The Journey to the Polar Sea Part 29

Richardson and Hepburn, who were both in a state of strength to keep pace with the men besides, this motive which they shared with him, were influenced in their resolution to remain, the former by the desire which had distinguished his character throughout the Expedition of devoting himself to the succour of the weak, and the latter by the zealous attachment he had ever shown towards his officers.

We set out without waiting to take any of the tripe de roche and, walking at a tolerable pace, in an hour arrived at a fine group of pines about a mile and a quarter from the tent. We sincerely regretted not having seen these before we separated from our companions as they would have been better supplied with fuel here and there appeared to be more tripe de roche than where we had left them.

Descending afterwards into a more level country we found the snow very deep and the labour of wading through it so fatigued the whole party that we were compelled to encamp after a march of four miles and a half.

Belanger and Michel were left far behind and when they arrived at the encampment appeared quite exhausted. The former, bursting into tears, declared his inability to proceed and begged me to let him go back next morning to the tent and shortly afterwards Michel made the same request.

I was in hopes they might recover a little strength by the night's rest and therefore deferred giving any permission UNTIL morning. The sudden failure in the strength of these men cast a gloom over the rest, which I tried in vain to remove by repeated a.s.surances that the distance to Fort Enterprise was short and that we should in all probability reach it in four days. Not being able to find any tripe de roche we drank an infusion of the Labrador tea plant (Ledum pal.u.s.tre) and ate a few morsels of burnt leather for supper. We were unable to raise the tent and found its weight too great to carry it on; we therefore cut it up and took a part of the canvas for a cover. The night was bitterly cold and though we lay as close to each other as possible, having no shelter, we could not keep ourselves sufficiently warm to sleep. A strong gale came on after midnight which increased the severity of the weather. In the morning Belanger and Michel renewed their request to be permitted to go back to the tent, a.s.suring me they were still weaker than on the preceding evening and less capable of going forward, and they urged that the stopping at a place where there was a supply of tripe de roche was their only chance of preserving life; under these circ.u.mstances I could not do otherwise than yield to their desire. I wrote a note to Dr. Richardson and Mr. Hood informing them of the pines we had pa.s.sed and recommending their removing thither. Having found that Michel was carrying a considerable quant.i.ty of ammunition I desired him to divide it among my party, leaving him only ten b.a.l.l.s and a little shot to kill any animals he might meet on his way to the tent. This man was very particular in his inquiries respecting the direction of the house and the course we meant to pursue; he also said that if he should be able he would go and search for Vaillant and Credit; and he requested my permission to take Vaillant's blanket if he should find it, to which I agreed and mentioned it in my notes to the officers.

Scarcely were these arrangements finished before Perrault and Fontano were seized with a fit of dizziness and betrayed other symptoms of extreme debility. Some tea was quickly prepared for them and after drinking it and eating a few morsels of burnt leather they recovered and expressed their desire to go forward, but the other men, alarmed at what they had just witnessed, became doubtful of their own strength and, giving way to absolute dejection, declared their inability to move. I now earnestly pressed upon them the necessity of continuing our journey as the only means of saving their own lives as well as those of our friends at the tent, and after much entreaty got them to set out at ten A.M.

Belanger and Michel were left at the encampment and proposed to start shortly afterwards. By the time we had gone about two hundred yards Perrault became again dizzy and desired us to halt which we did until he, recovering, offered to march on. Ten minutes more had hardly elapsed before he again desired us to stop and, bursting into tears, declared he was totally exhausted and unable to accompany us farther. As the encampment was not more than a quarter of a mile distant we recommended that he should return to it and rejoin Belanger and Michel whom we knew to be still there from perceiving the smoke of a fresh fire, and because they had not made any preparation for starting when we quitted them. He readily acquiesced in the proposition and, having taken a friendly leave of each of us, and enjoined us to make all the haste we could in sending relief, he turned back, keeping his gun and ammunition. We watched him until he was nearly at the fire and then proceeded. During these detentions Augustus becoming impatient of the delay had walked on and we lost sight of him. The labour we experienced in wading through the deep snow induced us to cross a moderate-sized lake which lay in our track, but we found this operation far more hara.s.sing. As the surface of the ice was perfectly smooth we slipped at almost every step and were frequently blown down by the wind with such force as to shake our whole frames.

