308 JOURNAL OF JOHN WORK
Friday, June 29th.
Blowing fresh, which rendered the weather a little cool and pleasant.
Marched 28 miles N. N. W. first across a plain and salt swamp and over a range of hills and across another valley, part of which has the appearance of the bed of a lake, but is quite dry and hard, and encamped near the foot of a mountain covered with snow. The road in some places stony, and from the length of the encampments very fatiguing both on horses and people, neither of which have a moment's quietness either to feed or repose, they are so annoyed with immense swarms of mosquitoes. The hunters were out, but without success. They saw the tracks of some antelopes and sheep. Some Indian tracks were seen, but none of them approach us, some of them had horses.
Saturday, June 30th.
Warm and very sultry in the morning, a breeze of wind afterwards.
Continued our journey along the foot of the mountains 1 18 miles N. by W., the road good. Passed two small lakes, in one of which the people found a good many eggs. S. Kanota killed an antelope, and F. Payette a young one. A. Letendre had to kill one of his horses to eat.
Sunday, July 1st.
Fine weather.
Our road lay along the foot of the mountains 12 miles N. W. Part of the road very hilly and very stony. The stony road and continual mounting wearing out the horses' hoofs and rendering them lame. Though the mountains in our neigh- borhood have still patches of snow on them, the little creek where we are encamped barely affords sufficient water for the horses to drink. The hunters killed nothing today. J. Despard killed one of his horses.
i Stein's Mountains.
