Akaitcho Arrived With His Party And We
Were Greatly Disappointed At Finding They Had Stored Up Only Fifteen
Reindeer For Us.
St. Germain informed us that, having heard of the death
of the chief's brother-in-law, they had spent several days in bewailing
his loss instead of hunting.
We learned also that the decease of this man
had caused another party of the tribe, who had been sent by Mr. Wentzel
to prepare provision for us on the banks of the Copper-Mine River, to
remove to the shores of the Great Bear Lake, distant from our proposed
route. Mortifying as these circumstances were they produced less painful
sensations than we experienced in the evening by the refusal of Akaitcho
to accompany us in the proposed descent of the Copper-Mine River. When
Mr. Wentzel, by my direction, communicated to him my intention of
proceeding at once on that service he desired a conference with me upon
the subject which, being immediately granted, he began by stating that
the very attempt would be rash and dangerous as the weather was cold, the
leaves were falling, some geese had passed to the southward, and the
winter would shortly set in and that, as he considered the lives of all
who went on such a journey would be forfeited, he neither would go
himself nor permit his hunters to accompany us. He said there was no wood
within eleven days' march, during which time we could not have any fire
as the moss which the Indians use in their summer excursions would be too
wet for burning in consequence of the recent rains; that we should be
forty days in descending the Copper-Mine River, six of which would be
expended in getting to its banks, and that we might be blocked up by the
ice in the next moon; and during the whole journey the party must
experience great sufferings for want of food as the reindeer had already
left the river.
He was now reminded that these statements were very different from the
account he had given both at Fort Providence and on the route hither; and
that up to this moment we had been encouraged by his conversation to
expect that the party might descend the Copper-Mine River accompanied by
the Indians. He replied that at the former place he had been unacquainted
with our slow mode of travelling and that the alteration in his opinion
arose from the advance of winter.
We now informed him that we were provided with instruments by which we
could ascertain the state of the air and water and that we did not
imagine the winter to be so near as he supposed; however we promised to
return on discovering the first change in the season. He was also told
that, all the baggage being left behind, our canoes would now of course
travel infinitely more expeditiously than anything he had hitherto
witnessed. Akaitcho appeared to feel hurt that we should continue to
press the matter further and answered with some warmth:
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 156 of 339
Words from 80561 to 81071
of 176017
