Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea, in the Years 1819-20-21-22, Volume 1
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Title: Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea, in the Years 1819-20-21-22, Volume 1
Author: John Franklin
Release date: August 3, 2006 [eBook #18979]
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18979
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY TO THE SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA, IN THE YEARS 1819-20-21-22, VOLUME 1 ***
Produced by Robert Cicconetti, GVB and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
file was produced from images generously made available
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Transcriber's notes:
There are several inconsistencies in spelling and punctuation in the
original. Some corrections have been made for obvious typographical
errors; they have been noted individually in the text. All changes made
by the transcriber are enumerated in braces, for example {1}; details of
corrections and comments are listed at the end of the text. Note that
many of the errors were introduced in the third edition, as
cross-referencing the second edition has shown.
In the original, the "Mc" in Scottish names is given as "M" followed by
what looks like a left single quotation mark (Unicode 2018). This has
been changed to "Mc" throughout the text; note that the original also
contains a few apparently inconsistent uses of "Mac", which have been
retained.
Specific spellings that differ from their modern versions and have been
retained in this text are "Saskatchawan" (modern "Saskatchewan"),
"Winipeg" (modern "Winnipeg"), "Esquimaux" (modern "Eskimo") and
"musquito" (with one instance of "moscheto", modern "mosquito").
Text in italics in the original is shown between _underlines_. For this
text version, the oe-ligature (Unicode 0153) has been rendered as "oe".
Footnote 14 in chapter IV contains two transliterations, where [=a]
represents Latin small letter a with macron (Unicode 0101) and [=o]
stands for Latin small letter o with macron (Unicode 014D).
* * * * *
NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY
TO THE SHORES OF THE
POLAR SEA,
IN
THE YEARS 1819-20-21-22.
BY
JOHN FRANKLIN, CAPT. R.N., F.R.S., M.W.S.,
AND COMMANDER OF THE EXPEDITION.
PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OF THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL BATHURST.
THIRD EDITION.
TWO VOLS.--VOL. I.
LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET.
MDCCCXXIV{1}.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES,
Northumberland-court.
[Illustration: The Connected Discoveries of Captains
Ross, Parry, and Franklin in the years 1818, 19, 20, 21, 22 & 23.]
TO
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
THE EARL BATHURST, K.G.,
ONE OF HIS MAJESTY'S PRINCIPAL SECRETARIES OF STATE,
&c. &c. &c.
THE FOLLOWING
NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY TO THE NORTHERN COAST OF AMERICA,
UNDERTAKEN BY ORDER AND UNDER THE AUSPICES OF
HIS LORDSHIP,
IS BY PERMISSION, INSCRIBED
WITH GREAT RESPECT AND GRATITUDE
BY
THE AUTHOR.
CONTENTS
OF
THE FIRST VOLUME.
Page
INTRODUCTION ix
CHAPTER I.
Departure from England--Transactions at Stromness--Enter
Davis' Straits--Perilous situation on the shore of Resolution
Island--Land on the coast of Labrador--Esquimaux of Savage
Islands--York Factory--Preparations for the Journey into the
Interior 1
CHAPTER II.
Passage up Hayes', Steel, and Hill Rivers--Cross Swampy
Lake--Jack River--Knee Lake, and Magnetic Islet--Trout
River--Holy Lake{2}--Weepinapannis River--Windy Lake--White
Fall Lake and River--Echemamis and Sea Rivers--Play-Green
Lakes--Lake Winipeg--River Saskatchawan--Cross, Cedar, and
Pine Island Lakes--Cumberland House 41
CHAPTER III.
Dr. Richardson's residence at Cumberland-House--His account
of the Cree Indians 91
CHAPTER IV.
Leave Cumberland House--Mode of Travelling in Winter--Arrival
at Carlton House--Stone Indians--Visit to a Buffalo
Pound--Goitres--Departure from Carlton House--Isle à{3} la
Crosse--Arrival at Fort Chipewyan 146
CHAPTER V.
Transactions at Fort Chipewyan--Arrival of Dr. Richardson
and Mr. Hood--Preparations for our Journey to the Northward 221
CHAPTER VI.
Mr. Hood's Journey to the Basquiau Hill--Sojourns with an
Indian Party--His Journey to Chipewyan 260
CHAPTER VII.
Departure from Chipewyan--Difficulties of the various
Navigation of the Rivers and Lakes, and of the
Portages--Slave Lake and Fort Providence--Scarcity of
Provisions, and Discontent of the Canadian
Voyagers--Difficulties with regard to the Indian
Guides--Refusal to proceed--Visit of Observation to the
upper part of Copper-Mine River--Return to the
Winter-Quarters of Fort Enterprise 301
* * * * *
_Directions to the Binder._
VOL. I.
I. The CHART shewing the Connected Discoveries of Captains Ross, Parry,
and Franklin, to face the _Title-Page_.
VOL. II.
II. Route from York Factory }
III. Isle à la Crosse } To be placed at the end.
IV. Slave Lake }
INTRODUCTION.
His Majesty's Government having determined upon sending an Expedition
from the Shores of Hudson's Bay by land, to explore the Northern Coast
of America, from the Mouth of the Copper-Mine River to the eastward, I
had the honour to be appointed to this service by Earl Bathurst, on the
recommendation of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty; who, at the
same time, nominated Doctor John Richardson, a Surgeon in the Royal
Navy, Mr. George Back, and Mr. Robert Hood, two Admiralty Midshipmen, to
be joined with me in the enterprize. My instructions, in substance,
informed me that the main object of the Expedition was that of
determining the latitudes and longitudes of the Northern Coast of North
America, and the trending of that Coast from the Mouth of the
Copper-Mine River to the eastern extremity of that Continent; that it
was left for me to determine according to circumstances, whether it
might be most advisable to proceed, at once, directly to the northward
till I arrived at the sea-coast, and thence westerly towards the
Copper-Mine River; or advance, in the first instance, by the usual route
to the mouth of the Copper-Mine River, and from thence easterly till I
should arrive at the eastern extremity of that Continent; that, in the
adoption of either of these plans, I was to be guided by the advice and
information which I should receive from the wintering servants of the
Hudson's Bay Company, who would be instructed by their employers to
co-operate cordially in the prosecution of the objects of the
Expedition, and who would provide me with the necessary escort of
Indians to act as guides, interpreters, game-killers, &c.; and also with
such articles of clothing, ammunition, snow-shoes, presents, &c., as
should be deemed expedient for me to take. That as another principal
object of the Expedition was to amend the very defective geography of
the northern part of North America, I was to be very careful to
ascertain correctly the latitude and longitude of every remarkable spot
upon our route, and of all the bays, harbours, rivers, headlands, &c.,
that might occur along the Northern Shore of North America. That in
proceeding along the coast, I should erect conspicuous marks at places
where ships might enter, or to which a boat could be sent; and to
deposit information as to the nature of the coast for the use of
Lieutenant Parry. That in the journal of our route, I should register
the temperature of the air at least three times in every twenty-four
hours; together with the state of the wind and weather, and any other
meteorological phenomena. That I should not neglect any opportunity of
observing and noting down the dip and variation of the magnetic needle,
and the intensity of the magnetic force; and should take particular
notice whether any, and what kind or degree of, influence the Aurora
Borealis might appear to exert on the magnetic needle; and to notice
whether that phenomenon were attended with any noise; and to make any
other observations that might be likely to tend to the further
development of its cause, and the laws by which it is governed.
Mr. Back and Mr. Hood were to assist me in all the observations
above-mentioned, and to make drawings of the land, of the natives, and
of the various objects of natural history; and, particularly, of such as
Dr. Richardson, who, to his professional duties, was to add that of
naturalist, might consider to be most curious and interesting.
I was instructed, on my arrival at, or near, the Mouth of the
Copper-Mine River, to make every inquiry as to the situation of the spot
whence native copper had been brought down by the Indians to the
Hudson's Bay establishment, and to visit and explore the place in
question; in order that Dr. Richardson might be enabled to make such
observations as might be useful in a commercial point of view, or
interesting to the science of mineralogy.
From Joseph Berens, Esq., the Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, and
the gentlemen of the Committee, I received all kinds of assistance and
information, communicated in the most friendly manner previous to my
leaving England; and I had the gratification of perusing the orders to
their agents and servants in North America, containing the fullest
directions to promote, by every means, the progress of the Expedition. I
most cheerfully avail myself of this opportunity of expressing my
gratitude to these Gentlemen for their personal kindness to myself and
the other officers, as well as for the benefits rendered by them to the
Expedition; and the same sentiment is due towards the Gentlemen of the
North-West Company, both in England and America, more particularly to
Simon McGillivray, Esq., of London, from whom I received much useful
information, and cordial letters of recommendation to the partners and
agents of that Company, resident on our line of route.
A short time before I left London I had the pleasure and advantage of an
interview with the late Sir Alexander Mackenzie, who was one of the two
persons who had visited the coast we were to explore. He afforded me, in
the most open and kind manner, much valuable information and advice.
The provisions, instruments, and other articles, of which I had
furnished a list, by direction of the Lords Commissioners of the
Admiralty, were embarked on board the Hudson's Bay Company's ship Prince
of Wales, appointed by the committee to convey the Expedition to York
Factory, their principal establishment in Hudson's Bay.
It will be seen, in the course of the Narrative how much reason I had to
be satisfied with, and how great my obligations are to, all the
Gentlemen who were associated with me in the Expedition, whose kindness,
good conduct, and cordial co-operation, have made an impression which
can never be effaced from my mind. The unfortunate death of Mr. Hood is
the only drawback which I feel from the otherwise unalloyed pleasure of
reflecting on that cordial unanimity which at all times prevailed among
us in the days of sunshine, and in those of "sickness and sorrow."
To Dr. Richardson, in particular, the exclusive merit is due of whatever
collections and observations have been made in the department of Natural
History; and I am indebted to him in no small degree for his friendly
advice and assistance in the preparation of the present narrative.
The charts and drawings were made by Lieutenant Back, and the late
Lieutenant Hood. Both these gentlemen cheerfully and ably assisted me in
making the observations and in the daily conduct of the Expedition. The
observations made by Mr. Hood, on the various phenomena presented by the
Aurora Borealis[1], will, it is presumed, present to the reader some new
facts connected with this meteor. Mr. Back was mostly prevented from
turning his attention to objects of science by the many severe duties
which were required of him, and which obliged him to travel almost
constantly every winter that we passed in America; to his personal
exertions, indeed, our final safety is mainly to be attributed. And here
I must be permitted to pay the tribute, due to the fidelity, exertion
and uniform good conduct in the most trying situations, of John Hepburn,
an English seaman, and our only attendant, to whom in the latter part of
our journey we owe, under Divine Providence, the preservation of the
lives of some of the party.
[1] Given in the Appendix to the Quarto Edition.
I ought, perhaps, to crave the reader's indulgence towards the defective
style of this work, which I trust will not be refused when it is
considered that mine has been a life of constant employment in my
profession from a very early age. I have been prompted to venture upon
the task solely by an imperious sense of duty, when called upon to
undertake it.
In the ensuing Narrative the notices of the moral condition of the
Indians as influenced by the conduct of the traders towards them, refer
entirely to the state in which it existed during our progress through
the country; but lest I should have been mistaken respecting the views
of the Hudson's Bay Company on these points, I gladly embrace the
opportunity which a Second Edition affords me of stating that the
junction of the two Companies has enabled the Directors to put in
practice the improvements which I have reason to believe they had long
contemplated. They have provided for religious instruction by the
appointment of two Clergymen of the established church, under whose
direction school-masters and mistresses are to be placed at such
stations as afford the means of support for the establishment of
schools. The offspring of the voyagers and labourers are to be educated
chiefly at the expense of the Company; and such of the Indian children
as their parents may wish to send to these schools, are to be
instructed, clothed, and maintained at the expense of the Church
Missionary Society, which has already allotted a considerable sum for
these purposes, and has also sent out teachers who are to act under the
superintendence of the Rev. Mr. West, the principal chaplain of the
Company.
We had the pleasure of meeting this gentleman at York Factory, and
witnessed with peculiar delight the great benefit which already marked
his zealous and judicious conduct. Many of the traders, and of the
servants of the Company, had been induced to marry the women with whom
they had cohabited; a material step towards the improvement of the
females in that country.
Mr. West, under the sanction of the Directors, has also promoted a
subscription for the distribution of the Bible in every part of the
country where the Company's Fur Trade has extended, and which has met
with very general support from the resident chief factors, traders, and
clerks. The Directors of the Company are continuing to reduce the
distribution of spirits gradually among the Indians, as well as towards
their own servants, with a view to the entire disuse of them as soon as
this most desirable object can be accomplished. They have likewise
issued orders for the cultivation of the ground at each of the posts, by
which means the residents will be far less exposed to famine whenever
through the scarcity of animals, the sickness of the Indians, or any
other cause, their supply of meat may fail.
It is to be hoped that intentions, so dear to every humane and pious
mind, will, through the blessing of God, meet with the utmost success.
JOURNEY TO THE SHORES
OF
THE POLAR SEA.
* * * * *
CHAPTER I.
Departure from England--Transactions at Stromness--Enter Davis'
Straits--Perilous Situation on the Shore of Resolution Island--Land
on the Coast of Labrador--Esquimaux of Savage Islands--York
Factory--Preparations for the Journey into the Interior.
1819. May.
On Sunday, the 23d of May, the whole of our party embarked at Gravesend
on board the ship Prince of Wales, belonging to the Hudson's Bay
Company, just as she was in the act of getting under weigh, with her
consorts the Eddystone and Wear. The wind being unfavourable, on the ebb
tide being finished, the vessels were again anchored; but they weighed
in the night and beat down as far as the Warp, where they were detained
two days by a strong easterly wind.
Having learned from some of the passengers, who were the trading
Officers of the Company, that the arrival of the ships at either of the
establishments in Hudson's Bay, gives full occupation to all the
boatmen in their service, who are required to convey the necessary
stores to the different posts in the interior; that it was very probable
a sufficient number of men might not be procured from this indispensable
duty; and, considering that any delay at York Factory would materially
retard our future operations, I wrote to the Under Secretary of State,
requesting his permission to provide a few well-qualified steersmen and
bowmen, at Stromness, to assist our proceedings in the former part of
our journey into the interior.
_May 30_.--The easterly wind, which had retarded the ship's progress so
much, that we had only reached Hollesley Bay after a week's beating
about, changed to W.S.W. soon after that anchorage had been gained. The
vessels instantly weighed, and, by carrying all sail, arrived in
Yarmouth Roads at seven P.M.; the pilots were landed, and our course was
continued through the anchorage. At midnight, the wind became light and
variable, and gradually drew round to the N.W.; and, as the sky
indicated unsettled weather, and the wind blew from an unfavourable
quarter for ships upon that coast, the commander bore up again for
Yarmouth, and anchored at eight A.M.
This return afforded us, at least, the opportunity of comparing the
longitude of Yarmouth church, as shewn by our chronometers, with its
position as laid down by the Ordnance Trigonometrical Survey; and, it
was satisfactory to find, from the small difference in their results,
that the chronometers had not experienced any alteration in their rates,
in consequence of their being changed from an horizontal position in a
room, to that of being carried in the pocket.
An untoward circumstance, while at this anchorage, cast a damp on our
party at this early period of the voyage. Emboldened by the decided
appearance of the N.W. sky, several of our officers and passengers
ventured on shore for a few hours; but, we had not been long in the town
before the wind changed suddenly to S.E., which caused instant motion in
the large fleet collected at this anchorage. The commander of our ship
intimated his intention of proceeding to sea, by firing guns; and the
passengers hastened to embark. Mr. Back, however, had unfortunately gone
upon some business to a house two or three miles distant from Yarmouth,
along the line of the coast; from whence he expected to be able to
observe the first symptoms of moving, which the vessels might make. By
some accident, however, he did not make his appearance before the
captain was obliged to make sail, that he might get the ships through
the intricate passage of the Cockle Gat before it was dark. Fortunately,
through the kindness of Lieutenant Hewit, of the Protector, I was
enabled to convey a note to our missing companion, desiring him to
proceed immediately by the coach to the Pentland Firth, and from thence
across the passage to Stromness, which appeared to be the only way of
proceeding by which he could rejoin the party.
_June 3_.--The wind continuing favourable after leaving Yarmouth, about
nine this morning we passed the rugged and bold projecting rock, termed
Johnny Groat's house, and soon afterwards Duncansby Head, and then
entered the Pentland Firth. A pilot came from the main shore of
Scotland, and steered the ship in safety between the different islands,
to the outer anchorage at Stromness, though the atmosphere was too dense
for distinguishing any of the objects on the land. Almost immediately
after the ship had anchored, the wind changed to N.W., the rain ceased,
and a sight was then first obtained of the neighbouring islands, and of
the town of Stromness, the latter of which, from this point of view, and
at this distance, presented a pleasing appearance.
Mr. Geddes, the agent of the Hudson's Bay Company at this place,
undertook to communicate my wish for volunteer boatmen to the different
parishes, by a notice on the church-door, which he said was the surest
and most direct channel for the conveyance of information to the lower
classes in these islands, as they invariably attend divine service there
every Sunday. He informed me that the kind of men we were in want of
would be difficult to procure, on account of the very increased demand
for boatmen for the herring fishery, which had recently been established
on the shores of these islands; that last year, sixty boats and four
hundred men only were employed in this service, whereas now there were
three hundred boats and twelve hundred men engaged; and that owing to
this unexpected addition to the fishery, he had been unable to provide
the number of persons required for the service of the Hudson's Bay
Company. This was unpleasant information, as it increased the
apprehension of our being detained at York Factory the whole winter, if
boatmen were not taken from hence. I could not therefore hesitate in
requesting Mr. Geddes to engage eight or ten men well adapted for our
service, on such terms as he could procure them, though the Secretary of
State's permission had not yet reached me.
Next to a supply of boatmen, our attention was directed towards the
procuring of a house conveniently situated for trying the instruments,
and examining the rates of the chronometers. Mr. Geddes kindly offered
one of his, which, though in an unfinished state, was readily accepted,
being well situated for our purpose, as it was placed on an eminence,
had a southern aspect, and was at a sufficient distance from the town to
secure us from frequent interruption. Another advantage was its
proximity to the Manse, the residence of the Rev. Mr. Clouston, the
worthy and highly respected minister of Stromness; whose kind
hospitality and the polite attention of his family, the party
experienced almost daily during their stay.
For three days the weather was unsettled, and few observations could be
made, except for the dip of the needle, which was ascertained to be 74°
37' 48", on which occasion a difference of eight degrees and a half was
perceived between the observations, when the face of the instrument was
changed from the east to the west, the amount being the greatest when it
was placed with the face to the west. But, on the 8th, a westerly wind
caused a cloudless sky, which enabled us to place the transit instrument
in the meridian, and to ascertain the variation of the compass, to be
27° 50' west. The sky becoming cloudy in the afternoon, prevented our
obtaining the corresponding observations to those gained in the morning;
and the next day an impervious fog obscured the sky until noon. On the
evening of this day, we had the gratification of welcoming our absent
companion, Mr. Back. His return to our society was hailed with sincere
pleasure by every one, and removed a weight of anxiety from my mind. It
appears that he had come down to the beach at Caistor, just as the ships
were passing by, and had applied to some boatmen to convey him on board,
which might have been soon accomplished, but they, discovering the
emergency of his case, demanded an exorbitant reward which he was not at
the instant prepared to satisfy; and, in consequence, they positively
refused to assist him. Though he had travelled nine successive days,
almost without rest, he could not be prevailed upon to withdraw from the
agreeable scene of a ball-room, in which he joined us, until a late
hour.
On the 10th, the rain having ceased, the observations for ascertaining
the dip of the needle were repeated; and the results, compared with the
former ones, gave a mean of 74° 33' 20". Nearly the same differences
were remarked in reversing the face of the instrument as before. An
attempt was also made to ascertain the magnetic force, but the wind
blew too strong for procuring the observation to any degree of accuracy.
