52 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



In making the selection of articles to carry 

 with us, I was guided by the judgment of 

 Governor Williams, who assured me that 

 tobacco, ammunition, and spirits, could be 

 procured in the interior, otherwise I should 

 have been very unwilling to have left these 

 essential articles behind. We embarked at 

 noon, and were honoured with a salute of 

 eight guns and three cheers from the go- 

 vernor and all the inmates of the fort, who 

 had assembled to witness our departure. 

 We gratefully returned their cheers, and 

 then made sail, much delighted at having 

 now commenced our voyage into the inte- 

 rior of America. The wind and tide failing 

 us at the distance of six miles above the 

 Factory, and the current being too rapid 

 for using oars to advantage, the crew had 

 to commence tracking, or dragging the boat 

 by a line, to which they were harnessed. 

 This operation is extremely laborious in 

 these rivers. Our men were obliged to 

 walk along the steep declivity of a high 

 bank, rendered at this season soft and slip- 

 pery by frequent rains, and their progress 



