North-West Continent of America. 



211 



The Indian account, that it is navigable for their canoes, 

 is, I believe, perfectly correct. 



Our guides now told us, that as the road was very good 

 and well traced, they would proceed to inform the next 

 tribe that we were coming. This information was of a 

 very unpleasant nature ; as it would have been easy for 

 them to turn off the road at an hundred yards from us, 

 and when we had passed them, to return home. I pro- 

 posed that one of them should remain with us, while two 

 of my people should leave their loads behind and accom- 

 pany the other to the lodges. But they would not stay to 

 hear our persuasions, and were soon out of sight. 



I now desired the Cancre to leave his burden, take a 

 small quantity of provision, with his arms and blanket, 

 and follow me, I also told my men to come on as fast as 

 they could, and that I would wait for them as soon as I 

 had Formed an acquaintance with the natives of the coun- 

 try before us. We accordingly followed our guide 

 with all the expedition in our power, but did not over- 

 take them till we came to a family of natives, consisting 

 of one man, two women, and six children, with whom 

 we found them. These people betrayed no signs of fear 

 at our appearance, and the man willingly conversed with 

 my interpreter, to whom he made himself more intelligi- 

 ble, than our guides had been able to do. They, how- 

 ever, had informed him of the object of our journey. 

 He pointed out to us one of his wives, who was a native 

 of the sea coast, which was not a very great distance 

 from us. This woman was more inclined to corpulency 

 than any we had yet seen, was of low stature, with an 

 oblong face, grey eyes, and a flattish nose. She was de- 

 corated with ornaments of various kinds, such as large 

 blue beads, either pendant from her ears, encircling her 

 neck, or braided in her hair : she also wore bracelets of 

 brass, copper and horn. Her garments consisted of a 

 kind of tunic, which was covered with a robe of matted 

 hark, fringed round the bottom with skin of the sea otter. 

 None of the women whom I had seen since we crossed 

 the mountain wore this kind of tunic ; their blankets being 

 merely girt round the waist. She had learned the lan- 

 guage of her husband's tribe, and confirmed this account, 

 that we were at no great distance from the sea. They 

 were on their way, she said, to the great river to fish. 

 Age seemed to be an object of great veneration among 



