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E D M O N T O N TO L E S S E R S L A V E L A K E 37
all that, and I learnt many interesting things from this " Id
trader, who seemed taciturn i n 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 p u l l ; 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 i f 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 a l l night, and morning opened with a strong
head wind and every symptom of bad weather. A survey
party from the Rocky Mountains, i n a Y o r k boat, tarried at
our camp, bringing word that the ice- jam was clear i n 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 out 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 i n a
twinkling. A priest, too, with a companion, arrived about
dusk i n 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.
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| Title | Page 43 |
| OCR | E D M O N T O N TO L E S S E R S L A V E L A K E 37 all that, and I learnt many interesting things from this " Id trader, who seemed taciturn i n 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 p u l l ; 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 i f 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 a l l night, and morning opened with a strong head wind and every symptom of bad weather. A survey party from the Rocky Mountains, i n a Y o r k boat, tarried at our camp, bringing word that the ice- jam was clear i n 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 out 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 i n a twinkling. A priest, too, with a companion, arrived about dusk i n 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. |
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