Friday 50 Fair fine weather. Continued our route 14 miles S. down
the river to Quesnell river^^ and encamped near the big river. The canoes are all behind us they are awaiting us above, the men came to the camp afoot in the evening, they have caught very few beaver yet. All the way along the river here there is a belt of woods principally oak which is sur- rounded by a plain with tufts of wood here & there which extend to the foot of the mountain, where the hills are again wooded. There are a great many Indians all the way along the river. They seem to live principally on acorns. There are but few tracks of animals here. Some of the men set a few traps up the little river where we are encamped. A little below our encampment I found a party of about 30 naked Indians employed catching hares with nets. They have a wear for catching fish constructed across the river opposite our encampment. None of the natives ventured to visit us.
December 18^2, Saturday i Heavy rain the most of the day. Did
not raise camp on account of the bad weather. The canoe men went off. 9 beaver & two otters taken, 2 deer were killed beside some wild fowl.
Saturday 2 Showery weather heavy rain in the evening. Continued
our route 10 miles S. down the river to Bear creek^^ where we encamped a short distance from the big river, the banks of which are so steep that our horses could not drink nor could we easily get water for ourselves. There is such a number of deep gullies along the bank of the river that it is difficult to follow its bank so that we are obliged to pass a short distance from it. Most of the gullies are full of water & many of them so deep that they are impassable. Some of the canoe people came to the camp. 1 1 beaver and i Otter taken. Passed a creek early in the day. Also passed several camps of Indians there are also some encamped not far from us & have wears con- structed in the small river for catching fish. The natives here seem to speak a different language from those farther up the river^° but like them are mostly naked except a small piece of skin about the shoulders those near us are collecting wood for their winter houses and carry immense loads on their heads. There appears to be some sickness resembling an ague prevail- ing among them.
Monday 5 Heavy rain in the night & most part of the day. The un-
favourable weather deterred us from raising camp. 5 beaver taken in some traps which were set up the little river yesterday morning.
Tuesday 4. Cloudy fair weather. Continued our journey 9 miles S.
down the river. The canoe people visited the camp. 16 beaver & i otter taken. The Indians are becoming more numerous as we descend the river. A grizzle bear was killed. These animals are very lean for this season of the year.
Wednesday $ Very heavy rain in the night, cloudy fair weather
during the day. Some of our horses were astray in the morning and were not found till toward evening, which deterred us from raising camp till late in
