DENSE SOLITUDE. 215 



If a suitable purchaser could be found at our des- 

 tination, I had resolved to dispose of them, and 

 afterwards, if practicable, make my way on foot or 

 by water to the Bed River settlement. 



For the two succeeding days, nothing broke the 

 monotony of our course, for very little game was 

 seen. From the roughness of the ground, our pro- 

 gress was slow. From the frequent tracks, however, 

 I judged that the neighbourhood was not always so 

 scantily supplied with animal life. In our route we 

 had to traverse several diminutive streams that 

 were crowded with fish, of which we were seldom 

 able to obtain a supply for the support of the in- 

 ward man. The trout which we caught were gene- 

 rally small, the size of the brooks operating as it 

 does elsewhere against the growth of their inhabi- 

 tants. Judging from past experience, I should 

 consider this a splendid country for trapping the 

 more valuable varieties of fur-covered animals ; and 

 am much surprised that none of the natives came 

 under our notice, nor did we perceive any indication 

 of their being in the habit of visiting this quarter, 

 which is a dense solitude undisturbed by the presence 

 of man. 



No one can more appreciate the pleasure of 

 change of scene than the traveller who has for days 

 tramped through heavily-timbered land without 

 getting a glimpse of objects separated from him by 

 more than a hundred yards. In this instance, the 

 weight of my pack, for the animals had not strength 



