North-West Continent of America. 231 



make a fire without, that we might sleep by it. When he 

 observed our design, he placed boards for us, that we 

 might not take our repose on the bare ground, and ordered 

 a fire to be prepared lor us. We had not been long seated 

 round it, when we received a large dish of salmon roes, 

 pounded fine, and beat up with water, so as to have the 

 appearance of a cream. Nor was it without some kind of 

 seasoning that gave it a bitter taste. Another dish soon 

 followed, the principal article of which was also salmon- 

 roes, with a large proportion of gooseberries, and an herb 

 that appeared to be sorrel. Its acidity rendered it more 

 agreeable to my taste than the former preparation. Hav- 

 ing been regaled with these delicacies, for such they were 

 considered by that hospitable spirit which provided them, 

 we laid ourselves down to rest, with no other canopy than 

 the sky ; but I never enjoyed a more sound and refreshing 

 rest, though I had a board for my bed, and a billet for my 

 pillow. 



Thursday 18. At five this morning I awoke, and found 

 that the natives had lighted a fire for us, and were sitting 

 by it. My hospitable friend immediately brought me 

 some berries and roasted salmon, and his companions soon 

 followed his example. The former, which consisted among 

 many others, of gooseberries, whortleberries, and rasp- 

 berries, were the finest I ever saw or tasted, of their res- 

 pective kinds. They also brought the dried roes of fish to 

 eat with the berries. 



Salmon is so abundant in this river, that these people 

 have a constant and plentiful supply of that excellent fish, 

 To take them with more facility, they had, with great la- 

 bour, formed an embankment or weir across the river for 

 the purpose of placing their fishing machines, which they 

 disposed both above and below it. I expressed my wish 

 to visit this extraordinary work, but these people are so 

 superstitious, that they would not allow me a nearer exa- 

 mination than I could obtain by viewing it from the bank. 

 The river is about fifty yards in breadth, and by observ- 

 ing a man fish with a dipping net, I judged it to be about 

 ten feet deep at the foot of the fall. The weir is a work 

 of great labour, and contrived with considerable ingenuity. 

 It was near four feet above the level of the water, at the 

 time I saw it, ancfnearly the height of the bank on which 

 I stood to examine it. The stream is stopped nearly two 

 thirds by it. It is constructed by fixing small trees in the 