Poor Fontano was completely exhausted by the labour of this traverse and we made a halt until his strength was recruited, by which time the party was benumbed with cold. Proceeding again he got on tolerably well for a little time but, being again seized with faintness and dizziness, he fell often and at length exclaimed that he could go no farther. We immediately stopped and endeavoured to encourage him to persevere until we should find some willows to encamp; he insisted however that he could not march any longer through this deep snow, and said that, if he should even reach our encampment this evening, he must be left there, provided tripe de roche could not be procured to recruit his strength. The poor man was overwhelmed with grief and seemed desirous to remain at that spot. We were about two miles from the place where the other men had been left and, as the track to it was beaten, we proposed to him to return thither as we thought it probable he would find the men still there; at any rate he would be able to get fuel to keep him warm during the night, and on the next day he could follow their track to the officers' tent and, should the path be covered by the snow, the pines we had pa.s.sed yesterday would guide him as they were yet in view.

I cannot describe my anguish on the occasion of separating from another companion under circ.u.mstances so distressing. There was however no alternative. The extreme debility of the rest of the party put the carrying him quite out of the question, as he himself admitted, and it was evident that the frequent delays he must occasion if he accompanied us and did not gain strength would endanger the lives of the whole. By returning he had the prospect of getting to the tent where tripe de roche could be obtained, which agreed with him better than with any other of the party, and which he was always very a.s.siduous in gathering. After some hesitation he determined on going back and set out, having bid each of us farewell in the tenderest manner. We watched him with inexpressible anxiety for some time, and were rejoiced to find, though he got on slowly, that he kept on his legs better than before. Antonio Fontano was an Italian and had served for many years in De Meuron's regiment. He had spoken to me that very morning and after his first attack of dizziness about his father, and had begged that, should he survive, I would take him with me to England and put him in the way of reaching home.

The party was now reduced to five persons, Adam, Peltier, Benoit, Samandre and myself. Continuing the journey we came after an hour's walk to some willows and encamped under the shelter of a rock, having walked in the whole four miles and a half. We made an attempt to gather some tripe de roche but could not, owing to the severity of the weather. Our supper therefore consisted of tea and a few morsels of leather.

Augustus did not make his appearance but we felt no alarm at his absence, supposing he would go to the tent if he missed our track. Having fire we procured a little sleep. Next morning the breeze was light and the weather mild which enabled us to collect some tripe de roche and to enjoy the only meal we had had for four days. We derived great benefit from it and walked with considerably more ease than yesterday. Without the strength it supplied we should certainly have been unable to oppose the strong breeze we met in the afternoon. After walking about five miles we came upon the borders of Marten Lake and were rejoiced to find it frozen so that we could continue our course straight for Fort Enterprise. We encamped at the first rapid in Winter River amidst willows and alders, but these were so frozen and the snow fell so thick that the men had great difficulty in making a fire. This proving insufficient to warm us or even thaw our shoes, and having no food to prepare, we crept under our blankets. The arrival in a well-known part raised the spirits of the men to a high pitch, and we kept up a cheerful conversation until sleep overpowered us. The night was very stormy and the morning scarcely less so but, being desirous to reach the house this day, we commenced our journey very early. We were gratified by the sight of a large herd of reindeer on the side of the hill near the track, but our only hunter Adam was too feeble to pursue them. Our shoes and garments were stiffened by the frost and we walked in great pain until we arrived at some stunted pines, at which we halted, made a good fire, and procured the refreshment of tea. The weather becoming fine in the afternoon we continued our journey, pa.s.sed the Dog-Rib Rock, and encamped among a clump of pines of considerable growth about a mile farther on. Here we enjoyed the comfort of a large fire for the first time since our departure from the sea-coast, but this gratification was purchased at the expense of many severe falls in crossing a stony valley to get to these trees. There was no tripe de roche and we drank tea and ate some of our shoes for supper.

Next morning after taking the usual repast of tea we proceeded to the house. Musing on what we were likely to find there our minds were agitated between hope and fear and, contrary to the custom we had kept up of supporting our spirits by conversation, we went silently forward.

