ardships
endured are very briefly recorded: "Provisions becoming scarce; dogs
without food, except a little burnt leather; night miserably cold;
tea froze in the tin pots before we could drink it."

Lake Athabasca was reached on the 26th of March and preparations for
the voyage were pushed forward. Four months later they were joined
by Richardson and Hood. "This morning Mr. Back and I had the sincere
gratification of welcoming our long-separated friends, Dr. Richardson
and Mr. Hood, who arrived in perfect health with two canoes." This
is the simple entry in Franklin's journal.

Everything was now ready. Spring in these northern climates was
enchanting. "The trees quickly put on their leaves after the long,
hard winter months, and the whole vegetable world comes forth with
a luxuriance no less astonishing than agreeable." At the same time
clouds of mosquitoes and stinging sand-flies made the nights horrible.
On 18th July the little party in high glee set forward in canoes rowed
by Canadian boatmen, hoping to reach the Copper Mine River before
winter set in. But the difficulties of the way were great, provisions
were scarce, the boatmen grew discontented, ice appeared early, and
Franklin had to satisfy himself with wintering at a point five hundred
and fifty miles from Lake Athabasca, which he called Fort Enterprise.
Here there was prospect of plenty, for large herds of reindeer were
grazing along the shores of the lake, and from their flesh "pemmican"
was made; but the winter was long and cheerless, and Franklin soon
realised that there was not enough food to last through it. So he
dispatched the midshipman Back to Lake Athabasca for help. Back's
journey was truly splendid, and we cannot omit his simple summary:
"On the 17th of March," he says, "at an early hour we arrived at Fort
Enterprise, having travelled about eighteen miles a day. I had the
pleasure of meeting my friends all in good health, after an absence
of nearly five months, during which time I had travelled one thousand
one hundred and four miles on snow-shoes and had no other covering
at night than a blanket and deer skin, with the thermometer frequently
at forty degrees below zero, and sometimes two or three days without
tasting food." By his courage and endurance he saved the whole party
at Fort Enterprise. By June the spring was sufficiently advanced to
set out for the Copper Mine River, and on July they reached the mouth
after a tedious journey of thre