ormenting. Having walked five miles we encamped near a small cluster of
pines about two miles from the Dog-rib Rock. The canoe party had not
been seen since they set out. Our hunters went forward to Marten Lake,
intending to wait for us at a place where two deer were deposited. At
nine P.M. the temperature of the air was 63 deg..

We resumed our march at an early hour, and crossed several lakes which
lay in our course, as the ice enabled the men to drag their burdens on
trains formed of sticks and deers' horns, with more ease than they could
carry them on their backs. We were kept constantly wet by this
operation, as the ice had broken near the shores of the lakes, but this
was little regarded as the day was unusually warm: the temperature at
two P.M. being at 82-1/2 deg.. At Marten Lake we joined the canoe party, and
encamped with them. We had the mortification of learning from our
hunters that the meat they had put _en cache_ here, had been destroyed
by the wolverenes, and we had in consequence, to furnish the supper from
our scanty stock of dried meat. The wind changed from S.E. to N.E. in
the evening, and the weather became very cold, the thermometer being at
43 deg. at nine P.M. The few dwarf birches we could collect afforded fire
insufficient to keep us warm, and we retired under the covering of our
blankets as soon as the supper was despatched. The N.E. breeze rendered
the night so extremely cold, that we procured but little sleep, having
neither fire nor shelter; for though we carried our tents, we had been
forced to leave the tent-poles which we could not now replace; we
therefore gladly recommenced the journey at five in the morning, and
travelled through the remaining part of the lake on the ice. Its surface
being quite smooth, the canoes were dragged along expeditiously by the
dogs, and the rest of the party had to walk very quick to keep pace with
them, which occasioned many severe falls. By the time we had reached the
end of the lake, the wind had increased to a perfect gale, and the
atmosphere was so cold that we could not proceed further with the canoes
without the risk of breaking the bark, and seriously injuring them: we
therefore crossed Winter River in them, and put up in a well-sheltered
place on a ridge of sand hills; but as the stock of provision was
scanty, we determined on proceeding as quick as possible, and leaving
the canoe-party under the charge of Mr. Wentzel. We parted from them in
the afte