THE ATHABASCA. 227 



ceeded in cutting off tlie fire, wliicli still raged fiercely 

 away from us, recovered our horses, and found that 

 even the one which had caused us such anxiety was 

 not seriously injured, although singed all over, and 

 much burnt about the legs. 



The Assiniboine came back soon after, having 

 found the road, and we therefore re-packed the horses, 

 rapidly retraced our steps to the point where the trails 

 diverged, and camped there for the night. Clouds 

 of smoke, visible during this and the following day 

 behind us, showed that the fire was still burning 

 furiously. The next day we turned off at right 

 angles from the McLeod, passing through the usual 

 routine of muskeg and pine forest, and before night 

 came were drenched through and through by the rain 

 of the most tremendous thunder-storm we ever en- 

 countered, with the exception of the memorable one 

 on Eed Eiver. At oui' evening's camping place we 

 found an inscription on a tree, to the effect that the 

 three miners who had left the party in the Sas- 

 katchewan to find out the sources of that river, dis- 

 covering that they were close to the Athabasca, had 

 turned back to prospect the sources of the McLeod. 

 Heavy rain continued to fall without intermission 

 the following day, and w^e were obliged to remain 

 under shelter of our lodge. But the following morn- 

 ing broke clear and bright, and a good trail of about 

 half a mile brought us to the banks of the Athabasca, 

 flowino" hke the Saskatchewan, in a channel cut in the 

 flat bottom of the wide river-valley, the steep sides 

 of which, 200 feet in height, were thickly clothed 



p 2 



