In The Course Of The Day We Passed The Confluence Of The South Branch Of
The Saskatchewan, Which Rises From The Rocky Mountains Near The Sources
Of The Northern Branch Of The Missouri.
At Coles Falls, which commence a
distance from the branch, we found the surface of the ice very uneven and
many spots of open water.
We passed the ruins of an establishment which the traders had been
compelled to abandon in consequence of the intractable conduct and
pilfering habits of the Assineboine or Stone Indians; and we learned 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 today. The wolves
serenaded us through the night with a chorus of their agreeable howling
but none of them ventured near the encampment. But 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 North-West 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 suffered 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.
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