On the 2nd of February, M‘Kenzie turned his face towards the interior; and in two canoes, with eighteen men, pushed on to his post, having letters from M‘Dougall pointing out the actual state of things, and informing Messrs. Clarke and Stuart of the resolution entered into between himself and M‘Kenzie for abandoning the enterprize early in the spring. Messrs. Stuart and Clarke, however, viewed things in a different light, and condemned the proposed step as premature. On his way up, Mr. M‘Kenzie met two North-West canoes sweeping down the current. In these were M‘Tavish, two clerks, and twenty men, on their way to the mouth of the Columbia, to meet the far-famed ship _Isaac Todd_, destined for that {221} part. On the twenty-second day after leaving Astoria, Mr. M‘Kenzie arrived at his post on the Shahaptain River; but was mortified to find his _cache_ robbed. The Indians indicated their guilt by their shyness, for scarcely one of them came to visit the trader, M‘Kenzie therefore summoned the chiefs, and they appeared, expecting no doubt to receive something. When they were all seated, he opened the business of the _cache_, and demanded the goods; adding, that if they were given up, friendship would again be restored. But they all, with one accord, denied having any knowledge of, or hand in, the pillage or robbery. They admitted the fact of the robbery, but denied that they were in any way accessory to it. They regretted the misconduct of their young men; but the goods were now gone, and they could do nothing; and so the conference ended. Seeing that the chiefs would not assist to recover the stolen property, and that every hour’s delay lessened the chance of regaining it, M‘Kenzie at once resolved on a bold and hazardous step; namely, to dash into the heart of the Indian camp, and recover what he could. Accordingly next morning, after depositing in a safe place the few articles he had brought with him, he and his little band, armed _cap-à-pie_, set out on foot for the camp. On their approach, the Indians, suspecting something, turned out in groups here and there, also armed. But M‘Kenzie, without a moment’s hesitation, or giving them time to reflect, {222} ordered Mr. Seaton,[79] who commanded the men, to surround the first wigwam or lodge reached with charged bayonets, while he himself and Mr. Reed entered the lodge, ransacked it, turning everything topsy-turvy, and with their drawn daggers cutting and ripping open everything that might be supposed to conceal the stolen property. In this manner they went from one lodge to another till they had searched five or six with various success, when the chiefs demanded a parley, and gave M‘Kenzie to understand that if he desisted they would do the business themselves, and more effectually. M‘Kenzie, after some feigned reluctance, at last agreed to the chief’s proposition. They then asked him to withdraw; but this he peremptorily refused, knowing from experience that they were least exposed in the