204 ACROSS THE SUB-ARCTICS OF CANADA. 



men, " Jim " and John, volunteered to undertake the 

 walk. We thought the distance could not be more than 

 fifty miles, and it might be considerably less. On the 

 morning of the 16th the two men set out on their 

 journey, while those of us remaining proceeded to move 

 our tents back from the shore about two miles to the 

 nearest woods, where we might make ourselves more 

 comfortable, to await the success or failure of the relief 

 party. 



A sheltered spot was selected for camp, in a thick 

 grove of spruce trees, and after clearing away about two 

 feet of snow which covered the ground, tents were 

 pitched, then well carpeted with spruce boughs, and a 

 big camp-fire made. This was indeed a happy change 

 from lying in canoes in the ice-pack. Clothing and 

 blankets were now dried, and with the seal meat, and 

 some ptarmigan which we shot in the grove, we were 

 soon comparatively comfortable, with the exception 

 perhaps of poor Michel, who suffered much from his 

 frozen feet. 



The reviving effect of the camp-fire upon our numb 

 and half-frozen bodies was soon felt, though with the 

 exception of Francois, the western half-breed, all of us 

 at the camp were still very weak. Our veteran Pierre, 

 who had done such good service with the paddle, now 

 staggered in his walk, and as we were moving the tents 

 from the shore back to the woods, he fell from sheer 

 exhaustion and had difficulty in regaining his feet. 

 Now in camp, however, and with meat enough to last 

 us for a day or two, we were in a position to take a rest 

 from our labors. Poor Michel's feet were in a bad state, 

 -and having no proper means of treating them, they 



