. It was their intention,
after reaching Cumberland House, to turn again in a northerly direction.

One evening, when within two days' journey of the Fort, they had
encamped upon the bank of the Saskatchewan. They had chosen a beautiful
spot for their camp, where the country, swelling into rounded hills, was
prettily interspersed with bushy copses of _Amelanchiers_, and _Rosa
blanda_, whose pale red flowers were conspicuous among the green leaves,
and filled the air with a sweet fragrance, that was wafted to our
voyageurs upon the sunny breeze. The ground was covered with a grassy
sward enamelled by the pink flowers of the _Cleome_, and the deeper red
blossoms of the beautiful wind-flower (_Anemone_). Upon that day our
travellers had not succeeded in killing any game, and their dinner was
likely to consist of nothing better than dry venison scorched over the
coals. As they had been travelling all the morning against a sharp
current, and, of course, had taken turn about at the paddles, they all
felt fatigued, and none of them was inclined to go in search of game.
They had flung themselves down around the fire, and were waiting until
the venison should be broiled for dinner.

The camp had been placed at the foot of a tolerably steep hill, that
rose near the banks of the river. There was another and higher hill
facing it, the whole front of which could be seen by our travellers as
they sat around their fire. While glancing their eyes along its
declivity, they noticed a number of small protuberances or mounds
standing within a few feet of each other. Each of them was about a foot
in height, and of the form of a truncated cone--that is, a cone with its
top cut off, or beaten down.

"What are they?" inquired Francois.

"I fancy," answered Lucien, "they are marmot-houses."

"They are," affirmed Norman; "there are plenty of them in this country."

"Oh! marmots!" said Francois. "Prairie-dogs, you mean?--the same we met
with on the Southern prairies?"

"I think not," replied Norman: "I think the prairie-dogs are a different
sort. Are they not, Cousin Luce?"

"Yes, yes," answered the naturalist; "these must be a different species.
There are too few of them to be the houses of prairie-dogs. The `dogs'
live in large settlements, many hundreds of them in one place; besides,
their domes are somewhat different in appearance from these. The mounds
of the prairie-dogs have a hole in the top or on one side. These, you