The fineness of the following day induced us to set up the different
instruments for examination, and to try how nearly the observations made
by each of them would agree; but a squall passed over just before noon,
accompanied by heavy rain, and the hoped-for favourable opportunity was
entirely lost. In the intervals between the observations, and at every
opportunity, my companions were occupied in those pursuits to which
their attention had been more particularly directed in my instructions.
Whilst Dr. Richardson was collecting and examining the various specimens
of marine plants, of which these islands furnish an abundant and
diversified supply, Mr. Back and Mr. Hood took views and sketches of the
surrounding scenery, which is extremely picturesque in many parts, and
wants only the addition of trees to make it beautiful. The hills present
the bold character of rugged sterility, whilst the valleys, at this
season, are clothed with luxuriant verdure.
It was not till the 14th, that, by appointment, the boatmen were to
assemble at the house of Mr. Geddes, to engage to accompany the
Expedition. Several persons collected, but to my great mortification, I
found they were all so strongly possessed with the fearful apprehension,
either that great danger would attend the service, or that we should
carry them further than they would agree to go, that not a single man
would engage with us; some of them, however, said they would consider
the subject, and give me an answer on the following day. This indecisive
conduct was extremely annoying to me, especially as the next evening was
fixed for the departure of the ships.
At the appointed time on the following morning, four men only presented
themselves, and these, after much hesitation, engaged to accompany the
Expedition to Fort Chipewyan, if they should be required so far. The
bowmen and steersmen were to receive forty pounds' wages annually, and
the middle men thirty-five pounds. They stipulated to be sent back to
the Orkney Islands, free of expense, and to receive their pay until the
time of arrival. Only these few men could be procured, although our
requisition had been sent to almost every island, even as far as the
northernmost point of Ronaldsha. I was much amused with the extreme
caution these men used before they would sign the agreement; they
minutely scanned all our intentions, weighed every circumstance, looked
narrowly into the plan of our route, and still more circumspectly to
the prospect of return. Such caution on the part of the northern
mariners forms a singular contrast with the ready and thoughtless manner
in which an English seaman enters upon any enterprise, however
hazardous, without inquiring, or desiring to know where he is going, or
what he is going about.
The brig Harmony, belonging to the Moravian Missionary Society, and
bound to their settlement at Nain, on the coast of Labrador, was lying
at anchor. With the view of collecting some Esquimaux words and
sentences, or gaining any information respecting the manners and habits
of that people, Doctor Richardson and myself paid her a visit. We found
the passengers, who were going out as Missionaries, extremely disposed
to communicate; but as they only spoke the German and Esquimaux
languages, of which we were ignorant, our conversation was necessarily
much confined: by the aid, however, of an Esquimaux and German
Dictionary, some few words were collected, which we considered might be
useful. There were on board a very interesting girl, and a young man,
who were natives of Disco, in Old Greenland; both of them had fair
complexions, rather handsome features, and a lively manner; the former
was going to be married to a resident Missionary, and the latter to
officiate in that character. The commander of the vessel gave me a
translation of the Gospel of St. John in the Esquimaux language, printed
by the Moravian Society in London.
_June 16_.--The wind being unfavourable for sailing I went on shore with
Dr. Richardson, and took several lunar observations at the place of our
former residence. The result obtained was latitude 58° 56' 56"{4} N.;
longitude 3° 17' 55" W.; variation 27° 50' W.; dip of the magnetic
needle, 74° 33' 20". In the afternoon the wind changed in a squall some
points towards the north, and the Prince of Wales made the preparatory
signal for sea. At three P.M. the ships weighed, an hour too early for
the tide; as soon as this served we entered into the passage between Hoy
and Pomona, and had to beat through against a very heavy swell, which
the meeting of a weather tide and a strong breeze had occasioned.
Some dangerous rocks lie near the Pomona shore, and on this side also
the tide appeared to run with the greatest strength. On clearing the
outward projecting points of Hoy and Pomona, we entered at once into the
Atlantic, and commenced our voyage to Hudson's Bay--having the
Eddystone, Wear, and Harmony, Missionary brig, in company.
The comparisons of the chronometers this day indicated that Arnold's
Nos. 2148 and 2147, had slightly changed their rates since they had been
brought on board; fortunately the rate of the former seems to have
increased nearly in the same ratio as the other has lost, and the mean
longitude will not be materially affected.
Being now fairly launched into the Atlantic, I issued a general
memorandum for the guidance of the officers during the prosecution of
the service on which we were engaged, and communicated to them the
several points of information that were expected from us by my
instructions. I also furnished them with copies of the signals which had
been agreed upon between Lieutenant Parry and myself, to be used in the
event of our reaching the northern coast of America, and falling in with
each other.
At the end of the month of June, our progress was found to have been
extremely slow, owing to a determined N.W. wind and much sea. We had
numerous birds hovering round the ship; principally fulmars
(_procellaria glacialis_,) and shearwaters, (_procellaria puffinus_,)
and not unfrequently saw shoals of grampusses sporting about, which the
Greenland seamen term finners from their large dorsal fin. Some
porpoises occasionally appeared, and whenever they did, the crew were
sanguine in their expectation of having a speedy change in the wind,
which had been so vexatiously contrary, but they were disappointed in
every instance.
_Thursday, July 1_.--The month of July set in more favourably; and,
aided by fresh breezes, we advanced rapidly to the westward, attended
daily by numerous fulmars and shearwaters. The Missionary brig had
parted company on the 22d of June. We passed directly over that part of
the ocean where the "Sunken Land of Buss" is laid down in the old, and
continued in the Admiralty charts. Mr. Bell, the commander of the
Eddystone, informed me, that the pilot who brought his ship down the
Thames told him that he had gained soundings in twelve feet somewhere
hereabout; and I am rather inclined to attribute the very unusual and
cross sea we had in this neighbourhood to the existence of a bank, than
to the effect of a gale of wind which we had just before experienced;
and I cannot but regret that the commander of the ship did not try for
soundings at frequent intervals.
By the 25th July we had opened the entrance of Davis' Straits, and in
the afternoon spoke the Andrew Marvell, bound to England with a cargo of
fourteen fish. The master informed us that the ice had been heavier this
season in Davis' Straits than he had ever recollected, and that it lay
particularly close to the westward, being connected with the shore to
the northward of Resolution Island, and extending from thence within a
short distance of the Greenland coast; that whales had been abundant,
but the ice so extremely cross, that few could be killed. His ship, as
well as several others, had suffered material injury, and two vessels
had been entirely crushed between vast masses of ice in latitude 74° 40'
N., but the crews were saved. We inquired anxiously, but in vain, for
intelligence respecting Lieutenant Parry, and the ships under his
command; but as he mentioned that the wind had been blowing strong from
the northward for some time, which would, probably, have cleared
Baffin's Bay of ice, we were disposed to hope favourably of his
progress.
The clouds assumed so much the appearance of icebergs this evening, as
to deceive most of the passengers and crew; but their imaginations had
been excited by the intelligence we had received from the Andrew
Marvell, that she had only parted from a cluster of them two days
previous to our meetings.
On the 27th, being in latitude 57° 44' 21" N., longitude 47° 31' 14" W.,
and the weather calm we tried for soundings, but did not reach the
bottom. The register thermometer was attached to the line just above
the lead, and is supposed to have descended six hundred and fifty
fathoms. A well-corked bottle was also fastened to the line, two hundred
fathoms above the lead, and went down four hundred and fifty fathoms.
The change in temperature, shewn by the register thermometer during the
descent, was from 52° to 40.5; and it stood at the latter point, when
taken out of the tin case. The temperature of the water brought up in
the bottle was 41°, being half a degree higher at four hundred and fifty
than at six hundred and fifty fathoms, and four degrees colder than the
water at the surface, which was then at 45°, whilst that of the air was
46°. This experiment in shewing the water to be colder at a great depth
than at the surface, and in proportion to the increase of the descent,
coincides with the observations of Captain Ross and Lieutenant Parry, on
their late voyage to these seas, but is contrary to the results obtained
by Captain Buchan and myself, on our recent voyage to the north, between
Spitzbergen and Greenland, in which sea we invariably found the water
brought from any great depth to be warmer than that at the surface.
On the 28th we tacked, to avoid an extensive stream of sailing ice. The
temperature of the water fell to 39.5°{5}, when we were near it, but was
at 41°, when at the distance of half a mile. The thermometer in the air
remained steadily at 40°. Thus the proximity of this ice was not so
decidedly indicated by the decrease of the temperature of either the air
or water, as I have before witnessed, which was probably owing to the
recent arrival of the stream at this point, and its passing at too quick
a rate for the effectual diffusion of its chilling influence beyond a
short distance. Still the decrease in both cases was sufficient to have
given timely warning for a ship's performing any evolution that would
have prevented the coming in contact with it, had the thickness of the
weather precluded a distant view of the danger.
The approach to ice would be more evidently pointed out in the Atlantic,
or wherever the surface is not so continually chilled by the passing and
the melting of ice as in this sea; and I should strongly recommend a
strict hourly attention to the thermometrical state of the water at the
surface, in all parts where ships are exposed to the dangerous
concussion of sailing icebergs, as a principal means of security.
The following day our ship came near another stream of ice, and the
approach to it was indicated by a decrease of the temperature of the
water at the surface from 44° to 42°. A small pine-tree was picked up
much shattered by the ice. In the afternoon of the 30th, a very dense
fog came on; and, about six P.M., when sailing before a fresh breeze, we
were suddenly involved in a heavy stream of ice. Considerable difficulty
was experienced in steering through the narrow channels between the
different masses in this foggy weather, and the ship received several
severe blows.
The water, as usual in the centre of the stream, was quite smooth, but
we heard the waves beating violently against the outer edge of the ice.
There was some earthy matter on several of the pieces, and the whole
body bore the appearance of recent separation from the land. In the
space of two hours we again got into the open sea, but had left our two
consorts far behind; they followed our track by the guns we discharged.
The temperature of the surface water was 35° when amongst the ice, 38°
when just clear of it, and 41.5° at two miles distant.
On the 4th of August, when in latitude 59° 58' N., longitude 59° 53' W.,
we first fell in with large icebergs; and in the evening were
encompassed by several of considerable magnitude, which obliged us to
tack the ship in order to prevent our getting entangled amongst them.
The estimated distance from the nearest part of the Labrador coast was
then eighty-eight miles; here we tried for soundings, without gaining
the bottom. The ship passed through some strong riplings, which
evidently indicated a current, but its direction was not ascertained. We
found, however, by the recent observations, that the ship had been set
daily to the southward, since we had opened Davis' Straits. The
variation of the compass was observed to be 52° 41' W.
At nine P.M., brilliant coruscations of the Aurora Borealis appeared, of
a pale ochre colour, with a slight tinge of red, in an arched form,
crossing the zenith from N.W. to S.E., but afterwards they assumed
various shapes, and had a rapid motion.
On the 5th of August, a party of the officers endeavoured to get on one
of the larger icebergs, but ineffectually, owing to the steepness and
smoothness of its sides, and the swell produced by its undulating
motion. This was one of the largest we saw, and Mr. Hood ascertained its
height to be one hundred and forty-nine feet; but these masses of ice
are frequently magnified to an immense size, through the illusive medium
of a hazy atmosphere, and on this account their dimensions have often
been exaggerated by voyagers.
In the morning of the 7th, the Island of Resolution was indistinctly
seen through the haze, but was soon afterwards entirely hidden by a very
dense fog. The favourable breeze subsided into a perfect calm, and left
the ship surrounded by loose ice. At this time the Eddystone was
perceived to be driving with rapidity towards some of the larger masses;
the stern-boats of this ship and of the Wear were despatched to assist
in towing her clear of them. At ten, a momentary clearness presented the
land distinctly at the distance of two miles; the ship was quite
unmanageable, and under the sole governance of the currents, which ran
in strong eddies between the masses of ice. Our consorts were also seen,
the Wear being within hail, and the Eddystone at a short distance from
us. Two attempts were ineffectually made to gain soundings, and the
extreme density of the fog precluded us from any other means of
ascertaining the direction in which we were driving until half past
twelve, when we had the alarming view of a barren rugged shore within a
few yards, towering over the mast heads. Almost instantly afterwards the
ship struck violently on a point of rocks, projecting from the island;
and the ship's side was brought so near to the shore, that poles were
prepared to push her off. This blow displaced the rudder, and raised it
several inches, but it fortunately had been previously confined by
tackles. A gentle swell freed the ship from this perilous situation, but
the current hurried us along in contact with the rocky shore, and the
prospect was most alarming. On the outward bow was perceived a rugged
and precipitous cliff, whose summit was hid in the fog, and the Vessel's
head was pointed towards the bottom of a small bay, into which we were
rapidly driving. There now seemed to be no probability of escaping
shipwreck, being without wind, and having the rudder in its present
useless state; the only assistance was that of a boat employed in
towing, which had been placed in the water between the ship and the
shore, at the imminent risk of its being crushed. The ship again struck
in passing over a ledge of rocks, and happily the blow replaced the
rudder, which enabled us to take advantage of a light breeze, and to
direct the ship's head without the projecting cliff. But the breeze was
only momentary, and the ship was a third time driven on shore on the
rocky termination of the cliff. Here we remained stationary for some
seconds, and with little prospect of being removed from this perilous
situation; but we were once more extricated by the swell from this ledge
also, and carried still farther along the shore. The coast became now
more rugged, and our view of it was terminated by another high
projecting point on the starboard bow. Happily, before we had reached
it, a light breeze enabled us to turn the ship's head to seaward, and we
had the gratification to find, when the sails were trimmed, that she
drew off the shore. We had made but little progress, however, when she
was violently forced by the current against a large iceberg lying
aground.
Our prospect was now more alarming than at any preceding period; and it
would be difficult for me to portray the anxiety and dismay depicted on
the countenances of the female passengers and children, who were rushing
on deck in spite of the endeavours of the officers to keep them below,
out of the danger which was apprehended if the masts should be carried
away. After the first concussion, the ship was driven along the steep
and rugged side of this iceberg with such amazing rapidity, that the
destruction of the masts seemed inevitable, and every one expected we
should again be forced on the rocks in the most disabled state; but we
providentially escaped this perilous result, which must have been
decisive.
The dense fog now cleared away for a short time, and we discovered the
Eddystone close to some rocks, having three boats employed in towing;
but the Wear was not visible.
Our ship received water very fast; the pumps were instantly manned and
kept in continual use, and signals of distress were made to the
Eddystone, whose commander promptly came on board, and then ordered to
our assistance his carpenter and all the men he could spare, together
with the carpenter and boat's crew of the Wear, who had gone on board
the Eddystone in the morning, and were prevented from returning to their
own vessel by the fog. As the wind was increasing, and the sky appeared
very unsettled, it was determined the Eddystone should take the ship in
tow, that the undivided attention of the passengers and crew might be
directed to pumping, and clearing the holds to examine whether there was
a possibility of stopping the leak. We soon had reason to suppose the
principal injury had been received from a blow near the stern-post, and,
after cutting away part of the ceiling, the carpenters endeavoured to
stop the rushing in of the water, by forcing oakum between the timbers;
but this had not the desired effect, and the leak, in spite of all our
efforts at the pumps, increased so much, that parties of the officers
and passengers were stationed to bail out the water in buckets at
different parts of the hold. A heavy gale came on, blowing from the
land, as the night advanced; the sails were split, the ship was
encompassed by heavy ice, and, in forcing through a closely connected
stream, the tow-rope broke, and obliged us to take a portion of the
seamen from the pumps, and appoint them to the management of the ship.
Fatigue, indeed, had caused us to relax in our exertions at the pumps
during a part of the night of the 8th, and on the following morning
upwards of five feet water was found in the well. Renewed exertions were
now put forth by every person, and before eight A.M. the water was so
much reduced as to enable the carpenters to get at other defective
places; but the remedies they could apply were insufficient to repress
the water from rushing in, and our labours could but just keep the ship
in the same state throughout the day, until six P.M.; when the strength
of every one began to fail, the expedient of thrusting in felt, as well
as oakum, was resorted to, and a plank nailed over all. After this
operation a perceptible diminution in the water was made, and being
encouraged by the change, we put forth our utmost exertion in bailing
and pumping; and before night, to our infinite joy, the leak was so
overpowered that the pumps were only required to be used at intervals
of ten minutes. A sail, covered with every substance that could be
carried into the leaks by the pressure of the water, was drawn under the
quarter of the ship, and secured by ropes on each side.
As a matter of precaution in the event of having to abandon the ship,
which was for some time doubtful, the elderly women and children were
removed to the Eddystone when the wind was moderate this afternoon, but
the young women remained to assist at the pumps, and their services were
highly valuable, both for their personal labour, and for the
encouragement their example and perseverance gave to the men.
At day-light, on the 9th, every eye was anxiously cast around the
horizon in search of the Wear, but in vain; and the recollection of our
own recent peril caused us to entertain considerable apprehensions for
her safety. This anxiety quickened our efforts to exchange our shattered
sails for new ones, that the ship might be got, as speedily as possible,
near to the land, which was but just in sight, and a careful search be
made for her along the coast. We were rejoiced to find that our leak did
not increase by carrying sail, and we ventured in the evening to remove
the sail which had been placed under the part where the injury had been
received, as it greatly impeded our advance.
We passed many icebergs on the 10th, and in the evening we tacked from a
level field of ice, which extended northward as far as the eye could
reach. Our leak remained in the same state; the pumps discharged in
three minutes the quantity of water which had been received in fifteen.
The ship could not be got near to the land before the afternoon of the
11th. At four P.M. we hove to, opposite to, and about five miles distant
from, the spot on which we had first struck on Saturday. Every glass was
directed along the shore (as they had been throughout the day,) to
discover any trace of our absent consort; but, as none was seen, our
solicitude respecting her was much increased, and we feared the crew
might be wrecked on this inhospitable shore. Guns were frequently fired
to apprize any who might be near of our approach; but, as no one
appeared, and no signal was returned, and the loose ice was setting down
towards the ship, we bore up to proceed to the next appointed
rendezvous. At eight P.M. we were abreast of the S.W. end of the island
called Cape Resolution, which is a low point, but indicated at a
distance by a lofty round backed hill that rises above it. We entered
Hudson's Straits soon afterwards.
The coast of Resolution Island should be approached with caution, as the
tides appear to be strong and uncertain in their course. Some dangerous
rocks lie above and below the water's edge, at the distance of five or
six miles from East Bluff, bearing S. 32° E.
_August 12_.--Having had a fresh gale through the night, we reached
Saddleback Island by noon--the place of rendezvous; and looked
anxiously, but in vain, for the Wear. Several guns were fired, supposing
she might be hid from our view by the land; but, as she did not appear,
Captain Davidson, having remained two hours, deemed further delay
inexpedient, and bore up to keep the advantage of the fair wind. The
outline of this island is rugged; the hummock on its northern extremity
appeared to me to resemble a decayed martello tower more than a saddle.
Azimuths were obtained this evening that gave the variation 58° 45' W.,
which is greater than is laid down in the charts, or than the officers
of the Hudson's Bay ships have been accustomed to allow. We arrived
abreast of the Upper Savage Island early in the morning, and as the
breeze was moderate, the ship was steered as near to the shore as the
wind would permit, to give the Esquimaux inhabitants an opportunity of
coming off to barter, which they soon embraced.
Their shouts at a distance intimated their approach sometime before we
descried the canoes paddling towards us; the headmost of them reached us
at eleven; these were quickly followed by others, and before noon about
forty canoes, each holding one man, were assembled around the two ships.
In the afternoon, when we approached nearer to the shore, five or six
larger ones, containing the women and children, came up.
