Since leaving the banks of the Hays River no timber of any value had been seen. The wood had all been black spruce of a very scrubby character, but now poplar, birch and jack-pine were occasionally met with.
On December the 4th the temperature ran down to 34 degrees below zero, but on the following day this record was beaten, and 40 degrees below was registered. In this low temperature we naturally found some difficulty in keeping warm. When the day's tramp was over, and our position taken for the night beside the camp-fire, it was found necessary either to slowly revolve or frequently reverse our position. It was a question of roasting or freezing, or rather doing both at the same time. While one's face was turned to the fire and enduring a roasting heat, his back was freezing, and as the position was reversed the roasting and freezing process was also reversed. Our meals, after being prepared, were served up on the hot pan to keep them warm while eating, but even so they were sometimes frozen to the frying pan before they could be disposed of.
During the afternoon of the 4th and the morning of the 5th of December we crossed Deer Lake, twenty-seven miles in length, and at either end of the lake found camps of Indians. From one of them we purchased some fine whitefish, which they were catching through the ice.
By this time our guide Charlie had become pretty badly used up by the march. He was no longer able to hold the lead, but our own men managed to keep the track and Charlie hobbled along behind
