216 A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY 
valleys, and at other times, over hills; on the 
former, we find it now rather heavy travelling ; for 
the snow is melting so rapidly, that the land is, in 
these places, completely saturated with water. 
The progress of vegetation is astonishingly quick : 
the sorrel is already so far advanced, that we picked 
enough, during our march this evening, to afford 
us some refreshment. ‘The ground travelled over 
to-day must be, at times, well stocked with deer; 
for we passed a great many of their horns; 
and their old tracks were very numerous. We 
killed two ptarmigans in the course of the evening, 
and two or three more were seen. Between nine 
and ten o’clock the weather became hazy, with 
occasional light showers of snow: we continued on 
the march, however, until a quarter before eleven 
o’clock. 
Saturday, 10th. — We resumed our journey again 
at a quarter before three o’clock in the morning, 
and continued on the march until a quarter after 
seven. Our route was, as yesterday, over hills 
and plains; we also crossed several ravines, 
some of which we found a little difficulty in 
passing, especially one or two, for the snow in 
them is now so thoroughly soaked with water, that 
the cart sunk into it up to the naves. ‘The wea- 
ther was so thick this forenoon that we could see 
to no great distance, and even if it were clear, I 
believe our view would not be so extensive as we 
thought it would when we saw these hills at a dis- 
tance ; for they are so nearly of a height, that every 
little rising obstructs the prospect from one over 
the other. The plains on their top are yet almost 
