ter set in.

It may here be proper to mention that it had been my original plan to
descend the Mackenzie's River, and to cross the Great Bear Lake from
the eastern side of which, Boileau informed me, there is a communication
with the Copper-Mine River by four small lakes and portages, but, under
our present circumstances, this course could not be followed, because it
would remove us too far from the establishments at the Great Slave Lake,
to receive the supplies of ammunition and some other stores in the
winter which were absolutely necessary for the prosecution of our
journey, or to get the Esquimaux interpreter, whom we expected. If I had
not deemed these circumstances paramount I should have preferred the
route by Bear Lake.

Akaitcho and the guides having communicated all the information they
possessed on the different points to which our questions had been
directed, I placed my medal round the neck of the chief, and the
officers presented theirs to an elder brother of his and the two guides,
communicating to them that these marks of distinction were given as
tokens of our friendship and as pledges of the sincerity of our
professions. Being conferred in the presence of all the hunters their
acquisition was highly gratifying to them, but they studiously avoided
any great expression of joy, because such an exposure would have been
unbecoming the dignity which the senior Indians assume during a
conference. They assured us, however, of their being duly sensible of
these tokens of our regard, and that they should be preserved during
their lives with the utmost care. The chief evinced much penetration and
intelligence during the whole of this conversation, which gave us a
favourable opinion of his intellectual powers. He made many inquiries
respecting the Discovery ships, under the command of Captain Parry,
which had been mentioned to him, and asked why a passage had not been
discovered long ago, if one existed. It may be stated that we gave a
faithful explanation to all his inquiries, which policy would have
prompted us to do if a love of truth had not; for whenever these
northern nations detect a falsehood in the dealings of the traders, they
make it an unceasing subject of reproach, and their confidence is
irrecoverably lost.

We presented to the chief, the two guides, and the seven hunters, who
had engaged to accompany us, some cloth, blankets, tobacco, knives,
daggers, besides other useful iron materials, and a gu