During the night the frost was severe; and at sunrise on the 3rd the
thermometer stood at 25 degrees. After leaving our encampment at the
White Fall we passed through several small lakes connected with each
other by narrow, deep, grassy streams, and at noon arrived at the Painted
Stone. Numbers of muskrats frequent these streams; and we observed in the
course of the morning many of their mud-houses rising in a conical form
to the height of two or three feet above the grass of the swamps in which
they were built.
The Painted Stone is a low rock, ten or twelve yards across, remarkable
for the marshy streams which arise on each side of it, taking different
courses. On the one side the watercourse which we had navigated from York
Factory commences. This spot may therefore be considered as one of the
smaller sources of Hayes River.
ECHEMAMIS AND SEA RIVERS.
On the other side of the stone the Echemamis rises and, taking a westerly
direction, falls into Nelson River. It is said that there was formerly a
stone placed near the centre of this portage on which figures were
annually traced and offerings deposited by the Indians; but the stone has
been removed many years and the spot has ceased to be held in veneration.
Here we were overtaken by Governor Williams who left York Factory on the
20th of last month in an Indian canoe. He expressed much regret at our
having been obliged to leave part of our stores at the Rock depot, and
would have brought them up with him had he been able to procure and man a
boat, or a canoe, of sufficient size.
Having launched the boats over the rock we commenced the descent of the
Echemamis. This small stream has its course through a morass and in dry
seasons its channel contains, instead of water, merely a foot or two of
thin mud. On these occasions it is customary to build dams that it may be
rendered navigable by the accumulation of its waters. As the beavers
perform this operation very effectually endeavours have been made to
encourage them to breed in this place, but it has not hitherto been
possible to restrain the Indians from killing that useful animal whenever
they discover its retreats. On the present occasion there was no want of
water, the principal impediment we experienced being from the narrowness
of the channel, which permitted the willows of each bank to meet over our
heads and obstruct the men at the oars. After proceeding down the stream
for some time we came to a recently-constructed beaver dam through which
an opening was made sufficient to admit the boat to pass.
