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 I40 THE I^UR COUNTRY. have decreased, and that we may venture across the court of the fort without danger." " I doubt it, sir," replied Long, shaking his head. " The atmo- sphere is very clear, the wind is still in the north, and I shall not be surprised if this temperature is maintained for another fifteen days — until the new moon, in fact." " Well, my brave fellow," said the Lieutenant, " we won't die of cold if we can help it, and the day we have to brave the outside " We will brave it, sir," said Long. Hobson pressed his subordinate's hand, well knowing the poor fellow's devotion. We might fancy that Hobson and the Sergeant were exaggerating when they alluded to fatal results from sudden exposure to the open air, but they spoke from experience, gained from long resi- dence in the rigorous Polar regions. They had seen strong men fall fainting on the ice under similar circumstances ; their breath failed them, and they were taken up in a state of sufifocation. Incredible as such facts may appear, they have been of frequent occurrence amongst those who have wintered in the extreme north. In their journey along the shores of Hudson's Bay in 1746, Moor and Smith saw many incidents of this kind, — some of their companions were killed, struck down by the cold, and there can be no doubt that sudden death may result from braving a temperature in which mercury freezes. Such was the distressing state of things at Fort Hope, when a new danger arose to aggravate the sufferings of the colonists.