78 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 
induced by the novelty of the incident, I went 
twice to observe him more closely ; but when he 
perceived that he was noticed, he immediately 
ceased his operation, hung down his head, and 
by his demeanour, intimated that he considered 
my appearance an intrusion. The residents at 
the fort could give me no information on the sub- 
ject, and I could not learn that the Indians in 
general observe any particular ceremony on the 
approach of death. — 
November 15.—The sky had been overcast 
during the last week; the sun shone forth once 
only, and then not sufficiently for the purpose 
of obtaining observations. Faint coruscations 
of the Aurora Borealis appeared one evening, 
but their presence did not in the least affect the 
electrometer nor the compass. The ice daily be- 
came thicker in the lake, and the frost had now 
nearly overpowered the rapid current of the Sas- 
katchawan River; indeed, parties of men who 
were sent from both the forts to search for the In- 
dians, and procure whatever skins and provisions 
they might have collected, crossed that stream 
this day on the ice. The white partridges made 
their first appearance near to the house, which 
birds are considered as the infallible harbingers 
of severe weather. 
Monday, November 22.—The Saskatchawan, 
