56 THE GREAT NORTH-WEST 



Among other amusements I adopted to wile away the 

 winter-time was taking snow-shoe journeys to the nearest 

 outlying settlers. Some of these farmers and gentlemen 

 lived not more than forty miles away, and I could accom- 

 plish that distance easily in two short days' travel. To 

 sleep out in the depths of a Canadian winter may seem 

 a desperate expedient, but the fact is that a small hovel 

 of spruce-boughs, well covered with snow, and with a 

 blazing fire in front of the opening, is warmer to sleep in 

 than a large log-hut. Of course I had my blanket, and 

 sometimes dragged a small hand-sleigh after me. 

 : "^ I was always sure of a warm welcome, and a pressing 

 invitation to prolong my stay till the winter was over. 

 Of course all outdoor work is put a stop to in the winter, 

 but there are many expedients for passing the time pro- 

 fitably and pleasantly, most of which are borrowed from 

 the Yankees, to which I shall subsequently make re- 

 ference. 



All the settlers near here were exceedingly prosperous; 

 and could I have borne the climate, I should certainly 

 have turned farmer myself, instead of becoming, as I did, 

 a wanderer in the States. They suffered but from one 

 serious drawback — an insufficiency of labourers. None 

 of the Indians, and but few of the half-breeds, can ever 

 be induced to take to a life of agriculture. 



