168 A JOURNEY TO THE 



177 1, consequently it was here that we cooked our first meal for a 

 •'"^' whole week. This, as may naturally be supposed, was well 

 relished by all parties, the Indians as well as myself". And as 

 the Sun had, in the course of the day, dried our clothing, in 

 spite of the small showers of rain, we felt ourselves more 

 comfortable than we had done since we left the women. The 

 place where we lay that night, is not far from Grizzled Bear 

 Hill ; which takes its name from the numbers of those animals 

 that are frequently known to resort thither for the purpose of 

 bringing forth their young in a cave that is found there. The 

 wonderful description which the Copper Indians gave of this 

 place exciting the curiosity of several of my companions as 

 well as myself, we went to view it ; but on our arrival at it 

 [140] found little worth remarking about it, being no more 

 than a high lump of earth, of a loamy quality, of which kind 

 there are several others in the same neighbourhood, all standing 

 in the middle of a large marsh, which makes them resemble 

 so many islands in a lake. The sides of these hills are quite 

 perpendicular ; and the height of Grizzled Bear Hill, which 

 is the largest, is about twenty feet above the level ground that 

 surrounds it. Their summits are covered with a thick sod of 

 moss and long grass, which in some places projects over the 

 edge ; and as the sides are constantly mouldering away, and 

 washing down with every shower of rain during the short 

 Summer, they must in time be levelled with the marsh in 

 which they are situated. At present those islands, as I call 

 them, are excellent places of retreat for the birds which migrate 

 there to breed ; as they can bring forth their young in perfect 

 safety from every beast except the Quequehatch,^ which, from 

 the sharpness of its claws and the amazing strength of its legs, 

 is capable of ascending the most difficult precipices. 



On the side of the hill that I went to survey, there is a 

 large cave which penetrates a considerable way into the rock, and 



[^ Gttlo luscus Linn. See p. 346.] 