The Esquimaux immediately evinced their desire to barter, and displayed
no small cunning in making their bargains, taking care not to exhibit
too many articles at first. Their principal commodities were, oil,
sea-horse teeth, whale-bone, seal-skin dresses, caps and boots,
deer-skins and horns, and models of their canoes; and they received in
exchange small saws, knives, nails, tin-kettles, and needles. It was
pleasing to behold the exultation, and to hear the shouts of the whole
party, when an acquisition was made by any one; and not a little
ludicrous to behold the eagerness with which the fortunate person licked
each article with his tongue, on receiving it, as a finish to the
bargain, and an act of appropriation. They in no instance omitted this
strange practice, however small the article; the needles even passed
individually through the ceremony. The women brought imitations of men,
women, animals, and birds, carved with labour and ingenuity out of
sea-horse teeth. The dresses and the figures of the animals, were not
badly executed, but there was no attempt at the delineation of the
countenances; and most of the figures were without eyes, ears, and
fingers, the execution of which would, perhaps, have required more
delicate instruments than they possess. The men set most value on saws;
_kuttee-swa-bak_, the name by which they distinguish them, was a
constant cry. Knives were held next in estimation. An old sword was
bartered from the Eddystone, and I shall long remember the universal
burst of joy on the happy man's receiving it. It was delightful to
witness the general interest excited by individual acquisitions. There
was no desire shewn by any one to over-reach his neighbour, or to press
towards any part of the ship where{6} a bargain was making, until the
person in possession of the place had completed his exchange and
removed; and, if any article happened to be demanded from the outer
canoes, the men nearest assisted willingly in passing the thing across.
Supposing the party to belong to one tribe, the total number of the
tribe must exceed two hundred persons, as there were, probably, one
hundred and fifty around the ships, and few of these were
elderly persons, or male children.
Their faces were broad and flat, the eyes small. The men were in general
stout. Some of the younger women and the children had rather pleasing
countenances, but the difference between these and the more aged of that
sex, bore strong testimony to the effects which a few years produce in
this ungenial climate. Most of the party had sore eyes, all of them
appeared of a plethoric habit of body; several were observed bleeding at
the nose during their stay near the ship. The men's dresses consisted of
a jacket of seal-skin, the trowsers of bear-skin, and several had caps
of the white fox-skin. The female dresses were made of the same
materials, but differently shaped, having a hood in which the infants
were carried. We thought their manner very lively and agreeable. They
were fond of mimicking our speech and gestures; but nothing afforded
them greater amusement than when we attempted to retaliate by
pronouncing any of their words.
The canoes were of seal-skin, and similar in every respect to those used
by the Esquimaux in Greenland; they were generally new and very complete
in their appointments. Those appropriated to the women are of ruder
construction, and only calculated for fine weather; they are, however,
useful vessels, being capable of containing twenty persons with their
luggage. An elderly man officiates as steersman, and the women paddle,
but they have also a mast which carries a sail, made of dressed
whale-gut.
When the women had disposed of all their articles of trade they resorted
to entreaty; and the putting in practice many enticing gestures was
managed with so much address, as to procure them presents of a variety
of beads, needles, and other articles in great demand among females.
It is probable these Esquimaux go from this shore to some part of
Labrador to pass the winter, as parties of them have been frequently
seen by the homeward-bound Hudson's Bay ships in the act of crossing the
Strait.
They appear to speak the same language as the tribe of Esquimaux, who
reside near to the Moravian settlements in Labrador: for we perceived
they used several of the words which had been given to us by the
Missionaries at Stromness.
Towards evening, the Captain, being desirous to get rid of his visitors,
took an effectual method by tacking from the shore; our friends then
departed apparently in high glee at the harvest they had reaped. They
paddled away very swiftly, and would, doubtless, soon reach the shore
though it was distant ten or twelve miles.
Not having encountered any of the ice, which usually arrests the
progress of ships in their outward passage through the Straits, and
being consequently deprived of the usual means of replenishing our stock
of water, which had become short, the Captain resolved on going to the
coast of Labrador for a supply. Dr. Richardson and I gladly embraced
this opportunity to land, and examine this part of the coast. I was also
desirous to observe the variation on shore, as the azimuths, which had
been taken on board both ships since our entrance into the Straits, had
shewn a greater amount than we had been led to expect; but, unluckily
the sun became obscured. The beach consisted of large rolled stones of
gneiss and syenite{7}, amongst which many pieces of ice had grounded,
and it was with difficulty that we effected a landing in a small cove
under a steep cliff. These stones were worn perfectly smooth; neither in
the interstices, nor at the bottom of the water, which was very clear,
were there any vestiges of sea-weed.
The cliff was from forty to fifty feet high and quite perpendicular, and
had at its base a small slip of soil formed of the debris of a bed of
clay-slate. From this narrow spot Dr. Richardson collected specimens of
thirty different species of plants; and we were about to scramble up a
shelving part of the rock, and go into the interior, when we perceived
the signal of recall, which the master had caused to be made, in
consequence of a sudden change in the appearance of the weather.
On the evening of the 19th, we passed Digge's Islands, the termination
of Hudson's Strait. Here the Eddystone parted company, being bound to
Moose Factory at the bottom of the Bay. A strong north wind came on,
which prevented our getting round the north end of Mansfield, and, as it
continued to blow with equal strength for the next five days, we were
most vexatiously detained in beating along the Labrador coast, and near
the dangerous chain of islands, the Sleepers, which are said to extend
from the latitude of 60° 10' to 57° 00' N. The press of sail, which of
necessity we carried caused the leak to increase and the pumps were kept
in constant use.
A favouring wind at length enabled us, on the 25th, to shape our course
across Hudson's Bay. Nothing worthy of remark occurred during this
passage, except the rapid decrease in the variation of the magnetic
needle. The few remarks respecting the appearance of the land, which we
were able to make in our quick passage through these Straits, were
transmitted to the Admiralty; but as they will not be interesting to the
general reader, and may not be sufficiently accurate for the guidance
of the Navigator, they are omitted in this narrative.
On the 28th we discovered the land to the southward of Cape Tatnam,
which is so extremely low, that the tops of the trees were first
discerned; the soundings at the time were seventeen fathoms, which
gradually decreased to five as the shore was approached. Cape Tatnam is
not otherwise remarkable than as being the point from which the coast
inclines rather more to the westward towards York Factory.
The opening of the morning of the 30th presented to our view the
anchorage at York Flats, and the gratifying sight of a vessel at anchor,
which we recognised, after an anxious examination, to be the Wear. A
strong breeze blowing from the direction of the Flats, caused the water
to be more shallow than usual on the sandy bar, which lies on the
seaward side of the anchorage, and we could not get over it before two
P.M., when the tide was nearly at its height.
Immediately after our arrival, Mr. Williams, the Governor of the
Hudson's Bay Company's posts, came{8} on board, accompanied by the
Commander of the Wear. The pleasure we felt in welcoming the latter
gentleman can easily be imagined, when it is considered what reason we
had to apprehend that he and his crew had been numbered with the dead.
We learned that one of the larger masses of ice had providentially
drifted between the vessel's side and the rocks just at the time he
expected to strike, to which he secured it until a breeze sprang up, and
enabled him to pursue his voyage.
The Governor acquainted me that he had received information from the
Committee of the Hudson's Bay Company of the equipment of the
Expedition, and that the officers would come out in their first ship. In
the evening Dr. Richardson, Mr. Hood, and I, accompanied him to York
Factory, which we reached after dark; it is distant from the Flats seven
miles. Early next morning the honour of a salute was conferred on the
members of the Expedition.
Having communicated to the Governor the objects of the Expedition, and
that I had been directed to consult with him and the senior servants of
the Company as to the best mode of proceeding towards the execution of
the service, I was gratified by his assurance that his instructions from
the Committee directed that every possible assistance should be given to
forward our progress, and that he should feel peculiar pleasure in
performing this part of his duty. He introduced me at once to Messrs.
Charles, Swaine, and Snodie, masters of districts, who, from long
residence in the country, were perfectly acquainted with the different
modes of travelling, and the obstructions which might be anticipated. At
the desire of these gentlemen, I drew up a series of questions
respecting the points on which we required information; to which, two
days afterwards they had the kindness to return very explicit and
satisfactory answers; and on receiving them I requested the Governor to
favour me with his sentiments on the same subject in writing, which he
delivered to me on the following day.
Having learned that Messrs. Shaw, McTavish, and several other partners
of the N.W. Company, were under detention at this place, we took the
earliest opportunity of visiting them; when having presented the general
circular, and other introductory letters, with which I had been
furnished by their agent Mr. Simon McGillivray, we received from them
the most friendly and full assurance of the cordial endeavours of the
wintering partners of their company to promote the interests of the
Expedition. The knowledge we had now gained of the state of the violent
commercial opposition existing in the country, rendered this assurance
highly gratifying; and these gentlemen added to the obligation by freely
communicating that information respecting the interior of the country,
which their intelligence and long residence so fully qualified them to
give.
I deemed it expedient to issue a memorandum to the officers of the
Expedition, strictly prohibiting any interference whatever in the
existing quarrels, or any that might arise, between the two Companies;
and on presenting it to the principals of both the parties, they
expressed their satisfaction at the step I had taken.
The opinions of all the gentlemen were so decidedly in favour of the
route by Cumberland House, and through the chain of posts to the Great
Slave Lake, that I determined on pursuing it, and immediately
communicated my intention to the Governor, with a request that he would
furnish me with the means of conveyance for the party as speedily as
possible.
It was suggested in my instructions that we might probably procure a
schooner at this place, to proceed north as far as Wager Bay; but the
vessel alluded to was lying at Moose Factory, completely out of repair;
independently of which, the route directly to the northward was rendered
impracticable by the impossibility of procuring hunters and guides on
the coast.
I found that as the Esquimaux inhabitants had left Churchill a month
previous to our arrival, no interpreter from that quarter could be
procured before their return in the following spring. The Governor,
however, undertook to forward to us, next season, the only one amongst
them who understood English, if he could be induced to go.
The governor selected one of the largest of the Company's boats for our
use on the journey, and directed the carpenters to commence refitting it
immediately; but he was only able to furnish us with a steersman; and we
were obliged to make up the rest of the crew with the boatmen brought
from Stromness, and our two attendants.
York Factory, the principal depôt of the Hudson's Bay Company, stands on
the west bank of Hayes' River, about five miles above its mouth, on the
marshy peninsula which separates the Hayes and Nelson Rivers. The
surrounding country is flat and swampy, and covered with willows,
poplars, larch, spruce, and birch-trees; but the requisition for fuel
has expended all the wood in the vicinity of the fort, and the residents
have now to send for it to a considerable distance. The soil is alluvial
clay, and contains imbedded rolled stones. Though the bank of the river
is elevated about twenty feet, it is frequently overflown by the
spring-floods, and large portions are annually carried away by the
disruption of the ice, which grounding in the stream, have formed
several muddy islands. These interruptions, together with the various
collection of stones that are hid at high water, render the navigation
of the river difficult; but vessels of two hundred tons burthen may be
brought through the proper channels as high as the Factory.
The principal buildings are placed in the form of a square, having an
octagonal court in the centre; they are two stories in height, and have
flat roofs covered with lead. The officers dwell in one portion of this
square, and in the other parts the articles of merchandise are kept: the
workshops, storehouses for the furs, and the servants' houses are ranged
on the outside of the square, and the whole is surrounded by a stockade
twenty feet high. A platform is laid from the house to the pier on the
bank for the convenience of transporting the stores and furs, which is
the only promenade the residents have on this marshy spot during the
summer season. The few Indians who now frequent this establishment,
belong to the _Swampy Crees_. There were several of them encamped on the
outside of the stockade. Their tents were rudely constructed by tying
twenty or thirty poles together at the top, and spreading them out at
the base so as to form a cone; these were covered with dressed
moose-skins. The fire is placed in the centre, and a hole is left for
the escape of the smoke. The inmates had a squalid look, and were
suffering under the combined afflictions of hooping-cough and measles;
but even these miseries did not keep them from an excessive indulgence
in spirits, which they unhappily can procure from the traders with too
much facility; and they nightly serenaded us with their monotonous
drunken songs. Their sickness at this time, was particularly felt by the
traders, this being the season of the year when the exertion of every
hunter is required to procure their winter's stock of geese, which
resort in immense flocks to the extensive flats in this neighbourhood.
These birds, during the summer, retire far to the north, and breed in
security; but, when the approach of winter compels them to seek a more
southern climate, they generally alight on the marshes of this bay, and
fatten there for three weeks or a month, before they take their final
departure from the country. They also make a short halt at the same
spots in their progress northwards in the spring. Their arrival is
welcomed with joy, and the _goose hunt_ is one of the most plentiful
seasons of the year. The ducks frequent the swamps all the summer.
The weather was extremely unfavourable for celestial observations during
our stay, and it was only by watching the momentary appearances of the
sun, that we were enabled to obtain fresh rates for the chronometers,
and allow for their errors from Greenwich time. The dip of the needle
was observed to be 79° 29' 07", and the difference produced by reversing
the face of the instrument was 11° 3' 40". A succession of fresh breezes
prevented our ascertaining the intensity of the magnetic force. The
position of York Factory, by our observations, is in latitude 57° 00'
03" N., longitude 92° 26' W. The variation of the compass 6° 00' 21" E.
CHAPTER II.
Passage up Hayes', Steel, and Hill Rivers--Cross Swampy Lake--Jack
River--Knee Lake and Magnetic Islet--Trout River--Holy
Lake--Weepinapannis River--Windy Lake--White-Fall Lake and
River--Echemamis and Sea Rivers--Play-Green Lakes--Lake
Winipeg--River Saskatchawan--Cross, Cedar, and Pine-Island
Lakes--Cumberland House.
1819. September.
On the 9th of September, our boat being completed, arrangements were
made for our departure as soon as the tide should serve. But, when the
stores were brought down to the beach, it was found that the boat would
not contain them all. The whole, therefore, of the bacon, and part of
the flour, rice, tobacco, and ammunition, were returned into the store.
The bacon was too bulky an article to be forwarded under any
circumstances; but the Governor undertook to forward the rest next
season. In making the selection of articles to carry with us, I was
guided by the judgment of Governor Williams, who assured me that
tobacco, ammunition, and spirits, could be procured in the interior,
otherwise I should have been very unwilling to have left these
essential articles behind. 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. Notwithstanding these obstacles,
we advanced at the rate of two miles an hour, one-half of the crew
relieving the other at intervals of an hour and a half. The banks of the
river, and its islands, composed of alluvial soil, are well covered with
pines, larches, poplars, and willows. The breadth of the stream, some
distance above the Factory, is about half a mile, and its depth, during
this day's voyage, varied from three to nine feet.
At sunset we landed, and pitched the tent for the night, having made a
progress of twelve miles. A large fire was quickly kindled, supper
speedily prepared, and as readily despatched, when we retired with our
buffalo robes on, and enjoyed a night of sound repose.
It may here be stated, that the survey of the river was made by taking
the bearings of every point with a pocket compass, estimating the
distances, and making a connected eye-sketch of the whole. This part of
the survey was allotted to Messrs. Back and Hood conjointly: Mr. Hood
also protracted the route every evening on a ruled map, after the
courses and distances had been corrected by observations for latitude
and longitude, taken by myself as often as the weather would allow. The
extraordinary talent of this young officer in this line of service
proved of the greatest advantage to the Expedition, and he continued to
perform that duty until his lamented death, with a degree of zeal and
accuracy that characterized all his pursuits.
The next morning our camp was in motion at five A.M., and we soon
afterwards embarked with the flattering accompaniment of a fair wind: it
proved, however, too light to enable us to stem the stream, and we were
obliged to resume the fatiguing operation of tracking; sometimes under
cliffs so steep that the men could scarcely find a footing, and not
unfrequently over spots rendered so miry by the small streams that
trickled from above, as to be almost impassable. In the course of the
day we passed the scene of a very melancholy accident. Some years ago,
two families of Indians, induced by the flatness of a small beach, which
lay betwixt the cliff and the river, chose it as the site of their
encampment. They retired quietly to rest, not aware that the precipice,
detached from the bank, and urged by an accumulation of water in the
crevice behind, was tottering to its base. It fell during the night, and
the whole party was buried under its ruins.
The length of our voyage to-day was, in a direct line, sixteen miles and
a quarter, on a S.S.W. course. We encamped soon after sunset, and the
tent was scarcely pitched when a heavy rain began, which continued all
night.
Sixteen miles on the 11th, and five on the following morning, brought us
to the commencement of Hayes' River, which is formed by the confluence
of the Shamattawa and Steel Rivers. Our observations place this spot in
latitude 56° 22' 32" N., longitude 93° 1' 37" W. It is forty-eight miles
and a half from York Factory including the windings of the river. Steel
River, through which our course lay, is about three hundred yards wide
at its mouth; its banks have more elevation than those of Hayes' River,
but they shelve more gradually down to the stream, and afford a
tolerably good towing path, which compensates, in some degree, for the
rapids and frequent shoals that impede its navigation. We succeeded in
getting about ten miles above the mouth of the river, before the close
of day compelled us to disembark.
We made an effort, on the morning of the 13th, to stem the current under
sail, but as the course of the river was very serpentine, we found that
greater progress could be made by tracking. Steel River presents much
beautiful scenery; it winds through a narrow, but well wooded, valley,
which at every turn disclosed to us an agreeable variety of prospect,
rendered more picturesque by the effect of the season on the foliage,
now ready to drop from the trees. The light yellow of the fading poplars
formed a fine contrast to the dark evergreen of the spruce, whilst the
willows of an intermediate hue, served to shade the two principal masses
of colour into each other. The scene was occasionally enlivened by the
bright purple tints of the dogwood, blended with the browner shades of
the dwarf birch, and frequently intermixed with the gay yellow flowers
of the shrubby cinquefoil. With all these charms, the scene appeared
desolate from the want of the human species. The stillness was so great,
that even the twittering of the _whiskey-johneesh_, or cinereous crow,
caused us to start. Our voyage to-day was sixteen miles on a S.W.
course.
_Sept. 14_.--We had much rain during the night, and also in the morning,
which detained us in our encampment later than usual. We set out as soon
as the weather cleared up; and in a short time arrived at the head of
Steel River, where it is formed by the junction of Fox and Hill Rivers.
These two rivers are nearly of equal width, but the latter is the most
rapid. Mr. McDonald, on his way to Red River, in a small canoe, manned
by two Indians, overtook us at this place. It may be mentioned as a
proof of the dexterity of the Indians, and the skill with which they
steal upon their game, that they had on the preceding day, with no other
arms than a hatchet, killed two deer, a hawk, a curlew, and a sturgeon.
Three of the Company's boats joined us in the course of the morning, and
we pursued our course up Hill River in company. The water in this river
was so low, and the rapids so bad, that we were obliged several times,
in the course of the day, to jump into the water, and assist in lifting
the boat over the large stones which impeded the navigation. The length
of our voyage to-day was only six miles and three quarters.
The four boats commenced operations together at five o'clock the
following morning; but our boat being overladen, we soon found that we
were unable to keep pace with the others; and, therefore, proposed to
the gentlemen in charge of the Company's boats, that they should relieve
us of part of our cargo. This they declined doing, under the plea of not
having received orders to that effect, notwithstanding that the
circular, with which I was furnished by Governor Williams, strictly
enjoined all the Company's servants to afford us every assistance. In
consequence of this refusal we dropt behind, and our steersman, who was
inexperienced, being thus deprived of the advantage of observing the
route followed by the guide, who was in the foremost boat, frequently
took a wrong channel. The tow-line broke twice, and the boat was only
prevented from going broadside down the stream, and breaking to pieces
against the stones, by the officers and men leaping into the water, and
holding her head to the current until the line could be carried again to
the shore. It is but justice to say, that in these trying situations, we
received much assistance from Mr. Thomas Swaine, who with great
kindness waited for us with the boat under his charge at such places as
he apprehended would be most difficult to pass. We encamped at sunset,
completely jaded with toil. Our distance made good this day was twelve
miles and a quarter.
