he gratification of seeing the
dogs daily fatten, amidst the general plenty. The conduct of the men
during the season of scarcity was beyond all praise; and the following
anecdote is worthy of record, as displaying the excellent feeling of a
British seaman, and as speaking the sentiments of the whole party.
Talking with Robert Spinks as to the difference of his present food,
from that to which he had been accustomed on board ship, I said I was
glad the necessity was over of keeping them on short allowance. "Why,
sir," said he, "we never minded about the short allowance, but were
fearful of having to use the pemmican intended for next summer; we only
care about the next voyage, and shall all be glad when the spring comes,
that we may set off; besides, at the worst time, we could always spare a
fish for each of our dogs." During the period of short allowance, the
three dogs under the charge of this man were kept in better condition
than any of the others.

We now called the men home from the nearest fishery, and set their nets
near the Bear Lake River, but the men at the distant station with the
Indians were kept there, and occasionally supplied the fort with fine
tittameg and trout. The otters did considerable mischief to our nets at
this time; six of these animals were seen in one day.

Many parheliae were observed this month. On the 14th, at forty-five
minutes after nine A.M., the arched form of the clouds, and the
appearance of a collection of rays projected from the sun's disk in the
shape of a fan, strongly resembled the coruscations of the aurora. The
atmosphere was misty; temperature in the shade +8 degrees 5 minutes; and
when the thermometer with a blackened bulb was exposed to the sun's
rays, it rose to +43 degrees. The magnetic needle, at nine A.M., was
perceived to have made a greater deviation to the westward than usual at
that hour, and I imagine that the cause of this increase probably arose
from the atmosphere being then in a state of electricity, similar to
that in which it is when the aurora appears in hazy weather; on which
occasions we have observed that its coruscations have the strongest
effect in causing aberrations of the needle. A violent gale from the
north-west commenced on the 26th, and lasted, without intermission, for
thirty-six hours.

[Sidenote: March, 1st.] The early part of this month was marked by a
succession of gales from the N.W., with a few intervals of moderate
weather, in which