52 Journal of a Voyage through the 



Sunday 19. It rained, and blew hard from the North, 

 till eight in the morning, when we discovered that our 

 conductor had escaped. I was, indeed, surprised at his 

 honesty, as he left the moose-skin which I had given 

 him for a covering, and went off in his shirt, though the 

 weather was very cold. I inquired of the Indians if they 

 had given him any cause of offence, or had observed any 

 recent disposition in him to desert us, but they assured 

 me that they had not in any instance displeased him : at 

 the same time they recollected that he had expressed his 

 apprehensions of being taken away as a slave; and his 

 alarms were probably increased on the preceding day, 

 when he saw them kill the two rein-deer with so much 

 readiness. In the afternoon the weather became fine and 

 clear, when we saw large flights of geese with their young 

 ones, and the hunters killed twenty-two of them. As they 

 had at this time cast their feathers, they could not fly. 

 They were of a small kind, and much inferior in size to 

 those that frequent the vicinity of Athabasca. At eight, 

 we took our station near an Indian encampment, and, as 

 we had observed in similar situations, pieces of bone, rein- 

 deer's horn, &c. were scattered about it. It also appear- 

 ed, that the natives had been employed here in working 

 wood into arms, utensils, &c. 



Monday 20. We embarked at three this morning, 

 when the weather was cloudy, with small rain and aft 

 wind. About twelve the rain became so violent as to com- 

 pel us to encamp at two in the afternoon. We saw great 

 numbers of fowl, and killed among us fifteen geese and 

 four swans. Had the weather been more favourable, we 

 should have added considerably to our booty. We now 

 passed the river, where we expected to meet some of the 

 natives, but discovered no signs of them. The ground 

 close to the river does not rise to any considerable height, 

 and the hills, which are at a small distance, are covered 

 with the spruce-fir and small birch trees, to their very 

 summits. 



Tuesday 21. We embarked at half past one this morn- 

 ing, when the weather was cold and unpleasant, and the 

 wind South- West. At ten, we left the channels formed 

 by the islands for the uninterrupted channel of the river, 

 where we found the current so strong, that it was abso- 

 lutely necessary to tow the canoe with a line. The land 

 on both sides was elevated, and almost perpendicular, and 



