Star.
London, England, 1821-12-15 00:00:00

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AMkSEMENTS OF TIIE EXPEDITION AT
CVO ER LA ND.
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In our last account of the progress of the Land
Arctic Expedition, under Lieutenant, now Captain.
Franklin, we mentioned that they reached their win-
. tering-ground in the beginning of October, at Cum-
berland Fort, from whence they were to set out in
the proper season. upon the more important .and ha-.
zardous remainder of their journey. Mr. Williams,
the principal Agent of the Hudson's Bay Company,
and dignified with the title of Governor, being re-
solved to prepare his visitors for some of the scenes
which were to become part of • their future occu-
pation, proposed to Mr. Franklin and Mr. Richard-
son A wolf hunt in the beginning of January,—
Those Gentlemen having practised the necessary
accomplishment of running with snow-shoes, were
qualified to join in the hunt, and the wolf, against
whom the attack was meditated, had already roused
the anger of the inhabitants of the fort by killing
several of their dogs. Indeed, upon one occasion the
ferocious animal had attacked two of the Company's
• servants as they were crossing Cumberland Lake with
a quantity of fish, and obliged them, after having
torn one of them in a desperate manner, to leave the
provision behind. At the time the hunt was proposed
there was a great fall of snow upon the ground, and
the track of the formidable white wolf, which had so
long persecuted the fort, was observed cn the outside
of the stockade. The thermometer at the time was
39 below Zero ; and the wolf had just abandoned the
lake in despair of getting hold of any living crea-1
tine with which to satisfy his ravenous appetite. The
hunters set out with three dogs, and u ere well armed.
—Having followed the track of the wolf through the
woods about two miles, they started him as he was
devouring the bark of a tree. After a most toilsome
and disastrous excursion for upwards of two hours,
three of the half-breeds succeeded in destroying the
wolf, which had been completely harassed by hunger
and fatigue. The officers of the expedition and ot the
Company, who had not been in the habit ot -.touring
the woods in snow shoes, presented the most miserable
spectacle. In their efforts to get through the thickets
their faces had been frightfully scratched, and their
dufile coats and chin cloths—the latter being put on
to keep their cheeks and chins from heirsg fo.sen—
were torn to pieces. Under these circumstances, it
was felted necessary to kindle a fire with all possible
dispatch, and even before that could be accomplished,
it was feared that the intense cold would more woo-
fully disfigure some of the poor adventurers. The'
warmth ot the blaze from the brambles and trees soon
removed this gloomy apprehension, and the wolf was
immediately skinned and drawn, for the purpose of
being roasted: the animal, however, was so old and
weather-beaten, that not one of his hungry pursuers
could put a tooth in the most delicate part of him.
A report had some years prevailed, within a circuit
of some thousands of miles, both amongst the natives
and the British settlers, and the servants of the two
companies, that an Indian conjuro;, named Ka-ka-
wa-rente, who resided far away amongst the most
distant northern tribes, was reverenced asone of their
deities by the surrounding people, and was actually
capable of petforming the greatest wonders, in conse-
quence of hi, intercourse nith supernatur tl agents.
Mr. Williams, who had learned that this extraor-
dinary person was within .500 miles of the f .rt, and
that be had very recently foretold some Lernai kable
calamities that soon °mined amongst the ti ibes,sent
a messenger to him, requesting that he would, as soon
as possible, appear at the fort. The conjuror gladly
accepted the invitation, and reached the post at the
latter end of January, accompanied by two mortal
ageks, named Wappisthaw and Tappotum. Upon
his arrival, the hall-breeds paid homage to him, and
even several Officers of the Company placed implicit
reliance in his power, so high was his character
throughout the land, for an intercourse with the world
of spirits. Wagers were laid upon the effect of his
magic. and the Officers of the expedition were stir-
prised at the readiness with which their ridicule was
answered, by the proposal of considerable bets. In
reply to a goes put to Ka-ka-wa-rence, as to what
he was able to dq, be said " Everything. He could
bring hack a wife to a husband, or separate man and
wile for ever. He could, in fact, reconcile things the
most contradictory in their nature. It was in vain
that attempts were made to weaken his power with
his agents above or below, and as absurd to try to
imprison his body as his mind." Mr. Williams said
he should be content with an experiment upon Ka-
ka wa.rente's body, and the next evening was fixed
for the trial. Ka-ki-wa-rente, not thinking it respect-
ful to the invisible powers with which he communi-
cated to request their assistance within the walls of'
those who doubted their infallibility, pitched his lea-
thern tent in the woods, within half a mile of the fort,
and called upon the Governor to put him to the test.
Wappisthaw and Tappotum stood at the door of
the tent, the former blowing a whistle, the latter
beating a drum, when the principalinhabitants of the
fort sallied out with lighted torches in their hands.—
The conjuror was rather struck with the preparations
at first, but he soon laughed away the fears of some
of his admirers, who had observed that he was not
insensible to the cold. The Governor then produced
a quantity of stout new ropes, and having served in
the Navy for several years, and placing some reliance
in his own strength, undertook to imprison the conju-
ror in the tent. With this view, having stripped Ka-
ka-wat-rente naked, be tied his arms and legs together,
and pat so many seamen's knots upon the ropes, that
the efforts to get out of such thraldom could not but
be attended with excessive pain to any one not under
the immediate care of the Gods. The conjuror was
then placed on his back within the tent, at the top of
which was a small hole for the admission of the par-
ticular genius who was to release him. In a few mo-
ments a great bustle was heard within the tent: the
whistle and drum played up, as it were, with the very
spirit of inspiration ; still the Governor and the Offi-
cers of the Expedition had such reliance upon the
emulates twist, that while others looked to the top of
the tent in the expectation of seeing the ropes fly out
of it, they kept their eyes uponWappisthaw and Tap-
potum, in order that the magician might be under no
compliment to human agency. A quarter of an hour
was occupied in this manner, when a loud cry was
heard from the tent, and immediately after Ka-ka-
wa-rente was pulled out in a state of insensibility,
pinioned as before, 'and frozen almost to death, uot-