s in the morning; so we set about it with alacrity. A fire
was quickly made, the tea-kettle on, and a huge pot containing upwards
of a hundred eggs placed upon the fire. These we intended to boil hard
and carry with us. Being very hungry, I watched the progress of dinner
with much interest, while the Indians smoked in silence. While sitting
thus, my attention was attracted by a loud whistling sound that greatly
perplexed me, as I could not discover whence it proceeded--I got up once
or twice to see what it could be, but found nothing, although it sounded
as if close beside me. At last one of the Indians rose, and, standing
close to the fire, bent in a very attentive attitude over the kettle;
and, after listening a little while, took up one of the eggs and broke
it, when out came a young gull with a monstrous head and no feathers,
squeaking and chirping in a most indefatigable manner! "So much for our
dinner!" thought I, as he threw the bird into the lake, and took out a
handful of eggs, which all proved to be much in the same condition. The
warmth of the water put life into the little birds, which, however, was
speedily destroyed when it began to boil. We did not despair,
nevertheless, of finding a few good ones amongst them; so, after they
were well cooked, we all sat round the kettle and commenced operations.
Some were good and others slightly spoiled, while many were intersected
with red veins, but the greater part contained boiled birds. The
Indians were not nice, however, and we managed to make a good dinner off
them after all.

In the afternoon the weather cleared up and the wind moderated, but we
had scarcely got under weigh again when a thunderstorm arose and obliged
us to put ashore; and there we remained for four hours sitting under a
tree, while the rain poured in torrents. In the evening Nature tired of
teasing us; and the sun shone brightly out as we once more resumed our
paddles. To make up for lost time, we travelled until about two o'clock
next morning, when we put ashore to rest a little; and, as the night was
fine, we just threw our blankets over our shoulders and tumbled down on
the first convenient spot we could find, without making a fire or taking
any supper. We had not lain long, however, when I felt a curious chilly
sensation all along my side, which effectually awakened me; and then I
saw, or rather heard, that a perfect deluge of rain was descending upon
our luckless heads, and that