ARRANGING MATERIAL FOR NEW MUSEUM 269 



July, when south of Cypress Hills, we found that some showers had 

 wet the land so that the water had sunk in from six to eight inches. 



When camped north of the Sweet Grass Hills, we had a 

 thunder-storm which filled a pool near our camp and William S. 

 determined that we should have water in the morning and so 

 dug a hole in the ground at the edge of the pool that he considered 

 would be a well, but when we got up in the morning, we found 

 that the "well" was the cause of the loss of all the water in the 

 pool; it had all drained away. This taught us a lesson that I 

 took to heart and I was able later to show the cause of the water 

 in the lakes not being retained. It was simply this — that there 

 was a stratum of impervious clay always in the bottom of a dried- 

 up lake and, if this cracked in the summer heat, any rain that 

 fell ran into the cracks and disappeared. Having made this 

 discovery, I came to the conclusion that all that was necessary 

 now was for a snow-fall to take place in the winter and the melt- 

 ing snow would wash enough of the impervious clay into the cracks 

 to close them. 



We found, shortly after leaving camp, a trail and, as we were 

 in doubt as to where we were, we sent William S. in the cart south 

 till he came to the Police Station, which was named "Pictured 

 Rocks," on the Milk River. As soon as we found our position, 

 we headed for the Milk River Ridge, which was west of us, and 

 went up the trail and pitched our camp in a comfortable place 

 and, for the next two days, had to remain, owing to a heavy rain- 

 storm, which brought the fog down on the hills and blocked out 

 the country. In my wanderings around the camp, I lost my bear- 

 ings and, when it came time to move out, the fog still persisting, 

 I maintained that we should go one way and William S. took out 

 his compass and showed me where we should go, which was almost 

 opposite. Of course, I maintained that I was in the right, but I 

 conceded we would move at right angles to our observations and 

 this we did and, late in the afternoon, it cleared up and, when we 

 had reached the edge of the hills, to my astonishment, I found 

 that we were heading right for Lethbridge, exactly opposite to 

 where we hoped to be going. William S. was right and I was 

 completely wrong. 



