406 SPRINGS or NATURAL PITCH. 



expressed, and that gentleman refused to be my 

 convoy : after much sohcitation and pressmg for his 

 reason, he told the interpreter that the truth of the 

 matter was he did not dare to trust himself with any 

 one alone in the woods, as he might be tempted to 

 treat himself to a repast of his much-esteemed fare. 

 On the 16th we quitted Fort Chipewyan, and 

 speedily got out of the " Lake of the Hills," as that 

 of Athabasca is frequently called, entering the 

 "Embarras" — a narrow sluggish stream, apparently 

 an arm of the Athabasca River, into which we 

 emerged next day. We encountered on the 18th 

 some springs of natural pitch, which oozes out of 

 the ground in a half liquid condition, and hardens 

 at the surface ; it is used extensively for the boats 

 which are made in the country. 



We now began to find berries tolerably ripe, and 

 revelled in their refreshing delights ; there were many 

 kinds, but the most plentiful and the most pleasant 

 were raspberries, gooseberries and currants, of which 

 latter two kinds of black preponderated. 



The 21st found us at the junction of the Great 

 and Little Athabasca Rivers ; the latter is generally 

 called the " Clear Water," and its title is well 

 deserved ; we turned off into it, and continued to 

 ascend until the Cascade was reached — a small shallow 



