At Coles Falls, which commence a distance from the branch, we found the surface of the ice very uneven and many spots of open water.
We passed the ruins of an establishment which the traders had been compelled to abandon in consequence of the intractable conduct and pilfering habits of the Assineboine or Stone Indians; and we learned that all the residents at a post on the south branch had been cut off by the same tribe some years ago.

We travelled twelve miles today.

The wolves serenaded us through the night with a chorus of their agreeable howling but none of them ventured near the encampment.

But Mr.Back's repose was disturbed by a more serious evil: his buffalo robe caught fire and the shoes on his feet being contracted by the heat gave him such pain that he jumped up in the cold and ran into the snow as the only means of obtaining relief.
On the 28th we had a strong and piercing wind from North-West in our faces and much snow-drift; we were compelled to walk as quick as we could and to keep constantly rubbing the exposed parts of the skin to prevent their being frozen, but some of the party suffered in spite of every precaution.

We descried three red-deer on the banks of the river and were about to send the best marksmen after them when they espied the party and ran away.