Page:Narrative of the Discoveries on the North Coast of America.djvu/115

 is shallow, and, as we advanced, became salt as brine. We had not the good fortune to fall in with buffaloes, though their tracks, and those of moose and bears, were numerous; but consoled ourselves in an attack upon the wild fowl attracted hither by the briny waters. There were swans; Canada and laughing geese; several species of ducks, the most remarkable of which were the beautiful light blue; and a very small but splendidly variegated teal, so tame as almost to allow itself to be caught with the hand. We had not to search long for salt: a single mound on the plain furnished us with thirty bags of the finest quality, and seemed undiminished by the removal of a quantity sufficient for our own wants, and for the supply of the Athabasca and Mackenzie River districts. A mountain, which terminates the plain at the distance of four or five miles, glistened as if incrusted with the same pure white substance. From the hill-sides gush delicious springs of fresh water. Having finished our work, we bivouacked and feasted under as lovely an evening sky as fancy could paint. A sudden gust of wind, which bent the tall pines and poplars like wands, cleared off the musquitoes; and we enjoyed a few hours of refreshing rest in the soft twilight, for there was no longer any night in these regions.