78 ACROSS THE SUB-ARCTICS OF CANADA. 



bosomed his trouble. He said that if he were a single 

 man he would not feel so badly, but having a family de- 

 pendent on him he could not run into such destruction 

 as he now learned awaited us. Most of the men, ex- 

 cepting, perhaps, Francois, who cared for nothing, were 

 equally affected, and it was with some difficulty we 

 managed to reassure them. We told them that these 

 Indians were a set of miserable liars, and were only try- 

 ing to prevent us from going into their hunting grounds ; 

 that I had lived with the Eskimos for nearly two years, 

 and had found them to be far better people than these 

 Indians who were trying to deceive them. We referred 

 them to Moberly, the untrustworthy and false, as a 

 sample of their tribe, and at length persuaded them into 

 disbelieving the stories. 



On the morning of the 18th, accompanied by five 

 native Indians, we arrived at our portage near the 

 northern extremity of the lake, and about fifty miles 

 from the rapids where we had entered it. The portage 

 led, as we had been informed by the Indians, over the 

 Height of Land to the northward. It was found to be a 

 mile and a quarter long. Its northern end terminated on 

 the shore of another large lake, the level of which was 

 ascertained to be about fifty feet lower than Selwyn 

 Lake. Separating the two lakes, rocky hills rose to 

 elevations of two or three hundred feet (fourteen or 

 fifteen hundred feet above sea level), and between them 

 wound the trail, which was comparatively level and 

 easy. With the help of the natives, our stuff', already 

 considerably reduced, was soon portaged, and the canoes 

 again launched and loaded. Before these operations 



