\ 
2.90 Discoveries Settlements Book!. 
riot far from their Enemies ; upon which they quitted 
^ theii Canoes, and went five Days through the Woods 
andBufhes, which were but very low andflirubby, and 
“ fo clofe they could with Difficulty make Way through 
it ; and then came to the Banks of a River; wherethey 
“ found a large Town of their Enemies : And, after 
“ making their ufiial Cry, they difcharged their Arrows 
and Guns againfl: thole who appeared ; upon which 
they fled ; but upon finding how few they were, they 
returned and killed fifteen of them, and wounded three 
2 or four more; upon which they fled to the Woods, and 
from thence made their Efcape to their Canoes before their 
Enemies overtook them ; and, after a great deal of 
sc got to the Streights, and after getting over they 
^ all died one after another, of Fatigue and Famine, except 
^ this old Man ; leaving him alone to travel to his own 
Country, which took him up about a Year’s Time, hav- 
ing left his Gun when his Ammunition was fpent, and 
loft all his Arrows, and upon his Return had not even 
a Knife with him; fo that he was reduced to live 
upon Herbs and Mofs growing upon the Rocks, and 
“ was almofl; famifhed when he reached the River 
Sakie, where he met his Friends, who relieved him 
when he delpaired of ever again feeing his own 
Country.” 
This, fays Mr. is the Account fo far as Jofepb 
la France could inform me of thofe Countries Southward 
of York Fort^ which may be brought to trade there in 
time. It mult be allowed, that this Relation is equally 
inftruflive and entertaining ; it makes us at once acquaint- 
ed with the Country, and with the Reafons which Ihould 
induce us think it worth our while to enquire about it ; it 
Ihewsus, that thefe Countries are far from being unhofpita- 
ble, or uninhabitable ; that, on the contrary, there are 
niany Marions already known, and many more of whom 
the Europeans have had Notice ; all of whom are Effici- 
ently in Want, and have it at the fame time abundantly 
in their Power to pay us for Supplies. This, I fay, is 
evidently made appear, fince it is affirmed, and the Fad is fo 
tiue as not to be difputed, that t\\t French carry on a great 
Trade with thefe Indians^ and that they are very well able 
to bear the Rigour of the Seafons in thofe Parts ; and if 
they can bear it, furely fo may we. 
It may indeed be objedled, that the French are very 
apt to boafl: of much more than they perform, and there- 
fore we ought not to give an implicit Credit to their 
Relations, efpeciallyin their own Favour. 
But this is eafily anfwered, fince Mr. Bohhs has alfo 
furnifhed us with Englijh Memoirs that prove the very 
fame Thing ; and therefore I lhall quote from him what 
is fufficient for that Purpole, and which is no lefs enter- 
taining than the Account given us by Jofeph la France^ 
and of no lefs Authority than his, fince it is given us 
by an Englijhman of Credit, who reports nothing but 
from his own Experience and Obfervation : 
“ Mr. Frojl^ who has been many Years employed 
“ by the Company in the Bay', both at Churchill and 
“ Moofe River Fadory, and who was their Interpreter 
with the Natives, and travelled a confiderable way 
“ into the Country, both North-well; of Churchill and 
“ Southward of Moofe River Fadory, and has refided at 
“ Moofe River^ fince the Fadory was made there in 
“ 1730, gives a very good Account of that Climate and 
Country there, and up the River Southward of it : He 
“ fays the Fadory is built near the Mouth of the River, 
in Latitude 51 Degrees 28 Minutes, upon a navigable 
“ River, which, at twelve Miles dillant from the Fort, 
is divided into two Branches ; one comes from the 
Southward, the other from the South-weft. Upon the 
Southern Branch, all fort of Grain thrives, as Barley, 
Beans, and Peafe do at the Fadory, though expofed 
to all the chilling Winds which come from the Ice in 
the Bay. Upon the Southern Part, above the Falls, 
there grows naturally along the River, the fame Kind 
of wild Oats and Rye mentioned already upon the 
Lake of Sieno, the Hullc being black, but the Grain 
within perfedly white and clear, like Rice; Indians 
« beating it off when ripe into their Canoes, as they pafs 
along the River, it growing in the Water, like Rice. 
cc Woods, at the Bottom of the Bay, at Moofe 
and Albany^ as well as at Ruperfs River, are very 
‘‘ large Timber -Trees of all Kinds ; Oak, Afli, Cfr. as 
well as Pine, Cedar, and Spruce : They have exceeding 
2 good Grafs to make Hay, which improves every Day, 
as^ they cut and feed it, and may have every where 
within Land all Ibrts of PuHe and Grain, and all forts 
“ of Fruit Trees, as in the fame Climate in Europe ; for 
all the Sorts they have tried thrive very well. 
