34 
1770. 
A JOURNEY TO THE 
cranberries, water, fcraps of old leather, and 
t—— burnt bones. On thofe prefling occafions Ihave 
June. 
frequently feen the Indians examine their ward- 
robe, which confifted chiefly of fkin-clothing, 
and confider what part could beft be fpared ; 
fometimes a piece of an old, half-rotten deer fkin, 
and at others a pair of old fhoes, were facrificed 
to alleviate extreme hunger. The relation of 
fuch uncommon hardfhips may perhaps gain lit- 
tle credit in Europe; while thofe who are con- 
verfant with the hiftory of Hudfon’s Bay, and 
who are thoroughly acquainted with the diftrefs 
which the natives of the country about it fre- 
quently endure, may confider them as no more 
than the common occurrences of an Indian life, 
in which they are frequently driven to the ne- 
ceflity of eating one another.* 
Knowing 
* It is the general opinion of the Southern Indians, that when any of 
their tribe have been driven to the neceflity of eating human flefh, they 
become fo fond of it, that no perfon is fafe in their company. And 
though itis well known they are never guilty of making this horrid repaft 
but when driven to it by neceffity, yet thofe who have made it are not 
only fhunned, but fo univerfally detefted by all who know them, that no 
Indians will tent with them, and they are frequently murdered flily. I 
have feen feveral of thofe poor wretches who, unfortunately for them, 
have come under the above defcription, and though they were perfons 
much efteemed before hunger had driven them to this aét, were after- 
wards fo univerfally defpifed and neglected, that a fmile never graced 
their countenances: deep melancholy has been feated on their brows, 
while the eye moft expreflively fpoke the diétates of the heart, and 
feemed to fay, “* Why do you defpife me for my misfortunes? the peri- 
‘tod is probably, not far diftant, when you may be driven to the like ne« 
* ceflity !” 
In the Spring of the year 2775, when I was building Cumberland 
Houfe, 
