Next morning we set out at 2 o'clock. A dense fog concealed the land, and hid the Buffalo Mountain, so dreaded by superstitious voyagers; but we took our course west-north-west, across a very wide bay. After a smart walk of eight hours, in which we advanced twenty-eight miles, we landed for breakfast near the extremity of the lake, where we found the ice to be three feet thick. We encamped in the Methye River.
On the 23rd we started at 3 a. m. Some time before daylight there was a magnificent display of the aurora borealis commencing with an arch of singular lustre in the north, which suddenly flashed up towards the zenith, and represented the interior of a stupendous cone, the apex and upper part being of the bright yellow hue, while the lower assumed a very rich carmine colour. I had scarcely time to admire this resplendent phenomenon, when it disappeared. We pursued as direct a line as the country permitted, now following the river, where we found it straight, then traversing the intervening woods. Our moonlight transit disturbed from their sleeping-places a couple of foxes, and several large coveys of white partridges. Early in the afternoon we reached Methye Lake, near the middle of which, on a long projecting point, we en-