“ The Ice breaks up at Fadory in the Beginning 
of April, but higher up in the Country in March. It 
is navigable for Canoes a great way up among the Falls ; 
“ at a confiderable Diftance there is one Fall of fifty Feet, 
“ but above that it is deep, and navigable for a great 
way ; ^ the Climate above the Fall is very good, and 
“ the River abounds with that wild Rice. The French 
have got a Houfe, or Settlement for Trade, near the 
Southern Branch, about one hundred Miles above the 
Fadory, where they fell their Goods cheaper than th® 
^ Company do, although it be fo difficult to carry them 
“ fo far from Canada, and very expenfive; and give 
as much for a Martin’s Skin as they do for a Beaver, 
when we infift upon three for one ; fo that the 
get all the choice Skins, and leave only the Refufe for 
the Company. The French have alfo got another 
Houfe pretty high up upon Rupert’s River, by which 
“ they have gained all the Trade upon the Eaft Main, 
“ except a little the Company .get at Slude River.” 
He fays, “ That upon the South-fide of the great Inland 
Sea, upon the Eaft Main, which has lately been dif- 
“ covered, ^ there is an exceeding rich Lead Mine, 
“ from which the Natives have brought very good Ore, 
“ which might turn to very great Advantage, as well as 
“ the Furs upon that Coaft, which might be vaftly in- 
“ creafed if the Trade was laid open, and Settlements 
“ made in proper Places. He fays, when he was at 
“ Churchill, he travelled a confiderable way in the 
“ Country North-weftward of the River of Seals, that near 
“ the River andSea-coaft there were fmall flirubby Woods ; 
“ but for many Miles, at leaft fixty farther into the 
“ Country, they had nothing but a barren, white Mofs, 
“ upon which the Rein-Deer feed, and alfo the Moofe, 
“ Buffaloes, and other Deer: And the Natives told him, 
“ farther Weftward, beyond that barren Country, there 
“ were large Woods. He was acquainted when there, 
“ about fifteen Years ago, with an Indian Chief, who 
“ traded at Churchill, who had been often at a fine 
“ Copper Mine, which they ftruck off from the Rocks 
“ with fharp Stones. He faid it was upon Hands at the 
“ Mouth ot a River, and lay to the Northward of that 
“ Country where they had no Night in Summer. 
“As to the Trade at Churchill, it is increafing ; it 
“ being at too great Diftance from the French for them 
“ to interfere in the Trade : In the Year 1 742, it amounted 
“ to twenty thoufand Beavers. There were about one 
“ hundred Up-land Indians came in their Canoes to trade, 
“ and about two hundred Northern who brought 
“ their Furs and Skins upon Sledges ; fome of them 
“ came down the River of Seals, fifteen Leagues North- 
“ ward of Churchill, in Canoes, and brought their Furs 
“ from thence by Land. They have no Beavers to the 
“ Northward of Churchill, they not having there fuch 
“ Ponds or Woods as they chufe to feed upon ; but they 
“ have great Numbers of Martins, Foxes, Bears, Rein- 
“ Deer, Buffaloes, Wolves, and other Beafts of rich Furs, 
“ the Country being moftly rocky, and covered with 
“ white Mofs, upon which the Rein-Deer, or Cariboux, 
“ feed. 
“ There is a great deal of fmall Wood, of the Spruce 
“ or Firr Kind, near the old Fadory ; but the Wood 
“ improves, as it is farther up the River from the Bay ; 
“ where . they have Juniper, Birch, and Poplar. And 
“ more Southerly the Timber is larger, and there are 
“ great Variety of Trees ; they are under great Incon- 
“ veniences at the new Fort, which is upon an elevated 
“ Situation, upon a Rock without Shelter, clofe by the 
“ Shore, furrounded with Snow and Ice for eight Months 
“ in the Year, expofed to all the Winds and Storms that 
“ happen ; where they can have no Conveniency of 
I “ Grafs 
