440 A JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



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 rein-deer. 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 assistance. My other companions fortunately 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 exco- 

 riated 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 fortu- 

 nately left here in the spring. Augustus to-day set two fishing 

 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 



