116 THE GREAT NORTH-WEST 



I have several times had the painful experience of 

 meeting with human remains far from the haunts of 

 men — unfortunate creatures who must have perished 

 without a consoling voice near them, without a friendly 

 hand to hold the longed-for cup to their parched lips. 

 On one or two occasions I have found bodies by the 

 roadside in the States, probably those of poor tramps 

 wandering from place to place in search of temporary 

 employment ; and on another occasion, in Texas, I found 

 the bodies of two men who had evidently fought to death 

 like savage animals, for they lay opposite to each other, 

 each clasping a six-shooter. There they lay, a mass of 

 corruption, in a state too shocking to be described. 



At the latter part of October we had a series of 

 bitterly cold east winds. I never felt the cold more 

 severely in my life, yet the weather was beautifully 

 bright. On the 4th of November the wind shifted 

 several points to the west, and on the afternoon of that 

 day it commenced to snow heavily. Paradoxical as it 

 may seem, the shifting and fall of the wind caused the 

 air to seem quite warm, but by the next morning there 

 was at least two feet of snow on the ground. This snow 

 was loose, in which state it is always difficult to move 

 about in it. Until the surface has become frozen it will 

 not support the snow-shoes, and to walk far in the deep, 

 clinging mass is impossible. Moreover, while in this 

 state, it wets the clothing and boots, and causes great 

 discomfort ; but as soon as the severe frosts set in, it 

 seems as dry, and is as easily brushed off as sand ; while 

 it is easy to travel over its hard surface, on snow-shoes, 

 twenty to thirty miles a day ; indeed the Indians some- 

 times do much greater distances than this within the 

 twenty-four hours. 



After snowing for thirty hours there was a cessation 

 of the fall, and a partial thaw occurred, followed by a 

 sharp frost at night, Avhich transferred the trees into a 

 fairy forest, the frozen icicles having the appearance of 



