If I Had Not Deemed These
Circumstances Paramount I Should Have Preferred The Route By Bear Lake.
Akaitcho and the guides having communicated all the information they
possessed on the different points to which our questions
Had been
directed I placed my medal round the neck of the chief, and the officers
presented theirs to an elder brother of his and the two guides,
communicating to them that these marks of distinction were given as
tokens of our friendship and as pledges of the sincerity of our
professions. Being conferred in the presence of all the hunters their
acquisition was highly gratifying to them, but they studiously avoided
any great expression of joy because such an exposure would have been
unbecoming the dignity which the senior Indians assume during a
conference. They assured us however of their being duly sensible of these
tokens of our regard and that they should be preserved during their lives
with the utmost care. The chief evinced much penetration and intelligence
during the whole of this conversation, which gave us a favourable opinion
of his intellectual powers. He made many inquiries respecting the
Discovery ships under the command of Captain Parry which had been
mentioned to him, and asked why a passage had not been discovered long
ago, if one existed. It may be stated that we gave a faithful explanation
to all his inquiries, which policy would have prompted us to do if a love
of truth had not; for whenever these northern nations detect a falsehood
in the dealings of the traders they make it an unceasing subject of
reproach, and their confidence is irrecoverably lost.
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