196 A NIPPING WINTER. 
was completed too late to return that same year, so 
another dreary winter was spent at Colville: the 
cold was so intense that the ink froze in the pens, 
even when it was kept hot before the fire, and 
thus put a stop to all writing; the steam 
rising from the teacups would freeze into a kind 
of sleet, and fall again on the table. Still, in spite 
of this intense cold, if the air was still, as it 
usually happened to be, no inconvenience was 
felt, and we all wandered about with but 
little if any warmer clothing than we wore at 
Vancouver Island. 
Whilst we remain here, I may as well give a 
brief account of packing, camping, and_ pro- 
visioning, and the general features of the Boun- 
dary line, as well as the natives and their dogs. 
