of God, was enabled in the course of a few hours to converse, and by the evening was sufficiently recovered to remove into the tent. We then regretted to learn, that the skin of his whole left side “was deprived of feeling, in consequence of exposure to too great heat. He did not perfectly recover the sensation of that side until the following summer. I cannot describe what every one felt at beholding the skeleton which the Doctor’s debilitated frame exhibited. When he stripped, the Canadians simultaneously exclaimed, ‘Ah! que nous sommes maigres!’ I have omitted to mention, that when he was about to step into the water, he put his foot on a dagger, which cut him to the bone; but this misfortune could not stop him from attempting the execution of his generous undertaking.
“On the 1st of October, we were rejoiced to see Mr. Back and his party. They had traced the lake about fifteen miles farther than we did, and found it unconnected with the one we fell in with on the 22d of September. St. Germain now proposed to make a canoe of the fragments of painted canvass in which we wrapped our bedding. In the afternoon, we had a heavy fall of snow, which continued all night. A man, who had been hunting, brought in the antlers and back bone of a doer. The wolves and birds of prey had picked them dean, but there still remained a quantity of the spinal marrow, which they had not been able to extract. This, although putrid, was esteemed a valuable prize; and the spine being divided into portions, was distributed equally. After eating the marrow, which was so acrid as to excoriate the lips, we rendered the bones friable by burning, and ate them also.
“On the following morning the ground was covered with snow to the depth of a foot and a half, and the weather was very stormy. It continued so all the day and night, and during the forenoon of the 3d. Having persuaded the people to gather some tripe de roche, I partook of a meal with them, and afterwards set out with the intention of going to St. Germain to hasten his operation!s; but, though he was only three-quarters of a mile distant, I spent three hours in a vain attempt to reach him, my strength being unequal to the labour of wading through the snow; and I returned quite exhausted, and much shaken by the numerous falls I had got. My associates were also in the same debilitated state, and poor Hood was reduced to a perfect shadow. Back was so feeble as to require the support of a stick in walking, and Dr. Richardson had lameness super-added to weakness. The voyagers were somewhat stronger than ourselves, but more indisposed to exertion, on account of their despondency. The sensation of hunger was no longer felt by any of us, yet we were scarcely able to converse upon any other subject than the pleasures of eating.
