Volume 1

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devil's mountain—MOUSE RIVER. 297
some epinettes and stunted birches and poplars. The soil
is poor, dry, and sandy.
At two o'clock we proceeded, and soon came to Montagne
du Diable,'"^ the tops of which we had seen at Wattap
river. This mountain, or rather ridge of barren, sandy
hills, is a body of sand several miles in length ;
the principal
hill is on the E., several miles in circumference, and
level on the top, where no kind of vegetation grows. Our
path led along the foot of this hill, which appears to be
shifting its position eastward. Evidence of this may be
seen in the state of the trees on the E. side, where they are
so deeply buried in the sands that the very tops of some tall
pines just peep through.
Westward lies a sandy waste for
three or four miles, where nothing grows but a few stunted
epinettes, that tumble down when the sands are blown from
about their roots. The principal reason why this body of
sand may be said to move eastward is the strong westerly
winds which prevail. Many extraordinary stories are
related of this mountain, both by Indians and Canadians
of the strange noises heard in its bowels, and the nightly
apparitions seen at one particular place ; but as I cannot
vouch for any of them, I shall relate none. In crossing
those hills our horses sank up to their knees in many places.
Having passed them, we traversed a level plain for about
15 miles, when we arrived opposite our establishment of
Riviere la Souris,'^ which is situated on the S. side of the
'^Devil's mt., now known as the Sand hills, from the features Henry
describes ;
the name originated in some Indian superstition concerning the
shiftiness of the sands under the supervision of some manitou, who was god or
devil, as the case might be—" diabolus deus inversus." Thompson calls them
Manito hills, 1798.
'2 Henry has come up the N. or left bank of the Assiniboine, which he has
therefore on his left, and must be ferried over to the S. side where Mouse r.
falls in and the N. W. Co. and X. Y. Co, houses both stood in
1806—Brandon
House of the H. B. Co. being on the N. side, opp. the other two. Henry is
clear and precise on these points,
concerning which there has been much misunderstanding.
Lewis' map of 1806 (first pub., reduced, in Science of Nov. 4th,
1887, and first retraced of full size from a photograph of the original, for L.
and C, ed. of 1893), locates all three correctly. Clark's map of 1814, in the