THE BIG BLUE. 15 



kinds of game, except a few distant bands of antelopes ; 

 but grouse (prairie chickens), quails, hares, and rabbits had 

 been numerous. The shot-guns had kept the mess well 

 supplied with fresh meat, and given our chef a fair chance 

 to show off his " saw-mill cookery." Jack did not neglect 

 his opportunities, and when we were at St. Mary's covered 

 himself with glory by his chicken white soup. The young 

 grouse were then only just ^ible to fly, and their flesh was 

 white a.nd tender as frog-meat. A dozen of them were 

 skinned, dissected, and placed with their giblets in a pot, a 

 lump of lard and some of the lean of a ham chopped very 

 fine added, and the mixture judiciously seasoned ; the pot 

 was filled up with milk, procured from the missionaries, and 

 set on to cook ; the soup allowed to come just to the boil 

 and skimmed, then simmered down to about half its ori- 

 ginal quantity, served steaming hot, and eaten with gusto. 



Jack was no longer, in the words of his favourite song, 

 " Chief-cook and bottle-washer," &c. &c. No ; he was 

 artiste consomme cordon bleu. 



The morning after encamping near Biley we enjoyed 

 the luxury of a swim in the river on whose banks we had 

 stopped The. Big Blue ; and a beautiful little prairie 

 river it is, about the size and depth of the Thames at 

 Richmond, with water bright, clear, and sparkling, but 

 which, when viewed en masse, is of a deep-blue colour, 

 whence, I suppose, the river's name. 



Breakfast over, we put on decent apparel, and sallied 

 forth to make our inquiries one going to the Fort, the 

 other to the little settlement, and both meeting at dinner 

 to compare notes. The intelligence and advice we 



