JOURNEY TO THE YOUCAN, RUSSIAN AMERICA 417 
way down that a man from each of them, who could speak a little Eskimos 
volunteered to accompany me, without fee or reward, and invaluable did I find 
their services. Poor fellows! they will never see this; but I cannot refrain from 
paying them here my tribute of gratitude and thanks. 
_At Peel’s river I met with a large number of Loucheux Indians, all of whom 
received me most kindly, and listened attentively to the glad tidings of salva- 
tion I brought unto them. As these are a part of the great family who reach 
to the Youcan and beyond, I need not dwell upon theta here, as their habits 
will be included in a general description that I shall give of the whole by-and- 
by. I may, however, remark that from their longer association with ‘the whites 
many of the darker traits that belong to their brethren on the Youcan apply, 
‘if at all, in a much milder form to the Indians there and at Lapiene’s House. 
I left my canoe and Indians, as well.as those who accomranied me, at the’ 
fort, and taking two others who knew the way, walked over the Rocky mount- 
ains to Lapiene’s House. This part of the journey fatigued me exceedingly—not 
so much from the distance (which was only from 75 to 100 miles) as from the 
badness of the walking, intense heat of the sun, and myriads of the most 
voracious mosquitos that I have met with in the country. The former, I think, 
would justly defy competition. ‘There were several rivers to ford, which from 
the melting snows and recent rains were just at their height. Fortunately they 
were neither very deep nor wide, or my size and strength would have been 
serious impediments to my getting over them. 
At Lapiene’s House I was delighted to meet Mr. Jones, who was my com- 
panion on travel from Red river to Fort Simpson. He had come up in charge 
of the Youcan boat, and at once kindly granted me a passage down with him. 
I had fortunately a bundle of Canadian newspapers in my carpet-bag, some of 
them containing some speeches on educational subjects by his venerable grand- 
father, the bishop of ‘Toronto. Five days of drifting and rowing down the 
rapid current of the Porcupine river brought us to its confluence with the You- 
can, on the banks of which, about three miles above the junction, the fort is 
placed. My friend Mr. Lockhart was in charge, and all who know the kind- 
ness of his heart need not to be told of the cordial reception that I met with 
from him. Another hearty grasp was from the energetic naturalist Mr. R. Ken- 
- nicott, who, under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution, came into the 
district with me, and passed the greater part of his first winter at Fort Simpson. 
He delighted me with the assurance that he had met with a vast field, and that 
his efforts had been crowned with much success, especially in the collection of 
eggs, many rare and some hitherto unknown ones having been obtained by 
him; so that the cause of science, in that department, will be greatly benefited 
by his labors. Among many others I noticed the eggs and parent birds of the 
American widgeon, the black duck, canvas-back duck, spirit duck, (Bucephala 
abeola,) small black-head duck, (Fulzx affinis,) the waxwing, (Ampelis gar- 
rulus,) the Kentucky warbler, the trumpeter swan, the duck-hawk, (Falco 
anatum,) and two species of juncos. With the exception of the waxwing, how- 
ever, there were few that have not been obtained in other parts of the district by 
the persevering zeal of Mr. Ross, the gentleman in charge, and it, I have since 
learned, nested numerously in the vicinity of my out-station at Bear lake. 
On my arrival at the Youcan there were about 500 Indians present, all of whom 
were astonished, but appeared glad, to see a missionary among them. They 
are naturally a fierce, turbulent, and cruel race, approximating more nearly to the 
Plain tribes than to the quiet Chipewyans of the McKenzie valley. They com- | 
mence somewhere about the 65th degree of north latitude, and stretch westward 
from the McKenzie to Behring’s straits. They were formerly very numerous, but 
wars among themselves and with the Esquimaux have sadly diminished them. 
They are, however, still a strong and powerful people. They are divided into 
many petty tribes, each having its own chief, as the Ta-tlit-Kutchin. (Peel’s 
2 <8 
