252, JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 
vicinity, coincided so exactly with those which have 
been given of similar persons in Dr. Richardson’s 
account of the Crees, that any statement respect- 
ing them at this place is rendered unnecessary. 
Both the Companies have wisely prohibited their 
servants from intermarrying with pure Indian 
women, which was formerly the cause of many 
quarrels with the tribes. _ 
. The weather was extremely variable during 
the month of June; we scarcely had two clear 
days in succession, and the showers of rain were 
frequent; the winds were often strong, and ge- 
nerally blowing from the north-east quarter. On 
the evening of the 16th the Aurora Borealis was 
visible, but after that date the nights were too 
light for our discerning it. rier 
The musquitoes swarmed in great numbers 
about the house, and tormented us so incessantly 
by their irritating stings, that we were compelled 
to keep our rooms constantly filled with smoke, 
which is the only means of driving them away: 
the weather indeed was now warm. Having re- 
ceived one of Dolland’s eighteen-inch spirit ther- 
mometers from Mr. Stuart, which he had the 
kindness to send us from his post at Pierre au 
Calumet, after he had learned that our’s had bee? 
rendered useless, I observed the temperature, at 
noon, on the 25th of June, to be 63°. si 
