I Learned That The Woman Bore An Extremely Bad Character,
Having Even Been Guilty Of Infanticide And That Her Companions Considered
Her Offences Merited The Desertion.
This tribe since its present intimate connection with the traders has
discontinued its war excursions against the Esquimaux, but they still
speak of that nation in terms of the most inveterate hatred.
We have only
conversed with four men who have been engaged in any of those
expeditions; all these confirm the statements of Black Meat respecting
the sea-coast. Our observations concerning the half-breed population in
this vicinity coincided so exactly with those which have been given of
similar persons in Dr. Richardson's account of the Crees that any
statement respecting them at this place is unnecessary. Both the
Companies have wisely prohibited their servants from intermarrying with
pure Indian women, which was formerly the cause of many quarrels with the
tribes.
The weather was extremely variable during the month of June; we scarcely
had two clear days in succession, and the showers of rain were frequent;
the winds were often strong and generally blowing from the north-east
quarter. On the evening of the 16th the Aurora Borealis was visible but
after that date the nights were too light for our discerning it.
The mosquitoes swarmed in great numbers about the house and tormented us
so incessantly by their irritating stings that we were compelled to keep
our rooms constantly filled with smoke which is the only means of driving
them away:
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 217 of 649
Words from 58678 to 58928
of 176017
