On the 13th, the weather was stormy, with constant snow. The Indians became desponding at the non-arrival of the supply, and would neither go to hunt nor fish. They frequently expressed their fears of some misfortune having befallen Boudel-kell; and, in the evening, went off suddenly, without apprizing us of their intention, having first given to each of us a handful of pounded meat, which they had reserved. Their departure, at first, gave rise to a suspicion of their having deserted us, not meaning to return, especially as the explanations of Adam, who appeared to be in their secret, were very unsatisfactory. At length, by interrogations, we got from him the information, that they designed to march night and day, until they should reach Akaitcho"s encampment, whence they would send us aid. As we had combated{51} their fears about Boudel-kell, they, perhaps, apprehended that we should oppose their determination, and therefore concealed it. We were now left a second time without food, and with appet.i.tes recovered, and strongly excited{52} by recent indulgence.
On the following day the Doctor and Hepburn resumed their former occupation of collecting wood, and I was able to a.s.sist a little in bringing it into the house. Adam, whose expectation of the arrival of the Indians had been raised by the fineness of the weather, became, towards night, very desponding, and refused to eat the singed skin. The night was stormy, and there was a heavy fall of snow. The next day he became still more dejected. About eleven, Hepburn, who had gone out for the wood, came in with the intelligence that a party appeared upon the river. The room was instantly swept, and in compliance with the prejudices of the Indians, every sc.r.a.p of skin was carefully removed out of sight: for these simple people imagine, that burning deer-skin renders them unsuccessful in hunting. The party proved to be Crooked-Foot, Thooee-yorre, and the Fop, with the wives of the two latter dragging provisions. They were accompanied by Benoit, one of our own men.
We were rejoiced to learn, by a note from Mr. Back, dated November 11, that he and his companions had so recruited their strength that they were preparing to proceed to Fort Providence. Adam recovered his spirits on the arrival of the Indians and even walked about the room with an appearance of strength and activity that surprised us all. As it was of consequence to get amongst the rein-deer before our present supply should fail we made preparations for quitting Fort Enterprise the next day; and, accordingly, at an early hour, on the 16th, having united in thanksgiving and prayer, the whole party left the house after breakfast.
Our feelings on quitting the Fort where we had formerly enjoyed much comfort if not happiness, and, latterly, experienced a degree of misery scarcely to be paralleled, may be more easily conceived than described.
The Indians treated us with the utmost tenderness, gave us their snow-shoes, and walked without themselves, keeping by our sides, that they might lift us when we fell. We descended Winter River, and, about noon, crossed the head of Round-Rock Lake, distant about three miles from the house, where we were obliged to halt, as Dr. Richardson was unable to proceed. The swellings in his limbs rendered him by much the weakest of the party. The Indians prepared our encampment, cooked for us, and fed us as if we had been children; evincing humanity that would have done honour to the most civilized people. The night was mild, and fatigue made us sleep soundly.
From this period to the 26th of November, we gradually improved, through their kindness and attention; and on that day arrived in safety at the abode of our chief and companion Akaitcho. We were received by the party a.s.sembled in the leader"s tent, with looks of compa.s.sion, and profound silence, which lasted about a quarter of an hour, and by which they meant to express their condolence for our sufferings. The conversation did not begin until we had tasted food. The Chief, Akaitcho, shewed us the most friendly hospitality, and all sorts of personal attention, even to cooking for us with his own hands, an office which he never performs for himself. Annoethai-yazzeh and Humpy, the Chief"s two brothers, and several of our hunters, with their families, were encamped here, together with a number of old men and women. In the course of the day we were visited by every person of the band, not merely from curiosity, but a desire to evince their tender sympathy in our late distress. We learned that Mr. Back, with St. Germain and Belanger, had gone to Fort Providence; and that, previous to his departure he had left a letter in a _cache_ of pounded meat, which we had missed two days ago. As we supposed that this letter might acquaint us with his intentions more fully than we could gather from the Indians, through our imperfect knowledge of their language, Augustus, the Esquimaux, whom we found here in perfect health, and an Indian lad, were despatched to bring it.
