,»$9-
Auguft-
Friday’»».
(I We embarked at four^o’clock, and took the N°rth fide, of .the channel,
though the cuiyent was ;on that fitfe much:&i$»gesr*gjpa older- to tpkft.a
view of the. river, which had been mentiqped to me iti our paflage downwards,
as flowing Jbum the cqnntiy* pf the Beaver Indians, and which
fell in hereabouts. We could not,; however, difcover it, and it js probable
that the account was referable.t<? the river which we j^a(j paffed on
Tuefday. The current was; very flrong, and we crofted over to an ifland
oppofite to us; here it was ftill more impetuous, and aflumed the hurry
o f a rapid. We found an awl and a paddle on the fide of the water;
the former we knew to belong to the Kniftineaujc: I fuppofcd it to be
the chief Merde-d’ours and his party,, who went to war laft fpring, and
had taken this route on their return to Athahafca. Nor is it improbable
that they may have been the caufe that .we faw fbvfew of thq natives,
on the banks of this river. The weather was raw andrloudy, and formed
a very nnpleafant cqntraft to the warm, funny days which immediately
preceded it. We took, up our abode for the night at half paft feven, o®
the Northern fhore, where the adjacent counU’y is both low and flat-
The Indians killed five young fwans, and , a beaver.- There was a® appearance
of rain.
The , weather was cold, with a ftrong Eafterly^wipi and frequent
Ihowers, fo that, we were detained in our flatten. In the afternoon the
Indians got on the track of a moofe-deer, but were not fo fortunate as
to overtake it.
The wind veered round to the Weft ward, and continued to blow
ftrong and cold. We, however, renewed our voyage, and, in three
hours
Saturday 22.
hours reached the entrance of the Slave Lake, under half fail: with the 17g9*
Auguft.
paddle, it would Have taken us at leaft eight hours. The Indians did '— v— ->
not arrive till four hours after u s ; but the wind was fo Violent, that it
was not expedient to venture into the lake; we therefore fei a net and
ehciE^fd for the night. The women gathered large quantities of the
fruit, already mentioned, hailed Pathagomenan, and cranberries, crow-
berries, tnoofeberries, &c. The Indians killed two fwans and three geefe.
The net produced but five fmall pike, and at five we embarked, and Sunday 23.
entered the lake by the fame channel through which we had pafled from
it. The South-Weft fide would have been the Ihorteft, but we were not
certain of there being plenty of filh along the coaft, and we were fure
of finding abundance o f them in the courfe we preferred. Befides,
I expefted to find my people at the place where Ileft them, as they had
received orders to remain there till the fall.
We paddled a long way into a deep bay to get the wind, and having
left out maft behind us, we landed to cut another. We then hoifted fail
and were driven on at a great rate. At twelve the wind and fwell were
augmented to fuch a degree, that our under yard broke, but luckily the
maft thwart refitted, till we had time to fatten down the yard with a
pole, without lowering fail. We took i®a large quantity o f water, and
had our maft given way, in all probability, we lhauld have filled and
funk. Our courfe continued to be very dangerous, along a flat lee-
fhore, without being able to land till three in the afternoon. Two men
were continually employed in bailing out the water which we took in
on all fides. We fortunately doubled a point that lcreened us from the
wind