74 FORT CONFIDENCE. 



children settled down near us at a fishing station 

 behind Fishery Island. From this body visitors 

 came to us almost daily, begging for a meal or two 

 of dried meat to vary their diet, or bringing in a 

 trout or two for sale. The fish were always pur- 

 chased, and then the seller invariably asked for a 

 bit of meat, as he could not walk back without 

 eating. The simple cunning by which these poor 

 folks endeavoured to accomplish their ends, and to 

 move Mr. Bell to be liberal, was amusing, and 

 generally in the end successful, for his habitual 

 good-nature was not long proof against their varied 

 entreaties. 



In the first two weeks of October, the ice driving 

 about compelled the fishermen to take the nets out 

 of the water, and during that time the Indian party 

 subsisted mostly on rations from us, being supplied 

 with both meat and fish. As soon as the straits 

 separating Fishery Island from the main froze com- 

 pletely over, which occurred on the 16th of the same 

 month, the old men were well supplied with trout- 

 hooks to set under the ice, and they caught, I believe, 

 fish enough for their wants, but they concealed 

 their success that they might continue to draw aid 

 from our store. By dint of much talking, occa- 

 sionally withholding supplies, and threatening to 

 do so entirely, Mr. Bell at length persuaded most 

 of the party to move towards Cape M'Donald, where 

 fish were reported to be more plentiful. Our own 



