so EXPEDITION TO THE 



rience, it absorbs all others. To see a being in whom, from 

 his complexion and features, we should expect to find the 

 same feelings which swell in the bosom of every refined 

 man, throwing ofi" his civilized habits to assume the garb of 

 a savage, has something which partakes of the ridiculous, 

 as well as of the disgusting. The awkward and constrain- 

 ed appearance of those Frenchmen who had exchanged 

 their usual dress for the breech-cloth and blanket, was as 

 risible as that of the Indian who assumes the tight-bodied 

 coat of white men. The feelings which we experienced 

 while beholding a little Canadian stooping down to pack 

 up and weigh the hides which an Indian had brought for 

 sale, while the latter stood in an erect and commanding pos- 

 ture, were of a mixed and certainly not of a favourable na- 

 ture. At each unusual motion of the white man's, his 

 dress, which he had not properly secured, was disturbed, 

 and while engaged in restoring it to its proper place, he 

 was the butt of the jokes and gibes of a number of squaws 

 and Indian boys, who seemed already to be aware of the 

 vast difference which exists between them and the Cana- 

 dian Fur-dealer. The village is exclusively supported by 

 the fur trade, and will probably continue to thrive as long 

 as the Indians remain in any number in this vicinity. It 

 has, however, declined from year to year, owing to the 

 gradual diminution of the Indian population. The traders 

 seldom leave the town, but they have a number of Cana- 

 dians in their service, known by the appellation of £^)i- 

 gages, who accompany the Indians during their summer 

 hunts, supply them with goods in small quantities, and keep 

 an eye upon them, so that they should not defraud their em- 

 ployers by selling to others the produce of their hunts. The 

 furs brought here consist principally of deer and raccoon 

 skins; bear, otter, and beaver, have become very rare. The 



