168 THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE BY LAND. 



thin when the snow began to fall, and two of them 

 had been used for sleigh work in the early part of 

 the winter, they were now perfect balls of fat, and 

 as wild and full of spirit as if fed on corn — a most 

 unusual condition for Indian horses. The pasture is 

 so nutritious that animals fatten rapidly even in 

 winter — when they have to scratch away the snow to 

 feed — if they find woods to shelter them from the 

 piercing winds. No horses are more hardy or en- 

 during than those of this country, yet their only food 

 is the grass of the prairies and the vetches of the 

 copses. The milch cows and draught oxen at Red 

 River, and in Minnesota, feeding on grass alone, 

 were generally in nearly as fine condition as the 

 stall-fed cattle of the Baker Street Show. 



On the 3rd of April we loaded our carts and 

 turned our backs on La Belle Prairie, not without 

 feelings of regret. Our Indian friends were all away, 

 and we reluctantly set out without saying good-bye to 

 either the Hunter or Misquapamayoo. On the 6th of 

 April we reached the Saskatchewan, which we found 

 still firmly frozen over, and crossed on the ice. At 

 Carlton we found Treemiss, on his way back to Eng- 

 land, and he started with La Ronde the next day for 

 Red River. We sent Rover with them, as we were 

 afraid of losing him after reaching British Columbia — 

 a mistake we have never ceased to regret. As our 

 guide forward we engaged Baptiste Supernat, a tall, 

 powerful, French half-breed, who professed to know 

 the route we intended to follow as far as Tete 

 Jaune's Cache, on the western side of the main 



