154 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



Mr. BACK'S NARRATIVE. 



October^, 1821. — Captain Franklin hav- 

 ing directed me to proceed with St. Ger- 

 main, Belanger, and Beauparlant, to Fort 

 Enterprise, in the hope of obtaining relief 

 for the party, I took leave of my com- 

 panions, and set out on my journey, through 

 a very swampy country, which, with the 

 cloudy state of the weather and a keen 

 north-east wind, accompanied by frequent 

 snow showers, retarded us so much, that 

 we scarcely got more than four miles before 

 we halted for the night, and made a meal 

 of tripe de roche and some old leather. 



On the 5 th we set out early amidst ex- 

 tremely deep snow, sinking frequently in it 

 up to the thighs, a labour in our enfeebled 

 and almost worn-out state, that nothing but 

 the cheering hopes of reaching the house 



