North-West Continent of America, ■ 1 7 



in, and continued their route, but did not encamp till sun- 

 set. The English chief was very much irritated against 

 the Red-Knife Indian, and even threatened to murder 

 him, for having undertaken to guide us in a course of which 

 he was ignorant ; nor had we any reason to be satisfied 

 with him, though he -still continued to encourage us, by 

 declaring that he recollected having passed from the river, 

 through the woods, to the place where he had landed. In 

 the blowing weather to-day, we were obliged to make use 

 of our large kettle, to keep our canoe from filling, although 

 we did not carry above three feet sail. The Indians very 

 narrowlv escaped. 



Monday 29. We embarked at four this morning, and 

 steered along the South- West side of the bay. At half 

 past five we reached the extremity of the point, which 'we 

 doubled, and found it to be the branch or passage that was 

 the object of our search, and occasioned by a very long 

 island, which separates it from the main channel of the 

 river. It is about half a mile across, ana! not more than six 

 feet in depth ; the water appeared to abound in fish, and 

 was covered with fowl, such as swans, geese, and several 

 kinds of ducks, particularly black ducks, that were very 

 numerous, but we could not get within gun-shot of them. 



The current, though not very strong, set us South- West 

 by West, and we followed this course fourteen miles, till 

 we passed the point of the long island, where the Slave 

 Lake discharges itself, and is ten miles in breadth. There 

 is not more than from five to two fathom water, so that 

 when the lake is low, it may be presumed the greatest part 

 of this channel must be dry. The river now turns to the 

 Westward, becoming gradually narrower for twenty-four 

 miles, till it is not more than half a mile wide ; the cur- 

 rent, however, is then much stronger, and the soundings 

 were three fathoms and a half. The land on the North 

 shore from the lake is low, and covered with trees ; that 

 to the South is much higher, and has also an abundance of 

 wood. The current is very strong, and the banks are of 

 an equal height on both sides, consisting of a yellow clay, 

 mixed with small stones ; they are covered with large 

 quantities of burned wood, lying on the ground, and young 

 poplar trees, that have sprung up since the fire that destroy- 

 ed the larger wood. It is a very curious and extraordinary 

 circumstance, that land covered wfth spruce-pine, and 

 white birch, when laid waste by fire, should subsequently 



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