e, Norman having parched them upon heated stones. Meanwhile Basil
and Francois had obtained the sugar-water, and Lucien having washed his
soup-kettle clean, and once more made his boiling stones red-hot,
prepared the beverage; and then it was served out in the tin cup, and
all partook of it. Norman had drunk the Labrador tea before, and was
rather fond of it, but his Southern cousins did not much relish it. Its
peculiar flavour, which somewhat resembles rhubarb, was not at all to
the liking of Francois. All, however, admitted that it produced a
cheering effect upon their spirits; and, after drinking it, they felt in
that peculiarly happy state of mind which one experiences after a cup of
the real "Bohea."

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

THE MARMOTS OF AMERICA.

From such a luxurious dinner you may suppose that our young voyageurs
lived in prime style. But it was not always so. They had their fasts
as well as feasts. Sometimes for days they had nothing to eat but the
jerked deer-meat. No bread--no beer--no coffee, nothing but water--dry
venison and water. Of course, this is food enough for a hungry man; but
it can hardly be called luxurious living. Now and then a wild duck, or
a goose, or perhaps a young swan, was shot; and this change in their
diet was very agreeable. Fish were caught only upon occasions, for
often these capricious creatures refused Francois' bait, however
temptingly offered. After three weeks' coasting the Lake, they reached
the Saskatchewan, and turning up that stream, now travelled in a due
westerly direction. At the Grand Rapids, near the mouth of this river,
they were obliged to make a portage of no less than three miles, but the
magnificent view of these "Rapids" fully repaid them for the toil they
underwent in passing them.

The Saskatchewan is one of the largest rivers in America, being full
1600 miles in length, from its source in the Rocky Mountains to its
_debouchure_, under the name of the "Nelson River," in Hudson's Bay.
For some distance above Lake Winnipeg, the country upon its banks is
well wooded. Farther up, the river runs through dry sandy prairies that
extend westward to the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains. Many of these
prairies may be properly called "deserts." They contain lakes as salt
as the ocean itself, and vast tracts--hundreds of square miles in
extent--where not a drop of water is to be met with. But the route of
our voyageurs did not lie over these prairies