2^2 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



surface of the earth being thinly covered in the 

 moister places with a few grasses, and on the 

 drier spots with lichens. 



Having walked twelve miles and a half, we en- 

 camped at seven P.M., and distributed our last 

 piece of pemmican, and a little arrow-root for 

 supper, which afforded but a scanty meal. This 

 evening was warm, but dark clouds overspread 

 the sky. Our men now began to find their bur- 

 dens very oppressive, and were much fatigued by 

 this day's march, but did not complain. One of 

 them was lame from an inflammation in the knee. 

 Heavy rain commenced at midnight, and con- 

 tinued without intermission until five in the morn- 

 ing, when it was succeeded by snow on the wind 

 changing to north-west, which soon increased to 

 a violent gale. As we had nothing to eat, and 

 were destitute of the means of making a fire, we 

 remained in our beds all the day ; but the cover- 

 ing of our blankets was insufficient to prevent us 

 from feeling the severity of the frost, and suffer- 

 ing inconvenience from the drifting of the snow 

 into our tents. There was no abatement of the 

 storm next day; our tents were completely frozen, 

 and the snow had drifted around them to a depth 

 of three feet, and even in the inside there was a 

 covering of several inches on our blankets. Our 



