294 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



hours in a vain attempt to reach him, my strength 

 being unequal to the labour of wading through 

 the deep snow ; and I returned quite exhausted, 

 and much shaken by the numerous falls I had 

 got. My associates were all in the same debili- 

 tated state, and poor Hood was reduced to a per- 

 fect shadow, from the severe bowel complaints 

 which the tripe de roche never failed to give him. 

 Back was so feeble as to require the support of 

 a stick in walking; and Dr. Richardson had 

 lameness superadded to weakness. The voyagers 

 were somewhat stronger than ourselves, but more 

 indisposed to exertion, on account of their despon- 

 dency. The sensation of hunger was no longer 

 felt by any of us, yet we were scarcely able to 

 converse upon any other subject than the plea- 

 sures of eating. We were much indebted to 

 Hepburn at this crisis. The officers were unable 

 from weakness to gather tripe de roche themselves, 

 and Samendr^, who had acted as our cook on 

 the journey from the coast, sharing in the despair 

 of the rest of the Canadians, refused to make the 

 slightest exertion. Hepburn, on the contrary, 

 animated by a firm reliance on the beneficence 

 of the Supreme Being, tempered with resigna- 

 tion to his will, was indefatigable in his exertions 

 to serve us, and daily collected all the tripe de 

 roche that was used in the officers' mess. Mr. 



