so laborious a day; and our camp itself was
unique--on a lofty bluff overlooking the confluence of the
Saulteau River with the Lesser Slave--a bold and beautiful
spot, the woods at the angle of the two rivers, down to the
water's edge, showing like a gigantic V, as clean-cut as if
done by a pair of colossal shears.

Next morning rowing took the place of poling and tracking for a
time, and, presently, the great range of lofty hills called, to
our right, the Moose Watchi, and to our left, the Tuskanatchi--the
Moose and Raspberry Mountains--loomed in the distance. Here, and
when only a few miles from the lake, a York boat came tearing down
stream full of lithe, young half-breed trackers--our long-expected
assistants from the Hudson's Bay Company's post, as we would have
welcomed much more warmly had they come sooner, for we had little
but the lake now to ascend, up which a fair breeze would carry us
in a single night.

Doubtless it would have done so if it had come; but the same
head-winds and storms which had thwarted us from the first
dogged us still. We had camped near the mouth of Muskeg Creek,
a good-sized stream, and evidently the cause hitherto of the
Lesser Slave's rich chocolate colour; for, above the forks, the
latter took its hue from the lake, but with a yellowish tinge
still. From this point the river was very crooked, and lined by
great hay meadows of luxuriant growth. Skirting these, reinforced
as we were, we soon pulled up to the foot of the lake, where stood
a Hudson's Bay Company's solitary storehouse. There some change of
lading was made, in order to reach "the Island," some seven miles
up, and the only one in the lake, sails being hoisted for the first
time to an almost imperceptible wind.

The island, where we were to camp simply for the night--as we
fondly thought--was found to be a sprawling jumble of water-worn
pebbles, boulders and sand, with a long narrow spit projecting
to the east, much frequented by gulls, of whose eggs a large
number were gathered. To the south, on the mainland, is the
site of the old North-West Company's post, near to which stood
that of the Hudson's Bay Company, for they always planted
themselves cheek by jowl in those days of rivalry, so that
there should be no lack of provocation. A dozen half-breed
families had now their habitat there, and subsisted by fishing
and trapping. On the island our Cree half-breeds enjoyed the
first evening's camp by playing the universal