Keith, George. An Account of Mackenzie River (Letters to Roderick Mackenzie), 1807-1817. An electronic transcription. MFTP #0033

17

No. 5

I am sorry to find that I cannot add any information of consequence, to what is (if I rightly remember) mentioned in a former Letter[.] There are many words that my Dictionary does not explain. I should have willingly contributed as much as I could to the Collection of Songs, but I have met with a disappointment in a necessary Article, which deprives me of the pleasure of forwarding anything of the kind this year; and indeed you do not lose much, for I am a great drone myself, and my men, this year are little better, so that we are well coupled in this respect. Trade at this Post is decreasing considerably; we were upwards of 10 packs short last Spring to that of the preceding, and it is very Evident that the ensuing returns will be still considerably less. The reasons of this decrease are principally owing to a quarrel, which unfortunately happened last Spring betwixt the Natives of this Post and a strange Tribe of Indians, inhabiting the rocky Mountain. Two of the Indians of this Post, being in pursuit of two young men of the Said

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