434 A JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



and when they arrived at the encampment appeared qnite ex- 

 hausted. The former, bursting into tears, declared his inability to 

 proceed with the party, 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 

 the morning. The sudden failure in the strength of these men 

 cast a gloom over the rest, which I tried in vain to remove, by re- 

 peated assurances 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 palustrej, 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 canvass 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 per- 

 mitted to go back to the tent, assuring 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 circumstances, 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 passed, and recommending 

 their removing thither. Having found that Michel was carrying a 

 considerable quantity of ammunition, I desired him to divide it 

 amon g my party, leaving him only ten balls 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 



