Volume 1

126 JOURNEY TOWARD RED LAKE RIVER.
Indian and my man were also mounted, the former
having
borrowed his brother's mare, and the latter riding the black
horse I brought from below. We had about a mile of strong
woods to pass, after which we came to small poplars and
willows in which we constantly roused red deer. At nine
o'clock we came to the little Riviere aux Marais '* which we
did not cross, but kept in the woods along the N. side of it.
Here the grass is very long, and we often had ugly bogs
and low watery ground to pass, in which our horses sunk
sometimes to their knees. The country is low, open, and
level. At twelve o'clock we came to the firm ground, of
fine plains and as delightful a country as on the W. side [of
Red river]. Red deer were very numerous here not long
ago, as the tops of the oaks along this little river are all
broken and twisted. The plums and other fruit bushes are
torn to pieces by bears. The river here takes a great bend
to the S. We therefore left it and took our course S. E.
over a fine level country. We saw a few bulls in the traverse,
and at sunset regained Riviere aux Marais at Grosse
Isle, where we camped. This little river takes its water out
of the low marshy country about the source of Two Rivers
and Lac des Voleurs [Thieves' lake] ; it is at first divided
into many branches, which run different courses to every
point of the compass before they join a few miles E. of this
camp ; then after an extraordinarily winding course, the
river empties into Red river a few miles above Park river.
Our Indian guide tells me that if we do not find Indians tomorrow
there will be no use of going any further, as they
must be still at Red lake. He had hopes of finding them at
this place, as it
is their common route to Red river by land.
Oct. 28th. At sunrise we saddled and set off, crossed
[Snake] river, [perhaps in the vicinity of Warren, seat of
" This " Riviere aux Marais " must not be confounded with the one of the
same name in Manitoba, below Pembina. Henry crosses Red r. at his fort,
and is traveling in Minnesota, in Marshall Co., on a course S. of E. The
stream whose right bank he is now ascending is Snake r., on which is situated
Warren, seat of Marshall Co.