Wintering on the Peace aS ees,

dered the young man. All the Indians at once fled from
the post.

Gnats and mosquitoes appeared in swarms on 20 April,
while on the other side of the river, which was still covered
with ice, “‘the plains were delightful, the trees were budding,
and many plants were in bloom. Mr. Mackay brought in
a bunch of flowers of a pink colour. ‘The change in the
appearance of nature was as sudden as it was pleasing for a
few days only were passed away since the ground was covered
with snow. On the twenty-fifth the river was cleared of ice.”

An old Indian in explaining his age gave some interesting
information regarding the change in the appearance of the
countryside and the migration of animals. ‘‘He remembered
the opposite hills and plains, now interspersed with groves
of poplar, when they were covered with moss without any
animal inhabitants but reindeer. By degrees, he said, the
face of the country changed to its present appearance, when
the elk came from the east, and was followed by the buffalo;
the reindeer then retired to the long range of high lands that
at a considerable distance run parallel with the river.”” The
Clear Hills and Caribou Mountains, the latter an old erosion
plateau, which together extend from Fort St. John to the
vicinity of Slave River, make up the range of highlands
spoken of. Caribou are still found on the tableland opposite
Fort Vermilion.

The death of White Partridge, the young man recently
murdered, threatened to upset all the plans Mackenzie
had made with the Indians regarding their spring hunt.
These people had assembled some distance from the fort,
and sent messengers to him to demand rum that they might
weep for the departed, as it was considered a great degrada-
tion for an Indian to weep when sober. Mackenzie refused,
and they threatened to go to war with other tribes. On