lat JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



We resumed our march at an earlj^ hour, and 

 crossed several lakes which lay in our course, as 

 the ice enabled the men to drag their burdens on 

 trains formed of sticks and deer's horns, with 

 more ease than they could carry them on their 

 backs. We were kept constantly wet by this 

 operation, as the ice had broken near the shores 

 of the lakes, but this inconvenience was not re- 

 garded, as the day was unusually warm : the tem- 

 perature at two P.M. being at 82 1°. At Marten 

 Lake we joined the canoe party, and encamped 

 with them. We had the mortification of learning 

 from our hunters that the meat they had put en 

 cache here, had been destroyed by the wolverenes, 

 and we had, in consequence, to furnish the supper 

 from our scanty stock of dried meat. The wind 

 changed from S.E. to N.E. in the evening, and 

 the weather became very cold, the thermometer 

 being at 43° at nine P.M. The few dwarf 

 birches we could collect afforded fire insuffi- 

 cient to keep us warm, and we retired under the 

 covering of our blankets as soon as the supper 

 was despatched. The N.E. breeze rendered the 

 night so extremely cold, that we procured but 

 little sleep, having neither fire nor shelter; for 

 though we carried our tents, we had been forced 

 to leave the tent-poles which we could not now 

 replace; we therefore gladly recommenced the 



