Hepburn
had in consequence that laborious task to perform after he came back. The
Doctor having scarified the swelled parts of Adam's body a large quantity
of water flowed out, and he obtained some ease but still kept his bed.
After our usual supper of singed skin and bone-soup Dr. Richardson
acquainted me with the afflicting circumstances attending the death of
Mr. Hood and Michel, and detailed the occurrences subsequent to my
departure from them which I shall give from his Journal in his own words,
but I must here be permitted to express the heart-felt sorrow with which
I was overwhelmed at the loss of so many companions, especially of my
friend Mr. Hood to whose zealous and able cooperation I had been indebted
for so much invaluable assistance during the Expedition, whilst the
excellent qualities of his heart engaged my warmest regard. His
scientific observations together with his maps and drawings (a small part
of which only appear in this work) evince a variety of talent which, had
his life been spared, must have rendered him a distinguished ornament to
his profession, and which will cause his death to be felt as a loss to
the service.
...
DR. RICHARDSON'S NARRATIVE.
After Captain Franklin had bidden us farewell we remained seated by the
fireside as long as the willows the men had cut for us before they
departed lasted. We had no tripe de roche that day but drank an infusion
of the country tea-plant, which was grateful from its warmth although it
afforded no sustenance. We then retired to bed where we remained all the
next day as the weather was stormy, and the snow-drift so heavy as to
destroy every prospect of success in our endeavours to light a fire with
the green and frozen willows which were our only fuel. Through the
extreme kindness and forethought of a lady the party, previous to leaving
London, had been furnished with a small collection of religious books, of
which we still retained two or three of the most portable, and they
proved of incalculable benefit to us. We read portions of them to each
other as we lay in bed, in addition to the morning and evening service,
and found that they inspired us on each perusal with so strong a sense of
the omnipresence of a beneficent God that our situation even in these
wilds appeared no longer destitute, and we conversed not only with
calmness but with cheerfulness, detailing with unrestrained confidence
the past events of our lives and dwelling with hope on our future
prospects. Had my poor friend been spared to revisit his native land I
should look back to this period with unalloyed delight.
On the morning of the 9th the weather although still cold was clear, and
I went out in quest of tripe de roche, leaving Hepburn to cut willows for
a fire and Mr. Hood in bed.
