iour of the Indian remained the same--he continued
to show a generous confidence, and the whole tenor of his conduct was
such as Mr. Buchan could not witness without a feeling of esteem for
him. On arriving at the wigwams they were found deserted, which threw
the Indian into great alarm. Many circumstances determined Mr. Buchan
to let him be at perfect liberty, and this treatment revived his
spirits. The party spent the night at the Wigwams, and continued their
route in the morning. They had proceeded about a mile, when, being a
little in advance of the rest, the Indian was seen to start suddenly
backwards; he screamed loudly and then fled swiftly, which rendered
pursuit in vain. The cause of flight was understood when Mr. Buchan
the next moment, beheld upon the ice, headless and pierced by the
arrows of the Indians, the naked bodies of his two marines. An alarm
had, it is evident, been given by the savage who deserted the party at
the rendezvouz, and it is supposed that to justify his conduct in so
deserting, he had abused his countrymen with a tale which had excited
them to what they perhaps considered a just retaliation. Thus ended an
enterprise which was conducted with an ability, zeal, perseverance and
manly endurance of extreme hardship, which merited a better
success.--When the spring became sufficiently advanced Mr. Buchan
returned with his vessel to St. John's, and at once sought and
obtained permission from the Governor to return in the summer, in the
hope that as the natives came in that season down the rivers to fish
and hunt, he might the more easily fall in with them. In this
expectation, however, he was disappointed, as he only succeeded in
merely discovering some recent traces of them. Captain Buchan, still
sanguine of success, requested permission to winter in St. John's,
that he may be in readiness to take the earliest of the ensuing spring
to go in quest of them again. This was acceded to; but of the
movements of Captain Buchan, in consequence of this arrangement, there
is no record, it is only known that no additional discoveries were
made--but from the facts ascertained by Captain Buchan in his first
excursion, the authorities felt satisfied the number of the Indians
had been greatly underrated. Captain Buchan was of opinion they could
not be less (in the whole) than three hundred persons. Now this is an
important fact, as it goes far to disprove the generally received
opinion that the tribe is extin