OF THE POLAR SEA. 107 



an extensive reedy swamp. It is the nest 

 of innumerable ducks, which rear their 

 young, among the long rushes, in security 

 from beasts of prey. At sunset we en- 

 camped on the banks of the main branch. 



At three A.M., June 28th, we embarked 

 in a thick fog occasioned by a fall of the 

 temperature of the air ten degrees below 

 that of the water. Having crossed Knee 

 Lake, which is nine miles in length, and a 

 portage at its western extremity, we entered 

 Primeau Lake, with a strong and favour- 

 able wind, by the aid of which we ran nine- 

 teen miles through it, and encamped at the 

 river's mouth. It is shaped like the barb 

 of an arrow, with the point towards the 

 north, and its greatest breadth is about four 

 miles. 



During the night, a torrent of rain 

 washed us from our beds, accompanied with 

 the loudest thunder I ever heard. This 

 weather continued during the 29 th, and 

 often compelled us to land, and turn the 

 canoes up, to prevent them from filling. 

 We passed one portage, and the confluence 



