North-West Continent of America, 61 



venge was meditating, unless the offending party paid a 

 sufficient price for the body of the murdered person, 



My Indians were very anxious to possess themselves of 

 a woman that was with the natives, but as they were not 

 willing to part with her, I Interfered, to prevent her being 

 taken by force: indeed I was obliged to exercise the ut- 

 most vigilance, as the Indians who accompanied me were 

 .ever ready to take what they could from the natives, with- 

 out making them any return. About twelve we passed a 

 river of some appearance, flowing from the Eastward. 

 One of the natives who followed us, called it the Winter 

 Road River. We did not find the stream strong to-day 

 along the shore, as there were many eddy currents : we 

 therefore employed the sail during some hours of it, and 

 went on shore for the night at half past seven. 



Monday 27. The weather was now fine, and we re- 

 newed our voyage at half past two. At seven we landed 

 where there were three families, situated close to the rap- 

 ids. We found but few people ; for as the Indian who 

 followed us yesterday had arrived here before us, we sup- 

 posed that the greater part had fled, on the intelligence 

 which he gave of our approach. Some of these people we 

 had seen before, when they told us that they had left their 

 property at a lake in the neighbourhood, and had promised 

 to fetch it before our return ; but we now found them as 

 unprovided as when we left them. They had plenty of 

 fish, some of which was packed up in birch bark. 



During the time we remained with them, which was 

 not more than two hours, I endeavoured to obtain some 

 additional intelligence respecting the river which had been 

 mentioned on the preceding day ; when they declared their 

 •total ignorance of it, but from the reports of others, as 

 they had never been beyond the mountains, on the oppo- 

 site side of their own river; they had, however, been in- 

 formed that it was larger than that which washed the banks 

 whereon they lived, and that its course was towards the 

 ■mid-day sun. They added, that there were people at a 

 small distance up the river, who inhabited the opposite 

 mountains, and had lately descended from them to obtain 

 supplies of fish. These people, they suggested, must be 

 well acquainted with the other river, which was the object 

 of my inquiry. I engaged one of them, by a bribe of 

 some beads, to describe the circumjacent country upon 

 the sand. This singular map he immediately undertook 



