THE GRIZZLY BEAR. 



39,5 



large fire might attract the attention of wandering parties 

 of Blackfeet which were known to be following the 

 Crees, who had crossed the river some distance above us, 

 it would not have been wise to have availed ourselves of 

 this doubtful security. Our camp was at the edge of a 

 cliff, we therefore were sure of not being attacked in our 

 rear, and the greater part of the night was passed in 

 quietly watching the open space in front of us. It was 

 the steady determination of the half-breeds to watch 

 after a fatiguing day, that led me to suppose they had 

 really seen a grizzly bear, for under ordinary circum- 

 stances no people are so unwilling to deprive them- 

 selves of sleep during the night in the prairies as those 

 who have lived the greater part of their lives in them, 

 without they have the best reasons for keeping themselves 

 awake. 



The very small number of tributaries received by the 

 South Branch between the Elbow and the Grand Forks is 

 a remarkable proof of the aridity of the region through 

 which it flows. For nearly 200 miles the South Branch 

 receives but one small affluent from the east, and on the 

 west side, where the water-shed is of much greater 

 breadth, but where we should expect to find a more arid 

 climate, it receives eight insignificant brooks. From the 

 Lumpy Hill to the Grand Forks, a distance of about sixty 

 miles by the course of the river valley, four streamlets cut 

 its eastern bank. The water-shed on the east side has not 

 an average breadth exceeding twelve miles, and two of the 

 tributaries proceed from ponds in valleys cutting the low 

 dividing ridge, which, like those of the Qu'appelle, are 

 tributary to Long Lake or the main Saskatchewan, as 

 described in the succeeding chapter. 



After resting for some time at the junction of these 

 mighty rivers, the South Branch being about 180 yards, 



