264 A JOURNEY TO THE 



1772. and having, after she was taken prisoner, been carried in a 

 January. ^^^^^^ ^|^g whole Way, the turnings and windings of the rivers 

 and lakes were so numerous, that she forgot the track ; so she 

 built the hut in which we found her, to protect her from the 

 weather during the Winter, and here she had resided from the 

 first setting in of the fall. 



From her account of the moons passed since her elope- 

 ment, it appeared that she had been near seven months 

 without seeing a human face ; during all which time she had 

 supported herself very Vv'ell by snaring partridges, rabbits, and 

 squirrels ; she had also killed two or three beaver, and some 

 porcupines. That she did not seem to have been in want is 

 evident, as she had a small stock of [263] provisions by her 

 when she was discovered ; and was in good health and con- 

 dition, and I think one of the finest women, of a real Indian, 

 that I have seen in any part of North America. 



The methods practised by this poor creature to procure 

 a livelihood were truly admirable, and are great proofs that 

 necessity is the real mother of invention. When the few deer- 

 sinews that she had an opportunity of taking with her were 

 all expended in making snares, and sewing her clothing, she 

 had nothing to supply their place but the sinews of the rabbits 

 legs and feet ; these she twisted together for that purpose 

 with great dexterity and success. The rabbits, &c. which she 

 caught in those snares, not only furnished her with a com- 

 fortable subsistence, but of the skins she made a suit of neat 

 and warm clothing for the Winter. It is scarcely possible to 

 conceive that a person in her forlorn situation could be so 

 composed as to be capable of contriving or executing any 

 thing that was not absolutely necessary to her existence ; but 

 there were sufficient proofs that she had extended her care 

 much farther, as all her clothing, beside being calculated for 

 real service, shewed great taste, and exhibited no little variety 

 of ornament. The materials, though rude, were very curiously 

 wrought, and so judiciously placed, as to make the whole 



