Having received one hundred balls from Fort Providence by Belanger we distributed them amongst the Indians, informing the leader at the same time that the residence of so large a party as his at the house, amounting with women and children to forty souls, was producing a serious reduction in our stock of provision.  He acknowledged the justice of the statement and promised to remove as soon as his party had prepared snowshoes and sledges for themselves.  Under one pretext or other however their departure was delayed until the 10th of the month when they left us, having previously received one of our fishing-nets and all the ammunition we possessed.  The leader left his aged mother and two female attendants to our care, requesting that if she died during his absence she might be buried at a distance from the fort that he might not be reminded of his loss when he visited us.

Keskarrah the guide also remained behind with his wife and daughter.  The old man has become too feeble to hunt and his time is almost entirely occupied in attendance upon his wife who has been long affected with an ulcer on the face which has nearly destroyed her nose.

Lately he made an offering to the water spirits whose wrath he apprehended to be the cause of her malady.  It consisted of a knife, a piece of tobacco, and some other trifling articles which were tied up in a small bundle and committed to the rapid with a long prayer.  He does not trust entirely however to the relenting of the spirits for his wife’s cure, but comes daily to Dr. Richardson for medicine.

Upon one occasion he received the medicine from the Doctor with such formality and wrapped it up in his reindeer robe with such extraordinary carefulness that it excited the involuntary laughter of Mr. Hood and myself.  The old man smiled in his turn and, as he always seemed proud of the familiar way in which we were accustomed to joke with him, we thought no more upon the subject.  But he unfortunately mentioned the circumstance to his wife who imagined in consequence that the drug was not productive of its usual good 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.