squimaux, who frequent its mouth. The Indians too with whom we have
since conversed upon this subject, are confident that he would be able
to subsist himself during the winter. Credit, on his hunting excursion
to-day, found a cap, which our people recognised to belong to one of the
hunters who had left us in the spring. This circumstance produced the
conviction of our being on the banks of the Copper-Mine River, which all
the assertions of the officers had hitherto failed in effecting with
some of the party; and it had the happy consequence of reviving their
spirits considerably. We consumed the last of our deer's meat this
evening at supper.

Next morning the men went out in search of dry willows, and collected
eight large fagots, with which they formed a more buoyant raft than the
former, but the wind being still adverse and strong, they delayed
attempting to cross until a more favourable opportunity. Pleased,
however, with the appearance of this raft, they collected some _tripe de
roche_, and made a cheerful supper. Dr. Richardson was gaining strength,
but his leg was much swelled and very painful. An observation for
latitude placed the encampment in 65 deg. 00' 00" N., the longitude being
112 deg. 20' 00" W., deduced from the last observation.

On the morning of the 1st of October, the wind was strong, and the
weather as unfavourable as before for crossing on the raft. We were
rejoiced to see Mr. Back and his party in the afternoon. They had traced
the lake about fifteen miles farther than we did, and found it
undoubtedly connected, as we had supposed, with the lake we fell in with
on the 22nd of September; and dreading, as we had done, the idea of
coasting its barren shores, they returned to make an attempt at crossing
here. St. Germain now proposed to make a canoe of the fragments of
painted canvass in which we wrapped our bedding. This scheme appearing
practicable, a party was sent to our encampment of the 24th and 25th
last, to collect pitch amongst{40} the small pines that grew there, to
pay over the seams of the canoe.

In the afternoon we had a heavy fall of snow, which continued all night.
A small quantity of _tripe de roche_ was gathered; and Credit, who had
been hunting, brought in the antlers and back bone of a deer which had
been killed in the summer. The wolves and birds of prey had picked them
clean, but there still remained a quantity of the spinal marrow which
they had not been able to extract. Thi