148 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



and all the Indians, set off on that excur- 

 sion. We travelled for nine hours over a 

 considerable space of ground, but found 

 only a few small pieces of native copper. 

 The range we ascended was on the west 

 side of the river, extending W.N.W. and 

 E.S.E. The mountains varied in height 

 from twelve to fifteen hundred feet. The 

 uniformity of the mountains is interrupted 

 by narrow valleys, traversed by small 

 streams. The best specimens of metal we 

 procured were among the stones in these 

 valleys, and it was in such situations that 

 our guides desired us to search most care- 

 fully. It would appear, that when the In- 

 dians see any sparry substance projecting 

 above the surface, they dig there ; but they 

 have no other rule to direct them, and have 

 never found the metal in its original reposi- 

 tory. Our guides reported that they had 

 found copper in large pieces in every part 

 of this range, for two days' walk to the 

 north-west, and that the Esquimaux come 

 hither to search for it. The annual visits 

 which the Copper Indians were accustomed 



