ARRIVE AT YORK FACTORY. 191 



the bear/' (I supposed he meant the spirit of 

 the bear, whose claws he had given me,) " the 

 bears will be sure to eat you." 



On the 18th, some Indians whom we met, 

 told us that they had heard the great guns 

 of the ship, on her arrival from England, 

 though they had not seen her at anchor. The 

 next day convinced us of the fact; and we 

 reached York Factory early the following 

 morning, after having walked on our return 

 from Churchill, the supposed distance of one 

 hundred and eighty miles, through a trackless 

 path in swamps and long grass, in less than 

 seven days. 



Here I had the happiness of meeting the Rev. 

 Mr. Jones, arrived by the ship, on his way to 

 the Red River Settlement, my fellow-labourer in 

 that situation ; to whom I committed the two 

 Chepewyan Indian boys. After a few days, he 

 proceeded with his little charge to his destina- 

 tion. And may God, whom we serve in the 

 gospel of his Son, abundantly bless his exer- 

 tions, on entering upon a fiedd of anxious and 

 laborious toil, which I have just left, to visit 

 the land of my nativity and affection, after an 

 absence of more than three y ears. 



York Factory, as the principal depot, is 

 rapidly improving in appearance, and in the 



