136 A JOURNEY TO THE 



1771. of a principal man, no one offered to molest [99] me, nor can 

 ^^' I say they were very clamorous for any thing I had. This was 

 undoubtedly owing to Matonabbee's informing them of my 

 true situation ; which was, that I had not, by any means, 

 sufficient necessaries for myself, much less to give away. The 

 few goods which I had with me were intended to be reserved 

 for the Copper and Dogribbed Indians, who never visit the 

 Company's Factories. Tobacco was, however, always given 

 away ; for every one of any note, who joined us, expected to 

 be treated with a few pipes, and on some occasions it was 

 scarcely possible to get off without presenting a few inches * to 

 them ; which, with the constant supplies which I v/as obliged 

 to furnish my own crew, decreased that article of my stock 

 so fast, that notwithstanding I had yet advanced so small a 

 part of my journey, more than one half of my store was 

 expended. Gun-powder and shot also were articles commonly 

 asked for by most of the Indians we met ; and in general 

 these were dealt round to them with a liberal hand by my 

 guide Matonabbee. I must, however, do him the justice to 

 acknowledge, that what he distributed was all his own, which 

 he had purchased at the Factory ; to my certain knowledge he 

 bartered one hundred and fifty martins' skins for powder only; 

 besides a great number of beaver, and other furrs, for shot, 

 ball, iron-work, and tobacco, purposely to give away among 

 his countrymen ; as he had certainly as many of these articles 

 given to him as were, in [100] his opinion, sufficient for our 

 support during our journey out and home. 



20th. Matonabbee's canoe having been repaired, on the twentieth 

 we left Clowey, and proceeded Northward. That morning a 

 small gang of strangers joined us, who informed my guide, 

 that Captain Keelshies was within a day's walk to the South- 

 ward. Keelshies was the man by whom I had sent a letter 



* The tobacco used in Hudson's Bay is the Brasil tobacco ; which is twisted 

 into the form of a rope, of near an inch diameter, and then wound into a large 

 roll ; from which it is taken by measures of length, for the natives. 



