THE KED RIVER EXPEDITION. 251 



clayey loam, with sandy rises here and there, all 

 thickly wooded over. Two unfordable streams one 

 of 24, the other of about 33 yards in width had to 

 be bridged over in this section. As already stated, 

 nearly the whole of the last eighteen miles of road, 

 including these two bridges, had to be made after our 

 arrival, which retarded our progress to an extent that 

 had not been anticipated. 



The road is much more level in this section than 

 in the other two ; but at many places the natural 

 drainage is so bad, that even up to the date when 

 the force had finally embarked at Shebandowan, the 

 track cut through the forest was useless as a highway 

 for constant and heavy traffic. Had it not been dis- 

 covered in time, as already detailed, that the river 

 could be made available, particularly along parts of 

 this third section, for the transport of our boats and 

 stores, we should have been delayed a month or six 

 weeks still further than we were, and could not pos- 

 sibly have reached Fort Garry in time to have fitted 

 up barrack accommodation for the troops before the 

 winter set in, or to have brought them back before 

 the frost had closed the rivers and small lakes to be 

 passed on the higher portions of the route. 



It was the knowledge of these facts, and the con- 

 sciousness of the emergency, that justified those 

 responsible for the success of the Expedition in 

 calling upon the men to undergo the unceasing 

 labour that was entailed upon them. " Sunday 



