Game, fortunately, was plentiful at that time of the year, and the doctor, who was an enthusiastic sportsman and an excellent shot, soon relieved his party of any dread that they might have of death from starvation. The sporting-book for September showed that 63 deer, 5 hares, 1 seal, 172 partridges, and 116 salmon and trout were brought into Fort Hope—the name given to their winter quarters—while in September he accounted for 69 deer. Fuel, however, was exceedingly scarce, and, as bitterly cold weather set in in the middle of October, the party was put to no small inconvenience. At first the frost was hailed as an unmixed blessing, for it hardened the wet clay with which the walls of the house had been dressed, and made the place weatherproof. Anything that was at all damp, however, was instantly frozen solid, and when Rae attempted to open some books which had been lying on a shelf, he found their leaves a solid mass. As fuel grew scarcer, the doctor forbad its use for any purpose except cooking, and a member of the party who wished to dry his wet clothes was obliged to take them to bed with him. The evaporation arising from them always froze on the blankets, which in consequence generally sparkled with hoar frost. Almost the only form of exercise which the party was able to take was an occasional game of football on the snow. These games were not unattended by difficulties, for the snow was so hard that several pairs of heels were usually to be seen in the air at the same time, while the air was so bitter that the players were obliged to rub their faces continually in order to prevent them from being frost-bitten. A part of the time was also spent by the men in mastering the art of building snow houses after the Eskimo fashion, an accomplishment which proved of inestimable service to them later on when they were engaged in the exploration of Boothia and Melville Peninsula.