The labours of the 16th commenced at half past five, and for some time
the difficulty of getting the boats over the rapids was equal to what we
experienced the day before. Having passed a small brook, however, termed
_Half-way Creek_, the river became deeper, and although rapid, it was
smooth enough to be named by our Orkney boatmen _Still-water_. We were
further relieved by the Company's clerks consenting to take a few boxes
of our stores into their boats. Still we made only eleven miles in the
course of the day.
The banks of Hill River are higher, and have a more broken outline, than
those of Steel or Hayes' Rivers. The cliffs of alluvial clay rose in
some places to the height of eighty or ninety feet above the stream, and
were surmounted by hills about two hundred feet high, but the thickness
of the wood prevented us from seeing far beyond the mere banks of the
river.
_September 17_.--About half past five in the morning we commenced
tracking, and soon came to a ridge of rock which extended across the
stream. From this place the boat was dragged up several narrow rocky
channels, until we came to the Rock Portage, where the stream, pent in
by a range of small islands, forms several cascades. In ascending the
river, the boats with their cargoes are carried over one of the islands,
but in the descent they are shot down the most shelving of the cascades.
Having performed the operations of carrying, launching, and restowing
the cargo, we plied the oars for a short distance, and landed at a depôt
called Rock House. Here we were informed that the rapids in the upper
parts of Hill River were much worse and more numerous than those we had
passed, particularly in the present season, owing to the unusual lowness
of the water. This intelligence was very mortifying, especially as the
gentlemen in charge of the Company's boats declared that they were
unable to carry any part of our stores beyond this place; and the
traders, guides, and most experienced of the boatmen, were of opinion,
that unless our boat was still further lightened, the winter would put a
stop to our progress before we could reach Cumberland House, or any
eligible post. Sixteen pieces were therefore necessarily left with Mr.
Bunn, the gentleman in charge of the post, to be forwarded by the
Athabasca canoes next season, this being their place of rendezvous.
After this we recommenced our voyage, and having pulled nearly a mile,
arrived at Borrowick's Fall, where the boat was dragged up with a line,
after part of the cargo had been carried over a small portage. From this
place to the Mud Portage, a distance of a mile and three quarters, the
boats were pushed on with poles against a very rapid stream. Here we
encamped, having come seven miles during the day on a S.W. course. We
had several snow showers in the course of the day, and the thermometer
at bed-time stood at 30°.
On the morning of the 18th, the country was clothed in the livery of
winter, a heavy fall of snow having taken place during the night. We
embarked at the usual hour, and in the course of the day, crossed the
Point of Rocks and Brassa Portages, and dragged the boats through
several minor rapids. In this tedious way we only made good about nine
miles.
On Sunday the 19th we hauled the boats up several short rapids, or, as
the boatmen term them, expressively enough, _spouts_, and carried them
over the Portages of Lower Burntwood and Morgan's Rocks; on the latter
of which we encamped, having proceeded, during the whole day only one
mile and three quarters.
The upper part of Hill River swells out considerably, and at Morgan's
Rocks, where it is three quarters of a mile wide, we were gratified with
a more extensive prospect of the country than any we had enjoyed since
leaving York Factory. The banks of the river here, consisting of low
flat rocks with intermediate swamps, permitted us to obtain views of the
interior, the surface of which is broken into a multitude of cone-shaped
hills. The highest of these hills, which gives a name to the river, has
an elevation not exceeding six hundred feet. From its summit, thirty-six
lakes are said to be visible. The beauty of the scenery, dressed in the
tints of autumn called forth our admiration, and was the subject of Mr.
Hood's accurate pencil. On the 20th we passed Upper Burntwood and Rocky
Ledge Portages, besides several strong _spouts_; and in the evening
arrived at Smooth Rock Portage, where we encamped, having come three
miles and a half. It is not easy for any but an eye-witness to form an
adequate idea of the exertions of the Orkney boatmen in the navigation
of this river. The necessity they are under of frequently jumping into
the water to lift the boats over the rocks, compels them to remain the
whole day in wet clothes, at a season when the temperature is far below
the freezing point. The immense loads too, which they carry over the
portages, is not more a matter of surprise than the alacrity with which
they perform these laborious duties.
At six on the morning of the 21st, we left our encampment, and soon
after arrived at the Mossy Portage, where the cargoes were carried
through a deep bog for a quarter of a mile. The river swells out, above
this portage, to the breadth of several miles, and as the islands are
numerous there are a great variety of channels. Night overtook us before
we arrived at the _Second Portage_, so named from its being the second
in the passage down the river. Our whole distance this day was one mile
and a quarter.
On the 22d our route led us amongst many wooded islands, which, lying in
long vistas, produced scenes of much beauty. In the course of the day we
crossed the Upper Portage, surmounted the Devil's Landing Place, and
urged the boat with poles through Groundwater Creek. At the upper end of
this creek, our bowman having given the boat too great a sheer, to avoid
the rock, it was caught on the broadside by the current, and, in
defiance of our utmost exertions, hurried down the rapid. Fortunately,
however, it grounded against a rock high enough to prevent the current
from oversetting it, and the crews of the other boats having come to our
assistance, we succeeded, after several trials, in throwing a rope to
them, with which they dragged our almost sinking vessel stern foremost
up the stream, and rescued us from our perilous situation. We encamped
in the dusk of the evening amidst a heavy thunder-storm, having advanced
two miles and three quarters.
About ten in the morning of the 23d we arrived at the _Dramstone_, which
is hailed with pleasure by the boats' crews, as marking the termination
of the laborious ascent of Hill River. We complied with the custom from
whence it derives its name, and soon after landing upon Sail Island
prepared breakfast. In the mean time our boatmen cut down and rigged a
new mast, the old one having been thrown overboard at the mouth of Steel
River, where it ceased to be useful. We left Sail Island with a fair
wind, and soon afterwards arrived at a depôt situated on Swampy Lake,
where we received a supply of mouldy _pemmican_[2]. Mr. Calder and his
attendant were the only tenants of this cheerless abode, and their only
food was the wretched stuff with which they supplied us, the lake not
yielding fish at this season. After a short delay at this post, we
sailed through the remainder of Swampy Lake, and slept at the Lower
Portage in Jack River; the distance sailed to-day being sixteen miles
and a half.
[2] Buffalo-meat, dried and pounded, and mixed with melted fat.
Jack River is only eight miles long; but being full of bad rapids, it
detained us considerably. At seven in the morning of the 24th, we
crossed the Long Portage, where the woods, having caught fire in the
summer, were still smoking. This is a common accident, owing to the
neglect of the Indians and voyagers in not putting out their fires, and
in a dry season the woods may be seen blazing to the extent of many
miles. We afterwards crossed the Second, or Swampy Portage, and in the
evening encamped on the Upper Portage, where we were overtaken by an
Indian bringing an answer from Governor Williams to a letter I had
written to him on the 15th, in which he renewed his injunctions to the
gentlemen of the boats accompanying us, to afford us every assistance in
their power. The Aurora Borealis appeared this evening in form of a
bright arch, extending across the zenith in a N.W. and S.E. direction.
The extent of our voyage to-day was two miles.
About noon, on the 25th, we entered Knee Lake, which has a very
irregular form, and near its middle takes a sudden turn, from whence it
derives its name. It is thickly studded with islands, and its shores are
low and well-wooded. The surrounding country, as far as we could see, is
flat, being destitute even of the moderate elevations which occur near
the upper part of Hill River. The weather was remarkably fine, and the
setting sun threw the richest tints over the scene that I remember ever
to have witnessed.
About half a mile from the bend or _knee_ of the lake, there is a small
rocky islet, composed of magnetic iron ore, which affects the magnetic
needle at a considerable distance. Having received previous information
respecting this circumstance, we watched our compasses carefully, and
perceived that they were affected at the distance of three hundred
yards, both on the approach to and departure from the rock: on
decreasing the distance, they became gradually more and more unsteady,
and on landing they were rendered quite useless; and it was evident that
the general magnetic influence was totally overpowered by the local
attraction of the ore. When Kater's compass was held near to the ground
on the N.W. side of the island, the needle dipped so much that the card
could not be made to traverse by any adjustment of the hand; but on
moving the same compass about thirty yards to the west part of the
islet, the needle became horizontal, traversed freely, and pointed to
the magnetic north. The dipping needle being landed on the S.W. point of
the islet, was adjusted as nearly as possible on the magnetic meridian
by the sun's bearings, and found to vibrate freely, when the face of the
instrument was directed to the east or west. The mean dip it gave was
80° 37' 50". When the instrument was removed from the N.W. to the S.E.
point, about twenty yards distant, and placed on the meridian, the
needle ceased to traverse, but remained steady at an angle of 60°. On
changing the face of the instrument, so as to give a S.E. and N.W.
direction to the needle, it hung vertically. The position of the slaty
strata of the magnetic ore is also vertical. Their direction is
extremely irregular, being much contorted.
Knee Lake towards its upper end becomes narrower, and its rocky shores
are broken into conical and rounded eminences, destitute of soil, and of
course devoid of trees. We slept at the western extremity of the lake,
having come during the day nineteen miles and a half on a S.W. course.
We began the ascent of Trout River early in the morning of the 27th, and
in the course of the day passed three portages and several rapids. At
the first of these portages the river falls between two rocks about
sixteen feet, and it is necessary to launch the boat over a precipitous
rocky bank. This cascade is named the _Trout-Fall_, and the beauty of
the scenery afforded a subject for Mr. Hood's pencil. The rocks which
form the bed of this river are slaty, and present sharp fragments, by
which the feet of the boatmen are much lacerated. The Second Portage, in
particular, obtains the expressive name of _Knife Portage_. The length
of our voyage to-day was three miles.
On the 28th we passed through the remainder of Trout River; and, at
noon, arrived at Oxford House, on Holey Lake. This was formerly a post
of some consequence to the Hudson's Bay Company, but at present it
exhibits unequivocal signs of decay. The Indians have of late years been
gradually deserting the low or swampy country, and ascending the
Saskatchawan, where animals are more abundant. A few Crees were at this
time encamped in front of the fort. They were suffering under
hooping-cough and measles, and looked miserably dejected. We endeavoured
in vain to prevail on one of them to accompany us for the purpose of
killing ducks, which were numerous, but too shy for our sportsmen. We
had the satisfaction, however, of exchanging the mouldy pemmican,
obtained at Swampy Lake, for a better kind, and received, moreover, a
small, but very acceptable, supply of fish. Holey Lake, viewed from an
eminence behind Oxford House, exhibits a pleasing prospect; and its
numerous islands, varying much in shape and elevation, contribute to
break that uniformity of scenery which proves so palling to a traveller
in this country. Trout of a great size, frequently exceeding forty
pounds' weight, abound in this lake. We left Oxford House in the
afternoon, and encamped on an island about eight miles' distant, having
come, during the day, nine miles and a quarter.
At noon, on the 29th, after passing through the remainder of Holey Lake,
we entered the Weepinapannis, a narrow grassy river, which runs parallel
to the lake for a considerable distance, and forms its south bank into a
narrow peninsula. In the morning we arrived at the Swampy Portage, where
two of the boats were broken against the rocks. The length of the day's
voyage was nineteen miles and a half.
In consequence of the accident yesterday evening, we were detained a
considerable time this morning, until the boats were repaired, when we
set out, and, after ascending a strong rapid, arrived at the portage by
John Moore's Island. Here the river rushes with irresistible force
through the channels formed by two rocky islands; and we learned, that
last year a poor man, in hauling a boat up one of these channels, was,
by the breaking of the line, precipitated into the stream and hurried
down the cascade with such rapidity, that all efforts to save him were
ineffectual. His body was afterwards found, and interred near the spot.
The Weepinapannis is composed of several branches which separate and
unite, again and again, intersecting the country in a great variety of
directions. We pursued the principal channel, and having passed the
Crooked Spout, with several inferior rapids, and crossed a small piece
of water, named Windy Lake, we entered a smooth deep stream about three
hundred yards wide, which has got the absurd appellation of the Rabbit
Ground. The marshy banks of this river are skirted by low barren rocks,
behind which there are some groups of stunted trees{9}. As we advanced,
the country becoming flatter, gradually opened to our view, and we at
length arrived at a shallow, reedy lake, the direct course through which
leads to the Hill Portage. This route has, however, of late years been
disused, and we therefore turned towards the north, and crossing a small
arm of the lake, arrived at Hill Gates by sunset; having come this day
eleven miles.
_October 1_.--Hill gates is the name imposed on a romantic defile, whose
rocky walls, rising perpendicularly to the height of sixty or eighty
feet, hem in the stream for three quarters of a mile, in many places so
narrowly, that there is a want of room to ply the oars. In passing
through this chasm we were naturally led to contemplate the mighty but,
probably, slow and gradual effects of the water in wearing down such
vast masses of rock; but in the midst of our speculations, the attention
was excited anew to a grand and picturesque rapid, which, surrounded by
the most wild and majestic scenery, terminated the defile. The brown
fishing-eagle had built its nest on one of the projecting cliffs. In the
course of the day we surmounted this and another dangerous portage,
called, the Upper and Lower Hill Gate Portages, crossed a small sheet of
water, termed the White Fall Lake, and entering the river of the same
name, arrived at the White Fall about an hour after sunset, having come
fourteen miles on a S.W. course.
The whole of the 2d of October was spent in carrying the cargoes over a
portage of thirteen hundred yards in length, and in launching the empty
boats over three several ridges of rock which obstruct the channel and
produce as many cascades. I shall long remember the rude and
characteristic wildness of the scenery which surrounded these falls;
rocks piled on rocks hung in rude and shapeless masses over the agitated
torrents which swept their bases, whilst the bright and variegated tints
of the mosses and lichens, that covered the face of the cliffs,
contrasting with the dark green of the pines which crowned their
summits, added both beauty and grandeur to the scene. Our two
companions, Back and Hood, made accurate sketches of these falls. At
this place we observed a conspicuous _lop-stick_, a kind of land-mark,
which I have not hitherto noticed, notwithstanding its great use in
pointing out the frequented routes. It is a pine-tree divested of its
lower branches, and having only a small tuft at the top remaining. This
operation is usually performed at the instance of some individual
emulous of fame. He treats his companions with rum, and they in return
strip the tree of its branches, and ever after designate it by his name.
In the afternoon, whilst on my way to superintend the operations of the
men, a stratum of loose moss gave way under my feet, and I had the
misfortune to slip from the summit of a rock into the river betwixt two
of the falls. My attempts to regain the bank were, for a time
ineffectual, owing to the rocks within my reach having been worn smooth
by the action of the water; but, after I had been carried a considerable
distance down the stream, I caught hold of a willow, by which I held
until two gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay Company came in a boat to my
assistance. The only bad consequence{10} of this accident was an injury
sustained by a very valuable chronometer, (No. 1733,) belonging to
Daniel Moore, Esq., of Lincoln's Inn. One of the gentlemen to whom I
delivered it immediately on landing, in his agitation let it fall,
whereby the minute-hand was broken, but the works were not in the
smallest degree injured, and the loss of the hand was afterwards
supplied.
During the night the frost was severe; and at sunrise, on the 3d, the
thermometer stood at 25°. After leaving our encampment at the White
Fall, we passed through several small lakes connected with each other by
narrow deep, grassy streams, and at noon arrived at the Painted Stone.
Numbers of musk-rats frequent these streams; and we observed, in the
course of the morning, many of{11} their mud-houses rising in a conical
form to the height of two or three feet above the grass of the swamps in
which they were built.
The Painted Stone is a low rock, ten or twelve yards across, remarkable
for the marshy streams which arise on each side of it, taking different
courses. On the one side, the water-course which we had navigated from
York Factory commences. This spot may therefore be considered as one of
the smaller sources of Hayes' River. On the other side of the stone the
Echemamis rises, and taking a westerly direction falls into Nelson
River. It is said that there was formerly a stone placed near the centre
of this portage on which figures were annually traced, and offerings
deposited, by the Indians; but the stone has been removed many years,
and the spot has ceased to be held in veneration. Here we were overtaken
by Governor Williams, who left York Factory on the 20th of last month in
an Indian canoe. He expressed much regret at our having been obliged to
leave part of our stores at the Rock depôt, and would have brought them
up with him had he been able to procure and man a boat, or a canoe of
sufficient size.
Having launched the boats over the rock, we commenced the descent of the
Echemamis. This small stream has its course through a morass, and in dry
seasons its channel contains, instead of water, merely a foot or two of
thin mud. On these occasions it is customary to build dams that it may
be rendered navigable by the accumulation of its waters. As the beavers
perform this operation very effectually, endeavours have been made to
encourage them to breed in this place, but it has not hitherto been
possible to restrain the Indians from killing that useful animal
whenever they discover its retreats. On the present occasion there was
no want of water, the principal impediment we experienced being from the
narrowness of the channel, which permitted the willows of each bank to
meet over our heads, and obstruct the men at the oars. After proceeding
down the stream for some time, we came to a recently-constructed
beaver-dam through which an opening was made sufficient to admit the
boat to pass. We were assured that the breach would be closed by the
industrious creature in a single night. We encamped about eight miles
from the source of the river, having come during the day seventeen miles
and a half.
On the 4th we embarked amidst a heavy rain, and pursued our route down
the Echemamis. In many parts the morass, by which the river is
nourished, and through which it flows, is intersected by ridges of rock
which cross the channel, and require the boat to be lifted over them. In
the afternoon we passed through a shallow piece of water overgrown with
bulrushes, and hence named Hairy Lake; and, in the evening, encamped on
the banks of Blackwater Creek, by which this lake empties itself into
Sea River; having come during the day twenty miles and three quarters.
On the morning of the 5th, we entered Sea River, one of the many
branches of Nelson River. It is about four hundred yards wide, and its
waters are of a muddy white colour. After ascending the stream for an
hour or two, and passing through Carpenter's Lake, which is merely an
expansion of the river to about a mile in breadth, we came to the Sea
River Portage, where the boat was launched across a smooth rock, to
avoid a fall of four or five feet. Re-embarking at the upper end of the
portage, we ran before a fresh gale through the remainder of Sea River,
the lower part of Play Green Lake, and entering Little Jack River,
landed and pitched our tents. Here there is a small log-hut, the
residence of a fisherman, who supplies Norway House with trout and
sturgeon. He gave us a few of these fish, which afforded an acceptable
supper. Our voyage this day was thirty-four miles.
_October 6_.--Little Jack River is the name given to a channel that
winds among several large islands which separate Upper and Lower Play
Green Lakes. At the lower end of this channel, Big Jack River, a stream
of considerable magnitude, falls into the lake. Play Green is a
translation of the appellation given to that lake by two bands of
Indians, who met and held a festival on an island situated near its
centre. After leaving our encampment we sailed through Upper Play Green
Lake, and arrived at Norway Point in the forenoon.
The waters of Lake Winipeg, and of the rivers that run into it, the
Saskatchawan in particular, are rendered turbid by the suspension of a
large quantity of white clay. Play Green Lake and Nelson River, being
the discharges of the Winipeg, are equally opaque, a circumstance that
renders the sunken rocks, so frequent in these waters, very dangerous to
boats in a fresh breeze. Owing to this, one of the boats that
accompanied us, sailing at the rate of seven miles an hour, struck upon
one of these rocks. Its mast was carried away by the shock, but
fortunately no other damage sustained. The Indians ascribe the muddiness
of these lakes to an adventure of one of their deities, a mischievous
fellow, a sort of Robin Puck, whom they hold in very little esteem. This
deity, who is named Weesakootchaht, possesses considerable power, but
makes a capricious use of it, and delights in tormenting the poor
Indians. He is not, however, invincible, and was soiled in one of his
attempts by the artifice of an old woman, who succeeded in taking him
captive. She called in all the women of the tribe to aid in his
punishment, and he escaped from their hands in a condition so filthy
that it required all the waters of the Great Lake to wash him clean; and
ever since that period it has been entitled to the appellation of
Winipeg, or Muddy water.
