114 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



himself all the winter by killing deer. In 

 consequence of this behaviour, and the ex- 

 pression of his countenance, I requested 

 him to leave us, and to go to the southward 

 by himself. This proposal increased his 

 ill-nature ; he threw out some obscure hints 

 of freeing himself from all restraint on the 

 morrow ; and I overheard him muttering 

 threats against Hepburn, whom he openly 

 accused of having told stories against him. 

 He also, for the first time, assumed such 

 a tone of superiority in addressing me, as 

 evinced that he considered us to be com- 

 pletely in his power ; and he gave vent to 

 several expressions of hatred towards the 

 white people, or, as he termed us in the 

 idiom of the voyagers, the French, some of 

 whom, he said, had killed and eaten his 

 uncle and two of his relations. In short, 

 taking every circumstance of his conduct 

 into consideration, I came to the conclusion 

 that he would attempt to destroy us on the 

 first opportunity that offered, and that he 

 had hitherto abstained from doing so from 

 his ignorance of his way to the Fort, but 



