184 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



In a subsequent conversation he stated to 

 me that the two Indians, who were actually 



day after I had joined the Leader, &c. &c, and 

 journeying on together, all the Indians, excepting 

 Petit Pied and Bald-Head, left me to seek their 

 families, and crossed Point Lake at the Crow's 

 Nest, where Humpy had promised to meet his 

 brother Ekehcho* with the families, but did not 

 fulfil, nor did any of my party of Indians know 

 where to find them ; for we had frequently made 

 fires to apprize them of our approach, yet none 

 appeared in return as answers. This disap- 

 pointment, as might be expected, served to in- 

 crease the ill-humour of the Leader and party, 

 the brooding of which (agreeably to Indian cus- 

 tom) was liberally discharged on me, in bitter 

 reproach for having led them from their families, 

 and exposed them to dangers and hardships, 

 which but for my influence, they said, they might 

 have spared themselves. Nevertheless, they still 

 continued to profess the sincerest desire of meet- 

 ing your wishes in making caches of provisions, 

 and remaining until a late season on the road 

 that leads from Fort Enterprise to Fort Provi- 

 dence, through which the Expedition-men had 



* Akaitcho the Leader. 



