under the charge of Mr. Weeks, who welcomed us in the most kind
manner, immediately gave us changes of dress, and did every thing
in his power to make us comfortable.
Our sensations on being once more in a comfortable dwelling, after
the series of hardships and miseries we had experienced, may be
imagined. Our first act was again to return our grateful praises to
the Almighty for the manifold instances of his mercy towards us.
Having found here some articles which Mr. Back had sent across
from Moose-deer Island, I determined on awaiting the arrival of
Akaitcho and his party, in order to present these to them, and to
assure them of the promised reward, as soon as it could possibly be
procured.
In the afternoon of the 14th, Akaitcho, with his whole band came
to the Fort. He smoked his customary pipe, and made an address
to Mr. Weeks in the hall, previous to his coming into the room in
which Dr. Richardson and I were. We discovered at the commencement
of his speech to us, that he had been informed that our
expected supplies had not come. He spoke of this circumstance as
a disappointment, indeed, sufficiently severe to himself, to whom his
band looked- up for the protection of their interests, but without
attaching any blame to us. “The world goes badly, he said, “all
are poor; you are poor, the traders appear to be poor, I and my
party are poor likewise; and since the goods have -not come in, we
cannot have them. I do not regret having supplied you with provisions,
for a Copper Indian can never permit white men to suffer
from want of food on his lands, without flying to their aid. I trust,
however, that we shall, as you say, receive what is due next autumn,
and at all events,” he added, in a tone of good-humour, “ it is the
first time that the white people have been indebted to the Copper
Indians.” We assured him the supplies should certainly be sent to
him by the autumn, if not before. He then cheerfully received the
small present we made to himself; and, although we could give a
few things only to those who had been most active in our service,
the others, who, perhaps, thought themselves equally deserving, did
not murmur at being left out in the distribution. Akaitcho afterwards
expressed a strong desire, that we should represent the character
of his nation in a favourable light to our countrymen. “I
know,” he said “you write down every occurrence in your books;
but probably you have only noticed the bad things we have said and
done, and have omitted the good.” In the course of the desultory
conversation which ensued, he said, that he had been always told by
us, to consider the traders in the same light as ourselves; and that,
for his part, he looked upon both as equally respectable. This assurance,
made in the presence of Mr. Week’s, was particularly gratifying
to us, as it completely disproved the defence that had been set
up, respecting the injurious reports circulated against us amongst the
Indians in the spring ; namely, that they were in retaliation for our
endeavours to lower the traders in the eyes of the Indians. I take
this opportunity of stating my opinion, that Mr. Weeks, in spreading
these reports, was actuated by a mistaken idea that he was serving
the interests of his employers. On the present occasion, we felt
indebted to him for the sympathy he displayed for our distresses,
and the kindness with which he administered to our personal wants.
After this conference, such Indians as were indebted to the Company
were paid for the provision they had given us, by deducting a
corresponding sum from their debts; in the same way we gave a
reward of sixteen skins of beaver to each of the persons who had
come to our relief at Fort Enterprise. As the debts of Akaitcho
and his hunters had been effaced at the time of his engagement
with us, we placed a sum equal to the amount of provision they had
recently supplied, to their credit on the Company’s Books. These
things being, through the moderation of the Indians, adjusted with
unexpected facility, we gave them a keg an r of mixed li3q Pu oars, (five