274 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



the stoutest experienced great difficulty in climb- 

 ing the craggy eminences. Mr. Hood was par- 

 ticularly weak, and was obliged to relinquish his 

 station of second in the line, which Dr. Richard- 

 son now took, to direct the leading man in keep- 

 ing the appointed course. I was also unable to 

 keep pace with the men, who put forth their 

 utmost speed, encouraged by the hope, which 

 our reckoning had led us to form, of seeing Point 

 Lake in the evening, but we were obhged to 

 encamp without gaining a view of it. We had 

 not seen either deer or their tracks through the 

 day, and this circumstance, joined to the dis- 

 appointment of not discovering the lake, rendered 

 our voyagers very desponding, and the meagre 

 supper of tripe de roche was little calculated to 

 elevate their spirits. They now threatened to 

 throw away their bundles, and quit us, which 

 rash act they would probably have done, if they 

 had known what track to pursue. 



September 21.— We set out at seven this morn- 

 ing in dark foggy weather, ahd changed our course 

 two points to the westward. The party were 

 very feeble, and the men much dispirited ; we 

 made slow progress, having to march over a hilly 

 and very rugged country. 



Just before noon the sun beamed through the 



