Father Taché's elevation to the episcopal dignity increased his responsibilities, and gave a new impulse to his zeal and devotion to the good cause, while the unction of a divine commission gave efficacy and power to his efforts. From his residence at Isle à la Crosse the prelate made frequent excursions to visit different tribes. The following playful but truthful description, in his own words, of his dwelling place, and of his mode of travelling, gives an idea of what he had to endure, and how he bore it:--"My episcopal palace is twenty feet in length, twenty in width, and seven in height. It is built of logs cemented with mud, which, however, is not impermeable, for the wind and the rain and other atmospheric annoyances find easy access through its walls. Two windows of six small panes of glass lighten the principal apartment, and two pieces of parchment complete the rest of the luminary system. In this palace, though at first glance everything looks mean and diminutive, a character of real grandeur, nevertheless, pervades the whole establishment. For instance, my secretary is no less a personage than a bishop--my 'valet de chambre' is also a bishop--my cook himself is sometimes a bishop. The illustrious _employés_ have countless defects, but their attachment to my person endears them to me, and I cannot help looking at them with a feeling of satisfaction. When they grow tired of their domestic employments I put them all on the road, and going with them, I strive to make them cheery. The entire household of his lordship is _en route_, with two Indians, and a half-breed who conducts a team of four dogs. The team is laden with cooking utensils, bedding, a wardrobe, a portable altar and its fittings, a food basket, and other odds and ends. His lordship puts on a pair of snow shoes which are from three to four feet in length, real episcopal pantofles, perfectly adapted to the fine tissue of the white carpet on which he has to walk, moving with more or less rapidity according to the muscular strength of the traveller. Towards evening this strength equals zero; the march is suspended, and the episcopal party is ordered to halt. An hour's labour suffices to prepare a mansion wherein his lordship will repose till the next morning. The bright white snow is carefully removed, and branches of trees are spread over the cleared ground. These form the ornamental flooring of the new palace; the sky is its lofty roof, the moon and stars are its brilliant lamps, the dark pine forests or the boundless horizon its sumptuous wainscoting. The four dogs of the team are its sentinels, the wolves and the owls preside over the musical orchestra, hunger and cold give zest to the joy experienced at the sight of the preparations which are being made for the evening banquet and the night's repose. The chilled and stiffened limbs bless the merciful warmth of the kindled pile to which the 'giants of the forest' have supplied abundant fuel. Having taken possession of their mansion, the proprietors partake of a common repast; the dogs are the first served, then comes his lordship's turn, his table is his knees, the table service consists of a pocket-knife, a bowl, a tin plate, and a five-pronged fork, which is an old family heirloom. The _Benedicite omnia opera_ is pronounced. Nature is too grand and beautiful in the midst even of all its trying rigours for us to forget its Author; therefore, during these encampments our hearts become filled with thoughts that are solemn and overpowering. We feel it then to be our duty to communicate such thoughts to the companions of our journey, and to invite them to love Him by whom all those wonderful things we behold around us were made, and to give thanks to Him from whom all blessings flow. Having rendered our homage to God, Monseigneur's 'valet de chambre' removes from his lordship's shoulders the overcoat which he has worn during the day, and extending it on the ground calls it a mattress; his cap, his mittens and his travelling bag pass in the darkness of the night for a pillow; two woollen blankets undertake the task of protecting the bishop from the cold of the night, and of preserving the warmth necessary for his repose. Lest they should fail in such offices, Providence comes to their aid, by sending a kindly little layer of snow, which spreads a protecting mantle, without distinction, over all alike.