Diary, 1903-1904, of trips with A. F. Camsell, Merritt Cary, and Alfred Emerson Preble to the Athabaska-Mackenzie region
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Transcription
Friday Sept 13 I left our camp about 730 and paddled across two or three small bays and then rounded a long narrow point and turned into a bay which ran some distance back toward the east. Its south shore was bounded by a low sandy flat 50 yards or so wide and back of this a low ridge cut by gullies ran parallel to the shore. This was covered by small growth which shone bright with the changing colorage of the willows, dwarf birch, etc. The sandy flat was beautifully wooded with tall slender white spruces. I took some photos here. I then passed on northwest as passing one or two small points on one of which an Indian family, the first human beings seen outside our own party since leaving the vicinity of Fall Rae, or round another long point and entered a deep wide bay. We crossed it magnificently and camped in a small melt where we were protected from the wind and waves. Monday Sept 14. Left Camp at 7 o'clock and rounded a good sized bay and started on a large bay but were forced by the wind to stop about 10 o'clock. I buried myself with some specimens and remained until nearly 3, when the wind had gone down a little. I then rounded the deep bay and passed a long low gravelly point where the ice had pushed up great quantities of small stones beyond this. I took another similar but smaller bay. These bays have low sandy and rocky shores and are well provided. The Camarodes were giving quite an impression to the scenery by its yellowish foliage also the aspens. Two or three smaller bays were next crossed. I saw these was an Indian camp and a young man paddled out to us and talked a few minutes with us. We camped at dusk in a small bay having a wide windward shore.