Coolish through the day with rain starting in late afternoon. Finished our Founders tournament. Then an hour and a half of novice training. Went into Victoria and had supper at Nando's with Andy and grt grandson Ridge. Good food, we all ate a big meal. Took them back to their hotel  - and to continue with Lacrosse tournament today. Rained all night.

I keep wondering if anyone is enjoying this true pioneering adventure.
The author was Robert Henry Little who later became an inventor for the Sinai Institute with overt 90 patents to his credit.

We reached there the first evening and camped and made use of the wagon box for sleeping quarters with a canvas thrown over it.

Mrs. Smart had built a large log house here during the fall, but did not occupy it until later on.

In the morning we found the ice on the river flowing along in great masses and it looked doubtful if we could cross.  After a time I noticed that the ice came in floes at intervals, so made ready on the river bank to make the ford when a floe would pass.  This we did but the oxen after going a short distance attempted to turn back.  So I went out on the wagon tongue and managed to straighten them out again, but just before we reached shore another floe had come along and struck the wagon and oxen with such force that we were in danger of being swept down the river, but the oxen were now getting into shallow water, and managed to pull us onto the river bank without any mishap.

We then followed the old Yellow Quill Indian trail through a sand hill country in a line with the river, and at night camped at a small stream near the trail that led off to Fortney’s Ferry.

Shortly before reaching camp, the gun used by Bill when shooting prairie chicken, burst and wounded his hand badly.  We dressed the wound as well as we could under the circumstances and then when we reached Portage the next evening had a doctor attend to it.

It required three days to reach Winnipeg from Portage and we camped on the prairie that extended from main street to the Red River, and not far from Fort Garry.

The next day I obtained my goods at the St. Boniface railway station a mile east of the river.  This was the first year that Winnipeg had railway service.

We left next morning for Portage la Prairie, over the only road leading to the great northwest, the same that we had come by.  On the way we encountered numerous Red River cart trains drawn by oxen and ponies.  One man would have charge of several carts.  The wooden cart axles and wheels created a loud groaning and squeaking sound as they traveled along, and could be heard at a long distance.  All the vast northwestern country had to depend on this means of transportation for supplies.

At this time there was a great rivalry between the rising towns of Rapid City and Minnedosa, and they had posters put up along the way calling attention to their many advantages, and urging people to settle there, and each claiming that the railroad would pass through their townsite.

It was a difficult problem at that time to determine just where the railway route would be at that distance west.

We secured our supplies at Portage and reached Fortney’s Ferry without trouble, but here we found the river to be frozen over except about fifty feet from the bank that we were on.  We then had to unload our wagon and take it apart, and take all over in a rowboat.  The ox team was taken up through the woods about a mile to where the river was frozen completely across, and then passed over, and back on the road to the ferry, where we assembled the wagon on the ice and loaded up and pulled onto the bank where we made a fire and had our supper.

It was now dark and the weather cold, and our sleeping arrangements were not good on account of our wagon being loaded.  We had planned to have gone further on the way where we could have obtained shelter but the delay in crossing the river had upset our plans, but for all this we decided to go on rather than camp.

The trail up the long hill to the plain above led through poplar bush, and was very rough and icy.   Our oxen were shod and pulled the wagon without much effort, but when passing over a slippery place the back wheels skidded against a tree and broke the wagon reach.

I built a large fire to work by, then unloaded the wagon and removed the broken reach.  I then procured a suitable tree for the reach and made it, fortunately having tools with me for the purpose.  Most all this work was accomplished by myself as Bill’s hand was still very painful and he had only the use of one hand.

The wagon was again loaded and we went on about five miles and reached the first house on the way at daylight.  This was Mr. McInnes’ place in the willow swamp and on the trail that led on past Phelig Smith’s in a direct line to the Boyne River.