28 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



Indeed we have already mentioned that the heat 

 is abstracted most rapidly from the body during 

 strong breezes, and most of those who have pe- 

 rished from cold in this country, have fallen a 

 sacrifice to their being overtaken on a lake or 

 other misheltered place, by a storm of wind. The 

 intense colds, were, however, detrimental to us in 

 another way. The trees froze to their very cen- 

 tres, and became as hard as stones, and more dif- 

 cult to cut. Some of the axes were broken daily, 

 and by the end of the month we had only one left 

 that was fit for felling trees. By intrusting it only 

 to one of the party who had been bred a carpen- 

 ter, and who could use it with dexterity, it was 

 fortunately preserved until the arrival of our men 

 with others from Fort Providence. 



A thermometer, hung in our bed-room at the 

 distance of sixteen feet from the fire, but ex- 

 posed to its direct radiation, stood even in the 

 day-time occasionally at 15° below zero, and was 

 observed more than once previous to the kindling 

 of the fire in the morning, to be as low as 40° 

 below zero. On two of these occasions the chro- 

 nometers 2149 and 2151, which during the night 

 lay under Mr. Hood's and Dr. Richardson's 

 pillows, stopped while they were dressing them- 

 selves. 



The rapid at the commencement of the river 



