PERMANENTLY APPOINTED TO GOVERNMENT 191 



just such an occasion as the men being exhausted and cold. We 

 camped and discussed our position that night. I decided that, in 

 the morning, Davie and one of the men with a gun would go and, 

 if possible, find the lake and then see if it had an outlet to the 

 east, if so, we were in the right position and, he was to fire his gun. 

 A few hours after, we heard the gun at a distance, and I answered 

 and he understood that he was to try, on his way back, to find a 

 road over which we could haul our flatbottomed boat and canvas 

 boat. He found a way by which we could haul them across, as 

 there was much moss and some swamp on the way. 



The following day, I went across when they took the canvas 

 boat and, while they were gone for the larger one, I made a wharf 

 of the branches by which we could walk over the mud to where 

 the water was deep enough to float the boats. I believe that it 

 took us only a day to bring all our stuff across and the next day 

 we entered on the lake and it was little better, for some distance, 

 than liquid mud which made it difficult for us to get through. 

 We passed out of the lake into a nice creek and our hearts rose 

 to know that from this time on we had no more ascending of 

 streams but that, to Winnipeg, our course would be down stream. 



After some time, our little stream got larger and we, most 

 unexpectedly, reached Swan River through a clump of bushes. 

 Our difficulties now were all over, as we knew that no matter 

 what happened, we could float down to Livingstone (the Police 

 Headquarters). By this time, our flour was almost exhausted 

 and the men's clothes were in an awful state, but our spirits were 

 high and we were afraid of nothing. 



Late one afternoon, we reached Livingstone, and I was the 

 only one of the party that could make an appearance without 

 having something done to his clothes. Inspector Griesbach, who 

 was in charge, was very kind to us, and, one afternoon, I went 

 out shooting with him and, while he shot a great number of 

 prairie fowl, I obtained nothing. Late in the afternoon, he asked 

 me if I would like to see some snakes, and I told him that I would, 

 very much, He took me some distance to a little hollow where 

 there were a few rocks and a number of stumps and small trees 

 and he said: "Do not be afraid, but follow me." I followed him 