Norway Point forms the extremity of a narrow peninsula which separates
Play Green and Winipeg Lakes. Buildings were first erected here by a
party of Norwegians, who were driven away from the colony at Red River
by the commotions which took place some time ago. It is now a trading
post belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company. On landing at Norway House
we met with Lord Selkirk's colonists, who had started from York Factory
the day before us.--These poor people were exceedingly pleased at
meeting with us again in this wild country; having accompanied them
across the Atlantic, they viewed us in the light of old acquaintances.
This post was under the charge of Mr. James Sutherland, to whom I am
indebted for replacing a minute-hand on the chronometer, which was
broken at the White Fall, and I had afterwards the satisfaction of
finding that it went with extraordinary regularity.
The morning of the 7th October was beautifully clear, and the
observations we obtained place Norway House in latitude 53° 41' 38" N.,
and longitude 98° 1' 24" W.; the variation of the magnetic needle 14°
12' 41" E., and its dip 83° 40' 10". Though our route from York Factory
has rather inclined to the S.W., the dip, it will be perceived, has
gradually increased. The difference produced by reversing the face of
the instrument was 7° 39'. There was too much wind to admit of our
observing, with any degree of accuracy, the quantity of the magnetic
force.
We left Norway House soon after noon, and the wind being favourable,
sailed along the northern shore of Lake Winipeg the whole of the ensuing
night; and on the morning of the 8th landed on a narrow ridge of sand,
which, running out twenty miles to the westward, separates Limestone Bay
from the body of the Lake. When the wind blows hard from the southward,
it is customary to carry boats across this isthmus, and to pull up under
its lee. From Norwegian Point to Limestone Bay the shore consists of
high clay cliffs, against which the waves beat with violence during
strong southerly winds. When the wind blows from the land, and the
waters of the lake are low, a narrow sandy beach is uncovered, and
affords a landing-place for boats. The shores of Limestone Bay are
covered with small fragments of calcareous stones. During the night the
Aurora Borealis was quick in its motions, and various and vivid in its
colours. After breakfasting we re-embarked, and continued our voyage
until three P.M., when a strong westerly wind arising, we were obliged
to shelter ourselves on a small island, which lies near the extremity of
the above-mentioned peninsula. This island is formed of a collection of
small rolled pieces of limestone, and was remembered by some of our
boatmen to have been formerly covered with water. For the last ten or
twelve years the waters of the lake have been low, but our information
did not enable us to judge whether the decrease was merely casual, or
going on continually, or periodical. The distance of this island from
Norway House is thirty-eight miles and a half.
The westerly winds detained us all the morning of the 9th, but, at two
P.M., the wind chopped round to the eastward; we immediately embarked,
and the breeze afterwards freshening, we reached the mouth of the
Saskatchawan at midnight, having run thirty-two miles.
_Sunday, October 10_.--The whole of this day was occupied in getting the
boats from the mouth of the river to the foot of the grand rapid, a
distance of two miles. There are several rapids in this short distance,
during which the river varies its breadth from five hundred yards to
half a mile. Its channel is stony. At the grand rapid, the Saskatchawan
forms a sudden bend, from south to east, and works its way through a
narrow channel, deeply worn into the limestone strata. The stream,
rushing with impetuous force over a rocky and uneven bottom, presents a
sheet of foam, and seems to bear with impatience the straitened
confinement of its lofty banks. A flock of pelicans, and two or three
brown fishing eagles, were fishing in its agitated waters, seemingly
with great success. There is a good sturgeon fishery at the foot of the
rapid. Several golden plovers, Canadian grosbeaks, cross-bills,
wood-peckers, and pin-tailed grouse, were shot to-day; and Mr. Back
killed a small striped marmot. This beautiful little animal was busily
employed in carrying in its distended pouches the seeds of the American
vetch to its winter hoards.
The portage is eighteen hundred yards long, and its western extremity
was found to be in 53° 08' 25" North latitude, and 99° 28' 02" West
longitude. The route from Canada to the Athabasca joins that from York
Factory at the mouth of the Saskatchawan, and we saw traces of a recent
encampment of the Canadian voyagers. Our companions in the Hudson's Bay
boats, dreading an attack from their rivals in trade, were on the alert
at this place. They examined minutely the spot of encampment, to form a
judgment of the number of canoes that had preceded them; and they
advanced, armed, and with great caution, through the woods. Their fears,
however, on this occasion, were fortunately groundless.
By noon, on the 12th, the boats and their cargoes having been conveyed
across the portage, we embarked, and pursued our course. The
Saskatchawan becomes wider above the Grand Rapid, and the scenery
improves. The banks are high, composed of white clay and limestone, and
their summits are richly clothed with a variety of firs, poplars,
birches, and willows. The current runs with great rapidity, and the
channel is in many places intricate and dangerous, from broken ridges of
rock jutting into the stream. We pitched our tents at the entrance of
Cross Lake, having advanced only five miles and a half.
Cross Lake is extensive, running towards the N.E. it is said, for forty
miles. We crossed it at a narrow part, and pulling through several
winding channels, formed by a group of islands, entered Cedar Lake,
which, next to Lake Winipeg, is the largest sheet of fresh water we had
hitherto seen. Ducks and geese resort hither in immense flocks in the
spring and autumn. These birds were now beginning to go off, owing to
its muddy shores having become quite hard through the nightly frosts. At
this place the Aurora Borealis was extremely brilliant in the night, its
coruscations darting, at times, over the whole sky, and assuming various
prismatic tints, of which the violet and yellow were predominant.
After pulling, on the 14th, seven miles and a quarter on the lake, a
violent wind drove us for shelter to a small island, or rather a ridge
of rolled stones, thrown up by the frequent storms which agitate this
lake. The weather did not moderate the whole day, and we were obliged to
pass the night on this exposed spot. The delay, however, enabled us to
obtain some lunar observations. The wind having subsided, we left our
resting-place the following morning, crossed the remainder of the lake,
and in the afternoon, arrived at Muddy Lake, which is very
appropriately named, as it consists merely of a few channels, winding
amongst extensive mud banks, which are overflowed during the spring
floods. We landed at an Indian tent, which contained two numerous
families, amounting to thirty souls. These poor creatures were badly
clothed, and reduced to a miserable condition by the hooping-cough and
measles. At the time of our arrival they were busy in preparing a
sweating-house for the sick. This is a remedy which they consider, with
the addition of singing and drumming, to be the grand specific for all
diseases. Our companions having obtained some geese, in exchange for rum
and tobacco, we proceeded a few more miles, and encamped on Devil's Drum
Island, having come, during the day, twenty miles and a half. A second
party of Indians were encamped on an adjoining island, a situation
chosen for the purpose of killing geese and ducks.
On the 16th we proceeded eighteen miles up the Saskatchawan. Its banks
are low, covered with willows, and lined with drift timber. The
surrounding country is swampy and intersected by the numerous arms of
the river. After passing for twenty or thirty yards through the willow
thicket on the banks of the stream, we entered an extensive marsh,
varied only by a distant line of willows, which marks the course of a
creek or branch of the river. The branch we navigated to-day, is almost
five hundred yards wide. The exhalations from the marshy soil produced a
low fog, although the sky above was perfectly clear. In the course of
the day we passed an Indian encampment of three tents, whose inmates
appeared to be in a still more miserable condition than those we saw
yesterday. They had just finished the ceremony of conjuration over some
of their sick companions; and a dog, which had been recently killed as a
sacrifice to some deity, was hanging to a tree where it would be left (I
was told) when they moved their encampment.
We continued our voyage up the river to the 20th with little variation
of scenery or incident, travelling in that time about thirty miles. The
near approach of winter was marked by severe frosts, which continued all
day unless when the sun chanced to be unusually bright, and the geese
and ducks were observed to take a southerly course in large flocks. On
the morning of the 20th we came to a party of Indians, encamped behind
the bank of the river on the borders of a small marshy lake, for the
purpose of killing water-fowl. Here we were gratified with the view of
a very large tent. Its length was about forty feet, its breadth
eighteen, and its covering was moose deer leather, with apertures for
the escape of the smoke from the fires which are placed at each end; a
ledge of wood was placed on the ground on both sides the whole length of
the tent, within which were the sleeping-places, arranged probably
according to families; and the drums and other instruments of
enchantment were piled up in the centre. Amongst the Indians there were
a great many half-breeds, who led an Indian life. Governor Williams gave
a dram and a piece of tobacco to each of the males of the party.
On the morning of the 21st a heavy fall of snow took place, which lasted
until two in the afternoon. In the evening we left the Saskatchawan, and
entered the Little River, one of the two streams by which Pine Island
Lake discharges its waters. We advanced to-day fourteen miles and a
quarter. On the 22d the weather was extremely cold and stormy, and we
had to contend against a strong head wind. The spray froze as it fell,
and the oars were so loaded with ice as to be almost unmanageable. The
length of our voyage this day was eleven miles.
The following morning was very cold; we embarked at day-light, and
pulled across a part of Pine Island Lake, about three miles and a half
to Cumberland House. The margin of the lake was so incrusted with ice,
that we had to break through a considerable space of it to approach the
landing-place. When we considered that this was the effect of only a few
days' frost at the commencement of winter, we were convinced of the
impractibility of advancing further by water this season, and therefore
resolved on accepting Governor Williams's kind invitation to remain with
him at this post. We immediately visited Mr. Connolly, the resident
partner of the North-West Company, and presented to him Mr. Mac
Gillivray's circular letter. He assured us that he should be most
desirous to forward our progress by every means in his power, and we
subsequently had ample proofs of his sincerity and kindness. The
unexpected addition of our party to the winter residents at this post,
rendered an increase of apartments necessary; and our men were
immediately appointed to complete and arrange an unfinished building as
speedily as possible.
_November 8_.--Some mild weather succeeded to the severe frosts we had
at our arrival; and the lake had not been entirely frozen before the
6th; but this morning the ice was sufficiently firm to admit of sledges
crossing it. The dogs were harnessed at a very early hour, and the
winter operations commenced by sending for a supply of fish from Swampy
River, where men had been stationed to collect it, just before the frost
set in. Both men and dogs appeared to enjoy the change; they started in
full glee, and drove rapidly along. An Indian, who had come to the house
on the preceding evening to request some provision for his family, whom
he represented to be in a state of starvation, accompanied them. His
party had been suffering greatly under the epidemic diseases of
hooping-cough and measles; and the hunters were still in too debilitated
a state to go out and provide them with meat. A supply was given to him,
and the men were directed to bring his father, an old and faithful
hunter, to the house, that he might have the comforts of nourishment and
warmth. He was brought accordingly, but these attentions were unavailing
as he died a few days afterwards. Two days before his death I was
surprised to observe him sitting for nearly three hours, in a piercingly
sharp day, in the saw-pit, employed in gathering the dust, and throwing
it by handfuls over his body, which was naked to the waist. As the man
was in possession of his mental faculties, I conceived he was performing
some devotional act preparatory to his departure, which he felt to be
approaching, and induced by the novelty of the incident, I went twice
to observe him more closely; but when he perceived that he was noticed,
he immediately ceased his operation, hung down his head, and by his
demeanour, intimated that he considered my appearance an intrusion. The
residents at the fort could give me no information on the subject, and I
could not learn that the Indians in general observe any particular
ceremony on the approach of death.
_November 15_.--The sky had been overcast during the last week; the sun
shone forth once only, and then not sufficiently for the purpose of
obtaining observations. Faint coruscations of the Aurora Borealis
appeared one evening, but their presence did not in the least affect the
electrometer or the compass. The ice daily became thicker in the lake,
and the frost had now nearly overpowered the rapid current of the
Saskatchawan River; indeed, parties of men who were sent from both the
forts to search for the Indians, and procure whatever skins and
provisions they might have collected, crossed that stream this day on
the ice. The white partridges made their first appearance near the
house, which birds are considered as the infallible harbingers of severe
weather.
_Monday, November 22_.--The Saskatchawan, and every other river, were
now completely covered with ice, except a small stream not far from the
fort through which the current ran very powerfully. In the course of the
week we removed into the house our men had prepared since our arrival.
We found it at first extremely cold notwithstanding that a good fire was
kept in each apartment, and we frequently experienced the extremes of
heat and cold on opposite sides of the body.
_November 24_.--We obtained observations for the dip of the needle and
intensity of the magnetic force in a spare room. The dip was 83° 9' 45",
and the difference produced by reversing the face of the instrument 13°
3' 6". When the needle was faced to the west it hung nearly
perpendicular. The Aurora Borealis had been faintly visible for a short
time the preceding evening. Some Indians arrived in search of provision,
having been totally incapacitated from hunting by sickness; the poor
creatures looked miserably ill, and they represented their distress to
have been extreme. Few recitals are more affecting than those of their
sufferings during unfavourable seasons, and in bad situations for
hunting and fishing. Many assurances have been given me that men and
women are yet living who have been reduced to feed upon the bodies of
their own family, to prevent actual starvation; and a shocking case was
cited to us of a woman who had been principal agent in the destruction
of several persons, and amongst the number her husband and nearest
relatives, in order to support life.
_November 28_.--The atmosphere had been clear every day during the last
week, about the end of which snow fell, when the thermometer rose from
20° below to 16° above zero. The Aurora Borealis was twice visible, but
faint on both occasions. Its appearance did not affect the electrometer,
nor could we perceive the compass to be disturbed.
The men brought supplies of moose meat from the hunter's tent, which is
pitched near the Basquiau Hill, forty or fifty miles from the house, and
whence the greatest part of the meat is procured. The residents have to
send nearly the same distance for their fish, and on this service
horse-sledges are used. Nets are daily set in Pine Island Lake which
occasionally procure some fine sturgeon, tittameg, and trout, but not
more than sufficient to supply the officers' table.
_December 1_.--This day was so remarkably fine, that we procured another
set of observations for the dip of the needle in the open air; the
instrument being placed firmly on a rock, the results gave 83° 14'
22".{12} The change produced by reversing the face of the instrument,
was 12° 50' 55".
There had been a determined thaw during the last three days. The ice on
the Saskatchawan River and some parts of the lake, broke up, and the
travelling across either became dangerous. On this account the absence
of Wilks, one of our men, caused no small anxiety. He had incautiously
undertaken the conduct of a sledge and dogs, in company with a person,
going to Swampy River for fish. On their return, being unaccustomed to
driving, he became fatigued, and seated himself on his sledge, where his
companion left him, presuming that he would soon rise and hasten to
follow his track. He however returned safe in the morning, and reported
that, foreseeing night would set in before he could get across the lake,
he prudently retired into the woods before dark, where he remained until
day-light; when the men, who had been despatched to look for him, met
him returning to the house, shivering with cold, he having been
unprovided with the materials for lighting a fire; which an experienced
voyager never neglects to carry.
We had mild weather until the 20th of December. On the 13th there had
been a decided thaw, that caused the Saskatchawan, which had again
frozen, to re-open, and the passage across it was interrupted for two
days. We now received more agreeable accounts from the Indians, who were
recovering strength, and beginning to hunt a little; but it was
generally feared that their spirits had been so much depressed by the
loss of their children and relatives, that the season would be far
advanced before they could be roused to any exertion in searching for
animals beyond what might be necessary for their own support. It is much
to be regretted that these poor men, during their long intercourse with
Europeans, have not been taught how pernicious is the grief which
produces total inactivity, and that they have not been furnished with
any of the consolations which the Christian religion never fails to
afford. This, however, could hardly have been expected from persons who
have permitted their own offspring, the half-casts, to remain in
lamentable ignorance on a subject of such vital importance. It is
probable, however, that an improvement will soon take place among the
latter class, as Governor Williams proposes to make the children attend
a Sunday school, and has already begun to have divine service performed
at his post.
The conversations which I had with the gentlemen in charge of these
posts, convinced me of the necessity of proceeding during the winter
into the Athabasca department, the residents of which are best
acquainted with the nature and resources of the country to the north of
the Great Slave Lake; and whence only guides, hunters, and interpreters
can be procured. I had previously written to the partners of the
North-West Company in that quarter, requesting their assistance in
forwarding the Expedition, and stating what we should require. But, on
reflecting upon the accidents that might delay these letters on the
road, I determined on proceeding to the Athabasca as soon as I possibly
could, and communicated my intention to Governor Williams and Mr.
Connolly, with a request that I might be furnished, by the middle of
January, with the means of conveyance for three persons, intending that
Mr. Back and Hepburn should accompany me, whilst Dr. Richardson and Mr.
Hood remained till the spring at Cumberland House.
After the 20th of December the weather{13} became cold, the thermometer
constantly below zero. Christmas-day was particularly stormy; but the
gale did not prevent the full enjoyment of the festivities which are
annually given at Cumberland House on this day. All the men who had been
despatched to different parts in search of provision or furs returned to
the fort on the occasion, and were regaled with a substantial dinner and
a dance in the evening.
1820. Jan. 1.
The new year was ushered in by repeated discharges of musketry; a
ceremony which has been observed by the men of both the trading
Companies for many years. Our party dined with Mr. Connolly, and were
treated with a beaver, which we found extremely delicate. In the evening
his voyagers were entertained with a dance, in which the Canadians
exhibited some grace and much agility; and they contrived to infuse some
portion of their activity and spirits into the steps of their female
companions. The half-breed women are passionately fond of this
amusement, but a stranger would imagine the contrary on witnessing their
apparent want of animation. On such occasions they affect a sobriety of
demeanour which I understand to be very opposite to their general
character.
_January 10_.--This day I wrote to Governor Williams and Mr. Connolly,
requesting them to prepare two canoes, with crews and appointments, for
the conveyance of Dr. Richardson and Mr. Hood, with our stores to
Chipewyan as soon as the navigation should open and had the
satisfaction of receiving from both these gentlemen renewed assurances
of their desire to promote the objects of the Expedition. I conceived it
to be necessary, previous to my departure, to make some arrangement
respecting the men who were engaged at Stromness. Only one of them was
disposed to extend his engagement, and proceed beyond the Athabasca
Lake; and, as there was much uncertainty whether the remaining three
could get from the Athabasca to York Factory sufficiently early to
secure them a passage in the next Hudson's Bay ship, I resolved not to
take them forward, unless Dr. Richardson and Mr. Hood should fail in
procuring other men from these establishments next spring, but to
despatch them down to York to bring up our stores to this place: after
which they might return to the coast in time to secure their passage in
the first ship.
I delivered to Dr. Richardson and Mr. Hood a memorandum, containing the
arrangements which had been made with the two Companies, respecting
their being forwarded in the spring, and some other points of
instruction for their guidance in my absence; together with directions
to forward the map of our route which had been finished, since our
arrival, by Mr. Hood, the drawings and the collections of natural
history, by the first opportunity to York Factory, for conveyance to
England[3].
[3] As Samuel Wilks, who had accompanied the Expedition from England,
proved to be quite unequal to the fatigue of the journey, I
directed him to be discharged in the spring, and sent to England
by the next ship.
The houses of the two Companies, at this post are situated close to each
other, at the upper extremity of a narrow island, which separates Pine
Island Lake from the Saskatchawan River, and are about two miles and
three quarters from the latter in a northern direction. They are
log-houses, built without much regard to comfort, surrounded by lofty
stockades, and flanked with wooden bastions. The difficulty of conveying
glass into the interior has precluded its use in the windows, where its
place is poorly supplied by parchment, imperfectly made by the native
women from the skin of the rein-deer. Should this post, however,
continue to be the residence of Governor Williams, it will be much
improved in a few years, as he is devoting his attention to that point.
The land around Cumberland House is low, but the soil, from having a
considerable intermixture of limestone, is good, and capable of
producing abundance of corn, and vegetables of every description. Many
kinds of pot-herbs have already been brought to some perfection, and
the potatoes bid fair to equal those of England. The spontaneous
productions of nature would afford ample nourishment for all the
European animals. Horses feed extremely well even during the winter, and
so would oxen if provided with hay, which might be easily done[4]. Pigs
also improve, but require to be kept warm in the winter. Hence it
appears, that the residents might easily render themselves far less
dependent{14} on the Indians for support, and be relieved from the great
anxiety which they too often suffer when the hunters are unsuccessful.
