EXPLORATION OF THE PRAIRIES, 1879 139 



understanding that whatever was in the cart could begot at at 

 the shortest notice. In other words, our men must know where 

 each article that he had in his cart was placed. My reason for 

 doing this was that I had a spade, an axe, a shearing-hook and 

 many other small articles that might be wanted for instant use, 

 and I desired each man to be aware of what he carried. When 

 we began to tie up our stuff and fix it all, we found that we had 

 room enough for all we had. 



I may mention here that I had agreed, at Winnipeg, with 

 Captain Moore, who had started a grist mill at Prince Albert, 

 that I would take a certain number of bags of flour from him and 

 he would deliver them at Battle ford before the middle of July. 

 By this means, I left part of our heavy material to be taken up 

 in the middle of the summer. 



We packed up our stuff and experienced a thunder-storm and 

 heavy rain. The next morning, we started on our westward trip. 

 During the day, before we started, I went to Fort Ellice and had 

 a talk with Mr. Macdonald, the chief factor in charge, and he 

 said to me: "Where are you going on your trip?" I said that I 

 had a hard road before me, but that I had two surveyors who 

 ought to be able to give me a direction and he said : "You cannot 

 go through this country without a guide as there is no one who 

 knows anything about it except our men." "Well," I said, "My 

 first objective is the head of Long Lake and would you bring out 

 a guide so that I can have a talk with him?" So he brought out 

 a half-breed and I told him that I was going to the Elbow of the 

 South Saskatchewan, also that I was going by the head of Long 

 Lake and he immediately said: "You cannot go that way for 

 there is no trail." I said: "I am not going to travel on trails, but 

 am going to travel by compass." He shook his head and said 

 that I could not possibly do it, nobody travelled that way. I 

 now turned to Mr. Macdonald and I said: "Mr. Macdonald, it 

 is this man's brains or mine; if I take him, I go the way he says; 

 if I take no guide with me, we go the way I say; I am going to 

 take no guide." 



The next day, we started, and for a few days travelled on the 

 road leading from Fort Ellice to Carlton, the chief highway of the 



