these, on the contrary, glory in never having shed the blood of one,
although they often imbrue their hands in the blood of their kindred;
being very apt to quarrel among themselves, chiefly on account of
their gallantry. When an illicit amour is detected, the consequence is
frequently fatal to one of the parties; but the unmarried youth, of
both sexes, are generally under no restraint whatever.

I bade adieu to Mr. Ross, a warm-hearted Gael, on the 3d, and arrived
at Fort Dunvegan on the 10th of September, then under the charge of
Mr. McIntosh, chief factor, where I met with a Highland welcome, and
passed the time most agreeably in the company of a well educated
gentleman. The Indians here are of the same tribe as those of Fort
Vermillion, but are not guiltless of the blood of the whites. This
post is also surrounded by prairies. A large farm is cultivated,
yielding in favourable seasons a variety of vegetables and grain: but
the crops are subject to injury from frost; sometimes are altogether
destroyed. When the wind blows for some time from the west, it cools
in its passage across the glaciers of the Rocky Mountains, to such
a degree, that the change of temperature caused by it is not only
severely felt in the vicinity of the mountains, but at a great
distance from them, as far even as Red River.

From the great age attained by many of the retired servants of the
Company, who pass their lives in this country, the salubrity of the
climate may fairly be inferred. Meeting a brigade of small canoes
between Fort Vermillion and this place, and observing an old man with
a white head and wrinkled face, sitting in the centre of one of them,
I made up to him, and after saluting him _a la Francaise_, presented
him with a piece of tobacco--the Indian letter of introduction. I
inquired of him how long it was since he had left home.

"Sixty-two years, Monsieur," was the reply; and as the canoes
assembled around us, he pointed out to me his sons, and his sons'
sons, to the third and fourth generation.

I heard of no malady which the white inhabitants are liable to, except
the goitres; caused, it is presumed, in part by the use of snow-water,
and in part by the use of the river-water, which is strongly
impregnated with clay, so much so, as sometimes to resemble a solution
of the earth itself.

CHAPTER XVII.

ARRIVAL OF MR. F. FROM CALEDONIA--SCENERY--LAND-SLIP--MASSACRE AT FORT
ST. JOHN'S--ROCKY MOUNTAIN PORTAGE--ROCKY