216 *j our mil of a Voyage through the 



return. Near them were several graves or tombs, t(* 

 which the natives are particularly attentive, and never 

 suffer any herbage to grow upon them. In about half an 

 hour we reached a place where there were two temporary 

 huts, that contained thirteen men, with whom we found 

 our guide who had preceded us, in order to secure a good 

 reception. The buildings were detached from each other, 

 and conveniently placed for fishing in the lake. Their in- 

 habitants called themselves Sloua-cuss-Dinais, which de- 

 nomination, as far as my interpreter could explain it to 

 me, I understood to mean Red-fish Men. They were 

 much more cleanly, healthy, and agreeable in their ap- 

 pearance, than any of the natives whom we had passed ; 

 nevertheless, I have no doubt that they are the same peo- 

 ple, from their name alone, which is of the Chepewyan 

 language. My interpreters, however, understood very 

 little of what they said, so that I did not expect much in- 

 formation from them. Some of them said it was a jour- 

 ney of four days to the sea, and others were of opinion that 

 it was six ; and there were among them that extended it 

 to eight ; but they all uniformly declared that they had 

 been to the coast. They did not entertain the smallest 

 apprehension of danger from us, and, when we discharged 

 our pieces, expressed no sensation but that of astonish- 

 rnent, which, as may be supposed, was proportionably in- 

 creased when one of the hunters shot an eagle, at a consi- 

 derable distance. At twelve I obtained an altitude, which 

 made our latitude ,53. 4. 32. North, being not so far South 

 as I expected. 



I now went, accompanied by one of my men, an inter- 

 preter, and the guide, to visit some huts at the distance of 

 a mile. On our arrival the inhabitants presented us with 

 a dish of boiled trout, of a small kind. The fish would 

 have been excellent if it had not tasted of the kettle, which 

 was made of the bark of the white spruce, and of the 

 dried grass with which it was boiled. Besides this kind 

 of trout, red and white carp and jub, are the only fish I 

 saw as the produce of these waters. 



These people appeared to live in a state of comparative 

 comfort : they take a greater share in the labour of the 

 women, than is common among the savage tribes, and are, 

 as I was informed, content with one wife. Though this 

 circumstance may proceed rather from the difficulty of 



