Later by camp fire. Hard to keep off depression to-night. Wind
continues and all hungry.
Tuesday, September 15th.--Temp. 31 degrees 5 A.M. West wind, spits
of sleet, and fair. Wind continued hard all day. Could not leave
shore. I lay awake all last night thinking over situation. George
is worried and talks of Indians who starve. Tries to be cheerful
but finds it hard. Here we are, wind bound, long way from
Michikamau, no hopes of wind abating. The caribou migration is due
to begin, yet we can't start and are at least two weeks from their
grounds, with no grub and no prospect of good weather. Our grub is
18 lbs. pea meal, to be held for emergency, and 2 lbs. of flour, 1
pint rice, 3 lbs. bacon. To go on is certain failure to reach the
caribou killing, and probable starvation. If we turn back we must
stop and get grub, then cross our long portage, then hunt more
grub, and finally freeze up preparatory to a sled dash for
Northwest River. That will make us late for boat, but we can
snowshoe to the St. Lawrence. All this, with what we have done so
far, will make a bully story. I don't see anything better to do.
I asked Wallace.
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