se; they stand, however, in the same detached manner, without
forming connected ranges; and the bottom of every valley is occupied,
either by a small lake or a stony marsh. On the borders of such of these
lakes as communicate with the Copper-Mine River, there are a few groves
of spruce-trees, generally growing on accumulations of sand, on the
acclivities of the hills.

We did not quit the encampment on the morning of September 13th until
nine o'clock, in consequence of a constant fall of snow; but at that
hour we set out on our return to Fort Enterprise, and taking a route
somewhat different from the one by which we came, kept to the eastward
of a chain of lakes. Soon after noon the weather became extremely
disagreeable; a cold northerly gale came on, attended by snow and sleet;
and the temperature fell very soon from 43 deg. to 34 deg.. The waveys, alarmed
at the sudden change, flew over our heads in great numbers to a milder
climate. We walked as quickly as possible to get to a place that would
furnish some fuel and shelter; but the fog occasioned us to make
frequent halts, from the inability of our guide to trace his way. At
length we came to a spot which afforded us plenty of dwarf birches, but
they were so much frozen, and the snow fell so thick, that upwards of
two hours were wasted in endeavouring to make a fire; during which time
our clothes were freezing upon us. At length our efforts were crowned
with success, and after a good supper, we laid, or rather sat down to
sleep; for the nature of the ground obliged us to pass the night in a
demi-erect position, with our backs against a bank of earth. The
thermometer was 16 deg. at six P.M.

After enjoying a more comfortable night's rest than we had expected, we
set off at day-break: the thermometer then standing at 18 deg.. The ground
was covered with snow, the small lakes were frozen, and the whole scene
had a wintry appearance. We got on but slowly at first, owing to an old
sprained ancle, which had been very troublesome to me for the last three
days, and was this morning excessively painful. In fording a rivulet,
however, the application of cold water gave me immediate relief, and I
walked with ease the remainder of the day. In the afternoon we rejoined
our track outwards and came to the place where Keskarrah had made his
deposit of provision, which proved a very acceptable supply, as our
stock was exhausted. We then crossed some sand hills, and encamped
amidst a