We found several of the Indian families in great affliction, for the loss of three of their relatives who had been drowned in the August preceding, by the upsetting of a canoe near Fort Enterprise. They bewailed the melancholy accident every morning and evening, by repeating the names of the persons in a loud singing tone, which was frequently interrupted by bursts of tears. One woman was so affected by the loss of her only son, that she seemed deprived of reason, and wandered about the tents the whole day, crying and singing out his name.
On the 1st of December we removed with the Indians to the southward.
On the 4th we again set off after the Indians about noon, and soon overtook them, as they had halted, to drag from the water, and cut up and share a moose-deer, that had been drowned in a rapid part of the river, partially covered with ice. These operations detained us a long time, which was the more disagreeable, as the weather was extremely unpleasant from cold low fogs. We were all much fatigued at the hour of encampment, which was after dark, though the day"s journey did not exceed four miles. At every halt the elderly men of the tribe made holes in the ice and put in their lines. One of them shared the produce of his fishery with us this evening.
In the afternoon of the 6th, Belanger, and another Canadian, arrived from Fort Providence, sent by Mr. Weeks with two trains of dogs, some spirits and tobacco for the Indians, a change of dress for ourselves, and a little tea and sugar. They also brought letters for us from England, and from Mr. Back, and Mr. Wentzel. By the former we received the gratifying intelligence of the successful termination of Captain Parry"s voyage; and were informed of the promotion of myself and Mr.
Back, and of poor Hood, our grief for whose loss was renewed by this intelligence.
The letter from Mr. Back stated, that the rival Companies in the fur trade had united; but that, owing to some cause which had not been explained to him, the goods intended as rewards to Akaitcho and his band, which we had demanded in the spring from the North-West Company, were not sent. There were, however some stores lying for us at Moose-deer Island, which had been ordered for the equipment of our voyagers; and Mr. Back had gone across to that establishment, to make a selection of the articles we could spare for a temporary present to the Indians. The disappointment at the non-arrival of the goods was seriously felt by us, as we had looked forward with pleasure to the time when we should be enabled to recompense our kind Indian friends, for their tender sympathy in our distresses, and the a.s.sistance they had so cheerfully and promptly rendered. I now regretted to find, that Mr.
Wentzel and his party, in their return from the sea, had suffered severely on their march along the Copper-Mine River, having on one occasion, as he mentioned, had no food but _tripe de roche_ for eleven days.
All the Indians flocked to our encampment to learn the news, and to receive the articles brought for them. Having got some spirits and tobacco, they withdrew to the tent of the Chief, and pa.s.sed the greater part of the night in singing. We had now the indescribable gratification of changing our linen, which had been worn ever since our departure from the sea-coast.
_December 8_.--After a long conference with Akaitcho, we took leave of him and his kind companions, and set out with two sledges heavily laden with provision and bedding, drawn by the dogs, and conducted by Belanger and the Canadian sent by Mr. Weeks. Hepburn and Augustus jointly dragged a smaller sledge, laden princ.i.p.ally with their own bedding. Adam and Benoit were left to follow with the Indians. We encamped on the Gra.s.sy-Lake Portage, having walked about nine miles, princ.i.p.ally on the Yellow Knife River. It was open at the rapids, and in these places we had to ascend its banks, and walk through the woods for some distance, which was very fatiguing, especially to Dr. Richardson, whose feet were severely galled in consequence of some defect in his snow-shoes.
On the 11th, however, we arrived at the Fort, which was still under the charge of Mr. Weeks. He welcomed us in the most kind manner, immediately gave us changes of dress, and did every thing in his power to make us comfortable.
Our sensations on being once more in a comfortable dwelling, after the series of hardships and miseries we had experienced, may be imagined.
Our first act was again to return our grateful praises to the Almighty for the manifold instances of his mercy towards us. Having found here some articles which Mr. Back had sent across from Moose-deer Island, I determined on awaiting the arrival of Akaitcho and his party, in order to present these to them, and to a.s.sure them of the promised reward, as soon as it could possibly be procured.
