3 ° 4
»793*
July.
Saturday 13,
JOURNAL OF A: VOYAGE THROUGH THE
U The weather this morning w-as clear.but cold, and our (canty cowering
was not fufficient . t o p roteft .-ns. front; the feverity of ther*®%ht»
About five, after we had warmed durfelves, at a large fire, we pro?
ceeded on our dubious journey. -In about an hour we came to the edge
©f a wood, when we perceived an houfe, fituated on a green»fpot, and
by the fide of a fmallriver- The finoke that iffued from it informed, us
that it was inhabited. I immediately pufhed forward toward this man*
fion, while nay people were in fuch a (fate. of alarm, that they fo&lqwed
me with the utmoft reluctance. On. looking back I perceived that , we
were in an Indian defile, of fifty yards in length;" I, however,' was clofe
upon , the houfe before the inhabitant? , perceived us, when the women
and children uttered the molt horrid Ihrieks, and the only man who. appeared
to be with them, efcaped out o f a baek doQr. which I reached,in
time to prevent the women and children fromibllo^l^ bip; ;^§;,riaan
-fled with all his Ipeed hato, the woodland Tcaied»ip va® onsinyr int'tKr
preters tofpeak to him, but they were fo agitated
loft the power of utterance. It is imgo{Jible,4o defqrabe/the difli^fi and
alarm o f thefe poor, people, who-, believing that th^y*wej&e attacked, by
enemies, expended an immediate-mafia ere, which, among themfelves,
never fails to follow fuch an event..
. Our prisoners confifted of three women,and feven children,*, which
apparently compofed three families. AjUkaapith.
meaner, and our prefents, we contrived to diffipate their 3pg$§fe§nfian%
One of the women then informed us, tha,t their people', wqh.ffveraj
others had left that place three nights before, on a trading jourp^y
to a tribe whom (he called Annah, which is the name the Chepewyans
give
NORTH-WEST CONTINENT OF AMERICA. 3 °5
gi^e to the at the dllance of three dayiw She added alfo,
that from the mountainsbefore tWj. wfetelb wsre covered with fnow, the
ffeh%as vifibli^ and aecoinpanied hei inforiEpatioti with a prefent o f a
Couple of dried fifh. We now ex prefled our.ddare that the man might
be induced to return, and eofiduft us in the road to the fea, Indeed, it
Was not long before he difoovered hiralelf in the wood, when he was
aflhred/hGth by' the Wo^ ahd olir ititefpreters, that We haid no hoflile
defign againft him; but- thelh affuranCCs had no effeft in quieting his
apprehenfions. I then attempted to g o to him albin'e‘,: and (hewed him a
knife, ’beads, &c. to induce him to* OOme to me, 'but he, in return, made
an hoHife difplay of briw hhd aftows», and, having fo r ai Jtkae- ex hi-
bifedri^aridifySf flrahge again difa^pfeatedv ''Hriwfcvet, he foon
pfefetftM binifell" M aitothd^- qnarterj add after& fffiEfecffion of parleys
between hsf/'HeVttgaged-to come and accompany <&s;
‘ 793*
J“iy*
3 While thdfe ttegotiatsdhS werfe ‘proceedlngilihtjpofed id"Vifitfhe -fife*
,iSr|fjmaeMhe§, te-whfeh khe women readily confented, and i found ih
(heM *t#eMy un&l fifh, fuch as trout, Sarpj -atod jub, for WHiehl gave
her a large knife; a present that* appeared to fee ieqoalfy tffiex>pei3 >
eririfidgMthyiMg- to hdr. Anothef man now Came towards ns, from
an hill, talking aloudfrom the-time he 'appeared till he reached us-. The
pthport of Msdpeech was, that he threw himMF .up eai our mercy; arid
we might-kill him, if it was our pleafuie,-feut fhat from what he had
heard, he 'Iboked rather for our inendfhip than our enmity. He Was
a’ri elderly pebfon, of a decent-appearance, and I gave him feme articles
to ’conciliate him to us. The firft man now fo&fwed with a lad along
with him, both'of whom were the fons of the old man, and, on his ar-
R r ' rival