Page:Narrative of the Discoveries on the North Coast of America.djvu/339

Rh banks became less steep, the current regular, but swift and strong. The water had a fine sea-green colour: it was deep, and so clear, that fish were often seen by the bowmen darting alang the stony bottom. The weather grew mild under the influence of southerly breezes, to which we had long been strangers; and, in the height of the day, the sandflies even became troublesome on the immediate borders of the river. Mr. Dease and myself walked across the country, enjoyed some picturesque views of the Copper Mountains, and had excellent sport among the deer, which were tolerably numerous and in high condition.

The towing party picked up several small pieces of copper and galena washed down by the river, and passed the carcases of a number of deer that had been drowned in the rapids. At 1 in the afternoon of the 9th we reached a well-wooded spot, five or six miles below the junction of Kendall River. This being the nearest point of the Coppermine to Fort Confidence, and at the same time an eligible place for repairing the boats in the ensuing spring, we determined to deposit them here. They were accordingly hauled up into the wood, beyond the reach of the spring inundation. Three bags of pemican, two of flour, and everything else not absolutely