64 Sir ALEXANDER MACKENZIE

have always observed that the north men pos-
sessed very hearty appetites, but they were
very much exceeded by those with me since
we entered this river. I should really have
thought it absolute gluttony in my people, if
my own appetite had not increased in a simi-
lar proportion.” ,

The current was strong, and for most of
the way they found it necessary to tow the
canoe by a line from the shore, a procedure so
wearing that the women “were continually
employed in making shoes of moose-skin for
the men, as a pair did not last more than a
day.” The water in the river was lower than
it had been on their descent, and this increased
the speed of the current. The uncertainty of
the weather added to their discomfort: there
were violent changes of temperature; on two
occasions storms threw down their tents; and
once it blew so violently that “‘we were
obliged to throw ourselves flat on the ground
to escape being wounded by the stones that
were hurled in the air like sand.” Altogether
they must have been delighted when they