168 FOURTH EXPLORATION, 1880 



there should be a little wind. Feed and shelter for the horses are 

 absolutely necessary, as both may be needed by night. All the 

 conveniences should be placed west of the tent, and each tent 

 securely tied to a cart by the guy rope, passing over the end of 

 the ridge pole. The rear of the tents should be next to the carts, 

 so that, should a storm arise in the night, there would be no danger 

 of the tents being blown down. By taking these precautions, no 

 storm can do much damage and men fall into the habit of doing 

 this as a matter of routine. 



In the latter part of June, 1879, I encamped on the trail, just 

 west of Qu'Appelle, but on a plateau above the river valley. 

 About three hundred yards distant, another exploring party 

 stopped for the night. We arranged our camp in our usual man- 

 ner, and retired to rest. About two o'clock, a.m., a terrific storm, 

 rain, thunder and wind, broke over us, and for five hours we lay 

 and listened to the terrific uproar. After the rain had ceased, we 

 attempted to make a fire, but could not succeed for some time 

 owing to the force of the wind and wetness of the wood. Our 

 tents had withstood the tempest's strength and kept us perfectly 

 dry. Not so with our friends in the other camp. Their tent had 

 been blown down at the commencement of the storm and there 

 was not a man in the camp that had a dry rag. Of course, in 

 letters to their friends, they made out that their wretchedness 

 was not due to their own carelessness. I visited their camp and 

 found that the storm was altogether unexpected and had caught 

 them unprepared, and their tents tumbled about their ears in a 

 few moments. 



I soon found that my party this year was far inferior to the 

 party I had last year when Matheson knew the prairie and modes 

 of travel, and Ogilvie also, and they were first class men. In our 

 present case, Davie and myself were the only men who were of 

 any use, the others were inexperienced and, in some cases, in- 

 efficient. Of course, crossing the prairies without a road was a 

 serious matter, and we had to cross a number of creeks with steep 

 sides or coolies in which they ran, and our difficulties were enhanced 

 by the ignorance of the men. We reached Moose Mountain in 

 safety, however, and found it just as it had been reported, a series 



