188 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



the former place he had been unacquainted 

 with our slow mode of travelling, and that 

 the alteration in his opinion arose from the 

 advance of winter. 



We now informed him that we were pro- 

 vided with instruments by which we could 

 ascertain the state of the air and water, and 

 that we did not imagine the winter to be so 

 near as he supposed ; however, we promised 

 to return on discovering the first change in 

 the season. He was also told that all the 

 baggage being left behind, our canoes would 

 now, of course, travel infinitely more expe- 

 ditiously than any thing he had hitherto 

 witnessed. Akaitcho appeared to feel hurt 

 that we should continue to press the matter 

 further, and answered with some warmth: 

 " Well, I have said every thing I can urge 

 to dissuade you from going on this service, 

 on which it seems you wish to sacrifice your 

 own lives as well as the Indians who might 

 attend you ; however, if after all I have 

 said, you are determined to go, some of my 

 young men shall join the party, because it 

 shall not be said that we permitted you to 



