238 



A JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



CHAPTER VII. 



Transactions at Fort Enterprise— Mr. Back's Narrative of his Journey to Chipewyan and 



Return. 



1820 ~B~\k 



September. JLIURING our little expedition to the Copper-Mine 

 River, Mr. Wentzel had made great progress in the erection of 

 our winter-house, having nearly roofed it in. But before proceed- 

 ing to give an account of a ten months' residence at this place, 

 henceforth designated Fort Enterprise, I may premise, that I shall 

 omit many of the ordinary occurrences of a North- American winter, 

 as they have been already detailed in so able and interesting a manner 

 by Ellis # , and confine myself principally to the circumstances which 

 had an influence on our progress on the ensuing summer. The ob- 

 servations on the magnetic needle, the temperature of the atmosphere, 

 the Aurora Borealis, and other meteorological phenomena, together 

 with the mineralogical and botanical notices, being less interesting to 

 the general reader, are reserved for the Appendix. 



The men continued to work diligently at the house, and by the 

 30th of September had nearly completed it for our reception, when 

 a heavy fall of rain washed the greater part of the mud off the roof. 

 This rain was remarked by the Indians as unusual, after what they 

 had deemed so decided a commencement of winter in the early part 

 of the month. The mean temperature for the month was 33|°, but 



* Voyage to Hudson's Bay in the Dobbs and California. 



