After this the party is rewarded with beautiful islets, and the
lake for a length of thirty-five miles lies in a fertile tract of
country. It was formerly appropriately called Holy Lake, and as a summit
lake suggests to the traveller abiding restfulness. To the traders on
their route whether passing up or down the water courses, it was always
so. After the long and tedious voyaging it was their Elysium. Not only
are the sweet surroundings of the lake most charming, but the Indians of
the neighborhood have always been noted for their good character, their
docility and their industry.
[Illustration: ANDREW McDERMOTT, ESQ., Greatest Merchant of the Red
River Settlement. Came to Red River Settlement in 1813. Died in
Winnipeg in 1881.]
A short delay at Oxford House led to the continuation of the journey
over what was now the roughest, most desolate, and most trying part of
the voyage. On this rough passage, perhaps the most distressing spot was
"Windy Lake," a small but tempestuous sheet. The voyageurs declare that
they never cross "Lac de Vent" without encountering high winds and very
often dangerous storms. Again "the Real Hill Difficulty" is encountered
above the lake at the "Big Hill" portage and rapids--one of the sudden
descents of this alarming stream.
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