258 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 
wafted us with unusual speed, and as the lake 
increased in breadth, the waves swelled to a 
dangerous height. A canoe running before the 
wind is very liable to burst asunder, when on the 
top of a wave, so that part of the bottom is out of 
the water; for there is nothing to support the 
weight of its heavy cargo but the bark, and the 
slight gunwales attached to it. 
On making known our exigencies to the gen- 
tlemen in charge of the Hudson’s Bay and North 
West Companies’ Forts, they made up an assort- 
ment of stores, amounting to five bales; for fout 
of which we were indebted to Mr. Mac Leod of 
the North West Company, who shared with us 
the ammunition absolutely required for the sup- 
port of his post ; receiving in exchange an order 
for the same quantity upon the-cargo’ which we 
expected to follow us from York Factory. -We 
had heard from Mr. Stuart that Fort Chipewyan 
was too much impoverished to supply the wants 
of the Expedition, and we found Isle a:la Crosse 
in the same condition; which, indeed, we might 
have fc , from the exhausted state of Cumber- 
land House, but could not have provided against. 
We never had heard before our departure from 
York, that the posts in the interior only received 
annually the stores necessary for the consumption 
of a single year. It was fortunate for us that 
