62 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



him at Fort Providence regarding the pur- 

 port of the Expedition were perfectly cor- 

 rect. I next pointed out to him the neces- 

 sity of our proceeding with as little delay as 

 possible during the short period of the year 

 that was fit for our operations, and that to 

 do so it was requisite we should have a 

 large supply of provisions at starting. He 

 instantly admitted the force of these obser- 

 vations, and promised that he and his young 

 men should do their utmost to comply with 

 our desires; and afterwards, in answer to 

 my questions, informed us that he would 

 accompany the Expedition to the mouth of 

 the Copper-Mine River, or if we did not 

 meet with Esquimaux there, for some dis- 

 tance along the coast; he was anxious, he 

 said, to have an amicable interview with 

 that people ; and he further requested, that 

 in the event of our meeting with Dog-ribs 

 on the Copper-Mine River, we should use 

 our influence to persuade them to live on 

 friendly terms with his tribe. We were 

 highly pleased to find his sentiments so fa- 

 vourable to our views, and after making 



