North-West Continent of America. 83 



drenched with wet, and in much apparent confusion in- 

 formed me that the canoe with his companions was broken 

 to pieces ; and that they had lost their fowling pieces, and 

 the flesh of a rein-deer, which they had killed this morn- 

 ing. Thej 7 were, he said, at a very short distance from 

 us ; and at the same time requested that fire might be sent 

 to them, as they were starving with cold. They and his 

 women, however, soon joined us, and were immediately 

 accommodated with dry clothes. 



Saturday 29. I sent the Indians on an hunting party, 

 but they returned without success ; and they expressed 

 their determination not to follow me any further, from 

 their apprehension of being drowned. 



Sunday 30. We embarked at one this morning, and 

 took from the nets a large trout, and twenty white fish. 

 At sun-rise a smart aft breeze sprang up, which wafted us 

 to M. Le Roux's house by two in the afternoon. It was 

 late before he and our Indians arrived ; when, according 

 to a promise which I had made the latter, I gave them a 

 plentiful equipment of iron ware, ammunition, tobacco, 

 &c. as a recompence for the toil and inconvenience they 

 had sustained with me. 



I proposed to the English Chief to proceed to the coun- 

 try of the Beaver Indians, and bring them to dispose of 

 their peltries to M. Le Roux, whom I intended to leave 

 there the ensuing winter. He had already engaged to be 

 at Athabasca, in the month of March next, with plenty 

 of furs. 



Monday 31. I sat up all night to make the necessary ar- 

 rangements for the embarkation of this morning, and to 

 prepare instructions for M. Le Roux. We obtained some 

 provisions here, and parted from him at five, with fine, 

 calm weatfier. It soon, however, became necessary to 

 land on a small island, to stop the leakage of the canoe, 

 which had been occasioned by the shot of an arrow under 

 the water-mark, by some Indian children. While this bu- 

 siness was proceeding, we took the opportunity of dressing 

 some fish. At twelve the wind sprang up from the South- 

 East, which was in the teeth of our direction, so that our 

 progress was greatly impeded. I had an observation, 

 which gave 62. 15. North latitude. We landed at seven 

 in the evening, and pitched our tents. 



September, Tuesday 1. We continued our voyage at five 

 in the morning, the weather calm and fine, and parsed the 



