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356 Thirty Years 
gin until we had tasted food. The Chief, Akaitcho, 
shewed us the most friendly hospitality, and all sorts 
of personal attention, even to. cooking for us with his 
own hands, an office’which he never performs for him- 
self, Annoethaiyazzeh and Humpy, the Chief's two 
brothers, and several of our hunters, with their fami- 
lies, were encamped here, together with a number of 
old men and.women. In the course of the day we 
were visited by every person of the band, not merely 
-from curiosity, I conceive, but rather from a desire to 
evince their tender sympathy in our late distress. We 
learned that Mr. Back, with St. Germain and Belan- 
-ger, had gone to Fort Providence ; and that, previous 
to his departure, he had left a letter in a cache of 
pounded meat, which he had missed two days ago. 
As we supposed that this letter might acquaint us 
with his intentions more fully than we could gather 
from the Indians, through our imperfect knowledge 
of their language, Augustus, the Esquimaux, whom 
we found here in perfect health, and an Indian lad, 
were dispatched to bring it. 
We found several of the Indian families in great 
affliction, for ‘the loss of three of their relatives, who 
had been drowned in the August preceding, by the 
upsetting of a canoe near to Fort Enterprize. They 
bewailed the melancholy accident every morning and 
evening, by repeating the names of the persons in a 
