274 TEAYEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



canoe, well maimed by Indians, going from one de- 

 tachment to another as he considered necessary, all 

 were well in hand, and under his control for concentra- 

 tion at any time, should circumstances have required 

 it. The officer commanding each brigade had been 

 furnished with a map of the route, which, although 

 far from accurate, gave a sufficiently detailed delinea- 

 tion of the country to enable them to steer their course 

 by compass across the large lakes. "We had been 

 promised an ample supply of guides, but only very 

 few were forthcoming when required. 



The officer representing the Canadian Government 

 with us, whose duty it was to have furnished them, 

 found at the last moment that the Indians he had 

 depended upon to act in this capacity held back, 

 and refused the "job" upon all sorts of excuses. The 

 priesthood of Canada being much opposed to this 

 Expedition, had preached it down everywhere ; and 

 there can be little doubt that priestly influence was 

 brought to bear upon the Christian Indians settled 

 near Fort William, to prevent them from acting 

 as our guides. These Indians are partially civilised, 

 many of them speak French, and a considerable pro- 

 portion can write their own language in a character 

 which has been invented especially for them. They 

 live in houses clustered together on both banks of 

 the Ivaministiquia, a few miles above where it falls 

 into Lake Superior. The village, for such it may 

 be called, is known as the "Mission," from the 



