be remembered the oppofite hills and?plains, now interfperfed with
groves o f poplars, when they, -were covered with mofs, and. without any.
^nitnaJ: inhabitant but the' rein-deer. -By ithd; feeifoof
thU-country changed to its prefent appearance, when the elk came from
the Eaft* and was- followed by the buffalo; the rein-deer then retired to
the long range of high lands that, at a confiderable diftance,: run parallel,
with this river,/ fl
On the 20th-of April I had an obfervation o f Jupiter and his fatellites,
for the longitude, and we were now vifited by our fummer • companions
the gnats ^nd mofquitoes. ' On the otherfiide dftheiriymiîvÆiQh .-fo&syygf
-covered with .ice, the /plains were delightful ; :thé: tecqs were budding, and
raany plants jn blxdCom. Mr. Mackay brought me a bunch :oi; Bowers
of a pink colour, and a yellow button, encircled with: fix leaves, o f .a light
purple. The change .in the appearance o f nature was as fuddehias’ifcwas
-pleafing, for a few days only were palfed away fince the ground! was
covered with fiaow. On the 25th the river.was-cleared o f the ice*;.*; I
I now found that the deathbfthe mattcalled the Whidé FafthM^/had
deranged all the plans which I had fettled With-the Indians for the Tprihg
hunting. They had alfembled at Tome diftanc'e from the forty and' fent
an embaffy to me, to demand rum to drink, that they might have ah
opportunity o f crying for their deceafed brother. It Would be con*
fidered as an extreme degradation in an Indian to wé£p when lbber, bu t
a ftate of intoxication fanftioiis ail irregularities. ' On - my ' refofalj they
threatened to go to war, which, from motives of intefeft as well as
humanity, we did our utmoft to difcourage ; and as a fecortd meflage
Was brought by perfdhjs bf foffte -weight, ämong th’efe people, and on
Whom I could deperidi I thought it prudent to.coihply with the demand,
on {. an exprefe 7 conditional -that they: would .continue pea-eeably at
home.
The month of April being'n&w part, in the early part o f which I was
tnoh, bufily employed in trading with {the Indians, I ordered our ■ old
canoes' 'to be, repaired with- barlq.-iandnaddedsfour-new ones'to them,
when with the «furs- and provifiom. I had p^cHaied^'fiX' caixoeS , were
loaded and difpatched on the 8-th of May fbriFört ChepeWyän. I had,
however, retained fix of the men -who agreed to accompany me on my
projeffed voyage'of difeovery. I alfo engaged ’my'huntefS; and clofed
the’ bufinefs of the year for the- cMr^ahy by "writing tny public and private
difpatches.
Having afeertained, by various obfervatiöhs, the latitude,'of this place
to be-*56. 9, North, and longitude iry.^gFf'g.' Weft:— on’ the" gth day
of May, I found, that my aerometer was qnfc hour forty-fix minutes
flow to apparent time; the mean going o f it I had found to be twenty-
two feconds flow in twenty-four hoursv * Having, fettled-this point, the
canoe was put into the water :• her dimCnfiohs were, twenty^fiye feet lohg
Within, exclufive of the curves of ftem and ftern, twenty^fix inches hold,
and four feet nine inches beam. At''the feme time fhe was fd- light, that
two pien could carry her on a good road three or Tour miles without
refting. In this flender veffel, we (hipped provifions, goods for prefents',
arms/ammünition,* and baggage/to the weight ofthree thou fand pounds,
and an equipage of ten people; viz. Alexander Mackay, Jofeph Landry,
■ Charles