NORTHERN OCEAN 197 



my companions expended near four hours in search of some 1771, 

 of this metal, with such poor success, that among us ail, only J"^^'" 

 one piece of any size could be found. This, however, was 

 remarkably good, and weighed above four pounds.* I believe 

 the copper has formerly been in much greater plenty ; for in 

 many places, both on the surface and in the cavities and 

 crevices of the rocks, the stones are much tinged with 

 verdigrise. 



It may not be unworthy the notice of the curious, or 

 undeserving a place in my Journal, to remark, that the 

 Indians imagine that every bit of copper they find resembles 

 some object in nature ; but by what I saw of the large piece, 

 and some smaller ones which were found by my companions, 

 it requires a great share of invention to make this out. I 

 found that different people had different ideas on the subject, 

 for the large piece of copper above mentioned had not been 

 found long before it had twenty different names. One saying 

 that it resembled this animal, and another that it represented 

 a particular part of another ; at last it was generally allowed 

 to resemble an Alpine hare couchant : for my part, I must 

 confess that I could not see it had the least resemblance to 

 any thing to which they compared it. It would be endless to 

 [175] enumerate the different parts of a deer, and other animals, 

 which the Indians say the best pieces of copper resemble : it 

 may therefore be sufficient to say, that the largest pieces, with 

 the fewest branches and the least dross, are the best for their 

 use ; as by the help of fire, and two stones, they can beat it 

 out to any shape they wish. 



Before Churchill River was settled by the Hudson's Bay 

 Company, which was not more than fifty years previous to 

 this journey being undertaken, the Northern Indians had no 

 other metal but copper among them, except a small quantity 

 of iron-work, which a party of them who visited York Fort 



* This piece of Copper is now in the possession of the Hudson's Bay 

 Company. 