In the afternoon of the 14th, Akaitcho, with his whole band came to the Fort. He smoked his customary pipe, and made an address to Mr. Weeks in the hall previous to his coming into the room in which Dr. Richardson and I were. We discovered at the commencement of his speech to us, that he had been informed that our expected supplies had not come. He spoke of this circ.u.mstance as a disappointment, indeed, sufficiently severe to himself, to whom his band looked up for the protection of their interests, but without attaching any blame to us. "The world goes badly," he said, "all are poor; you are poor, the traders appear to be poor, I and my party, are poor likewise; and since the goods have not come in, we cannot have them. I do not regret having supplied you with provisions, for a Copper Indian can never permit white men to suffer from want of food on his lands, without flying to their aid. I trust, however, that we shall, as you say, receive what is due next autumn; and at all events," he added, in a tone of good-humour, "it is the first time that the white people have been indebted to the Copper Indians." We a.s.sured him the supplies should certainly be sent to him by the autumn, if not before. He then cheerfully received the small present we made to himself; and, although, we could give a few things only to those who had been most active in our service, the others, who, perhaps, thought themselves equally deserving, did not murmur at being left out in the distribution. Akaitcho afterwards expressed a strong desire, that we should represent the character of his nation in a favourable light to our countrymen. "I know," he said, "you write down every occurrence in your books; but probably you have only noticed the bad things we have said and done, and have omitted the good." In the course of the desultory conversation which ensued, he said, that he had been always told by us, to consider the traders in the same light as ourselves; and that, for his part, he looked upon both as equally respectable. This a.s.surance, made in the presence of Mr. Weeks, was particularly gratifying to us, as it completely disproved the defence that had been set up, respecting the injurious reports circulated against us amongst the Indians in the spring; namely, that they were in retaliation for our endeavours to lower the traders in the eyes of the Indians. I take this opportunity of stating my opinion, that Mr. Weeks, in spreading these reports, was actuated by a mistaken idea that he was serving the interest of his employers. On the present occasion, we felt indebted to him for the sympathy he displayed for our distresses, and the kindness with which he administered to our personal wants. After this conference, such Indians as were indebted to the Company were paid for the provision they had given us, by deducting a corresponding sum from their debts; in the same way we gave a reward of sixteen skins of beaver to each of the persons who had come to our relief at Fort Enterprise. As the debts of Akaitcho and his hunters had been effaced at the time of his engagement with us, we placed a sum equal to the amount of provision they had recently supplied, to their credit on the Company"s Books. These things being, through the moderation of the Indians, adjusted with an unexpected facility, we gave them a keg of mixed liquors, (five parts water,) and distributed among them several fathoms of tobacco, and they retired to their tents to spend the night in merriment.
Adam, our interpreter, being desirous of uniting himself with the Copper Indians, applied to me for his discharge, which I granted, and gave him a bill on the Hudson"s Bay Company for the amount of his wages. These arrangements being completed, we prepared to cross the lake.
Mr. Weeks provided Dr. Richardson and I with a cariole each, and we set out at eleven A.M., on the 15th, for Moose-deer Island. Our party consisted of Belanger, who had charge of a sledge laden with the bedding, and drawn by two dogs, our two cariole men, Benoit, and Augustus. Previous to our departure, we had another conference with Akaitcho, who, as well as the rest of his party, bade us farewell, with a warmth of manner rare among the Indians.
The badness of Belanger"s dogs, and the roughness of the ice, impeded our progress very much, and obliged us to encamp early. We had a good fire made of the drift wood, which lines the sh.o.r.es of this lake in great quant.i.ties. The next day was very cold. We began the journey at nine A.M., and encamped at the Big Cape, having made another short march, in consequence of the roughness of the ice.
On the 17th, we encamped on the most southerly of the Rein-deer Islands.
This night was very stormy, but the wind abating in the morning, we proceeded, and by sunset reached the fishing-huts of the Company at Stony Point. Here we found Mr. Andrews, a clerk of the Hudson"s Bay Company, who regaled us with a supper of excellent white fish, for which this part of Slave Lake is particularly celebrated. Two men with sledges arrived soon afterwards, sent by Mr. McVicar, who expected us about this time. We set off in the morning before day break, with several companions, and arrived at Moose-deer Island about one P.M. Here we were received with the utmost hospitality by Mr. McVicar, the chief trader of the Hudson"s Bay Company in this district, as well as by his a.s.sistant Mr. McAuley. We had also the happiness of joining our friend, Mr. Back; our feelings on this occasion can be well imagined, and we were deeply impressed with grat.i.tude to him for his exertions in sending the supply of food to Fort Enterprise, to which, under Divine Providence, we felt the preservation of our lives to be owing. He gave us an affecting detail of the proceedings of his party since our separation; the substance of which I shall convey to the reader, by the following extracts from his Journal.
