A half and, as our men had to
traverse each portage four times, with a load of one hundred and eighty
pounds, and return three times light, they walked in the whole upwards of
one hundred and fifty miles. The total length of our voyage from
Chipewyan is five hundred and fifty-three miles.*
(*Footnote.
Stony and Slave Rivers: 260 statute miles.
Slave Lake: 107 statute miles.
Yellow-Knife River: 156.5 statute miles.
Barren country between the source of the Yellow-Knife River and Fort
Enterprise: 29.5 statute miles.
Total: 553 statute miles.)
A fire was made on the south side of the river to inform the chief of our
arrival, which, spreading before a strong wind, caught the whole wood,
and we were completely enveloped in a cloud of smoke for the three
following days.
On the next morning our voyagers were divided into two parties, the one
to cut the wood for the building of a storehouse and the other to fetch
the meat as the hunters procured it. An interpreter was sent with
Keskarrah the guide to search for the Indians who had made the fire seen
on Saturday, from whom we might obtain some supplies of provision. An
Indian was also despatched to Akaitcho with directions for him to come to
this place directly and bring whatever provision he had as we were
desirous of proceeding without delay to the Copper-Mine River. In the
evening our men brought in the carcasses of seven reindeer which two
hunters had shot yesterday and the women commenced drying the meat for
our journey. We also obtained a good supply of fish from our nets today.
A heavy rain on the 23rd prevented the men from working either at the
building or going for meat; but on the next day the weather was fine and
they renewed their labours. The thermometer that day did not rise higher
than 42 degrees and it fell to 31 degrees before midnight. On the morning
of the 25th we were surprised by some early symptoms of the approach of
winter; the small pools were frozen over and a flock of geese passed to
the southward. In the afternoon however a fog came on which afterwards
changed into rain and the ice quickly disappeared. We suffered great
anxiety all the next day respecting John Hepburn who had gone to hunt
before sunrise on the 25th and had been absent ever since. About four
hours after his departure the wind changed and a dense fog obscured every
mark by which his course to the tents could be directed, and we thought
it probable he had been wandering in an opposite direction to our
situation as the two hunters who had been sent to look for him returned
at sunset without having seen him.
