he
two lakes--Athabasca and Great Slave. Of course the river had now become
much larger by the influx of the Peace, and they were travelling upon
the bosom of a magnificent stream, with varied scenery upon its banks.

They were not so happy, however, as when descending the Elk--not but
that they were all in good health, for Lucien had grown quite strong
again. No, it was not any want of health that rendered them less
cheerful. It was the prospect before them--the prospect of coming
winter, which they now felt certain would arrive before they had got to
the end of their journey. The delay of nearly a month, occasioned by
Lucien's illness, had deranged all their calculations; and they had no
longer any hope of being able to finish their voyage in what remained of
the short summer. The ice would soon make its appearance; the lakes and
rivers would be frozen up; they could no longer navigate them in their
canoe. To travel afoot would be a most laborious undertaking, as well as
perilous in an extreme degree.

In this way it is only possible to carry a very small quantity of
provisions--for the traveller is compelled to load himself with
skin-clothing in order to keep out the cold. The chances of procuring
game by the way in that season are precarious, and not to be depended
upon. Most of the birds and many of the quadrupeds migrate to more
southern regions; and those that remain are shy and rare. Besides, great
snow-storms are to be encountered, in which the traveller is in danger
of getting "smoored." The earth is buried under a deep covering of snow,
and to pass over this while soft is difficult, and at times quite
impossible. All these circumstances were known to our young
voyageurs--to Norman better than any of them--and of course the prospect
was a cheerless one--much more so than those unacquainted with the
winter of these dreary regions would be willing to believe.

It was the month of August, near its end, when they reached the Great
Slave Lake, in the latitude of 62 deg.. The days had now become very short,
and their journeys grew short in proportion. They already experienced
weather as cold as an English winter. There were slight frosts at
night--though not yet enough to cover the water with ice--and the
mid-day hours were hot, sometimes too hot to be comfortable. But this
only caused them to feel the cold the more sensibly when evening set in;
and all their robes and skins were necessary to keep them warm during