to ascertain whether any arm
of the lake branched nearer to Fort Enterprise than the part they had
fallen upon, to which the transport of our goods could be more easily
made next spring, they returned on its borders to the eastward, being
satisfied, by the appearance of the mountains between south and west,
that no further examination was necessary in that direction; and they
continued their march until the 6th at noon, without finding any part of
the lake inclining nearer the fort. They therefore encamped to observe
the eclipse, which was to take place on the following morning; but a
violent snow storm rendering the observation impossible, they commenced
their return, and after a comfortless and laborious march regained their
canoe on the 10th, and embarking in it, arrived the same evening at the
house.

Point Lake varied, as far as they traced, from one to three miles in
width. Its main course was nearly east and west, but several arms
branched off in different directions. I was much pleased with the able
manner in which these officers executed the service they had been
despatched upon, and was gratified to learn from them, that their
companions had conducted themselves extremely well, and borne the
fatigues of their journey most cheerfully. They scarcely ever had more
than sufficient fuel to boil the kettle; and were generally obliged to
lie down in their wet clothes, and consequently, suffered much from
cold.

The distance which the parties travelled, in their journey to and from
Point Lake, may be estimated at one hundred and ten statute miles, which
being added to the distances given in the preceding pages, amount to one
thousand five hundred and twenty miles that the Expedition travelled in
1820, up to the time of its residence at Fort Enterprise.

END OF VOL. I.

* * * * *

Transcriber's corrections and comments:

1. Original had a superfluous "C" in the year of publication
("MDCCCCXXIV"); corrected to "MDCCCXXIV" (1824).

2. "Holy Lake" is inconsistent with the three occurrences in the
text, which are all spelled "Holey Lake"; same in chapter
sub-header.

3. Added "a" missing in original in "Isle a la Crosse".

4. Symbol for seconds in original misprinted (56',); corrected to
quotation mark (56").

5. Original used comma instead of decimal point; corrected to
"39.5 deg.".

6. Original had "were"; corrected to "wh