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Show 18 JOUHNAL OF A VUYA(~E 1st December, Sunday.-Snowed a little in the tniddlc of the day. Went out with n1y gun, but killed nothing. 2d December, Monday.-Sparks arrived from the party below, and informed me they could not kill any game, but had started up with the little peroque :-also, that Mr. Dickson and a Vrenchman had passed my detachnlent about three hours before. lie left then1 on their n1arch to the post. Sparks arrived about l 0 o'clock at night. Sd December, Tucsday.-Mr. Dickson, with one en. gagee and a young Indian, arrived at the fort. I r eceived hin1 with every politeness in my power, and after a serious conversation '~;ith him on the subject of the information given 1ne on the 29th ult. was induced to believe it, in part, incorrect. l-Ie assured me that no liquor was sold by him, nor by any houses under his direction. II gave me much useful information rclativ to my future route, which gave me great encouragement as to the certainty of my accomplishing the object of my voyage, to the f ullcst extent. Ile seemed to be a gentleman of general com· mercia] kz.owlcdgc1 and possessing much grographical information of the western country, of open, frank, manners. l1e gave me many assurances of his good wishes for the prosperity of 1ny undertaking. 4tb December, Tif'edncsday.-M y n1C'n arri vc<l with one canoe only. Calculated on r eturning tht:nl t\\O days after. 5tb December, T/Jursday.-Mr. l)ick!)on, '' ith hi~ two men, departed for their station, after having rurni~hcd me with a letter for a young man of his h ou~c, in Lake de Sable, and a carle blmzr!JC as to my comnunc.ls on him. W cather mild. 6tb December, Friday.-I dispatched my men down, to bring up tht other pcroquc wi' h a s trong ! 1 ·d on \\ hich it ' as intt:ndcd to put the canoe about ont: tltird, a11d to let TO THE SOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 4.9 the end drag on the ice. Three families of the Fols Avoins arrived and encamped near the fort :-also, one Sioux, who pretended to have been sent to me, from the Gens des Feuilles, to inform me that the Yanctongs and Sussitongs (two bands of Sioux from the head of the St. Peters and the Missouri, and the most savage of them) had cmnmenced the war-dance and would depart in a few days, in which case he conceived it would be advisable for the Fols Avoins to keep close under my protection; that making a stroke on the Chipeways would tend to injure the grand object of my voyage, &c. &c. Some r easons induced me to believe he was a self-created envoy; however, I offered to pay hin1, or any. young Sioux, who would go to those bands and carry my wcrd. l-Ie promised to 1nake known my wishes upon his r eturn. My men returned in the evening without my canoe, having bceq so unfortu nate as to split her in carrying her over the rough hilly icc in the ripples below. So many disappointments almost wearied out my patience; but, notwithstanding, I intended to embark by land and water in a few days. 7th December, Saturday.-An Indian (by the name of Chien Blanche) of the Fols Avoin tribe, with his family and connections, arrived and encamped ncar the stockade. He informed me that he had wintered here for ten years past, that the sugar camp ncar the stockade was where he made sugar. lie appeared to be an intelligent man. I visited his camp in the afternoon, and found him seated amidst his children and grandchildren, amounting in all to ten. I-Iis wife, although of an ad vanccd age, was suckling two children, that appeared to be about two years old. I should have taken them to be twins, had not one been Inuch fairer than the other. Upon enquiry, however, I found that the fairest was the daughter of an Englishman, by one of the Indian'.:; daughters, 1atdy deceased; since |