4 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



frozen side of a hill when heated with walking, 

 had caught a severe inflammatory sore throat, 

 which became daily worse whilst we remained in 

 the tents, but began to mend soon after he was 

 enabled to confine himself to the more equable 

 warmth of the house. We took up our abode at 

 first on the floor, but our working party, who had 

 shewn such skill as house-carpenters, soon proved 

 themselves to be, with the same tools, (the hatchet 

 and crooked knife,) excellent cabinet-makers, and 

 daily added a table, chair, or bedstead, to the 

 comforts of our establishment. The crooked 

 knife, generally made of an old file, bent and 

 tempered by heat, serves an Indian or Canadian 

 voyager for plane, chisel, and auger. With it 

 the snow-shoe and canoe-thnbers are fashioned, 

 the deals of their sledges reduced to the requisite 

 thinness and polish, and their wooden bowls and 

 spoons hollowed out. Indeed, though not quite so 

 requisite for existence as the hatchet, yet without 

 its aid there would be little comfort in these wilds. 

 On the 7th we were gratified by a sight of the 

 sun, after it had been obscured for twelve days. 

 On this and several following days the meridian 

 sun melted the light covering of snow or hoar 

 frost on the Uchens, which clothe the barren 

 grounds, and rendered them so tender as to at- 

 tract great herds of rein-deer to our neighbour- 