The neighbourhood of the houses has been much cleared of wood, from the
great demand for fuel; there is, therefore, little to admire in the
surrounding scenery, especially in its winter garb; few animated objects
occur to enliven the scene; an occasional fox, marten, rabbit, or wolf,
and a few birds, contribute the only variety. The birds which remained
were ravens, magpies, partridges, cross bills, and woodpeckers. In this
universal stillness, the residents at a post feel little disposed to
wander abroad, except when called forth by their occupations; and as
ours were of a kind best performed in a warm room, we imperceptibly
acquired a sedentary habit. In going out, however, we never suffered the
slightest inconvenience from the change of temperature, though the
thermometer, in the open air, stood occasionally thirty degrees below
zero.
[4] "The wild buffalo scrapes away the snow with its feet to get at
the herbage beneath, and the horse, which was introduced by the
Spanish invaders of Mexico, and may be said to have become
naturalized, does the same; but it is worthy of remark, that the
ox more lately brought from Europe, has not yet acquired an art so
necessary for procuring its food."--(Extract from Dr. Richardson's
Journal.)
The tribe of Indians, who reside in the vicinity, and frequent these
establishments, is that of the Crees, or Knisteneaux. They were formerly
a powerful and numerous nation, which ranged over a very extensive
country, and were very successful in their predatory excursions against
their neighbours, particularly the northern Indians, and some tribes on
the Saskatchawan and Beaver Rivers; but they have long ceased to be held
in any fear, and are now perhaps, the most harmless and inoffensive of
the whole Indian race. This change is entirely to be attributed to their
intercourse with Europeans; and the vast reduction in their numbers
occasioned, I fear, principally, by the injudicious introduction of
ardent spirits. They are so passionately fond of this poison, that they
will make any sacrifice to obtain it. They are good hunters, and in
general active. Having laid the bow and arrow altogether aside, and the
use of snares, except for rabbits and partridges, they depend entirely
on the Europeans for the means of gaining subsistence, as they require
guns, and a constant supply of powder and shot; so that these Indians
are probably more completely under the power of the trader than any of
the other tribes. As I only saw a few straggling parties of them during
short intervals, and under unfavourable circumstances of sickness and
famine, I am unable to give, from personal observation, any detail of
their manners and customs; and must refer the reader, to Dr.
Richardson's account of them, in the following chapter. That gentleman,
during his longer residence at the post, had many opportunities of
seeing them, and acquiring their language.
_January 17_.--This morning the sporting part of our society had rather
a novel diversion: intelligence having been brought that a wolf had
borne away a steel trap, in which he had been caught, a party went in
search of the marauder, and took two English bull dogs and a terrier,
which had been brought into the country this season. On the first sight
of the animal the dogs became alarmed, and stood barking at a distance,
and probably would not have ventured to advance, had they not seen the
wolf fall by a shot from one of the gentlemen; they then, however, went
up, and behaved courageously, and were enraged by the bites they
received. The wolf soon died of its wounds, and the body was brought to
the house, where a drawing of it was taken by Mr. Hood, and the skin
preserved by Dr. Richardson. Its general features bore a strong
resemblance to many of the dogs about the fort, but it was larger and
had a more ferocious aspect. Mr. Back and I were too much occupied in
preparing for our departure on the following day to join this excursion.
The position of Cumberland House, by our observations, is, latitude 53°
56' 40" N.; longitude 102° 16' 41" W., by the chronometers; variations
17° 17' 29" E.; dip of the needle, 83° 12' 50". The whole of the
travelling distance between York Factory and Cumberland House is about
six hundred and ninety miles.
CHAPTER III.
Dr. Richardson's Residence at Cumberland House--His Account of the
Cree Indians.
1820. January 19.
From the departure of Messrs. Franklin and Back, on the 19th of January,
for Chipewyan, until the opening of the navigation in the spring, the
occurrences connected with the Expedition were so much in the ordinary
routine of a winter's residence at Fort Cumberland, that they may be,
perhaps, appropriately blended with the following general but brief
account of that district and its inhabitants.
Cumberland House was originally built by Hearne, a year or two after his
return from the Copper-Mine{15} River, and has ever since been
considered by the Hudson's Bay Company as a post of considerable
importance. Previous to that time, the natives carried their furs down
to the shores of Hudson's Bay, or disposed of them nearer home to the
French Canadian traders, who visited this part of the country as early
as the year 1697.
The Cumberland House district, extending about one hundred and fifty
miles from east to west along the banks of the Saskatchawan, and about
as far from north to south, comprehends, on a rough calculation, upwards
of twenty thousand square miles, and is frequented at present by about
one hundred and twenty Indian hunters. Of these a few have several
wives, but the majority only one; and, as some are unmarried, we shall
not err greatly in considering the number of married women as only
slightly exceeding that of the hunters. The women marry very young, have
a custom of suckling their children for several years, and are besides
exposed constantly to fatigue and often to famine; hence they are not
prolific, bearing upon an average not more than four children, of whom
two may attain the age of puberty. Upon these data, the amount of each
family may be stated at five, and the whole Indian population in the
district at five hundred.
This is but a small population for such an extent of country, yet their
mode of life occasionally subjects them to great privations. The winter
of our residence at Cumberland House proved extremely severe to the
Indians. The hooping-cough made its appearance amongst them in the
autumn, and was followed by the measles, which in the course of the
winter spread through the tribe. Many died, and most of the survivors
were so enfeebled as to be unable to pursue the necessary avocations of
hunting and fishing. Even those who experienced only a slight attack, or
escaped the sickness altogether, dispirited by the scenes of misery
which environed them, were rendered incapable of affording relief to
their distressed relations, and spent their time in conjuring and
drumming to avert the pestilence. Those who were able came to the fort
and received relief, but many who had retired with their families to
distant corners, to pursue their winter hunts, experienced all the
horrors of famine. One evening, early in the month of January, a poor
Indian entered the North-West Company's House, carrying his only child
in his arms, and followed by his starving wife. They had been hunting
apart from the other bands, had been unsuccessful, and whilst in want
were seized with the epidemical disease. An Indian is accustomed to
starve, and it is not easy to elicit from him an account of his
sufferings. This poor man's story was very brief; as soon as the fever
abated, he set out with his wife for Cumberland House, having been
previously reduced to feed on the bits of skin and offal, which remained
about their encampment. Even this miserable fare was exhausted, and they
walked several days without eating, yet exerting themselves far beyond
their strength that they might save the life of the infant. It died
almost within sight of the house. Mr. Connolly, who was then in charge
of the post, received them with the utmost humanity, and instantly
placed food before them; but no language can describe the manner in
which the miserable father dashed the morsel from his lips and deplored
the loss of his child. Misery may harden a disposition naturally bad,
but it never fails to soften the heart of a good man.
The _origin_ of the Crees, to which nation the Cumberland House Indians
belong, is, like that of the other Aborigines of America, involved in
obscurity; but the researches now making into the nature and affinities
of the languages spoken by the different Indian tribes, may eventually
throw some light on the subject. Indeed, the American philologists seem
to have succeeded already in classing the known dialects into three
languages:--1st. The Floridean, spoken by the Creeks, Chickesaws,
Choctaws, Cherokees, Pascagoulas, and some other tribes, who inhabit the
southern parts of the United States. 2d. The Iroquois, spoken by the
Mengwe, or Six Nations, the Wyandots, the Nadowessies, and
Asseeneepoytuck. 3d. The Lenni-lenapè, spoken by a great family more
widely spread than the other two, and from which, together with a vast
number of other tribes, are sprung our Crees. Mr. Heckewelder, a
missionary, who resided long amongst these people, and from whose paper,
(published in the _Transactions of the American Philosophical Society_,)
the above classification is taken, states that the Lenapè have a
tradition amongst them, of their ancestors having come from the
westward, and taken possession of the whole country from the Missouri to
the Atlantic, after driving away or destroying the original inhabitants
of the land, whom they termed Alligewi. In this migration and contest,
which endured for a series of years, the Mengwe, or Iroquois, kept pace
with them, moving in a parallel but more northerly line, and finally
settling on the banks of the St. Lawrence, and the great lakes from
whence it flows. The Lenapè, being more numerous, peopled not only the
greater part of the country at present occupied by the United States,
but also sent detachments to the northward as far as the banks of the
River Mississippi{16} and the shores of Hudson's Bay. The principal of
their northern tribes are now known under the names of Saulteurs or
Chippeways, and Crees; the former inhabiting the country betwixt Lakes
Winipeg and Superior, the latter frequenting the shores of Hudson's Bay,
from Moose to Churchill, and the country from thence as far to the
westward as the plains which lie betwixt the forks of the Saskatchawan.
These Crees, formerly known by the French Canadian traders under the
appellation of Knisteneaux, generally designate themselves as
Eithinyoowuc (_men_), or, when they wish to discriminate themselves from
the other Indian nations, as Nathehwy-withinyoowuc (_Southern-men_)[5].
[5] Much confusion has arisen from the great variety of names, applied
without discrimination to the various tribes of Saulteurs and
Crees. Heckewelder considers the Crees of Moose Factory to be a
branch of that tribe of the Lenapè, which is named Minsi, or Wolf
Tribe. He has been led to form this opinion, from the similarity
of the name given to these people by Monsieur Jeremie, namely,
Monsonies; but the truth is, that their real name is
Mongsoa-eythinyoowuc, or Moose-deer Indians; hence the name of the
factory and river on which it is built. The name Knisteneaux,
Kristeneaux, or Killisteneaux, was anciently applied to a tribe of
Crees, now termed Maskegons, who inhabit the river Winipeg. This
small tribe still retains the peculiarities of customs and dress,
for which it was remarkable many years ago, as mentioned by Mr.
Henry, in the interesting account of his journeys in these
countries. They are said to be great rascals. The great body of
the Crees were at that time named Opimmitish Ininiwuc, or Men of
the Woods. It would, however, be an endless task to attempt to
determine the precise people designated by the early French
writers. Every small band, naming itself from its hunting-grounds,
was described as a different nation. The Chippeways who frequented
the Lake of the Woods were named from a particular act of
pillage--Pilliers, or Robbers: and the name Saulteurs, applied to
a principal band that frequented the Sault St. Marie, has been by
degrees extended to the whole tribe. It is frequently pronounced
and written _Sotoos_.
The original character of the Crees must have been much modified by
their long intercourse with Europeans; hence it is to be understood,
that we confine ourselves in the following sketch to their present
condition, and more particularly to the Crees of Cumberland House. The
moral character of a hunter is acted upon by the nature of the land he
inhabits, the abundance or scarcity of food, and we may add, in the
present case, his means of access to spirituous liquors. In a country so
various in these respects as that inhabited by the Crees, the causes
alluded to must operate strongly in producing a considerable difference
of character amongst the various hordes. It may be proper to bear in
mind also, that we are about to draw the character of a people whose
only rule of conduct is public opinion, and to try them by a morality
founded on divine revelation, the only standard that can be referred to
by those who have been educated in a land to which the blessings of the
Gospel have extended.
Bearing these considerations in mind then, we may state the Crees to be
a vain, fickle, improvident, and indolent race, and not very strict in
their adherence to truth, being great boasters; but, on the other hand,
they strictly regard the rights of property[6], are susceptible of the
kinder affections, capable of friendship, very hospitable, tolerably
kind to their women, and withal inclined to peace.
[6] This is, perhaps, true of the Cumberland House Crees alone: many
of the other tribes of Crees are stated by the traders to be
thieves.
Much of the faulty part of their character, no doubt, originates in
their mode of life; accustomed as a hunter to depend greatly on chance
for his subsistence, the Cree takes little thought of to-morrow; and the
most offensive part of his behaviour--the habit of boasting--has been
probably assumed as a necessary part of his armour, which operates upon
the fears of his enemies. They are countenanced, however, in this
failing, by the practice of the ancient Greeks, and perhaps by that of
every other nation in its ruder state. Every Cree fears the medical or
conjuring powers of his neighbour; but at the same time exalts his own
attainments to the skies. "I am God-like," is a common expression
amongst them, and they prove their divinity-ship by eating live coals,
and by various tricks of a similar nature. A medicine bag is an
indispensable part of a hunter's equipment. It is generally furnished
with a little bit of indigo, blue vitriol, vermilion, or some other
showy article; and is, when in the hands of a noted conjurer, such an
object of terror to the rest of the tribe, that its possessor is
enabled to fatten at his ease upon the labours of his deluded
countrymen.
A fellow of this description came to Cumberland House in the winter of
1819. Notwithstanding the then miserable state of the Indians, the
rapacity of this wretch had been preying upon their necessities, and a
poor hunter was actually at the moment pining away under the influence
of his threats. The mighty conjurer, immediately on his arrival at the
House, began to trumpet forth his powers, boasting, among other things,
that although his hands and feet were tied as securely as possible, yet
when placed in a conjuring-house, he would speedily disengage himself by
the aid of two or three familiar spirits, who were attendant on his
call. He was instantly taken at his word; and that his exertions might
not be without an aim, a _capot_ or great coat was promised as the
reward of his success. A conjuring-house having been erected in the
usual form, that is, by sticking four willows in the ground and tying
their tops to a hoop at the height of six or eight feet, he was fettered
completely by winding several fathoms of rope round his body and
extremities, and placed in its narrow apartment, not exceeding two feet
in diameter. A moose-skin being then thrown over the frame, secluded him
from our view. He forthwith began to chant a kind of hymn in a very
monotonous tone. The rest of the Indians, who seemed in some doubt
respecting the powers of a devil when put in competition with those of a
white man, ranged themselves around and watched the result with anxiety.
Nothing remarkable occurred for a long time. The conjurer continued his
song at intervals, and it was occasionally taken up by those without. In
this manner an hour and a half elapsed; but at length our attention,
which had begun to flag, was roused by the violent shaking of the
conjuring-house. It was instantly whispered round the circle, that at
least one devil had crept under the moose-skin. But it proved to be only
the "God-like man" trembling with cold. He had entered the lists, stript
to the skin, and the thermometer stood very low that evening. His
attempts were continued, however, with considerable resolution for half
an hour longer, when he reluctantly gave in. He had found no difficulty
in slipping through the noose when it was formed by his countrymen; but,
in the present instance, the knot was tied by Governor Williams, who is
an expert sailor. After this unsuccessful exhibition his credit sunk
amazingly, and he took the earliest opportunity of sneaking away from
the fort.
About two years ago a conjurer paid more dearly for his temerity. In a
quarrel with an Indian he threw out some obscure threats of vengeance
which passed unnoticed at the time, but were afterwards remembered. They
met in the spring at Carlton House, after passing the winter in
different parts of the country, during which the Indian's child died.
The conjurer had the folly to boast that he had caused its death, and
the enraged father shot him dead on the spot. It may be remarked,
however, that both these Indians were inhabitants of the plains, and had
been taught, by their intercourse with the turbulent Stone Indians, to
set but comparatively little value on the life of a man.
It might be thought that the Crees have benefited by their long
intercourse with civilized nations. That this is not so much the case as
it ought to be, is not entirely their own fault. They are capable of
being, and I believe willing to be, taught; but no pains have hitherto
been taken to inform their minds[7], and their white acquaintances seem
in general to find it easier to descend to the Indian customs, and
modes of thinking, particularly with respect to women, than to attempt
to raise the Indians to theirs. Indeed such a lamentable want of
morality has been displayed by the white traders in their contests for
the interests of their respective companies, that it would require a
long series of good conduct to efface from the minds of the native
population the ideas they have formed of the white character.
Notwithstanding the frequent violations of the rights of property they
have witnessed, and but too often experienced, in their own persons,
these savages, as they are termed, remain strictly honest. During their
visits to a post, they are suffered to enter every apartment in the
house, without the least restraint, and although articles of value to
them are scattered about, nothing is ever missed. They scrupulously
avoid moving any thing from its place, although they are often prompted
by curiosity to examine it. In some cases, indeed, they carry this
principle to a degree of self-denial which would hardly be expected. It
often happens that meat, which has been paid for, (if the poisonous
draught it procures them can be considered as payment,) is left at their
lodges until a convenient opportunity occurs of carrying it away. They
will rather pass several days without eating than touch the meat thus
intrusted to their charge, even when there exists a prospect of
replacing it.
[7] Since these remarks were written the union of the rival companies
has enabled the gentlemen, who have now the management of the fur
trade, to take some decided steps for the religious instruction
and improvement of the natives and half-breed Indians, which have
been more particularly referred to in the introduction.
The hospitality of the Crees is unbounded. They afford a certain asylum
to the half-breed children when deserted by their unnatural white
fathers; and the infirm, and indeed every individual in an encampment,
share the provisions of a successful hunter as long as they last. Fond
too as a Cree is of spirituous liquors, he is not happy unless all his
neighbours partake with him. It is not easy, however, to say what share
ostentation may have in the apparent munificence in the latter article;
for when an Indian, by a good hunt, is enabled to treat the others with
a keg of rum, he becomes the chief of a night, assumes no little
stateliness of manner, and is treated with deference by those who regale
at his expense. Prompted also by the desire of gaining a _name_, they
lavish away the articles they purchase at the trading posts, and are
well satisfied if repaid in praise.
Gaming is not uncommon amongst the Crees of all the different districts,
but it is pursued to greater lengths by those bands who frequent the
plains, and who, from the ease with which they obtain food, have
abundant leisure. The game most in use amongst them, termed _puckesann_,
is played with the stones of a species of _prunus_ which, from this
circumstance, they term _puckesann-meena_. The difficulty lies in
guessing the number of stones which are tossed out of a small wooden
dish, and the hunters will spend whole nights at the destructive sport,
staking their most valuable articles, powder and shot.
It has been remarked by some writers that the aboriginal inhabitants of
America are deficient in passion for the fair sex. This is by no means
the case with the Crees; on the contrary, their practice of seducing
each other's wives, proves the most fertile source of their quarrels.
When the guilty pair are detected, the woman generally receives a severe
beating, but the husband is, for the most part, afraid to reproach the
male culprit until they get drunk together at the fort; then the
remembrance of the offence is revived, a struggle ensues, and the affair
is terminated by the loss of a few handfuls of hair. Some husbands,
however, feel more deeply the injury done to their honour, and seek
revenge even in their sober moments. In such cases it is not uncommon
for the offended party to walk with great gravity up to the other, and
deliberately seizing his gun, or some other article of value to break it
before his face. The adulterer looks on in silence, afraid to make any
attempt to save his property. In this respect, indeed, the Indian
character seems to differ from the European, that an Indian, instead of
letting his anger increase with that of his antagonist, assumes the
utmost coolness, lest he should push him to extremities.
Although adultery is sometimes punished amongst the Crees in the manner
above described, yet it is no crime, provided the husband receives a
valuable consideration for his wife's prostitution. Neither is chastity
considered as a virtue in a female before marriage, that is, before she
becomes the exclusive property of one hunter.
The Cree women are not in general treated harshly by their husbands, and
possess considerable influence over them. They often eat, and even get
drunk, in consort with the men; a considerable portion of the labour,
however, falls to the lot of the wife. She makes the hut, cooks, dresses
the skins, and for the most part, carries the heaviest load: but, when
she is unable to perform her task, the husband does not consider it
beneath his dignity to assist her. In illustration of this remark, I may
quote the case of an Indian who visited the fort in winter. This poor
man's wife had lost her feet by the frost, and he was compelled, not
only to hunt, and do all the menial offices himself, but in winter to
drag his wife with their stock of furniture from one encampment to
another. In the performance of this duty, as he could not keep pace with
the rest of the tribe in their movements, he more than once nearly
perished of hunger.
