We embarked at noon and were honoured with a salute of eight guns and three cheers from the Governor and all the inmates of the fort who had assembled to witness our departure.

We gratefully returned their cheers and then made sail, much delighted at having now commenced our voyage into the interior of America.

The wind and tide failing us at the distance of six miles above the Factory, and the current being too rapid for using oars to advantage, the crew had to commence tracking, or dragging the boat by a line to which they were harnessed.

This operation is extremely laborious in these rivers.

Our men were obliged to walk along the steep declivity of a high bank, rendered at this season soft and slippery by frequent rains, and their progress was often further impeded by fallen trees which, having slipped from the verge of the thick wood above, hung on the face of the bank in a great variety of directions.