en melancholy indeed; we could neither have remained with him,
nor carried him on. We halted at ten to gather _tripe de roche_, but it
was so frozen, that we were quite benumbed with cold before a
sufficiency could be collected even for a scanty meal. On proceeding our
men were somewhat cheered, by observing on the sandy summit of a hill,
from whence the snow had been blown, the summer track of a man; and
afterwards by seeing several deer tracks on the snow. About noon the
weather cleared up a little, and to our great joy, we saw a herd of
musk-oxen grazing in a valley below us. The party instantly halted, and
the best hunters were sent out; they approached the animals with the
utmost caution, no less than two hours being consumed before they got
within gun-shot. In the mean time we beheld their proceedings with
extreme anxiety, and many secret prayers were, doubtless, offered up for
their success. At length they opened their fire, and we had the
satisfaction of seeing one of the largest cows fall; another was
wounded, but escaped. This success infused spirit into our starving
party. To skin and cut up the animal was the work of a few minutes. The
contents of its stomach were devoured upon the spot, and the raw
intestines, which were next attacked, were pronounced by the most
delicate amongst us to be excellent. A few willows, whose tops were seen
peeping through the snow in the bottom of the valley, were quickly
grubbed, the tents pitched, and supper cooked, and devoured with
avidity. This was the sixth day since we had had a good meal; the _tripe
de roche_, even where we got enough, only serving to allay the pangs of
hunger for a short time. After supper, two of the hunters went in
pursuit of the herd, but could not get near them. I do not think that we
witnessed through the course of our journey a more striking proof of the
wise dispensation of the Almighty, and of the weakness of our own
judgment than on this day. We had considered the dense fog which
prevailed throughout the morning, as almost the greatest inconvenience
that could have befallen us, since it rendered the air extremely cold,
and prevented us from distinguishing any distant object towards which
our course could be directed. Yet this very darkness enabled the party
to get to the top of the hill which bounded the valley wherein the
musk-oxen were grazing, without being perceived. Had the herd discovered
us and taken alarm, our hunters in their present sta