We found open water at the rapids where Connery River empties into its
estuary, and the ice four feet above water-line. It was with
considerable difficulty that a safe passage was found for the sledges,
but once on the salt-water ice we moved along rapidly. The prospect of
reaching home the next day was very exhilarating, and the dogs seemed
to catch the infection from their masters. The poor, jaded beasts
coiled their tails over their backs and ran along barking until we
halted for the night, within about twenty miles of our destination. We
still knew nothing concerning Hudson's Bay since we left a year before,
Tsedluk having seen no one since he came to the camp where we found
him. The great question with us was, "Were any ships in the bay?" If
there were, the prospect was that there would be some news from home
and letters from our friends. We hoped that there were ships, and
believed that they would be wintering at Depot Island, as it was the
unanimous opinion of the officers of the fleet at Marble Island the
previous year that Depot Island was a far preferable place to winter
at, on account of the difficulty of getting fresh meat for the crews at
the other harbor.
[Illustration: VIEW ON CONNERY RIVER.]
At any rate, we felt sure of finding our hard bread, pork, and
molasses, together with some other provisions that Captain Barry said
he could spare and leave with Armow, the native who had charge of our
stuff at Depot Island, and the prospect of again eating some civilized
food was most cheering.
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