DOWN THE MACKENZIE 



137 



earth was a source of constant danger, as I found it necessary 

 to keep close to the banks in order to make any headway against 

 the swift current. I made slow progress, often advancing only 

 by digging the paddle into the bank and fighting my way inch 

 by inch. I reached McPherson at 3 a. m. on the 19th. I had 

 been five days on the journey, and had paddled twenty-two 

 hours to make the last forty miles, most of that distance being 

 against the current of the Peel River. The skiff did not arrive 

 until the day following, on account of being delayed by the 

 strong wind which had caused me such heavy paddling on the 

 third and fourth days. 



When I landed fifteen to twenty Indians and metis youths 

 were playing football in the quadrangular space before the big 

 house. They slept during the day, when both the sun and mos- 

 quitoes were troublesome, and at "night," when the sun shone 

 just above the forest to the northward, they visited their nets, 

 hunted waterfowl in the partially frozen lakes near by, or chased 

 a homemade football in a noisy pack. They all came to the 

 landing place to shake hands and to carry my baggage up the 

 steep bank. They could see that I had a little flour, a luxury the 

 last pound of which had been consumed at that post months 

 before, and I heard them speculating as to the probability of 

 the various muskimoots containing tea and tobacco. 



No boat had arrived from Herschel Island. I found that the 

 explorer, Count de Sainville, was preparing to go by canoe to 

 Herschel Island, also with the intention of taking passage for 

 San Francisco. It would be much safer and much pleasanter 

 to have company on the journey, I therefore waited a few days 

 for the Count to complete his arrangements for departure. 



I took advantage of the opportunity to write letters which 

 would be forwarded by the "Wrigley," which would arrive about 

 July 15th. I then occupied the time in collecting ethnological 

 specimens and writing a vocabulary of common Loucheux 

 words. 



As there were no goods in the store I was not very success- 

 ful in obtaining specimens from the natives. A few pounds of 

 tea would have enabled me to purchase anything they pos- 

 sessed. 



Plain mooseskin moccasins were valued at one skin, beaded 

 ones, two skins; plain mooseskin huntingshirt, four skins; orna- 



