292 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 
spring water, and barricadoed by fallen trees; 
we should have been contented to immerse our- 
selves wholly had the puddle been sufficiently 
deep, for the musquitoes devoured every part 
that was exposed to them. 
On the 4th we crossed the Methye Lake, and 
landed at the portage on the north-west side, in 
one of the sources of the Misinippi. The lake 
is seventeen miles in length, with a large island 
in the middle. We proceeded to the north side 
of the portage with two men, carrying a tent and 4 
Some instruments, leaving the canoes and cargoes 
to be transported by daily journeys of two or 
three miles. The distance is fourteen statute 
miles, and there are two small lakes about five 
miles from the north side. Several species of 
fish were found in them, though they have no 
known communication with any other body of 
water, being situated on the elevation of the 
height. The road was a gentle ascent, miry 
from the late rainy weather, and shaded by pines, 
poplars, birches, and cypresses, which terminated 
‘our view. On the north side we discovered 
through an opening in the trees, that we were on 
a hill eight or nine hundred feet high, and at the 
edge of a steep descent. We were prepared to 
expect an extensive prospect, but the magnifice 
scene before us was so superior to what the nature 
‘ 
