ts and was placed at rightangles to the
officers' dwelling and facing the storehouse, the three buildings forming
three sides of a quadrangle.

On the 26th Akaitcho and his party arrived, the hunting in this
neighbourhood being terminated for the season by the deer having retired
southward to the shelter of the woods.

The arrival of this large party was a serious inconvenience to us from
our being compelled to issue them daily rates of provision from the
store. The want of ammunition prevented us from equipping and sending
them to the woods to hunt and, although they are accustomed to subsist
themselves for a considerable part of the year by fishing or snaring the
deer, without having recourse to firearms, yet on the present occasion
they felt little inclined to do so and gave scope to their natural love
of ease as long as our storehouse seemed to be well stocked. Nevertheless
as they were conscious of impairing our future resources they did not
fail occasionally to remind us that it was not their fault, to express an
ardent desire to go hunting, and to request a supply of ammunition
although they knew that it was not in our power to give it.

The summer birds had by this time entirely deserted us, leaving for our
winter companions the raven, cinereous crow, ptarmigan, and snow-bird.
The last of the waterfowl that quitted us was a species of diver of the
same size with the Colymbus arcticus but differing from it in the
arrangement of the white spots on its plumage, and in having a
yellowish-white bill. This bird was occasionally caught in our
fishing-nets.

The thermometer during the month of October at Fort Enterprise never rose
above 37 degrees or fell below 5 degrees; the mean temperature for the
month was 23 degrees.

In the beginning of October a party had been sent to the westward to
search for birch to make snowshoe frames, and the Indian women were
afterwards employed in netting the shoes and preparing leather for winter
clothing to the men. Robes of reindeer skins were also obtained from the
Indians and issued to the men who were to travel as they were not only a
great deal lighter than blankets but also much warmer and altogether
better adapted for a winter in this climate. They are however unfit for
summer use as the least moisture causes the skin to spoil and lose its
hair. It requires the skins of seven deer to make one robe. The finest
are made of the skins of young fawns.

The fishing having faile