y
substance; in this state it is put into a large bag made from the hide of
the animal, the dry pulp being soldered down into a hard solid mass by
melted fat being poured over it-the quantity of fat is nearly half the
total weight, forty pounds of fat going to fifty pounds of "beat meat;"
the best pemmican generally has added to it ten pounds of berries and
sugar, the whole composition forming the most solid description of food
that man can make. If any person should feel inclined to ask, "What does
pemmicau taste like?" I can only reply, "Like pemmican," there is
nothing else in the world that bears to it the slightest resemblance.
-Can I say any thing that Will give the reader an idea of its sufficing
quality? Yes, I think I can. A dog that will eat from four to six pounds
of raw fish a day when sleighing, will only devour two pounds: of
pemmican, if he be fed upon that food; yet I have seen Indians and
half-breeds eat four pounds of it in a single day-but this is
anticipating. Pemmican can be prepared in many ways, and it is not easy
to decide which method is the least objectionable. There is rubeiboo and
richot, and pemmican plain and pemmican raw, this last method being the
one most in vogue amongst voyageurs; but the richot, to me, seemed the
best; mixed with a little flour and fried in a pan, pemmican in this form
can be eaten, provided the appetite be sharp and there is nothing else to
be had--this last consideration is, however, of importance.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

The Expedition--The Lake of the Woods--A Night Alarm--A close
Shave--Rainy River--A Night Paddle--Fort Francis--A Meeting--The Officer
commanding the Expedition--The Rank and File--The 60th Rifles--A
Windigo--Ojibbeway Bravery--Canadian Volunteers.

The feast having been concluded (I believe it had gone on all night, and
was protracted far into the morning), the sails and oars were suddenly
reported ready, and about midday on the 31st July we stood away from the
Portages du Rat into the Lake of the Woods. I had added another man to
my crew, which now numbered seven hands, the last accession was a French
half-breed, named Morrisseau. Thomas Hope had possessed himself of a
flint gun, with which he was to do desperate things should we fall in
with the French scouts upon the lake. The boat in which I now found
myself was a large, roomy craft, capable of carrying about three tons of
freight; it had a single tall mast carrying a large square lug-sail