North-West Continent of America. 225 



the leader of the party, who vociferated the words, Huy, 

 Huy, when his people joined him and continued a clamor- 

 ous conversation. We passed along a winding road over 

 hills, and through swampy vallies, from South to West. 

 We then crossed a deep, narrow river, which discharges 

 itself into a lake, on whose side we stopped at five in the 

 afternoon, for the night, though we had reposed several 

 times since twelve at noon ; so that our mode of travelling 

 had undergone a very agreeable change. I compute the 

 distance of this day's journey at about twenty miles. In 

 the middle of the day the weather was clear and sultry. 



We all sat down on a very pleasant green spot, and were 

 no sooner seated, than our guide and one of the party pre- 

 pared to engage in play. They had each a bundle of about 

 fifty small sticks, neatly polished, of the size of a quill, and 

 five inches long : a certain number of theseasticks had red 

 lines round them ; and as many of these as one of the 

 players might find convenient were curiously rolled up in 

 dry grass, and according to the judgment of his antagonist 

 respecting their number, and marks, he lost or won. Our 

 friend was apparently the loser, as he parted with his bow 

 and arrows, and several articles which I had given him. 



Tuesday 16. The weather of this morning was the 

 same as yesterday ; but our fellow-travellers were in no 

 hurry to proceed, and I was under the necessity of pressing 

 them into greater expedition, by representing the almost 

 exhausted state of our provisions. They, however, as- 

 sured us, that after the next night's sleep we should arrive 

 at the river where they were going, and that we should 

 there get fish in great abundance. My young men, from 

 an act of imprudence, deprived themselves last night of 

 that rest which was so necessary to them. One of the 

 strangers asking them several questions respecting us, and 

 concerning their own country, one of them gave such 

 answers as were not credited by the audience ; whereupon 

 he demanded, in a very angry tone, if they thought he was 

 disposed to tell lies, like the Rocky-Mountain Indians ; 

 and one of that tribe happening to be of the party, a quarrel 

 ensued, which might have been attended with the most 

 serious consequences, if it had not been fortunately pre- 

 vented by the interference of those who were not interested 

 in the dispute. 



Though our stock of provisions was getting so low, I 

 determined, nevertheless, to hide about twenty pounds of 



2 E 



