AURORA BOREALIS. 



101 



Sept. 4.— The Indians who brought the boy in 

 the canoe to the boat on my way to the F actory 

 met me on my return, and he is taking his 

 passage with the other two children to the Set- 

 tlement. Though I have now made the voyage 

 several times from York Fort to the Colony, I 

 do not find that the labour and difficulty of the 

 way are at all relieved. Some parts of the 

 tracking ground might evidently be improved 

 by cutting away the willows at the edges of the 

 river ; and the track over a few of the portages 

 might also be made better ; some of the large 

 stones likewise might be removed when the 

 water is low, which is expeditiously done by 

 digging a large hole by the side and undermin- 

 ing them ; when they are rolled over and buried. 

 But to improve the passage materially, appears 

 to me to be impracticable, from the shallowness 

 of the water, and the rapidity of the current in 

 many of the rivers. We saw that beautiful 

 phenomenon called the 'Aurora BorealisJ or 

 the northern lights, on most clear evenings, 

 consisting of long columns of clear white 

 light, shooting across the heavens with a trem- 

 ulous motion, and altering slowly to a variety 

 of shapes. At times they were very brilliant, 

 and appeared suddenly in different parts of the 

 sky, where none had been seen before. It has 



