the wind beating the cold rain and the spray from the crest of the waves in our faces, our only consolation was that we were making miles on the journey. The shores continued to be bare steep walls of rock; not a shrub was anywhere to be seen. About twelve miles below Schultz Lake we decided to camp. Tents were pitched, and within them our soaked and shivering party sought comfort. Little, however, was to be found, for the wind, which continued to increase in violence, drove the rain through our shelters, saturating the blankets and making us generally miserable. The morning brought no improvement, for the storm still continued.
It was impossible to make a fire, supposing moss or other fuel could have been found, for they would have been saturated with water. A little alcohol still remaining, tea was boiled with it, and dried venison completed our menu. As those who have used it well know, this description of meat is not the most palatable. It is good strong, portable food, but may be better compared to sole leather than any article of diet.
By the morning of the first of September the rain had ceased and the clouds partially cleared away. The gale, however, still continued to blow so fiercely as to frequently whip clouds of spray off the surface of the river, so that we were quite unable to travel in canoes.
On the following morning, the wind having fallen sufficiently, the canoes were again pushed into the current, and we glided down stream, in a south-easterly direction, at the rate of seven miles an hour. The channel was deep and about three hundred yards in width, while the banks, continuing to be bold and high,
