es 
54 Thirty Years 
the wind was light, which prevented our feeling it se- 
verely ; experience indeed had taught us that the sen- 
sation of cold depends less upon the state of temper- 
ature, than the force of wind. An attempt was made 
to obtain the latitude, which failed in consequence of 
the screw, which adjusts the telescope of the sextant, 
being immovably fixed, from the moisture upon it 
having frozen. The instrument could not be replaced 
in its case before the ice was thawed by the fire in the 
evening. 
In the course of the day we passed the confluence 
of the south branch of the Saskatchawan, which rises 
from the rocky mountains near the sources of the 
northern branch of the Missouri. At Coles Falls, 
which commences a short distance from the branch, we 
found the surface of the ice very uneven, and many 
spots of open water. 
We passed the ruins of an establishment, which the 
traders had been compelled to abandon, in consequence 
of the intractable conduct and pilfering habits of the 
Assinéboine Indians ; and we learnt that all the resi- 
dents at a post on the-south branch, had been cut off 
by the same tribe some years ago, We traveled 
twelve miles to-day. The wolves serenaded us through 
the night with a chorus of their agreeable howling, 
but none of them ventured near the encampment. 
Mr. Back’s repose was disturbed by a more serious 
