190 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 
Indians, to secure the meat and furs they should 
collect, for the North-West Company. He ac- 
companied us as far as the stage on which his 
meat was placed, and then gave us a very press- 
ing invitation to halt for the day and partake of 
his fare; which, as the hour was too early, we 
declined, much to the annoyance of our Canadian 
companions, who had been cherishing the pros- 
pect of indulging their amazing appetites at this 
well-furnished store, ever since the man had been 
with us. He gave them, however, a small supply 
previous to our parting. The route now crossed 
Some ranges of hills, on which fir, birch, and pop- 
lar, grew so thickly, that we had much difficulty in 
getting the sledges through the narrow pathway 
between them. In the evening we descended 
from the elevated ground, crossed three swampy 
meadows, and encamped at their northern ex- 
tremity, within a cluster of large pine-trees, the 
branches of which were elegantly decorated with 
abundance of a greenish yellow lichen. Our 
march was ten miles. The weather was very 
mild, almost too warm for the exercise we were 
taking. 
We had a strong gale from the N.W. during 
the night, which subsided as the morning opened. 
One of the sledges had been so much broken yes- 
terday amongst the trees,that we had to divide its 
