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Show MOVIKG CAMP- TURRET ROCK. 181 western side, leaving the shore party to follow the old storm- line, or that indicating the ancient limits of the water. A small station was put up upon a little rocky projection just north of the camp, which had to be constructed of stone, filled in with earth, as no timber of any kind could be procured for the purpose. A few slender poles of drift- wood were gathered, erected into a small lodge on the top of the mound, and covered over with white cloth. The camp was broken up, and every thing being loaded into the boats, the customary process of wading com* menced. This mode of moving was one of the most disagreeable and onerous of our duties. The boat was nearly two miles from the camp, and the men made their way through a soft, tenacious blue clay, ankle deep, and exposed to the insufferable annoyance of myriads of gnats, which the occupation of both hands in grasping the burden did not allow them to repel; and although, after getting but upon the water, we left for a time our inveterate little enemies behind, it was with the knowledge that the same torment must be again encountered on our next approach to land. In crossing we were repeatedly driven to the southward by the shallowness of the water; and, upon at length reaching the shore, we found, to our dismay, that an extensive flat of sand still lay between us and the line of grass and bushes where alone we could obtain fuel for cooking. Over this the camp was carried upon weary shoulders, and pitched among some artemisia, near " Turret Rock," as we named a large pinnacle toward which we had directed our course in the morning, and which had frequently before attracted our notice. The soil, after passing the flat, is a hard yellow clay, with some pepper- grass- its only production. We here found a large hole that had been dug by the wolves. It was full of brackish water, which, although unfit to drink, was sufficiently good for mixing bread and for cooking generally. We had learned, by dire experience, not to despise any water, however indifferent, as we did not know at what period we might be reduced to its exclusive use. The place had long been a resort for the few Indians that occasionally pass through this inhospitable region. Remains of old lodges constructed of sage- bush, beds of the same, collected under the cover of projecting ledges of rock and little caves in the cliff, together with a well- defined horse- trail, showed that this had been a favourite camp- ground. The trail came from the south- west, and led A |