cook's lake. 121 



brance of whom I gave to the sheet of water be- 

 fore me the name of Cook's Lake. 



As the night drew on, something was perceived 

 indistinctly on the lake ; it was neither a loon, nor a 

 deer, but its cautious motions excited that sort of 

 suspicion which made our invalid look about him. 

 He and the three Indians with me determined 

 that it must be either a Chipewyan thief, or the 

 scout of a party of slave Indians, who were at war 

 with the Yellow Knives. As it turned out, how- 

 ever, neither of these conjectures was correct, 

 for the object of apprehension proved to be one 

 of those who had left us at the mountain, and who, 

 having lost the only two charges of powder in his 

 possession, had been driven to the necessity of 

 performing this long journey, to obtain the means 

 of sustaining his family until they could get to 

 their friends. " Had there been only my wife 

 with me," he said, in a faint voice, " I would not 

 have troubled the chief, for we could have lived 

 upon berries ; but when I looked on my child, and 

 heard its cries, my heart failed me, and I sought 

 for relief." There needed no other appeal; and 

 having received a liberal supply of provision 

 and ammunition, the poor fellow went away the 

 happiest of his tribe. 



August 21. — Thin ice had been formed during 

 the night ; though when we started, at 4 a.m., 

 the thermometer stood at 38°. A few miles 



