144

1793+
February.

JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE THROUGH THE »

this day one of my men, who had been fome time with the Indians, came

“~~ to inform me that one of them had threatened to flab him; and on his pre-

ferring a complaint to the man with whom he now lived, and to whom
I had given him in charge, he replied, that he had been very impru-
dent to play and quarrel with the young Indians out of his lodge, where
no one would dare to come and quarrel with him; but that if he had
loft his life where he had been, it would have been the confequence of
his own folly. Thus, even among thefe children of nature, it appears
that a man’s houfe is his caftle, where the prote€tion of hofpitality is

rigidly maintained.

The hard froft which had prevailed from the beginning of February
continued to the 16th of March, when the wind blowing from the South-
Weft, the weather became mild.

On the 22d a wolf was fo bold as to venture among the Indian
lodges, and was very near carrying off a child.

I had another obfervation of Jupiter and his fatellites for the longi-
tude. On the 13th fome geefe were feen, and thefe birds are always con-
fidered as the harbingers of {[pring. On the ift of April my hunters fhot
five of them, ‘This was a much earlier period than I ever remember to
have obferved the vifits of wild fowl in this part of the world. The
weather had been mild for the laft fortnight, and there was a promife of
its continuance. On the 5th the fnow had entirely difappeared.

At half paft four this morning I was awakened to be informed that
an Indian had been killed. I accordingly haftened to the camp, where
I found