Chap. X. FRANKLIN AND RICHARDSON'S JOURNEY. 379 



. spect on finding, on the 20th of this month,the pools 

 of water frozen over, the ground covered with snow, 

 and the thermometer down to the freezing-point at 

 midday. The hunters went out, but saw no ani- 

 mals. " We made a scanty meal off a handful of 

 pemmican, after which only half a bag re- 

 mained." 



Bad as the canoes had become, and boisterous as 

 the weather was, these voyagers contrived to paddle 

 across the arms of lakes and inlets, within the great 

 gulf; but there was no game to be had ; the berries, 

 however, were ripe and plentiful ; and, with the addi- 

 tion of some country tea {ledum palustre), furnished 

 a supper. Having crossed the eastern entrance of 

 Bathurst's Inlet to an island, the deer were found 

 to be plentiful, and two were killed. The wind 

 changed to a quarter which enabled the party to 

 steer for Hood's River, from the mouth of which 

 they ascended as high as the first rapid, and en- 

 camped. This was on the 26th August ; " and 

 here," says Franklin, "terminated our voyage on 

 the Arctic Sea, during which we had gone over six 

 hundred and fifty geographical miles." " Our Cana- 

 dian voyagers," he adds, " could not restrain their joy 

 at having turned their backs on the sea, and they 

 spent the evening in talking over their past adven- 

 tures, with much humour and no little exaggera- 

 tion. It is due to their character to mention that 

 they displayed much courage in encountering the 



