BIG BLUE — trader's GRAVE. 21 



the names of hundreds of emigrants who had preceded us, the 

 dates of their passing, the state of their health and spirits, to- 

 gether with an occasional message for their friends who were ex- 

 pected to follow. Such a record, in the midst of a wide solitude 

 like this, could not but make a strong and cheering impression on 

 every new-comer, who thus suddenly found himself, as it were, in 

 the midst of a great company of friends and fellow-travellers. 

 On the left bank was the freshly-made grave of a French trader, 

 whose name was well known to most of our voyageurs. It was 

 heaped up with earth and covered longitudinally with heavy split 

 logs, placed there to prevent the depredations of the wolves; the 

 whole being surmounted by a wooden cross, with the name of the 

 deceased and the usual significant abbreviation, IHS, carved 

 rudely upon it. We had passed six graves already during the day. 

 Melancholy accompaniments they are of a road silent and solitary at 

 best, and ill calculated to cheer the weary, drooping wayfarers. Ouf 

 encampment was pleasantly situated under the spreading branches 

 of some large oaks, with a spring of pure, cold water near at 

 hand — the latter an item which we soon afterward learned to value 

 beyond all price. Just above us was a wagon with a small party 

 of emigrants. They had lost most of their cattle on the journey; 

 and the father of three of them having died on the road, they, in 

 conformity with his dying wishes, were now on their return to the 

 settlements. A short distance beyond these, we found another 

 small company, who had been encamped here for twelve days on 

 account of the illness of one of their comrades. They also were 

 on their return. Had we been going out on a private enterprise, 

 discouragements were not wanting as well from the dead as the 

 living. 



Since crossing the Yermilion, the character of the country has 

 changed from that of a high and rolling prairie to a comparatively 

 flat and elevated plateau, with the drains much broader and not so 

 depressed as heretofore. The soil is much deeper, the trees larger 

 and more numerous, and the water cooler and more abundant. 

 White sandstone, light-coloured shales, some flints, and a few fos- 

 sils, were passed during the day. At the crossing of a small 

 branch, about two miles before reaching the Big Blue, the rock 

 exhibited a section from north to south, nearly horizontal, with 

 perhaps a slight dip to the south. It consisted of white limestone 

 and strata of flint, with some imperfect fossils. The general sur- 

 face of the rock is worn into escarpments in the shape of bastions, 



