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Journal of a Voyage through the 



sion that they wished to put an end to the voyage. If 

 that were so, I expressed my wish that they would be ex- 

 plicit, and tell me at once of their determination to follow 

 me no longer. I concluded, however, by assuring him, 

 that whatever plan they had meditated to pursue, it was 

 my fixed and unalterable determination to proceed, in 

 spite of every difficulty that might oppose, or danger 

 that should threaten me. The man was very much mor- 

 tified at my addressing this remonstrance particularly to 

 him ; and replied, that he did not deserve my displeasure 

 more than the rest of them. My object being answered, 

 the conversation dropped, and the work went on. 



About two in the afternoon one of the men perceived 

 a canoe with two of the natives in it, coming along the 

 inside of the island, buk the water being shallow, it turned 

 back, and we imagined that on perceiving us they had 

 taken the alarm ; but we were agreeably surprised on see- 

 ing them come up on the outside of the island, when we 

 recognised our guide, and one of the natives whom we 

 had already seen. The former begun immediately to 

 apologize for his conduct, and assured me that since 

 he had left me, his whole time had been employed in 

 searching after his family, who had been seized with the 

 general panic, that had been occasioned by the false re- 

 ports of the people who had first fled from us. He said 

 it was generally apprehended by the natives that we had 

 been unfriendly to their relations above, who were ex- 

 pected upon the river in great numbers at this time ; and 

 that many of the Atnah or Chin nation, had come up the 

 river to where we had been, in the hope of seeing us, and 

 were very much displeased with him and his friends for 

 having neglected to give them an early notice of our ar-r 

 rival there. He added, that the two men whom we had 

 seen yesterday or the day before, were just returned from 

 their rendezvous, with the natives of the sea-coast, and 

 had brought a message from his brother-in-law, that he 

 had a new axe for him, and not to forget to bring a moose 

 skin dressed in exchange, which he actually had in his 

 canoe. He expected to meet him, he said, at the other 

 end of the carrying-place. 



This was as pleasing intelligence as we had reason to 

 expect, and it is almost superfluous to observe that we 

 stood in great need of it. I had a meridian altitude, 

 which gave 53. 3. 7. North latitude. I also took time in 



