OF THE POLAR SEA. 



57 



light yellow of the fading poplars formed a 

 fine contrast to the dark evergreen of the 

 spruce, whilst the willows of an interme- 

 diate hue served to shade the two principal 

 masses of colour into each other. The 

 scene was occasionally enlivened by the 

 bright purple tints of the dogwood, blended 

 with the browner shades of the dwarf birch, 

 and frequently intermixed with the gay yel- 

 low flowers of the shrubby cinquefoil. 

 With all these charms, the scene appeared 

 desolate from want of the human species. 

 The stillness was so great, that even the 

 twittering of the whiskey-johneesh, or cine- 

 reous crow, caused us to start. Our voy- 

 age to-day was sixteen miles on a S.W. 

 course. 



' Sept. 14. — We had much rain during the 

 night, and also in the morning, which de- 

 tained us in our encampment later than 

 usual. We set out as soon as the weather 

 cleared up, and in a short time arrived at 

 the head of Steel River, where it is formed 

 by the junction of Fox and Hill Rivers. 

 These two* rivers are nearly of equal width, 



