ut on in the morning, and, therefore, inconvenient to
carry.

On the 20th we got into a hilly country, and the marching became much
more laborious, even the stoutest experienced great difficulty in
climbing the craggy eminences. Mr. Hood was particularly weak, and was
obliged to relinquish his station of second in the line, which Dr.
Richardson now took, to direct the leading man in keeping the appointed
course. I was also unable to keep pace with the men, who put forth their
utmost speed, encouraged by the hope, which our reckoning had led us to
form, of seeing Point Lake in the evening, but we were obliged to encamp
without gaining a view of it. We had not seen either deer or their
tracks through the day, and this circumstance, joined to the
disappointment of not discovering the lake, rendered our voyagers very
desponding, and the meagre supper of _tripe de roche_ was little
calculated to elevate their spirits. They now threatened to throw away
their bundles, and quit us, which rash act they would probably have
committed, if they had known what track to pursue.

_September 21_.--We set out at seven this morning in dark foggy weather,
and changed our course two points to the westward. The party were very
feeble, and the men much dispirited; we made slow progress, having to
march over a hilly and very rugged country.

Just before noon the sun beamed through the haze for the first time for
six days, and we obtained an observation in latitude 65 deg. 7' 06" N.,
which was six miles to the southward of that part of Point Lake to which
our course was directed. By this observation we discovered that we had
kept to the eastward of the proper course, which may be attributed
partly to the difficulty of preserving a straight line through an
unknown country, unassisted by celestial observations, and in such thick
weather, that our view was often limited to a few hundred yards; but
chiefly to our total ignorance of the amount of the variation of the
compass.

We altered the course immediately to west-south-west, and fired guns to
apprize the hunters who were out of our view, and ignorant of our having
done so. After walking about two miles we waited to collect the
stragglers. Two partridges were killed, and these with some _tripe de
roche_, furnished our supper. Notwithstanding a full explanation was
given to the men of the reasons for altering the course, and they were
assured that the observation had enabled us to discover ou