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which I mentioned before, as being probably a species of 

 Viscum, was seen on the Pinus Banksiana. At the junction 

 of the Assinaboyne with the Red-Deer River, I was first 

 gratified with a sight of the Rocky Mountain sheep. At this 

 season their flesh is excellent, superior, in my opinion, to the 

 best English mutton. After they have been once disturbed, 

 they become so shy and vigilant, that it is difficult to ap- 

 proach them, taking refuge in the inaccessible pi'ecipices, but 

 coming down to the grassy hills to feed, where the hunters 

 frequently surprise them. 



Our route now lay along the Assinaboyne River, and we 

 proceeded slowly, encamping at every 15 or 20 miles, and 

 often remaining two or three days in the same spot, for the 

 sake of huntino^. The following is the circumstance which 

 hindered our reaching the Smoking River. The hunter whom 

 I had engaged was accompanied by his brother-in-law, an 

 Iroquois Indian, whose wife was taken in labour. According 

 to the custom of these tribes, the woman quitted the tent in 

 which she had lodged, until she should be delivered, and 

 owing to the extreme severity of the weather, the ground 

 being covered with snow, and the mercury indicating 38 

 degrees below zero, both the mother and her infant perished. 

 The despondency which this event excited in the minds 

 of the survivors, was so deep, that ten or fifteen days 

 elapsed before they could be induced to quit the spot. The 

 snow, during this interval, was gradually increasing, so 

 that the only places which I could investigate were the per- 

 pendicular sides of banks and rocks; for the trees, being 

 chiefly of the fir tribe, produce but very few lichens. Here 

 I observed Dufourea arctica^ Tortula brevifoUa, and Dicranum 

 latifolium. It was the beginning of December before the 

 hunter could be prevailed on to overcome his grief so far as 

 to resume his occupation. We had ascended the Assina- 

 boyne River upwards of 100 miles, when it here takes 

 a south-westerly course, intersecting the chain of the 

 Rocky Mountains almost exactly across. Tiie snow had 

 become so deep, that the horses could proceed no fardier in 

 that direction, and we were, in consequence, compelled to 



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