342 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



towards the white people, or as he termed us in 

 the idiom of the voyagers, the French, some of 

 whom, he said, had killed and eaten his uncle 

 and two of his relations. In short, taking every 

 circumstance of his conduct into consideration, I 

 came to the conclusion, that he would attempt to 

 destroy us on the first opportunity that offered, 

 and that he had hitherto abstained from doing so 

 from his ignorance of the way to the Fort, but 

 that he would never suffer us to go thither in com- 

 pany with him. In the course of the day he had 

 several times remarked that we were pursuing the 

 same course that Mr. Franklin was doing when 

 he left him, and that by keeping toWards the 

 setting sun he could find his way himself Hep- 

 burn and I were not in a condition to resist even 

 an open attack, nor could we by any device escape 

 from him. Our united strength was far inferior 

 to his, and, beside his gun, he was armed with 

 two pistols, an Indian bayonet and a knife. In 

 the afternoon, coming to a rock on which there 

 was some tripe de roche, he halted, and said he 

 would gather it whilst we went on, and that he 

 would soon overtake us. Hepburn and I were 

 now left together for the first time since Mr. 

 Hood's death, and he acquainted me with several 

 material circumstances which he had observed of 

 Michel's behaviour, and which confirmed me in the 



