making small portages to avoid going round the points, and passing some small canoes, which the Indians had left for the winter. The snow was so deep that the dogs were obliged to stop every ten minutes to rest themselves; and the cold so excessive, that both the men were badly frozen on both sides of the face and chin. At length, having come to a long meadow, which the dogs could not cross that night, we halted in an adjoining wood, and were presently joined by a Canadian who was on his return to the fort, and who treated us with some fresh meat in exchange for pemmican. During the latter part of the day, we had seen numerous tracts of the moose, buffalo, and marten.
“December 26. – The weather was so cold that we were compelled to run to prevent ourselves from freezing; our route lay across some large meadows, which appeared to abound in animals, though the Indians around Slave Lake are in a state of great want. About noon, we passed a sulphur stream, which ran into the river; it appeared to come from a plain about fifty yards distant. There were no rocks near it, and the soil through which it took its course was composed of a reddish clay. I was much galled by the strings of the snow-shoes during the day, and once got a severe fall, occasioned by the dogs running over one of my feet, and dragging me some distance, my snow-shoe having become entangled with the sledge. In the evening we lost our way, from the great similarity of appearance in the country, and it was dark before we found it again, when we halted in a thick wood, after having come about sixteen miles from the last encampment. Much snow fell during the night. At an early hour on the 27th December, we continued our journey along the surface of a long but narrow lake, and then through a wood, which brought us to the grand detour on the Slave River. The weather was extremely cloudy, with occasional falls of snow, which tended greatly to impede our progress, from its gathering in lumps between the dogs’ toes; and though they did not go very fast, yet my left knee pained me so much that I found it difficult to keep up with them. At 3 p.m., we halted within nine miles of the Salt River, and made a hearty meal of mouldy pemmican.
“December 28 and 29. – We had much difficulty in proceeding, owing to the poor dogs being quite worn out, and their feet perfectly raw. We endeavoured to tie shoes on them, to afford them some little relief; but they continually came off when amongst deep snow, so that it occupied one person entirely to look after them. In this state they were hardly of any use amongst the steep ascents of the portages, when we were obliged to drag the sledges ourselves. We found a few of the rapids entirely frozen. Those that were not, had holes and large spaces about them, from whence issued a thick vapour, and in passing this we found it particularly cold: but what appeared most curious, was the number of small fountains which rose through the ice, and often rendered it doubtful which way we should take. I was much disappointed at find-