t 



78 



Harmon's journal. 



waking our furs into packs, of ninety pounds 

 weight each* Two or three of these make a load 

 for a man, to carry across the portages. This 

 morning, all the hands, destined to this service, 

 embarked on board of five canoes, for Head-quar- 

 ters. To Mr. M c Leod, I delivered a packet of 

 letters, to be forwarded to my friends, who reside 

 at Vergennes, in the state of Vermont, and tomor- 

 row, I shall set out for Alexandria, where I ex- 

 pect to pass the ensuing summer, and to superin- 

 tend the affairs of that place and of this, until the 

 next autumn. 



Monday, June h Accompanied by two men, 

 I arrived at Alexandria, this afternoon ; and I here 

 found six families of Crees, encamped about the 

 fort. I have with me one clerk, two interpreters 

 and five labouring men, also six women and thir- 

 teen children, belonging to our people, and a num- 

 ber of women and children belonging to the Na- 

 tives, whose husbands have gone to make war up- 

 on the Rapid Indians, or as they call themselves, 

 Paw-is-tick I-e-ne-wuck. This is a small but brave 

 tribe, who remain a considerable distance out in 

 the large prairies, and toward the upper part of 

 the Missouri river. We shall have nearly one hun- 

 dred mouths to fill, for the greater part of the 

 summer, out of our store ; but to furnish the 

 means, we have hired two of the Natives to hunt 



-It -J 



