On the 24th one of the women who accompanied us from Athabasca was sent down to Fort Providence under charge of the old chief who came some days before for medicine for his eyes.  Angelique and Roulante, the other two women, having families, preferred accompanying the Indians during their summer hunt.  On the 25th clothing and other necessary articles were issued to the Canadians as their equipment for the ensuing voyage.  Two or three blankets, some cloth, ironwork, and trinkets were reserved for distribution amongst the Esquimaux on the sea-coast.  Laced dresses were given to Augustus and Junius.  It is impossible to describe the joy that took possession of the latter on the receipt of this present.  The happy little fellow burst into ecstatic laughter as he surveyed the different articles of his gay habiliments.*

(Footnote.  These men kept their dresses and delighted in them.  An Indian chief on the other hand only appears once before the donor in the dress of ceremony which he receives and then transfers it to some favourite in the tribe whom he desires to reward by this robe of honour.)

In the afternoon Humpy the leader’s elder brother, Annoethaiyazzeh, another of his brothers, and one of our guides arrived with the remainder of Akaitcho’s band; as also Long-legs, brother to the Hook, with three of his band.  There were now in the encampment thirty hunters, thirty-one women, and sixty children, in all one hundred and twenty-one of the Copper Indian or Red-Knife tribe.  The rest of the nation were with the Hook on the lower part of the Copper-Mine River.

Annoethaiyazzeh is remarkable amongst the Indians for the number of his descendants; he has eighteen children living by two wives, of whom sixteen were at the fort at this time.

In the evening we had another formidable conference.  The former complaints were reiterated and we parted about midnight without any satisfactory answer to my questions as to when Akaitcho would proceed towards the river and where he meant to make provision for our march.  I was somewhat pleased however to find that Humpy and Annoethaiyazzeh censured their brother’s conduct and accused him of avarice.

On the 26th the canoes were removed from the places where they had been deposited as we judged that the heat of the atmosphere was now so great as to admit of their being repaired without risk of cracking the bark.  We were rejoiced to find that two of them had suffered little injury from the frost during the winter.  The bark of the third was considerably rent but it was still capable of repair.

The Indians sat in conference in their tents all the morning and in the afternoon came into the house charged with fresh matter for discussion.