These Indians, however, capable as they are of behaving thus kindly,
affect in their discourse to despise the softer sex, and on solemn
occasions, will not suffer them to eat before them, or even come into
their presence. In this they are countenanced by the white residents,
most of whom have Indian or half-breed wives, but seem afraid of
treating them with the tenderness or attention due to every female, lest
they should themselves be despised by the Indians. At least, this is the
only reason they assign for their neglect of those whom they make
partners of their beds and mothers of their children.
Both sexes are fond of, and excessively indulgent to, their children.
The father never punishes them, and if the mother, more hasty in her
temper, sometimes bestows a blow or two on a troublesome child, her
heart is instantly softened by the roar which follows, and she mingles
her tears with those that streak the smoky face of her darling. It may
be fairly said, then, that restraint or punishment forms no part of the
education of an Indian child, nor are they early trained to that
command over their temper which they exhibit in after years.
The discourse of the parents is never restrained by the presence of
their children, every transaction between the sexes being openly talked
of before them.
The Crees having early obtained arms from the European traders, were
enabled to make harassing inroads on the lands of their neighbours, and
are known to have made war excursions as far to the westward as the
Rocky Mountains, and to the northward as far as Mackenzie's{17} River;
but their enemies being now as well armed as themselves, the case is
much altered.
They shew great fortitude in the endurance of hunger, and the other
evils incident to a hunter's life; but any unusual accident dispirits
them at once, and they seldom venture to meet their enemies in open
warfare, or to attack them even by surprise, unless with the advantage
of superiority of numbers. Perhaps they are much deteriorated in this
respect by their intercourse with Europeans. Their existence at present
hangs upon the supplies of ammunition and clothing they receive from the
traders, and they deeply feel their dependent{18} situation. But their
character has been still more debased by the passion for spirituous
liquors, so assiduously fostered among them. To obtain the noxious
beverage, they descend to the most humiliating entreaties, and assume an
abjectness of behaviour which does not seem natural to them, and of
which not a vestige is to be seen in their intercourse with each other.
Their character has sunk among the neighbouring nations. They are no
longer the warriors who drove before them the inhabitants of the
Saskatchawan, and Missinippi. The Cumberland House Crees, in particular,
have been long disused to war. Betwixt them and their ancient enemies,
the Slave nations, lie the extensive plains of Saskatchawan, inhabited
by the powerful Asseeneepoytuck, or Stone Indians, who having whilst yet
a small tribe, entered the country under the patronage of the Crees, now
render back the protection they received.
The manners and customs of the Crees have, probably since their
acquaintance with Europeans, undergone a change, at least, equal to that
which has taken place in their moral character; and, although we heard
of many practices peculiar to them, yet they appeared to be nearly as
much honoured in the breach as the observance. We shall however briefly
notice a few of the most remarkable customs.
When a hunter marries his first wife, he usually takes up his abode in
the tent of his father-in-law, and of course hunts for the family; but
when he becomes a father, the families are at liberty to separate, or
remain together, as their inclinations prompt them. His second wife is
for the most part the sister of the first, but not necessarily so, for
an Indian of another family often presses his daughter upon a hunter
whom he knows to be capable of maintaining her well. The first wife
always remains the mistress of the tent, and assumes an authority over
the others, which is not in every case quietly submitted to. It may be
remarked, that whilst an Indian resides with his wife's family, it is
extremely improper for his mother-in-law to speak, or even look at him;
and when she has a communication to make, it is the etiquette that she
should turn her back upon him, and address him only through the medium
of a third person. This singular custom is not very creditable to the
Indians, if it really had its origin in the cause which they at present
assign for it, namely, that a woman's speaking to her son-in-law is a
sure indication of her having conceived a criminal affection for him.
It appears also to have been an ancient practice for an Indian to avoid
eating or sitting down in the presence of the father-in-law. We received
no account of the origin of this custom, and it is now almost obsolete
amongst the Cumberland House Crees, though still partially observed by
those who frequent Carlton.
Tattooing is almost universal with the Crees. The women are in general
content with having one or two lines drawn from the corners of the mouth
towards the angles of the lower jaw; but some of the men have their
bodies covered with a great variety of lines and figures. It seems to be
considered by most rather as a proof of courage than an ornament, the
operation being very painful, and, if the figures are numerous and
intricate, lasting several days. The lines on the face are formed by
dexterously running an awl under the cuticle, and then drawing a cord,
dipt in charcoal and water, through the canal thus formed. The punctures
on the body are formed by needles of various sizes set in a frame. A
number of hawk bells attached to this frame serve by their noise to
cover the suppressed groans of the sufferer, and, probably for the same
reason, the process is accompanied with singing. An indelible stain is
produced by rubbing a little finely-powdered willow-charcoal into the
punctures. A half-breed, whose arm I amputated, declared, that tattooing
was not only the most painful operation of the two, but rendered
infinitely more difficult to bear by its tediousness, having lasted in
his case three days.
A Cree woman, at certain periods, is laid under considerable restraint.
They are far, however, from carrying matters to the extremities
mentioned by Hearne in his description of the Chipewyans, or Northern
Indians. She lives apart from her husband also for two months if she has
borne a boy, and for three if she has given birth to a girl.
Many of the Cree hunters are careful to prevent a woman from partaking
of the head of a moose-deer, lest it should spoil their future hunts;
and for the same reason they avoid bringing it to a fort, fearing lest
the white people should give the bones to the dogs.
The games or sports of the Crees are various. One termed the game of the
mitten, is played with four balls, three of which are plain, and one
marked. These being hid under as many mittens, the opposite party is
required to fix on that which is marked. He gives or receives a feather
according as he guesses right or wrong. When the feathers which are ten
in number, have all passed into one hand, a new division is made; but
when one of the parties obtains possession of them thrice, he seizes on
the stakes.
The game of Platter is more intricate, and is played with the claws of a
bear, or some other animal, marked with various lines and characters.
These dice, which are eight in number, and cut flat at their large end,
are shook together in a wooden dish, tossed into the air and caught
again. The lines traced on such claws as happen to alight on the platter
in an erect position, indicate what number of counters the caster is to
receive from his opponent.
They have, however, a much more manly amusement termed the _Cross_,
although they do not engage even in it without depositing considerable
stakes. An extensive meadow is chosen for this sport, and the articles
staked are tied to a post, or deposited in the custody of two old men.
The combatants being stript and painted, and each provided with a kind
of battledore or racket, in shape resembling the letter P, with a handle
about two feet long and a head loosely wrought with net-work, so as to
form a shallow bag, range themselves on different sides. A ball being
now tossed up in the middle, each party endeavours to drive it to their
respective goals, and much dexterity and agility is displayed in the
contest. When a nimble runner gets the ball in his cross, he sets off
towards the goal with the utmost speed, and is followed by the rest, who
endeavour to jostle him and shake it out; but, if hard pressed, he
discharges it with a jerk, to be forwarded by his own party, or bandied
back by their opponents, until the victory is decided by its passing the
goal.
Of the religious opinions of the Crees, it is difficult to give a
correct account, not only because they shew a disinclination to enter
upon the subject, but because their ancient traditions are mingled with
the information they have more recently obtained, by their intercourse
with Europeans.
None of them ventured to describe the original formation of the world,
but they all spoke of an universal deluge, caused by an attempt of the
fish to drown Woesack-ootchacht, a kind of demigod, with whom they had
quarrelled. Having constructed a raft, he embarked with his family and
all kinds of birds and beasts. After the flood had continued for some
time, he ordered several water-fowl to dive to the bottom; they were all
drowned: but a musk-rat having been despatched on the same errand, was
more successful, and returned with a mouthful of mud, out of which
Woesack-ootchacht, imitating the mode in which the rats construct
their houses, formed a new earth. First, a small conical hill of mud
appeared above the water; by-and-by its base gradually spreading out,
it became an extensive bank, which the rays of the sun at length
hardened into firm land. Notwithstanding the power that
Woesack-ootchacht here displayed, his person is held in very little
reverence by the Indians; and, in return, he seizes every opportunity of
tormenting them. His conduct is far from being moral, and his amours,
and the disguises he assumes in the prosecution of them, are more
various and extraordinary than those of the Grecian Jupiter himself; but
as his adventures are more remarkable for their eccentricity than their
delicacy, it is better to pass them over in silence. Before we quit him,
however, we may remark, that he converses with all kinds of birds and
beasts in their own languages, constantly addressing them by the title
of brother, but through an inherent suspicion of his intentions, they
are seldom willing to admit of his claims of relationship. The Indians
make no sacrifices to him, not even to avert his wrath. They pay a kind
of worship, however, and make offerings to a being, whom they term
_Kepoochikawn_.
This deity is represented sometimes by rude images of the human figure,
but more commonly merely by tying the tops of a few willow bushes
together; and the offerings to him consist of every thing that is
valuable to an Indian; yet they treat him with considerable familiarity,
interlarding their most solemn speeches with expostulations and threats
of neglect, if he fails in complying with their requests. As most of
their petitions are for plenty of food, they do not trust entirely to
the favour of Kepoochikawn, but endeavour, at the same time, to
propitiate the _animal_, an imaginary representative of the whole race
of larger quadrupeds that are objects of the chase.
In the month of May, whilst I was at Carlton House, the Cree hunter
engaged to attend that post, resolved upon dedicating several articles
to Kepoochikawn, and as I had made some inquiries of him respecting
their modes of worship, he gave me an invitation to be present. The
ceremony took place in a sweating-house, or as it may be designated from
its more important use, a _temple_, which was erected for the occasion
by the worshipper's two wives. It was framed of arched willows,
interlaced so as to form a vault capable of containing ten or twelve
men, ranged closely side by side, and high enough to admit of their
sitting erect. It was very similar in shape to an oven or the kraal of a
Hottentot, and was closely covered with moose skins, except at the east
end, which was left open for a door. Near the centre of the building
there was a hole in the ground, which contained ten or twelve red-hot
stones, having a few leaves of the _taccokay-menan_, a species of
_prunus_, strewed around them. When the women had completed the
preparations, the hunter made his appearance, perfectly naked, carrying
in his hand an image of Kepoochikawn, rudely carved, and about two feet
long. He placed his god at the upper end of the sweating-house, with his
face towards the door, and proceeded to tie round its neck his
offerings, consisting of a cotton handkerchief, a looking-glass, a tin
pan, a piece of riband, and a bit of tobacco, which he had procured the
same day, at the expense of fifteen or twenty skins. Whilst he was thus
occupied, several other Crees, who were encamped in the neighbourhood,
having been informed of what was going on, arrived, and stripping at the
door of the temple, entered, and ranged themselves on each side; the
hunter himself squatted down at the right hand of Kepoochikawn. The
atmosphere of the temple having become so hot that none but zealous
worshippers would venture in, the interpreter and myself sat down on the
threshold, and the two women remained on the outside as attendants.
The hunter, who throughout officiated as high priest, commenced by
making a speech to Kepoochikawn, in which he requested him to be
propitious, told him of the value of the things now presented, and
cautioned him against ingratitude. This oration was delivered in a
monotonous tone, and with great rapidity of utterance, and the speaker
retained his squatting posture, but turned his face to his god. At its
conclusion, the priest began a hymn, of which the burthen was, "I will
walk with God, I will go with the animal;" and, at the end of each
stanza, the rest joined in an insignificant chorus. He next took up a
calumet, filled with a mixture of tobacco and bear-berry leaves, and
holding its stem by the middle, in a horizontal position, over the hot
stones, turned it slowly in a circular manner, following the course of
the sun. Its mouth-piece being then with much formality, held for a few
seconds to the face of Kepoochikawn, it was next presented to the earth,
having been previously turned a second time over the hot stones; and
afterwards, with equal ceremony, pointed in succession to the four
quarters of the sky; then drawing a few whiffs from the calumet himself,
he handed it to his left-hand neighbour, by whom it was gravely passed
round the circle; the interpreter and myself, who were seated at the
door, were asked to partake in our turn, but requested to keep the head
of the calumet within the threshold of the sweating-house. When the
tobacco was exhausted by passing several times round, the hunter made
another speech, similar to the former; but was, if possible, still more
urgent in his requests. A second hymn followed, and a quantity of water
being sprinkled on the hot stones, the attendants were ordered to close
the temple, which they did, by very carefully covering it up with moose
skins. We had no means of ascertaining the temperature of the
sweating-house; but before it was closed, not only those within, but
also the spectators without, were perspiring freely. They continued in
the vapour bath for thirty-five minutes, during which time a third
speech was made, and a hymn was sung, and water occasionally sprinkled
on the stones, which still retained much heat, as was evident from the
hissing noise they made. The coverings were then thrown off, and the
poor half-stewed worshippers exposed freely to the air; but they kept
their squatting postures until a fourth speech was made, in which the
deity was strongly reminded of the value of the gifts, and exhorted to
take an early opportunity of shewing his gratitude. The ceremony
concluded by the sweaters scampering down to the river, and plunging
into the stream. It may be remarked, that the door of the temple, and,
of course, the face of the god, was turned to the rising sun; and the
spectators were desired not to block up entirely the front of the
building, but to leave a lane for the entrance or exit of some influence
of which they could not give me a correct description. Several Indians,
who lay on the outside of the sweating-house as spectators, seemed to
regard the proceedings with very little awe, and were extremely free in
the remarks and jokes they passed upon the condition of the sweaters,
and even of Kepoochikawn himself. One of them made a remark, that the
shawl would have been much better bestowed upon himself than upon
Kepoochikawn, but the same fellow afterwards stripped and joined in the
ceremony.
I did not learn that the Indians worship any other god by a specific
name. They often refer, however, to the Keetchee-Maneeto, or Great
Master of Life; and to an evil spirit, or Maatche-Maneeto. They also
speak of Weettako, a kind of vampyre or devil, into which those who have
fed on human flesh are transformed.
Whilst at Carlton, I took an opportunity of asking a communicative old
Indian, of the Blackfoot nation, his opinion of a future state; he
replied, that they had heard from their fathers, that the souls of the
departed have to scramble with great labour up the sides of a steep
mountain, upon attaining the summit of which they are rewarded with the
prospect of an extensive plain, abounding in all sorts of game, and
interspersed here and there with new tents, pitched in agreeable{19}
situations. Whilst they are absorbed in the contemplation of this
delightful scene, they are descried by the inhabitants of the happy
land, who, clothed in new skin-dresses, approach and welcome with every
demonstration of kindness those Indians who have led good lives; but the
bad Indians, who have imbrued their hands in the blood of their
countrymen, are told to return from whence they came, and without more
ceremony precipitated down the steep sides of the mountain.
Women, who have been guilty of infanticide, never reach the mountain at
all, but are compelled to hover round the seats of their crimes, with
branches of trees tied to their legs. The melancholy sounds, which are
heard in the still summer evenings, and which the ignorance of the white
people considers as the screams of the goat-sucker, are really,
according to my informant, the moanings of these unhappy beings.
The Crees have somewhat similar notions, but as they inhabit a country
widely different from the mountainous lands of the Blackfoot Indians,
the difficulty of their journey lies in walking along a slender and
slippery tree, laid as a bridge across a rapid stream of stinking and
muddy water. The night owl is regarded by the Crees with the same dread
that it has been viewed by other nations. One small species, which is,
known to them by its melancholy nocturnal hootings, (for as it never
appears in the day, few even of the hunters have ever seen it,) is
particularly ominous. They call it the _cheepai-peethees_, or death
bird, and never fail to whistle when they hear its note. If it does not
reply to the whistle by its hootings, the speedy death of the inquirer
is augured.
When a Cree dies, that part of his property which he has not given away
before his death, is burned with him, and his relations take care to
place near the grave little heaps of fire-wood, food, pieces of tobacco,
and such things as he is likely to need in his journey. Similar
offerings are made when they revisit the grave, and as kettles, and
other articles of value, are sometimes offered, they are frequently
carried off by passengers, yet the relations are not displeased,
provided sufficient respect has been shewn to the dead, by putting some
other article, although of inferior value, in the place of that which
has been taken away.
The Crees are wont to celebrate the returns of the seasons by religious
festivals, but we are unable to describe the ceremonial in use on these
joyous occasions from personal observation. The following brief notice
of a feast, which was given by an old Cree chief, according to his
annual custom, on the first croaking of the frogs, is drawn up from the
information of one of the guests. A large oblong tent, or lodge, was
prepared for the important occasion, by the men of the party, none of
the women being suffered to interfere. It faced the setting sun, and
great care was taken that every thing about it should be as neat and
clean as possible. Three fire-places were raised within it, at equal
distances, and little holes were dug in the corners to contain the ashes
of their pipes. In a recess, at its upper end, one large image of
Kepoochikawn, and many smaller ones, were ranged with their faces
towards the door. The food was prepared by the chief's wife, and
consisted of _marrow_ pemmican, berries boiled with fat, and various
other delicacies that had been preserved for the occasion.
The preparations being completed, and a slave, whom the chief had taken
in war, having warned the guests to the feast by the mysterious word
_peenasheway_, they came, dressed out in their best garments, and ranged
themselves according to their seniority, the elders seating themselves
next the chief at the upper end, and the young men near the door.
The chief commenced by addressing his deities in an appropriate speech,
in which he told them, that he had hastened as soon as summer was
indicated by the croaking of the frogs to solicit their favour for
himself and his young men, and hoped that they would send him a pleasant
and plentiful season. His oration was concluded by an invocation to all
the animals in the land, and a signal being given to the slave at the
door, he invited them severally by their names to come and partake of
the feast.
The Cree chief having by this very general invitation displayed his
unbounded hospitality, next ordered one of the young men to distribute a
mess to each of the guests. This was done in new dishes of birch bark,
and the utmost diligence was displayed in emptying them, it being
considered extremely improper in a man to leave any part of that which
is placed before him on such occasions. It is not inconsistent with good
manners, however, but rather considered as a piece of politeness, that a
guest who has been too liberally supplied, should hand the surplus to
his neighbour. When the viands had disappeared, each filled his calumet
and began to smoke with great assiduity, and in the course of the
evening several songs were sung to the responsive sounds of the drum,
and seeseequay, their usual accompaniments.
The Cree drum is double-headed, but possessing very little depth, it
strongly resembles a tambourine in shape. Its want of depth is
compensated, however, by its diameter, which frequently exceeds three
feet. It is covered with moose-skin parchment, painted with rude figures
of men and beasts, having various fantastic additions, and is beat with
a stick. The seeseequay is merely a rattle, formed by enclosing a few
grains of shot in a piece of dried hide. These two instruments are used
in all their religious ceremonies, except those which take place in a
sweating-house.
A Cree places great reliance on his drum, and I cannot adduce a stronger
instance than that of the poor man who is mentioned in a preceding page,
as having lost his only child by famine, almost within sight of the
fort. Notwithstanding his exhausted state, he travelled with an enormous
drum tied to his back.
Many of the Crees make vows to abstain from particular kinds of food,
either for a specific time, or for the remainder of their life,
esteeming such abstinence to be a certain means of acquiring some
supernatural powers, or at least of entailing upon themselves a
succession of good fortune.
One of the wives of the Carlton hunter, of whom we have already spoken
as the worshipper of Kepoochikawn, made a determination not to eat of
the flesh of the Wawaskeesh, or American stag; but during our abode at
that place, she was induced to feed heartily upon it, through the
intentional deceit of her husband, who told her that it was buffalo
meat. When she had finished her meal, her husband told her of the trick,
and seemed to enjoy the terror with which she contemplated the
consequences of the involuntary breach of her vow. Vows of this nature
are often made by a Cree before he joins a war party, and they
sometimes, like the eastern bonzes, walk for a certain number of days on
all fours, or impose upon themselves some other penance, equally
ridiculous. By such means the Cree warrior becomes _godlike_; but unless
he kills an enemy before his return, his newly-acquired powers are
estimated to be productive in future of some direful consequence to
himself.
As we did not witness any of the Cree dances ourselves, we shall merely
mention, that like the other North American nations, they are accustomed
to practise that amusement on meeting with strange tribes, before going
to war, and on other solemn occasions.
