p48 1817 Journal Thomas Dean

PART VIII Jouuray rnou Font Hmuzrsou TO THE WHIT:-: Rrvan COUNTRY AND RETURN

July 31st. We prepared by washing our clothes, baking bread for our journey, and storing our goods. The women finished washing the clothes that were not washed yester- day, and we began to unload our goods and stored them at John A. Lafond's, where we put up. Major Chunn oiered to put our boat under the care of the guard at the fort, that it should not be injured or taken away. We had our goods all stored, made a chain, fastened our boat near the fort to a stump, put the oars, poles, etc., into the blockhouse, and prepared to start, but we could not get ready until it was too late in the afternoon. The Indian who was going to wade Eel River and pilot us agreed to wait until morning, so we made preparatians to start early in the morning. In the evening john A. Lafond and another man , informed me that we had best not start too early, as an Indian had told them that twenty or thirty of the Potta- wottornis had come from Chicago, were hostile, and if they came across us they might injure us. We thought it was a false report and concluded to start as soon as we could. August lst. We put up what clothes we wanted to take with us and some bread. They told us we could go through in three days if we had horses, it being one hundred miles, so we concluded to take three days' provisions and get horses if we could, but it happened that there was not more