The juice of the maple-tree began to flow and the women repaired to the woods for the purpose of collecting it.

This tree which abounds to the southward is not I believe found to the northward of the Saskatchewan.
The Indians obtain the sap by making incisions into the tree.

They boil it down and evaporate the water, skimming off the impurities.

They are so fond of sweets that after this simple process they set an extravagant price upon it.
On the 15th fell the first shower of rain we had seen for six months, and on the 17th the thermometer rose to 77 degrees in the shade.

The whole face of the country was deluged by the melted snow.