﻿54 MR. BELL LEAVES WINTER QUARTERS. 1848. 



stores up on the first opening of the Saskatchewan, 

 and was now a fortnight in advance of us on his 

 way to Methy Portage. The bulk of his party had 

 been maintained at Beaver Lake on fish, but some 

 having wintered in Cedar Lake, to look after the 

 stores, and the fishery there having failed, there had 

 been an unavoidable consumption of the pemican des- 

 tined for the sea-voyage. The provision posts on 

 the upper part of the Saskatchewan had fortunately 

 been able to replace what was consumed, and Mr. 

 Bell had started from Cumberland House with his 

 boats fully laden. 



He had left two men of the English party behind, 

 who were unequal to the labours of the voyage ; one 

 of them, because of an injury received in the hand 

 early in the spring, and the other owing to a recur- 

 rence of pains in the bones, with which he had for- 

 merly been afflicted. After carefully examining these 

 men, I decided upon sending them to York Factory 

 by the first conveyance which offered, that they 

 might return to England in September, in the 

 Hudson's Bay annual ship. 



Having thus briefly touched on the line of route 

 pursued by us in a journey of two thousand eight 

 Imndred and eighty statute miles, from New York 

 to the wintering place of the boat-party *, I shall 



* New York to La Chine - - - 500 miles. 



La Chine to Buffalo - - - 372 „ 



