ABOUT THE ROUTE. 87 



their efforts and remonstrances, refused to go 

 farther, and returned back without having seen 

 or even approached the river. They related 

 minutely all particulars, and ended by remark- 

 ing, that I was no stranger to Indians, and that 

 when I passed the spot I should find that they 

 had spoken the truth. 



The account given by Sanpere had been gene- 

 rally credited ; and I confess I was of the number 

 of those who had relied on his veracity. This, 

 however, being now rendered doubtful, if not 

 absolutely destroyed, I was left in a state of very 

 uncomfortable uncertainty. Besides, though the 

 sketch of the young hunter represented the 

 Teh-Ion as running to the westward of north, 

 and the position of the sun was in favour of 

 its maintaining that course, still I could not 

 reconcile to myself the notion of high woods, 

 frequented by moose, on the banks of a river 

 flowing through the barren grounds, except on 

 the supposition that it trended far away to the 

 south-east, in a line for Hudson's Bay. Ulti- 

 mately, therefore, after much embarrassment and 

 perplexity, I decided on following up the original 

 plan, as laid down in the paper read before the 

 Royal Geographical Society ; comforting my- 

 self with the reflection, that the observations 

 of Black Meat, an old Indian warrior, whom I 

 had known in 1820, were as likely to be correct 



g 4 



