OF THE POLAR SEA. 37 



accompanied them from Fort Providence, informed 

 me that they had broached the cask on their way 

 up and spent two days in drinking. This instance 

 of breach of trust was excessively distressing to 

 me ; I felt for their privations and fatigues, and 

 was disposed to seize upon every opportunity of 

 alleviating them, but this, combined with many 

 instances of petty dishonesty with regard to meat, 

 shewed how little confidence could be put in a 

 Canadian voyager when food or spirits were in 

 question. We had been indeed made acquainted 

 with their character on these points by the traders ; 

 but we thought that when they saw their officers 

 living under equal if not greater privations than 

 themselves, they would have been prompted by 

 some degree of generous feeling to abstain from 

 those depredations which, under ordinary circum- 

 stances, they would scarcely have blushed to be 

 detected in. 



As they were pretty well aware that such a 

 circumstance could not long be concealed from us, 

 one of them came the next morning with an artful 

 apology for their conduct. He stated, that as 

 they knew it was my intention to treat them with 

 a dram on the commencement of the new year, 

 they had helped themselves to a small quantity 

 on that day, trusting to my goodness for forgive- 

 ness ; and being unwilling to act harshly at this 



