We pursued the course of the
river to the lower lake when St. Germain fell in, which obliged us to
encamp directly to prevent his being frozen; indeed we were all glad to
rest for, in our meagre and reduced state, it was impossible to resist
the weather which at any other time would have been thought fine; my toes
were frozen and, although wrapped up in a blanket, I could not keep my
hands warm.
The 12th was exceedingly cold with fresh breezes. Our meal at night
consisted of scraps of old deer-skins and swamp tea and the men
complained greatly of their increasing debility. The following morning I
sent St. Germain to hunt, intending to go some distance down the lake,
but the weather becoming exceedingly thick with snow-storms we were
prevented from moving. He returned without success, not having seen any
animals. We had nothing to eat.
In the morning of the 14th the part of the lake before us was quite
frozen. There was so much uncertainty in St. Germain's answers as to the
chance of any Indians being in the direction we were then going (although
he had previously said that the leader had told him he should be there)
and he gave so much dissatisfaction in his hunting excursions that I was
induced to send a note to the Commander, whom I supposed to be by this
time at Fort Enterprise, to inform him of our situation; not that I
imagined for a moment he could amend it, but that by all returning to the
fort we might perhaps have better success in hunting; with this view I
despatched Belanger, much against his inclination, and told him to return
as quickly as possible to a place about four miles farther on where we
intended to fish and to await his arrival.
