92 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 
about one hundred and fifty miles from east to 
west along the banks of the Saskatchawan, and 
about as far from north to south, comprehends, 
ona rough calculation, upwards of twenty thou- 
sand square miles, and is frequented at present 
by about one hundred and twenty Indian hunters. 
Of these a few have several wives, but the ma- 
jority have only one ; and, as some are unmar- 
ried, we shall not err greatly in considering the 
number of married women as only slightly exceed- 
ing that of the hunters. The women marry very 
young, have a custom of suckling their children 
for several years, and are besides exposed con- — 
stantly to fatigue and often to famine; hence 
they are not prolific, bearing upon an average 
not more than four children, of whom two may 
attain the age of puberty. Upon these data, the 
amount of each family may be stated at five, and 
the whole Indian population in the district at five 
hundred. 
This is but a small population for such an 
extent of country, yet their mode of life occa- 
sionally subjects them to great privations. The 
winter of our residence at Cumberland House 
Ag extremely severe to the Indians. The 
them in the autumn, and was followed by the 
ing-cough made its appearance amongst — 
asles, which in the course of the winter spread 
