About 6 feet 4 in height,
with narrow, hollow chest, very large hands and feet and a nervous,
restless way of flinging himself about.
He struck me as a man who
was killing himself with toil beyond his physical strength. He was
strongly recommended by the Hudson's Bay Company people as a "good
man," I liked his face and manners, he was an intelligent companion,
and I was glad to have secured him. At the first and second camps
he worked hard. At the next he ceased work suddenly and went aside;
his stomach was upset. A few hours afterwards he told me he was
feeling ill. The engineer, who wanted him to cut wood, said to me,
"That man is shamming." My reply was short: "You have known him
for months, and think he is shamming; I have known him for hours
and I know he is not that kind of a man."
He told me next morning, "It's no use, I got my breast crushed by
the tug a couple of weeks ago, I have no strength. At Fort McKay
is a good man named Jiarobia, he will go with you."
So when the tug left us Bellalise refunded his advance and returned
to Chipewyan. He was one of those that made me think well of his
people; and his observations on the wild life of the country showed
that he had a tongue to tell, as well as eyes to see.
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