On the morning of the 8th, our travellers were obliged to ford a rapid stream, in consequence of which their clothes soon became stiff with the frost, and they walked with much pain the remainder of the day: the thermometer at night was no higher than 17°. On the 9th, they arrived at the Congecatha-wha-chaga of Hearne, when the canoe being put into the water was found extremely ticklish; it was, however, managed with much dexterity by three of the Canadians, who ferried over one passenger at a time, causing him to lie flat in its bottom. On the following day, a herd of musk-oxen was seen, and approached with the greatest caution, no less than two hours being consumed before the best hunters got within gun-shot. At length they opened their fire, and the rest of the party had the satisfaction of seeing one of the largest cows fall. “To skin and cut up the animal was the work of but a few minutes. The contents of its stomach were devoured upon the spot, and the raw intestines, which were next attacked, were pronounced by the most delicate of the party, to be excellent. A few willows, whose tops were seen peeping through the snow in the bottom of the valley, were quickly grubbed, the tents pitched, and supper cooked, and devoured with avidity.” On the 12th, the snow was two feet deep, and “the whole of the men complained more of faintness and weakness than they had ever done before; their strength” says Captain Franklin, “seemed to have been impaired by the recent supply of animal food. Our supper consumed the last of our meat.”
Their only resource now was lichens of the genus gyrophora, which the Canadians term tripe de roche; but this unpalatable weed soon became quite nauseous to the whole party, and in several persons it produced severe bowel complaints: Mr. Hood, in particular, suffered greatly from this cause.
On the 13th, the expedition reached the borders of Rum Lake, connected with which was a river, about 300 yards wide, flowing with great velocity through a broken rocky channel. Here a serious and nearly fatal accident occurred, which is thus related by Captain Franklin:
