It was
shot and the Indians carried away three black whelps to improve the breed
of their dogs. I purchased one of them, intending to send it to England,
but it perished for want of proper nourishment.
The latitude of these tents was 53 degrees 12 minutes 46 seconds North,
and longitude by chronometers 103 degrees 13 minutes 10 seconds West. On
the 5th of April we set out for the hunting tent by our former track and
arrived there in the evening.
As the increasing warmth of the weather had threatened to interrupt
communication by removing the ice orders had been sent from Cumberland
House to the people at the tent to quit it without delay, which we did on
the 7th. Some altitudes of the Aurora Borealis were obtained.
We had a fine view at sunrise of the Basquiau Hill, skirting half the
horizon with its white sides chequered by forests of pine. It is seen
from Pine Island Lake at the distance of fifty miles and cannot therefore
be less than three-fourths of a mile in perpendicular height; probably
the greatest elevation between the Atlantic Ocean and the Rocky
Mountains.
A small stream runs near the hunting tent, strongly impregnated with
salt. There are several salt springs about it which are not frozen during
the winter.
