The country round is not sufficiently stocked with animals to afford support to many families, and the traders subsist almost entirely on fish caught in the autumn, prior to the lake being frozen; but the water being shallow, they remove to a deeper part, as soon as the lake is covered with ice.

The Aurora Borealis was brilliantly displayed on both the nights we remained here, but particularly on the 7th, when its appearances were most diversified, and the motion extremely rapid.

Its coruscations occasionally concealed from sight stars of the first magnitude in passing over them, at other times these were faintly discerned through them; once I perceived a stream of light to illumine the under surface of some clouds as it passed along.

There was no perceptible noise.
Mr.Mac Murray gave a dance to his voyagers and the women; this is a treat which they expect on the arrival of any stranger at the post.
We were presented by this gentleman with the valuable skin of a black fox, which he had entrapped some days before our arrival; it was forwarded to England with other specimens.
Our observations place the North-West Company's House in latitude 55 deg.
53' 00" N., longitude 108 deg.

51' 10" W., variation 22 deg.