this way it is only possible to carry a very small quantity of
provisions--for the traveller is compelled to load himself with
skin-clothing in order to keep out the cold. The chances of procuring
game by the way in that season are precarious, and not to be depended
upon. Most of the birds and many of the quadrupeds migrate to more
southern regions; and those that remain are shy and rare. Besides,
great snow-storms are to be encountered, in which the traveller is in
danger of getting "smoored." The earth is buried under a deep covering
of snow, and to pass over this while soft is difficult, and at times
quite impossible. All these circumstances were known to our young
voyageurs--to Norman better than any of them--and of course the prospect
was a cheerless one--much more so than those unacquainted with the
winter of these dreary regions would be willing to believe.

It was the month of August, near its end, when they reached the Great
Slave Lake, in the latitude of 62 degrees. The days had now become very
short, and their journeys grew short in proportion. They already
experienced weather as cold as an English winter. There were slight
frosts at night--though not yet enough to cover the water with ice--and
the midday hours were hot, sometimes too hot to be comfortable. But
this only caused them to feel the cold the more sensibly when evening
set in; and all their robes and skins were necessary to keep them warm
during the night.

The Great Slave Lake, like the Athabasca, is very long and very narrow.
It extends full 260 miles from east to west, but at its widest part is
not over thirty, and in some places much less. Along its northern
shores lies the edge of the "Barren Grounds," and there nothing meets
the eye but bleak and naked hills of primitive rock. On its southern
side the geology is entirely of a different character. There the
limestone prevails, and scarcely anything that deserves the name of hill
is to be seen. There are fine forests too, in which poplars, pines, and
birches, are the principal trees. The lake is filled with islands, many
of which are wholly or partially covered with timber of these kinds, and
willows also are abundant. There are fish of several species in its
waters, which are in many places of great depth--sixty fathoms deep--and
in some of the islands, and around the wooded shores, game exists in
abundance in the summer season. Even in winter it is not scarce, but
then it is