The hills in this neighbourhood are higher than those about Fort Enterprise; they stand however in the same detached manner without forming connected ranges; and the bottom of every valley is occupied either by a small lake or a stony marsh. On the borders of such of these lakes as communicate with the Copper-Mine River there are a few groves of spruce-trees, generally growing on accumulations of sand on the acclivities of the hills.
We did not quit the encampment on the morning of September 13th until nine o’clock in consequence of a constant fall of snow; but at that hour we set out on our return to Fort Enterprise and, taking a route somewhat different from the one by which we came, kept to the eastward of a chain of lakes. Soon after noon the weather became extremely disagreeable; a cold northerly gale came on attended by snow and sleet, and the temperature fell very soon from 43° to 34°. The waveys, alarmed at the sudden change, flew over our heads in great numbers to a milder climate. We walked as quickly as possible to get a place that would furnish some fuel and shelter; but the fog occasioned us to make frequent halts from the inability of our guide to trace his way. At length we came to a spot which afforded us plenty of dwarf birches but they were so much frozen and the snow fell so thick that upwards of two hours were wasted in endeavouring to make a fire, during which time our clothes were freezing upon us. At length our efforts were crowned with success and after a good supper we laid or rather sat down to sleep, for the nature of the ground obliged us to pass the night in a demi-erect position with our backs against a bank of earth. The thermometer was 16° at six P.M.
After enjoying a more comfortable night’s rest than we had expected we set off at daybreak, the thermometer then standing at 18°. The ground was covered with snow, the small lakes were frozen, and the whole scene had a wintry appearance. We got on but slowly at first owing to an old sprained ankle which had been very troublesome to me for the last three days and was this morning excessively painful. In fording a rivulet however the application of cold water gave me immediate relief and I walked with ease the remainder of the day. In the afternoon we rejoined our track outwards and came to the place where Keskarrah had made his deposit of provision, which proved a very acceptable supply as our stock was exhausted. We then crossed some sandhills and encamped amidst a few small pines, having walked thirteen miles.
The comfort of a good fire made us soon insensible to the fatigue we had experienced through the day in marching over the rugged stones whose surface was rendered slippery by the frost. The thermometer at seven P.M. stood at 27°.
RETURN TO THE WINTER QUARTERS OF FORT ENTERPRISE.
We set off at sunrise next morning and our provision being expended pushed on as fast as we could to Fort Enterprise where we arrived at eight P.M., almost exhausted by a harassing day’s march of twenty-two miles. A substantial supper of reindeer steaks soon restored our vigour. We had the happiness of meeting our friends Mr. Back and Mr. Hood who had returned from their excursion on the day succeeding that on which we set out; and I received from them the following account of their journey.
They proceeded up the Winter River to the north end of the Little Marten Lake and then the guide, being unacquainted with the route by water to the Copper-Mine River, proposed that the canoe should be left. Upon this they ascended the loftiest hill in the neighbourhood to examine whether they could discover any large lakes or water communication in the direction where the guide described the river to be. They only saw a small rivulet which was too shallow for the canoe and also wide of the course and, as they perceived the crew would have to carry it over a rugged hilly track, they judiciously decided on leaving it and proceeding forward on foot. Having deposited the canoe among a few dwarf birch bushes they commenced their march, carrying their tents, blankets, cooking utensils, and a part of the dried meat. St. Germain however had previously delineated with charcoal a man and a house on a piece of bark which he placed over the canoe and the few things that were left to point out to the Dog-Ribs that they belonged to white people.
The party reached the shores of Point Lake through which the Copper-Mine River runs on the 1st of September. The next day was too stormy for them to march but on the 3rd they proceeded along its shores to the westward round a mountainous promontory and, perceiving the course of the lake extending to the West-North-West, they encamped near some pines and then enjoyed the luxury of a good fire for the first time since their departure from us. The temperature of the water in the lake was 35° and of the air 32°, but the latter fell to 20° in the course of that night. As their principal object was to ascertain whether any arm of the lake branched nearer to Fort Enterprise than the part they had fallen upon, to which the transport of our goods could be more easily made next spring, they returned on its borders to the eastward, being satisfied by the appearance of the mountains between south and west that no further examination was necessary in that direction; and they continued their march until the 6th at noon without finding any part of the lake inclining nearer the fort. They therefore encamped to observe the eclipse which was to take place on the following morning but, a violent snowstorm rendering the observation impossible, they commenced their return and after a comfortless and laborious march regained their canoe on the 10th and, embarking in it, arrived the same evening at the house.
Point Lake varied, as far as they traced, from one to three miles in width. Its main course was nearly east and west, but several arms branched off in different directions. I was much pleased with the able manner in which these officers executed the service they had been despatched upon, and was gratified to learn from them that their companions had conducted themselves extremely well and borne the fatigues of their journey most cheerfully. They scarcely ever had more than sufficient fuel to boil the kettle and were generally obliged to lie down in their wet clothes and consequently suffered much from cold.
The distance which the parties travelled in their journey to and from Point Lake may be estimated at one hundred and ten statute miles which, being added to the distances given in the preceding pages, amount to one thousand five hundred and twenty miles that the Expedition travelled in 1820 up to the time of its residence at Fort Enterprise.