River, and encamped at the east end of Point Lake, about forty miles distant from Fort Enterprise. Here Captain Franklin commences one of the most dreadful tales of human misery on record.
“The men did not believe that this was the Copper-mine river, and so little confidence had they in our reckoning, and so much had they bewildered themselves on the march, that some of them asserted it was Hood’s River, and others that it was the Bethe-tessey, which rises from a lake to the northward of Rum Lake, and holds a course to the sea parallel with that of the Copper-mine. In short, their despondency had returned, and they all despaired of seeing Fort Enterprise again. However, the steady assurances of the officers made some impression upon them, and they then deplored their folly and impatience in breaking the canoe. St. Germain being called upon to endeavour to construct a frame with willows, stated that he was unable to make one sufficiently large. It became necessary, therefore, to search for pines of sufficient size to form a raft; and being aware that such trees grow on the borders of Point Lake, we considered it best to trace its shores in search of them.
“As there was little danger of losing the paths of our hunters, I determined on sending Mr. Back forward, with the interpreters, to hunt. I had in view in this arrangement, the further object of enabling Mr. Back to get across the lake with two of these men, to convey the earliest possible account of our situation to the Indians. Accordingly, I instructed him to halt at the first pines he should come to, and then prepare a raft; if his hunters had killed animals, so that the party could be supported whilst we were making our raft, he was to cross immediately with St. Germain and Beauparlant, and send the Indians to us as quickly as possible with supplies of meat.
“Mr. Back and his companions set out at six in the morning, and we started at seven. As there were no means of distinguishing the footsteps of stragglers, I gave strict orders for all the party to keep together; our people, however, had become careless and disobedient, and had ceased to dread punishment, or hope for reward. Much time was lost in halting and firing guns to collect them, but the labour of walking was so much lightened by the disappearance of the snow, that we advanced seven or eight miles along the lake before noon, exclusive of the loss of distance in rounding its numerous hays. At length, we came to an end, running away to the N.E., and apparently connected with the lake which we had coasted on the 22d, 23d, and 24th.
“The idea of again rounding such an extensive piece of water, and of travelling over so barren a country, was dreadful; and we feared that other arms, equally large, might obstruct our path, and that the strength of the party would entirely fail, long before we could reach the only part where