DESOLATE STATE OF FORT ENTERPRISE.

At length we reached Fort Enterprise and to our infinite disappointment and grief found it a perfectly desolate habitation. There was no deposit of provision, no trace of the Indians, no letter from Mr. Wentzel to point out where the Indians might be found. It would be impossible to describe our sensations after entering this miserable abode and discovering how we had been neglected; the whole party shed tears, not so much for our own fate as for that of our friends in the rear, whose lives depended entirely on our sending immediate relief from this place.

I found a note however from Mr. Back, stating that he had reached the house two days before and was going in search of the Indians at a part where St. Germain deemed it probable they might be found. If he was unsuccessful he purposed walking to Fort Providence and sending succour from thence, but he doubted whether either he or his party could perform the journey to that place in their present debilitated state. It was evident that any supply that could be sent from Fort Providence would be long in reaching us, neither could it be sufficient to enable us to afford any a.s.sistance to our companions behind, and that the only relief for them must be procured from the Indians. I resolved therefore on going also in search of them, but my companions were absolutely incapable of proceeding and I thought by halting two or three days they might gather a little strength whilst the delay would afford us the chance of learning whether Mr. Back had seen the Indians.

DISTRESS SUFFERED AT THAT PLACE.

We now looked round for the means of subsistence and were gratified to find several deer-skins which had been thrown away during our former residence. The bones were gathered from the heap of ashes; these with the skins and the addition of tripe de roche we considered would support us tolerably well for a time. As to the house, the parchment being torn from the windows, the apartment we selected for our abode was exposed to all the rigour of the season. We endeavoured to exclude the wind as much as possible by placing loose boards against the apertures. The temperature was now between 15 and 20 degrees below zero. We procured fuel by pulling up the flooring of the other rooms, and water for cooking by melting the snow. Whilst we were seated round the fire, singeing the deer-skin for supper, we were rejoiced by the unexpected entrance of Augustus. He had followed quite a different course from ours and the circ.u.mstance of his having found his way through a part of the country he had never been in before must be considered a remarkable proof of sagacity. The unusual earliness of this winter became manifest to us from the state of things at this spot. Last year at the same season and still later there had been very little snow on the ground and we were surrounded by vast herds of reindeer; now there were but few recent tracks of these animals and the snow was upwards of two feet deep. Winter River was then open, now it was frozen two feet thick.

When I arose the following morning my body and limbs were so swollen that I was unable to walk more than a few yards. Adam was in a still worse condition, being absolutely incapable of rising without a.s.sistance. My other companions happily experienced this inconvenience in a less degree and went to collect bones and some tripe de roche which supplied us with two meals. The bones were quite acrid and the soup extracted from them excoriated the mouth if taken alone, but it was somewhat milder when boiled with tripe de roche and we even thought the mixture palatable with the addition of salt, of which a cask had been fortunately left here in the spring. Augustus today set two fis.h.i.+ng-lines below the rapid. On his way thither he saw two deer but had not strength to follow them.

On the 13th the wind blew violently from south-east and the snow drifted so much that the party were confined to the house. In the afternoon of the following day Belanger arrived with a note from Mr. Back stating that he had seen no trace of the Indians, and desiring further instructions as to the course he should pursue. Belanger's situation however required our first care as he came in almost speechless and covered with ice, having fallen into a rapid and, for the third time since we left the coast, narrowly escaped drowning. He did not recover sufficiently to answer our questions until we had rubbed him for some time, changed his dress, and given him some warm soup. My companions nursed him with the greatest kindness and the desire of restoring him to health seemed to absorb all regard for their own situation. I witnessed with peculiar pleasure this conduct, so different from that which they had recently pursued when every tender feeling was suspended by the desire of self-preservation.

