This Tree Which Abounds To The
Southward Is Not I Believe Found To The Northward Of The Saskatchewan.
The Indians Obtain The Sap By Making Incisions Into The Tree.
They boil
it down and evaporate the water, skimming off the impurities.
They are so
fond of sweets that after this simple process they set an extravagant
price upon it.
On the 15th fell the first shower of rain we had seen for six months, and
on the 17th the thermometer rose to 77 degrees in the shade. The whole
face of the country was deluged by the melted snow. All the nameless
heaps of dirt accumulated in the winter now floated over the very
thresholds, and the long-imprisoned scents dilated into vapours so
penetrating that no retreat was any security from them. The flood
descended into the cellar below our house and destroyed a quantity of
powder and tea; a loss irreparable in our situation.
The noise made by the frogs which this inundation produced is almost
incredible. There is strong reason to believe that they outlive the
severity of winter. They have often been found frozen and revived by
warmth, nor is it possible that the multitude which incessantly filled
our ears with its discordant notes could have been matured in two or
three days.
The fishermen at Beaver Lake and the other detached parties were ordered
to return to the post. The expedients to which the poor people were
reduced to cross a country so beset with waters presented many uncouth
spectacles.
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