ADVENTURES BY LAND AND SEA. 183 



meat left, and at this rate of travel two weeks would 

 take us to Churchill. By carefully rationing ourselves 

 we had meat enough to last for five or six days, and the 

 balance of the time could, if necessary, be spent without 

 provisions. 



On the night of the 15th, however, being camped upon 

 a little sand island in the mouth of Corbet's Inlet, our 

 hopes were blighted by the approach of a gale, and all 

 the next day we lay imprisoned upon the sand-bar 

 without any fresh water to drink. Toward evening the 

 wind was accompanied by a chilling rain, which continued 

 all night and the greater part of the next morning. On 

 the following afternoon the wind suddenly fell, and 

 though a heavy sea continued to roll in from the east, 

 the waves ceased to break. 



Fearing to lose one hour when it was possible to 

 travel, we launched our canoes upon the heaving bosom 

 of the deep and started across the mouth of the inlet on 

 an eight-mile traverse. As we passed out beyond the 

 shelter of the island we found the seas running fearfully 

 high, but so long as they did not break upon us we had 

 little to fear, and this would not likely occur unless the 

 wind should spring up again ; but when we were well out 

 in the middle of the inlet that is just what did occur. 

 The wind began to rise from exactly the opposite quarter, 

 and speedily increased in force, whipping the crests off 

 the waves in such a way as to make things appear any- 

 thing but reassuring. Our situation was indeed perilous. 

 Every effort was made to guide the canoes so as to brook 

 least danger, but in spite of all we could do the seas 

 dashed in upon us, and it looked as if we would never 

 reach the shore. 



