snow and ice. Being come to the entrance of a large lake, which, from the shallowness of the water, and the thickness of the ice before us, we could not traverse, we were obliged to relinquish our intention of proceeding further; though the whole company had cherished the idea of reaching the ocean before they turned their faces homewards. We pitched our tents on an island, from the highest part of which we could discern a solid field of ice, extending from the south-west to the eastward. A chain of mountains were dimly perceived on the south, stretching out as far as the eye could reach; and to the eastward, we saw many islands. White partridges, now turned brown, were rather plentiful: flocks of beautiful plovers were also common; as were white owls, and gulls of the same colour.

As I was rambling about in search of a plover's nest, I discovered the grave of one of the natives: by it lay a bow, a paddle, and a spear-articles that, doubtless, belonged to the deceased; but the arms that had wielded them were unstrung: they remained as tokens, perhaps, to perpetuate the remembrance of his expertness in the chace, or the management of his canoe.

Our provisions running rather short, the nets were put down, and we halted a day or two, in hopes of supplying ourselves with fish. During our stay, we had clear proofs of the rising of the tide, which made us conclude that the lake communicated with the sea; and as a confirmation of that

LETTER XLIII.

Arthur Middleton to his Brother Edwin.

Cheperyan Fort.

MY DEAR BRother,

I ONCE more begin my journal at this place, though I shall probably finish it at a great distance; as Mr. Franklin and I are setting off again, with Mr. Roseberry, for a distant expedition to the south-westward. Mr. Roseberry is attracted thither by the hopes of establishing a profitable trade with the tribes that inhabit those parts, and of discovering a passage, westward, to the Pacific Ocean; and we are drawn by the motive that has already led us so long a dancecuriosity. Mr. Franklin says, that though we have seen the principal parts of the United States and Canada, with some of the Indian nations, yet he wishes to have a better acquaintance with those whose manners have not been changed by a communication with Europeans.

I shall write as opportunity and matter invite me: what follows, therefore, will be a recital of our voyage. We proceeded up the Peace River, along a chain of lakes, the largest of which is the Athabasca, and passed by Peace Point,

which received its name by a treaty of peace being held there between the Knisteneaux and Beaver Indians; as did the Slave River, from the conquests of the Knisteneaux, who drove the inhabitants near Portage la Loche to a distance, and then called them slaves. A fall of twenty feet obliged us to unload our canoes, and carry them and our luggage across a carrying place. The country we had hitherto passed was low, swampy ground, well clothed with wood. The banks of the river, between this place and Mr. Mackenzie's establishment, were generally lofty, and produce cypress, arrow-wood, and thorn trees. On either side of the river, though not within sight of it, are extensive plains, which abound in buffaloes, elks, wolves, foxes, and bears. The Deer Mountain stretches out to the westward; and opposite to the establishment are beautiful meadows, adorned with irregular groves of poplar, and enlivened by herds of various animals. At this place our ears were frequently regaled with the sweet notes of a small bird, not so large as a robin; the neck, breast, and belly of the cock, are of a deep scarlet: part of the body is of a delicate fawn colour; the wings are black, edged with fawn, and have two white stripes running across them; the tail is variegated, and the head crowned with a tuft. The hen is of a smple fawn colour, except a tippet of glossy yellow. The Establishment, or Fort, as these trading houses are called, consists of plain boarded houses,

for

for the accommodation of the traders in winter; and is provided with a garden, that grows turnips, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, and cabbages. It being now the month of December, and the frost so severe that the workmen's axes became as brittle as glass, determined us to halt here for a few weeks. The weather was sometimes extremely stormy: hurricanes of wind, snow, rain, and hail, frequently confined us within the house; a restraint that I found very disagreeable. Several of the natives took up their abode with us, which gave us an opportunity of observing their customs on particular occasions. A young man, called the Swan, lost his father by an accident. He immediately retired in silence to his lodge, and fired his gun several times, as a notice to his friends not to intrude upon his retirement, because, from his misfortune, he was grown careless of life. The wife of the deceased expressed her grief by cries and tears, and cutting off ber hair. She then took a sharp instrument, and, with determined resolution, separated the nail from one of her fingers, and forced back the flesh beyond the first joint, which she cut off. On expressing my astonishment, she showed me that she had lost the first joint of her two other fingers, as tokens of grief for the death of two of her sons. The men consider it a disgrace to shed tears when they are sober; therefore, they sometimes drink till they are intoxicated, that they may indulge freely in lamentations. The

women

women are the slaves of their husbands. They carry heavy loads, and perform the most laborious tasks, whilst their imperious masters walk by their sides with nothing but a gun in their hands. If a spot be chosen for an encampment, the men sit quietly down and enjoy their pipes, leaving the women to fix the poles in circles, that meet at top like a tent, and then cover them with dressed moose-deer skins, sewed together. During the winter, they wear snow shoes, to enable them to traverse the surface of the country, which is a continued sheet of snow at that season. The frames of these shoes are made of birch-wood; and the nettings, of thongs of deer-skin. A very sudden alteration in the season, from the severest inclemency of winter to the delightful beauties of spring, gave us notice it was time to put ourselves again in march. Though the river was still covered with ice, the plains were of a verdant colour; the trees and shrubs in bud, and some of them in flower. This was the middle of April. All things being ready, we set out in our canoes, and encamped where groves of poplars, in every shape, vary the scene; and the open plains between them are enlivened with vast herds of elks and buffaloes. These pleasing scenes, which continued for miles, were succeeded by high white cliffs. As we advanced, a river falls in from the north. There are also several islands and small streams on both sides. We perceived, along the shore, tracks of

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