245 



Journal of a Voyage through the. 



and their families. The rest of the inhabitants were with 

 us and in the small houses which we passed higher up the 

 river.* These people do not seem to enjoy the abundance 

 of their neighbours, as the men who returned from fishing 

 had no more than five salmon ; they refused to sell one of 

 them, but gave me one roasted of a very indifferent kind. 

 In the houses there were several chests or boxes contain- 

 ing different articles that belonged to the people whom we 

 had lately passed. If I were to judge by the heaps of filth 

 beneath these buildings, they must have been erected at a 

 more distant period than any which we had passed. From 

 these houses I could perceive the termination of the ri- 

 ver, and its discharge into a narrow arm of the sea. 



As it was now half past six in the evening, and the 

 weather cloudy, I determined to remain here for the night, 

 and for that purpose we possessed ourselves of one of the 

 unoccupied houses. The remains of our last meal, which 

 we brought with us, served for our supper, as we could 

 not procure a single fish from the natives. The course of 

 the river is about West, and the distance from the great 

 village upwards of thirty-six miles. There we had lost 

 our dog, a circumstance of no small regret to me. 



Saturday 20. We rose at a very early hour this morn- 

 ing, when I proposed to the Indians to run down our 

 canoe, or procure another at this place. To both these 

 proposals they turned a deaf ear, as th'ey imagined that I 

 should be satisfied with having come in sight of the sea. 

 Two of them peremptorily refused to proceed ; but the 

 other two having consented to continue with us, we ob- 

 tained a larger canoe than our former one, and though it 

 was in a leaky state we were glad to possess it. 



At about eight we got out of the river, which discharges 

 itself by various channels into an arm of the sea. The 

 tide was out, and had left a large space covered with sea- 

 weed. The surrounding hills were involved in fog. The 

 wind was West, which was a-head of us, and very strong ; 

 the bay appearing to be from one to three miles in breadth. 

 As we advanced along the land we saw a great number of 

 sea-otters. We fired several shots at them, but without 

 any success from the rapidity with which they plunge under 

 the water. We also saw many small porpoises or divers. 

 The white-headed eagle, which is common in the interior 



* Mr. Johnstone came to these houses the first day of the preceding 

 month. .. ., 