MR. BACK"S NARRATIVE.
1821. October 4.
Captain Franklin having directed me to proceed with St. Germain, Belanger, and Beauparlant, to Fort Enterprise, in the hope of obtaining relief for the party, I took leave of my companions, and set out on my journey, through a very swampy country, which with the cloudy state of the weather and a keen north-east wind, accompanied by frequent snow showers, r.e.t.a.r.ded us so much, that we scarcely got more than four miles before we halted for the night, and made a meal of _tripe de roche_ and some old leather.
On the 5th we set out early, amidst extremely deep snow, sinking frequently in it up to the thighs, a labour in our enfeebled and almost worn out state, that nothing but the cheering hopes of reaching the house and affording relief to our friends, could have enabled us to support. As we advanced we found to our mortification, that the _tripe de roche_, hitherto our sole dependence, began to be scarce, so that we could only collect sufficient to make half a kettleful, which, with the addition of a partridge each, that St. Germain had killed, yielded a tolerable meal; during this day I felt very weak and sore in the joints, particularly between the shoulders. At eight we encamped among a small clump of willows.
On the 6th we set out at an early hour, pursuing our route over a range of hills at the foot of one of which we saw several large pines, and a great quant.i.ty of willows; a sight that encouraged us to quicken our pace, as we were now certain we could not be far from the woods. Indeed we were making considerable progress, when Belanger unfortunately broke through the ice, and sank up to the hips. The weather being cold, he was in danger of freezing, but some brushwood on the borders of the lake enabled us to make a fire to dry him. At the same time we took the opportunity of refreshing ourselves with a kettle of swamp tea.
My increasing debility had for some time obliged me to use a stick for the purpose of extending my arms; the pain in my shoulders being so acute, that I could not bear them to remain in the usual position for two minutes together. We halted at five among some small brushwood, and made a sorry meal of an old pair of leather trowsers, and some swamp tea.
The night was cold with a hard frost, and though two persons slept together, yet we could not by any means keep ourselves warm, but remained trembling the whole time. The following morning we crossed several lakes, occasionally seeing the recent tracks of deer, and at noon we fell upon Marten Lake; it happened to be at the exact spot where we had been the last year with the canoes, yet though I immediately recognised the place, the men would not believe it to be the same; at length, by pointing out several marks, and relating circ.u.mstances connected with them, they recovered their memory, and a simultaneous expression of "Mon Dieu, nous sommes sauves{53}," broke from the whole.
Contrary to our expectations the lake was frozen sufficiently to bear us, so that we were excused from making the tours of the different bays.
This circ.u.mstance seemed to impart fresh vigour to us, and we walked as fast as the extreme smoothness of the ice would permit, intending to reach the Slave Rock that night; but an unforeseen and almost fatal accident prevented the prosecution of our plan: Belanger (who seemed the victim of misfortune) again broke through the ice, in a deep part near the head of the rapid, but was timely saved by our fastening our worsted belts together, and pulling him out. By urging him forwards as quick as his icy garments would admit, to prevent his freezing, we reached a few pines, and kindled a fire; but it was late before he even felt warm, though he was so near the flame as to burn his hair twice; and to add to our distress, (since we could not pursue them,) three wolves crossed the lake close to us.
The night of the 7th was extremely stormy, and about ten the following morning, on attempting to go on, we found it totally impossible, being too feeble to oppose the wind and drift, which frequently blew us over, and on attempting to cross a small lake that lay in our way, drove us faster backwards, than with every effort, we could get forwards; we therefore encamped under the shelter of a small clump of pines, secure from the south-west storm that was raging around us. In the evening, there being no _tripe de roche_, we were compelled to satisfy, or rather allay the cravings of hunger, by eating a gun cover and a pair of old shoes; at this time I had scarcely strength to get on my legs.
