306 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



afforded, was materially damped by our sincere 

 regret that he had not lived to receive this just 

 reward of his merit and services. The letter 

 from Mr. Back stated, that the rival Companies 

 in the fur trade had united ; but that, owing to 

 some cause which had not been explained to him, 

 the goods intended as rewards to Akaitcho and 

 his band, which we had demanded in the spring 

 from the North-West Company, were not sent. 

 There were, however, some stores lying for us at 

 Moose-deer Island, which had been ordered for 

 the equipment of our voyagers ; and Mr. Back 

 had gone across to that estabhshment, to make a 

 selection of the articles we could spare for a tem- 

 porary present to the Indians. The disappoint- 

 ment at the non-arrival of the goods was seriously 

 felt by us, as we had looked forward with plea- 

 sure to the time when we should be enabled to 

 recompense our kind Indian friends, for their 

 tender sympathy in our distresses, and the assist- 

 ance they had so cheerfully and promptly ren- 

 dered. I now regretted to find, that Mr. Wentzel 

 and his party, in their return from the sea, had 

 suffered severely on their march along the Copper- 

 Mine River, having on one occasion, as he men- 

 tioned, had no food but tripe de roclie for eleven 

 days. 



All the Indians flocked to our encampment to 



