North-West Continent of America. 



79 



Chief arrived with the tongue of a cow, or female bujffaloe, 

 when four men and the Indians were dispatched for the 

 flesh ; but they did not return till it was dark. They in- 

 formed me, that they had seen several human tracks in 

 the sand on the opposite island. The fine weather con- 

 tinued without interruption. 



Wednesday 19. The Indians were again sent forward 

 in pursuit of game : and some time being employed in 

 gumming the canoe, we did not embark till half past five, 

 and at nine we landed to wait the return of the hunters. I 

 here found the variation of the compass to be about twenty 

 degrees East. 



The people made themselves paddles and repaired the 

 canoe. It is an extraordinary circumstance for which I 

 do not pretend to account, that there is some peculiar 

 quality i\\ the water of this river, which corrodes wood, 

 from the destructive effect it had on the paddles. The 

 hunters arrived at a late hour without having seen any 

 large animals. Their booty consisted only of three swans 

 and as many geese. The women were employed in gather- 

 ing cranberries and crowberries, which were found in 

 great abundance. 



Thursday 20. We embarked at four o'clock, and took 

 the North side of the channel, though the current was on 

 that side much stronger, in order to take a view of the 

 river, which had been mentioned to me in our passage 

 downwards, as flowing from the country of the Beaver 

 Indians, and which fell in hereabouts. We could not, 

 however, discover it, and it is probable that the account 

 was referable to the river which we had passed on Tues- 

 day. The current was very strong, and we crossed over 

 to an island opposite to us ; here it was still more im- 

 petuous, and assumed the hurry of a rapid. We found 

 an awl and a paddle on the side of the water ; the former 

 we knew to belong to the Knistineaux : I supposed it to 

 be the chief Merde-d'ours and his party, who went to war 

 last spring, and had taken this route on their return to 

 Athabasca* Nor is it improbable that they may have 

 been the cause that we saw so few of the natives on the 

 banks of this river. The weather was raw and cloudy, 

 and formed a very unpleasant contrast to the warm, sunny 

 days which immediately preceded it. We took up our 

 abode for the night at half past seven, on the Northern 

 shore, where the adjacent country is both low and flat. 



