Liquor was largely used by both companies in trade, and scenes of riot and violence ensued upon the arrival of the Indians at the fort in spring, and whom he describes otherwise as "reserved and selfish, unhospitable and beggars, but honest and affectionate to children." They painted round the eyes, the cheek-bones and the forehead, and all the race, except the Dog Ribs and the Beavers, believed that their forefathers came from the East.

The Northern Indians, Franklin says, suppose that they originally sprang from a dog, and about A.D.1815 they destroyed all their dogs, and compelled their women to take their place.

Their chiefs seemed to have no power save over their own families, and their conjurers were supported by voluntary contributions of provisions.

These are some of the chief characteristics Franklin notes of the Indians who frequented Fort Chipewyan, at which point he spent several months.

One extraordinary circumstance, however, remains to be mentioned.