excellent white-fish for which this part
of Slave Lake is particularly celebrated. Two men with sledges arrived
soon afterwards, sent by Mr. McVicar, who expected us about this time. We
set off in the morning before daybreak with several companions and
arrived at Moose-Deer Island about one P.M. Here we were received with
the utmost hospitality by Mr. McVicar, the chief trader of the Hudson's
Bay Company in this district, as well as by his assistant Mr. McAuley. We
had also the happiness of joining our friend Mr. Back; our feelings on
this occasion can be well imagined and we were deeply impressed with
gratitude to him for his exertions in sending the supply of food to Fort
Enterprise, to which under Divine Providence we felt the preservation of
our lives to be owing. He gave us an affecting detail of the proceedings
of his party since our separation, the substance of which I shall convey
to the reader by the following extracts from his Journal.

MR. BACK'S NARRATIVE.

October 4, 1821.

Captain Franklin having directed me to proceed with St. Germain,
Belanger, and Beauparlant to Fort Enterprise, in the hope of obtaining
relief for the party, I took leave of my companions and set out on my
journey through a very swampy country which, with the cloudy state of the
weather and a keen north-east wind, accompanied by frequent snow-showers,
retarded us so much that we had scarcely got more than four miles before
we halted for the night and made a meal of tripe de roche and some old
leather.

On the 5th we set out early amidst extremely deep snow, sinking
frequently in it up to the thighs, a labour in our enfeebled and almost
worn-out state that nothing but the cheering hopes of reaching the house
and affording relief to our friends could have enabled us to support. As
we advanced we found to our mortification that the tripe de roche,
hitherto our sole dependence, began to be scarce, so that we could only
collect sufficient to make half a kettleful which, with the addition of a
partridge each that St. Germain had killed, yielded a tolerable meal;
during this day I felt very weak and sore in the joints, particularly
between the shoulders. At eight we encamped among a small clump of
willows.

On the 6th we set out at an early hour, pursuing our route over a range
of hills at the foot of one of which we saw several large pines and a
great quantity of willows, a sight that encouraged us to quicken our pace
as we were now cert