G 



JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



miserably clothed. Mr. Frazer, who ac- 

 companied us from the Methye Lake, 

 accounted for their being in this forlorn 

 condition by explaining, that this band of 

 Indians had recently destroyed everything 

 they possessed, as a token of their great 

 grief for the loss of their relatives in the 

 prevailing sickness. It appears that no 

 article is spared by these unhappy men 

 when a near relative dies; their clothes 

 and tents are cut to pieces, their guns 

 broken, and every other weapon rendered 

 useless, if some person do not remove 

 these articles from their sight, which is 

 seldom done. Mr. Back sketched one of 

 the children, which delighted the father very 

 much, who charged the boy to be very 

 good, since his picture had been drawn by 

 a great chief. We learned that they prize 

 pictures very highly, and esteem any they 

 can get, however badly executed, as efficient 

 charms. They were unable to give us any 

 information respecting the country beyond 

 the Athabasca Lake, which is the boundary 

 of their peregrinations to the northward. 



