XXVI 



UP-STREAM BY CANOE TO CHIPEWVAN 



I WOULD like to have remained at Great Slave Lake a 

 week or two, for it was pleasant to be again under a roof 

 and have some one with whom to talk and to eat three 

 meals a day. But there was no time for rest. 



When Beniah and I were coming into Resolution I 

 had found the ice of the lake hard, and it gave me hopes 

 of being able to reach Fort Smith on snow-shoes, but the 

 day after I arrived the weather turned so much warmer that 

 everything began melting, and for the next two days the 

 disappearance of snow and the appearance of water on 

 the lake was perceptible. With the dissolving snow my 

 hopes fled of making a fast trip to Fort Smith. Never- 

 theless, I endeavored to hire Indians for an attempt at 

 getting there on the ice, but the river was reported full 

 of holes, and nothing could induce them to make even 

 a try, declaring their lives would be lost if they did. 

 They seem to have great consideration for a life that 

 at best is filled with misery. I used all persuasion and 

 all the influence I could bring to bear through Gaudet, 

 who was kind enough to exert himself in my behalf. 

 But it was of no use ; and as I could not go alone with 

 the dogs, I had to forsake the idea. I knew that once 

 Great Slave River began to break up it would be at least 

 ten days before I could make an ascent in a canoe. 



I determined, therefore, on going up Buffalo River, that 



