resent
situation, and proceed for the attainment of its ultimate object.

"_November 9_.--I despatched to Fort Enterprise one of the men, with the
letters and a hundred musquet-balls, which Mr. Weeks lent me on
condition that they should be returned the first opportunity. An Indian
and his wife accompanied the messenger. Lieutenant Franklin was made
acquainted with the exact state of things; and I awaited with much
impatience the freezing of the lake.

"_November 16_.--A band of Slave Indians came to the fort with a few
furs and some bear's grease. Though we had not seen any of them, it
appeared that they had received information of our being in the country,
and knew the precise situation of our house, which they would have
visited long ago, but from the fear of being pillaged by the Copper
Indians. I questioned the chief about the Great Bear and Marten Lakes,
their distance from Fort Enterprise, &c.; but his answers were so vague
and unsatisfactory that they were not worth attention; his description
of Bouleau's Route, (which he said was the shortest and best, and
abundant in animals,) was very defective, though the relative points
were sufficiently characteristic, had we not possessed a better route.
He had never been at the sea; and knew nothing about the mouth of the
Copper-Mine River. In the evening he made his young men dance, and
sometimes accompanied them himself. They had four feathers in each hand.
One commenced moving in a circular form, lifting both feet at the same
time, similar to jumping sideways. After a short time a second and a
third joined, and afterwards the whole band was dancing, some in a state
of nudity, others half dressed, singing an unmusical wild air with (I
suppose,) appropriate words; the particular sounds of which were, ha!
ha! ha! uttered vociferously, and with great distortion of countenance,
and peculiar attitude of body, the feathers being always kept in a
tremulous motion. The ensuing day I made the chief acquainted with the
object of our mission, and recommended him to keep at peace with his
neighbouring tribes, and to conduct himself with attention and
friendship towards the whites. I then gave him a medal, telling him it
was the picture of the King, whom they emphatically term 'their Great
Father.'

"_November 18_.--We observed two mock moons at equal distances from the
central one; and the whole were encircled by a halo: the colour of the
inner edge of the large circle was a li