The wind did not in the least abate during the night, but in the morning of the 9th it changed to north-east and became moderate. We took advantage of this circ.u.mstance, and rising with great difficulty, set out; though had it not been for the hope of reaching the house, I am certain, from the excessive faintness which almost overpowered me, that I must have remained where I was. We pa.s.sed the Slave Rock, and making frequent halts, arrived within a short distance of Fort Enterprise; but as we perceived neither any marks of Indians, nor even of animals, the men began absolutely to despair: on a nearer approach, however, the tracks of large herds of deer, which had only pa.s.sed a few hours, tended a little to revive their spirits, and shortly after we crossed the ruinous threshold of the long-sought spot; but what was our surprise, what our sensations, at beholding every thing in the most desolate and neglected state; the doors and windows of that room in which we expected to find provision, had been thrown down and the wild animals of the woods had resorted there as to a place of shelter and retreat. Mr.
Wentzel had taken away the trunks and papers, but had left no note to guide us to the Indians. This was to us the most grievous disappointment: without the a.s.sistance of the Indians, bereft of every resource, we felt ourselves reduced to the most miserable state, which was rendered still worse, from the recollection that our friends in the rear were as miserable as{54} ourselves. For the moment, however, hunger prevailed, and each began to gnaw the sc.r.a.ps of putrid and frozen meat that were lying about, without waiting to prepare them. A fire, however, was made, and the neck and bones of a deer, found in the house, were boiled and devoured.
I determined to remain a day here to repose; then to go in search of the Indians, and in the event of missing them, to proceed to the first trading establishment, which was distant about one hundred and thirty miles, and from thence to send succour to my companions. This indeed I should have done immediately, as the most certain manner of executing my purpose, had there been any probability of the river and lakes being frozen to the southward, or had we possessed sufficient strength to have clambered over the rocks and mountains which impeded the direct way; but as we were aware of our inability to do so, I listened to St. Germain"s proposal, which was, to follow the deer into the woods, (so long as they did not lead us out of our route to the Indians,) and if possible to collect sufficient food to carry us to Fort Providence. We now set about making mittens and snow shoes, whilst Belanger searched under the snow, and collected a ma.s.s of old bones, which when burned and used with a little salt we found palatable enough, and made a tolerable meal.{55} At night St. Germain returned, having seen plenty of tracks, but no animals; the day was cloudy, with fresh breezes, and the river was frozen at the borders.
On the 11th we prepared for our journey, having first collected a few old skins of deer, to serve us as food; and written a note to be left for our commander, to apprize him of our intentions. 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 excessively cold with fresh breezes. Our meal at night consisted of sc.r.a.ps 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 me 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 further on, where we intended to fish, and to await his arrival. The men were so weak this day, that I could get neither of them to move from the encampment; and it was only necessity that compelled them to cut wood for fuel, in performing which operation Beauparlant"s face became so dreadfully swelled that he could scarcely see; I myself lost my temper on the most trivial circ.u.mstances, and was become very peevish; the day was fine but cold, with a freezing north-east wind. We had nothing to eat.
_October 15_.--The night was calm and clear, but it was not before two in the afternoon that we set out; and the one was so weak, and the other so full of complaints, that we did not get more than three-quarters of a mile from our last encampment, before we were obliged to put up; but in this distance we were fortunate enough to kill a partridge, the bones of which were eaten, and the remainder reserved for baits to fish with.
We, however, collected sufficient _tripe de roche_ to make a meal: and I anxiously awaited Belanger"s return, to know what course to take. I was now so much reduced, that my shoulders were as if they would fall from my body, my legs seemed unable to support me, and in the disposition in which I then found myself, had it not been for the remembrance of my friends behind, who relied on me for relief, as well as the persons of whom I had charge, I certainly should have preferred remaining where I was, to the miserable pain of attempting to move.
