THE STORY OF THE EMIGRANTS. 325 



of sheep, are kept liere by the Hudson's Bay- 

 Company. 



During our stay here, and in our subsequent 

 travels through British Columbia, we met some of the 

 emigrants who had crossed the mountains the year 

 before, and heard the history of their adventures. 

 It will be remembered that when the first and prin- 

 cipal body left Tete Jaune Cache, they divided, one 

 party making large rafts there to descend the Fraser, 

 whilst the others sought the head waters of the 

 North Thompson. Those who went down the Fraser, 

 after much suffering and many mishaps, eventually 

 arrived at the Mouth of Quesnelle, having lost 

 one of their number, who sank from disease induced 

 by hardship and exposure. The party who followed 

 the Thompson, about sixty in number, after vainly 

 endeavouring to cut their way to Cariboo, turned 

 south, in order to try and reach Kamlo ops. 



In a few days their provisions gave out, and their 

 progress had been so slow and diflB.cult that they 

 gave up in despair the design of making their way 

 by land. At '' Slaughter Camp '' they killed their 

 oxen and dried the meat ; then built large rafts, on 

 which they embarked, abandoning all their horses, 

 amounting to between forty and fifty. 



The Assiniboine had rightly interpreted the signs 

 of their trail. All went well with the voyageurs 

 until they reached the Grand Rapid. The men on 

 the leading rafts did not perceive the danger until 

 too late to avoid it. The rafts were sucked into the 

 rapids in spite of all their efforts, and many of the 



