300 THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE BY LAND. 



The Assiniboine, worn out by the continual toil, 

 became thoroughly disheartened, protesting it was 

 perfectly impossible to get through such a country, 

 and useless to attempt it. We anxiously discussed 

 the question, as on every evening, of how many miles 

 we had come that day, and whether it was possible 

 that the river we had struck might not be the 

 Thompson at all, but some unknown stream which 

 might lead us into inextricable difficulties. We got 

 out our imperfect map, and showed The Assiniboine 

 that according to that the river ran due south through 

 a narrow valley shut in by mountains up to the very 

 Fort, in exact correspondence, so far, with the stream 

 along the banks of which we were making our way. 

 This encouraged him a little, and he worked away 

 next day with his usual untiring perseverance. We 

 found our diet of dried horse-meat, and that in 

 exceedingly small quantity — for we still kept our- 

 selves on half-rations — very insufficient, and w^e were 

 frightfully hungry and faint all day long. We rarely 

 killed more than two partridges in the day, and some- 

 times, though not often, a skunk or a marten, and 

 these were but little amongst six people. Cheadle at 

 this time discovered three fish-hooks amongst the 

 wreck of our property, and made some night lines, 

 which he set, baited with horse-flesh. These produced 

 three white trout the first night, one of which weighed 

 at least a couple of pounds, but, although they were 

 diligently set every night afterwards, w^e never had 

 such luck again, occasionally killing a fish, but not a 

 dozen in all during the rest of the journey. These 



