308 Thirty Tears 



infinite disappointment and grief found it a perfectly 

 desolate habitation. There was no deposit of pro- 

 vision, no trace of the Indians, no letter from Mr. 

 Wentzel to point out where the Indians might be 

 found. It would be impossible for me to describe our 

 sensations after entering this miserable abode, and 

 discovering how we had been neglected ; the whole 

 party shed tears, not so much for our own fate, as for 

 that of our friends in the rear, whose lives depended 

 entirely on our sending immediate relief from this 

 place. 



I found a note, however, from Mr. Back, stating 

 that he had reached the house two days ago, and was 

 going in search of the Indians, at a part where St. 

 Germain deemed it probable they might be found. If 

 lie was unsuccessful, he purposed walking to Fort 

 Providence, and sending succor from thence. But lie 

 doubted whether he or his party could perform the 

 journey to that place in their present debilitated state. 

 It was evident that any supply that could be sent 

 from Fort Providence would lie long in reaching us, 

 ;nnl could not he sufficient to enable us to afford any 

 tance to our companions behind, and that, the only 



relief for them must he procured from the Indians. I 



i' solved, therefore, on going also in search of them ; 

 hut my companions were absolutely incapable of pro- 

 ceeding, and I thought, by hailing two or three days. 