They now no longer betrayed impatience or despondency but were composed and cheerful and had entirely given up the practice of swearing, to which the Canadian voyagers are so lamentably addicted. Our conversation naturally turned upon the prospect of getting relief and upon the means which were best adapted for obtaining it. The absence of all traces of Indians on Winter River convinced me that they were at this time on the way to Fort Providence and that, by proceeding towards that post, we should overtake them as they move slowly when they have their families with them. This route also offered us the prospect of killing deer in the vicinity of Reindeer Lake, in which neighbourhood our men in their journey to and fro last winter had always found them abundant. Upon these grounds I determined on taking the route to Fort Providence as soon as possible, and wrote to Mr. Back, desiring him to join me at Reindeer Lake and detailing the occurrences since we parted, that our friends might receive relief in case of any accident happening to me.

Belanger did not recover sufficient strength to leave us before the 18th.

His answers as to the exact part of Round-Rock Lake in which he had left Mr. Back were very unsatisfactory, and we could only collect that it was at a considerable distance, and that he was still going on with the intention of halting at the place where Akaitcho was encamped last summer, about thirty miles off. This distance appeared so great that I told Belanger it was very unsafe for him to attempt it alone and that he would be several days in accomplis.h.i.+ng it. He stated however that, as the track was beaten, he should experience little fatigue, and seemed so confident that I suffered him to depart with a supply of singed hide.

Next day I received information which explained why he was so unwilling to acquaint us with the situation of Mr. Back's party. He dreaded that I should resolve upon joining it when our numbers would be so great as to consume at once everything St. Germain might kill, if by accident he should be successful in hunting. He even endeavoured to entice away our other hunter, Adam, and proposed to him to carry off the only kettle we had and without which we could not have subsisted two days. Adam's inability to move however precluded him from agreeing to the proposal but he could a.s.sign no reason for not acquainting me with it previous to Belanger's departure. I was at first inclined to consider the whole matter as a fiction of Adam's, but he persisted in his story without wavering, and Belanger when we met again confessed that every part of it was true. It is painful to have to record a fact so derogatory to human nature but I have deemed it proper to mention it to show the difficulties we had to contend with, and the effect which distress had in warping the feelings and understanding of the most diligent and obedient of our party, for such Belanger had been always esteemed up to this time.

In making arrangements for our departure Adam disclosed to me for the first time that he was affected with oedematous swellings in some parts of the body to such a degree as to preclude the slightest attempt at marching and, upon my expressing my surprise at his having hitherto concealed from me the extent of his malady, among other explanations the details of the preceding story came out. It now became necessary to abandon the original intention of proceeding with the whole party towards Fort Providence and, Peltier and Samandre having volunteered to remain with Adam, I determined on setting out with Benoit and Augustus, intending to send them relief by the first party of Indians we should meet. My clothes were so much torn as to be quite inadequate to screen me from the wind and Peltier and Samandre, fearing that I might suffer on the journey in consequence, kindly exchanged with me parts of their dress, desiring me to send them skins in return by the Indians. Having patched up three pairs of snowshoes and singed a quant.i.ty of skin for the journey we started on the morning of the 20th. Previous to my departure I packed up the journals of the officers, the charts, and some other doc.u.ments, together with a letter addressed to the Under-Secretary of State detailing the occurrences of the Expedition up to this period, which package was given in charge to Peltier and Samandre with directions that it should be brought away by the Indians who might come to them. I also instructed them to send succour immediately on its arrival to our companions in the rear, which they solemnly promised to do, and I left a letter for my friends, Richardson and Hood, to be sent at the same time.

I thought it necessary to admonish Peltier, Samandre, and Adam to eat two meals every day in order to keep up their strength, which they promised me they would do. No language that I can use could adequately describe the parting scene. I shall only say there was far more calmness and resignation to the Divine will evince by everyone than could have been expected. We were all cheered by the hope that the Indians would be found by the one party and relief sent to the other. Those who remained entreated us to make all the haste we could and expressed their hope of seeing the Indians in ten or twelve days.

At first starting we were so feeble as scarcely to be able to move forwards and the descent of the bank of the river through the deep snow was a severe labour. When we came upon the ice where the snow was less deep we got on better, but after walking six hours we had only gained four miles and were then compelled by fatigue to encamp on the borders of Round-Rock Lake. Augustus tried for fish here but without success so that our fare was skin and tea. Composing ourselves to rest we lay close to each other for warmth. We found the night bitterly cold and the wind pierced through our famished frames.

