f their spare skins they had made a
small tent. This was to be carried along by Marengo in a light sledge,
which they had long since constructed, and taught the dog to draw.
Nothing else remained but to pack their provisions in the smallest bulk
possible, and this was done, according to the custom of the country, by
making "pemmican." The dry meat was first pounded until it became a
powder; it was then put into small skin bags, made for the purpose, and
the hot melted fat was poured in and well mixed with it. This soon
froze hard, and the mixture--that resembled "potted meat,"--was now
ready for use, and would keep for an indefinite time without the least
danger of spoiling. Buffalo-beef, moose-meat, or venison of any sort,
thus prepared, is called "_pemmican_," and is more portable in this
shape than any other. Besides no further cooking is required--an
important consideration upon those vast prairie deserts, where firewood
is seldom to be procured without the trouble of carrying it a great
distance.

Norman, who was the maker of the pemmican, had produced a superior
article upon this occasion. Besides the pounded meat and fat, he had
mixed another ingredient with it, which rendered it a most delicious
food. This third ingredient was a small purple-coloured berry--of which
we have already spoken--not unlike the whortleberry, but sweeter and of
a higher flavour. It grows through most of the Northern regions of
America; and in some places, as upon the Red River and the Elk, the
bushes that produce it are seen in great plenty. When in flower, they
appear almost white, so thickly are they covered with blossoms. The
leaves are small, and generally of an oval shape; but there are several
varieties of the bush, some of them having the dimensions and form of
trees, of twenty-five feet in height. The berries have received
different names in different parts of America. They are known as
"shadberries", "June-berries", "service-berries," and by the Canadian
voyageurs they are called "le poire." Even the botanists have given
them a great variety of names, as _pyrus, mespilus, aronia, crataegus_,
and _amelanchier_. No matter which may be the best name, it is enough
to know that these little berries are delicious to eat when fresh, and
when dried, after the manner of currants, are excellent to mix in
puddings, as well as in pemmican.

Previous to the setting in of winter, our voyageurs had collected a
large bagful upo