26 A STORM ON THE OLEARWATER. 



The language and appearance of the old hunter arid 

 his companions seem familiar; beyond a doubt we 

 have met them before. It is Pierre and his companions 

 Gaultier and old Jake, with whom we travelled on the 

 Saskatchewan. From their remarks it is evident that 

 now they are upon a similar expedition through the 

 wild countries of the North-West. We propose to 

 accompany them, and to chronicle their various adven- 

 tures, for the instruction and amusement of our young 

 readers. 



The party finished their supper, and made arrange- 

 ments for spending the night beneath the shelter of 

 their hut. Bear-skins and blankets were unrolled and 

 spread over piles of white cedar boughs, which furnish 

 a couch at once fragrant and elastic. Enormous logs 

 were heaped on the fire, which sent volumes of sparks 

 up through the pall-like foliage overhead, and the flar- 

 ing light gleamed on the rushing river, and glistened 

 on the wet tree trunks. 



The storm, however, soon thickened ; fierce gusts tore 

 down the gorge, sometimes drowning the rush of the 

 river, and bending the trees like reeds ; while branches 

 torn from the parent trunks were whirled about, and 

 strewed the ground round the camp. Rain in sheets 

 hissed through the woods, and notwithstanding the care 

 with which the hunters made their hut, it found its 

 way through, and trickled faster and faster on their 

 faces, making this refuge untenable. 



The hoarse thunder of the Clearwater plunging madly 



