Several propositions have been made, of late years, to the Governor, for sparing the men the inhuman labour of this portage, which they must either perform, or sacrifice a considerable part of their paltry wages to avoid it.  It was suggested, for instance, that a sufficient number of horses should be stationed at a certain locality, with the requisite conveniences, near the portage, and a couple of men hired on purpose to take care of them, whose wages the winterers should pay out of their own pockets, which they readily assented to; as the transport, by this arrangement, would only cost them one-third of what it cost them to employ the half-breeds.  His Excellency, however, was quite “sick” of the Portage La Loche subject; he knew as much about it as anybody, and felt quite assured that it was the easiest part of the men’s duties throughout the voyage!  While canoes were used, the duty at Portage la Loche was not nearly so severe as at present; a canoe carried only twenty-five pieces, and was manned by six men; a boat’s crew consists only of seven men, while the cargo consists of from sixty to seventy pieces.

The descent of the Clear Water and Athabasca rivers was effected without any accident, and we arrived at Athabasca on the 16th of September; whence I set out again, after a few days’ delay, for Fort Resolution, on Great Slave Lake, where I was detained by stress of weather until the 29th.

I left the post late in the evening, and intended to encamp on an island at a convenient distance; but the season being far advanced, I felt anxious to proceed, and inquired of my pilot whether he thought there would be any risk in travelling all night?  “Not the least,” was the reply; and we rowed on accordingly till morning; when lo! the only objects to be seen were sea and sky.  In vain we strained the organs of vision to discover land; there we were, as if in the midst of the ocean, surrounded on all sides by the unbroken circle of the horizon.  I do not know that I ever felt more seriously alarmed than at this moment, thus to find myself exposed on an unknown sea, as it might well be termed, in an open boat, and at such an advanced period of the season, without any means of ascertaining what course to steer for land.  It would appear our steersman had been napping at the helm in the course of the night, and thus allowed the boat to deviate from her course without noticing it; hence the awkwardness and even the danger of our present situation.

While considering with myself what was best to be done, a fine breeze sprang up; I ordered the sail to be hoisted immediately, determined on going before it until we made land, no matter where.  Fortunately the wind continued steady all day, and we at length reached the land a little after sunset, having run at least forty miles.  We put ashore at the first convenient landing we could find, and encamped for the night.  Having consulted a map I had with me, and observing by the sun the direction in which we had crossed the lake, (for we had actually crossed it at its greatest width,) I could make out pretty clearly that we had turned our backs to our true course!  We had, however, a good supply of provisions, and a voyageur is never discouraged while he has the provender before him.  Having now learned, to my cost, what confidence my pilot was entitled to, I determined on keeping land in view for the future.