The next morning, there being no change in the river, two men and the dogs were sent after William’s fish cache, and four others went off hunting, while the rest remained at camp, collected wood, and kept the fire burning.
We had nothing to eat this day until evening, when the sledding party returned with a little bag and can of pounded dried fish, two or three gallons of seal oil, and some seal blubber for the dogs, all of which, though not exactly luxurious, we were heartily glad to receive. Later two of the hunters returned with several ptarmigan and one or two rabbits, and last of all, some time after dark, the remaining two—Jim and our noble guide—walked into camp carrying the carcase of a deer.
With careful use we had meat enough now to keep us from suffering for several days, and in order to guard against greed or waste my brother and I took possession of the stock and divided it up equally among the party, each man receiving in all about ten pounds.
Without narrating in detail the incidents following it will be sufficient to state that for ten long days our weary wait on the bleak banks of the Nelson was continued. From time to time the men were sent out to hunt, but except in the above instance were obliged to return empty-handed.
On the morning of the 19th, the guide and Jim, provided with rifles, blankets, axes and snowshoes, started up the river, determined to find deer if there were any in the neighborhood, and also to investigate the possibilities of crossing the river higher up.
Four days of bitterly cold weather passed, the thermometer varying from 12 to 15 degrees below zero, and back came our discouraged hunters without having fired a shot. Food was becoming alarmingly scarce. A fox which happened in our way was trapped and eagerly devoured.
On the evening of the 22nd, though the mercury indicated 22° below zero, the channel of the river above us was noticed to be less thickly blocked with ice than where we were encamped. It was resolved, if possible, to haul the boat a mile or two farther up stream, and there to launch and measure our strength with the floe.
All hands excepting Michel, who was still unable to walk, engaged in the work. The boat was launched, and by means of a long line we managed to tow it about half a mile up shore, but there the ice became so thick that we had to haul it out to prevent its being crushed. Our objective point was about a mile farther up, so an effort was made to haul the boat along the shore. It was all the ten of us could manage, but by about nightfall we had succeeded. The night being clear and light, we moved camp to the boat, that we might be prepared to cross in the morning if it were possible.
The next morning was bitterly cold and a fog was rising from the river. We towed the boat half a mile still farther up, until the Seal Islands were reached. Here we pushed out into the stream and commenced the struggle.