REJOINED BY THE BEAR LAKE PARTY. 325 



most daring and clever pilferers. My companions 

 were two men of Fort Norman, both half castes : one 

 of them belonged to the Colony fomided by Lord 

 Selkirk on the Red River, and his ideas of highly 

 civilised life were rather primitive, rendering our 

 conversations sufficiently amusing to me in conse- 

 quence ; among other questions propounded were 

 whether our gracious Queen ever visited poor people, 

 and if all the soldiers lived in the palace with her 

 Majesty. 



Snow-birds were seen on the 24th of April, the 

 first and early arrivals of migrating birds : some which 

 were shot were very fat ; their condition is considered 

 a criterion of that of the wild-fowl. Ducks arrived 

 on the 4th of May ; geese and swans later : they 

 were all in very fair condition, and a truly welcome 

 addition to our meagre fare. 



The party which had remained at Bear Lake 

 rejoined me on the 8th of May, by which time the 

 snow had greatly decreased, and much water appeared 

 upon the river-ice ; and on the 13th the ice com- 

 menced to break up and pass down : there were, 

 however, many stoppages by which the current was 

 impeded to such an extent that the river rose about 

 five and twenty feet, and flooded the country ; the 

 fort was smiounded with water, and we brought our 



