NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION. 113 



one of the Indian guides, found a large green tortoise, wliicli he 

 and his companion killed in a very ingenious and efl'ectual way, 

 by a blow from a hatchet on the neck, at the point where the 

 shell or buckler terminates. After leaving this water, they ap- 

 peared to be in doubt about the way ; almost imperceptibly, we 

 found ourselves in a great tamarak swamp. The bogs and 

 moss served to cover up, almost completely, the fallen trees, 

 and formed so elastic a carpet as to sink deep at every tread. 

 Occasionally they broke through, letting the foot into the mire. 

 This proved a very fatiguing tramp. To add to its toils, it 

 rained at intervals all day. We were eleven hours in passing 

 this swamp, and estimated, and probably over-estimated ourselves 

 to have past twenty miles. We encamped at five o'clock near 

 the shores of a third small lake, each one picking out for himself 

 the most elevated spot possible, and the person who got a position 

 most completely out of the water was the best man. It is fatigue, 

 however, that makes sleep a welcome guest, and we awoke with- 

 out any cause of complaint on that score. 



The next morning, as we were about to depart, we observed 

 near the camp-fire of our guides a pole leaning in the direction 

 we were to go, with a birch-bark inscription inserted in a slit in 

 the top of the pole. This was too curious an object not to excite 

 marked attention, and we took it down to examine the hiero- 

 glyphics, or symbols, which had been inscribed with charcoal 

 on the birch scroll. We found the party minutely depicted by 

 symbols. * The figures of eight muskets denoted that there were 

 eight soldiers in the party. The usual figure for a man, namely, 

 a closed cross with a head, thus : — 



and one hand holding a sword, told the tale that they were com- 

 manded by an officer. Mr. Doty was drawn with a book, they 

 having understood that he was a lawyer. I was depicted with a 

 hammer, to denote a mineralogist. Mr. Trowbridge and Mr. 

 Chase, and the interpreter, were also depicted. Chamees and his 

 companion were drawn by a camp-fire apart, and the figure of 

 8 



