292 BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 



plateau, the path led us again into a grassy pine-opening, cor- 



I ascended the wooded plateau. The third day in the morning, every 

 vestige of a path had disappeared, the storm continued, and the depth of 

 the snow made it impossible for me to proceed further onward, the more 

 so as I had lost the path entirely, being in the midst of a lightly wooded 

 plateau. To return was now the only alternative left for me, but to find 

 my way back another difficulty. I now dismounted again and struck a 

 camp, hoping that by waiting a day or so the snow storm might abate, 

 that I might be enabled to see a little at a distance. I built myself a 

 shelter of spruce branches, lit a fire, gathered wood for the long night, and 

 finally worked two to three hours very hard to free a space of ground 

 from snow to make grazing easier for my horse, who, moreover did not 

 like this stormy climate and seemed impatient to return to the valley, 

 which compelled me to ' hobble' him ; that is, to tie his fore feet together 

 with a leather strap. Two of the dullest days of my life did I spend in 

 this wretched camp, on a bed of spruce branches, watching the fire and 

 my horse, but the storm continued with unabating fury, the snow 

 now averaging three feet in depth. On the morning of the third day, 

 I resolved to return at any risk, striking an easterly direction by my 

 compass. I took my horse by the reins, and with the hatchet in my ngnt, 

 I commenced marking the trees as I passed onward through the deep 

 snow, avoiding defiles, till late in the afternoon, when I found myself at 

 the verge of a sudden slope towards a narrow valley below, in which 1 

 recognized black spots indicating a rivulet ; descending with some dim- 

 culty, I was much pleased to find a path a little above the valley, which 

 I followed, and brought me to the crossing place of Cceur-d'Aleine River 

 in the afternoon of next day. The snowing now changed to rain in the 

 valley, which at last fell heavily, so I hastened to get myself across the 

 river. No canoe being on this side, I had no alternative but to swim 

 for one ; to do that I had to break the •thin ice with my hatchet on my 

 way, which had filled the open space since my late passage. Cold soon 

 drove me back to the banks to light a fire, which I did by discharging 

 one of my pistols into a heap of fine dry Cedar or Thuja bass, which an 

 Indian had hidden under a piece of an old canoe. At last, after several 

 swimmings and landings, I made the whole distance and brought over a 

 fine canoe ; one of those frail things mentioned above, made of Cedar or 

 Thuja bark and basket willows. First, I brought over my saddle and 

 saddle-bags, returning agaia I took my horse on the line, and warming 

 myself through, stepped in the canoe to swim my horse across, when he 

 suddenly turned back frightened, upset me with my frail canoe. Now 

 had to swim once more, but this time with my clothes on ; however, 

 soon managed to push myself on the other shore with the canoe, which 



