effects, and they
immediately came to the conclusion that some bad medicine had been
intentionally given to them. The distress produced by this idea, was in
proportion to their former faith in the potency of the remedy, and the
night was spent in singing and groaning. Next morning the whole family
were crying in concert, and it was not until the evening of the second
day that we succeeded in pacifying them. The old woman began to feel
better, and her faith in the medicine was renewed.

While speaking of this family, I may remark that the daughter, whom we
designated Green-stockings from her dress, is considered by her tribe to
be a great beauty. Mr. Hood drew an accurate portrait of her, although
her mother was averse to her sitting for it. She was afraid, she said,
that her daughter's likeness would induce the Great Chief who resided in
England to send for the original. The young lady, however, was
undeterred by any such fear. She has already been an object of contest
between her countrymen, and although under sixteen years of age, has
belonged successively to two husbands, and would probably have been the
wife of many more, if her mother had not required her services as a
nurse.

The weather during this month, was the coldest we experienced during our
residence in America. The thermometer sunk on one occasion to 57 deg. below
zero, and never rose beyond 6 deg. above it; the mean for the month
was -29 deg..7. During these intense colds, however, the atmosphere was
generally calm, and the wood-cutters and others went about their
ordinary occupations without using any extraordinary precautions, yet
without feeling any bad effects. They had their rein-deer shirts on,
leathern mittens lined with blankets, and furred caps; but none of them
used any defence for the face, or needed any. Indeed we have already
mentioned that the heat is abstracted most rapidly from the body during
strong breezes, and most of those who have perished from cold in this
country, have fallen a sacrifice to their being overtaken on a lake or
other unsheltered place, by a storm of wind. The intense colds, were,
however, detrimental to us in another way. The trees froze to their very
centres and became as hard as stones, and more difficult to cut. Some of
the axes were broken daily, and by the end of the month we had only one
left that was fit for felling trees. By intrusting it only to one of the
party who had been bred a carpenter, and who could u