ht. Hours passed away, and yet the
solitary clump seemed as distant as ever--nay, more, it even appeared to
grow smaller as I approached it. At last, just at dusk, I drew near the
wished for camping-place; but lo! it was nothing but a single bush. My
clump had vanished, my camping-place had gone, the mirage had been
playing tricks with the little bush and magnifying it into a grove of
aspens. When night fell there was no trace of camp or companions, but the
snow marks showed that I was still upon the right track. On again for two
hours in darkness often it was so dark that it was only by giving the
horse his head that he was able to smell out the hoofs of his comrades in
the partially covered grass of frozen swamp and moorland. No living thing
stirred, save now and then a prairie owl flitting through the gloom added
to the sombre desolation of the scene. At last the trail turned suddenly
towards a deep ravine to the left. Riding to the edge of this ravine, the
welcome glare of a fire glittering through a thick screen of bushes
struck my eye. The guide had hopelessly lost his way, and after thirteen
hours hard riding we were lucky to find this cosy nook in the
tree-sheltered valley. The Saskatchewan was close beside us, and the dark
ridges beyond were the Eagle Hills of the Battle River.

Early next forenoon we reached the camp of Crees and the winter post of
the Hudson Bay Company some distance above the confluence of the Battle
Riverwith the Saskatchewan. A wild scene of confusion followed our entry
into the camp; braves and squaws, dogs and papooses crowded round, and it
was difficult work to get to the door of the little shanty where the
Hudson Bay officer dwelt. Fortunately, there was no small-pox in this
crowded camp, although many traces of its effects were to be seen in the
seared and disfigured faces around, and in none more than my host, who
had been one of the four that had recovered at Carlton. He was a splendid
specimen of a half-breed, but his handsome face was awfully marked by the
terrible scourge. This assemblage of Crees was under the leadership of
Mistawassis, a man of small and slight stature, but whose bravery had
often been tested in fight against the Blackfeet. He was a man of quiet
and dignified manner, a good listener, a fluent speaker, as much at his
ease and as free from restraint as any lord in Christendom. He hears the
news I have to tell him through the interpreter, bending his head in
assent