o that these Indians
are probably more completely under the power of the trader than any of
the other tribes. As I only saw a few straggling parties of them during
short intervals, and under unfavourable circumstances of sickness and
famine, I am unable to give, from personal observation, any detail of
their manners and customs; and must refer the reader, to Dr.
Richardson's account of them, in the following chapter. That gentleman,
during his longer residence at the post, had many opportunities of
seeing them, and acquiring their language.

_January 17_.--This morning the sporting part of our society had rather
a novel diversion: intelligence having been brought that a wolf had
borne away a steel trap, in which he had been caught, a party went in
search of the marauder, and took two English bull dogs and a terrier,
which had been brought into the country this season. On the first sight
of the animal the dogs became alarmed, and stood barking at a distance,
and probably would not have ventured to advance, had they not seen the
wolf fall by a shot from one of the gentlemen; they then, however, went
up, and behaved courageously, and were enraged by the bites they
received. The wolf soon died of its wounds, and the body was brought to
the house, where a drawing of it was taken by Mr. Hood, and the skin
preserved by Dr. Richardson. Its general features bore a strong
resemblance to many of the dogs about the fort, but it was larger and
had a more ferocious aspect. Mr. Back and I were too much occupied in
preparing for our departure on the following day to join this excursion.

The position of Cumberland House, by our observations, is, latitude 53 deg.
56' 40" N.; longitude 102 deg. 16' 41" W., by the chronometers; variations
17 deg. 17' 29" E.; dip of the needle, 83 deg. 12' 50". The whole of the
travelling distance between York Factory and Cumberland House is about
six hundred and ninety miles.

CHAPTER III.

Dr. Richardson's Residence at Cumberland House--His Account of the
Cree Indians.

1820. January 19.

From the departure of Messrs. Franklin and Back, on the 19th of January,
for Chipewyan, until the opening of the navigation in the spring, the
occurrences connected with the Expedition were so much in the ordinary
routine of a winter's residence at Fort Cumberland, that they may be,
perhaps, appropriately blended with the following general but brief
account of that district and its inhabitants.