The Next Morning About An Hour After We Had Commenced Our March
We Came Upon A Beaten Track And Perceived Recent Marks Of Snowshoes.
In a
short time an Iroquois joined us, who was residing with a party of Cree
Indians, to secure the meat and furs they should collect for the
North-West Company.
He accompanied us as far as the stage on which his
meat was placed and then gave us a very pressing invitation to halt for
the day and partake of his fare which, as the hour was too early, we
declined, much to the annoyance of our Canadian companions who had been
cherishing the prospect of indulging their amazing appetites at this
well-furnished store ever since the man had been with us. He gave them
however a small supply previous to our parting. The route now crossed
some ranges of hills on which fir, birch and poplar grew so thickly that
we had much difficulty in getting the sledges through the narrow pathway
between them. In the evening we descended from the elevated ground,
crossed three swampy meadows, and encamped at their northern extremity
within a cluster of large pine-trees, the branches of which were
elegantly decorated with abundance of a greenish yellow lichen. Our march
was ten miles. The weather was very mild, almost too warm for the
exercise we were taking.
We had a strong gale from the North-West during the night which subsided
as the morning opened. One of the sledges had been so much broken the day
before in the woods that we had to divide its cargo among the others.
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