The next morning was mild and pleasant for travelling and we set out after breakfast. We had not however gone many yards before I had the misfortune to break my snowshoes by falling between two rocks. This accident prevented me from keeping pace with Benoit and Augustus and in the attempt I became quite exhausted. Feeling convinced that their being delayed on my account might prove of fatal consequence to the rest I resolved on returning to the house and letting them proceed alone in search of the Indians. I therefore halted them only whilst I wrote a note to Mr. Back, stating the reason of my return, and desiring he would send meat from Reindeer Lake by these men if St. Germain should kill any animals there. If Benoit should miss Mr. Back I directed him to proceed to Fort Providence and furnished him with a letter to the gentleman in charge of it, requesting that immediate supplies might be sent to us.

On my return to the house I found Samandre very dispirited and too weak, as he said, to render any a.s.sistance to Peltier, upon whom the whole labour of getting wood and collecting the means of subsistence would have devolved. Conscious too that his strength would have been unequal to these tasks they had determined upon taking only one meal each day, so that I felt my going back particularly fortunate as I hoped to stimulate Samandre to exertion and at any rate could contribute some help to Peltier. I undertook the office of cooking and insisted they should eat twice a day whenever food could be procured but, as I was too weak to pound the bones, Peltier agreed to do that in addition to his more fatiguing task of getting wood. We had a violent snow-storm all the next day and this gloomy weather increased the depression of spirits under which Adam and Samandre were labouring. Neither of them would quit their beds and they scarcely ceased from shedding tears all day; in vain did Peltier and myself endeavour to cheer them. We had even to use much entreaty before they would take the meals we had prepared for them. Our situation was indeed distressing but in comparison with that of our friends in the rear we thought it happy. Their condition gave us unceasing solicitude and was the princ.i.p.al subject of our conversation.

Though the weather was stormy on the 26th Samandre a.s.sisted me to gather tripe de roche. Adam, who was very ill and could not now be prevailed upon to eat this weed, subsisted princ.i.p.ally on bones, though he also partook of the soup. The tripe de roche had hitherto afforded us our chief support, and we naturally felt great uneasiness at the prospect of being deprived of it by its being so frozen as to render it impossible for us to gather it.

We perceived our strength decline every day and every exertion began to be irksome; when we were once seated the greatest effort was necessary in order to rise, and we had frequently to lift each other from our seats, but even in this pitiable condition we conversed cheerfully, being sanguine as to the speedy arrival of the Indians. We calculated indeed that if they should be near the situation where they had remained last winter our men would have reached them by this day. Having expended all the wood which we could procure from our present dwelling, without danger of its fall, Peltier began this day to pull down the part.i.tions of the adjoining houses. Though these were only distant about twenty yards yet the increase of labour in carrying the wood fatigued him so much that by the evening he was exhausted. On the next day his weakness was such, especially in the arms of which he chiefly complained, that he with difficulty lifted the hatchet; still he persevered whilst Samandre and I a.s.sisted him in bringing in the wood, but our united strength could only collect sufficient to replenish the fire four times in the course of the day. As the insides of our mouths had become sore from eating the bone-soup we relinquished the use of it and now boiled the skin, which mode of dressing we found more palatable than frying it, as we had hitherto done.

On the 29th Peltier felt his pains more severe and could only cut a few pieces of wood. Samandre, who was still almost as weak, relieved him a little time and I aided them in carrying in the wood. We endeavoured to pick some tripe de roche but in vain as it was entirely frozen. In turning up the snow, in searching for bones, I found several pieces of bark which proved a valuable acquisition as we were almost dest.i.tute of dry wood proper for kindling the fire. We saw a herd of reindeer sporting on the river about half a mile from the house; they remained there a long time but none of the party felt themselves strong enough to go after them, nor was there one of us who could have fired a gun without resting it.

MURDER OF MR. HOOD. DEATH OF SEVERAL OF THE CANADIANS.

