174 
July. 
A JOURNEY TO THE 
remark, that the Indians imagine that every bit. 
‘“——~ of copper they find refembles fome object in na- 
ture; but by what I faw of the large piece, and 
fome {maller ones which were found by my com- 
panions, it requires a great fhare of invention to” 
make this out. I found that different people had 
different ideas on the fubject, forthe large piece 
of copper above mentioned had not been found | 
tong before it had twenty different names. One 
faying that it refembled this animal, and another 
that it reprefented a particular part of another ; 
at laft it was generally allowed to refemble an — 
Alpine hare couchant: for my part, I muft con-. 
fefs that I could not fee it had the leaft refem- _ 
blance to any thing to which they compared it. 
It would be endlefs to enumerate the different 
parts of a deer, and other animals, which the 
Indians fay the beft pieces of copper refemble: it 
may therefore be fufficient to fay, that the largeft 
pieces, with the feweft branches and the leaft drofs, 
are the beft for their ufe; as by the help of fire, 
and two ftones, they can beat it out to any fhape 
they with. 
Before Churchill River was fettled by the Hud- — 
fon’s Bay Company, which was not more than 
af pany, 
fifty years previous to this journey being under- | 
taken, the Northern Indians had no other me- | 
tal but copper among them, except a {mall quan- 
tity of iron-work, which a party of them who 
vifited York Fort about the year one thoufand | 
feven hundred and thirteen, or one thoufand fe- | 
ven 
