afterwards. Mr.
Stuart, the senior partner of the North-West Company, quitted us for the
same destination, on June 4th; Mr. Robertson, for his depot, on the next
day; and on the 9th we parted with our friend Mr. Keith, to whose
unremitting kindness we felt much indebted. I intrusted to his care a
box containing some drawings by Mr. Back, the map of our route from
Cumberland House, and the skin of a black beaver, (presented to the
Expedition by Mr. Smith,) with my official letters, addressed to the
Under Secretary of State. I wrote by each of these gentlemen to inform
Dr. Richardson and Mr. Hood of the scarcity of stores at these posts,
and to request them to procure all they possibly could on their route.
Mr. Smith was left in charge of this post during the summer; this
gentleman soon evinced his desire to further our progress, by directing
a new canoe to be built for our use, which was commenced immediately.

_June 21_.--This day an opportunity offered of sending letters to the
Great Slave Lake; and I profited by it, to request Mr. Wentzel would
accompany the Expedition agreeably to the desire of the Copper Indians,
communicating to him that I had received permission for him to do so
from the partners of the North-West Company. Should he be disposed to
comply with my invitation, I desired that he would go over to Fort
Providence, and remain near the Indians whom he had engaged for our
service. I feared lest they should become impatient at our unexpected
delay, and, with the usual fickleness of the Indian character, remove
from the establishment before we could arrive. It had been my intention
to go to them myself, could the articles, with which they expected to be
presented on my arrival, have been provided at these establishments; but
as they could not be procured, I was compelled to defer my visit until
our canoes should arrive. Mr. Smith supposed that my appearance amongst
them, without the means of satisfying any of their desires, would give
them an unfavourable impression respecting the Expedition, which would
make them indifferent to exertion, if it did not even cause them to
withdraw from their engagements.

The establishments at this place, Forts Chipewyan and Wedderburne, the
chief posts of the Companies in this department, are conveniently
situated for communicating with the Slave and Peace Rivers, from whence
the canoes assemble in the spring and autumn; on the first occasion they
bring the collection of f