Whilst we were seated round the fire this evening, discoursing about the antic.i.p.ated relief, the conversation was suddenly interrupted by Peltier's exclaiming with joy "Ah! le monde!" imagining that he heard the Indians in the other room; immediately afterwards to his bitter disappointment Dr. Richardson and Hepburn entered, each carrying his bundle. Peltier however soon recovered himself enough to express his delight at their safe arrival and his regret that their companions were not with them. When I saw them alone my own mind was instantly filled with apprehensions respecting my friend Hood and our other companions, which were immediately confirmed by the Doctor's melancholy communication that Mr. Hood and Michel were dead. Perrault and Fontano had neither reached the tent nor been heard of by them. This intelligence produced a melancholy despondency in the minds of my party and on that account the particulars were deferred until another opportunity. We were all shocked at beholding the emaciated countenances of the Doctor and Hepburn as they strongly evidenced their extremely debilitated state. The alteration in our appearance was equally distressing to them for since the swellings had subsided we were little more than skin and bone. The Doctor particularly remarked the sepulchral tone of our voices which he requested us to make more cheerful if possible, unconscious that his own partook of the same key.

Hepburn, having shot a partridge which was brought to the house, the Doctor tore out the feathers and, having held it to the fire a few minutes, divided it into six portions. I and my three companions ravenously devoured our shares as it was the first morsel of flesh any of us had tasted for thirty-one days, unless indeed the small gristly particles which we found occasionally adhering to the pounded bones may be termed flesh. Our spirits were revived by this small supply and the Doctor endeavoured to raise them still higher by the prospect of Hepburn's being able to kill a deer next day, as they had seen and even fired at several near the house. He endeavoured too to rouse us into some attention to the comfort of our apartment, and particularly to roll up in the day our blankets which (expressly for the convenience of Adam and Samandre) we had been in the habit of leaving by the fire where we lay on them. The Doctor having brought his prayer-book and testament, some prayers and psalms and portions of scripture appropriate to our situation were read and we retired to bed.

Next morning the Doctor and Hepburn went out early in search of deer, but though they saw several herds and fired some shots they were not so fortunate as to kill any, being too weak to hold their guns steadily. The cold compelled the former to return soon but Hepburn persisted until late in the evening.

My occupation was to search for skins under the snow, it being now our object immediately to get all that we would, but I had not strength to drag in more than two of those which were within twenty yards of the house until the Doctor came and a.s.sisted me. We made up our stock to twenty-six but several of them were putrid and scarcely eatable, even by men suffering the extremity of famine. Peltier and Samandre continued very weak and dispirited and they were unable to cut firewood. Hepburn had in consequence that laborious task to perform after he came back. The Doctor having scarified the swelled parts of Adam's body a large quant.i.ty of water flowed out, and he obtained some ease but still kept his bed.

After our usual supper of singed skin and bone-soup Dr. Richardson acquainted me with the afflicting circ.u.mstances attending the death of Mr. Hood and Michel, and detailed the occurrences subsequent to my departure from them which I shall give from his Journal in his own words, but I must here be permitted to express the heart-felt sorrow with which I was overwhelmed at the loss of so many companions, especially of my friend Mr. Hood to whose zealous and able cooperation I had been indebted for so much invaluable a.s.sistance during the Expedition, whilst the excellent qualities of his heart engaged my warmest regard. His scientific observations together with his maps and drawings (a small part of which only appear in this work) evince a variety of talent which, had his life been spared, must have rendered him a distinguished ornament to his profession, and which will cause his death to be felt as a loss to the service.

DR. RICHARDSON'S NARRATIVE.

After Captain Franklin had bidden us farewell we remained seated by the fireside as long as the willows the men had cut for us before they departed lasted. We had no tripe de roche that day but drank an infusion of the country tea-plant, which was grateful from its warmth although it afforded no sustenance. We then retired to bed where we remained all the next day as the weather was stormy, and the snow-drift so heavy as to destroy every prospect of success in our endeavours to light a fire with the green and frozen willows which were our only fuel. Through the extreme kindness and forethought of a lady the party, previous to leaving London, had been furnished with a small collection of religious books, of which we still retained two or three of the most portable, and they proved of incalculable benefit to us. We read portions of them to each other as we lay in bed, in addition to the morning and evening service, and found that they inspired us on each perusal with so strong a sense of the omnipresence of a beneficent G.o.d that our situation even in these wilds appeared no longer dest.i.tute, and we conversed not only with calmness but with cheerfulness, detailing with unrestrained confidence the past events of our lives and dwelling with hope on our future prospects. Had my poor friend been spared to revisit his native land I should look back to this period with unalloyed delight.

