234 ARRIVAL OF MAUFELLY. 



party, had gone to the south-east, and had been 

 absent now some months. No intelligence of any 

 kind had been received ; and, as they had promised 

 to be at the Fort in January, if alive, we naturally 

 began to have gloomy bodings of what might 

 have happened. Happily, however, we were now 

 relieved from our suspense by the appearance of 

 Maufelly himself, who, with a very melancholy 

 visage, recounted the narrow escape they had 

 had. There was not a track of an animal, he said, 

 to be seen, except at a remote part, bordering 

 on the southern waters of the The-lew, to which 

 his party could not go. They had therefore 

 wandered about until weakness and want had 

 almost killed them, when the sight of some 

 straggling deer stimulated them to exertions 

 which were crowned by success. From his 

 sorrowful looks, we concluded that he had hardly 

 yet recovered from his debility ; but, on closer 

 inspection, it was clear that the rogue was in 

 good case ; and, when the necessary time for 

 Indian etiquette had expired, he quietly com- 

 municated the joyful information that he had 

 five deer killed for us, within a couple of days' 

 walk. 



This was, indeed, a windfall, and we ventured 

 to think that better times were coming. Three 

 men were instantly despatched for as much as 

 they could carry of the precious deposit ; and as 



