340 ; Thirty Years 



spent in making up our bundles. This task fell to 

 Hepburn's share, as I suffered so much from the cold 

 as to be unable to take my hands out of my mittens. 

 We kept a straight course for the Dog-rib Rock, 

 but owing to the depth of the snow in the valleys we 

 had to cross, did not reach it until late in the after- 

 noon. We would have encamped, but did not like to 

 pass a second night without fire ; and though scarcely 

 able to drag our limbs after us, we pushed on \o a 

 clump of pines, about a mile to the southward of the 

 rock, and arrived at them in*the dusk of the evening. 

 During the last few hundred yards of our march, our 

 track lay over some large stones, amongst which I fell 

 down upwards of twenty times, and became at length 

 so exhausted that I was unable to stand. It' Hep- 

 burn had not exerted himself far beyond his strength, 

 and speedily made the encampment ami kindled a 

 fire, I must have perished on the spot. This night 

 we had plenty of dry wood. 



On the 29th we had clear and fine weather. We 

 3et out at sunrise, and hurried on in our anxiety to 

 reach the house, but our progress was much impeded 

 by the great depth of the snow in the valleys. Al- 

 though every spot of ground over which we traveled 

 to-day, had been repeatedly trodden by us, yel we got 

 bewildered in a small lake. We took il for Marten 

 Lake, which was three times its size, and fancied that 