On the morning of the 9th the weather although still cold was clear, and I went out in quest of tripe de roche, leaving Hepburn to cut willows for a fire and Mr. Hood in bed. I had no success as yesterday's snow-drift was so frozen on the surface of the rocks that I could not collect any of the weed, but on my return to the tent I found that Michel the Iroquois had come with a note from Mr. Franklin which stated that, this man and Jean Baptiste Belanger being unable to proceed, were about to return to us, and that a mile beyond our present encampment there was a clump of pine-trees to which he recommended us to remove the tent. Michel informed us that he quitted Mr. Franklin's party yesterday morning but that having missed his way he had pa.s.sed the night on the snow a mile or two to the northward of us. Belanger he said, being impatient, left the fire about two hours earlier and, as he had not arrived, he supposed must have gone astray. It will be seen in the sequel that we had more than sufficient reason to doubt the truth of this story.

Michel now produced a hare and a partridge which he had killed in the morning. This unexpected supply of provision was received by us with a deep sense of grat.i.tude to the Almighty for His goodness, and we looked upon Michel as the instrument He had chosen to preserve all our lives. He complained of cold and Mr. Hood offered to share his buffalo robe with him at night. I gave him one of two s.h.i.+rts which I wore whilst Hepburn in the warmth of his heart exclaimed "How I shall love this man if I find that he does not tell lies like the others." Our meals being finished we arranged that the greatest part of the things should be carried to the pines the next day and, after reading the evening service, retired to bed full of hope.

Early in the morning Hepburn, Michel, and myself, carried the ammunition and most of the other heavy articles to the pines. Michel was our guide and it did not occur to us at the time that his conducting us perfectly straight was incompatible with his story of having mistaken his road in coming to us. He now informed us that he had on his way to the tent left on the hill above the pines a gun and forty-eight b.a.l.l.s which Perrault had given to him when with the rest of Mr. Franklin's party he took leave of him. It will be seen on a reference to Mr. Franklin's journal that Perrault carried his gun and ammunition with him when they parted from Michel and Belanger. After we had made a fire and drank a little of the country tea Hepburn and I returned to the tent where we arrived in the evening, much exhausted with our journey. Michel preferred sleeping where he was and requested us to leave him the hatchet, which we did after he had promised to come early in the morning to a.s.sist us in carrying the tent and bedding. Mr. Hood remained in bed all day. Seeing nothing of Belanger today we gave him up for lost.

On the 11th, after waiting until late in the morning for Michel who did not come, Hepburn and I loaded ourselves with the bedding and, accompanied by Mr. Hood, set out for the pines. Mr. Hood was much affected with dimness of sight, giddiness, and other symptoms of extreme debility, which caused us to move very slowly and to make frequent halts.

On arriving at the pines we were much alarmed to find that Michel was absent. We feared that he had lost his way in coming to us in the morning, although it was not easy to conjecture how that could have happened, as our footsteps of yesterday were very distinct. Hepburn went back for the tent and returned with it after dusk, completely worn out with the fatigue of the day. Michel too arrived at the same time and relieved our anxiety on his account. He reported that he had been in chase of some deer which pa.s.sed near his sleeping-place in the morning and, although he did not come up with them, yet that he found a wolf which had been killed by the stroke of a deer's horn and had brought a part of it. We implicitly believed this story then, but afterwards became convinced from circ.u.mstances, the detail of which may be spared, that it must have been a portion of the body of Belanger or Perrault. A question of moment here presents itself, namely whether he actually murdered these men, or either of them, or whether he found the bodies in the snow.

