RETURN FROM OUR EXCURSION. 141 



me to do likewise. By his signs and replies to my 

 questions I was led to believe that these were placed 

 there as an offering to the spirit of the spring, but 

 I may have erred as to his meaning. Possibly the 

 real intention was to change their colour by the 

 chemical action of the water. 



From the bed of the stream I obtained some frag- 

 ments of fossil wood, which would lead one to impute 

 a petrifying property to the spring. The fish which 

 No-tak-en had brought he placed in the stream for 

 about half an hour, then presented them to me as 

 cooked ; for curiosity's sake I tasted them, and found 

 that they had become in a measure stewed, but, at 

 the same time, had so thoroughly imbibed the 

 ingredients of the water as to be quite unfit to eat. 

 Two splendid alpine hares, with coats of long and 

 spotless fur, trotted leisiu'ely off as we arrived, and 

 remained upon the brow of the hill watching us ; we 

 had unfortunately brought neither gun nor bow, 

 so that they were safe from injury. After having 

 examined the spring and stream with great interest, 

 I returned with my companion to Oongwysac much 

 pleased with the excursion. 



