458 THE CHIPEWYANS. 



pie belief in the existence of One Great Spirit, 

 who rewards the good and punishes the evil- 

 doer. I was once speaking to the Camarade 

 de Mandeville, a Chipewyan chief, on this 

 subject, and was endeavouring to impress on 

 his mind a few moral precepts for his future 

 guidance, to which he listened with the most 

 profound gravity and attention. When I had 

 concluded, he raised his head a little, and, with 

 eyes fixed on the floor, said, in a low and solemn 

 tone, " The chief's words have sunk deep into 

 my heart ; and I shall often think of them when 

 I am alone. It is true that I am ignorant ; but 

 I never lie down at night in my lodge without 

 whispering to the Great Spirit a prayer for for- 

 giveness, if I have done anything wrong that 

 day." 



The Chipewyans, although they sometimes 

 associate with the Yellow Knives, never do so 

 without caution and watchfulness. Indeed, with 

 the exception of seven or eight, who were in 

 constant broils, they kept aloof, and came to 

 the Fort at a time when they knew the others 

 were absent. These people are by no means 

 wanting in shrewdness, when occasion offers 

 for the display of it. Mr. M c Leod was re- 

 proving one of them for the bickerings he 

 had had with the other tribe ; and, after expos- 

 tulating with him on the danger of so bad an 



