34 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



state these men represented it to be, we 

 urgently desired them to fetch it ; but they 

 declined going, and the strength of the of- 

 ficers was inadequate to the task. To their 

 infatuated obstinacy on this occasion, a great 

 portion of the melancholy circumstances 

 which attended our subsequent progress 

 may, perhaps, be attributed. The men now 

 seemed to have lost all hope of being pre- 

 served ; and all the arguments we could 

 use failed in stimulating them to the least 

 exertion. After consuming the remains of 

 the bones and horns of the deer, we resumed 

 our march, and in the evening reached a 

 contracted part of the lake, which, perceiv- 

 ing it to be shallow, we forded, and en- 

 camped on the opposite side. Heavy rain 

 began soon afterwards, and continued all 

 night. On the following morning the rain 

 had so wasted the snow, that the tracks of 

 Mr. Back and his companions, who had 

 gone before with the hunters, were traced 

 with difficulty; and the frequent showers 

 during the day almost obliterated them. 

 The men became furious at the apprehen- 



