340 ASSINNIBOINE AND SASKATCHEWAN EXPEDITION. 



side, and it is probably on this account that the buffalo 

 cross the Qu'appelle valley near the Moose Jaws Fork 

 and west of Buffalo Pound Hill Lake ; in the winter they 

 keep towards the Touchwood Hills for the sake of shelter, 

 and the excellent herbage which grows in the beautiful 

 meadows between the aspen clumps. The prairies there 

 too are not so often burned as south of the Qu'appelle, the 

 valley of that river serving as a great barrier to prevent 

 the onward progress of the devastating fires. 



We now began to find the fresh bones of buffalo very 

 numerous on the ground, and here and there startled a 

 pack of wolves feeding on a carcass which had been 

 deprived of its tongue and hump only by the careless, 

 thriftless Crees. On the high banks of the valley the 

 remains of ancient encampments in the form of rings of 

 stones to hold down the skin tents are everywhere visible, 

 and testify to the former numbers of the Plain Crees, 

 affording a sad evidence of the ancient power of the people 

 who once held undisputed sway from the Missouri to the 

 Saskatchewan. The remains of a race fast passing away 

 give more than a transient interest to Buffalo Pound Hill 

 Lake. The largest ancient encampment we saw lies near 

 a shallow lake in the prairie about a mile from the 

 Qu'appelle valley. It is surrounded by a few low sandy 

 and gravelly hills, and is quite screened from observation. 

 It may have been a camping ground for centuries, as 

 some circles of stones are partially covered with grass and 

 embedded in the soil. 



At noon on the 26th we rested for a few hours opposite 

 to a large camp of Crees on the other side of the lake ; 

 our sudden appearance at the edge of the prairie threw 

 them into a state of the greatest excitement as evinced by 

 their haste in collecting their horses and gathering in 

 groups in the valley below. A few of them set out to 



