276 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 
the Chiefs of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s Posts, 
directing them to afford us all possible assistance 
on our route, and he promised to exert. every 
endeavour to forward the Esquimaux interpreter, 
upon whom the success of our journey so much 
depended. He was accompanied by eight boats. 
With him we sent our collections of plants, mine- 
rals, charts, and drawings, to be transmitted to 
England by the Hudson’s Bay ships. After this 
period, our detention, though short, cost us more 
vexation than the whole time we had passed at 
Cumberland House, because every hour of the 
short summer was invaluable to us. On the 11th 
Mr. Clark arrived, and completed: our crews. 
—He brought letters from Mr. Franklin; dated 
March 28th, at Fort Chipewyan, where he was 
engaged procuring hunters and interpreters. A 
heavy storm of wind and rain from the north- 
east again delayed: us till the morning of the 
13th. The account we had received at York 
Factory of the numerous stores at Cumberland 
House proved to be very erroneous. The most 
material: stores we received did not’ amount, in 
addition to our own, to more than two barrels ¢ 
powder, a keg of spirits, and two pieces’ -of 
tobacco, with pemmican for sixteen days. 
ae aa of Dr. Richardson's canoe consisted 
apery eet ‘and three Canadians, and 
