OF THE POLAR SEA. 



121 



trodden by us, yet we got bewildered in a 

 small lake. We took it for Marten Lake, 

 which was three times its size, and fancied 

 that we saw the rapids and the grounds 

 about the Fort, although they were still far 

 distant. Our disappointment when this 

 illusion was dispelled by our reaching the 

 end of the lake, so operated on our feeble 

 minds as to exhaust our strength, and we 

 decided upon encamping ; but upon ascend- 

 ing a small eminence to look for a clump of 

 wood, we caught a glimpse of the Big 

 Stone, a well-known rock upon the summit 

 of a hill opposite to the Fort, and deter- 

 mined upon proceeding. In the evening 

 we saw several large herds of rein-deer, but 

 Hepburn, who used to be considered a good 

 marksman, was now unable to hold the gun 

 straight, and although he got near them all 

 his efforts proved fruitless. In passing 

 through a small clump of pines we saw a 

 flock of partridges, and he succeeded in 

 killing one after firing several shots. We 

 came in sight of the Fort at dusk, and it is 

 impossible to describe our sensations when, 