_October 16_.--We waited until two in the afternoon for Belanger; but not seeing any thing of him on the lake, we set out, purposing to encamp at the Narrows, the place which was said to be so good for fishing, and where, according to St. Germain"s account, the Indians never failed to catch plenty; its distance at most could not be more than two miles. We had not proceeded far before Beauparlant began to complain of increasing weakness; but this was so usual with us that no particular notice was taken of it, for in fact there was little difference, all being alike feeble: among other things, he said whilst we were resting, that he should never get beyond the next encampment, for his strength had quite failed him. I endeavoured to encourage him by explaining the mercy of the Supreme Being, who ever beholds with an eye of pity those that seek his aid. This pa.s.sed as common discourse, when he inquired where we were to put up; St. Germain pointed to a small clump of pines near us, the only place indeed that offered for fuel. "Well," replied the poor man, "take your axe Mr. Back, and I will follow at my leisure, I shall join you by the time the encampment is made." This is a usual practice of the country, and St. Germain and myself went on towards the spot; it was five o"clock and not very cold, but rather milder than we had experienced it for some time, when on leaving the ice, we saw a number of crows perched on the top of some high pines near us. St. Germain immediately said there must be some dead animal thereabouts, and proceeded to search, when we saw several heads of deer half buried in the snow and ice, without eyes or tongues: the previous severity of the weather having obliged the wolves and other animals to abandon them. An expression of "Oh merciful G.o.d! we are saved," broke from us both; and with feelings more easily imagined than described, we shook hands, not knowing what to say for joy. It was twilight, and a fog was rapidly darkening the surface of the lake, when St. Germain commenced making the encampment; the task was too laborious for me to render him any a.s.sistance, and had we not thus providentially found provision, I feel convinced that the next twenty-four hours would have terminated my existence. But this good fortune in some measure renovated me for the moment, and putting out my whole strength I contrived to collect a few heads, and with incredible difficulty carried them singly about thirty paces to the fire.
Darkness stole on us apace, and I became extremely anxious about Beauparlant; several guns were fired, to each of which he answered. We then called out, and again heard his responses though faintly, when I told St. Germain to go and look for him, as I had not strength myself, being quite exhausted. He said, that he had already placed a pine branch on the ice, and he could then scarcely find his way back, but if he went now he should certainly be lost. In this situation I could only hope that as Beauparlant had my blanket, and every thing requisite to light a fire, he might have encamped at a little distance from us.
_October 17_.--The night was cold and clear, but we could not sleep at all, from the pains of having eaten. We suffered the most excruciating torments, though I in particular did not eat a quarter of what would have satisfied me; it might have been from using a quant.i.ty of raw or frozen sinews of the legs of deer, which neither of us could avoid doing, so great was our hunger. In the morning, being much agitated for the safety of Beauparlant, I desired St. Germain to go in search of him, and to return with him as quick as possible, when I would have something prepared for them to eat.
It was, however, late when he arrived, with a small bundle which Beauparlant was accustomed to carry, and with tears in his eyes, told me that he had found our poor companion dead. Dead! I could not believe him. "It is so, Sir," said St. Germain; "after hallooing and calling his name to no purpose, I went towards our last encampment, about three quarters of a mile, and found him stretched upon his back on a sand bank frozen to death, his limbs all extended and swelled enormously, and as hard as the ice that was near him; his bundle was behind him, as if it had rolled away when he fell, and the blanket which he wore around his neck and shoulders thrown on one side. Seeing that there was no longer life in him, I threw your covering over him, and placed his snow-shoes on the top of it."
I had not even thought of so serious an occurrence in our little party, and for a short time was obliged to give vent to my grief. Left with one person and both of us weak, no appearance of Belanger, a likelihood that great calamity had taken place amongst our other companions, still upwards of seventeen days" march from the nearest Establishment, and myself unable to carry a burden; all these things pressed heavy on me; and how to get to the Indians or to the fort I did not know; but that I might not depress St. Germain"s spirits, I suppressed the feelings to which these thoughts gave rise, and made some arrangements for the journey to Fort Providence.
_October 18_.--While we were this day occupied in sc.r.a.ping together the remains of some deer"s meat, we observed Belanger coming round a point apparently scarcely moving. I went to meet him, and made immediate inquiries about my friends. Five, with the Captain, he said, were at the house, the rest were left near the river, unable to proceed; but he was too weak to relate the whole. He was conducted to the encampment, and paid every attention to, and by degrees we heard the remainder of his tragic tale, at which the interpreter could not avoid crying. He then gave me a letter from my friend the Commander, which indeed was truly afflicting. The simple story of Belanger I could hear, but when I read it in another language, mingled with the pious resignation of a good man, I could not sustain it any longer. The poor man was much affected at the death of our lamented companion, but his appet.i.te prevailed over every other feeling; and, had I permitted it, he would have done himself an injury; for after two hours" eating, princ.i.p.ally 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 Rein-Deer 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{56} 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 sc.r.a.p 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 s.n.a.t.c.h 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 gla.s.s 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.
