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. The
merganser (Mergus serrator) which preys upon small fish, was the first of
the duck tribe that appeared; next came the teal (Anas crecca) which
lives upon small insects that abound in the waters at this season; and
lastly the goose which feeds upon berries and herbage. Geese appear at
Cumberland House in latitude 54 degrees usually about the 12th of April;
at Fort Chipewyan in latitude 59 degrees on the 25th of April; at Slave
Lake in latitude 61 degrees on the 1st of May; and at Fort Enterprise in
latitude 64 degrees 28 minutes on the 12th or 14th of the same month.
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