162 A JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



We have only conversed with four men who have been engaged in 

 any of those expeditions ; all these confirm the statements of Black- 

 meat respecting the sea-coast. Our observations concerning the 

 half-breed population in this vicinity, coincided so exactly with those 

 which have been given of similar persons in Dr. Richardson's ac- 

 count of the Crees, that any statement respecting them at this 

 place is rendered unnecessary. Both the Companies have wisely 

 prohibited their servants from intermarrying with pure Indian wo- 

 men, which was formerly the cause of many quarrels with the 

 tribes. 



The weather was extremely variable, during the month of June ; 

 we scarcely had two clear days in succession, and the showers of 

 rain were frequent ; the winds were often strong, and generally 

 blowing from the north-east quarter. On the evening of the 16th 

 the Aurora Borealis was visible, but after that date the nights were 

 too light for our discerning it. 



The musquitoes swarmed in great numbers about the house, and 

 tormented us so incessantly by their irritating stings, that we were 

 compelled to keep our rooms constantly filled with smoke, which is 

 the only means of driving them away : the weather indeed was now 

 warm: Having received one of Dollond's eighteen-inch spirit ther- 

 mometers from Mr. Stuart, which he had the kindness to send us 



from his post at Pierre au Calumet, after he had learned that ours 

 had been rendered useless, I observed the temperature, at noon, on 

 the 2oth of June, to be 63°. 



On the following morning we made an excursion, accompanied by 

 Mr. Smith, round the fishing stations on the south side of the lake, 

 for the purpose of visiting our men : we passed several groups of 

 women and children belonging to both the forts, posted wherever 

 they could find a sufficiently dry spot for an encampment. At 

 length we came to our men, pitched upon a narrow strip of land, 

 situated between two rivers. Though the portion of dry ground 



