42 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



to keep together : and especially I desired 

 the two Esquimaux not to leave us, they 

 having often strayed in search of the re- 

 mains of animals. Our people, however, 

 through despondency, had become careless 

 and disobedient, and had ceased to dread 

 punishment, or hope for reward. Much 

 time was lost in halting and firing guns to 

 collect them, but the labour of walking was 

 so much lightened by the disappearance of 

 the snow, that we advanced seven or eight 

 miles along the lake before noon, exclusive 

 of the loss of distance in rounding its nu- 

 merous bays. At length we came to an 

 arm, running away to the north-east, and 

 apparently connected with the lake which 

 we had coasted on the 22d, 23d, and 24th 

 of the month. 



The idea of again rounding such an ex- 

 tensive piece of water and of travelling over 

 so barren a country was dreadful, and we 

 feared that other arms, equally large, might 

 obstruct our path, and that the strength of 

 the party would entirely fail, long before 

 we could reach the only part where we were 



