152 THE AMERICAN MAINLAND 



afterwards two parhelia were observable, with a halo, 

 the colours of the inner edge of the circle a bright 

 carmine and red -lake intermingled with a rich yellow 

 forming a purplish orange, the outer edge being a pale 

 gamboge. On the 7th of December he left, sledging 

 across the lake before the wind, for the North West fort 

 on Moose Deer Island, and finding at the Hudson's 

 Bay fort, also on the island, five packages of belated 

 supplies and two Eskimo interpreters on their way to 

 Franklin. 



Here he was told that nothing could be spared at 

 Fort Chippewyan, that goods had never been trans- 

 ported so far in the winter season, that the same dogs 

 could not go and return, and that from having to walk 

 constantly on snow-shoes he would suffer a great deal 

 of misery and fatigue. Nevertheless he undertook the 

 journey in dog-sledges with a Canadian and an Indian, 

 leaving Wentzel behind. At times the weather was so 

 cold that they had to run to keep themselves warm, 

 and, owing to the snow, the feet of the dogs became so 

 raw that an endeavour was made to fit them with 

 shoes. With legs and ankles so swollen that it was 

 painful to drag the snow-shoes after him, Back hurried 

 on, reaching Fort Chippewyan on the 2nd of January 

 to find that he and all Franklin's party had been 

 reported to have been killed by Eskimos. Here he had 

 to wait a month, and then, with an instalment of what 

 he wanted, he set out on his return, arriving at Fort 

 Enterprise on St. Patrick's Day after a memorable 

 journey of over a thousand miles. 



During his absence he was told that the cold had 

 been so severe that Hood had found accurate observing 



