102 



A JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



been compelled to abandon, in consequence of the intractable 

 conduct and pilfering habits of the Assineboine Indians; and 

 we learnt that all the residents at a post on the south branch, 

 had been cut off by the same tribe some years ago. We travelled 

 twelve miles to-day. The wolves serenaded us through the night 

 with a chorus of their agreeable howling, but none of them ventured 

 near the encampment. Mr. Back's repose was disturbed by a more 

 serious evil; his buffalo robe caught fire, and the shoes on his feet, 

 being contracted by the heat, gave him such pain, that he jumped 

 up in the cold, and ran into the snow as the only means of obtaining 

 relief. 



On the 28th we had a strong and piercing wind from N.W. in 

 our faces, and much snow-drift, we were compelled to walk as quick 

 as we could, and to keep constantly rubbing the exposed parts of 

 the skin, to prevent their being frozen, but some of the party suf- 

 fered in spite of every precaution. We descried three red-deer on 

 the banks of the river, and were about to send the best marksmen 

 after them, when they espied the party, and ran away. A supply 

 of meat would have been very seasonable, as the men's provision 

 became scanty, and the dogs were without food, except a little burnt 

 leather. Owing to the scarcity of wood, we had to walk until a 

 late hour, before a good spot for an encampment could be found, 

 and had then come only eleven miles. The night was miserably 

 cold; our tea froze in the tin pots before we could drink it, and 

 even a mixture of spirits and water became quite thick by con- 

 gelation ; yet, after we lay down to rest, we felt no inconvenience, 

 and heeded not the wolves, though they were howling within view. 



The !29th was also very cold, until the sun burst forth, when the 

 travelling became pleasant. The banks of the river are very scantily 

 supplied with wood through the part we passed to-day. A long 

 track on the south shore, called Holms Plains, is destitute of any 

 thing like a tree, and the opposite bank has only stunted willows; 



