236 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



the improbability of the former accident, or 

 the peaceable character of the Dog-ribs, so 

 little in conformity with the latter. " The 

 ice at this season was deceitful," they said, 

 " and the Dog-ribs, though unwarlike, were 

 treacherous." These assertions, so often 

 repeated, had some effect upon the spirits 

 of our Canadian voyagers, who seldom 

 weigh any opinion they adopt ; but we per- 

 sisted in treating their fears as chimerical, 

 for had we seemed to listen to them for a 

 moment, it is more than probable that the 

 whole of our Indians would have gone to 

 Fort Providence in search of supplies, and 

 we should have found it extremely difficult 

 to have recovered them. 



The matter was put to rest by the ap- 

 pearance of Belanger on the morning of the 

 23d, and the Indians, now running into the 

 opposite extreme, were disposed to give us 

 more credit for our judgment than we 

 deserved. They had had a tedious and 

 fatiguing journey to Fort Providence, and 

 for some days were destitute of provisions. 



Belanger arrived alone ; he had walked 



