Volume 1

306 CLOUDS OF MOSQUITOES—BUTTE DE SABLE.
which we made shift to keep the mosquitoes away; our
provisions required no cooking. A strong breeze from the
E. kept the mosquitoes down in the grass, our fuel sometimes
emitted a gentle flame, and all was mirth until eleven
o'clock, when suddenly the wind came about from the
N. W., bringing a terrible thunderstorm. The rain soon
fell in torrents, the weather became excessively sultry, and
the mosquitoes were upon us in clouds. Our situation was
truly miserable, having no other shelter than a small tent,
into which was crowded all our baggage besides the seven
persons, nearly sufTocated by the heat and mosquitoes.
Our horses could not remain a moment quiet, the flies kept
them so enraged. Some of their fetters gave way, and off
they went. We pursued them in the dark, and found them
by means of the flashes of lightning. Our day's journey
was about 14 leagues W. S. W. by the compass.
July 15th. When daylight appeared the storm ceased,
but the weather was still hot and sultry, and with wet
buffalo dung we could make no smoke. We therefore had
much trouble
with the mosquitoes.
to saddle our horses, that were dancing mad
Every moment we were in danger of
After much vexation we mounted,
being crushed by them.
wet to the skin, and proceeded along the banks of the river,
here very high ;
the current is gentle and appears navigable
for large canoes, except where reefs of rocks cross the river.
The soil on both sides appears sandy, at some places intermixed
with stones. Cabbrie were in sight almost every
moment, but so shy that we could not get a shot. At nine
o'clock we came to Butte de Sable." Here we stopped to
refresh our horses, they having got little rest last night.
From the top of one of those sandy hills we could see Turtle
*2
Butte de Sable is a sandhill I do not recognize. It is a few miles north of
my route of 1873 along the 49th parallel, and I cannot find it marked on any
map examined. But it seems to be that Snake hill which Hind's map of 1859
sets on the W. bank of Mouse r., 14 m. S. of Boss hill, or Montae;ne i la Bosse,
the Assiniboine trail from which Henry here strikes, and which has already
been mentioned in note '^, p. 298. Boss hill is between Plum cr. and Boss or
Boss Hill cr., which latter seems to be the one now called Gopher cr.