18 



The cart cover I have incidentally mentioned ; this must be 

 large and light, so as to completely envelope the cart, either 

 as a tent or boat, and is preferable to a tent for light travel- 

 ling, as it saves the carriage of pins and poles, may be used by 

 the tired traveller much sooner at night, and may be folded 

 in the grey dawn b}' the still half-asleep voyageur without 

 trip])ing over ]jegs or ropes. 



As prairie chicken and duck were abundant, the substan- 

 tials for the trip were as follows :— Pemmican (marrowfat if 

 possible) 20 pounds, hard biscuit, 80 pounds, tea, sugar, but- 

 ter and salt ; a little flour, to make the " Rubbiboo " assume a 

 bulky appearance when Indians had to be breakfasted or dined, 

 their mid-day entertainment being generally avoided by giving 

 them a biscuit each, and keeping on ourselves with a lunch 

 of pemmican " au naturel ;" a pair of blankets each, a couple 

 of buffalo I'obes, then costing 12 shillings sterling each our 

 clothes in a couple of waterproof bags, and Lo ! the expedition 

 was coraj)lete. 



The voyage proper did not couniience till Pembina was 

 reached, for the traveller who brought the latest news and 

 could si)eak a little French was always sure of the best they 

 had in the way of bed and board at any of the houses of the 

 Metis, w^hose settlement extended then half way to Pembina. 

 One's horses too were always included in the generous hospi- 

 tality,and Blackie and Bichon ate of the sweetest of the re- 

 cently mown prairie grass. The second night was invariably 

 passed at Pembina post, where the H. B. officer in charge (a 

 predecessor of an esteemed member of our Society, Chief Fac- 

 tor Clark), extended similar hospitality on a better scale, and 

 saw you safe on to the ferry in the morning. We had arrived 

 at Pembina, had eaten buffalo steak for supper, had slept in a 

 civilized bed, had porridge for breakfast, followed by buffalo 

 steaks again, the first helpings of which were taken from the 

 bottom of the liberal pile, to give point to the worthy master's 

 standing explanation, that the Company's cooks alw-ays put 

 the best at the bottom, I suppose for their own delectation 

 after their master's meal was over. Our worthy host's close 



