e luxury of it. But we had much discourse for all that, and
I learnt many interesting things from this old trader, who seemed
taciturn in our little crowd, but was, in reality, a tower of
intelligent silence beat about by a flood of good-humoured chaff
and loquacity.

At our first night's camp we were still in sight of the Landing,
which looked absurdly near, considering the men's hard pull; and
from there messengers were sent to Baptiste Lake, the source of
Baptiste Creek, which joins the Athabasca a few miles up, and
where there was a settlement of half-breed fishermen and hunters,
to procure additional trackers if possible. On their unsuccessful
return, at eleven a.m., we started again--newo pishawuk, as they
call it, "four trackers to the line," as before and early in the
afternoon were opposite Baptiste Creek, and, weather compelling,
rowed across, and camped there that evening. It rained dismally
all night, and morning opened with a strong head wind and every
symptom of bad weather. A survey party from the Rocky Mountains,
in a York boat, tarried at our camp, bringing word that the
ice-jam was clear in Lesser Slave Lake, which was cheering, but
that we need scarcely look for the expected assistance. They
also gave a vague account of the murder of a squaw by her
husband for cannibalism, which afterwards proved to be groundless,
and, with this comforting information, sped on.

It is ridiculously easy to go down the Athabasca compared with
ascending it. The previous evening a Baptiste Lake hunter, bound
for the Landing, set on from our camp at a great rate astride
of a couple of logs, which he held together with his legs, and
disappeared round the bend below in a twinkling. A priest, too,
with a companion, arrived about dusk in a canoe, and set off
again, intending to beach at the Landing before dark.

Of course, several surmises were current regarding the non-arrival
of our trackers, the most likely being Bishop Grouard's, that,
as the R. C. Mission boats and men had not come down either,
the Indians and half-breeds were too intent upon discussing
the forthcoming treaty to stir.

So far it had been the rain and consequent bad tracking which
had delayed us; but still we were too weak-handed to make headway
without help, and it was at this juncture that the Police
contingent stepped manfully into the breach, and volunteered
to track one of the boats to the lake. This was no light matter
for men unaccustomed to