JOURNEY TO ' 



alarmed to find that Michel was absent. We 

 feared that he had lost his way in coming to us 

 in the morning, although it was not easy to con- 

 jecture how that could have happened, as our 

 footsteps of yesterday were very distinct. Hep- 

 burn went back for the tent, and returned with it 

 after dusk, completely worn out with the fatigue 

 of the day. Michel too arrived at the same time, 

 and relieved our anxiety on his account. He re- 

 ported that he had been in chase of some deer 

 which passed near his sleeping-place in the morn- 

 ing, and although he did not come up with them, 

 yet that he found a wolf which had been killed 

 by the stroke of a deer's horn, and had brought 

 a part of it. We imphcitly believed this story 

 then, but afterwards became convinced from cir- 

 cumstances, the detail of which may be spared, 

 that it must have been a portion of the body of 

 Belanger or Perrault. A question of moment 

 here presents itself; namely, whether he actually 

 murdered these men, or either of them, or whe- 

 ther he found the bodies on the snow. Captain 

 Franklin, who is the best able to judge of this 

 matter, from knowing their situation when he 

 parted from them, suggested the former idea, and 

 that both Belanger and Perrault had been sacri- 

 ficed. When Perrault turned back. Captain 

 Fraukhn watched him until he reached a small 



