280 



A JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



cross that night, we halted in an adjoining wood, and were presently 

 joined by a Canadian, who was on his return to the Fort, and who 

 treated us with some fresh meat in exchange for some pemmican. 

 During the latter part of the day we had seen numerous tracks of 

 the moose buffalo and marten. 



December 26. — The weather was so cold that we were compelled 

 to run to prevent ourselves from freezing ; our route lay across some 

 large meadows which appeared to abound in animals, though the 

 Indians around Slave Lake are in a state of great want. About noon 

 we passed a sulphur-stream, which ran into the river ; it appeared to 

 come from a plain about fifty yards distant. There were no rocks 

 near it, and the soil through which it took its course was composed 

 of a reddish clay. I was much galled by the strings of the snow- 

 shoes during the day, and once got a severe fall, occasioned by the 

 dogs running over one of my feet, and dragging me some distance, 

 my snow-shoe having become entangled with the sledge. In the 

 evening we lost our way, from the great similarity of appearance in 

 the country, and it was dark before we found it again, when we 

 halted in a thick wood, after having come about sixteen miles from 

 the last encampment. Much snow fell during the night. 



At an early hour on the 27th of December, we continued our jour- 

 ney along the surface of a long but narrow lake, and then through 

 a wood, which brought us to the grand detour on the Slave Eiver. 

 The weather was extremely cloudy, with occasional falls of snow, 

 which tended greatly to impede our progress, from its gathering in 

 lumps between the dogs' toes ; and though they did not go very fast, 

 yet my left knee pained me so much, that I found it difficult to keep 

 up with them. At three P.M. we halted within nine miles of the 

 Salt River, and made a hearty meal of mouldy pemmican. 



December 28 and 29. — We had much difficulty in proceeding,, 

 owing to the poor dogs being quite worn out, and their feet per- 

 fectly raw. We endeavoured to tie shoes on them, to afford them 