The habitual intoxication of the Cumberland House Crees has induced such
a disregard of personal appearance, that they are squalid and dirty in
the extreme; hence a minute description of their clothing would be by no
means interesting. We shall, therefore, only remark in a general manner
that the dress of the male consists of a blanket thrown over the
shoulders, a leathern shirt or jacket, and a piece of cloth tied round
the middle. The women have in addition a long petticoat; and both sexes
wear a kind of wide hose, which reaching from the ankle to the middle of
the thigh, are suspended by strings to the girdle. These hose, or as
they are termed, _Indian stockings_, are commonly ornamented with beads
or ribands, and from their convenience, have been universally adopted by
the white residents, as an essential part of their winter clothing.
Their shoes, or rather short boots, for they tie round the ankle, are
made of soft dressed moose-skins, and during the winter they wrap
several pieces of blanket round their feet.
They are fond of European articles of dress, considering it as mean to
be dressed entirely in leather, and the hunters are generally furnished
annually with a _capot_ or great coat, and the women with shawls,
printed calicoes, and other things very unsuitable to their mode of
life, but which they wear in imitation of the wives of the traders; all
these articles, however showy they may be at first, are soon reduced to
a very filthy condition by the Indian custom of greasing the face and
hair with soft fat or marrow, instead of washing them with water. This
practice they say preserves the skin soft, and protects it from cold in
the winter, and the moschetoes in summer, but it renders their presence
disagreeable to the olfactory organs of an European, particularly when
they are seated in a close tent and near a hot fire.
The only peculiarity which we observed, in their mode of rearing
children consists in the use of a sort of cradle, extremely well adapted
to their mode of life. The infant is placed in the bag having its lower
extremities wrapt up in soft sphagnum or bog-moss, and may be hung up in
the tent, or to the branch of a tree, without the least danger of
tumbling out; or in a journey suspended on the mother's back, by a band
which crosses the forehead, so as to leave her hands perfectly free. It
is one of the neatest articles of furniture they possess, being
generally ornamented with beads, and bits of scarlet cloth, but it
bears a very strong resemblance in its form to a mummy case.
The sphagnum in which the child is laid, forms a soft elastic bed, which
absorbs moisture very readily, and affords such a protection from the
cold of a rigorous winter, that its place would be ill supplied by
cloth.
The mothers are careful to collect a sufficient quantity in autumn for
winter use; but when through accident their stock fails, they have
recourse to the soft down of the typha, or reed mace, the dust of rotten
wood, or even feathers, although none of these articles are so cleanly,
or so easily changed as the sphagnum.
The above is a brief sketch of such parts of the manners, character and
customs of the Crees, as we could collect from personal observation, or
from the information of the most intelligent half-breeds we met with;
and we shall merely add a few remarks on the manner in which the trade
is conducted at the different inland posts of the Fur Companies.
The standard of Exchange in all mercantile transactions with the natives
is a beaver skin, the relative value of which, as originally established
by the traders, differs considerably from the present worth of the
articles it represents; but the Indians are averse to change. Three
marten, eight musk-rat, or a single lynx, or wolverene skin, are
equivalent to one beaver; a silver fox, white fox, or otter, are
reckoned two beavers, and a black fox, or large black bear, are equal to
four; a mode of reckoning which has very little connexion with the real
value of these different furs in the European market. Neither has any
attention been paid to the original cost of European articles, in fixing
the tariff by which they are sold to the Indians. A coarse butcher's
knife is one skin, a woollen blanket or a fathom of coarse cloth, eight,
and a fowling-piece fifteen. The Indians receive their principal outfit
of clothing and ammunition on credit in the autumn, to be repaid by
their winter hunts; the amount intrusted to each of the hunters, varying
with their reputations for industry and skill, from twenty to one
hundred and fifty skins. The Indians are generally anxious to pay off
the debt thus incurred, but their good intentions are often frustrated
by the arts of the rival traders. Each of the Companies keeps men
constantly employed travelling over the country during the winter, to
collect the furs from the different bands of hunters as fast as they are
procured. The poor Indian endeavours to behave honestly, and when he has
gathered a few skins sends notice to the post from whence he procured
his supplies, but if discovered in the mean time by the opposite party,
he is seldom proof against the temptation to which he is exposed.
However firm he may be in his denials at first, his resolutions are
enfeebled by the sight of a little rum, and when he has tasted the
intoxicating beverage, they vanish like smoke, and he brings forth his
store of furs, which he has carefully concealed from the scrutinizing
eyes of his visitors. This mode of carrying on the trade not only causes
the amount of furs, collected by either of the two Companies, to depend
more upon the activity of their agents, the knowledge they possess of
the motions of the Indians, and the quantity of rum they carry, than
upon the liberality of the credits they give, but is also productive of
an increasing deterioration of the character of the Indians, and will
probably, ultimately prove destructive to the fur trade itself. Indeed
the evil has already, in part, recoiled upon the traders; for the
Indians, long deceived, have become deceivers in their turn, and not
unfrequently after having incurred a heavy debt at one post, move off to
another, to play the same game. In some cases the rival posts have
entered into a mutual agreement, to trade only with the Indians they
have respectively fitted out; but such treaties, being seldom rigidly
adhered to, prove a fertile subject for disputes, and the differences
have been more than once decided by force of arms. To carry on the
contest, the two Companies are obliged to employ a great many servants,
whom they maintain often with much difficulty, and always at a
considerable expense[8].
[8] As the contending parties have united, the evils mentioned in this
and the two preceding pages, are now, in all probability, at an
end.
There are thirty men belonging to the Hudson's Bay Fort at Cumberland,
and nearly as many women and children.
The inhabitants of the North West Company's House are still more
numerous. These large families are fed during the greatest part of the
year on fish, which are principally procured at Beaver Lake, about fifty
miles distant. The fishery commencing with the first frosts in autumn,
continues abundant, till January, and the produce is dragged over the
snow on sledges, each drawn by three dogs, and carrying about two
hundred and fifty pounds. The journey to and from the lake occupies five
days, and every sledge requires a driver. About three thousand fish,
averaging three pounds a piece, were caught by the Hudson's Bay
fishermen last season; in addition to which a few sturgeon were
occasionally caught in Pine Island Lake; and towards the spring a
considerable quantity of moose meat was procured from the Basquiau Hill,
sixty or seventy miles distant. The rest of our winter's provision
consisted of geese, salted in the autumn, and of dried meats and
pemmican, obtained from the provision posts on the plains of the
Saskatchawan. A good many potatoes are also raised at this post, and a
small supply of tea and sugar is brought from the depôt at York Factory.
The provisions obtained from these various sources were amply sufficient
in the winter of 1819-20; but through improvidence this post has in
former seasons been reduced to great straits.
Many of the labourers, and a great majority of the agents and clerks
employed by the two Companies, have Indian or half-breed wives, and the
mixed offspring thus produced has become extremely numerous.
These métifs, or as the Canadians term them, _bois brulés_, are upon the
whole a good looking people, and where the experiment has been made,
have shewn much aptness in learning, and willingness to be taught; they
have, however, been sadly neglected. The example of their fathers has
released them from the restraint imposed by the Indian opinions of good
and bad behaviour; and generally speaking, no pains have been taken to
fill the void with better principles. Hence it is not surprising that
the males, trained up in a high opinion of the authority and rights of
the Company to which their fathers belonged, and unacquainted with the
laws of the civilized world, should be ready to engage in any measure
whatever, that they are prompted to believe will forward the interests
of the cause they espouse. Nor that the girls, taught a certain degree
of refinement by the acquisition of an European language, should be
inflamed by the unrestrained discourse of their Indian relations, and
very early give up all pretensions to chastity. It is, however, but
justice to remark, that there is a very decided difference in the
conduct of the children of the Orkney men employed by the Hudson's Bay
Company and those of the Canadian voyagers. Some trouble is occasionally
bestowed in teaching the former, and it is not thrown away; but all the
good that can be said of the latter is, that they are not quite so
licentious as their fathers are.
Many of the half-breeds, both male and female, are brought up amongst,
and intermarry with, the Indians; and there are few tents wherein the
paler children of such marriages are not to be seen. It has been
remarked, I do not know with what truth, that half-breeds shew more
personal courage than the pure Crees[9].
[9] A singular change takes place in the physical constitution of the
Indian females who become inmates of a fort; namely, they bear
children more frequently and longer, but, at the same time, are
rendered liable to indurations of the mammæ and prolapsus of the
uterus; evils from which they are, in a great measure, exempt
whilst they lead a wandering and laborious life.
The girls at the forts, particularly the daughters of Canadians, are
given in marriage very young; they are very frequently wives at twelve
years of age, and mothers at fourteen. Nay, more than once instance came
under our observation of the master of a post having permitted a voyager
to take to wife a poor child that had scarcely attained the age of ten
years. The masters of posts and wintering partners of the Companies
deemed this criminal indulgence to the vices of their servants,
necessary to stimulate them to exertion for the interest of their
respective concerns. Another practice may also be noticed, as shewing
the state of moral feeling on these subjects amongst the white residents
of the fur countries. It was not very uncommon, amongst the Canadian
voyagers, for one woman to be common to, and maintained at the joint
expense of, two men; nor for a voyager to sell his wife, either for a
season or altogether, for a sum of money, proportioned to her beauty and
good qualities, but always inferior to the price of a team of dogs.
The country around Cumberland House is flat and swampy, and is much
intersected by small lakes. Limestone is found every where under a thin
stratum of soil, and it not unfrequently shows itself above the surface.
It lies in strata generally horizontal, but in one spot near the fort,
dipping to the northward at an angle of 40°. Some portions of this rock
contain very perfect shells. With respect to the vegetable productions
of the district the _populus trepida_, or aspen, which thrives in moist
situations, is perhaps the most abundant tree on the banks of the
Saskatchawan, and is much prized as fire-wood, burning well when cut
green. The _populus balsamifera_, or taccamahac, called by the Crees
_matheh meteos_, or ugly poplar, in allusion to its rough bark and naked
stem, crowned in an aged state with a few distorted branches, is
scarcely less plentiful. It is an inferior fire-wood, and does not burn
well, unless when cut in the spring, and dried during the summer; but it
affords a great quantity of potash. A decoction of its resinous buds has
been sometimes used by the Indians with success in cases of
_snow-blindness_, but its application to the inflamed eye produces much
pain. Of pines, the white spruce is the most common here: the red and
black spruce, the balsam of Gilead fir, and Banksian pine, also occur
frequently. The larch is found only in swampy spots, and is stunted and
unhealthy. The canoe birch attains a considerable size in this latitude,
but from the great demand for its wood to make sledges, it has become
rare. The alder abounds on the margin of the little grassy lakes, so
common in the neighbourhood. A decoction of its inner bark is used as
an emetic by the Indians, who also extract from it a yellow dye. A great
variety of willows occur on the banks of the streams; and the hazel is
met with sparingly in the woods. The sugar maple, elm, ash, and the
_arbor vitæ_[10], termed by the Canadian voyagers _cedar_, grow on
various parts of the Saskatchawan; but that river seems to form their
northern boundary. Two kinds of prunus also grow here, one of which[11],
a handsome small tree, produces a black fruit, having a very astringent
taste, whence the term _choke-cherry_ applied to it. The Crees call it
_tawquoy-meena_, and esteemed it to be when dried and bruised a good
addition to pemmican. The other species[12] is a less elegant shrub, but
is said to bear a bright red cherry, of a pleasant sweet taste. Its Cree
name is _passee-awey-meenan_, and it is known to occur as far north as
Great Slave Lake.
[10] Thuya occidentalis.
[11] Prunus Virginiana.
[12] Prunus Pensylvanica.
The most esteemed fruit of the country, however, is the produce of the
_aronia ovalis_. Under the name of _meesasscootoomeena_ it is a
favourite dish at most of the Indian feasts, and mixed with pemmican, it
renders that greasy food actually palatable. A great variety of currants
and gooseberries are also mentioned by the natives, under the name of
_sappoom-meena_, but we only found three species in the neighbourhood of
Cumberland House. The strawberry, called by the Crees _otei-meena_, or
heart-berry, is found in abundance, and rasps are common on the sandy
banks of the rivers. The fruits hitherto mentioned fall in the autumn,
but the following berries remained hanging on the bushes in the spring,
and are considered as much mellowed by exposure to the colds in winter.
The red whortleberry (_vaccinium vitis idea_) is found every where, but
is most abundant in rocky places. It is aptly termed by the Crees
_weesawgum-meena_, sour berry. The common cranberry (_oxycoccos
palustris_,) is distinguished from the preceding by its growing on moist
sphagnous spots, and is hence called _maskoego-meena_ swamp-berry. The
American guelder rose, whose fruit so strongly resembles the cranberry,
is also common. There are two kinds of it, (_viburnum oxycoccos_{20},
and _edule_,) one termed by the natives _peepoon-meena_, winter-berry,
and the other _mongsoa-meena_, moose-berry. There is also a berry of a
bluish white colour, the produce of the white cornel tree, which is
named _musqua-meena_, bear-berry, because these animals are said to
fatten on it. The dwarf Canadian cornel, bears a corymb of red berries,
which are highly ornamental to the woods throughout the country, but are
not otherwise worthy of notice, for they have an insipid farinaceous
taste, and are seldom gathered.
The Crees extract some beautiful colours from several of their native
vegetables. They dye their porcupine quills a beautiful scarlet, with
the roots of two species of bed-straw (galium tinctorium, and boreale)
which they indiscriminately term _sawoyan_. The roots, after being
carefully washed are boiled gently in a clean copper kettle, and a
quantity of the juice of the moose-berry, strawberry, cranberry, or
arctic raspberry, is added together with a few red tufts of pistils of
the larch. The porcupine quills are plunged into the liquor before it
becomes quite cold, and are soon tinged of a beautiful scarlet. The
process sometimes fails, and produces only a dirty brown, a circumstance
which ought probably to be ascribed to the use of an undue quantity of
acid. They dye black with an ink made of elder bark, and a little
bog-iron-ore, dried and pounded, and they have various modes of
producing yellow. The deepest colour is obtained from the dried root of
a plant, which from their description appears to be the cow-bane
(_cicuta virosa_.) An inferior colour is obtained from the bruised buds
of the Dutch myrtle, and they have discovered methods of dyeing with
various lichens.
The quadrupeds that are hunted for food in this part of the country,
are the moose and the rein-deer, the former termed by the Crees,
_mongsoa_, or _moosoa_; the latter _attekh_. The buffalo or bison,
(_moostoosh_,) the red-deer or American-stag, (_wawaskeeshoo_,) the
_apeesee-mongsoos_, or jumping deer, the _kinwaithoos_, or long-tailed
deer, and the _apistatchækoos_, a species of antelope; animals that
frequent the plains above the forks of the Saskatchawan, are not found
in the neighbourhood of Cumberland House.
Of fur-bearing animals, various kinds of foxes (_makkeeshewuc_,) are
found in the district, distinguished by the traders under the names of
_black_, _silver_, _cross_, _red_, and _blue_ foxes. The two former are
considered by the Indians to be the same kind, varying accidentally in
the colour of the pelt. The black foxes are very rare, and fetch a high
price. The cross and red foxes differ from each other only in colour,
being of the same shape and size. Their shades of colour are not
disposed in any determinate manner, some individuals approaching in that
respect very nearly to the silver fox, others exhibiting every link of
the chain down to a nearly uniform deep or orange-yellow, the
distinguishing colour of a pure red fox. It is reported both by Indians
and traders, that all the varieties have been found in the same litter.
The blue fox is seldom seen here, and is supposed to come from the
southward. The gray wolf (_mahaygan_) is common here. In the month of
March the females frequently entice the domestic dog from the forts,
although at other seasons a strong antipathy seemed to subsist between
them. Some black wolves are occasionally seen. The black and red
varieties of the American bear (_musquah_) are also found near
Cumberland House, though not frequently; a black bear often has red
cubs, and _vice versâ_. The grizzly bear, so much dreaded by the Indians
for its strength and ferocity, inhabits a track of country nearer the
Rocky Mountains. It is extraordinary that although I made inquiries
extensively amongst the Indians, I met with but one who said that he had
killed a she-bear with young in the womb.
The wolverene, in Cree _okeekoohawgees_, or _ommeethatsees_, is an
animal of great strength and cunning, and is much hated by the hunters,
on account of the mischief it does to their marten-traps. The Canadian
lynx (_peeshew_) is a timid but well-armed animal, which preys upon the
American hare. Its fur is esteemed. The marten (_wapeestan_,) is one of
the most common furred animals in the country. The fisher,
notwithstanding its name, is an inhabitant of the land, living like the
common marten principally on mice. It is the _otchoek_ of the Crees,
and the _pekan_ of the Canadians. The mink, (_atjackash_,) has been
often confounded by writers with the fisher. It is a much smaller
animal, inhabits the banks of rivers, and swims well; its prey is fish.
The otter, (_neekeek_,) is larger than the English species, and produces
a much more valuable fur.
The musk rat (_watsuss_, or _musquash_,) is very abundant in all the
small grassy lakes. They build small conical houses with a mixture of
hay and earth; those which build early raising their houses on the mud
of the marshes, and those which build later in the season founding their
habitations upon the surface of the ice itself. The house covers a hole
in the ice, which permits them to go into the water in search of the
roots on which they feed. In severe winters when the small lakes are
frozen to the bottom, and these animals cannot procure their usual food,
they prey upon each other. In this way great numbers are destroyed.
The beaver (_ammisk_) furnish the staple fur of the country. Many
surprising stories have been told of the sagacity with which this animal
suits the form of its habitation, retreats, and dam, to local
circumstances; and I compared the account of its manners, given by
Cuvier, in his _Régne Animal_, with the reports of the Indians, and
found them to agree exactly. They have been often seen in the act of
constructing their houses in the moon-light nights, and the observers
agree, that the stones, wood, or other materials, are carried in their
teeth, and generally leaning against the shoulder. When they have placed
it to their mind, they turn round and give it a smart blow with their
flat tail. In the act of diving they give a similar stroke to the
surface of the water. They keep their provision of wood under water in
front of the house. Their favourite food is the bark of the aspen,
birch, and willow; they also eat the alder, but seldom touch any of the
pine tribe unless from necessity; they are fond of the large roots of
the _nuphar lutea_, and grow fat upon it, but it gives their flesh a
strong rancid taste. In the season of love their call resembles a groan,
that of the male being the hoarsest, but the voice of the young is
exactly like the cry of a child. They are very playful, as the following
anecdote will shew:--One day a gentleman, long resident in this country,
espied five young beavers sporting in the water, leaping upon the trunk
of a tree, pushing one another off, and playing a thousand interesting
tricks. He approached softly under cover of the bushes, and prepared to
fire on the unsuspecting creatures, but a nearer approach discovered to
him such a similitude betwixt their gestures and the infantile caresses
of his own children, that he threw aside his gun. This gentleman's
feelings are to be envied, but few traders in fur would have acted so
feelingly. The musk-rat frequently inhabits the same lodge with the
beaver, and the otter also thrusts himself in occasionally; the latter,
however, is not always a civil guest, as he sometimes devours his host.
These are the animals most interesting in an economical point of
view. The American hare, and several kinds of grouse and ptarmigan,
also contribute towards the support of the natives; and the geese,
in their periodical flights in the spring and autumn, likewise prove
a valuable resource both to the Indians and white residents; but the
principal article of food, after the moose-deer, is fish; indeed, it
forms almost the sole support of the traders at some of the posts.
The most esteemed fish is the Coregonus albus, the _attihhawmeg_ of
the Crees, and the _white-fish_ of the Americans. Its usual weight
is between three and four pounds, but it has been known to reach
sixteen or eighteen pounds. Three fish of the ordinary size is the
daily allowance to each man at the fort, and is considered as
equivalent to two geese, or eight pounds of solid moose-meat. The
fishery for the attihhawmeg lasts the whole year, but is most
productive in the spawning season, from the middle of September to
the
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