rvice, and offered our thanksgiving to
the Almighty for his goodness in having brought us thus far on our
journey; a duty which we never neglected, when stationary on the
sabbath.

The united length of the portages we had crossed, since leaving Fort
Providence, is twenty-one statute miles and a half; and as our men had
to traverse each portage four times, with a load of one hundred and
eighty pounds, and return three times light, they walked in the whole
upwards of one hundred and fifty miles. The total length of our voyage
from Chipewyan is five hundred and fifty-three miles[19].

[19] Statute Miles.
Stony and Slave Rivers 260
Slave Lake 107
Yellow-Knife River 156.5
Barren country between the source of the
Yellow-Knife River and Fort Enterprise 29.5
-----
553

A fire was made on the south side of the river to inform the chief of
our arrival, which spreading before a strong wind, caught the whole
wood, and we were completely enveloped in a cloud of smoke for the three
following days.

On the next morning our voyagers were divided into two parties, the one
to cut the wood for the building of a store-house, and the other to
fetch the meat as the hunters procured it. An interpreter was sent with
Keskarrah, the guide, to search for the Indians who had made the fire
seen on Saturday, from whom we might obtain some supplies of provision.
An Indian was also despatched to Akaitcho, with directions for him to
come to this place directly, and bring whatever provision he had as we
were desirous of proceeding, without delay, to the Copper-Mine River. In
the evening our men brought in the carcases of seven rein-deer, which
two hunters had shot yesterday, and the women commenced drying the meat
for our journey. We also obtained a good supply of fish from our nets
to-day.

A heavy rain, on the 23d, prevented the men from working, either at the
building, or going for meat; but on the next day the weather was fine,
and they renewed their labours. The thermometer, that day did not rise
higher than 42 deg., and it fell to 31 deg. before midnight. On the morning of
the 25th, we were surprised by some early symptoms of the approach of
winter; the small pools were froz