e of the fishery; and soon after
a messenger arrived from the hunting party to beg a supply of
provisions, which my limited means, alas! compelled me to deny. Not
a deer had been seen, and the partridges had become so scarce of late
that they barely afforded the means of sustaining life. All I could
therefore do for my poor men was to supply them with more ammunition
and send them off again.

While their lot was thus wretched, mine was not enviable; one solitary
meal a day was all I allowed myself and those who remained with me;
and I must do them the justice to say, that they submitted to
these privations without a murmur, being aware that it was only by
exercising the most rigid economy that our provisions could hold
out the allotted time; the arrival of the ship being an event too
uncertain to be calculated upon. By stinting ourselves in this manner,
we managed to eke out a miserable subsistence, without expending much
of our imported provisions, until the arrival of the deer in the month
of March, when we fared plentifully if not sumptuously.

CHAPTER VII.

ANOTHER EXPLORING EXPEDITION--MY PROMOTION--WINTER AT
CHIMO--OBTAIN PERMISSION TO VISIT BRITAIN--UNGAVA ABANDONED.

1841.--On the opening of the navigation I set out on another exploring
expedition. Without entering into particulars so devoid of interest,
I would merely observe that, with patience and perseverance, we
ultimately succeeded in making good our passage by the Hamilton, or
Grand River, and found it to answer our expectations in every respect.

On arriving at Esquimaux Bay, we found the vessel from Quebec riding
at anchor--a joyful sight, since it gave assurance that we should hear
from friends and relatives, and receive intelligence of the events
that had occurred in the world for the last twelve months. The
Governor's communication acquainted me with my promotion, and
_sincerely_ congratulated me on the event. Whether I had reason or not
to doubt his sincerity, let the reader judge who knows the treatment I
had experienced at his hands. Fifteen years ago I was assured of being
in the "direct road to preferment,"--twenty years of toil and misery
have I served to obtain it.

Considering myself, therefore, under no obligation to his Excellency,
I addressed a letter to the Directors, expressing my thanks for the
benefit they had conferred upon me, and requesting permission to visit
the land of my nativity next year.

I was fortun