^798* I While we were employed in making thefe preparations, , we faw an
- v - J Indian in a canoe ectoe down the and-land at ®he? huts, which
he began to examine. - On perceiving usjie flood ftifl, as if in a Hate
of fufpenle, when I inftahtly difp'^tched ipnbeof my Indians towards him,
but no perfuafions could induce him to have confidence in us<?: he; even
threatened that he would haften to join his friends* who would come and
kill ns. At the conplufion o f this: menace- he - difappeased. Oni lhe
return of my young man, with this ajcooupt of the interview, I pretended
to difcredit the whole, and attributed it tq dvis own apprehenfions and
alarms. This, however,, he denied, and alked with a;look and tone of
refentment, whether he had; ever told me a 1^? Though he was but a
young man, he feid, he had been on war excurfions before he jcame w-ith
me, and that he Ihould no longer confider me as a whe-iman, which he
had hitherto done.
T o add to our diftreffes we-had not an ounce of gum for the reparation
of the canoe, and not one of the men had fuflicient courage to •.venture
into the woods to collefl it. In this perplexing fituation I entertained
the hope that in the courle of the night feme of;tfle natives would
return, to take away a part at leaft of the things which they had vfoft
behind them, as they had gone away without the: covering neeefla.ry< >-to
defend them from the weather and the flies. I therefore ordered the
canoe to be loaded, and dropped to an old houfe, one fide of which,-with
its roof, had been carried away by the waters but the three remaining
angles were fufficient to fhelter us from the woods. I then ordered two
ftrong piquets to be driven into the ground, to which the canoe was
fattened, fo that if we were hard prefled we had only to ftep on board
and
and pulh off.' We wnré under the nëéêflify5of making aTmoke to keep
■ off the fwarms~oMBe's, Whfëh would havd ètheiWifè tormented us; but
'We did not venture to etfcilja Mfzë;Ca& iftvh&dd h a l been a mark’ for
the arrows of the enemy'.'X Mr. Mackay'andnt^fêlf|'with thréfe men kept
.•alternate watch;, and alfówed>thb Indians to doh-s:t'heyf fancied.| I took
the firft watch, and thé others* laid d&Wn in their’ dofcïfès'by us. I alfö
placed a centinel<at a fmall difkrtee, who wafc ■ fêlleted*év,ery hour. The
weather was cloudy, with Ihowers of rain,
• A t oned called up. thew h e ï watch,• and laid down'to’&dinaH portion ®f Tuefdij 25.
broken reft.-1 *At five I a^ofe.^nd as ftheditoationWhieb deleft yefterday
■ was preferablefo?that which.we then* occupied;I 'determined tÖ return
to mi On our arrivaL Mr. 'Mackayï informed me that dbfe men Ka'de#r
prefled their diffatisfaÊliontó him in a very ünIbfëryted'-maniïér ; and had
in very -ftroug tepas,declared théirrefolution' ta io l^ r iaè’ fio further in
mypropofed entekprize; I did^nofappear, hioWeyeJj-tO'ha\r^ ‘l«ee$ved
fuch communications from him, and &>ntitiöW tö^emplö^-^yrwlièïè
thoughts in contriving means tor. bring ’.ahdht a fee^nhihatfoh&Wkh thb
fstarivcs^whiqh alone would enable ihe to procure glides’, Wiöibat'Who'fe i
afliftance. it iwouldtfce impoflibtéfor me- to proceed; i^hë'n my("‘daHin^prö-
jeól would end* in disappointment. ^
At- twelve we faw a man xfomiflg* with the ftream uponva .raft; and5 die
rmutt have* discovered,us before we perceived him, asfohtei.was working
«yery hard to get to the oppoflte Ihore, landedpaHd ittflahtly
fled into thh W«#ds. I nowhajl a meridional tikitulde^lwhich gavfe
<6q<; 23. natural horite©n;w(the abjgfo being ifesrethdttïthe'foxtantsépöid
M m a mèafère