On the 7th
the sides of the hills began to appear bare and on the 8th a large
house-fly was seen. This interesting event spread cheerfulness through
our residence and formed a topic of conversation for the rest of the day.
On the 9th the approach of spring was still more agreeably confirmed by
the appearance of a merganser and two gulls, and some loons or arctic
divers, at the rapid. This day to reduce the labour of dragging meat to
the house the women and children and all the men except four were sent to
live at the Indian tents.
The blueberries, crow-berries, eye-berries, and cranberries, which had
been covered and protected by the snow during the winter might at this
time be gathered in abundance and proved indeed a valuable resource. The
ground continued frozen but the heat of the sun had a visible effect on
vegetation; the sap thawed in the pine-trees and Dr. Richardson informed
me that the mosses were beginning to shoot and the calyptrae of some of
the jungermanniae already visible.
On the 11th Mr. Wentzel returned from the Indian lodges having made the
necessary arrangements with Akaitcho for the drying of meat for summer
use, the bringing fresh meat to the fort and the procuring a sufficient
quantity of the resin of the spruce fir, or as it is termed by the
voyagers gum, for repairing the canoes previous to starting and during
the voyage. By my desire he had promised payment to the Indian women who
should bring in any of the latter article and had sent several of our own
men to the woods to search for it. At this time I communicated to Mr.
Wentzel the mode in which I meant to conduct the journey of the
approaching summer. Upon our arrival at the sea I proposed to reduce the
party to what would be sufficient to man two canoes in order to lessen
the consumption of provisions during our voyage or journey along the
coast and, as Mr. Wentzel had expressed a desire of proceeding no farther
than the mouth of the Copper-Mine River, which was seconded by the
Indians who wished him to return with them, I readily relieved his
anxiety on this subject, the more so as I thought he might render greater
service to us by making deposits of provision at certain points than by
accompanying us through a country which was unknown to him, and amongst a
people with whom he was totally unacquainted. My intentions were
explained to him in detail but they were of course to be modified by
circumstances.
On the 14th a robin (Turdus migratorius) appeared; this bird is hailed by
the natives as the infallible precursor of warm weather. Ducks and geese
were also seen in numbers and the reindeer advanced to the northward.