Captain Franklin, who is the best able to judge of this matter from knowing their situation when he parted from them, suggested the former idea, and that both Belanger and Perrault had been sacrificed. When Perrault turned back Captain Franklin watched him until he reached a small group of willows which was immediately adjoining to the fire and concealed it from view, and at this time the smoke of fresh fuel was distinctly visible. Captain Franklin conjectures that Michel, having already destroyed Belanger, completed his crime by Perrault's death in order to screen himself from detection. Although this opinion is founded only on circ.u.mstances and is unsupported by direct evidence it has been judged proper to mention it, especially as the subsequent conduct of the man showed that he was capable of committing such a deed. The circ.u.mstances are very strong. It is not easy to a.s.sign any other adequate motive for his concealing from us that Perrault had turned back, while his request overnight that we should leave him the hatchet and his c.u.mbering himself with it when he went out in the morning, unlike a hunter who makes use only of his knife when he kills a deer, seem to indicate that he took it for the purpose of cutting up something that he knew to be frozen. These opinions however are the result of subsequent consideration. We pa.s.sed this night in the open air.

On the following morning the tent was pitched; Michel went out early, refused my offer to accompany him, and remained out the whole day. He would not sleep in the tent at night but chose to lie at the fireside.

On the 13th there was a heavy gale of wind and we pa.s.sed the day by the fire. Next day about two P.M., the gale abating, Michel set out as he said to hunt but returned unexpectedly in a very short time. This conduct surprised us and his contradictory and evasory answers to our questions excited some suspicions but they did not turn towards the truth.

October 15th.

In the course of this day Michel expressed much regret that he had stayed behind Mr. Franklin's party, and declared that he would set out for the house at once if he knew the way. We endeavoured to sooth him and to raise his hopes of the Indians speedily coming to our relief but without success. He refused to a.s.sist us in cutting wood but about noon, after much solicitation, he set out to hunt. Hepburn gathered a kettleful of tripe de roche but froze his fingers. Both Hepburn and I fatigued ourselves much today in pursuing a flock of partridges from one part to another of the group of willows in which the hut was situated, but we were too weak to be able to approach them with sufficient caution. In the evening Michel returned, having met with no success.

Next day he refused either to hunt or cut wood, spoke in a very surly manner, and threatened to leave us. Under these circ.u.mstances Mr. Hood and I deemed it better to promise if he would hunt diligently for four days that then we would give Hepburn a letter for Mr. Franklin, a compa.s.s, inform him what course to pursue, and let them proceed together to the fort. The non-arrival of the Indians to our relief now led us to fear that some accident had happened to Mr. Franklin, and we placed no confidence in the exertions of the Canadians that accompanied him but we had the fullest confidence in Hepburn's returning the moment he could obtain a.s.sistance.

On the 17th I went to conduct Michel to where Vaillant's blanket was left and after walking about three miles pointed out the hills to him at a distance, and returned to the hut, having gathered a bagful of tripe de roche on the way. It was easier to gather this weed on a march than at the tent, for the exercise of walking produced a glow of heat which enabled us to withstand for a time the cold to which we were exposed in sc.r.a.ping the frozen surface of the rocks. On the contrary when we left the fire to collect it in the neighbourhood of the hut we became chilled at once and were obliged to return very quickly.

Michel proposed to remain out all night and to hunt next day on his way back. He returned in the afternoon of the 18th, having found the blanket together with a bag containing two pistols and some other things which had been left beside it. We had some tripe de roche in the evening but Mr. Hood, from the constant griping it produced, was unable to eat more than one or two spoonfuls. He was now so weak as to be scarcely able to sit up at the fireside and complained that the least breeze of wind seemed to blow through his frame. He also suffered much from cold during the night. We lay close to each other but the heat of the body was no longer sufficient to thaw the frozen rime formed by our breaths on the blankets that covered him.

At this period we avoided as much as possible conversing upon the hopelessness of our situation and generally endeavoured to lead the conversation towards our future prospects in life. The fact is that with the decay of our strength our minds decayed, and we were no longer able to bear the contemplation of the horrors that surrounded us. Each of us, if I may be allowed to judge from my own case, excused himself from so doing by a desire of not shocking the feelings of others, for we were sensible of one another's weakness of intellect though blind to our own.

Yet we were calm and resigned to our fate, not a murmur escaped us, and we were punctual and fervent in our addresses to the Supreme Being.