LIEUTENANT DE LONG'S DIARY. 381 



beautiful day brought sunshine to cheer us up. An icy road, 

 and one day's rations yet. Boats frozen, of course, and 

 hauled up. No hut in sight, and we halt on a bluff to spend 

 a cold and comfortless night. Supper half pound meat 

 and tea. Built a rousing, fire. Built a log bed. Set a watch, 

 two hours each, to keep fire going and get supper. Then we 

 stood by for a second cold and wretched night. There was 

 so much wind we had to put up our tent halves for a screen 

 and sit shivering in our half blankets. 



MONDAY, October 3d, 1881, 113th day. It was so 

 fearfully cold and wretched that I served out tea to 

 all hands, and on this we managed to struggle along 

 until 5 A. M., when we ate our last deer-meat and had more 

 tea. Our morning food now consists of four-fourteenths of a 

 pound of pemmican each, and a half-starved dog. May (rod 

 again incline unto our aid ! How much farther we have to go 

 before making a shelter or settlement, He only knows. Brisk 

 winds, barometer 30.23 at 1.50 temperature. Erickson seems 

 failing. He is weak and powerless, and the moment he 

 closes his eyes talks, mostly in Danish, German and English. 

 No one can sleep, even though our other surroundings per- 

 mitted. For some cause my watch stopped at 10.45 last 

 night while one of the men on watch had it. I set it as near 

 as I could by guessing, and we must run by that until I can 

 do better. Sun rose yesterday morning at 6.40 by the watch 

 when running all right. 7.05 to 7.40, 7.50 to 8.20, 8.30 to 

 9, 9.15 to 9.35, 9.5(f to 10.10, 10.25 to 10.40, 11. Back. 

 11.20, 11.30, 11.40, 11.50. Dinner. 35, 30, 30, 20, 20, 20; 

 total, 15o 2 hours 35 minutes, say five miles. 



Our force means work. I put as above five miles. Some 

 time and distance were lost by crossing the river upon seeing 

 numerous fox-traps. A man's track was also seen in the 

 snow, bound south, and we followed it until it crossed the 

 river to the west bank again. Here we were obliged to go 

 back again in our tracks, for the river was open in places 

 and we could not follow the man's track direct. Another of 

 the dozen shoals that infest the river swung us off to the 



