OF THE POLAR SEA. 19 



steady whilst St. Germain placed me in it, 

 and afterwards embarked himself in a very 

 dexterous manner. It was impossible, 

 however, to embark Belanger, as the canoe 

 would have been hurried down the rapid, 

 the moment he should have raised his foot 

 from the rock on which he stood. We 

 were, therefore, compelled to leave him in 

 his perilous situation. We had not gone 

 twenty yards before the canoe, striking on 

 a sunken rock, went down. The place 

 being shallow, we were again enabled to 

 empty it, and the third attempt brought us 

 to the shore. In the mean time Belanger 

 was suffering extremely, immersed to his 

 middle in the centre of a rapid, the tempera- 

 ture of which was very little above the 

 freezing point, and the upper part of his 

 body covered with wet clothes, exposed, in 

 a temperature not much above zero, to a 

 strong breeze. He called piteously for re- 

 lief, and St. Germain on his return endea- 

 voured to embark him, but in vain. The 

 canoe was hurried down the rapid, and 

 when he landed he was rendered by the 

 c 2 



