THE OVERLANDERS 59

of Niagara acted as captain and eight others
as lieutenants. A scout preceded the marchers,
and at sundown camp was formed in a big
triangle with the carts as a stockade, the
animals tethered or hobbled inside. Tents
were pitched outside with six men doing sentry
duty all night. At two in the morning a
halloo roused camp. An hour was permitted
for harnessing and breaking camp, and then
the carts creaked out in line. They halted
at six for breakfast and marched again at
seven. Dinner was at two, supper at six, and
tents were seldom pitched before nine at night.
On Sunday the procession rested and some
one read divine service. The oxen and ponies
foraged for themselves. By limiting camp to
five hours, in spite of the slow pace of the
oxen, forty to fifty miles a day could be made
on a good trail in fair weather. While the
scout led the way, the captain and his lieu-
tenants kept the long procession in line; and
the travellers for the most part dozed lazily
in their carts, dreaming of the fortunes await-
ing them in Cariboo. Some nights, when the
captain permitted a longer halt than usual and
when camp-fires blazed before the tents, men
played the violin and sang and danced. Each
manwas hisowncook. Three or four occupied