Sketch of the Life of Mr, David Do7igIas, 129 



** ouse tribe, and three of his young men, who are the terror of 

 ^' all the other tribes west of the mountains, and the staunch 

 *' friends of the whites, (as they call us), stepped in among the 

 " party, and settled the af&air without any further trouble. This 

 *' very friendly Indian, who is one of the finest figures of a man 

 " I have ever seen, six feet six inches high, then accompanied 

 *' us several miles up the river to the spot where we intended 

 " to encamp for the night, and was liberally renumerated by 

 " Mr. McLeod for his courageous and timely interference, and 

 *' friendship. I being King George's chief, or the " Grassman," 

 *' bored a hole through the only shilling which I possessed, and 

 " which had been in, my pocket ever since I left London, and 

 *' observing that the septum of his nose was perforated, I suspended 

 " the coin to it by a bit of brass wire, a ceremony which after- 

 " wards proved a seal of lasting friendship between us." 



When he had reached Fort Colville, a short distance from the 

 Kettle Falls, he was busily occupied for three weeks, when the lock 

 of his gun having been broken, he determined on wending his 

 way to the old, and then abandoned establishment at Spokan. 

 Here resided old Jacquo Finlay, a remnant of the first Rocky 

 Mountain Trappers, and once interpreter for the North-West 

 Company among the Flat-head Indians. Jacquo was also the only 

 craftsman who could work in good steel, within a distance of 800 

 miles. Starting with two youths to guide him, the traveller comes 

 to the Barrier river, which has to be forded in passing from Col- 

 ville to Spokan, and here we again take up his own description of 

 the journey. 



" No natives being near to help us across in their canoes, my 

 " two young companions and I had the alternative of making a 

 " raft or swimming, and being all well accustomed to the water, 

 " we chose the latter. Unsaddling the horses, we drove them in, 

 " and they all crossed with safety and ease, except one poor animal 

 " which getting entangled by its hind legs among some brushwood 

 " at the bottom, struggled a long time till the impediment giving 

 " way he finally relieved our anxiety by gaining the other side. 

 *' I myself made two trips across, carrying my paper and gun the 

 " first time and my blanket and clothes the second ; — the latter 

 " articles I was obliged to hold above water in both my hands, 

 " a difficult and tedious process, during which, as if to render my 

 *' labour fruitless, it rained heavily. "When I landed, my whole 

 " frame was so completely benumbed, that we were under the neces- 



Can. Nat. 4 Vol. V. No. 2. 



