482 A JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



Commander, whom I supposed to be by this time at Fort Enterprise, 

 to inform him of our situation; not that I imagined for a moment 

 he could better it, but that by all returning to the fort we might, 

 perhaps, have better success in hunting; with this view I de- 

 spatched Belanger, much against his inclination, and told him to 

 return as quick as possible to a place about four miles further on, 

 where we intended to fish, and to await his arrival. The men were 

 so weak this day, that I could get neither of them to move from the 

 encampment ; and it was only necessity that compelled them to cut 

 wood for fuel, in performing which operation Beauparlant's face 

 became so dreadfully swelled that he could scarcely see; I myself 

 lost my temper on the most trivial circumstances, and was become 

 very peevish ; the day was fine but cold, with a freezing north-east 

 wind. We had nothing to eat. 



October 15. — The night was calm and clear, but it was not before 

 two in the afternoon that we set out; and the one was so weak, 

 and the other so full of complaints, that we did not get more than 

 three-quarters of a mile from our last encampment, before we were 

 obliged to put up ; but in this distance we were fortunate enough to 

 kill a partridge, the bones of which were eaten, and the remainder 

 reserved for baits to fish with. We were fortunate, however, in col- 

 lecting sufficient tripe de roche to make a meal ; and I now anxiously 

 awaited Belanger's return, to know what course to take. I was 

 now so much reduced, that my shoulders were as if they would fall 

 from my body, my legs seemed unable to support me, and in the 

 disposition which I then found myself, had it not been for the re- 

 membrance of my friends behind, who relied on me for relief, as well 

 as the persons of whom I had charge, I certainly should have pre- 

 ferred remaining where I was, to the miserable pain of attempting 



~* 



move 



October 16. — We waited until two in the afternoon for 

 but not seeing any thing of him on the lake, we set out, purposing 



