36 



Journal of a Voyage through the 



trowsers : they fasten them with a cord round the middle, 

 so that they appear to have a sense of decency which their 

 neighbours cannot boast. Their shoes are sewed to their 

 leggins, and decorated on every seam. One of the men 

 was clad in a shirt made of the skins of the musk-rat. The 

 dress of the women is the same as that of the men, except 

 in their .shirts, which are longer, and without the finish- 

 ing of a fringe on their breasts. Their peculiar mode of 

 tying the hair is as follows: — that which grows on the tem- 

 ples, or the fore part of the skull, is formed into two 

 queues, hanging down before the ears ; that of the scalp 

 or crown is fashioned in the same manner to the back of 

 the neck, and is then tied with the rest of the hair, at 

 some distance from the head. A thin cord is employed 

 for these purposes, and very neatly worked with hair, ar- 

 tificially coloured. The women, and, indeed, some of 

 the men, let their hair hang loose on their shoulders, 

 whether it be long or short. 



We purchased a couple of very large moose-skins from 

 them, which were very well dressed ; indeed we did not 

 suppose that there were any of those animals in the coun- 

 try ; and it appears from the accounts of the natives them* 

 selves, that they are very scarce. As for the beaver, the 

 existence of such a creature does not seem to be known 

 by them. Our people bought shirts of them, and many 

 curious articles, &c. They presented us with a most de- 

 licious fish, which was less than an herring, and very 

 beautifully spotted with black and yellow: its dorsal fin 

 reached from the head to the tail ; in its expanded state 

 takes a triangular form, and is variegated with the colours 

 that enliven the scales: the head is very small, and the 

 mouth is armed with sharp-pointed teeth. 



We prevailed on the native, whose language was most 

 intelligible, to accompany us. He informed us that we 

 should sleep ten nights more before we arrived at the sea ; 

 that several of his relations resided in the immediate vi- 

 cinity of this part of the river, and that in three nights 

 we should meet with the Esquimaux, with whom they 

 had formerly made war, but were now in a state of peace 

 and amity. He mentioned the last Indians whom we had 

 seen in terms of great derision ; describing them as being 

 no better than old women,, and as abominable liars; 

 which coincided with the notion we already entertained of 

 them. «... 



