This leader indeed and many others of his tribe possess a laudable curiosity which might easily be directed to the most important ends; and I believe that a well-conducted Christian mission to this quarter would not fail of producing the happiest effect.  Old Keskarrah alone used boldly to express his disbelief of a Supreme Deity and state that he could not credit the existence of a Being whose power was said to extend everywhere but whom he had not yet seen, although he was now an old man.  The aged sceptic is not a little conceited as the following exordium to one of his speeches evinces:  “It is very strange that I never meet with anyone who is equal in sense to myself.”  The same old man in one of his communicative moods related to us the following tradition:  The earth had been formed but continued enveloped in total darkness, when a bear and a squirrel met on the shores of a lake; a dispute arose as to their respective powers, which they agreed to settle by running in opposite directions round the lake, and whichever arrived first at the starting point was to evince his superiority by some signal act of power.  The squirrel beat, ran up a tree, and loudly demanded light which, instantly beaming forth, discovered a bird dispelling the gloom with its wings; the bird was afterwards recognised to be a crow.  The squirrel next broke a piece of bark from the tree, endowed it with the power of floating, and said, “Behold the material which shall afford the future inhabitants of the earth the means of traversing the waters.”

The Indians are not the first people who have ascribed the origin of nautics to the ingenuity of the squirrel.  The Copper Indians consider the bear, otter, and other animals of prey, or rather some kind of spirits which assume the forms of these creatures, as their constant enemies and the cause of every misfortune they endure; and in seasons of difficulty or sickness they alternately deprecate and abuse them.

Few of this nation have more than one wife at a time and none but the leaders have more than two.  Akaitcho has three and the mother of his only son is the favourite.  They frequently marry two sisters and there is no prohibition to the intermarriage of cousins but a man is restricted from marrying his niece.

The last war excursion they made against the Esquimaux was ten years ago when they destroyed about thirty persons at the mouth of what they term Stony-Point River, not far from the mouth of the Copper-Mine River.  They now seem desirous of being on friendly terms with that persecuted nation and hope through our means to establish a lucrative commerce with them.  Indeed the Copper Indians are sensible of the advantages that would accrue to them were they made the carriers of goods between the traders and Esquimaux.

At the time of Hearne’s visit the Copper Indians, being unsupplied with firearms, were oppressed by the Chipewyans; but even that traveller had occasion to praise their kindness of heart.  Since they have received arms from the traders the Chipewyans are fearful of venturing upon their lands; and all of that nation who frequent the shores of Great Slave Lake hold the name of Akaitcho in great respect.  The Chipewyans have no leader of equal authority among themselves.