On the 27th we discovered the remains of a deer, on which we feasted.
The night was unusually cold, and ice formed in a pint-pot within two feet of the fire. The coruscations of the Aurora were beautifully brilliant; they served to shew us eight wolves, which we had some trouble to frighten away from our collection of deer"s bones; and, between their howling and the constant cracking of the ice, we did not get much rest.
Having collected with great care, and by self-denial, two small packets of dried meat or sinews, sufficient (for men who knew what it was to fast) to last for eight days, at the rate of one indifferent meal per day, we prepared to set out on the 30th. I calculated that we should be about fourteen days in reaching Fort Providence; and allowing that we neither killed deer nor found Indians, we could but be unprovided with food six days, and this we heeded not whilst the prospect of obtaining full relief was before us. Accordingly we set out against a keen north-east wind, in order to gain the known route to Fort Providence. We saw a number of wolves and some crows on the middle of the lake, and supposing such an a.s.sembly was not met idly, we made for them and came in for a share of a deer which they had killed a short time before, and thus added a couple of meals to our stock. By four P.M. we gained the head of the lake, or the direct road to Fort Providence, and some dry wood being at hand, we encamped; by accident it was the same place where the Commander"s party had slept on the 19th, the day on which I supposed they had left Fort Enterprise; but the encampment was so small, that we feared great mortality had taken place amongst them; and I am sorry to say the stubborn resolution of my men, not to go to the house, prevented me from determining this most anxious point, so that I now almost dreaded pa.s.sing their encampments, lest I should see some of our unfortunate friends dead at each spot. Our fire was hardly kindled when a fine herd of deer pa.s.sed close to us. St. Germain pursued them a short distance, but with his usual want of success, so that we made a meal off the muscles and sinews we had dried, though they were so tough that we could scarcely{57} cut them. My hands were benumbed throughout the march, and we were all stiff and fatigued. The marching of two days weakened us all very much, and the more so on account of our exertion to follow the tracks of our Commander"s party; but we lost them, and concluded that they were not before us. Though the weather was not cold, I was frozen in the face and was so reduced and affected by these constant calamities, as well in mind as in body, that I found much difficulty in proceeding even with the advantages I had enjoyed.
_November 3_.--We set out before day, though, in fact, we were all much fitter to remain, from the excessive pain which we suffered in our joints, and proceeded till one P.M., without halting, when Belanger, who was before, stopped, and cried out, "Footsteps of Indians." It is needless to mention the joy that brightened the countenances of each at this unlooked-for sight; we knew relief must be at hand, and considered our sufferings at an end. St. Germain inspected the tracks, and said that three persons had pa.s.sed the day before; and that he knew the remainder must be advancing to the southward, as was customary with these Indians, when they sent to the trading establishment on the first ice. On this information we encamped, and being too weak to walk myself, I sent St. Germain to follow the tracks, with instructions to the chief of the Indians to provide immediate a.s.sistance for such of our friends as might be at Fort Enterprise, as well as for ourselves, and to lose no time in returning to me. I was now so exhausted, that had we not seen the tracks this day, I must have remained at the next encampment, until the men could have sent aid from Fort Providence. We had finished our small portion of sinews, and were preparing for rest, when an Indian boy made his appearance with meat. St. Germain had arrived before sunset at the tents of Akaitcho, whom he found at the spot where he had wintered last year; but imagine my surprise when he gave me a note from the Commander, and said that Benoit and Augustus, two of the men, had just joined them. The note was so confused, by the pencil marks being partly rubbed out, that I could not decipher it clearly; but it informed me, that he had attempted to come with the two men, but finding his strength inadequate to the task, he relinquished his design, and returned to Fort Enterprise, to await relief with the others. There was another note for the gentleman in charge of Fort Providence, desiring him to send meat, blankets, shoes, and tobacco. Akaitcho wished me to join him on the ensuing day, at a place which the boy knew, where they were going to fish; and I was the more anxious to do so, on account of my companions: but particularly that I might hear a full relation of what had happened, and of the Commander"s true situation, which I suspected to be much worse than he had described.