished a slender supper which we
cooked with a few willows dug up from beneath the snow. We passed a
comfortless night in our damp clothes but took the precaution of sleeping
upon our socks and shoes to prevent them from freezing. This plan was
afterwards adopted throughout the journey.
At half-past five in the morning we proceeded and after walking about two
miles came to Cracroft's River, flowing to the westward with a very rapid
current over a rocky channel.
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