Donut day at the bowling club so in spite of not good weather in the morning there was a good turnout. After I had the unpleasant task of taking out one toilet as it was plugged solid. Cleaned it, put in anew wax ring and reinstalled. I think occasional shots of drano or the like may be a good idea.
Slashed out some more of one shrub I'm tring to get rid of. Terrible thorny thing. Loaded it all in the truck which is now heaping and I haven't finished yet.
Now what shall I plant to fill in the blank spots?

When we came to the hill where the trail led down into the Boyne valley, we could see a valley toward the north west that led into it.  I had noticed this valley when coming from Emerson, but had hesitated to about taking it.  I explained to Watkins that I thought this valley would lead out to the plain somewhere near his place and he agreed with me, so we planned to that he would go and follow this valley out into the plain, and should he succeed in reaching his place, he would hang a lantern outdoors and fire off a gun occasionally to guide Bill and me.

Watkins started off at once and as I could not see the team coming, I went back to find the cause for delay and came on them about a mile back, coming along a few hundred feet at a time, and then would rest for a few minutes and then at it again.

The sleigh was plowing up the snow and it was so dry that the runners cut through it to the ground much of the time and made hard pulling for the team.  I had planned on my way back as to what I should do in case we should manage to get the team to the place where Watkins had left me, so I left Bill to urge the team on, and I took the axe back with me and procured a pole in a nearby bluff for a lever, and when Bill came we pried up the front bolster, and sleigh box and had the horses pull out the front bob.  We then placed the bags of bedding on it, and went on across the valley in the direction that Watkins had taken.  Darkness had set in, but it was a clear night and we could see the tracks made by Watkins where he would occasionally break through the crusty drifts.

The snow here was drifted into billows and packed hard, but it made hard travelling for the horses and finally they refused to pull the bob sleigh, so their harness was removed and the bags of clothing tied to the back of one horse, and Bill rode the other.

We now speeded up a little, and were getting out into the plain north of the hills and then we saw a light a couple of miles away, and heard the report of a gun, so we knew Watkins was safe and found his house.

My moccasin strings had become cut by the crusty snow, and I could not keep them on my feet, so I walked the last mile or so in my socks.  I had three pairs on and managed to get to the house without them being frozen.

We had trouble in getting the horses into the sod stable for it had settled so much since it was built.

Dave Evans had a good warm supper of pork and beans ready for us as we entered the house and we sat around the cook stove and ate from tin plates laid on the stove.

Dave Evans and W. Watkins had farms adjoining and batched together.  They had come from England during the past summer and winter had caught them unprepared for cold weather.

Their house was made with sod walls.  It had a peak roof and the pole rafters had boughs and twigs interwoven on them all ready for the thatch.  As we lay in bed we could view the stars through the holes.  It was useless to try to heat the house, for the heat given off by the stove could not be felt three feet from it.

The temperature the day we arrived was 48 below and the next day it was 52 below, so we decided it was too cold to go back and recover our sleigh.

We were anxious to get home for we felt we were consuming much of their food supply.  It was not so much a matter of cost of provisions but the cost of getting them from Portage that counted at that time.

On our second day at Watkins, Dave Evans and I went back with his ox team and brought our sleigh back, and the following day we reached home at noon, after having been fifteen days away.