On the 11th of March, as we were sitting in the hut talking to two young Indians who had just arrived from the plains with a message from Gaytchi Mohkamarn, to the effect that he should be compelled, by hunger, to eat the meat we had left in cache, if we did not fetch it immediately, the door opened, and in walked La Ronde. He was very emaciated, and appeared feeble and worn-out. Bruneau arrived soon after with a dog-sleigh, on which were a pemmican, a sack of flour, a small chest of tea, and, above all, letters from home. How eagerly we seized them, and how often we read and re-read them need hardly be told. We made a feast in honour of the arrival; pancakes were fried in profusion, and kettleful after kettleful of tea prepared. The latter we had not tasted for many days, the former not for weeks. We sat up until long after midnight listening to La Ronde’s account of his journey, and the news from Red River. They had accomplished the journey of 600 miles to Fort Garry in twenty-three days, and, after a week’s rest, set out on their return on the last day of January. This and the 1st of February were the two days on which Cheadle and Isbister travelled from Carlton, the period of greatest cold, when there was seventy degrees of frost. The two sleighs were laden with four sacks of flour, the tea, and pemmican for themselves and the dogs. The snow was so deep, that they were frequently obliged to tread out a track twice over with snow-shoes, before it was firm enough to bear the dogs, who were even then only able to drag the heavy sleighs by the help of the men pushing behind with poles. They travelled thus slowly and laboriously for some 200 miles, when the pemmican gave out, and they were obliged to feed the dogs upon the precious flour. When within two days’ journey of Fort Pelley, the dogs were so exhausted, that one of the sleighs had to be abandoned, and one miserable animal lay down to die by the road-side. Soon afterwards they passed a sleigh with a team of dogs standing frozen, stark and stiff in their harness, like the people suddenly turned to stone in the story of the Arabian Nights. Some passer-by had found the deserted sleigh, with its dead team, and placed them upright, as if still drawing the load. Upon arriving at Fort Pelley they found the inhabitants starving, with but half a bag of pemmican left. Here they left a sack of flour. After this La Ronde was attacked by bronchitis, and had great difficulty in finishing the journey, arriving in the weak and emaciated condition described. We found, to our surprise, that we had, somehow or other, contrived to manufacture three days since our last visit to the Fort six weeks before. By our reckoning we made the day of their return Saturday, the 14th of March, whereas it proved to be Wednesday, the 11th.