320 Thirty Years 
This intelligence produced a melancholy despondency 
in the minds of my party, and on that account the 
particulars were deferred until another opportunity. 
We were all shocked at beholding the emaciated coun- 
tenances of the Doctor and Hepburn, as they strongly 
evidenced their extremely debilitated state. The al- 
teration in our appearance was equally distressing to 
them, for since the swellings had subsided, we were 
little more than skin and bone. The Doctor particu- 
larly remarked the sepulchral tone of our voices, 
which he requested us to make more cheerful if 
possible, unconscious that his own partook of the same 
key. 
Hepburn having shot a partridge, which was brought 
to the house, the Doctor tore out the feathers, and 
having held it to the fire a few minutes, divided it 
into seven portions. Hach piece was ravenously de- 
voured by my companions, as it was the first morsel 
of flesh any of us had tasted for thirty-one days, un- 
less indeed the small gristly particles which we found 
occasionally adhering to the pounded bones may be. 
termed flesh. Our spirits were revived by this small 
supply, and the Dottor endeavored to raise them still 
higher by the prospect of Hepburn’s being able to kill 
a deer next day, as they had seen,‘and even fired at, 
several near the house. He endeavored, too, to rouse 
us to some attention to, the comfort of our apartment, 
