126 DOWN THE PEACE RIVER 



On the evening of the 6th of October, I reached Carlton, hav- 

 ing been thirty- three days on the road from Fort Chipewyan, 

 the computed distance being 600 miles, so that, including stop- 

 pages, I made twenty miles per day. I experienced no difficulty 

 in passing through the country as the officers of the Hudson's 

 Bay Company had done everything in their power to assist me. 

 The Indians did everything they could to make me comfortable 

 and never touched an article nor did an improper act on the 

 whole trip. 



I rested two days at Fort Carlton and, in the meantime, had 

 the pleasure of meeting Capt. Crozier, of the Northwest Mounted 

 Police, who had been a Lieutenant in the company in which I 

 served at Prescott, in 1866. We were pleased to see each other 

 and Mr. Clark, the gentleman in charge of Carlton, invited us 

 both to dine with him that evening. Besides the Captain and 

 myself, there were two priests, one of whom was named Pere 

 Andreau. While taking dinner, we were discussing the future of 

 the country and Pere Andreau said that he was going to bring a 

 large number of half-breeds from Manitoba to settle on the Sask- 

 atchewan and form a new French province. After dinner, I told 

 the Captain that I would make a note of what the priest had 

 said as it meant trouble in the future and that I would advise 

 him to do the same. Whether he did so or not I cannot say, but 

 he commanded the Northwest Mounted Police at the battle of 

 Duck Lake, the first engagement in the rebellion of 1885. 



On the 8th, I was again on my way and this time in company 

 with a number of half-breeds who had brought goods from Fort 

 Garry to Carlton for the Hudson's Bay Company. I purchased a 

 light wagon to convey myself and traps across the plains and one 

 of the half-breeds furnished the horse. He did everything for 

 me and agreed to take me to Winnipeg in twenty-one days, 

 weather permitting, for $45.00. I may say here that, all the time 

 I have spoken about travelling, I never had a shilling in my pocket 

 as all my expenses were furnished by the Hudson's Bay Company. 

 We now had six hundred miles further to go before I reached 

 Fort Garry. 



When we came to the South Saskatchewan, we crossed on 



