North-West Continent of America. 



65 



to take them away. To the eye of an European they cer- 

 tainly were objects of disgust ; but there were those among 

 my party who observed, some hidden charms in these fe- 

 males which rendered them objects of desire, and means 

 were found, I believe, that very soon dissipated their alarms 

 and subdued their coyness. 



On the upper part of the beach, liquorice grew in great 

 abundance, and it was now in blossom. I pulled up some 

 of the roots, which were large and long ; but the natives 

 were ignorant of its qualities, and considered it as a weed 

 of no use or value. 



Tuesday 28. At four this morning I ordered my people 

 to prepare for our departure ; and while they were loading 

 the canoe, I went with the English Chief to visit the 

 lodges, but the greater part of their inhabitants had quitted 

 them during the night, and those that remained pretended 

 sickness, and refused to rise. When, however, they were 

 convinced that we did not mean to take any of them with 

 us, their sickness abandoned them, and when we had em- 

 barked, they came forth from their huts, to desire that 

 we would visit their nets, which were at a small distance 

 up the river, and take all the fish we might find in them. 

 We accordingly availed ourselves of this permission, and 

 took as many as were necessary for our own supply. 



We landed shortly after where there were two more 

 lodges, which were full of fish, but without any inhabit- 

 ants, who were probably with the natives whom we had 

 just left. My Indians, in rummaging these places, found 

 several articles which they proposed to take ; I therefore 

 gave beads and awls, to be left as the purchase of them ; 

 but this act of justice they were not able to comprehend, as 

 the people themselves were not present. I took up a net 

 and left a large knife in the place of it. It was about four 

 fathoms long, and thirty-two meshes in depth : these nets 

 are much more convenient to set in the eddy current than 

 our long ones. This is the place that the Indians call a 

 rapid, though we went up it all the way with the paddle ; 

 so that the current could not be so strong here, as in many 

 other parts of the river ; indeed if it were so, the difficulty 

 of towing would be almost insuperable, as in many parts 

 the rocks, which are of a great height, and rather project 

 over the water, leave no shore between them and the 

 stream. These precipices abound in swallows' nests. The 



