376 Thirty Years 



bundle which Beauparlant was accustomed to carry, 

 and with tears in his eyes, told me that he found our 

 poor companion dead. Dead ! I could not believe 

 him. " It is so, Sir," said St. Germain, " after hal- 

 looing and calling his name to no purpose, I went to- 

 wards our last encampment, about three-quarters of a 

 mile, and found him stretched upon his back on a sand 

 bank frozen to death, his limbs all extended and 

 swelled enormously, and as hard as the ice that was 

 near him ; his bundle was behind him, as if it had 

 rolled away when he fell, and the blanket which he 

 wore around his neck and shoulders thrown on one 

 hide. Seeing that there was no longer life in him, I 

 threw your covering over him, and placed his snow- 

 shoes on the top of it." 



I had not even thought of so serious an occurrence 

 in our little party, and for a short time was obliged to 

 vivo vent to my grief. Left with one person and both 

 of us weak, no appearance of Belanger, a likelihood 

 that great calamity had taken place amongst our 

 Other companions, and upwards of .seventeen days' 

 march from the Dearest Establishment, and myself 

 unable to cany a burden, all these things pressed 

 heavy on me ; and how to get to the Indians or to 

 th" Fort I did aot know ; but thai I might not depress 

 St. Germain's spirits, I suppressed the feelings which 

 these thoughts gave rise to, and made Borne arrange- 



