WEATHER SIGNS. 



5 



ourselves of a south-east wind just beginning to rise. Last 

 night the aurora was very beautiful, and extended far 

 beyond the zenith, leading the voyageurs to predict a 

 windy day. The notion prevails with them that when 

 the aurora is low, the following day will be calm ; when 

 high, stormy. The temperature of the mouth of the 

 river was 59°, and of the open lake, 1^ mile from shore, 

 58^°. Eain commenced as soon as we were fairly in 

 Lake Winnipeg *, the wind suddenly chopped round to 

 the north, driving a dense fog before it, and in a few 

 minutes enveloped us in a misty shower. The steersman 

 instantly turned about and made for the mouth of the 

 river, there being no harbour nearer than the Willow 

 Islands, at least fifteen miles distant. The breeze rapidly 

 increased to a gale as we regained calm water inside the 

 bar at the mouth of Eed Eiver. 



The wind subsided about 2 p.m., and a shot heard from 

 a direction due south of where we lay, induced some of 

 the voyageurs to exclaim, that the wind would soon come 

 from that direction, according to an impression common 

 among these excellent observers and interpreters of 

 " signs," that a shot heard against the wind is a good 

 omen. But our steersman placed more faith in the aurora, 

 and thought we had not " taken all the wind out of it 

 yet." The sky having a threatening appearance, we de- 

 termined to camp. 



There are six mouths to Eed Eiver, winding through 

 extensive marshes ; the channel through which we passed 

 was the main outlet ; its breadth varies from twenty to 

 twenty-eight feet, and on either side shelves rapidly from 

 four to eighteen feet of water. At 3 p.m., when just on 



* Winnipeg, from the Ojibway — We, dirty; andinepe, water. 



b 3 



