NORTHERN OCEAN 125 



Indeed, were they a more marketable commodity than they 1771. 

 really are, the remote situation of those pounds from the ' 

 Company's Factories, must for ever be an unsurmountable 

 barrier to the Indians bringing any of those skins to trade. 

 The same observation may be made of all the other 

 Northern Indians, whose chief support, the whole year round, 

 is venison ; but the want of heavy draught in Winter, and 

 water-carriage in Summer, will not permit them to bring 

 many deer skins to market, not even those that are in season, 

 and for which there has always been great encouragement 

 given. 



We stopped only one night in company with the Indians 

 whom we met on Pike Lake, and in the morning of the fourth, 4th. 

 proceeded to cross the remainder of that [85] Lake ; but, 

 though the weather was fine, and though the Lake was not more 

 than twenty-seven miles broad at the place where we crossed 

 it, yet the Indians lost so much time at play, that it was the 

 seventh before we arrived on the West side of it. During the 7th. 

 whole time we were crossing it, each night we found either 

 points of land, or islands, to put up in. On the eighth, 8th. 

 we lay a little to the East North East of Black Bear Hill,^ 

 where the Indians killed two deer, which were the first we 

 had seen for ten days ; but having plenty of dried meat and 

 fat with us, we were by no means in want during any part 

 of that time. On the ninth, we proceeded on our course 9th. 

 to the Westward, and soon met with as great plenty of deer 

 as we had seen during any part of our journey ; which, no 

 doubt, made things go on smooth and easy : and as the 

 Spring advanced, the rigour of the Winter naturally abated, 

 so that at times we had fine pleasant weather over-head, 

 though it was never so warm as to occasion any thaw, unless 



[^ It had taken him thirteen days to travel from Wholdiah Lake to this 

 camp, and, assuming a rate of four miles a day, he was fifty-two miles west 

 of that lake. As his course was about westerly, his position would be in latitude 

 60° 20' north and longitude 1 1° 30' west of Churchill.] 



