274 THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE BY LAND. 



On the following day we made a long detour to the 

 right, to get ronnd the range of hills to the south, and 

 entered the narrow valley on the west of it. The trail 

 was not very distinct, and passed amongst rocks and 

 burnt timber. At dinner-time we discovered that the 

 frying-pan and some of the tin plates were lost, and 

 thenceforward were driven to cook our pemmican and 

 bake our bread in the kettle. A small stream flowed 

 along: the bottom of the ravine towards the north, 

 falling probably into either the Fraser or Canoe Eiver ; 

 but the next day we passed the height of land, and 

 gained the watershed of the Thompson. This was 

 occupied by a small marshy lake, marked Albreda 

 Lake in the map, filling the bottom of the ravine. It 

 appeared to have been drained formerly by a stream 

 flowing from either extremity, like the Summit lake 

 between Lake Lilloet and Anderson Lake, in British 

 Columbia ; but the northern end was now blocked 

 up by an old grass-grown beaver-dam, and its waters 

 escaped only towards the south. We continued to 

 follow the stream thus formed, which was reinforced 

 by several branches from the westward, and saw before 

 us a magnificent mountain, covered with glaciers, and 

 apparently blocking up the valley before us. To this 

 Cheadle gave the name of Mount Milton. The trail 

 now entered thick pine forest, where the timber was 

 of enormous size. Two trunks of the giant cyjDress 

 [Thuja (Jig anted) or cedar, as it is commonly called, 

 which grew side by side, measured over six and a 

 half embraces, or thirty-nine feet; the other, five 

 embraces, or thirty feet in circumference, giving 



