■ the immediate levd o f thé river.- This circumftance impeded our pTO-
•grefs; and die protruding rocks-frequently forced- us*to pafs through the
-water, §' l i was now dark, without the leaft appearance o f houfes; though
it would be impoffible to ha’ve feen them; if. there had been stöy,at the
-difianee of twenty • yards;*from the thicknefs o£:-the woodsy My men
were anxious to flop for the night; indeed; the' fatigiie^tbey had fuffered
nju-ftified -the j}ropofel; and I ieft- thern to their choice-; but as theanx-iety
o f iny< mind ’impelled me forwards, they continued toöJai|d^’da^ till I
found myfelf at the edge of the woodsy and,, notwithftanding the remort-
• ftrances that were made, -^proceeded, Feeling rather than feeing, my way,
jtiH I arrived at an houfe, and foondifcOvered federal; fmesi in fmall huts,
with people bufl ly employed in Cooking their ftfbb I , walked! into' one
o f them without the leaft ceremony, threw* down my- burden ƒ'and,rafter
.fhaking hands with fome o f the peopte',! TacrdoWh; updndfe, i They'rl-
•oeived me without theleaftappearaneeóf*forprize;tbut'föanimadeftgns
for me to go upto the large houfe, which was?ere£ted-,on upright polls; at
•fome diftanoe from the ground.- A broad piece of timber with Ikps cuto ih
it, led to the. fcalfolding even with the floor, and by-this c,unoaskind>of
ladder I entered the.houfe at one end; and having palled three fires,-at
•equal diftanees in the middle o f the building, I was -received by feveral people,
fitting upon a very wide board, at the Upper endof it. I fhOofeharids
with them, and featod myfelf befide a man, the dignity o f Whofé-cöünté-
-nance induced me to give him that preference. I foondifeöVëréd o'ndOfmy
guides feated a little above me, with a neat mat fpread before him, which
I fuppofed to he the place of honour^ and appropriated to ftraugers. In
*a fhort time my people.arrived, and placed themfelvei near me, when
the man by whom I fat, immediately r ofe> and fetched,- from behind a
plank of!aboufc>,fhun{feehwide, ai^uantlty o f roafted falmon. He then »793-
direfted a matetobe placedi-beforeime and Mr. Maekay; who was now Sr— *
fittibgiby.me/i -When this- ceremony was* performed, he brought a falmon
for eaehfOfruS’/andihulfian one to .eadbof *my men. -The fame plank
fervecbalfo as a fcreen for therbeds, whithef the women and children
were' alfieady* retired-; but Whether-' tha t-c-itcurn ft a ne'e*took place on our
arrival, or wasi’tfte natural Gorifequence-of the- late^hotir of the night, i
adidrnptodtfeover. The figris. ofw.ouniproteftor.feemed.tb. denote, that we
might fkep-vi-n the? honfejtbut ak w-e. did.not underftahd' him with a fuffi-
?cient-degJsee>oficertaintyyLthoughp4it prudent, from the fear of* giving
{offence, itororder, the' men to make a fire ..without?, t-hatf we might
fleep by it. - When he obferved. oufedefign, he placed'boards for us that
we*might not itake-our repofe-on the bare ground, and5Ordered a fire’to
be prepared; for. us. We had not been long, featted-;roaaad it, when we received,
a large ,difh o£*f&rmoa;jroes<,< poujnded' fine and beat up with
water fos,as to have the appearance o f a-cre&m. Nor was;it without fome
kind.offeafoning that gave it a, bitter tafte. Another’difhtfoon followed;
the prinGipaLarticle jof which was alfofalmoii-roes, with a large-propor-
jion'of gQQfeberries, and an-herb that appeared to be forreh - Its acidity
.rendered k>{ -more-, agreeable- ; to my tafte, than the former preparation.
Having been'regaled with thefe delicacies,.*for fach.they-were confidered
hyrjlh^tihofpitabfefpirit which provided them, we^laid ourfelves down
.jtQ reft with no other canOpy than the fky ? but I never * enjoyed* a more
found and refrelhing reft, though I had a board for my bed, and a bit-,
Mfefe for my pillow*
■*, • At live this morning law.oke; andifound that the natives had lighted Thurfday t8.
a fire