ons,
he made use of the following remarkable one: "It is no use hunting,{45}
there are no animals, you had better kill and eat me." At length,
however, he went out, but returned very soon, with a report that he had
seen three deer, which he was unable to follow from having wet his foot
in a small stream of water thinly covered with ice, and being
consequently obliged to come to the fire. The day was rather mild, and
Hepburn and I gathered a large kettleful of _tripe de roche_; Michel
slept in the tent this night.

_Sunday, October 20_.--In the morning we again urged Michel to go a
hunting that he might if possible leave us some provision, to-morrow
being the day appointed for his quitting us; but he shewed great
unwillingness to go out, and lingered about the fire, under the pretence
of cleaning his gun. After we had read the morning service I went about
noon to gather some _tripe de roche_, leaving Mr. Hood sitting before
the tent at the fire-side arguing with Michel; Hepburn was employed
cutting down a tree at a short distance from the tent, being desirous of
accumulating a quantity of fire-wood{46} before he left us. A short time
after I went out, I heard the report of a gun, and about ten minutes
afterwards Hepburn called to me in a voice of great alarm, to come
directly. When I arrived I found poor Hood lying lifeless at the
fire-side, a ball having apparently entered his forehead. I was at first
horror-struck with the idea, that in a fit of despondency he had hurried
himself into the presence of his Almighty Judge, by an act of his own
hand; but the conduct of Michel soon gave rise to other thoughts, and
excited suspicions which were confirmed, when upon examining the body, I
discovered that the shot had entered the back part of the head, and
passed out at the forehead, and that the muzzle of the gun had been
applied so close as to set fire to the night-cap behind. The gun, which
was of the longest kind supplied to the Indians, could not have been
placed in a position to inflict such a wound, except by a second
person. Upon inquiring of Michel how it happened, he replied, that Mr.
Hood had sent him into the tent for the short gun, and that during his
absence the long gun had gone off, he did not know whether by accident
or not. He held the short gun in his hand at the time he was speaking to
me. Hepburn afterwards informed me that previous to the report of the
gun Mr. Hood and Michel were speaking to each other in