onceived it to be necessary, previous to my
departure, to make some arrangement respecting the men who were engaged
at Stromness. Only one of them was disposed to extend his engagement and
proceed beyond the Athabasca Lake and, as there was much uncertainty
whether the remaining three could get from the Athabasca to York Factory
sufficiently early to secure them a passage in the next Hudson's Bay
ship, I resolved not to take them forward unless Dr. Richardson and Mr.
Hood should fail in procuring other men from these establishments next
spring, but to despatch them down to York to bring up our stores to this
place: after which they might return to the coast in time to secure their
passage in the first ship.

I delivered to Dr. Richardson and Mr. Hood a memorandum containing the
arrangements which had been made with the two Companies respecting their
being forwarded in the spring, and some other points of instruction for
their guidance in my absence together with directions to forward the map
of our route which had been finished, since our arrival, by Mr. Hood, the
drawing and the collections of natural history by the first opportunity
to York Factory for conveyance to England.*

(*Footnote. As Samuel Wilks, who had accompanied the Expedition from
England, proved to be quite unequal to the fatigue of the journey I
directed him to be discharged in the spring and sent to England by the
next ship.)

The houses of the two Companies at this post are situated close to each
other at the upper extremity of a narrow island which separates Pine
Island Lake from the Saskatchewan River, and are about two miles and
three-quarters from the latter in a northern direction. They are
log-houses, built without much regard to comfort, surrounded by lofty
stockades and flanked with wooden bastions. The difficulty of conveying
glass into the interior has precluded its use in the windows where its
place is poorly supplied by parchment, imperfectly made by the native
women from the skin of the reindeer. Should this post however continue to
be the residence of Governor Williams it will be much improved in a few
years, as he is devoting his attention to that point. The land around
Cumberland House is low but the soil, from having a considerable
intermixture of limestone, is good and capable of producing abundance of
corn and vegetables of every description. Many kinds of pot-herbs have
already been brought to some perfection and the potatoes bi