If the delay had served no other purpose, it had brought us into a familiar acquaintance with our commander, who was frank and straightforward in his manners, and fully disposed, not only to say, but to do everything to facilitate the object.

He put no veto on any request of this kind, holding the smiths and mechanics of the government amenable to comply with any order.

He was not a man, indeed, who dealt in hems and haws--did not require to sleep upon a simple question--and is not a person whose course is to be stopped, as many little big men are, by two straws crossed.
At length the canoes, which were our principal cause of delay, arrived from Lake Huron, where they were constructed, and all things were ready for our embarkation.

It was the 24th of May when we set out.

A small detachment of infantry had been ordered to form a part of the expedition, under Lieutenant Aeneas Mackay.