48 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



through swamps and brush, and across rain-swollen rivers brought 

 them to the Catholic mission on the shores of Lake St. Ann, fifty 

 miles from Edmonton, where the good Father Lacombe reigned 

 supreme. From this point the road, if such it could be called, led 

 through a succession of swamps, hills and streams, and forests so 

 dense that at times it was necessary to keep men ahead to chop out 

 the brush and fallen timber. In the vicinity of the Pembina River, 

 as a delightful change, they found palatable wild cherries and berries 

 of all kinds in great profusion. On the banks of that tributary of the 

 Athabaska they noticed coal outcropping. "It is seen in beds about 

 six feet deep. Saw a volcano," proceeds the diary, "on one of the 

 high hills; supposed to be coal burning |pelow; smoke rushes out of 

 the top. We are told by our guide that it has burned for a number 

 of years." 



On August 5th they crossed the Pembina, which at this point was 

 about a hundred yards wide. The crossing was one of the most 

 exciting of the journey. The water reached to the horses' backs. 

 It was impossible to make a raft and it was too deep for fording. A 

 new plan was evolved; the tents were spread out; the goods placed 

 inside; and then the tents were drawn together like bags. Lines were 

 fastened to the bags and two men on horseback towed them across 

 while two others waded the ice-cold, shoulder-deep water endeavouring 

 to support them and keep them from upsetting. Other goods were 

 carried across by men on horseback who upheld or tried to uphold 

 them on their heads or shoulders. It was indeed a busy scene in 

 that wild and lonely spot ; on the one bank the goods being unpacked 

 and made up for crossing; on the other many men busy reassembling 

 them into packs and loading the horses; in the centre the river, full 

 of animals and men going and returning loaded and unloaded ; here a 

 couple tugging away against the current with their tent boat, while 

 the luckless wights up to their necks in the water held on behind; 

 there a bewildered equestrian making a vain attempt to guide his 

 steed across the stream, while his nervous friend to whom he had given 

 a deck passage held him firmly in his arms and put forth many spas- 

 modic efforts which usually only resulted in wetting them both; 

 and yonder another bold navigator astride an ox, sometimes in the 

 water and sometimes out of it, boxing the compass in his frantic 

 attempts to induce his bovine steed to shape his course towards the 

 setting sun. 



Then day after day the diarist exhausts his adjectives in a vain 

 endeavour to do justice to the district through which they are travelling. 

 It appeared to be a succession of beaver swamps, in which the whole 



