114 Thirty Years 
were advised by Mr. Wentzel to recommence the 
. dancing after this event, lest the Indians should ima~ 
gine, by our putting a stop to it, that we considered 
the circumstance as an unfavorable commencement of 
our undertaking. We were, however, deeply impress- 
ed with a grateful sense of the Divine Providence, in 
averting the threatened destruction of our stores, 
which would have been fatal to every prospect of ee 
ceeding forward this season. 
August 1—This morning the Indians set out, in- 
tending to wait for us at the mouth of the Yellow- 
Knife River. We remained behind to pack our stores, 
in bales of eighty pounds each, an operation which 
could not be done in the presence of these Indians, as 
they are in the habit of begging for every thing they 
see. Our stores consisted of two barrels of gunpow- 
der, gne hundred and forty pounds of ball and small 
shot, four fowling pieces, a few old trading guns, eight 
pistols, twenty-four Indian daggers, some packages of 
knives, chisels, axes, nails, and fastenings for a boat ; 
a few yards of cloth, some blankets, needles, looking- 
glasses, and beads ; together with nine fishing nets, 
having meshes of different sizes. Our provision was 
two casks of flour, two hundred dried reindeer tongues, 
some dried moose meat, portable soup, and arrow-root, 
sufficient in the whole for ten days’. consumption, be- 
sides two cases of chocolate. and two canisters of tea. 
