NIGHT ON THE RIDING MOUNTAIN. 



57 



general character of the forest on the summit plateau of 

 the Biding Mountain. 



Soon after our arrival at the summit, clouds began to 

 gather in from the north-west, and towards evening a 

 snow-storm set in which continued during the greater 

 portion of the night. Beneath the shelter of the over- 

 hanging branches of a spruce we made an excellent camp, 

 and having built a roaring fire, were soon engaged in 

 discussing bear steaks as we reclined on a couch of spruce 

 boughs, under a roof constructed of the same excellent 

 material and impenetrable to snow. 



October Wth. — When morning dawned we found the 

 country covered with a mantle of snow, six inches deep. 

 This did not prevent us from making a traverse in the 

 direction of the lakes from which the Rapid River takes 

 its rise. The course we had taken led us, as was after- 

 wards ascertained, to within a few miles of the spot 

 reached by Mr. Dickinson when he ascended the vaUey 

 of Rapid River a few weeks before. This was precisely 

 the result I was anxious to attain. An inspection of the 

 map will show that our explorations when combined, 

 passed through a comparatively unknown country, nearly 

 along the 100th degree of longitude west of Greenwich, 

 and stretching from the 52nd to the 49 th parallel of 

 latitude, thus embracing part of Winnipego-sis Lake, 

 Moss River, Dauphin Lake, the Riding Mountain, the 

 Little Saskatchewan or Rapid River, and the Little Souris, 

 to the 49th parallel. 



Our progress to the south was soon arrested by a lake, 

 and the lateness of the season made it advisable not to 

 linger too long in this region, lest we should be arrested 

 by ice forming in the great lakes below. Anxious to kill 

 a moose, I endeavoured to persuade the Lidian to follow 

 a fresh track, but he declared that the mountain was full 



