226 ACROSS THE SUB-ARCTICS OF CANADE: 
be picked up by the Company’s teams on their return 
trip and taken to Churchill to replenish the larder. 
Our third camp was made in a strip of wood upon the 
bank of Salmon Creek, and to our Indians it will be 
memorable as being the place at which they had the 
“big feed,’ for it took three suppers to satisfy them 
that night. With my brother and myself the hours of 
darkness had ceased to bring repose. Our knees were 
so painful we did not sleep, but only turned restlessly 
from side to side until the return of dawn. Happily 
for us all the weather had continued to be fair, with no 
extreme cold since the commencement of the journey, . 
which was particularly fortunate on account of poor 
Michel, who would doubtless have suffered had he been 
obliged to ride upon a sled all day during severe weather. 
As it was, we were able to keep him fairly comfortable, 
bundled up in deer-skin robes and blankets. 
On the fourth day, meeting with no deer, we made 
about twenty-seven miles, a good march under the cir- 
cumstances. This brought us to the banks of Owl 
River, a stream two or three hundred yards in width, 
situated in a straight line about midway between York 
and Churchill. 
At dawn the next morning we were again marching 
southward, with the expectation of that day reaching 
Stony River, where William Westasecot, a brother of 
the guide, was encamped, and where our parties were to 
separate. : 
Three more deer were shot during the day, making a 
total of twelve for the trip, most of them victims of the 
Indian guide. About four o'clock in the afternoon we 
arrived at Stony River, but there was no Indian camp 
