366 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 
trace his way. At length we came to a spot 
which afforded us plenty of dwarf birches, but 
they were so much frozen, and the snow fell so 
thick, that upwards of two hours were wasted in 
endeavouring to make a fire; during which time 
our clothes were freezing upon us. At length 
our efforts were crowned with success, and after 
a good supper, we laid, or rather sat down to 
sleep ; for the nature of the ground obliged us to 
pass the night in a demi-erect position, with our 
backs against a bank of earth. The thermometer 
was 16° at six P.M. 
After enjoying a more comfortable night’s rest 
than we had expected, we set off at day-break : 
the thermometer then standing at 18°, The ground 
was covered with snow, the small lakes were 
frozen, and the whole scene had a wintery appear- 
ance. We goton but slowly at first, owing to an 
old sprained ankle, which had been very trouble- 
some to me for the last three days, and was this 
moring excessively painful. In fording a rivu- 
let, however, the application of cold water gave 
me immediate relief, and I walked with ease the 
remainder of the day. In the afternoon we re- 
joined our track outwards and came to the place 
where Keskarrah had made his deposit of pro- 
vision, which proved a very acceptable supply, 
as our stock was exhausted. We then crossed 
