JOHN LEDYARD 275 



appeared to be four leagues over. Here my guide, 

 Perpheela, took a canoe and all our baggage and 

 set off, seemingly to cross the bay. He appeared 

 to leave me in an abrupt manner, and told me to 

 follow the two attendants. This gave me some 

 uneasiness. I now followed Perpheela's two attend- 

 ants, keeping the bay in view; but we had not gone 

 above six miles before we saw a canoe approaching 

 us from the opposite side of the bay, in which were 

 two Indians. As soon as my guides saw the canoe, 

 we ran to the shore from the hills and hailed them, 

 and, finding they did not hear us, we got some 

 bushes and waved them in the air, which they saw 

 and stood directly for us. This canoe was sent by 

 Perpheela to bring me across the bay and shorten 

 the distance of the journey. 



"It was beginning to be dark when the canoe 

 came to us. It was a skin canoe, after the Esqui- 

 maux plan, with two holes to accommodate two 

 sitters. The Indians that came in the canoe talked 

 a little with my two guides, and then came to me 

 and desired that I would get into the canoe. This I 

 did not very readily agree to, however, as there was 

 no other place for me but to be thrust into the space 

 between the holes, extended at length upon my 

 back, and wholly excluded from seeing the way I 

 went, or the power of extricating myself upon any 



